Today In The Past
Events
65 – Jews revolt against Rome, capturing fortress of Antonia in Jerusalem
68 – Rome Senate accepts emperor Galba
452 – Italy invaded by Attila the Hun
536 – St Silverius begins his reign as Catholic Pope
793 – Vikings plunder St Cuthbert convent Lindisfarne
979 – Louis V de Luie, crowned King of France
1191 – Richard I arrives in Acre thus beginning his crusade.
1405 – Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York and Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Norfolk, are executed in York on Henry IV’s orders.
1551 – Pope Julius III excommunicates Duke Ottario Farnese of Parma
1632 – Prince Frederik Henry conquerors Sittard
1663 – Battle at Amegical: English & Portugese fleet beats Spanish
1694 – English troop landing at Brest attack (300 killed)
1786 – Commercially made ice cream 1st advertised (Mr Hall, NYC)
1789 – James Madison introduces a proposed Bill of Rights in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1824 – Washing machine patented by Noah Cushing of Quebec
1829 – 1st UK municipal swimming pool outside of London, opens in Liverpool
1846 – Battle at Gwanga: British troops beat Bantu
1861 – American Civil War: Tennessee votes to secede from the Union.
1862 – Valley Campaign-Battle of Cross Keys, Virginia
1869 – Ives W McGaffey of Chicago patents 1st vacuum cleaner
1878 – 12th Belmont: L Hughes aboard Duke of Magenta wins in 2:43.5
1882 – 16th Belmont: Jim McLaughlin aboard Forester wins in 2:43
1886 – 1st Civil Rights Act passes
1892 – Homer A Plessy refuses to go to segregated RR car (Plessy v Ferguson)
1896 – 1st car is stolen
1914 – 34.7°F (1.5°C) in De Bilt, Netherlands
1915 – 92°F (33.3°C) in De Bilt, Netherlands
1917 – Walt Disney graduates from Benton High School
1918 – Nova Aquila, brightest nova since Kepler’s nova of 1604, discovered
1920 – Reds’ Edd Roush falls asleep in center during long infield argument Heinie Groh goes to wake him, but ump ejects Roush for delay of game
1921 – Babe Ruth arrested for speeding, fined $100, & held in jail until 4 PM
1927 – Tony Lazzeri hits 3 HRs Yanks beat White Sox 12-11
1928 – 1st US-to-Australia flight lands (Sir Charles Kingford)
1929 – 61st Belmont: Mack Garner aboard Blue Larkspur wins in 2:32.8
1933 – A’s Jimmie Foxx homers his 1st 3 at bats for 4 consecutive HRs
1935 – 67th Belmont: Willie Saunders aboard Omaha wins in 2:30.6
1936 – 1st parking meters are invented
1937 – World’s largest flower blooms in NY Botanical Garden, 12′ calla lily
1940 – 72nd Belmont: Fred A Smith aboard Bimelech wins in 2:29.6
1940 – Discovery of element 93, neptunium, announced
1940 – Last British troops leave Narvik Norway
1944 – 1st SS-Pantser corps counter attacks at Normandy
1944 – Allies occupy Port-and-Bessin Normandy
1944 – Dutch Resistance fighter Frans Duwaer arrested
1944 – Gen Montgomery lands in Normandy, forms HQ in Chateau de Creully
1948 – “Milton Berle Show” premieres on NBC TV
1948 – John Rudder becomes 1st negro commissioned officer in US marines
1949 – Siam changes name to Thailand
1950 – Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history.
1953 – Cluster of 6 tornadoes touch down in Flint Michigan killing 113
1953 – Segregated lunch counters in DC forbidden by Supreme Court
1955 – Dodgers option Tommy Lasorda to make room on roster for Sandy Koufax
1959 – X-15 makes 1st unpowered flight, from a B-52 at 11,500 m
1961 – Milwaukee sets record of 4 consecutive HRs (Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock & Frank Thomas)
1963 – 95th Belmont: Braulio Baeza aboard Chateaugay wins in 2:30.2
1965 – US troops ordered to fight offensively in Vietnam
1966 – NFL & AFL announce plans to become NFC & AFC in 1970
1966 – Topeka, Kansas is devastated by a tornado that registers as an “F5” on the Fujita Scale: the first to exceed US$100 million in damages. Sixteen people are killed, hundreds more injured, and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.
