CoM Moderators

1868 - 1st British government of Benjamin Disraeli forms 1892 - St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated 1952 - Ice Dance Championship at Paris France won by Westwood and Demmy of Great Britain 1952 - Ice Pairs Championship at Paris won by Ria Falk and Paul Falk of West Germany 1956 - MLB's Cleveland Indians franchise is sold for nearly $4m; former player and the team’s general manager Hank Greenberg is part of the new ownership group 1968 - Howard Hanson's 6th Symphony, premieres 1968 - Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" wins Grammy Award for Album of the Year, the first rock LP to do so 1984 - Swedish center Patrik Sundström scores a goal and adds 6 assists as Vancouver Canucks beat the Penguins 9-5 in Pittsburgh; just the 3rd player in NHL history to record 6 assists in a road game 1988 - New Zealand cricket batsman Mark Greatbatch scores an unbeaten 107 on debut to rescue a draw in 2nd Test v England at Eden Park, Auckland 2004 - 76th Academy Awards: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," Sean Penn and Charlize Theron win More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1720 - Queen Ulrica Eleonora of Sweden resigns 1768 - Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski joins the Bar Confederation to defend the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence 1948 - Stern-group bomb on Cairo-Haifa train kills 27 British soldiers 1968 - US end regular flights with nuclear bombs 1980 - Future Hockey Hall of Fame right wing Gordie Howe scores in the 3rd period to become first NHL player to score 800 career goals as Hartford Whalers beat St. Louis Blues, 3-0 at Springfield Civic Center 1980 - Michael Bracey ends 59 h 55 m trapped in an elevator, England More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1860 - Herman Hollerith, American inventor (1st electric tabulating machine), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1929) 1924 - David Beattie, New Zealand judge, Governor-General of NZ (1980-85), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2001) 1944 - Ene Ergma, Estonian politician 1952 - Raúl González, Mexican racewalker (Olympic gold 50k 1984; WR 1978 3:45:52 and 3:41:20), born in China, Nuevo León, Mexico 1956 - (Jonathan) "Jono" Coleman, British-Australian television and radio, writer, and comedian, born in Hackney, England (d. 2021) 1980 - Clinton Toopi, New Zealand rugby league centre (22 Tests; Auckland Warriors, Leeds Rhinos), born in Stratford, New Zealand More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1592 - Alessandro Striggio, Italian composer (b. 1540) 1744 - John Theophilus Desaguliers, French-British natural philosopher and freemason, dies at 60 1968 - Lena Blackburne, American baseball infielder, manager, coach (Chicago White Sox; discovered rubbing clay to take the shine off baseballs), dies at 81 2012 - Davy Jones, British singer and actor (The Monkees - "Daydream Believer"), dies from heart attack at 66 2020 - Éva Székely, Hungarian swimmer (Olympic gold 200m breaststroke 1952; silver 1956; first WR 400m individual medley 1953), dies at 92 2020 - Bill Roe, American sports executive (President USA Track and Field 2000-2008), dies at 69 More Famous Deaths »

1700 - Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar 1759 - Pope Clement XIII allows Bible to be translated into various languages 1942 - World War II: German submarine U-578 torpedoes US Navy destroyer USS Jacob Jones (DD130) off Cape May, New Jersey, killing all but 11 of 113 man crew 1951 - French government of Pleven dissolves 1951 - Senate committee reports of at least 2 major US crime syndicates 1973 - Iraq and Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) reach an agreement on compensation for nationalization 1993 - Iolanda Chen triple jumps world indoor record hop step (14.46m) 1994 - Brady Law, imposing a wait-period to buy a hand gun in the USA, comes into effect 2004 - 24th Golden Raspberry Awards: "Gigli" wins 2013 - The brains of two rats successfully connected so that they share information More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1787 - The charter establishing the institution now known as the University of Pittsburgh is granted 1844 - 6th Grand National: John Crickmere wins aboard 5/1 co-favourite Discount 1944 - Arrests of the ten-Boom family in Nazi occupied Netherlands (Haarlem) through a Dutch collaborator on charges of hiding Jews 1967 - A West German court rules that impostor Anna Anderson failed to prove that she was missing Russian duchess Anastasia Romanov, ending a