Today In The Past
Events
363 – Roman Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sassanid capital, but is unable to take the city.
757 – St Paul I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1138 – Anti-Pope Victor IV (Gregorio) overthrows self for Innocentius II
1167 – Battle of Monte Porzio – A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel
1176 – Battle at Legnano: Lombard League beats Frederick Barbarossa and the Holy Roman Empire
1453 – Constantinople falls to Muhammad II (Turks); ends Byzantine Empire
1453 – French banker Jacques Coeurs possessions confiscated
1592 – At the Battle of Sacheon, the Korean navy led by Admiral Yi Sun Shin, repels a Japanese army that outnumbers it nearly 3 to 1.
1630 – Gov John Winthrop begins “History of New England”
1652 – English Admiral Robert Blake drives out Dutch fleet under lt-adm Tromp
1677 – Treaty of Middle Plantation establishes peace between the Virginia colonists and the local Indians.
1727 – Peter II (11) becomes Tsar of Russia
1733 – The right of Canadians to keep Indian slaves is upheld at Quebec City.
1765 – Patrick Henry historic speech against the Stamp Act, answering a cry of “Treason!” with, “If this be treason, make the most of it!”
1780 – Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton massacres Colonel Abraham Buford’s continentals allegedly after the continentals surrender. 113 Americans are killed.
1790 – Rhode Is becomes last of original 13 colonies ratifying Constitution
1848 – Battle at Curtazone: Austrians beat Sardinia-Piemonte
1848 – Wisconsin becomes 30th state
1849 – Lincoln says “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”
1851 – Sojourner Truth addresses 1st Black Women’s Rights Convention (Akron)
1861 – Dorothea Dix offers help in setting up hospitals for Union Army
1864 – Mexican Emperor Maximilian arrives at Vera Cruz
1874 – Present constitution of Switzerland takes effect
1897 – 31st Belmont: J Scherrer aboard Scottish Cheiftain wins in 2:23.25
1900 – 25th Preakness: H Spencer aboard Hindus wins in 1:48.4
1900 – Trademark “Escalator” registered by Otis Elevator Co
1912 – 15 young women fired by Curtis Publishing for dancing “Turkey Trot” during their lunch break
1914 – Ship rams Canadian ship Empress of Ireland on St Lawrence R; 1024 die
1916 – US forces invade Dominican Republic, stay until 1924
1919 – Charles Strite files patent for the pop-up toaster
1919 – Einstein’s light-bending prediction confirmed by Arthur Eddington
1922 – US Supreme Court rules organized baseball is a sport & not a business & thus not subject to antitrust laws
1928 – Fritz von Opel reaches 200 kph in experimental rocket car
1932 – World War I Veterans begin to assemble in Washington, DC in the Bonus Army to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945.
1940 – Adolf Kiefer swims world record 100 yards backstroke (58.8 sec)
1940 – In WW II, Germans capture Ostend & Ypres in Belgium & Lille in France
1942 – Bing Crosby records “White Christmas,” greatest selling record to date
1943 – Meat & cheese rationed in US
1945 – US 1st Marine division conquerors Shuri-castle Okinawa
1949 – Candid Camera, TV comedy Variety, moves to NBC
1951 – 1st North Pole flight in single engine plane-CF Blair
1953 – Edmund Hillary & Tensing Norkay are 1st to reach summit of Everest
1957 – Algerian rebels kill 336 collaborators
1959 – Charles de Gaulle forms French government
1960 – Everly Brothers “Cathy’s Clown” hits #1
1965 – Phillies Dick Allen hits 529′ HR out of Connie Mack Stadium
1967 – Australian Paul McManus water skis barefoot for 1:30:19
1968 – Truth in Lending Act signed into law
1973 – Thomas Bradley elected 1st black mayor of Los Angeles Calif
1973 – Columbia Records fires president Clive Davis for misappropriating $100,000 in funds, Davis will start Arista records
1974 – Northern Ireland is brought under direct rule from Westminster
1976 – Only HR of Joe Niekro’s 22-year career, comes off brother Phil
1977 – A J Foyt wins Indianapolis 500 for a record 4th time
1977 – Janet Guthrie becomes 1st woman to drive in Indy 500
1978 – 1st class postage now 15 cents (13 cents for 3 years)
1980 – Attempted assassination on Vernon Jordan Jr National Urban League pres
1980 – J Turners “Juliet & Her Nurse” sold for $6,400,000 in NYC
1980 – Larry Bird beats out Magic Johnson for NBA rookie of year
1984 – Boston Red Sox retires #9 (Ted Williams) & #4 (Joe Cronin)
1985 – Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months.
