Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1495 – Battle of Fornovo, near Parma: French King Charles VIII beats Holy League
1777 – British General Burgoyne captures Fort Ticonderoga from Americans
1903 – George Wyman arrives in NYC by motorcycle 51 days out of San Francisco
1980 – Phillies starter Steve Carlton fans 7 Cardinals to reach 2,836 strikeouts, the most by a left-handed pitcher in MLB history
1987 – Pakistan cricket all-rounder Imran Khan reaches 300th Test wicket milestone, during 3rd Test vs England at Leeds
1987 – 1st of 3 massacres by Sikh extremists takes place in India

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Famous Birthdays

1911 – Laverne Andrews, American singer (Andrews Sisters), born in Mound, Minnesota (d. 1967)
1923 – Marie McDonald, American singer and actress known as “The Body Beautiful” (Promises Promises), born in Burgin, Kentucky (d. 1965)
1930 – Françoise Mallet-Joris, Belgian writer (Signs and Wonders), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 2016)
1951 – Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor (Shakespeare in Love, The King’s Speech), born in Toowoomba, Queensland
1961 – Benita Fitzgerald-Brown, American 100m hurdler (Olympic gold 1984), born in Warrenton, Virginia
1986 – Derrick Williams, American football player

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Famous Deaths

1480 – Antonio Squarcialupi, Italian composer and organist, dies at 64
1902 – Leopoldo Miguez, Brazilian composer, dies at 51
1954 – Dirk Verbeek, Dutch actor and director (Hofstad Stage), dies at 70
1970 – Marjorie Rambeau, dies at 80
1992 – Edgardo Pallero, Argentina producer (Los hijos de fierro), dies
2004 – Syreeta Wright, American singer (b. 1946)

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Historical Events

1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland
1813 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York begin
1922 – Women 1st vote in Dutch elections, Christian parties win
1924 – Military revolt in Sao Paulo, Brazil
1929 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: In the first all-American final Helen Wills Moody beats Helen Jacobs 6-1, 6-2
2012 – Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party is elected President of Mexico after a recount following irregularities

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Famous Birthdays

1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, Queen consort of France (1570-74), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1592)
1904 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist (evolutionary theory), born in Kempten, Bavaria, Germany (d. 2005)
1957 – David Hanson, British Labour politician, born in Liverpool
1972 – Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Zainichi-Korean wrestler (NJPW), born in Kyoto, Japan
1974 – Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer, born in Brasília, Brazil
1991 – Jason Dolley, American actor and musician (Cory in the House), born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

1873 – John Robertson, American politician, dies at 87
1887 – August F Pott, German philological (That Personennamen), dies
1948 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch minister of Labor (1918-25), dies at 77
1989 – Ernesto Halffter, composer, dies at 84
1996 – Lorna Young, Scottish promoter of Fairtrade products, dies at 44
2006 – Kenneth Lay, American CEO and Chairman of Enron, dies at 64

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Historical Events

1301 – Battle at Breukelen: Holland vs Lichtenberg
1884 – Statue of Liberty presented to US in Paris
1938 – France-Turkish friendship treaty
1952 – Canadain Currency, Mint and Exchange Fund Act allows gold coins of $5, $10, and $20 to be minted
1980 – Nolan Ryan (Houston Astros) fans Reds’ Cesar Geronimo to become 4th pitcher to 3,000 MLB strikeouts
2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. (This was largely a symbolic event; actual construction would not start for several weeks)

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Famous Birthdays

1826 – Stephen Foster, American composer (Oh! Susanna, Swanee River), born in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania (d. 1864)
1868 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer (period-luminosity relation), born in Lancaster, Massachusetts (d. 1921)
1928 – Sylvius Gerald Marie Rozendal, Premier of Netherland’s Antilles, born in Willemstad, Curacao (d. 2003)
1966 – Adrian Caldwell, American NBA forward/center (Indiana Pacers), born in Falls County, Texas
1968 – Mark Lenzi, American 3m spring diver (Olympic gold 1992), born in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (d. 2012)
1980 – Max Elliott Slade, American film actor, born in Pasadena, California

