|
What happened in history on this day: February 16?
On February 16 in ...
- 309 - Pamphilus van Caesarea, Palestinian scholar/martyr, beheaded.
- 374 - Ninth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
- 600 - Pope Gregory the Great decrees saying "God bless You" is the correct response to a sneeze.
- 923 - Abu Dja'far Mohammed Djarir al-Tabari, Islamic historian, dies at age 83.
- 1075 - Birth of Ordericus Vitalis French monk/historian/poet.
- 1247 - Hendrik Raspe [Papenking], count of Thüringen, dies.
- 1279 - Afonso III King of Portugal (1248-79), dies.
- 1349 - Jews are expelled from Burgsdorf Switzerland.
- 1391 - Johannes V Palaeologus Emperor of Byzantium (1341-91), dies.
- 1486 - Diet of Frankfort.
- 1497 - Birth of Philipp Melanchthon Germany, Protestant reformer (Augsburgse Confessie).
- 1512 - Battle at Valeggio French troops beat Venetianen.
- 1514 - Birth of Georg Joachim Rhäticus [Rheticus] in Feldkirch, Austria; astronomer/mathematician.
- 1519 - Birth of Gaspard de Coligny Huguenot leader/French Admiral.
- 1538 - Everhard/Erardus van de Mark prince-bishop of Liege, dies at age 65.
- 1559 - Pope Paul IV calls for deposition of sovereigns supporting heresy.
- 1600 - Giordano Bruno burned at stake.
- 1620 - Birth of Friederich Wilhelm in Cölln; elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1641 - English king Charles I accept Triennial Act.
- 1653 - Johannes Schultz composer, dies at age 70.
- 1655 - Dutch Grand Pensionary advisor Johan de Witt marries Wendela Bicker.
- 1659 - First known cheque, for £400 drawn on a British bank.
- 1666 - Netherlands and Brandenburg sign treaty.
- 1669 - Birth of Arnold Boonen Dutch portrait painter.
- 1677 - Earl of Shaftesbury arrested/confined in London Tower.
- 1684 - Birth of Bohuslav Matej Czernohorsky Czechoslovakian monk/composer.
- 1698 - Birth of Pierre Bouguer French mathematician (heliometer).
- 1740 - Birth of Giambattista Bodoni Saluzzo Italy, printer/typeface designer.
- 1741 - Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine (second US Magazine) begins publishing.
- 1742 - Earl of Wilmington becomes British premier.
- 1746 - Birth of Johann Heinse German Sturm und Drang novelist/art critic.
- 1751 - First publication of Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard".
- 1760 - Native American hostages killed in Fort Prince George South Carolina.
- 1771 - Messier presents his original list of 45 M-objects to French Academy.
- 1777 - Messier adds M53 to his catalog (globular cluster in Coma Berenice).
- 1779 - Death of William Boyce at age 67; English organist/composer (Cathedral Music).
- 1799 - Death of Charles Theoby at age 74; ruler of Palts and Bayern.
- 1804 - US Lieutenant Stephen Decatur raids Tripoli Harbor and burns US Navy frigate Philadelphia after pirates seized it.
- 1807 - Birth of Lysander Cutler; US Brevet Major General (Union volunteers) (dies 1866).
- 1812 - Birth of Henry Wilson; 18th US Vice-President (Republican, 1873-75).
- 1813 - Birth of Joseph Reid Anderson; Brigadier General (Confederate Army) (dies 1892).
- 1815 - The Treaty of Ghent (ending War of 1812) is ratified by the US Senate.
- 1821 - Birth of Heinrich Barth in Hamburg; German geographer/explorer (Central Africa).
- 1822 - Birth of James Patton Anderson; Major General (Confederate Army) (dies 1872).
- 1823 - Birth of John D Imboden; Brigadier General, organized first Virginia Partisan Texas Rangers.
- 1826 - Birth of Joseph V von Scheffel; German writer (Gaudeamus).
- 1829 - François-Joseph Gossec, Belgian/French composer (Messe of Morts), dies at age 95.
