Today In The Past
Events
1190 – Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem.
1358 – French boer leader Guillaume Cale captured
1539 – Council of Trent: Paul III sends out letters to his bishops, delaying the Council due to war and the difficulty bishops had traveling to Venice.
1610 – 1st Dutch settlers arrive (from NJ), to colonize Manhattan Island
1619 – Thirty Years’ War: Battle of Záblatí, a turning point in the Bohemian Revolt.

1627 – Piet Heyn conquerors 38 ships at bay of Salvador
1639 – 1st American log cabin at Fort Christina (Wilmington Delaware)
1648 – Moscow’s people uprise against regent Boris Morozov
1652 – In Boston, John Hull opens the 1st mint in America
1719 – Jacobite Rising: Battle of Glen Shiel.
1752 – Ben Franklin’s kite is struck by lightning
1760 – NY passes 1st effective law regulating practice of medicine
1772 – Burning of Gaspée, British revenue cutter, by Rhode Islanders

1793 – 1st public zoo opens in Paris
1793 – Washington replaced Philadelphia as US capital
1794 – Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Phila, forms
1794 – France revolutionary regime begins trials
1801 – Tripoli declares war on US for refusing tribute

1805 – First Barbary War: Yussif Karamanli signs a treaty ending hostilities with the United States.
1809 – 1st US steamboat to a make an ocean voyage leaves NY for Phila
1829 – The first Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place.
1838 – Myall Creek Massacre in Australia: 28 Aboriginal Australians are murdered.
1846 – Robert Thomson obtains an English patent on a rubber tire
1847 – Chicago Tribune begins publishing
1854 – Georg F B Reiman proposes that space is curved
1854 – The first class of the United States Naval Academy students graduate.
1861 – Battle of Big Bethel VA (Bethel Church, Great Bethal)-Union retreats
1864 – Battle of Brice’s Crossroads, Miss; Nathan Bedford Forrest w/3500 defeats 8000 Feds

1864 – Battle of Kellar’s Bridge KY (Licking River)
1864 – Battle of Waynesboro VA
1868 – 2nd Belmont: Bobby Swim aboard General Duke wins in 3:02
1869 – ‘Agnes’arrives in New Orleans with 1st ever shipment of frozen beef
1871 – 5th Belmont: W Miller aboard Harry Basset wins in 2:56
1871 – Sinmiyangyo: Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 Marines in naval attack on Han River forts on Kanghwa Island, Korea.
1876 – 10th Belmont: William Donohue aboard Algerine wins in 2:40.5
1890 – 24th Belmont: Pike Barnes aboard Burlington wins in 2:07.75
1891 – 25th Belmont: Ed Garrison aboard Foxford wins in 2:08.75
1893 – 27th Belmont: Willie Simms aboard Commanche wins in 1:53.25
1898 – US Marines land in Cuba, during Spanish-American War
1899 – Improved Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks forms in Cincinnati
1902 – Patent for window envelope granted to H F Callahan
1905 – 1st forest fire lookout tower placed in operation, Greenville, Me
1908 – 1st flying club, Aeronautical Society of NY, opens
1915 – Girl Scouts founded
1916 – 48th Belmont: E Haynes aboard Friar Rock wins in 2:22
1916 – Great Arab Revolt begin
1917 – 60,000 people of Petrograd welcome Prince Kropotkin (banned 41 years)
1921 – Babe Ruth becomes all time HR champ with #120 (Gavvy Cravath)
1922 – 54th Belmont: C H Miller aboard Pillory wins in 2:18.8
1932 – 1st demonstration of artificial lightning Pittsfield Mass
1933 – 65th Belmont: Mack Garner aboard Hurryoff wins in 2:32.6
1935 – Dr Robert Smith & William Wilson of Akron form Alcoholics Anonymous
1940 – German “Dutch Q-ship Atlantis” sinks Norwegian tanker
1940 – German 5th Armour division occupies Rouen
1940 – Norway surrenders to nazis
1940 – World War II: Canada declares war on Italy.
1942 – Massacre at Lidice (Czechoslovakia), Gestapo kills 173

