Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1926 – Gas refrigerator patented
1971 – An off duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment is shot dead by members of the Irish Republican Army in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
1994 – 5th Billboard Music Awards: Ace of Base and Mariah Carey win
1995 – American rock band The Grateful Dead break up
2020 – Breaking, the competitive form of breakdancing, confirmed as an Olympic sport for the Paris 2024 games
2020 – Bob Dylan sells his entire songwriting catalog of more than 600 songs to the Universal Music Publishing Group for over $300 million

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Famous Birthdays

1918 – Jórunn Viðar, Icelandic pianist and composer, born in Reykjavík, Iceland (d. 2017)
1926 – Victor Kermit Kiam II, American businessman (Remington shavers) and NFL owner (Patriots), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2001)
1932 – François Lafortune Jr., Belgian shooter (competed at 7 Olympic Games 1952-1976, 50m Rifle, Prone Position), born in Visé, Belgium (d. 2020)
1957 – Geoff “Henry” Lawson, Australian cricket player, fast bowler (1980-89) and coach of Pakistan, born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
1967 – Tino Martinez, American MLB baseball first baseman, 1990-2005; All-Star 1995, 1997; World Series 1996, 98–2000 (Seattle Mariners, NY Yankees, and 2 other teams), born in Tampa, Florida
1977 – Dominic Howard, English drummer (Muse), born in Stockport, England

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Famous Deaths

1295 – Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford, English politician (b. 1243)
1874 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German biblical scholar (b. 1815)
1927 – Albert Griffiths (“Young Griffo”), Australian boxer (World Featherweight champion 1890-92), dies of apoplexy at 56
2006 – Jay McShann, American musician (b. 1910)
2014 – Ken Weatherwax, American actor, dies from a heart attack at 59
2020 – Chuck Yeager, American test pilot who was the 1st man to break the sound barrier, dies at 97

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Historical Events

1845 – Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is founded at Yale College.
1939 – Cole Porter’s musical “Du Barry Was A Lady” opens at 46th Street Theatre, NYC; runs 408 performances
1973 – Gerald Ford sworn-in as first unelected Vice President, succeeds Spiro Agnew who resigned over corruption allegations
1978 – Spain adopts constitution
2017 – Skirball wildfire near Los Angeles closes the Interstate 405 as thousands forced to evacuate
2018 – Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry explodes for franchise-record 238 yards and 4 touchdowns in 30-9 win v Jacksonville Jaguars in Nashville; 99-yard TD run ties Dallas Cowboys HOF RB Tony Dorsett’s longest run in NFL history

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Joseph Lamb, American ragtime composer, born in Montclair, New Jersey (d. 1960)
1917 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American entrepreneur (co-founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor chain), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (d. 2008)
1918 – Willem Oosterheers, resistance fighter
1991 – CoCo Vandeweghe, American tennis player (US Open doubles 2018; US Federation Cup 2017), born in Rancho Santa Fe, California
1993 – Elian Gonzalez, Cuban boy at the center of a heated 2000 controversy involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, born in Cuba
1996 – Stefanie Scott, American actress (Quinn Brenner-Insidious: Chapter 3) and singer (New Girl in Town), born in Chicago, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1882 – Alfred Escher, Swiss politician and railroad entrepreneur (b. 1819)
1940 – Charlie Hime, cricketer (one Test for South Africa 1895), dies
1987 – James Dobson, actor (Impulse, Jet Attack, Okinawa), dies
1989 – Gabor Jodal, Romanian composer, dies at 76
1994 – Gian Maria Volontè, Italian actor (Fistful of Dollars), dies at 61
2017 – William H. Gass, American novelist and philosopher (Omensetter’s Luck), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1775 – At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1925 – CFL Grey Cup, Landsdowne Park, Ottawa: Ottawa Senators win first title; beat Winnipeg Tammany Tigers, 24-1
1957 – NYC is first US city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law)
1974 – 1st World Football League Bowl, Birmingham Americans beat Florida
1982 – PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Don January wins his lone Champions Tour major title by 1 stroke over Julius Boros
1991 – “Catskills on Broadway” opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 452 performances

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Famous Birthdays

1820 – Afanasy Fet, Russian poet, born in Mtsensk, Russia (d. 1892)
1852 – Thomas Laub, Danish organist and composer, born in Langå, Denmark (d. 1927)
1875 – Arthur Currie, Canadian soldier (fought in WWI), born in Napperton, Ontario (d. 1933)
1901 – Walt [Walter Elias] Disney, American animator, (Mickey Mouse), producer and co-founder of Walt Disney Co., born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1966)
1966 – Niege Dias, Brazilian tennis star, born in Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil
1984 – Chris Solinsky, American distance runner, born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin

