Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1851 – President Louis Napoleon Boaparte’s forces crush an attempted coup d’etat in France
1908 – Haiti’s president General Alexis Nord flees from military coup
1958 – Finnish government of Fagerholm resigns
1970 – Unemployment in US increases to 5.8%
1982 – Police and racist demonstrators clash in Antwerp
2017 – US President Donald Trump scales back Utah National Parks – Bears Ears National Monument (85%), Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (50%)

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Famous Birthdays

1580 – Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer, born in East Sutton, Kent, England (d. 1626)
1923 – Charles Keating, American district attorney (Los Angeles California), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2014)
1930 – Lorraine Chargin, American boxing promoter (Bobby Chacon, Tony “The Tiger” Lopez, Loreto Garza), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 2010)
1938 – Richard Meade, British equestrian (3 x Olympic gold eventing 1968, 72; World C’ship gold team 1970, 82), born in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales (d. 2015)
1964 – Scott Hastings, Scottish rugby union centre and broadcaster (65 caps; 2 caps British and Irish Lions; Watsonians RFC), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
1964 – Chelsea Noble, American actress (Kate-Growing Pains), born in Cheektowaga, New York

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Famous Deaths

1214 – William I “the Lion”, King of Scotland (1165-1214)
1952 – James E. Norris, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame team owner (Detroit Red Wings), dies at 72
1971 – Shunryu Suzuki, Zen teacher, founder of San Francisco Zen Center, dies
1975 – Hannah Arendt, German-American political theorist and historian (Origins of Totalitarianism), dies of a heart attack at 69
1994 – Geoffery Rudolph Elton, historiographer, dies at 73
2002 – Bernie Dwyer, British rock drummer (Freddie and The Dreamers), dies at 61

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Historical Events

1881 – Henry Morton Stanley founds Leopoldville (now Kinshasa)
1948 – “Pumpkin Papers” come to light (claimed to be from Alger Hiss)
1954 – William Walton’s opera “Troilus and Cressida” premieres in London
1958 – Indonesian parliament accepts nationalisation of Dutch businesses
1969 – John Lennon is offered role of Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ Superstar
2017 – First pizza party in space held by astronauts of the International Space Station

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Famous Birthdays

1368 – Charles VI “the Well-Beloved”, King of France (1380-1422), born in Paris, Île-de-France, France (d. 1422)
1883 – Tibby Cotter, Australian cricket fast bowler (21 Tests, 49 wickets) and solder (killed in world’s last successful cavalry charge, 4th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1917)
1908 – Halsey Stevens, American composer (Triskelion), born in Scott, New York (d. 1989)
1914 – Irving Fine, American composer (Toccata), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1962)
1927 – Isabelle Harriet Lucas, Canadian-born British actress and singer (Outland, Comics), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1997)
1965 – Steve Harris, American actor

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Famous Deaths

1894 – Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist (Treasure Island), dies at 45
1926 – Charles Ringling, American circus owner (Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus), dies at 63
1990 – Gavin Reed, actor (Body Beneath), dies at 59
1991 – Casey Walters, American actor (True Story of Lynn Stuart), after a stroke at 75
1996 – Det Glynn, teacher/anti-apartheid activist, dies at 84
1997 – Marian Kratochwil, artist, dies at 91

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Historical Events

1913 – French Government of Louis Barthou falls due to overtime conscription
1917 – Han Yong-woon, found Zen awakening at Osean Monastery Korea
1973 – Capital Centre (USAir Arena) opens in Landover Maryland; NBA’s Washington Bullets beat Seattle SuperSonics, 98-96 in opening game; arena demolished 2002
1989 – V. P. Singh sworn in as the 8th Prime Minister of India
1992 – WQEW-AM radio replaces WQXR on 1560 in NYC
1999 – The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive

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Famous Birthdays

1738 – Richard Montgomery, Irish General in Continental Army during American Revolutionary War, born in Swords, Dublin (d. 1775)
1884 – Ruth Draper, American actress and dramatist (The Italian Lesson), born in NYC, New York (d. 1956)
1941 – Sugar Ramos [Ultiminio Ramos], Cuban-Mexican boxer (World Featherweight champion 1963-64), born in Matanzas, Cuba (d. 2017)
1943 – Dave Munden, English rock drummer (Brian Poole and The Tremeloes), born in Dagenham, Essex, England
1954 – Huub Stapel, Dutch actor (Amsterdamned, Attic: Hiding of Anne Frank), born in Tegelen, Netherlands
1958 – George Saunders, American writer (Lincoln in the Bardo), born in Amarillo, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1552 – Francis Xavier, Spanish Catholic missionary (b. 1506)
1925 – Julio Garreta, composer, dies at 50
1935 – Albert Kessel, 1st to die in California gas chamber
1953 – Walter “Doc” Meanwell, English Basketball Hall of Fame coach (University of Wisconsin 1911–1917, 1920–1934), dies at 69
1985 – Philip Larkin, English poet and writer (North Ship, Jill), dies at 63
1990 – Robert Cummings, American actor (Love that Bob, Dial M For Murder), dies of kidney failure at 80

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Historical Events

1948 – Piet Roozenburg becomes world champion checker player
1956 – US men’s 4 x 100m relay team of Thane Baker, Leamon King, Bobby Morrow and Ira Murchison sets world record 39.60s to win the gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Morrow’s 3rd gold medal of the Games
1973 – 38th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 35-0 in Birmingham
1982 – Miguel de la Madrid inaugurated as President of Mexico
2007 – T. C. Williams High School’s newly constructed basketball court is named after Earl Lloyd
2018 – British boxer Tyson Fury dominates much of the fight but survives 2 knockdowns to force a split decision draw with defending WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder at the Staples Center, Los Angeles

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Famous Birthdays

1566 – Philip, earl of Nassau-Dillenburg, gov of Ft Gorinchem/Nijmegen
1891 – Foppe G Scheltema, Dutch lawyer (wreck laws)
1922 – Geraldine McCulloug, Maywood Ill, painter/sculptor (Phoenix)
1933 – Violetta Verdy, French ballerina and teacher, born in Pont-l’Abbé, Brittany (d. 2016)
1962 – Sylvie Daigle, Canadian speed skater (Olympic gold 3k relay 1992; World C’ship gold overall x 5), born in Sherbrooke, Quebec
1968 – Anders Holmertz, Swedish swimmer (4 x Olympic silver 200m, 1 x bronze 400m 1988-96), born in Motala, Sweden

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Famous Deaths

1377 – King Magnus II of Sweden (b. 1316)
1729 – Christian Ludwig Boxberg, German composer, dies at 59
1736 – Simon van Slingelandt, Dutch grand pensionary (1727-36), dies at 72
1947 – Aleister Crowley, British occultist, founded the religion of Thelema, dies at 72
1984 – Roelof Frankot, Dutch painter (b. 1911)
2004 – Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (b. 1911)

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Historical Events

1554 – England reconciles with Pope Julius III
1931 – His Master’s Voice and Columbia Records merge into EMI
1948 – Soviets set up a separate municipal government in East Berlin
1949 – KOTV TV channel 6 in Tulsa, OK (CBS) begins broadcasting
1956 – Milt Campbell sets Olympic record total of 7,937 points to upset fellow American and world record holder Rafer Johnson, and win the decathlon gold medal at the Melbourne Games
1988 – Cyclone lashes Bangladesh, Eastern India; 317 killed

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Famous Birthdays

1498 – Andrés de Urdaneta, Spanish Augustinian friar, sail-captain and explorer, born in Ordizia, Gipuzkoa, Crown of Castile (d. 1568)
1945 – Roger Glover, British hard rock bassist (Episode Six-Deep Purple)
1946 – Marina Abramović, Serbian American performance artist, born in Belgrade, Serbia
1970 – Robert Griffith, NFL strong safety (Minnesota Vikings)
1971 – Iván Rodríguez, MLB catcher (Texas Rangers), born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
1980 – Jamie Ashdown, English footballer

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Famous Deaths

1813 – Friedrich August Baumbach, German composer, dies at 60
1904 – Aldine Silliman Kieffer, American composer, dies at 64
1954 – Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (b. 1886)
1976 – Fritz Rasp, actor (Diary of a Lost Girl), dies at 85
2010 – Monty Sunshine, British jazz clarinetist and bandleader (Petite Fleur), dies at 82
2013 – John Zochonis, British industrialist (PZ Cussons) and philanthropist, dies at 84

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Historical Events

1864 – 4th and last day of skirmishes at Waynesboro, Georgia
1915 – Fire destroys most of the buildings on Santa Catalina Island, California.
1951 – 1st underground atomic explosion at Frenchman Flat in Nevada
1952 – 17th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 21-0 in Birmingham
1962 – Baseball decides to revert back to 1 all star game per year
1980 – 45th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 34-18 in Birmingham

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Famous Birthdays

1912 – Viola Smith, American drummer and bandleader (one of the first professional female drummers), born in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin (d. 2020)
1947 – Ronnie Montrose, American rock guitarist (Montrose, Gamma), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2012)
1962 – Sadanand Viswanath, Indian cricket wicket-keeper (v Sri Lanka 1985-86)
1968 – Pedro Martínez Aquino, Dominican pitcher (NY Mets), born in Villa Mella, Dominican Republic
1969 – Pierre van Hooijdonk, Dutch soccer player (NAC, Celtic), born in Steenbergen, Netherlands
1978 – Alessandro Fei, Italian volleyball player, born in Saronno, Italy

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Famous Deaths

1699 – Patrick Gordon, Scottish general (b. 1635)
1847 – Marcus Whitman, American physician and missionary (Oregon Trail), dies at 45
1976 – Godfrey Cambridge, American actor (Cotton comes to Harlem), dies of a heart attack at 43
1986 – Herb Vigran, actor (Vampire, Mark of Vampire), dies
1992 – Emilio Pucci, Italian fashion designer (Jackie Kennedy), dies at 78
1992 – Robert Shayne, American actor (Tora! Tora! Tora!), dies of cancer at 92

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Historical Events

1911 – Zapata proclaims Plan of Ayala Mexico
1944 – 400 Rotterdammers attack coal warehouse
1956 – Shirley Strickland de la Hunty of Australia retains her 80m hurdles Olympic title in OR 10.7s beating German Gisela Birkemeyer by just 0.2s at the Melbourne Games
1956 – Soviet runner Vladimir Kuts wraps up the Olympic middle distance double by winning the 5,000m gold medal at the Melbourne Games; runs Olympic records in both 5k and 10,000m events
1963 – The Beatles “She Loves You” unusually, returns to #1 in UK record chart and reaches 1 million copies sold
1989 – Rickey Henderson signs record $3,000,000 per year Oak A’s contract

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Famous Birthdays

1805 – John Stephens, American explorer and archaeologist (pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization throughout Middle America), born in Shrewsbury, New Jersey (d. 1852)
1904 – James Eastland, American politician (Sen-D-Miss 1943-68), born in Doddsville, Mississippi (d. 1986)
1925 – József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (d. 1978)
1929 – Berry Gordy, record company owner (Motown), born in Detroit, Michigan
1942 – Manolo Blahnik, Santa Cruz de La Palma Spain, shoe designer
1966 – Sam Seder, American comedian

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Famous Deaths

741 – Syrian Catholic Pope Saint Gregory III
1058 – Kazimierz I Restaurator, duke of Poland (1034-58), dies
1574 – Georg Major, German Protestant theologian, dies at 72
1954 – Enrico Fermi, Italian-American nuclear physicist (Nobel 1938), dies of stomach cancer at 53
1971 – Grantley Herbert Adams, Premier of Barbados (1953-58) and Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation (1958-62), dies at 73
1994 – Jerry Rubin, US anti-war activist (Youth Party) and businessman, dies at 56

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Historical Events

1912 – Spanish protectorate in Morocco forms
1924 – In New York City, the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is held.
1926 – Italian and Albania sign peace treaty
1967 – Gold pool nations pledge support of $35 per ounce gold price
1967 – French President Charles de Gaulle said ‘Non!’ to British entry to the European Common Market for the second time
2017 – North Korean ghost ship washes up Akita prefecture beach, Japan with 8 skeletons on board, 4th boat in a month

