Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1291 – After 100 years of crusader control, Acre is the last crusader stronghold reconquered and destroyed by the Mamluks under Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil
1889 – Jules Massenet’s opera “Esclarmonde” premieres in Paris
1899 – World Goodwill Day-26 nations meet in 1st Hague Peace Conference
1959 – “Castin’ My Spell” by Johnny Otis Show hits #52
1980 – Belgium 3rd government of Martens forms
2014 – Swiss voters reject a $25 per hour minimum wage

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1891 – Rudolf Carnap, philosopher (German Logical Positivist)
1905 – Eric Zeisl, Austrian American composer, born in Vienna (d. 1959)
1927 – Richard Body, British politician (C), born in Eton, Buckinghamshire
1930 – Warren B Rudman, (Sen-R-NH, 1980- )
1948 – Felix MH Troch, Flemish actor and director (Gekkenbriefje)
1950 – Rodney Milburn Jr, USA, hurdler (Olympic gold 1972)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1900 – Jean Gaspard Felix Ravaisson-Mollien, French philosopher (b. 1813)
1910 – Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish novelist (Dziurdziowie), dies at 68
1949 – James T Adams, US historian (Pulitzer 1921)
1967 – Andy Clyde, Scottish actor (The Real McCoys, Lassie), dies from natural causes at 75
1995 – Alexander Gudonov, Russian dancer/actor (Witness), dies at 45
2009 – Dolla American Rapper a.k.a. Roderick Anthony Burton II (b.1987)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1579 – Artois, Henegouwen and French-Flanders sign Treaty, the Peace of Parma recognizing Spanish Duke van Parma as land guardian
1903 – Cleveland Indians beat NY Highlanders 9-2 in Columbus Ohio
1990 – “Cheers” star Kelsey Grammer sentenced to jail for 30 days for DWI
1994 – Bakili Muluzi’s UDF wins Malawi presidents/parliamentary election
2014 – The center-right Hindu Nationalist Party, the BJP, wins landslide election victory in India
2015 – A mudslide hits the alpine town of Salgar in Western Colombia killing over 50 people

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1888 – A P “Tich” Freeman, cricket leg-spinner (legend for Kent and England)
1941 – David Howell Cope, composer
1945 – D A S Pennefather, Maj-General/Commandant (General Royal Marines)
1954 – Michael Roberts, jockey
1976 – José Guillén, Dominican baseball player
1985 – Matt Ryan, American football player

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1395 – Constantine Dragas, Serbian ruler of a semi-independent realm
1888 – Giacomo Zanella, Italian poet (b. 1820)
1945 – Sasaki Shigetsu Sokei-an, founder 1st Zen Institute of America, dies
1945 – Jan van Geenen, resistance fighter, dies
1960 – Ioannis Georgiadis, Greek fencer (Olympic 1896 gold), dies at 84
2016 – Guy Clark, American country singer (Heartbroke), dies at 74

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1771 – The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called “The Regulators”, occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
1817 – Mississippi River steamboat service begins
1894 – Fire in Boston destroys baseball stadium and 170 other buildings
1972 – “Don’t Play Us Cheap” opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 164 performances
1974 – Helmut Schmidt becomes West German Chancellor
2013 – Pope Francis calls for ethical financial reform to fight speculation

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1857 – Juan Morel Campos, composer
1906 – Ernie McCormick, cricketer (Australian quickie of late 30’s)
1910 – Olga Berggolts, Russian poet (d. 1975)
1920 – Dave Philley, Texas, Major League Baseball switch-hitter (record 9 straight pinch hits), born in Paris, France (d. 2012)
1927 – Nílton Santos, Brazilian footballer, (d. 2013)
1980 – Melanie Lofton, American Journalist

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1778 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English diplomat (b. 1718)
1926 – Mehmed VI Vahideddin (Mohammed Osman), last sultan of Turkey, dies
1932 – William Pember Reeves, politician/poet, dies
1944 – Max Brand, [Frederick Schiller Faust], western author, dies
1954 – Werner Bischof, Swiss photographer, dies accidentally at 38
2001 – Brian Pendleton, English musician (The Pretty Things) (b. 1944)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1711 – Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Criticism” is published anonymously
1817 – Ambonese uprising against Dutch authority (modern Indonesia), under Thomas Matulesia (aka Kapitan Pattimura)
1862 – Major Gen Benjamin F Butler issues order (New Orleans) that confederate women abusing union soldiers be treated as whores
1941 – British attack Halfaya-pass and Fort Capuzzo in Egypt and Libya
1948 – Australia scores 721 runs in one day v Essex, world record
2017 – 1st US prosecution under federal Hate Crimes Act of violence against transgender person, murder of Mercedes Williamson

