Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1909 – British explorers David, Mawson and Mackay reach south magnetic pole as part of the Nimrod Expedition
1943 – -60°F (-51°C), Island Park Dam, Idaho (state record)
1976 – “Donny and Marie” [Osmond] musical variety show premieres on ABC TV
1981 – John Lennon releases “Woman” in UK
1988 – Czech dissident Václav Havel is arrested in Prague for taking part in demonstrations against the communist government
2013 – A four day occupation of an Algerian BP facility by Amenas militants begins, killing 48 hostages

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Famous Birthdays

1409 – René I of Naples (d. 1480)
1872 – Edward Gordon Craig, British modernist actor, director and theorist (On the art of theatre), born in Stevenage Hertfordshire, England (d. 1966)
1930 – Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (d. 2006)
1931 – Johannes Rau, German politician (d. 2006)
1956 – Martin Jol, Dutch football manager
1969 – Chelan Kozak, Revelstoke BC, equestrian (Olympics 1996)

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Famous Deaths

308 – Marcellus I, Catholic Pope (-308), dies
1554 – Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (b. 1480)
1748 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1684)
1752 – Francis Blomefield, English topographer (History of Norfolk), dies at 46
1962 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect, dies at 78
1996 – Kaye Webb, publisher, dies at 81

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Historical Events

1902 – Abdulaziz Ibn Saud leads 40 men over the walls of Riyadh and takes the city, marking the beginning of the Third Saudi State
1955 – Dmitri Shostakovich’s “From Jewish Folk Poetry” premieres in Leningrad
1956 – Dmitri Shostakovich appointed honorary member of Academia Santa Cecilia
1964 – Teamsters negotiate 1st national labor contract
1982 – “Forbidden Broadway” by/with Gerard Alessandrini premieres in NYC
2009 – Chesley Sullenberger lands US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in NYC. All passengers and crew members survive in what becomes known as the “Miracle on the Hudson”

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Famous Birthdays

1747 – John Aikin, English doctor and writer (d. 1822)
1905 – Torin Thatcher, British actor (Houdini, Isranbul, Lady Godiva), born in Bombay Presidency, British India (d. 1981)
1912 – Michel Debré, French politician, born in Paris, France (d. 1996)
1960 – Tim Curtis, English cricketer (England righty batsman in 5 Tests 1988-89), born in Chislehurst, United Kingdom
1970 – Michele Granger, American softball pitcher (Olympic gold 1996), born in Anaheim, California
1973 – Essam El-Hadary, Egyptian footballer, born in Damietta Governorate, Egypt

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Famous Deaths

1705 – Walraad, the Young, earl of Nassau-Ottweiler/gov of Nijmegen, dies
2000 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
2005 – Deem Bristow, American video game voice actor (b. 1947)
2007 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino writer and diplomat (b. 1905)
2007 – James Hillier, Canadian-American inventor (co-created the electron microscope), dies at 91
2008 – Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, Game Designer (b. 1964)

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Historical Events

1343 – Arnost of Pardubice becomes the first Archbishop of Prague (and the last bishop of Prague)
1526 – Charles V and Francis I sign the Treaty of Madrid, forcing Francis to give up claims to Burgundy, Italy and Flanders
1973 – “Aloha from Hawaii”, an Elvis Presley concert, becomes the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer
1984 – Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini scores a 3rd-round TKO of Bobby Chacon to retain his WBA lightweight title in Reno, Nevada; Chacon so severely battered he thanks referee Richard Steele for stopping the fight
1995 – 10,000 South Africans attend state funeral of Joe Slovo
1998 – Charles Barkley pleads not guilty to an assault charge

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Famous Birthdays

1824 – Vladimir Stasov, Russian art and music critic, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1906)
1836 – Henri Fantin-Latour, French painter, born in Grenoble, France (d. 1904)
1919 – Andy Rooney, American CBS news correspondent (60 Minutes), born in Albany, New York (d. 2011)
1921 – Ken Sailors, American professional basketball player (popularized and may have invented the jump shot), born in Bushnell, Nebraska (d. 2016)
1936 – Clarence Carter, American singer (Thread the Needle), born in Montgomery, Alabama
1989 – 29-year-old Marie Claude Adam gives birth to sextuplets by Caesarean section in Port Royale, France

