Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1869 – North Carolina legislature passes anti-Ku Klux Klan Law
1905 – French Dufaux brothers test helicopter
1931 – Joe McCarthy debuts as New York Yankees manager
1935 – First flight of the Bristol Blenheim
1999 – US President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving “intentionally false statements” in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit.
2020 – OPEC and other major oil companies agree to the largest-ever drop in production to stabilize world prices

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Famous Birthdays

1933 – Montserrat Caballé, Spanish bel canto operatic soprano, and unlikely pop star (with Freddie Mercury – Barcelona), born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 2018)
1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer (Mensch; Spruenge), born in Göttingen, Germany
1956 – Alex Briley, American actor (Can’t Stop the Music), born in New York City
1959 – Liu Xiao Ling Tong [Zhang Jinlai], Chinese actor (Journey to the West – “Monkey King”), born in Shanghai, China
1965 – Elaine Zayak, American figure skater (Olympic 6th 1984), born in Paramus, New Jersey
1995 – Jennifer Brady, American tennis player (Australian Open 2021 runner-up), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

238 – Gordian II, Roman co-Emperor with his father Gordian I, killed in battle at Carthage
1997 – George Wald, American physiologist and biologist (Nobel Prize 1967, vitamin A in retina), dies at 90
2007 – Kevin Crease, Australian TV anchor (b. 1936)
2012 – George Mesterhazy, Hungarian-American jazz pianist, and arranger, dies at 56
2020 – Francisco Aritmendi, Spanish athlete (International Cross Country Championships 1964), dies of COVID-19 at 81
2020 – Jim Frey, American MLB manager (Kansas City Royals, American League C’ship 1980; Chicago Cubs), dies at 88

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Historical Events

1471 – Wars of the Roses: King Edward IV of England seizes London from Henry VI
1907 – New York Giants future Baseball Hall of Fame backstop Roger Bresnahan becomes first catcher to wear shin guards
1926 – Flemish Economic Covenant (VEV) forms in Ghent
1939 – Hungary leaves League of Nations
1957 – Britain agrees to Singaporean self-rule
1991 – Space Shuttle STS 37 (Atlantis 8) lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California

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Famous Birthdays

1919 – Raymond Carr, English historian and warden (St Antony’s College Oxford), born in Bath, Somerset, England (d. 2015)
1930 – Joseph Burnett-Stuart, CEO (Robert Fleming Holdings)
1937 – Jill Gascoine, British stage and pioneering TV actress (The Gentle Touch – “Maggie Forbes”), and novelist, born in Lambeth, London, England (d. 2020)
1966 – Lisa Stansfield, English pop singer (“Around the World”), born in Manchester, England
1971 – Oliver Riedel, German musician (Rammstein), born in Schwerin, Germany
1974 – Alex Corretja, Spanish tennis player (Tour Finals 1998; Davis Cup 2000), born in Barcelona, Spain

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Famous Deaths

1240 – Llywelyn ab Iorwerth the Great, monarch of Wales (1194-1240), dies
1626 – Marin Getaldić, Croatian mathematician (b. 1568)
1810 – Jakob Zupan, Slovenian composer, dies at 75
1853 – Louis-Emmanuel Jadin, French pianist, music director, and composer, dies at 84
2007 – Janet McDonald, American novelist (b. 1954)
2010 – Jean Boiteux, French swimmer (Olympic gold 400m freestyle, bronze 4×200m freestyle 1952), dies after falling off a tree at 76

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Historical Events

1741 – War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia defeats Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz
1815 – Austria declares war on Kingdom of Naples
1942 – Cigarettes and candy rationed in Holland
1957 – USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
1972 – 20 days after he was kidnapped in Buenos Aires, Oberdan Sallustro is executed by communist guerrillas
2019 – Four tiny sweat bees removed alive from a woman’s eye in world’s first operation of its kind at Fooyin University Hospital, Taiwan

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Famous Birthdays

1925 – Bernard Moitessier, French sailor, vagabond and author who famously led the 1st non-stop, singlehanded, round the world yacht race before sailing a 2nd lap of the world back to Tahiti, born in Saigon, French Vietnam (d. 1994)
1932 – Mae Faggs, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m 1952), born in Mays Landing, New Jersey (d. 2000)
1948 – Fred Smith, American rock bassist (Television – “Marquee Moon”; Blondie, 1974-75), born in New York City
1958 – Bob Bell, British engineer and Chief Technical Officer of the Renault Formula One team, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
1979 – Tsuyoshi Domoto, Japanese actor and singer (KinKi Kids), born in Nara, Japan
1981 – Liz McClarnon, British singer (Atomic Kitten), born in Liverpool

