Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1834 – Rioters in Safed Palestine kills many Jews
1918 – 1″ of snow falls in Northern Pennsylvania
1940 – German troops occupy Paris as French resistance to the German invasion crumbles
1963 – “Sukiyaki” sung by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto, hits #1
1972 – Rock fall inside Vierzy Tunnel (France) causes 2 train crash; 107 die
2008 – 62nd Tony Awards: “In the Heights” (musical) and “August: Osage County” (play) win

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Famous Birthdays

1888 – Ramon Lopez Velarde, Mexican poet (La Sangre Devota), born in Jerez de García Salinas, Mexico (d. 1921)
1910 – Berend Giltay, Dutch composer, born in Hilversum, Netherlands (d. 1975)
1920 – Alla Kazanskaya, Russian stage and film actress (Burnt by the Sun), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2008)
1935 – Fernand Schokweiler, British judge
1941 – Harry Nilsson, American pop and rock singer-songwriter (“Everybody’s Talkin'”; “One”; “Without You”), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1994)
1983 – Derek Anderson, American football player

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Famous Deaths

1383 – John VI Cantacuzenus, Byzantine Emperor
1397 – Count of Eu, French knight, dies in Turkish captivity
1666 – Pieter de Bitter, Dutch admiral (Colombo, Goa), dies
1724 – Henry Sacheverell, English churchman and politician (b. 1674)
1864 – Haller Nutt, American rich Southern Plantation owner (Longwood house – largest octagonal house in the US), dies at 48
2021 – Jim Phelan, American college basketball coach (Mount Saint Mary’s University 1954–2003), dies at 92

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Historical Events

1841 – 1st Canadian parliament opens in Kingston, Ontario
1900 – Having been annexed to the USA on 12 August 1898, Hawaii is constituted as an organised territory
1967 – Mariner 5 Launch (Venus Flyby)
1967 – USSR launches Kosmos 166 for observation of Sun from Earth orbit
1983 – 5 killed in a fire at a Ramada Inn in Fort Worth, Tx
2022 – First controversial UK flight to take asylum seekers to Rwanda cancelled after last-minute legal ruling from European Court of Human Rights of “real risk of irreversible harm”

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Famous Birthdays

1691 – Jan Francisci, Slovakorganist and composer born in Neusohl, Kingdom of Hungary (now Banská Bystrica, Slovakia) (d. 1758)
1904 – Benno Ammann, Swiss composer (Missa Defensor Pacis) and conductor, born in Gersau, Sweden (d. 1986)
1917 – Katherine Rawls, American diver (Olympic silver 3m springboard 1932, 36) and swimmer (Olympic bronze 4×100m freestyle 1936), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1982)
1939 – Steny Hoyer, American politician (Rep-D-MD, 1981-), born in NYC, New York
1940 – William P. Baker, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California), born in Oakland, California
1953 – Janet Mackey, New Zealand politician (Member of the New Zealand Parliament for East Coast), born in Auckland, New Zealand

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Famous Deaths

1544 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine and military leader (freed the Duchy of Lorraine from the Holy Roman Empire), dies at 55
1750 – Franz Anton Maichelbeck, German composer, dies at 47
1800 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general, dies at 47
1800 – Louis Charles Antoine Desaix, French military leader (b. 1768)
2004 – Eamonn McGirr, Irish-born singer and entertainer
2014 – Sam Kelly [Roger Michael Kelly], English actor (‘Allo ‘Allo!, Porridge), dies of cancer at 70

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Historical Events

1868 – Oscar Dunn becomes first African American to be elected a Lieutenant Governor, of Louisiana
1969 – Mick Taylor leaves John Mayall Band and joins The Rolling Stones
1970 – Beatles’ “Long and Winding Road” single goes #1 and stays #1 for 2 weeks
1974 – Henry Aaron addresses House of Representatives
2010 – 64th Tony Awards: “Memphis” and “Red” (play) win
2019 – Kenyan MP Rashid Kassim arrested for slapping female MP Fatuma Gedi, following a walk out of parliament by female MPs after claiming male MPs joked “its slapping day”

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Famous Birthdays

1773 – Thomas Young, British physician and physicist (light interference), born in Milverton, Somerset, England (d. 1829)
1824 – Julius Eichberg, German composer, born in Düsseldorf, Germany (d. 1893)
1866 – Lambertus Zijl, Dutch sculptor (Trade scholarship), born in Kralingen, Netherlands (d. 1947)
1951 – Mike Weaver, American heavyweight boxer (WBA World Heavyweight Champion), born in Gatesville, Texas
1962 – Hannah Storm, American sports journalist (CNN, NBC), born in Oak Park, Illinois
1978 – Ethan Embry, American actor

