Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1891 – French troops occupy Nioro, West-Sudan, 3000 killed
1952 – 18th Sugar Bowl: #3 Maryland beats #1 Tennessee, 28-13
1972 – 38th Orange Bowl: #1 Nebraska beats #2 Alabama, 38-6
1975 – U.S. Federal oil depletion allowance eliminated for large producers
1994 – 80th Rose Bowl: #9 Wisconsin beats #14 UCLA, 21-16
1994 – North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1723 – Christian Friedrich Gregor, composer
1853 – Hans Koessler, composer
1878 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish scientist and engineer (d. 1929)
1896 – Yitzhak Edel, composer
1915 – Lewis Bingham Keeble, town planner
1932 – Arnfried G D P, Dutch manufacturer (breadcrumbs)/drugs dealer

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1905 – Mabel Cahill, Irish tennis player (US National C’ship 1891-92), dies at 41
1944 – Charles Turner, Australian cricket fast bowler (17 Tests; 101 wickets @ 16.53; fastest to 50 Test wickets), dies at 81
1988 – Marcel Hillaire, German actor (Take the Money and Run, Seven Thieves), dies from surgery complications at 79
1995 – Eugene Wigner, physicist (Nobel prize for physics-1963), dies at 92
2008 – Harold Corsini, American photographer, dies from a stroke at 88
2012 – Fred Milano, American doo-wop singer, member of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, dies from lung cancer at 72

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1921 – Last San Francisco firehorses retired
1957 – AAU awards Bobby Morrow, James Sullivan Memorial Trophy
1974 – Popular Electronics displays Altair 8800 computer
1977 – Cambodia drops diplomatic relations with Vietnam
1982 – TV soap “Doctors” ends 19 year run
1999 – Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as acting President

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1880 – Fred Beebe, American baseball player, born in Lincoln, Nebraska (d. 1957)
1934 – Akram Awan, Islamic scholar and spiritual leader, born in Chakwal, Pakistan (d. 2017)
1938 – Henricus G Wijmans, Dutch graphic artist
1949 – Ellen Datlow, American editor, born in NYC, New York
1953 – Yahya Ould Hademine, Mauritanian politician and 13th Prime Minister of Mauritania (2014-present), born in Timbédra, French West Africa
1961 – Rick Aguilera, American baseball pitcher (Minnesota Twins), born in San Gabriel, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1799 – Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and writer, dies at 76
1921 – Boies Penrose, American politician (U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1897-1921)), dies at 61
1950 – Charles Koechlin, French composer (The Jungle Book), dies at 83
1977 – Nora Marlowe, actress (Sara-Gov and JJ), dies at 62
1993 – Brandon Teena, American trans man and hate crime victim, murdered at 21
1996 – Michael Roberts, English historian, dies at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1813 – Danzig surrenders to allied armies
1905 – Former Governor Frank Steunenberg is assassinated near his home in Caldwell, Idaho
1933 – Government disallows NSB-membership for civil service
1963 – Congress authorizes Kennedy half dollar
1975 – “Boccaccio” closes at Edison Theater NYC after 7 performances
1979 – Togo adopts constitution

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1644 – Philips van Almonde, Dutch Zeeuws lt-admiral
1917 – Seymour Melman, American industrial engineer (d. 2004)
1931 – Richard Christ, writer
1945 – Preston Andrew Trombly, composer
1985 – Lars Boom, Dutch cyclist
1992 – Carson Wentz, American NFL quarterback (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Raleigh, North Carolina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

274 – St Felix I, dies and ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1662 – Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria and Regent of the Tyrol, dies at 34
1865 – Henry Winter Davis, American politician and unionist, dies at 48
1995 – Doris Grau, American script supervisor, actress and voice artist (Point Blank, King Kong), dies from respiratory failure at 71
2003 – John Gregory Dunne, American writer, dies of heart attack at 71
2010 – Bobby Farrell, Aruban singer (Boney M) (b. 1949)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1782 – 1st nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston
1848 – Gas lights 1st installed at White House (Polk’s administration)
1920 – Yugoslav government bans communist party
1955 – NHL officials wear new vertically striped black-and-white sweaters for the first time in Montreal Canadiens’ 5-2 win over Toronto Maple Leafs
1968 – NFL Championship, Cleveland Municipal Stadium: Baltimore Colts shutout Cleveland Browns, 34-0
2018 – 85th Orange Bowl: #1 Alabama beats #4 Oklahoma, 45-34