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Famous Deaths

1640 – Charlotte Flandrina van Nassau, French abbess and daughter of William I of Orange, dies at 60
1885 – Jan Hendrik Scholten, Dutch radical theologist (Free Will), dies at 73
1979 – Nino Rota [Giovanni Rota Rinaldi], Italian classical and film score composer (Il cappello di paglia di Firenze; The Godfather (I and II; 16 Fellini films), dies from a coronary thrombosis at 67
1986 – Linda Creed, American singer and songwriter (“The Greatest Love Of All”), dies of breast cancer at 37
1994 – Sam B. Hall, American politician and judge (Rep (D) Texas 1976-85), dies at 70
2005 – Al Lucas, American football player (b. 1978)

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Historical Events

1440 – Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark (1440-48)
1949 – UN International Court of Justice holds Albania responsible for incidents in Corfu Channel and awards Britain damages
1972 – New Zealand cricket opening batsmen Glenn Turner (259) and Terry Jarvis (187) make 387 partnership in 4th Test v WI in Georgetown, Guyana
1992 – Record 18 golfers shoot in 60s in Masters round 1 (old record 12)
2013 – 37 people are killed and 850 are injured after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Iran
2021 – Uganda opposition party National Unity Platform Party, headed by Bobi Wine, claims 623 people have been abducted and tortured by the government of President Yoweri Museveni

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Famous Birthdays

1753 – Pieter Paulus, Dutch Patriot and President of the First National Assembly in The Hague, born in Axel, Netherlands (d. 1796)
1785 – Sibrandus Stratingh, Dutch physician and chemist (electric car), born in Adorp, Netherlands (d. 1841)
1865 – Erich Ludendorff, German general during World War I, born in Kruszewnia, Prussia (d. 1937)
1905 – J. William Fulbright, American senator from Arkansas, known for opposition to the Vietnam War), born in Sumner, Missouri (d. 1995)
1936 – Michael Somare, British foreign affairs minister (Paupa and New Guinea), born in Rabaul, Territory of New Guinea
1943 – Terry Knight [Knapp], American rock singer, manager, and record producer (Grand Funk Railroad), born in Lapeer, Michigan (d. 2004)

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Famous Deaths

1681 – Alfonso Marsh, English composer and lutenist, dies at 54
1806 – William V of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, dies at 58
1922 – Patrick Manson, Scottish physician and parasitologist (Father of tropical medicine), dies at 77
1945 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral and head of Germany military intelligence, hanged by the Nazi regime for treason at 58
1970 – Gustaf Tenggren, Swedish-American artist and chief illustrator for The Walt Disney Company during the 1930s (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Bambi, Pinocchio), dies at 73
1976 – Akio Yashiro, Japanese composer, dies at 46

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Historical Events

1879 – Milk sold in glass bottles for 1st time
1945 – 1945 NFL Draft: Charley Trippi from University of Georgia first pick by Chicago Cardinals
1960 – Netherlands and Germany sign accord concerning war casualties
1984 – 4th Golden Raspberry Awards: “Lonely Lady” wins
1995 – 148th Grand National: Irish rider Jason Titley wins aboard 40/1 outsider Royal Athlete; trainer Jenny Pitman’s second GN victory
2021 – Dr. Anthony Fauci thanks American health workers for their sacrifice during the pandemic, acknowledging their more than 3,600 deaths

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Famous Birthdays

1887 – Walter Connolly, American actor (Good Earth, 5th Avenue Girl), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1940)
1924 – Frédéric Back, German-born Canadian short film director and screenwriter (The Man Who Planted Trees), born in Saarbrücken, The Territory of the Saar Basin (d. 2013)
1936 – Klaus Lowitsch, German actor (Despair, Marriage of Marla Braun), born in Berlin, Germany
1941 – Murray Khouri, New Zealand classical clarinet player (Australia Ensemble), writer, and broadcaster, born in Wellington, New Zealand (d. 2018)
1964 – Biz Markie [Marcel Hall], American rapper, DJ and record producer (“Just A Friend”), born in New York City (d. 2021)
1983 – Allu Arjun, Indian Telugu film actor (Parugu), born in Madras, India

