Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1889 – Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in Paris opens with the recently completed Eiffel Tower serving as the entrance arch
1941 – Joseph Stalin becomes Premier of the Soviet Union, replacing his foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov
1943 – British 1st army opens assault on Tunis
1968 – Giants reliever Lindy McDaniel sets NL record of 225th consecutive errorless game (108 chances consecutively since June 16, 1964)
2001 – During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque
2007 – “Shrek the Third” directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui with voices by Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy premieres in Westwood Ca.

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Famous Birthdays

1800 – Ferdinand Marcucci, Italian harpist and composer, born in Florence (d. 1871)
1871 – Victor Grignard, French chemist (Nobel 1912 – development of the Grignard reaction), born in Cherbourg, France (d. 1935)
1918 – Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, 1st President of the United Arab Emirates, born in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, birth date disputed (d. 2004)
1944 – Anton Furst, American production designer (Batman), born in London (d. 1991)
1960 – Bart de Boer, Dutch guitarist (Ivy Green)
1969 – Mark Thomas, NFL defensive end (Carolina Panthers, Packers, Bears)

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Famous Deaths

1642 – Frans Francken the Younger, Flemish painter, dies on 61st birthday
1708 – François de Laval, French clergyman, 1st Roman Catholic bishop of Québec, and saint, dies at 85
1963 – Ted Weems [Wemyes], American jazz trombonist, violin player and big band leader (Somebody Stole My Girl; Heartache), dies of emphysema at 61
2014 – Farley Mowat, Canadian author, dies at 92
2015 – Errol Brown, British-Jamaican singer-songwriter (Hot Chocolate – “You Sexy Thing”), dies at 71
2022 – George Pérez, American comic book artist (The Avenger; Teen Titans), dies of pancreatic cancer at 67

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Historical Events

1905 – Robert S Abbott published 1st issue of newspaper “Chicago Defender”
1924 – Unions terminate Twentse textile strike
1925 – Yankee Everett Scott is benched, ending his 1,307-game playing streak
1951 – “Out of This World” closes at New Century Theater NYC after 157 performances
1966 – Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Montreal Canadiens earn back-to-back titles; beat Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 in OT for a 4-2 series victory
1984 – 29th Eurovision Song Contest: Herreys for Sweden wins singing “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley” in Luxembourg

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Famous Birthdays

1906 – Ursula Jeans, British actress (Cavalcade, Over the Moon, I Lived With You), born in Simla, British India (d. 1973)
1914 – Frank Carlson, American jazz and session drummer (Woody Herman, 1937-42 – “The Golden Wedding”), born in New York City (d. 1996)
1923 – Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (deeply engaged with issues that were central to the visual arts), born in London (d. 2003)
1940 – Lucy Simon, American folk singer-songwriter (Simon Sisters), Grammy Award-winning record producer (In Harmony) and theater composer (The Secret Garden; Doctor Zhivago), born in New York City (d. 2022)
1952 – Campbell McComas, Australian impersonator and broadcaster, born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2005)
1978 – Santiago Cabrera, Venezuelan-Chilean-British actor (Isaac Mendez – Heroes), born in Caracas, Venezuela

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Famous Deaths

984 – Gerberga of Saxony, Queen of Western Francia
1964 – Howard Zahniser, American environmental activist (father of Wilderness Act), dies of heart failure at 58
1979 – Shirley O’Hara, actress (Wild Party), dies at 68
1983 – John Williams, British actor (Family Affair, Dial M for Murder), dies at 80
1995 – Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian influential World Chess Champion, dies at 83
2011 – Yosef Merimovich, Israeli football player, 1948-58, and manager, 1958-89, dies at 86

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Historical Events

1899 – 25th Kentucky Derby: Fred Taral aboard Manuel wins in 2:12
1910 – Canadian Currency Act, 1910, receives Royal Assent
1923 – New York state revokes its Mullan-Gage Act Prohibition law; federal Volstead Act still in place
1927 – 1st balloon flight over 40,000 feet (Scott Field, Illinois)
1968 – 94th Kentucky Derby: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Forward Pass wins
1973 – Longest baseball game in Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium, Phillies beat Braves 5-4 in 20 innings

