Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1515 – Battle at Marignano ends after two days in a French and Venetian victory over a Swiss army
1957 – Ira Levin’s stage comedy “No Time for Sergeants,” based on Mac Hyman’s novel, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Don Knott, closes at the Alvin Theatre in NYC after 796 performances
1960 – Joseph-Desiré Mobutu launches a bloodless coup d’état in the Congo, declaring President Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Patrice Lumumba to be “neutralised” and establishing a new government of university graduates
1964 – WCVE TV channel 23 in Richmond, Virginia (PBS) begins broadcasting
1989 – Calgary Flames become the first NHL team to play in USSR, win 4-2

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Famous Birthdays

1804 – John Gould, British ornithologist and bird artist, born in Lyme Regis, Dorset (d. 1881)
1904 – Anton Zischka, Austrian writer (Lebendiges Europa), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1997)
1915 – Douglas Kennedy, American actor (Dark Passage, The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold), born in New York City (d. 1973)
1946 – Pete Agnew, Scottich rock bassist (Nazareth – “Love Hurts”), born in Dunfermline, Scotland
1961 – Antonia De Sancha, English actress and lover of British MP David Mellor, born in London

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Famous Deaths

1712 – Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Italian French mathmetician and astronomer (discovered four moons of Saturn), dies at 87
1966 – Gertrude Berg, American actress (Molly Goldberg-Goldbergs), dies at 66
1982 – Grace Kelly, American actress (Rear Window) and Princess of Monaco, dies in a car crash at 52
2002 – Roberto Cavanagh, Argentine polo player (Olympic gold 1936), dies at 87
2025 – Pat Crowley, American actress (Money from Home, There’s Always Tomorrow, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies), dies at 91

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Historical Events

1501 – Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David, a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture
1968 – Albania withdraws from the Warsaw Pact
1988 – Gilbert is measured as the strongest hurricane ever in the Western Hemisphere, 26.13 barometer
1996 – Phil Simmons scores 171 and takes 6-14 for Leics v Durham
2023 – Rise in overdose deaths from fentanyl laced stimulants mark the “fourth wave” of the overdose crisis in the US, according to UCLA research

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Famous Birthdays

1475 – Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, Italian aristocrat, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1507)
1877 – Stanley Lord, Captain of the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster, born in Bolton, Lancashire, England (d. 1962)
1894 – Anton Roosjen, Dutch politician and NCRV-chairman, born in Aalsmeer, Netherlands (d. 1978)
1897 – Gaspar Cassadó, Spanish cellist and composer, born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 1966)
1942 – Béla Károlyi, Hungarian Romanian-American gymnastics coach (Nadia Comăneci, Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug), born in Kolozsvár, Hungary (d. 2024)

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Famous Deaths

1967 – Varian Fry, American journalist and recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations”, dies at 59
1989 – Yamada Koun, Zen teacher Sanbo Kyodan line, dies at 82
1991 – Ferry Barendse, Dutch trumpeter, composer, and singer (Ramblers), dies at 80
2025 – Mary Rose Oakar, American politician and the first Arab American woman in Congress (Rep-D-Ohio 1977-93), dies at 85
2025 – Akiko Tsuruga, Japanese jazz Hammond B-3 organist, pianist, and composer, dies at 58

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Historical Events

1229 – Aragonese army led by James I of Aragon disembarks at Santa Ponça, Majorca, to conquer the island
1961 – USSR performs a nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya, USSR
1964 – Canyonlands National Park is designated as a National Park
1973 – USSR performs a nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya, USSR
1993 – STS-51 (Discovery) launches into orbit

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Famous Birthdays

1829 – Charles Dudley Warner, American novelist (Being a Boy), born in Plainfield, Massachusetts (d. 1900)
1896 – Giuseppe Zoppi, Swiss writer (Il Libro Dell’Alpe), born in Broglio, Switzerland (d. 1952)
1954 – Jeff Jarvis, American journalist (This Week in Google, What Would Google Do?), public speaker, and advocate for the Open Web, born in United States
1978 – Baloji [Serge Baloji Tshiani], Belgian-Congolese rapper and film director known for “Omen”, born in Lubumbashi, Zaire
1994 – Elina Svitolina, Ukrainian tennis player (WTA Finals champion 2018), born in Odessa, Ukraine

