Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1931 – 1931 George End introduces “Genuine Diamondback Rattlesnake with Supreme Sauce” in a can, by his Florida Products Corporation; the popular item ceases production in 1944 after when the owner dies, a victim of one snake’s revenge
1967 – Egyptian President Nasser closes the Straits of Tiran to Israel
1974 – “Julie and Jackie: How Sweet It Is” music and comedy variety special starring Julie Andrews and Jackie Gleason airs on ABC-TV
1977 – Final European scheduled run of the Orient Express (after 94 years)
1983 – Toronto Blue Jay Cliff Johnson hits record 18th pinch hit HR
2015 – Pakistan begin the first test-playing nation cricket tour of Zimbabwe since 2009

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – Rattana Pestonji, Thai filmmaker and cinematographer (Tang), born in Bangkok, Thailand (d. 1970)
1925 – Jean Tinguely, Swiss sculptor artist (movement objects), born in Fribourg, Switzerland (d. 1991)
1928 – T. Boone Pickens, American businessperson and oil tycoon (Shamrock, Mesa Petroleum Co) known as the ‘Oracle of Oil’, born in Holdenville, Oklahoma (d. 2019)
1946 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and football manager (Everton), born in Ryton, County Durham (d. 2015)
1955 – Philip Dybvig, American economist (2022 Nobel Prize – for research on banks and financial crises)
1961 – Dana Williams, American singer (Diamond Rio – Meet in the Middle), born in Dayton, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

1457 – Saint Rita of Cascia, Italian saint (b. 1381)
1961 – Joan Davis, American actress (I Married Joan), dies of a heart attack at 53
1994 – Mitacq [Michel Tacq], Belgium comic strip artist (Beaver Patrol), dies
2004 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast who won Olympic gold USSR vault, horizontal bar 1968; World C’ship gold all-round, rings 1966, dies at 59
2019 – Judith Kerr, British children’s writer and illustrator (The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Mog books), dies at 95
2020 – Mory Kanté, Guinean singer and kora harp player (Yé ké yé ké), dies at 70

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Historical Events

1863 – Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, begins
1964 – Fire in Belgian resort kills 19
1968 – Nuclear-powered sub USS Scorpion, with 99 men, reported missing and is later found at the bottom of the ocean off Azores
1972 – “Lost in the Stars” based on the novel “Cry the Beloved Country” by Alan Paton closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 39 performances
1977 – Stevie Wonder’s single “Sir Duke”, a tribute to Duke Ellington and other musical influences of Wonder’s, begins a 3-week run at #1
1977 – Revival of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s musical “Fiddler on the Roof”, starring Zero Mostel, closes at Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 167 performances

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Famous Birthdays

1920 – Anthony Steel, British actor and singer (Malta Story, The Wooden Horse), born in London, England (d. 2001)
1923 – Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (d. 2003)
1943 – Vincent Crane [Cheesman], British rock Hammond organist, and songwriter (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – “Fire”), born in Reading, Berkshire, England (d. 1989)
1943 – John Dalton, British rock bass player (The Kinks, 1969-76 -“Lola”; “Celluloid Heroes”), born in Enfield, Middlesex, England
1952 – Mr. T [Lawrence Tureaud], American actor (A-Team, Rocky III, T and T), born in Chicago, Illinois
1979 – Jamie Hepburn, Scottish politician, Member of the Scottish Parliament, born in Glasgow, Scotland

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Famous Deaths

1771 – Christopher Smart, English poet and journalist (Ceremony of Carols), dies at 49
1895 – Franz von Suppé, Austrian composer (Poet und Bauer), dies at 76
1990 – Moelvi Mohammed Farouk, Indian spiritual leader, murdered
1992 – Elizabeth David, British cookbook writer (English Bread and Yeast Cookery), dies after a series of strokes at 72
1995 – Les Aspin, American politician, (Rep-D-Wisc, 1971-93) US Secretary of Defense (1993-95), dies of stroke at 56
2023 – Ray Stevenson, Northern Irish actor (King Arthur, Rome), dies at 58

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Historical Events

1217 – Second Battle of Lincoln fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
1347 – Rienzo calls Rome for people’s tribunal
1903 – Britain’s House of Commons begins a debate on the charges of poor administration and ill treatment of natives in Belgium’s colony in the Congo Free State
1911 – Edwin Boaler Alletson hits 189 in 90 mins Notts v Sussex
1967 – BBC bans the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” because of drug references
1973 – 2 motorcycle racers killed and a dozen injured in a crash during the 1973 Nations Grand Prix in Monza,Italy

