Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1303 – Flemings conquers Middelburg
1783 – Herschel reports seeing a red glow near lunar crater Aristarchus
1919 – 1st legal Sunday baseball game in NYC, 35,000 watch the Phillies beat the NY Giants 4-3
1967 – Lunar Orbiter 4 launched by US; begins orbiting Moon May 7
1981 – Rockline premieres on KLOS FM in Los Angeles
2014 – Juan Carlos Varela is elected President of Panama

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Famous Birthdays

1796 – William H. Prescott, American historian, born in Salem, Massachusetts (d. 1859)
1921 – Virginia “Patsy” Garrett, American singer and actress (Nanny and the Professor, Fred Waring’s Pleasure Time), born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2015)
1954 – Marilyn Martin, American singer-songwriter (Separate Lives), born in Tennessee
1955 – Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer and songwriter, born in Winthrop, Massachusetts
1966 – Jane McGrath, British-Australian co-founder of the McGrath Foundation for breast cancer, born in Paignton, Devon (d. 2008)
1984 – Kevin Slowey, American baseball player, born in Conroe, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1471 – Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, English military commander (executed)
1855 – Camille Pleyel, Austria piano builder/composer, dies at 66
1893 – George Washington Hewitt, composer, dies at 82
1971 – Louis de Bree [Louis Davids], actor (De man zonder hart, The Cross-Patch, Bluejackets), dies at 87
2001 – Bonnie Lee Bakley, American murder victim (b. 1956)
2018 – Barnet Fain, American businessman and artist, dies at 86

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Historical Events

1382 – Battle of Beverhoutsveld near Bruges in modern-day Belgium – the army of Ghent beats a drunken Bruges militia
1916 – Irish Nationalists Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh and Thomas Clarke are executed by firing squad following their involvement in the Easter Rising
1942 – Japanese troop attack Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo, Solomon Islands during WWII
1948 – 1st broadcast of “CBS Evening News” – longest running network news show in the US
1981 – “Moony, Shapiro Songbook” opens and closes at Morosco Theater NYC
1997 – 123rd Kentucky Derby: Gary Stevens aboard Silver Charm wins in 2:02.3

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Famous Birthdays

1876 – Bert Hopkins, Australian cricketer (Australian pace bowler of the 1900’s), born in Young, New South Wales (d. 1931)
1898 – Septima Poinsette Clark, American educator and civil rights activist, born in CHarleston, South Carolina (d. 1987)
1905 – Albrecht Luitpold Ferdinand Michael, duke of Bavaria, born in Munich, German Empire (d. 1996)
1907 – Earl Wilson, American journalist and columnist (Midnight Earl), born in Rockford, Ohio (d. 1987)
1919 – Pete Seeger, American folk singer (The Weavers – Goodnight Irene) and activist, helped create the modern American folk music movement, born in NYC, New York (d. 2014)
1963 – Jeff Hornacek, American basketball player and coach, born in Elmhurst, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1442 – Engelbert I, Earl of Nassau-Dillenburg, dies
1752 – Samuel Ogle, British provincial Governor of Maryland (b. c. 1692)
1792 – Carlo Zuccari, Italian composer and violinist, dies at 87
1992 – Peter Bruni, dies of heart failure at 60
1999 – Joe Adcock, American baseball utility, manager (Milwaukee Braves; 2-time MLB All Star), dies of Alzheimer’s disease at 71
2018 – H. Basil S. Cooke, South African-Canadian geologist and paleontologist, dies at 102

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Historical Events

1853 – Franconi’s Hippodrome opens in New York City
1869 – The Folies Trévise (later cabaret hall Folies Bergère) opens as an opera house in Paris, France
1972 – 126 killed in an electrical fire in Sunshine Silver mine, Kellogg, Idaho
1979 – -May 10] Vivekananda (Sri Lanka) begins nonstop ride, cycling 187 hrs, 28 min, around Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka
1980 – Pope John Paul II begins African tour
1988 – Baltimore Orioles sign a 15 year lease to remain in Baltimore and get a new park

