Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1923 – Dorothys Donelly’s “Poppy” premieres in NYC
1924 – L Stallings and M Anderson’s “What Price Glory?” premieres in NYC
1973 – Jerry Lewis’ 8th Muscular Dystrophy telethon
1975 – Chartered Boeing 707 crashes in Atlas Mts of Morocco, 188 die
1995 – Soyuz TM-22, launched into orbit
2020 – MacKenzie Scott, philanthropist and ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, becomes world’s richest woman worth $68 billion

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1913 – Alan Ladd, American actor (Shane, Carpetbaggers), born in Hot Springs, Arkansas (d. 1964)
1925 – Hank Thompson, American country music singer (The Brazos Valley Boys), born in Waco, Texas (d. 2007)
1956 – Hans-Georg Beyer, East German team handball player (Olympic gold 1980), born in Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany
1964 – Junaid Jamshed, Pakistani singer (Vital Signs 1), born in Karachi, West Pakistan (d. 2016)
1977 – Olof Mellberg, Swedish footballer (Astob Villa), born in Gullspång, Sweden
1988 – Carla Suárez Navarro, Spanish tennis player (2 WTA, 6 ITF titles), born in Las Palmas, Spain

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1964 – Joseph Marx, Austrian composer and music critic, dies at 82
1980 – Duncan Renaldo, Spanish actor (Cisco Kid, Guns of Fury), dies from lung cancer at 76
1993 – Leon Liebgold, Polish American actor/chairman (Hebrew Actors Union), dies at 83
1994 – Roswell Gilbert, who mercy killed his ailing wife, dies at 85
2007 – Jane Tomlinson, British charity fund raiser (b. 1964)
2017 – Sugar Ramos [Ultiminio Ramos], Cuban-Mexican boxer (World Featherweight champion 1963-64), dies at 75

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1924 – Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart’soperetta “Rose-Marie” opens to rave reviews at the Imperial Theatre, NYC; runs for 577 performances
1931 – American crooner Bing Crosby makes his solo radio debut on his “15 Minutes with Bing Crosby” program broadcast on the CBS network
1967 – The Principality of Sealand is established, ruled by Prince Paddy Roy Bates.
1990 – Steve Allen, installed as a new abbot of Hartford St Zen Center, San Francisco
1996 – Museum of Contemporary Art of Niterói (MAC) designed by Oscar Niemeyer inaugurated in Niterói, Brazil
2020 – Press conference with body camera evidence brings to light death of African American Daniel Prude after being retrained by police back in March

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1911 – Romare Bearden, African American painter (d. 1988)
1918 – Allen Drury, American author (Advise and Consent – 1960 Pulitzer Prize), born in Houston, Texas (d. 1998)
1941 – John Thompson, American Basketball Hall of Fame center, coach and broadcaster (NBA C’ship 1965, 66, Boston Celtics; coach NCAA C’ship 1984, Georgetown), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2020)
1952 – Earl Pomeroy, American politician (Rep-D-North Dakota 1993-2011), born in Valley City, North Dakota
1967 – Andreas Möller, German footballer
1979 – Ron Ng, Hong Kong actor

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1944 – Gustav Aschaffenburg, German psychiatrist (pioneer in criminology and forensic pathology), dies at 78
1993 – John [Eoin] Higgins, Northern Ireland supreme court justice (1984-93), dies at 66
1996 – Kenneth M Stewart, euro MP for Merseyside West, dies at 71
2008 – Denis Rooke, British engineer and CEO (British Gas), dies at 84
2011 – Roberto Bruce, Chilean journalist (b. 1979)
2020 – William Yorzyk Jr., American swimmer (Olympic gold 200m butterfly, WR 2:19.3, 1956), dies at 87

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1939 – General George Marshall sworn in as the United States Army Chief of Staff
1974 – Train accident at Zagreb Yugoslavia, 121 killed
1978 – Jacqueline Smith of Great Britain scores 10 straight dead center strikes on a 4″ disk in World Parachute Championships in Yugoslavia
1983 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1984 – Middlesex beats Kent off the last ball of the Nat West Trophy cricket final in London; John Emburey hits Kent seamer Richard Ellison to square leg for 4 for the winning runs
1999 – 56th Venice Film Festival: “Yi ge dou bu neng shao” directed by Zhang Yimou wins Golden Lion