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Famous Birthdays

1726 – Francis Cotes, English painter (d. 1770)
1922 – Clifford Charles Butler, English physicist (hyperon and meson types of particles) and vice chancellor of Loughborough University, born in Reading, England (d. 1999)
1936 – Anthony Zerbe, Cal, actor (Harry-O, Centennial, They Call Me Mr Tibbs)
1943 – Al Bano [Albano Carrisi], Italian-Albanian pop singer, actor, and winemaker, born in Cellino San Marco, Italy
1943 – Iain Vallance [Baron Vallance of Tummel], CEO (British Telecom)
1964 – Earl Charles Spencer, English peer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1722 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist, dies at 52
1942 – Hector Guimard, French Art Nouveau architect and designer (entrances to Paris Metros),
1949 – Randolph West, American biochemist, known for the Dakin-West reaction (b. 1890)
1989 – Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (SNL, 1975-80; Haunted Honeymoon), dies of ovarian cancer at 42
2007 – Norman Von Nida, Australian golfer, coach, broadcaster (British Open 1948 3rd), dies at 93
2009 – Lucy Gordon, British model and actress (b. 1980)

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Historical Events

1892 – National Society of Colonial Dames of America founded
1911 – Maurice Ravel’s opera “L’heure espagnole” premieres at the Opéra-Comique in Paris
1987 – 1st American Comedy Award: Johnny Carson and Betty White
1992 – Englishman Dave Gauder, 224 lbs, pulls 196 ton jumbo jet, 3 inches
1992 – 27th Amendment ratified, prohibits Congress from raising its salary
2019 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Bethpage State Park: Defending champion Brooks Koepka leads wire-to-wire; wins despite 5 bogeys on last 8 holes by 2 strokes from world #1 Dustin Johnson

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – Percy Williams, Canadian athlete (Olympic gold 100m / 200m 1928), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 1982)
1939 – Tomasz Sikorski, Polish minimalist composer (Solitude of Sounds), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1988)
1946 – Michele Placido, Foggia Italy, actor (La Lupa, Poliziotti)
1970 – K. J. Choi, South Korean golfer (Players C’ship 2011; 8 PGA Tour titles), born in Wando, South Korea
1971 – Psicosis [Dionicio Castellanos Torres], Mexican professional wrestler, born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
1972 – Aleksandr Golubev, Russian speed skater (Olympic gold 500m 1994), born in Karavaievo, Russia

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Famous Deaths

1303 – Ivo of Kermartin, Catholic saint and patron of Brittany, dies at 49
1526 – Emperor Go-Kashiwabara, 104th Emperor of Japan (1500-26), dies at 63
1795 – Josiah Bartlett, American physician and statesman (signed US Declaration of Independence), dies at 65
1971 – Ogden Nash, American humorous poet (I’m a Stranger Here Myself, Masquerade Party), dies at 68
1998 – Sōsuke Uno, Japanese prime minister (b. 1922)
2007 – Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)

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Historical Events

1765 – Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec
1812 – John Bellingham, a Liverpool merchant who assassinated British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval on May 11, is hung for the crime at the Old Bailey in London
1869 – Robert Tanner Freeman is 1st African American to graduate from Harvard Dental School
1956 – Queen Juliana opens Rembrandt fairs in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1967 – Tennessee Governor Ellington approves repeal of the Butler Act (or “Monkey Law”) – prohibiting the teaching of evolution, upheld in 1925 Scopes Trial
1990 – TV movie “Return To Green Acres” airs

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Famous Birthdays

1885 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian leader, President of Brazil (1945-50), born in Cuiabá, Brazil (d. 1974)
1892 – Ezio Pinza, Italian American operatic bass (NY Metropolitan Opera, 1926-48), and Tony Award-winning singer (South Pacific), born in Rome, Italy (d. 1957)
1922 – George Kitson, British principal of the Central School of Speech and Drama, born in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland (d. 2010)
1943 – Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka, Fijian-born American professional wrestler, born in Suva, British Fiji (d. 2017)
1944 – Peter Ryan, British national director (Police Training)
1947 – John Bruton, Irish politician, Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland (1994-97), born in Dunboyle, Ireland

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Famous Deaths

1848 – William Leidesdorff, Mixed-race early Californian businessman, dies at 37
1922 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1907), dies at 76
2000 – Gideon William Waldrop, American composer and educator (Julliard School, 1961-85), dies at 80
2007 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (1991), dies at 74
2009 – Wayne Allwine, American voice actor (3rd Mickey Mouse, 1977-2009), dies at 62
2021 – Franco Battiato, Italian pop, rock, and new wave singer, songwriter (“La Voce del Padrone” (“The Master’s Voice”), and filmmaker (“Lost Love”), dies at 76