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Famous Deaths

1231 – Anthony of Padua, Portuguese saint, dies at 35
1550 – Johann Spangenberg, German theologist and composer, dies at 66
1784 – Henry Middleton, American president of the Continental Congress (b. 1717)
1871 – Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (né Robert), French watchmaker and illusionist considered the father of modern magic, dies of pneumonia at 65
1982 – Ken Mackay, Australian cricketer (Aussie all-rounder 1956-63), dies at 56
1984 – Marinus de Jong, Dutch composer, dies at 92

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Historical Events

1523 – Frisian rebel leader Jancko Douwama arrested
1902 – Horn and Hardart opens 1st “automat” (self-service restaurant) in the US on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1948 – George Lessner, Russell Maloney and Miriam Battista’s musical adaptation of Washington Irving’s “Sleepy Hollow” closes at St James Theater, NYC, after 12 performances
1967 – USSR launches Venera 4 for parachute landing on Venus
1994 – Moshood Abiola declares himself lawful President of Nigeria
2009 – Protests in Iran following the presidential election.

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Famous Birthdays

1890 – Egon Schiele, Austrian painter and graphic artist, born in Tulln an der Donau, Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 1918)
1936 – Bill Zeliff, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire (1991-97), born in East Orange, New Jersey
1942 – Bert Sakmann, German cell physiologist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1991), born in Stuttgart, Germany
1957 – Timothy Busfield, American actor (30 Something; The West Wing), born in East Lansing, Michigan
1959 – John Linnell, American musician (They Might Be Giants – Constantinople), born in NYC, New York
1967 – Icíar Bollaín, Spanish actress, director and screenwriter, born in Madrid

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Famous Deaths

1936 – Karl Kraus, Austrian satirical writer, dies at 62
1947 – Jazeps Medins, Latvian composer, dies at 70
1972 – Saul David Alinsky, American community activist (co-founder of Industrial Areas Foundation), and radical writer (John L. Lewis: An Unauthorized Biography), dies at 63
1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson, German-American ex-wife of O.J. Simpson, murdered at 35
2008 – Derek Tapscott, Welsh footballer (b. 1932)
2015 – Monica Lewis, American jazz singer and film actress (Box Office, Affair with a Stranger), dies at 93

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Historical Events

1938 – US Open Men’s Golf, Cherry Hills CC: Ralph Guldahl wins back-to-back Open titles, 6 strokes ahead of runner-up Dick Metz
1941 – 2nd great raid on Jews of Amsterdam
1966 – “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones peaks at #1 in the US
1974 – Bundy victim Georgann Hawkins disappears from UW, Seattle, Washington
1982 – Pope John Paul II visits Argentina
1988 – “Rooty Toot Toot” by John Cougar Mellencamp peaks at #61

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Famous Birthdays

1912 – Mukhtar Ashrafi, Soviet-Uzbek composer, born in Bukhara, Uzbekistan (d. 1975)
1915 – Arnold Jacobs, American symphonic tuba player (Chicago Symphony, 1944-83), and pedagogue, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1998)
1935 – Earlene Dennis Brown, American shot putter (Olympic bronze 1960), born in Latexo, Texas
1944 – James “Ox” van Hoften, American astronaut (STS 11, STS 20), born in Fresno, California
1946 – Jenny Pitman, British racehorse trainer and 1st female Grand National winning trainer, born in Hoby, Leicestershire
1960 – Mehmet Oz, Turkish-American surgeon and TV personality (The Dr. Oz Show), born in Cleveland, Ohio

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Famous Deaths

1965 – Vernon Johns, American civil rights activist, dies at 73
1974 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher (b. 1898)
1989 – Jack McMahon, American basketball guard and coach (player Rochester Royal, St. Louis Hawks; coach Cincinnati Royals, San Diego Rockets, Pittsburgh Condors), dies at 60
2005 – Ghena Dimitrova, Bulgarian operatic soprano, dies of cancer at 64
2016 – Alberto Remedios, British opera and concert singer, dies at 81
2017 – Rosalie Sorrels, American traditional folk singer-songwriter (“Up Is A Nice Place To Be”; “Nevada Moon”), dies at 83

