Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1716 – French transport the 1st African slaves to Louisiana
1882 – Cyclone in Arabian Sea (Bombay, India) drowns 100,000 (disputed event)
1975 – Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam established
1983 – Li Xiannian becomes President of the People’s Republic of China and Deng Xiaoping the supreme commander
1992 – 124th Belmont: Eddie Delahoussaye aboard AP Indy wins in 2:26
2017 – Korean singer T.O.P is rushed to hospital after a suspected overdose while serving mandatory military service

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Famous Birthdays

1819 – William Howard Glover, English composer, born in London, England (d. 1875)
1896 – Henry Allingham, British supercentenarian and World War I veteran, born in Clapton, London (d. 2009)
1909 – Isaiah Berlin, Latvian-British philosopher, born in Riga, Latvia, Russian Empire (d. 1997)
1919 – Charles Pringle, British air marshal, born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2012)
1963 – Vladimir Ruzicka, hockey forward (Team Czech Olympic gold 1998)
1967 – Paul Giamatti, American actor

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Famous Deaths

1891 – John A. Macdonald, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (1867-73 and 1878-91), dies of a stroke at 76
1994 – Willie Humphrey, American jazz clarinetist, dies at 93
1996 – Richard Michael Hills, comedy script writer, dies at 70
2002 – Robbin Crosby, American heavy metal rock guitarist and vocalist (Ratt-Round and Round), dies at 42
2003 – Ken Grimwood, American writer (b. 1944)
2013 – Tom Sharpe, British satirist and author, dies from complications from diabetes at 85

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Historical Events

1851 – Anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe first published in serial form in “The National Era”
1925 – US Open Men’s Golf, Worcester CC: Scotsman Willie Macfarlane beats Bobby Jones by 1 stroke in a second 18-hole playoff for his only major title
1965 – Lopez Arellano becomes president of Honduras
1993 – “Livin’ On The Edge” by Aerosmith hits #18
1994 – “Gray’s Anatomy” opens at Beaumont Theater NYC for 8 performances
2018 – Miss America pageant announces an end to its swimsuit competition

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Famous Birthdays

1916 – Eddie Joost, baseball player
1919 – Richard Scarry, children’s author and illustrator (What Do People Do All Day?), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1994)
1925 – William L Dickinson, (Rep-R-AL, 1965- )
1931 – John Dellow, commisioner (London Metropolitan Police)
1932 – A R Dawson, rugby player
1946 – Gillian Hills, English actress (Blow-up, Clockwork Orange), born in Cairo, Egypt

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Famous Deaths

754 – Boniface, [Winfrid], English saint/archbishop (Dokkum), dies at 79
1316 – Louis X, King of France (1314-16), dies at 26
1826 – Carl Maria von Weber, German romantic composer (Der Freischutz), dies at 39
1910 – O. Henry [William Sydney Porter], American short story writer (Cabbages and Kings), dies at 47
1998 – Alfred Kazin, American writer and literature critic (The Inmost Leaf), dies at 83
2012 – Barry Unsworth, British novelist, dies from lung cancer at 81

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Historical Events

1927 – 1st Ryder Cup Golf, Worcester CC: US beats Great Britain, 9½-2½; Walter Hagen first American captain; Ted Ray first GB skipper
1942 – Battle of Midway begins; Japan’s 1st major defeat in WW II
1944 – 5th Army enters and liberates Rome from Mussolini’s Fascist armies
1947 – “Louisiana Lady” closes at Century Theater NYC after 4 performances
1990 – Dr Jack Kevorkian assists an Oregon woman to commit suicide, beginning a national debate over the right to die
1990 – Greyhound Bus files bankruptcy

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Famous Birthdays

1867 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish general and 6th President of Finland (1944-46), born in Askainen, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire (d. 1951)
1899 – Leo Spies, Russian-born German composer, born in Moscow (d. 1965)
1923 – John Lea, British vice-admiral, born in Shimla, India (d. 2015)
1953 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish songwriter and guitarist (Wings), born in Dumbarton (d. 1979)
1968 – Scott Wolf, actor (Broken Arrow, Party of 5), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1970 – Ekrem İmamoğlu, Turkish politician, Mayor of Istanbul (2019-) , born in Akçaabat, Turkey

