Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1525 – Albert of Prussia pledges a personal oath to Sigismund I and is invested with the duchy for himself and his heirs
1961 – AFL’s LA Chargers move to San Diego
1963 – US male Figure Skating championship won by Thomas Litz
1989 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1992 – Bonnie Blair wins 1992 Olympics 1st gold medal for USA
2005 – His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales announces engagement to Camilla Parker Bowles

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Famous Birthdays

1821 – William Read Scurry, (Confederate Army Brigadier General, (d. 1864))
1884 – Herbert Hordern, cricketer (pioneering leggie for Aust and Philadelphia)
1890 – Boris Pasternak, Russian novelist and poet (Doctor Zhivago, Nobel 1958), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1960)
1898 – Judith Anderson [Frances Margaret Anderson], Australian actress (Laura, Rebecca, Tycoon), born in Adelaide, South Australia (d. 1992)
1927 – Nigel Bagnall, British field marshal
1962 – Cliff Burton, American bass guitarist (Metallica), born in Castro Valley, California (d. 1986)

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Famous Deaths

1134 – Robert III/II Curthouse, Duke of Normandy, dies
1918 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist, Nobel Prize Laureate, dies at 84
1977 – Grace Mary Williams, composer, dies at 70
1985 – Johnny Mokan, baseball player (b. 1895)
2003 – Ron Ziegler, White House press secretary to Richard Nixon (b. 1939)
2012 – Jeffrey Zaslow, American author and columnist, dies in a car accident at 53

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Historical Events

1574 – Louis of Nassau ends siege of Maastricht
1871 – Federal fish protection office authorized by US Congress
1906 – Natal proclaims state of siege in Zulu uprising
1922 – World War Foreign Debt Commission is established by Congress to settle the problem of Allied war and postwar loans
1964 – 1st appearance of the Beatles on the “Ed Sullivan Show” draws 73.7 million viewers
1966 – Dow-Jones Index hits record 995 points

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Famous Birthdays

1533 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese samurai (d. 1611)
1735 – Adriaan Kluit, Dutch historian
1897 – Charles Edward Kingsford-Smith, pioneer Australian aviator
1931 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer
1954 – Mary Jo Duffy, American comic book writer and editor
1971 – Johan Mjällby, Swedish footballer

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Famous Deaths

1961 – Grigory Levenfish, Russian International chess grandmaster, dies at 70
1969 – [George] Gabby Hayes, actor (Albuquerque, Colorado), dies at 83
1977 – Gaus, an orangutan who lived to be 59
1995 – J. William Fulbright, American senator from Arkansas, known for opposition to the Vietnam War), dies at 89
2001 – Reginald Marsh, British actor (Sicilians, It Happened Here), dies at 74
2008 – Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian avant-garde painter, poet and sculptor. (b. 1931)

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Historical Events

1943 – Red Army recaptures Kursk
1948 – V Winter Olympic Games close at St Moritz, Switzerland
1986 – The crime film “A Better Tomorrow”, starring Yun Fat Chow, premieres in Hong Kong
2013 – 16 people are killed and 27 are wounded by a market bombing in Kalaya, Pakistan
2014 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen equals the Winter Olympics medal record with 12
2019 – Washington’s Governor Jay Inslee declares a state emergency after heavy snowfall

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Famous Birthdays

1807 – Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and naturalist (d. 1889)
1883 – Joseph A Schumpeter, Austria/US economist/minister of finance
1906 – Artur Balsam, Polish/US pianist (Begeleidde Menuhin, Milstein)
1944 – Sebastião Salgado, Brazilian documentary photographer
1949 – Brooke Adams, American actress (Cynthia-OK Crackerby, Body Snatchers), born in NYC, New York
1960 – Linda Fratianne, figure skater (Olympic silver 1980), born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

