Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1542 – Conquistador Francisco de Orellana returns to Spain
1833 – HMS Beagle reaches Bahia Blanca, Argentina
1978 – USSR performs underground nuclear test
1992 – Diplomatic relations are established between the People’s Republic of China and South Korea.
1992 – Screw magazine superimposed a gunsight over a picture of Larry Flint
2017 – Largest-ever lottery jackpot win in the US – $758.7m won by Mavis Wanczyk of Massachusetts in US Powerball Jackpot

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Famous Birthdays

1872 – Max Beerbohm, English caricaturist, writer and parodist (Saturday Review), born in London (d. 1956)
1947 – Roger De Vlaeminck, Belgian racing cyclist, born in Eeklo, East Flanders, Belgium
1947 – Anne Archer, American actress (Fatal Attraction, Patriot Games), born in Los Angeles, California
1953 – John Cowan, American rock, progressive bluegrass session and touring bass player, and vocalist (New Grass Revival, 1974-89; Doobie Bothers, 1993-95), born in Minerva, Ohio
1957 – Jeffrey Daniel, American dancer and singer (Shalamar), born in Los Angeles, California [some sources give year as 1955]
1977 – Per Gade, Danish footballer, born in Nibe, Denmark

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Famous Deaths

1680 – Ferdinand Bulb, Dutch painter and etcher, buried
1977 – Soewarsih Djojopoespito, Indonesian writer (Toe the Line), dies at 65
1985 – Paul Creston [Giuseppe Guttoveggio], Italian-American composer (Zanoni), educator, and music theorist (Creative Harmony), dies at 78
1991 – Mike Sokoll, Hungarian-American cowboy actor, dies at 97
1999 – Alexandre Lagoya, Greek-Italian-French classical guitarist and composer, dies at 70
2006 – Cristian Nemescu, Romanian film director (b.1979)

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Historical Events

1595 – Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Calugareni.
1910 – Fred Clarke makes a record 4 outfield assists for Pittsburgh
1975 – Classical Way wins Championship Cup at Roosevelt Raceway
1979 – Iranian army opens offensive against Kurds
2009 – Solheim Cup Women’s Golf, Rich Harvest Farms: US wins 3rd consecutive Cup 16-12; win 8 of 12 singles to dominate final day
2022 – In US domestic terrorism case two men found guilty of plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Witmer

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Famous Birthdays

1917 – Tex Williams, American country-western singer, born in Ramsey, Illinois (d. 1985)
1922 – Brian Young, Chairman (Christian Aid), born in Sri Lanka (d. 2016)
1927 – Peter Wyngarde [Cyril Goldbert], British actor (Department S and Jason King), born in Marseille, France (d. 2018)
1930 – Jack Bannister, English cricket commentator (BBC; Talksport radio) and bowler (Warwickshire 1,198 wickets), born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands (d. 2016)
1960 – Rodney Alan Greenblat, American graphic artist, born in San Francisco, California
1986 – Neil Cicierega, American cartoonist and musician, born in Boston, Massachusetts

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Famous Deaths

1305 – Scottish patriot William Wallace is hanged, disemboweled and beheaded at Smithfield, London
1519 – Philibert Berthelier, Swiss patriot
1591 – Luis de Leon, Spanish scholar and poet, dies at 64
1965 – Jan Antonín Bata, Czech shoe manufacturer (Bata), dies at 67
2006 – Jacques Wildberger, Swiss composer (In My End is My Beginning), dies at 84
2019 – Sheila Steafel, South African British actress (The Frost Report), dies at 84

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Historical Events

1654 – Jacob Barsimson arrives in New Amsterdam (modern day Manhattan) aboard the Peartree, one of the first Jewish colonists
1914 – WW1: Erich Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg move into East Prussia enroute to Russia
1972 – Rhodesia is expelled by the International Olympic Committee for its racist policies.
1985 – Airtours Boeing-737 crashes at Manchester airport, 55 killed
1992 – FBI HRT sniper Lon Horiuchi shoots and kills Vicki Weaver during an 11-day siege at her home at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
2019 – Bielefeld in Germany offers €1m prize to anyone in who can prove the town doesn’t exit to disprove 25-year-old conspiracy theory

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Famous Birthdays

1867 – Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician and nutritionist, born in Aarau, Switzerland (d. 1939)
1915 – Hugh Paddick, English actor (Round the Horne), born in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, England (d. 2000)
1937 – Pat Gillick, American Baseball HOF executive (GM Toronto Blue Jays World Series 1992, 93, Philadelphia Phillies 2008), born in Chico, California
1937 – Max Hebditch, British director (Museum of London), born in Yeovil, England
1956 – Paul Molitor, American Baseball HOF infielder (7 x MLB All-Star Milwaukee Brewers; World Series MVP 1993 Toronto Blue Jays) and manager (Minnesota Twins 2015-18), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
1968 – Henrik Holm, Swedish tennis star, born in Täby, Sweden