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Famous Deaths

1206 – Adèle of Champagne, wife of Louis VII of France
1872 – Stanisław Moniuszko, Polish composer, dies at 53
1970 – Sonny Tufts [Bowen Charleton Tufts III], American actor (The Seven Year Itch, Variety Girl), dies from pneumonia at 58
1993 – June Smaney, actress (Sainted Sister), dies of apparent suicide at 71
2007 – Freddie Scott, American singer and songwriter (Cry to Me), dies at 74
2012 – Herb [Herbert] Reed, American musician (The Platters), dies at 83

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Historical Events

1860 – Comanche, Iowa, completely destroyed by one of a series of tornadoes
1950 – French expedition reaches top of Himalayan peak of Annapurna in Nepal
1964 – Ringo Starr collapses from tonsillitis and pharyngitis
1967 – 99th Belmont: Bill Shoemaker aboard Damascus wins in 2:28.8
1974 – Yitzhak Rabin forms a new Israeli government
2018 – Guatemala’s Fuego volcano erupts killing at least 110, with 332 missing and forcing the evacuation of over 3,100

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Famous Birthdays

1771 – Charles Bernard Desormes, Dijon, French Physicist and Chemist who determined the ratio of the specific heats of gases as well as the exact composition of carbon monoxide and carbon disulphide
1864 – Ransom Eli Olds, American auto (Oldsmobile) and truck (REO) manufacturer, born in Geneva, Ohio (d. 1950)
1911 – Olaf Okern, Norwegian Nordic skier (Olympic-medal-1948)
1922 – Alain Resnais, French director (Muriel, Hiroshima mon amour), born in Brittany, France (d. 2014)
1926 – Hamilton Fish Jr, (Rep-R-NY, 1969- )
1974 – Arianne Zuker, American actress

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Famous Deaths

1864 – Peter A Porter, US Union colonel (8th NY), dies in battle
1877 – Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of Netherlands as wife of William III, dies at 58
1964 – Frans Eemil Sillanpää, Finnish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
1967 – Arthur Mitchell Ransome, critic/children’s book author, dies
1994 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, physicist, dies at 89
2009 – David Carradine, American actor (Kung Fu, Mean Streets, Kill Bill V.1 and 2), dies at 72

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Historical Events

1869 – Cleveland’s Forest City play their 1st game (vs Cincinnati Red Stockings)
1960 – Broadway theaters close (labor dispute between owners and Actors Equity)
1973 – “Nash at Nine” closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 21 performances
1986 – NYC transit system issues a new brass with steel bullseye token
1994 – Sharon Stone files $12m lawsuit against her jeweler
1996 – 9th Children’s Miracle Network Telethon

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Famous Birthdays

1857 – Edward Elgar, English composer (Coronation Ode, Pomp and Circumstance), born in Lower Broadheath, Worcestershire (d. 1934)
1929 – Norton Juster, American author, architect and children’s author (The Dot and the Line), born in New York City
1946 – Roger Freed, baseball player
1967 – Mike Stanton, American pitcher (NY Yankees, Boston Red Sox), born in Houston, Texas
1973 – Jayantha Silva, cricketer (Sri Lankan Test left-arm spinner 1995)
1976 – Josef Marha, Havl-brod Cze, NHL center (Colorado Avalanche)

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Famous Deaths

1968 – R Norris Williams, American tennis player, survivor RMS Titanic sinking (US Nat C’ship 1914, 16), dies of emphysema at 77
1990 – Shriram Sharma, Indian spiritual leader and founder of “All World Gayatri Pariwar”, dies at 78
1994 – David Stove, Australian philosopher (b. 1927)
2001 – Imogene Coca, American comedienne (Your Show of Shows, Grindl), dies at 92
2004 – Nicolai Ghiaurov, Bulgarian opera singer, dies at 74
2013 – Mario Bernardi, Canadian pianist and conductor, dies at 82

