Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1015 – Henry I becomes Count of Leuven
1662 – John Flamsteed sees partial solar eclipse, stirs his interest in astronomy
1975 – Pink Floyd releases their ninth album “Wish You Were Here”
1983 – Security guard Victor Gerena robs West Hartford company of $7 million
1997 – The UN passes a resolution allowing Iraq to reach the $2.14 billion oil sales limit under its oil-for-food program
2009 – South Africa claims 3rd Tri Nations Rugby Series with 32-29 win over defending champions New Zealand in Hamilton; Steyn bros dominate with the boot; Morné kicks 2 penalties, 2 conversions and dropped goal; François, 3 penalties

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1559 – Lodovico Cardi da Cigoli, Italian painter and architect, born in Tuscany, Italy (d. 1613)
1906 – Ruvim Pergament, composer, born in Petrozavodsk, Russia (d. 1965)
1939 – Phillip Ramey, American composer, born in Elmhurst, Illinois
1965 – Joe Schmidt, New Zealand rugby union coach (Leinster; Ireland: 6 Nations C’ship 2014, 15, 18; Grand Slam 2018; Triple Crown 2018), born in Kawakawa, New Zealand
1968 – [Reid Laurence] Larry LaLonde, American guitarist (Primus-Frizzle Fry), born in Richmond, California
1983 – Daniel Muir, American football player, born in Washington, D.C.

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

352 – Maximinus van Trier, bishop of Trier/saint, dies
1015 – Lambert I with the Beard, Count of Leuven, dies in battle at about 65
1923 – Jules Violle, French physicist and inventor, dies at 81
1960 – Jules Buffano, American composer and pianist (Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 62
2004 – John Buller, British composer, dies at 77
2009 – Norman Borlaug, American agronomist (Green revolution – Nobel Peace Prize 1970), dies at 95

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1940 – George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.
1940 – -12] Buckingham Palace damaged by German bombs
1959 – Baltimore starter Jerry Walker pitches all 16 innings as the Orioles edge the Chicago White Sox, 1-0 at Memorial Stadium
1965 – Beatles’ “Help!,” album goes #1 and stays #1 for 9 weeks
1980 – Ron LeFlore (91st) and Rodney Scott (58th), set teammate steal record
1981 – 2nd government of Van Agt forms in Netherlands

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1962 – Kristy McNichol, American actress (Buddy-Family, Barbara-Empty Nest), born in Los Angeles, California
1962 – Julio Salinas, Spanish footballer (Barcelona), born in Bilbao, Spain
1965 – Paul Heyman, American entertainment producer and wrestling manager, born in Westchester County, New York
1975 – Juan Cobián, Argentine footballer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
1979 – Nathan Gale, American murderer (Heavy metal Pantera’s concert murder), born in Marysville, Ohio (d. 2004)
1982 – Shriya Saran, South Indian actress (Santhosham), born in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1680 – Emperor Go-Mizunoo, 108th Emperor of Japan, dies at 84
1823 – David Ricardo, English economist (On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation), dies at 51
1974 – Víctor Olea Alegría, Chilean Socialist Party member
1992 – Paul Storken, Dutch priest (Away Backing), dies
2001 – Henry Herbert, 7th earl of Carnarvon, English peer and racing manager to the Queen, dies at 77
2001 – Barbara Olson, American political commentator (b. 1955)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1608 – John Smith elected president of Jamestown colony council, Virginia
1926 – Allies-German treaty of Koblenz drawn
1960 – Abebe Bikila runs Olympic/World record marathon (2:15:16.2)
2002 – Switzerland, traditionally a neutral country, joins the United Nations
2011 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Samantha Stosur becomes first Australian to win a Grand Slam title since 1980; upsets Serena Williams 6-2, 6-3
2012 – 16 people are killed by a suicide bombing in Kunduz, Afghanistan

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1898 – Waldo Semon, American inventor (polyvinyl chloride), born in Demopolis, Alabama (d. 1999)
1925 – Roy James Brown, American soul singer (Good Rockin’ Tonight), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1981)
1929 – Pentti Siimes, Finnish actor (Miriam), born in Helsinki, Finland (d. 2016)
1940 – Roy Ayers, American disco jazz artist (Fever, You Send Me), born in Los Angeles, California
1948 – Judy Geeson, English actress (To Sir With Love, Berserk), born in Arundel, England
1964 – Jack Ma, Chinese entrepreneur and founder of Alibaba Group, born in Hangzhou, China

