Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1953 – “From Here to Eternity” based on book by James Jones, directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1954)
1984 – Toronto designated hitter Cliff Johnson hits MLB record 19th career pinch-hit HR in Blue Jays 4-3 win over Baltimore Orioles
2007 – Atlanta left-hander Tom Glavine becomes only the 23rd pitcher in MLB history to reach the 300 win milestone as the Braves beat Cubs, 8-3
2012 – 19 people are killed by Kurdish rebels in Hakk
2014 – Obama signs The Iron Dome Bill providing $225 million in additional funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defense
2015 – Fishing boat carrying around 600 migrants sinks of the coast of Libya, 373 rescued

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1880 – Gertrude E Durden Rush, American composer, and playwright (Black Girls Burden), born in Navasota, Texas (d. 1962)
1901 – Claude Autant-Lara, French film director (Four Bags Full, Rouge et noir), born in Luzarches, Val-d’Oise, France (d. 2000)
1902 – Irene Rice Pereira, American abstract artist, born in Chelsea, Massachusetts (d. 1971)
1953 – Samantha Sang [Cheryl Lau Sang], Australian pop singer (Emotion), born in Melbourne
1969 – Kenny Irwin Jr., American auto racer (USAC National Midget Champion 1996; NASCAR 87 starts), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 2000)
1975 – Stéphanie Szostak, French-American Actress (Dinner for Schmucks; A Million Little Things), born in Paris, France

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1889 – Willem Ruys J. Dz, Dutch ship owner, dies at 80
1929 – Millicent Fawcett, English suffragist, dies at 82
1987 – Zygmunt Mycielski, Polish composer, music writer and editor (Ruch Muzyczny, 1957-68), dies at 79
1994 – Terry Hibbitt, English footballer, dies at 47
1996 – Frank Marcus, German playwright and critic, dies at 68
2000 – Dudley Randall, African-American poet who founded the pioneering publishing house “Broadside Press”, dies at 84

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1265 – Battle of Evesham: English prince Edward beats Simon de Montfort the younger
1347 – English troops conquer Fort Calais
1636 – Johan Mauritius appointed governor of Dutch Brazil
1914 – US declares neutrality on the outbreak of WWI
1946 – An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. 100 are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
1958 – The Billboard Hot 100 is published for the 1st time, with “Poor Little Fool” by Ricky Nelson at #1

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1904 – Witold Gombrowicz, Polish author (Ferdydurke, Pornography), born in Małoszyce, Russian Empire (d. 1969)
1906 – Marie-Jose von Saksen-Coburg, Belgian Princess (last Queen of Italy), born in Ostend, Belgium (d. 2001)
1913 – Robert Hayden, African-American poet (Those Winter Sundays), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1980)
1928 – Udham Singh, India, field hockey player (Olympic gold 1952, 56, 64), born in Sansarpur, India (d. 2000)
1939 – Frank Vincent, American actor (The Sopranos), born in North Adams, Massachusetts (d. 2017)
1973 – Peter Tsekenis, Australian soccer midfielder (Olyroos, Olympics 1996)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1265 – Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer, killed in the Battle of Evesham (b. 1223)
1476 – Jacob van Armagnac-Pardiac, French duke of Nemours, beheaded
1938 – Pearl White, American actress/stunt woman (Perils of Pauline), dies at 49
1975 – John Baragrey, American actor (Creeper, The Loves of Carmen), dies of a stroke at 57
1978 – Frank Fontaine, American comedian (Crazy Guggenheim), dies at 58
2013 – Sandy Woodward [John Forster], English admiral (British Naval Task Force, Falklands War), dies at 81

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1913 – Wheatland Hop Riot on a California farm, 4 die in one of the first farm labour disputes
1962 – NY Met Frank Thomas hits his 6th HR in 3 games
1990 – US announces commitment of Naval forces to Gulf regions
1990 – Radio Kuwait resigns air, due to Iraqi invasion
1991 – Giant Victory driven by Jack Moiseyev wins Hambletonian, 2nd $1m purse in 22 days for Moiseyev after winning Meadowlands Pace
1997 – Canadian Open Women’s Golf (du Maurier Classic), Glen Abbey GC: Colleen Walker wins by 2 shots from Liselotte Neumann of Sweden

