Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1888 – Pelham Bay Park in Bronx vested
1934 – Jean Piccard and Jeanette Ridlen attain record balloon height of 10.9 miles (17.5 km) over Lake Erie
1972 – Access credit cards introduced in Great Britain
1983 – 400,000 demonstrate in Brussels, against cruise missile
2008 – Joe Sakic scores his final career goal (#625) against the Edmonton Oilers
2015 – Adele releases her single “Hello” – becomes 1st song with more than a million downloads in 1st week (1.1m)

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Famous Birthdays

1516 – Charlotte of Valois, Princess of France as second daughter of King Francis I and his wife Claude, born in Château d’Amboise, France (d. 1524)
1766 – Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy, French general and marshal, born in Paris (d. 1847)
1922 – Coleen Gray [Doris Bernice Jensen], American actress (Apache Drums, The Killing), born in Staplehurst, Nebraska (d. 2015)
1948 – Brian Ross, American Emmy and Peabody Award television journalist (NBC, 1974-94; ABC, 1994-2019), born in Chicago, Illinois
1961 – Andoni Zubizarreta, Spanish soccer goalkeeper (126 caps Spain, 4 Basque Country; FC Barcelona 301 games, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia), born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
1962 – Doug Flutie, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1984, Boston College; Grey Cup MVP 1992, 96, 97; Pro Bowl 1998, Buffalo Bills), born in Manchester, Maryland

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Famous Deaths

1753 – Columban Praelisauer, German music director and composer, dies at 50
1868 – Cullen Whipple, American inventor (pointed screw machine), dies at 67
1989 – Armida, Mexican-American stage, vaudeville and film actress (b. 1911)
2004 – Edward Toner Cone, American pianist, composer and pedagogue, dies at 87
2005 – John Muth, American economist (b. 1930)
2016 – Tom Hayden, American civil rights and antiwar activist and politician (Rep-D-Ca), dies at 76

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Historical Events

1335 – Ex-emperor Hanazono (95th Emperor of Japan) became a Zen priest
1899 – British troops flee Dundee, Natal South Africa
1935 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Twin Hills CC: Johnny Revolta wins his only major title, defeating Tommy Armour, 5 and 4
1980 – 4th government of Martens forms in Belgium
2019 – Chilean president Sebastián Piñera agrees to meet opposition leaders after 15 people killed in growing nationwide protests over living costs and inequality
2020 – The National Hockey League announces the annual NHL All Star Game and the NHL All-Star Skills Competition would be postponed to no earlier than 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic

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Famous Birthdays

1847 – Jacobus Herculas de la Rey, Boer leader in the South African War (1899–1902), born in Winburg, South Africa (d. 1914)
1900 – James Hall, American actor (Hell’s Angels, Four Sons), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 1940)
1915 – Harry Hickox, Big Springs Tx, (Herb-Please Don’t Eat the Daisies)
1918 – Lou Klein, American baseball infielder (St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia A’s) and manager (Chicago Cubs), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1976)
1921 – Alexander Kronrod, Russian mathematician (d. 1986)
1928 – Clare Fischer, American musician, composer and arranger, born in Durand, Michigan (d. 2012)

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Famous Deaths

1674 – Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Dutch painter, dies at 53
1847 – Sahle Selassie, Negus of Shewa
1954 – Oswald de Andrade, Brazilian author (one of the modernist Group of Five), dies at 64
1965 – Paul Tillich, German-American theologist (Courage To Be), dies at 79
1994 – David Buchan, Scottish ethno-musicologist, dies at 55
1995 – Kingsley Amis, English author (Lucky Jim), dies of injuries from a fall at 73

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Historical Events

1925 – Sidney Howards “Lucky Sam McGarver” premieres in NYC
1972 – “Man of La Mancha” closes at Beaumont Theater NYC after 140 performances
1976 – NY Knicks retire 1st number, # 19, Willis Reed
1976 – Baseball World Series: defending champions Cincinnati Reds sweep NY Yankees; beat Bombers, 7-2 in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium; MVP: Reds catcher Johnny Bench
2017 – Spanish government suspends Catalonia’s autonomy in the face of a deepening political crisis over the region’s push for independence
2018 – Train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 and injuring 178

