Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1861 – Battle of Rich Mountain, Virginia – Rosecrans forces rebels to surrender
1882 – British fleet bombards Alexandria
1900 – Charlotte Cooper beats Hélène Prévost to become the 1st female Olympic tennis champion and the 1st individual female Olympic champion in any sport
1921 – Mongolia gains independence from China (National Day)
1967 – Kenny Rogers forms 1st Edition
1985 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

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Famous Birthdays

1886 – Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter (d. 1939)
1897 – Bull Connor, American law enforcement official (d. 1973)
1974 – André Ooijer, Dutch soccer defender (55 caps; PSV, Blackburn Rovers), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1976 – Eduardo Nájera, Mexican-born basketball player
1984 – Tanith Belbin, Canadian ice dancer
1989 – David Henrie, American actor

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Famous Deaths

1553 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony, dies of his wounds from the Battle of Sievershausen at about 32
1994 – Charles “Lefty” Edwards, saxophonist, dies at 67
1996 – Martin Corbett, English gay rights activist (Gay Liberation Front, OutRage!), dies of AIDS at 51
2006 – Barnard Hughes, American actor (Tron, Where’s Poppa, Best Friends), dies at 90
2007 – Alfonso López Michelsen, 24th President of Colombia (1974-78), dies at 94
2011 – George Lascelles, English Earl of Harewood, Director of the Royal Opera House, dies at 88

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Historical Events

1847 – Urbain Le Leverrier and John Couch Adams, co-discoverers of Neptune, meet for 1st time at home of John Herschel
1892 – 1st concrete-paved street built (Bellefountaine, Ohio)
1938 – “Yankee Clipper” completes 1st passenger flight over Atlantic
2000 – EADS, the world’s second largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA
2006 – Pakistan International Flight PK-688 crashes in Multan, Pakistan shortly after takeoff, killing all 45 people on board
2016 – UEFA European Championship, Stade de France, Saint-Denis: Eder scores in extra time as Portugal upset France, 1-0

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Famous Birthdays

1809 – Friedrich August Quenstedt, German geologist and paleontologist, born in Eisleben, Saxony (d. 1889)
1896 – Thérèse Casgrain, French Canadian politician and senator, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1981)
1925 – Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia (1981-2003 and 2018-), born in Alor Setar, Malaysia
1928 – Jack Nel, South African cricketer (South African opening bat in 6 Tests 1949-57), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2018)
1938 – Paul Andreu, French architect, born in Gironde, France
1940 – Helen Donath, American soprano, born in Corpus Christi, Texas

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Famous Deaths

138 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (117-138), dies at 62
983 – Benedict IV, Italian Pope (974-83), dies
1838 – Willem earl van Hogendorp, Dutch colonial governor, dies at about 43
1875 – Henry L. Benning, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 61
1937 – Johan Bernard Schepers, Frisian writer (Braga), dies at 71
1989 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor, comedian best known for his Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons (Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1672 – William III inaugurated as viceroy of Holland and Zealand
1864 – Battle of Monocacy, Maryland, confederate forces led by Lieutenant General Jubal Early
1917 – British battleship HMS Vanguard explodes at Scapa Flow (the result of an internal explosion of faulty cordite), killing 804
1934 – SS-Reichsfuehrer Heinrich Himmler takes command of German Concentration Camps
1982 – Pan Am Boeing 727 crashes in Kenner La, killing 153
2017 – English international footballer Wayne Rooney announces he will leave Manchester United after 13 years to rejoin his original club, Everton

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Famous Birthdays

1848 – Robert I, Duke of Parma, last ruling Duke of Parma, born in Florence, Tuscany (d. 1907)
1900 – Robert Oboussier, Swiss composer, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1957)
1925 – Peter Ludwig, German businessman and art collector, born in Koblenz, Germany (d. 1996)
1950 – Gwen Guthrie, American Rand*B, soul, and dance singer-songwriter (“Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent”), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1999)
1975 – Jack White [Gillis], American musician (The White Stripes; Racontuers), born in Detroit, Michigan
1991 – Spencer Elden, Baby and model on Nirvana (band)’s Nevermind album

