Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1890 – Henry Morton Stanley inaugurated in London
1954 – “Seven Samurai”, Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune, is released
1962 – Ranger 4 crash lands on (backside of) Moon
1967 – San Marco 2 Launch (1st Equatorial Launch)
1992 – “Growing Pains” final episode on ABC TV
1993 – “Shakespeare for My Father” opens at Helen Hayes NYC for 266 performances

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1603 – Francesco Nigetti, Italian composer, born in Florence, Italy (d. 1681)
1834 – Artemus Ward [Charles Farrar Browne], American humorist (considered to be America’s first stand-up comedian), born in Waterford, Maine (d. 1867)
1910 – Erland von Koch, Swedish composer, born in Stockholm (d. 2009)
1925 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish jazz guitarist (“Apache”; “Dansevise”), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 2015)
1933 – Carol Burnett, American comedian (The Carol Burnett Show) and actress (Annie; The Four Seasons; Mad About You), born in San Antonio, Texas
1952 – Popo Molefe, South African politician and secretary-general (South Africa UDF), born in Sophiatown, Gauteng, South Africa

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1922 – Hans Sommer, German theatre composer, dies at 84
1951 – John Alden Carpenter, American composer (Sea Drift), dies at 75
1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (Jack Ewing-Dallas), dies at 65
1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (All the King’s Men, Highway Patrol), dies after a series of strokes at 74
1991 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (Bugler’s Dream), dies at 86
2013 – George Jones, American country singer-songwriter (“Golden Rings”; “Oh Lonesome Me”), dies from hypoxic respiratory failure at 81

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1905 – Whites win right to vote in South Africa
1943 – The Demyansk Shield for German troops in commemoration of Demyansk Pocket instituted
1945 – Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java
1972 – Hans-Werner Grosse glides 907.7 miles (1,461 km) in an AS-W-12
1976 – Elections in Vietnam for a National Assembly to reunite the country
2005 – Final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1608 – Gaston, Duke of Orleans, brother of French King Louis XIII, born in Palace of Fontainebleau, France (d. 1660)
1903 – Camilla Horn, German actress (Rebus, Vertigine, Polterabend, Matinee Idol), born in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany (d. 1996)
1940 – Al Pacino, American actor (And Justice For All, The Godfather, Scorpio), born in NYC, New York
1948 – Yu Shyi-kun, Premier of the Republic of China (2002-05), born in Dongshan, Yilan County, China
1951 – Ian McCartney, British MP for Makerfield (1987-10), born in Lennoxtown, Scotland
1961 – Dinesh D’Souza, Indian-American author (2016: Obama’s America), born in Mumbai, India

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1271 – Master Gerhard, first master mason of Cologne Cathedral, falls to his death from scaffolding during the building of the cathedral (b. c. 1210)
1974 – Pamela Courson, American woman and long-term companion of Jim Morrison, dies of a heroin overdose at 27
1996 – John Lorne Campbell, Scottish folklorist, dies at 90
2000 – Lucien le Cam, French mathematician (b. 1924)
2007 – Alan Ball, English footballer (b. 1945)
2009 – John Marchi, American politician (b. 1921)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1801 – 1st performance of Joseph Haydn’s oratorio “Die Jahreszeiten” (The Seasons)
1865 – Fire alarm and police telegraph system put into operation in San Francisco
1915 – German army fires chloroform gas in Ypres (Leper)
1929 – Thorvald Stauning becomes premier of Denmark
1992 – “Man of La Mancha” opens at Marquis Theater NYC for 108 performances
1993 – Farm Aid VI held in Ames, Iowa; performers include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Arlo Guthrie, The Jayhawks, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Cash, Ricky Van Shelton, Marty Stuart, Martina McBride, Bruce Hornsby, Bryan Adams, Ringo Starr, and Dwight Yoakam

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1828 – Robert Brank Vance, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina (1873-85), born in Buncombe, North Carolina (d. 1899)
1856 – Philippe Pétain, French marshal and Chief of the French State (1940-44), born in Cauchy-à-la-Tour, France (d. 1951)
1942 – Richard M. Daley, American politician, 43rd Mayor of Chicago (1989-2011), born in Chicago, Illinois
1950 – Rob Hyman, American rock singer-songwriter, keyboardist, melodica and accordion player (The Hooters – “All You Zombies”; “And We Danced”), born in Meriden, Connecticut
1961 – Roger Mayweather, American boxer, (WBA and lineal super featherweight titles 1983-84, WBC light welterweight 1987-89; IBO light welterweight; IBO welterweight 1994-95), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 2020)
1969 – Melinda Clarke, American actress (Days of Our Lives), born in Dana Point, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