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Famous Birthdays

1581 – Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (d. 1641)
1904 – Edmond [Moore] Hamilton, American sci-fi author (Danger Planet)
1916 – Andrea Checchi, Italian actor (The Lady Without Camelias, Two Anonymous Letters), born in Florence, Tuscany (d. 1974)
1971 – Thomas Ulsrud, Norwegian curler (World C’ship gold [skip] 2014; Olympics silver 2010), born in Oslo, Norway (d. 2022)
1973 – Charlie Lowell, American Musician
1980 – Brian Pittman, American Christian rock bassist (Relient K), born in Canton, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

1805 – Horatio Nelson, British admiral and war hero, dies in Battle of Trafalgar at 47
1969 – Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet of the Beat Generation (On the Road, Mexico Blues), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 47
1977 – Ferit Tuzun, Turkish composer, dies at 48
1984 – Francois Truffaut, dir (Fahrenheit 451), dies of brain cancer at 52
1993 – Melchior Ndadaye, 1st Hutu President of Burundi (1993), murdered at 40
2012 – Dann Cahn, American film editor, dies of natural causes at 89

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Historical Events

1862 – Amnesty proclaimed for escaped slaves of Suriname
1912 – Hannes Kolehmainen runs world record marathon (2:29:39.2)
1953 – WRAU (now WHOI) TV channel 19 in Peoria, IL (ABC) begins broadcasting
1964 – Mad Dog Vachon beats Verne Gagne in Minneapolis, to become NWA champ
1968 – “Her 1st Roman” opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC for 17 performances
1991 – Formal opening ceremony of Intl One Mind Zen center in Crestone, Colo

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Famous Birthdays

1740 – Belle van Zuylen, Dutch-Swiss writer (Three Women), born at Castle Zuylen near Utrecht (d. 1805)
1899 – Marnix Gijsen [baron Jan-Albert Goris], Flemish writer (Grote God Pan)
1927 – Joyce Brothers, American pop psychologist ($64,000 Question, Naked Gun), born in NYC, New York (d. 2013)
1939 – Raymond Jones, British keyboardist and songwriter, born in Oldham, England
1950 – Elodie Lauten [Genevieve Schecroun], French-American composer (The Death of Don Juan), born in Paris (d. 2014)
1960 – Lepa Brena ‘Yugoslavia’s Madonna’, Yugoslav singer, born in Tuzla, Yugoslavia

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Famous Deaths

1890 – Richard Burton, English explorer and translator (Arabian Nights), dies at 69
1900 – Naim Frashëri, Albanian poet and writer, dies at 54
1904 – Henry Hiles, English composer, dies at 77
1926 – Eugene V. Debs, American labor leader and Socialist presidential candidate, dies at 70
2013 – Lawrence Klein, American economist who created computer models to forecast economic trends (1980 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences), dies at 93
2020 – Bill Mathis, American football halfback (AFL All Star 1961, 63; New York Titans/Jets), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1888 – Moshav Gederah is attacked by Arabs
1912 – Tripoli (Libya) passes from Turkish to Italian control
1944 – Canadian troops liberate Aardensburg
1964 – American sprinter Edith McGuire runs an Olympic record 23.0 to win the women’s 200m gold medal in Tokyo; minor place medallists Irena Szewińska of Poland and Australian Marilyn Black both record 23.1
2001 – SIEV-X, an Indonesian fishing boat en-route to Christmas Island, carrying over 400 asylum seekers, sinks killing 353
2005 – Saddam Hussein goes on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity

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Famous Birthdays

1866 – Clarence Lucas, Canadian composer, librettist, conductor, and music professor, born in Six Nations Reserve, Ontario (d. 1947)
1932 – Robert Reed, American actor (Mike-Brady Bunch, Nurse), born in Highland Park, Illinois (d. 1992)
1958 – Tiriel Mora, Australian actor
1965 – Brad Daugherty, American basketball center (NBA All-Star 1988, 89, 91–93; Cleveland Cavaliers) and broadcaster (ESPN College Basketball and NASCAR), born in Black Mountain, North Carolina
1983 – Rebecca Ferguson, Swedish actress (Elizabeth Woodville-The White Queen, Mission Impossible– Rogue Nation, Dune), born in Stockholm, Sweden
1992 – Lil Durk [Durk Derrick Banks], American rapper (The Voice of the Heroes, 7220), born in Chicago, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1547 – Pierino del Vaga, Italian painter, dies at about 46
1950 – Edna St Vincent Millay, American poet/dramatist/feminist (Harp Weaver-Pulitzer Prize), dies at 58
2007 – Jan Wolkers, Dutch sculptor and novelist (Brief American), dies at 81
2008 – Mr. Blackwell, American fashion critic, dies at 86
2009 – Joseph Wiseman, Canadian actor (Dr No, Viva Zapata, Les Miserables), dies at 91
2014 – Lynda Bellingham, Canadian-born English actress, dies from colon cancer at 66