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Famous Deaths

1860 – John Winebrenner, American clergyman (founded Church of God General Conference), dies at 63
1927 – Walther Amelung, German archaeologist, dies at 61
1949 – Harry Burleigh, African American baritone and composer (Five Songs of Laurence Hope), and Springarn Medal winner (1917), dies at 82
1980 – Lillian Randolph, American radio and screen actress (The Great Gildersleeve; Amos ‘n Andy; It’s A Wonderful Life: Roots; The Onion Field), dies of cancer at 81
2020 – Florence Howe, American scholar, writer and co-founder of Feminist Press, dies at 91

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Historical Events

1923 – Bernie Neis hits the 1,000th Dodger home run
1928 – Philadelphia Athletics’ Ty Cobb pops out in his last MLB at-bat in a 5-3 loss to the Yankees in New York
1956 – Vladimir Kuts runs a world record 10,000 m in 28:42.8
1965 – The 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army arrives in Vietnam
2010 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Belgian defending champion Kim Clijsters beats Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-2, 6-1 for her third US singles crown

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Famous Birthdays

1524 – Pierre de Ronsard, French poet (Ode à Cassandre; Les Amours), born in Couture-sur-Loir, Vendômois, France (d. 1585)
1681 – Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, German jurist, born in Eisenberg, Germany (d. 1741)
1876 – Stan Rowley, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m team, bronze 60m, 100m, 200m 1900), born in Young, Australia (d. 1924)
1933 – Baby Face Willette [Roosevelt Willet], American hard bop and soul-jazz Hammond organ player, born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 1971)
1971 – Shelton Quarles, American NFL linebacker, executive (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Director Football Ops), born in Nashville, Tennessee

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Famous Deaths

1915 – William Cornelius Van Horne, American-Canadian railway executive (Canadian Pacific Railway), dies at 72
1956 – Billy Bishop, Canadian First World War flying ace with 72 kills, dies at 62
1966 – Collett E. Woolman, American airline founder (Delta Air Service), dies at 76
1988 – Luis Alvarez, American physicist (subatomic particles, Nobel 1968), dies of cancer at 77
2012 – Sergio Livingstone, Chilean soccer goalkeeper who played 52 internationals (CD Universidad Católica) and TV personality (Televisión Nacional de Chile), dies at 92

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Historical Events

1861 – Battle of Carnifex Ferry in Virginia; 170 casualties
1898 – Empress Elisabeth of Austria is assassinated by anarchist Luigi Lucheni
1969 – NY Mets sweep Montreal Expos putting them in first place for the first time
1984 – First episode of the daily syndicated TV game show “Jeopardy!” with Alex Trebek as host
2012 – 10,000 miners demonstrate at Lonmin Mines in Marikana, South Africa

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Famous Birthdays

1861 – Niels Hansen Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and ceramist (Trold, der vejrer kristenblod), born in Vejen, Denmark (d. 1941)
1912 – William Oliver Everson, American poet, born in Sacramento, California (d. 1994)
1939 – Elisabeth Chojnacka, Polish harpsichordist, with works dedicated to her by over 80 composers, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 2017)
1960 – Alison Bechdel, American cartoonist (Fun Home), born in Beech Creek, Pennsylvania
1982 – Misty Copeland, American ballerina (1st African American Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre), born in Kansas City Missouri

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Famous Deaths

1922 – Arpad Szendy, Hungarian composer, dies at 59
1931 – Dmitri Egorov, Russian mathematician (differential geometry and mathematical analysis), dies at 61
2007 – Ted Stepien, American businessman and basketball team owner, dies at 82
2018 – Peter Donat, Canadian-American actor (Flamingo Road, Different Story), dies of complications of diabetes at 90
2022 – Frank Cignetti Sr., American College Football HOF coach (West Virginia Uni, Indiana University of Pennsylvania; career college record 199–77–1), dies at 84

