Today in History for 7th August 2026

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Historical Events

1620 - Astronomer Johannes Kepler's mother is arrested for witchcraft
1900 - Diamond workers in Amsterdam strike
1903 - Tommy Corcoran sets an MLB record for shortstops by recording 14 assists in Cincinnati's 4-2 win against the St. Louis Cardinals
1991 - Courts rules Manuel Noriega may access some secret US documents
1993 - Revival of Lerner and Loewe's musical "Camelot," with Robert Goulet as King Arthur, closes at Gershwin Theater, NYC, after 56 performances

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Famous Birthdays

1282 - Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, youngest daughter of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor of Castile, born in Rhuddlan Castle, Denbighshire, Wales (d. 1316)
1930 - Veljo Tormis, Estonian composer, specializing in choral music (Curse Upon Iron (Raua needmine)), born in Kuusalu, Estonia (d. 2017)
1961 - Yelena Davydova, Russian gymnast (Olympic gold USSR All-round, Team 1980), coach (Canadian Women's Artistic Team 2012) and international judge (Rio Olympics 2016), born in Voronezh, Russia
1979 - Abigail Spanberger, American politician, intelligence officer, and first female governor of Virginia (D-2026), born in Red Bank, New Jersey
1998 - Jalen Hurts, American football quarterback (NCAA C'ship 2018 University of Alabama; Super Bowl LIX MVP 2025 Philadelphia Eagles), born in Houston, Texas

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Famous Deaths

1799 - John Bacon, English sculptor - most successful public sculptor of his time, dies at 58
1885 - Anthony Modderman, Dutch politician (Minister of Justice, 1879-83), dies at 46
1917 - Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning, first pilot to land his aircraft on a moving ship. (b. 1891)
1944 - Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Paraguayan classical guitarist and composer (La Catedral), dies at 59
2022 - Anatoli Vassilyevich Filipchenko, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 7; Soyuz, 16), dies at 94

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