Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1884 – First double-century stand in Test cricket; Percy McDonnell (103) Billy Murdoch (211) for Australia in drawn 3rd Test v England in London
1907 – St Louis Card Ed Karger pitches perfect game vs Braves, 4-0 in 7 inn
1968 – Satchel Paige (62) and needing 158 days on a major league payroll to qualify for a pension, is signed by Braves
1970 – Jim Bunning becomes 2nd (Cy Young) to win 100 games in both leagues
2003 – A heat wave in Paris results in temperatures rising to 112°F (44° C), leaving about 144 people dead.
2012 – 13 people are killed and 15 injured by a lightning strike at a Mosque in Bangladesh

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Famous Birthdays

1744 – Johann Gottlieb Schwencke, German bassonist, born in Breitenau, Saxony
1894 – Wilhelm Grosz, composer
1905 – Erwin Chargaff, Austrian biochemist (d. 2002)
1911 – Ronald Batty, bookseller
1911 – Thanom Kittikachorn, general/premier Thailand (1958..73)
1992 – Jose Ortiz Jr., Puerto Rican jockey (Belmont Stakes 2016), born in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico

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Famous Deaths

897 – Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona
1519 – Johann Tetzel, Dominican monk, dies at about 79
1778 – Augustus Montague Toplady, English hymn writer (Rock of Ages), dies at 37
2005 – James Booth [David Geeves], British actor and screenwriter (Zulu, Keeping Mum), dies at 77
2010 – Dan Rostenkowski, American politician (Rep-D-Il, 1959-94), convicted of mail fraud, dies at 82
2020 – Sumner Redstone, American media mogul (ViacomCBS), dies at 97

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Historical Events

1827 – Race riots in Cincinnati (1,000 blacks leave for Canada)
1906 – Pope Pius X bans Associations cults
1943 – Dutch submarine attacks Hertenbeest Island, NW Bali
1954 – At Massena, New York, the groundbreaking ceremony for the St. Lawrence Seaway is held.
1972 – Paul and Linda McCartney are arrested in Sweden on drug possession
2019 – Typhoon Lekima makes landfall in Zhejiang province, China, killing at least 32 with one million evacuated

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Famous Birthdays

1878 – Alfred Döblin, German writer (d. 1957)
1918 – Arnett Cobb, American jazz tenor saxophonist (Lionel Hampton), born in Houston, Texas (d. 1989)
1926 – Benjamin Ward, 1st African American NYC Police Commissioner (1984-89), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
1946 – James Reynolds, American actor (Days of our Lives), born in Oskaloosa, Kansas
1952 – Daniel Hugh Kelly, American actor
1979 – Yannick Schroeder, French racing driver

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Famous Deaths

1928 – Rex Cherryman, American actor (Camille, The Sunshine Trail, In for Thirty Days), dies from septic poisoning at 31
1979 – John Nicholas “Dick” Foran, American actor (OK Crackerby, Fort Apache, Winners of the West), dies at 69
1994 – Leendert-John Schalm, Dutch banker on Curacao, murdered at 58
1996 – Adriano Mandarino Hypolito, priest, dies at 78
1997 – Conlon Nancarrow, American composer (Soundings 4), dies at 84
2010 – Antonio Pettigrew, American athlete (World C’ship gold 400m 1991), dies by overdose medication containing diphenhydramine at 42

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Historical Events

1854 – American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau publishes “Walden”
1862 – Berlioz’ opera “Beatrice et Benedict” premieres in Baden-Baden
1898 – Rudolf Diesel of Germany obtains patent #608,845 for his internal combustion engine, later known as the diesel engine
1908 – Tour de France: French road cyclist Lucien Petit-Breton successfully defends his title beating François Faber of Luxembourg
1936 – Hungarian swimmer Ferenc Csik wins 100m freestyle gold medal in 57.6 at the Berlin Olympics, beating Japanese pair Masanori Yusa and Shigeo Arai
1973 – USSR launches Mars 7

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Famous Birthdays

1593 – Izaak Walton, English biographer and author (The Compleat Angler), born in Stafford, England (d. 1683)
1845 – Xavier Mellery, Belgian painter and illustrator, born in Laken, Belgium (d. 1921)
1920 – Enzo Biagi, Italian journalist and writer, born in Lizzano in Belvedere, Italy (d. 2007)
1957 – Melanie Griffith, American actress (Body Double, Working Girl), born in New York City
1969 – Divine Brown [Estelle Marie Thompson], American prostitute (Hugh Grant), born in Oakland, California
1973 – Kevin McKidd, Scottish actor Trainspotting; Grey’s Anatomy -“Owen Hunt”, born in Elgin, Moray, Scotland

