Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1882 – The Serbian kingdom is refounded.
1906 – Black evangelist William J Seymour arrives in Los Angeles, California
1922 – London issues a unilateral declaration of Egyptian independence
1979 – Billy Martin named manager of Oakland A’s
2003 – Pakistani pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar bowls the fastest ball recorded in cricket history at 100.2 mph (161.3 km/h)
2014 – Viktor Yanukovych is ousted as President of Ukraine by the parliament following the Euromaidan revolution

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1881 – Joseph B. Ely, American politician (d. 1956)
1920 – Del Wood [Adelaide Hazelwood], American country musician, born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1989)
1929 – Rebecca Schull [Wattenberg], American actress (Wings, United 93), born in New York City
1949 – Olga Morozova, Russian tennis player, born in Moscow, Soviet Union
1962 – Lenda Murray, American body builder (4X Ms Olympia), born in Detroit, Michigan
1962 – Mark Arm [McLaughlin], American grunge rock singer-songwriter, (Green River; Mudhoney), born at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1213 – Wibert of Gembloers, benediction/writer/abbot of Gembloers, dies
1849 – Alexander Fesca, German pianist and composer, dies at 28
1960 – Paul-Émile Borduas, Canadian abstract painter, dies at 54
1983 – Christina E “Christine” Auwen, singer and wife of John Kelly, dies at 75
1993 – Pieter A H Bos, Dutch lawyer/procureur-general (Aruba), dies at 63
2009 – Günter Kochan, German composer, dies at 78

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1440 – The Prussian Confederation is formed
1911 – Gustav Mahler conducts his last concerto, Berceuse élégiaque, in New York City
1982 – “Little Me” closes at Eugene O’Neill Theater NYC after 36 performances
1993 – Sergei Bubka pole vaults world record indoor (6.15 m)
1995 – RAF-pilot Jo Salter is 1st woman to fly in a tornado
1997 – NASA’s STS 82 (Space Shuttle Discovery 22) lands

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1880 – Frank Orth, American actor (Boston Blackie, Brothers), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1962)
1887 – Savielly Tartakower, Austrian-Polish-French chess player, born in Rostov-on-Don, Russian Empire (d. 1956)
1925 – Al Fann, American actor (Alvin-He’s the Mayor), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2018)
1949 – Jerry Harrison, American rock keyboardist and guitarist (Talking Heads; solo “Rev It Up”), and record producer (Kenny Wayne Shepherd; Bo-Deans; The String Cheese Incident), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1958 – Steve Nieve [Nason], British session and touring keyboard player and composer (Elvis Costello), born in Bishop’s Stortford, England
1970 – Marc Woodard, American NFL linebacker (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Kosciusko, Mississippi

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1846 – Emperor Ninko, 120th Emperor of Japan (1817-46), dies at 45
1918 – Neltje Blanchan, American nature writer, dies at 52
1919 – Mary Edwards Walker, American surgeon and feminist, only woman awarded Medal of Honor (US Civil War), dies at 86
1941 – Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, dies in a plane crash at 49
1985 – Ina Claire [Fagan], American stage and screen actress (Ninotchika), dies of a heart attack at 91
1993 – Dick White, British intelligence officer (Director General of MI5 1953–1956; Head of the Secret Intelligence Service 1956–1968), dies at 86

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1926 – Montreal and Ottawa battle out just the second 0-0 tie in NHL history; dominant goalies are Clint Benedict (Maroons) and Alex Connell (Senators)
1971 – National Emergency Center erroneously orders US radio and TV stations to go off the air. Mistake wasn’t resolved for 30 minutes
1976 – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands.
1988 – Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria sets high jumps indoor world record (2.06 m)
1988 – Andre Hoffmann skates world record 1500m (1:52.06)
2014 – Aberdeen, Washington unveils statue of a weeping Kurt Cobain at park named after the singer

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1779 – Augustus Callcott, English landscape painter, born in Kensington Gravel Pits, England (d. 1844)
1794 – William Carleton, Irish novelist (d. 1869)
1802 – Charles-Auguste de Beriot, Belgian violinist and composer, born in Leuven, Belgium (d. 1870)
1967 – Kurt Knudsen, American baseball pitcher (Detroit Tigers)
1971 – Shawn McKenzie, American programmer
1978 – Julia Jentsch, German actress

