Category: On This Day

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

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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]

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Historical Events

1939 – Red Sox 3rd baseman Jim Tabor hits record-tying 2 grand slams in one MLB game, 18-12 win v Phillies
1959 – America’s new 49-star flag honoring Alaska statehood unfurled
1969 – USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
1999 – South Korean defending champion Se Ri Pak wins the most crowded playoff in LPGA history (6) in the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic
2019 – US President Donald Trump holds a “Salute to America” Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C., controversial for its emphasis on the military and presence of tanks

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Famous Birthdays

1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American author (House of 7 Gables, The Scarlet Letter), born in Salem, Massachusetts (d. 1864)
1883 – Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist who made the easy outrageously difficult (Pulitzer Prize 1948), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1970)
1912 – Viviane Romance [Pauline Ronacher Ortmanns], French actress (Panic, Queen’s Necklace), born in Roubaix, Nord, France (d. 1991)
1938 – Mike Mainieri, American jazz and session vibraphonist (Steps Ahead; Buddy Rich; Dire Straits; Carly Simon), born in The Bronx, NYC
1948 – Jeremy Spencer, British rock guitarist (Fleetwood Mac – “Oh Well”), born in Hartlepool, County Durham, England

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Famous Deaths

1307 – Rudolf I, Habsburg nobleman (King of Bohemia, 1306-07; Duke of Austria and Styria 1298-1307), dies of stomach issues at about 26
1578 – Charles de Berlaymont, baron of Hierges, Governor and Viceroy of Names, dies
1623 – William Byrd, British composer (Ave verum corpus), dies at 80
1857 – William L. Marcy, American statesman, dies at 70
1925 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian Catholic beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1990, dies of polio at 24

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Historical Events

1913 – A Common Tern is banded in Maine and later found dead in Africa in 1919, making it the first bird known to have crossed the Atlantic
1946 – First Dutch government of Louis Beel forms
1994 – FIFA World Cup: In a huge upset Romania eliminates Argentina 3-2 from the round of 16 at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
2018 – French President Emmanuel Macron visits the New Afrika Shrine nightclub in Lagos during his two-day tour of Nigeria
2021 – Mudslides crash through town of Atami, Japan, after torrential rain, killing 19, with over 100 people initially missing

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Famous Birthdays

1685 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, British cavalry officer, born in Roos Hall, Beccles, England (d. 1768)
1828 – John Austin Wharton, American lawyer and Major General (Confederate Army), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1865)
1927 – Charles Vandenhove, Belgian architect (Standard-Omnisporthal, Liège), born in Teuven, Belgium (d. 2019)
1937 – David Shire, American songwriter and composer of stage musicals, film and television scores (The Conversation; All the President’s Men), born in Buffalo, New York
1970 – Shawnee Smith, American actress (Saw), born in Orangeburg, South Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1904 – Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist and father of modern political Zionism (World Zionist Organization), dies of cardiac sclerosis at 44
1918 – Mehmed V, 35th Ottoman Sultan (1909-18), dies at 73
1957 – Dolf Luque, Cuban Baseball HOF pitcher (World Series 1919, 33; MLB wins leader and MLB ERA leader 1923; Cincinnati Reds, NY Giants), dies at 66
2011 – Anna Massey, English actress (De Sade, Doll’s House), dies at 73
2024 – David Hofmans, American thoroughbred racehorse trainer (Belmont Stakes 1997 Touch Gold; 3 x Breeders Cup races), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1808 – Simon Fraser completes his trip down Fraser River, British Columbia, lands at Musqueam
1935 – Great Britain amateur boxing team beats United States in the first International Golden Gloves tournament in NYC, New York
1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta
1993 – Muslim fundamentalists in Sivas, Turkey, set hotel on fire, kill 36
2018 – English pop singers Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne announce they are splitting up after two years

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Famous Birthdays

1821 – Charles Tupper, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (Conservative: 69-day term in 1896), born in Amherst, Nova Scotia (d. 1915)
1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist, born in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria (d. 1931)
1904 – Gerarda Rueter, Dutch sculptor, born in Amsterdam (d. 1993)
1928 – Line Renaud [Jacqueline Ente], French pop and cabaret singer, actress, and AIDS activist, born in Pont-de-Nieppe, France
1949 – Joe English, American musician and drummer (Wings; Sea Level), born in Rochester, New York

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Famous Deaths

1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-born French army commander (Thirty Years’ War), dies at 44
1743 – Spencer Compton 1st Earl of Wilmington, Prime Minister of Great Britain (Whig: 1742-43) statesman who served in government from 1715 until his death, dies at about 70
1917 – Herbert Beerbohm Tree, British actor and theatre manager (King John, Trilby), dies at 64
1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (Car 54 Where Are You, Munsters), dies of pancreatic cancer at 66
1994 – Ralph Rinzler, American folklorist, Greenbriar Boys, founded Smithsonian Folklife Festival, dies at 59

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Historical Events

1858 – Joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s papers on evolution to the Linnean Society renders audience awestruck and silent
1938 – The South African Press Association (SAPA) is established as a non-governmental institution by South Africa’s major newspapers to facilitate the sharing of news, both national and international
1944 – Von Rundstedt against Keitel: “Sign peace, idiots!”
1948 – Australian cricket captain Don Bradman scores 128 in 141 mins with 15 fours in a tour match vs Surry
1968 – US, Britain, USSR and 58 nations sign Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

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Famous Birthdays

1873 – Alice Guy-Blaché, French film director who was the first woman to direct a film (The Fairy of the Cabbages), born in Paris (d. 1968)
1887 – Charles D. Brown, American actor (Barefoot Boy, Disbarred, Night Editor), born in Council Bluffs, Iowa (d. 1948)
1952 – Steve Shutt, Canadian Hockey HOF left wing (Stanley Cup 1973, 76, 77, 78, 79 Montreal Canadiens), born in North York, Ontario
1971 – Steven W. Bailey, American actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), born in San Diego, California
1983 – Brandee Younger, American session and touring classical, jazz, soul, and funk harpist, born in Hempstead, Long Island, New York

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Famous Deaths

1614 – Isaac Casaubon, English classical scholar (Atheneaus), dies at 55
1953 – Jacob D du Toit [Totius], South African poet/theologist, dies
1980 – Charles P. Snow, English novelist (Death Under Sail, Strangers and Brothers) and physical chemist, dies at 74
1987 – Snakefinger [Philip Lithman], British singer and songwriter. guitarist, and violinist (The Residents), dies of a heart attack at 38
2020 – Ida Haendel, Polish-British-Canadian child prodigy violinist, teacher, and author (Woman with Violin), dies of kidney cancer at 91

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