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1921 – Richard Adler, American composer and songwriter (Pajama Game; Damn Yankees), born in NYC, New York (d. 2012)
1924 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs (PvdA), born in Voorschoten, Netherlands (d. 2011)
1950 – Waldemar Cierpinski, East German runner (Olympic marathon gold 1976, 80), born in Neugattersleben, Germany
1967 – Skin [Deborah Dyer] Jamaican-British singer (Skunk Anansie), born in Brixton, London
1974 – Blaine Wilson, American gymnast (Olympic 5th 1996), born in Columbus, Ohio
1978 – Mariusz Jop, Polish footballer, born in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Poland

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1779 – Henry Kobell, Dutch painter and cartoonist, dies at 27
1939 – Eugust Enna, composer, dies at 80
1966 – Lenny Bruce [Leonard Schneider], American comedian, dies of a morphine overdose at 39
1995 – Harry Craft, American MLB baseball player and manager, dies at 80
2008 – Erik Darling, American folk musician (Rooftop Singers), dies at 74
2011 – Allan Watkins, Welsh cricket all-rounder, (15 Tests, England @ 40.15, 11 wickets; Glamorgan), dies at 89

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1924 – A’s 1st baseman Joe Hauser sets AL record of 14 total bases in a game; 3 HRs and a double as Philadelphia beats Cleveland Indians, 12-4 at Dunn Field
1934 – Adolf Hitler becomes commander-in-chief of German armed forces
1942 – 250 Dutch Catholic Jews arrested, transported to Amersfoort camp
1986 – Lee Elder fires a record 11-under par 61 on his way to winning the Senior PGA Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative at Sleepy Hollow CC; mark stands for 11 years
1992 – “Death and the Maiden” closes at Brooks Atkinson NYC after 159 performances
2019 – Seven-year-old boy operated on after 526 teeth found inside his mouth in Chennai, India

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1915 – Johan Limpers, Dutch sculptor and resistance fighter, born in Heemstede, Netherlands (d. 1944)
1928 – Malcolm Hilton, English cricket slow left-arm (4 Tests), born in Chadderton, Lancashire (d. 1990)
1954 – Sammy McIlroy, Irish soccer star (Manchester United), born in Belfast, United Kingdom
1954 – Lisa Brown, American actress (Guiding Light, Iva-As the World Turns), born in Kansas City, Missouri
1961 – Pete de Freitas, English rock drummer (Echo and the Bunnyman), born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (d. 1989)
1962 – Lee Mavers, British singer and songwriter (The La’s – “There She Goes”), born in Liverpool, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

257 – St Stephen I, bishop of Rome (Pope) (254-57) and heretic fighter, dies
924 – Ælfweard of Wessex, briefly King of the Anglo-Saxons
1921 – Enrico Caruso, Italian operatic tenor (Faust), dies of pleurisy at 48
1939 – Harvey Spencer Lewis, American Rosicrucian author and mystic, dies at 55
1969 – Clarence Dickinson, American composer, dies at 96
2004 – Don Tosti, American musician (“Pachuco Boogie”), dies at 81

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1922 – Hendrikus Colijn becomes political editor-in-chief of The Standard
1926 – Failed assassination on General Primo de Rivera in Barcelona
1964 – Beatles’ single “A Hard Day’s Night” goes #1 and stays #1 for 2 weeks
1988 – Rush Limbaugh begins his national radio show.
2002 – In signing star linebacker Ray Lewis to a 5-year contract extension the Baltimore Ravens give him a $19m signing bonus, then the largest in NFL history
2014 – USA and UN announce a 72 hour ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, though it quickly breaks down

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1848 – František Kmoch, Czech composer and conductor, born in Zásmuky, Austrian Empire (d. 1912)
1923 – Yoshinao Nakada, Japanese composer, born in Shibuya, Tokyo (d. 2000)
1929 – Ann Calvello, American roller derby queen, born in Newport, Rhode Island (d. 2006)
1933 – Jesse Corti, Venezuelan-American voice actor and comedian, born in Venezuela
1976 – Kevin Joseph, American baseball player, born in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
1979 – Jason Momoa, American actor (Game of Thrones, Aquaman), born in Honolulu, Hawaii

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1902 – Ludwig Beckmann, painter, dies
1935 – Arthur Dehon Little, American chemist (patented rayon), dies at 71
1980 – Strother Martin, American actor (Cool Hand Luke, Slapshot), dies of heart attack at 61
1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist/composer, dies at 52
1995 – Robert L. “Bob” Talley, American jazz and blues pianist and composer, dies at 75
2021 – Ian Thomson, English cricket fast bowler (5 Tests, 9 wickets; Sussex), dies at 92

