Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1858 – First overland mail to California
1915 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia adjourns 4th Duma
1947 – Typhoon Kathleen hits Saitama, Tokyo, and the Tone River area, killing at least 1,930
1951 – US National League umpire Frank Dascoli clears the Dodgers bench, ejecting 15 players
1993 – Minnesota Twins’ Dave Winfield becomes the 19th player to achieve 3,000 hits

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Famous Birthdays

1921 – Ursula Franklin, German-born Canadian physicist, educator and activist (developed archaeometry), born in Munich, Germany (d. 2016)
1946 – Mike Reynolds, Australian politician (Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland 2006-09), born in Manly, New South Wales
1966 – Kevin Curtis Young, American 400m hurdler, born in Los Angeles, California
1969 – Andrew Borodow, Canadian freestyle wrestler (Olympic 5-92, 96), born in Montreal, Quebec
1995 – Aaron Gordon, American NBA player (Denver Nuggets), born in San Jose, California

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Famous Deaths

1542 – Diego de Almagro II, Spanish conquistador known as “El Mozo,” the son of Diego de Almagro, is executed for his role in fatal a coup d’état attempt at about 21 (birthday uncertain, b. 1520)
1672 – Anne Bradstreet, New England’s first published poet, dies (birth date unknown)
1701 – James II of England and James VII of Scotland [Stuart], King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1685-88), dies at 68
2006 – Rob Levin, creator of Freenode (b. 1955)
2019 – Peter Stormonth Darling, Scottish investment banker (Mercury Asset Management Group, largest fund-management in the UK), dies at 86

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Historical Events

1962 – “Bravo, Giovanni” closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 76 performances
1973 – Carl XVI Gustaf ascends the throne, becoming King of Sweden (1973-present)
1975 – 1st College Football Holy War: Notre Dame beats Boston College 17-3 in Foxborough
1996 – Bangladesh beat UAE by 104 runs to win the ACC Trophy Final
2013 – 27 people are killed after a coal mine collapses in Afghanistan

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Famous Birthdays

1685 – Gottfried Kirchhoff, German organist and composer, chiefly of sacred music, born in Mühlbeck, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1746)
1816 – Edward Wolff, Polish pianist and composer, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1880)
1889 – Robert Benchley, American humorist (My 10 Years in a Quandary), born in Worcester, Massachusetts (d. 1945)
1907 – Jack Bailey, American TV host (Queen for a Day), born in Hampton, Iowa (d. 1980)
1914 – Creighton Abrams, American general (commander of American forces in the Vietnam War, 1968-72), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 1974)

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Famous Deaths

1932 – Charles H. Gabriel, American gospel composer, dies at 76
1972 – Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Turkish pianist, composer – one of “The Turkish Five” (Köçekçe – Dance Rhapsody for Orchestra), and pedagogue, dies from a stroke at 66
2006 – Raymond Baxter, British television presenter (b. 1922)
2023 – Burhan Sargun, Turkish soccer forward (8 caps, 7 goals; Fenerbahçe SK), dies at 94
2024 – Gheorghe Mulțescu, Romanian soccer midfielder (16 caps; Jiul Petroșani 239 games) and manager (Dinamo București, Samsunspor), dies at 72

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Historical Events

1867 – Karl Marx publishes “Das Kapital” Volume 1, his theory of the Capitalist system and how it is doomed to destroy itself
1939 – British fleet attacks German U-39 boat
1940 – WWII: German Blitz in England continues, bomb drops in London, Clacton, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, Southampton, Bournemouth, Hastings, Brighton, Warrington, Chelsea, Fulham, and Lewisham, among other places, result in 94 civilian deaths and 426 injured
1986 – Bo Jackson hits his first home run, a 475-foot blast, the longest at Royals Stadium
1989 – Jeff Reardon is 1st to record 30 saves in 5 consecutive seasons

