Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1901 – Mexican government troops are ambushed by Yaqui Indians, 100 killed
1924 – International Ski Federation (FIS) forms
1972 – Lefty Gomez, Ross Youngs and William Harridge selected for Hall of Fame
1975 – US female Figure Skating championship won by Dorothy Hamill
1980 – FBI releases details of Abscam, a sting operation that targeted 31 elected and public officials for bribes for political favors
2020 – Palindrome Day: the date 02022020 reads the same forward and backward including in the US and China (last one like this 11 November 1111)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1714 – Gottfried August Homilius, composer
1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist (Guggenheim Museum NYC), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1949)
1931 – Dries van Agt, Dutch Prime Minister (CDA, 1977-82), born in Geldrop, Netherlands
1933 – Than Shwe, ruler of Myanmar
1966 – Bob Estes, American golfer (4 PGA Tour titles), born in Graham, Texas
1977 – Shakira, Colombian pop singer (Whenever Wherever, Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)), born in Barranquilla, Colombia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1793 – William Aiton, English botanist (Kew Gardens), dies at 61
1969 – Boris Karloff [William H. Pratt], English actor (The Mummy, Frankenstein), dies of pneumonia at 81
1982 – Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (Senator for Wellington, Quebec), dies at 76
1987 – Castilho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1927)
1992 – Maurice L Kusell, dies
1995 – Alexis d’Anjou de Bourbon-Condé, French prince/Russian, dies at 47

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1810 – 1st insurance company managed by African Americans, The African Insurance Company opens in Philadelphia
1918 – Jerome Kern, Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse’s musical premieres in New York
1923 – Allied ultimatum on Lithuanian occupation of Memel
1935 – James T Farrell finishes his “Studs Lonigan” trilogy
1959 – WVUE TV channel 8 in New Orleans, LA (ABC) begins broadcasting
1967 – The 10-team American Basketball Association (ABA) with George Mikan as Commissioner is formed and lasts 9 years; its three-point shot remains a feature of the game

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1633 – Gabriel Schutz, German composer and musician (d. 1710)
1882 – Louis St. Laurent, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (Liberal: 1948-57), born in Compton, Quebec (d. 1973)
1901 – Clark Gable, American actor (Gone With the Wind; It Happened One Night) known as ‘The King of Hollywood’, born in Cadiz, Ohio (d. 1960)
1942 – Terry Jones, Welsh comedian (Monty Python), born in Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire, Wales (d. 2020)
1968 – Mark Recchi, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (Stanley Cup 1991, 2006, 11; at 43 oldest player to score in Stanley Cup Finals Series), born in Kamloops, Canada
1974 – David Meca, Spanish open water swimmer (World C’ship gold 10k 2000, 25k 2005), born in Sabadell, Spain

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1705 – Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, 1st Queen consort of Prussia (1701-05), dies at 36
1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer, dies at 85
1883 – Pavel Melnikov, Russian historian and author (In the Forests), dies at 64 [NS=Feb 13]
1991 – Jimmy MacDonald, Scottish-American voice actor (Mickey Mouse), dies at 84
1996 – Clive Burton, British neuropathologist, dies at 54
2003 – Willie McCool, American astronaut and member of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster), dies at 41

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1679 – Jean-Baptiste Lully’s opera “Bellerophon” premieres at the Palais-Royal in Paris
1941 – Anti-German demonstration in Haarlem, Netherlands
1962 – Samuel Gravely assumes command of destroyer escort “USS Falgout”, first African American to command a combat ship
1982 – NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: AFC beats NFC, 16-13; MVPs: Co-MVPs: Kellen Winslow, San Diego Chargers, TE; Lee Roy Selmon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, DE
1990 – 1st McDonalds in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow
2004 – Australian Open Women’s Tennis: In an all-Belgian final, Justine Henin-Hardenne beats Kim Clijsters 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to win her only Australian title