709 – Wilfrid, English bishop and saint, dies at about 76
1656 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
1850 – Louis Alexandre Piccinni, Italian-French composer, dies at 70
1945 – Anton de Kom, Suriname resistance fighter, dies at 47
1955 – Alfred Polgar, Austrian writer/theater critic, dies at 79
2017 – Don Gordon [Donald Guadagno], American actor (Bullitt, Papillon), dies at 90

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1344 – Order of the Garter founded by English King Edward III, the most senior knighthood in the UK with just 24 living members plus the monarch (or 1348)
1597 – William Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance
1918 – Dover Patrol overthrows Germany U-boat in East Sea
1948 – KSTP TV channel 5 in St Paul-Minneapolis, MN (ABC) 1st broadcast
1953 – WCOV TV channel 20 in Montgomery, AL (IND/CBS) begins broadcasting
1996 – US docuseries “Forensic Files” (Medical Detectives) premieres on TLC Network

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1818 – James Anthony Froude, English historian and novelist (The Nemesis of Faith), born in Dartington Rectory, Devon (d. 1894)
1900 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player, born in Oglesby, Illinois (d. 1959)
1914 – John Hubbard, American actor (Don’t Call Me Charlie, The Tall T, One Million B.C.), born in East Chicago, Indiana (d. 1988)
1920 – Eric Yarrow, British businessman, CEO (Clydesdale Bank), born in Frensham, Surrey
1939 – Ray Peterson, American singer (“Tell Laura I Love Her”), born in Denton, Texas (d. 2005)
1977 – Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1124 – Alexander I, King of Scots (1107-24), dies at 47
1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer, dies at 50
1996 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian army general, dies at 82
1998 – James Earl Ray, American assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., dies while still under detention of complications related to kidney disease and liver failure caused by hepatitis C at 70
2010 – Peter Porter, Australian-British author and poet (Chair of Babel), dies at 81
2021 – Bill Whittington, American auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1979), dies in a plane crash at 71

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1500 – Pedro Álvares Cabral is the first european to discover Brazil, landing near Monte Pascoal, claims it for Portugal
1898 – 1st Spanish–American War action sees the USS Nashville capture a Spanish ship
1903 – American Power Boat Association forms
1916 – Karl Spindler scuttles the Aud near Daunt’s Rock, to prevent its cargo of 20,000 rifles destined for Irish republicans falling into enemy hands
1993 – Seattle Mariner Chris Basio no-hits Boston Red Sox
2018 – Monte Carlo Tennis Masters: Rafael Nadal beats Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-2 to extend his Open-era record for most wins at the same event (11)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1729 – Michael Hillegas, American merchant and first Treasurer of the United States (1775-89), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1804)
1909 – Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist (Nobel 1986), born in Turin, Italy (d. 2012)
1943 – Mel Carter, American pop singer (“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
1948 – Carol Drinkwater, Anglo-Irish actress (Father, All Creatures Great and Small) and author (The Haunted School, Provence), born in London
1967 – Sherri Shepherd, American comedian and actress
1980 – Courtney Friel, presenter of World Poker Tour

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1782 – Anne Bonny, Irish pirate, dies in prison at 85
1821 – John Crome [Old Crome], English landscape painter and etcher, dies at 52
1893 – Chaim Aronson, Lithuanian inventor and academic, dies at 67
1982 – Melville Bell Grosvenor, American photographer and president of National Geographic Society, dies at 80
2006 – Alida Valli [Baroness Alida von Marckenstein-Frauenberg], Italian actress (The Paradine Case, The Third Man), dies at 84
2013 – Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter, and guitarist who opened the Woodstock Festival (“Freedom”; “Here Comes The Sun”), dies from a heart attack at 72

