Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1529 – Zürich and Catholic cantons sign Peace of Kappel
1914 – King Peter I of Serbia names son Alexander the Prince-regent
1923 – Pope Pius XI speaks against allies occupying Ruhrgebied
2009 – Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England opens: Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, and Blur headline; other performers include Fleet Foxes, Tom Jones, Spinal Tap, Lady Gaga, and The Script
2010 – “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”, based on the book by Stephenie Meyer, directed by David Slade, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, premieres in Los Angeles
2010 – In the longest match in tennis history, American John Isner defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon after 11 hours, 5 minutes of play over 3 days

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Famous Birthdays

1930 – Herbert C Klein, American businessman, and politician (US House of Representatives (D) – New Jersey, 1993-95), born in Newark, New Jersey
1945 – George Pataki, American politician (Gov-R-NY, 1995-2006), born in Peekskill, New York
1967 – Janez Lapajne, Slovenian film director
1976 – Louisa Leaman, English author
1978 – Luis García, Spanish footballer
1987 – Arturo Lupoli, Italian footballer, born in Brescia, Italy

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Famous Deaths

803 – Higbald, Bishop of Lindisfarne monastery
1916 – Victor Chapman, French-American pilot renowned during WW1 (1st American pilot to die in WW1), succumbs to wounds at age 26
1956 – Earl Morris, American archaeologist (Aztec Ruins National Monument), dies at 66
1959 – Lou Bandy [Lodewijk Ferdinand Dieben], Dutch revue-artist (Life Ain’t Bad), commits suicide at 69
1991 – Rufino Tamayo, Mexican painter, dies at 91
2007 – Chris Benoit, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1967)

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Historical Events

1585 – Spanish army under Tassis beats Amerongen Staatse troops
1940 – After conquering France, Adolf Hitler visits Paris and views the Eiffel Tower and the grave of Napoleon Bonaparte
1944 – Thomas Mann becomes a US citizen
1967 – US Senate censures Thomas J Dodd from Connecticut (D). for misusing campaign funds
1973 – World Court condemns French nuclear tests in the Pacific
2019 – Turkey’s ruling AK party lose the re-run of Istanbul’s mayoral election to Ekrem Imamoglu of the Republican People’s Party

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Famous Birthdays

1799 – John Milton Bernhisel, American physician (d. 1881)
1907 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian comedienne (d. 2008)
1910 – Jean Anouilh, French dramatist (Antigone, The Lark), born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1987)
1950 – Sally Geeson, actress (Bless This House), born in Sussex, England
1976 – Emmanuelle Vaugier, Canadian actress (CSI:NY; Lost Girl), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
1978 – Frédéric Leclercq, French bassist (DragonForce)

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Famous Deaths

1888 – Emil Naumann, German composer, dies at 60
1991 – Antonio Jacinto, Angolan poet, dies at 66
1996 – Elbert Parr Tuttle, lawyer/judge, dies at 98
2006 – Harriet, Galápagos tortoise (b. 1830)
2006 – Aaron Spelling, American television producer (Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty), dies at 83
2015 – Magali Noël [Guiffray], French actress and singer, dies at 83

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Historical Events

1745 – Bonnie Prince Charles sails to Scotland
1915 – BMT, then Brooklyn Rapid Transit, begins subway service
1932 – NL finally approves players wearing numbers
1958 – LPGA Western Open Women’s Golf, Kahkwa CC: Patty Berg wins back-to-back WO titles; beats runner-up Beverly Hanson by 4 strokes
1976 – Stephen Schwartz’ musical “Godspell” opens at Broadhurst Theater, NYC; runs for 527 performances
2018 – Eurozone countries agree debt relief deal for Greece, signalling end to the country’s economic crisis

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Famous Birthdays

1871 – William McDougall, British psychologist and polymath (d. 1938)
1884 – James Rector, American athlete (d. 1949)
1932 – Prunella Scales, British actress (Fawlty Towers, A Question of Attribution), born in Sutton Abinger, Surrey
1936 – Dick Huddart, English rugby league second rower (16 Tests Great Britain; St. Helens, St. George), born in Flimby, Cumberland, England (d. 2021)
1948 – Todd Rundgren, American rock singer-songwriter (“We Gotta Get You A Woman”; “Hello It’s Me”; “Bang The Drum All Day”), multi-instrumentalist and producer (The Tubes; XTC; Grand Funk Railroad), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1973 – Lacy Goranson, actress (Becky-Roseanne), born in Evanston, Indiana

