Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1984 – East German luger Steffi Martin wins the first of 2 consecutive women’s singles gold medals at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; also wins in Calgary (1988)
1988 – US Navy frigate USS Yorktown bumped by Russian frigate Bezzavetny in the Black Sea in dispute over right of innocent passage
2007 – A gunman opens fire in a mall in Salt Lake City, killing five people in the Trolley Square shooting
2017 – 70th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs): “La La Land” Best Film, Damien Chazelle Best Director, Best Actors Casey Affleck / Emma Stone
2023 – India opens the first part of what will be its longest expressway linking Mumbai with New Delhi over 1,386-kilometer (861 mile)

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Famous Birthdays

1830 – Stephen Wilcox, American inventor of steam generators for power stations and ships (Babcock and Wilcox), born in Westerly, Rhode Island (d. 1893)
1904 – Ted Mack, American TV host (The Original Amateur Hour), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1976)
1914 – Nello Celio, Swiss politician, born in Quinto, Switzerland (d. 1995)
1945 – Roman Tam [Pak-sin], Hong Kong singer knownn as the “Grand Godfather of Cantopop”, born in Baise, Guangxi, China (d. 2002)
1980 – Enver Gjokaj, American actor (Dollhouse; Agent Carter), and inventor, born in Orange County, California

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Famous Deaths

1837 – Ludwig Borne [Loeb Baruch], German-Jewish writer, dies at 50
1896 – Isaac Murphy, American jockey, 628 wins on 1,412 mounts (44.5%), dies at 35
2000 – Oliver [William Swofford], American pop singer (“Good Morning Starshine”), dies of cancer at 54
2022 – William Kraft, American timpanist, percussionist (Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble), conductor, and composer (The Demise of Suriyodhaya; Avalanche), dies at 98
2025 – Patrick Barclay, English sportswriter (The Times, The Guardian-Observer, Sunday Telegraph, The Independent; Sky Sports), dies at 77

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Historical Events

1928 – II Winter Olympic Games open in St Moritz, Switzerland
1949 – “Lovesick Blues” single is released by Hank Williams (Cashbox “Best Hillbilly Record of the Year,” Billboard Song of the Year 1949)
1953 – J. Styne and Bob Hilliard’s musical “Hazel Flagg” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 190 performances
1975 – TV drama “Sarah T: Portrait of A Teenage Alcoholic” starring Linda Blair, premieres on US network NBC
1984 – Wayne Gretzky sets NHL short handed season scoring record at 11

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Famous Birthdays

1557 – John Wtenbogaert, Dutch theologist (Kerckelicke history), born in at Utrecht (d. 1644)
1917 – Richard Jock Kinneir, British graphic designer (modern road signs), born in Hampshire, England (d. 1994)
1918 – Margaret Heldt, American hairdresser who created the beehive hairstyle, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2016)
1933 – Mildred Sampson, New Zealand distance runner (world marathon record 3:19:33 1964), born in Auckland, New Zealand
1956 – Raoul Björkenheim, American avant-garde jazz guitarist, born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

1797 – Antoine Dauvergne, French composer, dies at 83
1943 – Bess Houdini, American-German stage assistant and wife of Harry Houdini, dies from heart attack at 67
1967 – A. J. Muste, Dutch-born American pacifist and labor activist, dies at 82
1975 – Richard Ratsimandrava, Malagasy soldier and statesman, assassinated (b. 1931)
1999 – Jaki Byard, American jazz pianist (Charlie Mingus), saxophonist, drummer, composer, arranger, and educator, dies from an unsolved gunshot at 76

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Historical Events

1878 – Pact of Zanjón signed between Cubans rebels and the Spanish bringing the 10 Years War to an end
1933 – -54°F (-48°C), Seneca, Oregon (state record)
1939 – “Stagecoach” western film directed by John Ford, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne, premieres in Miami
1974 – Judy Ikenberry wins 1st Us women’s marathon (2:55:17)
1993 – “Michael Jackson Talks to Oprah Winfrey” airs on ABC and draws an astounding 39.3 rating/56 share, with 90 million people watching

