Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1949 – French-allied State of Vietnam is officially formed during the First Indochina War, Bảo Đại installed as Emperor
1953 – Military coup by General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla in Colombia
1965 – Beatles release album “Beatles VI”
1967 – USSR launches Kosmos 166 for observation of Sun from Earth orbit
2000 – 34th Country Weekly Presents the TNN Music Awards: George Strait and Faith Hill win

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Famous Birthdays

1854 – Frederik Rung, Danish composer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1914)
1918 – LeRoy T. Walker, American sports executive (first black president US Olympic Committee 1992-96), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2012)
1952 – Pat Summitt, American Basketball HOF coach (8 × NCAA Division I tournament; 18 × NCAA Regional—Final Four; University of Tennessee), born in Clarksville, Tennessee (d. 2016)
1955 – Paul O’Grady, English TV presenter, comedian and drag queen (Lily Savage), born in Tranmere, England (d. 2023)
1988 – Kevin Michael McHale, American singer (NLT) and actor (Glee – “Artie”), born in Plano, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1381 – Simon of Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury (1375-81) and Chancellor, beheaded during the Peasants’ Revolt
1891 – Nicolò Gabrielli, Italian opera composer, dies at 77
1986 – Marlin Perkins, TV host (Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom), dies at 81
1994 – Lionel Grigson, British jazz musician, dies at 52
2007 – Robin Olds, American fighter pilot, flying ace in WWII and the Vietnam War, dies at 84

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Historical Events

1925 – 57th Belmont: Albert Johnson aboard American Flag wins in 2:16.8
1995 – MLB Cleveland Indians’ Dennis Martínez no-hits Baltimore Orioles 11-0,
1995 – New Jersey Devils beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2 for a 4-2 series win; qualify for their first Stanley Cup Finals Series (beat Detroit Red Wings, 4-0)
1997 – American fugitive Ira Einhorn is arrested in France for the murder of Holly Maddux after 16 years on the run, though he would not return for another four years
2015 – Floods in Tbilisi, Georgia, kill 12 people and free animals from the city’s zoo, including bears and hippos, to roam the city

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Famous Birthdays

1752 – Fanny Burney, English novelist (Camille, Evelina), born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England (d. 1840)
1795 – Thomas Arnold, English educator and historian (History of Rome), born in West Cowes, Isle of Wight, England (d. 1842)
1937 – Eleanor Holmes Norton, American lawyer and politician (Rep-D-DC), born in Washington, D.C.
1953 – Zdeněk Prokeš, Czech soccer defender (17 caps Czechoslovakia; Bohemians Praha 294 games), born in České Budějovice, Czech Republic (d. 2024)
1963 – Randy Gilhen, Canadian-German ice hockey forward (Stanley Cup 1991, Pittsburgh Penguins; first German-born player to win SC), born in Zweibrücken, West Germany

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Famous Deaths

1036 – Ali az-Zahir, 7th Caliph of the Fātimids (1021-36), dies at 30
1231 – Antony of Padua [Fernando Martins de Bulhões], Portuguese Catholic friar and saint(patron saint of Portugal), dies at 35
1994 – Igor Youskevitch, Russian-Ukrainian ballet dancer, dies at 82
2020 – Mike McCormick, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1960–1961²; NL Cy Young Award 1967; NL wins leader 1967; NL ERA leader 1960; SF Giants), dies of Parkinson’s disease at 81
2023 – Cormac McCarthy, American Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist (The Road; All the Pretty Horses; No Country for Old Men), dies at 89

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Historical Events

1864 – Confederate forces of Jubal Early attack Fort Stevens, barely 4 miles from the White House, with Abraham Lincoln observing the battle
1864 – Skirmish at Mcafee’s Cross Road, Georgia, about 57 die in battle
1931 – Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition and perjury
2005 – LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Bulle Rock GC: 3-peat for Annika Sörenstam of Sweden; wins by 3 strokes ahead of 15-year-old amateur Michelle Wie
2018 – Singapore Summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump – first time a North Korean leader and an incumbent US President have ever met

