Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1579 – Treaty of Utrecht signed, marks beginning of Dutch Republic
1861 – Arsenal Augustaseized by Confederacy in Georgia (US Civil War)
1956 – 96.5 cm (38.0″) of rainfall, Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii (state record)
1961 – Walt Disney’s animated film “101 Dalmatians”, based on the novel by Dodie Smith and directed by Clyde Geronimi and Hamilton Luske is released in the US
1991 – Soap opera “Generation’s” last episode after a 2½ year run
2013 – Islamist forces are driven out of Hombori by the Malian army

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Famous Birthdays

1917 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian scientist and Nobel laureate, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2003)
1933 – Corazon Aquino, 11th President of the Philippines (1986-92), born in Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines (d. 2009)
1935 – António Ramalho Eanes, 17th President of Portugal, born in Castelo Branco Municipality, Portugal
1953 – The Honky Tonk Man [Wayne Farris], American professional wrestler, born in Bolivar, Tennessee
1957 – Jeff Gossett, American football punter (Oakland Raiders), born in Charleston, Illinois
1964 – Bob Sweeney, American NHL center (NY Islanders, Calgary Flames), born in Concord, Massachusetts

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Famous Deaths

1844 – Horace H. Hayden, 1st American licensed dentist and cofounds 1st dental college, dies at 74
1896 – Frederic Leighton, President of the Royal Academy (1878-96), dies
1907 – René Pottier, French racing cyclist (Tour de France 1906), dies at 27
1943 – Spencer Charters, American actor (3 Faces West, Big Town Girl, St Louis Kid), dies at 67
1957 – Kiyoshi Shiga, Japanese physician and bacteriologist (b. 1871)
1988 – Colleen Moore, actress (These Girls Won’t Talk), dies at 87

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Historical Events

1644 – Parliamentary army wins battle of Nantwich, Cheshire, English Civil War
1848 – James Marshall finds gold in Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California
1862 – Romanian principality arises under King Alexander Cuza. Bucharest proclaimed its capital.
1924 – Russian city of St Petersburg renamed Leningrad (changed back in 1991)
1956 – 6th NBA All Star Game, Rochester War Memorial Coliseum, NY: West beats East, 108-94; MVP: Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks, C
2009 – Pope Benedict XVI rescinds the excommunications of four bishops consecrated without papal consent in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

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Famous Birthdays

1779 – Elizabeth Alexeievna (Louise of Baden), Russian tsarina (d. 1826)
1907 – Alfonse Vranckx, Belgian lawyer/politician
1921 – Bernard J. Dwyer, American politician (Rep-D-NJ, 1981- 93), born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey (d. 1998)
1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud, La Cage aux Folles), born in Brunoy, France (d. 2007)
1943 – Subhash Ghai, Indian film director, born in Nagpur, India
1968 – Mark Burmester, Zimbabwean cricketer (Zimbabwe Test all-rounder in 3 Tests 1992), born in Durban, South Africa

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Famous Deaths

772 – Stephen III/IV, Catholic Pope (768-72), dies. (b. 720)
1666 – Johann Andreas Herbst, composer, dies at 77
1904 – Franz Coenen, composer, dies at 77
1930 – Rebecca Latimer Felton, American writer and politician (first woman to serve as U.S. Senator (Georgia)), dies at 94
1962 – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish poet, novelist, recognized as one of the most important representatives of modernism in Turkish literature (A Mind at Peace, The Time Regulation Institute), dies of a heart attack at 60
2005 – June Bronhill, Australian singer (b. 1929)

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Historical Events

1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague
1942 – Battle of Rabaul: Japanese attack Australian air base in Rabaul, New Britain
1967 – Stan Musial is named GM of Cards
1968 – Spy ship USS Pueblo and 83-man crew seized in Sea of Japan by North Korea
1970 – Australia’s 1st amateur radio satellite (Oscar 5) launched (California)
1987 – Japan 1st exceeds military spending cap of 1% of GNP ($23 billion)