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Famous Birthdays

1937 – Ronnie Rondell Jr., American stuntman known for appearing on the cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”, born in Hollywood, California (d. 2025)
1942 – Alfred Gager, Austrian soccer midfielder (6 caps; Austria Wien, FC Wacker Wien), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2022)
1942 – Howard Mudd, American football OL (Pro Bowl 1966–68; All-Pro 1967-68; SF 49ers, Chicago Bears) and coach (Super Bowl 2006; OL Indianapolis Colts), born in Midland, Michigan (d. 2020)
1951 – Zeudi Araya, Eritrean actress (Hearts and Armour, La peccatrice), born in Dekemhare, British Eritrea
1987 – Yuja Wang, Chinese-American award-winning pianist known for her charismatic stage presence (Rachmaninoff Marathon), born in Beijing, China

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Famous Deaths

1127 – William IX, the Troubadour, Frankish nobleman (Duke of Aquitaine, Gascony, Count of Poitou, 1086-1127), Crusader, and poet, dies at 55
1887 – Ellen Wood, English author (Pomeroy Abbey), dies at 73
1917 – Émile Pessard, French pianist, concert and comic opera composer, and teacher (Maurice Ravel, Jacques Ibert), dies at 73
1951 – Joseph Bovet, Swiss composer and conductor (Fribourg folk music), dies at 71
1995 – Kenton Kilmer, American writer, dies of cancer at 85

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Historical Events

1682 – Thomas Otway’s “Venice Preserved” premieres in London
1979 – Walter Hill’s crime drama film “The Warriors”, based on Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel, is released in the United States, sparking gang violence at many theaters and a halt to the film’s marketing campaign
1990 – Spacecraft Galileo flies by Venus at an altitude of 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in a gravity assist maneuver to gain speed on its way to Jupiter
1990 – “Bradys” return to TV for 6 episodes on CBS TV
2021 – WHO team investigating origin of COVID-19 in Wuhan say it is “extremely unlikely” that it leaked from a local research lab

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Famous Birthdays

1900 – Walter Page, American jazz double bassist, saxophonist, tuba player, and bandleader (Blue Devils; Count Basie Orchestra), born in Gallatin, Missouri (d. 1957)
1903 – Georg Trexler, German composer, choirmaster, and organist (St. Trinitatis, Leipzig, 1930-70), born in Pirna, Germany (d. 1979)
1927 – Joe Maneri, American jazz composer, saxophone and clarinet player (Boston Microtonal Society), born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 2009)
1944 – Alice Walker, American novelist (The Color Purple, Meridian), born in Putnam County, Georgia
1964 – Rachel Bolan [James Southworth], American musician and songwriter (Skid Row), born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey

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Famous Deaths

1583 – Jeseph Sanalbo, Jewish convert in Rome, burned at stake
1916 – Hynek Vojáček, Czech composer, dies at 90
1973 – Max Yasgur, American dairy farmer, and owner Woodstock Festival site in Bethel, New York, dies of a heart attack at 53
2001 – Reginald Marsh, British actor (Sicilians: It Happened Here), dies at 74
2002 – Margaret Rose, British princess and Countess of Snowdon, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, dies of a stroke at 71

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Historical Events

1575 – University of Leiden established by William I of Orange, given the motto “Praesidium Libertatis” (oldest university in Netherlands)
1916 – French cruiser “Admiral Charner” torpedoed off Syrian coast, kills 374
2013 – 29 people are killed and 69 are injured in a series of Iraq bombings
2014 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen equals the Winter Olympics medal record with 12
2014 – Netherlands sweeps the medals in the men’s 5,000m speed skating at the Sochi Winter Olympics; Sven Kramer retains title ahead of teammates Jan Blokhuijsen and Jorrit Bergsma

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Famous Birthdays

1813 – Jacob Georg Agarah, Swedish botanist, born in Lund, Sweden (d. 1901)
1828 – Jules Verne, French novelist known as the “Father of Science Fiction” (Around the World in 80 days), born in Nantes, France (d. 1905)
1928 – Jack Larson, American actor (The Adventures of Superman – “Jimmy Olsen”), screenwriter, and librettist (Virgil Thomson’s “Lord Byron”), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2015)
1956 – Dave Meros, American progressive rock bassist (Spock’s Beard), born in Salinas, California
1961 – Sammy Llanas, American rock singer-songwritrer (Bodeans, 1983-2011 – “Closer To Free”), born in Wisconsin

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Famous Deaths

1265 – Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler, grandson of Genghis Khan (besieged and pillaged Baghdad) (b. 1217)
1599 – Robert Rollock, Scottish educator (1st Regent of Edinburgh University), dies
1993 – Franz Schnyder, Swiss director (10th of May), dies at 82
1995 – Wilhelm J. Soukop, Austrian-British sculptor, dies at 88
2012 – Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi, dies at 99

