Today in History for 3rd January 2021

Historical Events

1899 – 1st known use of the word “automobile”, appears in an editorial in The New York Times
1920 – Arthur Honegger’s “Chant de Nigamon,” premieres
1945 – US aircraft carriers attack Okinawa
1959 – Alaska admitted as 49th US state
1994 – 100s killed in Venezuela in prison revolt
2018 – Security expert reveal two security flaws, Meltdown and Spectre which affect most microprocessors

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Famous Birthdays

1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet (d. 1782)
1886 – John G Fletcher, American poet (Epic of Arkansas)
1895 – Boris Mykolayovich Lyatoshyns’ky, Ukrainian composer and the father of modern Ukrainian music, born in Zhytomyr, Russian Empire (d. 1968)
1900 – Maurice Jaubert, French composer, born in Nice (d. 1940)
1936 – Jos Kunst, Dutch composer, born in Roermond (d. 1996)
1949 – Sylvia Likens, American torture victim (d. 1965)

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Famous Deaths

1841 – Wilhelmus Kist, writer/director of Dutch (Official) Gazette, dies at 82
1927 – Carle David Tolmé Runge, German mathematician and physicist, dies at 70
1963 – Oscar Backing, Austria/Neth viola player, dies at 83
1966 – Rex Lease, American actor (Fast Bullets, Sunny Skies, Custer’s Last Stand), dies at 62
2014 – Tom Rosenthal, British publisher and broadcaster, dies at 78
2020 – Qasem Soleimani, Iranian major general of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, killed at 62 in a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport, Iraq

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Today in History for 2nd January 2021

Historical Events

1602 – Spanish force in Ireland surrender to the English army at Kinsdale
1913 – National Woman’s Party forms
1928 – 14th Rose Bowl: Stanford beats Pittsburgh, 7-6
1942 – German troops in Bardia surrender
1989 – UCLA beats Arkansas Razorbacks, 17-3 to win the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas; record 7th consecutive football bowl game victory for the Bruins
1992 – Australian cricket spin bowling great Shane Warne (145 Tests, 708 wickets; 194 ODIs) makes Test debut v India in 3rd Test at Sydney Cricket Ground

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Famous Birthdays

1857 – Frederick Opper, cartoonist (Maud, Alphonse and Gaston)
1910 – Srirangam Srinivasarao [Sri Sri], Telugu Poet, born in Visakhapatnam, India (d. 1983)
1927 – David Herbert, publisher
1928 – Vaughn Beals, CEO (Harley Davidson motorcycle), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
1958 – Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian concert pianist (Tchaikovsky Prize, 1982; Leeds, 1987), born in Belebey, Bashkir ASSR (now Bashkortostan)
1974 – Ludmila Formanová, Czech athlete (World C’ship gold 800m 1999), born in Čáslav, Czech Republic

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Famous Deaths

1801 – Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss writer, philosopher, founder of physiognomics, dies at 59
1923 – Sam Carter, African American resident of Rosewood Florida, lynched in the Rosewood Massacre
1936 – Sir Francis Newdegate, English politician (Governor of Tasmania, Western Australia), dies at 73
2005 – Ronald “Bo” Ginn, American politician, dies at 70
2016 – Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Shiite religious leader and non-violent critic of the Saudi Arabian government, executed by the Saudi authorities aged 56 or 57
2018 – Thomas Monson, 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dies at 90

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Today in History for 1st January 2021

Historical Events

404 – Last gladiator competition in Rome
1941 – 27th Rose Bowl: #2 Stanford beats #7 Nebraska, 21-13
1959 – 25th Orange Bowl: #5 Oklahoma beats #9 Syracuse, 21-6
1960 – Bank of France issues new franc, worth 100 times the value of existing francs
1964 – 30th Sugar Bowl: #8 Alabama beats #7 Mississippi, 12-7
1967 – Tonga revises constitution