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Famous Deaths

1228 – Stephen Langton, English Cardinal and scholar, Archbishop of Canterbury (1207-1228), negotiated the Magna Carta, thought to have divided Bible into chapters (b. c. 1150)
1855 – FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, British Army officer (commander of the British forces during the Crimean War), dies of dysentery in Crimea at 66
1856 – James Strang, American Mormon splinter group leader, dies of his wounds three weeks after being attacked by disaffected members at 43
1875 – Francis Preston Blair Jr, famed St Louis lawyer, dies at 54
1957 – Alexander Fyodorovich Gedike, composer, dies at 80
1977 – Loren C Eiseley, US anthropologist/writer (Animal Secrets), dies at 69

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Historical Events

1933 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: American Helen Wills Moody successfully defends her title beating local favourite Dorothy Round 6-4, 6-8, 6-3
1988 – Stevie Wonder announces he will run for mayor of Detroit in 1992
1990 – 12:34:56 on 7/8/90 (1234567890)
1990 – FIFA World Cup Final, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy: 85th minute penalty by Andreas Brehme gives West Germany, 1-0 win over Argentina
1995 – NHL Draft: Detroit Jr. Red Wings (OHL) defenceman Bryan Berard first pick by Ottawa Senators
2018 – Four boys are the first to be rescued after 16 days, from Tham Luang cave, Thailand, by Thai and international rescue team

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – Louis Jordan, American musician, songwriter and bandleader (Caldonia), born in Brinkley, Arkansas (d. 1975)
1910 – Govan AM Mbeki, South African leader (ANC/SACP)
1947 – Jenny Diski, English writer (Stranger on a Train), born in London (d. 2016)
1968 – Billy Crudup, American actor
1969 – Bobby Ayala, Oxnard CA, pitcher (Seattle Mariners)
1982 – Joshua Alba, American actor

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Famous Deaths

1726 – John Ker, Scottish spy (b. 1673)
1826 – Luther Martin, American statesman (b. 1748)
1895 – Johann Josef Loschmidt, Austrian scientist (b. 1821)
1990 – Howard Duff, American actor (Flamingo Road, Knots Landing), dies of a heart attack at 76
2004 – Jean Lefebvre, French actor (Diabolical, Now Where Did the Seventh Company Get to?), dies at 84
2015 – James Tate, American poet (Pulitzer Prize 1992), dies at 71

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Historical Events

1890 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Irishman Willoughby Hamilton wins his only Wimbledon title beating 7-time champion William Renshaw 6-8, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
1908 – The Democratic Party meets in Denver at the start of their convention; William Jennings Bryan is nominated as presidential nominee
1912 – American athlete Jim Thorpe wins 4 of 5 events to win the Pentathlon gold medal at the Stockholm Olympics, medal stripped 1913 (played pro baseball), reinstated 1982
1949 – “Dragnet” premieres on NBC radio; also a TV series in 1951 and 1967
1980 – Shawn Weatherly, of USA, crowned 29th Miss Universe
1983 – 11 year old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, leaves for USSR

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Famous Birthdays

1778 – Antonio Francesco Gaetano S Pacini, composer
1931 – Stanley Brock, American actor (UHF, Hard to Kill, Ivan-He’s the Mayor), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1991)
1959 – Jessica Hahn, American model (playboy) and actress, accused evangelist Jim Bakker of rape, born in Massapequa, New York
1967 – Erik van der More, football player (FC Utrecht)
1968 – Jeff VanderMeer, American writer, born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
1975 – Michael Voss, Australian rules footballer, born in Traralgon, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1865 – Mary Surratt, American boarding house owner who was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, executed by hanging at 42 or 45. She becomes the first woman executed by the US government.
1956 – Gottfried Benn, German poet and essayist, dies at 70
1979 – D P Conyngham, cricketer (one Test for South Africa), dies
1981 – Peace Pilgrim [Mildred Lisette Norman], American peace activist, dies at 72
1994 – Carlo Chiti, Italian race car engineer (b. 1924)
1995 – Gabor Ormai, viola Player, dies at 40

