Historical Events
1920 – Azerbaijan SSR joins USSR (1st time)
1940 – Glenn Miller records the song “Pennsylvania 6-5000” in NYC; tune is named after phone number of the Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan
1966 – David Diamond’s 5th Symphony premieres with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein; the work was dedicated to the conductor
2019 – Disney says Marvel film “Avengers: Endgame” made estimated $1.2 billion worldwide, first film to make more than 1 billion on opening
2024 – A worse than usual rainy season across East Africa due to El Nino kills at least 155 people in Tanzania and 60 in Kenya with hundreds of thousands displaced
Famous Birthdays
1757 – Claus Schall, Danish violinist and composer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1835)
1927 – Garry Weston, English businessman (Associated British Foods), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2002)
1952 – Chuck Leavell, American session and touring keyboardist (The Allman Brothers Band; Rolling Stones; Sea Level), and forest conservationist (The Tree Man), born in Birmingham, Alabama
1961 – Cathy Gerring, American golfer (3 x LPGA Tour wins; Solheim Cup 1990), born in Fort Wayne, Indiana
1978 – Nate Richert, American actor (Harvey-Sabrina), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Famous Deaths
1716 – Louis de Montfort, French catholic priest and saint who preached Mariology (Secret of the Rosary; True Devotion to Mary), dies at 43
1843 – William Wallace, Scottish mathematician (rights of Wallace), dies at 74
1955 – Lode Cantens, Flemish playwright (Gnomes of the City), dies at 43
1992 – Francis Bacon, Irish-British abstract painter (Study for a Pope), dies at 82
2025 – Mike Peters, Welsh rock singer (The Alarm – “Rain In the Summertime”; Big Country, 2010-13), dies of blood cancer at 66