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Famous Deaths

1955 – Paul Harvey, American actor (Spellbound, Calamity Jane, Heldorado, Jamboree), dies at 73
1974 – Henry Wadsworth, American actor (The Thin Man, Applause, Fast and Loose), dies at 77
1984 – Adam Malik, Third Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1917)
1991 – Richard Speck, American mass murderer (raped and killed 8 student nurses in 1966), dies a day before his 50th birthday
2016 – Mogens Camre, Danish politician (Folketing (Danish Parliament), 1968-1987, 3 days in 2007; European Parliament, 1999-2009, dies at 80
2017 – Johnny Hallyday [Jean-Philippe Smet], French singer and actor known as the “Elvis Presley of France,” dies from lung cancer at 74

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Historical Events

1489 – Battle of Baza – Spanish army captures Baza from Moors
1954 – The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, USA
1955 – Bernardus Johannes Alfrink installed as Archbishop of Utrecht
1986 – US launches its Fleet Satellite Communications System (Fltsatcom-7)
1993 – Johann Koss skates world record 5K (6:35.53)
2014 – Mosconi Cup nine-ball pool, Blackpool, England: Team Europe beats US, 11-5 for 5th straight title; MVP: Niels Feijen (Netherlands)

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Famous Birthdays

1713 – Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist, born in Venice (d. 1786)
1913 – Robert Adler, Austrian-American inventor (remote control for television), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2007)
1944 – Dennis Wilson, American drummer and vocalist (Beach Boys), born in Hawthorne, California (d. 1983)
1956 – Blagoi Blagoyev, Bulgarian weightlifter (World C’ship gold – 90kg 1991, 92, 93; Olympic silver – 82.5kg 1976), born in Veliki Preslav, Bulgaria
1974 – Tadahito Iguchi, Japanese baseball second baseman and manager (first Japanese position player to win World Series 2005, Chicago White Sox; Chiba Lotte Marines), born in Tokyo, Japan
1975 – Marci Miller [Jobson], American soccer midfielder and coach (17 caps; coach Baylor), born in St. Charles, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1371 – Reinald III, the Fat Duke, duke of Gelre (1343-61), dies at 38
1954 – Nina Vasar, wife of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, dies
1994 – Robert Jesse Charleston, museum curator, dies at 78
1996 – Willard Parker, American actor (Kiss Me Kate, What A Woman), dies at 84
1997 – Richard Vernon, British actor (Gandhi, Hard Days Night), dies at 72
2007 – Friedrich Zehm, German pianist and composer, dies at 85

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Historical Events

1833 – Oberlin College in Ohio, the first truly coeducational college, opens
1883 – 48th US Congress (1883-85) convenes
1926 – Manchester Guardian (German Reichswehr/Red Army work together)
1960 – Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner’s “Camelot” opens at Majestic Theater, NYC; runs for 873 performances
1971 – India invades West Pakistan claiming hundreds of lives and starting the full scale Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
1980 – Don Sutton, the winningest pitcher in Los Angeles Dodgers history, signs a 4-year contract with Houston; Astros career shortened by a patellar fracture; returns to Dodgers in 1988 after stints with 3 other MLB clubs

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Famous Birthdays

1838 – Octavia Hill, British reformer, leader of open-space movement, born in London, England (d. 1912)
1926 – Hans Otte, German composer and pianist (The Book of Sounds, Book of Hours), born in Plauen, Germany (d. 2007)
1951 – Riki Choshu [Mitsuo Yoshida], Japanese pro wrestler (NJPW/All-Japan), born in Tokuyama, Yamaguchi, Japan
1979 – Rainbow Sun Francks, Canadian actor (Stargate Atlantis), born in Toronto, Ontario
1982 – Michael Essien, Ghanaian soccer midfielder (58 caps; Chelsea, Lyon), born in Accra, Ghana
1990 – Christian Benteke, Belgian soccer striker (93 caps; Genk, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Aston Villa), born in Kinshasa, Zaire

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Famous Deaths

1890 – Billy Midwinter, English-Australian cricket all-rounder (8 Tests Australia, 4 England), dies of insanity at 39
1905 – John Bartlett, American writer and publisher (compiled Familiar Quotations), dies at 85
1949 – Elin Pelin, Bulgarian writer (The Gerak Family; Earth), dies at 72
1957 – Frank Gannett, American newspaper publisher (Gannett), dies at 81
1992 – Harry Ellerbe, actor (House of Usher, Magnetic Monster), dies at 91
2001 – Grady Martin, American country music guitarist (The Nashville A-Team), dies at 72

