Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1328 – Battle at Kassel: French troops stop uprising of Flemish farmers
1944 – Sammellager Drancy freed
1953 – Italian Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari clinches his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by winning Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten
1964 – St Louis Cardinals are 11 games back in NL; go on win Baseball World Series, 4-3 v New York Yankees
2013 – 26 people are killed and 55 are injured by a suicide bombing in Baghdad, Iraq
2020 – US Republican party convention begins by formally renominating Donald Trump for a second presidential term

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1486 – Siegmund Freiherr von Herberstein, Austrian diplomat, born in Vipava, Slovenia (d. 1566)
1623 – Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, born in Raków, Kielce County, Poland (d. 1675)
1783 – William Tierney Clark, English civil engineer, born in Bristol, England (d. 1852)
1852 – Arnold Toynbee, English economic historian and social reformer, born in London (d. 1883)
1911 – Elizabeth “Betty” Robinson, US 100m sprinter (Olympic gold 1928), born in Riverdale, Illinois (d. 1999)
1953 – Bobby Gubby, English rocker (Bucks Fizz-My Camera Never Lies), born in Epsom, Surrey, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1867 – Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy, French poet (b. 1796)
1979 – Richard Hearne, British actor (Tons of Trouble, The Time of His Life), dies at 71
1992 – Virginia Sale-Wren, entertainer, dies of heart failure at 92
1993 – Victorine Hefting, historian/wife of Bert Baker, dies at 88
2005 – Harold “Hal” Kalin, American singer (Kalin Twins), dies in a road accident at 71
2020 – Greg Montgomery, American NFL punter (Baltimore Ravens), dies at 55

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1543 – Emperor Charles V’s army occupies Duren
1654 – Jacob Barsimson arrives in New Amsterdam (modern day Manhattan) aboard the Peartree, one of the first Jewish colonists
1902 – US President Theodore Roosevelt became 1st US chief executive to ride in a car
1934 – Red Sox pitcher Wes Ferrell hits 2 HRs to beat White Sox 3-2 in 12
2004 – American sprinter Justin Gatlin wins the coveted Olympic 100m gold medal in Athens in 9.85 ahead of Francis Obikwelu of Portugal and American Maurice Greene
2021 – Tropical storm Henri makes landfall near Westerly, Rhode Island

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1822 – George Stoneman, US Union general-major and Governor of California (1883-87), born in Busti, NY (d. 1894)
1916 – John Slater, British actor (Deadlock, Cartel, Devil’s Pass), born in London, England (d. 1975)
1947 – Cindy Williams, American actress (Shirley- Laverne and Shirley), born in Van Nuys, California
1955 – Will Shetterly, American writer (Dogland), born in Columbia, South Carolina
1975 – Rodrigo Santoro, Brazilian actor (Love Actually), born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1995 – Dua Lipa, British-Kosovo Albanian pop singer-songwriter (“New Rules”, “One Kiss”), born in London

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1607 – Bartholomew Gosnold, English explorer and privateer (b. 1572)
1944 – Raymond Aimos, actor (Golem, Mayerling, La Bandera), dies at 55
2004 – Konstantin Aseev, Russian chess player (b. 1960)
2008 – Gladys Powers, Canadian World War I veteran (b. 1899)
2011 – Vicco von Bülow [Loriot], German comedian, cartoonist and film director (Unsere Besten), dies at 87
2021 – Brian Travers, British rock saxophonist (UB40 – “Red, Red Wine”), dies of cancer at 62

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1856 – America’s first consul to Japan, Townsend Harris, arrives in Shimoda. (Traditional Japanese date: July 21, 1856)
1891 – Dutch Mackay government resigns
1920 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Flossmoor CC: American based Scotsman Jock Hutchison beats J. Douglas Edgar of England, 1-up; first of Hutchinson’s 2 majors
1942 – Walt Disney’s animated movie “Bambi”, based on the book by Felix Salten, is released
1983 – Jerry Herman’s musical “La Cage aux Folles”, based Jean Poiret’s French play of the same name, opens at Palace Theater, NYC; runs for 1761 performances, wins 6 Tony Awards
2004 – American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins his 6th gold medal of the Athens Olympics even though he doesn’t swim the final of men’s 4 x 100m medley relay; US wins in world record 3:30.68

