Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1143 – Cardinal Guido elected Pope Coelestinus II
1569 – Battle of Montcontour: Duke of Anjou beats Huguenots
1918 – Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria abdicates the throne in favour of his eldest son Tsar Boris III
1940 – France Vichy government proclaims end to Jewish status
1990 – Kansas City 3rd baseman George Brett becomes first in MLB history to win a batting title in 3 different decades; goes 1 for 1 in Royals, 5-2 loss v Cleveland to win AL batting title with .329 average; AL batting champion 1976, 80
2018 – Most expensive whisky ever sold at auction for $1.1 million, the Macallan Valerio Adami 1926, in Edinburgh, Scotland

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1867 – Pierre Bonnard, French painter and illustrator, born in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Hauts-de-Seine, France (d. 1947)
1888 – Claud Allister, British actor (Kiss Me Kate, Quartet, Bulldog Drummond), born in London, England (d. 1970)
1934 – Harold Henning, South African golfer (2 PGA Tour titles; 3 senior PGA titles; World Cup 1965), born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 2004)
1946 – Tristan Keuris, Dutch composer (Sinfonia), born in Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1996)
1978 – Gerald Asamoah, German soccer forward (43 caps; Schalke 04 279 games, 44 goals), born in Mampong, Ghana
1996 – Adair Tishler, American child actress

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1777 – Jeremias van Riemsdijk, Dutch administrator (Governor-General of Dutch East Indies 1775-77), dies at 64
1903 – Benedetto Junck, Italian composer, dies at 51
1907 – Alfred Reisenauer, German pianist and composer, dies at 43
1967 – Pinto Colvig, American animation voice actor (Goofy, Pluto), dies at 75
2008 – Zulfiqar Ahmed, Pakistani cricket pace bowler (9 Tests, 20 wickets; Punjab, Bahawalpur), dies at 81
2017 – Michel Jouvet, French neuroscientist and medical researcher who discovered the region of the brain that controls rapid eye movement (REM sleep), dies at 91

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1939 – Prototype for the Ilyushin Il-2, world’s most-produced military airplane designed by Sergey Ilyushin, takes it first flight. Over 36,000 made for Soviet airforce in WWII.
1950 – 1st strip of Charlie Brown, “Li’l Folks”, later “Peanuts”, by Charles M. Schulz published in seven nationwide papers
1960 – Mickey Wright becomes first player in LPGA Tour history to average fewer than 74 strokes per round to win the Vare Trophy after a season average of 73.25; first of 5 consecutive Vare Trophies for Wright
1967 – All Grateful Dead members arrested by narcotic agents for possession of marijuana in San Francisco, California
2016 – Ryder Cup Golf, Hazeltine National GC: US regains Cup; beats Europe, 17-11; Americans Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker and Patrick Reed each win 3 matches
2019 – Two politicians in Peru claim to be the country’s leader for a day until Mercedes Aráoz resigns so the constitutional court can rule on the matter

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1833 – William Corby, American Catholic priest and President of the University of Notre Dame, born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1897)
1928 – Anthony Tippet, British Royal Navy officer and Chief of Fleet Support (d. 2006)
1936 – Dick Barnett, American basketball guard (NBA All Star 1968; NBA C’ship 1970, 73 NY Knicks), born in Gary, Indiana
1946 – Jo-El Sonnier, American country singer (Louisiana), born in Rayne, Louisiana
1951 – Sting [Gordon Sumner], British singer-songwriter and bassist (The Police – “Every Breath You Take”; solo – “Fragile”) and actor (Dune), born in Wallsend, Northumberland
1981 – Toro [Alvan Guo Yi Jun], Taiwanese pop singer (Energy)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1944 – Rudolf Schmundt, German gen/Hitlers army adjunct, dies from injuries
1971 – Bola de Nieve [Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández], Cuban singer, pianist and songwriter, dies at 60
1988 – Alec Issigonis, Greek-British automotive designer who designed the Mini, dies at 81
1989 – Liesbeth Ribbius Peletier, Neth’s 1st female advisor of State, dies
1996 – Robert Bourassa, Prime Minister of Quebec province (1970-76, 85-93), dies at 63
2007 – Tex Coulter, American NFL defensive lineman (All Pro 1948, 51-52; Pro Bowl 1951-52; NY Giants), dies at 82

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1942 – Bell P-59 Airacomet fighter, 1st US jet, makes maiden flight
1944 – Newspaper editor Alejandro Córdova assassinated in Guatemala
1951 – 1st treaty signed by woman ambassador-Eugenie Anderson (US ambassador to Denmark)
1953 – KYTV TV channel 3 in Springfield, MO (NBC) begins broadcasting
1999 – In a blockbuster NBA trade, the Houston Rockets move All Star forward Scottie Pippen to Portland Trail Blazers for Kelvin Cato, Stacey Augmon, Walt Williams, Carlos Rogers, Ed Gray and Brian Shaw
2000 – United States wins the most medals (97), and the most gold medals (40) in Summer Olympics held in Sydney, Australia

