Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1434 – River Thames in London freezes over
1639 – 1st observation of transit of Venus by Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree – helped establish size of the Solar System
1951 – CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Ottawa Rough Riders claim their 4th Championship with 21-14 win over Saskatchewan Roughriders
1953 – Los Angeles Dodgers sign Walter Alston to a 1-year pact as manager for 1954; signs 23 one year agreements until 1976
1969 – Apollo 12 returns to Earth
1970 – 36th Heisman Trophy Award: Jim Plunkett, Stanford (QB)

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Famous Birthdays

1938 – Willy Claes, Belgian politician
1938 – David Newell, American (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood – “Mr. McFeely”), born in O’Hara Township, Pennsylvania
1938 – Oscar Robertson [The Big O], American NBA guard (Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Olympic gold 1960), born in Charlotte, Tennessee
1942 – Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian and actor (Blue Money), born in Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland
1951 – Graham Price, British rugby player
1970 – Doug Brien, kicker (New Orleans Saints)

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Famous Deaths

1468 – Jean de Dunois, French soldier (b. 1402)
1770 – Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian (b. 1685)
1957 – Diego Rivera, Mexican painter (En el Arsenal) and husband of Frida Kahlo, dies at 70
1959 – Dally Messenger, Australian rugby league centre (9 Tests; NSW; Eastern Suburbs; ARL ‘Immortal’; Dally M Medal) and rugby union utility (2 caps), dies from heart failure at 76
2006 – (Juhani) “Juice” Leskinen, Finnish rock singer-songwrirter (“Musta aurinko nousee – Black Sun Rises”; “Marilyn”), and poet, dies from multiple medical issues at 56
2021 – Guillermo Echevarría, Mexican swimmer (1,500m WR 16:28.1 1968), dies at 73

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Historical Events

1644 – “Areopagitica”, a pamphlet by John Milton decrying censorship, is published
1946 – “Gypsy Lady” closes at Century Theater NYC after 79 performances
1970 – Arthur Young resigns as Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
1980 – National Black Independent Party forms
1988 – Yankees sign free agent 2nd-baseman Steve Sax to 3-year contract
2014 – A suicide bomber kills 40 people at a volleyball tournament in eastern Afghanistan

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Famous Birthdays

1641 – Anthonie Heinsius, Dutch statesman (d. 1720)
1931 – Oscar C. Yatco, Filipino violinist and conductor, born in Tanuan, Batangas, Philippines (d. 2014)
1934 – Robert Towne, American producer and screenwriter (Chinatown), born in Los Angeles, California
1955 – Steven Brust [Karl Zoltan], American sci-fi author (Yendi, Jhereg), born in St. Paul, Minnesota
1963 – Gwynne Shotwell, American engineer and businesswoman (SpaceX), born in Evanston, Illinois
1967 – Salli Richardson, American actress (Posse), born in Chicago, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1980 – Thien-an Thich, Zen teacher/Vietnamese Rinzai line, dies in LA at 54
1987 – Alton Adams, American composer (1st black bandmaster in the United States Navy), dies at 98
1990 – Bo Diaz, catcher, crushed to death by a satellite dish at 37
1996 – Art Porter, saxophonist, dies at 35
2005 – (John) “Fritz” Richmond, American folk musician (washtub bass and jug), and recording engineer, dies of lung cancer at 66
2006 – Nick Clarke, English radio presenter (b. 1948)

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Historical Events

1968 – The Beatles release “The Beatles” (White Album), their only double album
1995 – OPEC states that it will roll over its current oil production quota of 25.42 million barrels per day
1996 – O.J. Simpson takes stand as hostile witness in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against him, saying it is “absolutely not true”
2015 – Serbian tennis star Novak Đoković makes it 4 straight season-ending ATP World Tour Finals tennis titles beating Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 in the final in London, England
2020 – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed gives Tigrayan forces 72 hours to surrender before the military begins offensive on regional capital of Mekelle
2022 – UK faces a bigger hit to its economy from the global energy crisis than any other advanced economy according to the OECD, projected to shrink by 0.4%

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Famous Birthdays

1870 – Howard Brockway, American composer, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1951)
1879 – Ralph Hawtrey, British economist (multiplier, quantity theory of money), born in Slough, England (d. 1975)
1923 – Dika Newlin, American composer, Schoenberg expert and punk rocker, born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2006)
1967 – Boris Becker, German tennis player (Wimbledon 1985, 86, 89), born in Leimen, Germany
1973 – Alexandra Fusai, St Cloud France, tennis star (1995 Futures-Szczecin)
1983 – Tyler Hilton, American singer-songwriter, and actor (One Tree Hill), born in Palm Springs, California

