Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1660 – Mary Dyer is hanged for defying a law banning Quakers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony
1958 – The Riverside International Raceway in Southern California opens with three 500-mile races in one weekend; Eddie Gray wins the Crown America 500 for NASCAR Grand National cars
1967 – Mayor-council form of government instituted for Washington, D.C.
1975 – LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Pine Ridge GC: Kathy Whitworth wins her 3rd LPGA C’ship by 1 stroke from Sandra Haynie
1997 – LA Dodger Wilton Guerrero’s bat breaks, revealing it is corked
2022 – US Coast Guard Admiral Linda Fagan, assumes post of Commandant, becoming 1st female commander of US military branch

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Famous Birthdays

1776 – George Schetky, Scottish-American cellist, music teacher, and composer, born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1831)
1882 – John Drinkwater, English poet and playwright (Abraham Lincoln), born in Leytonstone, Essex (d. 1937)
1892 – Samuel L M Barlow II, American composer (Mon Ami Pierrot), born in New York City (d. 1982)
1922 – Povel Ramel, Swedish entertainer (d. 2007)
1965 – Olga Nazarova, Russian athlete (Olympic gold 4x400m relay 1988, 92; World C’ship gold 4x400m relay 1991), born in Moscow, Russia
1990 – Carlota Ciganda, Spanish golfer (US Open 2018 3rd; 2 LPGA Tour titles), born in Pamplona, Spain

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Famous Deaths

1943 – Wilfrid B. Israel, Jewish activist
1954 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish writer (Pelle Erobreren), dies at 84
1973 – Helen Parkhurst, American educator (The Dalton Plan), dies at 86
1995 – Prudence Hyman, English dancer, dies at 80
1999 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer and inventor (Hovercraft), dies at 88
2008 – Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician (b. 1931)

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Historical Events

1919 – Indianapolis 500: Howdy Wilcox accompanied by riding mechanic Leo Banks win; driver Arthur Thurman dies in a crash on lap 45; lap 96, Louis LeCocq and riding mechanic Robert Bandini wrecked in turn 2, both burned to death
1975 – Larry Grossman and Hal Hackady’s historical musical comedy “Goodtime Charley”, based on King Charles VII of France, and starring Joel Grey, closes at Palace Theater, NYC, after 104 performances
1990 – BPAA US Women’s Bowling Open won by Dana Miller-Mackie
2008 – Super Rugby Final, Christchurch: Canterbury Crusaders claim their 7th title with a 20-12 win over NSW Waratahs; Dan Carter kicks 4 penalties and a dropped goal for the home team
2021 – Peru says its COVID-19 death toll is three times higher than its official count (180,764 vs 68,000), making it one of the hardest hit countries per capita
2023 – Latvia elects its Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics as President – first openly gay leader of a Baltic state

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Famous Birthdays

1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (Wife at University), born in Skipton, Yorkshire, England (d. 1900)
1900 – Helma Wolf-Catz, Dutch author (Undercurrent, Coral Reef) (d. 1979)
1914 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer, best known for his film scores in the Godzilla films, born in Kushiro Hokkaido, Japan (d. 2006)
1950 – Edward Barker, English cartoonist, born in Birmingham, England
1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian-American acoustic guitarist (Stevie’s Blues), born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales
1990 – Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player (NHL – San Jose Sharks)), born in Landsbro, Sweden

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Famous Deaths

1957 – John Kilbane, American featherweight boxer and World Featherweight Champion (1912-23), dies at 68
1993 – Spuds Mackenzie [real name Honey Tree Evil Eye “Evie”], American advertisement dog for Bud Light beer, dies at 9
1993 – John Granger, American actor (Advise and Consent), dies at 69
1994 – Herva Nelli, Italian-born American soprano, dies at 85
2005 – Jaime Mendoza-Nava, Bolivian-American composer and conductor, dies at 79
2021 – Mike Marshall, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1974, 75; NL Cy Young Award 1974; Montreal Expos, LA Dodgers, Atlanta Braves), dies at 78

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Historical Events

1591 – Spanish troops in Zutphen surrender to Dutch and English forces under Maurice of Nassau
1832 – Evariste Galois give his theory on free assembly (dies in duel May 31)
1949 – 33rd Indianapolis 500: After finishing runner-up the previous 2 years, Bill Holland finally wins giving car owner Lou Moore his 3rd consecutive Indy victory; 1947-48 winner Mauri Rose fired after the race for ignoring team orders
1966 – The Beatles release single “Paperback Writer” / “Rain” in US; “Rain” featured experimental studio tricks of slowed down bass and drums tracks, and backwards vocals in the fade out
1973 – George Harrison releases his fourth studio album “Living in the Material World” in the US
2017 – Car bomb outside ice cream shop in Baghdad kills 17, Islamic State claim responsibility

