Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1326 – Aradia de Toscano, according to legend/folklore, is initiated into a Dianic witchcraft cult and subsequently founds the tradition of Stregheria, later known as the Malandanti.
1608 – John Smith’s story of Jamestown’s first days submitted for publication
1948 – Johan Gren scores twice as Sweden beats Yugoslavia 3-1 to win the football gold medal at the London Olympics
1981 – American swimmer Mary T. Meagher breaks her own world women’s 200 m butterfly record (2:05.96) in Brown Deer, Wisconsin
1988 – Boston Red Sox win AL record 24 straight home games
1991 – Michael Ray Barrowman swims world record 200m breaststroke (2:10.60)

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Famous Birthdays

1867 – William Alexander Craigie, Scottish lexicographer (Skotlands Rimur), born in Dundee, Scotland (d. 1957)
1959 – Danny Bonaduce, American actor (Danny-Partridge Family), born in Broomall, Pennsylvania
1965 – Mark Lemke, American MLB infielder (Atlanta Braves), born in Utica, New York
1969 – Alex Fernandez, Cuban-American baseball pitcher (Chicago White Sox), born in Miami, Florida
1973 – Molly Henneberg, American journalist (Fox News Channel)
1973 – Kamila Shamsie, Pakistani British writer (Home Fire), born in Karachi, Pakistan

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Famous Deaths

1912 – Jules Massenet, French opera composer (Werther, Manon), dies at 70
1959 – Henri Garat, French actor and singer (Les dieux s’amusent, Congress Dances), dies at 57
1961 – Adeline De Walt Reynolds, actress (Son of Dracula), dies at 78
1973 – Ben van Eysselsteijn, Dutch playwright (Arid Earth), dies at 75
1995 – Jan Křesadlo, Czech-British psychologist and writer, dies at 68
2006 – Tony Jay, British-American actor, voice artist, and singer (Frollo- The Hunchback of Notre Dame), dies at 73

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Historical Events

1121 – Battle of Didgori: the Georgian army under King David the Builder wins a decisive victory over the famous Seljuk commander Ilghazi
1549 – French troops conquer Ambleteuse, in the Pas-de-Calais, and kill all the English prisoners.
1865 – Joseph Lister performs 1st antiseptic surgery
1920 – Battle of Warsaw between Poland and Russia begins
1970 – Curt Flood loses his $41 million antitrust suit against baseball
2005 – Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, is fatally shot by an LTTE (Tamil Tigers) sniper at his home.

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Famous Birthdays

1720 – Konrad Ekhof [Hans Konrad Dieterich Eckhof], German actor and director, born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1778)
1925 – Norris McWhirter, English author (founded Guinness Book of World Records), born in Winchmore Hill, England (d. 2004)
1935 – Karl Mickel, German writer, born in Dresden, Germany (d. 2000)
1954 – Pat Metheny, American jazz and fusion guitarist (As Wichita Falls, So Falls Whichita), born in Lee’s Summit, Missouri
1959 – Lynette Woodard, (Olympic gold 1984, Harlem Globetrotter), born in Wichita, Kansas
1978 – Hayley Wickenheiser, ice hockey forward (Canada, Olympics 1998)

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Famous Deaths

1484 – Sixtus IV, [Francesco della Rovere], Pope (1471-84), dies
1654 – Cornelis Haga, ambassador to Constantinople (1611-39), dies at 76
1812 – Jean-Joseph Rodolphe, Alsatian composer, dies at 81
1883 – Last Quagga, (zebra with less slashes), dies in Amsterdam zoo
1985 – Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer and actor, dies in JAL 123 crash at 43
1989 – William Shockley, American physicist who helped invent the transistor (1956 Nobel), who was also known for his racist eugenics views, dies of prostate cancer at 79

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Historical Events

1943 – Red Army recaptures Tchukujev, at Kharkov
1949 – 1st Naples-Capri swim, 17 miles (27 km) (Giovanni Gambi)
1970 – Jim Bunning becomes 2nd (Cy Young) to win 100 games in both leagues
1984 – A British 1-2 in the 1,500m at the Los Angeles Olympics with Sebastian Coe edging teammate Steve Cram to become the only man to successfully defend his Olympic 1,500m title
1988 – Al-Qaeda formed at a meeting between Osama Bin Laden, Zawahiri and Dr Fadl in Peshawar, Pakistan
1993 – NY Islander Brian Mullen, 31, suffers a mild stroke