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1529 – Taddeo Zuccari, Italian Mannerist painter (Villa dei Farnese at Caprarola), born in Sant’Angelo in Vado (d. 1566)
1549 – Charles Philip of Croÿ, Marquis of Havre, military general for the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1613)
1892 – Leverett Saltonstall, 55th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1979)
1923 – Theo Joekes, Dutch journalist, writer, and politician (VVD), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1999)
1951 – David Bairstow, English cricket wicket keeper, broadcaster (4 Tests, 13 dismissals; father of England Test ‘keeper Jonny; Yorkshire CCC), born in Bradford, Yorkshire (d. 1998)
1954 – Riccardo “Ric” Formosa, Italian-Australian guitarist (Little River Band, 1975-76), session musician, arranger and classical composer, born in Rome, Italy

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1615 – Étienne Pasquier, French lawyer and man of letters, dies at 86
1818 – Robert Calder, British naval officer, dies at 73
1969 – William Flanagan, American composer, and music critic, takes his own life at 46
1970 – Francois Mauriac, French novelist, poet and playwright (Nobel 1952), dies at 84
1983 – Lennox Brown, South African cricket leg spinner (3 wickets at 63 for South Africa), dies at 72
2013 – Tommy Morrison, American boxer (WBO heavyweight title, 1993) and actor (Rocky V), dies from AIDS at 44

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1919 – John Reed forms American Communist Labor Party in Chicago
1950 – Dodger Gil Hodges hits 4 HRs and a single in a game vs Braves
1980 – 80th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Hal Sutton
1990 – Baseball outfielders Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. become the 1st father and son to play on same team (Seattle Mariners), the pair hit back-to-back singles in the first inning and both scored
2012 – “Argo” directed by Ben Affleck and starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman premieres at the Telluride Film Festival (Best Picture 2013)
2020 – Singer Akon lays first stone for Akon city, futuristic solar-powered city to be built in Senegal, saying will be real-life version of Wakanda in “Black Panther”

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1822 – Fitz John Porter, American Major General (Union Army), born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (d. 1901)
1855 – Stefan Surzynski, Polish conductor and composer, born in Srem, Poland (d. 1919)
1908 – William Saroyan, American novelist and playwright (Time of Your Life), born in Fresno, California (d. 1981)
1963 – Richard “Reb” Beach, American heavy metal guitarist (Winger; Whitesnake), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1978 – Philippe Christanval, French footballer
1984 – Rajkummar Rao, Indian film actor (Shahid), born in Gurgaon, India

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1057 – Leofric, count of Mercia, husband of Lady Godiva, dies
1631 – Nicolaus Erich, German composer, dies at 43
1638 – John Ward, British madrigal and religious music composer, dies at 67
1974 – William Pershing Benedict, American World War II fighter pilot in both the RCAF and U.S. Army Air Forces, killed in a plane crash while firefighting in California at 56
1996 – Harald Penrose, British test pilot, dies at 92
2020 – Tom Seaver, American Baseball HOF pitcher (NL Cy Young Award 1969, 73, 75; 12 x MLB All Star; NY Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago WS), dies of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19 at 75

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1843 – 1st time African-Americans participate in a national political convention (Liberty Party)
1918 – Czechoslovakia forms independent republic
1954 – Hurricane Carol kills 68 on the US East Coast
1983 – 8th NASA Space Shuttle Mission: Challenger 3 launches for a 6-day excursion
1986 – Soviet authorities arrested Nicholas Daniloff (US News World Report)
1987 – Yves Pol of France runs complete marathon backwards (3:57:57)

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1809 – Adolf Friedrich Hesse, German composer, born in Wrocław, Poland (d. 1863)
1913 – Thomas F. Torrance, Scottish Protestant theologist, born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China (d. 2007)
1918 – Ted Williams, American Baseball HOF outfielder (last player to bat over .400 in single season; 19 x MLB All Star; AL MVP 1946, 49; Triple Crown 1942, 47 Boston Red Sox), born in San Diego, California (d. 2002)
1921 – Angelo Dundee, American boxing trainer and cornerman (Muhammad Ali 1960–81 and 15 other world boxing champions), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
1963 – Paul Oakenfold, British record producer and DJ, born in Mile End, London
1966 – Michael Michele, American actress (Nikki-Central Park West), born in Evansville, Indiana

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1580 – Emanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (1553-80, regained lands of Savoy), dies at 52
1981 – Vera-Ellen [Westmeier Rohe], American actress and dancer (White Christmas; Big Leaguer; On the Town), dies of cancer at 60
1984 – Wesley Lau, American actor (Lt Anderson-Perry Mason), dies at 63
1989 – Joe Collins, American baseball first baseman (World Series 1949–53, 56; New York Yankees), dies at 66
2007 – Charles Vanik, American politician (Rep-D-Ohio 1955-81), dies at 94
2008 – Tommy Bolt, American golfer (US Open 1958), dies at 92

