Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1801 – The Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
1911 – Belgian Mining law introduces 9½ hour work day
1935 – 1st Sugar Bowl: Tulane beats Temple, 20-14
1940 – 6th Orange Bowl: #16 Georgia Tech beats #6 Missouri, 21-7
1972 – “On the Town” closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 65 performances
2020 – 106th Rose Bowl: #6 Oregon beats #8 Wisconsin, 28-27; MVPs: Justin Herbert (QB, Oregon) and Brady Breeze (S, Oregon)

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Famous Birthdays

1431 – Alexander VI [Rodrigo Borgia], Spanish born Pope controversial for acknowledging his children (1492-1503), born in Xàtiva, Spain (d. 1503)
1735 – Paul Revere, American silversmith and patriot who alerted the colonial militia to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1818)
1938 – Bill Emerson, American politician (Rep-R-MO, 1981-96), born in Saint Louis Missouri (d. 1996)
1955 – Mary Beard, English classical scholar (University of Cambridge), born in Much Wenlock, England
1969 – Christi Paul, American news anchor
1978 – Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda, Indian spiritualist

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Famous Deaths

1982 – Paul Belmondo, French sculptor (Bathing Woman, Orleans), dies at 83
1990 – Joe Hardstaff Jr., English cricket batsman (23 Tests, 1,636 runs @ 46.74; Nottinghamshire CCC), dies at 78
2002 – Julia Phillips, American film producer, dies at 57
2007 – Julius Hegyi, American conductor, dies at 83
2015 – Donna Douglas, American actress (Elly May Clampett-The Beverly Hillbillies), dies of pancreatic cancer at 82
2015 – Mario Cuomo, American Democratic Party politician and the 52nd Governor of New York (1983-95), dies of a heart condition at 82

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Historical Events

1917 – Dutch Social-democratic trade union NVV counts 159,450 members
1962 – Ohio ends suit against Reds when they agree to stay in Cin for 10 yrs
1972 – Leap second day; also in 1973-79, 1987
1978 – “Magic Show” closes at Cort Theater NYC after 1859 performances
1995 – “Having Our Say” closes at Booth Theater NYC after 308 performances
1998 – US movie box office hits record $6.24 billion for year

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Famous Birthdays

1714 – Yoriyuki Arima, Japanese mathematician (approximated the value of pi and its square, pi^2), born in Kurume, Kyūshū, Japan (d. 1783)
1885 – Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein, born in Province of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1970)
1894 – Ernest John Moeran, English composer, born in London Borough of Hounslow, United Kingdom (d. 1950)
1904 – Chuck Gardiner, Canadian NHL goalie (Vezina winner), born in Edinburgh, United Kingdom (d. 1934)
1937 – Nicolas Born, German writer, born in Duisburg (d. 1979)
1966 – Paula Barbieri, American model and actress (Dangerous), born in Panama City, Florida

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Famous Deaths

192 – Commodus, Emperor of Rome (180-192), murdered at 31
1950 – Charles Koechlin, French composer (The Jungle Book), dies at 83
1980 – Arthur Wellard, English cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 7 wickets, BB 4/81; Somerset CCC), dies at 78
1991 – Georges Poulet, French-Belgian critic (Temps Humain), dies at 89
1996 – Philip Manson-Bahr, English zoologist and specialist in tropical medicine, dies at 85
1997 – Floyd Cramer, American Country Music Hall of Fame pianist (“Last Date”; “On the Rebound”), dies of cancer at 64

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Historical Events

1926 – Chicago Tribune reports the Tigers threw a 4-game series to the White Sox in 1917 to help Chicago win the pennant (never substantiated)
1929 – Cole Porter’s musical “Wake Up And Dream” opens at the Selwyn Theatre, NYC; runs for 136 performances
1956 – National Football League Championship, Yankee Stadium, NYC: New York Giants beat Chicago Bears, 47-7; Giants’ 4th NFL title
1990 – 11th United Negro College Fund raises $10,000,000
2005 – Tropical Storm Zeta forms in the open Atlantic Ocean, tying the record for the latest tropical cyclone ever to form in the North Atlantic basin
2017 – 84th Orange Bowl: #6 Wisconsin beats #11 Miami (Florida), 34-24

