Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1910 – Germany and Bolivia end commerce and friendship treaty
1938 – General Motors begins mass production of diesel engines
1970 – Eight Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands say there should be room in the church for both married priests and celibate priests
1974 – Belgium government of Leburton falls
1977 – World’s largest crowd gathering – the Hindu Kumbh Mela in India attracts a then record 15 million people
1977 – Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snowfall has occurred. It also fell in the Bahamas.

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Famous Birthdays

1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher, born in Athol, Massachusetts (d. 1887)
1863 – Werner Sombart, German fascist (Juden und das Wirtschaftsleben)
1963 – Michael Adams, American NBA guard (Charlotte Hornets), born in Hartford, Connecticut
1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian artist, born in Freeport, Bahamas
1980 – Kotoko, Japanese singer, born in Hokkaido, Japan
1992 – Mac Miller [Malcolm McCormick], American rapper and music producer (“Best Day Ever”), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2018)

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Famous Deaths

1576 – Hans Sachs, German composer, dies at 81
1983 – Don Costa, American composer (Hello, Dolly!), arranger, and record producer (Sinatra and Strings; My Way), dies at 57
1997 – George Armin Goyder, businessman/social philosopher, dies at 88
2006 – Anthony “Tony” Franciosa [Papaleo], American actor (Career, Ben-Hur, Jeff-Name of the Game), dies at 77
2013 – Stan Musial, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (24 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1942, 44, 46; NL MVP 1943, 46, 48; 7 × NL batting champion; St Louis Cardinals), dies from Alzheimer’s disease at 92
2020 – Robert Parker, American saxophonist and soul singer (“Barefootin'”), dies at 89

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Historical Events

1884 – Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Iesu Grist (Welsh for Jesus Christ) Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom
1902 – Despite reports that favor the US building a route through Nicaragua for a canal, a ‘supplementary report’ recommends the route through Panama
1980 – Gold reaches $1,000 an ounce
1987 – 3rd Soap Opera Digest Awards – Days of Our Lives wins
1991 – US acknowledges CIA and US Army paid Manuel Noriega $320,000 over his career
1996 – Baseball owners unanimously approve interleague play in 1997

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Famous Birthdays

1829 – Louis van Haecke, Flemish chaplain and author (Blood to Bridge)
1904 – Henri-Georges Adam, French engraver and sculptor (Grand Nude), born in Paris, France (d. 1967)
1912 – Wilhelm Herz, German motorcycle racer (first to 200mph), born in Lampertheim, Germany (d. 1998)
1935 – Jon Stallworthy, English poet, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 2014)
1953 – Brett Hudson, American comedian (Bonkers, Hudson Brothers Show), born in Portland, Oregon
1970 – Leo Araguz, American football punter (Oakland Raiders, Rhein Fire), born in Pharr, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1659 – Benedikt Lechler, German composer, dies at 64
1940 – Kazimierz P. Tetmajer, Polish writer and poet (Young Poland), dies at 74
1993 – Eleanor Hibbert, British author (b. 1906)
2015 – Piet van der Sanden, Dutch journalist and politician (CDA), dies at 90
2019 – Glen Wood, American auto racer, team owner (Wood Bros Racing), dies at 93
2020 – Peter Mathebula, South African boxer (WBA flyweight title 1980-81), dies at 67

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Historical Events

1945 – Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews from the Nazis, arrested by Soviet secret police in Hungary
1947 – Ammunition factory explodes in Muiden, Netherlands, 16 die
1974 – Asylum Records releases “Court and Spark”, Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell’s 6th studio album; features the songs “Help Me” and “Free Man In Paris”, it becomes her biggest seller
1988 – NFC Championship, RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Washington Redskins beat Minnesota Vikings, 17-10
2003 – 8th Critics’ Choice Movie Awards: Chicago Best Picture
2010 – A dragon boat from Chung Ling High School capsizes and collides with a tugboat amid strong currents in Penang, Malaysia, killing 6 people and injuring 12

