Category: On This Day

Historical Events

1712 – The Riot Act takes effect in Great Britain.
1940 – Billboard publishes its 1st singles record chart – “I’ll Never Smile Again” by Tommy Dorsey, with vocal by Frank Sinatra is #1
1942 – Time magazine puts Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich on its cover
1944 – Flying Fortresses of US 8th Air Force attack Leipzig/Dessau
1948 – Lou Thesz beats Bill Longson, to become NWA wrestling champion
1977 – Flash flood hits Johnstown, Pennsylvania, kills 80 and causes $350 million damage

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Famous Birthdays

1744 – Henri Hamal, Belgian organist and composer, born in Liège (d. 1820)
1895 – László Moholy-Nagy, Hungarian painter, photographer, and sculptor (d. 1946)
1908 – [Vincent] Mad Dog Coll, Irish-American mob hitman, born in Gweedore, Ireland (d. 1932)
1918 – Cindy Walker, American songwriter (“Dream Baby”; “You Don’t Know Me”) and country singer, born in Mart, Texas (d. 2006)
1924 – Hans Lodeizen [Johannes A. Frederik], Dutch poet (Inner Self), born in Naarden, Netherlands (d. 1950)
1945 – Paul Valéry [Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry], French author, philosopher and poet (La Jeune Parque), born in Sète, Hérault (d. 1945)

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Famous Deaths

1160 – Peter Lombard, French theologian
1636 – John Oldham, English-born Puritan settler in Massachusetts, murdered by Indians at 44
1908 – Federico Chueca, Spanish composer, dies at 62
1940 – Y G Van de Peat, Dutch director of employment, commits suicide
1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg, German antifascist colonel (attempted to assassinate Hitler), dies by firing squad at 36
1968 – Joseph Keilberth, German conductor (Bayreuther Festival), dies at 60

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Historical Events

1875 – Emma Abbott, a floating hospital for sick children, makes trial trip, NYC
1937 – Joris Ivens’ “Spanish Earth” premieres in Hollywood
1952 – India all out 82 in 2nd innings after making 52 earlier in the day
1967 – US launches Explorer 35 for lunar orbit (800/7400 km)
1992 – 30th Tennis Fed Cup: Germany beats Spain in Frankfurt Germany (2-1)
2017 – Investigators using DNA identify 16 year-old James Byron Haakenson as a victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, 41 years after his disappearance

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Famous Birthdays

1895 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter, born in Yixing, China (d. 1953)
1922 – George McGovern, American politician and Presidential candidate (D-1972), born in Avon, South Dakota (d. 2012)
1924 – Arthur Rankin, Jr, American director, producer, and screenwriter (Rankin/Bass Productions -The Year Without A Santa Claus; Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer; Frosty The Snowman), born in New York City (d. 2014)
1963 – Sandor Wladar, Hungarian 200m backstroke swimmer (Olympic gold 1980), born in Budapest, Hungary
1964 – Gina Procaccio, American long and middle distance runner, born in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
1982 – Jared Padalecki, American actor (Supernatural), born in San Antonio, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1545 – George Carew, English admiral, drowns
1986 – Alfredo Binda, Italian road cyclist (first to win Giro d’Italia x 5; World Road Race C’ship 1927, 30, 32), dies at 83
2001 – Judy Clay [Guions], American soul and gospel singer, dies from complications from a car accident at 62
2002 – Spec Shea, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star, World Series 1947; NY Yankees, Washington Sens), dies after heart surgery at 81
2014 – Skye McCole Bartusiak, American actress, dies at 21
2016 – Garry Marshall, American TV writer (The Dick Van Dyke Show), TV producer (The Odd Couple; Happy Days; Laverne and Shirley), and film director (Pretty Woman; Runaway Bride; The Princess Diaries), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1896 – Indian born K S Ranjitsinhji completes an unbeaten 154 on Test cricket debut for England in 2nd Test against Australia at Old Trafford
1915 – WWI: Second Battle of Isonzo begins with Kingdom of Italy offensive against Austria-Hungary, ends 2-1/2 weeks later with over 91,000 combined casualties
1936 – Spanish Civil War: General Francisco Franco issues manifesto and leads an uprising in the Spanish army stationed in Morocco
1943 – British assault on Catania, Sicily
1944 – 7:45 Operation Goodwood: British assault east of Caen
1970 – Ron Hunt gets hit by a pitch for a record 119th time

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Famous Birthdays

1898 – John Stuart, Scottish actor (Kittie, Superman, Number Seventeen), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1979)
1921 – John Glenn, American astronaut (1st American to orbit the earth) and politician (Senator D-Ohio), born in Cambridge, Ohio (d. 2016)
1946 – Tim Lynch, rocker (Flaming Groovies)
1949 – Wally Bryson, American rock guitarist and vocalist (Fotomaker; Raspberries), born in Gastonia, North Carolina
1957 – Nick Faldo, English golfer (US Masters 1989, 90, 96; British Open 1987, 90, 92), born in Welwyn Garden City Hertfordshire
1975 – Torii Hunter, American baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 2002, 07, 09, 10, 13; Gold Glove Award 2001–09; Minnesota Twins, LA Angels of Anaheim, Detroit Tigers), born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

