Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1529 – Zürich and Catholic cantons sign Peace of Kappel
1813 – Battle of Beaver Dams – British and native forces defeat US forces (War of 1812)
1841 – Fordham University (then St John’s College), opens in the Bronx
1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot is assassinated in Lyon by Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio
1972 – South African runner Danie Malan sets a new 1,000m world record 2:16.0 in Munich, Germany

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Famous Birthdays

1813 – Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman and orator (Independent), born in Litchfield, Connecticut (d. 1887)
1919 – Albert “Al” Molinaro, American actor (The Odd Couple, Happy Days), born in Kenosha, Wisconsin (d. 2015)
1939 – William Taylor, American banking regulator (Chairman of FDIC, 1991-92), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1992)
1965 – Uwe Krupp, NHL ice hockey defenseman, 1986-2003 (2 x All- Star; 2 x Stanley Cup; Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, and 3 other teams; Olympics. 1998 (Germany)), and European coach, born in Cologne, Germany
1977 – Dimos Dikoudis, Greek basketball forward (EuroLeague, Triple Crown, FIBA EuroStar 2007; Greek Basket League HOF; AEK Athens, Valencia BC), born in Larissa, Greece

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Famous Deaths

1991 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-born American novelist, known for “Careful He Might Hear You”, dies at 73
1991 – Rufino Tamayo, Mexican painter, dies at 91
1992 – Juris Podnieks, Latvian filmmaker (Commandant), drowns while scuba diving at 41
1992 – Tom Alexander, American model, and actor (Forbidden Dance; Dream A Little Evil), dies of AIDS at 29
2024 – Shifty Shellshock [Seth Binzer], American musician (Crazy Town), dies of a drug overdose at 49

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Historical Events

1758 – Seven Years’ War: Battle of Krefeld – British forces defeat French troops at Krefeld in Germany
1760 – Battle of Landshut Silesia: Austria beats Prussia
1944 – German writer Thomas Mann becomes a US citizen
1967 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin hold 1st of 2 summit meetings in Glassboro, New Jersey (about halfway between NYC and Washington, DC)
1988 – Yanks manager Billy Martin’s 5th term ends, Lou Pinella named manager

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Ernst Rowohlt, German publisher (Rowohlt-Verlag), born in Bremen, Germany (d. 1960)
1925 – Nuno Oliveira, Portuguese equestrian, horse trainer, dressage instructor, author (‘baroque’ or ‘classical’ style), born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1989)
1937 – Martti Ahtisaari, Finnish politician, and diplomat, President of Finland (1994-2000), Nobel Peace Prize 2008 for helping resolve international conflicts, born in Viipuri, Finland (d. 2023)
1944 – Clive Barker, South African soccer coach (South Africa 1994-97; AmaZulu FC), born in Durban, South Africa (d. 2023)
1978 – Memphis Bleek [Malik Cox], American rapper (“Is That Yo Chick”), born in New York City

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Famous Deaths

1615 – Mashita Nagamori, Japanese warlord (b. 1545)
1891 – George Parr, English cricket batsman (captain first England touring team [North America 1859], second tour [Australia and NZ 1864]), dies at 65
1991 – Bill Buysman, Dutch guitarist/singer (Kilima Hawaiians), dies
2013 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, American blues an soul singer (“Call on the Drummer”), dies at 83
2016 – Ralph Stanley, American bluegrass musician, dies at 89

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Historical Events

1596 – Cornelis de Houtman’s Dutch fleet reaches Bantam (Banten), Java
1981 – Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr is impeached and removed from office, several of his associates are executed and he goes into hiding
1984 – Calvin Griffith signs letter of intent to sell ownership of Twins
1992 – Supreme Court rules “hate crime” laws violated free-speech rights
2023 – US President Joe Biden meets with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House

