Category: On This Day

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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Historical Events

1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is privately executed in the Tower of London (allegedly by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine).
1899 – 80°F recorded in San Francisco, California
1922 – Kenesaw Mountain Landis resigns his federal judgeship to give full attention to job as Major League Baseball Commissioner
1936 – NHL record 32 points scored, NY Americans (28) and Mont Maroons (24)
2007 – 49th Daytona 500: Kevin Harvick wins by 0.02s over Mark Martin in the closest finish since the first race at Daytona in 1959
2013 – $50 million worth of diamonds is stolen in an armed robbery at Brussels Airport, Belgium

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Famous Birthdays

1771 – Friedrich Christian Ruppe, composer and violinist, brother of Christian Friedrich Ruppe
1819 – Joseph Philbrick Webster, composer
1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American author/publisher and editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, born in Green Forest, Arkansas, (d. 2012)
1943 – Graeme Garden, Scottish writer (The Goodies), born in Aberdeen, Scotland
1945 – Judy Rankin, American golfer (US Open, Titleholders C’ship 1972 runner-up; 26 LPGA Tour wins), born in St Louis, Missouri
1956 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer, born in Sollentuna Municipality, Sweden (d. 1997)

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Famous Deaths

1925 – James Lane Allen, American writer (Choir Invisible), dies at 75
1949 – Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, 1st Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic and President of Spain (1931-36), dies at 71
1959 – Eric Zeisl, Austrian-American composer (Requiem Ebraico), dies of a heart attack at 53
1976 – Anton Betzner, writer, dies at 81
1981 – John Knudsen Northrop, American aircraft designer (Northrop Air), dies at 85
2001 – Balthus [Balthazar Klossowski], French Polish painter, dies at 92

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Historical Events

1600 – Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, charged with heresy by the Roman Inquisition
1634 – Puritan author William Prynne tried in Star Chamber for publishing “Histrio-masti”, criticising the theatre
1946 – Humanistic Covenant forms in Amsterdam
1978 – 11 civilians and 1 RUC officer are killed and 30 wounded by a Provisional Irish Republican Army incendiary bomb at the La Mon Restaurant near Belfast
1987 – Don Mattingly wins highest salary arbitration ($1,975,000 per year)
2002 – 44th Daytona 500: Ward Burton’s win first for Dodge since Richard Petty’s victory in the 1974 race

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Famous Birthdays

1796 – Giovanni Pacini, Italian composer of opera (Saffo), born in Catania, Sicily (d. 1867)
1820 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Catholic cardinal (d. 1898)
1905 – Orville “Hoppy” Jones, American bass singer and cellist (The Ink Spots – “If I Didn’t Care”), born in Chicago, Illinois (1944)
1908 – Staats Cotsworth, American actor (Hamlet, Peyton Place), born in Oak Park, Illinois (d. 1979)
1952 – Karin Büttner-Janz, German artistic gymnast (Olympic gold GDR vault, uneven bars 1968; World C’ships gold uneven bars 1970), born in Lübben, Germany
1967 – Robert Massey, American NFL cornerback (Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions) and coach, born in Rock Hill, South Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1680 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch anatomist and entomologist (Bible of Nature), dies at 43
1688 – Rev James Renwick, hanged in Scotland for being a Presbyterian
1993 – Leslie Townsend, English cricket all-rounder (England in 4 Tests 1930-34), dies at 89
1998 – Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist (People, Mambo Italiano), commits suicide at 72
2001 – Bob Geary, Canadian football player and manager (b. 1933)
2018 – Arno Motulsky, German-born founder of medical genetics, known as the “father of pharmacogenomics,” dies at 94

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Historical Events

1892 – Opera “Werther” by Jules Massenet premieres in Vienna
1905 – 1st US Esperanto club organizes in Boston
1975 – 17th Daytona 500: Benny Parsons wins after Cale Yarborough sends race leader David Pearson spinning on the backstretch; Parsons avoids the accident and takes the victory
1986 – 28th Daytona 500: Geoff Bodine wins on fuel mileage after Dale Earnhardt forced to pit for gas with 3 laps to go, then blows engine leaving the pits
1989 – Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and North Yemen form common market
2014 – At age 36, American Bode Miller becomes the oldest medalist in Olympic alpine skiing history when he ties for bronze in the super-G in Sochi

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Famous Birthdays

1075 – Ordericus Vitalis, French monk/historian/poet
1926 – Jack Levy, English mechanical engineer, born in London, England (d. 2017)
1960 – Chris Schultz, Canadian football offensive tackle (NFL Dallas Cowboys; CFL All Star 1987, 88; Toronto Argonauts) and sportscaster (The Sports Network), born in Burlington, Ontario (d. 2021)
1964 – Mark Price, American NBA guard (Cleveland Caveliers) and coach, born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma
1980 – Ashley Lelie, American football player
1985 – Stacy Lewis, American golfer (ANA Inspiration 2011, Women’s British Open 2013), born in Toledo, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

1957 – Leslie Hore-Belisha, British politician (Minister of Transport, 1934-37; War Secretary, 1937–40), dies at 63
1980 – Erich Hückel, German physicist and physical chemist, dies at 83
1996 – Kenneth Robinson, politician/businessman, dies at 84
1999 – Necil Kazım Akses, Turkish classical composer, dies at 90
2000 – Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-born engineer and inventor (b. 1911)
2000 – Lila Kedrova, Russian-born actress (Zorba the Greek (1964), Sword of the Valiant, The Tenant), dies of congestive heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease at 81

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