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Historical Events

1950 – South African world bantamweight boxing champion Vic Toweel sets a record for knockdowns in a title fight against Englishman Danny Sullivan in Johannesburg; Sullivan floored 14 times in 10 rounds before fight stopped
1960 – Paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey discovers 1.4 million year old Homo erectus (Olduvai Hominid 9) in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
1970 – Michael Tippett’s opera “The Knot Garden” premieres in London
1974 – MLB Rules Committee changes long time philosophy to permit the use of cowhide, rather than just horsehide in the manufacture of baseballs
2001 – Davis Cup Tennis, Melbourne: Nicolas Escudé defeats Wayne Arthurs of Australia 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to give France a 3-2 victory; 9th French title, despite not playing a single match on home soil
2013 – China launches its first moon rover mission

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Famous Birthdays

1728 – Ferdinando Galiani, Italian economist (Della Moneta), born in Chieti, Italy (d. 1787)
1813 – Jacob Rosenhaim, Jewish-German composer, born in Mannheim, Germany (d. 1894)
1869 – Jonas Cohn, German philosopher (Theory of the Dialects), born in Görlitz, Germany (d. 1947)
1947 – Andy Rouse, British auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1981; British Saloon Car C’ship 1975, 83-85; Britcar 1985), born in Dymock, Gloucestershire, England
1948 – T. C. Boyle, American novelist (World’s End), born in Peekskill, New York
1954 – Dan Butler, American actor (Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe-Frasier), born in Huntington, Indiana

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Famous Deaths

1463 – Albert VI, Archduke of Austria, dies at 44
1814 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher and writer (Justine), dies at 74. The words sadism and sadist are derived from his name.
1980 – Romain Gary, Lithuanian-born French writer (b. 1914)
1993 – Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord, shot to death by Colombian Police at 44
2005 – Van Tuong Nguyen, Australian drug smuggler (hanged) (b. 1980)
2020 – Pat Patterson, Canadian pro wrestler (WWE Hall of Fame; creator Royal Rumble), dies from cancer at 79

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Historical Events

1956 – Romanian canoeist Leon Rotman wins the men’s C-1,000m gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; claims the singles double after also winning the C-1 10,000m gold
1963 – Nagaland becomes a state of the Indian union
1974 – Boeing 727 crashes in Upperville Virginia, 92 died
1990 – Iraq accepts Bush’s offer for talks
2007 – T. C. Williams High School’s newly constructed basketball court is named after Earl Lloyd
2015 – In the largest deal ever for a MLB pitcher, Boston Red Sox land one of the biggest catches of the off-season, signing free agent David Price for 7 years and $217 million

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Famous Birthdays

1716 – Etienne-Maurice Falconet, French sculptor patronized by Madame de Pompadour, born in Paris, France (d. 1791)
1814 – August Rockel, German composer, born in Graz (d. 1876)
1883 – Romanos Melik’yan, Armenian composer, born in Kizlyar, (d. 1935)
1906 – Jean Cartan, French composer, born in Nancy (d. 1932)
1908 – Georgios Kasassoglou, Greek musician (d. 1984)
1943 – Orton Enderlein, German [GDR] luger (Olympic gold women’s singles 1964; World C’ships gold 1965, 67)), born in Trünzig, Sachsen, Germany

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Famous Deaths

1433 – Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan, 100th Emperor of Japan, dies at 56
1945 – Harvey Bartlett Gaul, American composer, dies at 64
1975 – Nick Kenny, American columnist/songwriter (Nick Kenny Show), dies at 80
1987 – Donn Fulton Eisele, American Air force officer and astronaut, dies of a heart attack at 57
1997 – Stéphane Grappelli, French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, dies at 89
2016 – Elisabeth Carron, American soprano (“The Saint of Bleecker Street”; New York City Opera, 1958-73), dies at 94

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Historical Events

722 – Pope Gregory II names Boniface as missionary bishop
1928 – Australian cricket legend Don Bradman makes an inauspicious Test debut; scores 18 and 1 vs England in 1st Test in Brisbane; dropped to 12th man for 2nd Test
1929 – CFL Grey Cup, AAA Grounds, Hamilton: Hamilton Tigers take their 4th title; beat Regina Roughriders, 14-3
1939 – Paul Osborn’s “Mornings at 7” premieres in NYC
1992 – Intercity-train derailed at Village chief, 5 die
2015 – Pope Francis urges peace while visiting controversial mosque in Bangui’s PK5 district in Central African Republic

