Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1931 – Philadelphia A’s Lefty Grove, loses 1-0 (Browns) after winning 16 straight
1938 – England score 7-903 declared v Australia, Len Hutton scores 364
1948 – Earl Bernadotte asks aid for fugitives to Palestine
1975 – Philip Kapleau conducts 1st jukai ceremony in Poland
1977 – Marxist philosopher Rudolf Bahro imprisoned in German DR
1993 – Fred McGriff and David Justice are 6th to hit back-to-back HRs twice in same game

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Famous Birthdays

1741 – Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse, French explorer, born in Albi, France (d. 1788)
1773 – Jakob F. Fries, German philosopher, born in Barby, Germany (d. 1843)
1854 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German composer, born in Breslau, Prussia (d. 1925)
1960 – Helen Rees, director (Design Museum)
1974 – Christian Beranek, American graphic novelist and actor, born in Council Bluffs, Iowa
1978 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball guard (5-time NBA champion, LA Lakers, 18-time All Star), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

1723 – Antoine Mouque, Flemish composer, organist and singer, dies at 64
1878 – Adolf Fredrik Lindblad, composer, dies at 77
1982 – Stanford Moore, American biochemist (Nobel 1977), dies at 68
1986 – Charles Janssens, Belgian actor (Mira, Malpertuis), dies at 80
1992 – Malcolm Atterbury, American actor (Jonas-Thicker than Water, Apples Way), dies at 85
2007 – Robert Symonds, American actor and associate director of the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center, dies at 80

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Historical Events

1827 – José de La Mar becomes President of Peru
1865 – William Sheppard is issued the first US patent for liquid soap
1914 – Battle in Ardennen: Neufchateau, Rossignal, Tintigny and Virton
1933 – International Zionists Congress opens in Prague
1994 – Wim Cook government forms in Netherlands
2008 – Anne-Caroline Chausson of France and Māris Štrombergs of Latvia win the inaugural gold medals in BMX, winning the women’s and men’s events respectively at the Beijing Olympics

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Famous Birthdays

1865 – Piet A W Hopmans, bishop of Breda (Eucharistic Crusade)
1895 – Paul Comtois, French Canadian politician, born in Pierreville, Quebec (d. 1966)
1907 – Oliver McGowan, American actor (Banning, Stagecoach), born in Kipling, Alabama (d. 1971)
1933 – Sylva Koscina, Italian actress (Jessica, Hercules), born in Split, Dalmatia, Yugoslavia (d. 1994)
1966 – Mark Michaels, heavy metal guitarist (Teach Yourself Rhythm Guitar)
1980 – Nicolas Macrozonaris, French-Canadian track-and-field athlete, born in Laval, Canada

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Famous Deaths

408 – Flavius Stilicho, West Roman field leader (395-408), executed at 48
1532 – William Warham, English archbishop of Canterbury (1502-32), dies at 82
1936 – Juliette Adam, French author (Salon/Nouvelle Revue) and feminist, dies at 99
1989 – Diana Vreeland, French-American fashion editor (Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue), dies at 85
1993 – Don Getz, US filmer (Playpoint)
2010 – Stjepan Bobek, Yugoslav football player (b. 1923)

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Historical Events

1810 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.
1927 – 4th Pan-African Congress meets (NYC)
1942 – Transport #22 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany
1963 – Martial law declared in South Vietnam, following raids on Buddhist pagodas
1975 – Rick and Paul Reuschel become 1st brothers to pitch a combined shut out
2018 – Californian Representative Duncan Hunter indicted for using campaign funds for personal expenses including holidays and flight for a pet rabbit

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Famous Birthdays

1765 – William IV, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1830-37), born in Buckingham House, London (d. 1837)
1892 – Charles Vanel, French actor and director (Wages of Fear), born in Rennes, France (d. 1989)
1905 – Friz Freleng, American animator (Warner Bros cartoons), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1995)
1934 – Paul Panhuysen, Dutch composer, visual and sound artist, born in Maastricht, Netherlands
1961 – Danny Sheaffer, American MLB catcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Jacksonville, Florida
1963 – Richmond Arquette, American actor, born in NYC, New York

