Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1898 – First automobile speed record set of 63 kph (39 mph) by French Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat of Paris
1968 – Musical-fantasy film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, co-written by Roald Dahl and director Ken Hughes, starring Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes, with songs by Sherman and Sherman, premieres in NYC
1969 – “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, 6th James Bond Film starring George Lazenby and Diana Rigg, premieres in London
1979 – Stuntman Stanley Barrett unofficially breaks the land speed record and the sound barrier in his three-wheeled vehicle the Budweiser Rocket (739.666 mph or Mach 1.01). The speed was never officially recorded and the attempt remains controversial.
2018 – Nevada becomes the first US state with a female-majority legislature with new appointments taking it to 51%

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1927 – Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (1995-99), born in Memramcook, New Brunswick (d. 2009)
1939 – Sandro Lopopolo Italian lightweight boxer (Olympic-Silver-1960), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2014)
1963 – Karl Dorrell, American football coach, born in Alameda, California
1972 – Lawrence Wong, Singapore economist and politician, Prime Minister (2024-), born in Singapore
2001 – Billie Eilish, American Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?), born in Los Angeles, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1633 – Theodoor Galle, Flemish engraver, buried at 62
1832 – Philip Freneau, American poet of the American Revolution (The American Village), dies at 80
1990 – Paul Tortelier, French concert cellist, composer, and teacher, dies at 76
2002 – Wayne Owens, former U.S. Congressman (D-Utah) (b. 1937)
2007 – Jack Linkletter, American TV host (Haggis Baggis, Hootenanny), dies at 70

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

283 – St. Caius begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1843 – Henry Cole, founder of London’s VandA Museum, commissions printing of the 1st Christmas card
1914 – Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv by Turkish authorities
1991 – Pittsburgh Penguins score team record 8 goals in one period in 2nd session of 10-2 win over NHL expansion San Jose Sharks
2019 – Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf sentenced to death in absentia for high treason

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1869 – Nikolai Ivanovich Kazanli, Russian composer, born in Tiraspol, Russian Empire (d. 1916)
1893 – Erwin Piscator, German stage director (Der Stellvertreter), born in Greifenstein-Ulm, German Empire (d. 1966)
1903 – Ray Noble, English jazz bandleader, songwriter (“The Very Thought of You”; “Goodnight, Sweetheart”), composer, and actor, born in Brighton, Sussex, England (d. 1978)
1914 – Syed Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (prolific batsman of 30’s and 40’s), born in Indore, British India (d. 2005)
1923 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian of Christianity, born in Arkon, Ohio(d. 2006)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1962 – Thomas Mitchell, American Academy Award-winning actor (Gone With The Wind; High Noon), dies of bone cancer at 70
1962 – Carl Diem, German sports executive (Sec Gen Organising Committee 1936 Berlin Olympics; creator Olympic torch relay), dies at 80
1982 – Big Joe Williams, American Delta blues singer-songwriter, and nine-string guitarist (“Baby, Please Don’t Go”), dies at 79
2006 – Larry Sherry, American baseball pitcher (World Series MVP 1959, LA Dodgers), dies at 71
2022 – Manuel Muñoz, Chilean soccer striker (26 caps; CSD Colo-Colo), dies at 94

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1877 – Anton Bruckner reluctantly steps in to conduct the premiere of his “Symphony No. 3,” dedicated to Richard Wagner; it is a critical disaster and undergoes many revisions
1923 – National Football League Championship: undefeated Canton Bulldogs (11-0-1) repeat as champions
1962 – Nepal establishes its constitution and becomes a Constitutional Hindu Monarchy
1990 – Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected President of Haiti
1993 – Jule Styne, Norman and Bob Merrill’s musical “Red Shoes”, based on the 1948 film, opens at Gershwin Theater, NYC; runs for 5 performances

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1915 – Georgy Sviridov, Soviet Russian neo-romantic composer (The Blizzard; Time; Forward!), born in Fatezh, Kursk Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1998)
1944 – N!xau [ǂToma], Namibian farmer and actor (The Gods Must Be Crazy), born in Tsumkwe, Namibia (d. 2007)
1946 – Adriaan van Dis, Dutch author (Promised Country), born in Bergen aan Zee, Netherlands
1971 – Laurence Cottle, Welsh session rock, jazz, and jazz-fusion bass guitarist and composer (Earthworks; Alan Parsons Project; Black Sabbath), born in Swansea, Wales
1979 – Trevor Immelman, South African golfer (US Masters 2008), born in Cape Town, Western Cape

