Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1773 – British Parliament passes the Tea Act (Boston won’t like this)
1911 – Indian passive resistance in South Africa is suspended when General Jan Smuts enters into negotiations with Mahatma Gandhi
1950 – Musical revue “Tickets, Please” opens at Coronet Theater, later transferring to the Mark Hellinger Theatre, NYC; runs for 245 performances
1981 – Paul McCartney’s rock band Wings breaks-up
1997 – “Stanley” closes at Circle in the Square Theater, NYC

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1903 – Frank Belknap Long, American writer (Rim of the Unknown), born in New York City (d. 1994)
1903 – Hans Kosterlitz, German-British biochemist (endorphins), born in Berlin (d. 1996)
1971 – Craig Keith, American football tight end (Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Raleigh, North Carolina
1972 – Maura West, American actress (As the World Turns), born in Springfield, Massachusetts
1989 – Emily Rios, American actress (Andrea Cantillo-Breaking Bad), born in Los Angeles, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1881 – Ludwig von Benedek, Austrian general, dies at 76
1952 – Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician, dies at 86
1994 – John Preston, American writer (Gay House, Big Gay Book), dies at 48
1999 – Cyril Washbrook, English cricket batsman (37 Tests, 6 x 100, HS 195; Lancashire CCC), dies at 84
2009 – Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean actress and model, dies at 25

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1949 – Transjordan is officially renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
1990 – Texas Rangers Nolan Ryan ties Bob Feller’s record of pitching 12 one-hitters in 1-0 win over Chicago White Sox at Arlington Stadium
1992 – “Metro” closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 13 performances
2008 – NFL Draft: University of Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long first pick by Miami Dolphins
2012 – 70 people are killed by rocket attacks by the Syrian Army on the city of Hama

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1718 – Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral and Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy, born in Scituate, Rhode Island (d. 1802)
1938 – Maurice Williams, American doo-wop singer, and songwriter (Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs – “Stay”), born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (d. 2024)
1961 – Joan Chen [Chen Chong], Chinese-American actress (Heaven and Earth, The Last Emperor), born in Shanghai, China
1974 – Adil Ray, English radio presenter (BBC Asian Network), born in Birmingham, England
1981 – Matthieu Delpierre, French footballer, born in Nancy, France

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1784 – (Honora) “Nano” Nagle, Irish Catholic educator and religious order founder (Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, aka Presentation Sisters), dies of tuberculosis at about 66.
1970 – Paul Celan, Romanian-born writer, dies at 49
1983 – Vaughn Taylor, American character actor (Jailhouse Rock; Johnny Jupiter; Psycho), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 73
1991 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (26th Premier of New Brunswick), dies at 60
2019 – David McNee, Scottish law enforcement officer (City of Glasgow/Strathclyde Police Chief Constable, 1971-77; Metropolitan Police Commissioner, 1977-82), dies at 94

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1914 – US President Woodrow Wilson is persuaded by Argentina, Brazil, and Chile to accept mediation in the conflict with Mexico
1927 – Spain routes 20,000 soldiers to Morocco (uprising Rifkabylen)
1972 – Hans-Werner Grosse glides 907.7 miles (1,461 km) in an AS-W-12
1976 – Portugal adopts new constitution
2022 – First airport for electric flying cars and large drones, built by Urban-Air Port, begins operations in Coventry, England

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1840 – James Dearing, U.S. Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Campbell County, Virginia (d. 1865)
1862 – Edward Grey, British Liberal statesman and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1905-16), born in London (d. 1933)
1949 – James Fenton, English poet and journalist, born in Lincoln, England
1973 – Barbara Rittner, German tennis star (1992 Schenectady), born in Krefeld, West Germany
1980 – Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer, born in Whangarei, New Zealand

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1840 – Siméon-Denis Poisson, French mathematician (Poisson distribution) and physicist, dies at 58
1875 – Trinley Gyatso, 12th Dalai Lama of Tibet, dies at 18
1939 – John Foulds, British cellist, musicologist, and composer (World Requiem; Three Mantras), dies in Calcutta of cholera at 58
1975 – Mike Brant, Israeli pop singer (“Laisse-moi t’aimer” (“Let Me Love You”)), commits suicide at 28
1988 – Clifford D. Simak, American sci-fi author (Hugo, Way Station), dies at 83

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1877 – Last federal occupying troops withdraw from the South (New Orleans)
1967 – 21st NBA Championship: Philadelphia 76ers beat SF Warriors, 4 games to 2
1981 – US ends grain embargo against USSR
1982 – Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Mike Durbin
1996 – “Jack-Night on Town with John Barrymore” opens at Belasco for 12 performances