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1878 – NY installs 1st firehouse pole
1925 – No baseball games played in NL due to Charles Ebbets’ funeral
1945 – US 7th Army reaches Nuremberg
1970 – Reds clout 7 HRs by 6 batters, Braves counter with 3 HRs, 6 for one team and 9 different batters for two teams, all tie or set records
1974 – 28th Tony Awards: River Niger and Raisin win
2017 – Taliban attack army base at Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, killing more than 100

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1822 – Hannibal Goodwin, Episcopal priest who patented a method for making film used in Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope, born in Taughannock, New York (d. 1900)
1853 – Charles Malherbe, French violinist and composer, born in Paris (d. 1911)
1881 – Jules-Marie Canneel, Flemish painter and caricaturist (Rocks of Oran), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1953)
1924 – Daniel Melnick, American producer, Get Smart), born in NYC, New York
1951 – Michael Hartley Freedman, American mathematician
1958 – Andie MacDowell [Rosalie Anderson], American actress (Sex, Lies and Videotape, Green Card), born in Gaffney, South Carolina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist whose ideas changed the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, dies of a heart attack at 62
1973 – Merian C. Cooper, American film director and producer (King Kong) and aviator (Kościuszko Squadron, Director-Pan American Airways), dies of cancer at 79
1985 – Foster Hewitt, Canadian radio broadcaster (Hockey Night in Canada), dies at 82
2000 – Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (The Jordanaires), dies at 70
2007 – William “Parry” O’Brien, American shot putter (Olympic golds 1952, 1956, and silver 1960), dies of a heart attack during a swimming competition at 75
2013 – Shakuntala Devi, Indian writer and mental calculator known as the “Human Computer”, stops calculating at 83 due to complications from severe respiratory problems

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1958 – Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Montreal Canadiens’ 3-peat; beat Boston Bruins, 5-3 for a 4-2 for series win
1965 – People’s Republic China offers North Vietnam military aid
1981 – 85th Boston Marathon: Toshihiko Seko of Japan wins men’s race in 2:09:26; Allison Roe of New Zealand takes women’s title in 2:26:46
1986 – Vladimir Horowitz performs in Moscow, Russia, his first appearance in his Russian homeland since 1925
1988 – Baltimore Orioles set worst record to start a season 0-14 (will go 0-21)
2007 – Johnson Space Center Shooting: A man with a handgun barricades himself in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas before killing a male hostage and himself.

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

702 – Jafar al-Sadiq, Muslim scholar and scientist, born in Medina, Umayyad Empire (d. 765)
1650 – William Bedloe, English fraudster and Popish Plot informer, born in Chepstow, Monmouthshire (d. 1680)
1884 – Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, born in Eastwell Park, Kent, England (d. 1966)
1908 – Lionel Hampton, American jazz vibraphone player, pianist, drummer, and actor, born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 2002)
1970 – Shemar Moore, American actor (Malcolm-Young and Restless), born in Oakland, California
1984 – Tyson Griffin, American professional mixed martial artist, born in Sacramento, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1769 – Pontiac, Ottawa Indian leader, murdered by a Peoria warrior at 48 or 49
1906 – Australian wombat; oldest known marsupial, dies in London Zoo at 26 (London, England)
1977 – Len Johnson, cricketer (one Test for Australia, 3-66 and 3-8), dies
1991 – Steve Marriott, British rock guitarist, singer and songwriter (Small Faces, 1965-68, 75-78); Humble Pie, 1969-75, 79-83 – Eat It), dies in a house fire at 44
1992 – Marjorie Gestring, American springboard diver (Olympic gold 1936), dies at 69
2018 – Avicii [Tim Bergling], Swedish musician, DJ, remixer and record producer (“Levels”; “Wake Me Up”; “Sunshine”), commits suicide at 28

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1900 – Highest scoring opening game, Phils beat Braves 19-17 in 10
1919 – Leslie Irvin of US makes first premeditated free-fall parachute jump
1936 – First day of the Great Uprising in Palestine, anti-Jewish riots break out
1963 – Johnny Cash releases single “Ring Of Fire” written by his future wife June Carter and Merle Kilgore
1971 – USSR Salyut 1 launched; 1st manned lab in orbit
1971 – After smashing 124 in the 1st innings, Indian cricket opener Sunil Gavaskar makes 220 in 2nd innings in the drawn 5th Test against the West Indies in Port of Spain, Trinidad

