Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1897 – Rudolph Dirks’ 1st “The Katzenjammer Kids” cartoon strip appears in NY Journal
1900 – National Negro Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, composed
1948 – Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali Massacre – 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.
1963 – Kenya (formerly British East Africa) declares independence from UK
1966 – “A Man for All Seasons” based on the play by Robert Bolt, directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Paul Scofield premieres in New York (Best Picture 1967)
1992 – 58th Heisman Trophy Award: Gino Torretta, U of Miami (QB)

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Famous Birthdays

1902 – Howard Koch, American playwright and screenwriter, born in NYC, New York (d. 1995)
1913 – Hal Dickinson, American singer (Modernaires), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1970)
1931 – Ali-Akbar Sa’idi Sirjani, Iranian writer and journalist, born in Sirjan, Kerman (d. 1994)
1937 – Philip Ledger, British organist, composer, conductor, and academic (King’s College Cambridge), born in Bexhill-on-Sea, England (d. 2012)
1938 – Joel Chadabe, American electronic music composer, born in NYC, New York (d. 2021)
1968 – Chris Walsh, American NFL wide receiver (Minnesota Vikings; sues NFL over head injuries 2011), born in Cleveland, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

1889 – Robert Browning, English poet (Ring and Book), dies at 77
1914 – Watkins Lewis Africa American lynched in Shrevport, Louisiana
1992 – Jasu Patel, Indian cricket spin bowler (7 Tests, 29 wickets, BB 9-69 v Aust 1959; Gujarat), dies at 68
2002 – Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted mass murderer, dies at 37
2019 – Brian Muller, New Zealand rugby union prop (14 caps; Taranaki), dies at 77
2020 – John le Carré [pen name for David Cornwell], English novelist (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold), dies at 89

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Historical Events

1730 – Voltaire’s tragedy “Brutus” premieres in Paris
1958 – Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) gains autonomy from France
1968 – Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O’Neill sacks Home Affairs Minister, William Craig
1990 – US 69th manned space mission STS 35 (Columbia 11) returns from space
2007 – Two car bombs go off at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers and the United Nations office. An estimated 45 people are killed in the bombings.
2017 – Attempted suicide terrorist bomb attack in New York wounds 3, bomb fails to fully detonate

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Famous Birthdays

1843 – Robert Koch, German pioneering bacteriologist (TB, cholera, Nobel Prize 1905), born in Clausthal, Hanover (d. 1910)
1912 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (Marriage Italian Style, Doctor Zhivago), born in Magenta, Lombardy (d. 2007)
1948 – Chester Thompson, American session and touring drummer and percussionist (Frank Zappa; Genesis; Chester Thompson Trio), born in Baltimore, Maryland
1954 – Vicki Randle, American singer-songwriter, born in San Francisco, California
1964 – Cosy Sheridan, American singer (The Pomegranate Seed), born in Concord, New Hampshire
1989 – Kellie Harrington, Irish boxer (lightweight Gold Medal 2021 Tokyo Olympics), born in Dublin, Ireland

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Famous Deaths

1610 – False Dmitry 2, Tsar of Russia, murdered
1756 – Maria Amalia of Austria, Holy Roman Empire Empress as the spouse of Emperor Charles VII, dies at 55
1918 – Ivan Cankar, Slovene author, poet, novelist and playwright (Erotika, The Bailiff Yerney and His Rights), dies of pneumonia at 42, a complication of the Spanish flu
2004 – Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand running coach, dies at 87
2007 – Ashleigh Aston Moore, Canadian child actress (Now and Then), dies of a drug overdose at 26
2014 – Hans Wallat, German opera conductor, dies at 85

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Historical Events

1923 – Polish government of Grabski forms
1926 – 1st radio broadcast in the Sprinfield area (WCBS)
1963 – Leonard Bernstein premieres his Third Symphony “Kaddish” with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, in Tel Aviv, Israel
1986 – Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel accepts 1986 Nobel Peace Prize
1993 – “Doom” pioneering first-person shooter video game is uploaded onto the internet by id Software
2013 – Uruguay becomes the first country to legalize the growth, sale, and use of marijuana

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Famous Birthdays

1872 – Johann Babtist Thaller, German composer, born in Röhrmoos, Germany (d. 1952)
1891 – Leonie “Nelly” Sachs, German-Swedish poet and playwright (O the Chimneys – Nobel Prize for Literature 1966), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1970)
1893 – Walter Rein, German composer, born in Stotternheim (d. 1955)
1935 – Terry Allcock, English footballer (Norwich City), born in Leeds, England
1939 – Barry Cunliffe, English archaeologist and university professor, born in Portsmouth, England
1965 – (Joseph) “J” Mascis, American rock singer and guitarist (Dinosaur Jr), born in Amherst, Massachusetts

