Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1889 – Moulin Rogue opens in Paris
1908 – Austria annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina
1948 – Paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey finds the first partial fossil skull of Proconsul africanus, an ancestor of apes and humans on Rusinga Island, Kenya
1976 – John Hathaway completes 50,600 mile bicycle tour of every continent
1991 – Orioles’ last game at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium (vs Det Tigers)
2019 – Tens of thousands of Hong Kong protesters march in defiance of a new ban on face masks

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Famous Birthdays

1744 – James McGill, Scottish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1813)
1887 – Le Corbusier [Charles Jeanneret], Swiss French architect, city planner and artist (Urbanisme), born in La Chaux-de-Fonds (d. 1965))
1920 – Lord Donaldson of Lymington, British judge (d. 2005)
1935 – Vicente Cantatore, Argentine soccer manager (Chile, Real Valladolid, Colo Colo, Real Betis, Sevilla, Sporting de Gijón), born in Rosario, Argentina (d. 2021)
1970 – Matt Vogel, American puppeteer (Sesame Street, 1996-present; Kermit the Frog, 2017-present; Big Bird, 2018-present), born in Kansas City, Kansas
1971 – Chris Hudson, NFL strong safety (Jacksonville Jaguars)

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Famous Deaths

1585 – Luca Cambiaso, Italian painter and sculptor, dies at 57
1874 – Thomas Tellefsen, Norwegian pianist and composer, dies at 50
1892 – Alfred Tennyson, writer and British Poet Laureate (The Charge of the Light Brigade), dies at 83
1976 – Gilbert Ryle, British philosopher (b. 1900)
2002 – Claus von Amsberg, husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (b. 1926)
2017 – Terry Downes, British middleweight boxing champion (1961-62), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1450 – Jews are expelled from Lower Bavaria by order of Ludwig IX
1864 – Battle of Allatoona, 1/3 of Union troops die repulsing South
1957 – 11th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum, Montreal, QC: All-Stars beat Montreal Canadiens, 5-3
1992 – NY senator Alphonse D’Amato filibusters for 15 hours 20 mins
1996 – Cleveland Indians strike out 23 Baltimore Orioles in 12 innings in 4-3 ALDS win at Jacobs Field; Orioles win series, 3-1
2010 – Injured Indian cricket batsman VVS Laxman is the hero with 73 not out as the home team chases down 216 to beat Australia with just 1 wicket to spare in the 1st Test at Mohali

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Famous Birthdays

1728 – Chevalier d’Éon [Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d’Éon de Beaumont], French spy, diplomat, and transvestite, born in Tonnerre, France (d. 1810)
1840 – Fran Gerbič, Slovenian composer and tenor, born in Cerknica (d. 1917)
1894 – Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1920), born in Kimberley, South Africa (d. 1948)
1906 – Leopold Kohr, Austrian social philosopher, born in Oberndorf, Austria (d. 1994)
1913 – Eugene B. Fluckey, American Navy submariner, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2007)
1971 – Chad Lewis, American football tight end (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Fort Dix, New Jersey

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Famous Deaths

1813 – Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief (Battle of Thames), dies in battle at 45
1906 – Raja Ravi Varma, Indian painter, dies at 58
1933 – Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich, Russian WWI general, dies at 71
1993 – Karl Gordon Henize, American astronomer and NASA astronaut (STS-51-F), dies of high altitude pulmonary edema during an expedition on Mount Everest at 66
1995 – Dick Henry Jurgen, American swing bandleader, and songwriter (“Elmer’s Tune”), dies of cancer at 85
1995 – Linda Gary, American voice actress (b. 1944)

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Historical Events

1648 – Peter Stuyvesant establishes America’s 1st volunteer fire service
1916 – Market Street’s “Path of Gold” lit for 1st time
1964 – LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Stardust CC; Mary Mills shoots final round 69 to win first of her 2 LPGA C’ships, 2 strokes ahead of defending champion Mickey Wright
1967 – St Louis Cardinals beat Boston Red Sox, 2-1 in Game 1 of Baseball World Series at Fenway Park; first Fall Classic since 1948 not to feature Yankees, Giants or Dodgers; Cards win series, 4-3
1986 – Queen Beatrice installs dam at Oosterschelde
2003 – Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Haifa, Israel: 21 Israelis, Jews and Arabs, are killed, and 51 others wounded.