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Famous Birthdays

1916 – Irwin Allen, American film and television producer (Land of the Giants; The Poseidon Adventure), born in New York City (d. 1991)
1927 – Henry Slesar, American writer and playwright (The Edge of Night), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
1949 – Yann Piat [née Marie], French politician (National Assembly, 1986-94 – FN/PR), born in Saigon, French Cochinchina (now Vietnam) (d. 1994)
1971 – Ryan Klesko, American MLB outfielder (Atlanta Braves), born in Westminster, California
1971 – Iwan Tomasz, Polish soccer midfielder (40 caps; Roda JC, Feyenoord, PSV), born in Słupsk, Poland

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Famous Deaths

1928 – Salvador Díaz Mirón, Mexican poet (Los Cien Mejores Poemas), dies at 74
1968 – Fidelio Friedrich Finke, Bohemian German composer, dies at 76
1989 – Lou Monte [Scaglione], Italian-American novelty song singer-songwriter (Peppino the Italian Mouse; Dominick the Donkey), dies at 72
2010 – Egon Ronay, Hungarian food critic, dies at 94
2022 – Fred Cuming, British painter, chiefly of contemporary landscapes, dies at 92

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Historical Events

1942 – US and USSR sign Lend-Lease agreement during WW II
1976 – Anti-apartheid advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza arrested in South Africa
1977 – Dutch marines rescued hostages from a Moluccan held train in Holland
2009 – The World Health Organization declares H1N1 swine flu to be a global pandemic, the first such incident in over forty years
2012 – Two earthquakes in Afghanistan trigger landslides that kill more than 80 people

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Famous Birthdays

1904 – Alan Roth, American orchestra leader (Milton Berle Show), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1972)
1921 – Beatrice “Fiet” van Ommeren-Samson, Suriname writer, born in Paramaribo, Suriname (d. 2012)
1922 – Erving Goffman, American sociologist (presentation of self in everyday life), born in Mannville, Alberta, Canada (d. 1982)
1933 – Gene Wilder [Jerome Silberman], American actor, (Blazing Saddles; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Silver Streak; Young Frankenstein), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2016)
1955 – Tony Allcock, English bowls player (World Singles Champion (1986-87, 2002), born in Leicestershire

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Famous Deaths

1249 – Aleydis of Schaarbeek, Flemish prioress, mystic and saint, dies
1882 – Louis Désiré Maigret, French Catholic prelate, dies at 77
1936 – Robert E. Howard, American pulp fiction author (Conan the Barbarian), commits suicide aged 30
1997 – Thalassa Cruso, English-American gardening expert (The Mike Douglas Show; The Tonight Show), dies of Alzheimer’s at 88
2005 – VVasco Gonçalves, Portuguese army officer and 103rd Prime Minister of Portugal (1974-75), dies at 84

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Historical Events

1768 – Riot breaks out in Boston after customs officials seize sloop owned by John Hancock for alleged customs violation
1942 – Nazis kill all inhabitants of Lidice, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (now Czech Republic) which had been implicated in the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi controller of Bohemia and Moravia, to “teach the Czechs a final lesson of subservience and humility”; over 170 adult men were executed by firing squad on site, women and children were sent to concentration camp gas chambers, and the village was burned down and plowed under
1950 – Germany doesn’t annex Oder-Neissegrens
1990 – Senior Tournament Players Championship Men’s Golf, Dearborn CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his second of 8 Champions Tour majors by 6 strokes from Lee Trevino
2007 – Novelty dance song “I’m a Gummy Bear” by German band Gummibär released

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Famous Birthdays

1803 – Henry Darcy, French hydraulic engineer (Darcy’s Law), born in Dijon, France (d. 1858)
1920 – Zbyněk Vostřák, Czech composer (While We Are Falling Asleep), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 1985)
1926 – Willem Oltmans, Dutch investigative journalist and author (Outlawed; Free as a Bird), born in Huizen, Netherlands (d. 2004)
1936 – Graham Carleton Greene, British publisher (Jonathon Cape), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2016)
1942 – Janet Vogel, American doo-wop soprano (Skyliners – “Since I Don’t Have You”), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1980)

