Historical Events
1582 – Flanders adopts Gregorian calendar, tomorrow is Jan 1 1583
1946 – Morton Gould’s “Minstrel Show” premieres in Indianapolis
1962 – US and Cuba accord, releases bay of pigs captive
1972 – Soviet Union signs a separate peace with East Germany
1987 – Soyuz TM-4 launches 3 cosmonauts to space station Mir
1988 – Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov return to earth (a year) with Chretien
Famous Birthdays
1891 – John W. McCormack, American politician (D) Speaker of House (1962-70), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1980)
1915 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian singer (Trapp Family Singers), born in Zell am See, Austria (d. 2007)
1943 – Walter Spanghero, French rugby player, born in Payra-sur-l’Hers, France
1948 – Dave Kingman, American baseball player (Mets, NY Yankees, Giants), born in Pendleton, Oregon
1960 – Roger McDowell, American baseball pitcher (NY Mets, Baltimore Orioles), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
1960 – Louis Demetrius Alvanis, English classical pianist, born in London, United Kingdom
Famous Deaths
1900 – Roger Wolcott, American political figure, 39th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1847)
1965 – Claude Champagne, Canadian composer, dies at 74
1974 – Richard Long, American actor (Prof-Nanny and the Professor), dies at 47
1997 – Bruce Woodcock, English boxer, European Heavyweight Champion, dies at 76
2017 – Wolfgang Ludewig, German composer, dies at 91
2019 – Sam Strahan, New Zealand rugby union lock (17 caps; Manawatū), dies at 74