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Famous Birthdays

1807 – Thomas Duncan, Scottish painter, born in Kinclaven, Perthshire, Scotland (d. 1845)
1882 – Wilhelm Lehmann, German writer, born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela (d. 1968)
1902 – Cvjetko Rihtman, Bosnian composer, born in Rijeka, Croatia (d. 1989)
1909 – Howard Da Silva [Silverblatt], American actor (1776, The Lost Weekend, The Blue Dahlia), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1986)
1954 – Julie Budd, American singer (“Child of Plenty”), born in Brooklyn, New York
1976 – Ben Grieve, American baseball player, born in Arlington, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1506 – Husayn Bayqarah, ruler of Herat (b. 1438)
1992 – Gregor Mackenzie, Labour Party (UK) politician (b. 1927)
2001 – Bonnie Lee Bakley, American second wife of actor Robert Blake murdered in her car outside a Studio City, California restaurant at 44
2013 – Morgan Morgan-Giles, British Naval officer and politician, dies at 98
2018 – Paul Bloodgood, American artist, dies at 58 of Alzheimer’s disease
2018 – Luyanda Ntshangase, South African footballer (Maritzburg United), is struck by lightning and dies at 21

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Historical Events

1864 – 3rd day in Battle at Alexandria Louisiana: Confederate assault
1948 – Pulitzer prize awarded to James Michener and Tennessee Williams
1967 – African American students seize finance building at Northwestern University
1975 – Christa Vahlensieck runs female world record marathon (2:40:15.8)
1980 – Texas Ranger Ferguson Jenkins becomes 4th to win 100 games in AL and NL
1995 – “My Thing of Love” opens at Beck Theater NYC for 16 performances

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Famous Birthdays

1889 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (It’s a Wonderful Life), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1981)
1917 – James Penberthy, Australian composer, born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1999)
1924 – Yehuda Amichai, Israeli poet (Now and In Other Days), born in Würzburg, Germany (d. 2000)
1949 – Albert Sacco Jr., American chemical engineer and astronaut (STS 73), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1969 – Karen Kraft, American rower (Olympic silver 1996), born in San Mateo, California
1983 – Márton Fülöp, Hungarian footballer and goalkeeper, born in Budapest (d. 2015)

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Famous Deaths

1763 – George Psalmanazar, British impostor (b. 1679)
1918 – Charlie Soong, Chinese Methodist missionary and key player in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, dies at 55
1964 – Diana Wynyard, British stage and film actress (Cavalcade), dies of renal disease at 58
1983 – Vaughn Taylor, American actor (Jailhouse Rock, Johnny Jupiter), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 72
1999 – Joe Adcock, American baseball utility, manager (Milwaukee Braves; 2-time MLB All Star), dies of Alzheimer’s disease at 71
2011 – Sergo Kotrikadze, Georgian footballer (b. 1936)

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Historical Events

1703 – Portugal signs treaty with England to become a Great Covenant
1863 – South defeats North in Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia
1936 – Sergei Prokofiev’s musical “Peter and the Wolf” premieres in Moscow
1962 – OAS strikes in Algeria
1972 – 126 killed in an electrical fire in Sunshine Silver mine, Kellogg, Idaho
1975 – Apple records closes down

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Famous Birthdays

1360 – Yongle, Emperor of the Ming Empire (1402-24), born in Yingtian, Yuan Empire, China (d. 1424)
1855 – Theodore Moses Tobani, German composer, born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1933)
1920 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2000)
1938 – Moshoeshoe II, King of Lesotho (1966-90), born in Morija, Lesotho (d. 1996)
1947 – James Dyson, British inventor, industrial designer, and entrepreneur (bagless vacuum cleaner; bladeless fan), born in Cromer, Norfolk, England
1966 – Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman and politician, born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

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Famous Deaths

1963 – Van Wyck Brooks, American literary historian and writer (Ordeal of Mark Twain), dies at 77
2003 – George Wyle [Bernard Weissman], American composer (“The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island”; “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”), and orchestra leader (The Flip Wilson Show), dies at 87
2004 – John MacKenzie, Scottish-Canadian bagpiper and pipe-major, dies at 83
2018 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league front rower (30 Tests GB, 4 England; St Helens 373 games, Cronulla-Sutherland), dies of cancer at 78
2021 – Bobby Unser, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1968, 1975, 1981; USAC C’ship 1968, 1974), dies at 87
2022 – Yuri Vasenin, Russian soccer midfielder (9 caps USSR; FC Zorya Voroshylovhrad), dies at 73