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1577 – Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Swiss friar, martyr, and saint, born in Sigmaringen, Germany (d. 1622)
1934 – Neil Castles, American auto racer (NASCAR Grand National East Series Champion 1972; NASCAR Cup Series 51 x top 5, 178 x top 10 finishes), born in Charlotte, North Carolina (d. 2022)
1950 – Mihai Romilă, Romanian soccer midfielder (19 caps; Politehnica Iași 367 games), born in Huși, Romania (d. 2020)
1957 – Stelios Mainas, Greek actor
1967 – Geraldine Heaney, Canadian ice hockey defense (Olympics gold 1998), born in Lurgan, Northern Ireland
1967 – Scott Young, US Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (1,181 NHL games; Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche), born in Clinton, Massachusetts

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1770 – Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, French composer and violinist, dies at 64
1878 – Mindon, King of Burma (1853-1878) penultimate ruler of the Konbaung dynasty and founder of Mandalay, dies at 70
1943 – Johan van Mierlo, resistance fighter, executed at 35
1975 – Al Jackson Jr., American session drummer, known as “The Human Time Keeper” (Stax; Booker T. and MGs – “McLemore Avenue”), murdered by an intruder in his home at 39
1990 – Curtis LeMay, American air force general (WWII) and VP candidate, dies at 83
2007 – Ronnie Hazlehurst, English conductor and TV theme song composer (Are You Being Served?), dies at 79

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1659 – Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked (according to Daniel Defoe’s famous novel)
1943 – Pope Pius XII encyclical on Divine spirit
1946 – Twenty-two Nazi leaders, including Joachim von Ribbentrop and Hermann Goering, are found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to death or prison at the Nuremberg war trials
1949 – Pirates Ralph Kiner hits his 54th HR and NL record 16th in September
1968 – The Supremes release single “Love Child”
1992 – 26th Country Music Association Award: Garth Brooks wins

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1700 – Stanisław Konarski, Polish political writer and Catholic priest who influenced education reform in Poland, born in Żarczyce Duże, Poland (d. 1773)
1732 – Jacques Necker, French finance minister of Louis XVI whose decisions contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution, born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 1804)
1898 – Princess Charlotte of Monaco, illegitimate daughter of Louis II and mother of Prince Rainier III born in Constantine, French Algeria (d. 1977)
1917 – Chung Hee Park, Korean general and President of South Korea (1961-79), assassinated in office, born in Gumi, Japanese Korea (d. 1979)
1932 – Shintaro Ishihara, Japanese author and politician (Governor of Tokyo), born in Suma-ku, Kobe, Japan (d. 2022)
1959 – Ettore Messina, Italian basketball coach (Olimpia Milano), born in Catalania, Italy

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1581 – Hubert Languet, French diplomat and reformer (b. 1518)
1803 – Charles Broche, French composer, dies at 51
1910 – Maurice Lévy, French engineer (b. 1838)
1961 – Onésime Gagnon, Canadian politician, 20th Lieutenant Governor of Québec, dies at 72
1990 – Alice Parizeau, Polish-born Quebec writer and journalist, dies at 60
2012 – Turhan Bey [Sahultavy], Austrian-born actor dubbed “The Turkish Delight” (Arabian Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves), dies from Parkinson’s disease at 90

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

219 – Batavian soldiers consecrate altar on Hercules Magusanus Rome
1678 – France and Brandenburg sign peace treaty
1914 – Boston Braves, who were in last place in mid-July, clinch NL pennant
1945 – Chicago Cubs clinch NL pennant with record of 98–56
1983 – US Congress authorizes President Reagan to keep 1,600 US Marines in Lebanon
2003 – Hurricane Juan makes landfall in Nova Scotia.

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1803 – Mercator Cooper, American sea captain (first to visit Japan and Antarctica), born in Southampton, New York (d. 1872)
1901 – Lanza del Vasto, Italian philosopher and activist (d. 1981)
1955 – Mark Mitchell, Australian actor (Larger than Life, Con the Fruiterer), bon in Melbourne Australia
1972 – Oliver Gavin, British racing car driver (Corvette Racing 2002-present), born in Huntingdon, England
1993 – Carlos Salcedo, Mexican footballer, born in Guadalajara, Mexico
1994 – Halsey [Ashley Frangipane], American singer-songwriter (Without Me), born in Edison, New Jersey