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Famous Deaths

1885 – Mahdi [Muhammad Ahmed], Sudanese music reviewer, dies
1933 – Henry Birkin, British racing driver (Bentley Boys), dies at 36
1936 – Moritz Schlick, Austrian philosopher assassinated at 54 by former student Johann Nelböck
1940 – Wladimir Köppen [Vladimir Köppen], German Meteorologist and Climatologist who developed the Köppen climate classification system for the regions of the world, dies at 93
2007 – Erik Parlevliet, Dutch field hockey player (b. 1964)
2008 – Dody Goodman, American comedienne (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman – “Martha Shumway”; Max Duggan), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1788 – The population of Vizille, France, demands local parliament
1824 – Greek War of Independence: Egyptian forces capture Psara in the Aegean Sea
1853 – Envelope-folding machine patented by Russell Hawes in Worcester, Massachusetts
1919 – Social Democrat Gustav Bauer forms a German government
1923 – Marcus Garvey sentenced to 5 years for using mail to defraud
2005 – Billy Corgan releases “TheFutureEmbrace”, his first solo album

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Famous Birthdays

1900 – Gunnar Ek, Swedish composer and musician, born in Asarum Blekinge (d. 1981)
1912 – Mary McCarthy, American novelist (Group), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 1989)
1944 – Tony Scott, English film director and producer (Top Gun; Revenge: Days of Thunder), born in Northumberland, England (d. 2012)
1950 – Joey Kramer, American hard rock drummer (Aerosmith – “Walk This Way”), born in The Bronx, NYC, New York
1969 – Donovan Osborne, Amercian pitcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Roseville, California
1970 – Pete Rock, American rapper/producer, born in The Bronx, New York

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Famous Deaths

223 – Liu Bei, Emperor of Shu Han (b. 161)
1907 – Lena Rice, Irish tennis player (Wimbledon 1890), dies of tuberculosis at 41
1980 – Bert Kaempfert, German orchestra leader and songwriter, dies of a stroke at 56
1987 – Madman Muntz, American entrepreneur, businessman, electrical engineer, TV commercial actor (b. 1914)
1995 – Tristan Jones, British sailor and author, dies at 71
2013 – Edgeworth Blair “Elliott” Reid, American actor (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), dies from heart failure at 93

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Historical Events

1779 – Battle of Stono Ferry fought near Charleston, South Carolina (American Revolutionary War)
1919 – Treaty of Versailles: Germany ends incorporation of Austria
1919 – 150 die at the Teatro Yaguez fire, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
1953 – LPGA Western Golf Open Women’s Golf, Capital City Club: Louise Suggs defeats Patty Berg, 6 and 5 in the final
1960 – Floyd Patterson KOs Ingemar Johansson in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
1976 – Carol Fugate, Starkweather accomplice, is paroled

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Famous Birthdays

1674 – Nicholas Rowe, English poet and playwright (Tamerlane), Poet Laureate (1715-18), born in Little Barford, Bedfordshire (d. 1718)
1717 – Jacques Saly, French sculptor, born in Valenciennes, France (d. 1776)
1723 – Theophilus Lindsey, English theologian and clergyman, born in Middlewich, Cheshire (d. 1808)
1733 – Betty Washington, younger sister of George Washington, born in Westmoreland County, Colony of Virginia (d. 1797)
1743 – Anna Laetitia Barbauld, English poet and writer of hymns (Life! I Know Not What Thou Art), born in Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, England (d. 1825)
1952 – John Goodman, American actor (Dan Conner on Roseanne, Babe), born in St Louis, Missouri

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Famous Deaths

1947 – Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, American gangster who created casinos in Las Vegas, shot dead in Beverly Hills at 41
1948 – George Frederick Boyle, Australian-American composer, dies at 61
1950 – Claude Jennings, cricketer (Aust opening bat in 1912 Triangular), dies
1953 – Hendrik de Man, sociologist (Belgian Working people Party), dies at 67
1995 – Henry Iliffe Cozens, English Royal Air Force pilot, dies at 91
2002 – Tinus Osendarp, Dutch runner (b. 1916)