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Historical Events

1795 – Dutch Prince William V accepts British occupation of Dutch Indies
1817 – Baltimore becomes the 1st American city lit by gas street lamps with the first turned on at Market and Lemon Streets (currently Baltimore and Holliday Streets)
1857 – French writer Gustave Flaubert is acquitted on a charge of obscenity for his work “Madame Bovary”
1903 – VVV ’03 soccer club is established in the Dutch southeastern city of Venlo
1973 – Iggy Pop and The Stooges release their influential 3rd album “Raw Power”

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Famous Birthdays

1809 – Frederik Paludan-Muller, Danish Romantic poet (Danserinden), born in Kerteminde, Denmark (d. 1876)
1877 – Julius Curtius, German Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic (1929-31) and Minister for Economic Affairs (1926-29), born in Duisburg, Prussia (d. 1948)
1895 – Irving Aaronson, American jazz pianist and big band bandleader, born in New York City (d. 1963)
1945 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (In the Name of the Father, Inception), born in Warrington, England (d. 2011)
1959 – Sammy Lee, English footballer (Liverpool), born in Liverpool, England

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Famous Deaths

1965 – Nance O’Neil, American actor (Cimarron, Royal Bed, Rogue Song), dies at 90
1970 – Abe Attell, American boxer known as “The Little Hebrew” and World Featherweight Champion (1906-12), dies at 86
1997 – Danil Shafran, Soviet-Russian concert cellist, dies at 74
2020 – Harold Strachan, South African writer, anti-apartheid activist, and explosives expert, dies of liver disease complications at 94
2020 – Nexhmije Pagarusha, Albanian singer ‘the Nightingale of Kosovo’ and actress, dies at 86

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Historical Events

1947 – Magnum Photos founded in Paris by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David Seymour
1953 – Ian Craig makes Test Cricket debut at 17 yrs 239 days, youngest Aussie
1978 – Snowstorm hits New England, parts of Rhode Island (54″ / 137cm)
1990 – Brett Hull becomes 1st son of NHL 50 goal scorer (Bobby Hull) to also score 50 goals
2020 – Date of the 1st COVID-19 related death in the US (confirmed by the CDC April 21)

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Famous Birthdays

1848 – Luigi Mancinelli, Italian orchestral composer, born in Orvieto, Italy (d. 1921)
1866 – Karl Sapper, German traveller, explorer, and natural historian, born in Germany (d. 1945)
1905 – Władysław Gomułka, Polish communist politician, born in Krosno, Poland (d. 1982)
1982 – Alice Eve, English actress (She’s Out of My League; Star Trek Into Darkness), born in London
1986 – Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwean cricketer, born in Harare, Zimbabwe

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Famous Deaths

1899 – Alfred Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, dies at 24 in mysterious circumstances
1923 – Edward Emerson Barnard, American astronomer (5th moon Jupiter), dies at 65
1958 – David Pegg, English soccer outside left (1 cap; Manchester United 127 games), dies in Munich air disaster at 22
1991 – Marten Levendig, Dutch TV correspondent to Moscow, dies
2021 – Ken McCaffery, Australian rugby league centre (12 Tests; North Sydney; Queensland), broadcaster (9 Network) and administrator (North Sydney DRLFC), dies at 91

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Historical Events

1919 – NL President John Heydler dismisses charges that Hal Chase bet against his team and threw games in collusion with gamblers
1943 – Clandestine Radio Atlantiksender, Germany, 1st transmission
1970 – WSCV TV channel 51 in Fort Lauderdale, FL (IND) suspends broadcasting
1974 – John Murtha of Pennsylvania becomes the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the United States Congress
1995 – NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: AFC beats NFC, 41-13; MVP: Marshall Faulk, Indianapolis Colts, RB, HI

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Famous Birthdays

1864 – Carl Teike, German military composer, born in Stettin-Altdamm, Pomerania (now Szczecin, Poland) (d. 1922)
1903 – Nathaniel Owings, American architect (Oak Ridge, TN; Sears Tower), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 1984)
1947 – Mary Louise Cleave, American engineer and NASA astronaut (STS 61-B, STS 30), born in Southampton, New York
1968 – Eyþór Guðjónsson, Icelandic actor (Oli in “Hostel”), born in Iceland
1972 – Christina Bailey, American ice hockey defenseman (Olympics gold 1998, silver 2002; World C’ship silver 1994, 97, 99, 2000, 01), born in Marietta, New York

