Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1919 – Austria expels all Habsburgers
1941 – Walton’s overture “Scapino” premieres in Chicago
1941 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warns Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that a German invasion is imminent
1980 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1988 – 7th NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Louisiana Tech beats Auburn, 56-54; Lady Techsters Erica Westbrooks MOP
2020 – 27 people swept off a ferry and feared dead in the Solomon Islands during Cyclone Harold

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Famous Birthdays

1649 – Joseph François Salomon, French composer, born in Toulon, France (d. 1732)
1798 – Charles Wilkes, American Antarctic explorer and naval officer (Union Navy), born in NYC, New York (d. 1877)
1825 – Adolf Rzepko, Polish composer, born in Prague (d. 1892)
1927 – Éva Székely, Hungarian swimmer (Olympic gold 200m breaststroke 1952; silver 1956; first WR 400m individual medley 1953), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2020)
1975 – Koji Uehara, Japanese professional baseball pitcher, born in Neyagawa, Osaka, Japan
1987 – Jay Bruce, American MLB baseball outfielder, since 2008; 3x All-Star (Cincinnati Reds, and 5 other teams) player, born in Beaumont, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1827 – Ernst Chladni, German physicist and musician (Estimating the speed of sound Chladni’s law), dies at 70
1897 – Johannes Brahms, German composer and conductor (Hung Dances), dies at 63
1941 – Pal Teleki-von Szek, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-21, 39-41), committed suicide at 61
1993 – Klaas Schenk, Dutch speed skater and coach (coach 1952, 56, 60 Winter Olympics; father of triple gold medallist Ard), dies at 86
2007 – Eddie Robinson, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Grambling 408 wins), dies of Alzheimer’s disease at 88
2007 – Marion Eames, Welsh novelist (b. 1921)

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Historical Events

1804 – Forty merchantmen are wrecked when a convoy led by HMS Apollo runs aground off Portugal.
1877 – 1st Easter egg roll held on White House lawn
1960 – Cuba buys oil from USSR
1981 – Heavy battle between Christian militia and Syrian army in East Lebanon
1986 – NYC Mayor Ed Koch signs and brings the Gay Rights Bill into effect
1993 – Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mark Price has his consecutive free throw streak end at 77, during a 114-113 loss at Charlotte; falls 1 short of Calvin Murphy’s NBA record of 78 straight free throws

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Famous Birthdays

1735 – Christian Gotthilf Tag, German composer, born in Beierfeld, Germany (d. 1811)
1781 – Bhagwan Swaminarayan, Indian yogi and religious leader, born in Chhapaiya, Uttar Pradesh, India (d. 1830)
1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author of 150 fairy tales (The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen), born in Odense, Denmark (d. 1875)
1814 – Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor of weaving machine, born in West Boylston, Massachusetts (d. 1879)
1911 – Charles “Honi” Coles, American actor and tap dancer (Tito Suarez-Dirty Dancing), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1992)
1983 – Felix Borja, Ecuadorian soccer forward (22 caps; El Nacional), born in San Lorenzo, Ecuador

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Famous Deaths

1416 – Ferdinand I the Righteous, King of Aragon and Sicily, dies at 52
1705 – Johann Löhner, German composer, dies at 59
1941 – Pál Teleki, prime minister of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1 and 1939-41), dies at 61
1956 – Chester Clute, actor (Niagara Falls), dies at 65
1958 – Josei Toda, Japanese second president of the Buddhist association Soka Gakkai (b. 1900)
1966 – C. S. Forester, English historical novelist (Horatio Hornblower), dies at 66

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Historical Events

705 – Greek pope John VII chosen as successor to John VI
1905 – British East African Protectorate becomes colony of Kenya
1939 – US recognizes Francisco Franco’s government in Spain at end of Spanish civil war. Pope Pius XII congratulates Generalissimo Franco’s victory in Spain
1946 – The Malayan Union is formed as a federation of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca
1992 – Battleship USS Missouri, on which the Japanese surrender took place, decommissioned
2001 – 20th NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Notre Dame beats Purdue, 68-66; Fighting Irish forward Ruth Riley is named Most Outstanding Player