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Famous Deaths

1652 – John Dirksz Both, Dutch landscape painter and etcher, dies at about 37
1949 – Harry Davenport, American actor and director (Her Unborn Child, My Sin), dies at 83
2003 – Jacques Deray, French film director (b. 1929)
2004 – David Raksin, American composer renown for his work in film and TV (Laura, Modern Times), dies at 92
2008 – Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian prominent poet and writer, dies at 66
2014 – Michael Brown, American shooting victim whose death provoked nationwide protests and civil unrest, shot dead by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson at 18

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Historical Events

1920 – Tigers beat Yanks 1-0 in shortest AL game, 73 minutes
1988 – Russian troops begin pull out of Afghanistan after 9 year war
1988 – -11] Army in Rangoon, Myanmar fires on pro-democracy students, killing thousands during the “8888 Uprising”
1990 – Pete Rose begins 5-ms prison term at Marion (IL) Federal prison camp
2007 – Carlos Slim overtakes Bill Gates as world’s richest person with estimated net worth of US$59 billion, according to “Fortune”
2016 – Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszú wins the women’s 100m backstroke gold medal in a time of 58.45; her second gold medal of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games

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Famous Birthdays

1605 – Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, British colonial Governor of Maryland (d. 1675)
1912 – Daniel Mann [Chugerman], American stage and screen director (The Rose Tattoo; The Teahouse Of The August Moon; Butterfield 8), born in Brooklyn, New York
1944 – Brooke Bundy, American actress
1953 – “Sweet” Lou Dunbar, basketball player (Harlem Globetrotters)
1961 – The Edge [Dave Evans], rock guitarist (U2-I Will Follow), born in London, England
1981 – Bradley McIntosh, British pop singer

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Famous Deaths

1684 – George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer (b. 1622)
1940 – Johnny Dodds, American early jazz clarinetist, dies at 48
1982 – Eric Brandon, British racing driver, dies at 62
1993 – Lou van Rees, Dutch impresario, dies at 77
2007 – Ma Lik, Chinese politician (b. 1952)
2009 – Daniel Jarque, Spanish football player (b. 1983)

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Historical Events

1907 – MLB Washington Senators legendary pitcher Walter Johnson wins first of his 416 career wins, 7-2 v Cleveland
1912 – Progressive (Bull Moose) Party nominates Theodore Roosevelt for US President
1914 – Engagement between British cruiser HMS Gloucester and German cruisers SMS Breslau and SMS Goeben off Greece
1942 – Transport 16 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany
1960 – Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) gains independence from France
2018 – “Crazy Rich Asians” first Hollywood film with all-Asian cast, starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh premieres in Los Angeles

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Famous Birthdays

1906 – Gerhard Frommel, German composer and pedagogue, born in Karlsruhe, Germany (d. 1984)
1926 – John Woodcock OBE, English cricket journalist (‘The Times’ 1954-88; Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1981-86; President Cricket Writers’ Club 1986-2004), born in Longparish, England (d. 2021)
1951 – Gary Hall, American swimmer (Olympics-bronze/2 silver-1968, 72), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
1957 – Alexander Dityatin, Soviet gymnast (3-time Olympic Champion), born in Leningrad, Russia
1958 – Russell Baze, Canadian Racing Hall of Fame jockey (10-time US champion, 12,844 wins), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
1978 – Vanness Wu, Taiwanese-American singer (F4, Kangta and Vanness), born in Santa Monica, California

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Famous Deaths

1916 – Charles E Manning, Australian judge/major, dies in battle at 36
1942 – Janusz Korczak [Henryk Goldszmit], Polish-Jewish educator and pedagogue (ran an orphanage in the Warsaw Ghetto), is gassed at Treblinka extermination camp along with the residents of his orphanage at 64
1961 – Frank Buchman, American theologist (Moral Re-Armament), dies at 83
1976 – Cecil Weston, South African-born actress (Dude Ranch, Huckleberry Finn), dies at 86
1995 – Tom Scott, Scottish poet (Sea Dirge: A Mither’s Keenin), dies at 77
1997 – Douglas Gray, Scottish record and film producer, dies at 74