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Historical Events

1624 – Netherlands and France sign anti-Spanish Treaty of Compiègne
1902 – Patent for window envelope granted to H. F. Callahan
1945 – US destroyer William D Porter (“Willie Dee”) sunk by kamikaze
1962 – Igor Ter-Ovanesyan of USSR, sets then long jump record at 27′ 3½”
1972 – Sammy Davis Jr.’s cover of “The Candy Man” by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse (from the film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”) goes to #1 on the charts – his biggest single
1979 – French Open Women’s Tennis: Chris Evert dominates Wendy Turnbull of Australia 6-2, 6-0 for her 3rd French singles crown

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Famous Birthdays

1637 – Jacques Marquette, French Jesuit missionary explorer (Chicago), born in Laon, France (d. 1675)
1844 – Albert Neuhuys, Dutch painter of peasant families (Laren School), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1914)
1859 – Jacques Perk, Dutch poet (Iris, Wood Song), born in Dordrecht, Netherlands (d. 1881)
1909 – Erwin Dressel, German composer, born in Berlin (d. 1972)
1941 – Shirley Owens Alston, American singer (Shirelles – “Soldier Boy”; “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”), born in Henderson, North Carolina
1968 – The D.O.C. [Tracy Curry], American rapper and producer (N.W.A.), born in Dallas, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1190 – Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, dies at 67
1839 – Nathaniel Pryor, American soldier and sergeant of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, dies
1902 – Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan poet (b. 1845)
1906 – Richard Seddon, New Zealand politician (longest serving Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1893-1906), dies at 61
1949 – John T. McCutcheon, American cartoonist (Pulitzer Prize-1931), dies at 79
2010 – Metropolitan Basil Schott, Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh (b. 1939)

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Historical Events

1933 – Walter Johnson takes over as Cleveland Indians manager
1934 – 66th Belmont: Wayne D Wright aboard Peace Chance wins in 2:29.2
1959 – 1st ballistic missile sub launched (George Washington-Groton, Ct)
1963 – Barbra Streisand appears, for her third time, on “The Ed Sullivan Show”
2016 – World Health Organzsation advises delaying pregnancy in areas with the Zika virus
2021 – US President Joe Biden begins his first foreign trip, arriving in the UK to attend a G7 summit

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Famous Birthdays

1925 – Keith Laumer [Anthony LeBaron], American sci-fi author (Retief’s War), born in Syracuse, New York (d. 1993)
1928 – Geraint Gruffydd, Welsh scholar (University of Wales), born in Tal-y-bont, Wales (d. 2015)
1941 – Jon Lord, British keyboardist and composer (Deep Purple – “Smoke On The Water”; Whitesnake), born in Leicester, England (d. 2012)
1941 – Maurizio Zamparini, Italian football executive (owner/director Palermo FC 2002–18), born in Sevegliano, Italy (d. 2022)
1961 – Aaron Sorkin, American screenwriter and playwright (A Few Good Men; The West Wing), born in New York City
1978 – Shandi Finnessey, game hostess

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Famous Deaths

62 – Claudia Octavia, wife of Roman Emperor Nero and daughter of Emperor Claudius, killed on Nero’s orders at 22
597 – Saint Columba, Irish Christian missionary to Scotland, dies at 75
1931 – Henrique Oswald, Brazilian composer, dies at 79
1958 – Robert Donat, English actor (Citadel, Goodbye Mr Chips, 39 Steps), dies at 53
1976 – Paul Rodenko, Dutch poet and writer (Never Marry a Witch), dies at 55
1994 – Dhirendra Bhramachari [Flying Swami], hindu leader, dies at 70

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Historical Events

1824 – Washing machine patented by Noah Cushing of Quebec
1969 – MLB legend Mickey Mantle gives his farewell retirement speech during “Mickey Mantle Day” at Yankee Stadium, 60,096 see #7 retired
1969 – Nixon says 25,000 US troops would leave Vietnam by end of August
1974 – 106th Belmont: Miguel Rivera aboard Little Current wins in 2:29.2
1975 – 2 passenger trains collided near Munich, Germany killing 35
1996 – PBA National Championship Won by Butch Soper

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Famous Birthdays

1812 – Spyridon Xyndas, Greek composer, born in Corfu, Greece (d. 1896)
1906 – Charles Janssens, Belgian actor (Mira, Malpertuis), born in Borgerhout, Belgium (d. 1986)
1949 – Hildegard Falck, German athlete (Olympic gold 800m 1972 FRG), born in Nettelrede, Germany
1969 – J.P. Manoux, American actor, born in Fresno, California
1981 – Sara Watkins, American fiddle player
1995 – Tom Grennan, English singer-songwriter (Little Bit of Love), born in Bedford, England