legal case that lasted almost 30 years 1988 - British television programme "That's Life!" surprises guest Nicholas Winton with an audience full of grown-up children that he saved from German-occupied Czechoslovakia, bringing them to safety in the UK 1995 - Denver International Airport opens More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1261 - Margaret of Scotland, queen of Norway (d. 1283) 1915 - Peter Medawar, British biologist (1960 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for discovery of acquired immunological tolerance"), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 1987) 1933 - Miro Steržaj, Slovenian 9-pin bowler 1951 - Karsan Ghavri, cricketer (Indian lefty medium pacer early 80s) 1954 - Brian Billick, American football coach 1974 - Michael Manasseri, actor (License to Drive) More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1525 - Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec Emperor (1520-21), tortured and killed by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés 1964 - Gus Lesnevich, American light heavyweight boxing champ (1947 fighter of year), dies at 49 1979 - Paul Alverdes, German writer (Pfeiferstube), dies at 81 1994 - Pu Yi, brother of last Chinese emperor, Pu Yi, dies at 87 2015 - Ezra Laderman, American composer (Jacob and the Indians), dies at 90 2017 - Leoncjusz Ciuciura, Polish classical composer (Spirals), dies at 86 More Famous Deaths »

1925 - Adolf Hitler resurrects NSDAP political party in Munich 1933 - Jean Genet's play "Intermezzo" premieres in Paris 1940 - Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14 (radiocarbon dating) at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California 1942 - Battle of Java Sea began: 13 US warships sunk and 2 Japanese 1965 - Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray's musical "High Spirits", based on Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit", closes at Alvin Theater, NYC, after 375 performances 1973 - White Sox slugger Dick Allen signs 3 year $750,000 contract 2002 - Godhra train burning, a Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya 2019 - Doctors announce world's second known case of semi-identical twins, a boy and girl from Brisbane, Australia 2019 - Actor Luke Perry (52) suffers a stroke in Los Angeles 2019 - First gun control legislation for 25 years passed by US House of Representatives, with new federal background checks More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1827 - 1st Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans 1943 - The Rosenstrasse protest starts in Berlin 1974 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site 1981 - Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder record the single "Ebony and Ivory" 1992 - Larry Smith named 9th Commissioner of the CFL 2005 - 77th Academy Awards: "Million Dollar Baby", Jamie Foxx, and Hilary Swank win More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 272 - Constantine the Great, Emperor of Rome (306-37) who adopted Christianity, born in Naissus (d. 337) 1899 - Charles Best, American-Canadian medical scientist and co-discoverer of insulin, born in West Pembroke, Maine (d. 1978) 1901 - Horatio Luro, American horse trainer (43 x stakes winners; Decidedly, Northern Dancer), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1991) 1933 - Geoffrey Maitland Smith, CEO (Sears) 1933 - Edward Lucie-Smith, British poet and poetry critic, born in Kingston, Jamaica 1942 - Michel Forget, French Canadian actor, born in Montreal, Quebec More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1844 - Nicholas Biddle, US lawyer/diplomat/statesman/financier, dies at 85 1921 - Schofield Haigh, English cricket fast bowler (11 Tests, 24 wickets, BB 6/11; Yorkshire CCC), dies from a stroke at 49 1958 - Harry Cohn, CEO (Columbia Pictures), dies of a heart attack 1994 - Harold Acton, English-Italian historian and art collector, dies at 84 2008 - Myron Cope, American sports broadcaster (b. 1929) 2023 - Ricou Browning, American film stuntman (Creature from the Black Lagoon), stunt co-ordinator (Thunderball), director, and producer (Flipper), dies at 93 More Famous Deaths »