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1600 – John Bruhesius [Bruhesen], bishop of Groningen, dies
1868 – Franz Anton Adam Stockhausen, German composer and harpist, dies at 79
1937 – Sergei Tretyakov, Russian constructivist writer, playwright and special correspondent for Pravda, executed by Stalinist regime at 47
1975 – Hans Swarowsky, Austrian conductor (Graz Opera 1947-50), dies at 75
1995 – Derek Meddings, special Effects technician, dies at 64
2005 – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, American blues singer (Mary is Fine), dies at 81

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1912 – J Verdrines becomes 1st to fly over 100 mph (107 mph/172 kph)
1972 – Terry Anne Meeuwsen (Wisc), 23, crowned 45th Miss America 1973
1978 – Baltimore Orioles pull their 7th triple play (5-4-3 vs Toronto)
1978 – US Open Women’s Tennis, Flushing Meadows, NY: Chris Evert wins her 4th straight US singles title; beats fellow American Pam Shriver 7-5, 6-4; first time event played on hard courts
1983 – Challenger returns to Kennedy Space Center via Sheppard AFB, Texas
2017 – US Open Women’s Tennis: In the first all-American final since 2002 unseeded Sloane Stephens defeats Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1887 – Alf (Alfred) Landon, (R-Ks) American politician and Presidential candidate (1932, 1936). Dies 1987
1909 – Jane Baxter [Fedora Kathleen Alice Forde], German actress (We Live Again), born in Bremen, Germany (d. 1996)
1962 – Derek Kennard, NFL guard (Dallas Cowboys)
1969 – Sean Rooks, American basketball center (LA Lakers), born in New York City, New York
1969 – Constance Marie, American actress, born in East Los Angeles, California
1981 – Julie Gonzalo, Argentinian actress, born in Lanús Oeste, Argentina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1596 – Anna Jagiellon, Polish Queen
1713 – Giovanni A di Bartlommeo Viscardi, Swiss architect, dies
1915 – A. G. Spalding, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, manager and executive (NL wins leader 1871–76; co-founder of Spalding sporting goods company), dies at 66
1962 – Pat Rooney, American vaudevillian (Night club), dies at 82
1966 – Leon de Smet, Flemish painter, dies at 85
1996 – Bill Monroe, American singer known as the “Father of Bluegrass” (Blue Moon of Kentucky), dies at 84

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1755 – Battle of Lake George in the Province of New York: British army beats French
1921 – 1st Miss America crowned in Atlantic City – Margaret Gorman (16) of Washington, D.C.
1973 – Rebecca Ann King (Colo), 23, crowned 46th Miss America 1974
1974 – US President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon of all federal crimes
1978 – 2nd game of Boston Massacre; NY Yankees beat Red Sox, 13-2
2019 – Brazil’s Supreme Court rules Marvel comic depicting two men kissing can be sold after mayor of Rio de Janeiro attempted to ban it

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1815 – Alexander Ramsey, American politician (1st Governor of Minnesota Territory), born in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania (d. 1903)
1925 – Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson, Icelandic pianist and avant-garde composer, born in Skálar, Iceland (d. 2005)
1950 – Will Lee, American bassist (Late Show with David Letterman), born in San Antonio, Texas
1983 – Diego Benaglio, Swiss-Italian footballer, born in Zürich, Switzerland
1986 – Matt Grothe, American football player, born in Lakeland, Florida
1987 – Alexandre Bilodeau, Canadian freestyle skier (Gold in 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics), born in Montreal, Quebec

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1100 – Clement III [Wibert van Ravenna], 1st anti-pope (1084-1100), dies
1780 – Enoch Poor, American Revolutionary War general, dies at 44
1956 – Gerrit Bolkestein, Dutch minister of Education (1939-45), dies at 84
1980 – Hermann Claudius, German folk poet (Meister Bertram), dies at 101
2003 – Jaclyn Linetsky, Canadian voice actress (b. 1986)
2014 – Magda Olivero, Italian soprano (Adriana Lecouvreur; La Voix Humaine), dies at 104