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Famous Deaths

1906 – Richard Seddon, New Zealand politician (longest serving Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1893-1906), dies at 61
1971 – Virginia True Boardman, American actress of the silent era (A Blind Bargain; The Lady Lies), dies of a heart attack at 82
2001 – Princess Leila Pahlavi of Iran, youngest daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, dies at 31
2011 – Jeanne Bice, American entrepreneur (Quacker Factory clothes), dies of cancer at 71
2020 – Harry Glickman, American journalist, promoter and sports executive (co-founder NBA Portland Trail Blazers, President 1987-94), dies at 96

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Historical Events

1727 – Wreck of Dutch ship Zeewijk on the Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia, with the loss of 72 lives, 82 survivors eventually build a boat and sail to Batavia (Jakarta)
1958 – HM Queen Elizabeth II officially opens London Gatwick Airport, (LGW), Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom.
1970 – Harry Blackmun sworn in as US Supreme Court Justice
1985 – NBA Championship, Boston Garden: Los Angeles Lakers beat Boston Celtics, 111-100 for a 4 games to 2 series victory; Finals MVP: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1993 – Tickets for Indians 1st season in Jacobs Field go on sale

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Famous Birthdays

1810 – Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai, German composer, one of the founders of the Vienna Philharmonic, born in Königsberg, Prussia (d. 1849)
1943 – Charles Saatchi, Iraqi English magnate and art collector (founded advertising company Saatchi and Saatchi), born in Baghdad, Iraq
1956 – Patricia Cornwell, American author (Kay Scarpetta crime novels), born in Miami, Florida
1961 – Aaron Sorkin, American screenwriter and playwright (A Few Good Men; The West Wing), born in New York City
1975 – Paul Agostino, Australian soccer forward (18 caps; 1860 Munich 248 games), born in Adelaide, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1901 – Walter Besant, English writer and philanthropist (Rebel Queen), dies at 64
1921 – Luis María Drago, Argentine statesman and author of Drago Doctrine, dies at 62
1967 – Stefan Boleslaw Poradowski, Polish composer, dies at 64
1994 – Angela Lakeberg, American siamese twin, dies at 11 months
2002 – Hans Janmaat, Dutch politician and party leader (CP, CD), dies of heart failure at 67

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Historical Events

1941 – British and French troops overthrow the pro-German Syrian government
1964 – “The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)”, recorded by 1960s American pop singers, Jan and Dean, is released
1975 – Two passenger trains collide near Munich, Germany, killing 35 people
1984 – “Ghostbusters”, American supernatural comedy film, directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson premieres
2008 – French Open Men’s Tennis: Rafael Nadal equals Björn Borg’s Open era record of 4 consecutive French titles; outclasses Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0

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Famous Birthdays

1759 – Thomas Dunham Whitaker, British topographer, born in Rainham, Norfolk (d. 1821)
1814 – Charles Reade, English novelist (Cloister and Hearth), born in Ipsden, Oxfordshire (d. 1884)
1912 – Harry Holtzman, American abstract artist, born in New York City (d. 1987)
1930 – Michael Codron, British theatrical producer (plays of Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard), born in London
1932 – Ray Illingworth, English cricket spin bowler and captain (61 Tests; 122 wickets, 1,836 runs @ 23.24; Yorkshire CCC, Leicestershire CCC), born in Pudsey, England (d. 2021)

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Famous Deaths

1476 – George Neville, English archbishop and statesman
1621 – Anne de Xainctonge, French saint and founder of the Society of the Sisters of Saint Ursula of the Blessed Virgin, dies at 53
1924 – Andrew Irvine, English mountain climber (climbing accident) (b. 1902)
1988 – Russell Harty, broadcaster, dies
1992 – Alfred Uhl, Austrian composer, dies at 83

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Historical Events

1937 – Time magazine publishes the second of the only two known photos taken of the United States Supreme Court in session
1948 – Communist complete takeover of Czechoslovakia; President Bernes resigns
1971 – Soviet Soyuz 11 crew completes 1st transfer to orbiting Salyut space station
1980 – Jeff Norman runs world record 50k (2:48:06)
1981 – French Open Men’s Tennis: Björn Borg of Sweden wins 11th and final career Grand Slam title; Open era record 6th French title; beats Ivan Lendl 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1