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Famous Birthdays

1859 – Josef Bohuslav Foerster, Czech composer, born in Prague, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 1951)
1897 – Alfredo Bracchi, Italian author (d. 1976)
1921 – Rashid Karami, Lebanon, 10 time PM: 1955..87 of Lebanon
1940 – Jerry Granelli, American-Canadian jazz drummer (Vince Guaraldi Trio; Mose Allison), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2021)
1963 – Milan Srejber, Czech tennis star
1969 – Michelle McGann, American golfer (7 LPGA Tour wins), born in West Palm Beach, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1525 – Jacob Fugger, German banker/merchant, dies at 66
1591 – Pope Innocent IX [Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti], 230th Catholic pope (1591), dies at 72
1899 – James Paget, English surgeon (disease of Paget), dies at 85
1952 – Ivan Olbracht, writer, dies
1986 – Era Bell Thompson, American journalist (b. 1905)
1998 – George Webb, British actor (Keeping Up Appearances), dies of natural causes at 86

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Historical Events

1566 – Danish student and future astronomer Tycho Brache loses part of his nose in a sword duel over who is the better mathematician (he wore a prosthetic nose the rest of his life)
1926 – Victoria (1107) beat NSW (221 and 230) by an innings 656 runs
1947 – Ship carrying Jewish immigrants driven away from Palestine
1978 – Spain constitution goes into effect
1997 – Carquest Bowl 8: Georgia Tech beats West Virginia, 35-30
2013 – Chaparrastique volcano erupts in El Salvador

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Famous Birthdays

1859 – Jack Simpson, Scottish golfer (British Open 1884), born in Earlsferry, Fife (d. 1895)
1903 – Clyde McCoy, American jazz trumpeter (“Sugar Blues”; the wah-wah sound), bandleader and co-founder of “Down Beat” magazine, born in Ashland, Kentucky (d. 1990)
1950 – Géza Csapó, Hungarian sprint canoeist (6 x World C’ship gold; Olympic silver K-1 1000m 1976, bronze 1972), born in Szolnok, Hungary (d. 2022)
1955 – Neil “Spyder” Giraldo, American rock guitarist, arranger, and producer (Pat Benatar Band), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1979 – Diego Luna, Mexican actor, born in Toluca, Mexico
1989 – Jane Levy, American actress (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

1661 – Antoine Gérard de Saint-Amant, French poet (b. 1594)
1929 – Wilhelm Maybach, German automobile designer (b. 1846)
1967 – Paul Whiteman “The King of Jazz”, American orchestra leader (Gershwin’s “Rhapsody In Blue”; Fabulous Dorseys), dies at 77
1975 – Euell Gibbons, American outdoorsman and proponent of natural diets (b. 1911).
1995 – Schlomo Joffe, Polish-Israeli folk and classical musician and composer, dies at 86
2008 – Daniel Nagrin, American modern dancer and choreographer, dies at 91

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Historical Events

801 – Louis the Vrome occupies Barcelona
1912 – National Council of Young Israel convenes
1918 – Montreal’s Georges Vezina becomes the first NHL goalie to record an assist during the Canadiens’ 6-3 win over the Toronto Arenas
1975 – Gary Cosier scores 109 v West Indies at MCG on Test Cricket debut
2007 – Nepal declared a federal democratic Republic by interim parliament, abolishing the monarchy.
2018 – UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes of Brazil moves up in weight and KOs dominant featherweight Cris “Cyborg” Justino just 51 seconds into the opening round at the Forum, Inglewood, CA; first female to win UFC titles in multiple weight classes

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Famous Birthdays

1914 – Bernard Youens [Popley], British actor (Coronation Street, Somewhere in Politics), born in Hove, East Sussex, England (d. 1984)
1971 – Melvin Nieves, Puerto Rican professional baseball outfielder (Detroit Tigers), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
1979 – Senna Guemmour, German singer-songwriter (Monrose), born in Frankfurt, Germany
1980 – Lomana LuaLua, Congolese football player, born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
1980 – Vanessa Ferlito, American actress, born in Brooklyn, New York City
1989 – Mackenzie Rosman, American actress, born in Charleston, South Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1795 – Eugenio Espejo, Ecuadorian scientist (b. 1747)
1915 – Gerrit Jan van Heek, Dutch textile manufacturer and politician, dies at 78
1962 – Kathleen Clifford, American actress (b. 1887)
1963 – Paul Hindemith, German composer (Composer’s World), dies at 68
1976 – Katharine Byron, U.S. Congresswoman, dies at 73
2016 – Gregorio Alvarez, Uruguayan dictator and President of Uruguay (1981-85), dies in prison at 91

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Historical Events

1845 – Ether 1st used in childbirth in US in Jefferson, Georgia
1884 – Netherlands recognizes King Leopold II’s Congo Free State
1972 – LA Kings start Islanders on 12 game losing streak
1983 – Ballon d’Or: Juventus’ French midfielder Michel Platini claims first of 3 trophies for Europe’s best football player ahead of Liverpool midfielder Kenny Dalgleish and Vejle BK striker Allan Simonsen
1992 – “Tommy Tune Tonite! Song and Dance Act” opens at Gershwin Theatre, NYC; runs for 10 performances
2002 – “Chicago” (Best Picture 2003), based on John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical, directed by Rob Marshall, starring Renée Zellweger, Richard Gere, and Catherine Zeta-Jones released.