- 1832 - Birth of Camille Armand Jules Marie de Polignac; Major General (Confederate Army).
- 1834 - Birth of Ernst Heinrich Haeckel in Potsdam, Germany; biologist (Causes of Evolution).
- 1838 - Birth of Henry Adams in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; US historian, writer (Education of Henry Adams).
- 1838 - Kentucky state passes law permitting women to attend school under conditions.
- 1840 - American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica.
- 1847 - Birth of Ludwig Philipp Scharwenka; German composer (Album polonaise).
- 1848 - Birth of Hugo de Vries; Dutch botanist (How species emerge).
- 1850 - Birth of Octave Mirbeau in France; writer (Journal of a Lady's Maid).
- 1852 - Birth of Charles Taze Russell; founded Jehovah's Witnesses.
- 1852 - Birth of William Scarborough in Macon, Georgia, USA; linguist/author (Birds of Aristophanes).
- 1856 - Birth of Willem Kes; Dutch violinist/composer/conductor (Parkorkest Amsterdam).
- 1857 - Elisha Kent Kane, Arctic explorer (Kane Basin), dies at age 37.
- 1858 - Birth of Laurence "Lon" Myers; US track star (top US miler).
- 1860 - Dutch Rochussen/Van Bosse government resigns.
- 1862 - Fort Donelson captured by US General Ulysses Grant (1,400 Confederates surrender). Total Union losses 2832, Confederate losses 16,623.
- 1866 - Birth of Johann Strauss in Austria; composer (Waltz King).
- 1866 - Birth of William "Sliding Billy" Hamilton in New Jersey, USA; hall of fame baseball player.
- 1868 - Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks founded in New York.
- 1868 - Birth of Wilhelm Schmidt; German anthropologist/linguist (Anthropos).
- 1876 - Birth of George Macauley Trevelyan in England; historian (Giuseppe Garibaldi).
- 1876 - In Judesegeri, India, a water tank is struck by a meteorite.
- 1878 - Birth of Selim Palmgren; Finnish pianist/composer/conductor (Peter Schlemihl).
- 1880 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers is founded in New York City, New York.
- 1881 - Birth of Maurits H E Uyldert; Dutch poet/writer (Youth of a Poet).
- 1884 - Birth of Robert Flaherty in Michigan, USA; father of documentary film (Nanook of the North).
- 1886 - Birth of Andrew Ducat; cricket player (Test for England 1921 (3 and 2) Soccer International).
- 1886 - Birth of Van Wyck Brooks in New Jersey, USA; literary historian/writer (Ordeal of Mark Twain).
- 1887 - First newspaper convention (Rochester, New York).
- 1892 - Henry Walter Bates, naturalist/explorer (South America), dies.
- 1894 - British troops occupy Ilorin, Gold Coast.
- 1896 - Birth of Alexander Brailowsky in Russia; pianist (Chopin).
- 1896 - Birth of Charles A L Panzéra; French baritone (L'horizon Chimérique).
- 1898 - Birth of Katharine Cornell; actress (Barretts of Wimpole Street).
- 1899 - François Félix Faure, President of France (1895-99), dies at age 57.
- 1900 - First Chinese daily newspaper in US publishes first issue (Chung Sai Yat Po - San Francisco).
- 1900 - George Labram, US mine engineer in South Africa, dies in battle.
- 1900 - Stanley Cup: Montréal Shamrocks beat Winnipeg Victorias, 3 games to 1.
- 1901 - Birth of Chester Morris in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Diagnosis: Unknown).
- 1901 - Birth of Wayne King in Savannah, Illinois, USA; saxophonist/bandleader (the Waltz King).
- 1903 - Birth of Edgar Bergen in Chicago, Illinois, USA; ventriloquist (Charlie McCarthy).
- 1904 - Birth of Ellis Achong; cricket player (West Indian SLA, 8 wickets in 6 Tests).
- 1904 - Birth of George F Kennan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; US ambassador to Moscow.