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Historical Events

1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera
1917 – T. E. Lawrence captures port of Aqaba from Turks
1923 – The Central Executive Committee accepts the Treaty of Union, signed in Moscow in December 1922, and the Russian Empire becomes the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
1933 – “Nertsery Rhymes” short film starring Ted Healy and His Stooges premieres, one of the first film appearance of The Three Stooges
1942 – Von Hoth’ IV Pantser army fights with Voronezj
1956 – British Open Men’s Golf, Royal Liverpool: Australian Peter Thomson wins by 3 shots from Flory Van Donck of Belgium for his 3rd consecutive Open victory

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Famous Birthdays

1852 – John Albert Delany, Australian composer, born in Ratcliff, London (d. 1907)
1927 – Janet Leigh [Jeanetta Morrison], American actress (Psycho), born in Merced, California (d. 2004)
1954 – Willie Randolph, MLB second baseman and manager (NY Mets), born in Holly Hill, South Carolina
1955 – Sherif Ismail, Prime Minister of Egypt (2015-2018), born in Cairo, Egypt
1972 – D-Styles, American scratch DJ, born in the Philippines
1986 – David Karp, American web developer and founder of the blogging site Tumblr, born in NYC, New York

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Famous Deaths

1851 – Thomas Davenport, American inventor (invented 1st commercial electric motor), dies at 48
1970 – Marjorie Rambeau, dies at 80
1992 – Edgardo Pallero, Argentina producer (Los hijos de fierro), dies
2002 – John Frankenheimer, American film director (b. 1930)
2012 – Charles David Ganao, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo, dies at 85
2019 – Martin Charnin, American Broadway stage singer, dancer (West Side Story), director, and lyricist (Annie), dies after a heart attack at 84

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Historical Events

1791 – Jose Maria Narvaez discovers Point Grey (now Vancouver, British Columbia)
1830 – France invades Algeria, begins a 40 year conquest
1936 – 120°F (49°C), Gannvalley, South Dakota (state record)
1945 – Labour Party under Clement Attlee wins British parliamentary elections (results not declared until 26 July)
1968 – “Manifest of 1000 words” published in Prague
1983 – France invades Algeria

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Famous Birthdays

1718 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, Viceroy of Ireland, born in Chelsea, London (d. 1794)
1886 – Nathaniel Niles, American figure skater and tennis player, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1932)
1942 – Hannes Löhr, German footballer and manager, born in Eitorf, Rhine Province, Germany
1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss road racing cyclist, born in Wil, Switzerland
1973 – Michal Sýkora, Czech NHL defenseman (San Jose Sharks, Olympic gold 1998), born in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia
1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian road racing cyclist, born in Verviers, Wallonia, Belgium

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Famous Deaths

1906 – Paul Karl Ludwig Drude, German physicist (optics), committed suicide at 42
1913 – Alfred Lyttelton, cricketer (Eng wk 1880-84 demon lob bowler), dies
1948 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch minister of Labor (1918-25), dies at 77
1981 – Jorge Urrutia Blondel, Chilean composer, dies at 75
2005 – Shirley Goodman, American singer (b. 1936)
2014 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (Margaret-Lucas Tanner), dies from esophageal cancer at 89

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Historical Events

1894 – Republic of Hawaii proclaimed, Sanford B Dole as president
1968 – Radio astronomy satellite Explorer 38 launched
1970 – Casey Kasem’s “American Top 40” debuts on LA radio
1992 – John Phillips, rocker (Mamas and Papas), undergoes a liver transplant
1997 – US space probe Pathfinder lands on Ares Vallis Mars
2019 – Record temperatures in Alaska as Anchorage reaches 90F (32C)