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Famous Deaths

1901 – Victor Balaguer, Catalaans historian/politician/author, dies at 76
1912 – Otto Liebmann, German philosopher (Kant and Epigones), dies at 71
1915 – Richard Meux Benson, founder of Anglican religious order (b. 1824)
1929 – Cornelis W Lely, Dutch Governor of Suriname (1902-05), dies at 74
1988 – Georgy M Malenkov, PM of USSR (1953-55), dies at 86
2016 – Alan Rickman, English actor (Die Hard, Harry Potter franchise), dies of cancer at 69

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Historical Events

1404 – The Act of Multipliers is passed by the English Parliament forbidding alchemists to use their knowledge to create precious metals (it was feared that if any alchemist should succeed it would bring ruin upon the state)
1893 – British Independent Labour Party forms (Keir Hardie as its leader)
1895 – Oscar Wilde’s “Ideal Husband” premieres in London
1915 – Earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800
1984 – TV anchor Christine Craft wins $325,000 in her case against KMBC-TV
2014 – 14 people are killed and 7 are injured after an explosion in an illegal gambling hall in Kaili City, China

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Famous Birthdays

1805 – Thomas Dyer, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
1938 – Tord Grip, Swedish football manager
1960 – Takis Lemonis, Greek footballer and coach
1969 – Orlando Miller, Changionola Panama, infielder (Houston Astros)
1972 – Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast (6 Olympic gold medals Barcelona 1992), born in Minsk, Belarus
1989 – Triinu Kivilaan, Estonian singer

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Famous Deaths

1691 – George Fox, founder of Quakers, dies at 66
1928 – Johan Peter Koch, Danish officer/explorer, dies at 57
1929 – Wyatt Earp, US marshall (OK Corral), dies at 80
1974 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor (b. 1906)
1981 – Emiel van Hemeldonck, Belgian writer (Mary, My Child), dies at 83
2009 – William De Witt Snodgrass, American poet under the pseudonym S. S. Gardons (b. 1926)

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Historical Events

1940 – World War II: Soviets bombs cities in Finland.
1942 – British troops reconquer Sollum
1963 – “Go Away Little Girl” by Steve Lawrence peaks at #1
1986 – 24th space shuttle (61-C) mission-Columbia 7-launched
1997 – Ice skater Oksana Baiul injured slightly whiled driving intoxicated
2014 – Stephen Bunting and Lisa Ashton win the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship

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Famous Birthdays

1562 – Charles Emanuel I, the great, Duke of Savoy
1821 – Nikolai Afanisev, composer
1932 – Des O’Connor, British television presenter, born in Stepney, London
1937 – Marie Dubois, French actress (Wise Guys, Jules and Jim), born in Paris, France (d. 2014)
1941 – Jaime Fuster, American politician (Rep-D-PR, 1985- ), born in Guayama, Puerto Rico (d. 2007)
1960 – Dominique Wilkins, American NBA forward (Atlanta Hawks), born in Paris, France

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Famous Deaths

1807 – Joan Lucaz, Dutch journalist and patriot, dies at 60
1867 – Victor Cousin, French philosopher/minister of Education, dies at 74
1944 – Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
1995 – Marion Herbst, German/Dutch jewelry designer, dies at 50
1997 – Charles Huggins, American-Canadian physician and cancer researcher (1966 Nobel Prize), dies at 95
1999 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1961)