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1930 – The last 36 remaining inhabitants of St Kilda are voluntarily evacuated to other parts of Scotland.
1967 – Yanks longest day, Red Sox take 1st game 2-1 in 9, Yanks win 2nd game in 20, 4-3 a total of 8 hours and 19 minutes
1987 – Houston Astro MLB player Nolan Ryan passes the 200-strikeout barrier for record 11th time
1992 – Irish rock band U2 plays the 1st of two sold-out nights at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, NYC
2011 – “Tha Carter IV” 9th studio album by Lil Wayne is released
2012 – Banana Spider venom is found to be effective in relieving erectile dysfunction

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1843 – David B. Hill, American politician and Governor of New York (1885-91), born in Montour Falls, New York (d. 1910)
1844 – Edward Carpenter, English poet and philosopher (Civilisation, Its Cause and Cure), born in Hove, Sussex, England (d. 1929)
1905 – Arndt Pekurinen, Finnish pacifist, executed without a trial for his beliefs, born in Juva, Finland (d. 1941)
1954 – Julio Fernandez, Cuban-American jazz guitarist (Spyro Gyra, 1984-present), born in Havana, Cuba
1963 – Elizabeth Fraser, Scottish singer (Cocteau Twins – “Heaven OR Las Vegas”), born in Grangemouth, Scotland
1974 – Jay Onrait, Canadian sports broadcaster (TSN, Fox Sports 1), born in Athabasca, Alberta

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1893 – Aleksey Apukhtin, Russian poet (Stichotvorenia), dies at 52 [OS=8/17]
1931 – David Abercrombie, Abercrombie and Fitch founder, dies at 64
1980 – Louis Darquier de Pellepoix, French politician and Nazi collaborator (anti-Semite minister in WWII Vichy government), dies at 92
1987 – Lee Marvin, American actor (Paint Your Wagon, Cat Ballou), dies of a heart attack at 63
2002 – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish actor (To Serve Them All My Days), dies at 82
2007 – Pierre Messmer, French politician (Prime Minister of France 1972-74 under Georges Pompidou), dies at 91

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1862 – Belle Boyd released from Old Capital Prison in Washington, D.C.
1921 – Babe Ruth starts streak of an extra-base hit in 9 straight games
1967 – Boston signs 1st free-agent outfielder Ken Harrelson for $75,000 bonus
1987 – Mike Schmidt passes Ted Williams and Willie McCovey with 522 HRs
1990 – Stefan Edberg (#1 seeded player) loses in 1st round to Alex Volkov
1994 – 1st Japanese gay pride parade

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1842 – Willem Linnig The Younger, Flemish painter and graphic artist, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1890)
1881 – Arne Eggen, Norwegian organist and composer, born in Trondheim, Norway (d. 1955)
1931 – John Shirley-Quirk, British operatic bass-baritone (Death in Venice), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2014)
1938 – Maurizio Costanzo, Italian television journalist (Maurizio Costanzo Show), born in Rome, Italy (d. 2023)
1947 – Alice Playton, American actress (Who Killed Mary Whats ‘er Name), born in NYC, New York
1970 – Jaime Fields, NFL/WLAF linebacker (KC Chiefs, Scotland Claymores), born in Compton, California (d. 1999)

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1539 – Lieven Pain, Flemish, beheaded at about 75
1654 – Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish statesman (Lord High Chancellor and regent of Sweden), dies at 71
1678 – John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, English soldier (b. 1602)
1757 – David Hartley, English philosopher and Founder of the Associationist School of Psychology, dies at 51
1839 – William Smith, British geologist who is credited with creating the first nationwide geological map (Strata Identified by Organized Fossils), dies at 70
1953 – Nikolai Golovanov, Russian conductor and composer (Bolshoi Opera), dies at 61

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1601 – Olivier van Noort completes first Dutch exploration of new world
1832 – Black Hawk, leader of Sauk-indians, gives himself up
1892 – NYC’s Metropolitan Opera House (opened in 1883) catches fire; takes two years to restore
1908 – Calgary City Rugby Football Club re-organizes as the Tigers
1974 – NY Met Benny Ayala hits a HR in his 1st at bat
2004 – German kayaker Birgit Fischer wins gold in K-4 500m and silver in K-2 500m in Athens; first woman in any sport to win gold medals at 6 different Olympics, gold 24 years apart, and 1st person to win 2 or more medals in 5 different Games

