Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1899 – 1st auto repair shop opens (Boston)
1901 – Seventy-eight miners die in the Caerphilly pit disaster in South Wales
1953 – Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Doctor Mellifluus
1957 – Anti-American riots breakout in Taipei, Taiwan
1966 – “Mame” opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 1508 performances
2008 – 53rd Eurovision Song Contest: Dima Bilan for Russia wins singing “Believe” in Belgrade

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Famous Birthdays

1891 – William F. Albright, American old testament scholar and archaeologist, born in Coquimbo, Chile (d. 1971)
1899 – Henri Michaux, Belgian-born French poet and writer (Miserable Miracle), born in Namur, Belgium (d. 1984)
1917 – Derek Hodgson, British high court judge, born in Whitefield, Manchester (d. 2002)
1963 – Rich Rodriguez, American football coach, born in Grant Town, West Virginia
1974 – Maria Alejandra Vento, Venezuelan tennis star (1995 Futures-Braz), born in Caracas
1984 – Sarah Hagan, American actress (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), born in Austin, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1749 – Graf Valentin Potocki, Polish nobleman
1861 – Elmer E. Ellsworth, American soldier who was the 1st Union officer killed in the American Civil War, dies at 24
1872 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter and designer who figured importantly in the German Nazarene movement, dies at 78
1953 – Cor Hermus, Dutch actor, director and writer (Bleeke Bet, William of Orange, Jantes), dies at 63
1972 – Asta Nielsen, actress (Joyless Street), dies at 88
1986 – Stephen D Thorne, Lt Cmdr USN/astronaut, dies in a plane crash at 33

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Historical Events

1774 – Chestertown tea party occurs (tea dumped into Chester River)
1883 – Baseball game between one-armed and one-legged players at Recreation Park, Philadelphia, Snorkeys defeat the Hoppers 33-17
1967 – Government bans submarines near South Africa
1970 – San Diego Padres beat SF Giants 17-16 in 15 innings
2019 – Prototype of new high-speed train that will float above the track, capable of travelling 600km an hour (370 mph), unveiled by Chinese Railway Rolling Stock Corporation in Qingdao
2019 – More than 170 tornadoes reported in a week in US states of Missouri, Oklahoma and Iowa, killing seven and causing widespread damage

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Famous Birthdays

1929 – Joe Modise, South African commandant of Umkhonto we Sizwe (1965- )
1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (Zulu, One Summer of Happiness), born in Gothenburg, Sweden (d. 1982)
1944 – Ramon “Tiki” Fulwood, US drummer (Funkadelic, Knee Deep)
1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Real Madrid footballer
1971 – Issac Booth, NFL cornerback/safety (Cleveland Browns)
1971 – Joseph Rogers, CFL receiver (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)

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Famous Deaths

1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (b. 1622)
1891 – Ignace Leybach, French pianist and composer, dies at 73
1941 – Slavko Osterc, Slovenian composer, dies at 45
1988 – Andreas Liebenberg, South African military commander, dies at 60
2010 – Leonida Georgievna, Grand Duchess Of Russia (b. 1914)
2015 – John Nash, American mathematician (subject of movie “A Beautiful Mind”) and Nobel laureate, dies in a car crash at 86

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Historical Events

1883 – Cubs’ Billy Sunday’s 1st at bat, begins 14 consecutive strikes out
1902 – 36th Belmont: John Bullman aboard Mastermam wins in 2:22.6
1936 – Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland
1945 – NSB-Fuhrer Rost van Tonningen makes failed suicide attempt
1945 – 6th US Marine division reaches suburbs of Naha Okinawa
1946 – First US rocket (WAC Corporal) to reach edge of space fired from White Sands Missile Range New Mexico

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Famous Birthdays

1865 – Enric Morera i Viura, Spanish musician and composer, born in Barcelona (d. 1942)
1927 – Michael Constantine, American actor (Room 222, Don’t Drink the Water), born in Reading, Pennsylvania
1936 – George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (helped invent LCD displays), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2014)
1941 – Sebastian Forbes, British conductor, composer and music professor (The Aeolian Singers), born in Buckinghamshire, England
1942 – Malika Sabirova, Soviet Tajik ballet dancer, born in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (d. 1982)
1974 – Sean Gunn, American actor

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Famous Deaths

1802 – Martha Washington, 1st US First Lady (1789-97), dies at 70
1868 – Julius Plucker, German mathematician/physicist (formula of P), dies
1965 – Heinrich Barth, Swiss philosopher (Das Sein in der Zeit), dies
1972 – Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish poet (British Poet Laureate 1968-72) and detective writer (Nicholas Blake), dies of cancer at 68
2012 – Wesley Brown, 1st African American US Naval Academy graduate, dies at 85
2013 – Henri Dutilleux, French composer (Tout un monde lointain, L’arbre des songes), dies at 97

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Historical Events

1925 – Roald Amundsun leaves Spitsbergen with 2 seaplanes to North Pole
1926 – White Sox Earl Sheely hits a record 6th consecutive double
1950 – Vietnamese troops of Ho Chi-Minh attack Cambodia
1964 – Fire in Belgian resort kills 19
1997 – Emmy 24th Daytime Award presentation – Susan Lucci loses for 17th time
2014 – Russian President Putin signs agreements with China in Beijing in relation to trade and infrastructure

