Category: On This Day

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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Historical Events

1914 – Dutch Minister of war H Colijn named director of British Petroleum
1944 – Massive strikes in northern Italian towns
1953 – KAUZ TV channel 6 in Wichita Falls, TX (CBS) begins broadcasting
1989 – Charlie Francis, coach of disqualified sprinter Ben Johnson tells federal inquiry into Canada’s greatest sports scandal Johnson knowingly used steroids since 1981; Johnson first across line Olympic 100m 1988
2017 – Charo is revealed as a contestant on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars
2018 – Earliest evidence for figural tattoos (bull and sheep) on two naturally mummified bodies from Egypt’s predynastic period (3351-3017BC) published in “Journal of Archaeological Science”

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Famous Birthdays

1810 – Frederic Chopin, Polish-French pianist and composer (Concerto in F Minor), born in Żelazowa Wola, Duchy of Warsaw (d. 1849) (baptismal record states 22nd Feb)
1895 – Duke Keats, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame centre (WCHL First-Team All-Star 1921-26; Edmonton Eskimos; NHL: Chicago Black Hawks), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1972)
1939 – Leo Brouwer, Cuban composer, conductor and musician, born in Havana
1943 – Akinori Nakayama, Japanese gymnast (6 x Olympic gold 1968, 72; 7 x World C’ships gold 1966, 70), born in Nagoya, Japan
1967 – Aron Winter, Dutch soccer midfielder and coach (84 caps; Ajax, Lazio, Inter), born in Paramaribo, Suriname
1976 – Travis Kvapil, American auto racer (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion 2003), born in Janesville, Wisconsin

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Famous Deaths

1899 – Gyorgy Apponyi, Hungarian politician, dies at 90
1980 – John Jacob Niles, American composer and singer, dies at 87
1993 – Terry Frost, American actor (Waterfront, Dead Man’s Trail), dies at 86
1994 – Timothy Andrew James Souster, British composer, dies at 51
2005 – Peter Malkin Israeli secret agent, dies at 77
2009 – Ken Henry, American speed skater (Olympic gold 500m 1952), dies at 80

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Historical Events

1882 – 1st US college cooperative store opens, at Harvard University
1931 – Canadian Rugby Union adopts the forward pass
1959 – “Goldilocks” closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 161 performances
1959 – Men’s World Figure Skating Championship in Colorado Springs won by David Jenkins USA
1960 – VIII Winter Olympic Games close in Squaw Valley, California
2019 – YouTube announces it will stops all comments on videos featuring children because of paedophiles leaving inappropriate comments

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Famous Birthdays

1155 – Henry the Young King, son of Henry II of England (d. 1183)
1409 – Elisabeth II of Bohemia (d. 1442)
1841 – Adrien Albert Marie de Mun, French politician (d. 1914)
1942 – Brian Jones, British blues and rock guitarist, organist and sitar player (Rolling Stones, 1962-69), born in Gloucestershire, England (d. 1969)
1957 – Phil Gould, British rock drummer and percussionist (Level 42 – “Something About You”), born in Hong Kong
1972 – Rory Cochrane, American actor

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Famous Deaths

1963 – Theodore Newton, American actor (Voltaire, Ace of Aces), dies at 58
1985 – Ray Ellington, English singer (b. 1916)
1995 – Max Rudolf, conductor, dies at 92
2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian, writer, and Librarian of Congress (b. 1914)
2011 – Peter Gomes, Harvard University Chaplain (b. 1942)
2021 – Johnny Briggs, English actor (Mike Baldwin on Coronation Street), dies at 85

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Historical Events

1856 – 18th Grand National: George Stevens wins aboard 25/1 Freetrader; first of Stevens’ record 5 GN victories
1879 – Russian Chemist Constantin Fahlberg discovers saccharin (artificial sweetener)
1900 – In London, the Trades Union Congress and the Independent Labour Party (formed in 1893) meet, results in a Labour Representative Committee and eventually the modern Labour Party in 1906
1984 – Worker’s union leader Billy Nair freed in South Africa
1990 – Final day of the rum ration in the Royal New Zealand Navy
2010 – Central Chile is hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake.