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Historical Events

1543 – Mary Stuart, at nine months old, is crowned Queen of Scots in the central Scottish town of Stirling
1892 – Edward Emerson Barnard at Lick Observatory discovers Amalthea, Jupiter’s fifth moon
1972 – US Open Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Billie Jean King retains her title, beating Kerry Melville Reid of Australia 6-3, 7-5
1992 – MLB player Robin Yount is the 17th to reach 3,000 hits
2017 – 74th Venice Film Festival: “The Shape of Water” directed by Guillermo del Toro wins the Golden Lion

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Famous Birthdays

1819 – Martin Luther Smith, American Major General (Confederate Army), born in Danby, New York (d. 1866)
1890 – Colonel Harland Sanders, American founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, born in Henryville, Indiana (d. 1980)
1939 – Howard “Buck” McKeon, (Rep-R-California 1993-2015), born in Los Angeles, California
1944 – Mike Patrick [Michael Carduff], American sportscaster and voice of ESPN’s Sunday Night Football (1987-2005), born in Clarksburg, West Virginia (d. 2025)
1962 – Aleta Rzepecki Sill, American bowler (1983 WIBC single), born in Detroit, Michigan

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Famous Deaths

1612 – Nakagawa Hidenari, Japanese warlord (b. 1570)
1946 – Mynona [Salomo Friedlaender], German-Jewish philospher and writer (The Creator), dies at 74
1954 – Alfred Gradstein, Polish composer, dies at 49
2020 – Henrietta Boggs, American activist, journalist and First Lady of Costa Rica (1948-49), dies at 102
2025 – Polly Holliday, American actress known for her catchphrase “Kiss my grits!” (Flo Castlebberry in “Alice” and “Flo”), dies at 88

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Historical Events

1504 – Michelangelo’s statue of David is unveiled in Florence
1796 – Battle of Bassano: Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army defeats the Austrian forces during the French Revolutionary Wars
1960 – US 4 x 400 m relay team of Jack Yerman, Earl Young, Glenn Davis, and Otis Davis run a world record 3:02.2 to win the gold medal at the Rome Olympics
1972 – East German Annelie Ehrhardt sets a world record of 12.59 seconds to win the 100 m hurdles gold medal at the Munich Olympics, beating Romanian Valeria Bufanu by 0.25 seconds
2008 – US Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer beats Scotsman Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 for his fifth consecutive US title

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Famous Birthdays

1915 – Frank Cady, American actor (The Beverly Hillbillies; Petticoat Junction; Green Acres – all as “Sam Drucker”), born in Susanville, California (d. 2012)
1958 – Michael Lardie, American rock keyboard player, guitarist and producer (Great White; Night Ranger), born in Anchorage, Alaska
1983 – Chris Judd, Australian rules football player, born in Melbourne, Australia
1986 – Matt Grothe, American football player, born in Lakeland, Florida
1991 – Joe Sugg, English Youtuber and actor (Strictly Come Dancing), born in Lacock, England

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Famous Deaths

1675 – Amalia, countess of Solms-Braunfels and wife of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, dies at 73
1871 – Etienne-Joseph Soubre, Belgian composer, dies at 57
1949 – Richard Strauss, German composer (Also sprach Zarathustra, Don Quixote), dies at 85
1956 – Fred Rich, Polish-American jazz pianist and dance band bandleader (“I’m Tickled Pink with a Blue-Eyed Baby”; The Abbott and Costello Show), dies at 58
1985 – John Franklin Enders, American microbiologist (1954 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for culturing poliovirus, developed measles vaccine), dies at 88

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Historical Events

1954 – Integration begins in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, public schools
1986 – Desmond Tutu becomes Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa
2008 – 25th MTV Video Music Awards: Britney Spears and Chris Brown win
2013 – Tony Abbott becomes Prime Minister of Australia after the Liberal-National Coalition wins the election
2013 – Fourteen Syrian rebels and two civilians are killed by heavy government shelling in Damascus