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Historical Events

1286 – Rabbenu Mir of Rothenbur imprisoned in fortress of Ensisheim
1940 – German 7th Armoured division under command of Rommel occupies Cherbourg
1944 – French troops free Elba
1963 – Greek government of Pipinolis forms
1990 – Grupo Carso, S.A. de C.V., founded by Carlos Slim is listed on the Mexico Stock Exchange
2006 – Stanley Cup Final, PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC: Carolina Hurricanes beat Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 for a 4-3 series victory; Hurricane’s first Championship

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Famous Birthdays

1301 – Prince Morikuni, 9th shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, born in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan (d. 1333)
1898 – James Joseph Sweeney, American Catholic prelate, born in San Francisco, California (d. 1968)
1905 – George Voskovec [Jirí Wachsmann], Czech actor (12 Angry Men, Somewhere in Time), born in Sázava, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1981)
1906 – Ernst Chain, German-British chemist and bacteriologist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1945 – for his work on penicillin), born in Berlin, German Empire (d. 1979)
1914 – Morgan Morgan-Giles, British Naval officer and politician (d. 2013)
1977 – Peter Warrick, American NFL running back (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), born in New Orleans, Louisiana

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Famous Deaths

1542 – Leo Jud[ae], Swiss pastor/church reformer
1857 – Alexander Twilight, American politician and minister, first African American to graduate and hold political office, dies at 61
1867 – Maximilian I of the Mexican Empire is executed by firing squad in Querétaro, Querétaro at 34
1984 – Sunny Johnson, American actress (Flashdance), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 30
2007 – Terry Hoeppner, American football coach (b. 1947)
2013 – Bojidar Dimov, Bulgarian pianist and composer (Die Hochzeit von Susa), dies at 61

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Historical Events

1264 – The Parliament of Ireland meets at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature
1898 – US Open Men’s Golf, Myopia Hunt Club: Scotsman Fred Herd easily wins by 7 strokes from countryman Alex Smith; first 72-hole US Open
1983 – “Pump Boys and Dinettes” closes at Princess Theater NYC after 573 performances
1986 – De Havilland Twin Otter and Bell 206 helicopter collide, kills 25
1991 – SF Giant pitcher Dave Dravecky’s cancerous left arm is amputated
2016 – Soyuz capsule returns to Earth 1st British International Space Station astronaut Tim Peake, Russian Yuri Malenchenko and American Timothy Kopra after 186 days

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Famous Birthdays

1915 – Victor Legley, Belgian violinist, composer, and educator (Brussels Conservatory, 1949-80), born in Hazebrouck, France (d. 1994)
1920 – Ian Carmichael, British actor (Private’s Progress, I’m All Right Jack), born in Hull, England (d. 2010)
1925 – Rex Collings, English publisher (Rex Collings), (d. 1996)
1926 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-born actress (Crimson Pirate), born in Kecs kemet, Hungary (d. 1998)
1942 – Roger Ebert, American film critic (Pulitzer Prize 1975), born in Urbana, Illinois (d. 2013)
2006 – Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg

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Famous Deaths

1588 – Anna van Nassau, daughter of William the Silent and his second wife, Anna of Saxony and wife of William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, dies at 24
1669 – Abraham Crijnssen, Swiss admiral, conquered Suriname, dies
1921 – Eduardo Acevedo Díaz, Uruguayan writer (Nativa, Lanza y Sable), dies at 70
1955 – Willy Burkhard, Swiss composer, dies at 55
2008 – Tasha Tudor, American illustrator and children’s books author (Pumpkin Moonshine, Corgiville Fair), dies at 92
2017 – Lord Joffe [Joel Goodman Joffe], South African-born British lawyer (instructing solicitor for Nelson Mandela’s defence team) and businessman, dies at 85

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Historical Events

1864 – -18] Confederate troops pull back out Solves/lost Mt, Georgia
1901 – The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT
1915 – The League to Enforce Peace is organised at Independence Hall in Philadelphia with William Howard Taft as president; its program anticipates the League of Nations
1954 – CIA exile army lands in Guatemala. Organised by John Foster Dulles and United Fruit Co.
1988 – Soyuz TM-5 launches
1991 – South Africa abolishes last of its apartheid laws