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Famous Birthdays

1857 – Frederic Cliffe, English composer, born in Bradford, Yorkshire (d. 1931)
1901 – Bob Wyatt, English cricketer (1927-37), born in Surrey (d. 1995)
1937 – Lorenzo Music, American writer, actor and voice actor (Carlton-Rhoda, Garfield), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2001)
1944 – Franz Innerhofer, Austrian writer (Beautiful Days), born in Krimml, Salzberg
1950 – Duncan Gay, Australian politician, Vice-President of the Executive Council (2014-17), born in Crookwell, New South Wales
1961 – Doctor Robert [Bruce Robert Howard], Scottish singer-songwriter (The Blow Monkeys), born in Haddington, Scotland

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Famous Deaths

1736 – Albert Seba, Amsterdam pharmacist, dies at 71
1969 – Franz von Papen, German diplomat and chancellor (1932), dies at 89
1979 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
1985 – Hal LeRoy, dancer/actor (Harold Teen), dies at 71 after surgery
1990 – Oleg Anatolyevich Yakovlev, Russian cosmonaut, dies at 49
2015 – Ruth Rendell, English thriller writer (Inspector Wexford novels), dies at 85

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Historical Events

1928 – Pitcairn Airlines (later Eastern) begins service
1947 – Lt General Hoyt S Vandenberg, USA, ends term as 2nd head of CIA
1949 – Gerard Kuiper discovers Nereid, (2nd satellite of Neptune)
1963 – 1st American (James Whittaker) conquers Mount Everest
1988 – After scoring 50 points in Game 1, NBA Eastern Conference playoff series, Michael Jordan has 55 in Chicago Bulls 106-101 win vs Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2; first to score 50+ points in consecutive playoff games
2012 – Guggenheim Partners make the largest ever purchase of a sports franchise after buying the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2.1 billion

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Famous Birthdays

1692 – James Stirling, Scottish mathematician (Formula of Stirling), born in this month in Stirlingshire, Scotland (d. 1770)
1939 – Frank Beard, American golfer (11 PGA Tour titles; US Open 1965, 75 3rd), born in Dallas, Texas
1954 – Taslim Arif, Pakistan cricket wicket-keeper (6 Tests; top score 210no v Aust 1980), born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan (d. 2008)
1979 – Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby union flanker (Italy 106 caps; Benetton Treviso, Stade Français), born in Padova, Italy
1980 – Zaz [Isabelle Geffroy], French singer-songwriter (Je veux), born in Tours, France
1992 – Matĕj Vydra, Czech Republic soccer striker (26 caps; Watford, Derby County, Burnley), born in Chotĕboř, Czech Republic

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Famous Deaths

1308 – Albrecht I van Habsburg, German King (1298-1308), murdered
1903 – Luigi Arditi, Italian violinist and composer, dies at 80
1976 – T.R.M. Howard, civil rights leader, entrepreneur, surgeon (b. 1908)
1988 – Paolo Stoppa, actor (Garibaldi, Visit, Freedom Fighters), dies
1996 – Asher Wallfish, journalist, dies at 67
2008 – Deborah Jeane Palfrey, American escort owner, commits suicide at 52

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Historical Events

1725 – Emperor Charles VI and King Philip IV of Spain sign Treaty of Vienna
1937 – The Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative
1939 – NBC/RCA 1st public TV demo with FDR at opening of NY World’s Fair
1954 – Darius Milhauds 4th Concert for piano and orchestra premieres in Haifa
1976 – Muhammad Ali beats Jimmy Young in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
2018 – World’s oldest known spider, a female trapdoor, dies after being killed by a wasp sting in Western Australia, aged 43

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Famous Birthdays

1896 – Anandamayi Ma [Nirmala Sundari], Indian spiritual leader, born in Kheora, British India (now Bangladesh)
1912 – Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, Deputy Prime Minister of Spain (1976-81) and Minister of Defense (1977-79), born in Madrid (d. 1995)
1938 – Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak film director (Crucial Years), born in Kojšov, Czechoslovakia
1952 – Jacques Audiard, French film director
1957 – Aviva Chomsky, American historian, daughter of Noam Chomsky
1987 – Rohit Sharma, Indian Cricketer