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Famous Deaths

1931 – Oskar Minkowski, German Biologist (pancreas and diabetes), dies at 73
1961 – Kit Guard, Danish actor (El Diablo Rides, Kid Courageous), dies of cancer at 67
1987 – Gilberto Freye, Brazilian sociologist (Regionalist Manifesto), dies at 87
1996 – Hans Fellner, bookseller, dies at 71
2009 – Henry Allingham, British supercentenarian and World War I veteran, dies at 113
2016 – Billy Name [William Linich Jr], photographer (Andy Warhol’s factory), dies at 76

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Historical Events

1894 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Blanche Bingley-Hillyard beats Edith Austin 6-1 6-1 for her 3rd of 6 Wimbledon singles titles
1959 – “North by Northwest” directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint premieres in Los Angeles
1970 – 30,000 attend Randall’s Island Rock Festival, NYC
1981 – USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1987 – Dow Jones closes above 2,500 (2,510.04) for 1st time
1989 – Paul McCartney releases single “This One”, from his album “Flowers In The Dirt”

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Famous Birthdays

1913 – Roger Garaudy, French philosopher and communist (convicted for Holocaust denial), born in Marseille, France (d. 2012)
1940 – Phyllis Davis, Port Arthur Tx, actress (Love American Style, Vega$)
1963 – John Ventimiglia, American actor (The Sopranos), born in Queens, New York
1967 – Kevin Pritchard, American NBA guard and basketball executive (Washington Bullets), born in Bloomington, Indiana
1972 – Eric Williams, American NBA forward (Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics), born in Newark, New Jersey
1973 – Horacio Llamas, Mexican NBA center (Phoenix Suns), born in Rosario, Mexico

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Famous Deaths

1943 – Sir Patrick Duncan, Governor-general of the Union of South Africa (1937 to 1943), dies at 72
1961 – Ty Cobb, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (AL MVP 1911; Triple Crown 1909; 12 × AL batting champion; Detroit Tigers) and manager (Detroit Tigers 1921-26), dies of cancer at 74
1966 – August Baeyens, Flemish composer (Piranesi Suite), dies at 71
2004 – Julian Hodge, British financier and multi-millionaire (Hodge Group), dies at 99
2009 – Walter Cronkite, American broadcast journalist and news anchor (CBS Evening News 1962-81), dies of cerebrovascular disease at 92
2009 – Leszek Kołakowski, Polish philosopher and writer (Conversations with the Devil), dies at 81

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Historical Events

1956 – Detroit Tigers and Briggs Stadium sold for then record $5.5 million
1980 – Ronald Reagan nominated for US President by Republicans in Detroit
1989 – US Open Women’s Golf, Indianwood G and CC: Betsy King wins the first of her 2 consecutive titles, 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Nancy Lopez
1990 – The ANC send a report on police violence to President F. W. de Klerk and demanded an end to “the shocking inhumanity” of police action in rural areas of South Africa
2015 – Shootings in Chattanooga at a US military recruitment centre and a naval reserve training center kill 5 and injure others
2017 – Senior Players Championship Men’s Golf, Caves Valley GC: Scott McCarron wins his lone career major title by 1 stroke from Brandt Jobe and Germany’s Bernhard Langer

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Famous Birthdays

1746 – Giuseppe Piazzi, Italian astronomer (found 1st asteroid-Ceres), born in Ponte in Valtellina, Italy (d. 1826)
1888 – Frits Zernike, Dutch physicist, invented phase-contrast microscope (Nobel 1953), born in Amsterdam (d. 1966)
1907 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (Dynasty II, Big Valley, Thorn Birds), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1990)
1960 – Eus van Someren, Dutch pop guitarist (Scene, Blaauw), born in Beverwijk, Netherlands
1979 – Chris Mihm, American basketball player (Chicago Bulls), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1989 – Gareth Bale, Welsh soccer winger (Tottenham, Real Madrid, Wales), born in Cardiff, Wales

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Famous Deaths

1594 – Thomas Kyd, English dramatist (The Spanish Tragedy), dies at 35
1796 – George Howard, British field marshal, dies at 78
1980 – Robert Brackman, American artist, dies at 81
1996 – John Panozzo, American rock drummer (Styx), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 47
2020 – Tony Taylor, Cuban baseball second baseman (MLB All Star 1960²; Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers), dies from stroke complications at 84
2020 – Brigid Berlin, American actress (Andy Warhol films), dies at 80

