Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1756 – Britain declares war on France (7 Years’ or French and Indian War)
1881 – Frederick Douglass appointed recorder of deeds for Washington, D.C.
1921 – Belgian and Luxembourg sign customs union
1932 – US Congress changes name “Porto Rico” to “Puerto Rico”
1979 – Phillies beat Cubs, 23-22, on 50 hits with 11 HRs
1983 – Israel and Lebanon sign a peace treaty

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Famous Birthdays

1749 – Edward Jenner, English physician, father of immunology, pioneered smallpox vaccinations, born in Berkeley (d. 1823)
1914 – Guido Masanetz, German composer (In Frisco ist der Teufel Los) born in Friedeck, Austria-Hungary (d. 2015)
1945 – D A S Pennefather, Maj-General/Commandant (General Royal Marines)
1950 – Howard Ashman, American lyricist (d. 1991)
1969 – Paige Turco, actress (Melanie-Guiding Light), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1978 – Paddy Kenny, Irish goalkeeper

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Famous Deaths

1807 – John Gunby, Maryland Soldier in the American Revolutionary War (b. 1745)
1839 – Archibald Alison, Scottish author (b. 1757)
1917 – Charles Brooke, 2nd White Rajah of Sarawak (1868-1917), dies at 87
1930 – Herbert David Croly, US founder (New Republic), dies at 61
1973 – Alexander J. Kropholler, Dutch architect and writer, dies at 91
2013 – Harold Shapero, American composer (9 Minute Opera), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1969 – US nuclear sub Guitarro sinks off San Francisco
1982 – “Is There Life after High School?” closes at Barrymore after 12 performances
1986 – The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain.
1986 – Joaquín Balaguers PRSC wins Dominican Rep parliamentary election
1992 – “Smells Like Nirvana” by Weird Al Yankovic hits #35
2019 – Last episode of TV sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” starring Jim Parson, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco after 12 seasons

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Famous Birthdays

1831 – David Edward Hughes, British-American inventor (microphone, teleprinter), born in either London, England or Corwen, Wales (d. 1900)
1907 – Robert Tisdall, Irish 400m hurdler (Olympic gold 1932)
1908 – Hilary Preston, editor
1949 – Rick Reuschel, pitcher (NY Yankees)
1955 – Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast (4 x Olympic gold 1972, 76), born in Grodno, Belarus
1986 – Megan Fox, American actress (Transformers) and model, born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

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Famous Deaths

1265 – Saint Simon Stock, English saint (b. 1165)
1829 – William Congreve, English officer, dies at 56
1862 – Joseph L. Hogg, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 55
1862 – Lev A Ms, Russian nobleman/poet, dies at 40
1961 – George A. Malcolm, American jurist (17th Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court) and educator, dies at 79
2012 – James Abdnor, American senator, dies at 89

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Historical Events

1964 – Sporting Portugal win 4th European Cup Winner’s Cup against MTK Budapest of Hungry 1-0 at Antwerp (replay)
1971 – Irish Republican Army member William ‘Billy’ Reid is shot dead by British soldiers in Belfast
1973 – California Angel Nolan Ryan’s 1st no-hitter beats KC Royals, 3-0
1992 – Colombo ’92 opens in Genoa Italy
1993 – Montreal Expo retires their 1st #, #10 for Rusty Staub
2019 – US birthrate in 2018 the lowest for 32 years (total fertility rate 1,728 births per 1,000 women), with record lows for teen births

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Famous Birthdays

1810 – Jacob Thompson, (Confederacy), (d. 1885)
1893 – Stanley Lupino, English comic (Cheer Up, Over She Goes), born in London (d. 1942)
1907 – Josef Alexander, composer
1911 – Max Frisch, Swiss architect/writer (Stiller, Biedermann)
1959 – Andrew Eldritch, rocker (Sisters of Mercy-Walk Away, Black Planet)
1970 – Artie Smith, NFL defensive end (Cin Bengals)

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Famous Deaths

1157 – Yury Dolgoruky, Russian prince
1933 – Ernest Torrence, Scottish actor (I Cover the Waterfront, Hunchback of Notre Dame), dies from complications following surgery for gall stones at 54
1937 – Phillip Snowden, British politician first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, dies at 72
1992 – Jovy Marcelo, Filipino race car driver (b. 1965)
1995 – Edouard Dermithe, Italian actor (Orpheus, Thomas the Impostor), dies at 70
1995 – Perry Lederman, folk singer, dies at 52

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Historical Events

1264 – Battle of Lewes, 2nd Barons’ War: Simon de Montfort the younger, Earl of Leicester, defeats English King Henry III
1747 – A British fleet under Admiral George Anson defeats the French at first battle of Cape Finisterre.
1897 – Great Britain signs treaty with Emperor Menelik II of Abyssinia
1935 – LA’s Griffith Planetarium opens, 3rd in US
1954 – Belgium shortens military conscription from 20 to 18 months
1955 – Warsaw Pact is signed by the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania