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Famous Deaths

1572 – Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland (b. 1528)
1920 – Anders Zorn, Swedish painter, etcher and sculptor (Gustavus Vasa), dies at 60
1990 – Merlin Marston, American actor (Blue Sky), dies of non-Hodgkins lymphoma at 46
2015 – Andy Mapple, English water skier (World Slalom C’ship 1981, 89, 95, 97, 99, 2001), dies at 52
2020 – Peder Holm, Danish composer, dies at 93
2021 – Brian Travers, British rock saxophonist (UB40 – “Red, Red Wine”), dies of cancer at 62

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Historical Events

1821 – Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the ship, Eliza Frances
1944 – Germans storm up Hill 262 (Mont Ormel) Normandy
1975 – Rick and Paul Reuschel become 1st brothers to pitch a combined shut out
1995 – Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 crashes near Carrollton, Georgia, killing 9 crew and passengers
2013 – 21 people are killed in flash floods in Qinghai province, China
2015 – Terrorist attack on train between Amsterdam and Paris thwarted by 4 passengers overpowering gunman

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Famous Birthdays

1670 – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French military leader, born in Moulins, France (d. 1734)
1821 – William Barksdale, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Smyrna, Tennessee (d. 1863)
1825 – Kate Loder, British composer and pianist, born in Bathwick Street, Bathwick, England (d. 1904)
1927 – Wilhelm Killmayer, German composer, born in Munich, Germany (d. 2017)
1941 – Jackie DeShannon [Sharon Lee Myers], American singer-songwriter (“What the World Needs Now Is Love”; “When You Walk In The Room”), born in Hazel, Kentucky
1951 – Bernhard Germeshausen, German bobsledder (Olympic gold x 4 GDR 1976, 80), born in Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Germany (d. 2022)

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Famous Deaths

1905 – Mary Mapes Dodge, American children’s author (St. Nicholas Magazine), editor and writer (Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates), dies at 74
1943 – (Abraham) A. Merritt, American magazine editor and sci-fi author (The Moon Pool; Burn, Witch, Burn!), dies from a heart attack at 59
1960 – David Barnard Steinman, American civil engineer and bridge designer (Hudson, Triborough), dies at 74
1977 – Danny Lockin, American actor and dancer (Hello Dolly), dies after being stabbed at 34
2005 – Robert Moog, American engineer (Moog synthesizer, Moog Music), dies of a brain tumor at 71
2005 – Martin Dillon, American opera singer, dies of cardiac arrest at 48

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Historical Events

1935 – Military coup by General Pons and President Ibarra in Ecuador
1942 – Dim-out regulations implemented in San Francisco
1989 – Said Aouita runs world record 3,000 m (7:29.45)
2016 – Chinese diver Chen Aisen does the Olympic 10m platform double in Rio de Janeiro; having already won the synchronised event, he wins the individual gold by a comfortable margin
2016 – Rio de Janeiro Olympics: team sports – China beats Serbia, 3-1 for the women’s indoor volleyball gold; in the men’s water polo final, Serbia downs Croatia, 11-7 for first Olympic title
2020 – Kamala Harris accepts her nomination for vice-president, becoming the 1st US woman of color on a major-party ticket saying “there is no vaccine for racism”

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Famous Birthdays

1710 – Thomas Simpson, English mathematician (rule of Simpson), born in Sutton Cheney, Leicestershire (d. 1761)
1719 – Charles-François de Broglie, French soldier and diplomat, marquis de Ruffec, born in Paris (d. 1791)
1860 – Raymond Poincaré, French President (1913-20) and three time Prime Minister (1912-13, 1922-24, 1926-29), born in Bar-le-Duc, France (d. 1934)
1937 – El Fary, Spanish singer and actor, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 2007)
1947 – David Lasley, American session vocalist and songwriter, born in Branch, Michigan
1954 – Tawn Mastrey, American disc jockey and music video producer, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2007)

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Famous Deaths

1643 – Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher, killed in Native American uprising (b. 1591)
1961 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist (Nobel 1946 – physics of high pressure), dies at 79
1996 – Rio Reiser, German rock singer (“Ton Steine Scherben”), dies at 46
2008 – Margaret Douglas, chief political adviser (BBC), dies at 73
2018 – Charles Blackman, Australian figurative artist (Heide circle), dies at 90
2021 – Peter Ind, British jazz double bassist, dies at 93

