Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1683 – 13 Mennonite families from Germany found Germantown, Philadelphia
1912 – Pirates’ Owen “Chief” Wilson hits a record 36th triple of the season
1961 – USSR performs nuclear tests at Kapustin Yar and Novaya Zemlya, USSR
1969 – MLB American League Championship: Baltimore Orioles beat Minnesota Twins, 3 games to 0
1978 – Iraq declares Ayatollah Khomeini an undesirable person

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Famous Birthdays

1706 – Pieter Steyn, Dutch grand pensionary (1749-72), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1772)
1926 – Cyril Reuben, Welsh classical and session violinist (London Symphony), born in Splott, Cardiff, Wales (d. 1996)
1936 – Anna Quayle, British actress (A Hard Day’s Night, Stop the World – I want to Get Off), born in Birmingham, England (d. 2019)
1960 – Richard Jobson, Scottish filmmaker (New Town Killers), art-punk rock singer-songwriter (Skids – “Scared to Dance”), and TV presenter, born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland
1986 – Olivia Thirlby, American actress (Juno, Dredd), born in New York City

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Famous Deaths

1979 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (North and South, Pulitzer Prize 1956), dies of a cerebral aneurysm at 68
1981 – Anwar Sadat, 3rd President of Egypt (1970-81, Nobel 1978), assassinated by fundamentalist army officers at 62
1999 – Patrick Reilly, British diplomat, ambassador to Paris and Moscow who stopped double agent Kim Philby becoming head of the UK Secret Service, dies at 90
2006 – Puck Brouwer, Dutch athlete (b. 1930)
2009 – Douglas Campbell, Scottish born Canadian actor (b. 1922)

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Historical Events

1908 – Chicago White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh beats the Detroit Tigers 6-1 for his 40th victory of the MLB season, forcing the AL pennant race to the final day
1963 – Little Richard joins the Everly Brothers’ tour
1963 – Hyde St Pier reopens as a State Historical Park
1964 – KIXE TV channel 9 in Redding, CA (PBS) begins broadcasting
2001 – MLB’s Atlanta Braves become the first professional sports team to win 10 consecutive division titles after defeating the Marlins 20-3 to clinch the NL East title; NBA’s Boston Celtics (1957-65) and LA Lakers (1982-90) both win 9 in a row

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Famous Birthdays

1758 – Thomas Greatorex, English composer, born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England (d. 1831)
1894 – Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1920), born in Kimberley, South Africa (d. 1948)
1935 – Jimmy Binks, English cricket wicket-keeper (England twice v India 1964), born in Hull, Yorkshire, England
1942 – Richard Street, American RandB musician (The Temptations, 1971-93 – “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2013)
1952 – Imran Khan, 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (2018-2022) and cricket all-rounder (88 Tests, 3,807 runs, 362 wickets), born in Lahore, Pakistan

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Famous Deaths

1805 – Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general and colonial administrator (leading British general in the American War of Independence), dies of fever at 66
1954 – Oscar Charleston, American Baseball HOF CF (NgL Triple Crown 1921 St. Louis Giants, 1924, 25 Harrisburg Giants) and manager (NgL WS 1933, 35, 36 Pittsburgh Crawfords), dies of a stroke at 57
1997 – Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler, dies at 35
2001 – Lou Zara, American writer (Stump the Authors), dies at 91
2006 – Jennifer Moss, English Actress (b. 1945)

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Historical Events

1777 – Battle of Germantown: Gen George Washington’s troops attack and are defeated by the British at Germantown, Pennsylvania
1944 – British troops land on Greek mainland
1992 – Bijlmer Air Disaster: El Al cargo plane crashes into an apartment building in Bijlmer, Amsterdam, killing at least 47 people
1994 – Soyuz TM-20 launches
2003 – Red Raiders’ quarterback B.J. Symons sets a Big 12 Conference record with 8 touchdown passes, leading Texas Tech to a convincing 59-28 win over Texas A and M

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Famous Birthdays

1880 – Damon Runyon, American journalist and writer (Guys and Dolls-based on his work), born in Manhattan, Kansas (d. 1946)
1887 – Francis Bull, Norwegian writer (Norsk literature historian), born in Oslo, Norway (d. 1974)
1895 – Giovanni Brunero, Italian road cyclist (Giro d’Italia General classification 1921, 22, 26), born in San Maurizio Canavese, Italy (d. 1934)
1903 – Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Austrian nazi (SS/SD), born in Ried im Innkreis, Austria-Hungary (d. 1946)
1952 – Anita Luceete Defrantz, American rower (Olympic bronze 1976; first female vice-president IOC executive committee), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