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Famous Birthdays

1706 – Benjamin Franklin, US Founding Father, inventor, ambassador and writer (Poor Richards Almanac), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1790)
1905 – Franz Schmid, German ascended northside of Matterhorn (1931)
1920 – George Handy [Hendleman], American bebop jazz arranger, pianist and composer (Handyland, U.S.A.), born in New York City (d. 1997)
1959 – Susanna Hoffs, American actress and musician (Bangles-Walk Like an Egyptian), born in Los Angeles, California
1975 – Tom Jenkinson, English musician (Squarepusher), born in Chelmsford, United Kingdom
1980 – Zooey Deschanel, American actress (Almost Famous; Elf; New Girl), and singer (She and Him), born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

1863 – Horace Vernet, French painter of battles and Orientalist subjects, dies at 73
1874 – Chang and Eng Bunker, Chinese/Thai Siamese twins, die at 62
1917 – Hendrik Goeman Borgesius, Dutch politician, dies at 70
1994 – Grady “Fats” Jackson, tenor Sax Player, dies at 66
1995 – Urias Nooteboom, Dutch journalist/critic (The Time), dies at 54
2012 – Marty Springstead, American Major League baseball umpire and umpire supervisor, dies of heart attack at 74

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Historical Events

1556 – Holy Roman Emperor Charles V appoints his son Philip II, King of Spain
1921 – Eleftherios Venizelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece (4th time)
1970 – Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball’s reserve clause
1974 – L A Landslide kills 9 in Canyonville, Oregon
1984 – Paul and Linda McCartney arrested in Barbados-possession of cannabis
2006 – 63rd Golden Globes: Brokeback Mountain, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Felicity Huffman win

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Famous Birthdays

1675 – Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (Mémoires), born in Paris (d. 1755)
1728 – Niccolo Piccinni, Italian composer (Buona Figliuola)
1870 – Wilhelm Normann, German chemist (hardening of oils)
1911 – Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996)
1952 – Roberta Baskin, American correspondent (48 Hours), born in New York, United States
1969 – Roy Jones Jr., American boxer (4 x weight divisions world champion), born in Pensacola, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1919 – Jaroslav Jeremiáš, Czech pianist and composer, dies at 19
1967 – Robert J Van De Graaff, US nuclear physicist, dies at 65
1978 – Virginia Pope, American fashion editor (New York Times), dies at 92
1981 – Bernard Lee, British actor (M in James Bond movies, Fallen Idol, Dr No), dies at 73
1993 – Glenn Corbett, American actor (Shenandoah, Chisum, Midway), dies at 63
1993 – Freddie Cochrane, American boxer (World Welterweight champion 1941-1946), dies at 77

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Historical Events

1785 – Mozart’s string quartet opus 10 premieres
1910 – Constructions ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming
1962 – 50th Australian Championships Women’s Tennis: Margaret Smith beats Jan Lehane O’Neill in the final for 3rd straight year 6-0, 6-2
1974 – TV sitcom “Happy Days” begins an 11 year run on ABC, starring Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross and Ton Bosley
1975 – Space Mountain opens at Disneyland
2005 – An intense solar flare blasts X-rays across the solar system

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Famous Birthdays

1795 – Alexandr Griboyedov, Russian playwright, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1829)
1877 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist (developed Stanford-Binet IQ test), born in Johnson County, Indiana (d. 1956)
1929 – Eva Badura-Skoda, German-Austrian composer, born in Munich, Germany
1966 – Betsy Mitchell, American 100m backstroke swimmer, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
1975 – Edith Bowman, Scottish television and radio presenter, born in Anstruther, United Kingdom
1979 – Ken Chu, Taiwanese singer-actor and taichi champ, born in Taiwan

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Famous Deaths

1804 – Dru Drury, English entomologist (b. 1725)
1909 – Ernest Reyer, composer, dies at 85
1967 – Albert Szirmai, Hungarian operetta composer, dies at 86
2000 – Arkan [Željko Ražnatović], Serbian paramilitary leader, dies at 47
2005 – Ruth Warrick, American actress and singer (Citizen Kane, All My Children), dies of complications from pneumonia at 88
2020 – Rocky Johnson, Canadian pro wrestler (father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson; with Tony Atlas first black champions in WWE history), dies of a pulmonary embolism at 75