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1833 – John James Ingalls, US politician (Rep-Ks), born in Middleton, Massachusetts (d. 1900)
1866 – Joseph Limburg, Dutch lawyer and politician, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1940)
1917 – Tom Bradley, Mayor of Los Angeles (D-1973-93), born in Calvert, Texas (d. 1998)
1953 – Gali Atari, Israeli singer and actress, born in Rehovot, Israel
1959 – Ritsuko Okazaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (Kanashii Jiyū / Koi ga, Kiete Yuku), born in Hashima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan (d. 2004)
1965 – Dexter Holland, American musician (The Offspring), born in Garden Grove, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1141 – Yue Fei, Chinese general, executed
1847 – William Crotch, English composer, dies at 72
1975 – Euell Gibbons, American outdoorsman and proponent of natural diets (b. 1911).
1996 – Willaim Brown, British TV executive, dies at 67
1996 – Mireille Hartuch, singer/songwriter, dies at 90
1998 – Jean-Claude Forest, writer and illustrator of comics (Barbarella) (b. 1930)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1902 – Trans-Pacific cable links Hawaii to US
1950 – The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom’s 1st National Park
1993 – Ballon d’Or: Juventus’ Italian striker Roberto Baggio is named Europe’s best football player ahead of Inter forward Dennis Bergkamp and Manchester United striker Eric Cantona
2001 – OPEC oil ministers meeting in Cairo agree to reduce their crude oil output quotas by a combined 1.5 million barrels per day
2009 – 43 people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims were observing the Day of Ashura.
2017 – Protests in Mashhad, Iran against price rises and corruption

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1859 – John W Fortescue, military historian
1910 – John “Jack” Kerr, New Zealand cricketer (opening batsman in 1930s), born in Dannevirke, New Zealand (d. 2007)
1911 – Phani Majumdar, filmmaker
1954 – Denzel Washington, American actor (Dr Chandler-St Elsewhere), born in Mount Vernon, New York
1956 – Kenneth Grant, bass/vocalist (Midnight Star-No Parking, Operator)
1960 – Zane Smith, American baseball pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Madison, Wisconsin

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1935 – Clarence Day, American author (Life with Father), dies at 61
1952 – Fletcher Henderson, American musician (b. 1897)
1969 – Henry Oscar, English stage and film actor (Saint in London), dies at 78
1971 – Max Steiner, Austrian composer (Gone With the Wind), dies at 83
1992 – Sal Maglie, American MLB pitcher (NY Giants, 8th best won-lost pct), dies at 75
1993 – Joop Vervoort, Dutch soccer referee, dies at 61

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1867 – Ontario and Quebec legislatures hold 1st meeting
1924 – Albania is declared a dictatorship under Ahmed Beg Zofu
1937 – Mae West performs Adam and Eve skit that gets her banned from NBC radio
1960 – 1961 NFL Draft: Tommy Mason from University of Tulane first pick by Minnesota Vikings
1974 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1974 – 40th Heisman Trophy Award: Archie Griffin, Ohio State (RB)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1715 – Philippe de Noailles, duc de Mouchy, French soldier (d. 1794)
1888 – Tito Schipa [Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa], Italian tenor and composer (La Rondine), born in Lecce, Italy (d. 1965)
1908 – Louis JHCA de Bourbon, Dutch writer/poet (Black Banners)
1918 – John Celardo, American comic strip artist
1962 – Bill Self, American basketball coach
1963 – Mark Pike, NFL defensive end (Buffalo Bills)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1641 – Francois van d’Aerssen, ruler of Sommelsdijk/diplomat, dies at 69
1952 – Henri G Winkelman, Dutch supreme commander army/navy 1940, dies at 76
1997 – Tom Hudson, British artist and teacher, dies at 75
1997 – Buxton Orr, Anglo-Scottish composer, dies at 73
2003 – Alan Bates, English actor (b. 1934)
2008 – Delaney Bramlett, American rocker (Shindogs, Delaney and Bonnie), dies at 69

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1902 – Most knock downs in a fight, Oscar Nelson (5) and Christy Williams (42)
1925 – The Communist Party of India is founded
1975 – Crowd of 85,661 attend the 1st day of the Australia vs West Indies MCG cricket test
1996 – The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification goes into force
2001 – Crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) record one of their largest 1-day jumps of the year as traders become convinced that OPEC will follow through on production cuts
2003 – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastates southeast Iranian city of Bam, killing tens of thousands and destroying the citadel of Arg-é Bam.