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1917 – World War I: Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) begins, goes on to cause approximately 500,000 casualties
1988 – Miami Dolphins beat San Francisco 49ers, 27-21 in the American Bowl at London’s Wembley Stadium
1988 – Pittsburgh Pirates 1st baseman/left fielder and 7-time All Star Willie Stargell becomes 200th man inducted in Baseball’s Hall of Fame
1991 – Senate votes to allow women to fly combat aircraft
1991 – Russia and US sign long range nuclear weapons reduction pact
1992 – Three world record swims on final night session at the Barcelona Olympics; Australian Kieren Perkins 1,500m (14:43.4); Tamás Darnyi of Hungary 200m backstroke (1:59.36); China’s Yang Wenyi women’s 50m freestyle (24.79)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1935 – Yvon Deschamps, French Canadian author and humorist, born in Montreal, Quebec
1962 – Wesley Snipes, American actor (Passenger 57, Money Train, Blade trilogy), born in Orlando, Florida
1967 – Rodney Harvey, actor (Salsa)
1970 – David Sacco, NHL left wing (Olympics 1994, Anaheim Mighty Ducks), born in Malden, Massachusetts
1976 – Marty Booker, American NFL wide receiver (Pro Bowl 2002, Chicago Bears), born in Jonesboro, Louisiana
1992 – Kyle Larson, American auto racer (NASCAR Cup Series Championship 2021; 24 Hours of Daytona 2015), born in Elk Grove, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1508 – Na’od, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1494)
1864 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (Librairie Hachette), dies at 64
1960 – Karl Hasse, German composer, dies at 77
1961 – Jesse Harper, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Notre Dame 57–17–7), dies at 77
1998 – Serge Golovine, French ballet choreographer (Death of Narcissus), dies at 73
2009 – Sir Bobby Robson, English soccer forward, coach (20 caps; England manager 1982-90), dies of lung cancer at 76

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

657 – St Vitalian begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Eugene I
1905 – Dutch Covenant of Worker’s union, NVV, forms
1942 – FDR signs bill creating women’s Navy auxiliary agency (WAVES)
1953 – Rikidōzan holds a ceremony announcing the establishment of the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance
1960 – 1st AFL preseason game Boston Patriots defeat Bills in Buffalo (28-7)
1997 – Eighteen lives are lost in the Thredbo Landslide in New South Wales, Australia

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1875 – James W. Tate, English composer, born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire (d. 1922)
1880 – Robert R. McCormick, American editor and publisher (Chicago Tribune), born in Chicago (d. 1955)
1940 – Clive Sinclair, British consumer electronics inventor (Executive pocket calculator; ZX Spectrum computer), born in Richmond, Surrey, England (d. 2021)
1959 – Petra Felke, German javelin thrower (world record 1988), born in Saalfeld, East Germany
1981 – Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (MotoGP Champion 2006), born in Owensboro, Kentucky (d. 2017)
1982 – Jimmy Anderson, English cricket fast bowler (most wickets for England in both Test and ODI cricket), born in Burnley, Lancashire

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1965 – Junichiro Tanizaki, Japanese writer (Key), dies at 79
1982 – Roberta Pedon, American glamour model, dies at 28
1994 – Theo van Scheltinga, skater, dies at 80
2008 – Anne Armstrong U.S. ambassador to Britain and first female counsel to the President, dies at 80
2009 – Peter Zadek, German theatre director (b. 1926)
2012 – Maeve Binchy [Snell], Irish novelist (Light a Penny Candle), dies at 72

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1928 – Test footage first created for Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” with Mickey Mouse
1942 – Eastern Blvd in the Bronx renamed Bruckner Boulevard, in honor of former Bronx Borough President and US Congressman, Henry Bruckner
1956 – WCKT (now WSVN) TV channel 7 in Miami, Florida (IND) begins broadcasting
1978 – American Penny Dean swims English Channel in record 7 hrs, 40 min; record holds until 1995
1994 – 200,000 Muslims demand the death of feminist writer Taslima Nasrin in Bangladesh
1995 – Monica Seles beats Martina Navratilova in her return to tennis

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1866 – George Morrison, American entrepreneur (owner of Mammoth Caves), born border of Ohio and Pennsylvania (d. 1937)
1914 – Dovie Hudson, American community activist in rural Mississippi (filed lawsuit to desegregate the public schools)
1935 – Peter Schreier, German tenor and conductor (Dresden State Opera, 1962-2000), born in Meissen, Saxony, Germany (d. 2019)
1937 – Daniel McFadden, American economist and Nobel Prize Laureate who developed theory and methods for analyzing discrete choice, born in Raleigh, North Carolina
1981 – Troy Perkins, American professional soccer goalkeeper, born in Springfield, Ohio
1990 – Shin Se-kyung, South Korean actress (Deep Rooted Tree), born in Yangcheon, South Korea