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Famous Birthdays

1630 – Sigismund Francis, Archduke of Austria, born in Innsbruck, Austria (d. 1665)
1891 – Pedro Salinas, Spanish writer (Generation of 1927), born in Madrid (d. 1951)
1942 – Michael Devlin, American bass-baritone, born in Chicago, Illinois
1943 – Nicole Brossard, French Canadian poet, born in Montreal, Quebec
1970 – Patricia Zentilli, Canadian actress (Lexx), born in Kingston, Ontario
1980 – Michael Yardy, English cricketer

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Famous Deaths

1984 – Percy Norris, deputy high commissioner of India, shot dead
1987 – Babe [Floyd Caves] Herman, Brooklyn Dodgers’ slugger (.324 lifetime average), dies at 84
1995 – Simon Bailey, 1st British priest to say he had AIDS, dies at 40
2006 – Bebe Moore Campbell, American author (b. 1950)
2007 – Sean Taylor, American NFL free safety (Pro Bowl 2006, 07; All Pro 2007; Washington Redskins), dies when shot by an armed intruder at 24
2013 – Nilton Santos, Brazilian footballer, dies from a lung infection at 88

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Historical Events

1476 – Vlad III Dracula defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Bathory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time.
1941 – Amateur tennis champ Bobby Riggs turns pro
1955 – “Boy Friend” closes at Royale Theater NYC after 483 performances
1961 – For 2nd time in his career, St Louis’ Jerry Norton has 4 interceptions
1974 – Approximately 140 die when suspension bridge collapses in Nepal
2017 – Presidential elections held in Honduras with allegations of electoral fraud and resulting violent protests

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Famous Birthdays

1818 – Louis Lacombe, French pianist and composer, born in Bourges, France (d. 1884)
1894 – Norbert Wiener, American mathematician (discovered cybernetics), born in Columbia, Missouri (d. 1964)
1905 – Bob Johnson, American baseball player, born in Pryor, Oklahoma (d. 1982)
1920 – Paul Rodenko, Dutch poet and author (Stolen Lover), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1976)
1921 – Françoise Gilot, French painter, designer, and author (Life with Picasso), born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
1970 – Lorissa McComas, American actress (Lap Dancing, Vamp), born in Columbus, Ohio (d. 2009)

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Famous Deaths

1933 – Edward Julius Biedermann, American organist and composer, dies at 84
1972 – R. P. Keigwin, English academic, dies at 89
1985 – Ransom Sherman, comedian (Father of Bride), dies at 87
1987 – Thomas G Lanphier Jr, US WW II pilot, dies at 71
1993 – Mart Kempers, Dutch graphic artist and sculptor, dies at 69
1993 – Imad Aqal, Palestinian Izz-Danish al-Qassem-leader, shot to death

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Historical Events

1165 – Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) visits Utrecht
1874 – The United States Greenback Party is established as a political party consisting primarily of farmers affected by the Panic of 1873.
1935 – International Institute for Social History (IISG) forms in Amsterdam
1981 – Failed coup by South African mercenaries in Seychelles
1986 – Oliver North’s secretary, Fawn Hall, smuggles documents out of his office
2000 – 12th Rugby League World Cup: Australia beats New Zealand 40-12

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Famous Birthdays

1752 – Johann Friedrich Reichardt, German composer, born in Königsberg, East Prussia (d. 1814)
1814 – Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (first law of thermodynamics), born in Heilbronn, Württemberg (d. 1878)
1839 – Stanisław Duniecki, Polish composer, born in Lviv, Ukraine (d. 1870)
1901 – Tibor Serly, Hungarian violinist and composer (American Elegy), born in Losonc, Kingdom of Hungary (d. 1978)
1965 – Cris Carter, Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver (8 × Pro Bowl 1993–2000; First-team All-Pro 1994, 99; NFL receiving TD leader 1995, 97, 99; Minnesota Vikings), born in Troy, Ohio
1973 – Yatil Green, wide receiver (Miami Dolphins)

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Famous Deaths

1773 – Carl Hockh, German composer, dies at 66
1815 – Johann Peter Saloman, German composer and violinist, dies at 70
1989 – Frank M Thomas, actor (Behind the Headlines, M’Liss), dies
1994 – Gerard John Toorenaar, Amsterdam police commissar, dies at 69
1996 – Hugh Joseph Charles James L’Etang, medical writer, dies at 79
2002 – Karel Reisz, Czech theater director (b. 1926)

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