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Famous Deaths

1187 – Reinoud van Châtillon, French prince of Antioch, dies
1754 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French dramatist and author, dies at 74
1848 – Francois Rene de Chateaubriand, French novelist (Atala), dies at 79
1910 – Louis Bourgault-Ducoudray, composer, dies at 70
1961 – William Franklin “Frank” Smith, American actor (Cowboy and Bandit, Scarlet Car, Frontier Days), dies of lung cancer at 83
1983 – Claus Adam, American composer and cellist (Juilliard Quartet), dies at 65

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Historical Events

1938 – President Franklin Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg Battlefield.
1940 – German occupiers forbid using Dutch royal names
1981 – NYC transit fare rises from 60 cents to 75 cents, new brass Y-cut-out token
1983 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: American John McEnroe wins 5th career Grand Slam title; outclasses Chris Lewis of New Zealand 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
1994 – The deadliest day in Texas traffic history, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Forty six people killed in crashes.
2007 – America’s Cup: Swiss defender Alinghi beats Team New Zealand by 1 second to take the series 5-2 off Valencia, Spain

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Famous Birthdays

1819 – Louis Théodore Gouvy, French-German composer, born in Sarre (d. 1898)
1866 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter, born in Stege, Møn, Denmark (d. 1906)
1902 – Jack Newman, New Zealand cricket lefty pace bowler (1932-33, later knighted), born in Brightwater, Nelson (d. 1996)
1909 – Earl Butz, 18th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1971-76), born in Albion, Indiana (d. 2008)
1936 – Eric Russell, English cricketer (England opening batsman early 60s), born in Dumbarton, Scotland
1970 – Victor Bailey, NFL wide receiver (KC Chiefs)

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Famous Deaths

1795 – Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French historian (b. 1714)
1904 – Edouard Beaupré, Canadian giant and strongman (b. 1881)
1976 – Hans Bentz van den Berg, Dutch actor (Last Train), dies at 58
1984 – Raoul Salan, French Army general and leader of OAS; Secret Army Organization (Algeria), dies at 85
1987 – Viola Dana, actress (Willow Tree, 40 Winks, Silent Lover), dies at 90
1993 – “Curly” Joe DeRita, American actor and comedian (The Three Stooges) dies of pneumonia at 83

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Historical Events

1917 – Riots in East St Louis, Missouri
1921 – In boxing’s first million dollar gate ($1.7m), world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey KOs Frenchman Georges Carpentier in round 4 of his 3rd title defence; crowd 91,000 at Boyle’s Thirty Acres in Jersey City, New Jersey
1932 – FDR makes 1st presidential nominating conventional acceptance speech
2001 – Bush Administration announce that it will seek to let oil companies drill on about 1,500,000 acres of the Gulf of Mexico
2005 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Venus Williams beats fellow American Lindsay Davenport 4-6, 7-6, 9-7 for the 3rd of her 5 Wimbledon singles titles
2018 – 270,000 people now displaced by fighting in south-western Syria says UN since assault on rebel-held area two weeks ago

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Famous Birthdays

1918 – Sheikh Imam, Egyptian singer and composer, born in Giza (d. 1995)
1925 – Medgar Evers, American civil rights activist and NAACP official who was assassinated, born in Decatur, Mississippi (d. 1963)
1926 – Billy Usselton, American big band jazz saxophonist (Les Brown and His Band of Renown), born in New Castle, Pennsylvania (d. 1994)
1939 – John H. Sununu, US Secretary of State (R, 1989-91), Governor of New Hampshire (1983-89), born in Havana, Cuba
1947 – Luci Baines Johnson Nugent Turpin, daughter of President LBJ
1972 – Darren Shan, Irish children’s author

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Famous Deaths

936 – Henry I the Vogelaar, German king (919-36), Duke of Saxon 912-36, dies
1708 – Willem of Nassau, mister of Zuylenstein/lt-gen/baron Enfield, dies
1746 – Thomas Baker, English antiquarian, dies at 89
1946 – Anthony Overton, publisher/cosmetics manufacturer/banker, dies at 81
1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American author and Nobel laureate (The Old Man and the Sea), dies from suicide at 61
1989 – Franklin Schaffner, American film director (b. 1920)