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Famous Birthdays

1829 – James Clay Rice, American lawyer and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Worthington, Massachusetts (d. 1864)
1936 – José Pérez Francés, Spanish road racing cyclist (Tour de France 1963 overall 3rd), born in Peñacastillo, Spain (d. 2021)
1948 – Martin Birch, British sound engineer and record producer (Whitesnake; Fleetwood Mac; Iron Maiden), born in Woking, Surrey, England (d. 2020)
1950 – Roberto Bettega, Italian soccer forward (42 caps; Juventus 326 games, 129 goals), born in Turin, Italy
1973 – Kristoffer Zegers, Dutch composer
1975 – Heather O’Rourke, American actress (Happy Days, Poltergeist), born in San Diego, California (d. 1988)

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Famous Deaths

975 – Balderik, bishop of Utrecht (918-75), dies
1707 – Jean Mabillon, French palaeograopher and diplomat (b. 1632)
1836 – Stephen F. Austin, Founded and helped colonize the US state of Texas, dies of pneumonia at 43
1858 – Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French composer, dies at 73
1982 – John Leonard Swigert Jr., American astronaut (Apollo 13), dies of cancer at 51
1988 – Fox Harris, actor (Alienator, Warlords, Sid and Nancy), dies

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Historical Events

1860 – Major Robert Anderson, under cover of darkness, concentrates his small force at Ft Sumter
1877 – Socialist Labor Party of North America holds 1st national convention
1965 – Paul McCartney is interviewed on pirate radio station Radio Caroline
1996 – Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado
1997 – The Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat explodes, creating a small tsunami offshore.
1999 – Severe weather in France kills over 100 people and causes extensive damage to property, trees and the French national power grid (see Lothar).

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Famous Birthdays

1921 – Steve Allen, American comedian, composer, writer and TV host (Tonight Show, Steve Allen Show), born in NYC, New York (d. 2000)
1940 – Ray Sadecki, American MLB player (St. Louis Cardinals), born in Kansas City, KS, (d. 2014)
1942 – Ernie Cate, American country singer and guitarist (Cate Bros – Fire on the Tracks), born in Fayetteville, Arkansas
1961 – Tahnee Welch [La Tahn Renee Welch], American actress (Cocoon), born in San Diego, California
1965 – Ben Husaby, American cross country skier (Olympics 1994), born in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
1985 – Steven Hartman, American actor (Rick Forrester in Bold and Beautiful), born in Westlake, California

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Famous Deaths

1574 – Charles Guise, archbishop/cardinal of Reims, dies at 50
1969 – Johannes Gerard van Dillen, Dutch economic historian (Of Wealth and Oligarchists), dies at 86
1978 – Fritz Büchtger, German composer, educator, and modern music proponent (Association for Contemporary Music; Studio for New Music), dies at 75
1985 – Dian Fossey, American zoologist (Gorillas in the Mist), murdered in Rwanda at 53
1992 – Nikita Magaloff, Russian/Swiss pianist, dies at 80
2019 – Elbert Dubenion, American football wide receiver and running back (AFL All Star 1964; Buffalo Bills), dies from complications related to Parkinson’s disease at 86

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Historical Events

352 – 1st definite date Christmas was celebrated on Dec 25th
1066 – William the Conqueror is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, completing the Norman conquest of England
1862 – 40,000 watch Union army men play baseball at Hilton Head, South Carolina
1957 – Richard Starkey (later better known as Ringo Starr) receives his first drum set
1969 – India all out for 163 at Madras v Aust, Ashley Mallett 5-91
1973 – “The Sting” directed by George Roy Hill, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford and music inspired by Scott Joplin premieres in Los Angeles and New York (Best Picture 1974)

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Famous Birthdays

1757 – Benjamin Pierce, U.S. politician (d. 1839)
1908 – Helen Twelvetrees, American actress (State’s Attorney, Painted Desert), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1958)
1942 – Barry Goldberg, American blues musician (The Rides), born in Chicago, Illinois
1949 – Sissy Spacek, American Actress (Carrie, Badlands, Coal Miner’s Daughter), born in Quitman, Texas
1961 – Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator
1964 – Peter Hanson, English/Sierra Leone/Dutch actor (Darling How Could You)