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Famous Birthdays

1729 – Edmund Burke, British statesman, philosopher and author (A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Reflections on the Revolution in France), born in Dublin, Ireland [NS=Jan 12]
1909 – Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian nationalist leader (d. 1959)
1938 – Robert Jankel, British coachbuilder (d. 2005)
1943 – Jimmy Hart, American pro wrestling manager (WWF, WCW; Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase and Jim Neidhart), born in Jackson, Mississippi
1959 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghanistan, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-6)
1983 – Park Sung-hyun, South Korean archer (Olympics gold individual/team 2004, team 2008; women’s WR in a FITA Round 1,405 points), born in Gunsan, South Korea

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Famous Deaths

1753 – Louis-Maurice de La Pierre, French composer, dies at 55
1850 – Raphael G. Kiesewetter, Austria musicologist (Arab Music), dies at 76
1853 – Gregory Blaxland, Australian explorer, dies of suicide at 74
1982 – Victor Buono, American actor and comic (Mr Schubert-Man from Atlantis), dies at 43
2015 – Donna Douglas, American actress (Elly May Clampett-The Beverly Hillbillies), dies of pancreatic cancer at 82
2020 – Don Larsen, American MLB pitcher (only perfect game in World Series history, Game 5 1956; World Series MVP 1956; NY Yankees), dies from esophageal cancer at 90

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Today in History for 31st December 2020

Historical Events

1929 – Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Divini illius magistri
1950 – Jockeys Bill Shoemaker and Joe Culmone set record of 388 wins in a year
1962 – “Match Game” debuts on NBC with host Gene Rayburn
1982 – TV soap “Doctors” ends 19 year run
1997 – Microsoft buys Hotmail email service for $400 million and re-launches it as MSN Hotmail
2004 – Official opening of Taipei 101, then the tallest skyscraper in the world, at a height of 509 metres (1,670 feet)

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – Marko Rothmuller, Croatian composer, born in Slavonski Brod, Croatia (d. 1993)
1939 – Hugh Lewin, South African anti-apartheid activist and writer (Bandiet: Seven Years in a South African Prison), born in Lydenburg, South Africa (d. 2019)
1956 – Steve Rude, American comics artist, born in Madison, Wisconsin
1956 – Martin Joseph Fettman, American researcher and astronaut (STS 58), born in Brooklyn, New York
1971 – Heath Shuler, NFL quarterback (Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints), born in Bryson City, North Carolina
1982 – Luke Schenscher, Australian basketball player, born in South Australia, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1890 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican war heroine (Costa Rica’s first woman in the military), dies at 74
1975 – Donal Michalsky, composer, dies at 47
1986 – Lester Trimble, American composer, music critic and educator, dies at 63
1994 – Leo Fuchs, Polish-born Jewish American actor (The Six Million Dollar Man, Avalon), dies at 83
1994 – BAM “Bob” Schreiner, airline owner (S Aviation Group), dies at 79
2000 – Alan Cranston, American politician (b. 1914)

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Today in History for 30th December 2020

Historical Events

1460 – Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield (Northern England), Duke of York killed and his forces soundly defeated by forces for King Henry VI
1835 – Georgia gold rush forces the Cherokees to move across the Mississippi River
1913 – Barnes takes 17 wickets vs South Africa (8-56 and 9-103)
1971 – Long Island NHL franchise purchased (NY Islanders)
1992 – Last day of Test Cricket for Michael Whitney
2016 – Ray Davies of The Kinks is awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II

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Famous Birthdays

1913 – Elyne Mitchell, Australian author (d. 2002)
1930 – Jerome Theisen, American Abbot Primate of the Benedictine order of monks, born in Loyal, Wisconsin (d. 1995)
1942 – Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian author and dissident
1945 – Davy Jones, English singer (The Monkees), born in Manchester, England (d. 2012)
1972 – Loren Meyer, NBA center (Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks)
1982 – Dathan Ritzenhein, American runner

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Famous Deaths

1944 – Romain Roland, French writer/pacifist (Nobel 1915), dies at 78
1956 – Ruth Draper, American actress and dramatist (The Italian Lesson), dies at 72
1961 – Jacobus “Ko” van den Bosch, Dutch actor (Amsterdamned)/dir, dies at 53
1988 – Yuli Daniel, Russian writer (b. 1925)
1988 – Isamu Noguchi, Japanese American sculptor (1963 Fine Arts Medal, Noguchi table), dies at 84
1993 – Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian physicist (Contribution to the discovery of the pion or pi-meson decay), dies at 86

