Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1912 – 1st Mack Sennett “Keystone Comedy” movie released “Cohen Collects a Debt”
1958 – Great Britain performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
1958 – Stravinsky’s “Thieni” premieres in Venice
1958 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1970 – IBM announces System/370 Model 145, their 1st computer to employ semiconductors for its main memory
1983 – Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa KOs American Michael Dokes in 10 rounds in Richfield. Ohio for WBA heavyweight boxing title

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Famous Birthdays

1895 – Johnny Mokan, American baseball player (d. 1985)
1910 – Elliot Roosevelt, American general, writer and son of FDR (Murder in the Oval Office), born in New York City (d. 1990)
1925 – Barry Linehan, actor (Bullseye, Dark Places, Witchcraft)
1929 – Wally Whyton, English musician and broadcaster (BBC 2), born in London, England (d. 1997)
1976 – Faune A. Chambers, American actress
1985 – Brian Brohm, American football player

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Famous Deaths

1873 – Jean Chacornac, French astronomer, dies at 50
1943 – Elinor Glyn, British novelist (3 Weeks) and screenwriter, dies at 78
1991 – Ernestine McClendon, director/actress (Homer and Eddie), dies
1994 – Robert Bloch, American sci-fi author (Hugo, Psycho), dies of cancer at 77
2004 – Billy Reay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach, dies at 86
2010 – Teresa Lewis, American murderer (b. 1969)

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Historical Events

1504 – Treaty of Blois signed between Philip of Burgundy, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and French King Louis XII
1890 – First known ascent of Mt. Olympus, Washington, by an expedition led by Joseph P. O’Neil
1955 – Commercial television begins in the UK with the launch of ITV, soon airs the 1st advert on UK TV, for Gibbs SR toothpaste
1961 – Antonio Albertondo (Argentina) completes 1st “double” crossing swim of English Channel in 43 hrs 10 min at 42.
1971 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
2013 – Angela Merkel and the Christian Democrats win a third term with their best result since 1990 in German Federal elections

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Famous Birthdays

1547 – Philipp Nikodemus Frischlin, German philologist and poet (d. 1590)
1788 – Theodore Hook, English author, famous practical joker and recipient of the world’s 1st postcard, born in London (d. 1841)
1885 – Erich von Stroheim, Austrian-American film director and actor (Greed; La Grande Illusion; Sunset Boulevard), born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1957)
1936 – Art Metrano, American comedian (Amy Prentiss, Joanie Loves Chachi), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2021)
1953 – Richard Fairbrass, English singer and bassist (Right Said Fred), born in Kingston upon Thames, England
1978 – Ed Joyce, Irish-English cricketer, born in Dublin, Ireland

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Famous Deaths

1286 – Mugaku Sogen, Zen Rinzai line founder of Engakuji temple, dies at 60
1399 – Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, English politician (b. 1366)
1970 – Alice Hamilton, American physician, scientist and social advocate (workmen’s compensation laws, occupational illnesses), dies at 101
1971 – Yvonne St Clair, American dancer, dies at 57
2004 – Big Boss Man [Ray Washington Traylor Jr.], American professional wrestler, dies at 41
2005 – Johan “Joop” Doderer, Dutch actor (Swiebertje; My Fair Lady), dies at 84

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Historical Events

1451 – Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa orders Jews of Holland to wear a badge
1958 – American pilots Jim Heth and Bill Burkhart complete 1st airplane flight exceeding 1200 hours (50 days, 16 minutes), landing “The Old Scotchman”, their modified Cessna 172 in Dallas, Texas; record broken 123 days later
1970 – Oakland A’s Vida Blue no-hits Minnesota Twins, 6-0
2013 – 100 people are killed in a series of attacks across Iraq
2017 – Discovery of the first brainless animal that sleeps, the jellyfish Cassiopea, research published in “Current Biology” by Caltech scientists
2022 – New York Attorney General Letitia James files lawsuit against Donald Trump and three of his children, alleging widespread fraud through inflating his personal net worth by billions of dollars

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Famous Birthdays

1452 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian preacher and dictator of Florence (1494-98), born in Ferrara, Italy (d. 1498)
1905 – Robert Lebel, French Canadian ice hockey executive, born in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (d. 1999)
1931 – Sykuro Manabe, Japanese-American meteorologist (2021 Nobel Prize for Physics for pioneering work on climate change), born in Ehime, Japan
1945 – Richard Childress, NASCAR team owner
1968 – Jon Brookes, English drummer (The Charlatans), born in Burntwood, Staffordshire (d. 2013)
1991 – Jordan Hasay, American track and field athlete