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Famous Birthdays

1850 – Ole Olsen, Norwegian composer, organist, and military bandleader, born in Hammerfest, Finnmark, Norway (d. 1927)
1902 – George Murphy, American politician (US Senator, California), actor and dancer (MGM Parade), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1992)
1912 – Virginia Graham, American TV personality (Girl Talk, Where Was I), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1998)
1928 – Sylvius Gerald Marie Rozendal, Premier of Netherlands Antilles, born in Willemstad, Curacao (d. 2003)
1951 – Ralph Johnson, American rock drummer (Earth Wind and Fire-Shining Star), born in Los Angeles, California
1970 – Tony Vidmar, Australian former footballer, born in Adelaide, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1742 – Luigi Guido Grandi, Italian mathematician and monk, dies at 70
1831 – James Monroe, 5th US President (1817-25), dies of heart failure and tuberculosis at 73
1963 – Fritz Reutter, German composer, dies at 66
2001 – Keenan Milton, Professional Skater (b. 1974)
2012 – Larance Marable, American jazz drummer (Charlie Haden’s Quartet West; Stan Getz; Groove Holmes), dies at 83
2016 – Geoffrey Shovelton, English opera singer, dies at 80

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Historical Events

1187 – Battle of Horns of Hattin: Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, destroys Jerusalem’s crusader army
1886 – In Germany, Karl Benz drives 1st automobile
1967 – “News at 10” premieres on British TV
1986 – US President Reagan presides over relighting of renovated Statue of Liberty
1994 – The deadliest day in Texas traffic history, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Forty six people killed in crashes.
2004 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Maria Sharapova becomes first Russian player to win Wimbledon beating defending champion Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4

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Famous Birthdays

1871 – Vicente Arregui Garay, Spanish composer, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1925)
1940 – Lance Larson, American 100m freestyle swimmer (Olympic silver 1960), born in Monterey Park, California
1949 – Susan Penhaligon, British actress (Dracula, Nasty Habits), born in Manila, Philippines
1952 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter (Gloria), born in Mount Kisco, New York (d. 2004)
1956 – Eddie Edwards, South African tennis star, born in Johannesburg, South Africa
1957 – Danny Heep, American MLB outfielder, born in San Antonio, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1863 – William Barksdale, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies in the Battle of Gettysburg while leading his brigade’s attack at 41
1891 – Stefano Golinelli, Italian composer, dies at 72
1916 – Henrietta “Hetty” Green, American businesswoman and financier whose wealth and miserliness saw her known as the “Witch of Wall Street”, dies of a stroke at 81
2008 – Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (Bozo the Clown), dies at 83
2018 – Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (Breaking the Waves, Dead Man, Korczak), dies at 78
2020 – Leonardo Villar, Brazilian actor (The Given Word), dies at 96

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Historical Events

626 – Incident at Xuanwu Gate: in fear of assassination, Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng
1816 – French frigate “La Méduse” runs aground under incompetent leadership of Viscount of Chaumareys, 400 passengers evacuated. 150 men, 1 woman are left on “la Machine,” a poorly provisioned raft. 13 days later only 15 survivors remain, inspires Théodore Géricault’s painting “The Raft of the Medusa”
1864 – General Early and Confederate forces reach Winchester en route to Washington, D.C.
1964 – Grand jury indicts Byron De La Beckwith in murder of Medger Evers
1966 – 1st France nuclear test on Mururoa atoll
2018 – 270,000 people now displaced by fighting in south-western Syria says UN since assault on rebel-held area two weeks ago

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Famous Birthdays

1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and grandnephew of Pope Alexander VIII, born in Venice (d. 1740)
1865 – Lily Braun, German feminist and socialist writer (Im Schatten Titanen), born in Halberstadt, Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1916)
1910 – H. G. Adler, German writer (The Journey), born in Prague, Austria-Hungary (d. 1988)
1959 – Eduardo Bengoechea, Argentina, tennis star
1975 – Erik Ohlsson, Swedish guitarist (Millencolin)
1979 – Sam Hornish, Jr., American race car driver

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Famous Deaths

1746 – Thomas Baker, English antiquarian, dies at 89
1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal, dies at 81
1973 – George Macready, American actor (Martin Peyton-Peyton Place), dies at 73
1982 – Poul Rovsing Olsen, Danish composer, dies at 59
1992 – Edith Valckaert, Belgian violinist and educator, dies of cancer at 42
2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, Author (b. 1932)

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