Today In The Past
Events
1066 - King Harald of England crowned
1099 - Henry V crowned German king
1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans.
1227 - Ferrand of Portugal freed from the Louvre
1352 - French king Jean II introduces Order of the Star
1449 - Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI is crowned at Mistra.
1494 - The first Mass in the New World is celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.
1496 - Moorish fortress Alhambra, near Grenada, surrenders to the Christians
1579 - Artois/Hainault/Dowaai sign pro-Spanish Union of Arras
1639 - Virginia is 1st colony to order surplus crops (tobacco) destroyed
1649 - The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial for treason and other “high crimes”
1661 - The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London.
1663 - Great earthquake in New England
1681 - 1st recorded boxing match (Duke of Albemarle’s butler vs his butcher)
1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlies army draws to Glasgow
1773 - Massachusetts slaves petition legislature for freedom
1781 - Battle of Jersey (Island in UK)
1832 - New England Anti-Slavery Society organizes (Boston)
1839 - 2 day storm off Irish & English coast immortalized as “Big Wind”
1842 - 16,000 British & Indian troops leave Kabul, massacred before India
1857 - Patent for reducing zinc ore granted to Samuel Wetherill, Penn
1861 - Florida troops seize Federal arsenal at Apalachicola
1861 - NYC mayor proposes NY become a free city, trading with N & S
1873 - US Congress begins investigating Crédit Mobilier scandal
1880 - Record snow cover in Seattle – 120 cm
1887 - `Abd-allah II of Harar opens the Battle of Chelenqo with an attack on the camp of the Shewan army of Negus Menelik II.
1893 - Great Northern Railway connects Seattle with east coast
1893 - The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
1896 - 1st US women’s 6-day bicycle race starts, Madison Square Garden
1896 - Cecil Rhodes resigns as premier of Cape colony
1898 - 1st telephone message from a submerged submarine, by Simon Lake
1900 - Boers attack Ladysmith, about 1,000 killed or injured
1907 - Maria Montessori opens her 1st (Montessori) school (Rome)
1912 - New Mexico becomes 47th state
1914 - Stock brokerage firm of Merrill Lynch founded
1925 - Paavo Nurmi, sets indoor record, 4:13.6 mile & 14:44.6 5,000m
1927 - US marines sent to Nicaragua
1929 - Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest and diseased people.
1930 - 1st diesel engine automobile trip (in a Packard sedan) completed
1931 - Thomas Edison submits his last patent application.
1938 - Bronze memorial statue of Henry Hudson erected in Bronx
1939 - Daily newspaper comic strip “Superman” debuts
1940 - Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the city of Poznań, Warthegau.
1942 - Bob Feller, enlists in Navy & reports for duty to Norfolk Virginia
1942 - Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.(“Pacific Clipper“)
1946 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Quemadmodum
1951 - Indianapolis beats Rochester 75-73 in NBA-record 6 overtimes
1956 - Federal court bars former Little League Commissioner Carl Stotz from forming a rival group
1957 - Elvis Presley makes his 7th & final appearance on Ed Sullivan Show
1958 - Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to ee cummings
1958 - Gibson patents Flying V Guitar
1963 - ”Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” with Marlin Perkins begins on NBC
1964 - Rolling Stones’ 1st tour as headline act (with Ronettes)
1967 - ”Milton Berle Show” last airs on ABC-TV
1967 - 2 homemade buses collided on a mountain road in Terpate, Philippines plunging off a cliff, killing 84, injuring 140
1967 - United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch “Operation Deckhouse Five” in the Mekong River delta.