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Famous Deaths

956 – Gilbert of Chalon, Duke of Burgundy
1898 – William Polk Hardeman, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 81
1970 – Felix, of Bourbon-Parma and Prince consort of Luxemburg, dies at 76
1978 – Ford C Frick, American Baseball HOF executive (NL President 1934-51; MLB Commissioner 1951-65), dies at 83
2008 – John Button, Australian politician (Button car plan), dies at 74
2009 – Wally Baker, American supercentenarian, dies at 111

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Historical Events

1943 – Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met for an Axis conference in Salzburg
1953 – 1st west-to-east jet transatlantic nonstop flight
1973 – Cleveland sets day-game and opening-game attendance records of 74,420
1980 – US President Jimmy Carter breaks relations with Iran during hostage crisis
1981 – “Street Songs” 5th studio album by Rick James is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1981)
2022 – MLB Cleveland Guardians lose in first game under their new name, 3-1 to the Royals in Kansas City

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Famous Birthdays

1910 – Obdulio Morales, Cuban pianist, conductor, composer, ethnomusicologist, and Afro-Cuban bandleader, born in Havana, Cuba (d. 1981)
1920 – Gino Marinuzzi, Jr., Italian-American conductor, symphonic and film score composer (Le Carrosse d’or), and electronic music pioneer (Fonosynth), born in New York City (d. 1996)
1933 – Wayne Rogers, American actor (M*A*S*H, 1972-75 – “Capt. ‘Trapper’ John McIntyre”; House Calls), born in Birmingham Alabama (d. 2015)
1938 – Jerry Brown, American politician and Governor of California (Democrat: 1975-83, 2011-19), born in San Francisco, California
1973 – Carole Montillet, French skier
1975 – John Cooper, American christian rock musician (Skillet), born in Memphis, Tennessee

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Famous Deaths

1668 – William Davenant, English poet (b. 1606)
1947 – Henry Ford, American industrialist and auto maker (Ford Model T), dies at 83
1983 – Gavin Gordon, television actor (Romance, Lone Cowboy), dies at 82
2003 – Jutta Hipp, German-American jazz pianist and composer, dies at 78
2014 – Peaches Geldof, English columnist and daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, dies of a heroin overdose at 25
2021 – Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league halfback (20 Tests; Rothmans Medal 1972; Wests, Newtown) and coach (Wests, NSW), dies from cancer at 70

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Historical Events

1886 – Declaration of Berlin neutralizes Tonga
1903 – In Holland, railroad and dock workers go out on strike, but the government passes anti-strike bills, calls out troops, and promptly ends the strike on the 13th April
1945 – World War II: Dutch city of Coevorden freed from German occupation by Canadian forces
1945 – Battle of Okinawa: Giant Japanese battleship Yamato heads to Okinawa with orders to beach herself and be destroyed defending the island
1986 – CBS’ fact based “Nobody’s Child”, story of Marie Balter
2013 – Bayern Munich win their 23rd German Bundesliga title with 6 games to spare

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Famous Birthdays

1935 – James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose, Southern Rhodesia-born hereditary peer of the Peerage of Scotland
1943 – Harry Conroy, trade unionist
1944 – John Stax [Fullagar], British rock bassist, and harmonica player (Pretty Things, 1963-67 – “Don’t Bring Me Down”; “Cry To Me”), born in Crayford, Kent, England
1959 – Dianne Brill, Tampa, fashion designer/party girl (Queen of the Night)
1961 – Rory Bremner, impressionist
1979 – Frederick MGDL Windsor, son of English prince Michael

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Famous Deaths

1817 – Bonaventura Furlanetto, Italian composer, dies at 78
1983 – Ana Maria, Salvador guerilla leader, murdered
1990 – Nancy Hawkes, (1946 best dressed woman), dies at 73
2001 – Charles Pettigrew, American soul singer (Charles and Eddie – “Would I Lie To You?”), dies of cancer at 37
2011 – Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Pakistani Sindhi scholar (compiled first Sindhi-English dictionary), dies at 93
2018 – Daniel Akaka, American educator and politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1609 – Daimyo (Lord) of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa
1847 – Birkenhead Park, the first civic public park, opens in Birkenhead, England, designed by Joseph Paxton
1908 – British Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman resigns
1941 – San Francisco Castro and Fillmore streetcars replaced by buses
1976 – Harold Wilson resigns as James Callaghan becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1991 – Detroit Pistons Joe Dumaars ends NBA free throw streak of 62 games

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Famous Birthdays

1472 – Bianca Maria Sforza, wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, born in Pavia, Italy (d. 1510)
1698 – Georg Gottfried Wagner, German composer, born in Mühlberg, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1756)
1899 – William Hornby Steer, Conservative Party politician and barrister (d. 1993)
1908 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian independence activist and politician, born in Chandwa, Bhojpur, Bihar, British India (d. 1986)
1937 – Stuart May, senior partner (Theodore Goddard)
1944 – Peter T. King, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from New York, born in Manhattan, New York

