Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1787 – 1st American comedy, “The Contrast,” makes its debut in NYC
1946 – Dutch Special Court of Justice sentences Frederik Müller, Socialist mayor of Rotterdam, to 10 years in jail for his wartime support of Germany
1949 – Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: 3-peat for Toronto Maple Leafs as they beat Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 for a 4 game series sweep
1990 – Maximum NY State unemployment benefits raised to $260 per week
1991 – St Louis Blues becomes 8th NHL team in Play-off to come back from a 3-1 deficit as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in game 7
1992 – 1st concrete is poured at new ballpark at Gateway (Jacobs Field)

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Famous Birthdays

1868 – Joel Angel, Russian musicologist and composer (d. 1917)
1881 – Edward Frederick Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax and British ambassador to US (1940-46), born in Powderham Castle, Devon, England (d. 1959)
1924 – Geoffrey Johnson Smith, Scottish Conservative politician (1959-2001), born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland (d. 2010)
1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician (Leader of the Scottish National Party), born in Govan, Glasgow (d. 2017)
1948 – Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant, born in London
1963 – Garry Galley, Canadian NHL defenseman (Buffalo Sabres), born in Montreal, Quebec

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Famous Deaths

744 – al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph (743-744), killed at 35
1689 – Aphra Behn, English dramatist and novelist, dies at 48
1870 – Anatoli O Demidov, Russian ruler of Donato/traveller, dies
1991 – David Lean, film director (Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia), dies of pneumonia at 83
1994 – Ralph Waldo Ellison, American writer (Invisible Man), dies at 80
2020 – Kenneth Gilbert, Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist, and educator, dies at 88

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Historical Events

1205 – Battle at Adrianople: Bulgaria beats Emp Boudouin of Constantinople
1715 – Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
1915 – Manuel de Falla’s ballet “El Amor Brujo” premieres in Madrid
1931 – 1st backwards walk across American begins
1945 – FDR buried in grounds of Hyde Park home
2013 – 117th Boston Marathon: Lelisa Desisa Benti of Ethiopia men’s winner in 2:10:22; Rita Jeptoo of Kenya wins women’s section in 2:26:25

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Famous Birthdays

1710 – Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo, French dancer, born in Brussels, Spanish Netherlands (d. 1770)
1821 – Joseph E. Brown, American attorney and politician (42nd Governor of Georgia), born in Pickens, South Carolina (d. 1894)
1921 – Georgy Beregovoy, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 3), born in Fedorivka, Poltava Oblast, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (d. 1995)
1942 – Kenneth Lay, American CEO and Chairman of Enron, born in Tyrone, Missouri (d. 2006)
1943 – Hugh Thompson Jr., American Vietnam War veteran who played a major role in ending the 1968 My Lai massacre, born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2006)
1984 – Rodney Carney, NBA athlete

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Famous Deaths

1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian scholar and poet, dies at 53
1911 – Georg Knorr, German engineer (brake system trains), dies at 51
1948 – Manuel Roxas, 5th President of the Philippines (1946-48), dies of heart attack at 56
1983 – Gyula Illyés, Hungarian author and poet (Az Ismertlen Illyes), dies at 80
1994 – Walter Clegg, British politician, dies at 73
2020 – Brian Dennehy, American actor (Cocoon, Death of a Salesman), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1928 – Maddus Airlines starts 1st regular passenger flights between SF and LA
1943 – James Gow and A d’Usseau’s “Tomorrow the World” premieres in NYC
1944 – Freighter “Fort Stikene” explodes in Bombay India, killing 1,376
1980 – 52nd Academy Awards: Best Picture “Kramer vs Kramer”, Dustin Hoffman and Sally Field win
1986 – Desmond Tutu elected Anglican Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa
1988 – “Mail” opens at Music Box Theater NYC for 36 performances

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Famous Birthdays

1668 – Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish General and statesman, born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1741)
1907 – Phyllis Konstam, British actress (Murder, Skin Game), born in London, England (d. 1976)
1912 – Piet van Egmond, Dutch organist and conductor (Netherlands Chamber Orchestra), born in Amsterdam (d. 1982)
1925 – Rod Steiger, American actor (Illustrated Man, Pawnbroker), born in Westhampton, New York (d. 2002)
1946 – Tom Monteleone, American writer (Dark Star and Illumination)
1962 – John Bell, American rock singer and guitarist (Widespread Panic – “Hope in a Hopeless World”), born in Cleveland, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

