Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1917 – World War I: Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) begins, goes on to cause approximately 500,000 casualties
1988 – Miami Dolphins beat San Francisco 49ers, 27-21 in the American Bowl at London’s Wembley Stadium
1988 – Pittsburgh Pirates 1st baseman/left fielder and 7-time All Star Willie Stargell becomes 200th man inducted in Baseball’s Hall of Fame
1991 – Senate votes to allow women to fly combat aircraft
1991 – Russia and US sign long range nuclear weapons reduction pact
1992 – Three world record swims on final night session at the Barcelona Olympics; Australian Kieren Perkins 1,500m (14:43.4); Tamás Darnyi of Hungary 200m backstroke (1:59.36); China’s Yang Wenyi women’s 50m freestyle (24.79)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1935 – Yvon Deschamps, French Canadian author and humorist, born in Montreal, Quebec
1962 – Wesley Snipes, American actor (Passenger 57, Money Train, Blade trilogy), born in Orlando, Florida
1967 – Rodney Harvey, actor (Salsa)
1970 – David Sacco, NHL left wing (Olympics 1994, Anaheim Mighty Ducks), born in Malden, Massachusetts
1976 – Marty Booker, American NFL wide receiver (Pro Bowl 2002, Chicago Bears), born in Jonesboro, Louisiana
1992 – Kyle Larson, American auto racer (NASCAR Cup Series Championship 2021; 24 Hours of Daytona 2015), born in Elk Grove, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1508 – Na’od, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1494)
1864 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (Librairie Hachette), dies at 64
1960 – Karl Hasse, German composer, dies at 77
1961 – Jesse Harper, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Notre Dame 57–17–7), dies at 77
1998 – Serge Golovine, French ballet choreographer (Death of Narcissus), dies at 73
2009 – Sir Bobby Robson, English soccer forward, coach (20 caps; England manager 1982-90), dies of lung cancer at 76

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

657 – St Vitalian begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Eugene I
1905 – Dutch Covenant of Worker’s union, NVV, forms
1942 – FDR signs bill creating women’s Navy auxiliary agency (WAVES)
1953 – Rikidōzan holds a ceremony announcing the establishment of the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance
1960 – 1st AFL preseason game Boston Patriots defeat Bills in Buffalo (28-7)
1997 – Eighteen lives are lost in the Thredbo Landslide in New South Wales, Australia

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1875 – James W. Tate, English composer, born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire (d. 1922)
1880 – Robert R. McCormick, American editor and publisher (Chicago Tribune), born in Chicago (d. 1955)
1940 – Clive Sinclair, British consumer electronics inventor (Executive pocket calculator; ZX Spectrum computer), born in Richmond, Surrey, England (d. 2021)
1959 – Petra Felke, German javelin thrower (world record 1988), born in Saalfeld, East Germany
1981 – Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (MotoGP Champion 2006), born in Owensboro, Kentucky (d. 2017)
1982 – Jimmy Anderson, English cricket fast bowler (most wickets for England in both Test and ODI cricket), born in Burnley, Lancashire

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1965 – Junichiro Tanizaki, Japanese writer (Key), dies at 79
1982 – Roberta Pedon, American glamour model, dies at 28
1994 – Theo van Scheltinga, skater, dies at 80
2008 – Anne Armstrong U.S. ambassador to Britain and first female counsel to the President, dies at 80
2009 – Peter Zadek, German theatre director (b. 1926)
2012 – Maeve Binchy [Snell], Irish novelist (Light a Penny Candle), dies at 72

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1928 – Test footage first created for Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” with Mickey Mouse
1942 – Eastern Blvd in the Bronx renamed Bruckner Boulevard, in honor of former Bronx Borough President and US Congressman, Henry Bruckner
1956 – WCKT (now WSVN) TV channel 7 in Miami, Florida (IND) begins broadcasting
1978 – American Penny Dean swims English Channel in record 7 hrs, 40 min; record holds until 1995
1994 – 200,000 Muslims demand the death of feminist writer Taslima Nasrin in Bangladesh
1995 – Monica Seles beats Martina Navratilova in her return to tennis