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Famous Birthdays

1900 – Jennie Tourel [Davidovich], Russian-American mezzo-soprano (Paris Opera, 1931-38; Metropolitan Opera,1937-47), born in Vitebsk, Russian Empire (d. 1973)
1910 – Peter Pears, British operatic tenor (Death in Venice), born in Farnham, England (d. 1986)
1958 – Bruce Campbell, American actor/producer/director (Army of Darkness, Evil Dead II), born in Birmingham, Michigan
1973 – Carson Daly, American television personality (The Voice), born in Santa Monica, California
1994 – Marnus Labuschagne, Australian cricket batsman (HS 215; Queensland CA, Brisbane Heat, Glamorgan CCC), born in Klerksdorp, South Africa

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Famous Deaths

1521 – Leonardo Loredan, Venetian nobleman, statesman and Doge of Venice (1501-21), dies at 84
1989 – Henri Sauguet [Poupard], French organist and composer (Symphonie Expiatoire), dies at 88
1996 – Terrel Bell, American politician (2nd United States Secretary of Education 1981-84), dies at 74
2008 – Dody Goodman, American comedienne (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman – “Martha Shumway”; Max Duggan), dies at 93
2009 – Steve Race, British composer, jazz pianist and radio and television presenter (BBC’s “My Music”, 1967-94), dies at 88

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Historical Events

1868 – Wagner’s opera “Meistersinger von Nuernberg” premieres in Munich
1974 – 24th Berlin International Film Festival: “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” wins the Golden Bear
1978 – Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical “Evita”, starring Elaine Page, premieres at the Prince Edward Theatre, London
1982 – John Hinckley, Jr is found not guilty by reason of insanity of 1981 attempted assassination of US President Ronald Reagan
1988 – 42nd NBA Championship: LA Lakers beat Detroit Pistons, 4 games to 3

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Famous Birthdays

1528 – Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (1564-76), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1603)
1817 – James Brewerton Ricketts, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New York City (d. 1887)
1862 – Henry Holden Huss, American classical pianist, composer, and educator, born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1953)
1865 – Herbert Brewer, English composer, organist (Gloucester Cathedral, 1896-1928), and choral director, born in Gloucester, England (d. 1928)
1950 – Anne Carson, Canadian poet (Autobiography of Red), born in Toronto, Ontario

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Famous Deaths

1865 – Frances Adeline Seward, American First Lady of New York (1839-42) and wife of US Secretary of State William H. Seward, dies of a heart attack at 59
1874 – Anders Jonas Ångström, Swedish physicist (Spectroscopy), dies at 59
2015 – Gunther Schuller, American horn player, composer, and proponent of jazz-classical “third stream” (Visitation; Of Reminiscences and Reflections – Pulitzer Prize, 1994), dies at 89
2015 – Veijo Meri, Finnish writer, dies at 86
2018 – Charles Krauthammer, American conservative political commentator and psychiatrist (The Washington Post), dies small intestine cancer of at 68

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Historical Events

1981 – Pope John Paul II hospitalized for 55 days for infection
1992 – NHL Draft: ZPS Zlin (Czechoslovakia) defenceman Roman Hamrlik first pick by Tampa Bay Lightning
2013 – NBA Finals: Miami Heat beat San Antonio Spurs, 95-88 in Game 7 for back-to-back titles; MVP: LeBron James for second straight year
2015 – Heat wave peaks in southern Pakistan, goes on to kill about 2,000 people from dehydration and heat stroke
2018 – TV drama “Yellowstone” premieres starring Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly and Wes Bentley

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Famous Birthdays

1733 – Betty Washington, younger sister of George Washington, born in Westmoreland County, Colony of Virginia (d. 1797)
1858 – Medardo Rosso, Italian sculptor (portraits), born in Turin, Italy (d. 1928)
1915 – Terence Young, British film director (Dr No, Thunderball), born in Shanghai, China (d. 1994)
1958 – (Beranadette) “Kelly” Johnson, British heavy metal guitarist (Girlschool – “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”), born in Edmonton, London, England (d. 2007)
1976 – Juliano Belletti, Brazilian soccer right back (23 caps; Villarreal, FC Barcelona, Chelsea), born in Cascavel, Brazil

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Famous Deaths

1751 – Adriaen Valckenier, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1737-41), dies at 56
1888 – Cesare Dominiceti, Italian composer, dies at 66
1890 – Theodore Lajarte, French writer on music and composer, dies at 63
1972 – Horst Salomon, writer, dies
1999 – Clifton Fadiman, American editor, radio and TV host (Information, Please!; Quiz Kids), dies of pancreatic cancer at 95

