Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1780 – Pennsylvania becomes 1st US state to abolish slavery (for newborns only)
1886 – The Anglo-Chinese School in Singapore is founded by Bishop William Oldham.
1953 – KTNT (now KSTW) TV channel 11 in Tacoma-Seattle, WA (IND) begins
1974 – Watergate grand jury indicts 7 presidential aides
1980 – Commonwealth Trade Union Council established
1999 – Daryll Cullinan scores South African cricket record 275no in the drawn 1st Test against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland; Gary Kirsten 128

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1924 – Donald “Deke” Kent Slayton, Sparta Wisc, Major USAF/astro (Apollo 18)
1933 – Joan Hackett, American stage and screen actress (Will Penny; Only When I Laugh; Mourning Becomes Electra), born in East Harlem, NYC (d. 1983)
1952 – Steven Barnes, American writer
1966 – Paul Hollywood, English baker and TV judge (The Great British Bake Off), born in Wallasey, England
1974 – Mark-Paul Gosselaar, actor (Zack-Saved by the Bell)
1990 – Harry Eden, English actor, born in Old Harlow, Essex

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1244 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr, son of Welsh leader Llywelyn the Great, dies trying to escape from the Tower of London (b. 1200)
1788 – Orazio Mei, Italian organist, and composer, dies at 56
1859 – Josef Theodor Krov, Bohemian composer, singer and teacher, dies at 61
1928 – Jacob Adolf Hägg, Swedish composer, dies at 77
1932 – Frank Teschemacher, American jazz clarinetist and alto-saxophonist, killed in a car accident at 25
2022 – Warner Mark [McPherson], American country music singer-songwriter (Sittin’ on a Rock (Cryin’ in a Creek)); Talkin’ to the Wall), dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1784 – John Wesley charters Methodist Church
1933 – Pacifist and anti fascist writer Carl Von Ossietzky arrested, sent to Esterwegen-Papenburg concentration camp
1959 – Chicago Cardinals trade running back Ollie Matson to the LA Rams for an unprecedented 9 players
1981 – Calvin Murphy (Hou), sets NBA record with 78 consecutive free throws
1993 – 7th American Comedy Award: Jerry Seinfeld
2005 – Lebanon’s pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigns amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1820 – John Tenniel, English cartoonist and illustrator (Punch, Alice in Wonderland), born in London, England (d. 1914)
1865 – Arthur Symons, Welsh poet and critic (co-founder Savoy magazine), born in Milford Haven, Wales (d. 1945)
1957 – Ian Stanley, British rock keyboardist and songwriter (Tears For Fears, 1981-87 – “Shout”; “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”), born in Bath, England
1982 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian supermodel, born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
1986 – Alex Tanas, Canadian pop-reggae drummer (Magic! -“Rude”), born in Toronto, Ontario
1996 – Karsten Warholm, Norwegian athlete (Olympic gold 400m hurdles WR 45.94 2021; World C’ship gold 2017, 19), born in Ulsteinvik, Møre og Romsdal, Norway

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1929 – Clemens Freiherr von Pirquet, Austrian artist (React of P), dies at 54
1956 – Emile Buisson, French murderer executed (b. 1902)
1963 – Rajendra Prasad, Indian independence activist and 1st President of India (1950-62), dies at 78
1977 – Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, American comedian and actor (The Jack Benny Program), dies at 71
1986 – Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden (1969-76, 1982-86), assassinated at 59 while walking home from the cinema with his wife
1986 – William Dollar, American ballet dancer and choreographer, dies at 79

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1919 – American Association for Hard of Hearing forms (NYC)
1959 – Chicago Cards trade running back Ollie Matson to LA Rams for 9 players
1967 – Rio de la Plata Treaty
1968 – CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite delivers a scathing editorial on America’s chances of winning the Vietnam War
1970 – NY Times (falsely) reports US army has ended domestic surveillance
1998 – Britain’s House of Lords agrees to end 1,000 years of male precedence by giving a monarch’s first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first born son

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1691 – Edward Cave, English editor and publisher (Gentlemen’s Magazine, coined term “magazine”), born in Newton, England (d. 1754)
1832 – Alfred Pollard Edward, Civil War journalist, (d. 1872)
1921 – András Szőllősy, Hungarian composer, and musicologist (cataloged works of Béla Bartók), born in Orăştie, Hungary (d. 2007)
1947 – Ashley Woodcock, Australian cricketer (one Test Aust v NZ 1974, only knock 27), born in Adelaide, Australia
1960 – Stoney Jackson, American actor (White Shadow, Insiders), born in Richmond, Virginia
1970 – Matthias Lechner, German art director, born in Mannheim, Germany

