Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1661 – Nicolas Fouquet, French Superintendent of Finances under Louis XIV is arrested for maladministration of state funds; he died in 1680, never seeing freedom again.
1915 – Tsar Nicholas II, distressed by increasing Russian losses, assumes personal command of his nation’s military forces; clearly a symbolic act and devastating for his leadership
1958 – “The Huckleberry Hound Show” by Hanna-Barbera featuring Yogi Bear premieres on US TV
1986 – Hijacking of aircraft Pan Am 73 at Karachi airport, Pakistan, 20 passengers killed
2012 – 54 people are killed and 50 injured after a firecracker factory explodes in Nadu
2021 – Tour Championship, Men’s Golf, East Lake GC, GA: Patrick Cantlay claims richest prize in golf ($15m) with 1 stroke win over Jon Rahm; runner-up Rahm pockets $5m

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Famous Birthdays

1319 – Peter IV, King of Aragon (1336-87), born in Perpignan, France (d. 1387)
1918 – Luis Alcoriza, Mexican screenwriter, film director, and actor, born in Badajoz, Mexico (d. 1992)
1920 – Fons Rademakers, Dutch director (Assault) and actor (Daughter of Darkness), born in Roosendaal, Netherlands (d. 2007)
1926 – Carmen Petra-Basacopol, Romanian composer and educator Bucharest Conservatory (1962-2003), born in Sibiu, Transylvania, Romania
1939 – Claudette Colvin, American civil rights activist who was arrested at age 15 for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus (nine months before Rosa Parks), born in Montgomery, Alabama, born in Montgomery, Alabama
1982 – Sondre Lerche, Norwegian musician, born in Bergen, Norway

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Famous Deaths

1808 – John Home, Scottish writer (b. 1722)
1978 – Joe Negroni, American rock vocalist (Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 37
1993 – Willem Wagter, actor (Ghetto, Medic Center West), dies at 60
2002 – David Todd Wilkinson, American astronomer, author of the first study of the Cosmic microwave background radiation (b. 1935)
2003 – Moe Biller, American labor union officer (AFL-CIO, Postal Workers), dies at 87
2021 – Ivan Patzaichin, Romanian canoeist (Olympic gold C-2 1000m 1968, 80, 84; C-1 1000m 1972; World C’ship gold x 8), dies from lung cancer at 71

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Historical Events

1282 – King of Aragon Pedro III annexes Sicily
1940 – CBS begins broadcasting TV as station W2XAB
1957 – Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, calls out National Guard to prevent 9 black students from entering a Little Rock’s Central High School
1993 – Mats Wilander beats fellow Swede Mikael Pernfors in a US Open marathon 7-6, 3-6, 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 in 4 hours, 1 minute; match ends at 2:26am
1994 – Bulgarian government of Lyuben Berov falls
1995 – Cult TV series “Xena: Warrior Princess” starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor debuts in the US

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Famous Birthdays

1853 – Hermann Wissmann, German African explorer and governor of East-Africa, born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1905)
1913 – Stanford Moore, American biochemist (Nobel 1977), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1982)
1916 – Robert A. W. Lowndes, American sci-fi author (Puzzle Planet) (d. 1988)
1949 – Dado Topić, Croatian musician (Time; Dragonfly), born in Nova Gradiška, Croatia
1967 – Darrin Murray, New Zealand cricket batsman (8 Tests), born in Christchurch, Canterbury
1970 – Luis Lopez, Puerto Rican baseball infielder (San Diego Padres), born in Cidra, Puerto Rico

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Famous Deaths

1916 – José Echegaray, Spanish politician and dramatist (Nobel Prize for Literature 1904), dies at 84
1994 – Louis Myers, American blues guitarist and harmonica player, dies at 64
1997 – Natko Devčić, Croatian composer, dies at 83
2007 – John Scott, Duke of Buccleuch, Scottish peer, then largest landowner in Scotland, 1st MP in a wheelchair, dies at 83
2009 – Iain Cuthbertson, Scottish actor (Guilty, Scandal, Rep, Danger UXB), dies at 79
2020 – Gary Peacock, American jazz bassist (Keith Jarrett Trio), dies at 85

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Historical Events

1812 – World’s first cannery (Donkin, Hall and Gamble) opens in London, England to supply food to the Royal Navy
1940 – Dutch government in exile of Gerbrandy forms in London
1966 – Future Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Orr signs his first NHL contract with the Boston Bruins; 2 year deal paying a then record $70,000 plus signing bonus
1967 – Final episode of “What’s My Line?” hosted by John Charles Daly on CBS TV
1989 – American tennis star Chris Evert beats 15-year-old Monica Seles 6-0, 6-2 in a 4th round match for her 101st and last US Open singles victory
1995 – eBay (Electronic Bay) founded by Pierre Omidyar