1967 – Israel attacks USS Liberty in Mediterranean, killing 34 US crewmen
1968 – Don Drysdale pitches a record 58th consecutive scoreless inning
1968 – Gary Puckett & Union Gap release “Lady Will Power”
1968 – James Earl Ray, alleged assassin of Martin Luther King Jr, captured
1968 – Rolling Stones release “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
1969 – “Smothers Brothers comedy Hour,” last airs on CBS-TV
1969 – Brian Jones leaves The Rolling Stones
1969 – Mickey Mantle Day, 60,096 saw #7 retired (I was there-BTG)
1969 – Nixon says 25,000 US troops would leave Vietnam by end of August
1969 – Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor replaces Brian Jones
1971 – North Vietnam demands US end aid to South Vietnam
1974 – 106th Belmont: Miguel Rivera aboard Little Current wins in 2:29.2
1974 – Keyboardist Rick Wakeman quits rock group “Yes”
1974 – US & Saudi Arabia sign military-economic contract
1977 – Nolan Ryan notches his 4th career 19-strikeout game
1978 – Nevada jury rules Howard Hughes “Mormon Will” is a forgery
1979 – “The Source,” 1st computer public information service, goes on-line
1982 – Reagan addresses joint session of British Parliament
1983 – “Trading Places,” “Ghostbusters,” & “Gremlins,” premieres
1985 – 117th Belmont: Eddie Maple aboard Creme Fraiche wins in 2:27
1986 – Alleged Nazi Kurt Waldheim elected pres of Austria
1987 – Oliver North’s secretary Fawn Hall tesifies at Iran-Contra hearing
1988 – Nippon Airways announces that painting eyeballs on Jets cut bird collisions by 20%
1990 – “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” last airs on Fox-TV
1991 – 123rd Belmont: Jerry Bailey aboard Hansel wins in 2:28
1991 – Former NY Jet Mark Gastineau wins 1st pro boxing fight in 12 seconds
1991 – Victory parade held in Wash DC (Persian Gulf War)
1991 – Warren Schutte, is 1st non American to win NCAA Div 1 golf title
1992 – NY Yankee pitcher Steve Howe is banned from baseball for 7th time
1995 – Downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O’Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia.
1996 – 128th Belmont: Rene Douglas aboard Editor’s Note wins in 2:28.96
1996 – Panama becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
2004 – Transit of Venus (between Earth & Sun) occurs
Births
1318 – Eleonora Plantagenet, daughter of King Eduard II/wife of Reinald II
1625 – Giovanni D Cassini, Perinaldo, France, discoverer (4 moons of Saturn)
1652 – William Dampier, English explorer/pirate
1722 – Jakob Friedrich Kleinknecht, composer
1724 – John Smeaton, Leeds, civil engineer
1743 – Alessandro Cagliostro, Palermo Italy, adventurer
1745 – Caspar Wessel, Danish mathematician (d. 1818)
1759 – Thomas Dunham Whitaker, Rainham Norfolk UK, topographer
1772 – Robert Stevenson, Glasgow, civil engineer
1806 – Gideon Johnson Pillow, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1878
1813 – David Dixon Porter, Rear Admiral (Union Navy), died in 1891
1821 – John Dunlap Stevenson, Bvt Mjr Gen (Union volunteers), died in 1897
1821 – Samuel White Baker, London England, explorer (Ceylon/Egypt)
1824 – William Montgomery Gardner, Brig Gen (Confederate Army), died in 1901
1831 – Thomas J. Higgins, decorated Union Army soldier (d. 1917)
1851 – Jacques-Arsène d’Arsonval, French physicist (d. 1940)
