Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1817 – Alexander Twilight, probably first African American to graduate from a US college, receives BA degree at Middlebury College
1922 – St Louis Brown “Baby Doll” Jacobson hits 3 triples beating Tigers 16-0
1982 – Conestoga 1, 1st private commercial rocket, makes suborbital flight
2002 – MLB Arizona Diamondbacks’ lefthanded pitcher Randy Johnson reaches 300 strikeouts for the fifth consecutive season, extending his major league record
2012 – 100 people are killed and 350 injured after a wave of attacks across Iraq
2016 – North Korea conducts its fifth nuclear test at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, at the time its largest ever test at 10 kilotons but superseded by the 2017 test

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Famous Birthdays

1731 – Francisco Javier Clavijero, Mexican Jesuit teacher and writer, born in Veracruz, Mexico (d. 1787)
1875 – Jack O’Connor, Australian cricket fast bowler (4 Tests, 13 wickets, BB 5/40; NSW CA, SA CA), born in Boorowa, Australia (d. 1941)
1896 – Fritz Reutter, German composer and pedagogue, born in Löbtau, Saxony, German Empire (d. 1963)
1926 – Robert Reese, American actor, born in Port Arthur, Texas (d. 1992)
1929 – Stan Parris, American politician (Rep-R-VA, 1973-74, 81-91), born in Champaign, Illinois (d. 2010)
1974 – Mathias Färm, Swedish guitarist (Millencolin), born in Örebro, Sweden

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Famous Deaths

1612 – Nakagawa Hidenari, Japanese warlord (b. 1570)
1963 – Ernst Kantorowicz, German-American historian (Laudes regiae), dies at 68
1966 – Leon de Smet, Belgian painter (Luminist school), dies at 85
1981 – Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and semanticist, dies at 80
2014 – Antonín Tučapský, Czech composer, teacher, and choral conductor, dies at 86
2019 – Robert Frank, Swiss-American photographer (The Americans), and filmmaker (Pull My Daisy; Candy Mountain), dies at 94

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Historical Events

1899 – British government sends an additional 10,000 troops to Natal, South Africa
1943 – NY Giants’ pitcher Ace Adams sets record by working in his 62nd game
1958 – Paul Anka opens Asian tour in Tokyo
1963 – US National Championship Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Maria Bueno of Brazil wins second of 4 US singles crowns; beats defending champion Margaret Smith of Australia 7-5, 6-4
1985 – 7 die in a car and train crash in San Jose, California
1995 – Cleveland Indians clinch 1st AL Central Division title

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Famous Birthdays

1515 – Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish Jesuit biblical scholar, born in Toledo, Spain (d. 1585)
1907 – Sid Tomack, American actor (The Life of Riley, Adventures of Superman), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1962)
1923 – Artie Anton, American jazz drummer, conguero, and timbalero (Stan Kenton, Jimmy Guiffre), born in New York City (d. 2003)
1933 – Eric Salzman, American composer (New Musical Theater), born in New York City (d. 2017)
1943 – Adelaide C. Eckardt, American politician, born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
1988 – Chantal Jones, American fashion model, born in Austin, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1984 – Frank Lowson, England cricket batsman (7 Tests, 2 x 50s; Yorkshire CCC), dies at 59
1984 – Rene Bernier, Belgian composer, dies at 79
1995 – Olga Ivinskaya, mistress of Boris Pasternak, dies of cancer at 83
1995 – Halldis Moren Vesaas, Norwegian author and poet (Harp and Dagger), dies at 87
2009 – Raymond “Ray” Barrett, Australian actor (The Troubleshooters, Gillette Summer Sports Reel), dies at 82
2012 – Bill Moggridge [William], British designer (IDEO), dies from cancer at 69