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1771 – Heinrich J von Collin, Austria dramatist/poet (Regulus)
1809 – William Nelson Pendleton, American Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), born in Richmond, Virginia (d. 1883)
1826 – Franz Coenen, composer
1883 – Carl Oscar Ahues, German International Chess Master (1950)
1939 – [Harvey] Phil Spector, American record producer (Wall of Sound), born in The Bronx, New York
1972 – Esteban Fuertes, Argentine footballer, born in Coronel Dorrego Partido, Argentina

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1942 – Chris ‘Red’ Cagle, College Football Hall of Fame halfback, dies of a fractured skull from a fall at 37
1958 – Harry Redman, American composer, writer, and artist, dies on 89th birthday
1969 – Josef Hromádka, Czech theologist (Lenin prize 1957), dies at 80
1981 – Amber Reeves, feminist writer (b. 1887)
1991 – Sam Cresson, dies at 73
2011 – Sam Rivers, American jazz musician (exponent of free jazz), dies of pneumonia at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1830 – Hector Berlioz’s “Symphony Fantastic” premieres
1934 – Samson Raphaelson’s “Accent on Youth” premieres in NYC
1959 – A synagogue in Cologne Germany desecrated with swatstikas
1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson orders a halt to bombing operations in North Vietnam, hoping to spur peace talks
1976 – Egyptian SS Patria sinks in Red Sea, about 100 killed
2013 – “The Wolf of Wall Street”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, is released

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1461 – Christina of Saxony, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1521)
1765 – Joseph Mazzinghi, composer
1811 – Wilhelm E Freiherr von Ketteler, German politician/bishop of Mainz
1899 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (Casablanca – “Here’s looking at you, kid”), born in NYC, New York (d. 1957)
1963 – Joop Gall, Dutch soccer player (FC Groningen)
1978 – Simon Jones, English cricketer, born in Morriston, United Kingdom

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1249 – Peter Nolascus, Spanish monastery founder/St, dies
1976 – Arthur Mitchell, cricketer (batted in 6 Tests for Eng 1933-36), dies
1979 – Joan Blondell, American actress (Real McCoys), dies of leukemia at 73
1991 – Sal Provenza, entertainer, dies of lymphoma at 45
1992 – Monica Dickens, English/American journalist/author, dies at 77
1998 – Hugh Martell, British Vice Admiral, dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1877 – Thomas Edison files a patents for the phonograph
1933 – Paris express train derails and kills 160, injures 300 (France)
1963 – Greek and Turks riot in Cyprus
1966 – USAF C144 military charter aircraft crashes near Binh Thai, Vietnam, killing 129
1970 – 9 Jews are convicted in Leningrad of hijacking a plane
1986 – French hostage Aurel Cornea, held in Lebanon for 9 months, released

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1881 – Juan Ramon Jiménez, Spanish poet (Distant Gardens, Nobel 1956), born in Moguer, Spain (d. 1958)
1923 – George Patton IV, American general, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2004)
1926 – Paul Buissonneau, French-born Quebec theatre director, born in Paris, France (d. 2014)
1940 – Anthony S. Fauci, American immunologist, born in Brooklyn, New York City
1966 – Deidrich Bader, American actor (Drew Carey Show), born in Washington, D.C.
1986 – Riyo Mori, Japanese actress and model (Miss Universe 2007), born in Shizuoka, Japan

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1935 – Alban Maria Johannes Berg, composer, dies at 50
1984 – Ian Hendry, British actor (The Avengers, The Lotus Eaters), dies of a stomach haemorrhage at 53
1994 – John Eastburn Boswell, medievalist, dies at 47
1996 – Nguyen Huu Tho, President of Vietnam (1980-81), dies
1997 – Toshiro Mifune, Japanese writer and actor (Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Shogun), dies at 77
2009 – Rafael Caldera, lawyer, sociologist, writer, speaker, politician, and ex-president of Venezuela (b. 1916)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1620 – French huguenots declare war on King Louis XIII
1920 – Government of Ireland Act / Home Rule Act passed partitioning Ireland
1933 – Train crash in Eastern Paris; 230 die
1942 – Allies air attack on Den Helder
1943 – Gen Bernard Montgomery told he is appointed commandant for D-day
1972 – 16 plane crash survivors rescued after 70d, survived by cannabalism

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1582 – Severo Bonini, Italian composer and monk, born in Florence (d. 1663)
1943 – Roelof den Ambtman, Dutch actor and director (One Evening at Eva), born in Maurik, Netherlands
1952 – Hans Abrahamsen, Danish composer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
1964 – Petr Klíma, NHL right wing (Tampa Bay Lightning), born in Chomutov, Czech Republic
1969 – Martha Byrne, American actress (Lily-As the World Turns), born in Ridgewood, New Jersey
1971 – Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, British socialite, born in Hampshire (d. 2017)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1930 – Johannes H Been, Brielle archivist, dies at 71
1962 – George Saiko, Austrian writer, dies at 70
1969 – Donald Foster, American actor (Hazel, Lord Love A Duck), dies after long illness at 80
1976 – Walter Bauer, German Canadian writer, dies at 72
1996 – Rina Ketty, singer, dies at 85
2007 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist and composer, dies of kidney failure at 82

More Famous Deaths »