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Famous Birthdays

1884 – Julius P. Hoste, Belgian journalist, daily newspaper publisher (Last News), and politician (Minister of Education, 1936-38; Senator 1949-54), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1954)
1938 – Ian St John, Scottish soccer forward (21 caps; Motherwell; Liverpool 425 games), manager (Motherwell, Portsmouth) and broadcaster (ITV: Saint and Greavsie), born in Motherwell, Scotland (d. 2021)
1958 – Christopher Marcantel, actor (Chip-Nurse, Loving), born in Smithtown, New York
1967 – Dave Navarro, American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter, (Jane’s Addiction – “Just Because”; Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1993-98), born in Santa Monica, California
1970 – Mike Modano, American Hockey Hall of Fame center, 1989-2011, 8X All-Star (Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings), born in Livonia, Michigan

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Famous Deaths

1854 – Charles Baudin, French admiral (b. 1792)
1945 – Rubén M. Campos, Mexican novelist (Claudio Oranos) and musicologist (El folklore y la musica mexicana), dies at 69
1987 – John Blofeld, writer/translator/Zen practitioner, dies at 73
1996 – [Francis] Max Factor, American CEO of Max Factor Cosmetics, dies at 91
1996 – Noel Walton Bott, British engineer (father of wave energy), dies at 88

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Historical Events

1816 – 10″ of snowfall in New England, part of a “year without a summer” which followed the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia
1889 – Great Fire in Seattle destroys 25 downtown blocks
1932 – The Revenue Act of 1932 is enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon (1/4 ¢/L) sold
1944 – World War II: All Major League Baseball games are cancelled in honor of the D-Day landings in northern France
1992 – WLAF World Bowl 2, Olympic Stadium, Montreal: Sacramento Surge beats Orlando Thunder, 21-17

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Famous Birthdays

1879 – Patrick Abercrombie, English architect and town planner, born in Ashton upon Mersey, Cheshire, England (d. 1957)
1886 – Paul Dudley White, American heart specialist, born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (d. 1973)
1950 – Chantal Akerman, Belgian feminist filmmaker (Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, Je Tu II Elle), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 2015)
1975 – Staci Keanan [Anastasia Love Sagorsky], American actress (My Two Dads, Step by Step), born in Devon, Pennsylvania
1987 – Kyle Falconer, Scottish rock singer-songwriter (The View), born in Dryburgh, Dundee, Scotland

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Famous Deaths

1730 – Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon, Marshal of France, dies at 83
1836 – Anthony of Saxony, King of Saxony (1827-36), dies at 80
1934 – Max Pallenberg [Pollack], Austrian extempore farce actor (Morn to Midnight), husband of operetta star Fritzi Massary, dies in air crash at 56
1994 – Peter Graves, British actor (Paradise Lagoon, Admirable Crichton), dies at 82
1996 – Jean Sinclair, South African campaigner, founder member and first president of the Black Sash in 1955, dies at 88

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Historical Events

1257 – Kraków, Poland, receives city rights.
1507 – England and Netherlands sign trade agreement
1915 – 47th Belmont: George Byrne aboard The Finn wins in 2:18.6
1948 – “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend” single released by Stan Jones
1998 – A strike begins at the General Motors parts factory in Flint, Michigan, that quickly spreads to five other assembly plants (the strike lasted seven weeks)

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Famous Birthdays

1695 – Johann Conrad Schlaun, German baroque architect (Schloss Münster), born in Nörde, Warburg, Germany (d. 1773)
1765 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German mathematician, born in Simmozheim (d. 1831)
1884 – Claude Jennings, Australian cricket batsman (6 Tests, HS 32; South Australia, Queensland), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1950)
1931 – Jerzy Prokopiuk, Polish philosopher and anthroposopist, born in Warsaw (d. 2021)
1952 – Monnette Sudler, American jazz guitarist (Sounds of Liberation), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)

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Famous Deaths

1568 – Willem Key, Flemish Renaissance painter, dies at about 47
1906 – Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher known for “Philosophy of the Unconscious”, dies at 64
1939 – Elijah Beardsworth, British world quick shaving champion, dies
1970 – “Jopie” Pengel [Johan A], Premier of Suriname (1963-69), dies at 54
1997 – J Anthony Lukas, writer (Pulitizer, Common Ground), suicide at 64

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