Author: gil7

Historical Events

1931 – Referendum in favor of autonomous status for Spanish Catalonia garners 99.5% of the vote; about 75% of eligible voters participate
1943 – Sunderland seaplanes sink U-706 and U-106
1959 – Future Hall of Fame 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits 1st of his 521 MLB home runs in SF Giants 5-3 win v Pittsburgh Pirates
2012 – American swimmer Michael Phelps wins an unprecedented third consecutive gold medal in the 200m individual medley in 1:54.27 at the London Olympics
2018 – Apple becomes the first American publicly listed company to reach $1 trillion in value

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1925 – John McCormack, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (d. 2017)
1928 – Malcolm Hilton, English cricket slow left-arm (4 Tests), born in Chadderton, Lancashire (d. 1990)
1948 – Andy Fairweather Low, Welsh session and touring guitarist (Amen Corner; Roger Waters; Eric Clapton; George Harrison), born in Ystrad Mynach, Wales
1949 – James Fallows, American writer and journalist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1972 – Jimmy Pop [James Franks], American rock singer and musician (The Bloodhound Gang – “The Bad Touch”), born in Trappe, Pennsylvania

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1823 – Lazare Carnot, French politician, engineer and mathematician known as the Organizer of Victory in the French Revolutionary Wars, dies at 70
1922 – Mina Kruseman, Dutch author and feminist, dies at 82
1992 – Michel Berger [Hamburger], French singer-songwriter, and record producer. dies of a heart attack at 44
2003 – Mike Levey, American TV infomercials host, dies of cancer at 55
2020 – Leon Fleisher, American pianist and conductor (Annapolis Symphony 1970-82), dies of cancer at 92

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1664 – Battle of St. Gotthard, West Hungary: Imperial Army led by Count Raimondo Montecuccoli defeats Ottoman forces under Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha
1924 – MLB Brooklyn Robins pitcher Dazzy Vance strikes out an MLB record 7 consecutive batters and 14 overall in a 4-0 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field
1968 – Coronation of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei
1992 – American sprinter Gail Devers wins an incredibly close blanket finish in the women’s 100m at the Barcelona Olympics, with 5 athletes within 0.06 seconds of Devers (10.82)
2022 – First grain ship leaves Ukrainian port of Odesa in a UN-brokered deal, breaking a months-long Russian blockade to help alleviate the global shortage

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1642 – Ahmed II, 21st Sultan of Turkey (1691-95), born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (d. 1695) [or born Feb 25, 1643]
1933 – Ko Un, South Korean poet, born in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province
1948 – Bob Spink, British politician (MP for Castle Point in Essex), born in Haworth, Worth Valley, Yorkshire
1956 – Tom Leykis, American radio personality (The Tom Leykis Show), born in The Bronx, New York
1964 – Adam Duritz, American rock singer-songwriter, and keyboardist (Counting Crows – “Mr. Jones”; “Accidentally in Love”), born in Baltimore, Maryland

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine [John of Plano Carpini], Italian friar, explorer and diplomat (1st European traveller to give account of the Mongol Empire), dies (b. c. 1185)
1980 – Patrick Depailler, French Formula 1 driver (b. 1944)
1988 – John Dearden, American cardinal (1969-88) and archbishop of Detroit, dies at 80
1990 – Lotta Hitschmanova, Canadian humanitarian (founder of the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada), dies at 80
2024 – Craig Shakespeare, English soccer coach (WBA, Leicester CIty) and midfielder (Walsall 284 games), dies from cancer at 60

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1925 – Last allied occupying troops leave German Ruhr region
1972 – Claudy bombing: Nine civilians are killed when three car bombs explode in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland; no group has since claimed responsibility
1983 – Dutch July average temperature is 20.1°C (68.18°F), making it the warmest July since 1854
1997 – First baseman Mark McGwire becomes MLB’s top home run hitter to be traded in the middle of a season when he moves from Oakland to the St. Louis Cardinals with 34 home runs and 81 RBIs
2011 – British Open Women’s Golf, Carnoustie GL: Yani Tseng of Taiwan becomes the first to successfully defend the Open as a major championship, four strokes ahead of Brittany Lang

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1941 – Heather McKay, Australian squash player (British Open 1962-77, inaugural women’s World Open 1976), born in Queanbeyan, Australia
1941 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, born in Surat, India (d. 2004)
1965 – Scott Brooks, American basketball guard, coach (NBA Coach of the Year 2010, OKC Thunder; Washington Wizards 2016-19), born in French Camp, California
1980 – Harry Potter, fictional character portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, born in Godric’s Hollow, England
1988 – A. J. Green [Adriel Jeremiah Green], American NFL player (Cincinnati Bengals), born in Summerville, South Carolina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1985 – Eugene Carson Blake, US Secretary-General of World Council of Churches (1966-72), dies at 78
2002 – Gerrit A. Kooy, Dutch sociologist (Apartheid and work in South Africa), dies at 76
2004 – Laura Betti, Italian actress (b. 1927)
2009 – Harry Alan Towers, English film producer and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2018 – Tony Bullimore, British yachtsman (1997 solo around-the-world yacht race, dramatic rescue), dies of cancer at 79

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1988 – Jordanian King Hussein renounces sovereignty over West Bank to the PLO hours after dissolving Jordan’s House of Representatives
1991 – Red Sox player Carlos Quintana becomes the 11th player to achieve six RBIs in an inning (3rd)
1992 – Yael Arad becomes Israel’s first Olympic medalist when she wins silver in the women’s 61 kg judo in Barcelona; 20th anniversary of the Munich massacre and 500th anniversary of the Alhambra Decree
2000 – British Senior Open Men’s Golf, Royal County Down: Irishman Christy O’Connor Jr. successfully defends his title by 2 shots from John Bland of South Africa
2017 – Russian President Vladimir Putin announces American diplomats in Russia cut by 755 in response to American sanctions

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1859 – Henry Louis Smith, American physicist who made the first X-ray photograph, born in Greensboro, North Carolina (d. 1951)
1916 – Robert van Spaendonck, Dutch resistance fighter, born in Tilburg, Netherlands (d. 1944)
1927 – Victor Wong [Yee Keung Victor Wong], American actor (Big Trouble in Little China), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2001)
1936 – (George) “Buddy” Guy, American blues guitarist (Stone Crazy), born in Lettsworth, Louisiana
1947 – William Atherton, American actor (Real Genius, Ghostbusters, Class of 44), born in Orange, Connecticut

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

578 – Jacob Baradaeus, Bishop of Edessa and saint, established Syriac Orthodox Church, dies of an illness at 77 or 78
1985 – Peter Knight, English musical arranger, conductor, and composer, dies at 68
2005 – John Garang, Sudanese vice-president and revolutionary, led the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, dies in a helicopter crash at 60
2008 – Anne Armstrong U.S. ambassador to Britain and first female counsel to the President, dies at 80
2022 – [Grace] Nichelle Nichols, American actress (Star Trek – “Lt. Uhura”) and singer (Down To Earth; “Fly Me To The Moon”), dies at 89

More Famous Deaths »