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Famous Birthdays

1809 – Thomas Molleson Mudie, English composer, born in London (d. 1876)
1911 – Jorge Negrete [Moreno], Mexican singer and actor (The Rebel, La madrina del diablo), born in Guanajuato, Mexico (d. 1953)
1922 – Robert Evett, composer
1944 – Dian Parkinson [Dianna Lynn Batts], American model (The Price Is Right) and Miss USA 1965, born in Jacksonville, North Carolina
1964 – David Wood, NBA forward (Dallas Mavericks)
1983 – Andy Akinwolere, English television presenter

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Famous Deaths

1016 – Edmund II, Ironsides, King of the Saxons (1016), dies at 27
1694 – Marcello Malpighi, Italian physician who founded the science of microscopic anatomy, dies at 66
1894 – Joseph E. Brown, American attorney and politician (42nd Governor of Georgia), dies at 73
1935 – Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet and writer (The Book of Disquiet), dies at 47
1977 – Miloš Crnjanski, Serbian poet (Seobe), dies at 84
1996 – Koji Kobayashi, industrialist, dies at 89

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Historical Events

1516 – Treaty of Freiburg: French/Swiss “eternal” peace treaty
1791 – Chatham Islands sighted by HMS Chatham commanded by William Broughton
1945 – “The Lost Weekend”, based on Charles R. Jackson’s novel, directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1946)
1970 – England cricket batsman Colin Cowdrey reaches 22 on Day 3 of the drawn 1st Test against Australia in Brisbane to become Test Cricket’s leading run scorer; passes countryman Wally Hammond’s world Test-record aggregate of 7,249 runs
1992 – CFL Grey Cup, SkyDome, Toronto: Calgary Stampeders beat Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 24-10: MVP QB Doug Flutie, 33 of 49 for 480 yards, 2 TDs
2010 – “Rolling in the Deep” single is released by Adele (Billboard Song of the Year 2011, Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year 2012)

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Famous Birthdays

1899 – Genevieve Tobin, American actress (Zaza, Great Gambini, Uncertain Lady), born in NYC, New York (d. 1995)
1954 – Joel Coen, American filmmaker (Fargo, No Country for Old Men), born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota
1971 – Gena Lee Nolin, American actress and model (Baywatch), born in Duluth, Minnesota
1972 – Jamal Mashburn, American NBA forward (Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks), born in The Bronx, New York City
1973 – Craig Glassock, Australian cricketer (NSW wicket-keeper 1994-95), born in Mona Vale, New South Wales, Australia
1982 – Gemma Chan, English actress (Crazy Rich Asians), born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1695 – James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount Stair, Scottish lawyer and statesman (b. 1619)
1847 – Marcus Whitman, American physician and missionary (Oregon Trail), killed at 45
1985 – Rik Jacobs, Flemish stage manager, dies at 71
1985 – Bill Scott, American voice actor, producer and writer (Mr Peabody, Bullwinkle), dies of a heart attack at 65
2007 – Ralph Beard, American basketball guard (Olympic gold 1948; NBA All Star 1951; life ban point shaving scandal 1951), dies at 79
2010 – Mario Monicelli, Italian film director (b. 1915)

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Historical Events

1864 – 3rd day of Battles at Waynesboro/Jones’s Plantation, Georgia
1914 – World War I: Following a war-induced closure in July, the New York Stock Exchange re-opens for bond trading.
1956 – Photography begins on “… and God Created Women”
1964 – 1965 NFL Draft: Tucker Frederickson from Auburn University first pick by New York Giants
2010 – CFL Grey Cup, Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton: Montreal Alouettes retain Championship with 21-18 win over Saskatchewan Roughriders; Alouettes’ quarterback Anthony Calvillo’s 3rd title
2019 – European parliament declares a climate emergency

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Famous Birthdays

1704 – Jacob Mossel, Dutch Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1750-61), born in Enkhuizen, Dutch Republic (d. 1761)
1883 – Paul Hastings Allen, American composer, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1952)
1887 – Bobby Watson, American comedian (Hitler Gang, Boys Town), born in Springfield, Illinois (d. 1965)
1887 – Ernst Röhm, German army officer and chief organizer of Adolf Hitler’s Storm Troopers (Sturmabteilung, or SA; Brownshirts), born in Munich (d. 1934)
1953 – Nadezhda Olizarenko, USSR, 800m/1500m runner (Olympic gold 1980)
1977 – Angela Stanford, American golfer (Evian C’ship 2018), born in Fort Worth, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1170 – Owain Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd (c. 1100)
1912 – Walter Benona Sharp, American oil tycoon, dies at 41
1927 – C. E. A. Wichmann, German-Dutch geologist, dies at 76
1962 – Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands (1890-1948), dies at 82
1983 – Christopher George, American actor (Chisum, Heist), dies of heart attack at 52
1994 – Al Levitt, American jazz drummer, dies at 63

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