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Today in History for 29th December 2020

Historical Events

1541 – Isabella of Poland and King Ferdinand of Austria sign Treaty of Gyalu
1900 – General Viljoen surprise attack British garrison to Helvetia
1948 – Canada recognizes Israel
1965 – CBS purchases NFL TV rights for 1966-68 at $18.8 million per year
1981 – Ballon d’Or: German 1-2-3 with Bayern Munich forward Karl-Heinz Rummenigge taking title of Europe’s best football player for the 2nd straight year; beats teammate Paul Breitner and Barcelona midfielder Bernd Schuster
1996 – “Taking Sides” closes at Atkinson Theater NYC

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Famous Birthdays

1856 – Thomas J Stieltjes, Dutch mathematician (Stieltjes integral), born in Zwolle, Netherlands (d. 1894)
1880 – Jean-Fernand Vaubourgoin, French composer (Ophellia), born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1952)
1928 – John Kennedy Sr., Australian Rules Football coach (Australian Football Hall of Fame legend; VFL Premiership 1961, 71, 76; Hawthorn FC; North Melbourne FC), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2020)
1951 – Georges Thurston, Canadian reggae and RandB singer, born in Bedford, Quebec (d. 2007)
1954 – Roger Voudouris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Sacramento, California
1970 – Aled Jones, Welsh pop-opera singer, born in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales

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Famous Deaths

1170 – Thomas Becket, English Archbishop of Canterbury, assassinated by 4 knights of King Henry II at 52
1822 – Albert Christoph Dies, German painter, engraver and biographer, dies at 67
1919 – William Osler, Canadian physician and author (circulatory system), dies at 70
2003 – Dinsdale Landen, British actor (The Mask of Janus), dies at 71
2008 – Kees [Cornelis Pieter] van Dijk, Dutch minister of the Interior, dies at 77
2015 – Elzbieta Krzesinska, Polish long jumper (Olympic gold 1956), dies at 76

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Today in History for 28th December 2020

Historical Events

1614 – Sperm whale beached at Noordwijk
1935 – Pravda publishes a letter by Pavel Postyshev, who revives New Year tree tradition in the Soviet Union
1969 – Dallas Cowboy kicker Mike Clark, attempting an on-side kick against Cleveland, missed the ball
1972 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1976 – Winnie Mandela banished in South Africa
2019 – 49th Fiesta Bowl (College Football Playoff semifinal), #3 Clemson beats #2 Ohio State, 29-23

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Famous Birthdays

1883 – Alfred Wolfenstein, German writer (d. 1945)
1920 – Steve Van Buren, NFL halfback (Philadelphia Eagles), (d. 2012)
1931 – Martin Milner, American actor (Route 66″, “Adam 12”), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2015)
1950 – Alex Chilton, US rock guitarist and vocalist (Box Tops), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2010)
1953 – Richard Clayderman, pianist (Amour, Romantic America)
1989 – Mackenzie Rosman, American actress, born in Charleston, South Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1897 – William Corby, American Catholic priest and President of the University of Notre Dame, dies at 64
1948 – Mahmud Nokrashy Pasha, Prime Minister of Egypt (19..-48), assassinated
1952 – Fletcher Henderson, American musician (b. 1897)
1956 – Roelof Kranenburg, Dutch social democratic chairman (1st Chamber), dies at 76
2015 – Ian Murdock, German-born American computer programmer (Debian project, Progeny Linux Systems), dies at 42
2017 – Rose Marie [Mazzetta], American actress, comedienne and singer (The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Doris Day Show), dies at 94

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Today in History for 27th December 2020

Historical Events

1512 – Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regards to native Indians in the New World
1945 – Arthur Laurent’s “Home of the Brave” premieres in NYC
1971 – 1st Fiesta Bowl: #8 Arizona State beats Florida State, 45-38
1974 – Dear Abby show ends run on CBS radio after 11 years
1984 – Padres’ free agent pitcher Ed Whitson signs with NY Yankees
1993 – Dow-Jones hits record 3792.93