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Historical Events

1386 – Opening of the University of Heidelberg
1969 – Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kanter arrested for marijuana possession
1977 – NY Yankees win their 21st World Championship, 4 games
1992 – 6.6 earthquake hits Colombia with no fatalities
2001 – Crude Oil for November delivery falls to its lowest level since August 1999 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)
2012 – Syrian military airstrikes kill 40 people in Maaret al-Numan

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Famous Birthdays

1662 – Matthew Henry, English non-conformist minister (d. 1714)
1701 – Charles le Beau, French historian (d. 1778)
1859 – Paolo Orsi, Rovereto, Italian Archaeologist (Sicilian excavations)
1925 – Wim van Gennep, Dutch singer/keyboardist (Heikrekels)
1938 – Dawn Wells, American actress (Gilligan’s Island -“Mary Ann”), born in Reno, Nevada (d. 2020)
1966 – Alan Mills, pitcher (Baltimore Orioles), born in Lakeland, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1876 – Francis Preston Blair, American journalist and newspaper editor (Washington Globe), dies at 85
1953 – Federico Gerdes, composer, dies at 80
1991 – Gunnar Sønstevold, Norwegian jazz pianist, and orchestral and film score composer (Litany In Atlanta; The Dorian Cage), dies at 78
2005 – John Hollis, British actor (b. 1931)
2010 – Marion Brown, American jazz alto saxophonist, (Marion Brown Quartet; John Coltrane -“Ascension”; Artie Schepp), avant garde composer, writer, and ethno-musicologist, dies at 79
2013 – Tom Foley, American politician (Rep-D-Washington 1965-1995) and speaker of the house (1989-95), dies from complications from a stroke at 84

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Historical Events

1556 – Ex-emperor Karel departs Netherland for Spain
1970 – Anwar Sadat sworn in as the 3rd President of Egypt
1971 – It is estimated today that approximately 16,000 households were withholding rent and rates for council houses as part of the campaign of civil disobedience against internment organised by the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Northern Ireland
1972 – Chuck Berry’s “My Ding-a-Lng,” is #1
1981 – Brazilian Nelson Piquet driving for Brabham finishes 5th in the season ending Caesars Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas to clinch his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by 1 point from Carlos Reutemann
1991 – MLB National League Championship: Atlanta Braves beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 4 games to 3

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Famous Birthdays

1875 – Alfred Polgar, Austrian writer (Yes and No!)
1946 – Bob Seagren, American pole vaulter/actor (Olympic gold 1968, “Soap”), born in Pomona California
1948 – George Wendt, American actor (Norm in Cheers), born in Chicago, Illinois
1958 – Alan Jackson, American country singer (Here in the Real World), born in Newnan, Georgia
1969 – Wood Harris, American actor
1972 – Joe McEwing, American baseball player

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Famous Deaths

1705 – Anne “Ninon” de l’Enclos, French patron of the arts, courtesan and writer, dies at 84
1909 – Nicola Spinelli, Italian composer, dies at 44
1944 – Pavel Haas, Czech Jewish composer, murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp at 45 (b. 1899)
1979 – Karel Reiner, Czech pianist, composer, and Theresienstadt concentration camp survivor, dies at 69
2008 – Levi Stubbs [Stubbles], American baritone singer (The Four Tops – “It’s the Same Old Song”; “Standing In The Shadows of Love”), dies at 72
2017 – Ingvar Lidholm, Swedish composer (Toccata e Canto), dies at 95

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Historical Events

1551 – English Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset re-arrested
1942 – Cyclone in Bay of Bengal kills some 40,000 south of Calcutta India
1976 – Soyuz 23 returns to Earth
1991 – Dallas Mavericks Roy Tarpley becomes 7th to be banned from NBA for life under the league’s anti-drug agreement
1998 – Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet is arrested in London on a Spanish warrant requesting his extradition on murder charges
2021 – NASA probe Lucy launched on mission to fly-by eight Trojan asteroids circling the sun

