Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1845 – H L Fizeau and Leon Foucault take 1st photo of the Sun
1930 – 1st NY-Bermuda airplane flight lands in Bermuda
1958 – Wind speed reaches a record 450 kph in tornado, Wichita Falls, Texas
1968 – “2001 A Space Odyssey” directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, premieres at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.
1995 – North and Western Colorado begins using new area code 970
1995 – Longest strike in American major league sports history (232 days) ends as MLB owners accept players’ offer to return to work without a contract; MLB is first major pro sports league to lose an entire postseason due to labor struggles

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Famous Birthdays

1878 – Émilie Charmy, French avant-garde artist, born in Saint-Etienne, France (d. 1974)
1930 – Girolamo Arriego, Italian composer, born in Palermo, Italy
1947 – Paquita la del Barrio [Francisca Viveros Barradas], Mexican traditional ranchera, bolero, and contemporary singer, born in Alto Lucero, Veracruz, Mexico (d. 2025)
1970 – Tammi Reiss, American actress and former WNBA guard (Utah Starzz), born in New York
1971 – ZEEBRA [Hideyuki Yokoi], Japanese hip hop artist, born in Tokyo, Japan
1975 – Deedee Magno Hall, Filipino-American rocker (Party-Rodeo, That’s Why), born in Portsmouth, Virginia

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Famous Deaths

1932 – Bill Pickett, American rodeo performer (invented bulldogging), dies after being kicked in the head by a bronco at 61
1937 – Nathan Birnbaum, Austrian writer (Gottes Volk;; Der Ruf), and philosopher (early Zionist, later anti-Zionist), dies at 72
1953 – Jean Epstein, French director (Vive la Vie), dies at 56
1973 – Jascha Horenstein, Russian-born American conductor, dies at 74
1994 – Richard Davies, actor (Pvt Buckaroo), dies of a heart attack at 79
2018 – Susan Anspach, American actress (Grace-Yellow Rose, Hair, Five Easy Pieces, Play It Again Sam), dies at 75

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Historical Events

1857 – Herman Melville publishes the novel “The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade” on April Fool’s Day in New York
1946 – Tsunamis generated by a quake in Aleutian Trench strike Hilo, Hawaii
1946 – Van Acker forms Belgian government (without CVP)
1947 – 1st Jewish immigrants to Israel disembark at Port of Eilat
1948 – Fast bowler Hines Johnson has match figures of 10-96 on debut in West Indies 4th cricket Test win v England in Kingston, Jamaica; first fast bowler to take 10 wickets in a single Test for West Indies
1986 – Ranji Trophy Men’s Cricket, Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi: Delhi beats Haryana by innings and 141; Manoj Prabhakar 113, Kirti Azad 107, Mohinder Amarnath 194, Ajay Sharma 110

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Famous Birthdays

1643 – Christian Demelius, German composer and kapellmeister, born in Schlettau, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1711)
1917 – Leon Janney (Ramon), American actor (Charly, Stolen Paradise, Hawk), born in Ogden, Utah (d. 1980)
1946 – Manfred Stengl, Austrian luger (Olympic gold men’s doubles 1964), born in Salzburg, Austria (d. 1992)
1964 – John Morris, English cricket batsman (3 Tests, 8 x ODIs; Derbyshire CCC, Durham CCC, Nottinghamshire CCC), born in Crewe, England
1974 – Hugo Ibarra, Argentine soccer right back (11 caps; Colón, Boca Juniors), born in El Colorado, Formosa, Argentina
1982 – Taran Killam, American comedian, actor, and writer (Saturday Night Live, 2010-16; Single Parents), born in Culver City, California

