Today In The Past
Events
555 – Vigilius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1099 – 1st Crusaders arrive in Jerusalem
1340 – Rotterdam Netherlands founded
1413 – King Ladislaw of Naples occupies Rome
1420 – Troops of the Republic of Venice capture Udine, ending the independenceo f the Patriarchate of Aquileia.
1494 – Treaty of Tordesillas, Spain & Portugal divide America
1546 – England signs Peace of Andres with Scotland/Ireland
1654 – Louis XIV crowned King of France
1672 – Battle by Solebay: Dutch adm M de Ruyter beats French/English fleet
1692 – Earthquake in Porte Royale, Jamaica, kills 3,000
1694 – English invasion army under Thomas Talmash reaches Brest
1769 – Daniel Boone begins exploring Bluegrass State of Kentucky
1776 – Richard Lee (VA) moves Decl of Independence in Continental Congress
1788 – Masses stone French government army at Grenoble
1800 – David Thompson reaches the mouth of the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba.
1832 – Asian cholera reaches Quebec, brought by Irish immigrants, and kills about 6,000 people in Lower Canada.
1862 – Skirmish at Union Church, VA (Peninsular)
1862 – Gen B Butler orders William Mumford hanged after he removed & destroyed US flag on display over New Orleans Mint
1863 – Battle of Milliken’s Bend, LA-Jefferson Davis’ home burnt
1863 – Mexico City captured by French troops
1864 – Abe Lincoln renominated for Pres by Republican Party
1866 – Irish Fenians raid Pigeon Hill, Quebec
1866 – 1,800 Fenian raiders are repelled back to the United States after they loot and plunder around Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg, Quebec.
1873 – 7th Belmont: James Roe aboard Springbok wins in 3:01.75
1881 – 15th Belmont: T Costello aboard Saunterer wins in 2:47
1893 – Gandhi’s first act of civil disobedience.
1896 – G Harpo & F Samuelson leave NY to row the Atlantic (takes 54 days)
1900 – Boer general Christian de Law occupiers British train depot Roodewal
1906 – Famous Cunard passenger liner Lusitania launches
1909 – Mary Pickford made her screen debut at the age of 16.
1912 – US army tests 1st machine gun mounted on a plane
1916 – Germany troop march into Fort Faux, Verdun
1924 – 56th Belmont: Earl Sande aboard Mad Play wins in 2:18.8
1924 – George Leigh-Mallory disappears 775′ from Everest’s summit
1929 – Vatican City becomes a sovereign state
1930 – 62nd Belmont: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:31.6
1930 – NY Times agrees to capitalize the n in “Negro”
1938 – Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat 1st flown (Eddie Allen)
1938 – The Douglas DC-4E makes its first test flight.
1939 – 1st king & queen of England to visit US, George VI & Elizabeth
1940 – British/French troops evacuate Narvik
1941 – 73rd Belmont: Eddie Arcaro aboard Whirlaway win in 2:31 (triple crown)
1942 – Battle of Midway ends: Adm Nimitz wins 1st WW II naval defeat of Japan
1942 – Germany Armys march into Sebastopol
1942 – Japanese troops lands on Attu, Aleutian Islands
1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg meets Hitler
1946 – US Supreme Court bans discrimination in interstate travel
1948 – Communist complete takeover of Czechoslovakia; Pres Bernes resigns
1952 – 84th Belmont: Eddie Arcaro aboard One Count wins in 2:30.2
1953 – 1st color network telecast in compatible color, (Boston Mass)
1954 – 1st microbiology laboratory dedicated (New Brunswick NJ)
1955 – “$64,000 Question” premieres on CBS TV
1955 – 1st President to appear on color TV (Eisenhower)
1958 – 90th Belmont: Pete Anderson aboard Cavan wins in 2:30.2
1962 – NASA civilian test pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 31,580 m
1963 – 1st Rolling Stones TV appearance (Thank Your Lucky Stars) & release 1st single, “Come on”
1965 – Sony Corp introduced its home video tape recorder, priced at $995
1965 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides on Griswold v. Connecticut, effectively legalizing the use of contraception by married couples.
1967 – 2 Moby Grape members arrested for contributing to deliquency of minors
1967 – Israel captures Wailing Wall in East Jerusalem, Jericho & Bethlehem
1968 – Sirhan Sirhan indicted for Bobby Kennedy assassination
1968 – The body of assassinated U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy lies in state at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York.
1969 – “Johnny Cash Show,” debuts on ABC-TV
1969 – 101st Belmont: Braulio Baeza aboard Arts & Letters wins in 2:28.8
1969 – Tommy James & Shondells release “Crystal Blue Persuasion”
1970 – Jockey Willie Shoemaker passes Johnny Longden with his 6,033 win
1970 – The Who’s “Tommy” is performed at NY’s Lincoln Center
1971 – Soviet Soyuz 11 crew completes 1st transfer to orbiting Salyut
1975 – “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” by John Denver hits #1
1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder for sale to the public.
