Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1690 – Lord Halifax resigns as Lord Privy Seal
1920 – Swiss men vote against women’s suffrage
1927 – Belgian-Swiss treaty signed
1936 – Pandit Jawaharlal succeeds Mahatma Gandhi as chairman of India Congress Party
1960 – US Congress opens hearings looking into payola
1974 – TV sitcom “Good Times”, spin-off from “Maude”, starring Esther Rolle, John Amos, and J.J. Walker, premieres on CBS TV

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Famous Birthdays

1700 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician, and physicist (10 time French Award), born in Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1782)
1896 – Orville Caldwell, American actor (Patsy, French Doll, Last Warning), born in Oakland, California (d. 1967)
1914 – Bert Haas, American baseball player, born in Naperville, Illinois (d. 1999)
1944 – Sebastião Salgado, Brazilian documentary photographer
1952 – Nancy Lord, American physician and Libertarian VP candidate (1992), born in New York City
1974 – Seth Green, American actor and producer (Family Guy; Austin Powers), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots [Mary Stuart], Queen of Scotland (1560-87), beheaded at 44
1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect and composer, dies at 79
1957 – John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and astronomer (Bocher Award 1938), dies at 53
1973 – Herbie Taylor, South African cricket batsman and captain (42 Tests; 2,936 runs @ 40.77; 7 x 100s), dies at 83
2011 – Tony Malinosky, American baseball player (b. 1909)
2021 – David Egerton, English rugby union #8 (7 caps; Bath Rugby) and broadcaster (BBC), dies from COVID-19 at 59

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Historical Events

1639 – Academie Française begins Dictionary of French Language
1928 – 1st solo flight from England to Australia takes off from Croydon, piloted by Australian aviator Bert Hinkler (arrives 15 ½ days later)
1940 – Walt Disney’s second feature length movie, “Pinocchio” premieres (NYC)
1965 – US begins regular bombing and strafing of N Vietnam
1971 – Switzerland votes for national women’s suffrage in a referendum
1995 – Last day of Test Cricket cricket for Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting

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Famous Birthdays

1875 – Walter Courvoisier, composer
1896 – Harold Hoffman, (Gov-NJ), born in South Amboy, New Jersey
1919 – Jock Mahoney [Jacques Joseph O’Mahoney], American actor and stuntman (Dallas, Yancy Derringer, Day of Fury), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1989)
1958 – Matt Ridley, British science writer
1958 – (Manuel) Mijares, Mexican Latin-pop, folk, and Mariachi vocalist (Maria Bonita), born in Mexico City, Mexico
1971 – Marvin Graves, CFL quarterback (Montreal Alouettes)

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Famous Deaths

1609 – Ferdinand I, cardinal/ruler of Toscane, dies
1857 – Félix de Merode, Earl of Merode, Belgian minister of War and Finance, dies at 65
1931 – Ion Vidu, Romanian composer and conductor, dies at 67
1948 – Red McKenzie, American jazz singer (played comb-with-tissue-paper), dies at 48
1990 – Alfredo M. Santos, First Four-star General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, World War II hero (b. 1905)
2021 – Pedro Gomez, American sports journalist (ESPN 2003-21), dies at 58

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Historical Events

1862 – General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry in Tennessee
1894 – Bottle opener patented by William Painter
1900 – The Battle of Vaal Krantz, South Africa (Boers vs British army)
1943 – 1st Spitfire in action above Darwin, Australia, Mu Ki-46 shot down
1971 – James Saunders (22), a member of the IRA, is shot and killed by the British Army during a gun battle near the Oldpark Road, Belfast
2002 – 52nd Berlin International Film Festival: “Spirited Away” and “Bloody Sunday” win the Golden Bear (tie)

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Famous Birthdays

1838 – Yisrael Meir Kagan [Chofetz Chayim], Belarusian rabbi, born in Dzyatlava, Belarus (d. 1933)
1929 – Oscar Sambrano Urdaneta, Venezuelan writer, born in Boconó, Venezuela (d. 2011)
1949 – Richie Zisk, American retired baseball player and pro scout (Chicago Cubs), born in Brooklyn, New York
1963 – Mike Hough, Canadian NHL left wing (Florida Panthers), born in Montreal, Quebec
1969 – Tim Sherwood, English footballer and manager, born in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
1971 – Peter Tchernyshev, Russian dance skater (with Naomi Lang), born in St Petersburg, Russia