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1812 – Battle of Borodino: Napoleon Bonapartre wins a pyrrhic victory against Russian General Mikhail Kutuzov in the most ferocious battle of the Napoleonic era, 70,000 are killed
1909 – Eugene Lefebvre becomes first pilot to die in an airplane craft, while test piloting new French-built Wright biplane at Juvisy
1956 – Bell X-2 sets Unofficial manned aircraft altitude record 126,000’+
1987 – South Africa frees Dutch anthropologist/Anc’er Klaas de Young
1991 – Die Laughing wins Messenger Stakes
2008 – 25th MTV Video Music Awards: Britney Spears and Chris Brown win

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1635 – Paul Esterhazy, Hungarian prince, composer and patron, born in Eisenstadt (d. 1713)
1957 – Melvin Edward Mays, one of FBI’s most wanted
1964 – Eazy-E [Eric Lynn Wright], American rapper (N.W.A.), born in Compton, California (d. 1995)
1965 – Uta Pippig, German long distance runner, born in Leipzig, Germany
1970 – Tom Everett Scott, American actor (Dead Man on Campus), born in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
1980 – Gabriel Milito, Argentine soccer defender (42 caps; Independiente, Zaragoza), born in Bernal, Argentina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1881 – Sidney Clopton Lanier, composer, dies at 39
1893 – Hamilton Fish, American politician (Governor of New York), dies at 85
1944 – Eduardo Sanchez de Fuentes, Cuban composer, dies at 70
1965 – Catherine Dale Owen, actress (Behind Office Doors), dies at 62
1992 – Henry Ephron, American screenwriter (Daddy Long Legs), dies at 81
1995 – Gordon DeMarco, writer/activist, dies at 51

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1839 – Great fire in New York
1876 – Race riot in Charleston, South Carolina
1924 – Assassination attempt on Benito Mussolini fails
1939 – 1st German air attack on Great Britain in WW II
1980 – US College football longest losing streak of 50 games ends for Macalester College (St. Paul)
1991 – Ronald Venetiaan chosen president of Suriname

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1890 – Manfred Gurlitt, German composer, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1973)
1915 – Franz Josef Strauss, German politician, Minister of Defense (1956-62), born in Munich, Germany (d. 1988)
1939 – Dan Cragg, American soldier and author, born in Rochester, New York
1970 – Igor Korolev, Russian ice hockey player (Team Russia, Winnipeg), born in Moscow, Russia
1974 – Tim Henman, English tennis player, born in Oxford, England
1978 – Cisco Adler, American singer and record producer, born in Los Angeles, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

394 – Eugenius, linguistic/anti emperor of Rome (392-94), dies in battle
1782 – Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, wife of Thomas Jefferson (b. 1748)
1831 – Johann Ernst Friedrich Wollank, German composer, dies at 49
1950 – Olaf Stapledon, British writer and philosopher (b. 1886)
1994 – Max Kaminsky, American jazz trumpeter and bandleader (Max Kaminsky Orchestra), dies at 85
2020 – Mike Sexton, American poker player (World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions 2006; Poker Hall of Fame) and commentator (WPT), dies from prostate cancer at 72

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1863 – Bread revolt in Mobile, Alabama
1905 – 50 prominent men meet in Sydney’s Australia Hotel to found the National Defense League fueled by fear of Japan after its victory over Russia
1914 – US President Woodrow Wilson orders US Navy to make its wireless stations accessible for any transatlantic communications – even to German diplomats sending coded messages; leads to interception of the Zimmermann telegram, helping bring the US into the war
1915 – Anti-war conference in Zimmerwald, Switzerland
1949 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis: Pancho Gonzales beats fellow American Ted Schroeder 16-18, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4; longest singles final match by games (67), before tiebreaker introduction
2017 – Barry Callebaut announce a 4th type of chocolate, “Ruby”, made from the Ruby cocoa bean