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Famous Birthdays

1781 – Eugène de Beauharnais, stepson of Napoleon I (son of Alexandre de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie), born in Paris (d. 1824)
1915 – Knut Nystedt, Norwegian organist, choral composer, and conductor, born in Kristiania, Norway (d. 2014)
1926 – Irene Papas, Greek actress (Zorba the Greek, Attila The Hun, The Guns of Navarone), born in Chiliomodi, Corinth, Greece
1947 – Michael Huffington, American oil millionaire and politician (Rep-R-California, 1992-94), born in Dallas, Texas
1948 – Tara Singh Varma, Dutch politcian (1st black woman in Dutch 2nd Chamber), born in Springlands, British Guiana
1964 – Ernest Givins, American NFL wide receiver (Pro Bowl 1990, 92; Houston Oilers), born in St. Petersburg, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1860 – Aleksey Stepanovich Khomyakov, Russian poet, dies at 56
1903 – Joseph Skipsey, British poet (b. 1832)
1962 – E. E. Cummings, American poet (Tulips and Chimneys), dies at 67
1994 – Nikos Ghika, Greek artist, dies at 88
1995 – Donald Cuthbert Coleman, British economic historian, dies at 75
2015 – Adrian Cadbury, British confectionery manufacturer (Cadbury) and author of report on Corporate Governance, dies at 86

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Historical Events

1839 – Salon of Varietes opens in Amsterdam
1924 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills NY: Bill Tilden wins 5th straight US singles title; beats Bill Johnston for 3rd consecutive year 6-1, 9-7, 6-2
1963 – Alabama Governor George Wallace prevents integration of Tuskegee High School
1978 – John McClain performs 180 outside loops in an airplane over Houston
1988 – Amnesty International’s Human Rights Now! tour begins in Wembley Stadium, London
2021 – At least 43 people die as the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit the US Northeast with record rains, tornadoes and flooding with New York and New Jersey declaring state of emergency

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Famous Birthdays

1856 – Yang Hsiu-ch’ing, commander in chief of Taiping Rebellion
1866 – Hiram Johnson, Progressive politician, US Senator, Governor of California (1911-17), born in Sacramento, California (d. 1945)
1939 – Sam Gooden, American soul vocalist (The Impressions – “People Get Ready”; “It’s All Right”), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (d. 2022)
1944 – Claude Nicollier, Swiss astronaut (STS 61-K, 46, 61, 75), born in Vevey, Switzerland
1963 – Sam Mitchell, NBA forward (Minn Timberwolves)
1987 – Spencer Smith, American rock drummer (Panic! at the Disco), born in Denver, Colorado

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Famous Deaths

1384 – Louis I, Duke of Anjou and King of Naples (Battle of Poitiers), dies at 45
1870 – Arthur Saint-Leon, French composer and dancer, dies at 48
1944 – Manfred Freiherr von Killinger, German ambassador to Romania, commits suicide after Romanian coup
1982 – Tom Baker, American actor, dies of a drug overdose in New York at 42
1984 – Manos Katrakis, Greek actor (Antigone, Marinos Kontaras), dies at 79
2006 – Bob Mathias, American decathlete (Olympic gold 1948, 52) and congressman, dies of cancer at 75

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Historical Events

1638 – -4] French queen-mother Maria de’ Medici visits Amsterdam
1911 – M Fourny sets world aircraft distance record of 720 km
1925 – Pierre de Coubertin steps down as chairman of International Olympic Committee; replaced by Henri de Baillet-Latour of Belgium
1957 – WAVY TV channel 10 in Portsmouth-Norfolk, VA (NBC) begins broadcasting
1972 – Australian swimmer Shane Gould wins the 200m freestyle in world record 2:03.56 at the Munich Olympics; her 3rd gold medal and 3rd world record of the Games
1998 – American harness trainer/driver Dave Palone wins his 6,000th race, driving Oompa’s Terminator to victory at The Meadows Racetrack in Pennsylvania

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Famous Birthdays

1758 – Wilhelmus Kist, writer/director of Dutch Staatscourant
1899 – Richard Arlen, American actor (Apache Uprising, Wings), born in St. Paul, Minnesota (d. 1976)
1937 – Ron O’Neal, actor (Superfly), born in Utica, New York
1937 – Al Geiberger, American golfer (PGA C’ship 1966; first sub-60 PGA Tour round 1977; Players Tour C’ship 1975), born in Red Bluff, California
1977 – Shoshana Bean, American stage actress
1996 – Zendaya [Coleman], American actress (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Euphoria), singer and dancer, born in Oakland, California