- 1905 - First US Esperanto club organizes in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1905 - Birth of Lord Franks; British ambassador (to US).
- 1906 - Birth of Jeffrey Lynn; actor (Tony Rome, Butterfield 8, Up Front).
- 1906 - Birth of Vera Menchik in Moscow, Russia; first official women's world chess champion (1927).
- 1907 - Birth of Anghélos Terzakis in Greece; writer (Without God).
- 1907 - Birth of Henri van Albada; Belgian sculptor (Charles V).
- 1907 - Giosué Carducci, poet (Nobel Prize 1906), dies.
- 1909 - First subway car with side doors goes into service (New York City, New York).
- 1909 - Birth of Hugh Beaumont in Lawrence, Kansas, USA; actor (Ward Cleaver - Leave it to Beaver TV show).
- 1909 - Birth of Jeffrey Lynn in Auburn, Massachusetts, USA; actor (My Son Jeep, The Roaring Twenties).
- 1909 - Serbia mobilizes against Austria-Hungary.
- 1910 - Birth of Michael Milne-Watson; CEO (BUPA).
- 1911 - Birth of Hal Porter in Australia; writer (Tilted Cross, Paper Chase).
- 1912 - Birth of Arthur Crook; British editor (Times Literary Supplement).
- 1912 - Birth of Del Sharbutt in Cleburne, Texas, USA; TV announcer (Your Hit Parade).
- 1912 - Birth of Machito "Frank Grillo" in Florida, USA; bandleader (created salsa music).
- 1912 - Birth of Maitland Mackie; Lord Lieutenant (Aberdeenshire).
- 1912 - Edgar Evans, British explorer (Antarctica), dies.
- 1913 - US President William Taft agrees not to intervene in Mexico.
- 1914 - Birth of Jimmy Wakely in Mineola, Arkansas, USA; country singer ("5 Star Jubilee").
- 1915 - Emil Waldteufel [Charles Levy], French composer (Estudiantina), dies.
- 1916 - Birth of Bill Doggett; pianist and organist ("Honky Tonk" (1956)).
- 1916 - Russian troops conquer Erzurum, Armenia.
- 1916 - [Gerard] Jan Ligthart, Dutch educator (Ot and Sien), dies at age 57.
- 1917 - First synagogue in 425 years opens in Madrid, Spain.
- 1918 - Death of Károly earl Khuen-Héderváry; Hungarian Governor/premier (1910-12).
- 1918 - Birth of Patty Andrews in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; singer (The Andrews Sisters - "Bei Mir Bist du Schoen", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Rum and Coca Cola", "I'll be with you in Apple Blossom Time").
- 1918 - Lithuania declares independence from Russia and Germany (National Day).
- 1920 - Birth of Lee Russell in Cleveland, Ohio, USA; singer (Vincent Lopez).
- 1922 - Birth of Geraint Evans; British opera vocalist (Knaben Wunderhorn).
- 1922 - Birth of Paul van't Veer; Dutch journalist/writer (Het Vrije Volk).
- 1923 - Allies accept Latvia's occupation of Memel territory.
- 1923 - In Thebes, Egypt, English archaeologist Howard Carter enters the sealed burial chamber of the ancient Egyptian ruler King Tutankhamen.
- 1923 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Theresa Weld Blanchard.
- 1923 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Sherwin Badger.
- 1924 - Birth of James Swaffield; Director-General (Swaffield and Clerk to the GLC).
- 1924 - Birth of Peter Webster; British High Court Judge.
- 1925 - Birth of David Emms; director (London Goodenough Trust for Overseas Graduates).
- 1925 - Birth of Per Bailey; director (Gatwick and Stansted Airports).
- 1926 - Birth of John Schlesinger in London, England; film director (Midnight Cowboy, Darling).
- 1926 - Birth of Vera-Ellen [Westmeyr Rohe] in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; actress/dancer (Wonder Man).
- 1927 - US restores diplomatic relations with Turkey.