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Famous Birthdays

1719 – John Landen, English mathematician, born in England, United Kingdom (d. 1790)
1905 – Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, Polish poet (Zielona Ges), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1953)
1971 – Lorne Spicer, British TV presenter, born in Upminster, United Kingdom
1974 – Tiffani Theissen, American actress (Saved by Bell, 90210), born in Long Beach, California
1974 – Yosvani Pérez, Cuban baseball player, born in Rodas, Cuba
1986 – Steven Taylor, English footballer, born in Greenwich, London

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Famous Deaths

1199 – Yaqub, Almohad Caliph (b. 1160)
1648 – Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla, Spanish playwright (Del Rey Abajo Ninguno), dies at 40
1976 – Paul Robeson, American singer (Old Man River), actor and civil rights activist, dies in Philadelphia at 77
1981 – Samuel Barber, American composer (School for Scandal), dies of cancer at 70
1993 – Keith Laumer [Anthony LeBaron], American sci-fi author (Retief’s War), dies at 67
2005 – Morys George Lyndhurst Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, British politician (b. 1921)

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Historical Events

1837 – Earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands
1905 – Dutchman Coen de Koning wins the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m at World Allround Speed Skating Championships in Groningen, Netherlands to become 2nd Dutchman to win a world title
1924 – KGO-AM in San Francisco CA begins radio transmissions
1968 – “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” premieres on NBC
1992 – Sarah, Duchess of York (aka Fergie) wears paper bag over her head on airline ride
2006 – Kobe Bryant scores 81 points in a 122-104 Lakers victory over the Toronto Raptors; second-highest game total in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game (1962)

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Famous Birthdays

1649 – Pascal Collasse, composer
1894 – Matt McHugh, American actor (Taxi, Freaks, Barbary Coast, Innocent Affair), born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania (d. 1971)
1898 – Alexander Abramsky, composer
1898 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director (Battleship Potemkin), born in Riga, Latvia [NS] (d. 1948)
1917 – Herwig Hensen, [Flor Mielants], Flemish poet/playwright
1969 – Vinnie Clark, American NFL cornerback (Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Cincinnati, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

1750 – Franz Xaver Josef von Unertl, Bavarian politician (b. 1675)
1919 – Carl Larsson, Swedish painter (Midwinter Sacrifice – Swedish National Museum of Fine Arts), dies at 65
1981 – Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani historian and educationist, dies at 77
1996 – Edward Thomas, historian/intelligence expert, dies at 77
1997 – Mollie Panter-Downes, British writer and columnist (The Shoreless Sea), dies at 90
2016 – Anthony Simmons, British writer and film director (The Optimists of Nine Elms), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1863 – City of Dublin leases part of Cattle Market for 100,000 years
1947 – “Sweethearts” opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 288 performances
1952 – William Shawn succeeds Harold Ross as editor of “The New Yorker”
1995 – 52nd Golden Globes: “Forrest Gump”, Tom Hanks, and Jessica Lange win
1997 – An inquiry in North Wales names more than 80 child abusers
2013 – 18 people are killed and 24 are injured after a bus falls down a ravine in Yungas, Bolivia

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Famous Birthdays

1338 – King Charles V, (Charles the Wise), of France (1364-80)
1812 – Moses Hess, Jewish socialist and nationalist, born in Bonn, Germany (d. 1875)
1904 – Joseph Ford McGuinn, American director and actor (Dick Tracy’s G-Men), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1971)
1947 – Jimmy Ibbotson, Penn, country singer (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
1951 – Eric Holder, American lawyer and judge (1st African American US Attorney General 2009-2015), born in The Bronx, New York
1978 – Faris al-Sultan, German-Iraqi triathlete

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Famous Deaths

1884 – Auguste Franchomme, French cellist and composer, dies at 75
1901 – Elisha Gray, American inventor (b. 1835)
1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian artist (b. 1857)
1971 – Richard B Russell, (Sen-D-Ga), dies at 73
1985 – Eddie Graham, American professional wrestler and promoter (b. 1930)
1998 – Jack Lord, American actor (Hawaii FIVE-O), dies at 77