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Historical Events

1600 – Henry IV of France invades Savoy after negotiations break down over Saluzzo, controlled by Savoy since 1588
1908 – St Louis Cardinals Johnny Lush pitches 2nd career no-hitter vs Brooklyn Superbas; wins, 2-0 (1st no-hitter 1906)
1910 – NYC Mayor Wm J Gaynor seriously wounded during assassination attempt
1966 – US citizens demonstrate against war in Vietnam
1985 – MLB Players’ Association stages a midseason baseball strike (lasts 1 day)
1999 – Tony Gwynn goes 4 for 5 and collects his 3,000th MLB hit as San Diego beats Expos, 12-10 at Montreal Olympic Stadium

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Dudley Benjafield, British racing driver, born in Edmonton, London (d. 1957)
1923 – Jack Parnell, orchestra leader (Englebert Humperdick Show), born in London, England
1946 – Masaaki Sakai, Japanese comedian
1957 – Bob Horner, American baseball player
1961 – Earl Winfield, CFL receiver (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
1968 – Patricia Tarabini, La Plata Argentina, tennis star (1985 Futures ITA)

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Famous Deaths

1828 – Konstantin von Benckendorff, Russian general and statesman, dies of a fever at 43
1853 – Josif Josifovich Genishta, Russian composer, dies at 57
1900 – Wilhelm Liebknecht, German socialist (Social Democratic Party), dies at 74
1998 – André Weil, French mathematician (foundational work in number theory and algebraic geometry), dies at 92
2001 – Dorothy Tutin, British actress (Importance of Being Ernest, Cromwell), dies at 71
2007 – Atle Selberg, Norwegian mathematician (number theory), dies at 90

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Historical Events

1936 – Ken Carpenter (50.48 Olympic record) and Gordon Dunn make it an American 1-2 in the men’s discus throw at the Berlin Olympics
1965 – South African cricket batsman Graeme Pollock scores a classic 125 to set the Proteas on the way to a 2nd Test win against England at Trent Bridge
1973 – Atlanta Braves pitcher Phil Niekro no-hits San Diego Padres, 9-0; first no-hitter for franchise in Atlanta
1979 – Government of Mauretania signs peace treaty with Polisario
1992 – Cuba wins baseball’s inaugural gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, beating Chinese Taipei 11-1
2018 – British Open Women’s Golf, Royal Lyham and St. Annes: England’s Georgia Hall wins her first major title by 2 shots from Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand

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Famous Birthdays

1886 – Óscar Esplá Spanish composer, born in Alicante, Spain (d. 1976)
1942 – Charles “Chuck” and “Bing” Day, American session guitarist, bassist and blues performer, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2008)
1946 – Rick van der Linden, Dutch keyboardist (Ekseption)
1962 – Richard De Groen, New Zealand cricketer (NZ medium pacer), born in Otorohonga, New Zealand
1962 – Otis Thorpe, NBA forward (Vancouver Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons)
1980 – Jason Čulina, Australian soccer player

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Famous Deaths

1778 – Thomas Linley the younger, English composer and musician “English Mozart”, dies at 22
1963 – Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer, dies at 64
1971 – Josef Stanislav, Czech composer, and pedagogue, dies at 74
1990 – Herman Gooding, Suriname police-inspector, dies
2007 – Jean-Marie Lustiger, Cardinal of France
2007 – Oliver Hill, American civil rights attorney (Presidential Medal of Freedom 1999), dies at 100

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Historical Events

1897 – Henry A Rucker appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for Georgia
1948 – Hungary’s Olga Gyarmati wins the first ever Olympic women’s long jump competition at the London Games
1983 – Danielle Steel’s romance novel “Thurston House” is published
1984 – Americans Al Joyner and Mike Conley take the gold and silver medals in the men’s triple jump at the Los Angeles Olympics
1985 – Tom Seaver of Chicago White Sox becomes 17th pitcher to win 300 MLB career games, beating New York, 4-1; 54,032 at Yankee Stadium
2002 – Soham murders: 10 year old school girls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells go missing from the town of Soham, Cambridgeshire.

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Famous Birthdays

1825 – Arthur Haygarth, English cricket batsman (Middlesex and Surrey, cricket historian), born in Hastings, Sussex, England (d. 1903)
1921 – Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Canadian NHL star (Montreal Canadiens, MVP-1947), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2000)
1960 – Tim Winton, Australian author
1960 – Bernard Rose, English director
1992 – Cole Sprouse, American actor (Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Riverdale), born in Arezzo, Italy
1992 – Dylan Sprouse, American actor (Suite Life of Zack and Cody), born in Arezzo, Italy