1976 – NBC Nightly News with John Chancellor & David Brinkley, premieres
1979 – Bhaskara 1, Indian Earth resources/meteorology satellite, launched
1980 – 112th Belmont: Eddie Maple aboard Temperence Hill wins in 2:29.8
1980 – Tommy John wins his 200th, 3-0 on a 2-hitter
1981 – Israeli F-15/F-16 destroys alleged Iraqi plutonium production facility
1982 – LA Dodger Steve Garvey is 5th to play in 1,000 consecutive games
1983 – Steve Carlton temporarily passes Nolan Ryan with his 3,552 strike out
1986 – 118th Belmont: Chris McCarron aboard Danzig Connect wins in 2:29.8
1989 – 23 year old olympic barefoot South African runner Zola Budd retires
1989 – For one second this morning, the time is 01:23:45, 6-7-89
1989 – Wayne Gretzky wins his 9th NHL Hart (MVP) Trophy in 10 years
1989 – 1st Baseball game to start outdoors & end indoors, as Toronto Blue Jays stadium closes roof during game at 8:48, & beat Brewers 4-2
1991 – Mount Pinatubo (Philippines) erupts for 1st time
1993 – Cleveland breaks ground for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
1993 – Prince celebrated his birthday by changing his name to a symbol
1994 – A’s outfielder Rickey Henderson steals his 1,100th career base
1995 – The long range Boeing 777 enters service with United Airlines.
1997 – 129th Belmont: Chris McCarron aboard Touch Gold wins in 2:28.8
1998 – James Byrd, Jr. is dragged to death by Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russel Brewer, and John William King in Jasper, Texas in a racially-motivated hate crime.
2001 – Tony Blair’s Labour Party wins another landslide victory in the General Election.
2006 – British Houses of Parliament temporarily shut down due to anthrax alert.
2012 – 16th century archaeology remains of the Curtain Theatre, where some of Shakespeare’s plays were first performed, were found under a pub in London
2012 – Credit rating agency Fitch downgrades Spain’s credit rating to BBB in the wake of international bailout speculation
Births
1529 – Étienne Pasquier, French lawyer and man of letters (d. 1615)
1619 – Paulus Voet, Dutch jurist/historian
1761 – John Rennie, Scottish engineer (d. 1821)
1778 – George Bryan “Beau” Brummel, London England, English dandy
1811 – James Young Simpson, Scotland, obsterician (used chloroform)
1812 – Theophilus Toulmin Garrard, Brig Gen (Union volunteers), died in 1902
1825 – Richard D Blackmore, England, author (Norie, Lorna Doone)
1831 – Amelia Edwards, English author and Egyptologist (d. 1892)
1843 – Susan Elizabeth Blow, US, pioneered kindergarten education
1848 – Paul Gaugin, [Eugene Henri], French post-impressionist painter
1862 – Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
1868 – Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect, designer, and illustrator (d. 1928)
1877 – Charles Glover Barkla, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
1879 – Knud J V Rasmussen, Danish pole explorer (Thule)
1879 – Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer (d. 1963)
1883 – Sylvanus Morley, U.S. archaeologist and spy (d. 1948)
1886 – Henri Coandă, Romanian aerodynamics pioneer (d. 1972)
1891 – Koos [Jacobus J] Vorrink, Dutch politician (SDAP/AJC/PvdA)
1896 – Robert Mulliken, US, chemist/physicist (Nobel 1966)
1896 – Douglas Campbell, American World War I flying ace (d. 1990)
1909 – Jessica Tandy, London, actress (Birds, Cocoon, Batteries Not Included)
1910 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer, (d. 2007)
1911 – Brooks Stevens, automotive designer (d. 1995)
1913 – Anthony David Machell Cox, medievalist
1917 – Gwendolyn Brooks, US poet (Bean Eaters, Annie Allen, Pulitzer 1950)
1917 – Dean Martin, Steubenville Ohio, American singer/actor (with Jerry Lewis)
1921 – Tal Farlow, American jazz guitarist (d. 1998)
1925 – Camille Flammarion, French astronomer/writer (Thunder & Lightning)
1927 – Charles de Tornaco, Belgian racing driver (d. 1953)
1928 – James Ivory, producer/director (Howard’s End, Remains of the Day)
1935 – Thomas Kailath, American engineer
1937 – Bert Sugar, Washington D.C., sports writer (Sting like a Bee), (d. 2012)
1938-Susan Herrlin , mother , wife , pianist , figure skater ,business woman
1940 – Tom Jones [Sir Thomas John Woodward], Pontypridd, Welsh singer (What’s New Pussycat)
1943 – Ken Osmond, actor (Eddie Haskel-Leave it To Beaver)
1944 – Clarence White, guitarist (Byrds-Turn! Turn! Turn!)