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Historical Events

1940 – 2nd NFL All Star Game, Gilmore Stadium, LA, CA: Green Bay Packers beat NFL All-Stars, 16-7
1953 – Yugoslavia elects its 1st president (Marshal Tito)
1985 – British pound sinks to record low $US1.11
1993 – Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton blocks 2 shots in a 96-89 win over Seattle SuperSonics; becomes only 2nd player in NBA history (along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to record 3,000 career blocks
1998 – Researchers in Dallas, Texas present findings about an enzyme that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis)
2020 – Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is fired amid Major League Baseball’s investigation into sign-stealing by the Houston Astros; Cora was previously the Astros’ bench coach before moving to Boston

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Famous Birthdays

1818 – Zacharias Topelius, Finnish historical novelist (Surgeon’s Stories), born in Nykarleby, Finland (d. 1898)
1902 – Alfred Tarski, Polish-American logician and mathematician, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1983)
1904 – Cecil Beaton, English photographer, born in Hampstead, United Kingdom (d. 1980)
1937 – Shoban Babu, Indian actor, born in Nandigama, India (d. 2008)
1971 – Lasse Kjus, Norwegian skier, born in Oslo, Norway
1978 – Shawn Crawford, American sprinter, born in Van Wyck, South Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1802 – Marie Allard, French ballerina (Auguste Vestris), dies at 59
1967 – Renato Lunelli, Italian composer and musicologist, dies at 71
1971 – Ethel Glenn Hier, American composer, dies at 82
1981 – John O’Grady, Australian writer (Nino Culotta) (b. 1907)
2006 – Shelley Winters [Schrift], American actress (Lolita, A Place in the Sun, A Patch of Blue and Poseidon Adventure), dies of heart failure at 85
2018 – Hugh Wilson, American director, writer and actor (Blast from the Past, Frank’s Place), dies at 74

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Historical Events

1869 – Colored National Labor Union, 1st Black labor convention meets in Washington, D.C.
1873 – P B S Pinchback relinquishes office of Louisiana Governor
1893 – U.S. Marines land in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
1939 – Belgian premier signs Burgos Treaty for trade relations with Franco’s Spain
1980 – Togo’s constitution becomes effective
2015 – TV comedy “Schitt’s Creek” created by and starring Eugene Levy and Dan Levy premieres on CBC in Canada

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Famous Birthdays

1505 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (1535-71), born in Cölln (d. 1571)
1610 – Maria Anna of Austria, Electress of Bavaria (d. 1665)
1901 – Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish historian and priest (d. 1978)
1906 – Zhou Youguang [Zhou Yaoping], Chinese language scholar (father of pinyin), born in Changzhou (d. 2017)
1915 – Edward Frederick Weston Goodman, property developer
1969 – John Flannery, guard/corner (Dallas Cowboys)

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Famous Deaths

858 – Aethelwolf, king of Wessex (Battle at Aclea), dies
1795 – Francois-Joseph Krafft, composer, dies at 73
1929 – H. B. Higgins, Australian politician and judge (b. 1851)
1982 – Marcel Camus, French film director (Orfeu Negro), dies at 69
1988 – Chiang Ching-huo, president of Taiwan (1978-88), dies at 69
2016 – Brian Bedford, English actor (Anthony-Coronet Blue), dies at 80

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Historical Events

1807 – Gunpowder-ship explodes in Leiden, Netherlands, 150 die
1954 – Austria’s worst avalanche-kills 200; 9hrs later 2nd one-kills 115
1959 – Rediscovery of the Caves of Nerja in Spain
1966 – “Batman”, starring Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, and Cesar Romero as The Joker, debuts on ABC
1971 – Congressional Black Caucus organizes
2017 – Justin Thomas (23) becomes the youngest player to shoot a sub-60 round of 59 in the opening round of the Sony Open at Waialae CC in Hawaii; he also wins the tournament

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Famous Birthdays

1797 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician (d. 1873)
1944 – Viktoria Postnikova, Russian pianist, born in Moscow, Russia
1946 – Cynthia Robinson, American musician (Sly and Family Stone – “Everyday People”), born in Sacramento, California (d. 2015)
1968 – Mauro Silva, Brazilian footballer, born in São Paulo, Brazil
1985 – Artem Milevskiy, Ukrainian footballer, born in Minsk, Belarus
1993 – Zayn Malik, English pop singer (One Direction), born in Bradford, England