- 1929 - Birth of Peter Porter; Australian/British author/poet (Chair of Babel).
- 1930 - Birth of Peggy King in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, USA; singer/actress (George Gobel Show).
- 1930 - Birth of Ricou Browning in Florida, USA; director/actor (Thunderball).
- 1931 - Birth of Gamini Goonesena; cricket leg-spinner (all-rounder for Ceylon, Notts).
- 1931 - Birth of George E Sangmeister; American politician (Representative-Democrat-Illinois) (dies 2007).
- 1931 - Birth of Ken Takakura [Goichi Oda] in Kitam Japan; Japanese actor (A Story of the Antarctic).
- 1931 - Dirk Schäfer, Dutch pianist/composer (Klavier), dies at age 57.
- 1931 - Extreme right wing Pehr Evind Svinhufvud is elected President of Finland.
- 1931 - Birth of Otis Blackwell; singer/songwriter (over 1000 songs, "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up", "Return to Sender", "Handy Man", "Great Balls Of Fire", "Fever", "Hey Little Girl").
- 1932 - First patent issued for a tree, to James Markham for a peach tree.
- 1932 - Birth of Gretchen Wyler in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA; actress (Silk Stockings).
- 1933 - Archie Jackson, cricket player (of TB, Australia bat too briefly average 47.4), dies.
- 1933 - Catholic newspaper Germania warns against Nazis/communists.
- 1933 - England regains the Ashes, thanks to bodyline tactics.
- 1934 - Birth of Austin "Ted" Taylor; American gospel/rhythm and blues singer ("Be Ever Wonderful").
- 1934 - Birth of Marlene Bauer Hagge in Eureka, South Dakota, USA; LPGA golfer (1950 Woman Athlete of the Year).
- 1934 - Over Texas, USA, a pilot swerves to avoid crashing with a fireball.
- 1935 - Birth of Brian Bedford in England; actor (Anthony - Coronet Blue).
- 1935 - Birth of Robin Clark; chemist (FRS).
- 1935 - Birth of Salvatore Bono AKA Sonny Bono in Detroit, Michigan, USA; singer/songwriter/entertainer ("I Got You Babe", "Baby Don't Go", "The Beat Goes On", The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour TV show), mayor of Palm Springs California, U.S. Congressman.
- 1936 - IV Olympic Winter Games close at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
- 1936 - Spanish Frente Popular (People's Front) wins elections.
- 1936 - Tommy Ward, South African cricket wicket keeper (23 Tests), electrocuted.
- 1937 - DuPont Corp patents nylon, developed by employee Wallace H Carothers.
- 1938 - Birth of Barry Primus in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Sergeant McKenna - Cagney and Lacey, Boxcar Bertha).
- 1938 - Birth of John Corigliano in New York City, New York, USA; composer (Fern Hill, Ghosts of Versailles).
- 1938 - Otto zur Linde German, author (Lieder of the Leids), dies at age 64.
- 1938 - US Federal Crop Insurance program authorized.
- 1938 - Austria's Schuschnigg accepts Adolf Hitler's ultimatum, puts pro-Nazi ministers in control of police and foreign affairs.
- 1940 - British search-plane finds German ship Altmark off Norway.
- 1941 - Birth of Vitali Kuznetsov in USSR; judo (Olympics-silver-1972).
- 1942 - Birth of Kim Chong-Il [Yura], President of North-Korea (1994-).
- 1942 - German submarines attack Aruba oil refinery.
- 1943 - -32 degrees F (-36 degrees C), Falls Village, Connecticut, USA (state record).
- 1943 - Birth of Anthony Dowell in London, England; ballet dancer (Royal Ballet).
- 1943 - Birth of J D Moore; headmaster (Saint Dunstan's College).
- 1943 - Red army conquers Kharkov.
- 1943 - Sign on Munich facade "Out with Hitler! Long live freedom!" done by "White Rose" student group.
- 1943 - Withdrawing Africa Corps reaches Mareth line in North Africa.
- 1944 - Birth of Richard Ford; US author (Sportswriter).
