Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1862 – 12] General Stonewall Jackson evacuates Winchester Virginia Army of the Potomac. Gen Henry Halleck is named general-in-chief
1863 – 25th Grand National: George Stevens wins his 2nd GN aboard 4/1 Emblem; winning mare’s full sister Emblematic wins the following year
1919 – General strike in Germany crushed
1968 – Anti-Zionist Clandestine Radio Voice of El Assifa starts transmitting
1983 – 9th People’s Choice Awards: Burt Reynolds, Jane Fonda and Katharine Hepburn win (Motion Picture) and Tom Selleck, Linda Evans and Loretta Swit win (TV)
1993 – Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Prague won by Kurt Browning CAN

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Famous Birthdays

1876 – Carl Ruggles, American composer (Evocations), born in Marion, Massachusetts (d. 1971)
1899 – Frederick IX [Christian FFMKWG], King of Denmark (1947-72)
1910 – Robert H G Havemann, German chemist
1921 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian banodeonist, and composer (Tango Nuevo), born in Mar del Plata, Argentina (d. 1992)
1956 – Curtis L Brown Jr, NC, astronaut (STS 47, STS 66, 77, 85, sk:95)
1964 – Shane Richie, British actor (EastEnders, Flushed Away), born in Harlesden, London

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Famous Deaths

1826 – Gervais-François Couperin, French composer, dies at 66
1874 – Charles Sumner, American politician, Senator Massachusetts (1851-74) and anti-slavery advocate, dies at 63
1941 – Walford Davies, English composer, dies at 71
1956 – Sergey Nikiforovich Vasilenko, Russian opera composer, dies at 83
1995 – Frank Fidler, English artist, dies at 84
1996 – Vince Edwards, American actor, director, and singer (Ben Casey, The Devil’s Brigade, Matt Lincoln, Firehouse), dies of cancer at 67

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Historical Events

1661 – French King Louis XIV ends office of premier
1874 – Purdue University (Indiana) admits its 1st student
1906 – Europe’s worst mining accident when a coal dust explosion kills 1,060 at Courrieres, France
1910 – Pittsburgh Courier begins publishing
1973 – Morocco adopts constitution
1991 – 12th Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament: Seton Hall beats Georgetown, 74-62

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Famous Birthdays

1810 – John McCloskey, 1st American cardinal and Archbishop of New York, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1885)
1885 – Hans Luther, German politician and German Chancellor (1925-6), born in Berlin (d. 1962)
1892 – Eva Turner, British operatic soprano, born in Werneth, Oldham, England (d. 1990)
1898 – Cyrus “Cy” Kendall, American actor (Tarzan’s New York Adventure, Mysteries of Chinatown), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 1953)
1905 – Rene Bernier, Belgian composer, born in Saint-Gilles (d.1984)
1939 – Irina Press, Soviet 80m hurdles runner and pentathlete (Olympic gold 1960, 64), born in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (d. 2004)

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Famous Deaths

1391 – Tvrtko I first king of Bosnia (b. 1338)
1819 – Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher and writer, dies at 76
1949 – James Rector, American athlete (b. 1884)
1951 – Kijūrō Shidehara, Japanese politician and diplomat, Prime minister of Japan (1945-46), dies at 78
1975 – Léopold Samuel, Belgian composer, dies at 91
1977 – Pieter Jan Bouman, Dutch sociologist and historian, dies at 74

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Historical Events

1804 – Georges Cadoudal, Breton royalist who plotted to overthrow Napoleon in the Pichegru Conspiracy, arrested
1861 – Us Confederate currency authorized – $50, $100, $500, $1,000
1936 – Babe Ruth turns down Reds to make a comeback as a player
1947 – US Men’s Figure Skating championship won by Richard Button
1948 – Provisionary Indonesian government installed in Batavia
2013 – Bernard Hopkins defeats Tavoris Cloud to win IBF light heavyweight title

