Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1408 – Order of the Dragon: The Order of the Dragon was first created on December 12, 1408 by Emperor Sigismund, then King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje following the battle for possession of Bosnia.
1904 – CMS McClellan’s “Leah Kleschna” premieres in NYC
1925 – Medina surrenders to Saudi forces led by Sultan Abdulaziz Ibn Saud
1966 – US Supreme Courts votes 4-3 allowing Braves to move to Atlanta
1968 – Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O’Neill receives overwhelming support from Unionist Members of Parliament (MPs) at Stormont
1987 – Rollermania at Madison Square Garden, Eastern Express beats Midwest Pioneers

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Famous Birthdays

1298 – Albert II, Duke of Austria, born in Habsburg Castle, Swabia (d. 1358)
1791 – Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma and second wife of Napoleon, born in Hofburg, Vienna, Austria (d. 1847)
1906 – William Pahlmann, American interior designer (4 Season restaurant, NYC), born in Pleasant Mound, Illinois (d. 1987)
1913 – Ferenc Csik, Hungarian swimmer (Olympics gold medal 100m freestyle 1936), born in Kaposvár, Hungary (d. 1945)
1952 – Ajit De Silva, Sri Lankan cricket spin bowler (4 Tests), born in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka
1991 – Daniel Magder, Canadian actor (The Famous Jett Jackson), born in Toronto, Ontario

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Famous Deaths

1889 – Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1804)
1965 – Johnny Lee, American actor (Song of the South, The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show), dies from a heart attack at 67
1971 – Jack Barnhill, Northern Ireland senator, assassinated
1985 – Anne Baxter, American actress, and singer (The Razor’s Edge, All About Eve), dies of a stroke at 62
2005 – Annette Vadim, Danish actress (b. 1936)
2018 – Meng Lang, Chinese poet and activist, dies at 57

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Historical Events

1282 – Llywelyn ab Gruffydd/Llywelyn the Last, last native Prince of Wales is killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales. Reigned from 1259.
1981 – El Mozote massacre: Salvadoran armed forces kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the country’s civil war.
1985 – Dow Jones closes above 1,500 for 1st time (1,511.70)
1986 – A Bartlett Giamatti becomes president of baseball’s National League
2017 – Rahul Gandhi, son of former Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi, is elected leader of the Indian National Congress
2018 – Time Magazine Person of the Year 2018 is “the Guardians” journalists targeted for their work, including Jamal Khashoggi

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Famous Birthdays

1863 – Annie Jump Cannon, American stellar spectroscopist (Harvard-classification), born in Dover, Delaware (d. 1941)
1915 – Anna van Beers [Graeve], Dutch actress (A Woman like Eve, Diary of a Hooker), born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 2011)
1952 – Susan Seidelman, American film director (Desperately Seeking Susan), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1967 – Chris Shepherd, English film director, born in Anfield, Liverpool, England
1970 – Doug Nussmeier, American NFL quarterback (New Orleans Saints), born in Portland, Oregon
1981 – Hamish Blake, Australian comedian, born in Melbourne, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1524 – Henry Van Zutphen, Dutch protestant martyr, burned at stake
1747 – Edmund Curll, English bookseller (b. ca. 1675)
1972 – Semjon I. Kirsanov, Ukrainian poet (Zolushka), dies at 66
1987 – G. A. Kulkarni, Indian (Marathi) writer (RamalKhuna), dies at 1987
1993 – Ales Gartner, Slavic ski trainer of Norway, dies at 45
2004 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (b. 1962)

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Historical Events

1896 – Alfred Jarry’s “Ubu Roi” premieres in Paris
1939 – KNVB celebrates 50th anniversary
1954 – Philadelphia Phillies purchase Connie Mack Stadium
1972 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1979 – Piet Dankert appointed as chairman of European Parliament
1981 – -13] El Salvador army kills 900

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Famous Birthdays

1880 – Fred Immler, German actor (Zapata’s Gang, Madame DuBarry), born in Germany (d. 1965)
1889 – Ray Collins, American actor (Homecoming, Good Sam, Rose Marie), born in Sacramento, California (d. 1965)
1943 – Jessica Cleaves, American singer and songwriter (The Friends of Distinction), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2014)
1952 – Susan Dey, American actress (1st Love, Partridge Family, LA Law), born in Pekin, Illinois
1974 – Meg White, American drummer (The White Stripes), born in Grosse Point Farms, Michigan
1987 – Gonzalo Higuaín, French-born Argentine footballer