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Famous Deaths

1940 – Paul Juon, Russian-Swiss violinist and composer, dies at 68
1949 – Gerhard von Keussler, German composer, dies at 75
1952 – Isaac Sadeh, leader of Jewish commando forces, dies
1958 – Walter Schumann, American choral director (Ford Show) and composer (Rhenish), dies at 44
1978 – Charles Eames, American designer and architect, dies at 71
1997 – Yuri Nikulin, Russian clown and actor (b. 1921)

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Historical Events

1648 – Battle of Lens: French Duc d’Enghien defeats Spaniards
1741 – Alaska first sighted by Danish explorer Vitus Bering at head of Russian expedition
1882 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” debuts in Moscow
1905 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary, forms the first chapter of T’ung Meng Hui, a union of all secret societies determined to bringing down the Manchus
1914 – -24] Battle of Bounderies: Lorraine, Ardennen, Sambre and Meuse, Mons
1961 – East Germany begins erecting 5′ high wall along the border with the west to replace the barbed wire put up Aug 13

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Famous Birthdays

1832 – Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, American aeronaut and inventor, born in Jefferson Mills, Coos County, New Hampshire (d. 1913)
1886 – Paul Tillich, German-American theologist (Die sozial Entscheidung), born in Starzeddel, Brandenburg, Germany (d. 1965)
1926 – Frank Rosolino, American jazz trombonist (The Frank Rosolino Sextet), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1978)
1935 – Charles Shere, composer
1969 – Duke Droese, American professional wrestler
1970 – Fred Durst, American singer (Limp Bizkit)

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Famous Deaths

1854 – Friedrich WJ von Schelling, German philosopher, dies at 79
1864 – Daniel Chaplin, US Union brigadier general, dies
1960 – Rudolf Moser, composer, dies at 68
1986 – Thad Jones, jazz trumpeter, dies of cancer at 63
1993 – Sydney Arnold, British comic actor (The Meaning of Life, Top Secret!, Miss Jones and Son), dies at 93
1998 – Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (Seven Lonely Days), dies at 82

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Historical Events

1861 – Confederacy Congress allies with government of MO
1944 – Polish 1st Division occupies Hill 262 (Mont Ormel), Normandy
1973 – Pirate World Music Radio (Holland) closes down after 10 years
1984 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Shoal Creek: Lee Trevino wins his 2nd PGA C’ship by 4 shots from Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins
1993 – Sally Gunnell runs women’s world record 400m hurdles (52.74″)
1997 – STS 85 (Discovery 23) lands

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Famous Birthdays

1785 – Seth Thomas, American pioneer in mass production of clocks
1883 – Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, French fashion designer (Chanel), born in Saumur, France (d. 1971)
1934 – William Cleary, hockey center, (Olympic gold/silver 56, 60), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
1944 – Buzz Kilman, Chicago radio personality
1956 – Adam Arkin, actor (Busting Loose, Pearl, Northern Exposure), born in Brooklyn, New York
1962 – Tammy Bruce, American political commentator

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Famous Deaths

1662 – Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist and Christian philosopher (Pascal’s Law, Pascal’s Wager), dies of a stomach tumor at 39
1691 – Mustafa Koprulu, Turkish grand vizer, dies in battle
1950 – Giovanni Giorgi, Italian physicist (b. 1871)
1975 – Jim Londos, wrestler (b. 1897)
1975 – Ima Hogg, American society leader, Texas art patron and founder of Houston Symphony, dies at 93
2005 – Mo Mowlam, British Labour Party politician (Member of Parliament for Redcar), dies at 55