1987 – “Twilight Zone” director John Landis found innocent in death of actor
1987 – Michael Jackson attempts to buy Elephant Man’s remains
1987 – Robin Ventura set a college baseball record with hits in 57 games
1988 – President Zia ul-Haq fires government/disbands parliament in Pakistan
1990 – Boris Yeltsin is elected president of the Russian republic
1990 – Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,870.49
1990 – Rickey Henderson steals record 893rd base, breaking Ty Cobb’s record
1994 – Al Unser Jr wins 78th Indianapolis 500 in 3:06:29.006 (255.89 kph)
1994 – Great comet-iceball seen above North sea
1997 – 70th National Spelling Bee: Rebecca Sealfon wins spelling euonym
1997 – Jesse Timmedequas, found guilty of rape/murder of Megan Kanka, 7
1997 – Spanish scientists announce new human species in 780,000 year old fossil
2001 – International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers inaugurated.
2004 – The World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
2004 – The Al-Khobar massacres in Saudi Arabia kill 22.
2012 – Facebook’s problematic public listing could cost those involved $115 million from technical glitches
2012 – Indonesian police make the biggest drug bust in ten years after seizing over a million ecstasy pills valued at $45 million
Births
1594 – Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian general (d. 1632)
1627 – Anne ML of Orleans, duchess of Montpensier (Grand Mademoiselle)
1630 – Charles II, King of England (1660-85)
1675 – Humphry Ditton, English mathematician (d. 1715)
1716 – Louis J M Daubenton, French zoologist
1722 – James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, Irish politician (d. 1773)
1736 – Patrick Henry, US, patriot “Give me liberty or give me death“
1794 – Johann Heinrich von Mädler, German astronomer (d. 1874)
1810 – Erasmus Darwin Keyes, Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1895
1810 – Solomon Meredith, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1875
1824 – Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox, Major General (Confederate Army)
1825 – David Bell Birney, Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1864
1826 – Ebenezer Butterick, inventor (tissue paper dress pattern)
1827 – Reuben Lindsay Walker, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1890
1841 – Sylvester Magee, last living American slave and oldest person who ever lived, (d. 1971)
1864 – A H Borgesius, Dutch amateur astronomer
1880 – Oswald Spengler, Germany, philosopher (Decline of West)
1885 – Erwin F Finlay-Freundlich, British astronomer (theory of relativity)
1894 – Beatrice Lillie, Toronto, comedian/actress (Around World in 80 Days)
1896 – George L Funke, botanist (Flower Physiology)
1897 – Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Brno Austria, movie composer (Violanta)
1903 – Bob Hope, [Leslie Townes], Kent England, entertainer (famous profile)
1904 – Robert Knox, bacteriologist
1906 – Terence Hanbury White, Bombay India, novelist (England Have My Bones)
1907 – Hartland Molson, Canadian businessman and senator (d. 2002)
1909 – Neil R[onald] Jones, US, sci-fi author (Space War, Twin Worlds)
1911 – James Marjoribanks, British ambassador
1912 – Lucie Aubrac [Bernard], Paris, history teacher and French resistance member, (d. 2007)
1914 – Stacy Keach, Sr., American actor (d. 2003)
1921 – Clifton James, NYC, actor (Buster & Billie, David & Lisa)
1926 – Iannis Xenakis, composer/architect/engineer
1927 – Carl Toms, stage designer (1 Million BC, Moon Zero Two)
1928 – Felix Rohatyn, Vienna Austria, investment banker (NY Big MAC Bonds)
1932 – Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist and author who founded the group Zero Population Growth
1935 – Martin Garrod, Commandant General (Royal Marines)
1937 – Alwin Schockemohle, horse show jumper
1937 – Charles W. Pickering, American judge
1938 – Francis Thomas (Fay) Vincent, baseball commissioner
1939 – Al Unser, auto racer (Indianapolis 500-1970, 71)
1944 – Helmut Berger, actor (Ash Wednesday, Damned, Picture of Dorian Gray)
1945 – Martin Pipe, horse trainer
1945 – Gary Brooker, rock keyboardist (Procol Harum)
1948 – Anthony Geary, Coalville Utah, actor (Luke/Bill-General Hospital)
1949 – Francis Rossi, London, guitarist (Status Quo-Picture of a Matchstick Man)
1952 – Louise Cooper, UK, sci-fi author (Nemesis, Inferno, Infanta, Nocturne)
1953 – Danny Elfman, LA California, composer (Simpson Show Theme)