364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor 1851 - 13th Grand National: Terry Abbott wins aboard Irish stallion Abd-El-Kader at 7/1; first dual winner and first to win back-to-back 1870 - Beach Pneumatic Transit - 1st attempt to demonstrate a subway in New York opens (pneumatic powered) 1881 - PandO's SS Ceylon begins world's 1st round-the-world pleasure cruise from Liverpool 1893 - Norwegian Einar Halvorsen skates world record 500m (48 sec) 1941 - Utrecht and Zaandam strike against raid on Jews 1965 - West Germany ceases military aid to Tanzania 1972 - Ireland-Wales Five Nations Rugby match scheduled for Lansdowne Road, Dublin is cancelled because of escalating political situation; Championship not completed for first time since World War II 1982 - Test Cricket debut of batsman Martin Crowe, playing for New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, run out for 9 1989 - California court throws out most of Margo Adams's $12 million breach-of-contract suit against Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1773 - State of Pennsylvania approves construction of Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia; it will become the first experiment with the practice of solitary confinement in the United States 1935 - RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt 1971 - Two Royal Ulster Constabulary officers shot and killed by the Irish Republican Army while on mobile patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast, North Ireland 2012 - 61st NBA All-Star Game, Amway Centre, Orlando, FL: West beats East, 152-149; MVP: Kevin Durant, OKC Thunder, F 2018 - Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, receives its 1 millionth seed on its 10 year anniversary 2023 - Dilbert comic strip creator Scott Adams faces widespread condemnation for his comments about African Americans in a YouTube show, prompting his strip and up-coming book to be cancelled More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1717 - John Randall, British organist and hymn composer, born in Cambridge, England (d. 1799) 1861 - Ferdinand I, 1st tsar of modern Bulgaria (1908-18), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1948) 1887 - Benegal Narsing Rau, Indian lawyer and civil servant, President of UN Security Council (1950), helped draft India's constitution, born in Mangalore, India (d. 1953) 1958 - Greg Germann, American actor, born in Houston, Texas 1981 - Johnathan Wendel, American professional video gamer, born in Kansas City, Kansas 1984 - Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer, born in Mexico City More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1538 - Worp van Thabor, Frisian abbott of Thabor (Chronicon Frisiae), dies 1906 - Manuel Fernandez Caballero, Spanish composer, dies at 70 1941 - Jan Keizer, Zaanse February striker, shot to death 1972 - Tom Manders, Dutch cabaret artist (Dorus), dies at 50 1973 - Doc Hayes, American basketball coach (Southern Methodist University 1947-67), dies in an auto accident at 67 2008 - John Yates, Anglican bishop (Bishop of Lambeth), dies at 82 More Famous Deaths »

1907 - US proclaims protectorate over Dominican Republic 1944 - Alexander Gretchaninov's "Missa Oecumenica" (Ecumenical Mass) premieres in Boston with Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the composer wrote the work in memory of the conductor's wife Natalie (1880-1942) 1956 - Nikita Khrushchev denounces Joseph Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1971 - Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark holds a meeting with Catholic Cardinal of Ireland William Conway, the first such meeting between men holding these offices since 1921 1980 - Coup ousts PM Henck Arron of Suriname 1981 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site 1981 - NY Islanders give up their most goals (11) vs Calgary Flames 1988 - Bruce Springsteen's "Tunnel of Love" Tour begins in Worcester, Massachusetts 1990 - On a BBC taped interview, rock star Stevie Nicks breaks down, saying that she will never have children and no man can stand her for long 1996 - "Father" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 52 performances More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1623 - Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria becomes monarch of Palts 1921 - The Living Buddha, Hutuktu, is crowned King of Mongolia as the country declares independence from China 1964 - Muhammad Ali [Cassius Clay] wins his first world heavyweight boxing title when Sonny Liston fails to come out for round 7 at the Convention Center, Miami Beach 1996 - "Father" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 52 performances 1998 - Pamela Lee has husband Tommy Lee arrested on battery charges 2017 - Tom Perez is elected Chair of the Democratic National Committee More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1398 - Xuande, 5th Ming Emperor of China (1425-35) (d. 1435) 1940 - George Paul, CEO (Norwich Union Insurance Group) 1954 - Steve