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Famous Deaths

1856 – Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak politician and author of Slovak language, dies at 40
1950 – Koos van de Griend, Dutch composer, dies at 44
1956 – Norman Kerry, American actor (Air Eagles, Phantom of the Opera), dies at 61
1991 – Keye Luke, Chinese-American actor (Across the Pacific, Charlie Chan’s No 1 Son), dies after a stroke at 86
1996 – Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician (b. 1926)
2018 – Keith Jackson, American sportscaster (ABC Monday Night Football, college football), dies at 89

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Historical Events

1775 – Francis Salvador becomes 1st Jew elected to office in America (SC)
1779 – Ching-Thang Khomba is crowned King of Manipur.
1865 – Battle of Beverly, West Virginia, Confederate forces attack Union post
1962 – Landslide at dormant volcano Huascaran in Peru kills an estimated 4,000
1978 – Soyuz 27 links with Salyut 6 and Soyuz 26 (1st time 3 spacecraft link)
1981 – NFC Championship, Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Eagles beat Dallas Cowboys, 20-7

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Famous Birthdays

1630 – John Rogers, American President of Harvard in the US (d. 1684)
1901 – Andries D Copier, Dutch glass manufacturer (Gildeglass)
1920 – John Powell, campaigner
1965 – Roland Scholten, Dutch darts player (UK Open 2004), born in The Hague, Netherlands
1968 – Benjamin List, German chemist (2021 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for asymmetric organocatalysis), born in Frankfurt, Germany
1993 – Flora Cross, French-American actress, born in Paris, France

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Famous Deaths

1771 – Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d’Argens, French author, dies at 66
1847 – Caroline von Wolzogen [von Lengefeld], German author, dies at 83
1870 – Adolf Ganz, German composer and violinist, dies at 73
1931 – James Milton Carroll, American Baptist pastor, leader, historian, and author (b. 1852)
1952 – Aureliano Pertile, Italian tenor, dies at 66
1994 – John Bradley, United States Navy corpsman, one of six who raised flag on top of Mt. Suribachi (see Iwo Jima), dies of a stroke at 70

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Historical Events

1889 – Ivory Coast declared a protectorate of France
1914 – Yuan Shih-k’ai, president of the new Chinese republic, dissolves parliament and prepares a constitution of his own design: he will set himself up as dictator, preparatory to an attempt to make himself emperor
1948 – “Call Me Mister” closes at National Theater NYC after 734 performances
1965 – WKBD TV channel 50 in Detroit, MI (IND) begins broadcasting
1966 – The Georgia House of Representatives votes 184-12 to deny Julian Bond his seat as a result of his opposition to the Vietnam War
1991 – Japan ends routine fingerprinting of all adult ethnic Koreans

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Famous Birthdays

1502 – Hendrik Niclaes, German mystic and founder of Christian sect “Familia Caritatis”, born in Münster, Germany (d. 1570)
1538 – Louis of Nassau, Dutch general, born in Dillenburg, Germany (d. 1574)
1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer, born in Gunzenhausen, Germany (d. 1624)
1654 – Joshua Barnes, English scholar, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 1712)
1963 – Deborah Bone, English mental health nurse who was the inspiration for the song Disco 2000 by Jarvis Cocker, born in Sheffield, England (d. 2014)
1971 – Sergi Bruguera, Italian tennis star, born in Barcelona, Spain

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Famous Deaths

1951 – [Harry] Sinclair Lewis, American writer (Nobel Prize in Literature 1930), dies from advanced alcoholism at 65
1966 – George Cresswell, cricketer (Took 13 wkts in 3 Tests for NZ), suicide
1997 – Hilary Grover Barratt Brown, conservationist, dies at 71
2015 – Francesco Rosi, Italian film director (“The Mattei Affair” – Palme d’Or 1972), dies at 92
2020 – Guido Messina, Italian road and track cyclist (World C’ship gold individual 4000m pursuit 1948, 53, 54, 55, 56; Olympic gold team 1952), dies at 89
2021 – Donald Smith, English cricket batsman (3 Tests; Sussex), dies at 97

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