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1866 – George Morrison, American entrepreneur (owner of Mammoth Caves), born border of Ohio and Pennsylvania (d. 1937)
1914 – Dovie Hudson, American community activist in rural Mississippi (filed lawsuit to desegregate the public schools)
1935 – Peter Schreier, German tenor and conductor (Dresden State Opera, 1962-2000), born in Meissen, Saxony, Germany (d. 2019)
1937 – Daniel McFadden, American economist and Nobel Prize Laureate who developed theory and methods for analyzing discrete choice, born in Raleigh, North Carolina
1981 – Troy Perkins, American professional soccer goalkeeper, born in Springfield, Ohio
1990 – Shin Se-kyung, South Korean actress (Deep Rooted Tree), born in Yangcheon, South Korea

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1108 – King Philip I, King of the Franks 1059, 1060-1108), dies at 56
1887 – Agostino Depretis, Italian statesman, Prime Minister of Italy (1876-78, 1778-79, 1881-87), dies at 74
1954 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (World Alllround Speed Skating champion 1905), dies at 75
1984 – Fred Waring, American bandleader, conductor, and Waring Blender namesake, dies at 84
2007 – Michel Serrault, French actor (Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud, La Cage aux Folles), dies at 79
2016 – Marta Marzotto, Italian countess and designer, dies at 85

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1790 – Henry James Pye appointed as British Poet Laureate by King George III
1919 – Vrije Vakbewegings Internationale (VVI) forms in Amsterdam
1979 – France performs nuclear Test
1985 – Canadian Open Women’s Golf (du Maurier Classic), Beaconsfield GC: Pat Bradley wins by 1 from Jane Geddes
1986 – Bomb attack in East Beirut, 25 killed
1992 – RandB singer Mary J. Blige releases her debut album “What’s the 411?”, with production by Puff Daddy

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1863 – Hussein Khan Nakhichevanski, Russian general (d. 1919)
1901 – Sándor Vándor, Hungarian Jewish composer, born in Miskolc, Hungary (d. 1945)
1928 – Adrian Ratiu, Romanian composer, born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 2005)
1934 – Jacques d’Amboise, American ballet dancer, and choreographer (NYC Ballet Company, 1949-84), actor (Seven Brides For Seven Brothers), and educator (founded National Dance Institute, 1976), born in Dedham Massachusetts (d. 2021)
1951 – Santiago Calatrava, Spanish architect (Milwaukee Art Museum), born in Valencia, Spain
1972 – Ed Templeton, American skateboarder (Toy Machine), born in Garden Grove, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1641 – John Amner, English composer, dies at 61
1864 – Samuel Benton, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at about 44
1895 – Edward Beecher, American theologian, dies at 91
1904 – Vyacheslav von Plehve, Russian Minister of the Interior, killed by Jewish revolutionaries after a bomb is thrown at his carriage, dies at 58
1991 – Luis Aravena Munoz, Chilean singer exiled to Netherlands, dies at 45
1996 – Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist and writer (How to Know Birds), dies at 87

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1816 – US troops destroy Fort Apalachicola, a Seminole fort, to punish Indians for harboring runaway slaves
1914 – Felix Manalo registers the Iglesia ni Cristo with the Filipino government.
1941 – German army enters Ukraine
1974 – House Judiciary Committee votes 27-11 recommends Nixon impeachment
1991 – TV Guide publishes its 2000th edition
1996 – Bomb explodes at Atlanta Olympic Park, 1 killed, 110 injured

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1886 – Ernst May, German architect and city planner (New Frankfurt), born in Frankfurt am Main (d. 1970)
1896 – Henri Longchambon, French politician, born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France (d. 1969)
1904 – Kenneth Bainbridge, American physicist (measurements of mass differences between nuclear isotopes), born in Cooperstown, New York (d. 1996)
1917 – Isabelle Kelley, American social worker credited with instigating the US Federal Food Stamp Program, born in Ellington, Connecticut (d. 1997)
1942 – John Pleshette, American actor (Richard-Knots Landing, 7th Avenue), born in NYC, New York
1979 – Shannon Moore, American professional wrestler, born in Cameron, North Carolina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1689 – John Graham, of Claverhouse, 1st viscount Dundee/soldier, fatally wounded at the Battle of Killiecrankie at 41
1844 – John Dalton, English physicist and chemist who developed the atomic theory of matter and researched colour blindness, dies at 77
1978 – Willem Van Otterloo, Dutch cellist, composer, and conductor (Residentie Orkest, 1949-73; Melbourne Symphony, 1967-70; Sydney Symphony, 1971-77), dies in a car crash at 70
1979 – Shirley Mason, actress (Let it Rain, Dark Skies), dies at 79
1986 – Leroy Holmes, American orchestra leader (The Tonight Show, 1956-57), dies at 72
2021 – Mike Hendrick, English cricket fast bowler (30 Tests, 87 wickets; 22 ODIs; Derbyshire CCC), dies from bowel cancer at 72