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Famous Birthdays

1621 – Guru Teg Bahadur Ji, ninth Nanak, 9th of 10 Guru of the Sikhs, born in Amritsar, India (d. 1675)
1911 – Joe Fortenberry, American basketball forward (captain Olympic gold 1936), born in Leo, Texas (d. 1993)
1932 – Gordon Jump, American actor (Arthur Carlson-WKRP, Growing Pains), born in Dayton, Ohio (d. 2003)
1940 – Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist and political activist, founder of the Green Belt Movement, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (2004) and Indira Gandhi Peace Prize (2006), born in Ihithe village, Kenya (d. 2011)
1949 – Sammy Nelson, Irish soccer left back (51 caps Northern Ireland; Arsenal), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
1980 – Bryan Buffinton, actor (Bill Lewis Jr-Guiding Light), born in Ridgewood, New Jersey

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Famous Deaths

1799 – Narciso Casanovas, composer, dies at 52
1960 – Piet[er O] Bakker, Dutch journalist/writer (Ciske), dies at 62
1979 – Bruno Coquatrix, French music impresario (b. 1910)
1990 – Russell Vis, American Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold freestyle lightweight 1924), dies at 89
1996 – Alfredo Nobre Coast, Prime Minister of Portugal (1978), dies
2004 – Nilo Soruco, Bolivian singer and songwriter, dies at 76

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Historical Events

1667 – France and England sign anti-Dutch military accord
1917 – The Danish West Indies are officially ceded to the US for $25 million and renamed the Virgin Islands
1918 – 1st daylight savings time in US goes into effect
1961 – Aklilou Habtewold becomes 1st premier of Ethiopia
2001 – German brothers Michael and Ralf Schumacher become first siblings to share front row of the grid in a Formula 1 World Championship event; qualify 1st and 2nd respectively for Brazilian GP in São Paulo
2020 – British pensioner Robert Weighton becomes the world’s oldest man at 112 years

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Famous Birthdays

1794 – Thompson McKennan, American politician who served as the 2nd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1852)
1913 – Dai Rees, Scottish golfer (British Open runner-up 1953-54, 61), born in Fontegary, Glamorgan (d. 1983)
1915 – Henry Morgan, American comedian and TV panelist (I’ve Got a Secret, Arena), born in NYC, New York (d. 1994)
1916 – John H. Wood, Jr., American federal judge (d. 1979)
1944 – Mick Ralphs, British rock guitarist (Mott the Hoople; Bad Company), born in Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire, England
1967 – Nanci Bowen, American golfer (Nabisco Dinah Shore 1995), born in Tifton, Georgia

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Famous Deaths

1567 – Philip, the Generous, count of Hessen, dies at 62
1703 – Johann Christoph Bach, German composer, dies at 60
1855 – Charlotte Brontë, English novelist (Jane Eyre), dies at 38
1886 – Giovanni Rossi, composer, dies at 57
1900 – Frank Milligan, cricketer (Mafeking 2 Tests Eng v South Africa 1898-99), dies
1968 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (b. 1885)

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Historical Events

1919 – Gandhi announces resistance against Rowlatt Act
1923 – Zeta Phi Beta Sorority formed at Howard U in 1920 incorporates
1949 – Riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO
1993 – French government of Balladur forms
2003 – PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Davis Love III shoots a final round 64 to win his 2nd Players title, 6 strokes ahead of runners-up Jay Haas and Pádraig Harrington
2019 – Pope Francis arrives in Rabat, Morocco, on his first-ever visit to the Magreb region of Northern Africa

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Famous Birthdays

1768 – Maria Reynolds, American mistress of Alexander Hamilton and part of America’s 1st political sex scandal (Reynolds Pamphlet), born in NYC, Province of New York, British Empire (d. 1828)
1892 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (d. 1972)
1930 – John Astin, American actor (I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster; The Addams Family), born in Baltimore, Maryland
1931 – Aleksey Vasilyevich Sorokin, Russian cosmonaut
1957 – Paul Reiser, American actor (My 2 Dads, Diner, Aliens, Mad About You), born in NYC, New York
1983 – Jérémie Aliadière, French footballer

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Famous Deaths

1969 – Lucien Bianchi, Italian-Belgian auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1968), dies during Le Mans testing accident at 34
1978 – Larry Young [Khalid Yasin], American jazz musician (Unity), dies at 37 in unclear circumstances
2003 – Valentin Pavlov, Russian politician and Prime Minister of the Soviet Union (1991), dies at 65
2014 – Kate O’Mara, English actress (Dynasty) and writer, dies at 74
2016 – Gianmaria Testa, Italian singer-songwriter, dies of cancer at 57
2018 – Bill Maynard [Walter Williams], English actor (Greengrass-Heartbeat) and comedian, dies at 89