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Famous Birthdays

1869 – Kid Nichols, American Baseball HOF pitcher (3 × NL wins leader; All-Time Saves Leader 1899–1906; Boston Beaneaters, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies) and manager (St. Louis Cardinals 1904–05), born in Madison, Wisconsin (d. 1953)
1898 – Ernest Nash, German-American photographer and archaeologist, born in Nowawes, Germany (d. 1974)
1939 – Guy Webster, American celebrity portrait photographer, album cover artist (The Byrds; The Mamas and the Papas; Taj Mahal; Rolling Stones), and educator, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2019)
1971 – Andre Matos, Brazilian singer and musician (Symfonia), born in São Paulo, Brazil
1981 – Miyavi [Takamasa Ishihara], Japanese guitarist, singer (“Snakes”) and actor (Unbroken), born in Osaka, Japan

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Famous Deaths

1435 – John Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford, English prince, general (Hundred Years’ War) and statesman, dies at 46
1782 – Nicholas Cooke, American mariner, slave trader, and politician (1st Governor of Rhode Island, 1776-78), dies at 65
1979 – Raymond Loucheur, French composer, dies at 80
1999 – André Kostolany, Hungarian stock market expert and speculator, dies at 93
2005 – Vladimir Volkoff, French writer (b. 1932)

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Historical Events

1800 – Curacao in British hands (until Jan 1803)
1918 – Train accident at Weesp Netherlands, kills 42
1969 – San Francisco Giant Bobby Bonds is baseballs 4th 30-HR, 30-steal player
1973 – ABC announces it obtained TV rights for 1976 Olympics
1999 – Bomb explodes in Moscow, Russia, killing at least 119 people

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Famous Birthdays

1893 – Larry Shields, American jazz clarinetist (Original Dixieland Jazz Band), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1953)
1903 – Claudette Colbert, French-born American actress (It Happened One Night, Texas Lady), born in Paris (d. 1996)
1980 – Evangelos Nastos, Greek footballer, born in Thessaloniki, Greece
1982 – Nenê, Brazilian basketball player (Houston Rockets), born in São Carlos, Brazil
1996 – Playboi Carti [Jordan Carter], American rapper (Whole Lotta Red), born in Riverdale, Georgia

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Famous Deaths

1759 – James Wolfe, British Army officer who defeated the French in Canada and captured Quebec, dies in battle at 32
1902 – John Horace Forney, American engineer and Major General in Confederate Army, dies at 73
1906 – Georges Jacobi, German violinist, composer (The Black Crook), and conductor (Alhambra Theatre, London, 1872-98), dies at 66
1971 – Paul Blackburn, American poet, and editor (Black Mountain Review), dies of esophageal cancer at 44
2001 – Jaroslav Drobný, Czech ice hockey player (Olympic silver 1948) and tennis player (Wimbledon 1954, French Open 1951-52), dies of a stroke at 79

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Historical Events

2001 – Ansett Australia, Australia’s first commercial interstate airline, collapses due to increased strain on the international airline industry, leaving 10,000 people unemployed
2004 – US Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer of Switzerland wins his first US title, outclassing Australian Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6, 6-0
2017 – A monster fatberg, 250 meters long, the size of 11 buses, and weighing 130 tons, is found in sewers under East London
2021 – 40th MTV Video Music Awards: Lil Nas X, Justin Bieber, and Olivia Rodrigo win
2024 – Crew of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission takes the first commercial spacewalk during a five-day journey through Earth’s orbit, traveling the farthest in space of any human since NASA’s Apollo program

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Famous Birthdays

1894 – Billy Gilbert, American actor (Great Dictator, His Gal Friday), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1971)
1934 – Edward Wistenberg, Dutch concert harpist and pedagogue, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1961 – Christiane Jolissaint, Swiss tennis star, born in Vevey, Switzerland
1968 – Paul F. Tompkins, American comedian and actor (BoJack Horseman, Mr. Show with Bob and David), born in Mount Airy, Pennsylvania
1969 – Shigeki Maruyama, Japanese golfer (3 PGA Tour titles; Presidents Cup 1998, 2000), born in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture

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Famous Deaths

1591 – Richard Grenville, English privateer, explorer, politician and vice-admiral (established Roanoke colony), dies fighting a rearguard action as a result of the naval Battle of Flores at 49
1732 – Jean Philippe Eugène de Mérode, Belgian nobleman (Marquis of Westerloo), dies at 58
1806 – Christian Gottfried Thomas, German composer, publisher, and musicologist, dies at 58
1869 – Peter Mark Roget, British lexicographer (Roget’s Thesaurus) and inventor (slide rule, pocket chessboard), dies at 90
1977 – Steven Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist, dies in police custody at 30