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Famous Deaths

1963 – Aldous Huxley, English author (Brave New World), dies at 69
1981 – Andreina Pagnani, actress (Il Commandante), dies at 74
2006 – Ria Beckers, Dutch politician and leader of the progressive Christian party PPR, dies at 67
2010 – Jean Cione, American All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player (b. 1928)
2011 – Lana Peters [Svetlana Stalina], Stalin’s daughter, dies at 85
2022 – Pablo Milanés, Cuban Nueva Trova singer-songwriter and guitarist (Yolanda; Yo Me Quedo), dies of cancer at 79

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Historical Events

533 – The Institutes published – an official textbook of Roman law, part of Roman Emperor Justinian’s program of legal reforms
1865 – Shaw University forms in Raleigh NC
1914 – Billy Mallett of Hamilton Tigers kicks 9 singles in a game
1934 – “Uiver” returns from Schiphol in London-Melbourne air race
1938 – -24] Belgian king Leopold III visits Netherlands
2004 – The second round of the Ukrainian presidential election is held, unleashing massive protests and controversy over the election’s integrity.

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Famous Birthdays

1878 – Gustav Radbruch, German lawyer and jurist, born in Lübeck, GErmany (d. 1949)
1927 – (Carlos) “Charlie” Palmieri, American salsa and charanga music bandleader, musical director, and piano player (Tito Puente; Alegré All-Stars), born in South Bronx, New York City (d. 1988)
1952 – Deborah Shelton, actress (Dallas, Ocean Kill, Body Double), born in Washington, D.C.
1971 – Dahlia Salem, actress (Sofia Carlino-Another World), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1975 – Chad Levitt, running back (Oakland Raiders)
1978 – Sara Tanaka, American actress

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Famous Deaths

1566 – Annibale Caro, Italian writer and poet (Lettere familiare), dies at 59
1830 – Karoly Kisfaludy, Hungarian pioneering dramatist (A Tat rok Magyarorsz gon), dies of tuberculosis at 42
1945 – Jimmy Quinn, Scottish soccer striker (11 caps; Celtic 272 games, 188 goals), dies at 67
1982 – John Hargrave, British Social Credit advocate (b. 1894)
2013 – Bernard Parmegiani, French composer (L’Oeil écoute – The Eye Listens), dies at 86
2022 – Jürgen Nöldner, German soccer midfielder (30 caps East Germany; ASK Vorwärts Berlin 285 games) and journalist (Neue Fußballwoch, Kicker), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1789 – New Jersey is 1st state to ratify Bill of Rights
1815 – Russia, Prussia, Austria and England sign an Alliance “for the maintenance of peace in Europe” on the same day as the Treaty of Paris
1983 – NY Giants Butch Woolfolk ties NFL record of 43 attempts rushing
1988 – Boston College beats Army 38-24 in the ‘Emerald isle Classic’ at Dublin’s Lansdowne Road Stadium, the first NCAA American Football game to be played in Europe
1997 – Yohannes Haile-Selassie discovers the partial skull of a 2.5 million year old human ancestor, confirming and establishing the new species Australopithecus garhi, in Bouri, Middle Awash, Ethiopia
1997 – NY Islanders lose, beginning a 10 game losing streak

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Famous Birthdays

1752 – Thomas Chatterton, English poet (Christabel), born in Bristol, England (d. 1770)
1913 – Judy Canova, American comedian and actress (Cannonball), born in Starke, Florida (d. 1983)
1916 – Evelyn Keyes, American actress (Adventure of Martin Eden), born in Port Arthur, Texas (d. 2008)
1941 – Haseena Moin, Pakistani television drama writer and Urdu playwright, born in Kanpur, India
1970 – Geoffrey Keezer, American jazz pianist, born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
1972 – Sheema Kalbasi, Iranian born poet, born in Tehran, Iran

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Famous Deaths

1591 – Christopher Hatton, English politician (b. 1540)
1894 – Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist and composer (Dmitri Donskoi), dies at 64
1917 – Alfredo Napoleão dos Santos, Portuguese pianist, and composer, dies at 65
1952 – Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher and politician (La Critica), dies at 86
1995 – Sergei Grinkov, Russian figure skater (with Ekaterina Gordeeva – Pairs World Championship, 1986-87, 1989-90; Olympic gold, 1988 and 94), dies at 28 of a heart attack on the practice rink in Lake Placid, New York,
2009 – Max Robertson, British sports commentator, dies at 94