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1108 – King Philip I, King of the Franks 1059, 1060-1108), dies at 56
1887 – Agostino Depretis, Italian statesman, Prime Minister of Italy (1876-78, 1778-79, 1881-87), dies at 74
1954 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (World Alllround Speed Skating champion 1905), dies at 75
1984 – Fred Waring, American bandleader, conductor, and Waring Blender namesake, dies at 84
2007 – Michel Serrault, French actor (Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud, La Cage aux Folles), dies at 79
2016 – Marta Marzotto, Italian countess and designer, dies at 85

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1790 – Henry James Pye appointed as British Poet Laureate by King George III
1919 – Vrije Vakbewegings Internationale (VVI) forms in Amsterdam
1979 – France performs nuclear Test
1985 – Canadian Open Women’s Golf (du Maurier Classic), Beaconsfield GC: Pat Bradley wins by 1 from Jane Geddes
1986 – Bomb attack in East Beirut, 25 killed
1992 – RandB singer Mary J. Blige releases her debut album “What’s the 411?”, with production by Puff Daddy

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1863 – Hussein Khan Nakhichevanski, Russian general (d. 1919)
1901 – Sándor Vándor, Hungarian Jewish composer, born in Miskolc, Hungary (d. 1945)
1928 – Adrian Ratiu, Romanian composer, born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 2005)
1934 – Jacques d’Amboise, American ballet dancer, and choreographer (NYC Ballet Company, 1949-84), actor (Seven Brides For Seven Brothers), and educator (founded National Dance Institute, 1976), born in Dedham Massachusetts (d. 2021)
1951 – Santiago Calatrava, Spanish architect (Milwaukee Art Museum), born in Valencia, Spain
1972 – Ed Templeton, American skateboarder (Toy Machine), born in Garden Grove, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1641 – John Amner, English composer, dies at 61
1864 – Samuel Benton, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at about 44
1895 – Edward Beecher, American theologian, dies at 91
1904 – Vyacheslav von Plehve, Russian Minister of the Interior, killed by Jewish revolutionaries after a bomb is thrown at his carriage, dies at 58
1991 – Luis Aravena Munoz, Chilean singer exiled to Netherlands, dies at 45
1996 – Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist and writer (How to Know Birds), dies at 87

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1816 – US troops destroy Fort Apalachicola, a Seminole fort, to punish Indians for harboring runaway slaves
1914 – Felix Manalo registers the Iglesia ni Cristo with the Filipino government.
1941 – German army enters Ukraine
1974 – House Judiciary Committee votes 27-11 recommends Nixon impeachment
1991 – TV Guide publishes its 2000th edition
1996 – Bomb explodes at Atlanta Olympic Park, 1 killed, 110 injured

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1886 – Ernst May, German architect and city planner (New Frankfurt), born in Frankfurt am Main (d. 1970)
1896 – Henri Longchambon, French politician, born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France (d. 1969)
1904 – Kenneth Bainbridge, American physicist (measurements of mass differences between nuclear isotopes), born in Cooperstown, New York (d. 1996)
1917 – Isabelle Kelley, American social worker credited with instigating the US Federal Food Stamp Program, born in Ellington, Connecticut (d. 1997)
1942 – John Pleshette, American actor (Richard-Knots Landing, 7th Avenue), born in NYC, New York
1979 – Shannon Moore, American professional wrestler, born in Cameron, North Carolina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1689 – John Graham, of Claverhouse, 1st viscount Dundee/soldier, fatally wounded at the Battle of Killiecrankie at 41
1844 – John Dalton, English physicist and chemist who developed the atomic theory of matter and researched colour blindness, dies at 77
1978 – Willem Van Otterloo, Dutch cellist, composer, and conductor (Residentie Orkest, 1949-73; Melbourne Symphony, 1967-70; Sydney Symphony, 1971-77), dies in a car crash at 70
1979 – Shirley Mason, actress (Let it Rain, Dark Skies), dies at 79
1986 – Leroy Holmes, American orchestra leader (The Tonight Show, 1956-57), dies at 72
2021 – Mike Hendrick, English cricket fast bowler (30 Tests, 87 wickets; 22 ODIs; Derbyshire CCC), dies from bowel cancer at 72

More Famous Deaths »