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1830 – Karl Josef Rudolph Cornely, German Jesuit biblical scholar, born in Breyell, Germany (d. 1908)
1873 – Sydney Barnes, English cricket fast bowler (27 Tests, 189 wickets, BB 9/103); Warwickshire CCC, Lancashire CCC, Staffordshire CCC), born in Smethwick, England (d. 1967)
1942 – David Fanshawe, British composer and ethno-musicologist (African Sanctus,; Pacific Odessey), born in Paignton, England (d. 2010)
1949 – Paloma Picasso, French-Spanish businesswoman and jewelry designer (Tiffany and Co.), born in Vallauris, France
1979 – Kate Hudson, American actress (Almost Famous, You, Me and Dupree), born in Los Angeles, California
1990 – Kim Chiu, Filipino Chinese actress (Sana Maulit Muli), born in Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1739 – Nicholas Saunderson, mathematician, dies
1791 – Richard Price, nonconformist minister/writer (Alabi’s World), dies
1831 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German mathematician, dies at 65
1980 – Tony Beckley, actor (Assault, When a Stranger Calls), dies at 51
1996 – Peg Ridge, peace campaigner, dies at 72
2004 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist (b. 1920)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1934 – Adolf Hitler names Joachim von Ribbentrop ambassador for disarmament
1958 – A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum.
1977 – Musical revue “Side by Side by Sondheim” opens at Music Box, NYC for 390 performances
1984 – Joan Benoit runs world record female marathon (2:22:43)
1990 – Birmingham Fire issued an original franchise in WLAF
1994 – “Beauty and the Beast” opens at Palace Theater NYC

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1813 – James McCune Smith, African-American doctor and abolitionist, born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1865)
1925 – Bob Hastings, American actor (McHale’s Navy, All in the Family), born in Brooklyn, New York, (d. 2014)
1946 – Harvey Kagan, American muscian (Sir Douglas Quintet)
1950 – Bill Sudderth III, American trumpeteer (Atlantic Star-Touch 4 Leaf Clover)
1950 – Kenny Ortega, American film and TV producer (High School Musical trilogy), born in Palo Alto, California
1959 – Jim Eisenreich, American MLB outfielder (Tourette syndrome, Florida Marlins WS 1997), born in St. Cloud, Minnesota

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1556 – Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (Flora, Antigone), dies at 61
1567 – Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer, dies at 63
1947 – Benny Leonard, Jewish-American lightweight boxing champ (1917-25), dies at 51
1984 – John Lee Mahin, American screenwriter, dies of emphysema at 81
1984 – Francis De Wolff, British character actor (A Christmas Carol, From Russia With Love), dies at 71
2013 – Cordell “Boogie” Mosson, American musician (Parliament-Funkadelic collective), dies of liver failure at 60

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1945 – 8th Air Force bombs Dresden
1987 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1991 – Railroad workers go on strike in US
2013 – 5 people are killed in Wana, Pakistan, by a United States drone attack
2017 – 1st living giant shipworm at 3 ft found in the Philippines, really a type of clam
2021 – Funeral of Prince Philip, consort to Queen Elizabeth II, held under COVID-19 restrictions at Windsor Palace, England

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1904 – Naoomal Jeoomal, Indian cricketer (pioneer Indian Test opening batsman), born in Karachi, British India (d. 1980)
1912 – Isador Caplan, British lawyer and Aldeburgh Festival pioneer, born in Blackpool, England (d. 1995)
1926 – Arthur Hockaday, Director-General (Commonwealth War Graves Commission), born in Plymouth
1940 – Claire Bretécher, French cartoonist (Les Frustrés), born in Nantes, France (d. 2020)
1956 – Kaye Young, American WBL forward (NY Stars, NJ Stars), born in Bunn, North Carolina
1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian ice hockey player, born in Chelyabinsk, Russia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1799 – Richard Jupp, English architect (East India House) (b. 1728)
1976 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
1997 – Chaim Herzog, 6th President of Israel (1983-93), dies at 78
2004 – Soundarya, Indian actress (b. 1971)
2004 – [Andrew] Bruce Boa, Canadian actor (The Empire Strikes Back), dies of cancer at 73
2018 – Barbara Bush, First Lady of the US (1989-93) and wife of George H. W. Bush, dies following long illness at 92

More Famous Deaths »