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Historical Events

1644 – First protestant ministry society in New England
1911 – NY receives first Marconi wireless transmission from Italy
1969 – WENY TV channel 36 in Elmira, NY (ABC) begins broadcasting
1973 – New York stock market takes sharpest drop in 19 years
2017 – Bulgarian tennis star Gregor Dimitrov breaks through for a first season-ending ATP World Tour Finals title with a 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 win in London over David Goffin of Belgium
2020 – Inquiry find “credible evidence” elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians

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Famous Birthdays

1886 – Fernand Crommelynck, Belgian playwright (Le Cocu Magnificent), born in Paris (d. 1970)
1887 – James B. Sumner, American chemist (Nobel 1946 – discovered that enzymes can be crystallized), born in Canton, Massachusetts (d. 1955)
1924 – William Russell, British actor (Doctor Who, The Great Escape, Superman), born in Sunderland, England
1936 – Michel Decoust, French contemporary classical and electro-acoustic composer and conductor (Symétrie; Interphone), born in Paris, France
1971 – Michelle Andrews, Australian field hockey midfielder (Olympic gold 1996; World Cup gold 1994; Champions Trophy gold 1993, 95, 97, 99), born in Newcastle, Australia
1973 – Ryukishi07 [real name unknown), Japanese mystery writer (When They Cry series), born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan

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Famous Deaths

1692 – Georg Friedrich of Waldeck, Dutch-German prince and Field Marshall (commanded Dutch States Army and German forces), dies at 72
1692 – Thomas Shadwell, English poet and playwright (2nd Poet Laureate 1689-92), dies at about 50
1942 – Édouard Combe, Swiss composer, dies at 76
1950 – Thomas Wood, English composer, dies at 57
1961 – Dorothy Heyward (née Kuhns), American playwright (Porgy), and novelist, dies at 71
2012 – Boris Strugatsky, Soviet-Russian science fiction author (Tale of Troika), dies at 79

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Historical Events

1833 – Netherlands and Belgium sign Treaty of Zonhoven
1904 – General Esteban Huertas steps down after the government of Panama fears he wants to stage a coup
1960 – Charlie Finley makes a bid to purchase expansion LA Angels
1990 – Yugoslavian tennis star Monica Seles beats Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 to win her first of 3 straight WTA Tour Championships in NYC; first 5-set women’s final since 1901
2005 – 20th Century Fox releases “Walk the Line”, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, and directed by James Mangold; Witherspoon wins an Academy Award
2012 – 40th American Music Awards: Katy Perry and Justin Bieber win

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Famous Birthdays

1832 – Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Finnish-Swedish explorer and mineralogist (Vega Expedition), born in Helsinki, Finland (d. 1901)
1845 – John Mellaerts, Flemish social worker (1st Belgian farm gilde) (d. 1925)
1882 – Amelita Galli-Curci, Italian-American operatic soprano (Cave of the Winds), born in Milan, Italy (d. 1963)
1903 – Lillian Fuchs, American violist and composer, born in New York (d. 1995)
1918 – Tasker Watkins, Welsh World War II hero, born in Nelson, Wales (d. 2007)
1951 – Heinrich Schiff, Austrian cellist and conductor, born in Gmunden, Austria (d. 2016)

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Famous Deaths

1678 – Giovanni Maria Bononcini, composer, dies at 36
1887 – Gustav Fechner, German psychologist and physicist (Weber–Fechner law), dies at 86
1917 – Henry Spiekman, Dutch journalist and politician (co-founder Social Democratic Workers’ Party), dies of leukemia at 43
1968 – Walter Wanger [Feuchtwanger], American film producer (Cleopatra), dies at 74
2009 – Jeanne-Claude [Denat de Guillebon], French artist who worked with Christo (Running Fence, Wrapped Reichstag), dies at 74
2014 – Dave Appell, American musician, arranger, musical director (Ernie Kovacs), record producer (Charlie Gracie; The Orlons; Tony Orlando and Dawn), and songwriter, dies at 92

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Historical Events

1858 – Origin of Modified Julian Period
1876 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s patriotic Slavonic March makes its premiere in Moscow to a warm reception
1965 – William Eckert is unanimously elected commissioner of baseball
2002 – Australian Leyton Hewitt scores back-to-back season-ending Tennis Masters Cup titles with a classic 7–5, 7–5, 2–6, 2–6, 6–4 victory over Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in Shanghai, China
2006 – Official naming of element 111, Roentgenium (Rg).
2021 – British Columbia declares a state of emergency after an “atmospheric river” storm causes widespread rain and flooding