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Famous Deaths

1383 – Thomas de Ros, 5th Baron de Ros, English Crusader (b. 1338)
1871 – Satank, Kiowa indian chief, shot to death
1876 – George Sand [Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dudevant], French author (Indiana, Consuelo), dies at 71
1973 – Eino Linnala, Finnish composer, pedagogue, and musicologist dies at 76
1973 – Christine Bakker-van Bosse, Dutch feminist and pacifist, dies at 88
2007 – Richard Rorty, American postanalytic, pragmatic philosopher (b. 1931)

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Historical Events

1944 – British forces attack Bréville in France during the Normandy invasion while other British forces attempt to encircle Caen
1946 – US Supreme Court bans discrimination in interstate travel
1969 – Supergroup Blind Faith’s debut performance in Hyde Park, London, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Steve Baler and Rick Grech
1979 – Bhaskara 1, Indian Earth resources/meteorology satellite, launched
2009 – French Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer wins his only French title, outclassing Robin Söderling of Sweden 6-1, 7-6, 6-4
2013 – 42 people are killed and 30 are injured after a bus catches fire in Xiamen, China

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Famous Birthdays

1891 – Athos Palma, Argentine composer, born in Buenos Aires (d. 1951)
1921 – Tal Farlow, American jazz guitarist, born in Greensboro, North Carolina (d. 1998)
1928 – Charles Strouse, American composer (Bye Bye Birdie; Annie), born in NYC, New York
1933 – Herb Score, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1955, 56; Cleveland Indians) and announcer (Cleveland Indians 1964-97), born in Rosedale, New York (d. 2008)
1969 – Lachlan Elmer, Australian field hockey halfback (Olympic silver 1992, 96)
1974 – Edward “Bear” Grylls, British adventurer, author and TV presenter (Man vs. Wild), born in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland

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Famous Deaths

1840 – Frederik Willem III, King of Prussia (1797-1840), dies at 69
1859 – David Cox, English painter (Treatise on Landscape Paint), dies at 73
1915 – Benjamin Lambord, American composer, dies at 35
1984 – George Givot, actor (Versatile Vaudeville), dies at 81
2011 – Jorge Semprún, Spanish-French writer (2nd mort de R Mercader, Z), dies at 87
2021 – Yoo Sang-chul, South Korean soccer midfielder (124 caps; 2002 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team; Ulsan Hyundai), dies from pancreatic cancer at 49

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Historical Events

1921 – Detroit Stars’ Bill Gatewood pitches the 1st no-hitter in Negro League history, defeating the Cuban Stars 4-0
1966 – NFL and AFL announce their merger
1975 – Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam established
2004 – 58th Tony Awards: “Avenue Q” (musical) and “I Am My Own Wife” (play) win
2004 – French Open Men’s Tennis: Gastón Gaudio of Argentina beats countryman Guillermo Coria 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6 for his lone major title
2017 – Floods in Salto, Paysandú and Artigas in Uruguay displace over 3,000 people

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Famous Birthdays

1879 – Patrick Abercrombie, English architect and town planner, born in Ashton upon Mersey, Cheshire, England (d. 1957)
1947 – David Blunkett, English blind politician, Home Secretary (2001-4), born in Sheffield, England
1948 – Richard Sinclair, British progressive rock bassist, singer, guitarist, and songwriter (Caravan -“In the Land of Grey and Pink”), born in Canterbury, England
1961 – Sydney Walsh, American actress (Maureen “Mo” DeMott in Hooperman), born in Manhattan, NYC, New York, United States
1972 – Gary Downs, running back (Atlanta Falcons)
2017 – Alexander and Ella Clooney, twin children of actor George and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, born in London

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Famous Deaths

1563 – Ikeda Nagamasa, Japanese samurai commander (b. 1519)
1740 – Alexander Spotswood, British governor of Virginia Colony
1962 – Yves Klein, French sculptor and painter, dies at 34
1968 – Franklin Clark Fry, American minister (World Rad of Church), dies at 67
1968 – Randolph Churchill, son of Winston Churchill (b. 1911)
1997 – Magda Gabor [Magdolna Gábor], Hungarian actress (Mai lányok, People vs Zsa Zsa Gabor), dies of renal failure at 81

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