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1773 – Clemens L Metternich, Austrian prince
1889 – Bessie Hillman, founder (Almalgamated Clothing Workers of America)
1912 – Alexis Nihon, Bahamas, wrestler (Olympics 1968)
1925 – Andrey Yakoulevich Eshpay, composer
1940 – Paul Rudd, actor (Conn Yankee in King Arthur’s Court), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1988 – Jessica Falkholt, Australian actress (Hope Morrison-Home and Away, born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2018)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1622 – Peter Plancius, Flemish vicar/cartographer, dies at about 69
1986 – Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (b. 1958)
1988 – Andrew Duggan, American character actor (Secret War of Harry Frigg, Winds of War), dies of cancer at 64
2003 – George Francis, British gangster (b. 1940)
2007 – Yolanda King, American actress and activist, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. (b. 1955)
2014 – Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgian Prime Minister (1992-99), dies from a fall at 73

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1890 – 16th Kentucky Derby: Isaac Murphy aboard Riley wins in 2:45
1910 – Canada authorizes issuing of silver dollar coins
1969 – Abortion and contraception legalized in Canada
1973 – Skylab launched, 1st Space Station
1975 – French press reports massive deportation from Cambodia
1991 – 42 die in a train collision in Japan

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1846 – Arnold Kerdijk, Dutch lib politician/founder (Social Weekly newspaper)
1899 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (d. 1993)
1943 – [Derek] Lek Leckenby, English guitarist (Herman’s Hermits), born in Leeds, England (d. 1994)
1957 – William G Gregory, Lockport NY, Mjr USAF/Astronaut (STS 67)
1978 – André Macanga, Angolan footballer
1980 – Eugene Martineau, Dutch decathlete

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1742 – Dominique Marie Valet, French RC/old-catholic bishop, dies at 64
1801 – Johann Ernst Altenburg, composer, dies at 66
1864 – William N Green Jr, Union brigadier general, dies
1940 – Eddy [Charles E] du Platform, writer/poet, dies
1966 – Georgia BD Camp Johnson, US poet/playwright, dies at 88
2006 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet (b. 1905)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1944 – 69th Preakness: Conn McCreary aboard Pensive wins in 1:59.2
1953 – NY Giants Willie Mays and Darryl Spencer each hit 2 HRs and a triple
1967 – NY Yankee Mickey Mantle hits career HR #500 off Stu Miller
1970 – Beatles movie “Let it Be” premieres
1979 – “Utter Glory… Morrissey Hall” opens and closes at Mark Hellinger NYC
1983 – Reggie Jackson is 1st major leaguer to strike out 2,000 times

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1776 – Charles Ots, Belgian composer, born in Brussels (d. 1845)
1857 – Ronald Ross, British pathologist (Nobel Prize 1902), born in Almora, North-Western Provinces, British India (d. 1932)
1937 – Roch Carrier, Canadian novelist (The Hockey Sweater), born in Sainte-Justine, Quebec
1972 – Josh Taves, American football defensive end (New England Patriots), born in Watsonville, California
1974 – Albert Connell, wide receiver (Washington Redskins)
1977 – Sara DeCosta, ice hockey goalie (USA, Olympics 1998)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1381 – John of Chatillon, governor/viceroy of Holland, dies
1866 – Nikolai Brashman, Russian mathematician (b. 1796)
1885 – Juliana Horatia [Gatty] Ewing, author (Lob Lie-by-the-Fire), dies
1996 – John “Jack” Baines, mountaineering publisher, dies at 57
2006 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (b. 1949)
2009 – Rabbi Meir Brandsdorfer, member of the Rabbinical Court of the Edah HaChareidis, Jerusalem

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1701 – Drenthe adopts Gregorian calendar (yesterday is 4/29/1701)
1821 – The first major battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks occurs in Valtetsi
1864 – Battle of Todd’s Tavern, cavalry battle fought near Todds Tavern, Virginia (Sheridan’s Raid), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
1982 – Pulitzer prize awarded to John Updike (Rabbit is Rich)
1990 – NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Edmonton Oilers beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 2
2001 – English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (72,500): Liverpool beats Arsenal, 2-1 with Michael Owen scoring twice for the Reds

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1803 – Justus von Liebig, German agricultural and biological chemist who is considered the founder of organic chemistry, born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany (d. 1973)
1812 – Edward Lear, England, landscape painter, (Complete Nonsense Book)
1876 – Harold, grandson of English queen Victoria
1910 – Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (d. 1996)
1941 – Ruud de Wolff, singer/guitarist (Blue Diamonds)
1962 – Emilio Estevez, American actor (Breakfast Club, Young Guns, Mighty Ducks), born in NYC, New York