- 1945 - Billy Frank, cricket player (Test South Africa versus England 1896, 5 and 2, 1-52), dies.
- 1945 - Rudolf Värnlund, Swedish playwright (Upproret), dies at age 45.
- 1945 - US forces land on Corregidor, in the Philippines.
- 1945 - Venezuela declares war on Germany.
- 1945 - Birth of Jeremy Bulloch; actor (Robin of Sherwood, Agony).
- 1946 - First commercially-designed helicopter tested, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA.
- 1946 - Birth of Aleksandr Shaparenko in USSR; 1000m kayak (Olympics-gold-1972).
- 1946 - Birth of Ian Lavender; British actor (Stupid Boy in Dad's Army).
- 1948 - NBC-TV presents the first daily newsreel telecast Camel Newsreel Theatre made up of footage from 20th Century Fox - Movietone News.
- 1948 - Miranda, famous moon of Uranus, is photographed for first time.
- 1949 - Birth of Dorus Vrede; Surinam poet (Otobanda).
- 1950 - Birth of William Katt in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Greatest American Hero, First Love).
- 1950 - David Denton, cricket player (England batsman in 11 Tests 1905-10), dies.
- 1950 - Writers fail to elect anyone to Baseball's Hall of Fame.
- 1951 - Henri Velge, first chairman (Belgian Council of State), dies at age 65.
- 1951 - New York City passes bill prohibiting racism in city-assisted housing.
- 1952 - Hall of Famer Honus Wagner, age 77, retires; Pittsburgh Pirates retire his #33.
- 1952 - Ian Craig makes New South Wales cricket debut aged 16 years 249 days (New South Wales record).
- 1952 - Knut [Pedersen] Hamsun, Norwegian writer (Wanders, Nobel Prize 1920), dies.
- 1953 - Birth of George Martin; NFL defensive back (New York Giants).
- 1953 - Birth of Mike Ford in New York City, New York, USA; Canadian Tour golfer (1976 Port Jefferson Open).
- 1954 - Birth of Iain [Menzies] Banks in United Kingdom; sci-fi author (Wasp Factory).
- 1954 - Birth of Michael Holding; cricket fast bowler (Whispering Death- Awesome for West Indies).
- 1954 - Birth of Sean McManus; CBS News President.
- 1955 - Birth of Guy Gallo in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; writer (Under the Volcano).
- 1955 - Birth of Jeff Clayton; American jazz saxophonist/composer (Groove Shop).
- 1956 - Birth of James Ingram; singer ("On the Wings of Love").
- 1956 - Great Britain abolishes the death penalty.
- 1957 - Birth of LeVar Burton in Landstuhl, Germany; actor (Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation).
- 1957 - Leslie Hore-Belisha [Lord Halifax], British Minister of Transport, dies at age 63.
- 1958 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Saint Petersburg Golf Open.
- 1958 - Birth of Herb Williams; NBA center (Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks).
- 1958 - Birth of Tracy Marrow AKA Ice-T; rap singer/actor (New Jack City TV show, Tank Girl, Crazy Six).
- 1958 - Birth of John Paul Morse in Marshall, Michigan, USA; PGA golfer (1995 United Airlines).
- 1958 - Birth of Lisa Loring; actress (As the World Turns, Wednesday - Addams Family).
- 1958 - CBS airs the last The Seven Lively Arts TV show.
- 1959 - Birth of John P McEnroe; tennis player (US Open 1979-81, 1984, Wimbledon 1981, 1983, 1984).
- 1959 - Birth of Kelly Tripuka in Glenn Ridge, New Jersey, USA; NBA forward (Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz).
- 1959 - Fidel Castro names himself Cuba's premier after overthrowing Batista.
- 1960 - US nuclear submarine USS Triton sets off on underwater round-world trip.
- 1961 - First all-solid-propellant rocket put in orbit, Wallops Island, Virginia, USA.
- 1961 - Birth of Andy Taylor in Dolver-Hampton, England; rock guitarist (Duran Duran - "Hungry Like the Wolf").
