Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1931 – Japanese army attacks Chinese province of Jehol
1949 – NFL merges with AAFC; Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts join league intact, other teams in New York and Los Angeles are merged with existing units
1961 – Tanganyika gains independence from Britain, takes name Tanzania – with Ukuru (Freedom) Torch lit on the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro
1967 – Nicolae Ceaușescu becomes President of Romania (overthrown in 1989)
1968 – KRNE TV channel 12 in Merriman, NB (PBS) begins broadcasting
1974 – Johnson Grigsby freed after 66 years in jail in Indiana

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Famous Birthdays

1787 – John Dobson, English architect, born in High Chirton, North Shields, England (d. 1865)
1899 – Howard Freeman, American actor (Studio One, Double Dynamite), born in Helena, Montana (d. 1967)
1934 – Alan Ridout, British composer, born in West Wickham, England (d. 1996)
1944 – Bob O’Connor, American politician (Mayor of Pittsburgh, 2006), born in Greenfield, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2006)
1953 – John Malkovich, American actor (The Killing Fields; Dangerous Liaisons), born in Christopher, Illinois
1973 – Stacey Abrams, American politician, lawyer and voting rights activist, born in Madison, Wisconsin

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Famous Deaths

1544 – Teofilo Folengo, Italian macaronic poet, dies at 53
1798 – Johann Reinhold Forster, German botanist (naturalist on James Cook’s second Pacific voyage), dies at 69
1814 – Jose Angel Lamas, Venezuelan composer, dies at 39
1940 – Maletti, Italian general, dies in battle
1992 – Vincent Gardenia, Italian-American actor (Bang the Drum Slowly, Moonstruck, Little Shop of Horrors), dies of a heart attack at 71
2021 – Demaryius Thomas, American football wide receiver (Super Bowl 2015; 4 × Pro Bowl; Denver Broncos), dies at 33

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Historical Events

1914 – Boers rebelling against the British in South Africa suffer several defeats, with one of their leaders, General Beyers, accidentally drowning
1952 – French troops shoot on demonstrators at Casablanca, 50 die
1963 – Frank Sinatra, Jr is kidnapped at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe (Nevada)
1972 – United Airlines crashes at Chicago’s Midway Airport killing 45
1990 – Indians agree to a lease new ballpark in Gateway (Jacobs Field)
2018 – US President Donald Trump announces John Kelly will be stepping down as White House Chief of Staff at the end of the year

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Famous Birthdays

1795 – Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish-German astronomer (Hansen hypothesis), born in Tønder, Schleswig, Denmark (d. 1874)
1905 – Charles Cushing, American composer, born in Oakland, California (d. 1982)
1908 – John Volpe, American politician (61st and 63rd Governor of Massachusetts) and U.S. Secretary of Treasury (1969-73), born in Wakefield, Massachusetts (d. 1994)
1942 – Bobby Elliott, British rock drummer (The Hollies), born in Burnley, Lancashire
1949 – Mary Gordon, American author
1959 – Jim Yong Kim, South Korean-American physician, anthropologist and President of the World Bank, born in Seoul, South Korea

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Famous Deaths

1907 – Oscar II Frederick, King of Sweden (-1907)/Norway (-1905), dies
1940 – George Exton Lloyd, Anglican Bishop and theologian (b. 1861)
1952 – Charles Lightoller, English second officer on the Titanic (b. 1874)
1958 – Tris Speaker, American Baseball HOF outfielder (World Series 1912, 15, 20; AL MVP 1912; career batting average .345 [6th all-time]; Cleveland Indians) and manager (Cleveland Indians 1919-26), dies at 70
1982 – Harald Riedewald, Suriname attorney, murdered
1984 – Luther Adler, American actor (D.O.A., The Desert Fox), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1741 – Elisabeth Petrovna becomes Tsarina of Russia
1916 – David Lloyd George replaces resigning H. H. Asquith as British Prime Minister
1937 – Russian chess player Alexander Alekhine recaptures his final world title from Dutch grand master Max Euwe by a large margin (+10−4=11)
1978 – Islander’s Mike Bossy’s 1st career hat trick
1996 – Space Shuttle STS 80 (Columbia 21), lands
2007 – The Hebei Spirit oil spill began in South Korea after a crane barge being towed by tug collided with the very large crude carrier, Hebei Spirit.