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Historical Events

1808 – French marshal Joachim Murat becomes King of Naples
1823 – A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome
1973 – Ray Davies announces his retirement from The Kinks, then attempts suicide; neither effort successful
1988 – “Die Hard” directed by John McTiernan and starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman is released in the US
1990 – US Open Women’s Golf, Atlanta Athletic Club: Defending champion Betsy King wins consecutive titles, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Patty Sheehan, the leader after each of first 3 rounds
2014 – 20 people are killed and 100 are injured after a train derails in Moscow

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Famous Birthdays

1353 – Vladimir the Bold, Russian prince (d. 1410)
1906 – Rudolf “Rudi” Uhlenhaut, German automotive engineer and test driver (Mercedes Benz) (d. 1989)
1906 – Edmund Davies, British judge (as Lord Justice of appeal, tried the Great Train Robbers, Edmund-Davies police pay review), born in Mountain Ash, Wales (d. 1992)
1922 – Leon M. Lederman, American experimental physicist (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988 – for research on quarks and leptons) and author (The God Particle), born in NYC, New York (d. 2018)
1957 – (Lyman) “Mac” McAnally, American session and touring country music singer-songwriter, and musician (Coral Reefer Band), born in Red Bay, Alabama
1968 – Eddie Griffin, American comedian (Black Dynamite), born in Kansas City, Missouri

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Famous Deaths

1750 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian statesman, dies at 73
1958 – Nuri al-Said, Iraqi politician, 8-time Prime Minister of Iraq, assassinated while trying to escape during the revolution at 69
1986 – Benny Rubin, American actor and comedian (Benny Rubin Show), dies at 87
1989 – Laurie Cunningham, English soccer left winger (6 caps; Orient, West Bromwich Albion, Real Madrid, Marseille, Rayo Vallecano), dies in a car crash at 33
1994 – Jeanne Bieruma Oosting, Dutch painter/illustrator, dies
2013 – Earl Gros, American NFL running back (Green Bay), dies at 72

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Historical Events

1911 – 46″ of rain begins to fall in Baguio, Philippines
1941 – Jam rationed in Holland
1990 – “Howard Stern’s Summer Show” premieres on WWOR-TV (NYC)
2009 – Singapore experiences a seasonally adjusted and annualised growth of 20.4% in the second quarter as a result of increased pharmaceuticals production and construction, bringing the country out of the recession
2019 – First Ebola case on Goma, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, city of 1 million, as toll of outbreak reaches 1600 victims
2019 – US President Donald Trump ignites racial controversy by tweeting four Democrat women of color “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”

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Famous Birthdays

1874 – Abbas Hilmi II, last khedive (Ottoman viceroy) of Egypt (1892-1914), born in Alexandria, Egypt (d. 1944)
1941 – Andreas Khol, Austrian politician, born in Bergen auf Rügen, Germany
1952 – Jerry Houser, American actor (Slapshot, Summer of ’42, Class of ’44), born in Los Angeles, California
1961 – Jackie Earle Haley, American actor (Breaking Away), born in Northridge, California
1966 – Brian Selznick, American author and illustrator (The Invention of Hugo Cabret), born in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey
1973 – Candela Peña, Spanish actress (Take My Eyes), born in Gavà, Spain

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Famous Deaths

1711 – John William Friso, Prince of Orange and monarch of Nassau-Dietz, drowns at 23
1966 – Julie Manet, French painter (b. 1878)
1994 – Taeko Kuwata, Japanese Belgian pianist (Duo Crommelynck), commits suicide at about 47
2010 – Bengt Emil Johnson, Swedish author and composer, dies at 73
2010 – Charles Mackerras, Australian conductor, dies of cancer at 84
2010 – Gene Ludwig, American jazz organist (b. 1937)

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Historical Events

1668 – Van Marco Cesti’s opera “Il Pomo d’Oro” (the Golden Apple or Tomato) premieres in Vienna
1794 – Battle of the Vosges between French forces and those of Prussia and Austria
1923 – American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews discovers the first recognised dinosaur eggs, in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia
1936 – 112°F (44°C), Mio, Michigan (state record)
1951 – Great Flood: 2.000,000 acres in Kansas and Missouri in central US are flooded from rain swollen Missouri and Kansas Rivers
1969 – North Ireland loyalist Ian Paisley addresses a crowd at Loughgall, County Antrim, and is reported to have said: “I am anti-Roman Catholic, but God being my judge, I love the poor dupes who are ground down under that system.”