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Historical Events

1769 – A lightning strike on the Bastion of San Nazaro in Brescia, Italy, ignites 90 tonnes of gunpowder, killing 3,000 people
1846 – General Stephen W Kearney’s US forces capture Santa Fe, New Mexico
1958 – Fidel Castro makes a speech on Cuban pirate radio Rebelde
1976 – Korean axe murder incident: 2 US soldiers tasked with cutting down a poplar tree blocking the view of UN observers are killed by North Koreans claiming it was planted by Kim Il-Sung in the Korean Demilitarized Zone
1991 – Hurricane Bob hits NC with 115 MPH wind
2011 – The “West Memphis Three” are released from prison after 18 years in imprisonment

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Famous Birthdays

1903 – Ake Olof Sebastian Udden, composer
1920 – Bob Kennedy, baseball player
1950 – Dennis Elliott, English rock drummer (Foreigner), born in London, England
1972 – Ray Jacobs, American football linebacker (Denver Broncos), born in Corsicana, Texas
1974 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Guyanese cricketer (WI left-handed batsman 1994-), born in Unity Village, Guyana
1978 – Andy Samberg, American comedian and actor (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), born in Berkeley, California

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Famous Deaths

1430 – Thomas de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros, English soldier and politician, drowned at 23
1634 – Urbain Grandier, French priest (b. 1590)
1995 – Sylvester Louis Adams, murderer, dies at 39
2005 – Christopher Bauman, American wrestler (b. 1982)
2010 – Hal Connolly, American Athlete and hammer thrower (b.1931)
2013 – Dezső Gyarmati, Hungarian water polo player, dies at 85

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Historical Events

1908 – Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson’s play “Man from Home” premieres in New York
1961 – Kennedy administration establishes Alliance for Progress
1982 – LA Dodgers beat Chicago Cubs, 6-5, in 21 innings (game completed 8/18)
1988 – LIRR says Penn station will get air conditioning in 1991
1991 – Royals Warren Cromartie’s 1st major league HR since 1983
2016 – German pair Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst upsets Brazilian hometown favourites Ágatha Bednarczuk and Bárbara Seixas 21–18, 21–14 to win the Olympic women’s beach volleyball gold in Rio de Janeiro

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Famous Birthdays

1870 – Frederick Russell, developed 1st successful typhoid fever vaccine
1880 – Leo Ascher, Austrian-born composer who moved to the US, born in Vienna (d. 1942)
1890 – Stefan Bastyr, Polish aviator (d. 1920)
1903 – Abram Chasins, composer
1959 – Jonathan Franzen, American author
1960 – Stephan Eicher, Swiss singer

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Famous Deaths

1927 – Horace Alderman, American murderer, hanged
1961 – Carlos Leon Salzedo, composer, dies at 76
1979 – Vivian Vance, American actress (Ethel Mertz-I Love Lucy), dies of cancer at 70
2008 – Franco Sensi, Italian oil tycoon and president of A.S. Roma
2008 – František Zvarík, Slovakian stage actor (Slovak National Theatre), dies at 87
2012 – Patrick Ricard, French businessman and CEO of Pernod Ricard, dies from cardiac arrest at 67

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Historical Events

1780 – British decisively defeat Americans in Battle of Camden, South Carolina
1944 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 287.
1972 – Morocco King Hassan II’s B727 shot during failed coup attempt by General Mohamed Oufkir. Reportedly, King Hassan grabbed the radio and told the rebel pilots “Stop firing! The tyrant is dead!”, fooling pilots to break off attack
1976 – St. Louis Cardinals beat San Diego Chargers, 20-10 in Tokyo, Japan (NFL Expo)
1987 – Bon Jovi release their 3rd album “Slippery When Wet” (Billboard’s top selling album of 1987)
1992 – British Williams driver Nigel Mansell finishes second in Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring to clinch his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship