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

882 – John VIII, Italian Pope (872-82), dies
1921 – Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer (Samson et Dalila; Organ Symphony), dies of a heart attack at 86
1984 – Debs Garms, American baseball utility (World Series 1944 St. Louis Cardinals; NL batting champion 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 77
2006 – Taliep Petersen, South African singer and composer (b. 1950)
2020 – Kálmán Sóvári, Hungarian soccer defender (17 caps; Újpesti Dózsa, VM Egyetértés), dies at 79

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1930 – Occasional leg-spin bowler Don Bradman takes his 1st of only 2 Test cricket wickets when he traps West Indian batsman Ivan Barrow lbw for 27 in the 1st Test in Adelaide
1984 – USSR launches Vega 1 for rendezvous with Halley’s Comet
2011 – ESPN and the NCAA extend their TV rights deal through 2023-24, giving the network worldwide multi-media rights to 24 NCAA championships for various sports; deal worth $500m
2015 – 1,000 schools closed in Los Angeles after a email threat, supposedly from jihadists
2019 – Raiders play their final NFL game in Oakland conceding 17 unanswered 2nd half points to go down 20-16 to the Jacksonville Jaguars; team to play out of Las Vegas in 2020

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

130 – Lucius Verus, Roman emperor, born in Rome, Italy (d. 169)
1925 – Jack Rothstein, British concert violinist (London Czech Trio), conductor (Viennese Orchestra of London), and session player (The Beatles – “I Am the Walrus”; “Within You Without You”; Paul McCartney – “Here Today”), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 2001)
1938 – Bob Foster, American boxer (world light-heavyweight champion 1968-74), born in Lubbock, Texas (d. 2015)
1939 – Dave Clark, British rock drummer, singer-songwriter, and producer (Dave Clark Five – “Glad All Over”), born in Tottenham, Middlesex, England
1948 – David Gwillim, English actor (Island at Top of the World), born in Plymouth, Devon, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1924 – T. Frank Appleby, American politician (U.S. House of Representatives – (R) New Jersey, 1921-23), dies at 60
1947 – George L. Funke, Dutch botanist (Flower Physiology), dies after an operation at 50
1994 – Hans de Jong, Dutch conductor (De Damrakkertjes; Amsterdams Vrouwenkoor), dies at 86
2001 – Russ Haas, American professional wrestler, dies of a heart attack at 27
2003 – Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey defenseman (NHL All Star 1971, 72; Chicago Black Hawks), dies in a motor vehicle accident at 56

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1925 – Alban Berg’s first opera “Wozzeck” premieres with the Berlin State Opera in Berlin, Germany
1944 – Beginning of Liese-Aktion: Germany tries to recruit Dutch men for the Germany labor force
1969 – “Leaving on a Jet Plane” single sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, written by John Denver, hits #1 on US Billboard’s Hot Top 100
1975 – WCPR (Brooklyn New York pirate radio station) begins broadcasting on 1620 AM
1988 – Spanish General strike to protest austerity measures

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1895 – George VI, King of the United Kingdom (1936-52), born in Norfolk, England (d. 1952)
1901 – Paul I, King of Greece (1947-64), born at Tatoi Palace in Parnitha, Kingdom of Greece (d. 1964)
1927 – Koss Rietkerk, Dutch internal minister (VVD) (1982-86), born in Boskoop, Netherlands (d. 1986)
1927 – Richard Cassilly, American tenor, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1998)
1975 – Tamecka Dixon, American WNBA guard (LA Sparks), born in Linden, New Jersey

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1417 – John Oldcastle, English nobleman and pro-protestant Lollard leader, whom Shakespeare based his Falstaff character on, hanged for heresy at 39
1998 – Annette Strauss, American philanthropist, dies at 74
2012 – Kenneth Kendall, British broadcaster (BBC News, Treasure Hunt), dies from a stroke at 88
2017 – Lones Wigger, American competitive rifle shooter (Olympic gold/silver-1964, 72), dies at 80
2017 – Yú Guāngzhōng [Yu Kwang-chung], Taiwanese poet, essayist, and translator (Nostalgia), dies from respiratory failure at 89

