Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1703 – Emperor Leopold I ends contacts on Spanish heritage
1934 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Englishman Fred Perry retains title; beats Wilmer Allison of the US 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 8-6
1962 – Wash Senator Tom Cheney strikes out record 21 Orioles in 16 inn game
1971 – US Open Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: American Stan Smith wins first career Grand Slam event; beats Czech star Jan Kodeš 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6
1992 – Mae Jemison is the 1st African American woman to go into space (aboard Endeavour STS-47)
2001 – Article V of the NATO agreement is invoked for the first and only time in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States of America.

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Famous Birthdays

1829 – Anselm Feuerbach, German painter, born in Speyer, Germany (d. 1880)
1921 – Stanislaw Lem, Polish sci-fi author (Solaris, Invincible), born in Lwów, Second Polish Republic (d. 2006)
1945 – Maria Aitken, Irish-English actress (Fish Called Wanda), born in Dublin, Ireland
1945 – Vern Lindblad, Turkologist, born in Seattle, Washington
1956 – Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor, singer and composer (Farewell My Concubine), born in Hong Kong (d. 2003)
1958 – Wilfred Benítez, Puerto Rican boxer (youngest world champion at 17 years, 176 days [WBA Light Welterweight]), born in NYC, New York

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Famous Deaths

352 – Maximinus van Trier, bishop of Trier/saint, dies
1674 – Nicolaas Tulp, Mayor of Amsterdam (1654-71), dies at 80
1819 – Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian general (b. 1742)
1953 – Frederick Kuys, cricketer (one Test South Africa v England 1898), dies
1977 – Steven Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist, dies in police custody at 30
2013 – Ray Dolby, sound expert/inventor (Dolby noise limiting system), dies of leukemia at 80

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Historical Events

1914 – W. C. Handy “Father of the Blues” publishes his most famous composition “St Louis Blues”
1922 – Yankees play their farewell home game in Polo Grounds win doubleheader
1939 – Iraq and Saudi Arabia declare war on Nazi Germany
1941 – Construction of the Pentagon begins in Arlington County, Virginia (completed Jan 15, 1943). Designed by architect George Bergstrom and built by contractor John McShain, construction was overseen by Leslie Groves.
1971 – US Open Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: In an all-American final Billie Jean King beats doubles partner Rosemary Casals 6-4, 7-6
1971 – Egypt adopts its constitution

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Famous Birthdays

1911 – Bola de Nieve [Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández], Cuban pianist, singer and songwriter, born in Guanabacoa, La Habana, Cuba (d. 1971)
1929 – David S. Broder, American journalist (Pulitzer 1973), born in Chicago Heights, Illinois (d. 2011)
1940 – Tom Gallagher, American diplomat, gay activist, and 1st Foreign Service officer to publicly come out in 1976, born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2018)
1940 – Robert Palmer, American businessman and last CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation
1970 – Taraji P. Henson, American actress and singer, born in Washington, D.C.
1980 – Antônio Pizzonia, Brazilian race car driver, born in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

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Famous Deaths

1892 – Charles-Louis-Adolphe Vogel, French composer (Les trois couleurs), dies at 84
1922 – Louis Coerne, composer, dies at 52
1971 – Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet premier, dies of a heart attack at 77
1988 – John Sylvester White, American actor (b. 1919)
2001 – Peter J. Ganci, Jr., Chief of Department, FDNY (b. 1946)
2007 – Ian Porterfield, Manager of Armenia National Football Club (b. 1946)

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Historical Events

1861 – Battle of Carnifex Ferry Virginia, 170 casualites
1910 – Great Idaho Fire destroys 3 million acres of timber
1958 – WJCT TV channel 7 in Jacksonville, FL (PBS) begins broadcasting
1989 – Five days after hitting a HR for Yankees in a 12-2 win over the Mariners, MLB and NFL player Deion Sanders returns a punt 68 yards for a touchdown, his first
1998 – 15th MTV Video Music Awards: Madonna and Will Smith win
2016 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Angelique Kerber beats Karolína Plíšková 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to become first German player to win the event since Steffi Graf in 1996