1968 - Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour,” album goes #1 & stays #1 for 8 weeks
1968 - Dr N E Shumway performs 1st US adult cardiac transplant operation
1968 - Surveyor 7 (last of series) launched by US for soft-landing on Moon
1971 - Berkeley chemists announces 1st synthetic growth hormones
1971 - Neil Young returns to his homeland of Canada for his first concert there since his pre-stardom days
1972 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Janet Lynn
1972 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Kenneth Shelley
1972 - Vladimir Bukovski is exiled from USSR
1974 - In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
1975 - ”Wheel Of Fortune,” debuts on NBC-tv
1975 - 1000 Led Zeppelin fans, waiting overnight inside the lobby of the Boston Garden for tickets to the group’s February 4th gig to go on sale, cause a riot and an esimated $30,000 damage
1976 - Ted Turner purchases Atlanta Braves for reported $12 million
1978 - 1st postage stamp copyrighted by US (Carl Sandburg stamp)
1979 - The Village People’s Y.M.C.A becomes their only UK No.1 single. At it’s peak it sold over 150,000 copies a day
1980 - Indira Gandhi’s Congress Party wins elections in India
1986 - British Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine resigns
1986 - Impala Platinum fires 20,000 black mine workers in Johannesburg
1986 - STS 61-C scrubbed at T-31sec because of liquid oxygen valve problem
1987 - Astronomers at University of California see 1st sight of birth of a galaxy
1990 - NY Lotto pays $35 million to one winner (#s are 18-25-26-32-42-44)
1991 - Qian Hong swims female world record 50m butterfly (27.30 sec)
1993 - Bill Wyman announces he will leave Rolling Stones
1994 - Dow-Jones hits record 3803.88
1994 - Ice skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked by Tonya Harding’s bodyguard
1995 - A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.
1996 - Record $65.2 million British lottery won by 3 people (2-3-4-13-42-44)
1998 - Don Sutton selected to Baseball Hall of Fame
2002 - Daniel Bedingfield returns to No.1 on the UK singles chart for the second time with Gotta Get Thru This
2005 - Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders: Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect for the 1964 murders of three Civil Rights workers.
Births
1367 - Richard II, Bordeaux, France, King of England (1377-99) (d. 1400)
1412 - Joan of Arc, Domrémy, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France (legendary date) (d. 1431)
1561 - Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician (d. 1656)
1580 - (baptised) John Smith of Jamestown (d. 1631)
1655 - Jakob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1705)
1714 - Percivall Pott, English physician (d. 1788)
1745 - Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, France, aeronaut (1st pioneer balloonist)
1745 - Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor (d. 1799)
1776 - Ferdinand von Schill, Prussian officer/rebel
1795 - Anselme Payen, French chemist (d. 1871)
1799 - Jedediah Strong Smith, US fur trader/explorer
1807 - Joseph Holt, Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1894
1807 - Jozef Maximilián Petzval, Slovak inventor (d. 1891)
1808 - Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American naval officer (d. 1864)
1811 - Charles Sumner, leading Reconstruction senator, died in 1874
1812 - Melchora Aquino, Filipino revolutionary hero (d. 1919)
1822 - Heinrich Schliemann, German polyglot/archeologist (Troje)
1827 - John Calvin Brown, Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1889
1827 - John Wesley Frazer, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), die in 1906
1842 - Clarence King, mining engineer (geologist)
1864 - Ban Johnson, Norwalk Ct, baseball founder (American League)
1872 - Alexander N Scriabin, Moscow, hallucinogenic composer (Prometheus)
1878 - Carl Sandburg, US, poet/biographer of Lincoln (The People, Yes)
1880 - Tom Mix, Mix Run PA, silent screen cowboy actor (Dick Turpin), died 1940
1882 - Samuel Rayburn, Tenn, (Rep-D-Tx), speaker of the House (1940-57)
1883 - Khalil Gibran, Lebanon, mystic poet (The Prophet, Broken Wings)
1896 - Abram N Pritzker, US businessman (Hyatt Hotels, McCall’s magazine)
1905 - Eric Frank Russell, UK, sci-fi author (Hugo, Deep Space, Dark Tides)