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Famous Deaths

1736 – António Manoel de Vilhena, Portuguese ruler of Malta (b. 1663)
1831 – Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist (Seebeck effect), dies at 61
1992 – Bernard Reichel, Swiss composer, dies at 91
1994 – Alexander Wilson, Canadian athlete (b. 1905)
1997 – Jake Carey, American actor (Rock Rock Rock!, Go, Johnny, Go!), dies at 71
2005 – Eugene McCarthy, American politician (Sen-D-Minn) and presidential candidate, dies of parkinsons at 89

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Historical Events

1931 – Japanese army attacks Chinese province of Jehol
1949 – NFL merges with AAFC; Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts join league intact, other teams in New York and Los Angeles are merged with existing units
1961 – Tanganyika gains independence from Britain, takes name Tanzania – with Ukuru (Freedom) Torch lit on the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro
1967 – Nicolae Ceaușescu becomes President of Romania (overthrown in 1989)
1968 – KRNE TV channel 12 in Merriman, NB (PBS) begins broadcasting
1974 – Johnson Grigsby freed after 66 years in jail in Indiana

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Famous Birthdays

1787 – John Dobson, English architect, born in High Chirton, North Shields, England (d. 1865)
1899 – Howard Freeman, American actor (Studio One, Double Dynamite), born in Helena, Montana (d. 1967)
1934 – Alan Ridout, British composer, born in West Wickham, England (d. 1996)
1944 – Bob O’Connor, American politician (Mayor of Pittsburgh, 2006), born in Greenfield, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2006)
1953 – John Malkovich, American actor (The Killing Fields; Dangerous Liaisons), born in Christopher, Illinois
1973 – Stacey Abrams, American politician, lawyer and voting rights activist, born in Madison, Wisconsin

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Famous Deaths

1544 – Teofilo Folengo, Italian macaronic poet, dies at 53
1798 – Johann Reinhold Forster, German botanist (naturalist on James Cook’s second Pacific voyage), dies at 69
1814 – Jose Angel Lamas, Venezuelan composer, dies at 39
1940 – Maletti, Italian general, dies in battle
1992 – Vincent Gardenia, Italian-American actor (Bang the Drum Slowly, Moonstruck, Little Shop of Horrors), dies of a heart attack at 71
2021 – Demaryius Thomas, American football wide receiver (Super Bowl 2015; 4 × Pro Bowl; Denver Broncos), dies at 33

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Historical Events

1914 – Boers rebelling against the British in South Africa suffer several defeats, with one of their leaders, General Beyers, accidentally drowning
1952 – French troops shoot on demonstrators at Casablanca, 50 die
1963 – Frank Sinatra, Jr is kidnapped at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe (Nevada)
1972 – United Airlines crashes at Chicago’s Midway Airport killing 45
1990 – Indians agree to a lease new ballpark in Gateway (Jacobs Field)
2018 – US President Donald Trump announces John Kelly will be stepping down as White House Chief of Staff at the end of the year

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Famous Birthdays

1795 – Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish-German astronomer (Hansen hypothesis), born in Tønder, Schleswig, Denmark (d. 1874)
1905 – Charles Cushing, American composer, born in Oakland, California (d. 1982)
1908 – John Volpe, American politician (61st and 63rd Governor of Massachusetts) and U.S. Secretary of Treasury (1969-73), born in Wakefield, Massachusetts (d. 1994)
1942 – Bobby Elliott, British rock drummer (The Hollies), born in Burnley, Lancashire
1949 – Mary Gordon, American author
1959 – Jim Yong Kim, South Korean-American physician, anthropologist and President of the World Bank, born in Seoul, South Korea

