Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1525 – Swiss and German mercenaries desert Francois I’s army
1809 – US Supreme Court rules federal government power greater than any state
1872 – Hydraulic electric elevator patented by Cyrus Baldwin
1921 – Riza Khan Pahlevi seizes control of Iran
1950 – WOL-AM in Washington, D.C. swaps calls with WWDC
1992 – Ross Perot says he’ll run for President on Larry King Show

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Famous Birthdays

1848 – Edward Henry Harriman, American railroad executive (d. 1909)
1888 – Georges Bernanos, French novelist (Diary of a Country Priest)
1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey coach
1970 – Cheyenne Brando, Papeete Tahiti, daughter of Marlon
1978 – Jay Hernandez, American actor
1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player

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Famous Deaths

702 – K’inich Kan B’alam II, king of the Maya state of Palenque (b. 635)
1171 – Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English statesman, dies at 66
1803 – Marie Dumesnil, French actress (Iphigénie en Aulide), dies at 90
1806 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born American military and political leader (b. 1725)
1959 – Laurence Housman, English author and playwright (Victoria Regina), dies at 93

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Historical Events

607 – Boniface III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1634 – Battle of Smolensk: King Wladyslaw IV of Poland beats Russians [NS=Mar 1]
1919 – Pan-African Congress, organized by W.E.B. Du Bois (Paris)
1944 – 823 British bombers attack Berlin
1944 – U-264 sinks off Ireland
1945 – US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines

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Famous Birthdays

1473 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer who theorized that planets revolve around the sun (Heliocentric theory), born in Toruń, Royal Prussia, Kingdom of Poland (d. 1543)
1886 – George Luther Foote, composer
1941 – Carlos Roque Alsina, composer
1956 – George David Low, astronaut (STS 32, STS 43), born in Cleveland, Ohio
1981 – Beth Ditto, American singer (The Gossip)
1981 – Gil Reyes, American boxer

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Famous Deaths

1401 – William Sawtree, 1st English religious martyr, burned in London
1414 – Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury/chancellor of England, dies
1916 – Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist/philosopher/psychologist, dies at 78
1977 – Mike González, Cuban baseball player, dies at 86
2009 – Kelly Groucutt, Bass guitarist and singer for the band Electric Light Orchestra (b.1945)
2011 – Ollie Matson, Pro/College Football Halls of Fame halfback (NFL 1950s All Decade Team), dies of dementia at 80

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Historical Events

1913 – President Francisco Madero of Mexico is overthrown
1928 – Sonja Henie of Norway wins the women’s figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympic Games; her first of 3 consecutive titles in the event
1962 – France and Algerian Muslims negotiate truce to end 7 year war
1973 – 54-kg octopus measuring 7m across captured in Hood Canal, Washington
2013 – $50 million worth of diamonds is stolen in an armed robbery at Brussels Airport, Belgium
2019 – 25-year old murder of a woman solved when police in Minnesota run DNA though a genealogy site and find suspect

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Famous Birthdays

1781 – Henry Martyn, Truro, missionary
1907 – Billy De Wolfe, American character actor (Good Morning World), born in Quincy, Massachusetts (d. 1974)
1932 – Duane Michals, American photographer (Sequences, The journey of the spirit after death), born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania
1953 – Derek Pellicci, English-born Australian rock drummer (Little River Band-Help Is On It’s Way), born in London, United Kingdom
1969 – Alexander Mogilny, Russian ice hockey player and 1st soviet to defect to NHL (Sabres), born in Khabarovsk, Russia
1980 – Alison Rachel Fitch, New Zealand swimmer (Olympics 1996), born in Hamilton, New Zealand

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Famous Deaths

999 – Gregory V, [Bruno] 1st German Pope, dies
1748 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian field marshal, dies at 70
1900 – Clinton L. Merriam, American politician (b. 1824)
1925 – James Lane Allen, American writer (Choir Invisible), dies at 75
1968 – Sigurd Erixon, etnologist (Atlas “ver Svensk Folkkultur), dies at 79
2008 – Mickey Renaud, Canadian professional ice hockey player (b. 1988)

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Historical Events

1934 – 1st high school auto driving course offered (State College, Penn)
1965 – US-Japan baseball relations suspended over Masanori Murakami dispute
1979 – Eric Heiden equals skating world record 1000m (1:14.99)
1983 – Netherlands adopts constitution
1985 – 3rd person to receive an artificial heart (Murray Haydon)
1996 – Garry Kasparov defeats Deep Blue 4-2 in chess

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Famous Birthdays

1718 – Matthew Tilghman, American Continental Congressman (d. 1790)
1740 – Horace B de Saussure, Swiss physicist/geologist
1752 – Friedrich M Klinger, German playwright (Wirrwarr)
1936 – Barry Jarman, cricketer (Australian wicket-keeper in 60’s)
1962 – David McComb, Australia, vocalist/songwriter (Triffids)
1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player

