Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1818 – Napoleon Bonaparte bids emotional farewell to his old guard at Palace of Fontainebleau
1914 – US President W Wilson, having dispatched more naval ships to Mexico, asks a joint session of Congress to approve armed force if necessary; Congress approves
1947 – Frederik IX becomes King of Denmark
1962 – NASA civilian pilot Neil Armstrong takes X-15 to 63,250 m
1963 – -30] All Africa Conferences of Churches opens in Kampala Uganda
1975 – 29th Tony Awards: “Equus” (play) and “The Wiz” (musical) win

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Famous Birthdays

1904 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (Diamonds are Forever, King Kong), born in Carlsbad, New Mexico (d. 1972)
1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian Spitfire pilot and author (The Last Enemy), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1943)
1924 – Leslie Phillips, British stage and screen, screen, and radio actor (Carry On; Harry Potter films), born in Tottenham, England (d. 2022)
1936 – Pauli Ellefsen, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (1981-85), born in Miðvágur, Vágar, Faroe Islands (d. 2012)
1943 – Edie Sedgwick, American actress (Ciao Manhattan) and socialite, born in Santa Barbara, California (d. 1971)
1971 – Terry Smith, NFL wide receiver (Indianapolis Colts), born in Clemson, South Carolina

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Famous Deaths

1912 – Bram Stoker, Irish theater manager and author (Dracula), dies at 64
1935 – Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer, dies at 71
1951 – Ivanoe Bonomi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)
1968 – Mabel Stark, American tiger trainer “crazy Mabel”, found dead after her suicide at 79
1998 – Trevor Huddleston, English Anglican bishop in South Africa and anti-apartheid activist (wrote Naught for Your Comfort), dies at 84
2015 – Bob St. Clair, American NFL football player, 1953-63 (San Francisco 49ers), known as “The Geek”, dies at 84

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Historical Events

1933 – FDR announces US will leave gold standard
1941 – Bulgarian troops invade Macedonia
1943 – Bicycle Day – Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann deliberately takes LSD for the first time
1966 – In 1st regular season game at Anaheim Stadium, Angels lose 3-1 to Chic
1987 – Jacqueline Blanc, sets women’s downhill ski speed rec (124.902 mph)
1999 – 103rd Boston Marathon: Joseph Chebet of Kenya takes men’s title in 2:09:52; 3-peat for Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia in women’s race in 2:23:25

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Famous Birthdays

1939 – Ellen Weston, American actress (Betty-SWAT), born in New York City
1944 – James Heckman, American economist (Nobel Prize 2000), born in Chicago, Illinois
1953 – Sara Simeoni, Italian high jumper (Olympic gold 1980), born in Rivoli Veronese, Italy
1962 – Al Unser Jr., American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1992, 94), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico
1978 – James Franco, American actor (The Disaster Artist), born in Palo Alto, California
1987 – Courtland Mead, American actor (Dragonworld), born in Mission Viejo, California

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Famous Deaths

1529 – John Cuspinianus [Spiessheimer], German physician, dies at about 55
1906 – Spencer Gore, British tennis player (1st Wimbledon singles champion 1877), dies at 56
1945 – J P Heyboer, resistance fighter, executed
1956 – Ernst Robert Curtius, German literature historian, dies at 70
1975 – Percy Lavon Julian, African American chemist who received 130 patents, pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants, dies at 76
2005 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (Another Thin Man), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1924 – 1st crossword puzzle book published by Simon and Schuster
1938 – 42nd Boston Marathon won by Leslie Pawson in 2:35:34.8; his second victory in the event
1946 – Rome, Auerbach and Horwitt’s musical “Call Me Mister” opens at National Theater, NYC; runs for 734 performances
1946 – Jackie Robinson debuts as 2nd baseman for the Montreal Royals
1983 – KMO-AM in Tacoma Wash changes call letters to KAMT (now KKMO)
1984 – Joan Benoit runs world record female marathon (2:22:43)

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Famous Birthdays

1842 – Antero Tarquínio de Quental, Portuguese poet (Beatrice), born in Ponta Delgada, Portugal (d. 1891)
1888 – Arnold Lunn, British skier (created the modern Alpine slalom race), born in Madras, India (d. 1974)
1946 – (Alexander) “Skip” Spence, Canadian guitarist and vocalist (Moby Grape – “Omaha”), born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1963 – Eric McCormack, Canadian-American actor (Will and Grace), born in Toronto, Ontario
1970 – Rico Brogna, American MLB baseball player (Detroit Tigers), born in Turners Falls, Massachusetts
1988 – Vanessa Kirby, English actress (Princess Margaret in The Crown), born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1610 – Robert Parsons, English jesuit (A Letter Disclosure), dies at 63
1845 – Nicolas Théodore de Saussure, Swiss chemist, dies at 77
1882 – Henry Cole, English inventor and civil servant, 1st director of the VandA Museum, promoter of 1851 Great Exhibition, dies at 73
1976 – Mahmoud Younis, Suez Canal nationalization engineer, dies at 65
1985 – Gertrude Caton-Thompson, English archaeologist (Zimbabwe, So Arabia), dies at 97
1990 – Robert D Webb, American director and actor (Love Me Tender, Jackals), dies at 87