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Famous Birthdays

1276 – Margaret of Brabant, Queen of Germany (d. 1311)
1901 – [Robert] Carroll Nye, American actor (Gone With The Wind), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1974)
1955 – John Rutherford, Scottish rugby union fly-half (42 caps; British and Irish Lions 1983), born in Selkirk, Scotland
1956 – Sherri Turner, American golfer (Women’s PGA C’ship 1988), born in Greenville, South Carolina
1967 – Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin, Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer, born in Hong Kong
1971 – Friderika Bayer, Hungarian singer

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Famous Deaths

1862 – William Duncan Smith, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 36
1949 – Edmund Eysler, Austrian composer, mostly of operettas (Bruder Straubinger; The Golden Mistress), dies from injuries from falling off of a stage at 75
1992 – Denny Hulme, New Zealand auto racer (F1 World Drivers’ Champion 1967), dies of a heart attack driving in Bathurst 1,000 at 56
1993 – Jim Holton, Scottish soccer defender (15 caps; Manchester United, Coventry City), dies of a heart attack at 42
2002 – André Delvaux, Belgian film director and screenwriter (Benvenuta), dies at 76
2004 – Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (b. 1927)

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Historical Events

1627 – Last Emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty, Chongzhen, comes to the throne after death of his brother Emperor Tianqi
1799 – Duke of York and Russians capture Alkmaar in Netherlands
1851 – The pasilalinic-sympathetic compass(a contraption built to test the pseudo-scientific hypothesis that snails create a permanent telepathic link when they mate) is demonstrated but proves to be a fake.
1926 – Bert Gibb kicks 9 singles as Hamilton Tigers beat Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers 12-10 in Montreal in Canadian Inter-provincial Rugby Football Union opening round
1982 – Bomb attack in Tehran, kills 60, injures 700
1990 – Chinese plane explodes, about 100 die

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Famous Birthdays

1880 – George Alexander Russell, American organist, composer and the first Frick Professor of Music for Princeton University, born in Franklin, Tennessee (d. 1953)
1945 – Don McLean, American singer and songwriter (“American Pie”; “Vincent”), born in New Rochelle, New York
1947 – (Frank) “Skip” Konte, American keyboardist, songwriter (The Blues Image – “Ride Captain Ride”), and record producer, born in Canon City, Oklahoma
1967 – Floyd “Bud” Gaugh, American ska-punk rock drummer (Sublime), born in Kihei, Hawaii
1967 – Frankie Fredericks, Namibian athlete (Olympic silver 100m, 200m 1992, 96), born in Windhoek, South West Africa
1969 – Badly Drawn Boy [Damon Gough], British singer-songwriter (Have You Fed The Fish?), born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England

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Famous Deaths

1729 – Arnold Boonen, portrait painter, dies at 60
1842 – William Ellery Channing, cleric/writer, dies
1974 – Ina Seidel, German poet and novelist, dies at 89
1993 – Ahmed Abdul-Malik [Jonathan Tim, Jr.], American jazz double bassist and oud player (Odetta; Thelonius Monk), dies at 66
2001 – Franz Biebl, German composer, mostly of choral music, dies at 95
2005 – Bert Eriksson, Flemish neo-Nazi, dies at 74

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Historical Events

911 – During a siege in Constantinople, the Theotokos (Mary, the mother of Jesus) appeared at the church in Blachernae holding her veil over the praying faithful, among them St. Andrew of Constantinople.
1889 – Washington voters adopt state constitution in referendum
1931 – Philadelphia Athletics seek 3rd straight World Series baseball title; beat St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2 in opener at Sportsman’s Park; lose series, 4-3
1960 – KCBY TV channel 11 in Coos Bay, OR (CBS) begins broadcasting
1968 – Cult zombie film “Night of the Living Dead” directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones and Judith O’Dea premieres in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2018 – French photographer Jean-Claude Arnault, at the center of a Nobel prize sexual assault scandal, sentenced to two years in prison for rape

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Famous Birthdays

1878 – Othmar Spann, Austrian economist and sociologist (Geschichtsfilosofie), born in Vienna (d. 1950)
1947 – Mariska Veres, Dutch singer (Shocking Blue), born in The Hague, the Netherlands (d. 2006)
1947 – Dave Arneson, American game designer (Dungeons and Dragons), born in Hennepin County, Minnesota (d. 2009)
1965 – Mia Mottley, Barbadian politician, Prime Minister of Barbados (2018-), born in Barbados
1970 – Ronnie Bradford, American NFL defensive back and coach (Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos; La. Tech., USC), born in Minot, North Dakota
1974 – Christian Borle, American actor (play Peter and the Starcatcher), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

