Historical Events
871 – Battle at Reading: Ethelred of Wessex defeated by Danish invasion army
1932 – State of siege proclaimed in Honduras
1947 – “Show Boat” closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 417 performances
1968 – Leo Fender sells Fender Guitars for $13 million to CBS
1970 – Walter Cronkite ends hosting weekly documentary
2001 – Rapper Vanilla Ice spends night in jail after allegedly ripping out some of his wife’s hair during a row
Famous Birthdays
1807 – Baltasar Saldoni, Spanish composer and musicologist, born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 1889)
1901 – C. L. R. James [Cyril Lionel Robert James], Trinidadian historian (The Black Jacobins), journalist, intellectual and socialist, born in Tunapuna, Trinidad (d. 1989)
1925 – Johnny Lujack, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1947; National C’ship 1943, 46-47; Notre Dame; Pro Bowl 1950-51; Chicago Bears), born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania
1944 – Alan Sutherland, New Zealand rugby union number 8 (10 caps; Marlborough), born in Blenheim, New Zealand (d. 2020)
1968 – Mike Wilpolt, American football player and coach, born in Broomfield, Colorado
1986 – Steve Slaton, American football player, born in Levittown, Pennsylvania
Famous Deaths
1874 – Thomas Gregson, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)
1931 – Roger Connor, American Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman (career HR record 138 stood for 23 years; NL batting champion 1885; NL RBI leader 1889; NY Giants), dies of a stomach illness at 73
1931 – Arthemus “Art” Acord, American silent film actor and rodeo champion (Arizona Kid, Hard Fists), commits suicide by poison at 40
1991 – Berry Kroeger, actor (Demon Seed), dies of kidney failure at 78
2007 – Gren, Welsh newspaper cartoonist (b. 1934)
2021 – Gregory Sierra, American stage and screen actor (Barney Miller – “Chano”), dies of cancer at 83