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Historical Events

1961 – 65th Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:23:39; his 2nd event title
1967 – Italian boxer Nino Benvenuti beats American Emile Griffith in a 15 round points decision to win world middleweight crown at Madison Square Garden; start of famous trilogy of fights between the pair
1969 – Mont Expos Bill Stoneman no-hits Phillies, 7-0
1969 – The Band (formerly The Hawks), perform their 1st concert, at Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California
1979 – Four Royal Ulster Constabulary officers are killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army van bomb in Bessbrook, County Armagh; the bomb is believed to be the largest PIRA bomb used up to that point
1981 – New York Islander Dennis Potvin’s 3 playoff power-play goals vs Edmonton Oilers tie NHL record

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Famous Birthdays

1865 – Ursula Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic saint and foundress of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, born in Loosdorf, Austrian Empire (d. 1939)
1912 – Isador Caplan, British lawyer and Aldeburgh Festival pioneer, born in Blackpool, England (d. 1995)
1914 – George Davis, American art director (20th Century Fox), born in Kokomo, Indiana (d. 1984)
1961 – Frank J. Christensen, American labor leader, born in Chicago, Illinois
1970 – Redman [Reginald Noble], American rapper, born in Newark, New Jersey
1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian ice hockey player, born in Chelyabinsk, Russia

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Famous Deaths

1962 – Louise Fazenda, American vaudeville, and silent and sound screen actress (Mack Sennett comedies), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 66
1971 – Carmen Lombardo, Canadian musician, dies at 67
1974 – Vinnie Taylor, rocker (Canned Heat), dies of a drug overdose
1997 – Allan Francovich, American documentarian
2013 – Deanna Durbin [Edna Mae Durbin], Canadian actress and vocalist (Every Sunday, Three Smart Girls, 100 Men and a Girl), dies at 91
2021 – Fred Arbanas, American football tight end (All-AFL 1962–67; Super Bowl 1970; Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs), dies at 82

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Historical Events

1949 – Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: 3-peat for Toronto Maple Leafs as they beat Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 for a 4 game series sweep
1972 – Two British soldiers are shot dead by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) in separate incidents in Derry
1987 – British Conservative MP Harvey Proctor appears at Bow Street Magistrates’ Court in London charged with gross indecency
2003 – Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union
2018 – Kendrick Lamar is the first rapper and non-classical or jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for music with his album “Damn”
2020 – 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment in 4 weeks (5.2 million in the last week), wiping out 9 1/2 years of job gains

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Famous Birthdays

1927 – Peter Mark Richman, American actor (Andrew-Dynasty), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1948 – Robert Kirby, British music arranger (Nick Drake), born in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire (d. 2009)
1963 – Hu Na, Chinese tennis star, born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China
1979 – Sixto Peralta, Argentine footballer, born in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina
1984 – Claire Foy, English actress (The Crown), born in Stockport, England
1994 – Midori Francis, American actress (Dash and Lily), born in Lakewood, New Jersey)

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Famous Deaths

1090 – Sikelgaita, Lombard princess, wife of Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, who often went into battle, armed, dies at about 50
1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, dies at 73
1981 – Eric Hollies, English cricket spin bowler (13 Tests, 44 wickets; dismissed Donald Bradman for 0 in his final Test innings), dies at 68
1991 – David Lean, English film director (Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Ryan’s Daughter), dies of pneumonia at 83
2010 – Daryl Gates, LAPD Chief, dies at 83
2023 – Eddie Colquhoun, Scottish soccer centre back (11 caps; Sheffield United 363 games), dies at 78

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Historical Events

1902 – Pope Leo XIII encyclical “On Church in US”
1921 – Black Friday in Britain: leaders of transport and rail unions announce a decision not to call for strike action in support of the miners; despite widespread feeling decision a breach of solidarity and a betrayal of the miners
1923 – 1st sound on film public performance shown at Rialto Theater (NYC)
1941 – 1st helicopter flight of 1 hr duration, Stratford, Ct
1972 – Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Carole King, and Quincy Jones perform benefit concert for George McGovern for President campaign at the Forum in Inglewood, California
1988 – Meteorite explode above Indonesia