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Historical Events

1191 – Third Crusade: Richard I of England defeats Saladin in the Battle of Arsuf
1942 – US National Championship Men’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: American Ted Schroeder wins his first of 2 Grand Slam events; beats countryman Frank Parker 8-6, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2
1950 – Monasteries shut down in Hungary
1952 – Outfielder Don Grate throws a baseball a record 434’1″ (Tenn)
1970 – Jerry Lewis’ 5th Muscular Dystrophy telethon
1974 – Shirley Cothran (Texas), 21, crowned 47th Miss America 1975

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Famous Birthdays

1860 – Grandma Moses [Anna Mary Robertson], American primitive painter (Old Oaken Bucket), born in Greenwich, New York (d. 1961)
1864 – Ernest Halliwell, South African cricket wicketkeeper (8 Tests), born in Ealing, England (d. 1919)
1925 – Laura Ashley, Welsh fashion designer, businesswoman and co-founder of Laura Ashley, born in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil,
Wales (d. 1985)
1927 – John Milford, American actor (Command and Conquer: Red Alert, Homefront), born in Johnstown, New York (d. 2000)
1975 – Harold Wallace, Costa Rican footballer, born in Heredia, Costa Rica
1980 – Mark Prior, American baseball player, coach (Chicago Cubs), born in San Diego, California

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Famous Deaths

1984 – Joe Cronin, American Baseball HOF shortstop (7 x MLB All Star), manger (Boston RS, Washington Senators) and executive (AL President 1959-73), dies at 77
1986 – Vladimir Alexandrovich Vlasov, Russian-Soviet conductor and composer, dies at 83
1998 – John Hayes, British Naval Officer and Naval Secretary, dies at 85
2008 – Richard “Popcorn” Wylie, American RandB and soul pianist, bandleader, songwriter, and record producer, dies of congestive heart failure at 69
2011 – Josef Vašíček, Czech ice hockey center (World C’ship gold 2005; Carolina Hurricanes), dies in Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster at 30
2022 – Bernard Shaw, American television news journalist (CBS, ABC), and 1st anchor of CNN, dies of pneumonia at 82

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Historical Events

1958 – Mary Ann Mobley (Miss), 21, crowned 31st Miss America 1959
1970 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1988 – USSR performs underground nuclear test
1993 – Jerry Lewis’ 28th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $46,014,922
1994 – Franziska van Almsick swims female record 200m freestyle (1:56.78)
2017 – Mother Teresa declared co-patron saint of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta alongside St. Francis Xavier

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Famous Birthdays

1876 – John Macleod, Scottish-Canadian physiologist (Nobel 1923), born in Clunie, Dunkeld, Scotland (d. 1935)
1911 – Bentley Bridgewater, British Museum secretary, born in Vancouver (d. 1996)
1938 – Joan Tower, American composer (Breakfast Rhythms), born in New Rochelle, New York
1940 – Jackie Trent, English singer-songwriter (“Neighbours” theme) and actress, born in Newcastle-under-Lyme (d. 2015)
1959 – David Tickle, British audio engineer and record producer (Split Enz; Four Non-Blondes), born in Guildford, Surrey, England
1974 – Nina Persson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans), born in Örebro, Sweden

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Famous Deaths

1783 – Carlo Bertinazzi, Italian actor and writer (commedia dell’arte), dies at 72
1938 – John Stuart Hindmarsh, British racing driver and aviator (b. 1907)
1981 – Christy Brown, Irish author (biography Down All the Days), dies after choking at 49
2007 – Percy Rodriguez [Rodrigues], Canadian actor (Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Brainwaves), dies of kidney failure at 89
2020 – Lou Brock, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (6 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1964, 67; 8 × NL stolen base leader; St Louis Cardinals), dies from multiple myeloma at 81
2021 – Jean-Pierre Adams, French soccer centre-back (22 caps; Nîmes, Nice, Paris Saint-Germain), dies after 39 years in a coma at 73

