Today In The Past
Events
41 - Claudius succeeds his nephew Caligula as Roman Emperor after his assassination by Praetorian Guards.
817 - St Paschal I begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Stephen IV
1076 - Synod of Worms: German King Henry IV fires Pope Gregory VII
1118 - Giovanni Caetani elected Pope Gelasius II
1458 - Matthias I Corvinus chosen king of Hungary
1556 - Heavy earthquake strikes Shaaxi China, kills 830,000
1568 - In Netherlands, Duke of Alva declares William of Orange an outlaw
1639 - Connecticut colony organizes under Fundamental Orders
1644 - Battle at Nantwich Cheshire: Parliamentary armies win
1656 - 1st Jewish doctor in US, Jacob Lumbrozo, arrives in Maryland
1722 - Czar Peter the Great begins civil system
1764 - Gov Winthrop Telescope, is destroyed in a Harvard fire
1776 - Henry Knox arrives at Cambridge, Massachusetts with the artillery that he has transported from Fort Ticonderoga.
1847 - 1,500 New Mexican Indians & Mexicans defeated by US Col Price
1848 - James Marshall finds gold in Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, Calif
1857 - The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first full-fledged university in south Asia.
1861 - Arsenal at Augusta, Ga seized by Confederacy
1861 - Federal troops from Ft Monroe are sent to Ft Pikens
1874 - Gen J van Swieten conquerors Kraton Atjeh, after 1000′s die
1878 - The revolutionary Vera Zasulich shoots at Fyodor Trepov, the Governor of Saint Petersburg.
1892 - Battle at Mengo, Uganda: French missionaries attack Brit missionaries
1899 - Rubber heel patented by Humphrey O’Sullivan
1900 - Battle at Tugela-Spionkop, South Africa (Boers vs British army)
1901 - Emily Hobhouse view lord Kitcheners concentration camp at Bloemfontein
1902 - Denmark sells Virgin Islands to USA
1908 - Gen Baden-Powell starts Boy-Scouts
1913 - Franz Kafka stops working on “Amerika”; it will never be finished
1915 - German-British sea battle at Doggersbank & Helgoland
1922 - -54°F (-48°C), Danbury, Wisconsin (state record)
1922 - Eskimo Pie patented by Christian K Nelson of Iowa (not an Eskimo)
1922 - Lehman Caves National Monument established
1923 - Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM established
1924 - Benito Mussolini disallows non-fascists work union
1924 - Russian city of St Petersburg renamed Leningrad
1925 - Moving picture of a solar eclipse taken from dirigible over Long Island NY
1927 - Director Alfred Hitchcock releases his first film, The Pleasure Garden, in England.
1935 - 1st canned beer, “Krueger Cream Ale,” is sold by Kruger Brewing Co
1936 - Benny Goodman & orchestra record “Stompin’ at the Savoy” on Victor Records
1939 - 30,000 killed by earthquake in Concepcion Chile
1941 - British troops march into Abyssinia
1943 - Hitler orders nazi troops at Stalingrad to fight to death
1943 - Jewish patients/nurses/doctors incinerated at Auschwitz-Birkenau
1944 - Allied troops occupy Nettuno Italy
1950 - Jackie Robinson signs highest contract ($35,000) in Dodger history
1952 - Fire in main building of French Port Martin Antarctic base
1956 - 96.5 cm precipitation at Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii (state record)
1958 - After warming to 100,000,000 degrees, 2 light atoms are bashed together to create a heavier atom, resulting in 1st man-made nuclear fusion
1961 - Lazard Brothers Ltd draw a check for $334,867,807.68
1962 - 28 refugees escape from East to West Germany
1962 - Brian Epstein signs management contract with the Beatles
1962 - Jackie Robinson is 1st Black elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1964 - Martin Kresses final comic strip of Eric the Viking
1964 - 24th Amendment to US Constitution goes into effect & states voting rights could not be denied due to failure to pay taxes
1969 - Spanish Gen Franco announces state of emergency
1972 - Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
1975 - Fastest Earth-bound object, 7200 kph, in vacuum centrifuge, England
1976 - George Foreman KOs Ron Lyle in 5th round of a real slugfest
1977 - 5 lawyers murdered by fascist in Madrid
1977 - Massacre of Atocha in Madrid, during the Spanish transition to democracy.