Rixon, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (1977-85) 1957 - Stuart "Woody" Wood, Scottish pop guitarist (Bay City Rollers - "Saturday Night"), born in Edinburgh, Scotland 1962 - Birgit Fischer, German kayaker (Olympic 4 x gold GDR 1988; 5 x gold FRG 1992, 96, 2000, 04; World C'ship gold x 17 GDR, 10 x FRG), born in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany 1970 - Dave Brown, NFL quarterback (NY Giants) More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1850 - Daoguang, 7th Emperor of Qing Dynasty, dies at 67 1964 - Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian-American sculptor and water colors painter, dies at 76 1992 - John E Allen Jr, actor (1 2 3), dies 1998 - Luigi Veronesi, Italian abstract artist (Campo Grafico), dies at 90 2005 - Peter Benenson, Britsh founder of Amnesty International, dies at 83 2018 - Penny Vincenzi [Hannaford], British novelist (An Absolute Scandal, Spoils of Time trilogy), dies at 78 More Famous Deaths »

1797 - Colonel William Tate and his force of 1,000-1,500 soldiers surrender after the Last Invasion of Britain (according to legend, to Welsh women in tall black hats, mistaken for elite guards regiment) 1949 - Israel and Egypt sign an armistice agreement 1968 - Gary Unger begins NHL consecutive game record of 914 games 1970 - 29 Swiss Army officers die in avalanche (Reckingen, Switzerland) 1982 - Boston Celtics begin an 18 NBA game winning streak 1991 - English-Yiddish musical revue "Those Were The Days" closes at Edison Theater, NYC, after 126 performances 2013 - 55th Daytona 500: Jimmie Johnson wins 2nd Great American Race; Danica Patrick first female to start from pole position; also best-ever finish by a woman at Daytona (8th) 2018 - Japanese speed skater Nana Takagi wins her 2nd gold medal of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the women's mass start event; also member Japan's successful pursuit team 2019 - 91st Academy Awards: Best Picture "Green Book", Best Director Alfonso Cuarón, Best Actor Rami Malek, Best Actress Olivia Colman 2020 - Scientists identify the first animal that doesn't need oxygen to breathe - a tiny parasite living in salmon tissue, reported in journal PNAS More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1855 - US Court of Claims forms for cases against government 1857 - 1st perforated US postage stamps delivered to government 1920 - NSDAP begins at Hofbrauhaus Munich 1938 - Du Pont begins commercial production of nylon toothbrush bristles 1968 - Gary Unger begins NHL consecutive game record of 914 games 1980 - US ice hockey team clinches gold medal with 4-2 win over Finland at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; comes after 4-3 "Miracle on Ice" victory against hot favorite Soviet Union More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1885 - Bert Lytell, American actor (One Man's Family), born in New York City (d. 1954) 1939 - George Bain, principal (London Business School) 1951 - Derek Randall, English cricket batsman (47 Tests, 7 x 100, HS 174; Nottinghamshire CCC, Suffolk CCC), born in Retford, England 1968 - John Velddman, soccer player (Sparta) 1970 - Jonathan Ward, American actor (Doug-Charles in Charge; Beans Baxter), born in Baltimore, Maryland 1973 - Chris Fehn, American heavy metal percussionist (Slipknot, 1998-2019), born in Des Moines, Iowa More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1975 - Nikolai A Bulganin, Soviet-Russian marshal and 6th Premier of the Soviet Union (1955-58), dies at 79 1986 - Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Sastri), Indian dancer, educator (co-founder of Kalakshetra Academy), politician (Member or Parliament, 1952-62), and animal rights activist, dies at 81 1997 - Isabelle Harriet Lucas, Canadian-born British actress and singer (Outland, Comics), dies at 69 2006 - Octavia E. Butler, American sci-fi author (Hugo, Wild Seed), dies at 58 2020 - Ben Cooper, American western actor (The Rose Tattoo; Outcast; Arizona Raiders), dies at 86 2021 - Peter Ostroushko, American fiddler, mandolin player, and composer (A Prairie Home Companion), dies of heart failure at 67 More Famous Deaths »