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Famous Deaths

1993 – Wayne Mack, American sportscaster (New Orleans Saints, Tulane University) and actor (Storyville), dies of cancer at 68
2000 – Alexander Mackenzie Stuart, Baron Mackenzie-Stuart, Scottish jurist, dies at 75
2001 – Olivia Barclay, British astrologer (revival of traditional forms of astrology in the late 20th century), dies at 81
2007 – Hans Filbinger, German politician (CDU), dies at 93
2018 – Steven Bochco, American TV producer and co-creator of Hill Street Blues, LA Law and NYPD Blue, dies at 74
2024 – Joe Flaherty, American-Canadian Emmy Award-winning screenwriter and actor (SCTV; Freaks and Geeks), dies at 82

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Historical Events

1865 – Battle of Boydton, Virginia (White Oaks Roads, Dinwiddie C H)
1905 – 67th Grand National: Frank Mason victorious aboard Kirkland; first Welsh-trained horse to win the event
1923 – Stanley Cup Final, Denman Arena, Vancouver, BC: Ottawa Senators (NHL) edge Edmonton Eskimos (WCHL), 1-0 for a 2-0 series sweep
1976 – NJ Court rules Karen Anne Quinlan may be disconnected from respirator
1991 – St. Louis Blues’ future Hockey Hall of Fame right wing Brett Hull scores his 86th goal of the season in a 2-1 win over Minnesota North Stars; 3rd best total in NHL history
1994 – Chicago White Sox assigns former NBA superstar Michael Jordan to the Birmingham Barons of Class AA Southern League; returns to NBA after one season

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Famous Birthdays

1909 – Robert Brasillach, French author and journalist (editor in chief of the fascist weekly Je Suis Partout), born in Perpignan, France (d. 1945)
1918 – Ted Post, American television and film director (Gunsmoke; Beneath the Planet of the Apes; Magnum Force), born in Brooklyn, NYC (d. 2013)
1944 – Mick Ralphs, British rock guitarist (Mott the Hoople – “All The Young Dudes”; Bad Company – “Can’t Get Enough”), born in Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire, England
1952 – Dermot Morgan, Irish actor and comedian (Father Ted Crilly-Father Ted), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1998)
1958 – Pat McGlynn, Scottish pop guitarist (Bay City Rollers), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
1975 – Adam Green, American film director

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Famous Deaths

1547 – Francis I, King of France (1515-47), dies complaining about the weight of the crown at 52
1703 – Johann Christoph Bach, German harpsichordist and composer, dies at 60
1869 – Allan Kardec, French author and founder of Spiritism, dies at 64
2014 – Charles Keating, American district attorney (Los Angeles California), dies at 90
2020 – Cristina [Monet Zilkha], American dance-pop singer songwriter (Sleep It Off), dies at 64
2020 – Richard Friedman, American psychoanalyst who proved sexual orientation biological, dies at 79

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Historical Events

1814 – Napoleonic Wars: Sixth Coalition forces march into Paris after defeating Napoleon
1865 – -4] Battle at 5 Forks, Virginia
1952 – 6th Tony Awards: “The Fourposter” (play) and “The King and I” (musical) win
1987 – Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” sells for a record £22.5 million ($39.7 million)
1992 – Man accidentally backs into Oakland A’s Jose Canseco’s $225,000 Lamborghini
2012 – American Mega Millions lottery hits a world record lottery amount of 640 million dollars

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Famous Birthdays

1922 – Peter Jona Korn, German composer, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1998)
1927 – Wally Grout, Australian cricket wicketkeeper (51 Tests, 187 dismissals, 3 x 50s), born in Mackay, Australia (d. 1968)
1940 – Jim Criner, American college football coach (Boise State, Iowa State, Scottish Claymores), born in Lurton, Arkansas
1971 – Mari Holden, American cyclist (World C’ship gold road time trial 2000; Olympic silver 2000), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1974 – Martin Love, Australian cricketer (high scoring Queensland batsman, Aust 1995), born in Mundubbera, Australia
1984 – Samantha Stosur, Australian tennis player (US Open singles 2011; 9 x Grand Slam doubles titles; Tour Finals doubles 2005, 06), born in Brisbane, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1871 – Louise, Dutch-born Queen of Sweden and Norway, dies at 42
1959 – Daniil Andreev, Russian writer, poet and Christian mystic, dies at 52
1972 – Gabriel Heatter, American radio commentator famous for his WWII sign-on “There’s good news tonight”, dies of pneumonia at 81
1978 – Larry Young [aka Khalid Yasin], American hard-bop and jazz-fusion Hammond B-3 organist (Unity), dies from several untreated illnesses, including pneumonia, at 37
1992 – Art Hannes, American actor and announcer, dies of a respiratory ailment at 72
2008 – Dith Pran, Cambodian photojournalist, survivor of the Cambodian genocide, and subject of the movie “The Killing Fields”, dies of pancreatic cancer at 65