1978 - Carter Executive Order on Intelligence (# 12036)
1984 - Apple Computer Inc unveils its revolutionary Macintosh personal computer
1986 - NY Islander Mike Bossy scores his 1,000th point
1986 - Voyager 2 makes 1st fly-by of Uranus (81,593 km), finds new moons
1990 - Japanese MUSES-A (Hiten) launched towards moon
1993 - Polish ferry boat John Heweliusz sinks, 52 killed
1993 - Turkish journalist and writer Uğur Mumcu is assassinated by a car bomb in Ankara.
1994 - Dow Jones closes above 3,900 for 1st time (3,914.48)
2003 - The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
2011 - At least 35 died and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport.
Births
76 - Publius A Hadrianus, 14th Roman Emperor (117-138)
1287 - Richard Aungerville, English bishop (d. 1345)
1444 - Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)
1638 - Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet (d. 1706)
1664 - John Vanbrugh, London, dramatist/architect (baptized)
1674 - Thomas Tanner, English bishop (d. 1735)
1679 - Christian von Wolff, German philosopher
1712 - Frederick II, (the Great), king of Prussia (1740-86)
1750 - Wybo Fijnje, Dutch politician/patriot/journalist
1763 - Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, Russian general (d. 1831)
1820 - John Milton Thayer, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1906
1828 - Adam Jacoby Slemmer, Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1868
1832 - John Pegram, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1865
1862 - Edith Wharton [-Jones], New York NY, Pulitzer prize-winning novelist (Ethan Frome, House of Mirth), (d. 1937)
1888 - Ernst Heinrich Heinkel, German inventor (1st rocket-powered aircraft)
1888 - Henry King, US, director (Jesse James, 12 O’Clock High)
1891 - Walter Model, German fieldmarshal
1903 - Robert Gwathmey, artist (Arts & Letters)
1911 - C[atherine] L[ucille] Moore, US, sci-fi author (Judgment Night)
1913 - Mark Goodson, TV game-show proudcer (Goodson-Toddman)
1915 - Robert B Motherwell, US, painter (Elegies to the Spanish Republic)
1916 - John Corner, scientist
1917 - Ernest Borgnine, Hamden Ct, actor (Ice Station Zebra, McHale’s Navy, Marty), (d. 2012)
1918 - Oral Roberts, Pontotoc County Oklahoma, American Televangelist, founder Oral Roberts College
1920 - Jerry Maren, actor (munchkin-Wizard of Oz, Mayor McCheese)
1924 - Marvin Kaplan, Brooklyn NY, actor (Top Cat, Henry-Alice)
1928 - Desmond Morris, English zoologist (Human Ape, Body Language)
1930 - Bernard Matthews, English turkey farmer/multi-millionaire
1933 - Ron Townson, rock vocalist (5th Dimension-Aquarius) [or Jan 29]
1933 - Zeke Carey, US R&B-singer (Flamingos-I Only Have Eyes For You)
1936 - Doug Kershaw, La, plays electric fiddle
1939 - Ray Stevens, Clarksdale Ga, singer (Ahab the Arab, Streak)
1941 - Aaron Neville, US singer/keyboardist (Neville Brothers)
1941 - Neil Diamond, Brooklyn NY, singer/actor (Jazz Singer)
1943 - Julie Bennett, Beverly Hills CA, actress (Hey There It’s Yogi Bear)
1943 - Sharon Tate, Dallas Tx, actress (Valley of the Dolls)
1946 - Michael Ontkean, Vancouver BC, actor (Rookies, Slap Shot, Twin Peaks)
1947 - Warren Zevon, Chicago, rocker (Excitable Boy)
1949 - John Belushi, Chicago Ill, comedian/actor (SNL, Blues Brothers)
1951 - Yakov Smirnoff, Russia, comedian (It’s a wonderful country)
1952 - William F Readdy, Quonset Point RI, astronaut (STS 42, 51, 79)
1954 - Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (d. 1986)
1955 - James Montgomery, US 100m swimmer (Olympic-3 gold-1976)
1958 - Frank Ullrich, East Germany, world biathlon champion
1958 - Jools Holland, British musician
1961 - Nastassja Kinski, Berlin Germany, actress (Tess, Cat People)
1961 - Krasimir Mikhailov Stoyanov, Bulgaria, cosmonaut
1965 - Ross MacDonald, Vancouver BC, star yachter (Olympics-96)
1966 - Mike Forgeron, Main-A-Dieu Nova Scotia, rower (Olympics-96)
1968 - Mary Lou Retton, Fairmont WV, gymnist (Oly-gold/2 silver/2 bronze-84)
1969 - Louise McPaul, Australian javelin thrower (Olympics-silver-92, 96)
1972 - Ulla Werbrouck, Belgian judoka and politician
1973 - Chris Ferraro, Port Jefferson, NHL right wing (Oly-94, NY Rangers)
1986 - Mischa Barton, English-born American actress
Deaths
41 - Caligula, [G C Germanicus], Roman emperor (37-41), assassinated at 28 by Praetorian Guards. Known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism.