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1830 – James G. Blaine, US Secretary of State (1881 and 1889-92) known as the “Plumed Knight”, born in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania (d. 1893)
1866 – Emil Strauss, German writer (Naked Man)
1925 – Charles Aidman, American TV narrator (New Twilight Zone), born in Frankfort, Indiana
1940 – Stuart Margolin, Davenport Iowa, actor (Love American Style)
1974 – Pavi Sald, Finnish ice hockey defenseman (Finland, Olympics 1998)
1987 – Tyler Hubbard, American country musician (Florida Georgia Line), born in Monroe, Georgia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1615 – Claudio Aquaviva, Italian Jesuit priest (5th Superior General of the Society of Jesus), dies at 71
1788 – Bonnie Prince Charlie [Charles Edward Stuart], English pretender to throne (Jacobite rebellion), dies of a stroke at 67
1844 – Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand, French general and engineer, dies at 70
1974 – Harry Baum, actor (Crime and Punishment), dies at 58
2000 – Gil Kane, Latvian-born comic book writer (b. 1926)
2009 – Erland von Koch, Swedish composer, dies at 98

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1544 – Adrian van Goes becomes land advocate of Holland
1798 – Rep Matthew Lyon (Vt) spits in face of Rep Roger Griswold (Ct) in US House of Representatives, after an argument
1911 – 1st rescue of an air passenger by a ship, near Havana, Cuba
1951 – Belgium refuses to allow communists to make speeches on radio
1956 – Hallgeir Brenden of Norway wins Olympic 15k cross country gold medal at the Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Games; his 2nd career Olympic title after taking out the 18k event in Oslo (1952)
1958 – Dore Schary’s “Sunrise at Campobello” premieres in NYC

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1687 – [Johann] Balthasar Neumann, German architect, baptized
1754 – John Lansing Jr., American lawyer and statesman, born in Albany, New York (d. 1829)
1913 – Amrita Sher-Gil, Hungarian-Indian painter described as the “Indian Frida Kahlo” and “one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century”, born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (d. 1941)
1919 – Nikolay Glazkov, Russian poet, born in Lyskovo, Russia (d. 1979)
1951 – Charles S. Dutton, American actor (Alien 3, Crocodile Dundee 2, Roc), born in Baltimore, Maryland
1971 – Quentin Neujahr, American ice hockey player (Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns), born in Seward, Nebraska

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1716 – Marie Casimire Louise de la Grange d’Arquien, queen of Poland (1676-96), dies at 74
1827 – Johann Philipp Christian Schulz, German composer, dies at 53
1945 – Gottlieb Haberlandt, Austrian botanist, dies at 90
1947 – Frederick F Blackman, English botanist, dies at 80
1956 – Gerrit Mannoury, Dutch mathematician and philosopher, dies at 88
2012 – Mary Grierson, Welsh botanical artist, dies at 99

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

904 – Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher
1916 – 1st bombing of Paris by German Zeppelins takes place
1943 – U.S. cruiser “Chicago” is heavily damaged by Japanese bombers on the first day of the Battle of Rennell Island
1951 – “Where’s Charley?” opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 56 performances
1979 – Emerson, Lake and Palmer disband after 10 years together
2006 – US 39-cent stamp is released featuring Hattie McDaniel in the dress she wore in 1940 when she became the 1st African-American actress to accept an Academy Award

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1718 – Paul Rabaut, French Huguenot pastor (d. 1794)
1876 – [William] Havergal Brian, British composer (“Gothic” symphony), born in Dresden, Staffordshire (d. 1972)
1892 – Ernst Lubitsch, German actor, producer and film director (To Be or Not to Be, Love Parade), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1947)
1947 – David Byron [Garrick], British vocalist and songwriter (Uriah Heep), born in Epping, England (d. 1985)
1950 – Jody Scheckter, South African auto racer (World F1 Champion 1979), born in East London, South Africa
1993 – Michelle Larcher De Brito, Portuguese tennis player, born in Lisbon, Portugal

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1342 – Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)
1960 – Louis Jean Heydt, American actor (Waterfront, Gone with the Wind, The Great McGinty), dies from a heart attack at 54
1981 – Cozy Cole [William Randolph Cole], American jazz drummer (Topsy I, Topsy II), dies at 71
1991 – Yasushi Inoue, Japanese historian, dies
1993 – Michel Renault, French ballet dancer (Giselle), dies at 65
2019 – Andy Hebenton, Canadian NHL right wing (record 630 consecutive games; NY Rangers, Boston Bruins), dies at 89

