Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1809 – Berners Street hoax: Theodore Hook bets he can make any address the most talked-about in London, proceeds to win by bringing London to a standstill
1863 – -29] Battle at Fort Esperanza, Texas
1889 – Hermann Sudermann’s “Ehre” premieres in Berlin
1980 – Soyuz T-3 carries 3 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station, launched
1987 – Young man survives 7 attempts at suicide in Somerset, England
2018 – US accuses Nicaragua’s Vice-President Rosario Murillo, wife of President Daniel Ortega of human rights abuses and imposes sanctions

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Famous Birthdays

1741 – Jean-Pierre Duport, French composer (d. 1818)
1750 – Anton Thadaus Johann Nepomuk Stamitz, German violinist and composer, baptised in Deutschbrod, Bohemia (now Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic), (d. between 1798–1809)
1935 – Al Jackson, Jr., American session drummer, known as “The Human Time Keeper” (Stax; Booker T. and MGs – “McLemore Avenue”), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1975)
1954 – Kimmy Robertson, American actress (Lucy Moran in TV series Twin Peaks), born in Hollywood, California
1957 – Caroline Kennedy. American attorney and diplomat ,daughter of JFK and Jackie Kennedy, born in New York City
1960 – Kevin Henkes, American children’s book writer/illustrator (Caldecott Medal), born in Racine, Wisconsin

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Famous Deaths

1916 – James Cutler Dunn Parker, composer, dies at 88
1944 – Leonid Isaakovich Mandelshtam, Russian physicist (b. 1879)
1977 – John Little McClellan, American lawyer and politician (Sen-D-Ark), dies at 81
1981 – Lotte Lenya, Austrian singer/actress (From Russia With Love), dies of cancer at 83
2006 – Bebe Moore Campbell, American author (b. 1950)
2014 – P. D. James [Phyllis Dorothy], Baroness James of Holland Park, English crime and mystery writer (Cover Her Face, Death in Holy Orders), dies at 94

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Historical Events

1688 – Duke of Savoye signs on to League of Augsburg
1716 – 1st lion exhibited in America in Boston
1894 – King Lafia “Absalamu” of Nikki signs accord with France
1949 – CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Montreal Alouettes beat Calgary Stampeders, 28-15 for their first Championship
1953 – WJHL TV channel 11 in Johnson City, TN (CBS) begins broadcasting
2018 – Ukraine declares martial law in areas bordering Russia after Russia seizes three of its naval vessels

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Famous Birthdays

1906 – Sandro Fuga, Italian composer and painist, born in Mogliano, Veneto (d. 1994)
1927 – Ernie Coombs, American-Canadian children’s entertainer (Mr. Dressup), born in Lewiston, Maine (d. 2001)
1938 – Rodney Jory, Australian physicist, born in Adelaide, Australia
1962 – Mike Johnson, American NFL inside linebacker (Detroit Lions), born in Southport, North Carolina
1964 – Jeff Jaeger, American NFL kicker (Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears), born in Tacoma, Washington
1985 – Lil’ Fizz [Dreux Pierre Frédéric], American singer (B2K), born in New Orleans, Louisiana

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Famous Deaths

399 – Siricius, Pope (384-99) and Saint whose feast day is November 26, dies at about 65
1717 – Daniel Purcell, British composer (b. 1664)
1855 – Adam B Mickiewicz, Polish poet (Polish Legion), dies at 56
1971 – Joe Adonis, US crime-syndicate boss in NY and NJ, dies at 68
1993 – Mart Kempers, Dutch graphic artist and sculptor, dies at 69
2010 – Palle Huld, Danish actor (b. 1912)

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Historical Events

1897 – Spain grants Puerto Rico autonomy
1948 – KING TV channel 5 in Seattle, WA (NBC) begins broadcasting
1958 – Senegal becomes an autonomous state in French Community
1976 – O.J. Simpson gains 273 yards for Buffalo vs Detroit
1979 – Pat Summerall and John Madden broadcast a game together for the first time, a pairing that lasts 22 years and becomes one of the most well-known partnerships in TV sportscasting history
1983 – Soyuz T-9 returns to Earth, 149 days after take-off