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Famous Birthdays

1718 – Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, British politician, born in Fairford, Gloucestershire (d. 1793)
1814 – Eugène Charles Catalan, French-Belgian mathematician (worked on continued fractions, descriptive geometry, number theory and combinatorics), born in Bruges, Belgium (d. 1894)
1867 – Arthur Vining Davis, American industrialist and CEO (Alcoa-1910-57), born in Sharon, Massachusetts (d. 1962)
1936 – Ruta Lee, actress (Operation Eichmann, Marjorie Morningstar)
1963 – Helen Patricia Sharman, Great Britain, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-12)
1980 – Steven Gerrard, English footballer

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Famous Deaths

1416 – Jerome of Prague, Czech radical Christian teacher burned at the stake for heresy by church Council of Constance
1964 – Eddie Sachs, American auto racer (b. 1927)
1987 – Melvin “Turk” Murphy, American Dixieland jazz trombonist, dies at 71
1994 – Agostino Di Bartolomei, Italian footballer (b. 1955)
2016 – Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey center (Stanley Cup 1974, 75; Philadelphia Flyers; NHL All Star 1977, 78), dies of meningitis at 66
2020 – [Nicolas] Michael Angelis, English actor (Thomas and Friends, Boys from the Black Stuff), dies of a heart attack at 76

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Historical Events

1138 – Anti-Pope Victor IV (Gregorio) submits himself to Pope Innocentius II
1851 – Sojourner Truth addresses 1st Black Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio
1912 – Ballets Russes premieres their ballet L’après-midi d’un faune (The Afternoon of a Faun) in Paris, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky
1943 – Algiers Allied Planning Conference between Winston Churchill, George Marshall and General Dwight D. Eisenhower finalizes the plan for the Italian Campaign
1986 – 59th National Spelling Bee: Jon Pennington wins spelling odontalgia
2019 – Tourist boat sinks after colliding with another boat on the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, killing 28 people

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Famous Birthdays

1923 – Eugene Wright, American jazz bassist (The Dave Brubeck Quartet), sometimes known as “The Senator”, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2020)
1930 – Eddy Choong, Malaysian badminton player (Thomas Cup 1955), born in Penang, British Malaya (d. 2013)
1944 – Quentin Davies, British MP (C and L), born in Oxford, England
1948 – Nick Mancuso, Italian-Canadian actor, born in Mammola, Italy
1959 – Mel Gaynor, British rock drummer (Simple Minds – “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”; “Alive And Kicking”), born in Balham, London, England
1963 – Ukyo Katayama, Japanese auto racer, team manager (F1 95 starts), born in Tokyo, Japan

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Famous Deaths

1896 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist, dies at 81
1905 – Leon Francis Victor Caron, French-Australian composer (Caron Opera Company), dies at 55
1948 – May Whitty, English actress (Gaslight, Mrs Miniver, Suspicion), dies at 82
1951 – Fanny Brice, American singing comedian (Ziegeld Follies, Baby Snooks), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 59
1992 – Peter “Ollie” Halsall, British rock guitarist and vibraphone player (Patto; The Rutles; Kevin Ayers), dies of a heart attack at 43
1994 – Joseph Janni, producer, dies at 78

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Historical Events

1037 – Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II removes “Constitutio the Feudis”
1941 – 1st night game at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C. (NY Yankees pip the Senators 6-5)
1979 – European Market accepts Greece as member
1986 – Democratic Labor Party wins parliamentary election in Barbados
1999 – Two Swedish police officers are murdered with their own fire arms by the bank robbers Jackie Arklöv and Tony Olsson after a dramatic car chase
2021 – Discovery of a mass grave with the remains of 215 children from Kamloops Indian Residential School announced by First Nation in British Columbia, Canada

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Famous Birthdays

1883 – Clough Williams-Ellis, British architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales, born in Gayton, Northamptonshire, England (d. 1978)
1912 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist and politician (d. 1992)
1924 – Geoffrey Rippon, British MP, born in Penn, Buckinghamshire (d. 1997)
1940 – Hans Dulfer, Dutch funk and jazz-fusion tenor saxophonist, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1944 – Patricia Quinn, Lady Stephens, Northern-Irish actress, voice artist and singer (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
1956 – Germaine Montenesdro, 2nd victim of NYC’s Zodiac killer (survives)

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Famous Deaths

1672 – John Trevor, English politician (b. 1626)
1811 – Henry Dundas, British minister (b. 1742)
1849 – Anne Brontë, English novelist (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall), dies at 29
1962 – Jesse Crawford, American pianist, theatre organist for silent films, and recording artist, dies at 66
1996 – Buck Bundy, TV dog (Married with Children), dies at 13
2008 – Robert Justman, American television producer (b. 1926)