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Historical Events

1666 – Great Fire of London ends, leaving 13,200 houses destroyed and 8 dead
1915 – Tsar Nicholas II, distressed by increasing Russian losses, assumes personal command of his nation’s military forces; clearly a symbolic act and devastating for his leadership
1923 – Flyweights Gene LaRue and Kid Pancho KO each other simultaneously
1988 – CFL’s Earl Winfield (Ham) scores TDs on 101-yd punt return, 100-yd kickoff return and 58-yd pass reception
1989 – Deborah Norville becomes news anchor of Today Show
2017 – Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, becomes the first woman President of the UK Supreme Court

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Famous Birthdays

1638 – Louis XIV, King of France (1643-1715), known as “The Sun King”, had longest reign in country, born in Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France (d. 1715)
1666 – Gottfried Arnold, German theologist, historian and songwriter, born in Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany (d. 1714)
1874 – Napoleon “Nap” Lajoie, American Baseball HOF second baseman (Triple Crown 1901; AL batting champion 1901–04, 10; Philadelphia A’s, Cleveland Naps), born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island (d. 1959)
1905 – Justiniano Montano, Filipino politician, born in Tanza, Cavite, Philippines (d. 2005)
1949 – David “Clem” Clempson, British rock guitarist (Colosseum; Humble Pie), born in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England
1971 – Adam Hollioake, England cricketer, born in Melbourne, Australia

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Famous Deaths

1165 – Emperor Nijo of Japan (b. 1143)
1910 – Franz Xaver Haberl, German priest and musicologist (Magister choralis), dies at 70
1917 – Arthur Verhaegen, Belgian architect and worker’s union leader, dies at 70
2010 – Shoya Tomizawa Japanese MotoGP Racer, dies as the result of a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix at 19
2015 – Jacques Israelievitch, French Canadian classical violinist, concertmaster (St. Louis Symphony, 1978-88; Toronto Symphony, 1988-2008), and music director (Koffler Chamber Orchestra, 2005-14), dies of lung cancer at 67
2016 – Duane Graveline, American doctor and astronaut, dies at 85

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Historical Events

476 – Romulus Augustulus, last Western Roman Emperor, abdicates after forces led by Odoacer invade Rome. Traditional end of the Western Roman Empire.
1479 – King Alfonso I of Portugal recognizes Isabella as queen of Castile
1923 – A Charlot and N Coward’s revue “London Calling” premieres in London
1968 – Nigerian troops conquer the city of Aba, Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War
1989 – 46th Venice Film Festival: “A City of Sadness” directed by Hsiao-hsien Hou debuts and wins the Golden Lion
1992 – In his record 115th and final US Open singles match, Jimmy Connors is beaten by Ivan Lendl 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 in a 2nd-round night match

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Famous Birthdays

1816 – François Bazin, French composer, born in Marseille, France (d. 1878)
1824 – Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer (Te Deum, Wagner Symphony), Wagner disciple and “monumental bore”, born in Ansfelden, Austria (d. 1896)
1832 – Antonio Agliardi, Italian diplomat and Roman Catholic cardinal, born in Cologno al Serio, Italy (d. 1915)
1913 – Stanford Moore, American biochemist (Nobel 1977), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1982)
1926 – Robert J. Lagomarsino, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California), born in Ventura, California
1941 – Marilena Chaui, Brazilian philosopher, born in São Paulo, Brazil

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Famous Deaths

1063 – Tughril, Turkish conqueror of Persia and Baghdad and founder of the Seljuk Empire (1037-63), dies at about 73
1821 – José Miguel Carrera, 1st President of Chile (1811-14), shot and killed after a show trial at 35
1993 – Hervé Villechaize, French-American actor (Fantasy Island – Ze plane! Ze plane!), shoots self to death at 50
1997 – Natko Devčić, Croatian composer, dies at 83
2002 – Vlado Perlemuter, Lithuanian-French pianist, dies at 98
2018 – Bill Daily, American actor and comedian (I Dream of Jeannie – “Roger”; The Bob Newhart Show – “Howard”), dies at 91

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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”

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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

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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

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