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Famous Deaths

1513 – Johannes Amerbach, Swiss publisher/printer, dies at about 70
1953 – Lee Shubert, American theatre producer (theatres in NY and LA named after him), dies at about 80
1979 – Joan Blondell, American actress (Real McCoys), dies of leukemia at 73
1985 – George Rhodes, American pianist, composer, arranger, and music director (Sammy Davis, Jr. Show), dies of a heart attack at 66
1992 – Garrison H Davidson, US lt-gen commandant (West Point), dies
2009 – Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter, dies of an overdose of muscle relaxants at 46

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Historical Events

1715 – Swedish troops occupy Norway
1851 – Fire devastates US Library of Congress in Washington, destroys 35,000 volumes
1951 – 1st opera commissioned for television – “Amahl and the Night Visitors” by Gian Carlo Menotti premieres on NBC with the NBC Opera Theater
1996 – Ballon d’Or: Borussia Dortmund’s German sweeper Matthias Sammer is named best football player in Europe ahead of PSV/Barcelona striker Ronaldo and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer
2000 – The Texas 7 hold up a sports store in Irving, Texas. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot during the robbery
2001 – “Time Magazine” names New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ‘Person of the Year’, for leadership after 9/11 attacks

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Famous Birthdays

1945 – Lemmy [Ian Fraser Kilmister], British heavy metal musician (Motörhead), born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire (d. 2015)
1950 – Peter te Bos, Dutch singer (Claw Boys Claw), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1958 – Munetaka Higuchi, Japanese drummer, born in Nara Prefecture, Japan
1959 – Lee Daniels, American director (“Precious”, “Empire”), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1978 – Yıldıray Baştürk, Turkish footballer, born in Herne, Germany
1982 – Aiba Masaki, Japanese singer and actor, born in Chiba, Japan

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Famous Deaths

1907 – Isidor Feinstein “Izzy” Stone, journalist (IF Stone’s Weekly), dies
1979 – Dirk Uipko Stikker, Dutch politician, diplomat (Ambassador to Great Britain, 1952-58; Secretary General of NATO, 1961-64), and CEO (Heineken), dies at 82
1993 – Alexander Mackendrick, American-born Scottish director (Lady Killers), dies at 81
1994 – John Osborne, English playwright (Entertainer, Look Back in Anger, Luther, dies at 65
1999 – Zeke Carey, American RandB singer (The Flamingos – “Goodnight Sweetheart”; “I Only Have Eyes For You”), dies of a heart attack at 66
2011 – Cheetah [Cheeta, Cheta, Chita], chimpanzee actor (1930s Tarzan franchise), dies of kidney failure at 80

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Historical Events

1862 – Union General Ben “Beast” Butler is proclaimed a “felon, outlaw and common enemy of mankind” by Jefferson Davis
1939 – South Australia score 7-821 against Queensland
1941 – British troops overrun Benghazi, Libya
1948 – “Cinderella” the first full-length ballet by Frederick Ashton with music by Sergei Prokofiev is first presented by Sadler’s Wells Ballet at Covent Garden, London
1953 – Dodgers 2nd baseman Jim Gilliam wins NL Rookie of Year
1990 – Slovenians vote to secede from Yugoslavia

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Famous Birthdays

1699 – Joseph Gibbs, English composer and organist, born in Colchester (d. 1788)
1869 – Hugh Allen, British organist, conductor (Bach Choir; Leeds Festival), and educator (Oxford, 1918-46-; Royal College of Music, 1918-37), born in Reading, Berkshire, England (d. 1946)
1903 – Fredericka “Fredi” Washington, American actress (Black and Tan), born in Savannah, Georgia (d. 1994)
1918 – Kumar Pallana, Indian character actor and vaudevillian (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore), born in Indore, India (d. 2013)
1946 – Edita Gruberova, Slovak operatic soprano, born in Bratislava, Slovakia (d. 2021)
1970 – Shannon Bream [DePuy], American Journalist (Fox News) Miss Virginia (1991), born in Lynchburg, Virginia

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Famous Deaths

1575 – Akiyama Nobutomo, Japanese warrior (hanged) (b. 1531)
1789 – Charles-Michel de l’Épée, French philanthropist and developer of ‘Signed French’, dies at 77
1805 – Pehr Osbeck, Swedish explorer and naturalist (b. 1723)
1925 – A S C Wallis [Adele von Antal-Opzoomer], Dutch writer (Vorstengunst), dies at 69
1967 – Ruth Fuller Sasaki, American Zen teacher (1st Zen Institute of America), dies at 75
1973 – Gerard Kuiper, Dutch-American astronomer after whom the Kuiper belt is named, dies at 68

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