Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1966 – 53rd Tour de France won by Lucien Aimar of France
1985 – Last USFL game-Baltimore Stars defeats Oakland Invaders, 28-24
1990 – Sara Martin, of Illinois, crowned America’s Junior Miss
1996 – NY Yankees sweep complete season series in Baltimore for first time
2013 – US Senior Open Men’s Golf, Omaha CC: Kenny Perry wins by 5 strokes ahead of runner-up Fred Funk

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1921 – Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist (1973 Nobel Prize – organometallic compounds), born in Todmorden, England (d. 1996)
1928 – Nancy Olson, American actress (Sunset Boulevard; The Absent-Minded Professor; Pollyanna), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1952 – Jerry Houser, American actor (Slapshot, Summer of ’42, Class of ’44), born in Los Angeles, California
1959 – Susana Martinez, American politician (Governor of New Mexico) 1st female Hispanic US governor, born in El Paso, Texas
1966 – Matthew Fox, American actor (Party of 5, Lost), born in Abington, Pennsylvania

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1614 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian Roman Catholic saint (founder of the Ministers of the Sick), dies at 64
1744 – Immanuel J. Pyra, German poet (Temple of True Poetry), dies at 28
1789 – Jacques de Flesselles, French provost, shot and killed in the early days of the French Revolution at 58
1816 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuela freedom fighter, dies at 66
1984 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (Shaft; The French Connection), dies at 56

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1911 – Great Britain and Japan renew their alliance of 1902 for another four years; the reason Japan joins WWI on the Allies side
1967 – Race riots break out in Newark, New Jersey; 27 die
2012 – Financially troubled Scottish football club, Rangers, is voted into the third division
2018 – Outline of 5,000-year-old henge is discovered at Newgrange, Ireland, through drought and drone footage
2022 – Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees to the Maldives just before leaving office amid nationwide protests and economic unrest

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1895 – Sidney Blackmer, American actor (played Ted Roosevelt in 7 movies, Rosemary’s Baby), born in Salisbury, North Carolina (d. 1973)
1913 – Dave Garroway, American TV host (Today Show, 1951-61), born in Schnectady, New York (d. 1982)
1924 – Carlo Bergonzi, Italian operatic tenor, born in Vidalenzo, Italy (d. 2014)
1941 – Lut Tomsin, Belgian actress and director (Knock on the Door), born in Tongeren, Belgium
1974 – Jarno Trulli, Italian auto racer (Monaco F1 GP 2004; German Formula 3 Series 1996), born in Pescara, Italy

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1762 – James Bradley, English astronomer, 3rd Royal, discovered Earth’s nutation motion, dies at 69
1965 – Photis Kontoglou, Greek writer, painter and iconographer, dies at 69
1997 – Alexandra Danilova, Russian-American ballerina (The Turning Point), dies at 92
2012 – Richard Darryl Zanuck, American Academy Award-winning film producer, dies from a heart attack at 77
2020 – Chuck Hulse, American auto racer (USAC Champ Car Series, 26 x top 10 finishes), dies at 92

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1927 – Yankees slugger Babe Ruth, half way to his MLB record of 60 home runs, smacks #30 off Joe Shautes in 9th inning in New York’s 7-0 win over Cleveland Indians at Dunn Field in Cleveland
1943 – National Committee Freies Deutschland forms
1951 – NY Yankees pitcher Allie Reynolds throws no-hitter in Cleveland against the Indians, his former team, in a 1-0 win
1975 – Sao Tomé e Príncipe gains independence from Portugal (National Day)
1996 – Start of 1st “Super 8’s” tournament in Kuala Lumpur