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Famous Birthdays

1860 – Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia, born in Silverdale, Staffordshire, England (d. 1947)
1863 – Felix Calonder, Swiss politician (Free Democratic Party), born in Scuol, Switzerland (d. 1952)
1878 – Akiko Yosano, Japanese poet (Tangled Hair), born in Sakai, Ōsaka, Japan (d. 1942)
1971 – Ben Atkins, American fencer-epee (Olympics 1996), born in NYC, New York
1987 – Aaron Carter, American singer, rapper and songwriter, born in Tampa, Florida (d. 2022)
1989 – Nicholas Hoult, English actor (The Favourite; Tolkien; Peter III-The Great), born in Wokingham, England

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Famous Deaths

1881 – Julius FA Bahnsen, German philosopher (Tragic as Weltgesetz), dies at 51
1946 – Sada Yacco, Japanese stage actress (b. 1871)
1984 – Jeanne Cagney, American stage, screen, and radio actress (Lion is in the Streets; Quicksand; Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies of lung cancer at 65
1990 – Peter Mieg, Swiss composer, dies at 84
1990 – Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban poet and novelist (Pentagonia), dies at 47
2019 – Ron Saunders, English soccer striker (Portsmouth) and manager (Manchester City, Aston Villa, Birmingham City), dies at 87

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Historical Events

1060 – Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary
1957 – AFL-CIO votes to expel Teamsters (readmitted in October 1987)
1975 – Balcombe Street Siege: for 6 days, four Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers hold two hostages at an apartment in London, England
1991 – “Les Miserables” opens at Circustheater, Scheveningen
2002 – “Adaptation” directed by Spike Jonze, starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep premieres
2010 – Record price for a printed book when a first edition of “The Birds of America” by John James Audubon auctioned at Sotheby’s, London, England, for £7,321,250

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Lynn Fontanne, British actress (Peter Pan; The Guardsman), born in Woodford, Essex, England (d. 1983)
1896 – Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (“Embraceable You”; “I Got Rhythm”; “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”), born in NYC, New York (d. 1983)
1930 – Wojciech Zabłocki, Polish fencer (4 x World C’ship gold team; Olympic silver team sabre 1956, 60; bronze 1964), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 2020)
1943 – Mike Smith, British rock singer and keyboardist (Dave Clark Five – “Glad All Over”), born in London, England (d. 2008)
1949 – Doug Marlette, American editorial cartoonist (Kudzu), born in Greensboro, North Carolina (d. 2007)
1986 – Matt Niskanen, American NHL player (Philadelphia Flyers), born in Virginia, Minnesota

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Famous Deaths

1550 – Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Flemish painter, dies at 48
1562 – Jan van Scorel, Dutch painter and architect, dies at 67
1746 – Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (b. 1665)
1991 – Ann Sorg Coston, actress (Anna-Aldrich Family), dies at 62
1994 – AJ Bronkhorst, vicar/theologist (Reform The Netherlands), dies at 80
2020 – Jack Scarbath, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Uni of Maryland; Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers), dies at 90

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Historical Events

1496 – Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I
1837 – Uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie in Canada
1946 – US President Harry Truman creates Committee on Civil Rights by Exec Order #9808
1978 – Sam Shepard’s “Buried Child” premieres in NYC
2004 – 93rd Davis Cup: Spain beats USA in Seville (3-2)
2021 – First known Hippos tests positive for COVID-19 at Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, with staff putting Imani (14) and Hermien (41) into isolation

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Famous Birthdays

1537 – Ashikaga Yoshiaki, 15th Japanese shōgun, born in Japan (d. 1597)
1822 – Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, American educator and the co-founder and first president of Radcliffe College, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1907)
1891 – Alexander Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer, born in St Petersburg (d. 1956)
1949 – Lanny Wadkins, American golfer (PGA C’ship 1977), born in Richmond, Virginia
1970 – Thomas Smith, American NFL cornerback (Buffalo Bills), born in Gates, North Carolina
1979 – Nick Stahl, American actor (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines), born in Harlingen, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1953 – Jorge Negrete [Moreno], Mexican singer and actor (The Rebel, La madrina del diablo), dies of hepatitis at 42
1955 – Paul Harvey, American actor (Spellbound, Calamity Jane, Heldorado, Jamboree), dies at 73
1973 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish physicist and developer of the radar and radio direction finding in WWII, dies at 81
1993 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (Gin Blossoms), commits suicide using a pistol at 32
1994 – Ronald Ridout, English school textbook author (English Today), dies at 78
2016 – E. R. Braithwaite, Guyanese diplomat and writer (To Sir with Love), dies at 104

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Historical Events

1987 – Defending champion Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia wins 3rd straight season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis title by defeating Mats Wilander of Sweden 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 in the final at Madison Square Garden, NYC
1994 – 83rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats Russia in Moscow (4-1)
1998 – The Unity Module, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched
2014 – The United Nations warns that the world is on course for the warmest year since records began
2019 – 58 migrants drown after a boat sinks off the coast of Mauritania, with 83 saved
2021 – Mt Semeru erupts on Java island, Indonesia, killing at least 14 and injuring 56