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1906 – Samuel Pierpont Langley, American astronomer and pioneer aviator, dies at 71
1945 – HJ Lochtman, Dutch chaplain/resistance fighter, dies in Bergen-Belsen
1989 – Paul Oswald Ahnert, German astronomer, dies at 91
1994 – Harold Acton, English-Italian historian and art collector, dies at 84
2010 – Madeleine Ferron, French Canadian writer, dies at 87
2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (Cool Hand Luke, Naked Gun films), dies at 91

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1869 – Franz Schubert’s Symphony number 4, “The Tragic”, premieres
1918 – Stands at Hong Kong Jockey Club collapse and burn, killing 604
1923 – Italian nationalist and fascists merge (blue-shirts and black-shirts)
1933 – Golden Gate Bridge groundbreaking ceremony held at Crissy Field
1940 – US Air Defense Command forms at Mitchel Field, LI, NY
1991 – NY-NJ Knights (WLAF) players 1st come together

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1837 – Charles Woeste, Belgian count, Minister of Justice, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1922)
1880 – Lionel Logue, Australian speech therapist who treated King George VI (The Kings Speech), born in Adelaide (d. 1953)
1917 – Robert Taft Jr, American politician (Sen-R-Ohio), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1993)
1946 – Bobby “Bingo” Smith, American NBA star (Cleveland Cavaliers), born in Memphis, Tennessee
1970 – Meeno Peluce, Dutch actor (Bad News Bears), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1981 – Kertus Davis, American auto racer (competition director NASCAR team JD Motorsports), born in Gaffney, South Carolina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1650 – Claude Favre de Vaugelas, Savoyard grammarian and man of letters, dies at 65
1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
1933 – Princess Thyra, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1853)
1990 – Maurine Stuart, Zen teacher (head of Cambridge Buddhist Association), dies
2016 – Andy Bathgate, professional ice hockey player (New York Rangers, 1958 NHL MVP), dies at 83
2017 – Robert Allworth, Australian composer (A Different Time, A Different Place), dies at 74

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1862 – First Legal Tender Act 1862 is passed by the US Congress, authorizing the United States Note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that was legal tender in America
1940 – 1st televised (W2XBS, NYC) hockey game (Rangers vs Canadians)
1957 – US Supreme Court decides 6-3, baseball is only antitrust exempt pro sport
1963 – Beatles release their 1st US single – “Please Please Me”
1971 – P Zindel’s “And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little” premieres in NYC
2021 – Chinese President Xi Jinping claims the country has eradicated extreme poverty (earning less than US$620 a year), though many observers remain skeptical about the accuracy of Chinese data due to widespread corruption and lack of transparency

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1868 – Anthony John Blok, Dutch lawyer (strafproces), born in Hees, Netherlands (d. 1934)
1902 – Oscar Cullmann, French-Swiss Lutheran theologist (Das Petrusproblem), born in Strasbourg, Germany (d. 1999)
1918 – Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (“The Battle of the Sexes”, US Open 1939, 41), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1995)
1934 – Robert Neame, British brewer (Shepherd Neame)
1947 – Doug Yule, American bassist and singer (Velvet Underground, 1968-73), born in Mineola, Long Island, New York
1986 – Danny Saucedo [Grzechowski], Swedish pop singer-songwriter (“Play It for the Girls”; E.M.D. – “Jennie Let Me Love You”), born in Stockholm, Sweden

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

779 – Walburgis, Anglo-Saxon abbess and saint (Walpurgis Night), dies
1851 – Ferdinand Simon Gassner, Austrian composer, dies at 53
1957 – Mark Aldanov, Russian-French writer and critic (Novy Zhurnal), dies at 70
1967 – Walter “Fats” Pichon American jazz pianist, singer, and big bandleader, dies at 60
2013 – C Everett Koop, American pediatric surgeon, health administrator and 13th US Surgeon General (1982-89), dies at 96
2016 – Tony Burton, American actor (Rocky films) and boxer, dies at 78