976 – Al-Hakam II, Moors kalief of Cordoba, dies
1500 – John Alcock, English bishop and chancellor (founded Jesus College, Cambridge), dies at about 70
1927 – Wilhelm Harteveld, Swedish composer, dies at 68
1943 – Maarten van/of Gilse, resistance fighter, executed at 27
1995 – Aditya Biria, India’s 1st global industrialist, dies of cancer at 51
2000 – Robert Allen, American pianist and songwriter “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays”; “Chances Are”), dies of colon cancer at 73

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Historical Events

1846 – Anesthetic ether used for 1st time by American dentist Dr William Morton who extracts a tooth
1927 – Yankees slugger Babe Ruth smacks his MLB record 60th home run off Tom Zachary in 8th inning of New York’s 4-2 win over Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium
1935 – George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess” premieres in Boston
1962 – NY Mets lose record 120th game as Cubs turn triple play and beat NY 5-1
1997 – Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 4
1997 – Hooters agrees to pay $2 million in discrimination suits

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Famous Birthdays

1824 – Peter Milne, Scottish composer and violinist, born in Kincardine O’Neil (d. 1908)
1883 – Bernhard Rust, Nazi education minister (d. 1945)
1887 – Lil Dagover [Marta-Maria Lillits], Dutch-born German actress (Spiders), born in Madioen, Dutch East Indies (d. 1980)
1952 – Darrell Hair, Australian cricketer (Australian Test umpire since 1993-94)
1957 – Fran Drescher, American actress (Cadillac Man, The Nanny), born in Queens, New York
1965 – Kathleen Madigan, American comedian, born in Florissant, Missouri

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Famous Deaths

1819 – Nicolas Roze, French composer, dies at 74
1884 – Louis Lacombe, French pianist and composer, dies at 65
1958 – Niels Bjerrum, Danish chemist (ph-stipulation), dies at 79
1974 – Carlos Prats, Chilean Constitutionalist General, assassinated in the frame of Operation Condor
1997 – Richard Selwyn Francis Schiling, British professor of occupational health, dies at 86
2010 – Stephen J. Cannell, American TV producer (The Rockford Files, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street) and writer, dies of melanoma at 69

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Historical Events

1567 – War of Religion breaks out in France – Huguenots try to kidnap King Charles IX
1650 – Henry Robinson opens 1st marriage bureau (England)
1793 – Tennis is 1st mentioned in an English sporting magazine
1962 – “Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show” debuts on ABC-TV
1978 – “Flying High,” debuts on CBS
2018 – Rapper Kanye West announces on Twitter he is changing his name to Ye

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Famous Birthdays

1511 – Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian and physician (Christianism Rostituta), born in Villanueva or Tudela, Spain (d. 1553)
1758 – Horatio Nelson, British admiral and hero of Trafalgar, born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk (d. 1805)
1928 – Ankie [Johanna A Hoving-]Peypers, Dutch author and poet
1936 – Silvio Berlusconi, Italian media tycoon and politician, Prime Minister of Italy (1994-5, 2001-6, 2008-11), born in Milan, Italy
1944 – Torben Jensen, Danish actor (Taxa, Hayfever, Watch Me Fly, Guldregn)
1955 – Benoît Ferreux, French actor (Murmur of the Heart), born in Bordeaux, France

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Famous Deaths

1364 – Charles, Duke of Brittany
1900 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American politician and temperance movement leader (Rep-IR-Ohio), dies at 86
1937 – Ray Ewry, American track and field athlete (8 Olympic golds 1900, 04, 08), dies at 63
1980 – Bindo Maserati, Italian auto engineer and businessman (manager Maserati Racing; founder O.S.C.A. Racing), dies at 97
1995 – George Chesterman Phillips, British naval officer, dies at 90
2009 – Sperantza Vrana, Greek actress (b. 1926 or 1932)

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Historical Events

1569 – Istanbul experiences its greatest fire of the century after a blaze that starts in a Jewish bakery goes on to destroy 36,000 buildings over eight days
1940 – Bud Brennan, a fan at Memorial Stadium, races out of stands and attempts to tackle Tom Harmon at 3-yard line, Harmon easily evades Brennan
1958 – France adopts constitution
1982 – 1st reports appear of death from cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules
1991 – “Commish” debuts on ABC-TV
1993 – Dennis Martínez is 7th to win 100 games in AL and NL