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1855 – Joseph Hume, Scottish doctor and social reformer, dies at 78
1860 – Henry Drummond, English banker and religious leader, dies at 69
1911 – (Peter) Nicolai von Wilm, German-Baltic pianist and composer, dies at 76
1976 – Kathryn Kuhlman, religious leader/faith healer, dies
2004 – J. J. Malone, American soul singer (“It’s A Shame”), dies of cancer at 68
2005 – John Raitt, American stage and screen singer and actor (Carousel; Pajama Game), dies from pneumonia at 88

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1594 – Having already inherited the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through his mother, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, succeeding his father John III of Sweden.
1897 – Inaugural meeting of the Women’s Institute at Stoney Creek, Ontario, set at the suggestion of Adelaide Hoodless, the organization will rapidly spread around the world
1928 – World champion French team Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet win the Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games; the couple marry in 1929 and take 2nd straight gold in 1932
1943 – German tanks under Major General Karl Buelowius attack Kasserine Pass, Tunisia
1977 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1987 – Musical revue “Stardust – The Mitchell Parish Musical”, featuring songs of the Lithuanian-American lyricist, opens at Biltmore Theater, NYC; runs for 101 performances

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1755 – Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten, Dutch Governor-General of Dutch East Indies (1796-1801), born in Bergen op Zoom (d. 1801)
1881 – Evert Gorter, Dutch children’s pioneering paediatrician (founder of Dutch medical child care), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1954)
1916 – Eddie Arcaro, American Racing Hall of Fame jockey (Triple Crown 1941 Whirlaway, 1948 Citation), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1997)
1952 – Gaëtan Dugas, French Canadian flight attendant and HIV patient erroneously vilifed as “Patient Zero”, born in Quebec City, Quebec (d. 1984)
1970 – Ruwan Kalpage, Sri Lankan cricket off-spinner
1983 – Assunta De Rossi, Filipino actress

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1936 – Charles Harding Firth, British historian (b. 1857)
1994 – Vittorio Rieti, Jewish Italian-American composer, dies at 96
1995 – John Howard, American actor (The Philadelphia Story; My Three Sons), dies of heart failure at 81
1996 – Brenda Bruce, actress (December Bride, Nightmare), dies at 77
2016 – [Nelle] Harper Lee, American author (To Kill a Mockingbird), dies at 89
2023 – Richard Belzer, American comedian, actor (Homicide: Life on the Street; Law and Order: SVU – both shows “Det. John Munch”) and author (How To Be A Stand-Up; UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Believe), dies at 78

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1856 – The American Party (Know-Nothings) convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate its first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore.
1900 – British troops occupy Monte Christo, Natal
1943 – Members of student non-violent resistance group “White Rose” arrested by Nazis after distributing pamphlets in Munich, Germany
1951 – Netherlands Radio School forms
1953 – “Maggie” opens at National Theater NYC for 5 performances
2019 – British parliamentary committee issues scathing report on Facebook, accusing company of breaking privacy laws, calling for new regulations

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1543 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
1898 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet (d. 1980)
1922 – Rolf “Hazy” Osterwald, Swiss jazz bandleader, trumpeter, and vibraphonist, born in Bern, Switzerland (d. 2012)
1964 – Paul Hanley, British musician (The Fall, Tom Hingley and the Lovers), born in Manchester, England
1967 – Harry Van Barneveld, Belgian judoka, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
1974 – Jamey Carroll, American baseball player, born in Evansville, Indiana

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1915 – Frank James, American outlaw (member of the James-Younger gang), dies at 72
1976 – Anton Betzner, writer, dies at 81
1977 – Maria Realino [Frederikus Janssen], teacher (Botany of Curacao), dies at 87
1995 – John Rhea “Yank” Lawson, American jazz trumpeter (Dogtown Blues, Stormy Weather), dies of a heart attack at 84
2006 – Richard Bright, American actor (Al Neri-Godfather), dies at 68
2008 – Alain Robbe-Grillet, French novelist (Voyeur) and film maker, dies of heart failure at 85

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1854 – Britain recognises independence of Orange Free State (South Africa)
1878 – 1st telephone exchange in San Francisco, California opens with 18 phones
1916 – Sigmund Romberg, James Hanley, Harold R. Atteridge and Edgar Smith’s musical “Robinson Crusoe Jr”, featuring Al Jolson, opens at the Winter Garden Theatre, NYC; runs for 139 performances
1924 – American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller sets 100m world freestyle record 57.4s at Miami, Florida
1928 – American brothers, Jennison and John Heaton fight out the top placings in the cresta (now known as skeleton) at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Jennison takes the gold by 1.0s
2020 – Amazon boss Jeff Bezos pledges $10 billion to help fight climate change