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Famous Birthdays

1831 – Hiram Bond Everest, American co-founder of The Vacuum Oil Company (d. 1913)
1893 – Joseph Messner, Austrian organist and composer, born in Schwaz, Tyrol (d. 1969)
1920 – Reg Simpson, English cricket batsman (27 Tests; best 156no v Australia 1951), born in Sherwood, Nottinghamshire (d. 2013)
1930 – Paul von Ragué Schleyer, American chemist
1939 – Kenzō Takada, Japanese fashion designer (Kenzo), born in Himejo, Japan (d. 2020)
1970 – Matthias Lechner, German art director, born in Mannheim, Germany

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Famous Deaths

1805 – Stefan Paluselli, Austrian choirmaster, composer, and monk, dies at 57
1958 – Harry Cohn, CEO (Columbia Pictures), dies of a heart attack
1970 – Marie Dionne, one of the French Canadian Dionne quintuplets (b. 1934)
1980 – George Tobias, American actor (Bewitched), dies at 78
2002 – Spike Milligan, Irish-British actor and comedian (The Goon Show, 3 Musketeers), dies of kidney failure at 83
2012 – Tina Strobos, Dutch physician and resistor to Nazi occupation, dies from cancer at 91

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Historical Events

1907 – Louis Botha Het Volk Party wins a majority in the election in Transvaal, South Africa
1923 – Italian nationalist and fascists merge (blue-shirts and black-shirts)
1924 – Trial against Adolf Hitler for treason in “Beer Hall Putsch” begins in Munich, Germany
1946 – 2 killed and 10 wounded in race riot in Columbia, Tennessee
1986 – Evert van Benthem wins 14th Frisian 11-Cities skating race (6:55:16)
1987 – Tower Commission probes Iran-Contra affair

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Famous Birthdays

1876 – Agustín Pedro Justo, President of Argentina (1932-38) during the Infamous Decade, born in Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Ríos (d. 1943)
1887 – Stefan Grabinski, Polish writer (d. 1936)
1928 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, Prime Minister of Israel (2001-2006), born at Kfar Malal (d. 2014)
1938 – Evagoras Pallikarides, Cypriot freedom fighter, born in Tsada, Cyprus (d. 1957)
1955 – Rupert Keegan, English Formula One racing car driver, born in Essex, England
1979 – Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer, born in Leeds, United Kingdom

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Famous Deaths

1889 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist (b. 1838)
1896 – Arsène Houssaye, French novelist and poet, dies at 80
1933 – Princess Thyra, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1853)
1961 – Karl Albiker, German sculptor (Problem of the Plastic), dies at 83
1991 – (Bulee) “Slim” Galliard, American jazz singer, musician, songwriter (“Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy)”), and actor, dies of cancer at 75
2004 – Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (b. 1920)

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Historical Events

1940 – 1st televised (W2XBS, NYC) hockey game (Rangers vs Canadians)
1988 – Bruce Springsteen’s “Tunnel of Love” Tour begins in Worcester, Massachusetts
1991 – US, barracks in Dhahran Saudi Arabia, hit by scud missile, kills 28
2013 – Italy Common Good, a centre left alliance, wins the Italian general election
2020 – Iran emerges as a newCOVID-19 hotspot, recording 95 cases and 11 deaths as a deputy health minister that appeared on TV confirmed as also infected
2020 – 147 murders occurred during a five day police strike in Ceará, Brazil, despite army patrolling the streets according to authorities