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Historical Events

1902 – US Congress passes the Philippines Government Act, providing that the Philippines be governed by a commission appointed by the President, with consent from the senate; Filipinos are to be treated as citizens of their land, no the USA
1902 – Ranji (230) and Newham (153) add 344 for 7th wkt, Sussex v Essex
1945 – First MLB superstar to return from WW II, Hank Greenberg homers in his 1st game (Detroit beats Philadelphia A’s 9-5)
1948 – Brooklyn’s future Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella debuts with 3 hits in a 6-4 loss to the rival NY Giants
2007 – Smoking in England is banned in all public indoor spaces: with the ban already in force in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, this means it is illegal to smoke in indoor public places anywhere in the UK. Australia implements a similar ban.
2014 – Martin Schulz is re-elected President of the European Parliament

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Famous Birthdays

1883 – Arthur Borton, English soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, born in Cheveney, Kent (d. 1933)
1904 – Mary Calderone, American physician and founder (planned parenthood), born in NYC, New York (d. 1998)
1934 – Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter, born in Paris (d. 2009)
1939 – Frank Parker, American actor (Days of our Lives, Never Too Young), born in Darby, Pennsylvania (2018)
1941 – Twyla Tharp, American dancer and choreographer (Twyla Tharp Dance Troupe), born in Portland, Indiana
1952 – Daniel “Dan” Aykroyd, Canadian-American comedian and actor (SNL, Dragnet), born in Ottawa, Canada

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Famous Deaths

1662 – Simon Ives, English court composer, dies at 61
1953 – Jacob D du Toit [Totius], South African poet/theologist, dies
1974 – Juan Perón, Argentine military officer and President of Argentina (1946-55, 73-74), dies of a heart attack at 78
1982 – John Everett Watts, American composer, dies at 51
1995 – Wolfman Jack [Robert Weston Smith], American disk jockey (Midnight Special), dies from a heart attack at 57
2006 – Fred Trueman, England cricket fast bowler (England 67 Tests, 307 wickets), dies of small cell carcinoma at 75

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Historical Events

1371 – Arnold II of Horne chosen bishop of Utrecht
1722 – Hungarian Parliament condemns Emperor Charles VI’s Pragmatic Sanctions
1955 – “Johnny Carson Show” debuts on CBS-TV
1974 – Canadian Open Golf (Peter Jackson Classic), Candiac GC: Carole Jo Skala wins by 3 from JoAnn Carner
1979 – “Good Times” single released by Chic (Billboard Song of the Year 1979)
1992 – Total solar eclipse in Uruguay (5m21s)

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Famous Birthdays

1843 – Ernest Mason Satow, British diplomat and scholar, born in Clapton, London, England (d. 1929)
1939 – Lindembergue Cardoso, Brazilian composer, born in Livramento de Nossa Senhora, State of Bahia, Brazil (d. 1989)
1949 – Bùi Thanh Liêm, Vietnamese cosmonaut, born in Hanoi, Vietnam (d. 1981)
1950 – Leonard Whiting, English actor and singer (Romeo and Juliet), born in London, England
1966 – Marton Csokas, New Zealand actor (Guy de Lusignan-Kingdom of Heaven), born in Invercargill, New Zealand
1983 – Patrick Wolf, British musician

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Famous Deaths

1660 – William Oughtred, English mathematician (b. 1575)
1930 – Harvey W. Wiley, American chemist known for leadership in the passage of the landmark Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, dies at 85
1935 – William Brockwell, cricket (British all-rounder in 7 Tests 1893-99), dies
1993 – George McFarland, American actor (Spanky-Our Gang/Little Rascals), dies at age 65
2014 – Bob Hastings, American actor, dies from prostate cancer at 89
2015 – eonard Starr, American comic strip cartoonist (Little Orphan Annie), dies at 89

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Historical Events

1891 – Street railway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, commences operation.
1925 – Canada House opens in London, England.
1967 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress, and Samuel S. Brody, attorney and Mansfield’s current partner, die in a car crash
2003 – US Senior Open Men’s Golf, Inverness Club: Bruce Lietzke wins by 2 strokes from Tom Watson
2006 – Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush’s plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates U.S. and international law.
2015 – Beijing Times reports 30% of the Great Wall of China has disappeared due to natural forces and stealing of bricks