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Famous Birthdays

1814 – James Henry Carleton, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Lubec, Maine (d. 1873)
1874 – Max Ettinger, Jewish-German composer (Jiddische Requiem), born in Lwow, Poland (d. 1951)
1896 – Louis Bromfield, Mansfield Ohio, writer (Early Autumn, Pulitzer-1926)
1907 – Conrad L. Raiford, Goodwill Ambassador (d. 2002)
1944 – Mick Jones, English rock guitarist (Foreigner-Want to Know What Love is), born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
1971 – Bryan Smolinski, NHL forward (Team USA, Pitts Penguins), born in Toledo, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

1743 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter, dies at 84
1782 – Henry Home, Lord Kames, Scottish philosopher (b. 1697)
1812 – Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Lithuanian rabbi and founder of Chabad Hasidism (b. 1745)
1997 – Brendan Gill, American critic (The New Yorker), dies at 83
2003 – Ivan Calderón, Puerto Rican baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1991; Chicago White Sox, Montreal Expos), dies from multiple firearm wounds at 41
2015 – Haskell Wexler, American cinematographer and director, dies at 93

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Today in History for 26th December 2020

Historical Events

1872 – 4th largest snowfall in NYC history (18″)
1917 – 1st NHL defensemen to score a goal: Toronto Maple Leaf Harry Cameron
1976 – NFC Championship, Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington: Minnesota Vikings beat Los Angeles Rams, 24-13
1981 – One of the great day’s Test Cricket at the MCG Australia v West Indies
2001 – Crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) record one of their largest 1-day jumps of the year as traders become convinced that OPEC will follow through on production cuts
2003 – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastates southeast Iranian city of Bam, killing tens of thousands and destroying the citadel of Arg-é Bam.

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Famous Birthdays

1778 – Juan Lovera, Venezuela, artist
1862 – Alexander Amfiteatrov, Russian-French-Italian writer, born in Kaluga, Russia (d. 1923)
1902 – Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan, Russian painter (d. 1980)
1920 – Gote Carlid, Swedish composer, born in Hogbo near Sandviken (d. 1953)
1961 – John Lynch, Irish actor, born in County Armagh, Northern Ireland
1979 – Mzbel [Nana Akua Amoah], Ghanaian singer (16 Years, Saucy Girl), born in Accra, Ghana

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Famous Deaths

1350 – Jean de Marigny, French bishop
1950 – Emile Enthoven, Dutch composer and lawyer, dies at 47
1961 – Charlie Frank, cricketer (S Af Test centurion v Aust 1921-22), dies
1983 – Violet Carson, British actress (b. 1898)
1989 – Doug Harvey, Canadian ice hockey defence player (‘100 Greatest NHL Players), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 65
2005 – Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1937)

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Today in History for 25th December 2020

Historical Events

1814 – Reverend Samuel Marsden of the Church Missionary Society holds the first Christian service in New Zealand on land, at Rangihoua
1896 – “Stars and Stripes Forever” written by John Philip Sousa
1923 – Imperial Theater opens at 249 W 45th St NYC
1968 – Frank Borman’s Christmas reading while orbiting the Moon
1977 – 7th Fiesta Bowl: #8 Penn State beats #15 Arizona State, 42-30
1983 – 1st live telecast of Christmas Parade at the EPCOT Centre, Disney World Florida

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Famous Birthdays

1250 – John IV Laskaris, Byzantine Emperor (d. circa 1305)
1829 – Patrick Gilmore, Irish-born American bandmaster and composer (When Johnny Comes Marching Home), born in Ballygar, Ireland (d. 1892)
1910 – Marguerite Churchill, American actress (Dracula’s Daughter, Big Trail), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2000)
1913 – Tony Martin [Alvin Morris], American singer (It’s a Blue World, To Each), born in San Francisco, California
1920 – Henry Charnock, oceanographer
1943 – Trevor Lucas, rocker (Fairport Convention)

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Famous Deaths

1406 – Henry III, King of Castile and León (1390-1406), dies at 27
1943 – Raymond Huntington Woodman, composer, dies at 82
1953 – Patsy Donovan, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1865)
1988 – Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (b. 1920)
1991 – Orane Demazis, French actress (Marius, Fanny et Caesar), dies at 87
2000 – Neil Hawke, Australian cricket fast bowler (27 Tests, 91 wickets), dies at 61

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