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1927 – Willem Einthoven, Dutch physiologist and inventor of the electrocardiodiogram (Nobel Prize in Medicine 1924), dies at 67
1952 – John Cobb, British speed record holder (World Land Speed Record 1938-39, 47), dies attempting to break world Water Speed Record at Loch Ness, Scotland, at 52
1993 – Ghuslam Wyne, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Punjab, murdered at 60
1998 – Jared High, American victim of bullying and suicide, dies at 13
2018 – Otis Rush, American blues musician (Right Place, Wrong Time), dies from complications from an earlier stroke at 83
2019 – Larry Willis, American jazz pianist and composer, dies of an aneurysm at 76

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1953 – “Juvenile Jury” TV Children’s last airs on NBC, moved to CBS
1956 – “Johnny Carson Show” TV Variety last airs on CBS-TV
1961 – Syria withdraws from United Arab Republic
1962 – “I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster” debuts on ABC-TV
1962 – “Verdict Is Yours,” last airs on CBS-TV
1963 – “King Leonardo” cartoon last airs on NBC-TV

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1910 – Diosdado Macapagal, President of the Philippines (1961-65), born in Lubao, Philippines (d. 1997)
1913 – Alice Marble, American tennis player (US Open 1936, 1938-40), born in Beckwourth, California (d. 1990)
1913 – Vivian Fine, American composer (Women in the Garden), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2000)
1947 – Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshi politician, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (2009-), born in Tungipara, East Pakistan
1966 – Puri Jagannadh, Indian film director (Pokiri), born in Pithapuram, Andhra Pradesh
1983 – Stefan Moore, English footballer (Aston Villa), born in Birmingham, England

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1694 – Gabriel Mouton, French abbot and mathematician, dies at about 76
1917 – T. E. Hulme, English writer and poet, dies at 34
1948 – E. J. Ratcliffe, English stage and screen actor, dies at 85
1994 – Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu, Mexican PRI-politician, murdered at 48
2004 – Geoffrey Beene, American fashion designer (8 Coty Awards), dies at 77
2020 – Frédéric Devreese, Belgian conductor, and composer of classical music (Gemini Suite; Valse Sacrée), and film scores (The Cruel Embrace), dies of cancer at 91

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1864 – Battle at Pilot Knob (Ft Davidson) Missouri: 1700 killed or injured
1973 – Soyuz 12 carries 2 cosmonauts into Earth orbit (2 days)
1993 – British crime series “Cracker” created by Jimmy McGovern starring Robbie Coltrane debuts on ITV in the UK
2015 – A “Supermoon” coincides with a lunar eclipse creating a “Blood Moon” over much of the earth
2018 – Justin Milne, head of Australian Broadcasting Corporation resigns amid allegations of firing journalists for the government
2020 – Border fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan forces over disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh kills at least 23

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1719 – Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician, born in Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony (d. 1800)
1835 – John Murray Corse, American politician and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1893 [or 4/27])
1934 – Barbara Howar, American reporter (Washington Post; Entertainment Tonight), born in Nashville, Tennessee
1949 – Graham Richardson, Australian politician and media commentator, born in Sydney, Australia
1953 – Robbie Shakespeare, Jamaican reggae bassist (Sly and Robbie – “DJ Riot”), born in Kingston, Jamaica (d. 2021)
1958 – Paul Grabowsky, Australian jazz pianist and composer (“When Words Fail”), born in Lae, Papua New Guinea

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1566 – Marcus A Vida [Marcus Hieronymus], Italian humanist/poet/bishop, dies
1916 – Emile A G Verhaeren, Belgian writer (Les Heures du Soir), dies at 61
1917 – Edgar Degas, French impressionist painter, sculptor and artist (The Bellelli Family), dies at 83
1955 – Henri Liebrecht, Belgian playwright and journalist, dies at 71
1994 – Gerald Bledsoe, American broadcaster (Soul Alive, WWRL), dies of a heart attack at 51
2011 – Dave Hill, American golfer (13 PGA Tour titles), dies of emphysema at 74

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1949 – Groundbreaking ceremony for the Hollywood sign in Hollywood, Los Angeles; old Hollywoodland sign torn down, reconstruction of a replacement begins with just Hollywood
1968 – 1st broadcast of “Hawaii Five-O” on CBS-TV
1983 – Lebanon premier Chafiq Wazzan offers to resigns
1987 – Padres Benito Santiago sets rookie hitting streak to 28 games
1995 – Earliest 1st-class cricket in Aust season (Qld v Western Prov)
2002 – Overcrowded Senegalese ferry MV Joola capsizes off the coast of Gambia killing more than 1,000

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1903 – Gerhard Nebel, German writer, born in Dessau (d. 1974)
1926 – Manfred Mayrhofer, Austrian Indo-European philologist (Indo-Iranian languages), born in Linz, Austria (d. 2011)
1927 – Joyce Jameson, American comedienne and actress (Spike Jones Show, The Outlaw Josey Wales), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1987)
1937 – Valentin Pavlov, Russian politician and Prime Minister of the Soviet Union (1991), born in Moscow, Soviet Union (d. 2003)
1983 – Zoe Perry, American stage and screen actress (Young Sheldon), born in Chicago, Illinois
1994 – Marcell Jacobs, Italian track athlete (Olympic gold – men’s 100m 2020; first Italian to win the event), born in El Paso, Texas