1946 – Jenny Jones, [Janina Stronski], Canada, comedienne (Jenny Jones Show)
1947 – Thurman Munson, baseball catcher/captain (NY Yankees)
1949 – Jack Ryland, rock vocalist (Three Dog Night)
1952 – Liam Neeson, N Ireland, actor (Schindler’s List, Les Miserables)
1953 – Johnny Clegg, rocker
1955 – William Koch, US skier (World Cup 1982)
1956 – Robert Dover, equestrian dressage (Olympics-bronze-96)
1958 – O+> (Prince), [Rogers Nelson], Minn, rocker/actor (1999, Purple Rain)
1962 – Janice Lawrence Braxton, WNBA center (Cleve Rockers, Olym-gold-1984)
1962 – Takuya Kurosawa, Japanese racing driver
1965 – Damien Hirst, English artist
1969 – Lachlan Elmer, Australian field hockey halfback (Oly-silver-92, 96)
1974 – Jason Caswell, Winnipeg Manitoba, Skeet shooter (Olympics-96)
1974 – Bear Grylls, British survivor
1981 – Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
1981 – Larisa Oleynik, American actress
Deaths
555 – Vigilius, Italian Pope (537-55), dies
1329 – Robert Bruce, King of Scots (1306-29), dies at 53
1358 – Ashikaga Takauji, Japanese shogun (b. 1305)
1394 – Anne of Bohemia, wife of Richard II of England (plague) (b. 1367)
1492 – Kazimierz IV, King of Poland (1447-92), dies at 64
1549 – Eelke Fouckens, Frisian anabaptist, beheaded
1555 – Maarten van Rossum, Dutch army leader, dies at about 76
1572 – August I [Sigismund II August], king of Poland (1548-72), dies at 42
1618 – Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English Governor of Virginia (b. 1577)
1667 – Thomas de Keyser, Amsterdam master builder/painter, buried
1672 – Willem J van Gendt, admiral/governor of Breda, dies at about 37
1754 – Nikolaj Eigtved, Danish, architect (Amalienborg Square), dies at 52
1862 – William B Mumford, 1st US citizen hanged for treason, at 42
1866 – Chief Seattle, Native American leader
1876 – George Sand, writer, dies at 71
1877 – Winand C H Staring, geologist (Bottom of Netherlands), dies at 68
1926 – Henry Charles Tonking, composer, dies at 63
1927 – Voikov, Soviet ambassador to Warsaw, murdered
1928 – Chiang Tsolin, Chinese warlord of North-China, murdered
1935 – Ivan V Mitsjoerin, Russian botanist, dies
1936 – Stjepan Seljan, Croatian explorer (b. 1875)
1942 – Alan Blumlein, English electronics engineer (b. 1903)
1951 – Bobel, Braune, Naumann, Ohlendorf, Pohl, Schallenmair & Otto Schmidt, Nazi war criminals, hanged
1954 – Alan M Turing, British mathematician (Turing), commits suicide at 41
1963 – Zasu Pitts, actress (Wedding March, Life With Father), dies at 65
1965 – Judy Holliday, comedienne (Born Yesterday, Adam’s Rib), dies at 42
1967 – Dorothy Parker, US writer (Enough Rope), dies at 73
1967 – Pauline Brooks, actress (Make a Million), dies of cancer at 54
1969 – Leo Gorcey, actor (Bowery Boys), dies at 53
1970 – Edward M Forster, Brit writer (Maurice, passage to India), dies at 91
1970 – E. M. Forster, English author (b. 1879)
1978 – Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
1980 – Henry [Valentine] Miller, US writer (Tropic of Capricorn), dies at 88
1989 – Chico Landi, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1907)
1992 – William France, founder (Daytona 500), dies at 82
1993 – Drazen Petrovic, NBA player (NJ Nets), dies in auto-accident at 28
1994 – Joseph Ruzindana, Rwandian bishop of Bjumba, murdered
1994 – Stuart Havelock Hollingdale, anthropologist, dies at 42
1995 – Hsuan Hua, influential Buddhist master in the United States (b. 1918)
1996 – Noel Walton Bott, engineer, dies at 88
1996 – [Francis] Max Factor Jr, makeup inventor, dies at 91
2008 – Jim McKay, American sportscaster (b. 1921)
2009 – Kenny Rankin, American singer (b. 1940)
2012 – Phillip Tobias, South African palaeoanthropologist, dies at 86
2012 – Bob Welch, American musician, commits suicide by gunshot at 66
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