- 1961 - China uses its first nuclear reactor.
- 1961 - US satellite Explorer 9 is launched.
- 1962 - Birth of Alexa Kenin in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Mousie - Coed Fever).
- 1962 - Birth of Tony Kiley; rocker (Blow Monkeys - "Wicked Ways").
- 1962 - US Open Tennis: Jimmy Bostwick defeats brother Pete to win.
- 1963 - First round-trip swim of Strait of Messina, Italy (Mary Revell of US).
- 1963 - The Beatles hit the top of British rock charts with "Please, Please Me".
- 1963 - C and A Building in Amsterdam burns down.
- 1964 - Birth of Dave Lombardo; drummer (Slayer).
- 1964 - Birth of Mark Price; NBA guard (Cleveland Caveliers).
- 1965 - Pegasus 1 launched to detect micro-meteors.
- 1966 - Birth of Eric Uptagrafft in Spokane, Washington, USA; prone rifle (Olympics-1996).
- 1966 - Bob Cowper makes 307 versus England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 727 minute s, 20 fours.
- 1966 - End of Wally Grout's Test Cricket career, 187 dismissals as Australia WK.
- 1966 - France performs underground nuclear test at Ecker, Algeria.
- 1966 - Hendrik W Tilanus, artillery officer/leader (CHU 1939-63), dies at age 81.
- 1967 - Birth of Robert Massey; NFL cornerback (Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions).
- 1967 - Red Ruffing selected to baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1967 - Death of Smiley Burnette at age 55 of leukemia; cowboy comic/singer ("The National Barn Dance" radio show, Ozark Jubilee TV show, Charlie - Petticoat Junction).
- 1968 - The Beatles' George Harrison and John Lennon and wives fly to India for transcendental meditation study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
- 1968 - Birth of Cecil Gray; NFL tackle (Arizona Cardinals).
- 1968 - Birth of Erik Regtop; Dutch soccer player (SC Heerenveen).
- 1968 - America's first 9-1-1 phone system goes into service in Haleyville, Alabama.
- 1969 - Birth of Claude Lambert in Montréal, Québec, Canada; boxer (Olympics-1996).
- 1969 - Birth of Fermin Cacho in Barcelona, Spain; 1500 metre runner (Olympics-2 gold-1992, 1996).
- 1969 - Birth of Tim Costo; US baseball infielder (Cincinnati Reds).
- 1970 - Joe Frazier knocks out Jimmy Ellis in five rounds for undisputed heavyweight boxing crown.
- 1971 - Birth of Taylor Hawkins; drummer (Foo Fighters).
- 1971 - Birth of Anthony Abrams; NFL defensive tackle (Kansas City Chiefs).
- 1971 - Birth of Chi Kredell in Long Beach, California, USA; water polo driver (Olympics-1996).
- 1971 - Birth of Larry Jones; NFL running back (Washington Redskins).
- 1971 - Birth of Marco Sas; Dutch soccer player (NAC).
- 1971 - Birth of Mike Hubbard in Lynchburg, Virginia; catcher (Chicago Cubs).
- 1971 - Birth of Shivanthini Dharmasiri; Miss Sri Lanka-Universe (1996).
- 1971 - Birth of Van Tuinei; defensive end (San Diego Chargers).
- 1972 - Birth of Jerome Bettis; running back (Pittsburgh Steelers).
- 1972 - German mass murderers "Three of Breda" freed.
- 1972 - Test Cricket debut of Lawrence Rowe West Indies versus New Zealand Kingston, 214 and 100.
- 1972 - First NBA player to score 30,000 points (Wilt Chamberlain in 940 games).
- 1973 - Birth of Cathy Freeman in Mackay, Australia; 100 metre/200 metre/400 metre (Olympics-silver-1992, 1996).
- 1973 - Birth of James Young; Australian water polo player (Olympics-1996).
- 1973 - Pieter Van der Bijl cricket player (outstanding South African bat in 1938-39), dies.