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Famous Birthdays

1899 – Ralph Sanford, American actor (Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 1963)
1917 – Ronald John Bilsland Colville, businessman
1924 – Jack Twyman, basketball player (Rochester/Cincinnati Royals), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
1949 – Andrew Neil, Scottish newspaper editor, (Sunday Times), born in Paisley, Scotland
1959 – Brisn Lenihan, Jnr, Irish politician and minister, born in Dublin (d. 2011)
1963 – Richard Appel, American writer

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Famous Deaths

1639 – Tommaso Campanella, Italian theologian, philosopher and poet, dies at 70
1719 – Pierre Poiret, French mystic, dies at 73
1897 – Karol Mikuli, composer, dies at 77
1994 – Cliff Wilson, snooker player, dies at 60
1996 – Bobby Tulloch, ornithologist, dies at 67
2000 – Barbara Cartland, English romance author (Camfield #69), dies at 98

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Historical Events

1347 – Rienzo calls Rome for people’s tribunal
1882 – Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts” (Gengangere) premieres in Chicago
1939 – 1st regular transatlantic airmail (Pan Am: NY to Marsseille France)
1956 – Atomic fusion (thermonuclear) bomb dropped from plane at Bikini Atoll
1958 – US performs nuclear test at Enwetak (atmospheric tests)
1967 – 92nd Preakness: Bill Shoemaker aboard Damascus wins in 1:55.2

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Famous Birthdays

1889 – Felix Arndt, American composer, born in NYC, New York (d. 1918)
1899 – Alexander Deyneka, Ukrainian painter (d. 1969)
1917 – Bergur Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic politician (d. 2005)
1926 – Vic Ames, singer (Ames Brothers), born in Malden, Massachusetts (d. 1978)
1927 – David Frederick Barlow, composer
1960 – Tony Goldwyn, actor (Ghost, Kuffs, Traces of Red), born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

1550 – Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (b. 1510)
1947 – Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist (Nobel 1905), dies at 84
1969 – Royal Beal, American actor (Death of a Salesman), dies of cancer at 69
1975 – Jacques Stehman, composer, dies at 62
1988 – René Defossez, Belgian composer, dies at 82
1989 – Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (SNL, Haunted Honeymoon), dies at 42

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Historical Events

1957 – Adone Zoli forms Italian government
1962 – “Bravo, Giovanni” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 76 performances
1994 – Tennis star Jennifer Capriati (18), checks into a drug rehab center
1996 – STS 77 (Endeavour 11), launches into orbit
2015 – UK inflation is recorded as a negative for the first time since 1960
2019 – 64th Eurovision Song Contest won by Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands

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Famous Birthdays

1815 – John Gross Barnard, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Sheffield, Massachusetts (d. 1882)
1880 – Allard R Hulshoff, architect of Amsterdam (1924)
1925 – Malcolm X [Little], African American human rights activist and Muslim minister, born in Omaha, Nebraska (d. 1965)
1926 – David Jacobs, British broadcaster (Juke Box Jury), born in London (d. 2013)
1955 – Ed Whitson, pitcher (NY Yankees, San Diego Padres)
1992 – Sam Smith, English singer-songwriter (Stay with Me), born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1825 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, Comte de Saint-Simon, French political philosopher (b. 1760)
1961 – Joe Howard, singer (Gay Nineties Revue), dies at 94
1969 – Coleman Hawkins, American jazz musician who virtually created tenor saxophone for jazz, dies at 64
2000 – Yevgeny Khrunov, cosmonaut (b. 1933)
2014 – Michael Aldrich, British inventor (Online shopping), dies at 72
2014 – Jack Brabham AO, OBE, Australian auto racer and team owner (World F1 champion 1959-60, 66), dies of liver disease at 88

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Historical Events

1830 – Edwin Budding of England signs an agreement for the manufacture of his invention, lawn mower. Saturdays are destroyed forever
1861 – Battle of Sewall’s Point Virginia – 1st Federal offense against the South
1948 – Arab Legion captures fort on Mt Scopus during Arab-Israeli war
1950 – “Liar” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 12 performances
1967 – Silver hits record $1.60 an ounce in London
1990 – Judy Carne arrested at JFK airport on an 11 year old drug warrant

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Famous Birthdays

1048 – Omar Khayyám, Persian mathematician, poet and philosopher (d. 1131)
1744 – Joseph Beer, Bohemia clarinetist/composer (5th clarinet flap)
1920 – Lucia Mannucci, Italian singer (Quartetto Cetra)
1922 – Gerda Boyesen, Norwegian-born body psychotherapist (d. 2005)
1928 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (Adam-Bonanza, Trapper John MD), born in Waycross, Georgia (d. 2010)
1992 – Spencer Breslin, American actor

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Famous Deaths

1829 – Maria Josepha of Saxony, Queen consort of Spain, dies at 35
1967 – Andy Clyde, Scottish actor (The Real McCoys, Lassie), dies from natural causes at 75
1981 – William Saroyan, American novelist and stagewriter (Time of your life), dies at 72
1995 – Elisha Cook Jr, American actor (Maltese Falcon, Shane, Magnum PI), dies at 91
1997 – Bridgette Andersen, American actress (b. 1975)
2014 – Dobrica Cosic, Serbian writer and President (1992-93), dies at 92

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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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