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Famous Birthdays

1588 – Claudius Salmasius [Claude Saumaise], French linguist, born in Semur-en-Auxois, France (d. 1653)
1772 – Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French naturalist, born in Étampes, France (d. 1844)
1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1953-64), born in Kalinovka, Russia (d. 1971)
1908 – Eden Ahbez [George Aberle], American songwriter (“Nature Boy”; “Lonely Island”), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1995)
1937 – Conrad Russell, 5th Earl Russell, British historian, born in Harting, West Sussex (d. 2004)
1955 – Jeff Golub, American jazz guitarist (Avenue Blue; Rod Stewart), born in Copley Township, Ohio (d. 2015)

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Famous Deaths

1754 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (Riccati equation), dies at 77
1863 – Jan Nepomuk Kanka, Czech composer, dies at 90
1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President (Republican: 1861-65), dies from gunshot wounds at 56
1984 – Tommy Cooper, British comedian and magician, collapses and dies on stage at 61
1991 – Marjorie Warfield, American stage, radio, and silent film actress, dies of pneumonia at 88
2010 – Jack Herer, American author and cannabis activist, dies at 70

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Historical Events

1915 – Dutch merchant navy ship Katwijk sunk by Germany torpedo
1978 – David Hare’s play “Plenty” premieres in London
2021 – Former Minnesota police officer who shot Daunte Wright with a gun instead of a taser is arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter,
2021 – Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodón no-hits the Cleveland Indians, 8-0 at Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago
2021 – Coinbase becomes the first major cryptocurrency company to trade shares on the New York Stock Exchange
2021 – Human cells grown in monkey cells for 20 days reported by US-Chinese team at the Salk Institute in “Cell”

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Famous Birthdays

1721 – William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, English army leader, born in London (d. 1765)
1827 – Augustus Pitt Rivers, English archaeologist, born in Bramham cum Oglethorpe, Wetherby, Yorkshire (d. 1900)
1931 – John Clarke, American actor (Days of Our Lives -“Mickey”), born in South Bend, Indiana (d. 2019)
1933 – Morton Subotnick, American electronic music composer (Silver Apples of the Moon; A Sky of Cloudless Sulphur), born in Los Angeles, California
1946 – Tom Monteleone, American writer (Dark Star and Illumination)
1966 – David Justice, American baseball player (Atlanta Braves), born in Cincinnati, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

1685 – Thomas Otway, English playwright and poet (Venice Preserv’d), dies at 33
1813 – Joachim Nicolas Eggert, Swedish violinist and composer, dies of tuberculosis at 34
1924 – Roland Napoléon Bonaparte, French prince and president of the Société de Géographie, dies at 65
1964 – Rachel Carson, American marine biologist, conservationist and author (Silent Spring), dies of a heart attack at 56
1978 – Joe Gordon, American Baseball HOF 2nd baseman (World Series 1938, 39, 41, 43 NY Yankees; 1948 Cleveland Indians; AL MVP 1942; 9 x MLB All Star), dies of a heart attack at 63
2007 – Don Ho, Hawaiian-American pop and Hawaiian music singer (“Tiny Bubbles”; “Ain’t No Big Thing!”), dies of heart failure at 76

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Historical Events

1346 – Pope Clemens VI declares German emperor Louis of Bavaria, envoy
1834 – HMS Beagle anchors at river mouth of Rio Santa Cruz, Patagonia
1911 – Polo Grounds grandstand and left field bleachers go up in flames in Manhattan, New York City
1939 – The Hindustani Lal Sena (Indian Red Army) is formed and vows to engage in armed struggle against the British.
1965 – 1st US Senate black page, Lawrence W Bradford Jr, 16, appointed by New York Senator Jacob Javits
1995 – Yankees beat the Mets 2-0

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Famous Birthdays

1891 – Nellallitea “Nella” Larsen [Nellie Walker], African-American Harlem Renaissance novelist (Quicksand, Passing), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1964)
1935 – Lyle Waggoner, American actor (The Carol Burnett Show; Wonder Woman), born in Kansas City, Kansas (d. 2020)
1939 – Wijnie Jabaaij, Dutch politician (PvdA), born in Dordrecht, Netherlands (d. 1995)
1952 – Jonjo O’Neill, Irish racehorse trainer, born in Cork, Ireland
1964 – Bill D’Angelo, American heavy metal guitarist (Femme Fatale), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico (d. 2005)
1971 – Dina Korzun, Russian actress, born in Smolensk, Russia

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Famous Deaths

1886 – Károly Thern, Hungarian composer, pianist, and arranger, dies at 68
1966 – Georges Duhamel, French author (Vie et aventures de Salavin, 5 vol.), dies at 81
1975 – François Tombalbaye, Dictator and 1st President of Chad (1960-75), dies at 56
1992 – Brian Oulton, English character actor, dies at 84
2000 – Inglis Gundry, British composer, musicologist and novelist, dies at 94
2009 – Bruce Snyder, American college football coach (Utah State, California, Arizona State), dies from melanoma at 69

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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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