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Famous Birthdays

1213 – Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy, French crusader, born in Villaines-en-Duesmois, France (d. 1271)
1918 – Marguerite Chapman, American actress (The Seven Year Itch, Spy Smasher, Flight to Mars), born in Chatham, New York (d. 1999)
1937 – Bernard Landry, Premier of Quebec (2001-2003), born in Saint-Jacques, Quebec, Canada
1952 – William Kirby Cullen, American actor (How the West Was Won), born in Santa Ana, California
1979 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor (Scenes From a Marriage), born in Guatemala City, Guatemala
1982 – Paul Ballard, English television presenter, born in Essex

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Famous Deaths

1895 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian writer (Masochism), dies at 59
1941 – Carlos Pedrell, Uruguayan guitarist and composer, dies at 62
1994 – John Harrison, South African correspondent (BBC), dies at 48
1995 – Ruud van den Hende, Dutch sports reporter, dies at 63
2012 – Lord Wedderton of Charlton, British academic and politician, dies at 84
2021 – Roger Mudd, American Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist and TV news anchor (CBS Weekend News; NBC Evening News; Meet The Press), dies of kidney failure at 93

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Historical Events

1722 – Afghan monarch Mir Mahmud occupies Persia
1801 – British drive French forces from Abukir, Egypt
1917 – Russian “February Revolution” begins in earnest with protests celebrating International Woman’s Day and riots in St Petersburg over food rations and conduct of the war [OS=Feb 23]
1943 – US Ladies’ Figure Skating championship won by Gretchen Merrill
1961 – Jean Kerr’s “Mary, Mary” premieres in NYC
1993 – Katharine Hepburn released from the hospital after exhaustion

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Famous Birthdays

1862 – Joseph Lee, Father of Playgrounds movement, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1937)
1916 – John W. Seybold, American economist and computer typesetting pioneer, born in Newburgh, Indiana (d. 2004)
1917 – A Marja [ATE Mooy], Dutch literary (Shreds on the River)
1937 – Pamela McEvoy-Johnston, psychotherapist-board member (WIC)
1947 – Don Brooks, American session and touring harmonica player (Waylon Jennings; Ken Burns’ “The Civil War”), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2000)
1957 – Ruth Wysocki, American 800m/1500m runner, born in Alhambra, California

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Famous Deaths

1702 – John de Baen, portrait painter/etcher, buried at 69
1855 – William Poole, Infamous member of New York City’s Bowery Boys gang, dies of a gunshot wound at 33
1945 – Jan Beekes, resistance fighter, executed at 26
1996 – Jack Churchill, British Army commando, dies at 89
1999 – Mary Margaret “Peggy” Cass, American actress, comedian, game show panelist and announcer (To Tell The Truth), dies at 74
2006 – Brian Barratt-Boyes, New Zealand heart surgeon (b. 1924)

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Historical Events

1857 – Baseball decides 9 innings constitutes an official game, not 9 runs
1872 – -8°F (-22°C) in Boston, Massachusetts
1900 – Battle at Poplar Grove South Africa, President Kruger flees
1967 – Clark Gesner’s musical “You’re a Good Man” premieres in NYC
1974 – “USS Monitor”, Union Ship sunk in 1862 during US Civil War, restored at Cape Hatteras
1977 – Ali Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party wins elections

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Famous Birthdays

1898 – Jan Bata, Czech shoe manufacturer
1924 – Kobo Abe, playwright (Woman, the Dunes), born in Tokyo, Japan
1953 – Kenny Aronoff, American drummer (John Mellencamp), born in Albany, New York
1955 – Tommy Kramer, American football player, born in San Antonio, Texas
1960 – Joe Carter, American MLB outfielder (MLB All-Star 1991–94, 96; World Series 1992, 93; Silver Slugger Award 1991, 92; Toronto Blue Jays), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1969 – Matt Blundin, American quarterback (KC Chiefs, Detroit Lions), born in Darby, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

203 – Perpetua and Felicitas, Christian martyrs (perhaps after 209)
1959 – Ichirō Hatoyama, Japanese politician, Prime Minister (1954-56), dies at 76
1973 – Andre de Meulemeester, Belgium WW I pilot [Eagle of Flanders], dies at 78
1979 – Klaus Egge, Norwegian composer (Fanitullen), dies at 72
2013 – Kenny Ball, English jazz musician, dies of pneumonia at 82
2018 – Reynaldo Bignone, Argentine politician and human rights violator, 41st President (1982–1983), dies of a hip fracture and heart failure at 90