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1911 – Frenchman Henri Rougier wins 1st Rally of Monte Carlo
1943 – Chic Blackhawks beats NY Rangers 10-1, Max Bentley scores 4 goals
1958 – The Lego company patents their design of Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today
1979 – “The Wiz” closes at Majestic Theater in NYC after 1,672 performances
1985 – 12th American Music Awards: Cyndi Lauper and Lionel Richie win
2019 – Draft framework for peace agreement to end 17-year conflict in Afghanistan agreed by US and Afghan negotiators

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1225 – Saint Thomas Aquinas, Italian theologian and saint, born in Roccasecca, Italy (d. 1274)
1645 – Gottfried Vopelius, composer
1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (d. 1973)
1897 – Valentin Kataev, novelist/playwright (Embezzled), born in Odessa Ukraine (d. 1986)
1936 – Enid Castle, principal (Cheltenham Ladies’ College)
1976 – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1817 – Friedrich Ludwig Æmilius Kunzen, German composer, dies at 55
1859 – F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1827-28), dies at 76
1903 – Jean Robert Planquette, French composer (Bells of Corneville), dies at 54
1972 – Adriaan B “Jaap” Wagemaker, Dutch sculptor, dies at 66
2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer of popular music (b. 1938)
2008 – Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece (b. 1939)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1918 – “Tarzan of the Apes”, 1st Tarzan film, premieres at Broadway Theater
1927 – Australian Championships Men’s Tennis: Gerald Patterson wins his only home title; beats countryman John Hawkes 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16, 6-3
1958 – Australian Championships Men’s Tennis: Ashley Cooper wins 2nd straight Australian title; beats fellow Australian Malcolm Anderson 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
1971 – Montgomery St Station, last link in Bay Area Rapid Transit in San Francisco, ‘holed thru’
1971 – The body of a man who had been shot dead is found in Belfast
1992 – Presidential candidate Bill Clinton (D) and Genifer Flowers accuse each other of lying over her assertion they had a 12-year affair

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1720 – Samuel Foote, British actor, dramatist and theatre manager (Mirror), born in Truro, Cornwall (d. 1777)
1775 – Friedrich von Schelling, German philosopher (Views on Christianity), born in Leonberg, Württemberg, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1854)
1869 – Will Marion Cook, composer
1935 – Gillian Beer, professor/president (Clare Hall-Cambridge)
1951 – Scott Lane, American actor (Gary-McKeever and the Colonel), born in NYC, New York
1964 – Migi [Miguel Drummond], English pop musician (Curiosity Killed Cat)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1625 – Adriaen Valerius, notary/Neth Gedenck-clanck, dies at about 49
1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian lyric poet (Még egyzer, Uj versek), dies from complications related to alcoholism at 41
1922 – Giovanni Verga, Italian writer (I Mala Voglia), dies at 81
1941 – Iver Holter, Norwegian composer, dies at 90
1984 – Lou Crosby, TV announcer (Mayor of Hollywood), dies at 72
2015 – Charles Hard Townes, American Physicist and inventor (Nobel Prize 1964 for mazer-lazer principle), dies at 99

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1564 – The Council of Trent issued its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism
1962 – David Diamond’s 7th Symphony, premieres in Philadelphia
1969 – 1st Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Margaret Court wins inaugural Open event; beats American Billie Jean King 6-4, 6-1
1980 – 175,000 pay to hear Frank Sinatra sing in Rio de Janeiro
2005 – Condoleezza Rice is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, the first African American woman to hold the post
2013 – 30 people are killed during a violent protest in Port Said, Egypt