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Historical Events

1925 – Frank Kellogg replaces Charles Hughes on as US Secretary of State
1959 – Hanif Mohammad completes 499 runs for Karachi, then 1st class cricket world record
1963 – Los Angeles night club and music venue The Whiskey A-Go-Go opens (inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2006)
1978 – Soyuz 27 links with Salyut 6 and Soyuz 26 (1st time 3 spacecraft link)
1999 – Marty Schottenheimer resigns as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs
2001 – New York Knicks hold an opponent under 100 points for NBA-record 29th straight game in a 76-75 loss to the Houston Rockets; streak snaps 46-year-old NBA record of 28 straight set by the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1954-55

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Famous Birthdays

1786 – Joseph Jackson Lister, British optician who perfected the optical microscope by designing the achromatic objective lens, born in London, England
1886 – George Zucco, British actor (Fog Island, Black Raven, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Captain Fury), born in Manchester, England (d. 1960)
1894 – Jaroslav Vogel, Czech composer and conductor (d. 1970)
1949 – Daryl Braithwaite, Australian rock singer
1979 – Siti Nurhaliza, Malaysian singer, born in Kampung Awah, Malaysia
1985 – Newton Faulkner, English singer-songwriter, born in Surrey, England

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Famous Deaths

1944 – Galeazzo count of Cortellazzo Ciano, Italian politician, dies
1954 – Oscar Straus, Austrian composer (Brave Soldier), dies at 83
1963 – Arthur D Nock, English-Americans historian (St Paul), dies at 60
1988 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, nuclear physicist (Nobel Prize-1944), dies at 89
1988 – Pappy Boyington, American combat pilot (United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II), dies of cancer at 75
2002 – Henri Verneuil, French-Armenian playwright and film director (Mélodie en sous-sol), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1731 – Charles Farnese becomes Duke of Parma and Piacenza
1799 – Friedrich von Schiller’s “Die Piccolomini” premieres in Weimar
1901 – Oil discovered at Spindletop, Beaumont, marking the start of the Texas oil boom (gusher age)
1927 – Fritz Lang’s silent film “Metropolis” premieres in Berlin
1993 – “My Favorite Year” closes at Vivian Beaumont NYC after 37 performances
2015 – Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Poland’s Agnieszka Radwańska and Jerzy Janowicz beat American pair Serena Williams and John Isner 7-5, 6-3 to clinch a 2-1 win; earlier Radwańska defeats Williams 6-4, 6-7, 6-1

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Famous Birthdays

1683 – Gasparo Visconti, Italian composer and violinist, born in Cremona, Italy (d. ~1713)
1883 – Aleksei Tolstoi, Russian poet/writer (Pjotr Peroyj), born in Pugachyov, Russia (d. 1945)
1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Wilcox, Canada (d. 2007)
1939 – David Horowitz, American author and political commentator, born in New York City, New York
1948 – Mischa Maisky, Latvian cellist, born in Riga, Latvia
1972 – Brian Lawler, American professional wrestler, born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2018)

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Famous Deaths

976 – John I Tzimisces/Tzimiskes, Byzantine Emperor (969-76), dies at 51
1276 – Pope Gregory X, (Tedaldo Visconti), dies. (bc. 1210)
1662 – Prince Honoré II of Monaco (b. 1597)
1982 – Lazar Weiner, Russian-born American composer, dies at 84
1990 – Yvonne Peattie Marquard, actress (Donovan’s Reef), dies
2005 – Metropolitan Wasyly Fedak, primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (b. 1909)

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Historical Events

1493 – 1st sight of manatees by Christopher Columbus
1923 – Juan de la Cierva makes 1st autogiro flight, Spain
1973 – Luna 21 launched, to Moon
1976 – C. W. McCall CB song “Convoy” hits #1 on the country music charts
1976 – Ringo Starr releases “Oh My My” in UK
1984 – Rock band Van Halen release their most successful album “1984”

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Famous Birthdays

1554 – Gregory XV, [Alessandro Ludovisi], pope (1621-23)
1856 – Anton Askerc, Slavic priest/poet (Primoz Trubar)
1857 – Henry B Fuller, American writer (Under the Skylights)
1959 – Mark Martin, American stock car racing driver, born in Batesville, Arkansas
1965 – Joely Richardson, English actress (Body Contact, Wetherby), born in London, England
1969 – Johanna Ikonen, Finnish ice hockey defenseman (Finland, Olympics 1998), born in Eno, Finland

