Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1942 – Henry Ford patents a method of constructing plastic auto bodies
1976 – American inventor Ray Kurzweil and the National Federation of the Blind unveil the Kurzweil Reading Machine, the first omni-font optical character recognition system
1989 – Jerry Parks, Oklahoma defensive back, charged with shooting a teammate
1989 – Computers across Britain hit by “Friday the 13th”/Jerusalem virus
1998 – CBS pays $4 billion to televise AFC games for 8-years
2018 – Early-morning ballistic missile alert sent across Hawaii in error, revoked after 38 minutes

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Famous Birthdays

1804 – John Pringle Nichol, Scottish Astronomer and educator
1906 – Zhou Youguang [Zhou Yaoping], Chinese language scholar (father of pinyin), born in Changzhou (d. 2017)
1955 – Trevor Rabin, South African rock guitarist and film score composer (Yes), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
1972 – Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast (6 Olympic gold medals Barcelona 1992), born in Minsk, Belarus
1972 – Richard Woodley, NFL cornerback (Detroit Lions)
1979 – Jill Wagner, American Actor

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Famous Deaths

1860 – William Mason, American politician, dies at 73
1979 – Donny Hathaway, American rocker (Ghetto), commits suicide at 33
1985 – Carol Wayne, Johnny Carson’s teatime movie hostess, dies at 42
1996 – Willian Myuon Bany Guerrilla leader, dies
2009 – Patrick McGoohan, American-born Irish actor, writer, and director (The Prisoner, Secret Agent/ Danger Man), dies at 80
2017 – Dick Gautier, American stage and screen actor (Get Smart, Bye Bye Birdie), dies at 85

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Historical Events

1900 – Freeland Colony founded in US
1954 – Austria’s worst avalanche-kills 200; 9hrs later 2nd one-kills 115
1957 – Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) founded with Martin Luther King Jr. as leader at Ebenezer Church in Atlanta
1962 – Operation Chopper begins, America’s first combat mission in the Vietnam War
1963 – Spin bowler Bobby Simpson takes 5-57 for Australia v England
1972 – Tigers sign a lease to build a $126M domed stadium (doesn’t happen)

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Famous Birthdays

1871 – Paul Guthnick, German astronomer
1910 – Luise Rainer, German-American actress and 1st actor to win multiple Academy Awards (The Great Ziegfeld 1936, The Good Earth 1937), born in Düsseldorf, Germany (d. 2014)
1914 – Edward John Gurney, American politician, US senator (1969-74), born in Portland, Maine (d. 1996)
1923 – Ira Hayes, Pima Native American soldier, born in Sacaton, Arizona (d. 1955)
1982 – Chris Ray, American baseball player, born in Tampa, Florida
1996 – Sarahi Morales, Mexican Siamese twin (died on Jan 27, 1996), born in Tijuana, Mexico

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Famous Deaths

1777 – Hugh Mercer, Scottish military officer (fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War), dies of his wounds at the Battle of Princeton at 50
1956 – Norman Kerry, American actor (Air Eagles, Phantom of the Opera), dies at 61
2003 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist, dies at 90
2003 – Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)
2003 – Leopoldo Galtieri, dictator of Argentina (b. 1926)
2012 – Sadao Bekku, Japanese classical and film composer (Matango), dies at 89

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Historical Events

1938 – Frances Moulton elected 1st woman president of a US national bank
1966 – 16th NBA All-Star Game, Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, OH: East beats West, 137-94; MVP: Adrian Smith, Cincinnati Royals, PG
1984 – NASA space shuttle STS 41-B moves to launch pad
1993 – British Airways ends one of the longest libel actions in its history
2014 – During a concert in Maui, Mick Fleetwood announces that Christine McVie would be rejoining Fleetwood Mac
2016 – College Football National Championship, University of Phoenix Stadium: #2 Alabama beats #1 Clemson, 45-40