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Famous Birthdays

1897 – Nancy Keene Lancaster, designer/Collector
1920 – Egbert van Paridon, Dutch actor and director (Flodder, The Assault), born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 2011)
1929 – Arnold Palmer, American golfer (7 major titles; US Masters 1958, 60, 62, 64), born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania (d. 2016)
1943 – “Superstar” Billy Graham [Eldridge Coleman], American professional wrestler, WWF Heavyweight Champion (1977-8), born in Phoenix, Arizona
1974 – Ben Wallace, NBA forward (Wash Wizards)
1993 – Sam Kerr, Australian football player (Chicago Red Stars), born in East Fremantle, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1547 – Pierlugi Faraese, Italian son of Pope Paul III, murdered
1680 – Marco Uccellini, composer, dies
1839 – Pieter Fontijn, Dutch painter, dies at 66
1951 – Giuseppe Mulè, Italian composer, dies at 66
1971 – Bella Darvi [Bajla Węgier], Polish actress (The Egyptian, Hell and High Water, Racers), commits suicide at 42
1993 – Janice Carroll, actress (End, April Fools), dies of cancer at 61

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Historical Events

1926 – National Broadcasting Company created by Radio Corporation of America
1928 – Silvio Cator of Haiti, sets then long jump record at 26′ ½”
1964 – John Osborne’s “Inadmissable Evidence” premieres in London
1994 – Space shuttle STS 64 (Discovery 20) launches into orbit
1995 – “Broadway Limited” last train ride (began in 1902)
2006 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Maria Sharapova of Russia wins her first US title; overpowers Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-4, 6-4

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Famous Birthdays

384 – Flavius Honorius, Eastern Roman Republic emperor (395-423), born in Constantinople (d. 423)
1924 – Bettejane “Jane” Greer, American actress (Out of the Past, Prisoner of Zenda, Clown), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2001)
1946 – Hayato Tani, Japanese actor
1947 – David Rosenboom, composer
1973 – Todd McMillon, American football player (Saskatchewan Roughriders), born in Bellflower, California
1983 – Cleveland Taylor, English-born Jamaican footballer, born in Leicester, United Kingdom

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Famous Deaths

1876 – American Horse, Sioux chief, dies in battle
1901 – Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French painter, dies at 36
1962 – Pat Rooney, American vaudevillian (Night club), dies at 82
1966 – Nestor Paiva, American-Portuguese actor (Zorro, The Creature from the Black Lagoon), dies of cancer at 61
1969 – Katherine Singleton, actress/Miss Universe (1926), dies at 65
2012 – Ron Taylor, Australian shark expert and cinematographer, dies from myeloid leukemia at 78

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Historical Events

1331 – Stefan Dušan declares himself king of Serbia
1380 – Battle on Kulikovo: Moscow’s great monarch Dimitri defeats the Mongols beginning the decline of the Tatars
1664 – Dutch surrender colony of New Netherlands (including New York) to 300 English soldiers
1921 – 1st Miss America crowned in Atlantic City – Margaret Gorman (16) of Washington, D.C.
1984 – Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 41G mission
1988 – NL pres Bart Giamatti is unanimously elected baseball’s 7th commissioner

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Famous Birthdays

1829 – Seth Barton, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Fredericksburg, Virginia (d. 1900)
1889 – Robert A. Taft, American politician (U.S. Senator from Ohio), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1953)
1914 – Hillary Brooke, American film actress (The Abbott and Costello Show), born in Astoria, New York (d. 1999)
1930 – Robert W. Firestone, American author and clinical psychologist, born in Brooklyn, New York
1972 – Phil Laak, Irish-American professional poker player, born in Dublin
1977 – Maria Helena Selin, Finnish ice hockey right wing (Finland, Olympics 1998), born in Helsinki, Finland

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Famous Deaths

1633 – Carlo Caraffa, Italian jesuit/religious order founder, dies at about 72
1682 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish writer, dies at 76
1980 – Hermann Claudius, German folk poet (Meister Bertram), dies at 101
1983 – Antonin Magne, French bicylist (won Tour de France 1931, 34), dies
2003 – Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricketer (valuable all-rounder in 33 Tests for India), dies at 76
2006 – Frank Middlemass, British actor (Heart Beat, As Time Goes By, Oliver Twist), dies at 87

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Historical Events

1497 – Flemish pretender Perkin Warbeck acclaimed as English King Richard IV on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall
1543 – Duke Willem of Gulik surrenders to emperor Charles V
1897 – George Davis (Giants) HR off Sport McAllister (Spiders) in DH
1952 – General Naguib forms Egyptian government and becomes Premier
1975 – US Open Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Manuel Orantes of Spain wins his only Grand Slam title; upsets #1 seed Jimmy Connors 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; played on green Har-Tru clay surface
1985 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Hana Mandlíková beats Martina Navratilova 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 for her first US title