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1878 – In California, poet and American West outlaw calling himself “Black Bart” makes his last clean getaway when he steals a safe box from a Wells Fargo stagecoach. The empty box found later with a taunting poem inside.
1944 – Japanese suicide attack on US lines in Guam
1963 – US Syncom 2, 1st geosynchronous communications satellite, launched
1990 – General Hospital records its 7,000th episode
2012 – Insurgent attack kills 19 people and destroys a helicopter at Baqubah, Iraq
2021 – Ship carrying migrants wrecks off coast of Al-Khums, Libya, killing at least 57, takes death toll in central Mediterranean to 987 for 2021

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1899 – Carel C. van Essen, Dutch archaeologist (Italian and Roman art), born in Amsterdam (d. 1963)
1921 – Jean Shepherd, American writer and actor (A Christmas Story), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1999)
1926 – James Best [Jewel Franklin Guy], American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, Sounder), born in Powderly, Kentucky (d. 2015)
1940 – Dobie Gray [Lawrence Brown], American musician and singer (“Drift Away”), born in Simonton, Texas (d. 2011)
1952 – Jan Randall, American-Canadian film, stage and broadcast composer (The Irrelevant Show; Poetry In Motion), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1980 – Dave Baksh, Canadian guitarist (Sum 41), born in Ajax, Ontario

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1592 – Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron, French soldier (b. 1524)
1925 – William Jennings Bryan, American orator and statesman known as “The Great Commoner”, dies at 65
1971 – Diane Arbus [Nemerov], American photographer (Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar), commits suicide at 48
1994 – Owen “Terry” Scott, British actor and comedian (Terry and June, Carry On Films), dies of cancer at 67
2005 – Alexander Golitzen, American art director (b. 1908)
2005 – Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1945)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1652 – Nikita Minin becomes patriarch of Russian Orthodox Church
1917 – Sir Thomas Whyte introduces the first income tax in Canada as a “temporary” measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%).
1985 – USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1990 – US Ambassador tells Iraq, US won’t take sides in Iraq-Kuwait dispute
1993 – The St James’ Church massacre in Kenilworth, Cape Town by Azanian Peoples’ Liberation Army
1993 – 31st Tennis Fed Cup: Spain beats Australia in Frankfurt Germany (3-0)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1421 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician, born in Leconfield, United Kingdom (d. 1461)
1897 – Hermann Ambrosius, German composer, born in Hamburg (d. 1983)
1927 – Stanley Dancer, American harness racer (4 Hambletonians, 3 Trot Triple Crown), born in West Windsor Township, New Jersey (d. 2005)
1930 – Annie Ross, British-American jazz singer (Lambert, Hendricks and Ross – “Twisted”) and actress, born in London (d. 2020)
1956 – Frances Arnold, American Chemist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2018), born in Edgewood, Pennsylvania
1971 – Billy Wagner, American MLB pitcher (Houston Astros), born in Tannersville, Virginia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1643 – Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull, English statesman (b. 1584)
1814 – Charles Dibdin, British composer, author (Sea Songs), and actor, dies at 69
1997 – Margaret Farrer, midwife, dies at 83
2003 – Ludwig Bölkow, German aeronautical engineer, dies at 91
2005 – Albert Mangelsdorff, German jazz trombonist, dies at 76
2011 – Mihalis Kakogiannis, Cypriot filmmaker (b. 1922)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1651 – Anthony Johnson, a free African American, receives grant of 250 acres in Virginia
1971 – WUHQ TV channel 41 in Battle Creek, MI (ABC) begins broadcasting
1976 – John Naber is 1st to swim 200m backstroke under 2 minutes
2014 – 47th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at San Diego Convention Center
2019 – 10th million Mini car produced during its 60th anniversary year in Oxford, England
2019 – Global warming is the fastest in 2,000 years and scientific consensus that humans are the cause is at 99%, according to three major reports published in journals “Nature” and “Nature Geoscience”