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Famous Deaths

1508 – René II, Duke of Lorraine, dies at 57
1749 – Gabrielle Chôtelet [La belle Emilie], French writer (Voltaire), dies at 42
1805 – Friedrich Franz Hurka, composer, dies at 43
1833 – Dieudonne-Pascal Pieltain, composer, dies at 79
1953 – Abdullah Yusuf Ali, British-Indian Islamic scholar and translator (translated Qu’ran into English), dies at 81
2006 – Jack Williamson, American sci-fi author (Cometeers), dies at 98

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Historical Events

1425 – Pope Martinus V forms University of Leuven
1824 – Battle of Ayacucho (Candorcangui), Peru defeats Spain
1900 – President Paul Kruger of South Africa’s Transvaal and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands have a triumphant procession
1939 – CFL Grey Cup, Landsdowne Park, Ottawa: Winnipeg Blue Bombers claim 2nd title; defeat Ottawa Rough Riders, 8-7
1949 – NFL merges Cleveland Browns, SF ’49ers and Balt Colts from AAFC
2002 – “Star Trek: Nemesis” film directed by Stuart Baird and starring Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes premieres

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Famous Birthdays

1883 – Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician, born in Irkutsk, Russian Empire (d. 1950)
1887 – Tim Moore, American actor and vaudevillian, born in Rock Island, Illinois (d. 1958)
1920 – Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Italian President (1999-2006) and Prime Minister (1993-94), born in Livorno (d. 2016)
1932 – Jessie “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” Hill, jazz musician
1932 – Donald Byrd, American jazz trumpeter (Black Byrd), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2013)
1963 – Barry Wilburn, NFL full safety (Philadelphia Eagles)

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Famous Deaths

1964 – Edith Sitwell, English poet and author (Wheels), dies at 77
1992 – Vincent Gardenia, Italian-American actor (Bang the Drum Slowly, Moonstruck, Little Shop of Horrors), dies of a heart attack at 71
2006 – Freddie Marsden, English rock drummer (Gerry and the Pacemakers), dies at 66
2010 – Dov Shilansky, Israeli politician (b. 1924)
2012 – Norman Joseph Woodland, American inventor (barcode), dies at 91
2018 – Riccardo Giacconi, Italian American astrophysicist, Nobel Prize for Physics 2002 for X-ray astronomy, dies at 87

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Historical Events

1864 – James Clerk Maxwell’s paper “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field” is 1st read by the Royal Society in London (published by the Royal Society 1865)
1936 – Anastasio Somoza García elected President of Nicaragua
1955 – 21st Heisman Trophy Award: Howard Cassady, Ohio State (HB)
1956 – Guy Mitchell’s “Singing the Blues” single goes #1 for 10 weeks
1961 – South Africa v NZ, Durban debuts for Eddie Barlow and Peter Pollock
1984 – Europe and 64 developing countries sign Lome III treaty

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Famous Birthdays

1699 – Maria Josepha of Austria, Queen consort of Poland (1734-57), born in Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria (d. 1757)
1887 – Vicente Emilio Sojo, Venezuelan composer, born in Guatire, Miranda state, Venezuela (d. 1974)
1903 – Irene Eisinger, German-British singer, born in Cosel, German Empire (d. 1994)
1905 – Ernst Hermann Meyer, German composer, born in Berlin (d. 1988)
1940 – Brant Alyea, American baseball player
1947 – Thomas R. Cech, American chemist, Nobel laureate

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Famous Deaths

1625 – Christina of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen consort of Sweden as the wife of King Charles IX, dies at 52
1744 – Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle, duchess de Châteauroux, French mistress of King Louis XV of France, dies at 28
1957 – Reginald Sheffield, British actor (Suspicion, Of Human Bondage, Second Chance), dies at 56
1990 – Martin Ritt, American actor and director (The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, Slugger’s Wife, End of the Game), dies at 76
2004 – “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, American heavy metal guitarist (Pantera) is shot and killed by crazed fan Nathan Gamble while performing on stage at 38
2013 – Don Mitchell, American actor, dies at 70