1867 – Frank Lloyd Wright, Richland Center Wisc, master builder (Guggenheim)
1901 – Lena Baker, American murderer (d. 1945)
1903 – Ronald Shiner, actor (Carry on Admiral, Keep it Clean, Aunt Clara)
1909 – William Odling, major-general
1910 – John W Campbell, US, sci-fi writer (Moon is Hell)
1914 – Joseph de Pietro, US, 56kg weightlifter (Olympic-gold-1948)
1916 – Francis Crick, British co-discovered DNA’s structure (Nobel 1962)
1918 – Robert Preston, Newton MA, actor (Music Man, Mame, Last Starfighter)
1918 – John D. Roberts, American chemist
1921 – LeRoy Neiman, American painter, (d. 2012)
1924 – George Kirby, Chicago, comedian (ABC Comedy Hour, Pearl Bailey Show)
1924 – Lyn Nofziger, American political operative (d. 2006)
1925 – Barbara Pierce Bush, Flushing, New York, US 1st lady (1989-93)
1925 – Eddie Gaedel, 3’7″ St Louis Browns pinch-hitter (he walked)
1927 – Jerry Stiller, Bkln NY, comedian (Frank Constanza-Seinfeld)
1928 – Kat[i]e [Gertrude] Wilhelm, US, sci-fi author (Hugo, Hamlet Trap)
1930 – Dana Wynter, London, actress (Airport, Invasion of the Body Snatchers)
1930 – Robert Aumann, German-born Israeli mathematician; Nobel laureate
1933 – Joan Rivers, [Molinsky], Bkln, comedienne (Late Show, Hollywood Sq)
1936 – James Darren, Phila, actor (TJ Hooker, Diamond Head, Venus in Furs)
1936 – Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist, Nobel laureate
1937 – Bruce McCandless II, Boston, Cap USN/astronaut (STS 41B, STS-31)
1939 – Bernie Casey, Wyco WV, actor (Boxcar Bertha, Rent-a-Cop)
1939 – Herb Adderley, Phila, NFL hall of famer (Packers, Cowboys)
1940 – Nancy Sinatra, Jersey City, singer (Boots are Made for Walkin’)
1940 – Sherman Garnes, rock vocalist (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers)
1941 – Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins, US pop singer (Funkadelic-Knee Deep)
1942 – Chuck Negron, singer (3 Dog Night-Joy to the World)
1942 – Gael Ramsey, Brigadier commander (HQ Aldershot Garrison)
1942 – Willie D Davenport, Troy Alabama, 110m hurdler (Olympic-gold-1968)
1943 – Colin Baker, actor (Dr Who, Swallows & Amazons)
1943 – William Calley, American war criminal
1944 – Boz Scaggs, [William Royce], Dallas Tx, rocker (Steve Miller Band)
1944 – Don Grady, [Agrati], actor (Robbie Douglas-My Three Sons), (d. 2012)
1946 – Elizabeth A Lynn, US, sci-fi author (Watchtower, Red Hawk)
1947 – Mick Box, rock guitarist (Uriah Heep)
1947 – Eric F. Wieschaus, American biologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1949 – Hildegard Falck, German FR, 800m runner (Olympic-gold-1972)
1951 – Bonnie Tyler, [Gaynor Hopkins], rocker (Total Eclipse of the Heart)
1951 – Tony Rice, American acoustic guitarist
1952 – Martin Taylor, CEO (Barclays Bank)
1955 – Griffin Dunne, actor (American Werewolf in London, Who’s That Girl)
1955 – Tim Berners-Lee, English internet developer
1955 – Greg Ginn, American guitarist (Black Flag)
1957 – Scott Raymond Adams, Catskill NY, cartoonist (Dilbert)
1958 – Keenan Ivory Wayans, NYC, comedian (In Living Color)
1960 – Mick Hucknall, rocker (Simply Red-Every Time We Say Goodbye)
1961 – Ursula Buchfellner, Munich Ger, playmate (Oct, 1979)/actr (Bloodline)
1962 – Nick Rhodes, [Bates], keyboardist (Duran Duran-Hungry Like the Wolf)