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Famous Birthdays

1900 – Taylor Caldwell [Janet Miriam Holland Taylor Caldwell], Anglo-American novelist (Dynasty of Death, Dear and Glorious Physician), born in Manchester, England (d. 1985)
1906 – Philip Herschkowitz, Romanian composer, born in Iași, Romania (d. 1989)
1925 – Allan Blakeney, Canadian politician (10th Premier of Saskatchewan), born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia (d. 2011)
1934 – Little Milton [James Milton Campbell], American blues singer and guitarist (Grits Ain’t Groceries), born in Inverness, Mississippi (d. 2005)
1954 – Benmont Tench, American rock keyboardist (Heartbreakers), born in Gainesville, Florida
1965 – Darko Pančev, Macedonian footballer (won European Golden Boot Award 1991), born in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

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Famous Deaths

1731 – Yevdokiya Lopukhina, Tsarina of Russia as the first wife of Peter I of Russia, dies at 62
1871 – Mehmed E Ali Pasja, Turkish statesman, dies
1925 – John Wesley Work Jr., 1st African-American collector of folk songs and spirituals, dies at 52 or 54
1992 – Henry Ephron, American screenwriter (Daddy Long Legs), dies at 81
2006 – Julien Schoenaerts, Flemish actor (Daens/Medea), dies at 81
2010 – Glenn Shadix, American Actor (b. 1952)

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Historical Events

1522 – Ferdinand Magellan’s Spanish expedition aboard the Vitoria returns to Spain without their captain. First to circumnavigate the earth.
1690 – King Wiliam III escapes back to England
1888 – Charles Turner becomes the first bowler to take 250 wickets in an English season – a feat since accomplished only by Tom Richardson (twice), J.T. Hearne, Wilfred Rhodes (twice) and Tich Freeman (six times).
1939 – 1st German air attack on Great Britain in WW II
1996 – Baltimore Orioles’ Eddie Murray’s 500th career HR
2018 – New York and New Jersey state attorneys launch investigations into sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy, bring to six the number of states investigating

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Famous Birthdays

1797 – Wililam “Extra Billy” Smith, American lawyer and Confederacy (Confederate Army), born in King George County, Virginia (d. 1887)
1932 – Hugh John Vaughan Campbell, 6th Earl Cawdor, British large landowner (d. 1933)
1949 – Jimmy Litherland, English rocker (Mitarbeit), born in Salford, Lancashire, England
1954 – Patrick O’Hearn, American rock bassist (Missing Persons), born in Los Angeles, California
1973 – Greg Rusedski, Canadian-British tennis star (1995 Seoul), born in Montreal, Quebec
1979 – Massimo Maccarone, Italian footballer, born in Galliate, Italy

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Famous Deaths

1625 – Thomas Dempster, Scottish historian (b. 1579)
1635 – Adrian Metius, Dutch astronomer and fort architect, dies at 63
1811 – Julien-Amable Mathieu, composer, dies at 77
1939 – Arthur Rackham, English book illustrator (Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Rip van Winkle), dies of cancer at 71
1951 – James W. Gerard, American jurist and diplomat, dies at 84
1984 – E J Andre, actor (Eugene Bullock-Dallas), dies at 74

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Historical Events

1519 – Second Battle of Tehuacingo, Mexico: Hernán Cortés vs Tlascala Aztecs
1698 – Russian Tsar Peter the Great imposes a tax on beards
1786 – Montplaisir Ceramic factory opens in Schaarbeek Belgium
1796 – General Salicetti orders equal rights for Jews of Bologna, Italy
1990 – #12 seed Pete Sampras ends #3 Ivan Lendl’s bid for 9th straight US Open final with classic 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 quarter final win; goes on to win 1st career Grand Slam title
1994 – Kirgizia government resigns

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Famous Birthdays

1735 – Johann Christian Bach (English Bach), German composer, 11th son of Johann Sebastian Bach, born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 1782)
1897 – Luella Gear, American actress (Joe and Mabel), born in NYC, New York (d. 1980)
1933 – Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa, Chilean catholic archbishop, born in Santiago, Chile
1945 – Al Stewart, Scottish rocker (Year of the Cat), born in Glasgow, Scotland
1950 – Kathy Cronkite, American actress (Annie-Hizzonner), born in Washington, D. C.
1962 – Peter Wingfield, Welsh rocker and actor (Methos-Highlander), born in Cardiff