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Famous Deaths

687 – Conon, Sicilian Pope (686-87), dies
1883 – Johannes van Vloten, Dutch man of letters and theologist, dies at 65
1935 – Herm McFarland, American MLB outfielder (first grand slam in AL history), dies at 65
1948 – Bokke R. S. Pollema, Dutch Frisian journalist, poet, and author (Lok en Lijen (Happiness and Suffering)), dies at 65
1986 – Pierre Wigny, Belgium politician (Minister of Foreign affairs 1958-61), dies at 81
1991 – Angelo Rossitto, American dwarf actor (known as “Little Moe”, Carousel), dies at 83

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Historical Events

1871 – Bishop John Coleridge Patteson martyred on the island of Nukapu, a Polynesian outlier island now in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands. He was the first bishop of Melanesia.
1877 – Chase National Bank opens in NYC (later merges into Chase Manhattan)
1944 – Polish forces free Terneuzen Neth
1948 – Mexican Baseball league disbanded
2000 – The British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by a Russian-built Mark 22 anti-tank missile.
2019 – Researchers for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) propose that aliens may have bugged earths co-orbitals (nearby orbiting rocks) in “The Astronomical Journal”

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Famous Birthdays

1653 – Benedict Schultheiss, German composer, born in Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) (d. 1693)
1886 – Charles Williams, British poet and writer, born in London (d. 1945)
1935 – Keith Roberts, English writer (Irish Encounter, Ladies from Hell), born in Kettering, Northamptonshire (d. 2000)
1938 – George J. Hochbrueckner, American politician (Rep-D-NY), born in Queens, New York
1951 – Javier Marías, Spanish translator and novelist (Corazón Tan Blanco – A Heart So White), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 2022)
1966 – Nuno Bettencourt, Portuguese-American rock guitarist (Extreme – “More Than Words”), born in Praia da Vitória, Terceira, Azores, Portugal

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Famous Deaths

1932 – Max Slevogt, German painter, dies at 63
1973 – Maurice T. “Maury” Muehleisen, American musician and songwriter (Jim Croce), dies in a plane crash at 24
1996 – Paul Erdos, Hungarian mathematician, dies of a heart attack at 83
1999 – Raisa Gorbacheva, Russian philanthropist and wife of Mikhail Gorbachev, dies at 67
2006 – Sven Nykvist, Swedish cinematographer (Cries and Whispers), dies at 83
2010 – Leonard Skinner, American high school gym teacher; namesake of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, dies at 77

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Historical Events

1862 – Battle at Iuka Mississippi (1,700 casualties)
1952 – “Adventures of Superman” TV series starring George Reeves premieres in syndication in the US
1960 – Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
1996 – “Skylight” opens at Royale Theater NYC
2006 – Thai military stages a coup in Bangkok. The Constitution is revoked and martial law is declared.
2022 – Scientists discover site of the Amazon’s tallest tree, an angelim vermelho at 88.5 meters (290 feet) tall and 9.9 meters (32 feet) wide, Iratapuru River Nature Reserve, northern Brazil,

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Famous Birthdays

1749 – Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, French mathematician and astronomer (The History of Astronomy), born in Amiens, France (d. 1822)
1811 – Orson Pratt, American mathematician and religious leader, born in Hartford, New York (d. 1881)
1904 – Karen Aabye, Danish author (Less bedstemor there jomfru), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1982)
1921 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher (critical pedagogy), born in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil (d. 1997)
1946 – Brian Henton, English racing driver, born in Castle Donington, Leicestershire
1967 – Kenny Smith, American bluegrass guitarist and vocalist (Lonesome River Band, 1996-2001), born in Nine Mile, Indiana

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Famous Deaths

1902 – Masaoka Shiki, Japanese haiku and tanka poet and diarist (Salt Water Ballads), dies at 34
1935 – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian pioneer in rocket and space research, dies at 78
1993 – Richard Landau, American screenwriter (Back to Bataan), dies at 79
1995 – Mr. Bo {Louis Collins], American electric blues guitarist and singer, dies at 63
2000 – Gloria Talbott, American film and television actress, sometimes known as “the Scream Queen” for her work in B-movies, dies of kidney failure at 69
2013 – Hiroshi Yamauchi, Japanese businessman (President of Nintendo, 1949-2003, owner of Seattle Mariners), dies at 85

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Historical Events

1872 – King Oscar II accedes to the throne of Sweden-Norway
1891 – Harriet Maxwell Converse is 1st white woman to become an Indian chief
1934 – USSR admitted to League of Nations
1940 – Italian troops conquer Sidi Barrani
1978 – “WKRP in Cincinnati”, an ensemble TV sitcom created by Hugh Wilson and set in a struggling radio station debuts on CBS
2018 – Amnesty International says 400 civilians have been killed in conflicts between Cameroon soldiers and Anglophone separatists in 2018