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1850 – Anton Urspruch, German composer, born in Frankfurt (d. 1907)
1892 – Theodor Plievier, German writer (Des Kaisers Kulis [The Kaiser’s Coolies]; Stalingrad), born in Berlin, German Empire (d. 1955)
1906 – Ramon Tapales, Filipino composer and conductor, born in Baybay, Philippines (d. 1995)
1934 – Alan Bates, British actor (Zorba the Greek; An Unmarried Woman; The Rose), born in Allestree, Derby, England (d. 2003)
1969 – Levon Kirkland, American NFL linebacker (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Lamar, South Carolina
1971 – Jeremy Edwards, British actor (Holby City), born in London, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1609 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, dies at 59
1924 – Henry Bacon, American architect (Lincoln Memorial), dies at 57
1970 – Alfred Newman, American film music arranger, conductor and composer, winner of 9 Academy Awards (The Robe; How The West Was Won; Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing), dies at 69
1985 – Wanda Perry, actress (Roberta, Death of a Salesman), dies at 67
1993 – Alfredo de Leon, leader (Philippines Red Scorpio Gang), killed
2021 – Gianluigi Saccaro, Italian fencer (Olympic gold épée team 1960; silver épée team 1964; bronze épée 1968), dies at 82

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1854 – Franz Liszt’s symphony “Orpheus” premieres
1903 – -59°F (-51°C), Pokegama Dam, Minnesota (state record)
1914 – 1st airplane flight from LA to SF
1943 – Withdrawing Afrika Korps reaches Mareth-line in North Africa
2005 – 2004-05 NHL season is cancelled by Commissioner Gary Bettman; first time a North American professional sports league has called off a season due to labor dispute
2018 – Swiss cross country skier Dario Cologna wins 4th career Olympic gold medal in the 15k freestyle in Pyeongchang; wins event in Vancouver (2010), and 15k classical and 30k skiathlon in Sochi (2014)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1620 – Frederick William, Great Elector, ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia (1640-88), born in Berlin (d. 1688)
1916 – Charlie Fowlkes, American baritone saxophonist (Count Basie Orchestra, 1953-80), born in New York City (d. 1980)
1931 – George E. Sangmeister, American politician (Rep-D-Illinois 1989-95), born in Frankfort, Illinois (d. 2007)
1938 – John Corigliano, American composer (Fern Hill, Ghosts of Versailles), born in New York City
1954 – Margaux Hemingway, actress (Lipstick, They Call Me Bruce), born in Portland, Oregon
1954 – Michael Holding, West Indian cricket fast bowler (60 Tests, 249 wickets, BB 8/92; Jamaica, Derbyshire CCC, Lancashire CCC) and broadcaster (Sky Sports), born in Kingston, Jamaica

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1279 – Afonso III, King of Portugal (1248-79), dies at 68
1560 – Jean du Bellay, French Catholic cardinal and diplomat
1993 – Donald Phelps, American actor (Ghost Ship), dies of AIDS at 61
1993 – Richard Salant, news president (CBS-60 Minutes), dies at 78
2018 – Hubert Doggart, English cricket batsman (2 Tests; Cambridge University CC, Sussex CCC) and executive (President MCC 1981–82), dies at 92
2020 – Barry Hulshoff, Dutch soccer defender (14 caps; European Cup 1971, 72, 73; Ajax Amsterdam), dies at 73

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1686 – Jean Baptiste Lully’s opera “Armide” premieres in Paris
1950 – WM Inge’s “Come Back, Little Sheba” premieres in NYC
1954 – WRDW TV channel 12 in Augusta, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1978 – England all out 64 for 1st loss to NZ in cricket (Geoffrey Boycott captain)
1979 – 21st Grammy Awards: Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are”; A Taste of Honey win
1989 – Soviet military occupation of Afghanistan ends as the last Soviet troops cross the Soviet-Afghan border

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1739 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect (d. 1813)
1931 – [Patricia] Claire Bloom, British actress (Charly, Look Back in Anger), born in London, England
1931 – W K Reid, British ombudsman
1937 – Terry Everett, American politician (Rep-R-Alabama 1993-2009), born in Dothan, Alabama
1939 – Robert Hansen, American serial killer
1979 – Adam Granduciel [Granofsky], American guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer (The War on Drugs – “Thinking Of A Place”; “Holding On”: The Violators, 2003-11), born in Dover, Massachusetts

