Today in History for 17th March 2020

Historical Events

1190 – Crusades complete massacre of Jews of York England
1917 – Delta Phi Epsilon is founded at New York University Law School
1950 – Element 98 (Californium) announced
1978 – Reds don green uniforms for St Patricks Day
1979 – Wales beats England, 27-3 at the National Stadium, Cardiff for its 2nd consecutive Five Nations Rugby Championship and record 21st outright title; record 4th straight Triple Crown
2019 – Flash flooding and a landslides kills at least 73 and injures about 60 in Sentani and Jayapura, Papua, eastern Indonesia

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Famous Birthdays

1883 – Urmuz, Romanian writer (d. 1923)
1915 – Henry Bumstead, American art director (d. 2006)
1925 – Jerome Lejeune, physiologist
1944 – John Sebastian, American singer (Loving Spoonful, Welcome Back Kotter), born in NYC, New York
1947 – Yury Chernavsky, Russian-born Composer and Producer
1964 – Jacques Songo’o, Cameroonian footballer

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Famous Deaths

1891 – Napoléon Bonaparte, French prince and member National Convention, dies at 68
1953 – Conrado del Campo y Zabaleta, composer, dies at 73
1988 – Nikolas Asimos, Greek counter-culture composer and singer, dies at 38
1994 – Arthur C. Jacobs, Scottish poet, dies at 57
1994 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish actress and film director (Witches, Offbeat, Jet Storm), dies of cancer at 68
2016 – Paul Daniels, British magician (The Paul Daniels Magic Show), dies at 77

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Today in History for 16th March 2020

Historical Events

1527 – Battle of Khanua: Mughal Emperor Babur defeats Rajput forces led by Rana Sanga consolidating Mughal power
1861 – Confederate government appoints commissioners to Britain
1961 – 18th Golden Globes: “Spartacus”, Burt Lancaster, and Greer Garson win
1968 – General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado
1973 – Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Consortium members agree to nationalize all assets immediately in return for an assured 20-year supply of Iranian oil
2008 – 55th ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament: #1 North Carolina beats #22 Clemson, 86-81

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Famous Birthdays

1920 – John Addison, English composer (Tom Jones-Acad Award), born in Surrey England (d. 1998)
1940 – Chuck Woolery, Ky, TV game show host (Love Connection)
1959 – Stan Thorn, singer (Shenandoah-Sunday in the South), born in Kenosha, Wisconsin
1963 – Jimmy Degrasso, American musician, drummer
1964 – Patty Griffin, American singer and songwriter (Downtown Church), born in Old Town, Maine
1986 – T. J. Jordan, American basketball player

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Famous Deaths

1485 – Anne Neville, English queen, wife of Richard III of England, dies at 28
1899 – Joseph Medill, mayor of Chicago (b. 1823)
1985 – Jean Purdy, British embryologist and nurse (pioneer in developing IVF), dies from melanoma at 39
1985 – Eddie Shore, Canadian ice hockey player, dies of a lung infection at 82
1991 – Jan H. van Roijen, Dutch ambassador to the U.S. and Netherlands Foreign Minister, dies at 85
1996 – Peter Clemoes, Anglo-Saxon scholar, dies at 76

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Today in History for 15th March 2020

Historical Events

1744 – French King Louis XV declares war on Britain
1948 – WCAU TV channel 10 in Philadelphia, PA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1964 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1968 – Diocese of Rome announces that it “deplored the concept”, but wouldn’t prohibit rock and roll masses at Church of San Lessio Falconieri
1997 – Pitts Penguins’ Joe Mullen, is 1st American to score 500 NHL goals
2013 – 24 people die after a double decker bus veers of a pass in Cape Town, South Africa

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Famous Birthdays

1808 – Gaetano Gaspari, composer
1830 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer (d. 1905)
1921 – Stafford Smythe, Canadian NHL executive (President Toronto Maple Leafs 1961–69, 1970-71), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1971)
1934 – Daniel George “Danny” Apolinar, composer/songwriter
1941 – Mike Love, American vocalist (Beach Boys – “Fun, Fun, Fun”), born in Los Angeles, California
1964 – Ron Hall, NFL tight end (Detroit Lions)