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Historical Events

1950 – First typesetting machine to dispense with metal type is exhibited
1956 – Vladimir Kuts runs a world record 10,000 m in 28:42.8
1971 – Egypt adopts its constitution
2005 – US Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer retains his title, beating Andre Agassi 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-1; Agassi’s last appearance in a Grand Slam final
2018 – Imprisoned Brazilian Ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva abandons his presidential campaign

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Famous Birthdays

1862 – Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, British army officer, born in Wrotham Park, Hertfordshire, England (d. 1935)
1937 – Paola Ruffo di Calabria, Italian princess and Queen of Belgium (1993-2013), born in Villa Claudia, Forte dei Marmi, Italy
1969 – Eduardo Perez, American baseball player, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
1972 – Kip Simons, American gymnast (Olympic 5th 1996), born in Media, Pennsylvania
1980 – Antônio Pizzonia, Brazilian race car driver, born in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

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Famous Deaths

1987 – Lorne Greene [Lyon Chaim Green], Canadian actor (Bonanza – “Ben Cartwright”; Battlestar Galactica), dies of pneumonia following heart surgery at 72
1987 – Ludovic Feldman, Romanian violinist and composer, dies at 94
2001 – Tom Burnett, American businessman and passenger aboard United 93, dies thwarting terrorist attempts to crash the plane into a Washington monument at 38
2005 – Chris Schenkel, American sportscaster (ABC Wide World of Sports), dies of emphysema at 82
2022 – Alain Tanner, Swiss film director (Charles, Dead or Alive), dies at 92

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Historical Events

1849 – Famous American actor Edwin Booth makes his stage debut at age 15 in Richard III in Boston
1937 – Second American Football League plays first game (LA 21, Pittsburgh 0)
1962 – US National Championship Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Australian Margaret Smith beats defending champion Darlene Hard 9-7, 6-4 for her first US singles crown
1980 – Expos’ Bill Gullickson sets a rookie record by striking out 18
1995 – 47th Emmy Awards: NYPD Blue, ER, Frasier, and Candice Bergen win

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Famous Birthdays

1645 – Romeyn de Hooghe, Dutch painter and goldsmith, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1708)
1753 – John Soane, English architect (Bank of England, Soane Museum), born in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England (d. 1837)
1786 – Nicolás Bravo, Mexican politician and soldier, born in Chilpancingo, Mexico (d. 1854)
1919 – Lex van Delden [Alexander Zwaap], Dutch composer (The Bird of Freedom), and writer (Canto della Guerra), born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, (d. 1988)
1976 – Greg Henderson, New Zealand track cyclist (World C’ship gold scratch race 2004), born in Dunedin, New Zealand

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Famous Deaths

1676 – Gerrard Winstanley, English religious reformer (b. 1609)
1765 – Jacob Gilles, Grand Pensionary of Holland, dies at about 74
1961 – Wolfgang von Trips, German auto racer (29 x F1 GP, 2 wins), dies in 1961 Italian Grand Prix (with 15 spectators) at 33
1993 – Janice Carroll, American actress (End, April Fools), dies of cancer at 61
2007 – Anita Roddick, English businesswoman and cosmetic manufacturer (Body Shop), dies at 64

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Historical Events

1683 – Expelled Polish and Lotharingians reach Wienerwald
1939 – Nazi Army reaches Warsaw
1944 – US 113th cavalry passes Belgian-Dutch borders
1981 – Vernon E. Jordan resigns as president of National Urban League in the US
1987 – Gary Hart admits on “Nightline” to cheating on his wife

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – John Heaton, American sledder (Olympic silver skeleton 1928, 48, bronze bobsled 1932; American team’s flag bearer 1948), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1976)
1931 – Bill Persky, American Emmy Award-winning screenwriter (The Dick Van Dyke Show), producer (That Girl), and television director, born in New York City
1943 – Larry Hosford, American folk singer-songwriter (The King Takes The Queen), born in Salinas, California (d. 2016)
1956 – Avi Wigderson, Israeli mathematician and computer scientist (2023 Turing Prize for randomness), born in Haifa, Israel
1962 – Aleta Rzepecki Sill, American bowler (1983 WIBC single), born in Detroit, Michigan