1965 – Robert Platus, NYC, lip syncher (Milli Vanilli-Girl You Know This)
1966 – Julianna Margulies, Spring Valley NY, actress (Carol Hathaway-ER)
1967 – Neil Mitchell, rocker (Wet, Wet, Wet-Wishing I Was)
1970 – Gabrielle Giffords, American politician
1976 – Lindsay Davenport, Palos Verdes CA, tennis star (Olympics-gold-96)
1977 – Kanye West, Atlanta, Georgia, American rapper and record producer
1979 – Derek Trucks, American guitarist
1981 – Matteo Meneghello, Italian racing driver
1981 – Sara Watkins, American fiddle player
1983 – Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player
1984 – Andrea Casiraghi, son of Princess Caroline of Monaco
Deaths
218 – Opellius Macrinus, emperor of Rome (217-8), dies in battle at 54
632 – Mohammed, prophet of Islam (Koran), dies (according to tradition)
1042 – Harthacnut/Harthacanute, King of Denmark and England (b. 1018) Lambeth
1115 – Peter van Amiens, French minister of crusades, dies at about 64
1376 – “Black Prince” of Wales, son of King Edward of England, dies at 46
1383 – Thomas de Ros, 5th Baron de Ros, English Crusader (b. 1338)
1384 – Kanami, Japanese actor (b. 1333)
1476 – George Neville, English archbishop and statesman
1505 – Hongzhi, Emperor of China (b. 1470)
1628 – Rudolph Goclenius, German philosopher (b. 1547)
1695 – Christian Huygens, inventor/astronomer (ring of Saturn), dies at 66
1711 – Katharina Lescaille, [Netherlands Sappho], poetess, dies at 61
1742 – Omobono Stradivari, Italian violin maker/son of Antonius, dies at 62
1768 – Johann J Winckelmann, German archaeologist, dies at 50
1806 – George Wythe, US attorney (signed Decl of Indep), dies at about 79
1809 – Thomas Paine, writer (Age of Reason, Common Sense), dies at 72
1835 – Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian physicist (b. 1761)
1845 – Andrew Jackson, (D) 7th pres (1828-37), dies at 78
1857 – Douglas William Jerrold, British playwright and satirist (b. 1803)
1865 – Joseph Paxton, designer (Crystal Palace), dies
1871 – Satank, Kiowa indian chief, shot to death
1874 – Cochise, Apache leader
1876 – George Sand, French author (Indiana, Consuelo), dies at 71
1913 – Emily Wilding Davison, suffragette, trampled to death by a horse
1924 – Andrew Irvine, English mountain climber (climbing accident) (b. 1902)
1924 – George Leigh Mallory, English mountain climber (climbing accident) (b. 1886)
1951 – Eugène Fiset, French Canadian military officer and politician (b. 1874)
1967 – Laverne Andrews, vocalist (Andrews Sister), dies
1969 – Robert Taylor, actor (Death Valley Days), dies of lung cancer at 57
1972 – Jimmy Rushing, US blues singer, dies at 68
1982 – [Leroy] Satchel Paige, US baseball pitcher, dies at 75
1987 – Yogi Horton, drummer (Luther Vandross), commits suicide at 33
1991 – Mary Bacon, jockey, dying of cancer, commits suicide by gun at 43
1992 – Beverly Carter, entertainer, dies at 51
1992 – William France, founder (Daytona 500), dies at 82
1993 – Root Boy Slim, American entertainer (b. 1945)
1998 – Maria Reiche, German-born mathematician and archaeologist (b. 1903)
2000 – Jeff MacNelly, American political cartoonist (b. 1948)
2003 – Leighton Rees, Welsh darts player (b. 1940)
2007 – Kenny Olsson, Swedish speedway racer (b. 1977)
2012 – Frank Cady, American actor, dies at 96
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