Category: On This Day

Historical Events

960 – Coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of the Song, initiating three centuries of Song Dynasty dominance in southern China
1846 – Mormons leave Nauvoo, Illinois, for settlement in the west
1924 – Norway sweeps the medals in the Nordic combined event at the inaugural Chamonix Winter Olympics; Thorleif Haug wins his 3rd gold of the Games ahead of team mates Thoralf Strømstad and Johan Grøttumsbråten
1969 – Beatles appoint Eastman and Eastman, as general cousel to Apple
1991 – NZ cricketers Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones make a world record 467 run stand, against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve in Wellington
2004 – Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room

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Famous Birthdays

1524 – Luis de Camões, Portugal’s greatest poet (d. 1580)
1891 – Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, Speaker of Lok Sabha (d: 1978).
1917 – Aga Yahya Khan, Pakistan military/politician
1943 – Jimmy Johnson, American session musician and co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, born in Sheffield, Alabama
1943 – Cheryl Miller, Sherman Oaks California, actress (Paula-Daktari, Born Free)
1952 – Lisa Eichhorn, actress (Cutter’s Way, Yanks), born in Reading, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

1503 – Queen Elizabeth, consort of Henry VII of England, dies
1505 – Joan of France, Queen of France (1498) and Catholic saint who founded several religious orders, dies at 40
1615 – Giovanni Battista della Porta, Italian scholar, polymath and child prodogy (b. 1535)
1927 – Thomas Laub, Danish organist and composer, dies at 74
1964 – Siegfried T Bok, neurobiologist/anatomist (Cybernetica), dies at 71
1982 – Sue Carol, actress (She’s My Weakness), dies at 73 of a heart attack

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Historical Events

1834 – Wake Forest University is established in North Carolina
1860 – Thomas Clemson takes office as 1st US superintendent of agriculture
1900 – Rival forces fight for control of the Union Park ball grounds in Baltimore
1969 – Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O’Neill announces the dissolution of the Stormont parliament and the holding of new elections
1978 – Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and US President Jimmy Carter discuss the Middle East peace process in Washington, D.C.
1998 – Mary Kay LeTourneau, 36, former teacher, violates probation with 14 year-old father of her baby

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Famous Birthdays

1747 – Samuel Osgood, American patriot (d. 1813)
1817 – Samuel Ryan Curtis, American politician and Major General (Union Army), born in Champlain, New York (d. 1866)
1831 – Cyrus Ballou Comstock, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Wrentham, Massachusetts (d. 1910)
1883 – Camille Bombois, French circus wrestler/painter
1932 – Jonathan Fellows-Smith, South African cricket all-rounder (4 Tests), born in Durban, Natal (d. 2013)
1962 – Joe Handle, American baseball pitcher (Florida Marlins)

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Famous Deaths

1116 – King Coloman of Hungary (b. 1070)
1874 – Lunalilo, Hawaiian monarch (b. 1835)
1922 – Christiaan R de Wet, South African Boer general, dies at 67
1924 – Woodrow Wilson, 28th US President (1913-21), dies at his home in Washington at 67
1936 – Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg, consort of William of Wied, Prince of Albania (b.1885)
2012 – Norton Zinder, American biologist (genetic transduction), dies from pneumonia at 83

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Historical Events

1550 – Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, freed
1893 – 1st movie close-up (of a sneeze), Edison studio, West Orange, New Jersey
1960 – Michale Eufemia sinks 625 balls in pool match without a miss
1993 – Irina Privalova runs world record 50m indoor (6.05 sec)
1998 – Philippine DC-9 crashes apparently killing all 104 on board
2019 – Virginia Governor Ralph Northam admits to wearing blackface in 1984 but says he’s not in a photo of men wearing blackface and a Ku Klux Klan robe on a yearbook page

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Famous Birthdays

1882 – James Stephens, Irish poet (Crock of Gold)
1923 – Peter Fowler, physicist
1926 – Nydia Ecury, celebrated Afro-Dutch writer, translator and actress (Kantika pa Mama Tera), born in Rancho, Aruba (d. 2012)
1940 – David Jason, English actor
1977 – Heather Martin, American gospel singer
1983 – Will South, Thirteen Senses frontman

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Famous Deaths

1804 – George Walton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1749-50)
1902 – Emanuil Manolov, composer, dies at 42
1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh heavyweight boxer (British heavyweight champion 1956-58), dies at 56
1999 – David McComb, Australian musician (The Triffids) (b. 1962)
2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer (La Koro Sutro), dies of a heart attack at 85
2007 – Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)

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Historical Events

1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luis Filipe are assassinated by Republican sympathizers in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon
1953 – WEEK TV channel 25 in Peoria, IL (NBC) begins broadcasting
1959 – Heiss sisters go 1-2 in US women’s Figure Skating C’ships; defending champion Carol wins from Nancy; David Jenkins wins his third straight men’s title
1981 – Australian cricket captain Greg Chappell sensationally instructs younger brother Trevor to bowl underarm to Brian McKechnie with NZ needing 6 from last ball to tie 3rd World Series ODI in Melbourne; Australia wins by 6
1991 – US Air and Skywest Fairchild jet collide at LA Airport killing 32
2004 – 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