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Famous Birthdays

1786 – Joseph Jackson Lister, British optician who perfected the optical microscope by designing the achromatic objective lens, born in London, England
1872 – George Washington Pierce, American physicist (d. 1956)
1886 – George Zucco, British actor (Fog Island, Black Raven, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Captain Fury), born in Manchester, England (d. 1960)
1905 – Clyde Kluckhohn, American anthropologist (d. 1960)
1957 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball center (Philadelphia 76ers, NJ Nets; NBA breaking a backboard rule), born in Orlando, Florida (d. 2015)
1968 – Ben Rivera, Dominican-American baseball pitcher (Philadelphia Phillies)

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Famous Deaths

802 – St. Paulinus II of Aquileia
1641 – Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, Spanish poet (b. 1583)
1966 – Hannes Kolehmainen, Finnish long-distance runner (Olympic gold 1912), dies at 76
1983 – Nikolaj V Podgorny, president USSR, dies at 79
2005 – Miriam Hyde, Australian composer (b. 1913)
2010 – Joe Rollino, American strongman, weightlifter, and boxer (b. 1905)

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Historical Events

1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil
1897 – Henrik Ibsen’s “John Gabriel Borkman” premieres in Helsingfors
1929 – Elmer Rice’s “Street Scene” premieres in NYC
1947 – British stop ships Independence and In-Gathering from landing in Israel
1973 – For the first time graduates studying from home with ‘the Open University’ receive their degrees
2004 – Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Lindsay Davenport and James Blake beat Slovakian pair Daniela Hantuchová and Karol Kučera 6-2, 6-3 for a 2-1 win, and 3rd American title

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Famous Birthdays

1828 – Herman Koeckemann, German Catholic prelate, born in Ostbevern, Germany (d. 1892)
1890 – Douglas MacLean, American silent film comedian/producer (Going Up), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1967)
1942 – Walter Hill, American film director (48 Hours, Extreme Prejudice), born in Long Beach, California
1961 – Nadja Salerni-Sonnenberg, Italian concert violinist, born in Rome, Italy
1962 – Michael Fortier, Canadian politician, born in Quebec City, Canada
1974 – Hollis Thomas, American football defensive tackle (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Abilene, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1271 – Otto II, the Lame, earl of Gelre, dies
1754 – Edward Cave, English editor and publisher (b. 1691)
1891 – Laza Lazarević, Serbian writer (Prvi put s ocem na jutrenje) and psychiatrist, dies at 39
1953 – Theo Mackeben, German pianist/composer (Golden Cage), dies at 56
1987 – Sir David Robinson, English philanthropist and entrepreneur (b. 1904)
2015 – Timothy Lee Drummond, American musician, dies at 74

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Historical Events

1855 – Clipper “Guiding Star” disappears in Atlantic, 480 dead
1937 – Italian regime bans marriages between Italians and Abyssinians
1970 – Constitution of Singapore enacted
1989 – Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1990 – Boston Celtics worst ever (6 pts in 2nd vs NJ Nets) and lose 87-78
1998 – Anatoly Karpov defeats Viswanathan Anand to retain chess title

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Famous Birthdays

1867 – Jacques Urlus, Dutch tenor (Opera of Leipzig, Song of the Earth)
1940 – Barbara Buczek, Polish composer, born in Kraków, Poland (d. 1993)
1967 – Jamie Huscroft, Canadian NHL defenseman (Calgary Flames), born in Creston, British Columbia
1971 – MF Doom [Daniel Dumile], American hip hop artist, born in London, United Kingdom
1974 – Jamain Stephens, American NFL offensive tackle (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Lumberton, North Carolina
1976 – Todd Grisham, American professional wrestling interviewer, born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

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Famous Deaths

1907 – Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, Queen of Hanover, dies at 88
1911 – Edvard Rusjan, Slovene flight pioneer (b. 1886)
1969 – Ladislav Vycpalek, composer, dies at 86
1971 – Giannis Christou, Greek composer (b. 1926)
1991 – Chris Baay, Dutch actor (Tomorrow It Will Be Better, Klatergoud, Surprise Raid), dies at 86
2017 – Zygmunt Bauman, Polish-born sociologist (Modernity and the Holocaust), dies at 91