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Famous Deaths

535 – Amalaswintha, queen of Ostrogoths, murdered in the bath at about 37
1795 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (b. 1716)
1900 – Casey Jones, American railroad engineer, dies at 36 heroically in Cannonball Express train wreck
1983 – Muddy Waters, US blues singer/guitarist (Mad Love), dies at 70
1996 – Julio Cesar Mendez Montenegro, President of Guatemala (1966-70), dies
2017 – Ueli Steck, Swiss mountain climber, dies in a climbing accident in Nepal at 40

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Historical Events

1553 – Flemish woman introduces practice of starching linen into England
1903 – Limestone slides at Turtle Mountain kill 9 in Frank, Alberta
1932 – 1st broadcast of “One Man’s Family” on NBC radio, longest-running dramatic serial on US radio (ends 1959)
1982 – Alfredo Magana elected President of El Salvador
1986 – NFL Draft: Auburn running back Bo Jackson first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1992 – 27th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire win

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Famous Birthdays

1896 – Jacques Wolfe, Romanian-American composer, born in Botoşani, Romania (d. 1973)
1925 – Albert “Ab” Abspoel, Dutch actor and director (Surprise Attack, Elevator), born in The Hague, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands (d. 2000)
1945 – Hugh Hopper, rocker (Soft Machine)
1963 – Mike Babcock, Canadian NHL Coach (Anaheim, Detroit, Team Canada), born in Manitouwadge, Ontario
1974 – Alana Blahoski, ice hockey forward (USA, Olympics 1998)
1974 – Julian Knowle, Austrian tennis player

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Famous Deaths

1935 – Leroy Carr, American blues singer-songwriter, dies at 30
1956 – Nemesio Otano y Eugenio, composer, dies at 75
1986 – Seamus McElwaine, Irish IRA-terrorist, killed at 25
1988 – Jan Kapr, Czech composer, dies at 74
2012 – Amarillo Slim, American professional poker player, dies at 83
2015 – Jean Nidetch, American businesswoman and founder of Weight Watchers, dies at 91

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Historical Events

1253 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.
1655 – English General-at-Sea Robert Blake (he was never titled Admiral) beats North African pirate fleet
1937 – 1st animated cartoon electric sign displayed (NYC)
1959 – 6th National Film Awards (India): “Sagar Sangamey” wins the Golden Lotus
1959 – KPLR TV channel 11 in Saint Louis, MO (IND) begins broadcasting
2016 – NFL Draft: Cal quarterback Jared Goff first pick by Los Angeles Rams

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Famous Birthdays

1795 – Charles Sturt, English explorer (Australia), born in Bengal, British India (d. 1869)
1810 – Daniel Ullman, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Wilmington, Delaware (d. 1892)
1900 – Bruno Apitz, German writer (Nackt unter Wölfen, born in Leipzig (d. 1979)
1922 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (The Guns of Navarone), born in Shettleston, Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1987)
1952 – Chuck Leavell, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band, Rolling Stones), born in Birmingham, Alabama
1957 – Leopold Eyharts, French cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-26, TM-28/27)

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Famous Deaths

1710 – Thomas Betterton, British actor and dramatist (Coriolanus), dies at 74
1945 – Benito Mussolini [Il Duce], Fascist Italian dictator (1922-43), shot by communist partisans at 61
1960 – Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, 19th and 25th President of Chile, dies at 82
1978 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, 1st President of Afghanistan (1973-78) and Prime Minister of Afghanistan (1953-63), dies at 68
1982 – EW “Nobby” Clark, Engl cricketer (32 wickets in 8 Tests 1929-34), dies
2005 – Percy Heath, American jazz bassist (Modern Jazz Quartet) (b. 1923)

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Historical Events

1881 – Pogroms against Russian Jews start in Elisabethgrad
1910 – Belgian parliament rejects socialist motion for general voting rights
1935 – Yanks pull a 1st inning triple-play and beat Philadelphia A’s 9-8
1956 – Burma Premier U Nu’s Volksliga voor Vrijheid loses election
1959 – “Today” show goes abroard 1st time (Paris France)
1961 – Sierra Leone declares independence from UK