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Famous Birthdays

1652 – Johann Philipp Fortsch, German composer, statesman and physician, born in Wertheim am Main (d. 1732)
1916 – Marco Zanuso, Italian architect
1937 – Dick Howser, shortstop (Kansas City A’s), manager (KC Royals)
1954 – Jens Sparschuh, German writer
1961 – Tim Roth, actor (Reservoir Dogs, Vincent and Theo), born in London, England
1966 – Leroy Blugh, CFL defensive end (Edmonton Eskimos)

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Famous Deaths

1878 – Ookubo Toshimichi, Japanese statesman, samurai, and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration (b. 1830)
1934 – Lou Criger, American baseball player (b. 1872)
1959 – Sidney Bechet, Americanjazz clarinetist, saxophonist and bandleader, dies at 62
1991 – Herman Niels, Flemish radio director, dies
1993 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American newspaper magnate (Hearst Newspapers) and 1955 Pulitzer Prize winner, dies at 85
2004 – Anna Lee [Joan Boniface Winnifrith], British actress (General Hospital, How Green Was My Valley), dies of pneumonia at 91

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Historical Events

535 – St Agapitus I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1891 – 17th Kentucky Derby: Isaac Murphy aboard Kingman wins in 2:52.25
1933 – 58th Preakness: Charley Kurtsinger aboard Head Play wins in 2:02
1944 – 69th Preakness: Conn McCreary aboard Pensive wins in 1:59.2
1954 – US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak
1991 – “Michael Jackson: Magic and Madness” goes on sale

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Famous Birthdays

1792 – Pius IX “Pio Nono”, [Giovanni-Maria Mastai-Ferretti], Pope (1846-78)
1936 – Rafael Campos, Santiago Dominican Republic, actor (Tonka)
1937 – Zohra Lampert, American actress (Doctor’s Hospital, Girl With Something Extra), born in NYC, New York
1965 – Chris Washburn, American NBA player, born in Hickory, North Carolina
1965 – Lari White, American country music singer and actress (You Can Be a Star winner- 1988), born in Dunedin, Florida (d. 2018)
1969 – André Schmechta, German musician (X Marks the Pedwalk, Scarecrow), born in Germany

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Famous Deaths

1312 – Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1263)
1619 – Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch lawyer and statesman, beheaded at 71
1807 – Eliphalet Dyer, American statesman and judge, dies at 85
2011 – Jack Richardson, Canadian record producer (The Guess Who), dies at 81
2013 – Vladimir Romanovsky, Soviet sprint canoer, dies at 56
2013 – Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, dies from respiratory failure at 85

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Historical Events

1534 – German Duchy of Wurttemberg becomes Lutheran under Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg
1864 – Battle of Todd’s Tavern, cavalry battle fought near Todds Tavern, Virginia (Sheridan’s Raid), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
1951 – 1st H Bomb test, on Enewetak Atoll
1966 – St Louis’ Busch Stadium opens, Braves lose to Cards 4-3 in 12 inns
1967 – Provo disbands in Neth Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
1996 – “Inherit the Wind” closes at Royale Theater NYC after 45 performances

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Famous Birthdays

1751 – Gaetano Manna, Italian composer, born in Naples (d. 1804)
1886 – Hermann Grabner, Austrian composer (Die Richterin), born in Graz, Austria (d. 1969)
1922 – Barend Busnac, office clerk/resistance fighter
1956 – Homer Simpson, fictional character from the long running television show “The Simpsons”, born in Springfield
1958 – Eric Singer, American drummer
1967 – Warren Rychel, Canadian NHL left wing (Colorado Avalanche), born in Strathroy, Ontario

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Famous Deaths

1845 – August Wilhelm Schlegel, German poet, translator and critic, dies at 77
1993 – Zeno Colò, Italian downhill skier (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 72
1994 – John Smith, British Labour Party chairman (1992-94), dies at 55
2006 – Gillespie V. Montgomery, former U.S. representative from Mississippi (b. 1920)
2007 – Mullah Dadullah Akhund, Taliban military leader (b. 1966?)
2007 – Teddy Infuhr, American former child actor (The Bishop’s Wife, They Live By Night), dies at 70

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Historical Events

1923 – 10 HRs hit in Phillies 20-14 victory over St Louis Cards
1924 – Pulitzer Prize awarded to Robert Frost (New Hampshire)
1924 – Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz and Cie begin their first joint venture (later merge into Mercedes-Benz)
1967 – “Sing, Israel Sing” opens at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC for 14 performances
1985 – Madonna’s “Crazy For You” single goes #1
2013 – 43 people are killed in two car bombings in Reyhanlı, Turkey

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Famous Birthdays

1827 – Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French sculptor and painter (d. 1875)
1882 – Joseph Marx, Austrian composer/critic
1894 – Martha Graham, American choreographer (Appalachian Spring), Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania (d. 1991)
1920 – Denver Pyle, American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, The Andy Griffith Show), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1997)
1928 – Yaacov Agam, Israeli sculptor
1977 – Matthew Newton, Australian actor