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Famous Birthdays

1823 – John Henry Hobart Ward, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in NYC, New York (d. 1903)
1832 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (Crookes-pipe, thallium), born in London (d. 1919)
1895 – Slavko Osterc, Slovenian composer, born in Veržej, Slovenia (d. 1941)
1909 – Ralph E. Winters, Canadian film editor, born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2004)
1914 – John Hersey, American author (Hiroshima, Bell for Adano, Wall), born in Tientsin, China (d. 1993)
1981 – Amrita Rao, Indian Bollywood actress (Vivah)

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Famous Deaths

1898 – Edward Burne-Jones, English Pre-Raphaelite painter and designer, dies at 64
1906 – Harry Nelson Pillsbury, American chess player, dies at 33
1973 – Luis Van Rooten, Mexican-born, American actor, author and translator (One Man’s Family), dies at 66
1974 – Yadavendra Singh, cricketer (Yuvraj of Patiala, Test for India), dies
2010 – Andy Ripley, English rugby union #8 (24 caps; British Lions 1974), dies from prostate cancer at 62
2020 – György Kárpáti, Hungarian water polo player (Olympic gold 1952, 56, 64), dies at 84

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Historical Events

1779 – US General Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, New York, inflicting heavy losses on the British
1956 – 88th Belmont: David Erb aboard Needles wins in 2:29.8
1956 – US Open Men’s Golf, Oak Hill CC: Cary Middlecoff wins his second Open title, 1 stroke ahead of runners-up Julius Boros and Ben Hogan
1960 – President Eisenhower cancels trip to Japan
1967 – The first Montreux Jazz Festival is held in Switzerland, created by Claude Nobs
1978 – Film “Grease” opens, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, based on the 1971 musical

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Famous Birthdays

1738 – Mary Katharine Goddard, American printer and publisher (d. 1816)
1917 – Katharine Graham, American newspaper publisher (Washington Post), born in NYC, New York
1950 – Jesse Dizon, American actor (Ramon-Operation Petticoat), born in Oceanside, California
1951 – Roberto Durán, Panamanian boxer (4-weight world champion), born in El Chorrillo, Panama
1962 – Wally Joyner, American baseball player
1970 – Cobi Jones, American soccer player and commentator ( Los Angeles Galaxy.), born in Detroit, Michigan

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Famous Deaths

1626 – Christian the Younger, German Protestant military leader during the Thirty Years’ War, dies at 26
1969 – Karl Schiske, Austrian composer, dies at 53
1970 – Elsa Triolet [Ella Kagan], Russian-French writer and Resistance fighter, dies at 73
1970 – Heino Eller, Estonian composer, dies at 83
2008 – Mario Rigoni Stern, Italian writer, World War II veteran and Nazi concentration camp survivor (b. 1921)
2017 – Stephen Furst, American actor (Animal House, St. Elsewhere) dies from diabetes complications at 63

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Historical Events

1775 – George Washington appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, the day after Congress establishes the force
1857 – San Francisco Water Works organized
1957 – US Open Men’s Golf, Inverness Club: Dick Mayer defeats defending champion Cary Middlecoff by 7 strokes in an 18-hole playoff to win his only major title
1974 – “All the President’s Men” by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward detailing their Watergate investigation is published by Simon and Schuster in the US
1982 – Riots occur in Argentina after the country is defeated in the Falklands Island War
1992 – Erie Sailors (Fla Marlin farm team) 1st game beat Jamestown 6-5 in 13

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – Sam Giancana, American mafioso, born in Chicago, Illinois
1917 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek rebetiko singer and composer, born in Agia Sofia, Piraeus, Greece (d. 2005)
1949 – Dusty Baker, American baseball outfielder and manager (MLB All Star 1981-82; LA Dodgers; NL Manager of the Year 1993, 97, 2000), born in Riverside, California
1971 – Stuart Howell, Australian baseball pitcher (Olympics 1996)
1972 – Jean Francois Labbe, Sherbrooke, NHL goalie (Colorado Avalanche)
1983 – Laura Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter, born in Sydney, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1978 – Anton Roosjen, Dutch politician and NCRV-chairman, dies at 83
1989 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian politician (b. 1912)
1994 – Manos Hadjidakis, Greek conductor, and Academy Award-winning composer (“Never On Sunday”), dies at 68
2011 – Bill Haast, American Herpetologist (b. 1910)
2014 – Casey Kasem, American radio personality (creator of American Top 40) and the voice of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo, dies from Lewy body dementia at 82
2015 – Jean Doré, Canadian politician (39th Mayor of Montreal), dies at 70

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