1245 – Johannes de Rupella/de la Rochelle, French theologist, dies
1725 – Peter the Great [Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov], Tsar of Russia (1682-1725) dies of uremia at 52
1910 – Hans Jæger, Norwegian writer and political activist (b. 1854)
1993 – Douglas Heyes, director/writer (Kitten with a Whip), dies at 73
1994 – Jacob Firet, Dutch theologist (Agogic Moment), dies at 70
2013 – James DePreist, American conductor, dies at 76

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Historical Events

1944 – Germans launch counteroffensive at Anzio, Italy
1945 – London, Washington and Moscow discuss final phase of World War II
1968 – Arthur Miller’s play “Price” premieres in NYC
1969 – Al-Fatah-leader Yasser Arafat becomes president of PLO
1973 – North Ireland’s United Loyalist Council hold a one-day strike, loyalist paramilitaries forcibly try to stop people going to work
1974 – Mel Brooks’ film “Blazing Saddles” opens in movie theaters starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder

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Famous Birthdays

1655 – Jean-Francois Regnard, French comedy writer (Slave in Algeria)
1804 – John Deere, American blacksmith and manufacturer (founded Deere and Company), born in Rutland, Vermont (d. 1886)
1814 – Gardner Quincy Colton, American lecturer who was the first to use nitrous oxide as an anesthetic in dentistry, born in Georgia, Vermont
1877 – Julius Curtius, German minister of Foreign affairs (1929-..)
1958 – Michele Drake, La Jolplaymate (May, 1979), born in Los Angeles, California
1969 – Bucky Richardson, US football quarterback (Houston Oilers)

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Famous Deaths

1317 – Robert, Count of Clermont, French founder of the House of Bourbon (b. 1256)
1920 – Aleksandr Vasilevich Kolchak, Russian military commander, dies at 45
1990 – Dom Heider Camara, nonviolent/human rights Bishop of Brazil, dies
1996 – Isian Kehinde I K Dairo, musician/academic, dies at 65
1999 – Hussein ibn Talal, King of Jordan (1952-99), dies at 63
2015 – Dean Smith, American actor and relay runner (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 83

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Historical Events

1820 – First 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society start a settlement in present-day Liberia
1928 – A woman dubbed Anna Anderson [possibly Franziska Schanzkowska] arrives in NYC, using the alias “Anastasia Tschaikovsky” claims to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II
1929 – Rudy Vallee records single “Deep Night”
1975 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1995 – Darryl Strawberry suspended from baseball for 60 days
2018 – Brazilian jockey Jorge Ricardo equals world record number of victories for a jockey – 12,844 in Rio de Janeiro

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Famous Birthdays

1900 – Roy Smeck, American musician, born in Reading, Pennsylvania (d. 1994)
1908 – Edward Lansdale, United States Air Force Officer, born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1987)
1912 – Eva Braun, German mistress and wife of Adolf Hitler, born in Munich, Germany (d. 1945)
1945 – Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae musician (Exodus, One Love), born in Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica (d. 1981)
1949 – Mike Batt, British director, actor, composer, and former Deputy Chairman (British Phonographic Industry), born in Southampton, England
1976 – Tanja Frieden, Swiss snowboarder, born in Bern, Switzerland

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Famous Deaths

1917 – Édouard Drumont, French anti-semite journalist, dies at 72
1927 – Daniel François Scheurleer, Dutch musicologist and banker, dies at 71
1961 – Archibald T Davison, American musicologist and composer, dies at 77
1981 – Hugo Montenegro, American film music composer (b. 1925)
1991 – Danny Thomas, comedian (Jazz Singer), dies of a heart attack at 79
2007 – Willye White, American athlete (Olympic silver long jump 1956, 4x100m relay 1964; Sports Illustrated 100 greatest women athletes of 20th century), dies of pancreatic cancer at 67