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Famous Birthdays

1819 – Henry Lawrence Eustis, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1885)
1922 – Renata Tebaldi, lyric soprano, born in Pesaro, Italy (d. 2004)
1936 – G H Blake, Principal (Collingwood College, Durham U)
1964 – Dwayne Goettel, Canadian musician
1964 – Linus Roache, English actor, born in Manchester, United Kingdom
1968 – Lisa Marie Presley Keough Jackson, daughter of Elvis, born in Memphis, Tennessee

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Famous Deaths

1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer, dies at 85
1747 – Jacobus E J Capitein, Dutch slave/vicar/merchant, dies
1877 – Joseph-Leon Gatayes, composer, dies at 71
1991 – Annie van Ommeren-Averink [Hanna Jacoba of Ommeren-Averink], Dutch politician (CPN), dies
1997 – Peter Morris, historian of France, dies at 50
2010 – Jack Brisco, American pro wrestler (NWA World Heavyweight Champion 1973–75), dies from complications of open heart surgery at 68

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Historical Events

1804 – British vice-admiral William Blighs fleet reaches Curacao
1955 – Australian Championships Women’s Tennis: Beryl Penrose wins her only Australian singles title; beats Thelma Coyne Long 6-4, 6-3
1970 – Grateful Dead members busted on LSD charges
1988 – Super Bowl XXII, Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, CA: Washington Redskins beat Denver Broncos, 42-10; MVP: Doug Williams, Washington, QB
2015 – Pr-Football Hall of Fame inductees: Junior Seau, Jerome Bettis, Charles Haley, Will Shields, Tim Brown, and Mick Tingelhoff
2019 – Blockbuster NBA trade: NY Knicks send Kristaps Porziņģis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to Dallas Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and 2 future 1st-round picks

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Famous Birthdays

1686 – Hans Egede, Norwegian Lutheran missionary (d. 1758)
1820 – William B. Washburn, 28th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1887)
1909 – Foley Newns, British colonial administrator
1961 – Lloyd Cole, English rocker (Lloyd Cole and the Commotions), born in Buxton, Derbyshire
1971 – Lee Young Ae, South Korean actress, born in Seoul, South Korea
1973 – Portia de Rossi, Australian actress, born in Horsham, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1561 – Bairam Khan, Great Mughal General, regent for Akbar
1892 – Charles Spurgeon, English preacher and evangelist, dies at 57
1973 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist (Nobel 1969), dies at 77
1974 – Roger Pryor, American actor (Lady by Choice, Belle of the Nineties, Identity Unknown), dies at 72
1996 – Gustave Solomon, mathematician, dies at 65
2015 – Richard von Weizsacker, German politician and 1st president of reunited Germany (1990-94), dies at 94

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Historical Events

1933 – “Lone Ranger” begins a 21-year run on ABC radio
1940 – Cor Jongert wins 6th Dutch 11 Cities Skating Race
1944 – The Battle of Cisterna begins in central Italy
1964 – Ranger 6 launched; makes perfect flight to Moon, but cameras fail
1977 – Allan Border scores 36 in his 1st-class innings (NSW v Qld)
1979 – Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) agrees to new constitution

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Famous Birthdays

1922 – Pal Jardanyi, Hungarian composer, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1966)
1937 – Boris Spassky, Russian chess player (world champion 1969-72, born in Leningrad, Russia
1941 – Dick Cheney, American politician (Vice President: 2001-2009), born in Lincoln, Nebraska
1953 – Fred Hembeck, American cartoonist, born in Yaphank, New York
1967 – Jay Gordon, American musician, born in San Francisco, California
1974 – Martina Jerant, Canadian basketball player (Olympics 1996), born in Windsor, Ontario

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Famous Deaths

1816 – Reinier Vinkeles, Dutch engraver and art collector, dies at 74
1976 – Percy Tyson “Plum” Lewis, cricketer (pair in only Test for S Af), dies
1987 – Angelo Rutherford, actor (Willie-Gentle Ben), dies at 32
1991 – John McIntire, American actor (Naked City, Wagon Train, Virginian), dies of emphysema at 83
1998 – Ricky Sanderson, stabbed 16-year old girl in NC, executed at 38
2018 – Mark Salling, American actor and musician (Glee), commits suicide at 35

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Historical Events

1781 – Mozart’s opera “Idomeneo” premieres in Munich
1861 – US state of Kansas admitted to the Union as the 34th state
1936 – 1st players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson
1964 – Beatles record in German “Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand” and “Sie Liebt Dich”
1964 – Most lopsided high-school basketball score 211-29 (Louisiana)
1989 – Game-winning RBI, official statistic dropped after 9 years of use NY Mets Keith Hernandez is the all-time leader with 129