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Historical Events

1866 – General Dutch Typographer Union forms
1935 – Driving test and license plates introduced in England
1958 – Belgian christian-democrats win parliamentary election
1962 – SS officer Adolf Eichmann is executed in Israel after being found guilty of war crimes
1968 – 100th Belmont: Gus Gustines aboard Stage Door Johnny wins in 2:27.2
2018 – Law professor Giuseppe Conte is sworn in as Italian Prime Minister as head of a populist coalition

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Famous Birthdays

1549 – Allesandre Spontone, composer
1881 – Charles Kay Ogden, English writer and linguist (d. 1957)
1955 – Ralph Morse, British actor, singer and writer of historical dramas
1970 – Alexi Lalas, American soccer defender (96 caps; NE Revolution, LA Galaxy), born in Birmingham, Michigan
1972 – Daniel Casey, English actor (Midsomer Murders), born in Stockton-on-Tees, England
1973 – Adam Garcia, Australian actor

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Famous Deaths

1710 – David Mitchell, Scottish admiral in the British Royal navy (b. 1642)
1846 – Gregory XVI [Bartolomeo Alberto Mauro Cappellari], Pope (1831-1846), dies at 80
1943 – Wilfrid B. Israel, Jewish activist
1959 – Sax Rohmer [Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward], English author (Dr Fu Manchu novels), (b. 1883)
1980 – Rube Marquard, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (NL wins leader 1912; NL strikeout leader 1911; no-hitter 1915; NY Giants), dies at 93
2014 – Ann B. Davis, American actress, dies from a subdural hematoma from a fall at 88

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Historical Events

1659 – Netherlands, England and France sign Treaty of The Hague
1880 – League of American Wheelmen (1st US bicycle association), forms in Newport, Rhode Island
1902 – Australia Cricket all out 36 v England, Edgbaston, their lowest ever
1905 – Emperor Wilhelm II lands in Tanger
1927 – Tiger 1st baseman Johnny Neun makes an unassisted triple play
1941 – -June 1) 32.0 cm rain falls on Burlington Kansas (state record)

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Famous Birthdays

1640 – Michał Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland (1669-73), born in Biały Kamień, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (d. 1673)
1882 – Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian nobleman and politician, born in Dég, Fejér county, Hungary (d. 1956)
1930 – William Taylor, British Chairman of Convocation (London University)
1939 – Charles Drain, American soul singer, born in Eupora, Mississippi (d. 1995)
1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian Guitarist CGP
1962 – Henry Williams, CFL receiver (Edmonton Eskimos)

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Famous Deaths

1880 – Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés, French chemist and inventor of margarine, dies at 62
1906 – Victoria von Battenberg, assassinated in Madrid
1928 – Manuel de Oliveira Lima, Brazilian historian, dies at 60
1955 – Bill Vukovich, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1953-4), dies in crash in Indianapolis 500 at 36
1974 – Adelle Davis, US nutrionalist (Let’s stay healthy), dies at 70
2006 – Lula Mae Hardaway, American songwriter, mother of singer Stevie Wonder (b. 1930)

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Historical Events

1416 – Jerome of Prague burned at the stake for heresy by church Council of Constance
1584 – Earl Adolf of Nieuwenaar and Meurs becomes viceroy of Gelderland
1901 – Hall of Fame for Great American on NYU campus dedicated
1906 – Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey for the exclusive use of his employees, is opened
1934 – Indianapolis 500: Bill Cummings wins in 4:46:05.254 (168.761 km/h)
1949 – East German constitution approved

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Famous Birthdays

1653 – Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Empress consort of Germany, born in Florence, Tuscany (d. 1676)
1719 – Roger Newdigate, British politician (sat in the House of Commons 1742-80), born in Arbury, Warwickshire (d. 1806)
1871 – Olga Engl, Austrian actress (Phantom), born in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1946)
1912 – Joseph Stein, American dramatist and playwright (Fiddler on the Roof), born in NYC, New York (d. 2010)
1927 – Dick Noel, American TV host (It’s a Small Wonder), born in Brooklyn, New York
1950 – Bertrand Delanoë, French politician

