Today In The Past

Events

68 – Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, imploring his secretary Epaphroditos to slit his throat to evade a Senate-imposed death by flogging.

641 – Arabic/Islamic army contrasts with the Hippo over Alexandria

721 – Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse.

922 – French republic chooses Robert I, King of France

1075 – Battle at Homburg/Unstrut: German king Henry IV beats Saksen

1310 – Duccio’s Maestà Altarpiece, a seminal artwork of the early Italian Renaissance, is unveiled and installed in the Siena Cathedral in Siena, Italy.

1456 – 23rd recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet

1525 – Tax revolt in Hertogenbosch

1534 – Jacques Cartier 1st sails into mouth of St Lawrence River

1549 – Book of Common Prayer is adopted by the Church of England

1628 – 1st deportation from what is now US, Thomas Morton from Mass

1650 – The Harvard Corporation, the more powerful of the two administrative boards of Harvard, is established. It is the first legal corporation in the Americas.

1732 – Royal charter for Georgia granted to James Oglethorpe

1742 – Battle of Bloody Marsh-Spanish assault on Simons Island, Georgia

1752 – French army surrenders to the English in Trichinopoly India

1772 – 1st Protestant church west of Penn (in Ohio) holds communion

1772 – 1st naval attack of Revolutionary War takes place in Providence, RI

1789 – Spanish capture British schooner Northwest America near Vancouver I

1802 – US Academy at West Point founded

1822 – Charles Graham patents false teeth

1856 – 500 Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa and head west for Salt Lake City, Utah carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts.

1860 – 1st US “dime novel” published: “Malaseka, The Indian Wife of the White Hunter,” by Mrs Ann Stevens

1862 – Battle of Port Republic, last of 5 battles in Jacksons Valley camp

1863 – Battle of Brandy Station, VA (Fleetwood, Beverly Ford)

1864 – Battle of Big Shanty, GA

1864 – Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, GA (Pine Mt, Pine Knob, Golgotha)

1865 – Battle of Grand Gulf, MS

1869 – Charles Elmer Hires sells his 1st root beer (Phila)

1870 – Washington: Pres Grant meets with Sioux chief Red Cloud

1873 – Alexandra Palace burnt down, after being open for only 16 days.

1877 – 11th Belmont: C Holloway aboard Cloverbrook wins in 2:46

1883 – 17th Belmont: Jim McLaughlin aboard George Kinney wins in 2:42.5

1887 – 21st Belmont: Jim McLaughlin aboard Hanover wins in 2:43.5

1888 – 22nd Belmont: Jim McLaughlin aboard Sir Dixon wins in 2:40.25

1891 – Painter Gauguin arrives in Papeete, Tahiti

1892 – 26th Belmont: W Hayward aboard Patron wins in 2:12

1898 – China leases Hong Kong’s new territories to Britain for 99 years

1899 – James J Jeffries KOs Bob Fitzsimmons in 11 for heavyweight boxing title

1901 – NY Giants get record 31 hits to beat Cin Reds 25-13

1902 – 1st Automat restaurant opens (818 Chestnut St, Phila)

1909 – Alice Huyler Ramsey, a 22-year-old housewife and mother from Hackensack, New Jersey, becomes the first woman to drive across the United States. With three female companions, none of whom could drive a car, in fifty-nine days she drove a Maxwell automobile the 3,800 miles from Manhattan, New York, to San Francisco, California.

1910 – Passenger on SS Arawatta throws bottle with note overboard (found June 6, 1983 in Queensland)

1914 – Honus Wagner, is 2nd to get 3,000 hits

1915 – William Jennings Bryan quits as Secretary of State

1922 – First ringing of the Harkness Memorial Chime at Yale University.

1923 – 55th Belmont: Earl Sande aboard Zev wins in 2:19

1923 – Brinks unveils 1st armored security vans

1924 – “Jelly-Roll Blues,” is recorded by blues great, Jelly Roll Morton

1928 – 60th Belmont: Clarence Kummer aboard Vito wins in 2:33.2

1930 – Paavo Nurmi runs world record 6 mile (29:36.4)

1930 – Chicago Tribune reporter Jake Lingle is killed during rush hour at the Illinois Central train station by the Leo Vincent Brothers, allegedly over a $100,000 USD gambling debt owed to Al Capone.

1931 – 1st rocket-powered aircraft design patented (R Goddard)

1934 – 1st Donald Duck cartoon, Wise Little Hen, released

1934 – 66th Belmont: Wayne D Wright aboard Peace Chance wins in 2:29.2

1940 – Norway surrenders to Germany during WW II

1941 – Ammunition plant at Fort Smederovo in Belgrade explodes; kills 1,500

1942 – Nazis kill all inhabitants of Lidice Czechoslovakia

1945 – 71st Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro aboard Hoop Jr wins in 2:07

1946 – 19 guests at Canfield Hotel die in fire (Dubuque Iowa)

1946 – Joe Louis KOs Billy Conn in 8 for heavyweight boxing title

1953 – “Milton Berle Show/Texaco Star Theater,” last airs on NBC-TV

1953 – Worcester County tornado (94 killed, 1310 injured, 10,000 homeless)

1954 – Joseph Welch asks Sen Joseph McCarthy “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” during Senate-Army hearings

1955 – 100°F – Hottest day in Seattle Washington

1957 – Anthony Eden resigns as British PM

1957 – First ascent of Broad Peak (the world’s 12th highest mountain).