711 – Childebert III, king of the Franks, dies (b. 678/9)
1552 – Laurentius Andreae [Lars Andersson], Swedish church reformer, dies
1964 – Herb McGirr, New Zealand cricket all-rounder (played in NZ’s 1st Test series; 2 Tests, 1 x 50; Wellington), dies at 72
1983 – Elisabeth Lutyens, English composer, dies at 76
1990 – Peter Dunn, American actor (Invaders from Mars) dies
2013 – John S Ragin, American actor (Dr Astin-Quincy ME), dies at 83

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Historical Events

1840 – William Henry Lane (“Juda”) perfects tap dance
1883 – US prospector Alfred Packer convicted of manslaughter though accused of cannibalism
1926 – Cyclists without bicycle-tax-stamp rounded up in Amsterdam
1961 – UN General Assembly condemns South-Africa’s apartheid
1994 – Presidential guard at Kigali, Rwanda, chops 1,200 church members to death
2009 – US record producer Phil Spector is found guilty of second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson in 2003

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Famous Birthdays

1762 – Charles Frederick Horn, English musician and composer, born in Nordhausen, Germany (d. 1830)
1872 – Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian writer, born in Drnowitz, Moravia (d. 1945)
1920 – Liam Cosgrave, Irish politician (Fine Gael Party), born in Castleknock, Dublin (d. 2017)
1924 – Stanley Donen, American film director and producer (Singin’ in the Rain, Bedazzled, Damn Yankees), born in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 2019)
1938 – Frederic Rzewski, American concert pianist and composer (Spacecraft), born in Westfield, Massachusetts (d. 2021)
1964 – Page Hannah, American actress (Fame – “Kate Riley”), born in Chicago, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1635 – Fakhr-al-Din II, Druze Prince of Lebanon, dies at 62
1944 – Paul Hazard, French critic and literature historian, dies at 65
1984 – Richard Hurndall, British actor (Doctor Who, The Inheritors, It’s Murder But Is It Art), dies from a heart attack at 73
2001 – Jimmy Logan, British comedian (Mad Death), dies at 73
2005 – Johnny Loughrey, Irish singer, dies at 59
2007 – Don Selwyn, Māori actor and film director, dies at 71

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Historical Events

1557 – Cuenca is founded in Ecuador
1905 – French Dufaux brothers test helicopter
1965 – 1st NL game at Houston’s Astrodome (Phillies beat Astros 2-0)
1991 – 2,500th episode of Entertainment Tonight airs
1992 – 56th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Fred Couples wins his only major title, 2 strokes ahead of 1976 champion Raymond Floyd
2019 – Melbourne captain Cameron Smith becomes highest point scorer in Australian Rugby League history; 49th minute penalty in Storm’s 18-12 win over North Queensland in Townsville takes him to 2,420; Hazem El Masri, 2,418

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Famous Birthdays

1794 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician (geometry), born in Paris (d. 1847)
1868 – Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, born in Matsuyama, Iyo Province, Japan (d. 1918)
1920 – H R Hewitt, CEO (Johnson Matthey)
1932 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan politician (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka), born in Colombo, British Ceylon (d. 2005)
1979 – Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer, born in Belgrade, Serbia
1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer and songwriter (Westlife), born in Dublin, Ireland

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Famous Deaths

1782 – Metastasio, Italian poet and librettist (b. 1698)
1797 – Josef Antonin Stepan, Bohemian composer, dies at 71
1864 – Thomas Green, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at 50
1983 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944)
1989 – Abbie Hoffman, yippie peace activist of the 60’s, dies at 52
2000 – Niaz Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (1st and last East Pakistani to play Test cricket), dies at 54

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Historical Events

1814 – Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates unconditionally and he is exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean
1955 – Chartered Air India plane the “Kashmir Princess” is bombed and crashes into the South China Sea in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by a Kuomintang secret agent
1971 – “Johnny Johnson” opens/closes at Edison Theater NYC for 1 performance
1993 – 450 prisoners riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and continue for ten days, citing grievances about prison conditions and the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis)
1999 – 52nd British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS): “Shakespeare in Love” Best Film, Peter Weir Best Director
2005 – 39th CMT Music Awards: Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson and Kenny Chesney wins