1749 – Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier whose unit is considered one of the worst in European history due to insubordination and plundering, dies in captivity at 38
1904 – Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, French sculptor (designed the Statue of Liberty), and painter, dies of tuberculosis at 70
1943 – Richard T. Ely, American economist and author (Ground under our feet), dies at 89
1993 – Fran Carlon, dies of cancer at 80
2018 – Hamiet Bluiett, American jazz baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer (World Saxophone Quartet – “Hattie Wall’), dies at 78

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Historical Events

1974 – Future Basketball Hall of Fame guard Jerry West (“Mr. Clutch”) retires after 14 NBA seasons with the LA Lakers; West scores 25,192 career points and averages 29.1 ppg in 153 playoff games
1993 – Battle at TV station Ostankino, Moscow town hall; about 25 killed
2004 – New England Patriots win their 18th consecutive NFL game, beating the Buffalo Bills 31-17 at Ralph Wilson Stadium; Tom Brady goes 17-for-30 for 298 yards and two touchdowns
2015 – Host nation England crashes out of the Rugby World Cup in the pool stage, losing to Australia 33-13 at Twickenham; Bernard Foley scores 2 tries and kicks 4 penalties and 3 conversions for the Wallabies
2021 – Pandora Papers investigation reveals secret wealth of 30 current and former world leaders including Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Czech PM Andrej Babis and former UK PM Tony Blair

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Famous Birthdays

1938 – Dave Obey, American politician (US Representative from Wisconsin, 1969-2011), and lobbyist, born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma
1939 – Velibor Vasović, Serbian soccer sweeper (32 caps Yugoslavia; Partizan Belgrade, Ajax) and manager (Partizan, PSG, Red Star Belgrade), born in Požarevac, Serbia (d. 2002)
1944 – Roy Horn, German-American Las Vegas entertainer (Siegfried and Roy), born in Nordenham, Germany (d. 2020)
1946 – (Richard) “Biff” Henderson, American television personality (Late Night/Late Show with David Letterman), born in Durham, North Carolina
1950 – Pamela Hensley, American actress (Buck Rogers in 25th Century), born in Glendale, California

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Famous Deaths

1703 – Pieter van Wooden, Amersfoorts rebel leader, beheaded
1919 – Daniel Brink Towner, American hymn composer (“He’s A Friend of Mine”; “Though the Fig Tree Shall Not Blossom”), and music director, dies at 69
1990 – Stefano Casiraghi, Italian speedboat racer, businessman and husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, dies in a motor boat race at 30
2022 – Charles Fuller, American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (A Soldier’s Play; Zooman and the Sign; The Brownsville Raid), and screenwriter (A Soldier’s Story; A Gathering of Old Men), dies at 83
2023 – Bob Wagner, American college football coach (University of Hawaiʻi 1988-95), dies at 76

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Historical Events

1908 – Cleveland Naps and future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Addie Joss hurl a classic perfect game, beating Ed Walsh and the Chicago White Sox 1-0
1910 – Henry Wijnmalen flies to an altitude of 2,800 meters, setting a world record
1972 – Montreal Expos pitcher Bill Stoneman no-hits the New York Mets 7-0 at Parc Jarry, the first MLB no-hitter ever pitched in Canada
1977 – Austrian Ferrari driver Niki Lauda finishes fourth in the US Grand Prix East at Watkins Glen to clinch his second Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, while Englishman James Hunt wins the race
1988 – In a season-ending 7-5 win in St. Louis, NY Mets outfielder Kevin McReynolds sets an MLB record by stealing 21 bases without being caught during the season

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Famous Birthdays

1832 – Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (Primitive Culture), born in London (d. 1917)
1873 – Stephen Warfield Gambrill, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland), born in Savage, Maryland (d. 1938)
1879 – Wallace Stevens, American poet (Ideas of Order), born in Reading, Pennsylvania (d. 1955)
1933 – Dimiter Khristov, Bulgarian composer, born in Sofia, Bulgaria (d. 2017)
1963 – Keith Bradshaw, Australian cricket administrator (Secretary and Chief Executive Marylebone Cricket Club; CEO South Australian Cricket), born in Hobart, Australia (d. 2021)

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Famous Deaths

1564 – Andreas Vesalius [Andries van Wesel], Flemish physician and anatomist (De humani corporis fabrica), dies after being shipwrecked at 49
1892 – Ernest Renan, French philosopher, historian and scholar of religion, dies at 69
1916 – Benjamin Kidd, English sociologist (Social Evolution), dies of heart disease at 58
1958 – Marie Stopes, British birth control pioneer, dies at 77
1970 – Bo Linde, Swedish neo-classical composer, dies at 37