1660 - Charles XI becomes king of Sweden 1934 - Coronation of King Leopold III of Belgium 1947 - US General Eisenhower opens drive to raise $170M in aid for European Jews 1967 - Noam Chomsky's anti-Vietnam war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals" is published by the New York Review of Books 1969 - 11th Daytona 500: LeeRoy Yarbrough driving for Junior Johnson, catches Charlie Glotzbach on final lap to win; first Daytona 500 won on a last lap pass 1980 - Olympic giant slalom champion Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein wins the women's slalom, her second gold medal of the Lake Placid Winter Games 1986 - Despite losing, Boston Red Sox Wade Boggs gets largest arbitration in MLB history, $1.35M 2001 - 32nd NAACP Image Awards: "Remember the Titans" wins Outstanding Motion Picture 2012 - A series of bomb attacks across 12 Iraqi cities kills 60 and injures 200 2013 - 51 people are killed and 62 are injured in conflict between rival tribes in Darfur, Sudan More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1792 - Joseph Haydn's 94th Symphony in G premieres 1943 - German troops pull back through Kasserine-pass Tunisia 1945 - US Marines raise American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Pulitzer Prize winning photo of which by Joe Rosenthall later became iconic, inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture 1975 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly two months early in the United States. 1986 - Despite losing, Boston Red Sox Wade Boggs gets largest arbitration in MLB history, $1.35M 1992 - The Socialist Labour Party is founded in Georgia More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1417 - Pope Paul II [Pietro Barbo], Italian Pope (1464-71), born in Venice, Republic of Venice (d. 1471) 1700 - Wilhelmus Schortinghuis, Dutch theologist (Profound Christianity), born in Winschoten (d. 1750) 1904 - William L. Shirer, American journalist and historian (Rise and Fall of 3rd Reich), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1993) 1914 - Mike Tresh, American baseball catcher (MLB All Star 1945; Chicago White Sox), born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania (d. 1966) 1922 - Bill Chappell Jr., American politician (Rep-D-FL, 1969-89), born in Kendrick, Florida (d. 1989) 1983 - Emily Blunt, English-American actress (The Girl on the Train, The Quiet Place), born in London More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1011 - Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz 1464 - Zhu Qizhen, Chinese Emperor Yingzong of Ming (1435-49 and 1457-64), dies at 36 but not before giving an order to end the practice of burying alive concubines and palace maids so that they could follow emperors to the next world 1669 - Lieuwe van Aitzema, Dutch historian (Matters of State and War), dies at 68 1976 - L. S. Lowry, British painter of industrial scenes, dies at 88 1996 - Freddie Stocks, cricket (cent on debut and wkt on 1st ball, Notts), dies 1998 - Philip Abbott, American character actor (The FBI, Sweet Bird of Youth), dies at 73 More Famous Deaths »

1415 - English King Henry V lays the foundation stone for Syon Abbey for nuns of the Bridgettine Order. Became one of the wealthiest abbeys in England. 1633 - St. Peter's Baldachin, the cathedral's sculptural centerpiece, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is inaugurated by Pope Urban VIII in Rome 1922 - London issues a unilateral declaration of Egyptian independence 1935 - Airplanes are no longer permitted to fly over the White House 1941 - German assault on El Agheila Libya 1945 - British troops take Ramree Island, Burma 1956 - 1st English soccer match at Kunstlicht: Portsmouth vs Newcastle United 1989 - UK physicist Stephen Hawking calls the proposed missile defense system known as Star Wars a "deliberate fraud" 1998 - Petr Svoboda scores the winner as the Czech Republic claims its first ever Olympic ice hockey gold medal with a 1-0 victory over Russia in Nagano, Japan 2014 - Snowboard Olympic parallel special slalom event debuts and is run for the only time at the Sochi Winter Games; Russian Vic Wild and Julia Dujmovits of Canada win unique gold medals More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1882 - The Serbian kingdom is refounded. 1906 - Black evangelist William J Seymour arrives in Los Angeles, California 1922 - London issues a unilateral declaration of Egyptian independence 1979 - Billy Martin named manager of Oakland A's 2003 - Pakistani pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar bowls the fastest ball recorded in cricket history at 100.2 mph (161.3 km/h) 2014 - Viktor Yanukovych is ousted as President of Ukraine by the parliament following the Euromaidan revolution More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1881 - Joseph B. Ely, American politician (d. 1956) 1920 - Del Wood [Adelaide Hazelwood], American country musician, born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1989) 1929 - Rebecca Schull [Wattenberg], American