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Historical Events

1665 – Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society starts publishing
1775 – 1st Negro Mason in north America initiated, Boston
1831 – Vincenzo Bellini’s opera “La Sonnambula” premieres in Milan
1922 – GB Shaw’s “Back to Methusaleh III/IV” premieres in NYC
1957 – Centenary of Dred Scott slavery court decision marked by rediscovery of Scott’s grave
1999 – 20th Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament: Connecticut beats St. John’s, 82-63

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Famous Birthdays

1899 – Jay C Flippen, American actor (Jet Pilot, The Killing, Thunder Bay), born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 1971)
1917 – Roy Scott, cricketer (one Test NZ v England 1947, 18, 1-74)
1919 – Maurice Grosse, British paranormal investigator (d. 2006)
1926 – Ann Curtis, 400m/800m US swimmer (Olympics 2 gold-1948), (d. 2012)
1927 – William J Bell, soap opera creator (Young and Restless), born in Chicago, Illinois
1966 – Cliff Meidl, American sprint kayak (Olympics 1996 and 2000), born in Manhattan Beach, California

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Famous Deaths

1962 – Rezső Kókai, Hungarian pianist, composer, musicologist, and pedagogue, dies at 56
1967 – Nelson Eddy, American baritone (Phantom of the Opera), dies at 65
1996 – Herb Hall, American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, dies at 88
2007 – Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (b. 1909)
2016 – Nancy Reagan [Anne Frances Robbins], US First Lady (1981-89), dies at 94
2017 – Alberto Zedda, Italian opera conductor and musicologist, dies at79

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Historical Events

1651 – South Sea dike in Amsterdam breaks after storm
1924 – King Hussein of Hedzjaz appoints himself kalief
1977 – 3rd People’s Choice Awards: John Wayne and Barbra Streisand win (Motion Picture) and Telly Savalas and Mary Tyler Moore win (TV)
1993 – Fokker 100 crashes at Skopje Macedonia, 81 die
1995 – Graves of Tsar Nicholas II and family found in St Petersburg
2016 – US air strike kills 150 Al-Shabaab militants north of Mogadishu, Somalia

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Famous Birthdays

1921 – Berkley Bedell, (Rep-D-IA, 1975- )
1942 – Michael “Mike” Resnick, American sci-fi author (Sideshow; Eros Ascending), born in Chicago, Illinois
1947 – (Samuel) “Eddie” Hodges, American stage and screen actor and singer (“High Hopes”, The Music Man – “Gary, Indiana”; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
1951 – Rodney Hogg, cricketer (prolific Australian wicket-taker 1978-84)
1974 – Matt Lucas, English comedian
1978 – Kimberly McCullough, California, actress (Robin-General Hospital)

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Famous Deaths

1967 – Georges Vanier, French Canadian soldier and 19th Governor General of Canada, dies at 78
1981 – Brenda De Banzie, actress (39 Steps, Hobson’s Choice), dies at 64
1990 – Gloria Carter Spann, US President Jimmy Carter’s sister, dies of cancer at 63
1991 – Trijntje Jansma-Boskma, oldest person in Netherland, dies at 109
1993 – Peter Bierdrager, Dutch Fokker’s-test pilot, dies in air crash
2016 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer (invented email and the @ sign), dies at 74

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Historical Events

1238 – Battle of the Sit River: Mongol forces of Batu Khan overcome Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal near Yaroslavl in Russia, ending Russian resistance
1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, which cut across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on noble ownership of land
1934 – Easter Cross on Mt. Davidson (San Francisco) dedicated
1983 – U.S. Public Health Service’s publishes its guidelines for blood donors and AIDS
1995 – Michael Johnson runs world record 400m indoor (44.63 sec)
2013 – 11 children are killed after a bus collides a truck in the Jalandhar district, India