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Famous Birthdays

1899 – Charlie Spencer, English soccer defender and manager (2 caps; Newcastle United; mgr Grimsby Town 1937-51), born in Washington, England (d. 1953)
1937 – Max Baer Jr, American actor (Jethro-Beverly Hillbillies), born in Oakland, California
1938 – Yvonne Minton, Australian-British soprano, born in Sydney, Australia
1953 – Rick Middleton, Canadian ice hockey right wing (Canada Cup gold 1984; NHL All-Star Game 1981-82, 84; Boston Bruins), born in Toronto, Ontario
1973 – Corliss Williamson, American basketball forward (NBA C’ship 2004, Detroit Pistons; NBA 6th Man of the Year 2002; NCAA Final 4 MOP 1994), born in Russellville, Arkansas
1981 – Andreas Polyzogopoulo, Greek jazz trumpet player (Heart Of The Sun), born in Samiko, Greece

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Famous Deaths

1182 – Henry, earl of Gelre/Zutphen (1141/79-82), dies
1649 – William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet, dies at 63
1893 – Heinrich Göbel, German-born mechanic and inventor, dies at 75
1976 – [Edward] Benjamin Britten, English composer (The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra; Peter Grimes), dies of heart failure at 63
1984 – John Rock, American obstetrician and gynecologist who co-developed the 1st birth control pill, dies at 94
1994 – Geoffery Rudolph Elton, historiographer, dies at 73

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Historical Events

1926 – Detective novelist Agatha Christie mysteriously disappears for 11 days
1961 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973 – Pioneer 10 passes Jupiter (1st fly-by of an outer planet) [Dec 4-GMT]
1979 – Shadow Traffic begins broadcasting in the New York City metropolitan area.
1982 – 77°F highest December temperature ever recorded in Cleveland, Ohio
2019 – Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announce they are stepping down from roles at parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai to become head of both

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Famous Birthdays

1483 – Nicolaus von Amsdorf, German reformation theologist, born in Torgau, Saxony (d. 1565)
1857 – Joseph Conrad, Polish-English novelist (Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness), born in Berdychiv, Poland (d. 1924)
1883 – Anton (Friedrich Wilhelm) von Webern, Austrian 12-tone composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1945)
1973 – Francisco Islas Rueda [Super Crazy], Mexican pro wrestler (WWE; NJPW, Zero-1, AJPW), born in Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico
1978 – Trina [Katrina Laverne Taylor], American rapper (Glamorest Life), born in Miami, Florida
1985 – Amanda Seyfried, American actress (Mamma Mia, The Dropout), born in Allentown, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

1765 – Lord John Sackville, English politician (MP Tamworth 1734-47) and cricketer (Kent CCC), dies at 52
1960 – Hermann Stephani, German organist, and musicologist, dies at 83
1976 – Mary Nash, actress (Philadelphia Story, Till the Clouds Roll By), dies at 91
1993 – Lewis Thomas, biologist, dies of cancer at 80
1997 – Violet Carlson, American Broadway actress (The Student Prince), dies at 97
2017 – John B. Anderson, American politician and 1980 Republican presidential candidate, dies at 95

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Historical Events

1907 – Association of Football Players’ and Trainers’ Union (English Professional Football Players’ Association) is formed by Charlie Roberts and Billy Meredith in Manchester, England
1972 – “Via Galactica” closes at Uris Theater NYC after 7 performances
1985 – NFL quarterback legends Dan Marino and John Elway (Denver Broncos) face each other for the first time, a 30-26 win for Marino’s Miami Dolphins (390 yards and 3 TDs)
1988 – STS-27 Atlantis launched (Secret military mission)
1988 – UN votes 151-2 (Israel and US) to move PLO debate to Geneva, Great Britain abstains
1990 – US 69th manned space mission STS 35 (Columbia 11) launches into orbit

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Famous Birthdays

1868 – Francis Jammes, French poet and writer (Jammisme), born in Tournay, Hautes-Pyrénées, France (d. 1938)
1902 – Horace Hildreth, American politician (Gov-Maine, 1945-49) and U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan (1953-57), born in Gardiner, Maine (d. 1988)
1910 – Bob Newson, South African cricket fast bowler (3 Tests, 4 wickets; Transvaal; Rhodesia), born in Sea Point, Cape Province, South Africa (d. 1988)
1960 – Rick Savage, English bass player (Def Leppard-Hysteria, Rock of Ages), born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
1962 – Kardam, Prince of Turnovo, eldest son of King Simeon II of Bulgaria and his wife Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 2015)
1968 – Lucy Liu, American actress (Ally McBeal), born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York

