Category: On This Day

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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Historical Events

1673 – 1st recorded wine auction held in London
1861 – Navy of the Confederate States (CSN) forms (US Civil War)
1922 – Vilnius, Lithuania, agrees to separate from Poland
1933 – Sidney Howard’s “Alien Corn” premieres in NYC
1953 – August A. Busch buys St. Louis Cardinals MLB club from Fred Saigh for $3.75 million; pledges not to move the team from St. Louis, Missouri
1988 – Peter Kalikow purchases NY Post from Rupert Murdoch for $37.6 million

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Famous Birthdays

1633 – Jan de Baen, portrait painter/etcher
1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist (d. 1993)
1907 – Nadine Conner [Henderson], American operatic soprano (Carmen; The Magic Flute – “Pamina”), born in Compton, California (d. 2003)
1956 – Charlie Adler, American voice actor (Tiny Toon Adventures) ,born in Paterson, New Jersey
1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball forward (NBA MVP 1993, 11-time All Star, Olympic gold 1996), born in Leeds, Alabama
1994 – Brigid Kosgei, Kenyan athlete (marathon world record 2019; Chicago Marathon 2018-9, London Marathon 2019), born in Kenya

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Famous Deaths

1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English statesman, dies at 66
1964 – R T Stanyforth, English cricket wicket-keeper (South Africa 1927-28), dies
1973 – Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (Violinist Notebook 1933), dies at 80
1983 – Fritz Köberle, Austrian-Brazilian physician (b. 1910)
1987 – Ivan Brkanović, Croatian composer (Triptych – Funeral Folk Rite), dies at 80
1992 – Andrew Schenck, American conductor, dies of melanoma at 51

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Historical Events

1928 – World champion French team Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet win the Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games; the couple marry in 1929 and take 2nd straight gold in 1932
1953 – Georgia approves US 1st literature censorship board
1977 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1978 – 20th Daytona 500: Bobby Allison takes lead with 11 laps remaining; lowest starting position (33rd) for winner until 2007
1989 – Edgar Bowers wins Bollingen Prize
2018 – Syrian government forces bombard Gouta in deadliest day in 3 years, killing over 100 civilians

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Famous Birthdays

1888 – Aurora Quezon, First Lady of the Philippines (d. 1949)
1936 – Marin Sorescu, Romanian poet, playwright and artist (Iona, House under surveillance), born in Bulzești, Dolj County (d. 1996)
1948 – Byron K. Lichtenburg, American astronaut (STS 9, STS 45), born in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
1956 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, Nobel laureate
1971 – Wally Williams, NFL center/guard (Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens)
1986 – Marta, Brazilian footballer

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Famous Deaths

1822 – Jeronymo Francisco de Lima, Portuguese composer, dies at 78
1984 – Claude Hopkins, American jazz stride pianist, arranger, bandleader, and musical director (Josephine Baker), dies at 80
1997 – Deng Xiaoping, Chinese revolutionary and paramount leader of China (1978-92), dies of a lung infection and Parkinson’s disease at 92
2000 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-born New Zealand artist, dies at 71
2002 – Sylvia Rivera, American gay liberation and transgender activist and drag queen, dies of liver cancer at 50
2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian songwriter and singer (b. 1964)

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