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Famous Birthdays

1811 – Carl Schuberth, German composer, born in Magdeburg, (d. 1863)
1896 – John Little McClellan, Sheridan Arkansas, American lawyer and politician (Sen-D-Ark)
1906 – Domingo Ortega, Spanish bullfighter
1907 – Shimen Ruskin, Polish actor (Beau Brummel, Having a Wonderful Time), born in Vilna, Russian Empire (d. 1976)
1962 – Birgit Fischer, German DR, 500m kayaker (Olympic gold 1980)
1972 – Sean Harris, NFL linebacker (Chicago Bears)

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Famous Deaths

1495 – Djem Sultan, son of Turkish sultan Mehmed II, dies at 35
1851 – Ferdinand Simon Gassner, Austrian composer, dies at 53
1860 – Chauncey Allen Goodrich, American clergyman, educator, and lexicographer (b. 1790)
1992 – Guy Deghy, actor (Matter of Who, 1 Eyed Soldiers), dies at 79
1992 – John E Allen Jr, actor (1 2 3), dies
2003 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor (Miser, Taxi Driver in NY, Me and Caterina), dies of cancer at 82

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Historical Events

1582 – Pope Gregory XIII announces New Style (Gregorian) calendar
1899 – Western Washington University is established
1979 – Highest price ever paid for a pig, $42,500, Stamford, Texas
2008 – Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba due to ill health after nearly fifty years
2010 – Europe risks a double-dip recession after bad results emerge from France, Germany and Italy, it is reported today; the Eurozone only grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2009
2020 – New York firefighter Daniel Foley, who found his brother’s body in ruins of World Trade Center, dies of cancer bringing first responders death toll to 343

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Famous Birthdays

1827 – Charles Davis Jameson, American politician and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Gorham, Maine (d. 1862)
1914 – Zachary Scott, American actor (Spotlight Playhouse, Mildred Pierce), born in Austin, Texas (d. 1965)
1932 – Everard Goodman, English real estate developer (TOPS Estates)
1940 – Denis Law, Scottish footballer (Manchester United, Manchester City), born in Aberdeen, Scotland
1948 – Dennis Waterman, English actor (Fair Exchange, Minder, The Sweeney), born in London
1968 – John Velddman, soccer player (Sparta)

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Famous Deaths

1721 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English statesman and poet (b. 1648)
1919 – Josephine McGill, composer, dies at 41
1925 – Hjalmar Branting, Prime Minister of Sweden, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1860)
1996 – James Runcieman Sutherland, academic, dies at 95
1998 – Antonio Prohias, Cuban-born cartoonist (b. 1921)
2004 – Alvino Rey, American orchestra leader (King Family), dies at 95

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Historical Events

1668 – Fire in the Hofburg in Vienna, Emperor Leopold I rescued
1861 – Dutch Premier Floris A van Hall resigns
1883 – Alabama becomes 1st US state to enact an antitrust law
1958 – Last Municipal arc light at Mission and 25th removed in San Francisco (installed 1913)
1962 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1991 – US President George H. W. Bush gives Iraq a 24-hour deadline to withdraw from Kuwait or face a ground war

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Famous Birthdays

1915 – Heinrich Schirmbeck, German author (Das Spiegellabyrinth)
1916 – William Walsh, academic
1958 – Ria Brieffies, Dutch pop vocalist (Dolly Dots), born in Lutjebroek, Netherlands (d. 2009)
1964 – John Norum, Swedish rocker (Europe), born in Vardø, Norway
1970 – Niecy Nash [Carol Denise Ensley], American actress and comedian, born in Compton, California
1984 – Andre Ward, American professional boxer, unified light heavyweight champion and world’s top pound-for-pound boxer, born in San Francisco, California

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Famous Deaths

1607 – Herman Herbertsz, vicar, dies at about 60
1679 – Anne Conway, English philosopher, dies at 47
1855 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician considered one of the greatest of all time (Gaussian distribution, fundamental theorem of algebra), dies at 77
1915 – Robert Smalls, African-American congressman (1875-87), dies at 75
1997 – Oscar Lewenstein, British impresario, dies at 80
2008 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and motorsport journalist (b. 1917)

