Historical Events
1780 – American army officer Benedict Arnold defects to the British
1911 – French battleship Liberté explodes at Toulon Harbor, killing 285
1955 – Detroit outfielder Al Kaline, 20, is the youngest batting champion
1988 – Romanian gymnast Daniela Silivaș wins three gold medals in one day at the Seoul Olympics in the balance beam, floor exercise, and uneven bars events, recording a record-equalling seven perfect scores of 10
2003 – Magnitude 8.0 earthquake strikes just offshore of Hokkaidō, Japan
Famous Birthdays
1906 – Phyllis Pearsall, British painter and writer (A to Z Map Company), born in London (d. 1996)
1939 – Feroz Khan, Indian actor, producer and director (known as Clint Eastwood of Bollywood), born in Bangalore, Kingdom of Mysore, British India (d. 2009)
1942 – Billy Mundi [also Tony Schnasse, born Antonio Salas], American session musician and drummer (The Mothers of Invention, Rhinoceros), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2014)
1943 – (Jules) Gary Alexander, American rock vocalist and guitarist (The Association – “Cherish”), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee
1975 – Mariusz Duda, Polish rock bassist and singer (Riverside), born in Wegorzewo, Poland
Famous Deaths
1630 – Ambrogio Spinola, Spanish marquis of Balbases, dies at about 61
1924 – (Charlotte) “Lotta” Crabtree, American stage actress, comedian (Little Nell and the Marchioness), and philanthropist, dies at 76
1976 – Red Faber, American Baseball HOF pitcher (World Series 1917; AL ERA leader 1921, 22; Chicago White Sox 1914-33), dies from heart disease at 88
1991 – Viviane Romance [Pauline Ronacher Ortmanns], French actress (Panic, Queen’s Necklace), dies at 79
2016 – Rod Temperton, British pop musician and songwriter (“Boogie Nights”; “Thriller”; “Give Me the Night”; “Yah Mo B There”), dies of cancer at 66