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Historical Events

1930 – Cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 236 for Australia v Worcestershire in his first 1st class innings in England
1947 – Cleveland Indians abandon League Park (venue for weekday games) to play all MLB games at Municipal Stadium
1972 – North Vietnamese troops occupy Quang Tri Activities Committee
1989 – 135 acre Disney’s MGM studio theme park officially opens to public in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
2019 – UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson fired over leaking information about Huawei deal from a UK National Security Council meeting by Theresa May
2022 – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” in interview on Italian TV, prompting outrage from Israel

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Famous Birthdays

1238 – Magnus VI Lagabuter, King of Norway (1263-80), born in Tønsberg, Norway (d. 1280)
1896 – J. Lawton Collins, American general, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1987)
1910 – Cliff Battles, American College/Pro Football HOF halfback (West Virginia Wesleyan College; 3 x First-Team All-Pro; NFL rushing yards leader 1932, 37; Boston Braves/Redskins, Washington Redskins), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1981)
1941 – Barbara Barendrecht [BHM Wurfbain], actress (Dirty Picture)
1947 – Carlos Ward, rocker (B T Express)
1986 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian soccer striker (58 caps; El Nacional, Santos Laguna, América), born in Quito, Ecuador (d. 2013)

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Famous Deaths

1277 – Stefanus IV Uros I de Great, King of Serbia (1243-76), dies
1903 – Arthur Haygarth, English cricket batsman (Middlesex and Surrey, cricket historian), dies at 77
1941 – John R Locksmith de Brown, vicar/CHU-politician, dies at 71
1965 – Leo Spies, Russian-born German composer, dies at 65
2014 – Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican soccer coach (Copa Centroamericana 2011 Honduras; El Salvador), dies of skin cancer at 63
2014 – Assaf Dayan, Israeli actor (He Walked Through the Fields), dies at 68

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Historical Events

311 – Roman Emperor Galerius issues Edict of Toleration, ending persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire
1492 – Christopher Columbus is given royal commission by Spanish monarchs Isabella I and Ferdinand II to equip his fleet to the New World
1506 – Philip of Burgundy and England sign trade agreement
1789 – George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States of America at Federal Hall in NYC
1947 – Boulder Dam renamed in honor of Herbert Hoover
1958 – Ted Williams is 10th major league player to get 1,000 extra-base hits

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Famous Birthdays

1919 – Valeer van Kerkhove, Flemish writer (De Bungalow), born in Sleidinge, Belgium (d. 1982)
1949 – Phil Garner, American baseball player and manager (Astros), born in Jefferson City, Tennessee
1959 – Stephen Harper, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada (2006-15), born in Toronto, Ontario
1963 – Steve Smith, NHL defenseman (Chicago Blackhawks), born in Glasgow, Scotland
1977 – Pell James, American actress, born in Virginia
1980 – Sam Heughan, Scottish actor (Outlander), born in Balmaclellan, Scotland

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Famous Deaths

65 – Lucan, Roman poet (Bellum Civile), forced to commit suicide after taking part in attempt to overthrow Emperor Nero dies at 25
1942 – Catherine Murphy Urner, American composer, dies at 51
1970 – Jacob Presser, Dutch historian and writer (Ashes in the Wind), dies at 71
1973 – Josie Sedgwick, American actress (The Best Man, Queen of the Round-Up), dies of stroke at 75
1974 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (Endora in Bewitched), dies of uterine cancer at 73
2005 – Ron Todd, TGWU General Secretary (1985 – 1992) (b. 1927)

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Historical Events

1922 – 1st official International Weightlifting Federation Champ in Tallinn, Estonia
1991 – Earthquake in Georgia, kills 100
1992 – Sheena Easton collapses on stage while performing in “Man of LaMancha”
2006 – NFL Draft: North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams first pick from Houston Texans
2019 – Sports Illustrated features a Muslim model, Halima Aden, in a Burkini for the first time in their swimsuit edition
2019 – Indonesia is plans to relocate its capital from Jakarta due to the city sinking, according to a government minister

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Famous Birthdays

1896 – Walter Mehring, German writer (Die Gedichte, Lieder und Chansons des Walter Mehring), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1981)
1927 – (Cecil James) “Big Jay” McNeely, American RandB saxophonist, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2018)
1929 – [John] Jeremy Thorpe, British politician, Leader of the Liberal Party (Norman Scott scandal), born in London, England (d. 2014)
1929 – April Stevens [Caroline LoTempio], American vocalist (“Deep Purple” – the song, not the band), born in Niagara Falls, New York (d. 2023)
1960 – Joseph Guzaldo, American actor (Stir Crazy), born in Chicago, Illinois
1978 – Bob Bryan, American professional tennis player (23 x Grand Slam Doubles titles; Olympic gold 2012; 4 x ATP Tour Finals; Davis Cup 2007), born in Oxnard, California