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Famous Deaths

1717 – Jean Jouvenet, French painter (b. 1647)
1943 – Aleš Hrdlička, Austro-Hungarian anthropologist and curator (US National Museum), dies at 74
1973 – John Coleman, Australian rules footballer (b. 1928)
1994 – Kurt Cobain, American grunge rocker (Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”), commits suicide at 27 by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun
2005 – Dale Messick [Dalia Messick], American comic strip artist (Brenda Starr, Reporter), dies at 98
2012 – Ferdinand A. Porsche, German car designer (Porsche 911), dies at 76

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Historical Events

1828 – Casparus van Wooden patents chocolate milk powder in Amsterdam
1862 – Siege of Yorktown, fought in York County and Newport News, Virginia begins (Yorktown campaign), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
1913 – 75th Grand National: Percy Woodland wins aboard 100/9 chance Covertcoat; owner Sir Charles Assheton-Smith’s 2nd straight GN victory and 3rd overall
1939 – Faisal II ascends to throne of Iraq
1971 – Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies” opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 524 performances, then most expensive Broadway musical at the time
2013 – 9 people have been killed on an axe-murdering rampage in Chhattisgarh state, India

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Famous Birthdays

1716 – Johann Evangelist Schreiber, Swiss Baroque composer, born in Arth, Switzerland (d. 1800)
1772 – Nachman of Breslov, Ukrainian founder of Breslov Hasidut, born in Międzybóż, Kingdom of Poland (d. 1810)
1870 – George Albert Smith, American religious leader, 8th President of Latter-day Saints, born in Salt Lake City, Utah (d. 1951)
1919 – Antony Tudor, English dancer and choreographer (Metropolitan Opera 1957), born in London (d. 1987)
1957 – Paul Downton, English cricketer (England wicket-keeper in 80’s), born in Farnborough, London
1988 – Frank Fielding, English football goalkeeper, born in Blackburn, Lancashire

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Famous Deaths

1643 – Simon Episcopius [Bisschop], Dutch theologist, dies at 60
1661 – Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish soldier (b. circa 1580)
1662 – Davis Mell, British violinist, composer, and clockmaker, dies at 57
1693 – Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, Portuguese-Jewish rabbi, scholar and religious writer prominent in Amsterdam and in Dutch Brazil, dies at 88
1905 – Constantin Meunier, Belgian painter and sculptor, dies at 73
1988 – Ludwig Stiel, German pianist, composer, and conductor, dies at 86

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Historical Events

1312 – 2nd council of Vienna, Knights Templars suppressed
1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start a policy of “Vietnamization”, reducing American involvement
1977 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s 1st meeting with US President Jimmy Carter
2006 – 68th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Florida beats UCLA, 73-57; Gators first title; center Joakim Noah named tournament Most Outstanding Player
2013 – 50 people are killed by flooding across Argentina
2017 – Bomb on St Petersburg metro kills 11, 2nd bomb defused

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Famous Birthdays

1904 – Sally Rand, American burlesque dancer, vedette, and actress known for her ostrich feather fan and balloon bubble dances, born in Elkton, Missouri (d. 1979)
1914 – Katherine Stammers Menzies, English doubles tennis player (Wimb 1935), born in St Albans, England (d. 2005)
1930 – Max Frankel, American journalist (Tables of Id of Organic Compounds), born in Gera, Germany
1934 – Jane Goodall, British primatologist, anthropologist, and writer (Through a Window: My Thirty Years With the Chimpanzees of Gombe), born in Hampstead, London, England
1964 – Nigel Farage, British politician and leader of the UKIP who campaigned for Brexit, born in Downe, Kent
1980 – Trevor Moore, American actor and comedian (The Whitest Kids U’ Know), born in Montclair, New Jersey

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Famous Deaths

628 – Khosrow II, Sāsānian King of Persia (579-628), murdered by his son Kavad at about 57
1822 – Friedrich Justin Bertuch, German publisher and patron, dies at 74
1983 – Danny Rapp, American pop singer (Danny and The Juniors – “At The Hop”), takes his own life at 41
2003 – Homer Banks, American singer and songwriter (“Be What You Are”), dies at 61
2003 – Michael Kelly, American journalist (b. 1957)
2010 – Dusan Radic, Serbian composer, dies at 80

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