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Famous Birthdays

1901 – Eric Portman, Yorkshire England, actor (Naked Edge, Canterbury Tale), (d. 1969)
1948 – Alf Hansen, Norwegian rower Olympic gold, double sculls 1976; World C’ship gold double sculls 1975, 78, 79, 82), born in Oslo, Norway
1957 – Phil Margera, father of Bam Margera
1969 – Ken Jeong, American comedian and actor (Community, The Hangover), born in Detroit, Michigan
1982 – Christopher Bauman, American professional wrestler (d. 2005)
1982 – Simon Clist, English footballer (Bristol City), born in Bournemouth, England

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Famous Deaths

1705 – Titus Oates, English Protestant conspirator, dies at 55
1793 – Jean-Paul Marat, French journalist and revolutionary (Friend of the People periodical), is murdered by Charlotte Corday in a bath at 50
1997 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (b. 1968)
2006 – Red Buttons [Aaron Chwatt], American comedian (The Red Buttons Show), and Academy Award-winning actor (Sayonara; The Poseidon Adventure), dies from cardiovascular disease at 87
2008 – Bronisław Geremek, Polish social historian and politician (b. 1932)
2010 – Manohari Singh, Indian saxophonist and part of R.D. Burman’s band (b. 1931)

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Historical Events

1862 – US Congress authorizes Medal of Honor
1901 – Striking Canadian salmon fishermen on the Pacific coast, resentful of the non-union Japanese who continue to fish, maroon and imprison 47
1966 – 10.51″ (26.70 cm) of rainfall, Sandusky Ohio (state record)
1974 – John Ehrlichman convicted of violating Daniel Ellsberg’s rights
1987 – US Senior Open Men’s Golf, Brooklawn CC: South African Gary Player wins by a record 6 strokes ahead of Doug Sanders
1995 – Enrique Iglesias releases his first album, “Enrique Iglesias”

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Famous Birthdays

1905 – Prince John of the United Kingdom, youngest son of English King George V, born in York Cottage, Sandringham (d. 1919)
1909 – Joey Faye, American comedian (Joey Faye’s Follies), born in NYC, New York (d. 1997)
1935 – Chris Burger, South African cricket batsman (2 Tests, HS 37no; Natal), born in Randfontein, South Africa (d. 2014)
1945 – Dimitar Penev, Bulgarian soccer defender (90 caps; CSKA Sofia 329 games) and manager (Bulgaria 55 games, CSKA Sofia), born in Mirovyane, Bulgaria
1952 – Peter Marti, Swiss soccer striker (6 caps; BSC Young Boys, FC Zürich, FC Basel, FC Aarau), born in Langenthal, Switzerland (d. 2023)
1956 – Mel Harris [Mary Ellen], American actress (Hope-30 Something), born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

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Famous Deaths

1988 – Julian Trevelyan, English Surrealist painter and collage maker, dies at 78
1993 – Gusti Huber, Austrian American actress, (The Diary of Anne Frank), dies of heart failure at 78
1995 – Michael Clegg, English naturalist and TV presenter (Clegg’s People), dies at 62
2000 – Charles Merritt, Canadian Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II, dies at 98
2020 – Rod Bernard, American “swamp pop” singer (“Allons Danser Colinda”), dies at 79
2020 – Wim Suurbier, Dutch soccer right back (60 caps; Ajax 392 games) and manager (LA Heat, TB Rowdies), dies of a cerebral haemorrhage at 75

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Historical Events

1848 – Edmund Hickly gets 1st known 10 wicket innings (Kent v England)
1888 – Pennsylvania’s Monongehela River rises 32′ after 24 hour rainfall
1924 – Muslim-Hindu rebellion in Delhi, India
1946 – Kingman Douglass ends term as deputy director of CIA
1960 – “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is first published by J. B. Lippincott and Co.
1995 – All star MVP: Jeff Conine (Florida Marlins)

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Famous Birthdays

1801 – John Hill Hewitt, American songwriter (A Minstrel’s Return from the War), born in NYC, New York (d. 1890)
1886 – Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter (d. 1939)
1930 – Harold Bloom, American literary critic, born in the Bronx, New York (d. 2019)
1942 – Tomasz Stańko, Polish trumpeter (Astigmatic), born in Rzeszów, Poland (d. 2018)
1951 – Lawrence J Delucas, PhD/astronaut (STS 50), born in Syracuse, New York
1975 – Lil’ Kim [Kimberly Denise Jones], American rapper, born in Brooklyn, New York

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Famous Deaths

1593 – Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1st surrealist painter, dies (birth date unkn)
1874 – Xavier de Mérode, Belgium minister to the Pope in Rome, dies at 54
1948 – Gerhard Kittel, German anti-semite theologist (Die Oden Salomons), dies at 59
1993 – Henri van Soede, sub commandant (WWII), dies at about 83
2006 – Barnard Hughes, American stage and screen actor (Doc; Tron; Best Friends; Where’s Poppa?), dies at 90
2010 – Bob Sheppard, American public address announcer (MLB: NY Yankees 1951–2007; NFL: NY Giants 1956–2006), dies at 99

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