Category: On This Day

Historical Events

871 – Battle at Reading: Ethelred of Wessex defeated by Danish invasion army
1932 – State of siege proclaimed in Honduras
1947 – “Show Boat” closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 417 performances
1968 – Leo Fender sells Fender Guitars for $13 million to CBS
1970 – Walter Cronkite ends hosting weekly documentary
2001 – Rapper Vanilla Ice spends night in jail after allegedly ripping out some of his wife’s hair during a row

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Famous Birthdays

1807 – Baltasar Saldoni, Spanish composer and musicologist, born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 1889)
1901 – C. L. R. James [Cyril Lionel Robert James], Trinidadian historian (The Black Jacobins), journalist, intellectual and socialist, born in Tunapuna, Trinidad (d. 1989)
1925 – Johnny Lujack, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1947; National C’ship 1943, 46-47; Notre Dame; Pro Bowl 1950-51; Chicago Bears), born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania
1944 – Alan Sutherland, New Zealand rugby union number 8 (10 caps; Marlborough), born in Blenheim, New Zealand (d. 2020)
1968 – Mike Wilpolt, American football player and coach, born in Broomfield, Colorado
1986 – Steve Slaton, American football player, born in Levittown, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

1874 – Thomas Gregson, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)
1931 – Roger Connor, American Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman (career HR record 138 stood for 23 years; NL batting champion 1885; NL RBI leader 1889; NY Giants), dies of a stomach illness at 73
1931 – Arthemus “Art” Acord, American silent film actor and rodeo champion (Arizona Kid, Hard Fists), commits suicide by poison at 40
1991 – Berry Kroeger, actor (Demon Seed), dies of kidney failure at 78
2007 – Gren, Welsh newspaper cartoonist (b. 1934)
2021 – Gregory Sierra, American stage and screen actor (Barney Miller – “Chano”), dies of cancer at 83

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Historical Events

1746 – “Bonnie Prince Charlie”, Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s army leaves Glasgow, Scotland [NS=Jan 14]
1825 – Scottish factory owner Robert Owen buys 30,000 acres in Indiana as site for New Harmony utopian community
1952 – “Dragnet” with Jack Webb premieres on NBC TV
1979 – Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Guillermo Vilas of Argentina wins 3rd Grand Slam title; beats Australian John Marks 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
1993 – “The Comeback”, QB Frank Reich leads Buffalo Bills back from a 32-point deficit, to defeat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime in a wild card playoff game, the greatest comeback ever in NFL history
2013 – 42nd Fiesta Bowl: #5 Oregon beats #7 Kansas State, 35-17

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Famous Birthdays

1916 – Antonio Estévez, Venezuelan composer and conductor (Cantata Criolla), born in Calabozo, Guárico, Venezuela (d. 1988)
1921 – John Russell, American actor (Pale Rider, Rio Bravo), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1991)
1973 – Dan Harmon, American voice actor, producer and writer (Rick and Morty, Community), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ (Daft Punk – “Get Lucky”), born in Paris, France
1989 – Kōhei Uchimura, Japanese gymnast (Olympic gold all-round 2012; team, all-round 2016; World C’ships 10 x gold), born in Kitakyushu, Japan
1989 – Anya Rozova [Anya Kop], Russian American model and America’s Next Top Model contestant, born in Leningrad, USSR

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Famous Deaths

1501 – Ali Sjir Neva’i [Fani], Turkish poet/author, dies at 59
1931 – Joseph J C Joffre, French marshal, dies at 78
1943 – Sir Walter James, Premier of Western Australia, dies at 79 (b. 1863)
1988 – William Cagney, American producer and actor (Torrid Zone), brother of James Cagney, dies of a heart attack at 82
2014 – Saul Zaentz, American record company executive (Fantasy), and film producer (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest; Amadeus; The Unbearable Lightness Of Being; The English Patient), dies of Alzheimer’s disease complications at 92
2018 – Konrad Ragossnig, Austrian classical guitarist and lutenist, dies at 85

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Historical Events

1890 – Record 19.2 feet alligator shot in Louisiana by American businessman Edward Avery McIlhenny
1909 – 1st official Dutch 11 city skate (Minne Hoekstra in 13:50)
1939 – 5th Sugar Bowl: #1 TCU beats #6 Carnegie Tech, 15-7
1941 – World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales
1961 – 27th Sugar Bowl: #2 Mississippi beats Rice, 14-6
1985 – Nevada Las Vegas basketball gives coach Jerry Tarkanian his 600th career victory with a 142-140 win over Utah State in triple overtime; total of 282 points breaks NCAA men’s record of 275 set in 1976

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Famous Birthdays

1873 – Thérèse de Lisieux, French Roman-Catholic nun (d. 1897)
1907 – Salvador Ley, Guatemalan pianist, composer, and educator (National Conservatory; Westchester Conservatory), born in Guatemala City, Guatemala (d. 1985)
1928 – Vaughn Beals, CEO (Harley Davidson motorcycle), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
1945 – Slobodan Praljak, Bosnian Croat general and war criminal, born in Čapljina, Independent State of Croatia (d. 2017)
1954 – Henry Bonilla, American politician (US House of Representatives (R) from Texas, 1993-2007), born in San Antonio, Texas
1965 – Greg Swindell, American baseball pitcher (World Series 2001; MLB All Star 1989; Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks), born in Fort Worth, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1918 – Sybe Kornelis Bakker, Dutch Christian socialist and reformed preacher, dies at 42
1923 – Sam Carter, African American resident of Rosewood Florida, lynched in the Rosewood Massacre
1971 – Lloyd Hall, African-American chemist and pioneer in food chemistry (science of food preservation), dies at 76
1994 – Sammy Taft, Canadian businessman (coined term “hat trick”), dies at 81
2012 – Gordon Hirabayashi, American sociologist and opponent to Japanese-American internment, dies after Alzheimer’s disease at 93
2020 – Grant Weatherstone, Scotland rugby union winger (16 caps; Edinburgh District), dies at 88

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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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