Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1146 – European leaders outlaw the crossbow, intending to end war for all time
1363 – Beginning of the Battle of Lake Poyang; two Chinese rebel leaders Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang are pitted against each other in what was one of the largest naval battles in history during Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty
1873 – Austrian explorers Julius von Payer and Karl Weyprecht discover the archipelago of Franz Joseph Land in the Arctic Sea.
1939 – General Reijnders appointed supreme commander of Dutch army
1992 – “Most Happy Fella” closes at Booth Theater NYC after 229 performances
2012 – A blast in the Xiaojiawan coal mine, China, kills 26 miners with 21 missing

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1687 – Francesco Maria Vallara, Italian composer, born in Parma, Italy (d. 1740)
1818 – Alexander H. Rice, American businessman and politician, 30th Governor of Massachusetts (1876-78), born in Newton, Massachusetts (d. 1895)
1916 – John Thoday, British geneticist, born in Chinley, Derbyshire (d. 2008)
1949 – Christopher Collins, American actor (True Identity), voice actor (Cobra Commander-G.I. Joe) and comedian, born in Orange, New Jersey (d. 1994)
1953 – Robert Parish, American College/Basketball HOF center (9 x NBA All-Star; NBA C’ship 1981, 84, 86 Boston Celtics; 97 Chicago Bulls), born in Shreveport, Louisiana
1977 – Marlon Byrd, American baseball player, born in Boynton Beach, Florida

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1745 – Jean-Baptiste-Maurice Quinault, French composer, dies at 57
1910 – Albert Vandal, French earl and historian (Napoleon), dies at 57
1914 – Adrian H. Stewart, British lieutenant, dies in battle in Cameroon at 26
1943 – A[braham] Merritt, American sci-fi author (The Moon Pool, Burn Witch Bun), dies from a heart attack at 58
1989 – Seymour Krim, American journalist, essayist, and literary critic (b. 1922)
2007 – Charles Vanik, American politician (b. 1918)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1864 – William Huggins discovers chemical composition of nebulae
1941 – German Einsatzkommando in Russia kills 1,469 Jewish children
1949 – USSR performs its first nuclear test at Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR
1953 – KHSL TV channel 12 in Chico, CA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1960 – Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser wins blue ribband 100m freestyle gold medal at the Rome Olympics; retains title won in Melbourne 1956; will win unprecedented 3rd consecutive 100m gold in Tokyo 1964
1962 – Some provisions of Kuwaiti constitution are suspended

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1881 – Valery-Nicolas Larbaud, French novelist and translator (Enfantines), born in Vichy, France (d. 1957)
1898 – Preston Sturges [Edmund Biden], American director and screenwriter (Sullivan’s Travels), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1959)
1926 – María Dolores Pradera, Spanish melodic singer and actress, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 2018)
1941 – Robin Leach, English TV host (Life Styles of Rich and Famous), born in London, England (2018)
1949 – Peter Wiegold, British composer (Earth and Stars; Kafka’s Wound), born in Ilford, Essex, England
1957 – Jerry D. Bailey, American Racing Hall of Fame jockey/broadcaster (Kentucky Derby 1993, 1996), born in Dallas, Texas

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1856 – Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, British Christian writer, dies at 77
1990 – Sandy, dog in the play Annie, dies at 16
1991 – Dixie Dunbar [Charlotte King], American singer and actress, dies of heart attack at 72
1995 – Frank Perry, American film director (Diary of Mad Housewife, David and Lisa), dies at 65
2003 – Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, Iraqi political leader (b. 1939)
2007 – Alfred Peet, Dutch-American entrepreneur and the founder of Peet’s Coffee and Tea (b. 1920)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1840 – Nine Jewish prisoners are released from Damascus jails
1914 – World War I: British General John French orders civilian evacuation of Amiens, France as German forces push in from Belgium
1957 – US Senator James Thurmond (Rep, SC) begins 24-hr filibuster against civil rights bill
1963 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I have a dream” speech addressing the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom civil rights march at Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
1973 – India and Pakistan sign POW accord
1981 – John Hinckley pleads innocent to attempt to assassinate US President Ronald Reagan

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1025 – Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan, 70th Emperor of Japan, born in Heian-kyō, Japan (d. 1068)
1582 – Taichang Emperor [Zhu Changluo], 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, born in Beijing (d. 1620)
1789 – Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden, born in Versailles, France (d. 1860)
1906 – John Betjeman, poet (Mount Zion) and English Poet Laureate (1972-1984), born in London (d. 1984)
1949 – Hugh Cornwell, Britsh punk singer-songwriter (The Stranglers – “Dreamtime”), born in Tufnell Park, North London, England
1971 – Shane Andrews, infielder (Montreal Expos), born in Dallas, Texas

