Category: On This Day

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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Historical Events

1732 – Paris churchyard of Saint-Medard closed after Jansenistic ritual
1942 – 1st broadcast of Roy Plomley’s “Desert Island Discs” on BBC radio
1957 – Graham Greene’s “Potting Shed” premieres in NYC
1975 – First American Annual Comedy Awards, hosted by Alan King
1979 – NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: NFC beats AFC, 13-7; MVP: Ahmad Rashād, Minnesota Vikings, WR
2014 – Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the 1st non-Spanish player to captain Real Madrid, making his 500th appearance for the club

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Famous Birthdays

1950 – Max Carl [Gronenthal], American rock singer and musician ( Grand Funk Railroad, 2000-present; 38 Special, 1987-92), born in Platte Center, Nebraska
1953 – Lynne McGranger, Australian actress (Home and Away), born in Sydney, New South Wales
1955 – John Tate, American heavyweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1968)
1960 – Steve Sax, American MLB 2nd baseman, NL rookie of the year, 1981, 5x all-star (LA Dodgers, 1981-88; NY Yankees, Chicago White Sox), born in West Sacramento, California
1968 – Edward Burns, American actor, director, writer (Brothers McMullen, Saving Private Ryan), born in Queens, New York
1971 – Jamal Fountaine, American NFL defensive end (SF 49ers, Atlanta Falcons), born in San Francisco, California

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Famous Deaths

1965 – John Larkin, American actor (Saints and Sinners, The Satan Bug, 12 O’Clock High), dies of heart attack at 52
1973 – Ludwig Stössel, Austrian actor (Man With a Camera, The Pride of the Yankees), dies at 89
1980 – Jimmy Durante, American actor, comedian and singer known as “the schnozzola” (The Durante-Moore Show, Jimmy Durante Show), dies of pneumonia at 86
1998 – Joseph Alioto, mayor of San Francisco (b. 1916)
1999 – Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (b. 1918)
2010 – Tom Brookshier, American football player and sportscaster, dies of cancer at 78

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Historical Events

1561 – By Edict of Orleans French persecution of Huguenots is suspended
1916 – Opera “Goyescas” premieres in New York City
1918 – Finnish Civil War: Rebels seized control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
1973 – “Barnaby Jones” premieres on CBS TV
1990 – “Independent on Sunday” begins publishing in London
1996 – 12th Sundance Film Festival: “Welcome to the Dollhouse” wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic

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Famous Birthdays

1878 – Walter Kollo, German composer of operettas, Singspiele, and popular songs (Der Juxbaron), born in Neidenburg, Kingdom of Prussia. (d. 1940)
1910 – Arnold Moss, American actor (Loves of Carmen, Kim, Quebec, Viva Zapata), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1989)
1943 – Dick Taylor, English rock guitarist (The Pretty Things – “S.F. Sorrow”), born in Dartford, England
1975 – David Zingler, American writer
1975 – Julian Dean, Waihi NZ, team pursuit cyclist (Olympics 1996)
1980 – Jesse James, American drug dealer and fugitive, born in Hollywood, California

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Famous Deaths

1256 – Willem II, earl of Holland/German emperor (1238, 47-56), dies at 22
1681 – Richard Allestree, English royalist churchman (b. 1619)
1932 – Franz Xavier Arens, composer, dies at 75
1942 – Pablo Luna, Spanish composer (De España vengo), dies at 61
2006 – Henry McGee, British actor and comedian (No, That’s Me Over Here!, The Benny Hill Show), dies at 77
2008 – Bengt Lindström, Swedish artist, dies at 82

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Historical Events

1909 – The Young Left is founded in Norway
1982 – Los Angeles Kings set an NHL record with their 6th consecutive tied game, a 4-4 deadlock against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers
1988 – Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves nomination of Judge Anthony Kennedy to US Supreme Court
1996 – 15 day old conjoined twins separated: Sarah Morales survives, Sarahi dies
2013 – 29th Sundance Film Festival: “Fruitvale Station”, directed by Ryan Coogler, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
2019 – Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Novak Đoković of Serbia wins his record 7th Australian singles title; beats Spaniard Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3

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Famous Birthdays

1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American military figure (d. 1979)
1942 – Kate Wolf [Allen], American folk singer-songwriter (“Love Still Remains”; “Across the Great Divide”), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1986)
1953 – Bob Mintzer, American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader (Yellowjackets), born in New Rochelle, New York
1958 – James Grippando, American novelist
1972 – Bryant Young, American football defensive tackle (San Francisco 49ers), born in Chicago Heights, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1851 – Karl Moser, German composer, dies at 77
1893 – James G. Blaine, US Secretary of State (1881 and 1889-92) known as the “Plumed Knight”, dies at 62
1922 – Giovanni Verga, Italian writer (I Mala Voglia), dies at 81
1989 – Bayani Casimiro, Filipino dancer and actor [Okey Ka Fairy Ko!], dies at 70
1993 – André the Giant, French pro wrestler (WWF World Heavyweight C’ship 1988; WWF World Tag Team C’ship [with Haku] 1989), dies of congestive heart failure at 49
2003 – Louis Archambault, Quebec sculptor (b. 1915)

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