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1800 – Hiram Walden, American politician, born in Pawlet, Vermont (d. 1880)
1882 – Rik Wouters, Belgian painter (Lady in Blue), and sculptor (The Nymph), born in Mechelen, Belgium (d. 1916)
1941 – Jackie DeShannon [Sharon Lee Myers], American singer-songwriter (“What the World Needs Now Is Love”; “When You Walk In The Room”), born in Hazel, Kentucky
1957 – Janice Thomas, WBL guard (NY Stars)
1970 – Steve Everitt, NFL center (Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles), born in Miami, Florida
1974 – Pietra Gay, WNBA guard/forward (Houston Comets)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1581 – Sakuma Nobumori, Japanese retainer and samurai (b. 1527)
1723 – Dimitrie Cantemir, Romanian historian and Monarch of Moldova (1710-11), dies at 49
1957 – Nels Stewart, professional ice hockey player (b. 1902)
2005 – Polly Hill, British economic anthropologist (studied Cocoa-Farmers Of Southern Ghana), dies at 91
2005 – Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet (b. 1936)
2013 – C. Gordon Fullerton, American USMC Colonel, and NASA astronaut (STS-3; STS-51-F), dies at 76

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1672 – Former Grand Pensionary of Holland Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis are brutally murdered by an angry mob in The Hague
1920 – Allen Woodring wins Oympic 200 m dash wearing borrowed shoes
1944 – US and British forces destroy German 7th Army at Falaise-Argentan Gap
1949 – Las Lajas Sanctuary, a basilica built inside the Guáitara River in Colombia, is completed after 33 years
1996 – India defeat Pakistan in Under-15 World Challenge Final at Lord’s
2016 – Canoeists Max Rendschmidt and Marcus Gross part of winning German crew in K-4 100m at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; wrap up K-2 / K-4 1,000m double

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1719 – Christian Mayer, Czech Catholic priest and astronomer, born in Modřice, Moravia (d. 1783)
1719 – Charles-François de Broglie, French soldier and diplomat, marquis de Ruffec, born in Paris (d. 1791)
1778 – Bernardo O’Higgins, Chillán, Chile, South American independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule (1817-1823 Supreme Director of Chile)
1927 – Yootha Joyce, British actress (Man About the House, George and Mildred), born in Wandsworth, London (d. 1980)
1941 – Jo Ramírez, Mexican motor racing team manager and author, born in Mexico City, Mexico
1946 – N.R. Narayana Murthy, Indian industrialist and co-founder (Infosys), born in Shidlaghatta, Kolar district, India

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1910 – Arthur Coquard, French composer, dies at 64
1990 – Marc Turfkruijer, Flemish movie journalist and writer, dies at 90
1993 – Sydney Arnold, British comic actor (The Meaning of Life, Top Secret!, Miss Jones and Son), dies at 93
1995 – William Kennedy, baseball player, dies at 76
2016 – Brian Rix [Lord Rix], British actor and activist (Mencap), dies at 92
2019 – Russ Conway, American sports journalist (Eagleson NHL scandal), dies of heart disease at 70

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1591 – French King Henry IV occupies Rouen
1982 – Renaldo Nehemiah of US sets record for 110 m hurdles, 12.93 sec
1983 – Dodgers trade Dave Stewart and Ricky Wright to Texas for Rick Honeycut
1985 – Following the Rubicon speech four days earlier, Archbishop Desmond Tutu snubs P. W. Botha’s invitation to attend a meeting to discuss the role and actions of the police and security forces in South Africa
1995 – Bruce Seldon TKOs Joe Hipp in 10 for heavyweight boxing title
2016 – A 6-way tie for first place in the final of the equestrian individual jumping competition at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Nick Skelton of Great Britain wins gold medal jump-off

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1881 – George Enesco, Romanian violinist, conductor, and composer (Romanian Dances), born in Liveni, Dorohoi, Romania (d. 1955)
1896 – Walter Lang, Swiss composer, born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 1966)
1930 – Frank McCourt, Irish-American Pulitzer Prize winning author (Angela’s Ashes), and teacher, born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 2009)
1940 – Jill St John [Oppenheim], actress (Diamonds are Forever), born in Los Angeles, California
1969 – Patrick Van Horn, American actor (Swingers)
1972 – Elizabeth Wolfgramm, American singer (The Jets), born in Salt Lake City, Utah

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1650 – Abraham de Verwer, Dutch painter, buried at about 55
1963 – Kathleen Parlow, Canadian violinist, and educator, dies at 72
1981 – Jessie Matthews, English actress (Gangway, First a Girl), dies at 74
2011 – Raúl Ruiz, Chilean filmmaker (Three Sad Tigers), dies at 70
2016 – Donald Henderson, American epidemiologist, led world campaign that eradicated smallpox, dies at 82
2019 – Larry “The Mole” Taylor, American session (The Monkees) and touring rock and blues bass player (Canned Heat – “On the Road Again”; John Mayall; Tom Waits), dies of cancer at 77