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Historical Events

936 – Louis IV [Louis of Overseas], crowned King of France
1816 – Battle of Seven Oaks between North West Company and Hudson’s Bay Company, near Winnipeg, Manitoba
1917 – The British Royal Family, which has had strong German ties since George I, renounces its German names and titles and adopts the name of Windsor
1994 – Joan Rivers and Erin Sander’s stage comedy “Sally Marr…and Her Escorts”, starring Joan Rivers, closes at the Helen Hayes Theatre, NYC, after 50 performances
2012 – A man is beheaded for witchcraft and sorcery in Saudi Arabia

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Famous Birthdays

1507 – Annibale Caro, Italian writer and poet (Lettere familiare), born in Civitanova Marche, Italy (d. 1566)
1792 – Gustav Schwab, German writer, born in Stuttgart (d. 1850)
1916 – Pat Buttram, American actor (Mr Haney-Green Acres), born in Addison, Alabama (d. 1994)
1941 – Václav Klaus, Czech politician, 2nd President of the Czech Republic 2003-2013, born in Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
1960 – Luke Morley, British rock guitarist (Thunder), born in Chamberwell, London

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Famous Deaths

1113 – Odo of Tournai, French Benedictine monk and scholar and bishop of Cambrai, dies
1837 – Aleksander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, Russian author, dies in battle at 39
1867 – Maximilian I of Mexico, Austrian archduke and the 1st and only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire (1864-67), executed by firing squad in Querétaro, Querétaro at 34
1939 – Grace Abbott, American social worker (US Children’s Bureau), dies at 60
2021 – Champ, Biden family pet and First Dog, dies at The White House at 13

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Historical Events

1900 – Empress Dowager Cixi orders I-Ho-Chuan (Boxers) to kill all foreigners
1986 – California Angels’Don Sutton becomes 19th MLB pitcher to win 300 games
2001 – Protests occur in Manipur over the extension of the ceasefire between Naga insurgents and the government of India
2013 – 31 people are killed and 60 are injured by two suicide bombings in al-Qahira, Baghdad
2016 – Soyuz capsule returns to Earth 1st British International Space Station astronaut Tim Peake, Russian Yuri Malenchenko and American Timothy Kopra after 186 days

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Famous Birthdays

1845 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1907), born in Paris, France (d. 1922)
1925 – Herman “Ace” Wallace, American blues guitarist and singer, born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 1996)
1929 – Jürgen Habermas, German sociologist and philosopher (Frankfurter Schule), born in Düsseldorf, Germany
1980 – David Giuntoli, American actor (Grimm; A Million Little Things), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1986 – Richard Madden, Scottish actor (Games of Thrones, Cinderella), born in Elderslie, Scotland

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Famous Deaths

1902 – Samuel Butler, English author (Erewhom, Way of All Flesh), dies at 66
1937 – Al Boasberg, American vaudeville, radio and film comedy writer (Jack Benny; Bob Hope; The Marx Brothers), dies of a heart attack at 44
1945 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr, American lieutenant general of the 10th Army, killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa at 58
1980 – André Leducq, French cyclist (Tour de France 1930, 32; Olympic gold road race 1924), dies at 76
2023 – (Richard) Stockton Rush [III], American businessman (co-founder and CEO of OceanGate), killed below the North Atlantic Ocean in implosion of his company’s submersible vessel at 61

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Historical Events

1922 – First flight across the South Atlantic Ocean arrives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, piloted by Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral. First use of the sextant in air navigation.
1939 – 44th Women’s French Championships: Simonne Mathieu beats Jadwiga Jedrzejowska (6-3, 8-6)
1957 – Tuskegee boycott begins (Blacks boycotted city stores)
1991 – US Open Golf, Hazeline National GC: Payne Stewart wins a Monday playoff with 1987 champion Scott Simpson
2020 – American actor Danny Masterson charged with raping three women. after a 3-year investigation