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Famous Deaths

1609 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, dies at 59
1688 – Rev James Renwick, hanged in Scotland for being a Presbyterian
1951 – Nikoghayos Fadeyi Tigranyan, Armenian composer, dies at 94
1987 – Verree Teasdale, actress (Skyscraper Souls), dies
1990 – Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1901)
2017 – Magnus Wenninger, American mathematician and author of Polyhedron models, dies at 97

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Historical Events

1946 – “The Duchess Misbehaves” closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 5 performances
1982 – Assembled STS-3 vehicle moves from Vandenberg AFB to launch pad
1992 – LA Lakers retire Magic Johnson’s #32 uniform
1998 – Tellabs Inc acquires Coherent Communications Systems for $670 million
2014 – Netherlands sweeps the medals in the women’s 1,500m speed skating at the Sochi Winter Olympics; Jorien ter Mors wins gold ahead of team mates Ireen Wüst and Lotte van Beek
2018 – Sochi (2014) Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer of Austria wins the super-G gold medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Games

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Famous Birthdays

1886 – Andrew Ducat, cricketer (Test for Eng 1921 (3 and 2) Soccer intl)
1932 – Nand Baert, Belgian radio/TV-host
1946 – J R Farndon, British consultant surgeon
1962 – Tony Kiley, rocker (Blow Monkeys-Wicked Ways)
1964 – Bebeto [José Roberto Gama de Oliveira], Brazilian footballer, born in Salvador, Brazil
1974 – Kimberly Dawn Whipany, Oklahoma, rocker (PC Quest-Can You See)

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Famous Deaths

1917 – Octave Mirbeau, French writer (b. 1848)
1919 – Vera Kholodnaya, Russian film star (b. 1893)
1973 – Pieter Van der Bijl, cricketer (outstanding S Af bat in 1938-39), dies
2006 – Johnny Grunge, American professional wrestler (b. 1966)
2013 – Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist who collaborated with The Beatles, dies at 72
2019 – Theodore Isaac Rubin, American psychiatrist and author credited with popularising psychotherapy, dies at 95

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Historical Events

1852 – Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits 1st patient
1933 – Social-democratic newspaper “Vorwarts” banned again in Berlin
1967 – 24th Golden Globes: A Man for All Seasons, Paul Scofield, and Anouk Aimee win
1978 – Zaire revises its constitution
1990 – Baseball owners lock out players
2001 – First draft of the complete human genome is published in the journal “Nature”

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Famous Birthdays

1368 – Sigismund, Holy Roman emperor (1410-37), born in Nuremberg, Kingdom of Germany (d. 1437)
1822 – Theodor Uhlig, German composer and violinist, born in Wurzen, Saxony (d. 1853)
1893 – Walter Donaldson, US pianist/composer (Girl Crazy, Whoopee)
1940 – Hamzah Haz, Indonesian politician
1940 – John Hadl, American football player
1959 – Hugo Savinovich, Ecuadorian sports commentator and wrestler, born in Guayaquil, Ecuador

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Famous Deaths

1621 – Michael Praetorius, German composer (In Dulce Jubilo), dies at 50
1713 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, writer, dies
1848 – Hermann von Boyen, Prussian field marshal (b. 1771)
1991 – Luis Escobar, Spanish actor (Don Juan My Love), dies at 78
1999 – Jan Masseus, Dutch composer, dies at 86
2019 – Gene Littler, American golfer (1961 US Open, 29 PGA Tour titles), dies at 88

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Historical Events

842 – Charles II and Louis the German sign treaty
1130 – Jewish Cardinal Pietro Pierleone elected as anti-pope Anacletus II
1862 – Galena, 1st US iron-clad warship for service at sea, launched, Connecticut
1970 – “Gantry” closes at George Abbott Theater NYC after 1 performance
1971 – 13th Daytona 500: Richard Petty wins his 3rd Great American Race; goes on to win the inaugural Winston Cup title
1981 – Stardust Disaster: A fire in a Dublin nightclub kills 48 people

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Famous Birthdays

1911 – Willem J Kolff, Dutch/US internist/inventor (Artificial Kidney)
1948 – Wally Tax, Dutch guitarist
1958 – Grant Thomas, Australian rules footballer
1963 – Enrico Colantoni, Canadian actor, born in Toronto, Ontario
1963 – John Marzano, American baseball catcher (Seattle Mariners), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1971 – Tommy Dreamer, US professional wrestler, born in Yonkers, New York

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Famous Deaths

1317 – Marguerite of France, queen of Edward I of England (b. 1282)
1857 – Johannes Bernardus van Bree, Dutch violinist/composer/conductor, dies at 56
1885 – Jules Vallès, French writer (b. 1832)
1992 – Angelique Pettyjohn, actress (Biohazard), dies of cancer at 48
1993 – Buddy Pepper, composer, dies of heart failure at 70
2015 – Philip Levine, American poet (1995 Pulitzer prize), dies at 87