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Famous Birthdays

1650 – Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel, queen of Denmark and Norway (1670-99), born in Kassel, Germany (d. 1714)
1824 – William Richard Bexfield, English composer, born in Norwich, England (d. 1853)
1850 – Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German Colonel General, born in Greifswald, Prussia (d. 1921)
1893 – Draža Mihailović, Serbian WWII hero and war criminal, born in Ivanjica, Serbia (d. 1946)
1922 – Jack Klugman, American actor (Oscar-Odd Couple, Quincy, Goodbye Columbus), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
1944 – Cuba Gooding Sr., American singer (Everybody Plays the Fool), born in NYC, New York (d. 2017)

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Famous Deaths

1613 – Robert Abercromby, Scottish Jesuit (b. 1532)
1896 – Henry Parkes, Australian politician (longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales), dies at 80
1973 – Carlos Menditeguy, Argentine racing driver (b. 1914)
1992 – Olivier Messiaen, French composer (St Francois d’Assise), dies at 83
1999 – Cyril Washbrook, English cricketer (stalwart Lancs and England opener), dies at 84
2009 – Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean actress and model (b. 1983)

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Historical Events

1904 – Bell Telephone Company of Antwerp Belgium forms
1991 – “Dinosaurs” premieres on ABC-TV
1992 – “Master Builder” closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 45 performances
1993 – STS-55 (Columbia) launches into orbit
2009 – 55th British Academy Television Awards: “Harry and Paul” Best Comedy, “Wallander” Best Drama
2012 – 70 people are killed by rocket attacks by the Syrian Army on the city of Hama

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Famous Birthdays

1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist, born in Stolpe an der Oder, Margraviate of Brandenburg, Prussia (d. 1853)
1927 – Dame Anne McLaren, British biologist and leading researcher on human in vitro fertilisation (IVF), born in London, England (d. 2007)
1942 – Claudine Auger, French actress (Thunderball) and Miss France (1958), born in Paris, France
1947 – Donna De Varona, American swimmer (Olympic-2 gold-64), born in Greenwich, Connecticut
1959 – Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico politician, Governor of Puerto Rico (2019-), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
1980 – Marnette Patterson, American actress (Nicole-Something So Right), born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

1952 – Charles L Baars, Dutch actor (Women Tamers), dies at 59
1960 – Wander J de Haas, Dut physicist (Einstein-De Haas effect), dies at 82
1984 – Henry Rowland, actor (Rogue’s Regiment), dies at 70
1991 – Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (The Godfather Part II), and father of Francis Ford Coppola, dies at 80
1996 – Burton Stein, American historian, dies at 69
2017 – Jonathan Demme, American film director (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia), dies at 73

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Historical Events

1604 – Count Maurits’ army lands at Cadzand
1867 – Tokyo opens for foreign trade
1902 – Erwin Harvey becomes 1st Cleveland ballplayer (Cleveland Bronchos) to have six hits in one game
1954 – WDEF TV channel 12 in Chattanooga, TN (CBS) begins broadcasting
1971 – The Northern Ireland census is held
1986 – ETA bomb attacks Madrid killing 5

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Famous Birthdays

1825 – Charles Dowd, American principal who was the 1st to propose standardized time zones (for America’s railways), born in Madison, Connecticut (d. 1904)
1941 – Princess Muna al-Hussein, mother of King Abdullah II of Jordan, born in Chelmondiston, Suffolk, England
1947 – Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor (Blaze, Frances, Windy City), born in Buffalo, New York
1970 – Steve Tovar, American NFL linebacker (Cin Bengals), born in Elyria, Ohio
1977 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress (Connie-Mighty Ducks, D2, D3), born in Riverside, California
1981 – John McFall, British Paralympic sprinter, born in Frimley, Surrey, England

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Famous Deaths

1342 – Benedict XII, [Jacques Fournier], Pope (1334-42), dies
1566 – Louise Labé, French poet
1792 – Nicolas J Pelletier, French highwayman, 1st person guillotined
1905 – Jacob Olie, Dutch photographer, dies at about 70
1958 – Herman Hickman, American College Football Hall of Fame guard, coach and broadcaster (Army, Yale), dies at 46
1990 – Dexter Gordon, American jazz tenor saxophonist and actor (Round Midnight, The Other Side of Round Midnight), dies of kidney failure at 67

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