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Famous Birthdays

1805 – Hiram Powers, American sculptor (Greek Slave), born in Woodstock, Vermont (d. 1873)
1900 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer, poet and pioneering aviator (The Little Prince), born in Lyon, France (d. 1944)
1901 – Nelson Eddy, American baritone (Duets with Jeanette MacDonald), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1967)
1906 – Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian general (youngest ever Soviet general of the army), born in Uman, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1945)
1942 – Larry Snyder, American jockey, born in Toledo, Ohio
1961 – Sharon Lawrence [Sharon Elizabeth], American actress (NYPD Blue, Fired Up), born in Charlotte, North Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1293 – Hendrik van Gent, Flemish neo-Augustian philosopher/theologist, dies
1764 – Ralph Allen, English businessman and politician (b. 1693)
1860 – Thomas Addison, English physician (A-Biermer Disease), dies at 67
1923 – Gustave Adolph Kerker, composer, dies at 66
2000 – Coen Flink, Dutch actor (Pastorale 1943, Havinck, Honneponnetje), dies at 68
2002 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer (Come On-a My House) and actress (White Christmas), dies of lung cancer at 74

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Historical Events

1904 – SS Norge runs aground and sinks off Rockall, North Atlantic, more than 635 die, largest maritime loss of life until Titanic
1954 – 111°F (44°C) at Camden, South Carolina (state record)
1975 – The South African rugby team beats France 33-18 in Pretoria
1987 – “Dreamgirls” opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 177 performances
2012 – A series of car bombs in Iraq kills 14 and injures 50 people
2015 – Greek Credit Crisis: Greek government says banks closed for a week and ATM withdrawals restricted after European Central Bank refused to supply emergency funds

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Famous Birthdays

1904 – Włodzimierz Poźniak, Polish composer, born in Kraków, Poland (d. 1967)
1925 – Anne Mackenzie, South African long distance athlete, born in Ceres, Cape Province, South Africa
1933 – Gunnar Reynir Sveinsson, composer, born in Reykjavík, Iceland
1946 – Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (SNL, Haunted Honeymoon), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1989)
1979 – Florian Zeller, French novelist (La Fascination du Pire) and playwright, born in Paris
1988 – Lacey Schwimmer, American dancer (So You Think You Can Dance), born in Redland, California

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Famous Deaths

1175 – Andrei Bogolyubsky, Russian prince
1916 – Ştefan Luchian, Romanian painter (b. 1868)
1992 – Mikhail Tai, World chess champion (1960-61), dies at 55
1993 – GG [Jesus Christ] Allin, American punk rock singer, dies of accidental heroin overdose at 36
2008 – Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakhstani model (b.1987)
2016 – Buddy Ryan, American NFL coach (Philadelphia Eagles, Phoenix Cardinals), dies at 85

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Historical Events

1358 – Republic of Dubrovnik is founded
1929 – President Paul von Hindenburg refuses to pay German debt of WWI
1950 – North Korean troops reach Seoul, UN asks members to aid South Korea, Harry Truman orders US Air Force and Navy into Korean conflict
1963 – USAF Major Robert A Rushworth in X-15 reaches 86,900 m
1999 – The Chemical Brothers go #1 on the UK album chart with ‘Surrender’, their second #1 album
2016 – US Supreme Court strikes down Texas law restricting abortion 5-3

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Famous Birthdays

1718 – Wenzel Raimund Pirck, composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1763)
1850 – Ivan Vazov, Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright (Under the Yoke), born in Sopot, Bulgaria (d. 1921)
1916 – Hallvard Olav Johnsen, Norwegian composer, born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 2003)
1929 – Dick the Bruiser [William Fritz Afflis], American professional wrestler, born in Delphi, Indiana (d. 1991)
1956 – Ted Haggard, American evangelical preacher (New Life Church, Colorado), born in Yorktown, Indiana
1959 – Janusz Kamiński, Polish cinematographer (Schindler’s List), born in Ziębice, Poland

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Famous Deaths

1654 – Johann V Andreae, German vicar/writer (Christenburg), dies at 67
1920 – Adolphe-Basile Routhier, French-Canadian lyricist (O Canada), dies at 81
1961 – Harry Hooton, Australian poet, dies of cancer at 52
1989 – A. J. Ayer, English Neopositivist philosopher (Logical Positivism), dies at 78
1992 – Allan Jones, American actor and singer (A Day at the Races, Showboat), dies at 84
2016 – Alvin Toffler, American author (Future Shock, Power Shift, The Third Wave), dies at 87

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