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Historical Events

1606 – Spanish troops under Spinola occupy Fort Rhine Birch
1958 – Britain transfers Christmas Island (south of Java) to Australia
1979 – Nigeria adopts a constitution, and Alhaji Shagari becomes president
1981 – US’s largest private investment bank, Salomon Brothers, is sold to commodities trader Phibro Corporation for $483 million
1990 – Meteorite explodes above Pacific Ocean

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Famous Birthdays

1901 – Jimmie Reese, American baseball infielder and coach (LA Angels Hall of Fame), born in New York City (d. 1994)
1967 – Mike Pringle, American Canadian Football Hall of Fame running back (CFL MOP 1995, 98; Montreal Alouettes), born in Los Angeles, California
1972 – Danielle Scott-Arruda, American volleyball middle blocker (International Volleyball HOF; Olympic silver 2008, 12), born in Baton Rouge Louisiana
1981 – Deborah James, British teacher, journalist, author (You, Me and the Big C), and charity campaigner, born in London, England (d. 2022)
1986 – Jurnee Smollett-Bell, American actress (Lovecraft Country), born in New York City

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Famous Deaths

1500 – John Alcock, English bishop and chancellor (founded Jesus College, Cambridge), dies at about 70
1901 – Abdur Rahman Khan, Emir of Afghanistan (1880-1901)
1947 – Olive Borden, “the Joy Girl,” American silent film and stage actress (Chloe, Love Is Calling You; 3 Bad Men, Fig Leaves), dies of a stomach ailment and pneumonia at 40
1979 – Roy Harris, American composer (When Johnny Comes Marching Home: An American Overture), dies at 81
2019 – Karel Gott, Czech singer ‘Sinatra of the East’, dies at 80

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Historical Events

1520 – Suleiman the Magnificent succeeds his father, Selim I, as Ottoman Sultan and rules until 1566
1965 – LA Dodger Don Drysdale (23-12) wins his 13th straight game, 7 of which are shutouts
1984 – The Kansas City Chiefs set a team record by registering 11 sacks against the Cleveland Browns in a 10-6 victory
1986 – US releases Soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov
2012 – Car bomb blasts kill at least 32 people across Iraq

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Famous Birthdays

1800 – Decimus Burton, British architect (Hyde Park, Palm House Kew Gardens), born in London, England (d. 1881)
1917 – Yuri “Petrovich” Lyubimov, Soviet director (Taganka Theatre), born in Yaroslavl, Russia (d. 2014)
1933 – Emily “Cissy” Houston (née Drinkard), American Grammy Award-winning soul and gospel singer, and Whitney’s mother, born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2024)
1943 – Jody Powell, American White House press secretary for Jimmy Carter, born in Cordele, Georgia (d. 2009)
1963 – Cristina Marsillach, Spanish actress (Barocco), born in Madrid, Spain

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Famous Deaths

1581 – Hubert Languet, French diplomat and reformer (b. 1518)
1986 – Storm Jameson, English writer and critic, dies at 95
2004 – Justin Strzelczyk, American NFL football offensive tackle, 1990-98 (Pittsburgh Steelers), dies in high speed car crash while being pursued by police at 36; autopsy revealed brain damage due to chronic concussion injuries
2014 – Martin Lewis Perl, American physicist (1995 Nobel Prize for Physics for discovery of the tau lepton particle), dies from a heart attack at 87
2017 – Vladimir Voevodsky, Russian-American mathematician (homotopy theory, motivic cohomology), dies of an aneurysm at 51

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Historical Events

1227 – Pope Gregory IX excommunicates German emperor Frederick II
1789 – US War Department establishes a regular army
1927 – Yankees slugger Babe Ruth ties MLB record by hitting grand slams in consecutive games in New York’s 7-4 win against the Philadelphia A’s and 15-4 rout of the Washington Senators
1957 – NFL NY Giants play their last game at the Polo Grounds, a 9-1 loss to Pittsburgh
2001 – Farm Aid 14 held in Noblesville, Indiana; performers include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Doobie Brothers, and Martina McBride