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Historical Events

1863 – Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi
1865 – The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established
1899 – Victoria and Albert Museum foundation laid, London, England
1900 – “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is first published by L. Frank Baum with illustrations by William Wallace Denslow in Chicago
1980 – Major race riot in Miami, Florida – 16 killed, 300 injured
1990 – European court rules on pension rights for men and women

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Famous Birthdays

1846 – Edmund Bishop, English Roman Catholic historian and Secretary of Thomas Carlyle, born in Totnes, England (d. 1917)
1912 – Archibald Cox, American lawyer and special prosecutor (Watergate), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2004)
1945 – George Miller, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1975-2015), born in Richmond, California
1953 – Nicholas Bacon, premier baronet of England
1960 – Fiona Hutchison, actress (One Life to Live, Guiding Light), born in Miami, Florida
1973 – Jenny Scheinman, American jazz and session violinist (Bill Frisell; Allison Miller), and singer, born in San Francisco, California

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Famous Deaths

1606 – Forges Dimitri #1, Tsar of Russia (1605-06), murdered
1797 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French dramatist (Le Philosophe sans le savoir), dies at 77
1889 – William Roxby Beverly, artist, dies
1944 – Félix Éboué, French colonial administrator, dies at 60
1999 – Henry Jones, American actor (Vertigo, Phyllis, Falcon Crest, Gun Shy), dies from complications from a fall at 86
2022 – Vangelis [Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou], Greek composer, keyboardist, and Academy Award winner (Chariots of Fire), dies at 79

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Historical Events

1861 – Kentucky proclaims its neutrality
1902 – 2 deaf-mutes face each other for 1st time as Dummy Hoy leads off for the Reds against Dummy Taylor of the Giants, Reds win 5-3
1941 – Italian army under Aosta surrenders to Britain at Amba Alagi, Ethiopia
1957 – US launches its 3rd atomic submarine, USS Skate, at Groton, Connecticut
1997 – Atlanta Braves beat St Louis Cardinals, 1-0 in 13 innings
2014 – Paris Saint-Germain F.C. and Manchester City F.C. are each fined €60 million for breaching Fair Play Regulations

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Famous Birthdays

1929 – Betty Carter [Lillie Mae Jones], American jazz singer and scat vocalist, born in Flint, Michigan (d. 1998)
1931 – Donald James Martino, American classical composer (Notturno – Pulitzer Prize, 1974), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2005)
1961 – Kevin McDonald, Canadian comedian and actor
1968 – Patrick Waite, British reggae-rock bassist (Musical Youth – “Pass the Dutchie”), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1993)
1984 – Pania Rose, Australian fashion model, born in Perth, Western Australia
1984 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Alberta, Canada (d. 2011)

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Famous Deaths

1703 – Charles Perrault, French author and fairy tale writer (Tales of Mother Goose), dies at 75
1782 – Daniuel Charles Solander, botanist, dies
1977 – Edouard Van Remoortel, Belgian conductor (St Louis Symphony, 1958-62), dies at 50
2013 – Bernard Waber, American children’s book author (“The House on East 88th Street”; “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile”), dies from kidney failure at 88
2013 – Paul Shane, English comedian and actor, dies at 72
2016 – Julia Meade [Kunz], American actress and TV hostess (Spotlight Playhouse), dies at 90

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Historical Events

1864 – Battle of New Market, Virginia
1911 – The Georgios Averof cruiser is bought by Greece
1943 – Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International) to avoid upsetting his Western allies with claims he was trying to foment revolution globally
1988 – 2nd American Comedy Award: Robin Williams and Tracey Ullman
2018 – Controversial Kerch bridge linking Russia and annexed Crimea opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin. At 19km the longest bridge in Europe.
2018 – Flyover collapses in Varanasi, India, killing at least 18

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Famous Birthdays

1795 – Adolf Bernhard Marx [Samuel Moses Marx], German music theorist and pedagogue, born in Halle, Duchy of Magdeburg, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) (d. 1866)
1891 – Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian playwright and novelist (The Master and Margarita, Black Snow), born in Kiev, Russian Empire (d. 1940)
1911 – Leo Fuchs, Polish-born Jewish American actor (The Six Million Dollar Man, Avalon), born in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1994)
1914 – Pierre Froidebise, Belgian organist, composer, and musicologist, born in Chey, Belgium (d. 1962)
1939 – Dudley Wysong, American golfer (PGA C’ship 1966 runner-up), born in McKinney, Texas (d. 1998)
1940 – Álvaro Mejía, Colombian athlete (Boston Marathon 1971 2:18:45), born in Medellín, Colombia (d. 2021)