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Famous Deaths

1974 – Soltan Hajibeyov, Azerbaijani composer and People’s Artist of the USSR, dies at 55
1975 – Ethel Griffies, English actress (Billy Liar, Birds), dies at 97
1997 – Burgess Meredith, American stage and screen actor (Mr Novak; Of Mice and Men; Batman (TV) – “The Penguin”; Rocky), dies at 88
2011 – Jean-Paul Jeannotte, Canadian operatic tenor, educator (Lavall, 1964-79), and artistic director (Opéra de Montréal, 1980-89), dies at 95
2024 – Cecília Gáspár, Hungarian soccer midfielder and captain (28 caps; TSV Crailsheim, SGS Essen), dies at 39

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Historical Events

1796 – Battle of Bassano: Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army defeats the Austrian forces during the French Revolutionary Wars
1923 – Honda Point Disaster: Nine US Navy destroyers run aground off the California coast, and seven are lost
1966 – The Severn Bridge between England and Wales is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II
1985 – Alayson Gibbons sets a 24-hour women’s swim record of 42.05 miles in a 25-meter pool
2022 – Australian Stephanie Gilmore wins her eighth world surfing title at Lower Trestles, California, making her the most successful women’s champion in history

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Famous Birthdays

1857 – Ida Henrietta Hyde, American physiologist who invented the micro-electrode and the first woman allowed to do research at Harvard Medical School and to be elected to the American Physiology Society, born in Davenport, Iowa (d. 1945)
1894 – Willem Pijper, Dutch composer and music critic, born in Zeist, Netherlands (d. 1947)
1927 – Charles “Specs” Wright, American jazz drummer (Dizzy Gillespie; Cannonball Adderly; Red Garland), born in Philadelphia, Philadelphia (d. 1963)
1930 – Jeannette Altwegg, English figure skater (Olympic gold 1952), born in Bombay, India (d. 2021)
1991 – Joe Sugg, English Youtuber and actor (Strictly Come Dancing), born in Lacock, England

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Famous Deaths

1656 – Joseph Hall, English bishop and writer (Virgidemiarum: Six Books), dies at 82
1935 – Carl Weiss, American physician who murdered US Senator Huey Long, shot and killed by the senator’s bodyguards at 28
1995 – Halldis Moren Vesaas, Norwegian author and poet (Harp and Dagger), dies at 87
2005 – Noel Cantwell, Irish cricketer and footballer (b. 1932)
2018 – Tito Capobianco, Argentinian stage impresario, dies at 87

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Historical Events

1941 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: 1939 champion Bobby Riggs beats Frank Kovacs 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3
1942 – First flight of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator
1945 – Joe Kuhel hits an inside-the-park home run, the only homer hit by a member of the Washington Senators team all season at their home field, Griffith Stadium
1985 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Hana Mandlíková beats Martina Navratilova 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 for her first US title
1988 – Guy Lafleur, Tony Esposito, and Brad Park are inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame

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Famous Birthdays

1923 – Louise Suggs, American golfer and co-founder of LPGA (11 major titles, US Open 1949, 52), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2015)
1941 – Mogoboya Noko Nelson Ramodike, South African politician in Lebowa, born in South Africa (d. 2012)
1959 – Jermaine Stewart, American RandB singer (“We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off”), born in Columbus, Ohio (d. 1997)
1967 – Leslie Jones, American comedian and actress (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters), born in Memphis, Tennessee
1980 – Sara Carrigan, Australian cyclist (Olympic gold, road race 2004), born in Gunnedah, New South Wales

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Famous Deaths

1819 – Jean-Louis Duport, French cellist and composer, dies at 69
1892 – Joseph Reid Anderson, American Confederate general and owner of munitions company Tredegar Iron Company, dies at 79
2006 – Robert Earl Jones, American actor (The Sting, Witness, Sleepaway Camp), dies of natural causes at 96
2008 – Don Haskins, American College Basketball Hall of Fame coach (Texas El Paso 1961-99; NCAA Tournament 1966), dies at 78
2017 – Gene Michael, American baseball shortstop, and general manger (NY Yankees), dies of a heart attack at 79

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