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Famous Birthdays

1893 – Phillips Tead, American character actor (The Front Page; Lightnin’; Fighting Blade; The Adventures of Superman – “Professor Pepperwinkle”), born in Somerville, Massachusetts (d. 1974)
1928 – Eric Lubbock, Lord Avebury, English politician and human rights advocate (Liberal MP for Orpington 1962-70), born in Orpington, England (d. 2016)
1956 – James Donald Halsell Jr, American retired USAF officer and astronaut (STS 65, 74, 83, 94), born in West Monroe, Louisiana
1970 – Emily Lloyd [Pack], British actress (Wish You Were Here; Cookie; In Country), born in London, England
1972 – Robert Webb, British actor, comedian, and writer (Jeremy “Jez” Usborne- “Peep Show”), born in Boston, Lincolnshire

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Famous Deaths

1598 – Floris van Pallandt, Dutch Count of Culemborg, dies at about 61
1951 – Bradley Barker, American silent actor and film director, dies at 68
1989 – August A. “Gussie” Busch Jr., American brewing magnate (chairman Anheuser-Busch 1946-75) and baseball executive (owner St. Louis Cardinals 1953-89), dies at 90
2008 – Hayden Carruth, American poet (The Crow and the Heart), dies at 87
2019 – Larry Willis, American jazz pianist and composer, dies of an aneurysm at 76

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Historical Events

1767 – VOC government bans importation of Southeast Asian slaves into the Cape because they are considered dangerous (not observed)
1839 – British Association expedition to Antarctica ships Erebus and Terror set sail from England to attempt to locate the magnetic South Pole
1911 – The NY Highlanders get 13 walks and steal 15 bases, including a record six in one inning, beating the Browns 18-12; each team commits six errors
1962 – Paddington tram depot fire destroys 65 trams in Brisbane, Australia.
2008 – MLB Boston Red Sox retire Johnny Pesky’s jersey (number 6)

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Famous Birthdays

1901 – Ed Sullivan, American newspaper columnist, and television host (The Ed Sullivan Show), born in New York City (d. 1974)
1908 – Marin Goleminov, Bulgarian violinist, composer, and pedagogue, born in Kyustendil, Bulgaria (d. 2000)
1938 – John Schultz, Australian Football HOF ruckman (Brownlow Medal 1960; All Australian 1961; Victoria 24 games; Footscray FC), born in Boort, Australia (d. 2024)
1961 – Michael-James Wixted, American actor (Smith Family), born in Santa Monica, California
1966 – Puri Jagannadh, Indian film director (Pokiri), born in Pithapuram, Andhra Pradesh

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Famous Deaths

1884 – Fred Morley, English cricket fast bowler, (4 Tests, 16 wickets, BB 5/56; Nottinghamshire CCC), dies at 33
1965 – Eddie Gribbon, American actor (Keystone Kops), dies after long illness at 75
1993 – Peter De Vries, American author (Reuben, Reuben; The Prick of Noon) and editor (New Yorker), dies at 83
2023 – M. S. Swaminathan, Indian agricultural scientist, leader of the green revolution in India, dies at 98
2024 – Kris Kristofferson, American country singer-songwriter (“Me And Bobby McGee”; “Help Me Make It Through The Night”), and actor (Amerika; Millennium; A Star Is Born), dies at 88

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Historical Events

1942 – The NY Giants beat the Washington Redskins 14-7 without making a first down
1983 – South African workers’ union leader Curnick Ndlovu is freed from prison after 19 years
1992 – ASPCA stops Santeria ceremony in Bronx, halting the sacrifice of 42 animals
2008 – Greg Maddux wins the 355th and final start of his career
2014 – 57 people are killed after Mount Ontake erupts in Japan

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Famous Birthdays

1946 – T.C. Cannon, Native American artist (Kiowa/Caddo), born in Lawton, Oklahoma (d. 1978)
1947 – Mary Jo White, American lawyer and Chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, born in Kansas City, Missouri
1948 – A Martinez, American actor (L.A. Law; Santa Barbara), born in Glendale, California
1983 – Jeon Hye-bin, Korean actress known for “Revolutionary Sisters”, born in Namyangju, South Korea
1984 – Paul Bevan, Australian rules footballer (Sydney Swans), born in Australia

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Famous Deaths

1737 – John Sidney, 6th Earl of Leicester, English privy councillor, dies at 57
1868 – Alexander Walewski, French earl and Foreign Minister, dies at 58
1955 – Henri Liebrecht, Belgian playwright and journalist, dies at 71
1994 – Gerald Bledsoe, American broadcaster (Soul Alive, WWRL), dies of a heart attack at 51
2012 – Herbert Lom, Czech-born British actor (Pink Panther, Dorian Gray), dies at 95

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