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Historical Events

1806 – Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway
1879 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.’s opera “Jevgeni Onegin”, based on the novel by Alexander Pushkin, premieres Maly Theatre in Moscow, Russia
1945 – World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England
1951 – 23rd Academy Awards: “All About Eve”, Judy Holliday and José Ferrer win
1968 – Teri Garr guest stars in “Assignment: Earth” episode of the original Star Trek TV series
1987 – 7th Golden Raspberry Awards: “Howard the Duck” wins

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Famous Birthdays

1888 – James E. Casey, American businessman and founder (United Parcel Service), born in Candelaria, Nevada (d. 1983)
1898 – Cecil Arthur Lewis, British fighter pilot and writer, born in Birkenhead, England (d. 1997)
1907 – (Abram) “Abe” Lincoln, American sweet jazz trombonist (Paul Whiteman; Ozzie Nelson), and Dixieland jazz revivalist, born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (d. 2000)
1944 – John Suchet, British TV journalist (Independent TV News), and classical music presenter (Classics FM), born in Paddington, London, England
1948 – (Walter) “Bud” Cort, American actor (M*A*S*H(film); Brewster McCloud; Harold and Maude), born in New Rochelle, New York
1973 – Brad Bridgewater, American swimmer (Olympic gold 200m backstroke 1996), born in Charleston, West Virginia

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Famous Deaths

1837 – Maria Fitzherbert, English morganatic wife of King George IV, dies at 80
1959 – Sara Wennerberg-Reuter, Swedish composer, dies at 84
1972 – J. Arthur Rank, British industrialist and film magnate, dies at 81
1982 – “Fatty” George [Pressler], Austrian swing jazz clarinettist, dies of a heart attack at 54
1992 – Paul Henreid, Austrian-American actor (Casablanca, Now, Voyager), dies at 84
2009 – Andy Hallett, American actor and singer (b.1975)

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Historical Events

1953 – “New Faces (of 1952)” closes at Royale Theater NYC after 365 performances
1969 – Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece
1992 – 6th American Comedy Award: Cathy Ladman, Judy Watkins, Billy Crystal
1993 – Type II supernova detected in M81 (NGC 3031)
2023 – Chris Sharma completes the first redpoint of Sleeping Lion in Siurana, Spain, a 9b+ (5.15c) route
2024 – Bus crash kills 45 Easter pilgrims from Botswana in South Africa, with one child surviving a 50 meter drop off the Mmamatlakala bridge, near Mokopane

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Famous Birthdays

1741 – Johann Andre, German composer, born in Offenbach, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1799)
1907 – Irving “Swifty” Lazar, American talent agent, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1993)
1919 – Tom Brooks, Australian cricket umpire (23 Tests 1970-78), born in Paddington, Australia (d. 2007)
1926 – Polly Umrigar, Indian cricket all-rounder and captain (59 Tests, 12 x 100, HS 223, 35 wickets; Bombay, Gujarat), born in Solapur, India (d. 2006)
1945 – Hans Brunhart, Leader of Liechtenstein (1978-93), born in Balzers, Liechtenstein
1973 – Umaga [Edward Fatu], Samoan-American professional wrestler, born in American Samoa (d.2009)