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – Adam Clayton Powell, (Rep-D-NY, 1945-70)
1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress (Graduate, Francesca-Colbys), born in Hollywood, California
1964 – John Gallagher, rugby league player
1968 – John Hudson, American football center (NY Jets, Philadelphia Eagles), born in Memphis, Tennessee
1972 – Hessley Hempstead, American NFL guard (Detroit Lions), born in Upland, California
1987 – Spencer Clark, American race car driver, born in Las Vegas, Nevada (d. 2006)

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Famous Deaths

969 – Peter, tsar of Bulgaria (927-69), dies
1941 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (1936-41), commits suicide at 69
1973 – Johannes Paul Thilman, composer, dies at 67
1988 – James R. Killian Jr., 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1948-59), dies at 83
2005 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and Oscar-nominated film director, dies at 80
2012 – Goody Petronelli, American boxing trainer and manager, dies at 88

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Historical Events

1918 – Finnish Civil War: Rebels seized control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
1969 – 2nd ABA All-Star Game: West 133 beats East 127 at Louisville
1979 – “The Wiz” closes at Majestic Theater in NYC after 1,672 performances
1985 – 12th American Music Awards: Cyndi Lauper and Lionel Richie win
1989 – David Boon completes 7th Test century, 149 v WI at SCG
1991 – Dictator Siad Barre flees Somalia ending 22 year rule

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Famous Birthdays

1722 – Johann Ernst Bach, composer
1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1928)
1907 – Henry Cotton, English golfer (British Open 1934, 1937, 1948), born in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire (d. 1987)
1934 – Mitr Chaibancha, Thai actor (d. 1970)
1959 – Dave Sharp, rock guitarist (Alarm-In the Summertime)
1969 – Giorgio Lamberti, Italian free style swimmer (world record 200m)

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Famous Deaths

1393 – Earl of Joigny, burned at royal ball in Paris
1898 – Alexandru Flechtenmacher, composer, dies at 74
1930 – Clarence Skelton Wimble, cricket (score pair in Test for S Af), dies
1965 – Maxime Weygand, French soldier (b. 1867)
1995 – George Woodcock, author, dies at 82
2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer of popular music (b. 1938)

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Historical Events

1924 – Clas Thunberg of Finland claims 3 gold medals in one day when he wins the 1,500m, 10,000m and all-round speed skating events at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; won 5,000m the day before
1961 – “Sing Along with Mitch” [Miller] premieres on NBC TV
1963 – Yevgeni Grishin skates world record 500m in 39.6 sec
1982 – Roberto S. Cordova installed as President of Honduras
1985 – 15th Space Shuttle (51-C) Mission-Discovery 3 returns to Earth
2013 – Magnus Carlsen wins the 2013 Tata Steel Chess Tournament

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Famous Birthdays

1918 – Elmore James, musician (Dust My Broom)
1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian religious leader
1961 – Martin Degville, rocker (Sigue Sigue Sputnik-Love Missile F-111)
1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer (James)
1987 – Lily Donaldson, British model
1987 – Katy Rose, American pop singer

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Famous Deaths

1802 – Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, composer, dies at 42
1851 – Karl Moser, German composer, dies at 77
1956 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor, dies
1986 – Lilli Palmer [Peiser], German actress (Cloak and Dagger, Anastasia: The Czar’s Last Daughter), dies from abdominal cancer at 71
1987 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian film animator and director, dies at 72
1996 – Julian W. Hill, American research chemist (developed nylon), dies at 91

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Historical Events

1850 – 1st German language daily newspaper in US published, NYC
1857 – Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville delivers his design for a phonautograph, which created visual images of sound, to the French Academy
1900 – Henrik Ibsen’s “Naar vi Dode Vaaguer” premieres in Stuttgart
1907 – 1st US federal corrupt election practices law passed
1948 – Australian Championships Women’s Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton beats Marie Toomey 6-3, 6-1 for 4th straight Australian single title
2013 – 10 people are killed and 20 are injured by a suicide bombing in Kunduz, Afghanistan

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Famous Birthdays

1541 – Florent Chrestien, French writer (d. 1596)
1786 – Benjamin Robert Haydon, Plymouth, painter (Waiting for The Times)
1852 – Frederick Corder, composer
1921 – Frantisek Chaun, composer
1949 – Jonathan Carroll, American author, born in New York
1977 – Vince Carter [Vinsanity], American basketball player who famously made “Le dunk de la mort” (the Dunk of Death), born in Daytona Beach, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1885 – Edward Davy, English inventor (b. 1806)
1950 – Betsy van den Arend, Dutch [Betje], actress (Miss Hobbs), dies at 78
1967 – Kenneth Thomson, American character actor (Broadway Melody, Little Giant), dies of emphysema at 68
1968 – Merrill C. Meigs, American newspaper publisher (b. 1883)
1990 – Bob Gerard, British racing driver (b. 1914)
2000 – Don Budge, American tennis player (6 Grand Slam singles titles, Grand Slam 1938), dies of cardiac arrest at 84

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