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Famous Deaths

1640 – Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish Baroque painter, dies at 62
1865 – William Clarke Quantrill, criminal/Confederate bushwhacker, dies at 27
1967 – Claude Rains, British actor (Invisible Man, Casablanca), dies at 77
1975 – Michel Simon, Swiss actor (Panic, Plague, Two of Us), dies at 80
1977 – Paul Desmond, American jazz alto saxophonist (Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five), dies of lung cancer at 52
1995 – Philip Owen A Sherrard, scholar theologian poet/translator, dies at 72

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Historical Events

1765 – Patrick Henry’s historic speech against the Stamp Act, answering a cry of “Treason!” with, “If this be treason, make the most of it!”
1913 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet score “The Rite of Spring” premieres in Paris, provoking a riot
1932 – The Bonus Army of World War I veterans begins to assemble in Washington, D.C. to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945.
1948 – French Championships Men’s Tennis: Frank Parker wins 1st of 2 straight French titles; beats Jaroslav Drobný 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 8-6
1965 – French Championships Women’s Tennis: Australian Lesley Turner Bowrey wins her 2nd French singles crown; upsets doubles partner Margaret Smith 6-3, 6-4
1982 – 1st papal visit to Britain since 1531

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Famous Birthdays

1810 – Solomon Meredith, American politician and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Guilford County, North Carolina (d. 1875)
1880 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (Decline of West), born in Blankenburg, Duchy of Brunswick, German Empire (d. 1936)
1903 – Bob Hope [Leslie Townes Hope], British born American entertainer, born in London, England (d. 2003)
1950 – Talat Ali, Pakistani cricket batsman (Pakistan 10 Tests), born in Lahore, Punjab
1955 – Jerry Dengler, Colo Springs, singer (Mason Dixon-Karen Comes Around)
1974 – Myf Warhurst, Australian radio presenter on Triple J and TV personality on Spicks and Specks

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Famous Deaths

1691 – Cornelis Tromp, Dutch naval officer and son of Maarten Tromp, dies at 61
1833 – William Marshall, Scottish fiddle composer ( strathspeys The Marchioness of Huntly), dies at 84
1905 – Leon Francis Victor Caron, composer, dies at 55
1956 – Albert H Edelkoort, theologist (Christusverwachting), dies at 65
1987 – Alain Vincx, Belgian stuntman, dies in an accident at 40
1996 – Tamara Toumanova, dancer, dies at 77

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Historical Events

1900 – In China, rioters provoked by Boxers burn the Fengtai Railway Station, where many Belgians work
1938 – Hindemiths opera “Mathis der Maler” premieres in Zurich
1971 – USSR Mars 3 launched, 1st spacecraft to soft land on Mars
1979 – European Market accepts Greece as member
1997 – 5th UEFA Champions League Final: Borussia Dortmund beats Juventus 3-1 at Munich
2017 – Indianapolis 500: Takuma Sato wins in 3:13:03.3584

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Famous Birthdays

1764 – Edward Livingston, American jurist and statesman, born in Columbia County, New York (d. 1836)
1818 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American Confederate general (Hero of Sumter), born in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (d. 1893)
1841 – Giovanni Sgambati, Italian pianist and composer, born in Rome (d. 1914)
1883 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian independence activist and writer (The Indian War of Independence), born in Bhagur, India ( (d. 1966)
1947 – Lynn Johnston, Canadian cartoonist
1979 – Monica Keena, American actress

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Famous Deaths

1864 – Henry H Giesy, US Union-brigadier general, dies in battle
1878 – John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, British Prime Minister (Whig: 1846-52 and 1865-66), dies at 85
1973 – Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, German composer and conductor (Hassan), dies at 73
1994 – Rita Gillespie, British pioneering TV Director, dies at 65
2004 – Umberto Agnelli, Italian automobile executive (Fiat), dies at 69
2007 – Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician (b. 1945)

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