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Historical Events

1905 – Japanese fleet destroys the Russian East Sea fleet in the Battle of Tsushima, the only decisive clash between modern steel battleships in history
1918 – Third Battle of Aisne: German offensive overcomes British forces (WWI)
1942 – Dorie Miller awarded navy cross for deeds at Pearl Harbor
1984 – Beth Henley’s “Miss Firecracker contest” premieres in NYC
2007 – Indianapolis 500: Scotsman Dario Franchitti declared the winner with 34 laps remaining when race halted by torrential rain
2009 – South Africa enters the global recession; the first recession for South Africa in 17 years

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Kazimierz Fajans, Polish-American physical chemist (Fajans’ rules), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1975)
1940 – Ed Van Impe, Canadian NHL hockey defenseman, 1966-77 (Stanley Cup, 1974, 1975 – Philadelphia Flyers, and 2 other teams), and broadcaster (Flyers), born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
1963 – Gonzalo Rubalcabo [González], Cuban jazz pianist, born in Havana, Cuba
1966 – John Jaha, infielder (Milwaukee Brewers), born in Portland, Oregon
1975 – Jamie Oliver, British chef and television personality, born in Claverling, England
1994 – Shawn Barber, Canadian athlete (World C’ship gold pole vault 2019; World Indoor Tour 2016), born in Las Cruces, New Mexico (d. 2024)

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Famous Deaths

1596 – Tibaldi II, Italian painter/sculptor/architect, dies
1675 – Gaspard Dughet, French painter (b. 1613)
1863 – Edward Payson Chapin, American lawyer and Union Army Colonel (posthumously elevated to Brigadier General), dies of injuries from the Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana at 31
1958 – Samuel Stritch, US cardinal/archbishop (Chicago), dies
2007 – Ron Archer, Australian cricket all-rounder (19 Tests, 1 x 100, 48 wickets; Queensland CA), dies at 73
2011 – Jeff Conaway, American actor and singer (Taxi – “Bobby”; Grease – “Kenickie”; Babylon 5 – “Zack”), dies of pneumonia and sepsis at 60

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Historical Events

961 – German King Otto II crowned
1951 – Vaughan Williams’ “Pilgrim’s Progress” premieres in London
1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin their 2nd bed-in for peace at Hotel La Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
1984 – Floods kill 14 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
1997 – NHL Western Conference Final: Detroit Red Wings beat Colorado Avalanche, 4 games to 2
2000 – Arthur C. Clarke is knighted “for services to literature” at a ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka

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Famous Birthdays

1863 – Bob Fitzsimmons, English boxer (first 3-division world champion; Middleweight 1981-96, Light Heavyweight 1903, Heavyweight 1897-99), born in Helston, England (d. 1917)
1923 – Roy Dotrice, British actor (A Moon for the Misbegotten, Amadeus) and narrator (A Song of Ice and Fire), born in Guernsey, Channel Islands (d. 2017)
1931 – Jim Frey, American MLB manager (Kansas City Royals, American League C’ship 1980; Chicago Cubs), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2020)
1941 – Imants Kalniņš, Latvian classical, choral and rock composer (“Hey, You There!”), born in Riga, Latvian SSR
1957 – Kristina Olsen, American folk singer-songwriter (“I’m Keeping This Life of Mine”), and session musician, born in San Francisco, California
1981 – Eda-Ines Etti, Estonian pop singer (Eurovision), born in Haapsalu, Estonia

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Famous Deaths

1864 – Charles Sealsfield, Austrian-American writer, dies at 71
1907 – Ida McKinley, US First Lady (1897-1901) and wife of the 25th US President William McKinley, dies at 59
1959 – Joe Kelly, American radio and television host (Quiz Kids, 1949-53), dies at 57
1977 – William Powell, American RandB singer (O’Jays – “Love Train”; “Backstabbers”), dies of cancer at 35
1979 – George Brent, American actor (Baby Face, Dark Victory, 42nd St), dies at 75
1995 – Friz Freleng, American animator for Warner Bros cartoons (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies), dies at 88

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Historical Events

1948 – 30th PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Norwood Hills CC: Ben Hogan scores a convincing 7 and 6 win over Mike Turnesa in the Tuesday final for his 2nd PGA crown
1956 – Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Haurietis aquas
1981 – Daniel Goodwin scales outside of Chicago’s Sears Tower in 7 hours
1991 – Stanley Cup Final, Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, MN: Pittsburgh Penguins beat Minnesota North Stars, 8-0 for a 4-2 series win; Penguins’ first Final series appearance
2000 – 53rd Cannes Film Festival: “Dancer in the Dark” directed by Lars von Trier and starring Björk (Best Actress) wins the Palme d’Or
2011 – 46th Academy of Country Music Awards: Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert and Brad Paisley win