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Famous Deaths

1907 – Oscar II Frederick, King of Sweden (-1907)/Norway (-1905), dies
1940 – George Exton Lloyd, Anglican Bishop and theologian (b. 1861)
1952 – Charles Lightoller, English second officer on the Titanic (b. 1874)
1958 – Tris Speaker, American Baseball HOF outfielder (World Series 1912, 15, 20; AL MVP 1912; career batting average .345 [6th all-time]; Cleveland Indians) and manager (Cleveland Indians 1919-26), dies at 70
1982 – Harald Riedewald, Suriname attorney, murdered
1984 – Luther Adler, American actor (D.O.A., The Desert Fox), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1741 – Elisabeth Petrovna becomes Tsarina of Russia
1916 – David Lloyd George replaces resigning H. H. Asquith as British Prime Minister
1937 – Russian chess player Alexander Alekhine recaptures his final world title from Dutch grand master Max Euwe by a large margin (+10−4=11)
1978 – Islander’s Mike Bossy’s 1st career hat trick
1996 – Space Shuttle STS 80 (Columbia 21), lands
2007 – The Hebei Spirit oil spill began in South Korea after a crane barge being towed by tug collided with the very large crude carrier, Hebei Spirit.

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Famous Birthdays

1860 – Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia, born in Silverdale, Staffordshire, England (d. 1947)
1863 – Felix Calonder, Swiss politician (Free Democratic Party), born in Scuol, Switzerland (d. 1952)
1878 – Akiko Yosano, Japanese poet (Tangled Hair), born in Sakai, Ōsaka, Japan (d. 1942)
1971 – Ben Atkins, American fencer-epee (Olympics 1996), born in NYC, New York
1987 – Aaron Carter, American singer, rapper and songwriter, born in Tampa, Florida (d. 2022)
1989 – Nicholas Hoult, English actor (The Favourite; Tolkien; Peter III-The Great), born in Wokingham, England

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Famous Deaths

1881 – Julius FA Bahnsen, German philosopher (Tragic as Weltgesetz), dies at 51
1946 – Sada Yacco, Japanese stage actress (b. 1871)
1984 – Jeanne Cagney, American stage, screen, and radio actress (Lion is in the Streets; Quicksand; Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies of lung cancer at 65
1990 – Peter Mieg, Swiss composer, dies at 84
1990 – Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban poet and novelist (Pentagonia), dies at 47
2019 – Ron Saunders, English soccer striker (Portsmouth) and manager (Manchester City, Aston Villa, Birmingham City), dies at 87

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Historical Events

1060 – Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary
1957 – AFL-CIO votes to expel Teamsters (readmitted in October 1987)
1975 – Balcombe Street Siege: for 6 days, four Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers hold two hostages at an apartment in London, England
1991 – “Les Miserables” opens at Circustheater, Scheveningen
2002 – “Adaptation” directed by Spike Jonze, starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep premieres
2010 – Record price for a printed book when a first edition of “The Birds of America” by John James Audubon auctioned at Sotheby’s, London, England, for £7,321,250

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Lynn Fontanne, British actress (Peter Pan; The Guardsman), born in Woodford, Essex, England (d. 1983)
1896 – Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (“Embraceable You”; “I Got Rhythm”; “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”), born in NYC, New York (d. 1983)
1930 – Wojciech Zabłocki, Polish fencer (4 x World C’ship gold team; Olympic silver team sabre 1956, 60; bronze 1964), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 2020)
1943 – Mike Smith, British rock singer and keyboardist (Dave Clark Five – “Glad All Over”), born in London, England (d. 2008)
1949 – Doug Marlette, American editorial cartoonist (Kudzu), born in Greensboro, North Carolina (d. 2007)
1986 – Matt Niskanen, American NHL player (Philadelphia Flyers), born in Virginia, Minnesota

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Famous Deaths

1550 – Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Flemish painter, dies at 48
1562 – Jan van Scorel, Dutch painter and architect, dies at 67
1746 – Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (b. 1665)
1991 – Ann Sorg Coston, actress (Anna-Aldrich Family), dies at 62
1994 – AJ Bronkhorst, vicar/theologist (Reform The Netherlands), dies at 80
2020 – Jack Scarbath, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Uni of Maryland; Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers), dies at 90

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Historical Events

1496 – Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I
1837 – Uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie in Canada
1946 – US President Harry Truman creates Committee on Civil Rights by Exec Order #9808
1978 – Sam Shepard’s “Buried Child” premieres in NYC
2004 – 93rd Davis Cup: Spain beats USA in Seville (3-2)
2021 – First known Hippos tests positive for COVID-19 at Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, with staff putting Imani (14) and Hermien (41) into isolation