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Historical Events

1933 – Marinus van der Lubbe passes Dutch German boundary
1938 – Hans Engnestangen skates world record 500m (41.8 sec)
1941 – Dutch Premier De Geer returns from Lisbon to Netherlands
1942 – Braves get Tommy Holmes from Yanks for Buddy Hassett and Gene Moore
1980 – Egyptian parliament votes to end boycott of Israel
2017 – Romanian government scraps corruption degree after 6 days of mass demonstrations

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Famous Birthdays

1878 – André Citroën, French automobile pioneer (d. 1935)
1937 – Stuart Damon, American actor (Alan Quartermaine-General Hospital), born in Brooklyn, New York
1941 – Stephen J. Cannell, American TV producer (The Rockford Files, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street) and writer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2010)
1943 – Ivan Alexandrovich Tcherepnin, composer
1947 – Mary Louise Cleave, American engineer and NASA astronaut (STS 61-B, STS 30), born in Southampton, New York
1964 – Laura Linney, American actress (The Truman Show, Mystic River), born in Manhattan, New York

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Famous Deaths

1721 – James Stanhope 1st earl of Stanhope, English general, dies at 47
1967 – Herman Teirlinck, Belgian writer (Jokaste against God), dies at 87
1984 – Manès Sperber, Austrian-French writer (Like a Tear in the Ocean: A Trilogy), dies at 78
1995 – Doug Mcclure, US rodeo rider/actor (Trampas-Virginian), dies at 59
2012 – Sam Coppola, American actor (Saturday Night Fever), dies at 79
2019 – Dakshayani ‘Gaja Muthassi, elephant ‘granny’ Indian elephant, oldest in captivity, dies in Kerala at 88

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Historical Events

960 – Coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of the Song, initiating three centuries of Song Dynasty dominance in southern China
1846 – Mormons leave Nauvoo, Illinois, for settlement in the west
1924 – Norway sweeps the medals in the Nordic combined event at the inaugural Chamonix Winter Olympics; Thorleif Haug wins his 3rd gold of the Games ahead of team mates Thoralf Strømstad and Johan Grøttumsbråten
1969 – Beatles appoint Eastman and Eastman, as general cousel to Apple
1991 – NZ cricketers Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones make a world record 467 run stand, against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve in Wellington
2004 – Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room

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Famous Birthdays

1524 – Luis de Camões, Portugal’s greatest poet (d. 1580)
1891 – Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, Speaker of Lok Sabha (d: 1978).
1917 – Aga Yahya Khan, Pakistan military/politician
1943 – Jimmy Johnson, American session musician and co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, born in Sheffield, Alabama
1943 – Cheryl Miller, Sherman Oaks California, actress (Paula-Daktari, Born Free)
1952 – Lisa Eichhorn, actress (Cutter’s Way, Yanks), born in Reading, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

1503 – Queen Elizabeth, consort of Henry VII of England, dies
1505 – Joan of France, Queen of France (1498) and Catholic saint who founded several religious orders, dies at 40
1615 – Giovanni Battista della Porta, Italian scholar, polymath and child prodogy (b. 1535)
1927 – Thomas Laub, Danish organist and composer, dies at 74
1964 – Siegfried T Bok, neurobiologist/anatomist (Cybernetica), dies at 71
1982 – Sue Carol, actress (She’s My Weakness), dies at 73 of a heart attack

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Historical Events

1834 – Wake Forest University is established in North Carolina
1860 – Thomas Clemson takes office as 1st US superintendent of agriculture
1900 – Rival forces fight for control of the Union Park ball grounds in Baltimore
1969 – Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O’Neill announces the dissolution of the Stormont parliament and the holding of new elections
1978 – Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and US President Jimmy Carter discuss the Middle East peace process in Washington, D.C.
1998 – Mary Kay LeTourneau, 36, former teacher, violates probation with 14 year-old father of her baby