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Famous Deaths

1847 – Mariano Rodríguez de Ledesma, Spanish composer, dies at 67
1865 – Albert G Bilders, Dutch landscape painter, dies at 26
1941 – Virginia Woolf, British author (Jacob’s Room, To the Lighthouse), commits suicide at 59
1984 – Benjamin Mays, African-American educator (Morehouse, Howard University) and civil rights leader, dies at 89
1991 – Carlos Montalbán, Mexican-American character actor (Bananas), dies at 86
1992 – Josef Matej, Czech composer, dies at 70

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Historical Events

1933 – Farm Credit Administration (US) authorized
1941 – Yugoslavian coup gets rid of pro-German Prince Paul
1993 – Jiang Zemin appointed President of the People’s Republic of China
1994 – PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Australian Greg Norman sets scoring record of 264 (−24) to finish 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Fuzzy Zoeller
1994 – Ice Dance Championship at Chiba Japan won by Gritschuk and Platov (RUS)
2024 – New analysis confirms climate change is slowing the rotation of Earth due to melting ice caps and will probably delay the next leap second by three years

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Famous Birthdays

1757 – Richard John Samuel Stevens, English composer, born in London, (d. 1837)
1912 – Reuel Lahmer, Canadian-American organist and composer (“It Is Good To Give Thanks”), born in Maple, Ontario (d. after 1982)
1913 – June Beebe, American golfer (Western Open 1931, 33), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2003)
1930 – David Janssen, American actor (The Fugitive, Harry O), born in Naponee Nebraska (d. 1980)
1949 – Poul Ruders, Danish organist and composer (Four Compositions; Manhattan Abstraction; Sound And Simplicity), born in Ringsted, Denmark
1995 – Taylor Atelian, American actress (According to Jim), born in Santa Barbara, California

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Famous Deaths

1697 – Simon Bradstreet, English colonial magistrate, last governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, dies at 93
1849 – Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford (b. 1776)
1875 – Edgar Quinet, French historian (b. 1803)
1973 – Boyan Georgiev Ikonomov, Bulgarian composer, dies at 72
1977 – Lodewijk de Vocht, Belgian composer (Prayer for My Fatherland), conductor, kapellmeister (Antwerp Cathedral, 1913-50), and educator (Antwerp Conservatory, 1921-52), dies at 89
2011 – Farley Granger, American actor (Arnold, Rope, Deathmask), dies at 85

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Historical Events

1636 – University of Utrecht opening ceremony
1845 – Patent awarded for adhesive medicated plaster, precursor of band-aid
1943 – Elsie S. Ott is 1st woman to be awarded US Air Force Medal
1958 – 30th Academy Awards-“The Bridge on the River Kwai” wins Best Picture, Joanne Woodward and Alec Guinness win Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively
1979 – 41st NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Michigan State beats Indiana State, 75-64; marks start of rivalry between future Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Larry Bird; highest-rated game in history of televised college basketball
2018 – E-commence group Alibaba Group and US car maker Ford unveil a car vending machine without sales people 5 stories high in Guangzhou, China

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Famous Birthdays

1890 – Jozef Arras, Flemish writer, born in Lier (d. 1919)
1914 – Ian McGeoch, Scottish Vice-Admiral with Royal Navy (submarine HMS Splendid WWII), born in Helensburgh, Scotland (d. 2007)
1914 – Toru Kumon, Japanese mathematics educator (Kumon Institute of Education,), born in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan (d. 1995)
1914 – Ray Robinson, Australian cricket batsman (1 Test; NSW, South Australia, Otago), born in Stockton, Australia (d. 1965)
1928 – Carole Carr [Carless], British singer and actress (Down Among the Z Men), born in London, England (d. 1997)
1976 – Natalia Livingston, American actress (General Hospital; Days of Our Lives), born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