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1852 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, President of Argentina (1916-22, 1928-30), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1933)
1870 – Louis II [Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi], Prince of Monaco, born in Baden-Baden, Germany (d. 1949)
1912 – Will Bradley [Wilbur Schwichtenberg], American session, jazz, and boogie-woogie trombonist and bandleader (“Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar”), born in Newton, New Jersey (d. 1989)
1935 – Hans Tilkowski, German soccer goalkeeper (39 caps, West Germany; Westfalia Herne, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt), born in Husen, Germany (d. 2020)
1946 – Sian Barbara Allen, American actress (Scream Pretty Peggy), born in Reading, Pennsylvania (d. 2025)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1934 – Ole Evinrude, Norwegian-American industrialist and inventor (outboard marine engine), dies at 57
1990 – Richard R Briggs, dies after short illness at 71
1995 – Ernie Furtado, American jazz double-bassist, dies at 72
1996 – John Boon, English publisher (MiIls and Boon), dies at 79
2004 – Betty Oliphant, co-founder of National Ballet of Canada (b. 1918)

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1616 – Samuel de Champlain returns to Quebec
1859 – Big Ben’s second and current bell first chimes inside the Clock Tower
1864 – Confederate forces led by General Jubal Early begin invasion of Washington, D.C. with the Battle of Fort Stevens
1915 – German cruiser Königsberg sinks off Dar-es-Salam
1995 – Shaggy releases his third studio album “Bombastic” (Grammy Award Best Reggae Album)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1826 – Alexander Afanasyev, Russian ethnographer and folklorist, born in Boguchar, Voronezh Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1871)
1909 – Greta Schoon, German poet, and kindergarten teacher, born in Spetzerfehn, Germany (d. 1991)
1924 – Claus Bremer, German dramatist, born in Hamburg (d. 1996)
1929 – David Kelly, Irish actor (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – “Grandpa Joe”;, Fawlty Towers), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2012)
1990 – Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player (Australian Open 2018), born in Odense, Denmark

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1302 – Robert II, Count of Artois and French soldier, dies in the Battle of the Golden Spurs at 51
1593 – Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1st surrealist painter, dies (birth date unkn)
1874 – Xavier de Mérode, Belgium minister to the Pope in Rome, dies at 54
1998 – Lilí Álvarez, Spanish tennis player (Wimbledon runner-up 1926-28), dies at 93
2022 – Víctor Benítez, Peruvian soccer centre-back / defensive midfielder (11 caps; AC Milan, Roma, Inter Milan, Boca Juniors), dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1924 – Denmark takes Greenland as Norway ends claim
1938 – “Yankee Clipper” completes first passenger flight over Atlantic
1965 – Beatles’ “VI” album goes to number 1 and stays at number 1 for 6 weeks
2019 – Taylor Swift named the world’s highest paid entertainer by Forbes earning $185 million in 2018
2023 – Torrential rains across New England and New York cause historic flooding, especially in Vermont’s capital Montpellier, affecting two million people and causing one death

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1902 – Kurt Alder, German chemist (Nobel 1950), born in Königshütte, Upper Silesia (d. 1958)
1921 – Jean “Jeff” Donnell, American actress (Gidget Goes to Rome, Hoedown, 9 Girls), born in Windham, Maine (d. 1988)
1922 – Herb McKenley, Jamaican athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 400m relay 1952; 3 x silver 1948, 52), born in Pleasant Valley, Clarendon, Jamaica (d. 2007)
1931 – Nick Adams [Nicholas Aloysius Adamshock], American actor (Johnny Yuma-Rebel), born in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania (d. 1968)
1934 – Munir Malik, Pakistani cricket pace bowler (3 Tests, 9 wickets; Karachi, Punjab, Rawalpindi), born in Leiah, Pakistan (d. 2012)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1839 – Fernando Sor, Spanish classical guitarist, and composer (Twelve Studies), dies at 61
1940 – Donald Francis Tovey, British musicologist and composer, dies at 64
1985 – Fernando Pereira, military activist, murdered
2003 – Hartley Shawcross, British lawyer and politician, prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, dies at 101
2023 – Marga Minco [Sara Menco], Dutch journalist and writer (Bitter Herb), dies at 103