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Famous Birthdays

1750 – Tomás de Iriarte, Spanish writer (Fabulas Literarias), born in La Orotava, Tenerife, Canary Islands of Spain (d. 1791)
1894 – Fay Compton [Virginia Compton-Mackenzie], British stage and screen actress (Hamlet; The WInter’s Tale; Othello; The Haunting), born in West Kensington, London (d. 1978)
1964 – Luca Belcastro, Italian classical music composer, born in Como, Italy
1965 – Uğur Şahin, German immunologist (BioNTech – created 1st mRNA-based vaccine for COVID-19), born in İskenderun, Turkey
1975 – Jason Sudeikis, American comedian, writer, and Emmy Award-winning actor (Horrible Bosses; Ted Lasso; SNL, 2005-13), born in Fairfax, Virginia
1980 – Adeel Akhtar, English actor (Murdered by My Father), born in London, England

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Famous Deaths

1934 – Marie Shotwell, American actress (Sally of the Sawdust), dies at 54
1952 – Hippoliet Daeye, Belgium painter (Dreamy), dies at 79
1964 – J. Frank Dobie, American folklorist and newspaper columnist, dies at 75
1965 – Marshall Field IV, American newspaper publisher (owned Chicago Daily News), dies at 49
1975 – Fairfield Porter, American painter, dies at 68
1991 – Rob Tyner [Robert Derminer], American hard rock singer (MC5 – Kick Out The Jams), dies of a heart attack at 46

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Historical Events

1955 – Sammy Fain and Dan Shapiro’s musical comedy “Ankles Aweigh” closes at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC. after 176 performances
1963 – Train struck makeshift bus full of migrant workers, killing 32
1965 – CBS premiere of WWII sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes”
1977 – Ryder Cup Golf, Royal Lytham and St Annes: US wins 12½-7½; last time a Great Britain and Ireland team competes for Ryder Cup
1983 – 8th Toronto International Film Festival: “The Big Chill” directed by Lawrence Kasdan wins the People’s Choice Award
2010 – The 54 year run of the soap opera As the World Turns ends as its final episode is broadcast.

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Famous Birthdays

1688 – Maria Luisa of Savoy, Queen consort of Spain to Philip V (1701-14), born in Royal Palace of Turin, Savoy (d. 1714)
1819 – Leon Foucault, French physicist whose pendulum proved that the Earth rotates, born in Paris (d. 1868)
1857 – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian pioneer in rocket and space research, born in Izhevskoye, Ryazan Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1935)
1909 – Kenneth Darling, British Army Commander-in-chief Allied Forces, born in Bengal Presidency, British India (d. 1998)
1953 – Altaf Hussain, Pakistani politician and founder of MQM
1989 – Jonathan McReynolds, American gospel musician (Make Room), born in Chicago, Illinois

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Famous Deaths

1823 – Abraham L Breguet, French clock maker, dies at 76
1863 – Albartus Telting, Frisian poet (Frisianch Jierboeckjen), dies at 59
1892 – Ignaz Vincenz Zingerle, Austrian poet, dies at 67
1895 – Auguste Toulet, Belgian balloonist, dies
1958 – Friedrich Adolf Paneth, Austrian-British chemist, dies at 71
1996 – Spiro Agnew, American politician (Vice President, 1969 until resignation over corruption allegations in 1973), dies of leukemia at 77

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Historical Events

1575 – King Johan Casimir of Palts promises military aid to the Huguenots
1901 – Alturas, California, is incorporated as the only city in Modoc County
1943 – Soviet army under general Vatutin reconquers Romny, Northern Ukraine
1995 – Shawntel Smith (Okla), 24, crowned 69th Miss America 1996
2007 – One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 carrying 128 crew and passengers crashes in Thailand killing 89 people.
2012 – 8 police officers are killed by a roadside bombing by Kurdistan Workers’ Party militants in Turkey

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Famous Birthdays

1736 – Johann Nikolaus Tetens, German-Danish philosopher and mathematician, born in Tetenbüll, Duchy of Schleswig, Denmark (d. 1807)
1883 – George Duncan, Scottish golfer, course designer (British Open 1920), born in Methlick, Scotland (d. 1964)
1929 – Dale Kildee, American politician (Rep-D-Michigan, 1977-2013), born in Flint, Michigan (d. 2021)
1934 – George Chakiris, American actor (West Side Story), born in Norwood, Ohio
1942 – Linda G Miller, American actress (Night of the Juggler, Mississippi), born in NYC, New York
1966 – Kevin Curtis Young, American 400m hurdler, born in Los Angeles, California