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Famous Deaths

1673 – Salvatore Rosa, Italian baroque painter, poet, musician and actor, dies at 57
1889 – Melville Reuben Bissell, American inventor of the carpet sweeper, dies of pneumonia at 45
1918 – George Alexander [Samson], British actor, theatre producer and manager, dies at 59
1993 – Dennis Gregory, actor (Village of the Damn), dies of pneumonia at 40
2008 – Sarla Thakral, first Indian woman to fly an aircraft (1936), dies at about 94
2011 – Marty Marion, American baseball shortstop and manager (MLB All-Star 1943–50; NL MVP 1944; St. Louis Cardinals), dies from a heart attack at 93

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Today in History for 14th March 2020

Historical Events

1908 – Stanley Cup, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Montreal Wanderers beat Toronto Professionals, 6-4
1964 – Dallas, Texas; Jack Ruby sentenced to death for Lee Harvey Oswald’s murder
1969 – Seymour Nurse scores 258 in his last Test Cricket innings, WI v NZ
1971 – South Vietnamese troops flee Laos
1992 – NY Met Daryl Boston, Vince Coleman and Dwight Gooden accused of rape
2003 – Start of weekend of protests against war in Iraq that are attended by millions

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Famous Birthdays

1894 – Josef Schelb, German composer, born in Bad Krozingen, Germany (d. 1977)
1916 – Horton Foote, American author, playwright and screenwriter
1943 – Jim Pons, bassist (Turtles, Mothers of Invention), born in Santa Monica, California
1956 – Tessa Sanderson, British javelin thrower (Olympic gold 1984), born in Kingston, Jamaica
1972 – Clover Maitland, Australian field hockey goal keeper (Olympics 1996)
1977 – Aki Hoshino, Japanese model

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Famous Deaths

1791 – Johann Salomo Semler, German historian and Bible commentator (b. 1725)
1874 – Johann Heinrich von Mädler, German astronomer (published the most complete map of the Moon of the time, Mappa Selenographica, 4 vol. with Wilhelm Beer), dies at 79
1902 – Daniel H. Reynolds, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 69
1995 – Gerard Thomas Victory, composer, dies at 73
1995 – John Peters Humphrey, Canadian jurist and human rights advocate, dies at 89
2003 – Jean-Luc Lagardère, French publisher (b. 1928)

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Today in History for 13th March 2020

Historical Events

1878 – Oxford University defeats Cambridge University in their 1st golf match
1979 – European Monetary System is established, ECU created
1980 – Eric Heiden skates world record 1000m (1:13.60)
1986 – Soyuz T-15 carries 2 cosmonauts to Soviet space station Mir
1994 – 15th Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament: Providence beats Georgetown, 74-64
2019 – California Governor Gavin Newsom announces an indefinite moratorium on the death sentence in the state, saying it discriminates against marginalized communities

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Famous Birthdays

1719 – John Griffin Whitwell, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, British field marshal, born in Oundle, Northamptonshire (d. 1797)
1947 – Tomas Hinojosa, jockey
1950 – Steve Hill, country vocalist (A Winning Hand)
1957 – John Hoeven, American politician, governor of North Dakota, born in Bismarck, North Dakota
1972 – Brian Saxton, NFL tight end (NY Giants), born in Whippany, New Jersey
1973 – David Draiman, American musician and songwriter (Disturbed), born in Brooklyn, New York

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Famous Deaths

1558 – Jean Fernel, French physician/physiologist, dies
1930 – Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, American writer (Revolt of Mother), dies at 77
1938 – Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, Russian politician and intellectual, dies at 49
1946 – Abraham Bredius, Dutch art historian (Rembrandt), dies at 90
1987 – Gerald Moore, English pianist (Am I Too Loud), dies at 87
1996 – Brian Hulls, British TV news cameraman, dies at 48