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1952 – George Santayana, Spanish-American philosopher and poet (Last Puritan), dies at 88
1961 – Juanita Hansen, actress (Fast Company), dies of heart ailment at 67
1966 – Helen Kane, American actress and singer (Heads Up, Pointed Heels), dies of cancer at 62
1983 – Tino Rossi, French singer and actor (Destins, Belle Menuniere), dies at 76
1996 – Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist (1973 Nobel Prize – organometallic compounds), dies at 75
2017 – Robert Delpire, French publisher, editor and photographer, dies at 91

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1866 – (Leonard W) Jerome Park opens in Bronx for horse racing
1868 – The Imperial Russian steam frigate Alexander Nevski shipwrecks off Jutland while carrying Grand Duke Alexei of Russia
1957 – 300 US Army troops guard 9 black kids return to Central High School in Arkansas
1980 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
2002 – The Vitim event, a possible bolide impact in Siberia, Russia.
2012 – Anouchka van Miltenburg is elected President of the House of Representatives in the Netherlands

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1612 – Mark Zuesius Boxhorn, Dutch historian, born in Bergen-op-Zoom, The Netherlands (d. 1653)
1816 – Anton de Kontski [Antoni Kątski], Polish-American pianist and composer (Awakening Of The Lion), born in Kraków, Poland (d. 1899) [some sources cite birth as 1817-10-27]
1846 – Wladimir Köppen [Vladimir Köppen], German meteorologist and climatologist who developed the Köppen climate classification system for the regions of the world, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1940)
1896 – Roberto Gerhard, Spanish Catalan composer (the Plague), born in Valls, Catalonia, Spain (d. 1970)
1952 – Christopher Reeve, American actor (Superman, Somewhere in Time), born in New York City (d. 2004)
1981 – Jason Bergmann, American baseball player, born in Neptune City, New Jersey

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1066 – Harald III Hardrada, King of Norway (1047-66), dies at the Battle of Stamford Bridge at 51 – his death often considered the end of the Viking Age
1716 – Johann Christoph Pez, German Baroque composer, dies at 52
1914 – Alfred Lichtenstein, German writer, dies at 25
1970 – Efim Golishev, Ukrainian painter and composer, dies at 73
1986 – Donald MacDonald, Canadian politician and former president of the Canadian Labour Congress (1967-74), dies at 77
1995 – Bessie [Annie Elizabeth] Delany, American dentist and civil rights pioneer, dies at 104

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1688 – France declares war on Germany
1948 – Mildred Gillars (Axis Sally), an American broadcaster employed by the Third Reich in Nazi Germany to proliferate propaganda during World War II, pleads not guilty to eight chargs of treason in Washington, D.C.
1958 – 1st welded aluminum girder highway bridge completed, Urbandale, Iowa
1980 – Braves join every NL team with 1,000,000+ attendance for this season
1990 – Saddam Hussein states his willingness to strike first and his intention to damage oil fields in the region if Iraq does strike
2018 – Real Madrid midfielder and Croatian World Cup captain Luka Modrić is named world’s best male player at the FIFA Awards in London; Brazil and Orlando Pride forward Marta best female player; France’s Didier Deschamps best men’s coach

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1885 – Artur Lemba, Estonian concert pianist, composer (Sabina), and piano teacher (St. Petersburg Conservatory, 1908-20), born in Revel, Russian Empire (now Tallinn, Estonia) (d. 1963)
1898 – Charlotte van Pallandt, Dutch sculptress, born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 1997)
1934 – Tommy Anderson, Scottish footballer (Stockport County), born in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland
1936 – Jim Henson, American puppeteer, artist, screenwriter and filmmaker, best known as the creator of ‘the Muppets” (Sesame Street, The Muppet Show), born in Greenville, Mississippi (d. 1990)
1962 – Jake Phelps, American skateboarder, journalist (editor Thrasher magazine), born in San Francisco, CA (d. 2019)
1966 – Atul Bedade, Indian cricketer (ODI batsman), born in Bombay, India

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1494 – Poliziano, Italian humanist (b. 1454)
1802 – Alexander Radishchev, Russian writer (Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow), commits suicide by drinking poison at 53
1982 – Paulus Akkerman, Dutch-Frisian baker, writer (Each om Each), and translator, dies at 74
1994 – Colin Berry Haycraft, publisher, dies at 65
1994 – David Napley, English solicitor, dies at 79
1996 – Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards, egyptologist, dies at 87

More Famous Deaths »