Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1863 – Football Association forms in England, standardizing soccer, splitting with rugby
1916 – American sex educator Margaret Sanger arrested for obscenity (advocating birth control)
1926 – Belgium stabilizes current value of franc (5 franc becomes 1 “Belga”)
2003 – The Cedar Fire, the second-largest fire in Californian history, kills 15 people, consumes 250,000 acres (1,000 km²), destroys 2,200 homes around San Diego
2015 – 7.5 magnitude earthquake hits northern Pakistan and Afghanistan killing over 300
2018 – Longest Baseball World Series game by both innings and time; LA Dodgers beat Boston Red Sox, 3-2 in the 18th inning (7 hours, 20 mins) in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium with Max Muncy walk-off homer

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1483 – Hans Buchner, German composer, born in Ravensburg (d. 1538)
1823 – Karl Weinhold, German sociologist (founder of Journal of the Association of Folklore), born in Dzierżoniów, Poland (d. 1901)
1916 – François Mitterrand, 21st President of France (1981-95), born in Jarnac, France (d. 1996)
1937 – Dave Gavitt, American basketball coach, formed Basketball’s Big East Conference (1979), born in Westerly, Rhode Island (d. 2011)
1952 – Abbas al-Musawi, influential Lebanese Shia cleric, and founder and leader of Hezbollah, born in Al-Nabi Shayth, Lebanon (d. 1992)
1959 – François Chau, Cambodian actor, born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

900 – Alfred the Great, Anglo-Saxon monarch who was King of Wessex and King of the Anglo-Saxons, dies at 50 or 51
1881 – Billy Clanton, brother of outlaw Ike Clanton, dies in the gunfight at the OK Corral at 19
1943 – Marc Aurel Stein, Hungarian-British archaeologist, dies at 80
2004 – Bobby Ávila, Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman (MLB All-Star 1952, 54, 55; AL batting champion 1954; Cleveland Indians), dies of diabetes and lung ailment at 80
2007 – Khun Sa, Burmese warlord (b. 1934)
2021 – Glen Tuckett American college basbeall coach (Brigham Young Uni 1959-76) and administrator (BYU athletic director 1976-94), dies at 93

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1521 – Emperor Charles V bans wooden buildings in Amsterdam
1780 – John Hancock becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts
1944 – Battle at Samar-island
1962 – American author John Steinbeck awarded Nobel Prize for Literature
1963 – Beatles begin their 1st full foreign tour in Karlstad, Sweden
1968 – Chicago recognizes Jean Baptiste Pointe de Sable as its 1st settler

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1612 – James Graham, Marquis of Montrose “the Great Montrose”, Scottish general and poet, born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1650)
1825 – Johann Baptist Strauss Jr., Austrian composer (Waltz King), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1899)
1843 – Gleb Uspensky, Russian author (Power of the Soil), born in Tula, Russian Empire (d. 1902)
1909 – Whitner “Whit” Bissell, American actor (Time Machine, Soylent Green, The Magnificent Seven), born in NYC, New York (d. 1996)
1929 – Peter Rohmkorf, German writer, born in Dortmund, Germany (d. 2008)
1964 – Pat Swilling, American NFL defensive end and linebacker (Oakland Raiders), born in Toccoa, Georgia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1647 – Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist (inventor of barometer), dies at 39
1957 – Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany, Irish sci-fi writer (Time and Gods), dies at 79
1973 – Abebe Bikila, Ethiopian distance athlete (Olympic gold marathon 1960 WR [barefoot], 64 WR; Africa’s first WR breaking athlete in any sport), dies of a brain haemorrhage at 41
2000 – Don Brooks, American session and touring harmonica player (Waylon Jennings; Ken Burns’ “The Civil War”), dies of leukemia at 53
2013 – Bill Sharman, American Basketball HOF guard (8 × NBA All-Star; 4 x NBA C’ship; Boston Celtics) and coach (NBA C’ship 1972 LA Lakers), dies from stroke complications at 87
2019 – Chou Wen-chung, Chinese-American composer (Mode of Shang), dies at 96

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1596 – -26] Battle at Kerestes: Ottoman beat Austria-Hungary and Germany
1656 – Treaty of Vilnius: Russia and Poland sign anti-Swedish covenant
1940 – Protestant churches protest against dismissal of Jew civil servants
1958 – USSR lends Egypt 400 million rubles to build Aswan Dam
2012 – Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in Jamaica killing 1 person and causing over $50 million in damage
2020 – Deadliest shipwreck of the year claims 140 lives on a ship that sank with 200 migrants on board off the coast of Senegal

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1808 – Ernst Richter, German musical theorist and composer, born in Großschönau, Saxony, Germany (d. 1879)
1908 – John Alwyne Kitching, British zoologist (d. 1996)
1936 – Bill Wyman, English rock and jazz bassist (Rolling Stones, 1962-93 – “Under My Thumb”), born in Lewisham, London
1943 – José E. Serrano, American politician (Rep-D-New York), born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
1960 – Joachim Winkelhock, German race car driver, born in Waiblingen, West Germany
1972 – T. J. Cunningham, American NFL safety (Seattle Seahawks), born in Aurora, Colorado (d. 2019)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1852 – Daniel Webster, US Secretary of State (1841-43, 1850-52), politician and lawyer, dies at 70
1931 – Murray Bisset, South African cricketer (South African wicket-keeper 1899 and 1910), dies at 55
1935 – Abe Landau, American gangster (henchman for Dutch Schultz), murdered at 39
1938 – Ernst Barlach, German writer and artist, dies at 68
1996 – Bruce Matthews, Australian newspaper executive who worked for Rupert Murdoch, dies at 71
2004 – James Cardinal Hickey, American Catholic archbishop (b. 1920)

More Famous Deaths »

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)

More Historical Events »

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

More Famous Birthdays »

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

More Famous Deaths »

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

More Historical Events »

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)

More Famous Birthdays »

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

More Famous Deaths »

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

More Historical Events »

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

More Famous Birthdays »

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

More Famous Deaths »

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

More Historical Events »

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

More Famous Birthdays »

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

More Famous Deaths »

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

More Historical Events »

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

More Famous Birthdays »

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

More Famous Deaths »

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

More Historical Events »

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

More Famous Birthdays »

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

More Famous Deaths »

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

More Historical Events »

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

More Famous Birthdays »

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

More Famous Deaths »