1943 – FDR signs withholding tax bill into law (this is W-2 Day!)
1944 – Joe Nuxhall at 15 becomes youngest ML baseball player
1944 – Nazi murders in Oradour-sur-Glane, France
1944 – World War II: In Distomo, Boeotia Prefecture, Greece 218 men, women and children are massacred by German troops.
1945 – US destroyer William D Porter (“Willie Dee”) sunk by kamikaze
1947 – Saab produces its first automobile.
1950 – 82nd Belmont: William Boland aboard Middleground wins in 2:28.6
1955 – 1st separation of virus into component parts reported
1956 – 16th modern Olympiad equestrian events open in Stockholm
1962 – Igor Ter-Ovanesyan of USSR, sets then long jump record at 27′ 3½”
1964 – Southern filibuster on civil rights bill ends; cloture invoked
1965 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Xoai begins.
1966 – Janis Joplin’s 1st live concert (Avalon Ballroom in SF)
1967 – Israel, Syria, Jordan, Iraq & Egypt end “6-Day War” with UN help
1968 – “Danny Thomas Hour,” last airs on NBC-TV
1972 – 104th Belmont: Ron Turcotte aboard Riva Ridge wins in 2:28
1972 – Hank Aaron’s grandslammer (14) ties him for NL lead with Gil Hodges & moves him ahead of Willie Mays as #2 HR hitter (649)
1975 – Rockefeller panel reports on 300,000 illegal CIA files on Americans
1975 – Yanks sponsor Army Day at temporary home, Shea Stadium during 21-gun salute, part of fence is blown away, & another part is set afire
1977 – Apple Computer ships its 1st Apple II
1977 – James Earl Ray (Martin Luther King’s killer) escapes from prison
1978 – 110th Belmont: Steve Cauthen aboard Affirmed wins in 2:26.8
1982 – “Taxi,” last airs on ABC, moves to NBC in the fall
1982 – Battle of Sultan Yakoub – 3 IDF members captured
1984 – US missile shot down an incoming missile in space for 1st time
1984 – Zhu Jian Hua of China high jumps a record 7’10” (2.39m)
1985 – Claus von Bulow acquitted on charges he tried to murder his wife
1985 – Coca Cola announces they’d bring back their 99-year-old formula
1985 – French agents blow up Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior near NZ

1988 – Greatest number of participants (31,678) on a bicycle tour (London)
1989 – 121st Belmont: Pat Day aboard Easy Goer wins in 2:26
1991 – Mother of All Parades-NYC welcomes desert storm troops
1992 – Intelsat K launched
1994 – Biggest European clock ever (9100 kg/(237) 2.5 m) at Aarle-Rixtel
1995 – 127th Belmont: Gary Stevens aboard Thunder Gulch wins in 2:32
1996 – Intel releases 200 mhz pentium chip
1997 – Feng Yun-2B Long March 3 Launch (China), Successful
1997 – Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen’s family members before Pol Pot flees his northern stronghold.
1999 – Kosovo War: NATO suspends its air strikes after Slobodan Milošević agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo.
2002 – The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom.
2003 – The Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission.
Births
1213 – Fakhruddin ‘Iraqi, Persian philosopher
1613 – Johann Georg II, elect of Saxon (1656-80)
1688 – James Francis Edward Stuart ‘The old Pretender’, claimed thrones of England and Scotland as James III/James VIII (d. 1766)
1706 – John Dollond, owner of 1st patent for achromatic lens
1710 – James Short, Scottish mathematician (d. 1768)
1735 – John Morgan, American physician-in-chief of Continental Army
1803 – Henry Darcy, French scientist (d. 1858)
1804 – Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist (d. 1884)
1808 – Friedrich Kaiser, Dutch astronomer (Kaiser compass-card)
1825 – Sondre Norheim, Norwegian skier (d. 1897)
1832 – Nikolaus A Otto, German technician (gas motor, otto motor)
1836 – Yamaoka Tesshu, Japanese swordsman/master of kendo
1840 – Thomas Fentress Toon, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1902
1865 – Frederick A Cook, US, explorer (claimed falsely to be at North Pole)
1890 – Sessue Hayakawa, Japan, actor (Bridge on River Kwai, Hell to Eternity)
1895 – Hattie McDaniel, Wichita Kansas, 1st African American actress to win an Oscar (Gone With The Wind)
1903 – Clyde Beatty, US animal trainer/actor (Big Cage)
1908 – Ernst B Chain, German chemist/bacteriologist (penicillin, Nobel 1945)
1910 – Howlin’ Wolf, [Chester Arthur Burnett], bluesman , guitarist , harmonica