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Famous Birthdays

1592 – John Eliot, English parliament leader, born in Port Eliot, Cornwall, England (d. 1632)
1879 – Leendert Round, Dutch sculptor (entrance Rotterdam Zoo)
1889 – Nick LaRocca, American jazz coronetist and composer (“Tiger Rag”), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1961)
1950 – Bill Irwin, American actor (My Blue Heaven, Scenes From a Mall), born in Santa Monica, California
2002 – Alexa Gerasimovich, American actress (World Trade Center), born in NYC, New York
2013 – Arrogate, American thoroughbred racehorse (Breeders’ Cup Classic, World’s Best Racehorse 2016; Pegasus World Cup, Dubai World Cup 2017), born in Clearsky Farms, Kentucky (d. 2020)

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Famous Deaths

1812 – Gottlieb Schick, German painter (Opfer Noachs), dies at 35
1895 – Julius Lothar Meyer, German Chemist, dies at 64
1908 – Henry Bird, English Chess player and author (b. 1829)
2001 – Kamal Ranadive, Indian cancer researcher (Indian Women Scientists’ Association; Indian Cancer Research Centre), dies at 83
2013 – Angela Voigt, East German long jumper (Olympic gold 1976), dies at 61
2021 – Colin Baker, Welsh soccer wing half (7 caps; Cardiff City 298 games), dies at 86

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Historical Events

1855 – Louisiana establishes 1st health board to regulate quarantine
1948 – Sir Laurence Olivier on the cover of LIFE magazine
1958 – England retains the Five Nations Rugby Championship with a 3-3 draw against Scotland at Murrayfield, Edinburgh; England’s 16th FN title
1967 – Marshal Arturo da Costa e Silva sworn in as President of Brazil
1984 – Tanzania adopts constitution
2017 – Dutch elections; Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right VVD party win 33 seats vs against 20 for right wing Geert Wilder’s Party of Freedom

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Famous Birthdays

1811 – Robert Allen, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in West Point, Ohio (d. 1886)
1824 – Jules Chevalier, French Roman Catholic priest (Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart), born in Richelieu, Touraine, France (d. 1907)
1910 – Joop Van Nellen, Dutch soccer forward (27 caps; DHC Delft), born in Delft, Netherlands (d. 1992)
1918 – Punch Imlach, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame coach and general manager (Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1987)
1957 – Park Overall, American actress (Empty Nest, Mississippi Burning), born in Nashville, Tennessee
1976 – Jennifer 8. Lee, American journalist

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Famous Deaths

1996 – Roswell Leavitt Gilpatric, American lawyer and diplomat, dies at 89
1997 – Gail Davis, American actress (Annie Oakley), dies at 71
2008 – Vytautas Kernagis, Lithuanian singer, TV shows announcer (b. 1951)
2011 – Smiley Culture [David Victor Emmanuel], British reggae singer (“Police Officer”; “Cockney Translation”), dies from a self-inflicted stab wound at 48
2018 – Edwin “Ed” Charles, American MLB third baseman (Miracle Mets-1969), dies following long illness at 84
2019 – Lam Jones, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1976) and NFL wide receiver (NY Jets 1980-86), dies of myeloma at 60

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Historical Events

1592 – “Ultimate Pi day”: on this day at 6.53am is the largest correspondence between calendar dates and significant digits of pi, since the introduction of the Julian calendar (3.14159265358)
1951 – Earthquake at Euskirchen, Germany
1972 – Muddy Waters wins his first Grammy Award, for his album”They Call Me Muddy Waters”
1978 – NFL permanently adds 7th official (side judge)
1994 – Timeline of Linux development: Linux kernel version 1.0.0 is released
1995 – 1st time 13 people in space

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Famous Birthdays

1914 – Lee Elhardt Hays, American folksinger (d. 1981)
1927 – Bill Rexford, American auto racer (NASCAR Grand National Series championship 1950, youngest Cup champion [23]), born in Conewango Valley, New York (d. 1994)
1957 – Tad Williams, American fantasy and science fiction author, born in San Jose, California
1967 – Vijay Yadav, Indian cricket wicket-keeper (1 Test, 3 dismissals, HS 30; Haryana), born in Gonda, India
1981 – Mei-Ting Sun, Chinese concert pianist, born in Shanghai, China
1982 – Kate Maberly, English actress (Secret Garden), born in Reigate, England