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Today in History for 12th March 2020

Historical Events

1867 – Last French troops leave Mexico
1897 – Vincent d’Indy’s opera “Fervaal” premieres in Brussells
1945 – 30 Amsterdammers executed by nazi occupiers
1947 – Belgian government of Huysmans resigns
1981 – Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Marry Me a Little,” premieres in NYC
1994 – Church of England ordains 1st 33 women priests

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Famous Birthdays

1821 – John Abbott, 3rd Canadian Prime Minister (1891-92), born in Saint-Andre, Quebec (d. 1893)
1922 – Jack Kerouac, American Beat writer (On the Road, Mexico Blues), born in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 1969)
1926 – Gudrun Ure, Scottish actress (Super Gran, Lady MacBeth, BBC Sorcerer), born in Campsie, Stirlingshire, Scotland
1926 – Rolv Berger Yttrehus, composer
1967 – Irvin Smith, CFL cornerback (Montreal Alouettes)
1972 – Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian actor

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Famous Deaths

604 – Gregory I the Great, Pope (590-604), dies at 64
1925 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary and father of modern China, dies of liver cancer at 58
1998 – Jozef Kroner, Slovak actor (The Shop on Main Street), dies at 74
2001 – Robert Ludlum, American spy novelist (Bourne Identity), dies at 73
2001 – Henry Lee Lucas, American drifter and serial killer, dies at 64
2008 – Jorge Guinzburg, Argentine journalist, producer, humorist, and TV, theater and radio host (b. 1949)

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Today in History for 11th March 2020

Historical Events

1912 – Eleftherios Venizelos, leader of the Liberal Party, wins the Greek elections again.
1927 – 1st armored commercial car hold-up in US, Pittsburgh
1981 – Johnny Mize and Rube Foster are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
1986 – Japanese probe Sakigake flies by Halley’s Comet at 6.8 million km
1994 – Eduardo Frei succeeds Patricio Aylwin as President of Chile
2013 – Laureus World Sports Awards, Municipal Theater, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Sportsman: Usain Bolt; Sportswoman: Missy Franklin; Team: FC Bayern Munich

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Raoul Walsh, American film director (Thief of Baghdad, Battle Cry), (d. 1980)
1916 – Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister (Labour: 1964-70, 1974-76), born in Huddersfield, England (d. 1995)
1920 – Kenneth Dover, chancellor (St Andrews University)
1956 – Curtis L Brown Jr, NC, astronaut (STS 47, STS 66, 77, 85, sk:95)
1960 – Christophe Gans, French film director
1975 – Shawn Springs, cornerback (Seattle Seahawks)

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Famous Deaths

222 – Elagabalus, Roman Emperor (218-22), murdered by the Praetorian Guard at 18
1897 – Henry Drummond, Scottish geologist, evangelist, dies at 45
1900 – Edmund Peate, cricketer (9 Tests for England 1881-86), dies
1925 – Andreas Hallen, composer, dies at 78
1960 – Roy Chapman Andrews, US biologist/explorer, dies at 76
1995 – Ernest Kabushemeye, Burundese minister of Mijnbouw, murdered

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Today in History for 10th March 2020

Historical Events

1893 – New Mexico State University cancels its 1st graduation ceremony; its only graduand Sam Steele was robbed and killed the night before
1949 – Detroit Tiger pitcher Art Houtteman is critically injured in an auto accident but recovers to win 15 games in 1949
1964 – Simon and Garfunkel record the first version of “The Sound of Silence” at Columbia Studios in New York City
1966 – North Vietnamese capture US Green Beret Camp at Ashau Valley
1990 – Ladies Figure Skating Champions in Halifax won by Jill Trenary (USA)
2018 – 16 people die after being struck by lightening at a church in Nyaruguru District, Rwanda