VIDEOS
1911 – Terence Rattigan, playwright (Winslow Boy, Browning Version)
1912 – William Gordon Harris, civil engineer
1913 – Thor Johnson, Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin, conductor (Cin Symph 1958)
1913 – Wilbur J Cohen, 1st employee of Social Security System
1914 – Saul Bellow, Lachine Quebec, author (Mr Sammler’s Planet, Nobel 1976)
1918 – Barry Morse, actor (Fugitive-Lt Philip Gerard, Winds of War)
1922 – Judy Garland, [Frances Gumm], Minnesota, actress/singer (Wizard of Oz)
1923 – Robert Maxwell, [Jan Hoch], Czech, billionaire/CEO (NY Daily News)
1925 – Nat Hentoff, columnist/novelist (Village Voice, The Cold Society)
1926 – Lionel Jeffries, actor (Fanny, Prisoner of Zenda)
1928 – Maurice Sendak, NYC, author/illustrator (Where The Wild Things Are), (d. 2012)
1933 – F Lee Bailey, Waltham Mass, attorney (Sam Shepard case, OJ case)
1941 – Jurgen Prochnow, actor (Das Boot)
1943 – Jeff Greenfield, NYC, media commentator (Firing Line, Nightline)
1943 – Simon Jenkins, editor (Times)
1945 – Ron Glass, Evansville Ind, actor (Ron-Barney Miller, New Odd Couple)
1947 – Ken Singleton, Mt Vernon NY, baseball player (Orioles)
1951 – Burglinde Pollak, German DR, pentathlete (Olympics-bronze-1972)
1951 – Dan Fouts, NFL QB (San Diego Chargers)
1953 – John Edwards, American politician and lawyer
1955 – Andrew Stevens, Memphis Tn, actor (Seduction, Boys in Company C, Fury)
1959 – Timothy Van Patten, Bkln NY, actor (White Shadow, Master)
1959 – Eliot Spitzer, American politician
1961 – Maxi Priest, [Max Elliott], Jamaican/English singer (Wild World)
1961 – Kim Deal, American musician (Pixies), (The Breeders)
1961 – Kelley Deal, American musician (The Breeders)
1962 – Brent Sutter, Viking, NHL center (Chicago Blackhawks)
1962 – Duane Sutter, NHL player (NY Islander)
1962 – Gina Gershon, American actress
1963 – Jeanne Tripplehorn, American actress
1965 – Elizabeth Hurley, Basingstroke England, actress (Christabel)
1965 – Linda Evangelista, Canada, super model/actress (Catwalk, Unzipped)
1968 – Jimmy Shea, American skeleton racer
1969 – Kate Snow, American TV journalist
1971 – Bobby Jindal, American politician; Louisiana Congressman, Governor
1975 – Risto Jussilainen, Finnish ski jumper
1978 – Shane West, American actor
1978 – Brian West, American soccer player
1982 – Tara Lipinski, Philadelphia Pa, figure skater (1997 World Champ)
1983 – Leelee Sobieski, New York City, American actress (Deep Impact, Joan of Arc, Uprising)
1984 – Dirk Van Tichelt, Belgian judoka
Deaths
323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king, dies from either fever or excessive wine at 32, (or the 11th June)

1075 – Ernest of Austria (b. 1027)
1190 – Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1122)
1247 – Rodrigo Jimenez de Rada, archbishop Toledo/advisor Alfonso VIII, dies
1424 – Duke Ernest of Austria (b. 1377)
1560 – Mary de Guise, queen-mother of Scotland
1654 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor/architect, dies at 58
1735 – Thomas Hearne, English antiquarian (b. 1678)
1791 – Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, French admiral (b. 1720)
1831 – Hans Karl von Diebitsch, Russian field marshal (b. 1785)
1836 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist (b. 1775)
1839 – Nathaniel Pryor, sgt of Lewis & Clark Expedition, dies
1868 – Michael Obrenovic, ruler of Sweden, murdered
1896 – Amelia Dyer, English murderer (b. 1829)
1903 – Alexander I, King of Serbia are assassinated
1903 – Dragia, Queen of Serbia, assassinated
1903 – Luigi Cremona, Italian mathematician (grafostatica), dies
1909 – Edward Everett Hale, American author (b. 1822)
1941 – Marcus Garvey, US black leader (Back to Africa Movement), dies at 52
1944 – French Duwaer, Dutch printer/resistance fighter, executed
1944 – Gerrit Jan van der Veen, [Wolffensperger], resister, executed at 41
1944 – Johan Limpers, sculptor/resistance fighter, executed at 28
1944 – Willem Jacob van Stockum, Dutch physicist (b. 1910)
1946 – Ananda Mahidol, king of Siam, shot dead at 20
1946 – Jack Johnson, 1st black heavyweight champion, dies in car accident
1967 – Spencer Tracy, US actor (7th Cross, Father ot Bride), dies at 67
1971 – Michael Rennie, actor (Day the Earth Stood Still), dies at 61
1973 – William M Inge, US playwright (Come Back Little Sheba), dies at 60
1976 – Adolph Zukor, Hungarian/US fur trader/movie producer, dies at 103
1982 – Addie “Micki” Harris, US singer (Shirelles-Mama Said), dies at 42
1982 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German director, dies of drug overdose at 36
1988 – Louis L’Amour, western writer (Bowdrie), dies at 80 of cancer
1992 – Zak Hernández, American soldier (b. 1973)
1993 – Alexis Smith, actress (Constant Nymph), dies of cancer at 72
1994 – Edward Kienholz, US sculptor (Back seat of a ’38 Dodge), dies at 66
1996 – Jo Van Fleet, actress (Seize the Day, Cinderella), dies at 75
1998 – Hammond Innes, English author (b. 1914)
2000 – Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria (b. 1930)
2001 – Mike Mentzer, American bodybuilder (b. 1951)
2002 – John Gotti, American gangster (b. 1940)
2003 – Donald Regan, Chief of Staff and U.S. Treasury Secretary (b. 1918)
2004 – Ray Charles, Grammy winning crooner who blended gospel and blues, dies aged 73

VIDEOS
2005 – Curtis Pitts, American aircraft designer (b. 1915)
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