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Historical Events

1939 – 37.6 cm rainfall at Tuckerton, NJ (state record)
1957 – NY Giants board of directors vote 8-1 to move their baseball franchise to San Francisco in 1958
1958 – NAACP Youth Council begin sit-in at “whites-only” lunch counter at Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1962 – Homer Blancos plays finest round in golf, shooting a 55
1998 – South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission chairperson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, releases documents revealing an alleged plot by Western countries to assassinate UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden
2015 – US Food and Drug administration approves Female Viagra libido pill Addyi

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Famous Birthdays

1557 – Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg, born in Montbéliard, France (d. 1608)
1558 – Paulus Merula, Dutch lawyer and historian (Historia Belgica), born in Dordrecht, Netherlands (d. 1607)
1686 – Eustace Budgell, English writer (The Spectator, writing 37 numbers signed X), born in Saint Thomas, Exeter, England (d. 1737)
1904 – June Collyer, American actress (Before Midnight, Charley’s Aunt), born in NYC, New York (d. 1968)
1967 – Tabitha Soren, American MTV reporter (This Week in Rock), born in San Antonio, Texas
1975 – Chynna Clugston Flores, American comic book creator (Blue Monday), born in Fresno, California

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Famous Deaths

1186 – Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1158)
1931 – Aristides Agramonte y Simoni, Cuban-American Physician, Pathologist and Bacteriologist (yellow fever), dies at 63
1950 – Giovanni Giorgi, Italian physicist and electrical engineer (Giorgi system of measurement), dies at 78
1975 – Jim Londos, Greek-American wrestler, dies at 81
2003 – Carlos Roberto Reina, President of Honduras (b. 1926)
2017 – Bea Wain, American pop singer (“Deep Purple” (the song, not the group); “Heart and Soul”), and radio host, dies at 100

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Historical Events

440 – St Sixtus III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1840 – American Society of Dental Surgeons founded (NY)
1891 – Hurricane hits Martinique, about 700 die
1965 – Dutch soccer team FC Den Bosch (successor to BVV 1906 and Wilhelmina 1890) is established at ‘s-Hertogenbosch
1983 – Hurricane Alicia battered Houston and Galveston, Texas
1989 – Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as NY Yankee manager

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Famous Birthdays

1900 – Glenn Albert Black, American archaeologist, born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 1964)
1902 – Adamson-Eric, Estonian painter, born in Tartu, Estonia (d. 1968)
1958 – Madeleine Stowe, American actress (Tropical Snow, Bad Girls), born in Los Angeles, California
1964 – Craig Bierko, American actor, born in Rye Brook, New York
1966 – Kang Soo-yeon, South Korean actress (The Surrogate Woman, Come Come Come Upward), born in Seoul, South Korea (d. 2022)
1969 – Masta Killa [Elgin Turner], American rapper (Wu-Tang Clan), born in Brooklyn, New York

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Famous Deaths

1815 – Chauncey Goodrich, American politician (b. 1759)
1940 – Walter Chrysler, American automotive pioneer (Chrysler Corporation) and thoroughbred breeder, dies at 65
1945 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian revolutionary and nationalist, dies of injuries from a plane crash at 48
1989 – Luis Carlos Galan, Colombian presidential candidate, murdered
2010 – Benjamin Kaplan, American copyright scholar, dies at 99
2014 – Jim Jeffords, American politician (Senator-R+I-Vermont 1989-2007, Rep-R-VT, 1975-89), dies at 80

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Historical Events

1796 – British defeat Batavian navy in Saldanha Bay, South Africa
1960 – Indonesia drops diplomatic relations with Netherlands
1987 – Muhammad Ali elected to “Ring” magazine’s Boxing Hall of Fame
1991 – Royals Warren Cromartie’s 1st major league HR since 1983
2008 – German swimmer Britta Steffen beats American Dara Torres by 0.01 in the 50m to wrap up the 50/100m double at the Beijing Olympics
2016 – German pair Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst upsets Brazilian hometown favourites Ágatha Bednarczuk and Bárbara Seixas 21–18, 21–14 to win the Olympic women’s beach volleyball gold in Rio de Janeiro

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Famous Birthdays

1753 – Josef Dobrovský, Czech linguist (d. 1828)
1888 – Monty Wooley, American actor (Pied Piper, The Man Who Came to Dinner), born in NYC, New York (d. 1963)
1906 – Marcello Caetano, last Portuguese prime minister of the Estado Novo regime (1968-1974), born in Graça, Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1980)
1952 – (Terry) “Topper” Price, American blues, jazz and rock vocalist and harmonica player (The Upsetters). born in Plateau, Alabama (d. 2007)
1963 – Jackie Walorski, American politician (Rep-R-Indiana 2013-22), born in South Bend, Indiana (d. 2022)
1986 – Tyrus Thomas, American basketball player, born in Batton, Rouge, Louisiana