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Famous Birthdays

1747 – Samuel Osgood, American patriot (d. 1813)
1817 – Samuel Ryan Curtis, American politician and Major General (Union Army), born in Champlain, New York (d. 1866)
1831 – Cyrus Ballou Comstock, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Wrentham, Massachusetts (d. 1910)
1883 – Camille Bombois, French circus wrestler/painter
1932 – Jonathan Fellows-Smith, South African cricket all-rounder (4 Tests), born in Durban, Natal (d. 2013)
1962 – Joe Handle, American baseball pitcher (Florida Marlins)

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Famous Deaths

1116 – King Coloman of Hungary (b. 1070)
1874 – Lunalilo, Hawaiian monarch (b. 1835)
1922 – Christiaan R de Wet, South African Boer general, dies at 67
1924 – Woodrow Wilson, 28th US President (1913-21), dies at his home in Washington at 67
1936 – Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg, consort of William of Wied, Prince of Albania (b.1885)
2012 – Norton Zinder, American biologist (genetic transduction), dies from pneumonia at 83

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Historical Events

1550 – Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, freed
1893 – 1st movie close-up (of a sneeze), Edison studio, West Orange, New Jersey
1960 – Michale Eufemia sinks 625 balls in pool match without a miss
1993 – Irina Privalova runs world record 50m indoor (6.05 sec)
1998 – Philippine DC-9 crashes apparently killing all 104 on board
2019 – Virginia Governor Ralph Northam admits to wearing blackface in 1984 but says he’s not in a photo of men wearing blackface and a Ku Klux Klan robe on a yearbook page

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Famous Birthdays

1882 – James Stephens, Irish poet (Crock of Gold)
1923 – Peter Fowler, physicist
1926 – Nydia Ecury, celebrated Afro-Dutch writer, translator and actress (Kantika pa Mama Tera), born in Rancho, Aruba (d. 2012)
1940 – David Jason, English actor
1977 – Heather Martin, American gospel singer
1983 – Will South, Thirteen Senses frontman

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Famous Deaths

1804 – George Walton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1749-50)
1902 – Emanuil Manolov, composer, dies at 42
1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh heavyweight boxer (British heavyweight champion 1956-58), dies at 56
1999 – David McComb, Australian musician (The Triffids) (b. 1962)
2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer (La Koro Sutro), dies of a heart attack at 85
2007 – Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)

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Historical Events

1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luis Filipe are assassinated by Republican sympathizers in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon
1953 – WEEK TV channel 25 in Peoria, IL (NBC) begins broadcasting
1959 – Heiss sisters go 1-2 in US women’s Figure Skating C’ships; defending champion Carol wins from Nancy; David Jenkins wins his third straight men’s title
1981 – Australian cricket captain Greg Chappell sensationally instructs younger brother Trevor to bowl underarm to Brian McKechnie with NZ needing 6 from last ball to tie 3rd World Series ODI in Melbourne; Australia wins by 6
1991 – US Air and Skywest Fairchild jet collide at LA Airport killing 32
2004 – 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

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Famous Birthdays

1819 – Henry Lawrence Eustis, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1885)
1922 – Renata Tebaldi, lyric soprano, born in Pesaro, Italy (d. 2004)
1936 – G H Blake, Principal (Collingwood College, Durham U)
1964 – Dwayne Goettel, Canadian musician
1964 – Linus Roache, English actor, born in Manchester, United Kingdom
1968 – Lisa Marie Presley Keough Jackson, daughter of Elvis, born in Memphis, Tennessee

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Famous Deaths

1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer, dies at 85
1747 – Jacobus E J Capitein, Dutch slave/vicar/merchant, dies
1877 – Joseph-Leon Gatayes, composer, dies at 71
1991 – Annie van Ommeren-Averink [Hanna Jacoba of Ommeren-Averink], Dutch politician (CPN), dies
1997 – Peter Morris, historian of France, dies at 50
2010 – Jack Brisco, American pro wrestler (NWA World Heavyweight Champion 1973–75), dies from complications of open heart surgery at 68

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