1958 – “Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley hits #1

1959 – 1st ballistic missile sub launched (George Washington-Groton, Ct)

1960 – Typhoon Mary in China killed at least 1,600

1962 – “Bill of Hare,” premieres in USA

1962 – 94th Belmont: Bill Shoemaker aboard Jaipur wins in 2:28.8

1963 – Equal Pay Act enacted

1965 – Frenchman, Machal Jazy, runs record mile in 3:53.6

1967 – Israeli troops reach Suez Canal

1967 – Monkees appear at Hollywood Bowl

1969 – Warren Burger confirmed as US Chief Justice

1970 – Harry A Blackmun, sworn in as Supreme Court Justice

1972 – 14″ of rain in 6 hrs burst Rapid City SD dam, drowns 237

1973 – 105th Belmont: Ron Turcotte aboard Secretariat wins in 2:24

1973 – Secretariat becomes 1st Triple Crown winner in 25 years by winning horse racing’s Belmont Stakes

1974 – Supergroup Blind Faith’s (Clapton, Windwood, Baker) 1st concert

1975 – 107th Belmont: Bill Shoemaker aboard Avatar wins in 2:28.2

1975 – Fire in prison hospital kills 10 prisoners & 1 guard (Sanford Fla)

1977 – Silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth celebrated with fireworks

1978 – Gutenberg Bible (1 of 21) sells for $2.4 million, London

1978 – Larry Holmes beats Ken Norton in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

1978 – Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) strikes down 148 year policy of excluding black men from priesthood

1979 – 111th Belmont: Ruben Hernandez aboard Coastal wins in 2:28.6

1980 – Comedian Richard Pryor suffers burns from free basing cocaine

1982 – Israel wipes out Syrian SAM missiles in Bekaa Valley

1983 – Margaret  Thatchers Conservative Party wins British parliamentary election

1984 – 116th Belmont: Laffit Pincay Jr aboard Swale wins in 2:27.2

1984 – Jurgen Hingsen of West Germany sets record for decathlon, 8,798 pts

1984 – NASA suffers a launch vehicle failure launching Intelsat 509

1985 – American Thomas Sutherland is kidnapped & held hostage in Lebanon

1986 – Dow Jones-index hits record 45.71 points

1989 – Rare tornado in Philadelphia kills 1

1990 – 122nd Belmont: Michael Kinane aboard Go & Go wins in 2:27.2

1991 – Jack La Lanne, 76, arrested for suspicion of DWI

1994 – Angolan plane bombs school in Waku Kungo (89 killed)

2012 – It is announced that up to $125 million dollars in loans will be given to aid Spain’s struggling banks

 

 

Births

1595 – King Wladislaus IV of Poland (d. 1648)

1597 – Pieter J Saenredam, architecture painter

1640 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1658-1705)

1661 – Tsar Feodor III of Russia (d. 1682)

1672 – Peter the Great [Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov], tsar of Russia (1682-1725)

1768 – Samuel Slater, American industrialist (d. 1835)

1781 – George Stephenson, Newcastle England, inventor (RR locomotive)

1791 – John Howard Payne, US, author/actor/diplomat (Home Sweet Home)

1792 – Frederic L G, Earl of Merode, Belgian revolutionary

1812 – Hermann von Fehling, German chemist (Fehling’s reagens)

1812 – Johann G Galle, German astronomer (discovered Neptune)

1833 – John Rogers Cooke, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1891

1854 – Gerardus J P J Bolland, Dutch philosopher (Bolland Society)

1861 – Floris H Verster, [van Wulverhorst], painter/cartoonist/etcher

1875 – Henry Dale, London, physiologist (Nobel-1936)

1882 – Bobby Kerr, Canadian sprinter (d. 1963)

1896 – Catherine Filene Shouse, philanthropist (Wolf Trap Institute)

1898 – Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (d. 1952)

1900 – Fred Waring, Tyrone Penn, musician/conductor/inventor (Waring Blender)

1901 – George Price, cartoonist

1910 – Geoffrey Musson, British General

1913 – Patrick Steptoe, scientist (developed in vitro fertilization)

1915 – Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss) Waukesha Wisconsin, American musician , guitarist/inventor (Les Paul guitar)

1916 – Robert S McNamara, US Sec of Defense (1961-68)/head (World Bank)

1918 – Rob de Vries, Dutch WW II resistance fighter/dir/actor (Ciske de Rat)

1921 – Agnes Keleti, Hungary, gymnist (Olympic-gold-1952, 56)

1922 – John Gillespie Magee, Jr., American poet and aviator (d. 1941)

1922 – Fernand Seguin, Canadian biochemist – Radio and TV animator (d. 1988)

1924 – Christine Goitschel, France, slalom (Olympic-gold-1964)