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Famous Birthdays

1771 – Georg F Creuzer, German philological/historian (Idea und Probe)
1941 – Piotr Warzecha, composer
1955 – Youssra, Egyptian actress and singer
1962 – Seiko Matsuda, Japanese pop singer
1977 – Peter Enckelman, Finnish footballer
1985 – Casey Dienel, American singer-songwriter

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Famous Deaths

1922 – Arthur Hervey, composer, dies at 67
1949 – James Rector, American athlete (b. 1884)
1993 – C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian (Pursuit of Progress) and author (Parkinson’s Law), dies at 83
2012 – Jean Giraud, French comic artist (Alien, Tron), dies at 73
2016 – Keith Emerson, English rock musician (Emerson, Lake and Palmer), commits suicide at 71
2017 – Robert James Waller, American author (Bridges of Madison County), dies at 77

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Today in History for 9th March 2020

Historical Events

1562 – Kissing in public banned in Naples (punishable by death)
1820 – -11) Philippines chases out foreigners; about 125 die
1870 – 32nd Grand National: George Stevens wins consecutive GN’s aboard 7/2 favourite The Colonel; his 5th and final GN victory
1889 – Kansas passes 1st general antitrust law in US
1924 – South Slavia aproves Italy’s annexation of Fiume (Rijeka)
1988 – Actress Audrey Hepburn is appointed a UNICEF Special Ambassador (Goodwill Ambassador 1989)

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Famous Birthdays

1213 – Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy, French crusader, born in Villaines-en-Duesmois, France (d. 1271)
1918 – Marguerite Chapman, American actress (The Seven Year Itch, Spy Smasher, Flight to Mars), born in Chatham, New York (d. 1999)
1930 – Taina Elg, Finnish-American actress (Hercules in NY, Les Girls), born in Impilahti, Finland
1930 – Thomas Schippers, American conductor (Amahl and Night Visitors), born in Kalamazoo, Michigan (d. 1977)
1936 – Mickey Gilley, American country singer (Urban Cowboy), born in Natchez, Mississippi
1954 – Kevin Wade, American screen writer (Working Girls), born in Chappaqua, New York

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Famous Deaths

1877 – Mark Prager Lindo, English Dutch author (Neth Spectator), dies at 58
1969 – Richard Crane, American character actor (Surfside 6, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger), dies of a heart attack at 50
1979 – Barbara Mullen, American actress (Thunder Rock, Innocent Sinners), dies of a heart attack at 64
2004 – John Mayer, Indian composer (Indo-Jazz Fusion), dies at 74
2012 – Lord Wedderton of Charlton, British academic and politician, dies at 84
2012 – Peter Bergman, American Comedian, dies from leukemia at 72

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Today in History for 8th March 2020

Historical Events

1950 – 1st woman medical officer assigned to naval vessel (BR Walters)
1961 – Jean Kerr’s “Mary, Mary” premieres in NYC
1968 – Bill Graham’s New York rock venue Fillmore East opens in Manhattan
1979 – China withdraws invasion troops from Vietnam
1980 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1987 – “A Team” last aired on NBC-TV after 4 years

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Famous Birthdays

1659 – Isaac de Beausobre, French Protestant pastor, born in Niort, France (d. 1738)
1814 – Ede Szigligeti [József Szathmáry], Hungarian dramatist, born in Nagyvárad-Olaszi (d. 1878)
1909 – Anthony Donato, composer
1925 – Francisco Rabal, Aguilas Spain, actor (Holy Innocents, Camorra)
1954 – Karl Schnabl, 90m ski jumper (Olympic gold 1976)
1976 – Freddie Prinze Jr, actor (I Know What You Did Last Summer)

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Famous Deaths

1638 – Jacob C van Neck, admiral/mayor of Amsterdam, dies at about 73
1862 – Adrien de La Fage, composer, dies at 56
1889 – John Ericsson, Swedish-American inventor (screw propeller, rotating turret), dies at 85
1942 – José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban world chess champion (1921-27), dies at 53
1992 – Red Callender, US jazz bassist (Unfinished dream), dies at 76
1994 – John Ewart, Sydney Australia, dies of cancer at 55

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