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1800 – Mt Vernon Gardens becomes site of first summer theater in US
1900 – The Commonwealth of Australia is established by the British House of Commons
1914 – Boston Red Sox purchase future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth’s contract from minor league Baltimore Orioles
1994 – Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-18 lands after successful trip to Mir spacestation
2024 – Ariane 6, the European Space Agency’s new heavy-lift rocket, blasts off from French Guiana

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1879 – Carlos Chagas, Brazilian sanitary physician, born in Oliveira, Minas Gerais, Empire of Brazil (d. 1934)
1901 – Jester Hairston, American actor (That’s My Mama, Amen), born in Belews Creek, North Carolina (d. 2000)
1929 – (Barton) Lee Hazlewood, American pop-country songwriter, singer, and producer (“Summer Wine”; Nancy Sinatra -“These Boots Are Made For Walkin'”; Frank and Nancy – “Something Stupid”), born in Mannford, Oklahoma (d. 2007)
1941 – Takehide Nakatani, Japanese lightweight judoka (Olympic gold 1964), born in Hiroshima, Japan
1945 – Dean Koontz, American sci-fi author (Star Quest, Beastchild), born in Everett, Pennsylvania

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1893 – George Christopher Cato, Natal pioneer and first mayor of Durban South Africa, dies at 79
1909 – Kasimir Felix Badeni, Premier of Polish/Austria (1895-97), dies at 62
1951 – Egbert Van Alstyne, American popular music songwriter and ragtime pianist (“In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree”; “For Your Boy and My Boy”), dies after a stroke at 73
1972 – Robert Weede [Wiedefeld], American operatic and musical theater baritone (Metropolitan Opera, 1937-48; The Most Happy Fella), dies at 69
2005 – Rafiq Zakaria, Indian politician and Islamic religious cleric, dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1099 – First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on
1663 – King Charles II of England approves the Rhode Island Royal Charter giving royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and freedoms to its colonists, among them Roger Williams
1950 – 33.4 cm rainfall at York, Nebraska (state record)
2014 – Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu instructs his defence forces to “take their gloves off” against Hamas and to take any means necessary to “restore peace” to Israeli citizens
2021 – US President Joe Biden says US troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by August 31, despite increased Taliban gains across the country

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1819 – Alexander Hays, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Franklin, Pennsylvania (d. 1864)
1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and inventor (rigid dirigibles) who founded the Zeppelin airship company, born in Konstanz, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany (d. 1917)
1859 – Hank O’Day, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher/umpire/manager (umpire 10 World Series), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1935)
1898 – Alec Waugh, English novelist (Island in the Sun); brother of Evelyn, born in London, England (d. 1981)
1951 – Greg T. Walker, American rock bassist (Blackfoot), born in Florida [some sources give birthday as Sept. 12]

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1496 – Benedetto Bonfiglio, Italian painter, dies
1930 – Joseph Ward, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (1906-12), dies at 74
1973 – Harry F. V. Edward, British 100m/200m runner (Olympic bronze 1920), dies at 75
1986 – Hyman G. Rickover, US Admiral (father of modern nuclear navy, at 63 years the longest serving US naval officer), dies at 86
1999 – Pete Conrad, American US Navy pilot and NASA astronaut (Gemini 5, Gemini 11, Apollo 12, Skylab 2), dies injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident at 59

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1534 – European colonization of the Americas: first known exchange between Europeans and natives of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in New Brunswick
1814 – Walter Scott’s novel “Waverley” published
1967 – EMI/Parlophone releases The Beatles single “All You Need Is Love” in the UK; it had been introduced to a global audience as part of the BBC’s “Our World” television broadcast 12 days earlier
1980 – The Safra massacre in Lebanon
2002 – A scandal breaks out in the United Kingdom when news reports accuse MI6 of sheltering Abu Qatada, supposed European Al Qaeda leader