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Historical Events

1575 – Henry III of France is crowned at Rheims
1934 – The Soviet steamship Cheliuskin sinks in the Arctic Ocean.
1935 – Bruno Hauptmann found guilty of kidnap and murder of Lindbergh infant. He proclaimed his innocence to the end.
2009 – Unix time passed 1,234,567,890 seconds February 13, 2009 at exactly 23:31:30 (UTC).
2011 – 53rd Grammy Awards: Need You Now, Esperanza Spalding wins
2017 – US President Donald Trump accepts the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn over his dealings with Russia

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Famous Birthdays

1768 – Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, French marshal (d. 1835)
1837 – Valentin de Zubiaurre y Unionbarrenechea, composer
1925 – Gene [Eugene] Ames, singer (Ames Brothers), born in Malden, Massachusetts (d. 1997)
1927 – Harry Wich, Dutch set designer
1938 – Oliver Reed, English actor (Big Sleep), born in London, England (d. 1999)
1976 – Martin Sastre, Uruguayan artist, born in Montevideo, Uruguay

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Famous Deaths

1629 – Girolamo Giacobbi, composer, dies at 61
1905 – Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (Travellers in Auvergne), dies at 60
1943 – William Walraven, Dutch journalist and writer (Neglected Grouser), dies at 55
1964 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist, one of the main organizers of Nazi Germany’s T-4 Euthanasia Program, dies at 61
1968 – Ildebrando Pizzetti, Italian composer, dies at 87
2000 – James Cooke Brown, American author and inventor (b. 1921)

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Historical Events

1876 – Al Spalding opens his sporting good shop
1925 – Estonia bans communist Party
1962 – Bus boycott starts in Macon, Georgia
1982 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1997 – Fred Goldman says he will settle for a signed murder confession from O.J. Simpson in lieu of his $20.5 million judgement
2007 – A gunman opens fire in a mall in Salt Lake City, killing 5 people in the Trolley Square shooting.

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Famous Birthdays

1775 – Louisa Adams, US First Lady (1825-29), born in London (d. 1852)
1914 – Arvid Pardo, Maltese diplomat, a.k.a “Father of the Law of the Sea Conference”, born in Rome, Italy (d. 1999)
1919 – Forrest Tucker, American actor (F Troop, Dusty Trail, The Crawling Eye), born in Plainfield, Indiana (d. 1986)
1961 – Jim Harris, Canadian author, environmentalist, and politician, born in Toronto, Ontario
1963 – Brent Jones, NFL tight end (SF 49ers), born in Santa Clara, California
1968 – Gregory Charles, French-Canadian performing artist, born in Montreal, Quebec

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Famous Deaths

1804 – Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (Zum ewigen Frieden), dies at 79
1945 – Antonio Villa-Real, Filipino jurist (b. 1880)
1969 – Johanna Tourniaire, Dutch actress (Potasch and Perlemoer), dies at 80
1995 – Terence Beckles, pianist/teacher, dies at 82
1995 – Rachid Mimouni, Algerian author (L’Honneur de la Tribu), dies at 49
2011 – Elizabeth “Betty” Garrett, American actress, comedian, singer and dancer (All in the Family), dies of an aortic aneurysm at 91

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Historical Events

1543 – Battle at Wayna Daga: Ethiopian and Portuguese troops beat Muslim army
1855 – Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia, by Abuna Salama III in a ceremony at the church of Derasge Maryam
1903 – US Congress adopts the Expedition Act, which authorizes the Attorney General to ‘expedite’ anti-trust cases through the courts, reflecting growing popular support for President Theodore Roosevelt’s “trust busting” campaign
1922 – Influential arts festival Semana de Arte Moderna (Modern Art Week) opens in São Paulo – the beginning of Modernism in Brazil
1938 – Steve Casey beats Lou Thesz in Boston, to win National Boxing Association world heavyweight title
1977 – 20.2-kg lobster caught off Nova Scotia (heaviest known crustacean)

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Famous Birthdays

1649 – William Carstares, Scottish minister (d. 1715)
1932 – Jerome Lowenthal, pianist/prof (Jerusalem Academy of Music), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1934 – Mel Carnahan, American politician (d. 2000)
1941 – Sergio Mendes, jazz/pop musician (Brazil ’66/’77/’88)
1944 – Michael G. Oxley, American politician (Rep-R-OH, 1981-2007), born in Findlay, Ohio (d. 2016)
1977 – Mike Shinoda, American musician (Linkin Park, Fort Minor), born in Agoura Hills, California

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Famous Deaths

641 – Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium (610-641), dies at about 65
1868 – Leon Foucault, discovers 1st physical proof of Earth’s rotation, dies at 48
1931 – Charles Algernon Parsons, British inventor (steam turbine), dies at 76
1945 – Al Dubin, Swiss-American songwriter (Tiptoe Thru The Tulips), dies at 53
1982 – Takashi Shimura, Japans actor (Rashomon, 7 Samurais), dies at 76
1986 – Frank [Patrick] Herbert, American sci-fi author (Dune), dies at 65

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