actress (Wings, United 93), born in New York City 1949 - Olga Morozova, Russian tennis player, born in Moscow, Soviet Union 1962 - Lenda Murray, American body builder (4X Ms Olympia), born in Detroit, Michigan 1962 - Mark Arm [McLaughlin], American grunge rock singer-songwriter, (Green River; Mudhoney), born at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1213 - Wibert of Gembloers, benediction/writer/abbot of Gembloers, dies 1849 - Alexander Fesca, German pianist and composer, dies at 28 1960 - Paul-Émile Borduas, Canadian abstract painter, dies at 54 1983 - Christina E "Christine" Auwen, singer and wife of John Kelly, dies at 75 1993 - Pieter A H Bos, Dutch lawyer/procureur-general (Aruba), dies at 63 2009 - Günter Kochan, German composer, dies at 78 More Famous Deaths »

1797 - Trinidad, West Indies, a Spanish colony, surrenders to the British 1821 - Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire begins 1828 - 1st American Indian newspaper in US, "Cherokee Phoenix", published 1916 - World War I: Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months) 1921 - Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country's first constitution 1927 - Franz Lehár's opera "Der Zarewitsch" premieres 1958 - Egypt-Syria as United Arab Republic elect Nasser president (99.9% vote) 1969 - Ted Williams signs 5-year contract to manage Washington Senators 1978 - Electrical workers accidentally discover the Aztec Templo Mayor, or High Temple, two blocks from Mexico City's central square, the Zócalo 2015 - 35th Golden Raspberry Awards: "Saving Christmas" wins worst film More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1440 - The Prussian Confederation is formed 1911 - Gustav Mahler conducts his last concerto, Berceuse élégiaque, in New York City 1982 - "Little Me" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 36 performances 1993 - Sergei Bubka pole vaults world record indoor (6.15 m) 1995 - RAF-pilot Jo Salter is 1st woman to fly in a tornado 1997 - NASA's STS 82 (Space Shuttle Discovery 22) lands More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1880 - Frank Orth, American actor (Boston Blackie, Brothers), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1962) 1887 - Savielly Tartakower, Austrian-Polish-French chess player, born in Rostov-on-Don, Russian Empire (d. 1956) 1925 - Al Fann, American actor (Alvin-He's the Mayor), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2018) 1949 - Jerry Harrison, American rock keyboardist and guitarist (Talking Heads; solo "Rev It Up"), and record producer (Kenny Wayne Shepherd; Bo-Deans; The String Cheese Incident), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1958 - Steve Nieve [Nason], British session and touring keyboard player and composer (Elvis Costello), born in Bishop’s Stortford, England 1970 - Marc Woodard, American NFL linebacker (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Kosciusko, Mississippi More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1846 - Emperor Ninko, 120th Emperor of Japan (1817-46), dies at 45 1918 - Neltje Blanchan, American nature writer, dies at 52 1919 - Mary Edwards Walker, American surgeon and feminist, only woman awarded Medal of Honor (US Civil War), dies at 86 1941 - Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, dies in a plane crash at 49 1985 - Ina Claire [Fagan], American stage and screen actress (Ninotchika), dies of a heart attack at 91 1993 - Dick White, British intelligence officer (Director General of MI5 1953–1956; Head of the Secret Intelligence Service 1956–1968), dies at 86 More Famous Deaths »

1865 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology forms 1st US collegiate architectural school 1956 - WOSU TV channel 34 in Columbus, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting 1963 - Australian cricket greats Neil Harvey and Alan Davidson play final Test match in drawn 5th Test vs England at the Sydney Cricket Ground 1975 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR 1989 - Members of 1949 Oklahoma football team cancel an April reunion because of the deplorable conduct of Oklahoma players 1998 - Vancouver Canucks' right wing Pavel Bure scores 5 goals for Russia in a 7-4 semi-final win over Finland at the Nagano Winter Olympics 1999 - Toronto Maple Leafs play their first NHL home game at Air Canada Centre; Steve Thomas scores overtime winner in a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens 2013 - Estonia becomes the first country to establish a national system of fast chargers for electric cars 2014 - Marie-Philip Poulin scores in overtime