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1870 – Amado Nervo [Juan Crisóstomo Ruiz de Nervo], Mexican writer and poet, born in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico (d. 1919)
1884 – Vincent Auriol, President of France (1947-53), born in Revel, France (d. 1966)
1886 – Rebecca Clarke, British-American violist and classical composer (Morpheus), born in Harrow, England (d. 1979)
1935 – Ernie Broglio, American baseball player
1947 – Peter Krieg [Wilhelm Gladitz], German documentary filmmaker, and writer (September Wheat), born in Schwäbisch Gmünd, West Germany (d. 2009)
1964 – Frankie Thorn, American actress

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1977 – George Merritt, English actor (I Monster, Canterbury Tale), dies at 86
1980 – Douglas Kenney, American humorist (co-founded the magazine National Lampoon), dies at 33
1991 – Gordon Heath, actor (Sapphire, Staircase, Animal Farm), dies
1996 – Abram Games, British graphic artist (“Blonde Bombshell” ATS poster), dies at 82
2001 – Abu Ali Mustafa, leader of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (assassinated) (b. 1938)
2022 – Milutin Šoškić, Serbian soccer goalkeeper (50 caps Yugoslavia; FK Partizan, 1. FC Köln), dies at 84

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1652 – Battle of Plymouth: General-at-Sea George Ayscue of the Commonwealth of England attacked a convoy of the Dutch Republic commanded by Vice-Commodore Michiel de Ruyter. Dutch victory
1940 – RKC soccer team forms in Waalwijk
1942 – Transport #24 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany
1944 – Bulgaria announces withdrawal and German troops are to be disarmed
1973 – University of Texas (Arlington) is first accredited school to offer belly dancing
2018 – Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, former US Vatican Ambassador, claims Pope Francis knew of and ignored sex abuse allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1931 – Guy Vander Jagt, American politician (Rep-R-MI, 1966-93), born in Cadillac, Michigan (d. 2007)
1935 – Cornelis B. Vaandrager [Cor Vaan], Dutch poet (Long Live Joop Massaker)
1936 – Francine York, American actress (Slattery’s People), born in Aurora, Minnesota (d. 2017)
1946 – Mark Snow [Martin Fulterman], American television and film composer (The X-Files theme), born in New York City
1969 – Adrian Young, American drummer (No Doubt – “Don’t Speak”), born in Long Beach, California
1985 – Brian Kelley, American country musician (Florida Georgia Line), born in Ormond Beach, Florida

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1486 – Ernst I, Elector of Saxony (1464-86), dies at 45
1595 – Antonio, Prior of Crato, claimant to the throne of Portugal (b. 1531)
1857 – Adolf Schlagintweit, German botanist and explorer (Tarimbekken, executed in Kashgar after being mistaken for a spy at 28
1865 – Marcellus Monroe Crocker, US attorney/Union brigadier general, dies at 35
1865 – Johann Franz Encke, German astronomer (Comet Encke), dies at 73
2009 – Dominick Dunne, American writer and producer (Panic in Needle Park), dies at 83

More Famous Deaths »

Historical Events

1886 – 1st international polo meet (US vs England)
1924 – MLB Washington Senator Walter Johnson 2nd no-hitter beats Browns, 2-0 in 7 inn
1948 – Bradman scores 150 in 212 minutes in his last innings at Lord’s
2001 – Singer Aaliyah and 8 others killed in an air crash in the Bahamas
2012 – 85,000 people are displaced by severe floods in Myanmar
2018 – Afghan Islamic State leader Abu Saad Erhabi and 10 others killed in an air strike in province of Nangarhar, Afghanistan

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1893 – H. Trendley Dean, American dental surgeon who introduced fluoridation into water, born in Winstanley Park, Illinois (d. 1962)
1916 – Frederick Robbins, American pediatrician and bacteriologist (Nobel 1954), born in Auburn, Alabama (d. 2003)
1941 – Ludwig Müller, German soccer defender (6 caps; FC Nürnberg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hertha BSC), born in Haßfurt, Germany (d. 2021)
1961 – Billy Ray Cyrus, American country singer (Achy Breaky Heart; Old Town Road), born in Flatwoods, Kentucky
1964 – Marti Noxon, American television writer and producer, born in Los Angeles, California
1987 – Blake Lively, American actress (Gossip Girl), born in Los Angeles, California

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1791 – Pietro Domenico Paradisi, composer, dies
1924 – Mariano Álvarez, Filipino general (b. 1818)
1950 – Earl Caddock, professional wrestler (b. 1888)
1975 – Frans van Amelsvoort, Dutch choir conductor, dies at 75
1999 – Rob Fisher, British rock keyboardist (Naked Eyes), dies at 42
2018 – John McCain, American war hero and Republican politician (Rep-Arizona, 1983-2018, Presidential candidate, 2008), dies of brain cancer at 81

More Famous Deaths »