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Famous Birthdays

1729 – Maria Antonietta of Spain, queen of Sardinia (d. 1785)
1911 – William Tannen, American actor (Jailhouse Rock, Sitting Bull), born in NYC, New York (d. 1976)
1936 – Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet (d. 2005)
1945 – Roland Joffe, director (City of Joy, Mission, Killing Fields)
1953 – Jilly Johnson, British model and pop vocalist (Blonde on Blonde), born in England
1965 – Paul Sorrento, Somerville MA, infielder (Seattle Mariners)

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Famous Deaths

1600 – Kuki Yoshitaka, Japanese naval commander, commits seppuku (ritual suicide) after defeat at Battle of Sekigahara (b. 1542)
1940 – Raymond Pearl, American biologist (b. 1879)
1940 – Eric Gill, British sculptor, engraver and typographer (Perpetua, Gill Sans), dies of cancer at 58
1942 – Ben Reitman, American anarchist, physician (b. 1879)
1995 – Marguerite Young, writer, dies at 87
2019 – Adnan Pachachi, Iraqi and Emirati politician and diplomat (Iraq Minister of Foreign Affairs during Six-Day War), dies at 96

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Historical Events

1632 – Battle of Lützen: Significant battle of Thirty Years’ War – Swedish and Saxon forces defeat the Holy Roman Empire, at cost of the death of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus
1840 – New Zealand officially becomes a British colony
1917 – British occupy Tel Aviv and Jaffa
1973 – US President Richard Nixon authorizes construction of the Alaskan pipeline
2003 – CFL Grey Cup, Taylor Field, Regina: Edmonton Eskimos reverse previous year result; beat Montreal Alouettes, 34-22 for 12th title
2022 – NASA’s Artemis I mission carrying the uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a test mission around the Moon and back launches from Florida

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Famous Birthdays

1609 – Henrietta Maria, French-born daughter of Henry IV of France and Queen Consort of England (d. 1669)
1730 – Gualtherus van Doeveren, Zealand-Flanders physician, born in Philippine, Zealand, Netherlands (d. 1783)
1874 – Johanna Albregt, Dutch actress (Dumb August) and wife of Henri Dons, born (d. 1946)
1931 – Luciano Bottaro, Italian comic book artist, born in Rapallo, Italy (d. 2006)
1973 – Howard Smothers, NFL guard (Philadelphia Eagles)
1981 – Caitlin Glass, American voice actress, born in Washington, D.C., United States

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Famous Deaths

1667 – Nathaniel Schnittelbach, German composer and violinist, dies at 34
1766 – Dominikus Zimmermann, Bavarian Baroque architect and painter (Liebfrauenkirche), dies at 81
1835 – Louis Angely, German comedic poet (Paris in Pommern), dies at 48
1958 – J. W. F. Werumeus Buning, Dutch poet (Daily Bread), dies at 67
1980 – O. V. [Overton Vertis] Wright, American blues singer, dies at 41
2005 – Ralph Edwards, American TV host (This is Your Life), dies at 92

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Historical Events

1987 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1988 – 91 m radio telescope dish at Green Bank, WV, collapses
1995 – “Master Class” opens at Golden Theater NYC for 601 performances
2000 – New state of Jharkhand comes into existence in India
2003 – First day of the Istanbul Bombings takes place, followed by additional bombings on November 20th
2004 – Maria Sharapova becomes the first Russian to win the tennis season-ending WTA Tour Championship; beats American Serena Williams 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 at the Staples Center, Los Angeles

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Famous Birthdays

1708 – William Pitt the Elder, British Prime Minister (Whig, 1756-61, 66-68) known as the `Great Commoner’, born in London (d. 1778)
1898 – Willy Alfredo [Willem Jue], Dutch entertainer and poet (Fish-Trap) (d. 1976)
1928 – C. W. McCall [William Dale Fries, Jr.], American country singer (Convoy), born in Audubon, Iowa (d. 2022)
1968 – James Brady, columnist (NY Post), born in Brooklyn, New York
1974 – Chad Kroeger, Canadian singer, guitarist, and songwriter (Nickelback “How You Remind Me”; “Photograph”), born in Hanna, Alberta
1981 – Drew Hodgdon, American NFL football player, 2005-07 (Houston Texans), born in Palo Alto, California

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Famous Deaths

1988 – Mona Washbourne, actress (Blue Bird, Games), dies at 84
1990 – Bill E Herndon, actor (Rivals), dies at 54
1997 – Saul Chaplin [Kaplan], American Oscar Award-winning stage, and screen composer, arranger, and orchestrator (An American in Paris; “The Anniversary Song”), dies at 85
2009 – Patriarch Pavle of Serbia, 44th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (b. 1914)
2010 – Imre Polyák, Hungarian featherweight (Olympic gold 1964), dies at 78
2010 – Ed Kirkpatrick, American baseball player (b. 1944)

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