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Famous Deaths

1740 – Clement XII [Lorenzo Corsini], Italian Pope (1730-40) who despite ill health and total blindness (1732) unsuccessfully stemmed decline of papal influence, dies at 87
1793 – Carlo Goldoni, Italian playwright and librettist (Belisario, Servant of Two Masters), dies at 85
1976 – Ritwik Ghatak, Bengali filmmaker (Titash Ekti Nadir Naam), dies at 50
1989 – Chris Gueffroy, East German attempted defector (b. 1968)
2012 – Janice Voss, American astronaut (shuttle radar topography mission), dies from breast cancer at 55
2020 – Jan Liberda, Polish soccer forward (35 caps; Polonia Bytom), dies at 83

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Historical Events

1663 – Charlevoix Earthquake in Quebec, felt strongly in New England
1864 – Danish army begins its withdrawal from Danevirke to Dybbøl through driven snow, last time the Danes would occupy Danevirke, symbol of Danish identity
1919 – NL President John Heydler dismisses charges that Hal Chase bet against his team and threw games in collusion with gamblers
1962 – Suit to bar Englewood NJ from “racial segregated” schools, filed
2004 – Rebels from the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front capture the city of Gonaïves, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion
2020 – US Senate votes to acquit President Donald Trump 52-48 on charges of abuse of power and 53-47 on obstruction of Congress

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Famous Birthdays

1867 – Casper Andries Lingbeek, Dutch politician and preacher
1902 – Bronislaw Kaper, Polish film composer and Academy Award winner (Green Dolphin Street, Lili), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1983)
1948 – Sven-Göran Eriksson, Swedish football manager and player, born in Sunne, Sweden
1959 – Glenn Dubis, American sport shooter (Olympics 1984, 88, 96), born in Lincoln, Nebraska
1981 – Mia Hansen-Løve, French film director and actress (Things to Come), born in Paris, France
1985 – Lindsey Cardinale, American singer, born in Hammond, Louisiana

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Famous Deaths

1775 – Eusebius Amort, German Roman Catholic theologian, dies at 82
1977 – Oskar Klein, Swedish physicist (b. 1894)
1977 – Izaak Boleslavski, Russian chess player, dies at 67
1982 – Wies [Aloisius CA] Moens, Flemish writer/nazi, dies at 84
1995 – Judith Fluks, Amsterdam’s activist, dies
2010 – Harry Schwarz, South African lawyer, politician and diplomat, leader of the anti-apartheid movement (b. 1924).

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Historical Events

1854 – Alvan Bovay proposes name “Republican Party” in Ripon, Wisconsin
1926 – Austrian chancellor Seipel wants to join Germany
1975 – Haicheng earthquake, M 7.3, strikes Haicheng, Liaoning, China
1982 – “Pump Boys and Dinettes” opens at Princess Theater NYC for 573 performances
1985 – Naval exercises canceled when US refuses to tell NZ if nuclear weapons aboard USS Buchanan
2015 – Post Malone uploads his debut single “White Iverson” to his SoundCloud account

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Famous Birthdays

1746 – Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish-Lithuanian military leader and statesman considered a national hero, born in Mereczowszczyzna, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (d. 1817)
1859 – Timofei Mikhailov, Russian revolutionary, member of Narodnaya Volya (d. 1881)
1876 – Victor Vreuls, Belgian composer and musician, born in Verviers (d. 1944)
1937 – Harry Jacobs, American football linebacker (AFL All Star 1965, 69; AFL C’ship 1964, 65 Buffalo Bills; Boston Patriots, NO Saints), born in Canton, Illinois (d. 2021)
1970 – Gabrielle Anwar, Laleham England, actress (Body Snatchers)
1975 – Konstantinos Nebegleras, Greek footballer