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Historical Events

1705 – George Frideric Handel’s 1st opera “Almira” premieres in Hamburg
1917 – Austria-Hungarian troops conquer Forlani Italy
1935 – Spectrophotometer patented, AC Hardy
1974 – E Wilson Jr’s musical “Let My People Come” premieres in NYC
1995 – 15th United Negro College Fund raises $12,200,000
2013 – 2,130 prisoners held by the Syrian government are exchanged for 48 Iranians kidnapped by Syrian rebels

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Famous Birthdays

1786 – Nicholas Biddle, American financier, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1844)
1873 – Elena of Montenegro, queen of Italy (d. 1956)
1941 – Boris Vallejo, Peruvian illustrator, born in Lima, Peru
1943 – Lee Jackson, English bass guitarist and singer-songwriter (Nice), born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
1963 – Hiromi Kobayashi, Japanese golfer (3 LPGA Tour titles), born in Iwaki, Fukushima
1979 – Sequoyah, chimpanzee (son of Washoe)

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Famous Deaths

1567 – Jacob Vaet, Flemish composer/royal chaplain master, dies at about 37
1789 – Jack Broughton, English boxer (published first boxing code), dies at 85
1880 – Emperor Norton [Joshua Abraham Norton], British born self proclaimed “Norton I, Emperor of the United States”, dies at 60
1979 – Sara Carter, American country musician, songwriter and vocalist (Carter Family), dies at 81
2006 – Tony Banks, British politician (b. 1943)
2019 – Patricia McBride Lousada, American ballerina (NYC Ballet Co) and cookbook author, dies at 89

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Historical Events

1910 – Stanley Cup, Dey’s Arena, Ottawa, ON: Ottawa Senators beat Galt (ON), 3-1 for a 2-0 sweep of challenge series
1929 – “Buck Rogers” sci-fi comic strip’s 1st appearance in a newspaper
1942 – WW II siege of Bataan starts
1948 – US President Harry Truman raises taxes for the Marshall Plan
1986 – STS 61-C mission scrubbed at T -9m because of weather problems
1990 – Tower of Pisa closed to the public after leaning too far

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Famous Birthdays

1685 – Jonas Alströmer, Swedish industrialist (d. 1761)
1916 – Bobo Jenkins [John Pickens Jenkins], American blues singer-songwriter (Democrat Blues), born in Forkland, Alabama (d. 1984)
1922 – Robert De Cormier, American conductor and musical director (The Belafonte Folk Singers), born in Long Island, New York (d. 2017)
1929 – Mario Bergamaschi, Italian soccer midfielder (5 caps; Calcio Como, A.C. Milan, U.C. Sampdoria), born in Crema, Italy (d. 2020)
1935 – Valeri Nikolayevich Kubasov, Soviet/Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 6, 19, 36/35), born in Vyazniki, Russia (d. 2014)
1970 – Paul McCallum, Canadian football punter and placekicker (Claymores, Sask Roughriders), born in Vancouver, British Columbia

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Famous Deaths

1590 – Jacob Andreae, German theologist (Formulae Concordiae), dies at 61
1830 – Infanta Carlota Joaquina, daughter of Charles IV of Spain and wife of John VI of Portugal, dies at 53
1830 – Thomas Lawrence, English portrait painter, dies at 60
1907 – Anton Urspruch, composer, dies at 56
1981 – Alvar Lidell, UK radio broadcaster (b. 1908)
1995 – Murray Rothbard, American economist (b. 1926)

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Historical Events

1887 – `Abd-allah II of Harar opens the Battle of Chelenqo with an attack on the camp of the Shewan army of Negus Menelik II
1937 – Bradman scores 270 Aust v England at the MCG, incl 110 singles
1967 – United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch “Operation Deckhouse Five” in the Mekong River delta.
1975 – “AM America” premieres on ABC-TV with Bill Beutel as host
1991 – Qian Hong swims female world record 50m butterfly (27.30 sec)
2017 – Elizabeth Warren announces her intention to run for a second term as Massachusetts Senator