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Famous Deaths

1272 – Enzo of Sardinia, illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick II von Hohenstaufen who appointed him King of Sardinia (1238-49) and poet, dies in prison
1803 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet (Der Messias), dies at 78
1883 – Karl Marx, German philosopher (Communist Manifesto), dies at 64
1957 – Evagoras Pallikarides, Cypriot freedom fighter (b. 1938)
1991 – Margery Sharp, English children’s author (The Rescuers), dies at 86
2009 – Alain Bashung, French singer, songwriter, comedian and actor, dies of cancer at 61

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Historical Events

1564 – Cardinal Granvelle flees Brussels
1963 – Two Russian reconnaissance flights over Alaska
1983 – 24th SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament: Georgia beats Alabama, 86-71
1986 – 12th People’s Choice Awards: Sylvester Stallone and Meryl Streep win (Motion Picture) and Bill Cosby, Linda Evans win (TV)
1995 – Istanbul police shoot dead 16 Alawitische demonstrators
2020 – African American Breonna Taylor shot and killed by police officers executing a no-knock warrant on her flat with a battering ram in Louisville, Kentucky

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Famous Birthdays

1822 – Moritz von Strachwitz, German poet, born in Peterwitz, Silesia (d. 1847)
1855 – Percival “Percy” Lowell, American astronomer (predicted discovery of Pluto), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1916)
1897 – William Herald, Australian swimmer (Olympic-1920), born in Glebe, New South Wales (d. 1976)
1954 – Robin Duke, Canadian actress and comedienne (SNL, SCTV, Club Paradise), born in Toronto, Ontario
1956 – Dana Delany, American actress (Colleen McMurphy-China Beach, Exit to Eden), born in NYC, New York
1962 – Terence Blanchard, American jazz trumpeter (Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers), film score composer (When The Levees Broke; Harriet), and educator, born in New Orleans, Louisiana

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Famous Deaths

624 – Abu Sufjan becomes Quraish chief and leader of Mecca after loss at Battle of Badr against Muslim forces
1778 – Charles le Beau, French historian (b. 1701)
1970 – Rick Besoyan, American singer, actor, playwright, composer and director (Little Mary Sunshine), dies of internal hemorrhages at 45
1973 – Stacy Harris, Canadian born actor (NOPD, Doorway to Danger), dies at 54
1996 – Brian Hulls, British TV news cameraman, dies at 48
2009 – James Purdy, American author (Malcolm), dies at 94

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Historical Events

1912 – Helen Hayes Theater (Little Theatre) opens at 240W 44th St, NYC
1963 – Beatles perform as a trio, at Granada Cinema, in Bedford, England, as John Lennon is ill with a cold
1969 – 120 cannabis joints found at George and Patti Harrison’s home
1987 – Ice Pairs World Championship at Cincinnati won by Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov (USSR)
1993 – Entertainment Tonight’s 3,000th show
2018 – Civilian death toll in Eastern Ghouta passes 1,000 in three weeks as Syrian government forces capture the town of Mesraba

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Famous Birthdays

1800 – Louis-Prosper Gachard, Belgian historian
1821 – John Abbott, 3rd Canadian Prime Minister (1891-92), born in Saint-Andre, Quebec (d. 1893)
1838 – William Perkin, inventor (1st artificial dye)
1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American artist (d. 1989)
1929 – Francisco Pulgar Vidal, Peruvian musicologist and composer, born in Huánuco, Peru (d. 2012)
1952 – Naomi Shihab Nye, American poet, songwriter, and novelist

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Famous Deaths

1889 – John Archibald Campbell, American jurist and Supreme Court justice (1853–61), dies at 77
1936 – David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty and British Admiral of the Fleet during World War I (Battle of Jutland), dies of heart failure at 65
1982 – Elisabeth Zernike, Dutch writer (Course of Events), dies at 90
1994 – Sandra Paretti, German/Swiss author (Drums of Winter), dies at 59
2002 – Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot politician (b. 1932)
2010 – Lesley Duncan (Cox), British session singer (Pink Floyd; Jesus Christ Superstar), and singer-songwriter (“Love Song”; “Sing Children Sing”), dies of cerebrovascular disease at 66

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