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Historical Events

1850 – SS Royal Adelaide sinks in storm; 200 die
1865 – Battle of Lewis’s Farm [alt. Quaker Road, Gravelly Run], in Dinwiddie County, Virginia begins (Union victory)
1895 – 57th Grand National: Joe Widger aboard 10/1 chance Wild Man From Borneo wins by 1.5 lengths from Cathal
1979 – Last day of Test cricket for Pakistani cricketer Mushtaq Mohammad
1980 – 134th Grand National: American amateur rider Charlie Fenwick wins aboard 40/1 outsider Ben Nevis; only 4 from 30 starters finish race
1993 – 65th Academy Awards: “Unforgiven”, Al Pacino and Emma Thompson win

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Famous Birthdays

1829 – Ritta and Christina Parodi, Siamese twins, born in Sassare, Sardinia (d. 1829)
1848 – Aleksei Kuropatkin, Russian general and minister of War, born in Sheshurino, Russia (d. 1925)
1911 – Philip Ahn, American actor (Kung Fu, Thoroughly Modern Millie), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1978)
1929 – Utpal Dutt, Indian actor and director (Manusher Adhikar), born in Barisal, Bengal Presidency, India (d. 1993)
1966 – Robb Thomas, American NFL receiver (Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers), born in Portland, Oregon
1969 – Jimmy Spencer, NFL cornerback (New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals)

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Famous Deaths

1368 – Emperor Go-Murakami, Emperor of Japan (b. 1328)
1772 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish philosopher and mathematician (b. 1688)
1892 – William Bowman, English anatomist, dies at 75
1995 – James Eric Storrar, fighter pilot, dies at 74
2009 – Maurice Jarre, French composer (Doctor Zhivago-Acad Award 1966), dies at 84
2017 – Alexei Abrikosov, Russian-born American physicist (Nobel Prize 2003), dies at 88

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Historical Events

1920 – Anton Denkin’s White Russian troops defeated by Bolsheviks and Soviets at Novorossijsk on the Black Sea (The British aid Denkin in his escape)
1935 – Robert Goddard uses gyroscopes to control a rocket
1939 – Spanish Civil War ends, Madrid falls to the Nationalists headed by Francisco Franco
1948 – 2nd Tony Awards: Mister Roberts win
1969 – Pope Paul VI names JGM Willebrands cardinal
2018 – At least 68 people die and scores are injured in a fire caused by a prison riot in the cells at the Carabobo state police headquarters in Valencia, Venezuela

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Famous Birthdays

1888 – Jack Burke Sr., American golfer (US open 1920 runner-up; Senior PGA C’ship 1941), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1943)
1895 – Christian Herter, American Republican politician, 59th Governor of Massachusetts (1953-57) and US Secretary of State (1959-61), born in Paris, France (d. 1966)
1960 – Chris Barrie, British actor (Red Dwarf,), born in Hanover, West Germany
1965 – Jeff Beukeboom, Canadian ice hockey player, NHL defenseman (NY Rangers), born in Ajax, Canada
1969 – Earnest Stewart, American soccer player (Willem II), born in Veghel, Netherlands
1970 – Michelle Gildernew, Irish republican politician

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Famous Deaths

1866 – Solomon Foot, American politician (U.S. Senator from Vermont, 1851-66) and attorney, dies at 63
1910 – David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1837)
1950 – Georgine M “May” Basting, actress (Occupier), dies at 67
1965 – Clemence Dane, British novelist and playwright (b. 1888)
1995 – William Hayter, British diplomat and Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1953-57), dies at 88
2020 – Tom Coburn, American politician (Sen-R-Oklahoma 2005-2015, Rep-R-Oklahoma 1995-2001), dies at 72

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Historical Events

1808 – Joseph Haydn’s oratorio “Die Schopfung” premieres in Vienna
1928 – US Ladies’ Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson
1956 – French commandos land in Algeria
1969 – Launch of Mariner 7, flies 2,190-mi above southern Mars
1970 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1993 – Jiang Zemin appointed President of the People’s Republic of China