1955 – John Hinckley Jr, shot & wounded Pres Reagan (1981)
1955 – Mike Porcaro, rock bassist (Toto-Roseanna, Africa)
1956 – LaToya Jackson, singer (If You Feel the Funk)
1958 – Annette Bening, Topeka KS, actress (Grifters, Bugsy, Valmont) [or 5/5]
1959 – Mel Gaynor, Glasgow Scotland, rock drummer (Simple Minds-Water Front)
1959 – Rupert Everett, actor (Princess Daisy, Another Country)
1961 – Melissa Etheridge, US singer/songwriter/guitarist (Never Enough)
1963 – Lisa Whelchel, Fort Worth Texas, actress (Blair-Facts of Life)
1963 – Tracey E Bregman, Munich Germany, actress (Lauren-Bold & Beautiful, Days of Our Life)
1963 – Blaze Bayley, British singer (ex-Iron Maiden)
1963 – Ukyo Katayama, Japanese racing driver
1965 – Jammo Myllys, Savonlinna FIN, hockey goalie (Team Finland, Oly-Br-98)
1967 – Noel Gallagher, Manchester, English pop musician (Oasis)
1969 – Chan Kinchla, Canadian musician (Blues Traveler)
1973 – Emma Johnson, Sydney NSW Australia, swimmer (Olympics-96)
1973 – Mark Lee, American musician (guitarist for Third Day)
1974 – Marc Gené, Spanish Formula One driver
1975 – Melanie Janine Brown, “Scary Spice”, Leeds, vocalist (Spice Girls)
1976 – David Buckner, American musician (Papa Roach)
1979 – Casey Sheehan, American soldier; son of Cindy Sheehan (d. 2004)
1982 – Ana Beatriz Barros, Brazilian model
1982 – Joanne Borgella, American plus-sized model and singer
1983 – Rama Claproth, Indonesian blues guitarist
1984 – Carmelo Anthony, American basketball player
1986 – Jaslene Gonzalez, Puerto Rican/American fashion model
1990 – Dave Morton, American guitarist
Deaths
1259 – King Christopher I of Denmark (b. 1219)
1379 – King Henry II of Castile (b. 1334)
1425 – Hongxi Emperor of China (b. 1378)
1453 – Constantine XI Dragases, last Byzantine Emperor, dies at 49
1500 – Bartholomeu Diaz , Portuguese sea explorer, drowns
1546 – Cardinal Beaton, English archbishop of St Andrews, murdered
1593 – John Penry, English congressionalist, executed
1660 – Frans van Schooten, Dutch mathematician (b. 1615)
1790 – Israel Putnam, American Revolutionary War general (b. 1718)
1814 – Josephine, empress of France (1804-14), dies
1816 – Madame L’Ouverture, widow of Haiti’s leader Toussaint L’O, dies
1829 – Humphry Davy, scientist/inventor (Miner’s safety lamp), dies at 84
1866 – Winfield Scott, American general , presidential candidate (b. 1786)
1896 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist (b. 1814)
1903 – Bruce Price, American architect (b. 1845)
1942 – John Barrymore, US actor (Beloved Rogue, Dinner at 8), dies at 60
1951 – Fanny Brice, Zeigfield Girl (Baby Snooks Show), dies at 59
1953 – Man Mountain Dean, American professional wrestler (b. 1891)
1972 – Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy (b. 1902)
1972 – Stephen Timoshenko, Ukrainian-born mechanical engineer (b. 1878)
1979 – Mary Pickford, actress (Coquette, Suds, Secrets), dies at 86
1982 – Romy Schneider, actress (Cardinal), dies of cardiac arrest at 43
1989 – John Cipollina, American musician (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (b. 1943)
1992 – Peter John “Ollie” Halsall, guitarist, dies of a heart attack at 43
1993 – Billy Conn, boxer (fought Joe Louis 1951), dies of pneumonia at 75
1994 – Erich Honecker, president of German DR (1971-89), dies in Chile at 81
1994 – Ezra Taft Benson, min of Agr/leader of mormon (1985-94), dies at 94
1994 – Oliver “Bops Junior” Jackson, drummer, dies at 61
1995 – Margaret Chase Smith, 1st woman Rep & Sen (R-Me), dies at 97
1996 – James George “Jimmy” Rowles, jazz pianist, dies at 77
1997 – George Fenneman, announcer (You Bet Your Life), dies at 77
1997 – Jeff Buckley, musician, drowns at 30
1998 – Barry M. Goldwater, U.S. Senator from Arizona and presidential candidate (b. 1909)
2003 – David Jefferies, British motorcycle racer (b. 1972)
2004 – Archibald Cox, Watergate special prosecutor (b. 1912)
2006 – Steve Mizerak, American pool player (b. 1944)
2007 – Posteal Laskey, American convicted murderer widely believed to be the Cincinnati Strangler of natural causes (b. 1938)
2008 – Harvey Korman, American, comedian , actor (b. 1927)
2009 – Karine Ruby, French snowboarder and Olympic champion (b. 1978)
2010 – Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (b. 1936)
2012 – Doc Watson, American bluegrass musician, dies from complications following surgery at 89
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