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Famous Birthdays

1752 – Johann Friedrich Reichardt, German composer, born in Königsberg, East Prussia (d. 1814)
1881 – Pope John XXIII [Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli], 261st Pope (1958-63), born in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy (d. 1963)
1914 – Eddie Boyd, American blues pianist and singer (“Five Long Years”), born in Mississippi (d. 1994)
1953 – Monique St Pierre, German model, Playboy model (Nov 1978, Playmate of Year 1979), born in Weisbaden, Germany
1957 – Bob Ehrlich, Jr., former Maryland governor
1979 – Michael Lehan, American National Football League player

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Famous Deaths

1750 – Francesco Feroci, composer, dies at 77
1948 – Charles D. Brown, American actor (Eve Knew Her Apples), dies at 61
1951 – Raden Mas Noto Soeroto, Javanese poet (Wayang Songs), dies at 63
1959 – Jean Grémillon, French film director, dies at 58
1968 – Marcel Labey, French conductor and composer, dies at 93
1971 – Hank Mann, American actor (City Lights, Smoky, Dawn Trail, Fugitive Road), dies at 84

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Historical Events

1916 – Mexican and US representatives sign a protocol at Atlantic City, under which Pershing’s troops will withdraw and each nation’s army will guard the border. President Carranza of Mexico will refuse to accept it
1965 – Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu becomes President of Zaire
1977 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
2014 – “Take Your Time” single is released by Sam Hunt (Billboard Song of the Year 2015)
2017 – Militant gunmen attack a Sufi mosque in Bir al-Abed on the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, killing 305 people, government retaliates bombing the area
2020 – Scotland’s parliament votes to become the first country to make period products free

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Famous Birthdays

1740 – John Bacon, English sculptor
1801 – Ludwig Bechstein, German poet (d. 1860)
1833 – Antoine Labelle, Quebec catholic priest (d. 1891)
1888 – Cathleen Nesbitt, British actress (The Farmer’s Daughter), born in Belfast, Ireland (d. 1982)
1944 – Claudia Dreifus, interviewer/author (7 Stories)
1978 – Katherine Heigl, actress (Grey’s Anatomy), born in Washington, D.C.

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Famous Deaths

1807 – Joseph Brant [Thayendanegea], Mohawk leader, dies at 64
1953 – Robert Lightfoot, English theologist and exegetist, dies at 70
1956 – Guido Cantelli, Italian conductor, dies in a plane crash at Orly Airport, Paris at 36
1960 – Salomon “Sam” de Wolff, Dutch zionist and socialist theorist, dies at 82
1993 – Germaine Emilie Madame Gres Krebs, haute Couturist, dies at 89
2004 – Arthur Hailey, English novelist (Hotel, Airport), dies at 84

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Historical Events

1700 – Cardinal Francesco Albani elected Pope Clemens XI
1876 – Columbia, Harvard and Princeton form Intercollegiate Football Association
1903 – Colorado Governor James Peabody sends the state militia into the town of Cripple Creek to break up a miners’ strike.
1963 – “Tambourines to Glory” closes at Little Theater NYC after 24 performances
2014 – Magnus Carlsen defends his World Chess Championship title after defeating Vishy Anand
2015 – President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia bans “Khatna”, the Islamic ritual practice of genital mutilation of young girls

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Famous Birthdays

1402 – Jean de Dunois “Bastard of Orléans”, French soldier who fought with Joan of Arc (d. 1468)
1909 – Nigel Tranter, Scottish author and historian (River Realm, Robert the Bruce), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2000)
1914 – Emmett Ashford, American MLB umpire (first certified black umpire in organised baseball), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1980)
1961 – Nicolas Bacri, Frenck classical music composer, born in Paris
1974 – Tyrus McCloud, American football linebacker (Baltimore Ravens), born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
1979 – Kelly Brook, English actress/model, born in Rochester, United Kingdom