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Famous Deaths

1881 – Henri-Frédéric Amiel, Swiss writer (Journal Intime), dies at 59
1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish cubist painter, dies at 40
2003 – Noel Redding, English bassist (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) (b. 1945)
2011 – Klaus Schlesinger, German writer, dies at 64
2014 – Reg Gasnier, Australian Hall of Fame rugby league player, dies at 74
2014 – Ed Gagliardi, American bass guitarist, dies from cancer at 62

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Historical Events

1768 – John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for “The North Briton” severely criticizing King George III. This action provokes rioting in London.
1916 – Disastrous fire in Ellendale, North Dakolta
1929 – British Open Men’s Golf, Muirfield: Walter Hagen wins 4th Open title, by 6 strokes from fellow American Johnny Farrell
1974 – 7th ABA championship: NY Nets beats Utah Stars, 4 games to 1
1990 – French TGV-train hits record speed of 510.6 kph
2005 – A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 65 feet (20 metres) from U.S. President George W. Bush while giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, it malfunctions and does not detonate

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Famous Birthdays

1843 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish novelist (Episodios Nacionales), born in Las Palmas, Spain (d. 1920)
1922 – David Orr, deputy chairman (Inchcape)/CEO (British Council, Unilever)
1922 – Nancy Walker, American actress (Rhoda, McMillan and Wife), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1992)
1937 – Tamara Press, USSR, shot putter/discus thrower (Olympic gold 1960)
1949 – Michael Larson, American “Press Your Luck” scandal big-winning contestant, born in Lebanon, Ohio (d. 1999)
1953 – Steve Thomas, rocker (Shooting Star)

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Famous Deaths

1569 – Juan the Avila, Spanish minister/writer
1696 – Jean de La Bruyère, French writer (The Characters, or the Manners of the Age, with The Characters of Theophrastus), dies at 50
1833 – François Andrieux, French playwright, dies at 74
1989 – Woody Shaw, American jazz musician (b. 1944)
1992 – John Lund, American actor (High Society, Wackiest Ship in the Army), dies at 81
2002 – Lynda Lyon Block, convicted murderer (b. 1948)

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Historical Events

1588 – Duke Henri de Guise’s troops occupy Paris
1942 – 67th Preakness: Basil James aboard Alsab wins in 1:57
1980 – 35 motorists die as a Liberian freighter rams a Tampa Bay Bridge
1990 – NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Boston Bruins beat Washington Capitals, 4 games to 0
2001 – Accra Sports Stadium Disaster: 129 Ghanian football fans die in a stampede caused by the firing of teargas by police following a decision by the referee in a crucial match between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko
2015 – A gun fight erupts in Macedonian town of Kumanovo between police and Albanian separatists adding to the government crisis

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Famous Birthdays

1855 – Julius Röntgen, German-Dutch composer, born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 1932)
1912 – Per Imerslund, “The aryan idol” (d. 1943)
1919 – Betty Jameson, American golfer (US Open 1947, Western Open 1942, 54), born in Norman, Oklahoma (d. 2009)
1958 – Esko Rechardt, Finland, yachtsman (Olympic gold 1980)
1970 – Doug Christie, NBA guard/forward (Toronto Raptors)
1980 – Tony Schmidt, German racing driver

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Famous Deaths

1760 – Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, Austrian-born German religious and social reformer, dies at 59
1805 – Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, German poet and playwright, dies at 45
1918 – George Coşbuc, Romanian poet, dies at 51
1957 – Ernest de Silva, Sri Lankan business magnate and philanthropist, dies at 69
1990 – Pauline Frederick, American journalist and author, dies at 84
1993 – Mary Duncan Sanford, American actress, dies at 98

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Historical Events

1877 – 1st Westminster Dog Show held
1882 – David Belasco’s “La Belle Russe” premieres in NYC
1906 – Philadelphia A’s pitcher Chief Benders plays outfield and hits 2 HRs
1926 – Fire breaks out in Fenway Park, home of Boston Red Socks baseball team
1984 – Minnesota Twins Kirby Puckett debuts with 4 singles
1994 – Colorado Silver Bullets (all-female pro baseball team) 1st game

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Famous Birthdays

1912 – George Woodcock, author
1933 – Alistair Service, writer/publisher
1935 – Viscount Falkland, British peer (Lib-Dem)
1942 – Robin Hobbs, cricketer (England leg-spinner 1967-71)
1951 – Deborah Harmon, American actress (Ted Knight Show, M*A*S*H, Just the 10 of Us), born in Chicago, Illinois
1983 – Matt Willis, British singer

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Famous Deaths

1876 – Truganini, last originating Tasmanian, dies
1894 – Clara Fey, German Roman Catholic Nun and the founder of the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus, dies at 79
1967 – Laverne Andrews, American singer (Andrews Sisters), dies at 55
1998 – Bebe Rebozo, American banker and Watergate figure (b. 1912)
2012 – Nicholas Katzenbach, American Attorney General, dies at 90
2012 – Maurice Sendak, American author and illustrator, dies at 83

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