809 – Liudger, missionary, 1st bishop of Munster and saint, dies at about 66
1937 – Albert Relf, English cricket all-rounder (13 Tests, 1 x 50, 25 wickets, BB 5/85; Sussex CCC, Auckland CA), commits suicide at 52
1948 – Helen Ernst, German poster artist/resistance fighter, dies at about 43
1976 – Lin Yutang, Chinese writer, dies at 80
1996 – Edmund Muskie, American politician (Sen-D-Me) and US Secretary of State (1980-81), dies at 81
2017 – Darlene Cates, American actress (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape), dies at 69

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Historical Events

1979 – US House of Representatives begins live TV broadcasts via C-SPAN
1983 – France (16-9 v Wales) and Ireland (25-15 v England) win final round matches to finish level and share the Five Nations Rugby Championship; no tie-break procedure exists before 1993
1995 – American Bonnie Blair skates female world record point total (156.450)
2014 – Israel sends airforce against Syrian military units involved in an attack yesterday on an Israeli patrol in the Golan Heights
2018 – World’s last male northern white rhino, 45-year-old Sudan, dies in Kenya
2020 – State of California with 910 cases of COVID-19 locks down and orders people to “stay at home”

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Famous Birthdays

1928 – Patrick McGoohan, American-born Irish actor, writer, and director (The Prisoner, Secret Agent/ Danger Man), born in Queens, New York (d. 2009)
1942 – David Minge, American judge and politician (Rep-D-Minnesota 1993-2001), born in Clarkfield, Minnesota
1946 – Bigas Luna, director/writer (Anguish)
1964 – Jake Weber, British actor
1976 – Rachel Blanchard, Canadian actress (Clueless -“Cher Horowitz”), born in Toronto, Ontario
1993 – Munro Chambers, Canadian actor (DeGrassi, 2010-15), born in Ajax, Ontario

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Famous Deaths

1279 – Emperor Bing of Song China (b. 1271)
1623 – Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1556)
1822 – Valentin Haüy, French professor “interpreter to the King”, founded the first school for the blind, dies at 76
1913 – William Chatterton, English cricket batsman (1 Test, HS 48; Derbyshire CCC) and soccer forward (Derby County FC), dies from tuberculosis at 51
1914 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian volcanologist (b. 1850)
1981 – Frank Lane, American MLB executive (GM Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, KC Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers), dies at 85

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Historical Events

1794 – Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, revolutionizing the cotton industry in the southern US states
1956 – 50-year-old baseball pitching star Satchel Paige signs a contract to play for and manage the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro National League
1966 – British film “Born Free” based on the book “Born Free” by Joy Adamson released starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers
1972 – Two IRA members shot dead by British soldiers in the Bogside area of Derry
1973 – Liam Cosgrave (52) appointed President of Ireland
2022 – PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Australian Cameron Smith wins $3.6m, biggest individual event purse in golf history; beats Anirban Lahiri of India by 1 stroke

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Famous Birthdays

1623 – Adam-Nicolas Gascon, Dutch-Walloon composer and kapellmeister (Saint Paul Collegiate Church, 1659-68), born in Liège, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1668)
1815 – Josephine Lang, German composer, born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria (d. 1880)
1831 – Leon Leopold Lewandoski, Polish composer, born in Kalisz, Poland (d. 1896)
1920 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist (Dennis the Menace), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2001)
1921 – Frank Ottersen, Norwegian jazz violinist and saxophonist (Ding, Dong, Dang), born in Oslo, Norway (d. 1971)
1989 – Colby O’Donis [Colón] American singer (Lady Gaga -“Just Dance”), songwriter, and record producer, born in Queens, New York

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Famous Deaths

1490 – Charles I, Duke of Savoy (1482-90), dies at 21
1903 – Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch, Dutch landscape painter, dies at 88
1933 – Balto, Siberian husky dog who led the sled team delivering diphtheria antitoxin from to Nenana, Alaska to Nome, Alaska in 1925, dies at 14
1961 – Akiba Rubinstein, Polish chess player (openings theorist), dies at 80
2003 – Jean-Luc Lagardère, French publisher (b. 1928)
2007 – Lucie Aubrac, French history teacher and member of the French Resistance (b. 1912)

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