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Famous Deaths

537 – Saint Silverius, Italian Pope (536-37) till deposed in March 537, starves to death in exile
1552 – Francis Xavier, Spanish Catholic missionary (b. 1506)
1748 – Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, English politician, dies at 86
1814 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher and writer (Justine) and where the words sadism and sadist are derived from, dies at 74
1888 – Franz Xaver Witt, German church musician, composer, and priest, dies at 54
2005 – Van Tuong Nguyen, Australian drug smuggler (hanged) (b. 1980)

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Historical Events

1824 – US House of Representatives begins to decide outcome of election deadlock between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson (Adams wins)
1974 – South Africa is awarded the Davis Cup tennis title after India refuses to travel to South Africa for the final in protest of the South African government’s apartheid policies
1984 – American tennis icon Chris Evert wins her 1,000th career professional match; beats Pascale Paradis of France 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 in the round of 16 at the Australian Open; Evert goes on to win the event
1989 – Romanian 5-time Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Nadia Comăneci arrives in NYC requesting political asylum to the United States; granted
1994 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist and convicted fraud is released from jail
2015 – After finishing the season with the largest payroll in MLB history at $298.3 million, the Los Angeles Dodgers are assigned the largest luxury tax bill ever, $43.7 million

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Famous Birthdays

1945 – Ross Edwards, Australian cricket batsman (20 Tests @ 40.37, top score 170no; 9 ODIs), born in Perth Western Australia
1954 – Bob Goen, American TV host (Wheel of Fortune, Entertainment Tonight), born in Long Beach, California
1955 – Pat Spillane, Irish Gaelic football left half forward and broadcaster (8 x All Ireland titles; Kerry), born in Templenoe, County Kerry, Ireland
1971 – Rob Waldrop, American College Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle (Outland Trophy 1993 Arizona; CFL, Toronto Argonauts), born in Atlanta, Georgia
1976 – Konerak Sinthasomphone, Jeffrey Dahmer’s victim, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1988 – Zoë Kravitz, American actress (Big Little Lies), daughter of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz, born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

660 – Eligius [Eloy], French patron saint of horses, goldsmiths and metalworkers who as bishop of Tournay-Noyon spent 20 years converting the pagan population of Flanders to Christianity, dies at around 72
1925 – Vicente Arregui Garay, Spanish composer, dies at 54
1958 – Patricia “Boots” Mallory, American dancer and actress (Handle With Care), dies from chronic throat disease at 45
1970 – Frank Smailes, English cricket all-rounder (1 Test; 8 County C’ships, Yorkshire), dies at 60
1984 – Roelof Frankot, Dutch painter (b. 1911)
2019 – Shelley Morrison, American actress (General Hospital, Will and Grace), dies at 83

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Historical Events

1886 – First commercially successful AC electric power plant opens, Buffalo, NY
1924 – National Football League Championship: Cleveland Bulldogs (7-1-1) [formerly Canton] win first past the post title
1956 – 1st use of videotape on TV (Douglas Edwards and the News)
1981 – NY Yankee Dave Righetti wins AL Rookie of Year Award
2009 – Canada begins its recovery from the recession; economic growth is at 0.4% after 14 months of economic stagnation
2017 – World’s longest recorded rainbow – 8 hrs 58 min in Taipei’s Yangmingshan mountain range

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Famous Birthdays

1726 – Jacques Aliamet, French etcher and engraver, born in Abbeville, France (d. 1788)
1828 – Jedediah Hotchkiss, American topographer and cartographer, born in Windsor, New York (d. 1899)
1890 – John Tasker Howard, American composer and music historian, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1964)
1968 – Des’ree [Desirée Annette Weeks], English singer (“Feel So High”; “You Gotta Be”; “Life”)
1971 – Heath Davis, New Zealand cricket bowler (NZ open v England 1994), born in Wellington, New Zealand
1981 – Rich Harden, Canadian baseball player

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Famous Deaths

1864 – John Adams, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in the Battle of Franklin at about 39
1967 – Patrick Kavanagh, Irish screenwriterr (Great Hunger), dies
1985 – Phil Tucker, American film director (Robot Monster), dies at 58
1993 – Bob Wolf, agent (New Kids on the Block, Larry Bird), dies
2010 – Peter Hofmann, Czech-born German operatic tenor (b. 1944)
2021 – Ray Kennedy, English soccer midfielder, forward (17 caps; Arsenal, Liverpool), dies from Parkinson’s disease at 70

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