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Famous Deaths

1153 – Eustace IV of Boulogne, son of Stephen of England (b. 1130)
1635 – Francisco de Moncada, Spanish earl of Osuna, dies at 48
1875 – Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist (Father of Bantu Philology), dies at 48
1972 – Alexander Vampilov, Russian playwright (Elder Son), drowns at 34
1995 – Marjorie Sykes, British educator, peace activist, and Indian independence campaigner, dies at 90
2013 – John Hollander, American poet and literary critic, dies at 83

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Historical Events

1864 – Federal assault on 4th day of battle at Deep Bottom Run, Virginia
1944 – 2nd Canadian Division occupies Falaise, Normandy, during Operation Intractable
1948 – Arabs blow up Latrun pumping station in Jerusalem
1955 – Fiat Motors orders 1st private atomic reactor
1987 – Northwest Airlines 255 plane crashes in Detroit, 156 die (1 lives)
2012 – 113 people are killed and over 200 wounded in a series of attacks across Iraq

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Famous Birthdays

1915 – Al Hibbler, American singer (Unchained Melody), born in Tyro, Mississippi (d. 2001)
1933 – Reiner Kunze, German writer (The Lovely Years), born in Oelsnitz, Saxony
1937 – David Anderson, Canadian politician
1948 – Pierre Reid, Canadian politician and teacher
1969 – Andy Milder, American voice actor
1974 – Iván Hurtado, Ecuadorian footballer, born in Esmeraldas, Ecuador

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Famous Deaths

1864 – Victor Girardey, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies in battle at 27
1920 – Sir Norman Lockyer, English physicist, co-founder of helium gas, founder and editor of “Nature” magazinem dies at 84
1969 – Russ Bender, American actor and writer (Amazing Colossal Man; Space Monster, It Conquered the World), dies at 59
1973 – Veda Ann Borg, American model and actress (Kid Galahad, Avalanche, Accomplice), dies of cancer at 58
2006 – Herschel Green, American pilot (b. 1920)
2020 – Georg Volkert, German soccer striker (12 caps, FRG; 1. FC Nürnberg, Hamburger SV, VfB Stuttgart), dies from heart attack complications at 74

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Historical Events

1940 – Heavy dogfights above England: 75 German aircraft damaged
1944 – Allied air raid on train in North Netherlands, 32 killed
1960 – CFL’s Calgary Stampeders move into McMahon Stadium
1990 – Phils Terry Mulholland no-hits Giants 6-0 (8th no hitter of 1990)
2008 – German swimmer Britta Steffen beats Australian Libby Trickett by 0.04 to win the blue ribband 100m freestyle gold medal at the Beijing Olympics
2021 – Petrol tanker explosion kills 27 and injures 79 in al-Tleil, Lebanon, amid the country’s continuing economic crisis

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Famous Birthdays

1907 – Paul Vincze, Jewish-Hungarian designer of coins and medal, born in Galgagyörk, Hungary (d. 1994)
1917 – Oscar Romero, El Salvador Roman catholic priest who was murdered, born in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador (d. 1980)
1926 – Georgann Johnson, American actress (Marge-Mr Peepers, Star Trek, Midnight Cowboy), born in Decorah, Iowa (d. 2018)
1927 – Wesley Mouzon, American boxer / trainer (Roy Jones Jr), born in Kingstree, South Carolina (d. 2003)
1965 – Rob Thomas, American writer, screenwriter and director (Veronica Mars), born in Sunnyside, Washington
1974 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress (Species), born in Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador

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Famous Deaths

1918 – Heinrich Köselitz [Peter Gast], German composer, dies at 64
1975 – Clay Shaw, American businessman and alleged John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracist, dies of lung cancer at 61
2007 – Richard Bradshaw, British opera conductor (Canadian Opera Company, 1989-2007), dies of a heart attack at 63
2010 – James J. Kilpatrick, American newspaper journalist and columnist (60 Minutes), dies at 89
2017 – Vernon “Vern” Ehlers, American politician (Michigan House of Representatives), dies of complications from Alzheimers disease at 83
2020 – Henk Wullems, Dutch soccer manager (NAC Breda, SBV Vitesse, Go Ahead Eagles, AZ; Indonesia 1996-98), dies from a Cerebral infarction at 84

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