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1928 – Ali Sadikin, Indonesian politician and governor of Jakarta (1966-77), born in Sumedang, West Java, Dutch East Indies (d. 2008)
1944 – Tony Jacklin, English golfer (British Open 1969, US Open 1970), born in Scunthorpe, England
1947 – Rob Townsend, British drummer (Family; The Blues Band), born near Frog Island, Leicester, England
1972 – Manfred Stohl, Austrian rally driver, born in Vienna, Austria
1978 – Leonardo Morales, Venezuelan soccer goalkeeper (26 caps; Carabobo, Zulia), born in El Tigre, Venezuela

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1925 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer, dies at 54
1975 – Ruffian, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 1972)
1982 – Bep Bakhuys, Dutch soccer striker (23 caps, 28 goals; Metz), dies at 73
2017 – Egil Monn-Iversen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and conductor (Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, 1981-96), dies at 89
2021 – Dilip Kumar [Muhammad Yusuf Khan], Indian Bollywood actor known as the “Tragedy King” and one of the greatest actors in Indian cinema (Jwar Bhata), dies at 98

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1491 – Opening ceremony of Kyoto’s Daitokuji Shinju at the sub-temple
1957 – Harry S. Truman Library forms in Independence, Missouri
1959 – Saar becomes part of German Federal Republic
1971 – Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda sworn in as President for Life of Malawi
1989 – US marshals and FCC seize pirate radio station WHOT in Brooklyn

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1817 – Albert von Kölliker, Swiss anatomist and histologist (one of the first to interpret tissue structure in terms of cellular elements), born in Zürich, Switzerland (d. 1905)
1856 – Edward Anseele, Belgian socialist politician, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1938)
1884 – Willem Dudok, Dutch architect (town hall Hilversum/Beehive Rotterdam), born in Amsterdam (d. 1974)
1912 – Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer and author (Seven Years in Tibet), born in Hüttenberg, Austria-Hungary (d. 2006)
1940 – Nursultan Nazarbayev, 1st President of Kazakhstan (1990-2019), born in Chemolgan, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1249 – Alexander II, King of Scots (1215-49), dies at 50
1415 – Jan Hus, Bohemian religious reformer burned for heresy by the Church at Constance, Germany (b. 1369)
1879 – Henry Smart, English organist and composer, dies at 65
1952 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian politician, Premier of Quebec (1920-36), dies at 85
1994 – Cameron Mitchell, American actor (The High Chaparral), dies of lung cancer at 75

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1884 – US Congress accept 2nd Chinese Exclusion Act
1963 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: American Chuck McKinley wins his only Grand Slam singles title beating Fred Stolle of Australia 9-7, 6-1, 6-4
1975 – Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Arthur Ashe becomes first African-American to win Wimbledon, beats countryman Jimmy Connors 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
2012 – Former Argentine president and dictator Jorge Rafael Videla is sentenced to 50 years imprisonment for the abduction of about 400 babies born to political prisoners
2022 – Legendary rock guitarist Carlos Santana collapses on stage from dehydration and heat exhaustion in Pine Knob, Michigan

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1829 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican lawyer and diplomat (Secretary of Foreign Affairs), born in Oaxaca, Mexico (d. 1910)
1867 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer and inventor of dendrochronology (tree-ring dating), born in Windsor, Vermont (d. 1962)
1939 – Brian O’Brien, Irish rugby union centre (3 Tests; Munster RFC) and selector (Ireland, British and Irish Lions), born in Limerick, Ireland (d. 2023)
1985 – Stephanie McIntosh, Australian pop singer and actress, born in Malvern, Australia
1991 – Jason Dolley, American actor (Cory in the House), and musician, born in Los Angeles, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1884 – Victor Massé, French composer(Les Noces de Jeannette), dies at 62
1993 – Tom Maguire, Irish revolutionary and commandant-general of the Irish Republican Army, dies at 101
2010 – Bob Probert, Canadian NHL right wing, 1985-2002 (Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings), dies of a heart attack while boating at 45
2021 – William Smith, American actor (Rich Man Poor Man; Any Which Way You Can; Hawaii 5-0), dies at 88
2024 – Yvonne Furneaux [Scatcherd], British actress (La Dolce Vita; Repulsion), dies at 98

More Famous Deaths »