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Historical Events

1943 – Operation Weiss: German, Italian, Bulgarian and Croatian troops attempt to retake land liberated by Tito’s partisans
1965 – The US Jet Propulsion Laboratory proposes modified Apollo flight to fly around Mars and return
1975 – 25th NFL Pro Bowl, Miami Orange Bowl: NFC beats AFC, 17-10; MVP: James Harris, LA Rams, QB
1991 – “Shogun – The Musical” closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 72 performances
1993 – Bill Clinton (D) inaugurated as 42nd US President
2006 – TV movie “High School Musical” released starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hugdens, becomes Disney Channel’s most successful TV movie

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Famous Birthdays

1761 – Giovanni Domenico Perotti, composer
1806 – Nathaniel Willis, writer/editor/founder (American Monthly Mag)
1898 – U Razak, Burmese politician (d. 1947)
1939 – Paul Coverdell, American politician, born in Des Moines, Iowa (d. 2000)
1940 – Carol Heiss Jenkins, American figure skater (Olympic gold singles 1960; silver 1956; World C’ship gold 1956–1960), born in NYC, New York
1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English football player and television pundit, born in Calgary, Canada

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Famous Deaths

1957 – James Connolly, 1st Oly winner (1896) since Barasdates (369 CE), dies
1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American actor (Tarzan), swimmer (5 Olympic gold 1924, 28), dies of pulmonary edema at 79
1990 – Miloslav Istvan, composer, dies at 61
1996 – Sidney Korshak, lawyer, dies at 87
1997 – Curt Flood, centerfielder (Cards), dies of throat cancer at 59
2019 – Dumisani Kumalo, South African anti-apartheid activist and UN ambassador, dies at 71

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Historical Events

1419 – French city of Rouen surrenders to Henry V in Hundred Years War
1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan forms
1922 – Geological survey says US oil supply would be depleted in 20 years
1949 – Cuba recognises Israel.
1988 – “48 Hours” premieres on CBS-TV
1991 – Jumbo Tsuruta beats Stan Hansen to win All Japan Triple Crown title

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Famous Birthdays

1679 – Girolamo Chiti, Italian composer and music theorist, born in Siena (d. 1759)
1902 – Heinrich Schmist-Barrien, German author (Moorkeerl)
1909 – Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (d. 2003)
1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (Cheers, Family Plot, The Counterfeit Killer), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1985)
1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian, born in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
1977 – Nicole, Chilean singer, born in Chile

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Famous Deaths

1934 – Armand Parent, composer, dies at 70
1948 – Tony Garnier, French architect (b. 1869)
1992 – Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, Bengali singer and composer (Ei Ganga ei Padda), dies at 60
2000 – Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
2011 – Ernest McCulloch, Canadian stem cell research pioneer, dies at 84
2013 – Earl Weaver, American hall of fame MLB manager, dies from a heart attack at 82

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Historical Events

1951 – 1951 NFL Draft: Kyle Rote from SMU first pick by New York Giants
1962 – US begins spraying foliage in Vietnam to reveal Viet Cong guerrillas
1973 – John Cleese’s final episode on “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” on BBC TV
1981 – Swedish tennis star Björn Borg claims his second straight ATP Masters Grand Prix title with a 6–4, 6–2, 6–2 win over Ivan Lendl at Madison Square Garden, NYC
2009 – AFC Championship, Heinz Field, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Baltimore Ravens, 23-14
2013 – Brandon Boyd announces his new band, Sons of the Sea

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Famous Birthdays

1921 – Robert Glaser, American educational psychologist (National Assessment of Educational Progress), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 2012)
1922 – Yehezkel Braun, Israeli composer (Shir ha-shirim), born in Breslau, Germany (d. 2014)
1933 – Jean Vuarnet, French alpine skier (Olympic gold downhill 1960; World C’ship gold 1960), born in Le Bardo, Tunisia (d. 2017)
1967 – MC Tab [Sharon Richard], American rapper, born in NYC, New York
1971 – Jonathan Davis, American singer (Korn), born in Bakersfield, California
1973 – Regilio Vreede, Dutch football player (Blue White, RKC), born in Paramaribo, Suriname