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1906 – Gabriel C. Wharton, American civil engineer and Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 81
1908 – Melesio Morales, Mexican composer, dies at 69
1935 – Józef Piłsudski, Polish revolutionary and statesman, dies at 67
1967 – Julius Kalas, Czech composer, dies at 64
1994 – Erik Erikson, American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst who coined the phrase “identity crisis”, dies at 91
1994 – John Smith, British Labour Party chairman (1992-94), dies at 55

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1189 – Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and 100,000 crusaders depart Regensburg for the Third Crusade
1919 – Yanks’ Jack Quinn and Senators’ Walter Johnson, 12 inning 0-0 tie
1929 – Dr Annie Webb Blanton forms Delta Kappa Gamma Society in Austin, Texas
1962 – US sends troops to Thailand
1983 – Aberdeen of Scotland win 23rd European Cup Winner’s Cup against Real Madrid of Spain 2-1 in Gothenburg
1985 – 56 die and at least 265 are injured at Bradford City football ground in the worst fire in English football history

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1854 – Ottmar Mergenthaler, Hachtel Germany, inventor (linotype)
1896 – Philippo de Pisis, Italian painter
1923 – Gordon White, British business tycoon and co-founder of corporate raider Hanson Group, born in Hull, England (d. 1995)
1950 – John Kelly, American General, President Trump’s Chief of Staff (2017-), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1953 – Boyd Gaines, American actor (Mark-One Day at a Time, Sure Thing), born in Atlanta, Georgia
1961 – Cecile Licad, pianist (Leventritt Award-1981), born in Manila, Philippines

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1845 – Karoly Filtsch, composer, dies at 14
1929 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak inventor (b. 1864)
1978 – John Clinge Doorenbos, Dutch journalist/poet, dies at 93
1979 – Lester Raymond Flatt, musician (Ballad of Jed Clampett), dies at 64
1979 – Joan Chandler, dies at 55
1996 – Bruce Boyce, singer/teacher, dies at 85

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1922 – Dr Ivy Williams is 1st woman to be called to the English Bar
1925 – To control demonstrations against foreigners, British troops in Shanghai fire into a crowd, leading to a boycott against British goods
1930 – 1st US planetarium opens (Adler-Chicago)
1967 – Hank Aaron only inside the park HR (vs Jim Bunning)
1969 – Turtles play White House, Mark Volman falls off stage 5 times
1995 – In South Africa, 104 miners killed in an elevator accident

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1873 – Carl J Eldh, Swedish sculptor
1898 – Ariel Durant, writer (Story of Civilization)
1932 – Francoise Fabian, French actress (Happy New Year), born in Algiers, French Algeria
1952 – Sly Dunbar, reggae drummer (Sly and Robbie), born in Kingston, Jamaica
1969 – John Scalzi, American writer
1977 – Chas Licciardello, Australian comedian, member of The Chaser

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1424 – Go-Kameyama, Emperor of Japan
1829 – Thomas Young, British physician and physicist (light interference), dies at 55
1960 – Yuri Olesha, Russian writer, dies at 61
1982 – Peter Weiss, German playwright (Marat-Sade), dies at 65
1995 – Hilde Jarecki, educationist, dies at 83
2012 – Evelyn Johnson, American pilot, dies at 102

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1904 – The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine to exceed 100mph.
1941 – Louis Buchalter is arraigned in New York state court on the 1936 Joseph Rosen murder along with three other murders
1943 – 5th German Panzer army surrenders in Tunisia
1945 – Czechoslovakia liberated from Nazi occupation (National Day)
1964 – Khrushchev visits Egypt
1980 – 35 motorists die as a Liberian freighter rams a Tampa Bay Bridge

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1927 – John McDermott, Lord Justice of Appeal (Northern Ireland)
1936 – Floyd Robinson, baseball player (White Sox, Reds, A’s), born in Prescott, Arkansas
1953 – Gregory Beecroft, Chorpus Christi TX, actor (Guiding Light)
1972 – Dan Hollander, figure skater (1996 Great Lakes champ), born in Royal Oak, Michigan
1979 – Andrew W.K., American musician
1983 – Tyler Lumsden, American baseball player

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1707 – Dietrich Buxtehude, German organist/composer, dies at about 69
1927 – Tommy Routledge, cricketer (4 Tests for South Africa 1892-96), dies
1928 – Constantin Dimitrescu, composer, dies at 81
1970 – Percy Brier, Australian composer, dies at 84
1995 – Marshall Royal, jazz Sax/Clarinet, dies at 82
2010 – Otakar Motejl, Czechoslvakian politician (b. 1932)

More Famous Deaths »