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Famous Deaths

869 – Saint Cyril, Greek missionary to the Slavs (b. 827)
1921 – Xavier Mellery, Belgian painter and illustrator, dies at 75
1983 – Karen Carpenter, American pop vocalist and drummer (“We’ve Only Just Begun”; “Rainy Days And Mondays”; “Top Of The World”), dies of anorexia nervosa at 32
2005 – Peter Heine, South African cricketer (solid South African fast bowler in 1950’s), dies at 76
2010 – Kostas Axelos, Greek-French philosopher, dies at 85
2016 – Leslie Bassett, American classical composer (Variations for Orchestra – Pulitzer Prize 1966), and educator (University of Michigan, 1952-92), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1509 – The Battle of Diu, naval battle at port of Diu, India between Portugal and the Ottoman Empire, establishes Portuguese trading control
1931 – Arkansas legislature passes motion to pray for soul of journalist H. L. Mencken, after he calls the state the “apex of moronia”
1947 – 1st black reporter in US Congressional press gallery (Percival Prattis)
1975 – Billy Herman, Earl Averill, and Bucky Harris elected to Hall of Fame
1986 – Pixar Animation Studios (Toy Story; The Incredibles) headed by Edwin Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, is spun off from Lucasfilm, Ltd as an independent film production company, with backing of Steve Jobs
1993 – General Hospital’s Tristan Rogers convicted of drunk driving

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Carlo Jachino, composer
1908 – Oddbjorn Hagen, Norwegian cross country jumper (Olympic gold 1936)
1946 – Stan Webb, English blues musician (Chicken Shack), born in London
1968 – Frantisek Kucera, NHL defenseman (Vanc Canucks, Olympic gold 1998), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
1968 – Vlade Divac, Yugoslavia, NBA center (Charlotte Hornets, LA Lakers)
1969 – Terry Bradshaw, American baseball outfielder, 1995-96 (St Louis Cardinals), and hitting coach (Kansas City Royals 2018-present), born in Franklin, Virginia

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Famous Deaths

1737 – Tommaso Ceva, Italian Mathematician (b. 1648)
1909 – Johann Georg Herzog, composer, dies at 86
1959 – (Charles) “Buddy” Holly [Holley], American rock and roll musician and songwriter (“Peggy Sue”; “That’ll Be the Day”; “Words Of Love”), dies in a plane crash at 22
1979 – Jody Gilbert, American actress (Willard, Shaggy, Blonde Dynamite), dies at 62
1991 – Harry Ackerman, American TV executive producer (b. 1912)
2015 – Charlie Sifford, American golfer (first African-American to join PGA Tour, 2 titles), dies of a stroke at 92

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Historical Events

1892 – Longest boxing match under modern rules; 77 rounds in Nameoki, Illinois between Harry Sharpe and Frank Crosby
1945 – Escape attempt at Mauthausen concentration camp
1948 – President Harry Truman urges congress to adopt a civil rights program
1976 – “Rich Little Show” debuts on NBC-TV
1977 – Burn up of Salyut 4 Space Station (USSR)
1986 – NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 28-24; MVP: Phil Simms, NY Giants, QB

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Famous Birthdays

1583 – Anna Roemers Visscher, Dutch poetess
1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian-born humanist (d. 1679)
1669 – Louis Marchand, French baroque composer and organist (d. 1732)
1881 – Karl Frederick, pistol champ (Olympic gold 1920)
1925 – David Abell Wood, priest
1946 – Howard Bellamy, American pop and country vocalist (Bellamy Bros – Let Your Love Flow), born in Darby, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1435 – Johanna II, Queen of Naples (1414-35), dies at 61
1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian diplomat and author, dies at 50
1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese retainer (b. 1558)
1873 – Edward Johnson, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 56
1878 – Josip Runjanin, Croatian Serb composer (Croatian National Anthem) and soldier, dies at 56
1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (Olympic gold men’s singles 1972; World C’ships gold 1971, 72, 73), dies from cancer of the lymph nodes at 38

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Historical Events

1946 – Norwegian politician Trygve Lie becomes 1st Secretary General of the United Nations
1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
1992 – “Crazy He Calls Me” closes at Walter Kerr Theater NYC after 7 performances
2013 – 26 people are killed after a fireworks truck explodes and causes a highway to collapse in Henan, China
2013 – The Nigerian Army bombs a Boko Haram camp, killing 18 people
2017 – British MPs vote in favour of the European Union Bill, allowing the government to begin Brexit

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Famous Birthdays

1869 – Johannes “Frits” Bakker Sr., Dutch actor (Holland Tooneelgezelschap), (d. 1943)
1906 – Pierre Capdevielle, French composer, conductor, music critic, and educator, born in Paris (d. 1969)
1941 – Franco Nones, Italian cross country skier (Olympic gold 30k 1968; first non-Scandinavian and Soviet/Russian male to win Olympic cross-country gold), born in Castello-Molina di Fiemme, Italy
1946 – Karen Krantzcke, Australian tennis player (Australian Open doubles 1968; Federation Cup 1970), born in Brisbane, Australia (d. 1977)
1961 – Jim Pace, American auto racer (24 Hours of Daytona 1996), born in Monticello, Mississippi (d. 2020)
1979 – Valentin Elizalde, Mexican singer, born in Navojoa, Mexico (d. 2006)