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Famous Birthdays

1367 – Richard II, King of England (1377-99), born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1400)
1882 – Samuel Rayburn, American politician (Rep-D-Tx), born in Kingston, Tennessee (d. 1961)
1913 – Tom Brown, American actor (Buck Privates Come Home, In Old Chicago), born in NYC, New York (d. 1990)
1932 – Stuart A. Rice, American chemist, born in NYC, New York
1981 – Mike Jones, American rapper, born in Houston, Texas
1982 – Brian Bass, American baseball player, born in Pinehurst, North Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1646 – Elias Hill, German architect of Augsburg, dies at 72
1693 – Mehmed IV, sultan (Turkey), dies at 51
1958 – Josephine CMA, princess of Belgium/nun, dies at 85
1961 – Regina Ullmann, Swiss poet and writer, dies at 76
1974 – David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican sculptor/muralist, dies at 77
2004 – Francesco Scavullo, American celebrity photographer, dies at 82

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Historical Events

1895 – Henry James’ play “Guy Domville” opens in London
1911 – Portuguese expel Jesuits
1927 – Judge Landis begins 3-day public hearing on charges that 4 games played between Chicago and Detroit in 1917 had been thrown to White Sox
1967 – KLXA (now KTBN) TV channel 40 in Fontana-San Ana, CA (IND) begins
1991 – “Oh, Kay!” closes at Richard Rodgers Theater NYC after 77 performances
1992 – “6 Degrees of Separation” closes at Vivian Beaumont NYC after 496 performances

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Famous Birthdays

1901 – Henri Honoré d’Estienne d’Orves, French officer/resistance fighter, born in Verrières-le-Buisson, France (d. 1941)
1928 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, 4th President and 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan, born in Ratodero Taluka, Pakistan (d. 1979)
1931 – Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist, born in Loučná nad Desnou, Czech Republic
1947 – Mike DeWine, American politician, senator-R-Ohio (1995-2007), Governor of Ohio (2019-), born in Springfield, Ohio
1949 – George Brown, American rock drummer (Kool and the Gang-Celebration), born in Jersey City, New Jersey
1962 – Danny Jackson, American baseball pitcher (Royals/Phillies/Cardinals), born in San Antonio, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1856 – Pierre J David [David d’Angers], French sculptor, dies at 67
1888 – Henri Herz, Austrian composer, dies at a day before his 85th birthday
1979 – Charles Mingus, American jazz bassist (Pithecanthropus Erectus), dies at 56
1981 – Lanza del Vasto, Italian philosopher (b. 1901)
1987 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian author (The Stone Angel), dies at 60
1993 – Henk Knol, Suriname MP (PvdA), dies at 61

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Historical Events

1717 – Netherlands, Great Britain and France sign Triple Alliance
1951 – Korean War: Chinese forces recapture Seoul
1954 – Soap Opera “The Brighter Day” premieres
1975 – Ice thickness measured at 4776 m, Wilkes Land, Antarctica
1986 – David Boon’s second Test century, 131 v India at Adelaide
2003 – Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Serena Williams and James Blake beat Australian pair Alicia Molik and Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2 for a 3-0 win, and 2nd American title

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Famous Birthdays

1720 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German (court) composer and organist, born in Dobitschen, Thuringia (d. 1774)
1797 – Wilhelm Beer, German amateur astronomer (constructed 1st Moon map)
1909 – Cilly Aussem, German tennis player (French C’ships, Wimbledon 1931), born in Cologne, Germany (d. 1963)
1930 – Iain Cuthbertson, Scottish actor (Guilty, Scandal, Rep, Danger UXB), born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire (d. 2009)
1956 – Ann Magnuson, actress (Anything But Love, Hunger), born in Charleston, West Virginia
1980 – Yaroslav Popovych, Ukrainian cyclist, born in Drohobych, Ukraine

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Famous Deaths

1903 – Geo[rge J H] Poggenbeek, Dutch surrealist painter, dies at 49
1924 – Alfred Grünfeld, Austrian pianist, composer (b. 1852)
1952 – Constantl Permeke, Flemish painter (Boerin), dies at 65
1957 – Theodor Korner von Siegringen, 5th President of Austria (1951-57), dies at 84
1995 – Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor (Improvisaciones), dies in air crash at 52
2000 – Tom Fears, American College and Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end and coach (NFL champion 1951; First-team All-Pro, NFL receiving yards leader 1950; LA Rams), dies at 77

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