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Famous Birthdays

1951 – Morris Albert [Maurício Alberto Kaisermann], Brazilian singer (“Feelings”), born in São Paulo, Brazil
1951 – Chrissie Hynde, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Pretenders – “Brass In Pocket”), born in Akron, Ohio
1967 – Leslie Jones, American comedian and actress (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters), born in Memphis, Tennessee
1976 – Oliver Hudson, American actor (Rules of Engagement), born in Los Angeles, California
1983 – Mehmet Topuz, Turkisher footballer (Kayserispor), born in Caferli Köyü, Yozgat, Turkey

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Famous Deaths

1775 – Johann Georg Holzbogen, German violinist and composer, dies at 48
1920 – Simon-Napoléon Parent, Canadian politician and 12th Premier of Quebec (1900-05), dies at 64
1944 – Eduardo Sanchez de Fuentes, Cuban composer, dies at 70
1994 – Terence Young, British film director (Dr No, Thunderball), dies of at 79
2008 – Miljenko “Dino” Dvornik, Croatian singer known as “the Croatian King of Funk”, dies of an overdose at 44

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Historical Events

1839 – Cherokee Nation unites and ratifies constitution at Tahlequah, Oklahoma
1920 – Jack Dempsey knocks out Billy Miske in the third round for the heavyweight boxing title in the first radio broadcast of a prizefight
1982 – Dutch Internal Minister Mr. M. Red assigns BVD to spy on communists
1985 – Mark Messier loses control of his Porsche and totals three cars; he is charged with hit-and-run and careless driving and is ordered to pay a fine
2018 – New York and New Jersey state attorneys launch investigations into sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy, bringing to six the number of states investigating

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Famous Birthdays

1919 – Wilson Greatbatch, American engineer and pioneering inventor (cardiac pacemaker), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2011)
1946 – Bryan D. O’Connor, U.S. Marine Corps colonel and astronaut (STS 61B, STS 40), born in Orange, California
1947 – Bruce Rioch, Scottish footballer and coach, born in Aldershot, England
1956 – Bill Ritter, American politician (41st Governor of Colorado), born in Denver, Colorado
1995 – Mark Andrews, American NFL player (Baltimore Ravens), born in Scottsdale, Arizona

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Famous Deaths

1748 – Edmund Gibson, English jurist (b. 1669)
1984 – Ernest Tubb, American country musician (“Walking the Floor Over You”), dies of emphysema at 70
1992 – Pat Harder, American NFL fullback (Cardinals, Lions), dies at 70
1995 – Italo Valenti, Italian sculptor, dies at 83
2003 – Harry Goz, American musical theatre actor and voice actor, dies at 71

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Historical Events

1646 – The first public library in the Americas is established when Bishop Palafox y Mendoza donates his personal library of 5,000 volumes to Tridentine colleges in Puebla, Mexico
1882 – 10,000 workers march in the first Labor Day parade in New York City
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Llanes falls
1991 – 8th MTV Video Music Awards: REM wins
2025 – US President Donald Trump deploys ten F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to take part in military action against drug cartels in the Caribbean region

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Famous Birthdays

1908 – Cecilia Seghizzi, Italian composer, born in Gotizia, Austria-Hungary (d. 2019)
1967 – India Hicks, British model, interior designer and author (Island Life, A Slice of England), born in London
1970 – Willie Clay, American NFL safety (Detroit Lions), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1971 – Carlester Crumpler, American NFL tight end (Seattle Seahawks), born in Greenville, North Carolina
1991 – Skandar Keynes, English actor (The Chronicles of Narnia film series), born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1566 – Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Sultan and the longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1530-1566), dies at 71 [or Sep 6]
1910 – Franz Xaver Haberl, German priest and musicologist (Magister choralis), dies at 70
1998 – Leo Penn, American actor and film director, dies at 77
2021 – Ivan Patzaichin, Romanian canoeist (Olympic gold C-2 1000m 1968, 80, 84; C-1 1000m 1972; World C’ship gold x 8), dies from lung cancer at 71
2025 – José María Tojeira, Spanish-Salvadoran priest and provincial of the Jesuits in Central America (1988-95), dies of a heart attack at 78

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