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1544 – Alardus Aemstelredamus, Dutch priest and humanist, dies at about 53
1969 – Clarence Hennecke, American actor (The Strong Man, Murder by Television, Keystone Kops), dies at 74
1981 – Paul Anspach, Belgian fencer (Olympic gold individual epée, team epée 1912), dies at 99
1988 – Paul Whitelaw, New Zealand cricket batsman (2 Tests; Auckland), dies at 78
1991 – Eleanor Berry, actress (Death Valley Days), dies
2013 – Rob du Bois, Dutch composer, dies at 79

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1913 – Lt Pyotr Nesterov, of Imperial Russian Air Service, performs a loop in a monoplane at Kiev (1st aerobatic maneuver in an airplane)
1966 – Oakland Pitcher Paul Lindblad begins a 385 cons errorless streak
1983 – Haiti adopts constitution
1984 – US President Ronald Reagan announces ‘Teacher in Space’ project
1992 – CFL revokes BC Lions franchise
2004 – In a huge upset in the men’s basketball semi final at the Athens Olympics, Argentina beats a star-studded but unsettled US team 89-81; they go on to take gold and US bronze

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1752 – Herman Muntinghe, Dutch theologist (History of Mankind), born in Termunten, Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1824)
1899 – C. S. Forester, English historical novelist (Horatio Hornblower), born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 1966)
1937 – J.D. Crowe, American bluegrass banjo player and band leader (The New South), born in Lexington, Kentucky (d. 2021)
1939 – Edward Patten, American soul singer (Gladys Knight and the Pips), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2005)
1943 – [Susan] Tuesday Weld, American actress (Dobie Gillis, Wild in Country), born in NYC, New York
1979 – Sarah Neufeld, Canadian violinist (Arcade Fire), born in British Columbia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1828 – Eise J Eisinga, constructed planetarium at Franeker, dies at 84
1871 – William Whiting Boardman, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut), dies at 76
1879 – Rowland Hill, English inventor who introduced 1st adhesive postage stamp (1840), dies at 84
1979 – Louis Mountbatten, British naval officer and statesman, last Viceroy of India (1947), is assassinated by an IRA bomb on his boat in Ireland at 79
1999 – Hélder Câmara, Brazilian Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1909)
2003 – Pierre Poujade, French politician (b. 1920)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1922 – Japanese cruiser Niitaka driven onto rocks in storm at Kamchatka, 284 killed
1945 – Japanese diplomats board USS Missouri to receive instructions on Japan’s surrender at the end of WWII
1962 – Minnesota Twins Jack Kralick no-hits KC A’s, 1-0
1973 – David Eisenhower writes his last sports column
1984 – Tatyana Kazankina of USSR sets 3k woman record (8:22.62) in Leningrad
1986 – Robert Chambers, the “Preppie Killer” murders Jennifer Levin in New York City’s Central Park, afterwards claimed “rough sex” as motive

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1862 – Herbert Booth, American son of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1926)
1900 – Hellmuth Walter, German engineer and inventor (rocket engines and gas turbines), born in Wedel, Germany (d. 1980)
1942 – John E. Blaha, American USAF/astronaut (STS 29, 33, 43, 58, 79/81), born in San Antonio, Texas
1946 – Mark Snow [Martin Fulterman], American television and film composer (The X-Files theme), born in New York City
1949 – Leon Redbone [Dickran Gobalian], American blues and jazz musician (“Seduced”; “Theme to Mr. Belvedere”), born in Nicosia, Cyprus (d. 2019)
1974 – Eric D. Snider, American humor columnist / movie reviewer, born in Lake Elsinore, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1666 – Frans Hals, Dutch painter known for his portraiture (Laughing Cavalier) (b. circa 1580)
1770 – Domingos dos Reis Quita, Portuguese playwright and poet, dies at 42
1894 – Te Wherowhero Tāwhia, Second Māori King and leader of the Waikato tribes in New Zealand, dies at 71 or 72
1980 – Tex Avery, American cartoonist (b. 1908)
1994 – Tariq Yunus, Indian actor (Bollywood; Ashanti; Deceivers), dies at 54
2003 – Wayne Andre, American jazz and session trombonist, dies at 72