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Famous Deaths

1829 – Ritta and Christina Parodi, Sardinian siamese twins, die at 8 months
1932 – Percy Pitt, English composer (BBC), dies at 63
1962 – Gloria Gordon, actress (My Friend Irma), dies at 81
1974 – Páll Ísólfsson, Icelandic organist and composer, dies at 81
1987 – Alton Adams, American composer (1st black bandmaster in the United States Navy), dies at 98
2020 – David Dinkins, American politician (1st African American Mayor of NYC 1990-93), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1927 – 1st snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason (Sayner, Wisconsin)
1967 – UN Security council passes resolution 242; Israel must give back occupied land
1976 – Comic strip “Cathy” by Cathy Guisewite debuts
1989 – US 63rd manned space mission STS 33 (Discovery 9) launches into orbit
2019 – Sacha Baron Cohen says if Facebook existed in the 1930s it would have run Hitler’s ads on his “solution to the Jewish problem”, in speech to Anti-Defamation League summit
2020 – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed gives Tigrayan forces 72 hours to surrender before the military begins offensive on regional capital of Mekelle

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Famous Birthdays

1564 – Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham, English conspirator against the rule of James I of England, born in Cobham Hall, Kent (d. 1619)
1606 – Pieter de Jode II, Flemish engraver and publisher, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1674)
1940 – Terry Gilliam, comedy author-animator (Monty Python), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1960 – Léos Carax [Alex Dupont], French film director (Annette), born in Suresnes, France
1966 – Nicholas Rowe, actor (Young Sherlock Holmes), born in London, England
1974 – Meike Babel, Langen Germany, tennis star (1991 Futures-Paderborn-GER)

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Famous Deaths

1751 – Anton Englert, German composer and organist, dies at 77
1963 – John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States (1961-63), assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas at 46
1992 – Gene O’Donnell, actor (Ape, Miracle Kid), dies of lung cancer at 81
1997 – Joanna Moore [Dorothy Cook] American actress (Bronk; The Hindenburg), dies of lung cancer at 63
2019 – Cecilia Seghizzi, Italian composer, dies at 111
2020 – Ray Prosser, Welsh rugby union prop (22 caps Wales, 1 British and Irish Lions; Pontypool) and coach (Pontypool RFC 1969-87), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1789 – North Carolina ratifies constitution, becomes 12th US state
1920 – Mussolini’s squad begins terror, 11 die in Bologna, Italy
1959 – Jack Benny (violin) and Richard Nixon (piano) play their famed duet
1978 – Bob Horner of Braves wins NL Rookie of Year Award
1980 – “Hi Infidelity” 9th studio album by REO Speedwagon is released
2020 – Texas National Guard mobilized to help El Paso County, deal with a morgue crisis as COVID-19 cases and deaths surge

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Famous Birthdays

1933 – Jean Shepard, American country singer (Ozark Jubilee), born in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma (d. 2016)
1945 – Goldie Hawn, American actress (The First Wives Club, Private Benjamin), born in Washington, District of Columbia
1953 – Asa Brebner, American guitarist and singer-songwriter (Modern Lovers; The Chartbusters), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
1979 – Alex Tanguay, Canadian hockey player
1979 – Kim Dong Wan, Korean singer (Shinhwa)
1982 – Ryan Starr, American singer

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Famous Deaths

1941 – Henrietta Vinton Davis, African-American elocutionist, dramatist, impersonator and public speaker, dies at 81
1952 – Henriette Roland Holst-de Schalk, marxist author, dies at 82
1975 – Gunnar Gunnarsson, Icelandic writer (The Church on the Mountain), dies at 86
1987 – Jim Folsom, American politician (Alabama-Gov, 1947-51, 1955-59), dies at 79
1993 – Bill Bixby, American actor (My Favorite Martian), dies from cancer at 59
2017 – Rodney Bewes, English actor (The Likely Lads), dies at 79

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Historical Events

1890 – Pope Leo XIII encyclical “On Slavery in the Missions”
1911 – The funeral of Paul and Laura Lafargue (daughter of Karl Marx) in Paris is attended by Lenin; the two socialists died in a suicide pact in the belief that their political usefulness was at an end
1941 – Adm Nomura and Kurusu hands over Japanese last diplomatic note
1990 – Soviet Union shows reluctance to endorse the use of force against Iraq
2017 – Investment corporation Tencent’s market value hits $511 billion, – first Asian company to join the $500 billion club
2019 – Britain’s Prince Andrew announces he is stepping back from public duties after outcry from disastrous interview on his friendship with Jeffry Epstein