1907 - David Fleay, Australian naturalist (d. 1993)
1911 - Joey Adams, Bkln NY, comedian/actor/columnist (ABC’s Back That Fact)
1913 - Loretta Young, Salt Lake City Ut, actr (Farmer’s Daughter, Stranger)
1914 - Danny Thomas, Deerfield Mich, comedian (Danny Thomas Show)
1919 - Sylvia Syms, US singer (Hello Dolly, Dream Girl, Them There Eyes)
1920 - Sun Myung Moon, evangelist (Unification Church-Moonies), (d. 2012)
1921 - Lou Harris, pollster (Lou Harris Poll)
1923 - Leah Chase, master chef, in the creole tradition
1923 - Jacobo Timerman, Argentine writer (d. 1999)
1924 - Earl Scruggs, NC, bluegrass musician ( Flat &-Ballad of Jed Clampett), (d. 2012)
The Ballad Of Jed Clampett with Lester Flatt
1925 - John Z DeLorean, former automaker (DeLorean)
1926 - Pat Flaherty, American racecar driver (2002)
1926 - Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (d. 2003)
1926 - Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)
1926 - Ralph Branca, American baseball player
1926 - Kim Dae-jung, President of South Korea and Nobel laureate
1929 - Wilbert Harrison, R & B singer (Kansas City)
1929 - Babrak Karmal, Afghani politician (d. 1996)
1930 - Vic Tayback, Bkln NY, actor (Mel-Alice, Khan, Portrait of a Stripper)
1931 - Capucine, [Germaine Lefebvre], Toulon France, actress (Pink Panther, What’s New Pussycat?) (d. 1990)
1931 - E. L. Doctorow, American author
1932 - Sacha Distel, French singer
1932 - Stuart A. Rice, American chemist
1933 - Emil Steinberger, Swiss comedian
1934 - Harry M. Miller, Australian entrepreneur
1935 - Paul Wilson, US R&B-singer (Flamingos-Lovers Never Say Goodbye)
1937 - Lou Holtz, US, football coach (NJ Jets)
1938 - Prof Adrienne Clarke, Australian botanist, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria
1939 - Murray Rose, Nairn Scotland, Australian Olympic swimmer (4x oly gold), (d. 2012)
1940 - Penny Lernoux, American journalist (d. 1989)
1941 - Sandy Denny, country singer (Fairport Convention-If You Gotta Go)
1943 - Paul James Nunn, mountaineer
1943 - Terry Venables, British soccer player/manager
1944 - Bonnie Franklin, Santa Monica Cal, TV actress (Ann-1 Day at a Time)
1944 - Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist, Nobel laureate
1945 - Pepe Le Pew, cartoon skunk (Au Dorable Kitty)
1947 - Ian Millar, Halifax NS, dressage rider (World Cup 1988, 89, Oly-96)
1948 - Guy Spencer Gardner, Alta Vista Va, Lt Col USAF/astro (STS 27, STS 35)
1949 - Michael Boit, Nandi Kenya, 800m runner (Olympic-bronze-1972)
1950 - Louis Freeh, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
1951 - Kim Wilson, bluesman (Fabulous Thunderbirds)
Got My Mojo Working with Jimmy Rogers
1952 - Grant Goodeve, New Haven Conn, actor (David-8 is Enough, Dynasty)
1952 - Moondog Spot, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
1953 - Malcolm Young, Glasgow Scotland, guitarist (AC/DC-Highway to Hell)
1954 - Norbert Hahn, German DR, 2 man luge (Olympic-gold-1976, 80)
1954 - Hans Robert Hiegel, German architect
1954 - Yuji Horii, Japanese video game designer
1954 - Trudie Styler, English actress
1955 - Rowan Atkinson, England, comedian/actor (Mr Bean, Blackadder)
1957 - C Michael Foale, Louth England, astronaut (STS 45, 56, 63, 84/86)
1959 - Kapil Dev, cricketer (India’s finest all-rounder 1978-94, Cup-1982)
1959 - Kathy Sledge, Phila, vocalist (Sister Sledge-We are Family)
1960 - Paul William Azinger, Holyoke MA, PGA golfer (1987 Phoenix Open)
1960 - Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer
1961 - Howie Long, former NFL tackle/actor/broadcaster (Broken Arrow)
1962 - Philip Brown, Birmingham Engl, 4x400m runner (Olympic-silver-1984)
1962 - Sean Landeta, NFL place kicker (NY Giants)
1963 - Philippe Perrin, Meknes Morocco, Lt Col FAF/astronaut
1964 - Mark O’Toole, bassist/drummer (Frankie Goes to Hollywood-Relax)
1964 - Jacqueline Moore, American wrestler
1965 - Lindsay H Burns, Big Timber Mont, rower (Olympics-silver-96)
1965 - Bjorn Lomborg, Danish,writer , environmental studies
1967 - David Belcher, Australian rower (Olympics-96)
1967 - Larry Donald, Cincinnati Ohio, US boxer (Olympic-92)
1967 - Peter Loran, Teaneck NJ, rock vocalist (Trixter-Give It To Me Good)
1970 - Gabrielle Reece, California, volleyball star/model (Extremists)
1970 - Kerrin Petty, Townshend Vt, cross country skier (Olympics-1994)
1970 - Julie Chen, American television presenter