661 - Ali ibn Abu Talib, kalief of Islam (656-61), murdered
772 - Stephen III/IV, Catholic Pope (768-72), dies. (b. 720)
817 - Stefanus IV, Pope (816-17), dies
1125 - David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)
1336 - Alfonso IV, the Benignant, King of Aragon (1327-36), dies at 36
1376 - Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English military leader
1473 - Conrad Paumann, German blind organist/composer, dies
1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, executed for treason
1595 - Ferdinand II of Austria (b. 1529)
1626 - Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (b. 1580)
1639 - George Jenatsch, Grisons leader, assassinated
1709 - George Rooke, English admiral (b. 1650)
1769 - François de Chevert, French general (b. 1695)
1862 - James McIntosh, US confederate brig-gen, dies in battle at about 33
1864 - Stephen Gardner Champlin, brig-general (Union), dies at about 36
1877 - Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (b. 1796)
1895 - Lord Randolph Churchill, British politician (b. 1849)
1918 - George Arthur Crump, Founder of the Pine Valley Golf Club in Clementon NJ (b. 1871)
1932 - Alfred Yarrow, English shipbuilder (b. 1842)
1939 - Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician and nutritionist (b. 1867)
1948 - Maria Mandel, Camp Leader at Auschwitz (b. 1912)
1948 - Arthur Liebehenschel, Commandant at Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1901)
1953 - [Karl R] Gerd von Rundstedt, gen-field marshal (Normandy), dies at 77
1955 - Ira Hayes, American World War II hero (b. 1923)(see UE births 1.12.13)
1961 - Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American swimmer and inventor (b. 1884)
1962 - Stanley Lord, captain of the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster (b. 1877)
1965 - Winston Churchill, PM of Britain (C) (1940-45, 51-55), dies at 90
1966 - Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist (b. 1909)
1970 - James “Shep” Shepherd, rocker (Shep & Limelites), beaten to death
1971 - Bill W., American co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)
1975 - Larry Fine, actor (3 Stooges), dies at 72
1983 - George Cukor, director, dies of stroke & heart attack at 83
1986 - Gordon MacRae, singer (Oklahoma, Carousel), dies at 64
1986 - L[aFayette] Ron[ald] Hubbard, author (Death Quest), dies at 74
1988 - Charles Glenn King, biochemist (discovered vitamin C), dies at 91
1988 - Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)
1989 - Ted Bundy, serial killer of up to 100 women, executed in Florida at 42
1992 - Tina Chow, model, dies of AIDs at 41
1992 - Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (b. 1950)
1993 - Thurgood Marshall, 1st black supreme court justice (1967-91), dies 84
1994 - Michalis Vranopoulos, head of Greek state bank, murdered at 48
1995 - Ian Prestt, English ornithologist, dies at 65
1997 - Callum Alexander MacDonald, historian, dies at 49
2002 - Elie Hobeika, Lebanese Forces militia commander (b. 1956)
2003 - Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive (b. 1921)
2006 - Fayard Nicholas, American tap dancer, one-half of The Nicholas Brothers (b. 1914)
2006 - Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)
2007 - Emiliano Mercado del Toro, World’s Oldest Military Veteran (b. 1891)
2010 - Pernell Roberts, American actor & singer, last surviving star of Bonanza (b. 1928)
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