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Famous Birthdays

1645 – Jean de La Bruyère, French writer (The Characters, or the Manners of the Age, with The Characters of Theophrastus), born in Paris (d. 1696)
1650 – Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian cartographer and encylopedist, born in Venice, Italy (d. 1718)
1820 – Andrew Rainsford Wetmore, Canadian politician, born in Fredericton, Canada (d. 1892)
1932 – Jon Lindbergh, 2nd son of aviator Charles Lindbergh
1933 – Julie Newmar, actress (Catwoman-Batman, Living Doll), born in Hollywood, California
1972 – Stan Lazaridis, Australian footballer, born in Perth, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1339 – Azzone Visconti, Lord of Milan (1329-39), dies at 36
1831 – Eduard Brendler, composer, dies at 30
1968 – Luis Gianneo, composer, dies at 71
1973 – Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-American microbiologist (Nobel 1951-ingenious, systematic and successful studies of the soil microbes that led to the discovery of streptomycin), dies at 85
2005 – William Corlett, English children’s writer(b. 1938)
2016 – John McLaughlin, American TV commentator (McLaughlin Group) and Nixon aide, dies at 89

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Historical Events

1843 – Tivoli Gardens amusement park opens in Copenhagen, world’s 2nd oldest
1914 – The first large public gathering of Boers in South Africa who do not want to support Britain in a war against Germany; British authorities will try to repress this movement, but discontent spreads
1964 – Mayor Daley declares “Ernie Banks Day” in Chicago
1998 – Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles, kills 29 people and injures about 220
2006 – Der Spiegel, Spiegel Online, publishes documents confirming German writer Günter Grass’ membership of the Waffen-SS in World War II
2009 – Portugal leaves recession after three consecutive quarters of negative growth having its GDP recover by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2009

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Famous Birthdays

1740 – Matthias Claudius, German poet, born in Reinfeld, Duchy of Holstein (d. 1815)
1788 – Carel SW van Hogendorp, Dutch colonial director
1910 – Josef Klaus, Chancellor of Austria (1966-70), born in Kötschach-Mauthen, Austria (d. 1964)
1963 – Greg Adams, Nelson, NHL left wing (Dallas Stars)
1975 – Vijay Bharadwaj, Indian cricketer
1976 – Boudewijn Send, soccer player (PSV)

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Famous Deaths

1907 – Joseph Joachim, German violinist (Hungarian Concerto), dies at 76
1968 – Edward Kilenyi, Sr. [Ede Kilényi], composer and teacher (Clipped Wings, Outside the Law), dies at 84
1988 – Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, President of Pakistan, killed in plane crash
2004 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, dies at 63
2007 – Richard Bradshaw, British opera conductor, (b. 1944)
2007 – Dave Hassinger, American recording engineer and record producer, dies at 80

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Historical Events

1824 – General Lafayette returns to US
1861 – Martial Law is declared at St Louis, Missouri, due to pro-secession sentiment which surged throughout Missouri after the Battle of Wilson’s Creek
1897 – The town of Anosimena is captured by French troops from Menabe defenders in Madagascar.
1908 – Race riot in Springfield Illinois
1919 – White Sox Happy Felsch ties record of 4 outfield assists in a game
2018 – Pennsylvania grand jury alleges 300 “predator priests” abused over 1000 children over 30 years and Catholic leaders covered it, up after 2-year investigation

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – Manos Katrakis, Greek actor (Antigone, Marinos Kontaras), born in Kastelli Kissamou, Crete (d. 1984)
1941 – Connie Smith, Elkhart, Indiana, singer (Dream Painter, New Horizons)
1951 – Peter Blegvad, American musician (Slapp Happy), born in New York City, New York
1973 – Wayne Chrebet, American NFL wide receiver (NY Jets), born in Garfield, New Jersey
1978 – Anastasios Kyriakos, Greek footballer, born in Giannouli, Greece
1983 – Leo Núñez, Dominican baseball player, born in Bonao, Dominican Republic

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Famous Deaths

1652 – Abraham Elsevier, Dutch book publisher, dies at 60
1955 – Herbert Putnam, American Librarian of Congress, dies at 93
1958 – Big Bill Broonzy, American blues singer and guitarist (Blues by Broonzy), dies of cancer at 65
1991 – Alberto Crespo, Argentine racing driver (b. 1920)
2003 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer (b. 1929)
2012 – John Herbert “Jonathan” Frid, Canadian actor (Barnabas Collins-Dark Shadows), dies of pneumonia at 87

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