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1804 – Thomas Oliver Selfridge, American naval officer who served during the Mexican-American War and the Civil War, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1902)
1897 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, 45th President of Mexico (1940-46), born in Teziutlán, Puebla, Mexico (d. 1955)
1942 – Valeri Abramovich Voloshin, Russian pilot cosmonaut, born in Yangiyul, Tashkent
1950 – Rob Hyman, American rock singer-songwriter, keyboardist, melodica and accordion player (The Hooters – “All You Zombies”; “And We Danced”), born in Meriden, Connecticut
1963 – Mano Solo [Emmanuel Cabut], French singer, born in Châlons-sur-Marne, France (d. 2010)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1617 – Carlo Concino, French marquis of Ancre/state advisor, murdered
1941 – Karin Boye, Swedish writer (Kallocain) commits suicide at 40
1947 – Willa Cather, American Pulitzer-Prize winning author (One of Ours; My Ántonia), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage while battling cancer at 73
1955 – Alfred Polgar, Austrian writer and theater critic (Yes and No!), dies at 79
1965 – Louise Dresser, actress (State Fair, Ship Comes In, Mammy), dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1937 – New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell’s first start of season, a 3-0 win over the Boston Bees, is his 17th straight win; streak continues for league record 24 victories in a row
1950 – Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Pete Babando scores Cup-winning goal in double overtime of Game 7 as Detroit Red Wings beat NY Rangers, 4-3 for a 4-3 series win
1968 – Ernest Gold and Anne Croswell’s musical “I’m Solomon”, starring Dick Shawn, opens at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC; runs for 7 performances
1977 – Dr Allen Bussey completes 20,302 yo-yo loops
2015 – Kawhi Leonard is named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the first time

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1889 – Charles Warrell, English schoolteacher and creator of the I-Spy books, born in Farmborough, Somerset (d. 1995)
1891 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer (Peter and the Wolf; Alexander Nevsky), born in Sontsovka, Russian Empire (now Sontsivka, Ukraine) (d. 1953)
1960 – Steve Clark, English rock guitarist (Def Leppard), born in Hillsborough, England (d. 1991)
1981 – Lady Gabriella Kingston, British royal and writer, born in St Mary’s Hospital, London, United Kingdom
1995 – Gigi Hadid [Jelena Noura Hadid], American fashion model, born in Los Angeles, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1933 – Tim Keefe, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (Triple Crown 1888; MLB record 0.86 ERA, single season 1880; NY Giants), dies at 76
1984 – (William) “Red” Garland, American jazz pianist (Miles Davis Quintet), dies of a heart attack at 60
2007 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician and 1st President of Russian Federation (1991-99), dies of congestive heart failure at 76
2011 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs (PvdA), dies at 86
2022 – Orrin Hatch, American politician (US Senator from Utah (R), 1977-2019) longest-serving Utah US Senator, dies at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1164 – Raynald of Dassel names Guido di Crema as anti-pope Paschalis III
1745 – Austria and Bavaria sign Peace Treaty of Füssen, ending Bavaria’s participation (on the French side) in the War of the Austrian Succession
1906 – New rule puts umpire in sole charge of all game balls
1954 – US Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings begin
1978 – Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Earl Anthony

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1858 – Ethel Smyth, English composer, born in Sidcup, Kent (d. 1944)
1927 – (Lorenzo) “Laurel” Aitken, Cuban-Jamaican singer and one of the pioneers of Caribbean pop and ska music, born in Havana, Cuba (d. 2005)
1962 – Carol Van Dijk, Dutch-Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Bettie Serveert – “Dust Bunny”), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
1970 – Regine Velasquez, Filipina pop singer and actress, born in Tondo, Philippines
1977 – Aaron Fink, American guitarist (Breaking Benjamin, 2002-11), born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

835 – Kūkai, Japanese Buddhist monk and poet (founded Shingon school of Buddhism), dies at 60
1890 – Magnus Huss, Swedish physician who coined the word alcoholism and was the first to define it as a disease, dies at 82
1988 – Irene Rich, American actress (Beau Brumell, Champ), dies at 96
2005 – Erika Fuchs, German translator, dies at 98
2008 – Paul Davis, American country-rock-pop singer-songwriter and piano player (“I Go Crazy”; “65 Love Affair”), dies of a heart attack at 60

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1920 – John Galsworthy’s “Skin Game” premieres in London
1970 – The Principality of Hutt River (previously Hutt River Province) secedes from Australia – it remains unrecognised by Australia or other nations
1994 – The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan
2004 – Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers include: Sting, Elton John, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Bette Midler, and Little Jimmy Scott
2012 – Two trains in Sloterdijk, Netherlands, injure 117 people in a head on collision

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1930 – Don Tyson, American businessman, founder of Tyson Foods, born in Olathe, Kansas (d. 2011)
1936 – James Dobson, American evangelist and founder of Focus on the Family, born in Shreveport, Louisiana
1959 – Jerry Only [Gerald Caiafa Jr], American musician (Misfits), born in Lodi, New Jersey
1975 – Danyon Loader, New Zealand swimmer (Olympic gold 200/400m freestyle 1996), born in Dunedin, New Zealand
1978 – Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish heavy metal drummer (Nightwish, 1997-2014), born in Kitee, Finland