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1807 – 17 die and 15 wounded in a crush to witness execution of Holloway, Heggerty and Elizabeth Godfrey in England
1839 – Steam shovel patented by William Otis, Philadelphia
1893 – The American University is chartered by an act of the Congress of the United States of America
1951 – Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Milan won by Richard Button of USA
2010 – Europe risks a double-dip recession after bad results emerge from France, Germany and Italy, it is reported today; the Eurozone only grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2009
2013 – Raúl Castro is elected to a second term as the President of Cuba

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1934 – Renata Scotto, Italian soprano and opera director (La Traviata – “Violetta”), born in Savona, Italy
1940 – Jimmy Ellis, WBA heavyweight boxing champ (1968-70), born in Louisville, Kentucky, (d. 2014)
1943 – Pablo Milanés, Cuban Nueva Trova singer-songwriter and guitarist (Yolanda; Yo Me Quedo), born in 1943, Bayamo, Cuba (d. 2022)
1953 – Derek St. Holmes, American musician rock guitarist and singer (Ted Nugent band, 1975-78; 2011-14), born in Riverview, Michigan
1974 – Chad Hugo, American musician and producer (The Neptunes)
1984 – Sterling James Keenan, American professional wrestler

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1986 – Tommy Douglas, Canadian politician and “Father of Medicare”, dies of cancer at 81
2001 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician and information theorist (A Mathematical Theory of Communication), dies at 84
2008 – Philip Bodner, American jazz clarinetist and studio musician (also played flute, oboe, saxophone, piccolo, and English horn), dies at 90
2011 – Anant Pai, Indian educationalist and creator of comics (b. 1929)
2019 – Margaret Scott, South-African ballet dancer and founder (Australian Ballet School), dies at 96
2022 – Jan Gomola, Polish soccer goalkeeper (7 caps; Górnik Zabrze), dies at 80

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1574 – France begins 5th “holy war” against Huguenots
1822 – Boston, Massachusetts, is incorporated as a city
1921 – 1st US transcontinental air mail flight arrives in NYC from San Francisco
1999 – Hip Hop artist Eminem releases his first major record album ‘The Slim Shady LP’ (Grammy 2000 – Rap album)
2020 – African American Ahmaud Arbery shot to death after being chased down by two white men in Brunswick, Georgia. Video of the killing emerges in May, prompting arrests.
2020 – First major COVID-19 outbreak in Europe in Italy with 152 cases and three deaths, prompting emergency measures, locking down 10 towns in Lombardy

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1938 – Sylvia Chase, newscaster (ABC Weekend News, 20/20), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
1953 – Satoru Nakajima, Japanese racing driver
1965 – Robert “Bob” Ferguson, American politician (Democratic Party) and Attorney General of Washington, born in Seattle, Washington
1973 – Lars-Olof Johansson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans), born in Huskvarna, Sweden
1973 – Jack Case, American artist
1994 – Dakota Fanning, American actress (I Am Sam, Man of Fire), born in Conyers, Georgia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1669 – Lieuwe van Aitzema, Dutch historian (Matters of State and War), dies at 68
1930 – Horst Wessel, German nazi lyricist (Fahne Hoch), dies at 22
1937 – Claude Buckenham, cricketer (21 wkts in 4 Tests for Eng 1909-10), dies
1987 – Esmond Knight, British actor (Hamlet, Sleeping Murder), dies from a heart attack at 80
1992 – Jacquelyn Hyde, American actress (Dark, House of Terror), dies at 61
1994 – Stuart Berger, doctor (Immune Power Diet), dies from obesity at 40

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1888 – “Father of American Golf” John Reid first demonstrates golf on a Yonkers cow pasture to friends
1915 – Germany begins “unrestricted” submarine war
1932 – Purple Heart (the Badge of Military Merit) award reinstituted
1941 – Roy Harris’ “Ballad of a Railroad Man” premieres
1972 – US President Richard Nixon, meets with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing
1973 – US and China agree to establish liaison offices in Beijing and Washington, D.C.