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Historical Events

1904 – The Hague Tribunal gives its decision in claims against Venezuela; it sets the sum to be paid by Venezuela and gives preferential treatment to the three powers that initiated the block – Britain, Germany, and Italy
1907 – 1st cabs with taxi meters begin operating in London
1993 – Vinod Kambli scores 224 v England at Bombay, 411 balls, 23 fours
1995 – Steve Fossett completes 1st air balloon over Pacific Ocean (9600 km)
2013 – The European Commission forecast for 2013 expects growth of 0.1% across the 27 members of the EU but a contraction of 0.3% in the Eurozone economy
2018 – Neanderthals not humans were the first artists on Earth, producing red cave paintings 65,000 years ago in Spain, according to new research published in “Science”

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Famous Birthdays

1514 – Tahmasp I, shah of Persia (1524-76)/author (Tazkire-i Shah)
1814 – Oskar Kolberg, Polish ethnographer, folklorist, and composer (Lud), born in Przysucha, Poland (d. 1890)
1902 – Hanns Neupert, German piano builder/author (Das Klavichord)
1966 – Brian Greig, Australian politician, born in Fremantle, Australia
1975 – Charles O’Bannon, American NBA guard (Detroit Pistons), born in Bellflower, California
1988 – Przemysław Kazimierczak, Polish footballer, born in Łęczyca, Poland

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Famous Deaths

1636 – Santorio Sanctorius, Venetian physiologist and physician (invented thermometer), dies at 74
1822 – Johann Ignaz Walter, German opera singer and composer, dies at 66
1943 – Sophie Scholl, German anti-Nazi political activist, active in the non-violent resistance group, the White Rose (Die Weisse Rose), beheaded by guillotine at 21
1982 – Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet of India and Pakistan, dies at 83
1983 – Adrian Boult, British conductor (BBC Symphony Orchestra, 1930-50; London Philharmonic, 1950-59), dies at 93
2005 – Simone Simon, French actress (All Money Can Buy, Ladies in Love), dies from natural causes at 94

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Historical Events

1887 – 1st US bacteriology laboratory opens (Brooklyn)
1914 – In a secret meeting of civil and military leaders, Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov convinces them to support a plan for seizing the straits, controlled by Turkey, that block access to the Mediterranean
1957 – Dodgers (Fort Worth) and Cubs (LA) “trade” minor league franchises
1975 – Watergate figures John Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John D Ehrlichman sentenced to 2½-8 yrs for conspiracy and obstruction of justice
1989 – Pete Rose meets with Commissioner Ueberroth to discuss his gambling
2014 – 10 words from the 15th C Voynich manuscript have been decoded

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Famous Birthdays

1877 – Jacob D du Toit [Totius], South African poet/theologist
1937 – Ron Clarke AO, MBE, Australian athlete (17 x WRs, 5,000m, 10,000m, 20,000m; 2, 3, 6, 10 miles) and politician (mayor Gold Coast), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2015)
1939 – Ron Nagle, American sculptor, and songwriter, born in San Francisco, California
1940 – Peter McEnery, England, actor (Game is Over, Moonspinners)
1943 – David Geffen, American record producer (Geffen Records, Asylum) and film studio executive (DreamWorks SKG), born in Brooklyn, New York
1946 – Anthony Daniels, British actor and mime artist (Star Wars – “C-3PO”), born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England

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Famous Deaths

1730 – Benedict XIII [Pietro F Orsini], Pope (1724-30), dies at 81
1918 – Neltje Blanchan, American nature writer, dies at 52
1956 – Edwin Franko Goldman, composer, dies at 78
1989 – Otar Vasilisdze Taktakishvili, Georgian composer, conductor, teacher, and musicologist, dies at 64
2005 – Ara Berberian, American opera singer (b. 1930)
2012 – Baron Hooson [Hugh Emlyn], British politician and peer, dies at 86

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