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1515 – Conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founds Havana in modern day Cuba, on the southern coast of the island. Moved to its current location in 1519.
1926 – Pavlos Koundouris becomes president of Greece
1951 – Cleveland Indians win 16th straight home game
2004 – Greek athlete Fani Chalkia comes out of retirement to compete in her home Olympics in Athens; wins 400m hurdles gold medal in 52.82
2006 – Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko is sentenced to 9 years in federal prison for money laundering, wire fraud, and extortion
2013 – 41 people are killed in a wave of bomb attacks across Iraq

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1530 – Ivan IV [Ivan the Terrible], 1st tsar of Russia (1533-84), born in Kolomenskoye, Russia (d. 1584)
1880 – Robert E. Stolz, Austrian composer and conductor, born in Graz, Austria (d. 1975)
1906 – Jim Smith, English cricket all-rounder (5 Tests), born in Corsham, Wiltshire (d. 1979)
1954 – Marty Jourard, American keyboardist and vocalist (Motels – “Only the Lonely”), born in Atlanta, Georgia
1971 – Quintis “Chico” Ristie, Suriname radio host
1978 – Kel Mitchell, American actor

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1942 – W van Daalen, opposition leader on Celebes, beheaded
1989 – Gunnar Johnsen Berg, composer, dies at 80
1997 – Robert Pinget, French novelist (The Interrogation) and playwright, dies at 78
2008 – Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer (b. 1959)
2008 – Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Finnish composer (The Whole World Will Lament; Kwaidan-balladit), dies at 64
2013 – Gilmar, Brazilian football player, dies from complications from a heart attack at 83

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1853 – 1st potato chips prepared by chef George Crum at Moon’s Lake House, near Saratoga Springs, New York (popular legend says he invented though earlier recipes exist)
1877 – American outlaw John Wesley Hardin, wanted for murder, is arrested by Texas Rangers on a train in Pensacola, Florida
1883 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Newport R.I.: Two-time defending champion Richard Sears wins 3rd straight title; beats James Dwight 6-2, 6-0, 9-7
2013 – 4 people are killed in a helicopter crash in the Shetland Islands
2015 – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces that for the 1st time 1 billion people logged into Facebook
2021 – 16th Paralympic Games opens in Tokyo, Japan

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1787 – James Weddell, British sailor and Antarctic explorer (Weddell Sea), born in Ostend, Belgium (d. 1834)
1899 – Ruth Schaumann, German painter, writer and sculptor (Rose, Black King), born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1975)
1929 – Willie Winfield, American doo-woop singer (Harptones – “Life Is But A Dream”; “A Sunday Kind of Love”), born in Surrey, Virginia (d. 2021)
1942 – Joe Chambers, American rock guitarist and vocalist (Chambers Brothers), born in Los Angeles, California
1952 – Vaneese Thomas, American RandB, jazz and soul blues singer, (“Let’s Talk It Over”), born in Memphis, Tennessee
1972 – Ava DuVernay, American director, writer and producer (13th, Selma, Queen Sugar), born in Long Beach, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1683 – John Owen, English non-conformist theologian (b. 1616)
1921 – Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet, dies at 35
1992 – Andreas M Donner, Dutch state leader/jurist (Constitution), dies at 74
2002 – Nikolay Guryanov Russian Orthodox Christian mystic and priest (b. 1909)
2003 – John Jacob Rhodes, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona), dies at 86
2010 – Satoshi Kon, Japanese anime film director, dies at 46

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1328 – Battle at Kassel: French troops stop uprising of Flemish farmers
1944 – Sammellager Drancy freed
1953 – Italian Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari clinches his second Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by winning Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten
1964 – St Louis Cardinals are 11 games back in NL; go on win Baseball World Series, 4-3 v New York Yankees
2013 – 26 people are killed and 55 are injured by a suicide bombing in Baghdad, Iraq
2020 – US Republican party convention begins by formally renominating Donald Trump for a second presidential term