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Famous Birthdays

1811 – Gaetano Capocci, Italian organist and composer (Responsori), born in Rome (d. 1898)
1821 – Albert Franz Doppler, Austrian flautist and composer, born in Lemberg, Austrian Empire (now Lviv, Ukraine) (d. 1883)
1854 – Karl J Kautsky, Austrian marxist/socialist
1855 – Samedbey Mehmandarov, Russian general (d. 1931)
1897 – Harrison Kerr, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1978)
1927 – Gus Yatron, American boxer and politician (Rep-D-PA, 1969-93), born in Reading, Pennsylvania (d. 2003)

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Famous Deaths

1333 – Nicolaas V [Pietro Rainalducci], Italian anti-Pope (1328-30), dies at about 73
1956 – Jules Rimet, French football administrator (3rd President of FIFA 1921-54), dies at 83
2003 – Avni Arbas, Turkish artist (b. 1919)
2004 – Pierre Salinger, American newsman (ABC) and press secretary (John F. Kennedy), dies at 79
2012 – Eddie Yost, American MLB player, dies from cardiovascular disease at 86
2020 – Rodolfo Fischer, Argentine soccer striker (35 caps; San Lorenzo 271 games), dies at 76

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Historical Events

533 – Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals
1955 – Buddy Holley opens for Bill Haley and His Comets in Lubbock, Texas, and impresses Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, leading to a recording contract with a misspelling that creates “Buddy Holly”
1956 – Pyotr Bolotnikov runs world record 10k (28:42.8)
1957 – Giants trade Minneapolis franchise to Red Sox for SF Seals-franchises only, not the players
1966 – Australia bans Troggs’ “I Can’t Control Myself” as “terribly obscene”
2012 – Hilary Mantel wins the 2012 Man Booker Prize for her novel “Bring Up the Bodies”

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Famous Birthdays

1711 – Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine, Queen consort of Sardinia (1737-41), born in Château de Lunéville, Lorraine (d. 1741)
1851 – George Foot Moore, American theologist (Hebrews, Old Testament), born in West Chester, Pennsylvania (d. 1931)
1878 – Paul Reynaud, Premier of France (May-June 1940), born in Barcelonette, France (d. 1966)
1900 – Mervyn LeRoy, American movie producer (Devil at 4 O’Clock), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1987)
1937 – Linda Lavin, American actress (Alice, Barney Miller), born in Portland, Maine
1957 – Mira Nair, Indian-American filmmaker (Monsoon Wedding), born in Rourkela, Odisha, India

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Famous Deaths

1674 – Robert Herrick, English poet (‘Gather ye rosebuds while ye may’), dies at 83
1948 – Edythe Chapman, American actress (b. 1863)
1960 – Clara Kimball Young, American actress (Return of Chandu), dies of stroke at 70
1964 – Cole Porter, American composer and lyricist (“Anything Goes”; “Night And Day”; “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”), dies of kidney failure at 73
1990 – Delphine Seyrig, French actress (Freak Orlando, Reperages) dies of lung disease at 58
2005 – Matti Wuori, Finnish politician, dies of cancer at 60

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Historical Events

1911 – Largest baseball crowd ever 38,281 (Polo Grounds) see Giants beat A’s, 2-1 (gate is record $77,379)
1931 – 1st broadcast of Dutch Radio Peoples University
1956 – Charles Ives’ overture “Robert Browning” premieres in NYC
1966 – 175 US airplanes bomb North Vietnam
1979 – 1st Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. by over 100,000 people
1987 – MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat San Francisco Giants, 4 games to 3

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Famous Birthdays

1827 – James Sidney Robinson, American politician and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Mansfield, Ohio (d. 1892)
1888 – Katherine Mansfield (Katherine Mansfield Beauchamp Murry), New Zealand short story writer (The Garden Party), born in Wellington, New Zealand (d. 1923)
1943 – Lance Rentzel, American NFL receiver (Minn, LA) and ex-husband of Joey Heatherton, born in Flushing, New York
1977 – Tina Dico [Dickow], Danish singer-songwriter, born in Åbyhøj, Aarhus, Denmark
1980 – Paul Ambrosi, Ecuadorian footballer
1986 – Tom Craddock, English footballer

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Famous Deaths

1552 – Oswald Myconius, Swiss Protestant reformer (b. 1488)
1610 – Amago Yoshihisa, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1540)
1958 – Douglas Mawson, Australian Antarctic explorer (b. 1882)
1981 – Ingemar Liljefors, Swedish composer, dies at 74
2006 – Maurice Grosse, British paranormal investigator (b. 1919)
2019 – Harold Bloom, American literary critic, ‘the most notorious literary critic in America’ dies at 89

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