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Famous Birthdays

1571 – Michael Praetorius [Schultze], German organist and composer (Syntagma; In Dulce Jublio), born in Creuzberg, Saxony (d. 1621) [birthdate approximate]
1698 – Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, French mathematician and astronomer (Système de la nature), born in Saint-Malo, France (d. 1759)
1796 – David Walker, African-American abolitionist (Appeal to Colored Citizens), born in Wilmington, North Carolina (d. 1830)
1873 – Julian Coolidge, American mathematician (Study-Segre school), born in Brookline, Massachusetts (d. 1954)
1972 – Dita Von Teese, American burlesque artist
1982 – Dustin Penner, Canadian hockey player

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Famous Deaths

1104 – Pedro I, king of Navarra and Aragon, dies
1781 – William Henry Nassau de Zuylestein, 4th Earl of Rochford, British diplomat and statesman (b. 1717)
1810 – John Archer, American Congressman who received the 1st medical diploma issued on US continent (1768), dies at 69
1942 – Eva Thatcher, American actress, dies at 80
1947 – Francisco Santiago, Filipino pianist, composer (Taga-ilog Symphony), conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 58
1952 – Paul Hastings Allen, American composer, dies at 68

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Historical Events

1864 – Battle at Pilot Knob (Ft Davidson) American Civil War, Missouri: 1700 killed/injured
1879 – British Open Men’s Golf, St Andrews: Scotsman Jamie Anderson wins by 3 shots from countrymen Jamie Allen and Andrew Kirkaldy; 3rd consecutive title
1964 – Findings of the Warren Commission into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy released, finds Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone
1987 – Atlanta Braves Phil Niekro’s final MLB appearance, he surrenders for 5 runs in 3 innings against the San Francisco Giants
2020 – Border fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan forces over disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh kills at least 23
2021 – RandB artist R. Kelly is convicted on nine counts of racketeering and sex trafficking after a six-week trial in New York

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Famous Birthdays

1601 – Louis XIII, King of France (1610-43), born in Palace of Fontainebleau, France (d. 1643)
1927 – Boris Porena, Italian composer, poet, and writer, born in Rome
1939 – Carol Lynn Pearson, American poet and writer
1953 – Mata Amritanandamayi, Indian religious leader
1969 – Robert Jones, NFL linebacker (Dallas Cowboys)
1996 – Daeg Faerch, Danish-born Canadian actor

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Famous Deaths

1404 – William of Wykeham, chancellor/Bishop of Winchester, dies
1921 – Engelbert Humperdinck, German opera composer (Hänsel und Gretel), dies at 67
1972 – S. R. Ranganathan, Indian mathematician (b. 1892)
1977 – Willis Bouchey, American character actor (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), dies at 70
1998 – Doak Walker, American College and Pro Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1948; Pro Bowl 1950-51, 53–55; First-team All-Pro 1950–51, 53–54; Detroit Lions), dies from ski accident injuries at 71
2008 – Mahendra Kapoor, Indian singer (b. 1934)

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Historical Events

1792 – Marc-David Lasource begins accusing Maximilien Robespierre of wanting a dictatorship for France
1890 – US stops minting $1 and $3 gold coin and 3 cent piece
1950 – Because of forest fire in Br Columbia, blue moon appears in England
1954 – Yogi Berra plays his only game at 3rd and Mickey Mantle plays shortstop
1957 – Dag Hammarskjöld re-elected secretary-general of UN
2017 – The video game Fortnite: Battle Royale is released, eventually becoming one of the most popular games worldwide

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Famous Birthdays

1907 – Ralph Michael, British actor (Quest, Doctor in the House), born in London (d. 1994)
1942 – Kent McCord, American actor (Officer Jim Reed- “Adam 12”), born in Los Angeles, California
1955 – Carlene Carter, American country singer (“I Fell in Love”), born in Nashville, Tennessee
1976 – Tyler Denk, American model and reality show contestant, born in Columbus, Ohio
1979 – Fuifui Moimoi, New Zealand (Tongan) rugby league footballer, born in Nuku’alofa, Tonga
1988 – Kiira Korpi, Finnish figure skater, born in Tampere, Finland

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Famous Deaths

1023 – Godfried I, duke of Neth-Lutherans, dies
1846 – Thomas Clarkson, English abolitionist (Negro Emancipation), dies at 86
1937 – Bessie Smith, American blues singer known as the “Empress of the Blues” (recorded over 200 songs), dies of injuries sustained in car crash at 43
1964 – Calvin Thomas, actor (Judge Hunter-One Man’s Family), dies at 79
1994 – Jessie Kesson, Scottish writer and radio producer, dies at 77
2006 – Byron Nelson, American golfer (winner 5 major titles; record 19 tournaments 1945), dies of a blood disorder at 94

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