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Famous Deaths

1659 – Benedikt Lechler, German composer, dies at 64
1677 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of Cape Colony (Cape Town), dies at 57
1913 – Edmond Robert Hubert Regout, Dutch industrialist and politician, dies at 49
1977 – Carl Zuckmayer, German/Swiss/US playwright (Second Wind), dies at 80
2002 – Alex Hannum, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach (1st ABA, NBA winning coach), dies at 78
2017 – Roberta Peters, American operatic soprano (NY Met), dies at 86

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Historical Events

1882 – 1st Dutch female physician Aletta Jacobs opens her office
1915 – Battle of Sarikamish ends with a Russian victory over Ottoman forces led by Enver Pasha with loss of over 30,000 men of the Turkish Third Army during Caucasus Campaign
1923 – Origin of Brown lunation numbers
1939 – Ed Barrow is elected Yankee president succeeding deceased J Ruppert
1962 – Roy Harris’ 8th Symphony, premieres in San Francisco
1976 – “I Write the Songs” by Barry Manilow hits #1

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Famous Birthdays

1903 – Warren Hull, American actor (Strike it Rich, Who in the World), born in Gasport, New York (d. 1974)
1917 – Ulysses Simpson Kay, American composer, born in Tucson, Arizona (d. 1995)
1922 – Luis Echeverria Alvarez, president Mexico
1926 – Newton N. Minow, American lawyer and statesman
1949 – Andy Kaufman, American comedian and actor (Latka Gravas-Taxi), born in New York City, New York
1981 – Ray J [William Ray Norwood Jr.], American singer and actor (Everything You Want), born in McComb, Mississippi

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Famous Deaths

1598 – Fyodor I Tsar of Russia (b. 1557)
1884 – Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist, dies at 79
1968 – Julis Deutsch, Austria politician/general Spanish rep army, dies at 83
1970 – Billy Stewart, singer (I Do Love You), dies in auto-accident at 32
2006 – Pierre Grondin, French Canadian cardiac surgeon (b. 1925)
2011 – Donald “Don” Kirshner, American rock and roll producer known as “The Man With the Golden Ear” (invented bubblegum music), dies at 76

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Historical Events

1863 – -Aug 23rd) Cruise of CSS Florida
1887 – Cliff House damaged when powder cargo of schooner “Parallel” explodes
1908 – Pinnacles National Monument, California established
1938 – 1st jazz concert held at Carnegie Hall (Benny Goodman)
1958 – William Gibson’s “Two for the Seesaw” premieres in NYC
1960 – Detroit right wing Gordie Howe scores a goal and assist in his 888th career game, a 3-1 win at home over Chicago; becomes NHL’s all time leading scorer, with 947 points passing Montreal’s Maurice Richard

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Famous Birthdays

1910 – David McCampbell, US Navy captain, fighter pilot, and Medal of Honor recipient (WW II, Pacific theatre, downed 34 Japanese planes), born in Bessemer, Alabama (d. 1996)
1928 – John William Fozard, aircraft designer
1956 – Martin Jol, Dutch football manager, born in The Hague, Netherlands
1964 – Trevor Barsby, Australian cricketer (Queensland opening batsman since 1984-85), born in Brisbane, Australia
1973 – Josie Davis, American actress (Sarah-Charles in Charge) [or Jun 19], born in Los Angeles, California
1980 – Lin-Manuel Miranda, American composer and playwright (In The Heights, Hamilton), born in New York City

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Famous Deaths

1750 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshall, dies at 82
1817 – Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman and financier, dies at 57
1981 – Bernard Lee, British actor (M in James Bond movies, Fallen Idol, Dr No), dies at 73
1992 – Roselle Novelle, silent film actress, dies at 95
2007 – Thornton James “Pookie” Hudson, American vocalist (The Spaniels- “Goodnite Sweetheart Goodnite”), dies of cancer at 72
2018 – Dave Holland, English heavy metal rocker (Judas Priest-Breakin’ the Law), dies at 69

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