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Famous Deaths

1666 – Johan Evertsen, ltalian admiral of Zeeland, lynched in Brielle
1741 – Andrew Hamilton, American lawyer
1927 – John Dillon, Irish nationalist and British Lower house leader, dies at 75
1991 – Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek poet (Hodyne), dies at 80
1999 – Victor Mature, American actor (I Wake Up Screaming, Samson and Delilah), dies from leukaemia at 86
2015 – Gerd Natschinski, German composer, dies at 86

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Historical Events

1492 – Christopher Columbus sets sail on his first voyage with three ships, Santa María, Pinta and Niña from Palos de la Frontera, Spain for the “Indies”
1957 – British offensive against imam Galeb Ben Ali of Oman
1970 – Christopher Hampton’s “Philanthropist” premieres in London
1991 – Giant Victory driven by Jack Moiseyev wins Hambletonian, 2nd $1m purse in 22 days for Moiseyev after winning Meadowlands Pace
1997 – Canadian Open Women’s Golf (du Maurier Classic), Glen Abbey GC: Colleen Walker wins by 2 shots from Liselotte Neumann of Sweden
2020 – Number of Iranian COVID-19 deaths triple that of government tally, showing 42,000 have died instead of 14,405, according to BBC Persian Service investigation

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Famous Birthdays

1894 – Johan van Maarseveen, Dutch Minister of Justice and Internal minister, born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1951)
1926 – Tony Bennett [Benedetto], American singer (I Left My Heart in San Francisco), born in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York
1933 – Pat Crawford, Australian cricketer (Australian pace bowler 1956), born in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia (d. 2009)
1953 – Ian Bairnson, Scottish musician (Alan Parsons Project; Kate Bush), born in Lerwick, Shetland Isles
1966 – Eric Esch, American boxer, born in Atlanta, Georgia
1972 – Travis Hall, NFL defensive tackle (Atlanta Falcons), born in Sodoltna, Alaska

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Famous Deaths

1527 – Scaramuccia Trivulzio, Italian cardinal
1797 – Jeffrey Amherst, English gov-gen of America, dies at 80
1833 – Stoffel Muller, Dutch sect leader, dies
1942 – Richard Willstätter, German chemist (Nobel 1915), dies at 69
1948 – Tommy Ryan, American boxer (World Welterweight, Middleweight champion), dies at 78
2015 – Robert Conquest, English historian and poet (The Great Terror), dies at 98

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Historical Events

1057 – Frederik van Lotharingen elected as 1st Belgium Pope Stephen IX [X]
1798 – Battle of the Nile: British Royal Navy under Admiral Horatio Nelson further decimates the French fleet
1907 – Legendary pitcher Walter Johnson at 19 begins his 21 year Baseball Hall of Fame playing career with Washington with 3-2 loss v Detroit
1940 – KL-House of saxon and commandos focus on Gross Rosen, Silesia
1952 – 17 year-old future world champion Floyd Patterson wins the gold medal in the middleweight division at the Helsinki Olympic Games with a 1st round KO of Romanian Vasile Tita
2014 – Super Rugby Final, ANZ Stadium, Sydney: NSW Waratahs win their first SR title in a nail-biting 33-32 home effort against New Zealand’s Canterbury Crusaders

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Famous Birthdays

1818 – Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, born in Soestdijk, Netherlands (d. 1848)
1929 – John Gale, British theatrical producer (Chichester Festival), born in Chigwell, Essex, England
1936 – Christopher Hogg, British industrialist and CEO (Courtaulds and Reuters)
1942 – Isabel Allende, Chilean-American author (The House of the Spirits, City of the Beasts), born in Lima, Peru
1951 – Andrew Gold, American rocker (Lonely Boy), born in Burbank, California (d. 2011)
1969 – Erik Meijer, Dutch soccer player (PSV, Uerdingen), born in Curaçao

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Famous Deaths

1895 – Joseph Thomson, Scottish geologist and early African explorer (Thomson’s Gazelle), dies of pneumonia at 37
1972 – Paul Goodman, US social critic/writer, dies at 60
1976 – Fritz Lang, Austrian-German-American director (M, Metropolis, Fury, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse), dies from a stroke at 85
1979 – Thurman Munson, American baseball catcher (MLB All-Star 1971, 73–78; World Series 1977, 78; AL MVP 1976; NY Yankees), dies in a plane crash at 32
1986 – Roy Marcus Cohn, American lawyer (Joseph McCarthy), dies of AIDS at 59
2011 – Baruj Benacerraf, Venezuelan-American immunologist (Nobel 1980 – discovery of genes that regulate immune responses and of the role that some of these genes play in autoimmune diseases), dies at 90

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