- 1973 - West Indies versus Australia at Kingston, first time since 1955 without Sobers.
- 1974 - Birth of Jevon Langford; defensive end (Cincinnati Bengals).
- 1974 - Birth of Kathy McCormack; ice hockey forward (Canada, Olympics-silver-1998).
- 1974 - Birth of Kimberly Dawn in Whipany, Oklahoma, USA; rocker (PC Quest - "Can You See").
- 1975 - Birth of Casey Barrett in Montréal, Québec, Canada; 200 metre Butterfly (Olympics-1996).
- 1975 - Birth of Marty Murray Deloraine; NHL center (Calgary Flames).
- 1975 - Washington Capitals' first NHL shutout, beating Kansas City Scouts 3-0.
- 1977 - Birth of Alexei Morozov; NHL forward (Team Russia Olympics-silver-1998, Pittsburgh Penguins).
- 1977 - Birth of Trina Jackson; 4X200 metre freestyle swimmer (Olympics-gold-1996).
- 1977 - USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan.
- 1978 - First Computer Bulletin Board System (Ward and Randy's CBBS, Chicago, Illinois).
- 1978 - The Hillside Strangler, a serial killer prowling Los Angeles, California, claims a tenth (and final) victim.
- 1978 - Birth of Caroline Hunt in Chicago, Illinois; rhythmic gymnast (US team-1996).
- 1979 - Birth of Emma Louise DeSilets; Miss Washington Teen-USA (1997).
- 1979 - Near the coast of Peru, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurs.
- 1979 - Louise Allbritton, actress (Celia - Stage Door), dies at age 58.
- 1979 - Nematullah Nassiri, Iran General/head of Savak, executed.
- 1979 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk.
- 1980 - Continuous traffic jam extends 176km north of Lyons, France.
- 1980 - Eric Heiden skates 5km in 7:02.29 (Olympic record).
- 1982 - Agatha Barbara elected as first female President of Malta.
- 1983 - Australian bushfires in Victoria and South Australia claim the lives of 76 people.
- 1984 - Bill Johnson becomes first American to win Olympics downhill skiing gold.
- 1984 - Ken Williams, TV announcer (Video Village), dies at age 69.
- 1984 - New Jersey Devils' first overtime goal, Jan Ludvig beats Hartford Whalers 6-5.
- 1985 - Largest NBA crowd to date, 43,816, sees Philadelphia 76ers at Detroit Pistons.
- 1985 - Larry Ward, actor (Frank Ragan - Dakotas), dies at age 69.
- 1985 - Livingston Bramble defeats Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini to win WBA champion.
- 1985 - Israel begins withdrawing troops from Lebanon.
- 1985 - New Jersey Devils score their fastest hat trick: 42 seconds.
- 1986 - The French Air Force raids the Libyan Ouadi Doum airbase in northern Chad.
- 1986 - Death of Howard Da Silva at age 77 of lymphoma; actor (Ben Franklin - 1776, When The Boat Comes In TV show, For the People TV show, The American Parade TV mini-series, Masquerade TV movie, The Cafeteria TV movie).
- 1986 - Karlstad skates world record 10 km (14:12.14).
- 1986 - Mário Soares (Socialist) elected Portugal's first civilian president.
- 1986 - The Soviet liner Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.
- 1988 - First documented combat action by US military advisors in El Salvador.
- 1989 - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and North Yemen form common market.
- 1989 - Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox pitcher signs record US$7.5 million, three-year contract.
- 1989 - William Hayden becomes governor-General of Australia.
- 1989 - Pan Am flight 103 crash investigators announce that the cause of the crash was a bomb hidden inside a radio-cassette player.
- 1990 - Keith Haring, American artist/cartoonist (brilliant baby), dies of AIDS at age 31 (born 1954).
- 1991 - Birth of Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg.
- 1991 - Dutch PPR, Political Party Radicals, disbands.
- 1991 - Enrique B Varela, commandant Nicaragua contras, dies.