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1821 – Thursday October Christian, son of Fletcher Christian (leader of the historical mutiny on the Bounty), dies at 40
1836 – Samuel Slater, English-American industrialist who brought the textile industrial revolution to America, dies at 67
1939 – Herman Finck, British conductor (Palace Theatre (London), 1900-20), theater and light classical composer (In The Shadows), dies at 66
1958 – Manuel Infante, Spanish composer and conductor, dies at 74
2001 – David Hollestelle, Dutch baritone singer (Dutch Radio Chorus), dies at 84

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1610 – Only recorded performance of William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Macbeth”, during the playwright’s lifetime, at the Globe theater, by astrologer Simon Foreman
1916 – Chicago Cubs play their 1st game at Weeghman Park (now Wrigley Field) and beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6
1950 – Baltimore, Maryland’s Memorial Stadium opens – Orioles of International League
1960 – “From A to Z” opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 21 performances
1997 – Cubs beat NY Mets, ending the NL’s worst opening losing streak of 14 straight games

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1938 – Betty Cuthbert, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 4x100m 1956; 400m 1964), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2017)
1953 – Sebastian Faulks, British novelist (The Girl at the Lion d’Or), born in Donnington, Berkshire
1965 – Kostas Hatzidakis, Greek politician (New Democracy Party), born in Rethymno, Greece
1971 – Tina Cousins, English singer (Mysterious Times), born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England
1983 – Tan France, English fashion designer and TV personality (Queer Eye), born in Doncaster, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1935 – Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer, dies at 71
1962 – Jesse G. Vincent, American engineer (designed 1st V-12 engine, Packard automobiles) dies at 82
1995 – Milovan Djilas, Yugoslavian politician and writer (The New Class), dies at 83
2018 – Avicii [Tim Bergling], Swedish musician, DJ, remixer and record producer (“Levels”; “Wake Me Up”; “Sunshine”), commits suicide at 28
2021 – Idriss Déby, Chadian politician and military officer (President of Chad, 1990–2021), dies of injuries inflicted on a battlefield at 68

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1937 – 41st Boston Marathon won by Walter Young of Canada in 2:33:20
1983 – France performs nuclear test
1989 – Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors
1990 – Marla Maples appears on ABC’s Prime-Time
2020 – Turkey passes Iran to become the Middle Eastern country with the most COVID-19 cases with 86,306 infections, Iran continues to have the most deaths

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1660 – Sebastián Durón, Spanish composer, born in Brihuega, Guadalajara, Spain (d. 1716)
1861 – Edward Vermeulen, Flemish writer, born in Beselare, Belgium (d. 1934)
1937 – Joseph Estrada, Filipino actor and 13th President of the Philippines (1998-01), born in Tondo, Philippines
1962 – Gerhard Mans, Namibian rugby union utility back (27 Tests; Orange Free State RFU, South West Africa RFU), born in Karasburg, Namibia (d. 2022)
1987 – Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player (5 Grand Slam singles titles), born in Nyagan, Russia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1739 – Nicholas Saunderson, English scientist and mathematician, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics Cambridge University, dies at 57
1992 – Alice Mary Riley, entertainer, dies of cancer at 51
2012 – Levon Helm, American drummer and singer (The Band – “Up On Cripple Creek”; “The Weight”), and actor (Coal Miner’s Daughter; The Right Stuff), dies from throat cancer at 71
2012 – Greg Ham, Australian rock saxophonist and flutist (Men At Work – “Who Can It Be Now”), dies under mysterious circumstances at 58
2022 – Mike Gregory, English darts player (BDO World C’ship 1992 runner-up), dies from dementia at 65

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1899 – John McGraw, at 26, has his managerial debut as Oriole manager
1955 – 1st Bandoeng Conference opens in Indonesia, attended by 29 nations – first international assembly of Asian-African nations
1966 – Bill Russell becomes first African American coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics)
1991 – US Census Bureau said it failed to count up to 63 million in 1990 census
2017 – British Prime Minister Teresa May announces she will seek a “snap” election

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1944 – Rudy Shackelford, American organist, composer, and musicologist, born in Newport News, Virginia
1947 – Dorothy Lyman, American actress (All My Children. 1981-83 -“Opal”; Mama’s Family – “Naomi”), and director, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1949 – Geoff Bodine, American race car driver, born in Chemung, New York
1956 – Melody Thomas Scott, American actress (The Young and the Restless, 1979-present – “Nikki Newman”), born in Los Angeles, California
1979 – Matthew Upson, English footballer (England national team World Cup 2010), born in Eye, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1674 – John Graunt, English statistician and founder of science of demography, dies at 53
1689 – George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, Welsh judge, dies at 43
2012 – Robert O. Ragland, American film score composer (The Thing With Two Heads), dies at 80
2013 – Storm Thorgerson, British graphic designer and music video director (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, The Cranberries), dies of cancer at 69
2024 – Wally Harris, Canadian ice hockey referee (6 x Stanley Cup series; first NHL Director of Officiating), dies at 88

More Famous Deaths »