1925 – [John] Keith Laumer, [Anthony LeBaron], US, sf author (Retief’s War)

1929 – Johnny Ace [John Marshall Alexander, Jr.], Memphis, Tennessee, rhythm and blues singer (My Song)

1929 – Keith A St H Gardner, Jamaica, 4x400m runner (Olympic-bronze-1960)

1930 – Lin[wood] [Vrooman] Carter, US, sci-fi author (Thongor of Lemuria)

1930 – Marvin Kalb, NYC, educator/newscaster (CBS/NBC, Meet the Press)

1931 – Jackie Mason, Wisc, comedian (World According to Me, Chicken Soup)

1933 – Patrick Symons, British vice-admiral

1934 – Donald Duck, famous fowl

1934 – Helga Haase, German FR, 500m speed skater (Olympic-gold-1960)

1934 – Jackie Wilson, Detroit, singer (Lonely Teardrops, Night)

1934 – Wild Jimmy Spruill, blues guitarist

1937 – Harald Rosenthal, German biologist

1939 – David Hobbs (auto racer)

1940 – Dick Vitale, US, sportscaster (ESPN, ABC “Oh Baby!”)

1941 – Billy Hatton, rocker

1941 – Jon Lord, England, keyboardist (Deep Purple-Hush, White Snake), (d. 2012)

1941 – Peter Wilson, CEO (Gallaher)

1943 – Charles Saatchi, English magnate (Saatchi & Saatchi)

1943 – Joe [William] Haldeman, US, sci-fi author (Hugo, Nebula, Worlds Apart)

1944 – 23 puppies, (record litter) born to Lena, a foxhound, Ambler Penn

1948 – Nathaniel Rosen, Altadena Ca, cellist (Tchaikovsky-gold-1978)

1952 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer (d. 2004)

1954 – Pete Byrne Bath – English rocker (Naked Eyes)

1954 – George Pérez, American comic book artist

1954 – Gregory Maguire, American fantasy writer

1956 – Patricia Cornwell, American author

1961 – Michael J. Fox, Edmonton, Alberta, Canadian actor (Family Ties, Back to the Future, Teen Wolf)

1961 – Aaron Sorkin, American writer

1963 – Johnny Depp, Queensboro Ky, actor (21 Jump Street, Ed Wood)

1963- Gilad Atzmon, Israeli jazz musician and author

1965 – Gloria Reuben, actress (Jeanie Boulet-ER)

1969 – Mitch McLee, [Douglas Lee Mitchell], Miles Mi, drummer (Southgang)

1971 – Rick Renstrom, American guitarist

1973 – Laura Ponte, Spanish model and royal

1974 – Samoth, Norwegian guitarist (Emperor, Zyklon)

1975 – Carolyne Lepage, Montreal Quebec, 48 kg judoka (Olympics-96)

1981 – Natalie Portman [Natalie Hershlag], Jerusalem, Israeli/American actress (Professional, Everyone Says I Love You)

1981 – Anoushka Shankar, Famous sitarist and daughter of Ravi Shankar

 

 

Deaths

62 – Claudia Octavia, wife of Nero (b. 40)

68 – Claudius Nero, Roman emperor (54-68), commits suicide at 31

373 – Ephrem the Syrian, Christian hymnodist

597 – St. Columba, Christian missionary (b. 521)

630 – King Shahrbaraz of Persia

1171 – Jacob Ben Meir, [Rabbenu Tam], French Tosofist, dies

1361 – Philippe de Vitry, French composer/poet, dies at 69

1382 – Philip of Lead, lawyer of Utrecht, dies

1563 – William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, English statesman (b. 1506)

1572 – Jeanne d’Albret, queen of Navarra, dies at 44

1681 – William Lilly, English astrologer, dies

1716 – Banda Bahadur, Sikh military commander (executed)

1863 – Benjamin Franklin “Grimes” Davis, Union major, dies in battle at 30

1870 – Charles Dickens, English writer (David Copperfield), dies at 58

1897 – Alvin Graham Clark, dies 3 weeks after 1st use of Yerkes 40″ lens

1901 – Walter Besant, novelist/philanthropist, dies

1911 – Carry Amelia Moore Nation, American temperance leader, dies

1944 – 99 inhabitants of Tulle, hanged by SS

1946 – Rama VIII, king of Siam (1935-46), dies at 21

1958 – Robert Donat, actor (Citadel, Goodbye Mr Chips, 39 Steps), dies at 53

1971 – Harold Lloyd Jr, actor (Frankenstein’s Daughter), dies at 40

1973 – Erich von Manstein, German military commander (b. 1887)

1981 – Allen Ludden, game show host (Password), dies at 63

1992 – Clarence Miller, blues/jazz vocalist, dies at 69 of a heart attack

1994 – Lloyd Lindroth, the Liberace of the Harp, dies at 63

1996 – Edward Morris Bernstein, economist, dies at 91

1996 – Robert Kidd, marine geoscientist, dies at 48

1997 – Reid Shelton, actor (Daddy Warbucks-Annie), dies of stroke at 71

2009 – Dick May, Former NASCAR racecar driver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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