- 1991 - NBC airs the 300th episode of Saturday Night Live TV show.
- 1991 - NBC airs the last episode of the Disney TV series The Fanelli Boys.
- 1991 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Tonya Harding.
- 1992 - Abbas Musawi, leader of Hezbollah, assassinated.
- 1992 - Angela Carter, British novelist (Magic Toyshop), dies of cancer at age 51.
- 1992 - George Mann MacBeth, Scottish journalist/poet (A War Quartet), dies.
- 1992 - Janio Quadros, President of Brazil (1961), dies.
- 1992 - Los Angeles Lakers retire Magic Johnson's #32 uniform.
- 1992 - Winand J Borgerhoff Mulder, court judge Amsterdam (squatters), dies at age 78.
- 1993 - Richard Salant, news president (CBS - 60 Minutes), dies at age 78.
- 1993 - Sharon Disney, adopted daughter of Walt and Lillian Disney, dies of complications from cancer.
- 1993 - Sandra Völker swims world record 50 metre backstroke (28.33 seconds).
- 1994 - Johann Olav Koss skates world record 1500 metre (1:51.29).
- 1994 - Premier Alfonso Bustamente ends government in Peru.
- 1996 - Edmund G "Pat" Brown, Governor of California, dies at age 90 (born 1905).
- 1996 - Gary Kirsten scores 188 for South Africa versus United Arab Emirates at Rawalpindi.
- 1996 - Roger Bowen, American actor (MASH, Main Event, What About Bob), dies at age 62 (born 1932).
- 1997 - At age 25, Jeff Gordon is youngest winner in Daytona 500 history.
- 1997 - Paul Stankowski wins Hawaiian Golf Open.
- 1997 - Terry-Jo Myers wins LPGA Los Angeles Women's Championship.
- 1998 - Birth of Mr Jefferson in Virginia, USA; first cloned calf.
- 1998 - Martha Gellhorn, female war reporter for Reuthers, dies at age 89.
- 1998 - Tellabs Inc acquires Coherent Communications Systems for $670 million.
- 1998 - China Airlines Flight 676 crashes into a residential area near Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, killing 202 people (all 196 on board and six on the ground).
- 1999 - In Uzbekistan, an apparent assassination attempt against President Islom Karimov takes place at government headquarters.
- 1999 - Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrests one of their rebel leaders.
- 2001 - British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids, attempting to disable Iraq's air defense network. Three people are killed in a suburban area of Baghdad.
- 2001 - The Honduras-registered Steadfast oil tanker runs aground in rough seas off Indonesia's Java island, then partially sinks in shallow waters, leaking about 373,000 litres of sump oil.
- 2002 - Rachel Thaler, 16, is blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall following a suicide bombing attack on a crowd of teens.
- 2004 - Death of Doris Troy AKA Doris Payne of emphysema at age 67; rhythm and blues singer ("Just One Kiss"), back-up singer (Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, George Harrison, Dusty Springfield, Nick Drake, Carly Simon).
- 2005 - The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.
- 2005 - The National Hockey League cancels its 2004-2005 season, becoming the first North American professional league to cancel a season due to a labour dispute.
- 2006 - Kobe Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kobe, Japan, opens for airline service.
- 2015 - The Egyptian military begins conducting airstrikes against a branch of the Islamic militant group ISIL in Libya in retaliation for the group's beheading of over a dozen Egyptian Christians.
- 2017 - Death of Dick Bruna, Dutch writer, illustrator, and graphic designer (born 1927).
- 2018 - Buena Vista releases the film Black Panther to theaters.
- 2021 - Death of Gustavo Noboa, 42nd President of Ecuador (born 1937).
- 2022 - Death of Cristina Calderón at age 93 in Chile; last full-blooded member of Yaghan people of Tierra del Fuego, southernmost tip of South America.
- 2023 - Death of Chuck Jackson at age 85; soul singer ("Any Day Now" song).
|
|
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history.
Bookmark this URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/ and revisit each day.
(this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events)
Or, visit my Timelines of History page.
|