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1649 – Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, French mistress to British King Charles II (d. 1734)
1877 – Albert Roelofs, Dutch painter and etcher, born in Schaarbeek, Brussels, Belgium (d. 1920)
1925 – Justin Kaplan, American editor and biographer (Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain – Pulitzer Prize, 1967), born in New York City, New York (d. 2014)
1929 – Andrian Grigoryevich Nikolayev, Soviet cosmonaut (Vostok III, Soyuz 9), born in Shorshely, Russia (d. 2004)
1944 – Dario Bellezza, Italian poet, born in Rome (d. 1996)
1949 – David “Clem” Clempson, British rock guitarist (Colosseum; Humble Pie), born in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1569 – Bernardo Tasso, Italian courtier and poet, dies at 75
1906 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (thermodynamics), dies at 62
1930 – Robert Means Thompson, American naval officer (b. 1849)
1972 – Josef Romano, Israeli olympian, murdered
1993 – Willem Wagter, actor (Ghetto, Medic Center West), dies at 60
1995 – James “Pigmeat” Jarrett, American pianist, dies at 95

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1571 – Catholic rebellion in Scotland
1609 – Navigator Henry Hudson is the first European to discover island of Manhattan [or Sep 11]
1862 – General Lee begins the Maryland Campaign invading the North with 50,000 Confederate troops (US Civil war)
1945 – American chess grandmaster Reuben Fine wins 4 simultaneous rapid (10 seconds per move) games blindfolded in New York City
1960 – -12] Hurricane Donna, kills 148 in the Caribbean and US
1967 – 6.5 earthquake of Kolya Dam India, kills 200

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1846 – Daniel Burnham, American architect and urban designer (built skyscrapers), born in Henderson, New York (d. 1912)
1906 – Han G. Hoekstra, Dutch poet (Ongerijmde life), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1988)
1915 – Dick Thomas, American singing cowboy and TV host (Village Barn), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2003)
1944 – Christopher Needler, English businessman, born in Kingston upon Hull, England
1961 – Rizwan-uz-Zaman, Pakistani cricketer, born in Karachi, Pakistan
1979 – Kosuke Matsuura, Japanese racing driver, born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1085 – Irmgarde van Suchtelen, German countess of Aspel, hermit and saint, dies
1907 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (Peer Gynt Suite), dies at 64
1962 – William Clothier, American tennis player (US Nat C’ships 1906; 1st President International Hall of Fame 1954), dies at 80
1974 – Marcel Achard, French playwright (La forges the Paris), dies at 75
1986 – Hank Greenberg, American Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman (5 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1935, 45; AL MVP 1935, 40; Detroit Tigers), dies of cancer at 75
1995 – Chuck Greenberg, new age musician (Shadowfax), dies at 45

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1791 – French Revolution: The new French Constitution, declaring France a constitutional monarchy, is passed by the National Assembly
1914 – Prince Wilhelm von Wied leaves Albania
1966 – Houston Oilers hold Denver Broncos to no 1st downs in their NFL season opening 45-7 win at Rice Stadium
1973 – General Walters ends term as acting director of CIA
1979 – Jerry Lewis’ 14th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $30,000,000
2013 – 15 militants are killed by an Egyptian Army helicopter in Sinai Peninsula

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1910 – Dorothy Maynor, American soprano and founder (Harlem School of Arts), born in Norfolk, Virginia (d. 1996)
1921 – Thurston Dart, English harpsichordist and conductor, born in Surbiton, London (d. 1971)
1932 – Eileen Brennan, American actress (Laugh-In, Pvt Benjamin), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)
1941 – Sergei Dovlatov, Russian writer, born in Ufa, Republic of Bashkiria (d. 1990)
1964 – Junaid Jamshed, Pakistani singer (Vital Signs 1), born in Karachi, West Pakistan (d. 2016)
1976 – Ashley Jones, American actress (The Young and the Restless), born in Memphis, Tennessee

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1849 – Ernst Freiherr von Feuchtersleben, Austrian physician and philosopher, dies at 43
1954 – Eugene Pallette, American actor (The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Mark of Zorro), dies at 65
1970 – Alan Wilson, American rock guitarist and vocalist (Canned Heat), dies at 27
1985 – John Herbert McDowell, American composer for ballet, TV and the stage, dies at 58
1994 – Roswell Gilbert, who mercy killed his ailing wife, dies at 85
2015 – Adrian Cadbury, British confectionery manufacturer (Cadbury) and author of report on Corporate Governance, dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »