Category: On This Day

Historical Events

608 – St Boniface IV begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1616 – First non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy
1923 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Germantown CC, Philadelphia: Bill Tilden wins 4th of 6 straight US singles titles; beats Bill Johnston 6-4, 6-1, 6-4
1941 – Nazis kill 800 Jewish women at Shkudvil, Lithuania
1949 – WJXT TV channel 4 in Jacksonville, FL (CBS) begins broadcasting
1970 – Officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in Northern Ireland vote narrowly in favour of remaining unarmed

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Famous Birthdays

1911 – Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-born American golf entrepreneur (d. 2000)
1922 – Jackie Cooper, American actor and director (Skippy, Superman), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2011)
1940 – Frank Linzy, American baseball player, born in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma
1962 – Aubrey Matthews, NFL wide receiver (Detroit Lions)
1971 – Myron Bell, NFL safety (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1979 – Amy Davidson, American actress

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Famous Deaths

1654 – Cornelis Bicker, merchant/mayor of Amsterdam, dies at 61
1916 – Isidore Edouard Legouix, composer, dies at 82
1972 – Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Turkish composer, one of “The Turkish Five” (Köçekçe – Dance Rhapsody for Orchestra), dies from a stroke at 66
1983 – Prince Far I, reggae deejay, producer and Rastafarian
2003 – Josef Hirsal, Czech novelist (b. 1920)
2007 – Brett Somers, Canadian-born American actress and Match Game panelist (b. 1924)

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Historical Events

1876 – Henry Morton Stanley’s expedition leaves Rwanda
1938 – Graf Zeppelin II, world’s largest airship, makes its maiden flight
1954 – Hurricane Edna (2nd of 1954) hits NYC, $50 million damage
1972 – West Germany and Poland establish diplomatic relations
1985 – 10th Toronto International Film Festival: “The Official Story” directed by Luis Puenzo wins the People’s Choice Award
1986 – Saskatchewan and Hamilton play 1st CFL regular-season overtime game

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Famous Birthdays

1547 – Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch lawyer and statesman, born in Amersfoort, Netherlands (d. 1619)
1721 – Eliphalet Dyer, American statesman and judge, born in Windham, Connecticut (d. 1807)
1910 – Jack Hawkins, British actor (Lawrence of Arabia, Ben-Hur Just Men, Zulu, Malta Story), born in London, England (d. 1973)
1915 – Douglas Kennedy, American actor (Dark Passage, The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold), born in NYC, New York (d. 1973)
1959 – Morten Harket, Norwegian rocker (Aha-Take on Me), born in Kongsberg, Norway
1965 – Troy Neel, American baseball player, born in Freeport, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1321 – Dante Alighieri, Italian poet and author (Dante’s Inferno, Divina Commedia), dies at 56
1538 – Henry of Nassau-Dillenburg and Dietz, viceroy of Holland, dies
1715 – Dom Pérignon, French-Benedictine monk who helped improve the quality of champagne, dies at 76 or 77
1926 – Johan LE Dreyer, Danish astronomer (Catalog of Nebulae), dies at 74
1965 – Lydia Mei, Estonian artist who specialized in watercolors and still lifes, dies at 69
1990 – Wime de Craene, Flemish singer and composer, dies at 40

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Historical Events

1791 – France’s King Louis XVI accepts constitution
1961 – Unmanned Mercury-Atlas 4 launched into Earth orbit
1983 – US mint strikes 1st gold coin in 50 years (Olympic Eagle)
1993 – Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres and PLO official Mahmoud Abbas sign the Oslo I peace accord
2001 – Civilian aircraft traffic resumes in the U.S. after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
2015 – Evian Championship Women’s Golf, Evian Resort GC: Lydia Ko of New Zealand wins by 6 from Lexi Thompson to become youngest major winner, 18yrs, 142 days

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Famous Birthdays

1813 – John Sedgwick, American Major General (Union Army), who is best remembered for his famous last words “they couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance” before being shot in battle, born in Cornwall, Connecticut (d. 1864)
1938 – Judith Martin, American author, journalist and columnist (Miss Manners), born in Washington, D.C.
1966 – Maria Furtwängler, German physician and TV actress, born in Munich, Germany
1970 – Yuki Matsuoka, Japanese voice actress, born in Hirano-ku, Osaka, Japan
1970 – Louise Lombard, British actress (The House of Eliott), born in Redbridge, London, England
1975 – Sean McClain, fencer-foil (Olympics 1996), born in Dayton, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

81 – Titus Flavius Vespasianus, emperor of Rome (69-81), dies of a fever at about 42
1506 – Andrea Mantegna, Italian painter
1948 – Paul Wegener, German actor and director (The Golem, The Student of Prague), dies at 73
1976 – Armand Mondou, French Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1905)
1991 – Joe Pasternak, Hungarian-American film producer (Spinout, Big City), dies of Parkinson’s at 73
1996 – Anthony Nicholas Maria Wahl, American historian, dies at 68

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Historical Events

1635 – Sweden and Poland sign ceasefire Treaty of Stuhmsdorf
1908 – Canada appoints a Civil Service Commission, initiating a more equitable system for selecting civil servants
1953 – “Carnival in Flanders” closes at New Century Theater NYC after 6 performances
1961 – NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 34,840 m
1966 – WCES TV channel 20 in Wrens, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
1979 – Carl Yastrzemski gets his 3,000th hit off NY Yankee Jim Beattie

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Famous Birthdays

1897 – Irene Joliot-Curie, French physicist, (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935), born in Paris, France (d. 1956), daughter of Marie Curie
1901 – Ben Blue, Canadian actor and comedian (Accidental Family, Frank Sinatra Show), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1975)
1924 – Howard Curtis Nielson, American politician (Rep-R-UT, 1983-91), born in Richfield, Utah
1957 – Rachel Ward, English-Australian actress (Thorn Birds), born in Cornwell, Oxfordshire, England
1962 – Amy Yasbeck, American actress (Casey Davenport-Wings, Mask), born in Blue Ash, Ohio
1978 – Elisabetta Canalis, Italian model and actress, born in Sassari, Italy

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Famous Deaths

1012 – Guido van Anderlecht, Flemish pilgrim/saint, dies
1369 – Blanche of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt, dies possibly of the plague at 24 (age disputed)
1674 – Nicolaas Tulp, Mayor of Amsterdam (1654-71), dies at 80
1923 – Jules Violle, French physicist and inventor, dies at 81
1988 – Lauris Morstad, NATO commander/CEO Corning Fiberglass, dies at 71
1995 – Jeremy Brett [Peter Huggins], English actor (Sherlock Holmes), dies at 61

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Historical Events

1792 – The French Blue gem (later the Hope Diamond) is stolen with other French crown jewels from Royal storehouse in Paris during Reign of Terror
1965 – Beatles’ “Help!,” album goes #1 and stays #1 for 9 weeks
1967 – WUNF TV channel 33 in Asheville, NC (PBS) begins broadcasting
1973 – Chilean President Salvador Allende is deposed in a military coup led by general Augusto Pinochet
2001 – Attempt by passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 to retake control of their hijacked plane from terrorists causes plane to crash in Pennsylvania field killing all 64 people on board
2019 – Water detected for first time on planet outside out solar system, on exoplanet K2-18b 110 light-years away, in findings published in “Nature Astronomy”

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Famous Birthdays

1771 – Mungo Park, Scottish explorer (first westerner to travel the central Niger River in Africa), born in Selkirkshire, Scotland (d. 1806)
1813 – Conrad Feger Jackson, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Alsace Township, Pennsylvania (d. 1862)
1885 – D. H. Lawrence, English poet and writer (Lady Chatterley’s Lover), born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire (d. 1930)
1916 – Ed Sabol, American filmmaker (NFL Films), born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2015)
1930 – Saleh Selim, Egyptian football player and 10th president of the Egyptian Al-Ahly Sporting Club, born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 2002)
1935 – Arvo Pärt, Estonian composer, born in Paide, Järva County

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Famous Deaths

1973 – Neem Karoli Baba, Indian guru
1982 – Albert Soboult, French historian, dies at 68
1985 – Andrew C. Thornton II, American drug smuggler (b. 1945)
1993 – Antoine Izmery, Haitian businessman/advisor to pres Aristide, murdered
1999 – Belkis Ayón, Cuban printmaker (collography), commits suicide of at 32
2009 – Gertrude Baines, American supercentenarian and the world’s oldest living person, dies at 115

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Historical Events

1931 – Lord Cecil of British government says War was never so improbable
1949 – “Cabatgata (A Night in Spain)” closes at Broadway NYC after 76 performances
1966 – Neil Diamond has his first Billboard chart success with single “Cherry Cherry”
1985 – U.S. 7th Circuit Court rules Soviet defector Walter Polovchak can’t be forcibly returned to parents’ country if it’s deemed “not in the best interests” of underage defectors
2012 – US Open Men’s Tennis: Andy Murray of Scotland wins his first Grand Slam event; beats defending champion Novak Đoković 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2
2019 – Novelist Margaret Atwood publishes “The Testaments”, her follow-up to “The Handmaid’s Tale”

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Famous Birthdays

1869 – Caro Roma [Carrie Northey], American composer and singer, born in California (d. 1937)
1898 – Bessie Love, American actress (Broadway Melody, Children of Damned), born in Midland, Texas (d. 1986)
1930 – Kenneth Kweku Sinaman Dadzie, Ghanian diplomat (first African Secretary-General of UNCTAD), born in Gold Coast (d. 1995),
1932 – Bo Goldman, American screenwriter (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), born in New York City
1937 – Alun Pask, Welsh rugby union flanker (26 caps; British Lions 8 caps; Abertillery), born in Blackwood, Monmouthshire (d. 1995)
1944 – Thomas Allen, British operatic baritone singer, born in Seaham Harbour, England

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Famous Deaths

1197 – Henry II of Champagne (b. 1166)
1868 – Franz Anton Adam Stockhausen, German composer and harpist, dies at 79
1916 – Friedrich Gernsheim, German composer, dies at 77
1932 – Percy Fletcher, British composer, dies at 52
1983 – Balthazar Johannes Vorster, Prime Minister of South Africa (1966-77), dies at 67
1999 – Alfredo Kraus, Spanish tenor (b. 1927)

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Historical Events

1967 – Debra Dene Barnes (Kansas), 20, crowned 40th Miss America 1968
1972 – US Open Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Billie Jean King retains her title; beats Kerry Melville Reid of Australia 6-3, 7-5
1985 – Race riot in Birmingham, England
1993 – Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization exchange letters of mutual recognition
2018 – Arirang Mass Games begins in North Korea to mark country’s 70th anniversary featuring tens of thousands performing
2018 – Swedish General Election: no party wins a majority with far-right Sweden Democrats making gains

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Famous Birthdays

1858 – Benjamin Kidel, English Sudan (Control of the Tropics)
1908 – Cesare Pavese, Italian writer (La belle estate)
1921 – Andrzej Dobrowolski, Polish classical and experimental composer, born in Lwów, Poland (now Ukraine) (d. 1990)
1922 – Hans Dehmelt, German-born American physicist (Nobel Prize 1989), born in Gorlitz (d. 2017)
1938 – Don Hogan Charles, American photographer and first African-American photographer hired by The New York Times, born in NYC, New York (d. 2017)
1942 – Luther Simmons, American RandB singer, songwriter and producer (The Main Ingredient – “Everybody Plays The Fool”), born in New York City (d. 2016)

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Famous Deaths

1902 – Titus AJ van Asch van Wijck, Governor of Suriname (1891-97), dies at 53
1915 – A. G. Spalding, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, manager and executive (NL wins leader 1871–76; co-founder of Spalding sporting goods company), dies at 66
1964 – Charles O’Neill, Canadian composer, dies at 82
1965 – Julian Antonio Carillo-Trujillo, composer, dies at 90
1991 – Joop Zwart, Dutch political activist and resistance fighter, dies at 78
2006 – Gérard Brach, French screenwriter (b. 1927)

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Historical Events

1553 – City of Lichfield, England, founded
1953 – “Carnival in Flanders” opens at New Century Theater NY for 6 performances
1968 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1973 – Hank Aaron sets record of most HRs in 1 league (709)
2015 – Comedian Stephen Colbert debuts as the new host of CBS’s “The Late Show”
2015 – Pope Francis announces moves to streamline the annulment process within the Catholic Church

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Famous Birthdays

1857 – Ida Henrietta Hyde, American physiologist who invented the micro-electrode and the first woman allowed to do research at Harvard Medical School and to be elected to the American Physiology Society, born in Davenport, Iowa (d. 1945)
1912 – Leo Cherne, American economist and commentator (All Star News), born in NYC, New York (d. 1999)
1946 – Dean Daughtry, American rock keyboardist (Atlanta Rhythm Section), born in Kinston, Alabama
1959 – Daler Nazarov, Tajik composer and actor, born in Stalinabad, Tajik SSR
1972 – Phil Laak, Irish-American professional poker player, born in Dublin
1975 – John Thomas, American NBA forward (Boston Celtics), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota

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Famous Deaths

1637 – Robert Fludd, composer, dies at 63
1871 – Etienne-Joseph Soubre, composer, dies at 57
1955 – John de Young, cardinal/archbishop of Utrecht, dies at 69
1969 – Alexandra David-Néel, Belgian-French explorer and writer, dies at 100
1980 – Bruce Dooland, Australian cricket all-rounder (3 Tests; Nottinghamshire; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1955), dies at 56
1993 – Zaki Naguib Mahmoud, Egyptian philosopher/author/diplomat, dies at 88

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Historical Events

1813 – “Uncle Sam” 1st used to refer to the US, by Troy Post of New York
1923 – Interpol forms in Vienna
1941 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: 1939 champion Bobby Riggs beats Frank Kovacs 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3
1960 – Ljudmila Shevcova runs female olympic record 800m (2:04.3)
1970 – Donald Boyles sets record for highest parachute jump from a bridge, by leaping off of 1,053′ Royal George Bridge in Colorado
2008 – 25th MTV Video Music Awards: Britney Spears and Chris Brown win

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Famous Birthdays

1726 – François-André Danican Philidor, French composer and chess champion, born in Dreux, France (d. 1795)
1864 – Ernest Halliwell, South African cricket wicketkeeper (8 Tests), born in Ealing, England (d. 1919)
1914 – Graeme Bell, Australian pianist and composer, born in Richmond, Victoria, Australia (d. 2012)
1921 – Arthur Ferrante, American pianist and composer (Ferrante and Teicher – Exodus), born in NYC, New York (d. 2009)
1943 – Beverley McLachlin, Canadian jurist (17th Chief Justice of Canada), born in Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada
1987 – Evan Rachel Wood, American actress (Thirteen), born in Raleigh, North Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1951 – María Montez [Vidal], Dominican actress known as The Queen of Technicolor (Cobra Woman, Arabian Nights), dies of heart seizure at 39
1954 – Bud Fisher, American cartoonist (Mutt and Jeff), dies at 69
1959 – Maurice Duplessis, 16th Premier of Quebec, dies at 69
1962 – Isak Dinesen [Karen Blixen-Finecke], Danish baroness and writer (Out of Africa), dies at 77
1991 – John Crosby, American columnist/detective writer dies at 79
1997 – Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire (1965-97), dies at 66

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Historical Events

1863 – -7] After 59 day siege Confederate troops vacate Fort Wagner SC (1700 casualties)
1876 – Race riot in Charleston, South Carolina
1939 – World War II: The Battle of Barking Creek.
1958 – US performs nuclear test at S Atlantic Ocean
1992 – Noureddine Morceli runs world record 1500m (3:28.86)
2012 – 61 illegal immigrants die after a fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Turkey

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Famous Birthdays

1876 – Willem Adriaan Bonger, Dutch criminologist (Race and Crime), born in Amsterdam (d. 1940)
1908 – Anthony Wagner, Officer of Arms at the College of Arms in London (d. 1995)
1917 – George Mann, English cricketer, born in Byfleet, Surrey, England (d. 2001)
1926 – Claus von Amsberg, husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, born in Hitzacker, Germany (d. 2002)
1955 – Carl E. Walz, American NASA astronaut (STS 51, 65, 79), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1970 – Torrance Small, American NFL wide receiver (New Orleans Saints), born in Tampa, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1780 – William Allen, Mayor of Philadelphia, dies at 76
1962 – Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (b. 1892)
1966 – Luigi Perrachio, Italian composer, dies at 83
1997 – Philippe Rossillon, administrator, dies at 66
1999 – René Lecavalier, French Canadian sportscaster (b. 1918)
2019 – Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean revolutionary, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (1980-87) and 1st black President of Zimbabwe (1988-2017), dies at 95

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