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Famous Birthdays

1819 – Charles Oberthur, German composer and harpist, born in Munich (d. 1895)
1873 – John H. Trumbull, 54th Governor of the U.S. state of Connecticut (d. 1961)
1883 – Maude Fealy, American actor and drama coach (The Ten Commandments), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1971)
1940 – Volodymyr Morozov, Ukrainian flatwater canoer
1945 – Frank Novak, American actor, born in Chicago, Illinois
1984 – Kevin O’Brien, Irish cricket batsman (3 Tests; 142 ODIs; 89 T20I; fastest century ever in ODI World Cup, off 50 balls v England 2011), born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland

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Famous Deaths

1303 – Daniel of Moscow, Russian Saint, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1261)
1561 – Carlo Carafa, Italian cardinal, dies at 41
1583 – Bernard Gilpin, English clergyman, “Apostle of the North” (b. 1517)
1959 – Maxey Long, American athlete (b. 1878)
1995 – Eden Ahbez [George Aberle], American songwriter (“Nature Boy”; “Lonely Island), dies in a car accident at 86
2021 – Mark Pavelich, American NHL forward (Olympic gold 1980 ‘Miracle on Ice’; NY Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, San Jose Sharks), dies at 63

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Historical Events

468 – St Simplicius elected to succeed Catholic Pope Hilarius
1803 – Colégio Militar is founded in Portugal by Colonel Teixeira Rebello.
1849 – US Home Department (later renamed the Department of the Interior) established by Congress
1980 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1984 – NY Islanders score their most goals (11) vs Tor Maple Leafs (6)
1992 – Gas explodes in coal mine at Zonguldak Turkey, 263 die

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Famous Birthdays

1915 – George Brian Snape, businessman/rugby league entrepreneur
1929 – Nicos Mamangakis, composer
1937 – Bobby Driscoll, American Academy Juvenile Award-winning actor (Song Of The South; The Window), born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (d. 1968)
1954 – John Lilley, American rock guitarist and dobro player (The Hooters – “All You Zombies”; “And We Danced”), born in West Chester, Pennsylvania
1978 – Jeff Hanson, American singer-songwriter, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2009)
1979 – Patrick Renna, American actor

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Famous Deaths

1707 – Aurangzeb, 6th Mughal Emperor (1658-1707), dies at 88
1766 – Gregor Joseph Werner, composer, dies at 73
1959 – Lou Costello, American comedian and actor (The Abbott and Costello Show), dies from a heart attack at 52
2004 – Cecily Adams, American actress and casting director (b. 1958)
2013 – Bobby Rogers, American vocalist, dies from complications from diabetes at 73
2021 – Yuri Rozanov, Russian sports broadcaster (NTV Plus, Match TV; TEFI Award 2012), dies from cancer at 59

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Historical Events

1789 – Pennsylvania ends prohibition of theatrical performances
1807 – US Congress bans the slave trade within the US, effective January 1, 1808
1867 – Jesse James’ gang robs bank in Savannah Missouri, 1 killed
1918 – Joe Malone goes scoreless in Montreal Canadiens’ 5-3 season-ending loss to Toronto Arenas; finishes the first NHL season with 44 goals, a record that stands until 1944-45
1968 – Men’s Figure Skating Champions in Geneva won by Emmerich Danzer of Austria
1970 – Reprise Records releases “Ladies of the Canyon”, Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell’s 3rd studio album

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Famous Birthdays

1545 – Thomas Bodley, England, diplomat/scholar
1909 – Jan Fabricius, Dutch playwright
1922 – Bill Quackenbush, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman (8 x NHL All-Star; Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings) and coach (Princeton), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1999)
1923 – Robert H Michel, (Rep-R-IL, 1957- )
1943 – (Daniel) Tony Meehan, British rock drummer (Vipers; Drifters: Shadows), born in Hampstead, North West London, England (d. 2005)
1971 – Amber Smith, actress (Faithful, Funeral, Mirror Has 2 Faces), born in Tampa, Florida

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Famous Deaths

986 – Lotharius, King of France (954-86), dies at 44
1867 – French-Andries Durlet, Belgian sculptor and architect, dies at 50
1895 – Berthe MP Morisot, French painter/aquarelliste, dies at 54
1986 – Zafer Masri, mayor of Nablus, murdered
1994 – Tengiz Abuladze, filmmaker, dies at 70
2005 – Martin Denny, American musician (Exotica), dies at 93

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