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Famous Birthdays

1537 – Ashikaga Yoshiaki, 15th Japanese shōgun, born in Japan (d. 1597)
1822 – Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, American educator and the co-founder and first president of Radcliffe College, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1907)
1891 – Alexander Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer, born in St Petersburg (d. 1956)
1949 – Lanny Wadkins, American golfer (PGA C’ship 1977), born in Richmond, Virginia
1970 – Thomas Smith, American NFL cornerback (Buffalo Bills), born in Gates, North Carolina
1979 – Nick Stahl, American actor (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines), born in Harlingen, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1953 – Jorge Negrete [Moreno], Mexican singer and actor (The Rebel, La madrina del diablo), dies of hepatitis at 42
1955 – Paul Harvey, American actor (Spellbound, Calamity Jane, Heldorado, Jamboree), dies at 73
1973 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish physicist and developer of the radar and radio direction finding in WWII, dies at 81
1993 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (Gin Blossoms), commits suicide using a pistol at 32
1994 – Ronald Ridout, English school textbook author (English Today), dies at 78
2016 – E. R. Braithwaite, Guyanese diplomat and writer (To Sir with Love), dies at 104

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Historical Events

1987 – Defending champion Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia wins 3rd straight season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis title by defeating Mats Wilander of Sweden 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 in the final at Madison Square Garden, NYC
1994 – 83rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats Russia in Moscow (4-1)
1998 – The Unity Module, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched
2014 – The United Nations warns that the world is on course for the warmest year since records began
2019 – 58 migrants drown after a boat sinks off the coast of Mauritania, with 83 saved
2021 – Mt Semeru erupts on Java island, Indonesia, killing at least 14 and injuring 56

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Famous Birthdays

1899 – Charlie Spencer, English soccer defender and manager (2 caps; Newcastle United; mgr Grimsby Town 1937-51), born in Washington, England (d. 1953)
1937 – Max Baer Jr, American actor (Jethro-Beverly Hillbillies), born in Oakland, California
1938 – Yvonne Minton, Australian-British soprano, born in Sydney, Australia
1953 – Rick Middleton, Canadian ice hockey right wing (Canada Cup gold 1984; NHL All-Star Game 1981-82, 84; Boston Bruins), born in Toronto, Ontario
1973 – Corliss Williamson, American basketball forward (NBA C’ship 2004, Detroit Pistons; NBA 6th Man of the Year 2002; NCAA Final 4 MOP 1994), born in Russellville, Arkansas
1981 – Andreas Polyzogopoulo, Greek jazz trumpet player (Heart Of The Sun), born in Samiko, Greece

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Famous Deaths

1182 – Henry, earl of Gelre/Zutphen (1141/79-82), dies
1649 – William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet, dies at 63
1893 – Heinrich Göbel, German-born mechanic and inventor, dies at 75
1976 – [Edward] Benjamin Britten, English composer (The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra; Peter Grimes), dies of heart failure at 63
1984 – John Rock, American obstetrician and gynecologist who co-developed the 1st birth control pill, dies at 94
1994 – Geoffery Rudolph Elton, historiographer, dies at 73

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Historical Events

1926 – Detective novelist Agatha Christie mysteriously disappears for 11 days
1961 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973 – Pioneer 10 passes Jupiter (1st fly-by of an outer planet) [Dec 4-GMT]
1979 – Shadow Traffic begins broadcasting in the New York City metropolitan area.
1982 – 77°F highest December temperature ever recorded in Cleveland, Ohio
2019 – Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announce they are stepping down from roles at parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai to become head of both

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Famous Birthdays

1483 – Nicolaus von Amsdorf, German reformation theologist, born in Torgau, Saxony (d. 1565)
1857 – Joseph Conrad, Polish-English novelist (Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness), born in Berdychiv, Poland (d. 1924)
1883 – Anton (Friedrich Wilhelm) von Webern, Austrian 12-tone composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1945)
1973 – Francisco Islas Rueda [Super Crazy], Mexican pro wrestler (WWE; NJPW, Zero-1, AJPW), born in Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico
1978 – Trina [Katrina Laverne Taylor], American rapper (Glamorest Life), born in Miami, Florida
1985 – Amanda Seyfried, American actress (Mamma Mia, The Dropout), born in Allentown, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

1765 – Lord John Sackville, English politician (MP Tamworth 1734-47) and cricketer (Kent CCC), dies at 52
1960 – Hermann Stephani, German organist, and musicologist, dies at 83
1976 – Mary Nash, actress (Philadelphia Story, Till the Clouds Roll By), dies at 91
1993 – Lewis Thomas, biologist, dies of cancer at 80
1997 – Violet Carlson, American Broadway actress (The Student Prince), dies at 97
2017 – John B. Anderson, American politician and 1980 Republican presidential candidate, dies at 95

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