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1935 – Trevor Chinn, CEO (Lex)
1941 – Barbara Love, American soul singer (Friends of Distinction), born in Los Angeles, California
1953 – Claire McCaskill, American politician, junior senator from Missouri
1965 – Andrew Gaze, Australian basketball player (Olympics 1984, 88, 92, 96)
1968 – Mark Gunn, NFL defensive end (Philadelphia Eagles)
1986 – Andrei Lutai, Russian figure skater

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1831 – Maria Szymanowska, Polish pianist and composer, dies of cholera at 41
1842 – John Sell Cotman, landscape painter, dies
1936 – Georg Michaelis, Chancellor of German Empire, dies at 78
1954 – Mary Church Terrell, educator/civil rights leader, dies at 90
2008 – Robert T. Herres, American air force officer (Vice Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff), dies at 75
2018 – Tony Cloninger, American MLB pitcher and coach (2 Grand Slams in one game), dies at 77

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1594 – Dutch city Groningen held by Spain surrenders to Dutch and England army led by Maurice of Orange
1877 – 1st telephone and telegraph line in Hawaii completed
1959 – US Vice President Richard Nixon begins visit to the USSR
1966 – Cavern Club in Liverpool reopens
2005 – Three bombs explode in the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people
2010 – One Direction is formed during the X Factor show as Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson join together

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1902 – Walter Burle Marx, Brazilian pianist and composer, born in São Paulo, Brazil (d. 1990)
1906 – Clancy Cooper, American actor (Enchanted Forest, Girls in Chains), born in Boise, Idaho (d. 1975)
1917 – John Stokes, British MP (C), born in Sandy, Bedfordshire (d. 2003)
1950 – Blair Thornton, Canadian rock guitarist (Bachman-Turner Overdrive, 1974-79), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
1957 – Larry Stefanki, American tennis star, born in Elmhurst, Illinois
1968 – Chris Kerber, American lightweight rower (Olympics 1996), born in Collingswood, New Jersey

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1403 – Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, English rebel (executed) (b. 1343)
1878 – Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Bohemian physician (b. 1804)
1944 – Max Nettlau, German anarchist and historian, dies at 79
1955 – Cordell Hull, American Secretary of State (1933-44) who established United Nations (Nobel Peace Prize 1945), dies at 83
1996 – Hamilton Fish IV, American politician (Rep-R-NY, 1969-95), dies at 70
2011 – Johnny Hoes, Dutch musician and producer (Wished I’d Stayed With My Mom), dies at 94

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1731 – Spain signs Treaty of Vienna
1923 – Washington Senators future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson becomes 1st to reach 3,000 career strikeout milestone (en route to 3,508) with 5 K’s in 3-1 win over Cleveland Indians
1925 – NY Yankees buy future Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Leo Durocher from Hartford Senators (Eastern League)
1940 – Dutch Prime minister Dirk Jan De Geer meets Adolf Hitler seeking peace talks
1959 – Natural gas found at Slochteren, Groningen, Netherlands
1967 – 1st major appearance by Vanilla Fudge (Village Theater NYC)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1830 – Herbert Stanley Oakeley, English composer, born in Ealing (d. 1903)
1863 – Alec Hearne, English cricket batsman (1 Test; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1894; Kent), born in Ealing, England (d. 1952))
1889 – Frederick Preston Search, American cellist, composer and conductor (Bridge Builders), born in Pueblo, Colorado (d. 1959)
1926 – Bryan Forbes, director and producer (Endless Games, King Rat), (d. 2013)
1957 – Dave Stieb, American MLB pitcher (7-time All Star, Blue Jays), born in Santa Ana, California
1967 – Pat Badger, American heavy metal bassist (Extreme – “More Than Words”), born in Boston, Massachusetts

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1929 – Édouard Empain, Belgian railway builder (Heliopolis), dies at 76
1934 – John Dillinger, Notorious American bank robber, shot dead at 31 by federal agents at the Biograph Theater in Chicago
1992 – Wayne McLaren, American stuntman, rodeo performer, model and actor best known for playing the Marlboro Man, dies of lung cancer at 51
2003 – Qusay Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein (b. 1966)
2018 – Tony Sparano, American football coach (Miami Dolphins 2008-11; Oakland Raiders 2014), dies of a heart attack at 56
2018 – Rene Portland, American college basketball coach (Penn State 1980-2007), dies of cancer at 65

More Famous Deaths »