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Famous Birthdays

1606 – Abraham de Wicquefort, Dutch diplomat and historian (d. 1682)
1750 – Tipu Sultan, Indian ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, born in Devanahalli, Bangalore, India (d. 1799)
1761 – Pius VIII [Francesco Saverio Castiglioni], Italian 253rd Pope (1829-30), born in Cingoli, Marche, Papal States (d. 1830)
1841 – Wilfrid Laurier, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (Liberal: 1896-1911), born in Saint-Lin, Quebec (d. 1918)
1949 – William Harry “Billy” Jones, American rock guitarist (The Outlaws), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan (d. 1995)
1959 – James P. McGovern, American politician (Rep-D-Mass 1997-), born in Worcester, Massachusetts

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Famous Deaths

1737 – Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, German born Queen of Great Britain, consort to King George II, dies at 54
1856 – Farkas/Wolfgang Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician, dies at 81
1936 – Jose A Primo de Rivera, Spanish lawyer and politician (founder of Spanish Falange), executed at 33
1938 – Edwin Hall, American physicist (discovered Hall effect), dies at 83
1952 – Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher (La Critica), dies at 86
2009 – Lino Lacedelli, Italian mountaineer (b. 1925)

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Historical Events

1621 – Rabbi Isaiah ben Abraham aha-Levi Horowitz arrives in Israel
1903 – Temperance activist Carrie Nation attempts to address the US Senate
1939 – Don Lash wins 6th straight AAU cross-country 10K championship
1955 – KXMB TV channel 12 in Bismarck, ND (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
1968 – Yankees pitcher Stan Bahnsen wins AL Rookie of Year
1996 – “Sex and Longing” closes at Cort Theater NYC

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Famous Birthdays

1563 – Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, English statesman, born in Penshurst, Kent, England (d. 1626)
1909 – Peter Drucker, Austrian-American management theorist, born in Kaasgraben, Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 2005)
1913 – Blue Barron [Harry Freidman], American “sweet music” orchestra leader (“Cruising Down The River”), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2005)
1971 – Adrian Griffith, Barbadian cricketer (West Indian Test opening batsman), born in Saint James, Barbados
1976 – Jack Dorsey, American computer programmer, co-founder of Twitter, born in St. Louis, Missouri
1978 – Matt Dusk, Canadian jazz vocalist, born in Toronto, Ontario

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Famous Deaths

1672 – John Wilkins, English Bishop of Chester (b. 1614)
1723 – Antoine Nompar de Caumont, French courtier and soldier (b. 1632)
1785 – Bernard de Bury, French musician and composer, dies at 65
1806 – Shah Alam II, 17th Mughal Emperor (1760-1806), dies at 78
1938 – Lev Shestov, Russian existentialist philosopher, dies at 72
1998 – Earl Kim, Korean-American composer, dies at 78

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Historical Events

1903 – Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty gives US exclusive canal rights in Panama
1943 – 444 British bombers attack Berlin
1985 – Howard Stern radio show returns to NYC (WXRK 92.3 FM-afternoons)
1995 – 60th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 31-27 in Auburn
1995 – Jacqueline Aguilera Marcano (19), of Venezuela, crowned 45th Miss World
2017 – Shawn Mendes is the first singer under 18 to get three No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart

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Famous Birthdays

1898 – Joris Ivens, Dutch director (A Tale of the Wind, Rain), born in Nijmegen, Netherlands (d. 1989)
1915 – Ken Burkhart, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals) and umpire, born in Knoxville, Tennessee (d. 2004)
1922 – Al Dvorin, American Elvis Presley concert announcer, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2004)
1935 – Rodney Hall, Australian author
1970 – Peter Dutton, Australian politician, Minister for Home Affairs (2017-18), born in Brisbane, Australia
1992 – Nathan Kress, American actor (iCarly – “Freddie”; Into The Storm), born in Glendale, California

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Famous Deaths

942 – Odo van Cluny, 2nd abbott of Cluny (924-42), dies
1883 – Wilhelm Siemens, German/British physicist (steam engine), dies
1976 – Man Ray, American artist (Dada), dies at 86
1979 – Freddie Fitzsimmons, American baseball pitcher (MLB record career double plays [79] 1938-64) and manager (Philadelphia Phillies), dies of a heart attack at 78
1992 – Dorothy Kirsten, American operatic soprano (Time to Sing, Chevy Show), dies from stroke at 82
2016 – Denton Cooley, American heart surgeon (1st artificial heart transplant), dies at 96

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