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1923 – Josephine Beall Bruce, African-American activist (NACW), dies at 69
1932 – Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress (Henrik Ibsen’s plays), dies at 66
1961 – Dudley Richards, American figure skater (U.S. Pairs champion, 1961), dies in a plane crash at 29
2005 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer and songwriter, dies of lung cancer at 60
2021 – Vincent Jackson, American NFL wide receiver (Pro Bowl 2009, 11, 12; SD Chargers, TB Buccaneers), dies at 38
2023 – Raquel Welch (née Tejada), American stage and screen (Myra Breckenridge; One Million Years B.C.; 100 Rifles), and nightclub singer, dies at 82

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1076 – Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (for the 1st time)
1872 – 1st US state bird refuge authorized (Lake Merritt, California)
1929 – St Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago, 7 gangsters killed, allegedly on Al Capone’s orders
1968 – WHKY TV channel 14 in Hickory, NC (IND) begins broadcasting
1980 – US launches Solar Maximum Mission Observatory to study solar flares
2002 – Fishing vessel Tullaghmurray Lass sinks off the coast of Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland killing three members of the same family on board

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1895 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (Dialectic of Enlightenment, Eclipse of Reason), born in Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart, Germany (d. 1973)
1926 – (Alexander) “Bobby” Kok, Boer-British classical and session cellist (BBC Symphony; George Harrison – “When We Was Fab”), born in Brakpan, Union of South Africa, (d. 2015)
1943 – Griselda Blanco ‘Cocaine Godmother’, Colombian drug lord, born in Cartagena, Colombia (d. 2012)
1958 – Perry Stephens, German actor (Loving, All My Children), born in Frankfurt, Germany
1972 – Erika Rachael Schwarz, Miss America (Louisiana-2nd-1997), born in Folsom, Louisiana
1983 – Rhydian Roberts, Welsh Singer (X Factor runner up), born in Sennybridge, United Kingdom

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1760 – François Colin de Blamont, French composer, dies at 69
1870 – St. John Richardson Liddell, American Civil War Confederate General, dies at 54
1884 – Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, 1st wife of Theodore Roosevelt, dies of Bright’s disease at 22
1955 – Charles Cuvillier, French composer of operetta (The Naughty Princess), dies at 77
1994 – Andrei Chikatilo, Soviet-Russian serial killer who murdered at least 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990, executed by a single gunshot at 57
2010 – Dick Francis, British jockey and detective writer (Whip Hand, High Stakes), dies at 89

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1502 – Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres, new Governor of the Indies sets sail for the Indies with fleet of 30 ships, largest-ever fleet to the New World
1968 – US sends 10,500 additional soldiers to Vietnam
1980 – NZ beats West Indies by one wicket in cricket at Dunedin
1995 – 3rd ESPY Awards: Steve Young, Bonnie Blair win
2000 – 49th NBA All-Star Game, Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA: West beats East, 137-127; MVPs: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs, F; Shaquille O’Neal, LA Lakers, C
2009 – The Dutch Statistics agency confirms the Netherlands are in recession

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1610 – Jean de la Badie, French theologian, founder of Labadists, born in Bourg, Bordeaux, France (d. 1674)
1728 – John Hunter, Scottish surgeon and founder of pathological anatomy in England, born in Long Calderwood, Scotland (d. 1793)
1769 – Ivan Krylov, Russian fabulist, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1844)
1870 – Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist, composer (Java Suite; Triakontameron; 53 Studies on Chopin’s Études), and pedagogue, born in Žasliai, Russian Empire (now Lithuania), (d. 1938)
1888 – Georgios Papandreou, Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece (1944–45, 1963, 1964–65), born in Kalentzi, Achaea, Greece (d. 1968)
1908 – Lennie Hayton, American pianist, composer, conductor and arranger (Paul Whiteman; Bing Crosby; MGM), born in New York City (d. 1971)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1914 – Alphonse Bertillon, French police officer and anthropologist (devised crime ID system), dies at 60
1927 – Brooks Adams, American philosopher (New Empire), dies at 78
1966 – Marguerite Long, French concert pianist (Ravel) and teacher (Paris Conservatoire, 1906-40), dies at 91
1966 – Elio Vittorini, Italian writer (Conversations in Sicily), dies at 57
2002 – Pauline Trigère, French-American fashion designer (Bell Bottoms), dies at 93
2023 – Conrad Dobler, American football guard (Pro Bowl 1975, 76, 77; St. Louis Cardinals; famous for unsportsmanlike play), dies at 72

More Famous Deaths »