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Famous Deaths

1685 – Henri Otto, Spanish marquis of Caretto/Savona/Grana, dies
1773 – Alban Butler, English Catholic priest and writer, dies at 62
1824 – Alexander Campbell, Scottish composer and writer (associate of Walter Scott), dies at 60
1886 – Emily Dickinson, American poet (Collected Poems), dies of nephritis at 55
1972 – Nigel Green, South African-born British character actor (Zulu, Skull, Tobruk, Ipcress File), dies of an accidental barbiturate overdose at 47
1998 – Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)

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Historical Events

1940 – Admiral Johannes Furstner, Royal Dutch Navy, departs to England
1957 – Bob Merrill’s musical “New Girl in Town” opens at 46th St Theater, NYC; runs for 432 performances
1972 – In Willie Mays’ 1st game as New York Met, his homer beats San Francisco Giants, 5-4 (his former team of over 20 years), at Shea Stadium, New York
1987 – Colt revolver (Peacemaker) of 1873 sells for $242,000
1997 – Baseball’s Executive Council suspends NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for his suing other team owners
2020 – Global death toll from COVID-19 passes 300,000 with 4.4 million confirmed infections

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Famous Birthdays

1316 – Charles IV, King of Bohemia (1346-78) and Holy Roman Emperor (1355-78), born in Prague (d. 1378)
1895 – Renato Lunelli, composer Italian organist, composer, and musicologist, born in Trent, Austria-Hungary (now Trento, Italy) (d. 1967)
1899 – Earle Combs, American Baseball HOF center fielder (9 × World Series 1927, 28, 32, 36–39, 41, 43; New York Yankees), born in Richmond, Kentucky (d. 1976)
1928 – Will “Dub” Jones, American bass singer (The Coasters – “Charlie Brown”), born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 2000)
1973 – Voshon Lenard, NBA guard (Miami Heat)
1997 – Jennifer Kupcho, American golfer (Chevron Championship 2022; Evian Championship 2019 runner-up), born in Littleton, Colorado

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Famous Deaths

649 – Theodore, Greek Pope (642-49) (excommunicated by Paul II), dies
1873 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and writer (b. 1797)
1966 – Megan Lloyd George, English politician (1st female MP for Welsh – Carmarthen), dies at 64
1977 – Robert Maynard Hutchins, American educational philosopher (University of Chicago), dies at 78
1991 – Shintaro Abe, minister of Exterior of Japan (1982-86), dies
2009 – Bob Rosburg, American golfer, broadcaster (PGA Championship 1959), dies of head injuries from a fall at 82

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Historical Events

1638 – Construction of the Red Fort begins at Shahjahanabad, Mughal Empire (now Dehli, India)
1890 – 18th Preakness: W Martin aboard Montague wins in 2:36.75
1917 – 1st appearance of Mary to 3 shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal
1966 – The Rolling Stones release “Paint it Black” in the UK
1973 – “Cyrano” opens at Palace Theater NYC for 49 performances
2000 – In Enschede, the Netherlands, a fireworks factory explodes, killing 22 people, wounding 950, and resulting in approximately €450 million in damage

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Famous Birthdays

1929 – Creed Taylor, American Grammy Award-winning jazz and bossa nova record producer (Stan Getz; Wes Montgomery), and label founder (Impluse!; CTI Records), born in Lynchburg, Virginia (d. 2022)
1937 – Roch Carrier, Canadian novelist (The Hockey Sweater), born in Sainte-Justine, Quebec
1939 – Hildrun Laufer-Claus, German long jumper, born in Dresden, Germany
1949 – Franklyn Ajaye, American comedian and actor (Car Wash, The Jazz Singer, Bridesmaids), born in Brooklyn, New York
1966 – Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter (Seventh Tree), born in London
1983 – Timnit Gebru, Eritrean-Ethiopian computer scientist (Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute), born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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Famous Deaths

1312 – Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1263)
1951 – Marianne Philips, Dutch author (Issue Beukennoot), dies at 65
1975 – Vladislav Zolotaryov, Soviet Russian bayanist (button accordion player), and composer (Six Children’s Suites), takes his own life at 53
1984 – Stanislaw Ulam, Polish-American mathematician and nuclear physicist (Manhattan Project, H-bomb), dies at 75
1985 – Leatrice Joy, silent screen star, dies in Riverdale (Bronx) NYC at 91
2009 – Frank Aletter, American character actor (Mac-It’s About Time, Tom-Nancy), dies of lung cancer at 83

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