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1486 – Siegmund Freiherr von Herberstein, Austrian diplomat, born in Vipava, Slovenia (d. 1566)
1623 – Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, born in Raków, Kielce County, Poland (d. 1675)
1783 – William Tierney Clark, English civil engineer, born in Bristol, England (d. 1852)
1852 – Arnold Toynbee, English economic historian and social reformer, born in London (d. 1883)
1911 – Elizabeth “Betty” Robinson, US 100m sprinter (Olympic gold 1928), born in Riverdale, Illinois (d. 1999)
1953 – Bobby Gubby, English rocker (Bucks Fizz-My Camera Never Lies), born in Epsom, Surrey, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1867 – Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy, French poet (b. 1796)
1979 – Richard Hearne, British actor (Tons of Trouble, The Time of His Life), dies at 71
1992 – Virginia Sale-Wren, entertainer, dies of heart failure at 92
1993 – Victorine Hefting, historian/wife of Bert Baker, dies at 88
2005 – Harold “Hal” Kalin, American singer (Kalin Twins), dies in a road accident at 71
2020 – Greg Montgomery, American NFL punter (Baltimore Ravens), dies at 55

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1543 – Emperor Charles V’s army occupies Duren
1654 – Jacob Barsimson arrives in New Amsterdam (modern day Manhattan) aboard the Peartree, one of the first Jewish colonists
1902 – US President Theodore Roosevelt became 1st US chief executive to ride in a car
1934 – Red Sox pitcher Wes Ferrell hits 2 HRs to beat White Sox 3-2 in 12
2004 – American sprinter Justin Gatlin wins the coveted Olympic 100m gold medal in Athens in 9.85 ahead of Francis Obikwelu of Portugal and American Maurice Greene
2021 – Tropical storm Henri makes landfall near Westerly, Rhode Island

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1822 – George Stoneman, US Union general-major and Governor of California (1883-87), born in Busti, NY (d. 1894)
1916 – John Slater, British actor (Deadlock, Cartel, Devil’s Pass), born in London, England (d. 1975)
1947 – Cindy Williams, American actress (Shirley- Laverne and Shirley), born in Van Nuys, California
1955 – Will Shetterly, American writer (Dogland), born in Columbia, South Carolina
1975 – Rodrigo Santoro, Brazilian actor (Love Actually), born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1995 – Dua Lipa, British-Kosovo Albanian pop singer-songwriter (“New Rules”, “One Kiss”), born in London

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1607 – Bartholomew Gosnold, English explorer and privateer (b. 1572)
1944 – Raymond Aimos, actor (Golem, Mayerling, La Bandera), dies at 55
2004 – Konstantin Aseev, Russian chess player (b. 1960)
2008 – Gladys Powers, Canadian World War I veteran (b. 1899)
2011 – Vicco von Bülow [Loriot], German comedian, cartoonist and film director (Unsere Besten), dies at 87
2021 – Brian Travers, British rock saxophonist (UB40 – “Red, Red Wine”), dies of cancer at 62

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1856 – America’s first consul to Japan, Townsend Harris, arrives in Shimoda. (Traditional Japanese date: July 21, 1856)
1891 – Dutch Mackay government resigns
1920 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Flossmoor CC: American based Scotsman Jock Hutchison beats J. Douglas Edgar of England, 1-up; first of Hutchinson’s 2 majors
1942 – Walt Disney’s animated movie “Bambi”, based on the book by Felix Salten, is released
1983 – Jerry Herman’s musical “La Cage aux Folles”, based Jean Poiret’s French play of the same name, opens at Palace Theater, NYC; runs for 1761 performances, wins 6 Tony Awards
2004 – American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins his 6th gold medal of the Athens Olympics even though he doesn’t swim the final of men’s 4 x 100m medley relay; US wins in world record 3:30.68

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1800 – Hiram Walden, American politician, born in Pawlet, Vermont (d. 1880)
1882 – Rik Wouters, Belgian painter (Lady in Blue), and sculptor (The Nymph), born in Mechelen, Belgium (d. 1916)
1941 – Jackie DeShannon [Sharon Lee Myers], American singer-songwriter (“What the World Needs Now Is Love”; “When You Walk In The Room”), born in Hazel, Kentucky
1957 – Janice Thomas, WBL guard (NY Stars)
1970 – Steve Everitt, NFL center (Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles), born in Miami, Florida
1974 – Pietra Gay, WNBA guard/forward (Houston Comets)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1581 – Sakuma Nobumori, Japanese retainer and samurai (b. 1527)
1723 – Dimitrie Cantemir, Romanian historian and Monarch of Moldova (1710-11), dies at 49
1957 – Nels Stewart, professional ice hockey player (b. 1902)
2005 – Polly Hill, British economic anthropologist (studied Cocoa-Farmers Of Southern Ghana), dies at 91
2005 – Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet (b. 1936)
2013 – C. Gordon Fullerton, American USMC Colonel, and NASA astronaut (STS-3; STS-51-F), dies at 76

More Famous Deaths »