Today in History for 4th February 2024

[CoM Moderators]

Historical Events

1600 - Astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler meet for the first time near Prague
1849 - University of Wisconsin begins in 1 room with 20 students
1913 - National Institute of Arts and Letters founded
1965 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1969 - 41,163, then largest NBA crowd, watches doubleheader Cin-Det, SD-Bost
2014 - Same-sex marriage is legalized in Scotland

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Famous Birthdays

1889 - Walter Catlett, American actor (Climax, Front Page, Tale of 2 Cities), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1960)
1925 - Jutta Hipp, German-American jazz pianist and composer, born in Leipzig, German Weimar Republic (d. 2003)
1938 - Joe Beard, American blues guitarist (No More Cherry Rose), born in Ashland, Mississippi
1941 - Mike Deasy, American rock and jazz session guitarist (Beach Boys; Monkees; Randy Newman), born in Los Angeles, California
1958 - Werner Schwab, Austrian playwright and artist, born in Graz (d. 1994)
1958 - Tomasz Pacyński, Polish writer

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Famous Deaths

1847 - Henri Dutrochet, French physiologist (discovered and named process of osmosis), dies at 70
1895 - Faustina Hasse Hodges, English-American composer, dies at 71
1961 - Piet[er] L. Kramer, Influential Dutch architect (Amsterdam School), dies at 79
1992 - Andries Antonie Rieu, Dutch conductor (Maastricht Symphony Orchestra, 1949-80), dies at 75
2005 - Peter Heine, South African cricketer (solid South African fast bowler in 1950's), dies at 76
2013 - Reg Presley [Reginald Ball], English rock vocalist (Troggs - "Wild Thing"; "Love Is All Around"), and songwriter, dies from lung cancer at 71

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