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Famous Birthdays

1865 – Frederick Augustus III, King of Saxony (1904-18), born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony (d. 1932)
1883 – Elsa Maxwell, American writer (Jack Paar Show), born in Keokuk, Iowa (d. 1963)
1932 – John Gregory Dunne, American writer (Up Close and Personal, True Confessions), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2003)
1937 – Mark Shields, American political journalist and commentator (PBS NewsHour, 1988-2020; CNN Capitol Gang, 1998-2005), born in Weymouth, Massachusetts (d. 2022)
1937 – (Trevor) Tom Phillips, English visual artist, printmaker and collagist, born in Clapham, England (d. 2022)
1959 – Cathryn Harrison, English actress (Old Woman in Black Moon), born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1914 – Paolo Giorza, Italian-Australian composer, dies at 81
1981 – Roy Brown, American RandB singer, songwriter (“Good Rockin’ Tonight”), dies of a heart attack at 55
1981 – Fredric Warburg, British publisher (Animal Farm) and author, dies at 82
1996 – Bernard Sendall, British deputy director general of British Independent Television Authority and author (Independent Television in Britain), dies at 83
2003 – Sloan Wilson, American novelist (“The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit”; “A Summer Place”), dies at 83
2011 – Leonora Carrington, British-Mexican Surrealist artist, dies aged 94

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Historical Events

1890 – Tivoli Theater of Varieties opens in London
1895 – Henry Irving becomes the first actor to receive a knighthood
1941 – German battleship Bismarck sinks the British battle cruiser HMS Hood; 1,416 die, 3 survive
1980 – “Rock Lobster” by B-52s hits #56
2009 – 62nd Cannes Film Festival: “The White Ribbon” directed by Michael Haneke wins the Palme d’Or
2018 – Record US fentanyl seizure of 120lbs (54kg) confirmed by police in Nebraska in April, enough to kill 26 million people, one of largest drug busts in US history

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Famous Birthdays

1816 – Emanuel Leutze, American painter (Washington Crossing the Delaware), born in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Württemberg, German Confederation (d. 1868)
1854 – John Riley Banister, American law officer and cowboy, born in Banister Hollow, Camden County, Missouri (d. 1918)
1899 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (French C’ships 1925-26, Wimbledon 1919-23, 25), born in Paris, France (d. 1938)
1941 – Konrad Boehmer, German-Dutch composer, born in Berlin, Germany (2014)
1970 – Tommy Page, American pop singer (“I’ll Be Your Everything”), born in Glenridge, New Jersey (d. 2017)
1981 – Penny Taylor, Australian basketball forward (World C’ship gold 2006; Olympic silver 2004, 08; WNBA C’ship 2007, 09, 14 Phoenix Mercury; 3 x WNBA All-Star), born in Melbourne, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1681 – Nicodemus Tessin the Elder, Swedish architect (Drottningholm Palace), dies at 65
1919 – Amado Nervo [Juan Crisóstomo Ruiz de Nervo], Mexican writer and poet, dies at 48
2004 – Milton Shulman, Canadian author and critic (b. 1913)
2010 – Paul Gray, American heavy metal bassist (Slipknot), dies of a drug overdose at 38
2010 – Tapen Chatterjee, Bengali actor from India (b. 1937)
2021 – Samuel E. Wright, American stage and screen actor and singer (Jesus Christ Superstar; Ball Four; The Little Mermaid; The Lion King), dies of prostate cancer at 74

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Historical Events

1898 – 1st Philippine Expeditionary Troops sail from San Francisco
1922 – Walt Disney incorporates his 1st film company Laugh-O-Gram Films
1926 – Chicago Cub’s Hack Wilson is 1st to hit a home run off Wrigley Field scoreboard
1994 – Roman Herzog elected President of Germany
2001 – Marco Siffredi becomes the first person to snowboard down Mount Everest via the Norton Couloir (some share record accreditation with Stefan Gatt)
2021 – 28th Billboard Music Awards: The Weeknd wins 10; Pop Smoke wins 5

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Famous Birthdays

1795 – Charles Barry, British architect, born in London (d. 1860)
1898 – Joseph H. Hazen, Hollywood lawyer (Warner Brothers), born in Kingston, New York (d. 1996)
1934 – Malcolm Gill, deputy head (Bank for Intl Settlements)
1936 – Robert Sangster, horse owner/trainer
1946 – David Graham, Australian golfer (PGA C’ship 1979, US Open 1981), born in Windsor, NSW
1980 – Lane Garrison, American actor (Prison Break), born in Dallas, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (b. 1622)
1785 – William Woollett, engraver, dies
1838 – Jan Willem Janssens, Dutch nobleman, military officer, and Governor-General of Cape colony and Dutch-Indies, dies at 75
1947 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss writer (Le Petit Village), dies at 68
1996 – Rob Hall, New Zealand high altitude climber, dies of exposure on Mount Everest at 35
2001 – Alessadro Natta, Italian political leader (Communist Party), dies at 83

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