Category: On This Day

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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Historical Events

533 – General Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire defeats Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimium, near Carthage, North Africa
1924 – 19th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Philadelphia (5-0)
1971 – WIIQ TV channel 41 in Demopolis, AL (PBS) begins broadcasting
1971 – Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet premier, buried in Moscow
1985 – John Williams introduces new Today Show theme
1990 – Iraqi troops storm residence of French ambassador in Kuwait

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Famous Birthdays

1475 – Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, Italian aristocrat, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1507)
1814 – Nicolas Beets [Hildebrand], Dutch writer (Camera Obscura) and theologian, born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1903)
1902 – Hermine Heijermans, Dutch actress, politician and author (Grote Klaas en kleine Klaas), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1983)
1924 – Norman Alden, American character actor (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2012)
1963 – Theodoros Roussopoulos, Greek politician (Minister of State), born in Messinia, Greece
1993 – Niall Horan, Irish Pop singer (One Direction – “What Makes You Beautiful”), born in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland

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Famous Deaths

1881 – Ambrose Burnside, American soldier, industrialist and politician (Governor of Rhode Island, 1866-69) who popularized sideburns, dies of a heart attack at 57
1915 – Andrew L. Harris, American Civil War hero and Governor of Ohio (b. 1835)
1946 – Eugene Lanceray, Russian artist, dies at 71
1994 – John Stevens, British jazz drummer (Spontaneous Music Ensemble), dies of a heart attack at 54
2001 – Dorothy McGuire, American actress (Gentlemen’s Agreement, Old Yeller, Summer Magic), dies of cardiac arrest following a short illness at 85
2012 – Peter Lougheed, Canadian politician (10th Premier of Alberta), dies at 84

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Historical Events

1908 – Canada appoints a Civil Service Commission, initiating a more equitable system for selecting civil servants
1935 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Wilmer Allison beats Sidney Wood 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 for his lone major singles title
1953 – Brooklyn Dodgers clinch NL pennant earlier than any other team, defeating Milwaukee Braves 5-2. Brooklyn finishes season with record of 105-49.
1956 – Black students enter and are barred from Clay Ky elementary school
2005 – Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny’s Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
2009 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Belgian Kim Clijsters becomes first unseeded player and wildcard to win the tournament; beats Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3

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Famous Birthdays

1855 – Jacobus of Looy, Dutch writer and painter (Death of My Cat), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1930)
1901 – Ernst Pepping, German composer, born in Duisburg, Germany (d. 1981)
1944 – Ron Ward, Canadian ice hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs), born in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
1946 – Tony “T-Bone” Bellamy, American rock guitarist (Redbone), born in Las Vegas, Nevada (d. 2009)
1962 – Amy Yasbeck, American actress (Casey Davenport-Wings, Mask), born in Blue Ash, Ohio
1996 – Colin Ford, American actor (Under the Dome; We Bought a Zoo), born in Nashville, Tennessee

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Famous Deaths

1732 – Jean Philippe Eugène de Mérode, Belgian marquis of Westerloo, dies at 58
1947 – Harry Rowe Shelley, American hymn composer, dies at 89
1953 – Hugo Schmeisser, German inventor and weapons designer, dies at 68
2004 – John Buller, British composer, dies at 77
2008 – David Foster Wallace, American author and essayist (b. 1962)
2017 – Edith Windsor [née Schlain], American LGBT rights activist (lead plaintiff in United States v. Windsor), dies at 88

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Historical Events

1912 – Philadelphia second baseman Eddie Collins steals MLB record 6 bases in the Athletics’ 9-7 win over Detroit Tigers at Navin Field
1922 – The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia
1961 – Founding of the World Wildlife Fund in Morges, Switzerland
1963 – Typhoon Gloria strikes Taiwan killing 330, with $17.5 million damage
1987 – Shoot out at Jean-Bertrand Aristides’ church in Haiti, 12 die
2016 – US Open Men’s Tennis: Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland wins his 3rd major title; beats defending champion Novak Đoković 6-7, 1-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3

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Famous Birthdays

1741 – Johann Jakob Engel, German author (Herr Lorenz Stark), born in Parchim, Germany (d. 1802)
1753 – Friedrich August Baumbach, German composer, born in Gotha, Germany (d. 1813)
1876 – Stan Rowley, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m team, bronze 60m, 100m, 200m 1900), born in Young, Australia (d. 1924)
1953 – Lenise Bent, American audio engineer in music (Blondie, The Knack) and film (L.A. Heat), born in Los Angeles, California
1956 – Tony Gilroy, American screenwriter and director (Bourne), born in Manhattan, New York
1968 – Kay Hanley, American singer-songwriter (Letters to Cleo), born in Boston, Massachusetts

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Famous Deaths

1709 – Oxenstiern, Dutch general, dies in the Battle of Malplaquet
1926 – Matsunosuke Onoe [Tsuruzo Nakamura], Japanese actor (Araki Mataemon, Yajîkita: zenpen), Japanese actor, dies at 50
1956 – Billy Bishop, Canadian First World War flying ace with 72 kills, dies at 62
1993 – Antoine Izmery, Haitian businessman and advisor to President Aristide, murdered by paramilitaries
2001 – Daniel M. Lewin, American–Israeli mathematician and founder of Akamai Technologies, dies in the terror attacks aboard flight 11 at 31
2020 – (Frederick) “Toots” Hibbert, Jamaican singer-songwriter (The Maytals – “Pressure Drop”), dies with COVID-19 symptoms at 77

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Historical Events

1872 – Karl Marx speaks in Amsterdam
1963 – 20 black students enter public schools in Alabama
1980 – Peter Comita replaces Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick
1988 – Gretchen Elizabeth Carlson (Minnesota), 22, crowned 62nd Miss America 1989
2004 – “Crash” directed by Paul Haggis and starring Don Cheadle and Sandra Bullock premieres at the Toronto Film Festival (Best Picture 2006)
2016 – US Open Women’s Tennis: Angelique Kerber beats Karolína Plíšková 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to become first German player to win the event since Steffi Graf in 1996

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Famous Birthdays

1866 – Tor Aulin, Swedish composer, born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1914)
1897 – David L. Snell, American pianist and composer for films (MGM Studio), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1967) 
1908 – Raymond Scott [Harry Warnow], American composer (‘The Toy Trumpet’), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1994)
1935 – Mary Oliver, American poet (1984 Pulitzer Prize), born in Maple Heights, Ohio (d. 2019)
1968 – Guy Ritchie, British film director (Sherlock Holmes), born in Hartfield, England
1986 – Hiroki Uchi, Japanese Idol singer, model and actor, born in Habikino, Japan

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Famous Deaths

918 – Baldwin II, Count of Flanders, dies at about 53
1308 – Emperor Go-Nijō of Japan (b. 1285)
1419 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (1404-19), assassinated by adherents of the Dauphin, the future Charles VII of France at 48
1954 – Peter Anders, German opera singer, dies at 46
1975 – George Paget Thomson, English physicist who demonstrated electron diffraction (Nobel 1937), dies at 83
1976 – Dalton Trumbo, American writer and film director (Johnny Got His Gun), dies at 70

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