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Famous Deaths

1957 – Sami Ibrahim Haddad, Lebanese surgeon (b. 1890)
1975 – Åke Persson, Swedish bebop jazz trombonist (Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, 1963–71), dies at 42
1977 – Oskar Klein, Swedish theoretical physicist known for Kaluza–Klein theory, dies at 82
1998 – Timothy “Tim” Kelly, American guitarist (Slaughter), dies in a car accident at 35
2023 – Phil Spalding, English new wave and progressive rock bass player (Tovah; GTR; Mike Oldfield), and hepatitis patient support group founder, dies at 65

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Historical Events

1194 – Ransom of 100,000 pounds of silver is paid for the release of Richard I, King of England, to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI
1960 – Giants move their offices to Candlestick Park
1962 – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opens in Memphis, Tennessee; funding for the cancer fighting facility led by entertainer Danny Thomas
1983 – US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
1990 – Anders Holmertz swims world record 400 m freestyle (3:40.81)

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Famous Birthdays

1549 – Eustache du Caurroy, French Renaissance composer, born in Gerberoy, France (d. 1609)
1891 – [Madabhushi Ananthasayanam] M. A. Ayyangar, Indian politician (Speaker of Lok Sabha, Governor of Bihar), born in Thiruchanoor, Madras, British India (d. 1978)
1892 – Andreu Nin, Catalan revolutionary politician during the Spanish Civil War (P.O.U.M.) and translator, born in El Vendrell, Spain (d. 1937)
1929 – Paul Burlison, American rockabilly musician (The Rock N Roll Trio), born in Brownsville, Tennessee (d. 2003)
1960 – Tim Booth, British rock singer (James – “Sit Down”), born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England

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Famous Deaths

1909 – John Clarkson, American Baseball HOF pitcher (Triple Crown 1889; no-hitter 1885; 3 × NL wins leader; 3 × NL strikeout leader; Chicago White Stockings, Boston Beaneaters), dies of mental illness and pneumonia at 47
1940 – Nikolai Yezhov, Soviet Head of Soviet NKVD under Stalin responsible for enacting the Great Purge, executed in secret at 44
1987 – (Wladziu) Liberace, American Emmy Award-winning pianist, showman (The Liberace Show), and actor (Batman -“Evil Chandell”), dies of AIDS-related pneumonia at 67
2021 – Lord Samuel Vestey, British food magnate (Vestey Holdings) and Master of the Horse to the Royal Household (1999-2018), dies at 79
2023 – Arnold Schulman, American playwright and screenwriter (A Hole in the Head, Love with the Proper Stranger), dies at 97

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Historical Events

1913 – Paul A. Rubens and Arthur Wimperis’ musical “The Sunshine Girl”, with additional songs by and John Golden and Joseph Cawthorne, opens at the Knickerbocker Theatre, NYC, runs for 181 performances
1928 – Paleoanthropologist Davidson Black reports his findings on the ancient human fossils found at Zhoukoudian, China, in the journal Nature and declares them to be a new species he names ‘Sinanthropus pekinensis’ (now known as ‘Homo erectus’)
1942 – Baseball owners agree to permit each club up to 14 night games in 1942
1947 – -81°F (-63°C), Snag Yukon (North American record)
1972 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

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Famous Birthdays

1817 – Samuel Ryan Curtis, American politician and Major General (Union Army), born in Champlain, New York (d. 1866)
1899 – Lao She, Chinese writer and playwright (Rickshaw Boy, Teahouse), born in Beijing, China (d. 1966)
1940 – Jim Hartz, American journalist and newscaster (NBC-TV Today, 1974-77; PBS – Innovations), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma (d. 2022)
1941 – Gary Bartlett, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (10 Tests, 24 wickets, BB 6/38; Central Districts, Canterbury, Marlborough), born in Blenheim, New Zealand
1977 – Daddy Yankee [Ramón Rodríguez], Puerto Rican reggaeton singer and rapper (“Despacito”; “Gasolina”), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico

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Famous Deaths

1558 – Alfonsus de Castro, Spanish theologist (Council of Trent), dies
1959 – Buddy Holly [Charles 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
1989 – Lionel Newman, American film music composer (Hello Dolly!, Star Wars, Cleopatra), dies from cardiac arrest at 73
1996 – Wild Jimmy Spruill, American blues guitarist, dies at 61
1998 – Karla Faye Tucker, American murderer, executed at 38

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