1972 - Denis Montana, CFL receiver (Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts)
1972 - Shae Marks, New Orleans LA, playmate (May, 1994)
1972 - Nek, Italian singer
1975 - Laura Berg, Whittier CA, softball outfielder (Olympics-gold-96)
1976 - Jeremy Linn, US, 100m breaststroke (Olympics-silver/gold-96)
1977 - Stacey Gartrell, Sydney NSW Australia, swimmer (Olympics-96)
1978 - Steve Hartsell, Ann Arbor Mich, pairs skater (& Danielle Hartsell)
1980 - Hiromi Oshima, Japanese adult model
1981 - Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress
1982 - Tiffany Pollard, American reality television personality
Deaths
664 - Amr ibn al-A’as, Arab general (bc. 583)
1088 - Berengarius of Tours, French theologist, dies
1275 - Raymundus of Penafort, Spanish church law scholar, dies
1374 - Andreas Corsini, Italian saint/bishop of Fiesole, dies
1481 - Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Golden Horde
1536 - Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect/painter, dies
1646 - Elias Hill, German architect of Augsburg, dies at 72
1689 - Seth Ward, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1617)
1693 - Mehmed IV, sultan (Turkey), dies at 51
1694 - Francesco Morosini, Italian army general, dies
1718 - Richard Hoare, English goldsmith and banker (b. 1648)
1725 - Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japan, playwright (Yotsugi Soga), dies at about 71
1731 - Étienne François Geoffroy, French chemist (b. 1672)
1813 - Louis Baraguey d’Hilliers, French general (b. 1764)
1852 - Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind and inventor of braille (b. 1809)
1855 - Giacomo Beltrami, Italian explorer (b. 1779)
1882 - Richard Henry Dana, U.S. novelist (Two Years Before the Mast) (b. 1815)
1913 - Frederick Hitch, English Victoria Cross Winner (b. 1856)
1918 - Georg F L P Cantor, German mathematician: collection, dies at 72
1919 - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th Pres (1901-09), dies in NY at 60
1919 - Max Heindel, Danish astrologer and mystic (b. 1865)
1922 - Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (b. 1842)
1928 - Alvin C Kraenzlein, track star (Olympic-4 gold-1900), dies at 51
1934 - Herbert Chapman , Legendary Manager of Arsenal and Huddersfield Town (b. 1878)
1945 - Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (b. 1863)
1950 - Isaiah Bowman, geographer/co-founder (Geographical Review), dies at 71
1960 - Erik Lindahl, Swedish economist (Scope & Means), dies at 68
1963 - Lourens GM Baas Becking, Dutch botanist/resistance fighter, dies at 68
1964 - Edgar Maass, German/US author (Verdun), dies at 67
1972 - Chen Yi, Chinese military commander and politician (b. 1901)
1978 - John D MacArthur, US insurance billionaire, dies at 80
1978 - Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer (b. 1899)
1981 - A[rchibald] J[oseph] Cronin, physician/author (Citadel), dies at 84
1984 - Ernest Laszlo, Hungarian-U.S. cinematographer (b. 1898)
1985 - Robert H W Welch Jr, US founder/leader John Birch Society, dies at 85
1989 - Hirohito, Japan`s emperor (1922-89), dies at 87 after 62-year reign
1993 - John B “Dizzy” Gillespie, jazz trumpeter, dies of cancer at 75
1993 - Rudolph Nureyev, Russian ballet dancer (Kirov), dies of AIDS at 54
1994 - ”Iron” Adriaan van Es, Dutch undersec of Navy (1963-72), dies at 80
1994 - Gerardus J Sizoo, physicist/director of Dutch Free University, dies
1994 - Morty the Moose, (Northern Exposure), dies at 6
1994 - Tip O’Neill, speaker of the house, dies of cancer
1994 - Virginia Kelley Clinton, Mother of Pres Clinton, dies at 70
1996 - John Phillipps Kenyon, historian/teacher, dies at 68
1999 - French Jazz piano virtuoso Michel Petrucciani dies in New York following a brief respiratory illness at age 36
2000 - Don Martin, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
2004 - Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (b. 1921)
2006 - Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)
YOU’LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE
2006 - Hugh Thompson, Jr., decorated Vietnam War helicopter pilot (b. 1943)
2007 - Roberta Wohlstetter, military historian and strategist (b. 1912)
2007 - Sneaky Pete Kleinow, American musician and special-effects artist (b. 1934)
2009 - Ron Asheton, The Stooges guitarrist (b. 1948)
2012 - Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist, dies at 73