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Historical Events

1911 – Leslie J Stuart’s musical “Betsy” premieres in NYC
1940 – North Africa: British counter offensive under general O’Connor
1956 – American diver Pat McCormick wraps up the women’s double when she wins the 10m platform gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics with 84.85 points; also won the 3m springboard gold
1956 – Helen O’Connell joins Today Show panel
1988 – Mikhail Gorbachev cheered by Wall St crowds upon arrival in NYC
1988 – NY Islanders fire Simpson, Arbour new coach

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Famous Birthdays

967 – Abū-Sa’īd Abul-Khayr, Persian mystic and poet, born in Mihne, Greater Khorasan (d. 1049)
1598 – Gian Lorenzo [Giovanni] Bernini, Italian baroque sculptor (St Teresa in Ecstasy), painter and architect, born in Naples, Italy (d. 1680)
1958 – “Ravishing” Rick Rude, American professional wrestler, born in St. Peter, Minnesota (d. 1999)
1976 – Alan Faneca, American football player (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
1976 – Georges Laraque, Canadian ice hockey player (Edmonton Oilers), born in Montreal, Quebec
1979 – Derek Ramsay, British-Filipino actor and model, born in Enfield, England

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Famous Deaths

1723 – Jan Santini Aichel, Bohemian architect (b. 1677)
1860 – Konstantin Sergeyevich Aksakov, Russian historian and poet, dies at 43
1941 – Mervyn S. Bennion, United States Navy Captain, Medal of Honor recipient, killed in Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (b. 1887)
1985 – Potter Stewart, 94th Supreme Court Justice (1958-81), dies in NH at 70
1990 – Peter Mieg, Swiss composer, dies at 84
2008 – Dennis Yost, American vocalist, dies at 65

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Historical Events

1534 – Quito, Ecuador, founded by Spanish
1648 – Pride’s Purge: Thomas Pride prevents 96 presbyterians from sitting in English parliament
1896 – D T Suzuki found the awakening at Engakuji temple, in Kamakura
1940 – Pietro Badoglio resigns as viceroy of Ethiopia
2017 – Skirball wildfire near Los Angeles closes the Interstate 405 as thousands forced to evacuate
2018 – Luxembourg is the first country to make all public transport free

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Famous Birthdays

1285 – Ferdinand IV, King of Castile and León (1295-1312), born in Seville, Spain (d. 1312)
1776 – Paul Friedrich Struck, composer, born in Stralsund, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1820)
1890 – Dion Fortune, British occultist, born in Llandudno, Wales (d. 1946)
1920 – George Porter, British chemist (Nobel 1967), born in Stainforth, South Yorkshire, England (d. 2002)
1972 – Gary Bandy, American NFL defensive end (Atlanta Falcons), born in Kansas City, Missouri
1980 – Ehren Wassermann, American baseball player, born in Sylacauga, Alabama

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Famous Deaths

1746 – Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (b. 1665)
1889 – Jozef Neuhuys [Joseph Hendrikus Neuhuys], Dutch painter, dies at 48
1955 – Honus Wagner, American Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop (8-time NL batting champion), dies at 81
1973 – Justus Hermann Wetzel, composer, dies at 94
1995 – Claire Polin, American composer, dies at 69
2015 – Holly Woodlawn, transgender Puerto Rican actress (Warhol films), dies at 69

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Historical Events

1590 – Niccolo Sfondrati chosen as Pope Gregory XIV
1892 – Sir John Thompson becomes the fourth Prime Minister of Canada.
1948 – NY Giant Charley Conerly sets NFL record of 36 pass completions
1964 – Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the Vietnam War for successfully repelling a large Viet Cong attack
1974 – 1st Wash Cap penalty shot, Tom Williams unsuccessful vs Buff Sabres
1988 – Boris Becker beats defending champion Ivan Lendl 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 6–2, 7–6 in a classic final to win his first of 3 ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles at Madison Square Garden, NYC

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Famous Birthdays

1901 – Walt [Walter Elias] Disney, American animator, (Mickey Mouse), producer and co-founder of Walt Disney Co., born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1966)
1905 – Gus Mancuso, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals), born in Galveston, Texas (d. 1984)
1938 – J. J. Cale, American rock guitarist (After Midnight), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 2013)
1949 – Lanny Wadkins, American golfer (PGA C’ship 1977), born in Richmond, Virginia
1962 – José Cura, Argentine tenor, born in Rosario, Argentina
1963 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress (Fame), born in NYC, New York (d. 2002)