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Famous Deaths

1867 – Santiago Derqui, Argentinian politician (b. 1809)
1994 – Teddy Millington-Drake, English painter, dies at 62
1997 – Georg Solti, conductor, dead, dies at 84
1999 – Albert Oram, Baron Oram, British Labour politician, dies at 86
2002 – John “Jackie” Kelk, American actor and stand-up comedian (The Aldrich Family, The Adventures of Superman), dies of a lung infection at 79
2003 – Gisele MacKenzie [LaFlèche], Canadian singer and actress (Your Hit Parade), dies at 76

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Historical Events

1944 – US National Championship Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Pauline Betz Addie wins her third straight US title; beats Margaret Osborne 6-3, 8-6
1948 – Queen Wilhelmina abdicates Dutch throne
1976 – Palestinians hijack KLM DC-9 to Cyprus
1982 – Arson fire engulfs apartment-hotel in LA, 25 die
1990 – 47th Venice Film Festival: “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” directed by Tom Stoppard wins the Golden Lion
2018 – Italian city Florence bans people eating in the street in its historic center

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Famous Birthdays

1383 – Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoye and last antipope (Felix V, 1439-48), born in Chambéry, France (d. 1451)
1802 – Marcus Whitman, American physician and missionary (Oregon Trail), born in Federal Hollow, New York (d. 1847)
1846 – Daniel Burnham, American architect and urban designer (built skyscrapers), born in Henderson, New York (d. 1912)
1904 – Julian W. Hill, American research chemist (developed nylon), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1996)
1926 – Robert J. Lagomarsino, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California), born in Ventura, California
1932 – Carlos Romero Barceló, Puerto Rican politician (5th Governor of Puerto Rico), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico

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Famous Deaths

1085 – Irmgarde van Keulen, German countress of Aspel/saint, dies
1767 – Charles Townshend, English politician, 3rd Viscount of Townshend, dies at 42
1980 – Wolfgang Gentner, German nuclear physicist, dies at 74
2006 – Steve Irwin, Australian naturalist and TV personality (The Crocodile Hunter), attacked and killed by a stingray at 44
2009 – Iain Cuthbertson, Scottish actor (Guilty, Scandal, Rep, Danger UXB), dies at 79
2014 – Włodzimierz Kotoński, Polish composer, dies at 89

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Historical Events

1260 – Battle of Ain Djaloet, Palestine defeats Mongols army
1882 – French/Vietnamese/Chinese battle at Hanoi, 100s die
1947 – Philadelphia A’s rookie pitcher Bill McCahan no-hits Washington Senators, 3-0
1965 – Preparing a move to Anaheim, the Los Angeles Angels change their name to the California Angels
1972 – Great Britain’s Mary Peters sets a new world record of 4801 points to win the Munich Olympics pentathlon gold by just 10 points from Heide Rosendahl of West Germany
1997 – A Vietnam Airlines Tupolev TU-134 crashes on approach into Phnom Penh airport, killing 64.

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Famous Birthdays

1693 – Charles Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Derwentwater, British politician, born in Little Parndon, Essex (d. 1746)
1719 – Ferdinand Zellbell the younger, Swedish composer and co-founder of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1780)
1902 – Mantan Moreland, American actor and comedian (Charlie Chan, Spirit of Youth), born in Monroe, Louisiana (d. 1973)
1926 – Bill Flemming, American journalist and sportscaster (ABC’s Wide World of Sports), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2007)
1931 – Albert DeSalvo, American criminal (The Boston Strangler), born in Chelsea, Massachusetts (d. 1973)
1950 – Doug Pinnick, American bassist and singer (King’s X), born in Braidwood, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1420 – Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, regent of Scotland
1811 – Ignaz Franzl, composer, dies at 75
1954 – Eugene Pallette, American actor (The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Mark of Zorro), dies at 65
1963 – Cruys Voorbergh [Ernest Pieter Coningh], Dutch actor and director (De vliegende Hollander , Flying Dutchman), dies from cardiac arrest at 64
1980 – Barbara O’Neil, actress (Tower of London, Stella Dallas)
2008 – Donald Blakeslee, American aviator who led 4th Fighter Group during World War II, dies at 90

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