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Famous Deaths

1955 – Philip Loeb, actor (Jake-Goldbergs), dies at 61
1972 – Kees Posthumus, Dutch chemist, dies at 70
1983 – Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson, American politician (Sen-D-Wash), dies at 71
2007 – Viliam Schrojf, Slovak soccer goalkeeper (39 caps Czechoslovakia; Slovan Bratislava 240 games), dies at 76
2020 – Jerzy Szczakiel, Polish speedway rider (World Individual C’ship 1973; World Pairs C’ship 1971), dies at 71
2021 – Juan Rodríguez Vega, Chilean soccer defender (26 caps; Universidad de Chile, Atlético Español), dies at 77

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Historical Events

1310 – German king Heinrich VII makes his son Johan king of Bohemia
1940 – German occupiers in Netherlands begin soap rationing
1940 – US National Guard assembles
1987 – Curtis Strange sets golf’s earning for year record ($697,385)
1990 – Dennis Eckersley saves his 40th game of the season
2017 – Indications that Neanderthals were the first to make glue out of tar strengthened by research published in “Scientific Reports”

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Famous Birthdays

1884 – George Al Sarton, Belgian-American chemist and historian, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1956)
1895 – Joseph Moiseyevich Schillinger, composer
1905 – Sal Tas, Dutch journalist and CIA agent (Het Parool) [or 1897]
1941 – Emanuel Nunes, Portuguese composer, born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 2012)
1975 – James Black, Canadian singer-songwriter (Finger Eleven), born in Ontario, Canada
1977 – Jeff Hardy, American professional wrestler

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Famous Deaths

1864 – Ferdinand Lassalle, French socialist and political activist (Allgemeiner), dies at 39
1869 – Mary Ward, Irish scientist, first automobile accident victim (b. 1827)
1948 – Andrei A Zjdanov, Russian politician (against kosmopolitism), dies at 52
1985 – Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian virologist (Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for tissue grafting), dies at 85
1995 – Beant Singh, Prime Minister of Punjab province of India, assassinated at 73
1996 – David Pollock, Viscount Hanworth, British barrister, dies at 80

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Historical Events

1146 – European leaders outlaw the crossbow, intending to end war for all time
1363 – Beginning of the Battle of Lake Poyang; two Chinese rebel leaders Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang are pitted against each other in what was one of the largest naval battles in history during Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty
1873 – Austrian explorers Julius von Payer and Karl Weyprecht discover the archipelago of Franz Joseph Land in the Arctic Sea.
1939 – General Reijnders appointed supreme commander of Dutch army
1992 – “Most Happy Fella” closes at Booth Theater NYC after 229 performances
2012 – A blast in the Xiaojiawan coal mine, China, kills 26 miners with 21 missing

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Famous Birthdays

1687 – Francesco Maria Vallara, Italian composer, born in Parma, Italy (d. 1740)
1818 – Alexander H. Rice, American businessman and politician, 30th Governor of Massachusetts (1876-78), born in Newton, Massachusetts (d. 1895)
1916 – John Thoday, British geneticist, born in Chinley, Derbyshire (d. 2008)
1949 – Christopher Collins, American actor (True Identity), voice actor (Cobra Commander-G.I. Joe) and comedian, born in Orange, New Jersey (d. 1994)
1953 – Robert Parish, American College/Basketball HOF center (9 x NBA All-Star; NBA C’ship 1981, 84, 86 Boston Celtics; 97 Chicago Bulls), born in Shreveport, Louisiana
1977 – Marlon Byrd, American baseball player, born in Boynton Beach, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1745 – Jean-Baptiste-Maurice Quinault, French composer, dies at 57
1910 – Albert Vandal, French earl and historian (Napoleon), dies at 57
1914 – Adrian H. Stewart, British lieutenant, dies in battle in Cameroon at 26
1943 – A[braham] Merritt, American sci-fi author (The Moon Pool, Burn Witch Bun), dies from a heart attack at 58
1989 – Seymour Krim, American journalist, essayist, and literary critic (b. 1922)
2007 – Charles Vanik, American politician (b. 1918)

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Historical Events

1864 – William Huggins discovers chemical composition of nebulae
1941 – German Einsatzkommando in Russia kills 1,469 Jewish children
1949 – USSR performs its first nuclear test at Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR
1953 – KHSL TV channel 12 in Chico, CA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1960 – Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser wins blue ribband 100m freestyle gold medal at the Rome Olympics; retains title won in Melbourne 1956; will win unprecedented 3rd consecutive 100m gold in Tokyo 1964
1962 – Some provisions of Kuwaiti constitution are suspended