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1930 – French government of André Tardieu falls for the second time
1997 – 63rd Heisman Trophy Award: Charles Woodson, Michigan (CB)
2013 – “Beyoncé” 5th studio album by Beyoncé is released
2014 – Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, criticizes UN Security Council for its lack of action over war crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan
2018 – Apple announces new $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas and expansion in other US cities

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1941 – Elizabeth Pochoda, American journalist who helped revitalize Vanity Fair magazine, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2025)
1950 – Heather North, American actress (The Barefoot Executive; voice of Velma in “Scooby-Doo”), born in Pasadena, California (d. 2017)
1961 – Irene Sáez, Venezuelan beauty queen crowned Miss Universe 1981 and politician, born in Chacao, Miranda, Venezuela
1967 – NeNe Leakes (née Linnethia Johnson), American television personality (The Real Housewives of Atlanta), actress, and fashion designer, born in Queens, New York City
1991 – Dermot Kennedy, Irish singer-songwriter (“Power Over Me”; “Giants”), born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, Ireland

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1204 – Maimonides [Moses Ben Maimon], Sephardic Jewish philosopher, astronomer and physician (Mishneh Torah), dies in Cairo at 69
1978 – Frits Slomp, Dutch pastor and resistance fighter (aided people in hiding during WWII), dies at 80
1987 – Peter Birch, American dancer, choreographer (Jane Froman’s USA Canteen), and director (Captain Kangaroo), dies of a heart attack at 65
1997 – Harry Glaß, German ski jumper (Olympic bronze 1956), dies at 67
2007 – Mark Partridge, Rhodesian politician

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1969 – Comedy film “The Magic Christian”, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr premieres in London, England
1991 – Tampa Bay Buccaneer Dexter Manley retires after failing drug test
2000 – US Supreme Court releases its 5-4 decision in Bush v. Gore, settling the recount dispute in Florida’s 2000 presidential election in George W. Bush’s favor, thus handing him the presidency over Al Gore
2020 – Chinese leader Xi Jinping says the country will reduce its carbon intensity by 65% by 2030
2021 – Dutchman Max Verstappen wins Formula 1 Drivers’ C’ship for Red Bull with a controversial last lap win over Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1887 – Kurt Magnus Atterberg, Swedish composer, born in Gothenburg, Sweden (d. 1974)
1928 – Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-Kyrgyz author and best-known figure in Kyrgyzstan’s literature (Jamila), born in Kirghiz ASSR, Soviet Union (d. 2008)
1941 – Terry Kirkman, American rock vocalist, songwriter, and keyboardist (The Association – “Windy”; “Cherish”), and later substance abuse counselor, born in Salina, Kansas (d. 2023)
1952 – Ajit De Silva, Sri Lankan cricket spin bowler (4 Tests), born in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka
1959 – Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Indian cricketer (big-hitting Indian opener), born in Madras, India

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1788 – Joseph Gibbs, English composer and organist, dies at 88
1912 – Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (regent for nephews King Ludwig II and King Otto), dies at 91
1965 – Johnny Lee, American actor (Song of the South, The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show), dies from a heart attack at 67
1970 – Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (Member of the Australian Parliament for Bourke), dies at 81
1998 – Lawton Chiles, U.S. Senator from Florida (1971-89) and Governor of Florida (1991-98), dies at 68

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1477 – Duchess Maria of Burgundy ends the ‘Great Privilege’ in states of The Netherlands
1948 – WMC TV channel 5 in Memphis, Tennessee (NBC) begins broadcasting
1969 – Libya adopts constitution
1993 – 59th Heisman Trophy Award: Charlie Ward, Florida State (QB)
2000 – 66th Heisman Trophy Award: Chris Weinke, Florida State (QB)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1882 – Max Born, German physicist (quantum mechanics, Nobel 1954), born in Breslau, Germany (d. 1970)
1954 – Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Icelandic rock guitarist (Dense Time), and electronic engineer, born in Reykjavík, Iceland
1966 – Terry Sharpe, Irish rocker (The Adventures, Starjets-Starjets), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
1987 – Natalia Gordienko, Moldovan singer and dancer, born in Chișinău, Moldova
1988 – Tim Southee, New Zealand cricketer, born in Whangarei, New Zealand