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Famous Deaths

1854 – Filippo Traetta, [Philip Trajetta], Italian composer, dies at 77
1968 – Louis-Francois-Marie Aubert, French composer (Habanera), dies at 90
1990 – Sir Edward McTiernan, Australian jurist, lawyer and politician (b. 1892)
1991 – Chris Baay, Dutch actor (Tomorrow It Will Be Better, Klatergoud, Surprise Raid), dies at 86
1993 – Alois Brunner, German/Syrian commandant of KZ-Lower Drancy, dies
2018 – Tommy Lawrence, Scottish football player and goalkeeper (Liverpool, Tranmere Rovers), dies at 77

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Historical Events

1297 – Monaco gains its independence.
1708 – Spanish armada headed by the San Jose and loaded with gold sunk after British squadron attacks off coast of Colombia (rediscovered 2015)
1902 – The United Irish League, a leading force for unification in all Ireland and independence from Britain, holds its convention in Dublin
1966 – Georges Pompidou re-appointed French Prime Minister and forms new government
2004 – The RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger ship ever built, is christened by her namesake’s granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
2011 – Attempted assassination of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and subsequent shooting in Casas Adobes, Arizona at a Safeway grocery store kills 6 and wounds 13, including Giffords

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Famous Birthdays

1836 – Fannie M Jackson, pioneer and educator, 1st US African American woman college grad
1852 – James Milton Carroll, American pastor and author (d. 1931)
1924 – Benjamin Lees [Lysniansky], American composer, born in Harbin, China (d. 2010)
1942 – Stephen Hawking, English physicist (Black Holes and Baby Universes), born in Oxford, England (d. 2018)
1943 – Lee Jackson, English bass guitarist and singer-songwriter (Nice), born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
1979 – Stipe Pletikosa, Croatian footballer, born in Split, Croatia

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Famous Deaths

1864 – Victor-Charles-Paul Dourlen, composer, dies at 83
1950 – Joseph A Schumpeter, Aus/US economist/Minister of Finance, dies at 66
1979 – Sara Carter, American country musician, songwriter and vocalist (Carter Family), dies at 81
1986 – Mansel Treharne Thomas, Welsh composer, dies at 76
2008 – Clyde Otis, American song writer and music producer (b. c. 1924)
2015 – Curtis Lee, American singer (Pretty Little Angel Eyes), dies at 75

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Historical Events

1579 – England signs an offensive and defensive alliance with Netherland
1896 – Fannie Farmer publishes her first cookbook “The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book”
1922 – The Anglo-Irish Treaty is ratified by Dail Eireann by a 64-57 vote
1982 – “Fame” premieres on NBC TV
1994 – United Express commuter plane crashes in Ohio, killing 5
1996 – 16th United Negro College Fund raises $12,600,000

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Famous Birthdays

1898 – Al Bowlly, British jazz singer (d. 1941)
1911 – Butterfly McQueen [Thelma], American actress (Gone With the Wind, Flame of Barbary Coast), born in Tampa, Florida (d. 1995)
1941 – John E. Walker, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
1966 – Jennifer Luff, Australian rower (Olympics 1996), born in Sydney, Australia
1972 – Donald Brashear, American NHL left wing (Montreal Canadiens), born in Bedford, Indiana
1977 – Dustin Diamond, American actor (Screech-Saved By Bell), born in San Jose, California

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Famous Deaths

1944 – J Verleun, Dutch resistance fighter, executed
1953 – Osa Johnson, American adventurer and filmmaker, dies at 58
1968 – Prof James Smith, South African ichthyologist (b. 1897)
1995 – Murray Rothbard, American economist (b. 1926)
2012 – Ibrahim Aslan, Egyptian author, dies from heart failure at 77
2016 – André Courrèges, French fashion designer, dies at 92

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