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Famous Deaths

1502 – Olivier de la Marche, Flemish soldier and poet, dies at 77
1705 – Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, 1st Queen consort of Prussia (1701-05), dies at 36
1851 – Mary Shelley, English novelist (Frankenstein), dies of a brain tumour at 53
1940 – Philip Francis Nowlan, American sci-fi writer, creator of Buck Rogers character (b. 1888)
2003 – Laurel Clark, American astronaut and member of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster), dies at 41
2007 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian pianist, librettist, and composer (Amahl and Night Visitors), and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, dies at 95

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Historical Events

1675 – Cornelia/Dina Olfaarts found not guilty of witchcraft
1862 – Astronomer Alvan Graham Clark makes first observation of Sirius B (first known white dwarf star) in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts while testing his new telescope
1918 – A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
1925 – Australasian Championships Men’s Tennis, Sydney: James Anderson of Australia wins 2nd straight Australasian crown; beats countryman Gerald Patterson 11-9, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
1982 – Gustafson skates world record 10 km (14:26.59)
1993 – Australian Open Men’s Tennis: American Jim Courier retains title; repeats previous year’s win over Stefan Edberg 6-2, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5

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Famous Birthdays

1517 – Gioseffo Zarlino, composer
1797 – Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (Unfinished Symphony), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1828)
1802 – Jan C J van Speijk, Dutch naval hero
1818 – William Raine Peck, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1871)
1927 – Lorraine Warren (née Moran), American paranormal investigator (Amityville haunting), born in Monroe, Connecticut (d. 2019)
1986 – Yves Makabu-Makalambay, Congolese football goalkeeper, born in Brussels, Belgium

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Famous Deaths

1580 – Henry, King of Portugal, Cardinal, Epilepticus and Regent. Reigned 1578-80 (b. 1512)
1960 – Lowell Gilmore, American actor (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Living Christ Series), dies at 53
1972 – Howard Barlow, American conductor (Voice of Firestone), dies at 79
1974 – Glenn Morris, olympian/actor (Tarzan’s Revenge), dies at 61
2009 – Erland von Koch, Swedish composer, dies at 98
2013 – Timir Pinegin, Russian sailor (Olympic gold 1960), dies at 85

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Historical Events

1800 – US population: 5,308,483; African American population 1,002,037 (18.9%)
1835 – Richard Lawrence misfires at President Andrew Jackson in Washington, D.C. in 1st attempted assassination of a US President
1862 – USS Monitor, the US Navy’s 1st ironclad warship launched
1933 – Australian Championships Men’s Tennis: Jack Crawford wins his 3rd straight Australian title; beats Keith Gledhill of the US 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2
1994 – Péter Lékó becomes the youngest chess grand master.
2019 – Peter Paul Rubens’s 1608 drawing “Nude Study of Young Man with Raised Arms” sells for $8.2 million at auction in New York

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Famous Birthdays

1687 – [Johann] Balthasar Neumann, German architect, baptized
1829 – Alfred Cummings, American Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), born in Augusta, Georgia (d. 1910)
1917 – Paul Frère, Belgian racing driver and motorsport journalist, born in Le Havre, France (d. 2008)
1918 – Jarl Andre Bjerke [Bernhard Borge], Norwegian poet and writer, born in Oslo, Norway (d. 1985)
1935 – Richard Brautigan, American novelist and poet (Trout Fishing in America), born in Tacoma, Washington (d. 1984)
1942 – Marty Balin [Buchwald], American singer (Jefferson Airplane/Starship), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2018)

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Famous Deaths

1846 – Joseph Carpue, English surgeon who pioneered early plastic surgery in England, dies at 81
1948 – Herb Pennock, pitcher (NY Yankees)/GM (Phillies), dies
1958 – Earnest H Heinkel, German airplane builder (WWII), dies at 70
1976 – Percy Tyson “Plum” Lewis, South African cricketer (pair in only Test for South Africa), dies at 91
1995 – Gerald Durrell, British naturalist, zoologist and author (My Family and Other Animals), dies at 70
1997 – Frank Tejeda, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas), dies at 51

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