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Famous Deaths

1886 – Peter Hofstede de Groot, Dutch reformed theologist, dies at 84
1941 – Amrita Sher-Gil, Hungarian-Indian painter described as the “Indian Frida Kahlo” and “one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century,” dies of complications from a failed abortion at 28
1989 – John M Pritchard, British conductor, dies at 68
1995 – Robert Charles Evans, mountaineer/doctor, dies at 77
2002 – Ne Win, Burmese leader (b. 1911)
2010 – Don Meredith, American football player and broadcaster (b. 1938)

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Historical Events

1674 – Father Marquette builds first dwelling in what is now Chicago
1933 – Jack Kirkland’s play “Tobacco Road” premieres in NYC, became the longest-running play of its time
1944 – Germans destroy Rhine dikes, Betuwe flooded
1961 – Smallest NY Knick, 49th St Madison Square Garden crowd-1,300 (snowstorm)
1971 – The UN Security Council calls an emergency session to consider the deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan
1989 – NBC’s premiere of “Howard Beach: Making A Case for Murder”, based on December 1986 murders of black youths by white youths in New York City

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Famous Birthdays

1791 – Johann Gottlob Topfer, German composer, born in Niederroßla (d. 1870)
1866 – Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-French abstract painter (Dreamy Inspiration), born in Moscow (d. 1944)
1868 – Richard Nicolaas Roland Holst, Dutch artist and painter, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1938)
1935 – Robert Vesco, American financier and fugitive, born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2007)
1941 – Humberto Solás, Cuban film director and writer (Lucia), born in Havana, Cuba (d. 2008)
1950 – Jan Rietman, Dutch radio and TV host, born in Doetinchem, Netherlands

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Famous Deaths

765 – Jafar al-Sadiq, Muslim scholar and scientist, dies at 63
1334 – Pope John XXII (1316-1334) (b. 1249)
1893 – John Tyndall, Irish physicist who demonstrated why the sky is blue and proved that the Earth’s atmosphere has a greenhouse effect, dies at 73
1935 – Johan Halvorsen, composer, dies at 71
1983 – Estelle Omens, actress (Effect of Gamma Rays), dies at 55
2017 – Shashi Kapoor [Balbir Raj Kapoor], prominent Indian Bollywood actor (Deewar, The Deceivers, Shalimar, Heat and Dust), dies from a chest infection at 79

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Historical Events

741 – St Zachary begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Gregory III
1953 – “In the Jailhouse Now” single recorded by Webb Pierce (Billboard Song of the Year 1955)
1982 – After losing his world welterweight boxing titles to Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns wins WBC Super Welterweight crown in a majority points decision over Wilfred Benitez at Superdome, New Orleans
1984 – “Do They Know It’s Christmas” single written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and sung by Band Aid is released in the UK
1991 – Muslim Shi’ites release US hostage Alan Steen
2005 – 10th Big 12 Championship Game: #2 Texas beats Colorado, 70-3

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Famous Birthdays

1750 – Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel, German composer, born in Würzburg, Germany (d. 1817)
1838 – Octavia Hill, British reformer, leader of open-space movement, born in London, England (d. 1912)
1880 – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (d. 1945)
1925 – Ken Funston, South African cricket batsman (18 Tests, top score 92), born in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa (d. 2005)
1952 – Benny Hinn, American televangelist
1974 – Charl Willoughby, South African cricket fast bowler (2 Tests; 3 ODIs; Somerset), born in Cape Town, South Africa

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Famous Deaths

1154 – Anastasius IV, Pope (1153-54), dies
1890 – Billy Midwinter, English-Australian cricket all-rounder (8 Tests Australia, 4 England), dies of insanity at 39
1894 – Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist (Treasure Island), dies at 45
1937 – Prosper Poullet, Belgian mayor, dies
1992 – Harry Ellerbe, actor (House of Usher, Magnetic Monster), dies at 91
1994 – Elizabeth Meyer, wife of Paul Michael Glaser, dies of AIDS at 47

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