to lead Canada to a 3-2 win over the US and 4th consecutive Olympic women's ice hockey gold medal at the Sochi Winter Games 2017 - Famine is declared in Unity State, South Sudan, affecting 4.9 million More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1926 - Montreal and Ottawa battle out just the second 0-0 tie in NHL history; dominant goalies are Clint Benedict (Maroons) and Alex Connell (Senators) 1971 - National Emergency Center erroneously orders US radio and TV stations to go off the air. Mistake wasn't resolved for 30 minutes 1976 - The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands. 1988 - Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria sets high jumps indoor world record (2.06 m) 1988 - Andre Hoffmann skates world record 1500m (1:52.06) 2014 - Aberdeen, Washington unveils statue of a weeping Kurt Cobain at park named after the singer More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1779 - Augustus Callcott, English landscape painter, born in Kensington Gravel Pits, England (d. 1844) 1794 - William Carleton, Irish novelist (d. 1869) 1802 - Charles-Auguste de Beriot, Belgian violinist and composer, born in Leuven, Belgium (d. 1870) 1967 - Kurt Knudsen, American baseball pitcher (Detroit Tigers) 1971 - Shawn McKenzie, American programmer 1978 - Julia Jentsch, German actress More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1855 - Joseph Hume, Scottish doctor and social reformer, dies at 78 1860 - Henry Drummond, English banker and religious leader, dies at 69 1911 - (Peter) Nicolai von Wilm, German-Baltic pianist and composer, dies at 76 1976 - Kathryn Kuhlman, religious leader/faith healer, dies 2004 - J. J. Malone, American soul singer ("It's A Shame"), dies of cancer at 68 2005 - John Raitt, American stage and screen singer and actor (Carousel; Pajama Game), dies from pneumonia at 88 More Famous Deaths »

1574 - Spanish troops plunder Krommenie, Wormerveer and Jisp, Netherlands 1600 - Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in South American recorded history 1900 - British troops occupy Hlangwane, Natal 1928 - II Winter Olympic Games close at St Moritz, Switzerland 1946 - New York Giants outfielder Danny Gardella is 1st major leaguer to announce he is jumping to the "outlaw" Mexican Baseball League for a fee of $10,000 1950 - Groundbreaking ceremony held for Mississippi Vocational College (later Mississippi Valley State University) 1953 - William Inge's "Picnic" premieres in NYC 1985 - ADM of Amsterdam declares bankruptcy 1995 - Kenneth Koch wins Bollingen Prize for One Train (1994) and On The Great Atlantic Rainway: Selected Poems 1950-1988 (1994) 2023 - Brazilian state of Sao Paulo hit by flooding and landslides after heavy rain, with at least 44 killed and 800 homeless More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1594 - Having already inherited the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through his mother, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, succeeding his father John III of Sweden. 1897 - Inaugural meeting of the Women's Institute at Stoney Creek, Ontario, set at the suggestion of Adelaide Hoodless, the organization will rapidly spread around the world 1928 - World champion French team Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet win the Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games; the couple marry in 1929 and take 2nd straight gold in 1932 1943 - German tanks under Major General Karl Buelowius attack Kasserine Pass, Tunisia 1977 - France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll 1987 - Musical revue "Stardust - The Mitchell Parish Musical", featuring songs of the Lithuanian-American lyricist, opens at Biltmore Theater, NYC; runs for 101 performances More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1755 - Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten, Dutch Governor-General of Dutch East Indies (1796-1801), born in Bergen op Zoom (d. 1801) 1881 - Evert Gorter, Dutch children's pioneering paediatrician (founder of Dutch medical child care), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1954) 1916 - Eddie Arcaro, American Racing Hall of Fame jockey (Triple Crown 1941 Whirlaway, 1948 Citation), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1997) 1952 - Gaëtan Dugas, French Canadian flight attendant and HIV patient erroneously vilifed as "Patient Zero", born in Quebec City, Quebec (d. 1984) 1970 - Ruwan Kalpage, Sri Lankan cricket off-spinner 1983 - Assunta De Rossi, Filipino actress More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1936 - Charles Harding Firth, British historian (b. 1857) 1994 - Vittorio Rieti, Jewish Italian-American composer, dies at 96 1995 - John Howard, American actor (The Philadelphia Story; My Three Sons), dies of heart failure at 81 1996 - Brenda Bruce, actress (December Bride, Nightmare), dies at 77 2016 - [Nelle] Harper Lee, American author (To Kill a Mockingbird), dies at 89 2023 - Richard Belzer, American comedian, actor (Homicide: Life on the Street; Law and Order: SVU - both shows "Det. John Munch") and author (How To Be A Stand-Up; UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Believe), dies at 78 More Famous Deaths »