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Famous Birthdays

1839 – Fr. Arthur Tooth SSC, Anglican Clergyman prosecuted for ritualist activities, born in Cranbrook, Kent (d. 1931)
1929 – Michael L. Strang, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado), born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania (d. 2014)
1963 – Kevin Glover, American NFL center (Detroit Lions), born in Washington, D.C.
1965 – Dermontti Dawson, American NFL center (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Lexington, Kentucky
1971 – Tripp Schwenk, American 100m/200m backstroke (Olympic silver 1996), born in Sarasota, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1866 – Lewis Cass, American military officer and politician (U.S. Senator-Michigan), dies at 83
1906 – William Dale, international legal consultant, dies
1992 – Grace Towns Hamilton, American politician (1st African American member of Georgia state legislature), dies at 85
2015 – Ron Clarke, Australian athlete (17 x WRs, 5,000m, 10,000m, 20,000m; 2, 3, 6, 10 miles) and politician (mayor Gold Coast), dies from kidney failure at 78
2019 – Rolland D. McCune, American theologian, Baptist minister, and writer, dies of pancreatic cancer at 85

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Historical Events

1624 – Virginia becomes an English crown colony following the bankruptcy of the London Company
1779 – US General Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, New York, inflicting heavy losses on the British
1932 – Germany forbids SA/SS-gang fights
1933 – US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) created
1944 – King George VI visits General Montgomery’s HQ in Normandy

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Famous Birthdays

1139 – Emperor Konoe, 76th emperor of Japan, born in Japan (d. 1155)
1900 – Jan van Tilburg, Dutch politician and Governor of Suriname (PVDA, 1955-62), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1977)
1984 – Steven Whittaker, Scottish soccer defender (31 caps; Hibernian, Rangers, Norwich City), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
1999 – Snail Mail [Linsey Jordan], American indie-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter, born in Ellicott City, Maryland
1999 – Justin Jefferson, American NFL player (Minnesota Vikings), born in St. Rose, Louisiana

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Famous Deaths

1397 – Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, French soldier (b. 1358)
1812 – Franz Pforr, German painter and cartoonist (Lukasbund), dies at 23
1858 – John Snow, English physician who studied cholera and is considered the ‘Father of modern epidemiology’, dies of a stroke at 45
2012 – Alasdair Fraser, Scottish-born Northern Irish lawyer, director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, dies at 65
2018 – Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor (Bolshoi Theatre, 1951-61; USSR State Radio, 1961-74; USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony, 1983-91), dies at 87

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Historical Events

1836 – Arkansas becomes 25th state of the Union
1869 – World’s 1st plastic celluloid is patented by John Wesley Hyatt in Albany, NY
1909 – Representatives from England, Australia, and South Africa meet at Lord’s and form the Imperial Cricket Conference
1947 – US Open Men’s Golf, St. Louis CC: Lew Worsham defeats Sam Snead by 1 stroke in an 18-hole playoff for his only major title
1973 – “Let’s Get It On” single released by Marvin Gaye (Billboard RandB Song of the Year, 1973; No. 4 overall)

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Famous Birthdays

1890 – Georg Wüst, German Oceanographer (provided first complete understanding of the temperature, salinity and deep-current structure of the Atlantic Ocean), born in Posen, Germany (d. 1977)
1922 – [Morris] Mo Udall, American politician (Rep-D-AZ, 1961-91), born in St Johns, Arizona (d. 1998)
1933 – Sergio Endrigo, Italian singer (“Marianne”), born in Pola, Istria, Italy (now Croatia) (d. 2005)
1946 – Demis Roussos, Greek singer and performer (Aphrodite’s Child), born in Alexandria, Egypt (d. 2015)
1970 – Gaëlle Méchaly, French soprano, born in Marseille, France

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Famous Deaths

1888 – Frederick III, German Emperor (1888), dies of cancer at 56
1917 – Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian explorer and physicist (nominated 7 times for Nobel Prize), dies at 49
1979 – Ernst Meister, writer, dies at 67
2011 – Bill Haast, American Herpetologist (b. 1910)
2017 – Jacques Charpentier, French organist and composer (72 études karnatiques), dies at 83

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