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Famous Birthdays

1892 – Hugh MacDiarmid (Christopher Murray Grieve), Scotland, poet (Scots Unbound)
1907 – Ted a’Beckett, cricketer (Australian Test player)
1928 – Bill Bartholomay, American businessman and MLB owner (Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves 1962-76), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2020)
1933 – Jerry Falwell, American TV evangelist (Moral Majority)
1949 – Eric Carmen, rocker (All by Myself), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1961 – Frederick W Sturckow, USMC capt/astronaut (sk: STS 88), born in La Mesa, California

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Famous Deaths

1774 – Tiphaigne de la Roche, French writer (b. 1722)
1886 – Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet (b. 1843)
1901 – Francesco Crispi, Italian statesman, dies at 82
1988 – Jean-Pierre Ponnele, opera director (Carmina Burana), dies at 56
2003 – Herb Brooks, American ice hockey coach, dies in a car accident at 66
2016 – Hanif Mohammad, Pakistani cricketer “Little Master” (1952-69), played the longest test innings – 16 hours, dies at 81

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Historical Events

1461 – Alfonso ed Espina, bishop of Osma urges for an Inquisition in Spain
1557 – Battle of St Quentin in Picardy: Lamoraal, Count of Egmont and Philibert, Duke of Savoy (Spanish Empire) beat the Duke of Montmorency (France)
1776 – American Revolutionary War: word of the United States Declaration of Independence reaches London.
1809 – Ecuador declares independence from Spain (National Day)
1986 – Marquis Theater opens at 1535 Broadway NYC
1989 – Australia 0-301 at end of day one, 5th Test Cricket at Trent Bridge

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Famous Birthdays

1821 – Jay Cooke, American financier (d. 1905)
1856 – Edward L. Doheny, American oil tycoon, born in Fond du lac, Wisconsin
1928 – Eddie Fisher, American singer (Oh My Papa, Lady of Spain), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2010)
1929 – John Alldis, composer/conductor
1935 – Jerrie Anthony Hulme, British major-general
1992 – Ko Ah-seong, South Korean actress

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Famous Deaths

955 – Conrad the Red, Duke of Lotharingen, dies in battle
1589 – Maarten Schenck Nideggen, Dutch army leader, drowned at about 49
1841 – Hippolyte Monpou, composer, dies at 37
1920 – Ádám Politzer, Hungarian-Austrian physician, dies at 84
1992 – Aribert Heim, Austrian SS physician (served at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Mauthausen, known as Dr. Death), dies at 78
2007 – James E. Faust, Second Councilor of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (b. 1920)

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Historical Events

1862 – Berlioz’ opera “Beatrice et Benedict” premieres in Baden-Baden
1864 – Battle of Ft Morgan Alabama
1915 – British attack at Chanak Bair at Gallipoli during WWI
1937 – Ranger (US) easily beats Endeavour II (England) in race 4 to wrap up the 17th America’s Cup yachting series, 4-0; it’s the final competition for 21 years
1944 – Smokey Bear debuts as spokeman for fire prevention
1966 – The Beatles release their “Yellow Submarine” single and its album “Revolver” in the US

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Famous Birthdays

1808 – William Thomas Ward, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Amelia County, Virginia (d 1878)
1923 – Gerrit Kouwenaar, Dutch journalist and poet, born in Amsterdam (d. 2014)
1942 – David Steinberg, Canadian comedian and director (End), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
1949 – Brie Howard-Darling, American musician, artist and cake designer (Boxing Gandhis, Fanny), born in Stockton, California
1962 – Jim Johnson, New Hope, NHL defenseman (Washington Capitals)
1973 – Jay Hagood, tackle (NY Jets)