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Famous Birthdays

972 – Robert II of France [the Pious, the Wise], King of the Franks (996-1031), born in Orléans, France (d. 1031)
1907 – Claude Stroud, American actor (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Ted Knight Show, Duke), born in Kaufman, Texas (d. 1985)
1909 – Golo Mann, German-American historian (Antisemitism), born in Munich (d. 1994)
1913 – Godfrey Turner, British composer, born in Manchester, England (d. 1948)
1963 – Charly Alberti, Argentinian rock musician (Soda Stereo), born in Buenos Aires
1988 – Holliday Grainger, English actress (The Borgias), born in Manchester, England

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Famous Deaths

1572 – Girolamo Maggi, Italian Renaissance man (b. abt. 1523)
1761 – Johann Ludwig Steiner, Swiss composer, dies at 72
1924 – Walter Parratt, British organist and composer, dies at 83
2000 – Ian Dury, English rock musician (The Blockheads) and actor (Judge Dredd), dies at 57
2003 – Paul Zindel, American writer (b. 1936)
2005 – Gwydion Brooke [Holbrooke], British bassoonist (Royal Philharmonic, 1946-1961), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1903 – American Hotel opens in Amsterdam
1915 – 77th Grand National: legendary jockey Jack Anthony wins his second of 3 GN’s aboard 100/8 bet Ally Sloper
1952 – 14th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Kansas beats St. Johns, 80-63; first tournament to have a true “Final Four” format
1954 – US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
1972 – William Whitelaw appointed as the first Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1980 – Bombay gets its 1st rock concert in 10 years (The Police)

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Famous Birthdays

1916 – Vic Schoen, American orchestra leader (Patti Page Olds Show), born in Brooklyn, New York
1932 – Al Bianchi, American basketball guard, coach and general manager (Philadelphia 76ers, Virginia Squires; GM NY Knicks), born in Queens, NY (d. 2019)
1939 – Jonathan Tod, British Vice-Admiral (Royal Navy)
1954 – Kazuhiko Inoue, Japanese seiyu (voice actor)
1968 – James Iha, American musician (The Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle), born in Chicago, Illinois
1973 – Matt Burke, Australian rugby union fullback (81 caps; NSW Waratahs; Eastwood) and broadcaster (Network 10), born in Sydney, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1258 – Floris, the Guardian, count-regent of Holland, dies
1517 – Heinrich Isaac, Flemish composer
1920 – William Chester Minor, American surgeon and contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary (b. 1834)
1924 – Augusto (de Oliveira) Machado, Portuguese composer (Lauriane; Camões es os Luziadas), dies at 78
2004 – Jan Sterling [Jane Adriance], American actress (Ace in the Hole, The High and the Mighty), dies of diabetes and a stroke at 82
2013 – Tom Boerwinkle, American NBA player, dies at 67

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Historical Events

1913 – Great Dayton Flood: winter rains cause Great Miami River to flood, Ohio’s greatest natural disaster
1947 – Coal mine explosion in Centralia, Illinois kills 111
1971 – James Callaghan speaks at a rally of the Northern Ireland labour movement, but rejects calls for the Labour Party to open membership to those living in N. Ireland
1979 – Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova retains her WTA Tour Championship with a 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 win over American teenager Tracey Austin in NYC
2006 – Capitol Hill massacre: A gunman kills six people before taking his own life at a party in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood
2013 – Golfer Tiger Woods returns to his world number one ranking

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Famous Birthdays

1820 – Xavier de Merode, Earl of Merode, Belgian minister to Pope in Rome (d. 1874)
1886 – Athenagoras, Patriarch of Constantinople (d. 1972)
1906 – A.J.P Taylor [Alan John Percival], English historian (The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848–1918, Origins of the Second World War), born in Southport, England (d. 1990)
1908 – David Lean, English director (Doctor Zhivago, Ryan’s Daughter), born in Croydon, England
1937 – Tom Monaghan, American founder of Dominos pizza, born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
1967 – Doug Stanhope, American comedian

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Famous Deaths

1766 – Johannes Ritschel, German composer, dies at 26
1873 – Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter (b. 1810)
1880 – Ludmilla Assing, German writer, dies at 59
1937 – John Drinkwater, English poet and playwright (Bird in Hand), dies at 54
2001 – Brian Trubshaw, British test pilot, first to fly Concorde. dies at 77
2019 – Cal Ramsey, American basketball broadcaster, small forward (NY Knicks), dies of cardiac arrest at 81

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