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1612 – Pendle Witch trial begins with 10 people accused of witchcraft in Lancaster, England, key witness 9 year-old boy
1700 – Swedish, English and Dutch army lands on Seeland, Denmark
1956 – Cincinnati Reds (8) and Cubs (2) combine to hit 10 HRs in a 9 inning game
1958 – TV game show scandal investigation starts
1965 – Dutch soccer team FC Den Bosch (successor to BVV 1906 and Wilhelmina 1890) is established at ‘s-Hertogenbosch
1989 – Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as NY Yankee manager

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1882 – Marcel Samuel-Rousseau, French organist and opera composer (Le Bon Roi Dagobert), born in Paris (d. 1955)
1907 – Cecilia Grace Hunt Reeves Gillie, Executive (BBC), born in Sheppey, Kent, England (d. 1996)
1919 – Walter J Hickel, (Gov-R-Alaska)/US Secretary of Interior (1969-71)
1941 – Dennis Claridge, American football quarterback (NFL C’ship 1965, Green Bay Packers; Atlantic Falcons), born in Phoenix, Arizona (d. 2018)
1956 – John Debney, American composer, born in Glendale, California
1968 – Greta Lind, American actress (Katie Kennicott-All My Children), born in Goshen, New York

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1943 – Hans Jeschonnek, German air force general/chief-staff, commits suicide
1946 – Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver triple jump; bronze long jump 1912), dies at 53
1968 – Cy Walter, American jazz pianist (Three’s Company), dies of cancer at 52
2003 – Tony Jackson, British bass player (The Searchers, 1962-64 – “Sugar And Spice”), dies from a combination of diabetes, heart disease, and cirrhosis of the liver at 65
2009 – Kim Dae-jung, 8th President of South Korea (1998-2003) and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize 2000 laureate, dies at 85
2015 – (Alan) “Bud” Yorkin, American film and television producer and director (Divorce American Style; All in the Family; Sanford And Son), dies at 89

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1862 – Confederate troops under Kirby Smith enter Kentucky
1904 – George H Reid succeeds John Watson as Prime Minister of Australia
1936 – An unemployed worker, Neils B. Ruud, in Madison, Wisconsin, receives the first unemployment benefit check paid under a State law, for $15
1969 – Hurricane Camille strikes US coastline and kills 259 people (mainly in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana)
1988 – NYC 1st case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (9 year old Bronx boy)
2013 – 14th Athletics World Championships: Usain Bolt wins 200m

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1720 – Charles-Dominique-Joseph Eisen, French engraver and painter (Contes de La Fontaine), born in Valenciennes, France (d. 1778)
1905 – John Hay Whitney, American diplomat and publisher (NY Herald Tribune 1961-67), born in Ellsworth, Maine (d. 1982)
1955 – Colin Moulding, English pop bassist, and songwriter (XTC – “Generals And Majors”), born in Swindon, England
1966 – Maysa [Leak], American jazz and RandB singer, born in Baltimore, Maryland
1974 – Nicola Kraus, American novelist, born in New York City
1974 – Tony Hajjar, Lebanese-American musician (At the Drive-In, Sparta), born in Beirut, Lebanon

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1875 – Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist (Father of Bantu Philology), dies at 48
1966 – Archibald Palm, South African cricketer (Test South Africa v England 1927-28), dies at 65
1988 – Victoria Shaw, Australian-American actress (Alvarez Kelly, Westworld), dies at 53
1993 – Max de Metz, Dutch publisher and translator, dies at 72
2004 – Gérard Souzay, French baritone, dies at 85
2010 – Edwin Morgan, Scottish poet (At Eighty), dies at 90

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1890 – Alexander Clark, journalist and lawyer, named minister to Liberia
1943 – Bulgarian Tsar Boris III visits Adolf Hitler
1956 – Adlai E Stevenson nominated as US Democratic presidential candidate
1970 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Southern Hills CC: Dave Stockton wins 1st of 2 PGA C’ships by 2 shots from Bob Murphy and Arnold Palmer
1975 – “Rodgers and Hart” closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 108 performances
1984 – Largest harness racing purse ($2,161,000-Nihilator wins $1,080,500)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1846 – Justus van Maurik, Dutch author and cigar manufacturer, born in Amsterdam (d. 1904)
1925 – Willie Jones, American baseball third baseman (MLB All Star 1950, 51; Philadelphia Phillies), born in Dillon, South Carolina (d. 1983)
1939 – Wim Meijer, Dutch politician (PvdA)
1956 – Daniel Willems, Belgian cyclist
1962 – Steve Carell, American actor and comedian (The Office), born in Concord, Massachusetts
1983 – Nikos Zisis, Greek basketball player, born in Thessaloniki, Greece