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Famous Deaths

1993 – Willie Mosconi, American pool player (World C’ship pocket billiards 1941-57), dies of a heart attack at 80
1994 – Dolly Hare, German/British actress (Broken Blossom), dies at 84
2007 – Robert Jordan, author of the Wheel of Time series (b. 1948)
2015 – Bob Cleary, American US Hockey HOF center (Olympic gold 1960; Harvard University), dies at 79
2018 – Big Jay [Cecil James] McNeely, American RandB saxophonist, dies of prostate cancer at 91
2019 – Peter Stormonth Darling, Scottish investment banker (Mercury Asset Management Group – largest fund-management in the UK), dies at 86

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Historical Events

1851 – Saint Joseph’s University is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1957 – SF Seals (Pacific Coast League) play their last game
1963 – Ben Bella elected 1st president of Algeria
1987 – Italy sends a naval contingent to the Persian Gulf
1988 – Test Cricket debut of Ian Healy, vs Pakistan at Karachi
2019 – Hong Kong police use water cannons and tear gas attempting to disperse thousands of protesters outside the British embassy, as protests continue in the city

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Famous Birthdays

1760 – Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien, Prussian general of the Napoleonic Wars, born in Potsdam, Brandenburg (d. 1824)
1890 – Frank Martin, Swiss composer (In Terra Fax), born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 1974)
1899 – Milton S. Eisenhower, American University President (Pennsylvania State) and brother of Dwight, born in Abilene, Kansas (d. 1985)
1907 – Jack Bailey, American TV host (Queen for a Day), born in Hampton, Iowa (d. 1980)
1929 – Eva Burrows, Austrian Salvation Army officer, 13th General of The Salvation Army, born in Newcastle, Australia (d. 2015)
1962 – Dina Lohan, American television personality, mother and manager of actress Lindsay Lohan, born in NYC, New York

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Famous Deaths

1525 – Jan de Bakker [Johannes Pistorius], Roman Catholic priest who was the first preacher in Northern Netherlands to be put to death as a direct result of his Protestant beliefs, burned at the stake at 26
1750 – Charles Theodore Pachelbel, German-American composer (son of Johann Pachelbel, one of the first European composers to emigrate to America), dies at 59
1794 – Abraham Clark, American patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence, dies at 68
1859 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British engineer (SS Great Britain, Great Western Railway), dies of a stroke at 53
1942 – Jack Singer, American war reporter, dies aboard USS Wasp
2020 – Moussa Traoré, Mali soldier, politician and dictator, President of Mali (1968-91), dies at 83

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Historical Events

1862 – Skirmish at Fox’s Gap, American Civil War
1929 – A’s clinch AL pennant with a 5-0 win over White Sox
1955 – Herb Score sets rookie record of 235 strikeouts (en route 245)
1965 – Western sitcom “F-Troop” premieres in the US on ABC
1991 – San Diego State freshman running back Marshall Faulk rushes for NCAA record 386 yards and scores 7 touchdowns as the Aztecs beat Pacific, 55-34
2012 – Ferry sinks amid 10 foot waves off Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, killing 21 people

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Famous Birthdays

1920 – Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan journalist, novelist and poet, born in Paso de los Toros, Uruguay (d. 2009)
1929 – Mel Hancock, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri), born in Cape Fair, Missouri (d. 2011)
1934 – Dicky Maegle [Moegle], American College Football Hall of Fame and NFL halfback (All-American 1954, Rice; Pro Bowl 1955, San Francisco 49ers), and broadcaster, born in Taylor, Texas (d. 2021)
1970 – Robert Ben Garant, American screenwriter and actor (Reno 991!), born in Cookeville, Tennessee
1984 – Ayushmann Khurrana, Indian actor and singer (Vicky Donor), born in Chandigarh, India
1984 – Melissa McGhee, American rock singer (American Idol, season 5), born in Tampa, Florida

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Famous Deaths

1743 – Johann Michael Müller, German organist and composer, dies at 59
1763 – Johann Philipp Sack, German composer, dies at 40
1940 – Emile Argand, Swiss geologist (Dekbladen Theory), dies at 61
1965 – J. W. Hearne, English cricket all-rounder (24 Tests, 30 wickets, 1 x 100; Middlesex), dies at 74
2013 – Stefan Wewerka, German architect and sculptor, dies at 84
2021 – Norm MacDonald, Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, and actor (Saturday Night Live, 1993-98; Dirty Work; The Norm Show), dies of cancer at 61

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