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1582 – Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Spanish noble and diplomat (governor of the Netherlands (1567–1573)), dies at about 75
1884 – Samuel Greene, American naval commander inboard USS Monitor during the Battle of Hampton Roads, commits suicide at 45
1938 – Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian pacifist and internationalist (Nobel Peace Prize 1921), dies at 69
1968 – Nadine Riga, American actress, dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 59
2024 – Mamiya Michio, Japanese composer (Narukami; Grave of the Fireflies), dies at 95

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1718 – Laurence Eusden is appointed British Poet Laureate under George I
1899 – Delta Sigma Phi fraternity founded at City College of New York, to spread “the principles of friendship and brotherhood among college men, without respect to race or creed.”
1946 – German/Swiss novelist Hermann Hesse wins the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration, exemplify the classical humanitarian ideals and high qualities of style”
1958 – The first domestic passenger jet flight using a Boeing 707, with National Airlines flying a leased Pan Am 707 from New York to Miami
1981 – The United Nations General Assembly approves Pakistan’s proposal for establishing nuclear free-zone in South Asia.

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1588 – Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher, born in Middelburg, Netherlands (d. 1637)
1897 – Karl H. Waggerl, Austria writer (Power of Love), born in Bad Gastein, Austria (d. 1973)
1925 – Jean Byron [Imogene Audette Burkhart], American actress (The Patty Duke Show), born in Paducah, Kentucky (d. 2006)
1941 – Fionnula Flanagan, Irish actress (Rich Man Poor Man), born in Dublin, Ireland
1974 – Meg White, American drummer (The White Stripes), born in Grosse Point Farms, Michigan

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1917 – Mackenzie Bowell, 5th Prime Minister of Canada (1894-96), dies of pneumonia at 93
1951 – Algernon Blackwood, English novelist (The Willows), dies at 82
1992 – Dan Maskell, English tennis commentator (b. 1908)
1997 – Gershon Kingsley [Götz Ksinski], German-American composer, electronic music pioneer, and Moog synthesizer player (Popcorn), dies at 97
1999 – Lex Goudsmit, Dutch actor (Fiddler on the Roof, Thomas en Senior op het spoor van Brute Berend), dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1974 – Howard Cosell briefly interviews rocker John Lennon, and Frank Gifford chats with California governor Ronald Reagan, during halftime of Monday Night Football broadcast from the Coliseum in Los Angeles, California
1988 – Premiere of fact based crime drama film “Mississippi Burning”
2016 – South Korean MPs vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye
2019 – US officials “deliberately misled” the public on progress of the Afghanistan war, hid that it was a lost cause, according to The Washington Post analysis of the “Afghanistan Papers”
2023 – 89th Heisman Trophy Award: Jayden Daniels, LSU (QB)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1787 – John Dobson, English architect, born in High Chirton, North Shields, England (d. 1865)
1902 – Rab Butler, British politician who favoured appeasement, born in Attock Serai, British India (d. 1982)
1904 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist (1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, work with split-brain research), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1994)
1965 – Brad Savage, American actor (Red Dawn), born in Livonia, Michigan
1974 – Wendy Dillinger, American female soccer player and coach, born in St. Charles County, Missouri

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1674 – Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, English statesman, lawyer, chief advisor to Charles I, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II, dies at 65
1775 – Pietro Gnocchi, Italian sacred music composer, choir director Brescia Cathedral, 1723-33 and 1762-75), priest, historian, and geographer, dies at 86
2004 – David Brudnoy, American radio personality (b. 1940)
2014 – José Feghali, Brazilian concert pianist (Van Cliburn Gold Medalist, 1985), takes his own life at 53
2023 – Frank Wycheck, American football tight end (Pro Bowl 1998, 99, 2000; Washington Redskins, Houston/Tennessee Oilers-Titans), dies after a fall at 52

More Famous Deaths »