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Famous Deaths

1896 – Otto Lilenthal, aircraft pioneer, killed during a glider test at 48
1987 – Kees de Galan, Dutch economist, dies at 55
1992 – Jan van Baal, antropologist/gov Dutch New Guinea, dies
1996 – Sir Frank Whittle, English RAF engineer air officer and inventor of the turbojet engine, dies at 89
1997 – Robert Satanowski, Polish opera conductor and general, dies at 79
2000 – John Harsanyi, Hungarian-born economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1920)

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Historical Events

1567 – Duke of Alva’s army enters Brussels, Belgium
1844 – Brigham Young chosen as head of Mormon Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) following the death of Joseph Smith
1989 – New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange resigns after 5 years on a no confidence issue
1997 – The UN approves a sale-price formula for Iraqi crude oil sales under the oil-for-food plan
2012 – China announces that it plans to close 23 rare earth mines and up to 50 smelting companies
2018 – Malaysia charges former prime minister Najib Razak with three counts of money laundering

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Famous Birthdays

1866 – Matthew A Henson, 1st African American to reach North Pole (Jun 4 1909)
1880 – Earle Page, Australian politician (d. 1961)
1934 – Julian Dixon, American politician (Rep-D-California, 1979-2000), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2000)
1951 – Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian politician, President of Egypt (2012-13), leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, born in El Adwah, Egypt (d. 2019)
1963 – Stephen Walkom, Canadian ice hockey official and executive
1995 – Malin Reitan, Norwegian singer

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Famous Deaths

1719 – Christoph Ludwig Agricola, German landscape painter, dies at 51
1788 – Louis FAD Duke the Richelieu, French marshal, dies at 92
1827 – George Canning, British Prime Minister (Tory: 1827) and Foreign Secretary, dies in office at 57
1944 – Michael Wittman, German soldier and tank ace, dies at 30
1988 – Félix Leclerc, French Canadian singer and composer (Moi, mes souliers), dies at 74
1996 – Nevill Francis Mott, British physicist (1977 Nobel Prize for Physics for work on amorphous semiconductors), dies at 90

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Historical Events

1814 – Pope Pius VII reinstates the Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
1908 – The first train to travel the length of New Zealand’s North Island ‘main trunk line’, leaves Wellington
1914 – Russia invades East Prussia
1944 – US 3rd Army reaches suburbs of Brest, Brittany
2010 – Hampered by a back injury Indian cricket batsman VVS Laxman scores a brave, unbeaten 103 to guide India to a 5 wicket win v Sri Lanka in Colombo; draw series
2015 – US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump says in a CNN interview that news anchor Mergyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever”

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Famous Birthdays

1897 – Franz J Weinrich, [Heinrich Lerse], German writer (Himmlisches)
1926 – Stan Freberg, American satirist/ad executive/cartoon voice (Bertie), born in Los Angeles, California
1926 – Amo Houghton, American politician (Rep-R-New York), born in Corning, New York
1939 – Verna Bloom, American actress (After Hours, Badge 373), born in Lynn, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
1963 – Harold Perrineau Jr., American actor, born in Brooklyn, New York
1971 – Dominic Cork, British cricketer (England all-rounder Hat-trick v WI 1995), born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire

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Famous Deaths

1106 – Henry IV, Roman German king and Emperor (1056/84-1105), dies at 54
1821 – Caroline of Brunswick, Queen Consort of King George IV (1820-21), dies at 53
1938 – Konstantin S Stanislavski, Russian director (S Method), dies at 75
1987 – Nobusuke Kishi, Prime Minister of Japan (1957-60), dies at 90
1994 – Larry Martyn, comedy actor (b. 1934)
1997 – Douglas Gray, Scottish record and film producer, dies at 74

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Historical Events

1940 – Estonia is annexed into Soviet empire
1948 – 17 year old American Bob Mathias scores 7,139 points to edge out Ignace Heinrich of France by just 165 in the decathlon at the London Olympics
1995 – Thousands gather in Hiroshima for the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city
2012 – “Cruise” single released by Florida Georgia Line (Billboard Song of the Year 2013)
2012 – Mount Tongariro, New Zealand, erupts for the first time in a century
2016 – Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszú sets world record 4:26.36 to win the gold medal in the women’s 400m individual medley at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics

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Famous Birthdays

1619 – Barbara Strozzi, Italian singer and composer, baptised in Venice (d. 1677)
1916 – Dom Mintoff, Maltese Prime Minister (1955-58, 1971-84), born in Bormla, Malta (d. 2012)
1925 – Stig-Göran Myntti, Finnish soccer midfielder (61 caps; Vasa IFK), born in Maalahti, Finland (d. 2020)
1925 – Barbara Bates, American actress (All About Eve, It’s a Great Life), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1969)
1937 – Barbara Windsor, actress (Study in Terror)
1973 – Max Kellerman, American sportscaster

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Famous Deaths

1848 – Nicola Vaccai, Italian composer, dies at 58
1893 – Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1811)
1946 – Benny Lynch, Scottish boxer (World flyweight title 1937-38), dies of malnutrition-induced respiratory failure at 33
1991 – Harry Reasoner, American newscaster (60 Minutes, ABC, CBS), dies at 68
1995 – André Fleury, French organist and composer, dies at 92
1996 – Leonard John Coldwell, cricketer, dies at 63

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Historical Events

1914 – 1st electric traffic light installed in the USA on the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio
1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language, which is in danger of dying out
1951 – Armed uprising in Ambonezen Camp Middelburg
1980 – Montreal Expos Dick Williams wins his 1,000th career game as a manager in 11-5 win v Mets, for whom Doug Flynn hits MLB record tying 3 triples
1985 – Establishment of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is announced
2019 – Australian woman Kerry Robertson confirmed as the first person to use a new assisted dying law to end her life a month earlier in Victoria

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Famous Birthdays

1301 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician (d. 1330)
1540 – Joseph Justice Scaliger, proposed Julian dating
1828 – Giovanni Rossi, Italian composer, born in Borgo San Donnino, Parma (d. 1886)
1950 – Holly Palance, actress (Thorn Birds, Ripley’s Believe It), born in Los Angeles, California
1978 – Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprinter
2000 – Maya Bond, American singer and musician

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Famous Deaths

1880 – Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, Austrian physician (b. 1816)
1964 – Art Ross, Canadian hockey player and executive (b. 1886)
1972 – Harry Hylton-Foster, Speaker of the British House of Commons (b. 1905)
1994 – Audrey Langford, sInging teacher, dies at 82
1996 – Frank Marcus, German playwright and critic, dies at 68
2007 – Florian Pittiş, Romanian artist (b. 1943)

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Historical Events

1578 – Battle of Alcazarquivir, Moroccans defeat Portuguese, 10,000 killed
1789 – French Revolution: The National Constituent Assembly meets and issues the first decrees that abolish centuries of feudalism in France
1907 – Tour de France: Lucien Petit-Breton of France beats countryman Gustave Garrigou to win first of 2 Tour victories
1942 – Colonel general Jeremenko arrives in Stalingrad and welcomed by Nikita Khrushchev
1944 – British 8th Army reaches suburbs of Florence, Italy
1968 – WXTV TV channel 41 in New York-Paterson, NY (UNI) begins broadcasting

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Famous Birthdays

1873 – Damaso Berenguer, Spanish soldier and politician (122nd Prime Minister of Spain), born in San Juan de los Remedios, Cuba (d. 1953)
1884 – Henri Cornet, French cyclist who won the second Tour de France, born in Desvres, France (d. 1941)
1958 – Phil Scott, American politician, Governor of Vermont (2017-), born in Barre, Vermont
1960 – Bernard Rose, English director
1974 – Keenan Milton, Professional Skater
1985 – Mark Milligan, Australian footballer

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Famous Deaths

1265 – Simon de Montfort the younger, English Earl of Leicester, dies in battle
1639 – Juan R Alarcon y Mendoza, Mexican/Spanish playwright, dies at 58
1718 – René Lepage de Ste-Claire, lord-founder of the town of Rimouski, in New France, dies at 62
1984 – Edmond Ryan, actor (Human Monster), dies at 79 of a heart attack
1993 – Bernard Barrow, American actor (Ryan’s Hope, Louie Slavinsky-Loving), dies at 65
2009 – Blake Snyder, American screenwriter (b. 1957)

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