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Famous Birthdays

1881 – Valery-Nicolas Larbaud, French novelist and translator (Enfantines), born in Vichy, France (d. 1957)
1898 – Preston Sturges [Edmund Biden], American director and screenwriter (Sullivan’s Travels), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1959)
1926 – María Dolores Pradera, Spanish melodic singer and actress, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 2018)
1941 – Robin Leach, English TV host (Life Styles of Rich and Famous), born in London, England (2018)
1949 – Peter Wiegold, British composer (Earth and Stars; Kafka’s Wound), born in Ilford, Essex, England
1957 – Jerry D. Bailey, American Racing Hall of Fame jockey/broadcaster (Kentucky Derby 1993, 1996), born in Dallas, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1856 – Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, British Christian writer, dies at 77
1990 – Sandy, dog in the play Annie, dies at 16
1991 – Dixie Dunbar [Charlotte King], American singer and actress, dies of heart attack at 72
1995 – Frank Perry, American film director (Diary of Mad Housewife, David and Lisa), dies at 65
2003 – Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, Iraqi political leader (b. 1939)
2007 – Alfred Peet, Dutch-American entrepreneur and the founder of Peet’s Coffee and Tea (b. 1920)

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Historical Events

1840 – Nine Jewish prisoners are released from Damascus jails
1914 – World War I: British General John French orders civilian evacuation of Amiens, France as German forces push in from Belgium
1957 – US Senator James Thurmond (Rep, SC) begins 24-hr filibuster against civil rights bill
1963 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I have a dream” speech addressing the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom civil rights march at Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
1973 – India and Pakistan sign POW accord
1981 – John Hinckley pleads innocent to attempt to assassinate US President Ronald Reagan

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Famous Birthdays

1025 – Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan, 70th Emperor of Japan, born in Heian-kyō, Japan (d. 1068)
1582 – Taichang Emperor [Zhu Changluo], 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, born in Beijing (d. 1620)
1789 – Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden, born in Versailles, France (d. 1860)
1906 – John Betjeman, poet (Mount Zion) and English Poet Laureate (1972-1984), born in London (d. 1984)
1949 – Hugh Cornwell, Britsh punk singer-songwriter (The Stranglers – “Dreamtime”), born in Tufnell Park, North London, England
1971 – Shane Andrews, infielder (Montreal Expos), born in Dallas, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1544 – Alardus Aemstelredamus, Dutch priest and humanist, dies at about 53
1969 – Clarence Hennecke, American actor (The Strong Man, Murder by Television, Keystone Kops), dies at 74
1981 – Paul Anspach, Belgian fencer (Olympic gold individual epée, team epée 1912), dies at 99
1988 – Paul Whitelaw, New Zealand cricket batsman (2 Tests; Auckland), dies at 78
1991 – Eleanor Berry, actress (Death Valley Days), dies
2013 – Rob du Bois, Dutch composer, dies at 79

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Historical Events

1913 – Lt Pyotr Nesterov, of Imperial Russian Air Service, performs a loop in a monoplane at Kiev (1st aerobatic maneuver in an airplane)
1966 – Oakland Pitcher Paul Lindblad begins a 385 cons errorless streak
1983 – Haiti adopts constitution
1984 – US President Ronald Reagan announces ‘Teacher in Space’ project
1992 – CFL revokes BC Lions franchise
2004 – In a huge upset in the men’s basketball semi final at the Athens Olympics, Argentina beats a star-studded but unsettled US team 89-81; they go on to take gold and US bronze

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Famous Birthdays

1752 – Herman Muntinghe, Dutch theologist (History of Mankind), born in Termunten, Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1824)
1899 – C. S. Forester, English historical novelist (Horatio Hornblower), born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 1966)
1937 – J.D. Crowe, American bluegrass banjo player and band leader (The New South), born in Lexington, Kentucky (d. 2021)
1939 – Edward Patten, American soul singer (Gladys Knight and the Pips), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2005)
1943 – [Susan] Tuesday Weld, American actress (Dobie Gillis, Wild in Country), born in NYC, New York
1979 – Sarah Neufeld, Canadian violinist (Arcade Fire), born in British Columbia

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Famous Deaths

1828 – Eise J Eisinga, constructed planetarium at Franeker, dies at 84
1871 – William Whiting Boardman, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut), dies at 76
1879 – Rowland Hill, English inventor who introduced 1st adhesive postage stamp (1840), dies at 84
1979 – Louis Mountbatten, British naval officer and statesman, last Viceroy of India (1947), is assassinated by an IRA bomb on his boat in Ireland at 79
1999 – Hélder Câmara, Brazilian Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1909)
2003 – Pierre Poujade, French politician (b. 1920)

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