1503 - Henry Tudor (later Henry VIII) appointed Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the English throne 1884 - General Charles Gordon arrives in Khartoum 1899 - San Francisco named as a port of dispatch for Army transports 1924 - US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Sherwin Badger 1928 - Norway goes 1-2 in the ski jumping at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics with Alf Andersen taking gold ahead of Sigmund Ruud 1928 - USA 2 beats USA 1 by 0.5s for the 5-man bobsleigh gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Germany 2 takes bronze 1930 - US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto 2007 - 56th NBA All-Star Game, Thomas and Mack Center, Paradise, NV: West beats East, 153-132; MVP: Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers, F 2013 - 15 people are killed by flooding and landslides in Indonesia 2023 - Global financial system is "dysfunctional and unfair" and is "failing developing countries" according to UN Secretary General António Guterres at opening of African Union leaders' summit in Ethiopia More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1856 - The American Party (Know-Nothings) convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate its first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore. 1900 - British troops occupy Monte Christo, Natal 1943 - Members of student non-violent resistance group "White Rose" arrested by Nazis after distributing pamphlets in Munich, Germany 1951 - Netherlands Radio School forms 1953 - "Maggie" opens at National Theater NYC for 5 performances 2019 - British parliamentary committee issues scathing report on Facebook, accusing company of breaking privacy laws, calling for new regulations More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1543 - Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608) 1898 - Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet (d. 1980) 1922 - Rolf "Hazy" Osterwald, Swiss jazz bandleader, trumpeter, and vibraphonist, born in Bern, Switzerland (d. 2012) 1964 - Paul Hanley, British musician (The Fall, Tom Hingley and the Lovers), born in Manchester, England 1967 - Harry Van Barneveld, Belgian judoka, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands 1974 - Jamey Carroll, American baseball player, born in Evansville, Indiana More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1915 - Frank James, American outlaw (member of the James-Younger gang), dies at 72 1976 - Anton Betzner, writer, dies at 81 1977 - Maria Realino [Frederikus Janssen], teacher (Botany of Curacao), dies at 87 1995 - John Rhea "Yank" Lawson, American jazz trumpeter (Dogtown Blues, Stormy Weather), dies of a heart attack at 84 2006 - Richard Bright, American actor (Al Neri-Godfather), dies at 68 2008 - Alain Robbe-Grillet, French novelist (Voyeur) and film maker, dies of heart failure at 85 More Famous Deaths »

1776 - 1st volume of Edward Gibbon's seminal work "The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire" published 1933 - First issue of American news magazine "Newsweek" is published 1940 - Altmark Incident: Crew of the British destroyer "Cossack" board German "Altmark" in Jøssingfjord, Norway, releasing 299 British prisoners after hand-to-hand fighting with bayonets and the last recorded Royal Naval action with cutlass 1956 - Ice Pairs Championship at Garmisch won by Schwarz and Oppelt of AUT 1969 - Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash record an album; it is never released 1976 - Macau adopts constitution (Organic Law of Macau) 1986 - 1st Francophone Summit convenes at Versailles 1996 - Garry Kasparov defeats chess-playing computer Deep Blue 4-2 2012 - The President of Germany, Christian Wulff, resigns over a corruption scandal 2013 - 5 people are killed and 11 are injured after a gas explosion destroyed an apartment complex in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, Czech Republic More Historical Events »