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1883 – Bindo Maserati, Italian auto engineer and businessman (manager Maserati Racing; founder O.S.C.A. Racing), born in Voghera, Italy (d. 1980)
1901 – Ervin Major, Hungarian composer, born in Budapest (d. 1967)
1928 – Gene Snyder, (Rep-R-KY, 1963-65, 67- )
1930 – Buddy Melges, American sailor (Olympic gold 1972) and America’s Cup skipper (America3), born in Elkhorn, Wisconsin
1947 – Michel Sardou, French singer, born in Paris, France
1954 – Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer (brilliant Australian batsman 1977-84), born in Margaret River, Australia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1750 – Albert Schultens, Dutch philologist (b. 1686)
1961 – Morris Nichols, cricketer (41 wkts in 14 Tests for Eng 1930-39), dies
1967 – Kenneth Thomson, American character actor (Broadway Melody, Little Giant), dies of emphysema at 68
1990 – Lewis Mumford, American historian (b. 1895)
2000 – Kathleen Hale, British children book writer and illustrator (Orlando), dies at 101
2019 – Michel Legrand, French composer, film arranger and jazz musician (Summer of ’42, Windmills of Your Mind), dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1902 – Aleksandr Skriabin’s 2nd Symphony in C premieres in St Petersburg
1987 – 75th Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Stefan Edberg of Sweden wins 2nd career Grand Slam title and 2nd Australian title; beats home town favourite Pat Cash 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
1998 – Pope John Paul II visits Cuba and demands the release of political prisoners; he also condemns US moves to isolate the country
1998 – Super Bowl XXXII, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA: Denver Broncos beat Green Bay Packers, 31-24; MVP: Terrell Davis, Denver RB
2011 – Egyptian Revolution of 2011 begins with a series of street demonstrations, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, labor strikes and violent clashes in Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities
2013 – Initial GDP figures for the fourth quarter of 2012 show the UK economy shrank by 0.3% raising fears of a triple dip recession

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1841 – John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, British admiral, born in Ramboda, Sri Lanka (d. 1920)
1880 – Francis George Scott, Scottish composer, born in Hawick, Roxburghshire (d. 1958)
1902 – Pablo Antonio, Filipino modernist architect, born in Manila, Philippines (d. 1975)
1962 – Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player (3-time Stanley Cup winner), born in Chicago, Illinois
1982 – Shawna Waldron, American actress, born in Glendale, California
1985 – Tina Karol, Ukrainian singer, born in Orotukan, Russia

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1431 – Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1364)
1852 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian explorer who discovered the continent of Antarctica dies at 72
1899 – Alfredo d’Escragnolle, French/Brazilian writer (Innocencia), dies
1970 – Marie Benavente, actress (Paradise), dies at 84
1990 – Ava Gardner, American actress (Barefoot Contessa, On the Beach), dies of pneumonia at 67
2015 – Demis Roussos, Greek singer and performer (Aphrodite’s Child), dies from an undisclosed illness at 68

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1568 – Abdij Church in Middelburg destroyed by fire
1857 – University of Calcutta founded as the first full-fledged university in South Asia
1930 – J E Mills scores 117 on Test Cricket debut, NZ v England, Wellington
1954 – BPAA All-Star Tournament won by Don Carter
1961 – Lazard Brothers Ltd draw a check for $334,867,807.68
1962 – 28 refugees escape from East to West Germany

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1674 – Thomas Tanner, English bishop (d. 1735)
1758 – Johann Chrysostomus Drexel, German composer, born in Epfenhausen, Bavaria (d. 1801)
1832 – John Pegram, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1865)
1947 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian soccer striker (14 caps; Lazio, NY Cosmos), born in Carrara, Italy (d. 2012)
1956 – Lounès Matoub, Berber Kabyle singer, born in Béni-Aïssi, Algeria (d. 1998)
1968 – Mark Burmester, Zimbabwean cricketer (Zimbabwe Test all-rounder in 3 Tests 1992), born in Durban, South Africa

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1595 – Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, Governor of Bohemia, dies at 65
1877 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (b. 1796)
1911 – David Graham Phillips, American journalist and novelist (b. 1867)
1994 – Yves Navarre, French writer (Le Jardin d’acclimatation), dies at 53
1998 – Jay Monahan, husband of Katie Couric, dies of cancer at 42
2020 – Rob Rensenbrink, Dutch soccer left winger or forward (46 caps; Anderlecht), dies of progressive muscular atrophy at 72

More Famous Deaths »