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Famous Deaths

852 – Amalarius [Fortunatus] Frankish Bishop of Metz and Lyon, dies at 76
1943 – Karl Adrian Wohlfart, Swedish composer, dies at 68
1996 – David William Eric Davis, broadcaster, dies at 87
2010 – Johannes Fritsch, German composer, dies at 68
2015 – Calvin Peete, American golfer (12 PGA Tour titles), dies of lung cancer at 71
2020 – Irrfan Khan, Indian film producer and actor (Paan Singh Tomar, Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi), dies of cancer at 53

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Historical Events

1253 – -May 7th) Utrecht destroyed by fire
1865 – Giacomo Meyerbeer’s opera “L’Africaine” premieres in Paris
1901 – Cleveland’s Bock Baker gives up a record 23 singles as White Sox beat Blues (Cleveland Blues!) 13-1
1919 – American stuntman and parachute developer Leslie Irvin (23) makes first premeditated free-fall parachute jump from a plane above US the Army Air Service’s McCook Field near Dayton, Ohio
1971 – Dutch social democratic party/D’66/DS’70 win parliamentary election
1988 – Baltimore Orioles lose AL record 21 games in a row

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Famous Birthdays

1753 – Franz K. Achard, German physicist and chemist, born in Berlin (d. 1821)
1902 – Johan Borgen, Norwegian author (Lillelord), born in Kristiana, Norway (d. 1979)
1944 – Elizabeth LeCompte, American theater director (founding member of The Wooster Group), born in New Jersey
1964 – Noriyuki Iwadare, Japanese video game music composer, born in Matsumoto City, Nagano, Japan
1979 – Bahram Radan, Iranian actor (The Passion of Love), born in Tehran, Iran
1986 – George [Nozuka], Canadian-Japanese RandB singer-songwriter (“Talk To Me”), born in New York City

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Famous Deaths

1109 – Saint Hugh of Cluny, 6th abbot of Cluny, dies at 84
1974 – Paul Page, American actor (Girl From Havana, Moth), dies at 70
1993 – Jim Valvano, American basketball coach (NC State), dies of cancer at 47
1997 – Ann Lane Petry, American journalist and author (Street), dies at 88
2000 – Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish doctor, researcher and politician, dies at 74
2016 – Jenny Diski, English writer (Stranger on a Train), dies of cancer at 68

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Historical Events

1942 – Belgian Jews are forced to wear stars
1950 – South Africa passes Group Areas Act segregating races
1973 – KC Royals pitcher Steve Busby no-hits Detroit Tigers, 3-0
1983 – Nolan Ryan becomes strikeout king (3,509), passing Walter Johnson
2018 – German leader Angela Merkel has a 1-day trip to Washington, DC, meeting US President Donald Trump
2019 – Pope Francis donates $500,000 for migrants stranded in Mexico trying to reach the US

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Famous Birthdays

1904 – Arthur F. Burns, American economist and chairman (Federal Reserve Board), born in Stanislau, Austria-Hungary (d. 1987)
1942 – John Shrapnel, English actor, born in Birmingham, Warwickshire
1962 – Edvard Moser, Norwegian psychologist and neuroscientist (2014 Nobel Prize for Physiology for discovery of place cells), born in Ålesund, Norway
1976 – Isobel Campbell, Scottish singer and composer, born in Glasgow, Scotland
1984 – Frank Carter, British musician (Gallows) and tattooist, born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
1987 – William Moseley, British actor (The Chronicles of Narnia – Peter Pevensie), born in Sheepscombe, Gloucestershire, England

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Famous Deaths

630 – King Ardashir III of Persia, Sasanian shah of Iran, dies at 9
1873 – William Charles Macready, British actor, manager, and diarist, dies at 80
1937 – Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher and Marxist theorist, dies at 46
1988 – David Scarboro, British actor, dies at 20
1999 – Cyril Washbrook, English cricket batsman (37 Tests, 6 x 100, HS 195; Lancashire CCC), dies at 84
2022 – Judy Henske, American folk singer (High Flying Bird), dies at 85

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