Category: On This Day

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Historical Events

1515 – Thomas Wolsey appointed Lord Chancellor of England
1832 – 1st US Negro hospital founded by whites chartered, Savannah, Georgia
1953 – René Coty elected president of France
1960 – Dutch bishops question papacy values
1999 – Opening of St Peter’s Holy Door by Pope John Paul II in approach of 3rd millennium
2001 – “Time Magazine” names New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ‘Person of the Year’, for leadership after 9/11 attacks

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Famous Birthdays

1879 – Émile Nelligan, Canadian francophone poet, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1941)
1930 – Robert Joffrey [Abdullah Jaffa Anver Bey Khan], American dancer, born in Seattle, Washington
1940 – Anthony Fauci, American immunologist (White House Coronavirus COVID-19 taskforce), born in Brooklyn, New York City
1949 – Warwick Brown, Australian racing driver, born in Sydney, Australia
1962 – Kate Spade, American fashion designer, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2018)
1974 – Ryan Seacrest, American television host, born in Dunwoody, Georgia

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Famous Deaths

1914 – John Muir, Scottish naturalist and discoverer (glacier in High Seirras), dies of pneumonia at 76
1952 – Henry A “Hans” Kramers, Dutch theoretical physicist, dies at 58
1993 – Alexander Mackendrick, American-born Scottish director (Lady Killers), dies at 81
1994 – John Keith Wright, English Asst Sect of State (1971-84), dies at 66
2007 – Akbar Radi, Iranian dramatist and playwright (b. 1939)
2012 – Richard Rodney Bennett, English composer, dies at 76

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Historical Events

1920 – Government of Ireland Act / Home Rule Act passed partitioning Ireland
1921 – Visva-Bharati University is inaugurated in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India, founded by Rabindranath Tagore
1941 – Japan begins assault on Rangoon, Burma
1961 – Train accident in Italy, 70 die
1968 – 82 members of US intelligence ship Pueblo released by North Korea
1973 – 6 Persian Gulf nations double their oil prices

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Famous Birthdays

1544 – Anna, duchess of Saxson/wife of prince Willem of Orange (1561-71)
1613 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish soldier (d. 1676)
1914 – Dezider Kardos, Slovak composer, born in Nadlice, Slovakia (d. 1991)
1921 – Gerald S O’Loughlin, American actor and director (Storefront Lawyer, Rookies, Wheels), born in NYC, New York (d. 2015)
1973 – Tony Graziani, American football quarterback (Atlanta Falcons), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
1975 – Sky Lopez, American actress, born in Stillwater, Minnesota

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Famous Deaths

558 – Childebert, king of France (511-58), dies at about 62
1805 – Pehr Osbeck, Swedish explorer and naturalist (b. 1723)
1930 – Johannes H. Been, Brielle archivist, dies at 71
1972 – Andrej Tupolev, Russian aircraft builder, dies at 84
1982 – Norman Dinerstein, American composer, dies of a heart attack at 45
1995 – David Land, impresario and theatre producer, dies at 77

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