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1773 – Matthijs Ignatius van Bree, Belgian painter of historical subjects, born in Antwerp (d. 1839)
1822 – Adolf Kussmaul, German physician (stomach pump, Kuszmaul disease), born in Graben (d. 1902)
1918 – Sid Abel, Canadian NHL hockey player (1948-49 Hart Trophy), born in Melville, Saskatchewan (d. 2000)
1926 – (Alan) “Bud” Yorkin, American film and television producer and director (Divorce American Style; All in the Family; Sanford And Son), born in Washington, Pennsylvania (d. 2015)
1939 – George Haslam, British avant-garde jazz baritone saxophonist, and tárogató player, born in Preston, Lancashire, England
1969 – Thomas Jane, American actor, born in Baltimore, Maryland

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1897 – Charles Blondin, French acrobat and tight rope walker, dies at 72
1921 – Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1864)
1968 – Omer CFL Tulippe, Belgian geographer, dies at 71
1976 – Florence Ballard, American pop and RandB singer (The Supremes, 1959-67 – “Buttered Popcorn”; “Where Did Our Love Go”), dies of a heart attack at 32
1996 – Helmut Schoen, Germany football coach (manager of West Germany (1964-1978, 1974 World Cup), dies at 80
1997 – Albert Shanker, American labor leader (Amer Fed of Teachers), dies at 68

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1795 – Freedom of worship established in France under constitution
1902 – Dr. Harvey Cushing, 1st US brain surgeon, performs his 1st brain operation
1909 – John Galsworthy’s “Strife” premieres in London
1965 – Civil rights activist and Muslim minister Malcolm X is shot dead by Nation of Islam followers at Audubon Ballroom in New York City
1969 – 1st launching of heavy N-1 rocket at Baikonur Kazakhstan (explodes)
2017 – Plane crashes into shopping centre in Essendon, Melbourne, Australia killing the five people on board

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1909 – Hans Erni, Swiss painter and sculptor, born in Lucerne, Switzerland (d. 2015)
1917 – Tadd Dameron, American jazz pianist, composer (“If You Could See Me Now”; “Lady Bird”), arranger (Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine) and band leader, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1965)
1940 – Peter McEnery, English actor (Game is Over, Moonspinners), born in Walsall, England
1955 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor, comedian, director and activist (“Frasier Crane” in Cheers and Fraiser), born in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands
1966 – Bronwen Booth, English actress (Andy-One Life to Live, Eternal Evil), born in London, England
1978 – Kumail Nanjiani, Pakistani American comedian, actor and writer (The Big Sick, Silicon Valley), born in Karachi, Pakistan

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1513 – Julius II, Italian Pope (1503-13) and patron of Michelangelo, Bramante and Raphael, dies at 69
1918 – Neltje Blanchan, American nature writer, dies at 52
1919 – Habibullah Khan, Emir of Afghanistan (1901-19), murdered at 46
1996 – Morton Gould, American pianist, conductor, and theatrical, screen, and concert composer (Pulitzer Prize, 1956 – Stringmusic), dies at 82
2012 – Eiko Ishioka, Japanese Costume designer, dies from pancreatic cancer at 74
2016 – Pascal Bentoiu, Romanian composer, dies at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1953 – August A. Busch buys St. Louis Cardinals MLB club from Fred Saigh for $3.75 million; pledges not to move the team from St. Louis, Missouri
1975 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1980 – Soviet cross-country skier Nikolay Zimyatov wins his 2nd gold medal of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics as part of the 4 x 10k relay; also wins 30k and 50k gold
1981 – James Sanford equals 50m indoor world record (5.61 sec)
2010 – On the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, leaving at least 32 deaths in the worst disaster on the history of the archipelago.
2013 – Estonia becomes the first country to establish a national system of fast chargers for electric cars

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet, British Poet Laureate (1790-1813), born in London (d. 1813)
1896 – Henri de Lubac, French Jesuit cardinal and theologist (“new theology” movement that influenced Second Vatican Council), born in Cambrai, France (d. 1991)
1926 – Cameron Rusby, British Vice-Admiral
1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, first black actor to win Oscar for Best Actor (‘Lillies in the Field’ – 1963; To Sir With Love”; “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”), director (Stir Crazy), civil rights advocate, and diplomat, born in Miami, Florida (d. 2022)
1928 – Donald Longmore, British cardiac surgeon
1954 – Anthony Stewart Head, actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1810 – Johann Friedrich Kranz, German composer, dies at 57
1937 – Barlow Carkeek, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (6 Tests, 6 dismissals; Victoria), dies when struck by a car at 58
1980 – Joseph Banks Rhine, American parapsychologist (Extra-Sensory Perception), dies at 84
2002 – Stephen Longstreet, American writer (All or Nothing), dies at 94
2007 – F. Albert Cotton, American chemist, dies at 76
2013 – Antonio Roma, Argentinian footballer, dies at 80

More Famous Deaths »