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1893 – Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist, dies at 77
1951 – Du Yuesheng, Chinese mob boss, dies at 62
2006 – Alex Buzo, Australian playwright and author (b. 1944)
2007 – Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer, and composer (b. 1924)
2007 – The Missing Link, professional wrestler (b. 1939)
2018 – Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast (Olympic gold USSR Team, All-around 1988; World C’ship gold x 5), dies of pneumonia at 49

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1185 – The cave city of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia
1248 – Construction of the new Cologne Cathedral in the Gothic style begins with the laying of the foundation stone by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden (completed 1880)
1911 – Procter and Gamble unveils its Crisco shortening
1948 – US Open Women’s Golf, Atlantic City CC: Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins by 8 strokes from Betty Hicks
1965 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Laurel Valley GC: Dave Marr wins his only major title, beating Billy Casper and Jack Nicklaus by 2 strokes
1975 – Miki Takeo makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1896 – Catherine Doherty, Russian-born Canadian activist, born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia (d. 1985)
1902 – Jan Campert, Dutch resistance fighter and poet (Song the 18 dead), born in Spijkenisse, Netherlands (d. 1943)
1947 – Manley Lanier “Sonny” Carter Jr, American chemist and NASA astronaut (STS 33), born in Macon, Georgia (d. 1991)
1972 – Ken Walter, American NFL punter, 1997-2006 (Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, and 2 other teams), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1976 – Robert Macfarlane, English nature writer, born in Halam, England
1989 – Joe Jonas, American pop singer (Jonas Brothers), born in Casa Grande, Arizona

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1576 – (Valentin) Bálint Bakfark, Hungarian lutenist, and composer, dies of the plague at about 70
1962 – Lei Feng, Chinese soldier (became a propaganda icon after his death), dies in an accident at 21
1968 – Edward Kilenyi, Sr. [Ede Kilényi], composer and teacher (Clipped Wings; Outside the Law), dies at 84
1990 – Viktor Tsoi, Russian musician (Kino), dies in a car accident at 28
1990 – Lew DeWitt, American country singer and composer (Statler Brothers – “Flowers on the Wall”), dies of Crohn’s disease complications at 52
2014 – Jerry Lumpe, American baseball player, dies at 81

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1782 – Suriname forbids selling slave mothers without their babies
1936 – Rainey Bethea is hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last public execution in the United States
1976 – 10,000 Northern Ireland women demonstrate for peace in Belfast
1994 – Terrorist “Carlos” arrested in Khartoum, Sudan
2016 – US Senior Open Men’s Golf, Scioto CC: Gene Sauers wins by 1 stroke ahead of Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Billy Mayfair
2019 – Pakistan PM Imran Khan strongly criticizes India for revoking Kashmir’s special status and putting it under lockdown in address in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1653 – Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, English statesman (d. 1688)
1880 – Fred Alexander, American tennis player (Australasian C’ship 1908, 5-time US Indoor winner), born in Sea Bright, New Jersey (d. 1969)
1913 – Paul Dean, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals), born in Lucas, Arkansas (d. 1981)
1928 – Lina Wertmüller [Arcangela Braueich], Italian screenwriter, film director, and 1st woman nominated for an Academy Award for Directing (Seven Beauties), born in Rome, Italy
1943 – Terry Ellis, British record producer, artist manager (Jethro Tull; Paula Cole: Baby Animals), and label executive (co-founder of Chrysalis Records) ,born in, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
1973 – Daisuke Ishiwatari, Japanese game developer and composer, born in Johannesburg, South Africa

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1961 – Clarke Ashton Smith, sci-fi author (Lost Worlds), dies at 68
1984 – Tigran Petrosian, Soviet Armenian World Chess Champion (1963-69), dies at 55
1992 – Flora Benson, American wife of Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dies at 91
2011 – Shammi Kapoor, Indian actor and director known as the “Elvis Presley of India” (Amaran, Brahmachari, Vidhaata), dies of chronic renal failure at 79
2012 – Ron Palillo, American actor (Arnold Horshack-Welcome Back Kotter), dies from a heart attack at 63
2013 – Lisa Robin Kelly, American actress, dies at 43

More Famous Deaths »