This Day in History
January 8

What happened in history on this day: January 8? On January 8 in ... 482 - Severinus, German monastery founder/saint, dies. 624 - Abu Sufjan ibn Harb, Kurashite chief, dies in battle. 624 - Muslim army occupies Kurashitische Caravan. 794 - Church at Lindisfarne, England destroyed by Vikings. 871 - Battle at Ashdown: Ethelred of Wessex beats Danish invasion army. 1081 - Birth of Henry V Roman German king/emperor (1098/1111-25). 1198 - Coelestinus III [Giacinto Bobo], pope (1191-98), dies. 1198 - Lotario di Segni elected Pope Innocentius III. 1214 - Earl Ferrand of Flanders drops ties with France. 1324 - Marco Polo, Venetian explorer/Governor of Nanking, dies. 1336 - Giotto di Bondone Italian Renaissance painter, dies at about age 71. 1455 - Laurentius Justitianus [Lorenzo Giustiniani], saint, dies at age 73. 1499 - Louis XII of France after papal divorce marries Anne, Duchess of Brittany to keep the duchy for the crown. 1558 - French troops under duke de Guise occupy Calais. 1567 - Jacob Vaet Flemish composer/royal chaplain master, dies at about age 37. 1583 - Birth of Simon Episcopius Dutch bishop/theologist. 1587 - Birth of Johannes Fabricius Denmark, astronomer (discovered sunspots). 1589 - Birth of Ivan [Dzivo F] Gundulic Dalmatisch writer (Dubravka). 1598 - Genoa Italy expels Jews. 1598 - Jews are expelled from Genoa Italy. 1598 - Johan Georg elector of Brandenburg (1571-91), dies at age 72. 1628 - Birth of François de Montmorency-Bouteville duc de Luxembourg, French soldier. 1632 - Birth of Samuel Freiherr von Pufendorf in Dorfchemnitz, Saxony; developer of the concept of "natural law". 1642 - Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist/astronomer, dies at age 78 in Arceti, Italy. 1651 - Giovanni Battista Gagliano composer, dies at age 56. 1656 - Oldest surviving commercial newspaper begins (Haarlem, Netherlands). 1658 - Birth of Nicolas Coustou French sculptor (Descente de Croix). 1668 - Birth of Jean Gilles composer. 1675 - First American commercial corporation chartered (New York Fishing Co). 1696 - Michael de Ronghe composer, dies at age 75. 1705 - Georg F Händels first opera "Almira" premieres in Hamburg. 1711 - Philips van Almonde Zealand Lieutenant-Admiral, dies at age 66. 1713 - Arcangelo Corelli composer/violinist (Concerti Grossi), dies at age 59. 1716 - Dutch gang leader "Sjako" arrested. 1745 - England, Austria, Netherlands and Saxon sign anti-Prussian Quadruple Alliance. 1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops occupy Stirling. 1760 - Comet C/1760 A1 (Great comet) approaches within 0.0682 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth. 1767 - Birth of Abraham de Veer Dutch Governor-General of Suriname (1822-28). 1775 - John Baskerville English printer/type designer, dies at age 68. 1777 - Birth of Filippo Traetta Italy, composer/musicologist. 1779 - Birth of John White composer. 1786 - Birth of Nicholas Biddle made second bank of US first effective central bank. 1787 - Birth of Johann Ludwig Bohner composer. 1788 - Birth of Erik Drake composer. 1790 - George Washington delivers first "State of the Union" address. 1790 - John Stinstra Dutch baptist vicar, dies at age 81. 1791 - Birth of Jacob Collamer (Senator-Vermont). 1792 - Birth of Lowell Mason Medfield Massachusetts, organist/composer (Zebulo). 1796 - Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois French National Convention chairman, dies at age 46. 1798 - 11th Amendment ratified, judicial powers construed. 1800 - Austrians defeat French in second battle of Novi. 1800 - Wild Boy of Aveyron discovered in southern France. 1806 - Cape colony becomes English colony. 1806 - Lewis and Clark find skeleton of 105' blue whale in Oregon. 1808 - Messenger horse that sired many great trotters, dies. 1810 - Birth of Robert Schumann Zwickau Germ, composer (Neue Zeitschrift fuer Musik). 1811 - Death of Friedrich Nicolai in Berlin, Germany; leader of enlightenment movement in Germany, book dealer and writer. 1811 - Louisiana slave revolt by Charles Deslondes at German Coast. 1811 - Samuel Story Dutch rear admiral (Battle of Kamperduin), dies at age 58. 1812 - Birth of Sigismund Fortune François Thalberg in Geneva, Switzerland; leading pianist, rival of Franz Liszt. 1812 - Birth of William Henry Holmes composer. 1814 - Birth of Johannes Kneppelhout [Klikspaan], Dutch humorist. 1814 - Birth of Thomas Green Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864. 1815 - US 7th Infantry Regiment plus others (total 4500) defeat a British force of 8000 in the Battle of New Orleans under Major General Andrew Jackson. The battle was fought on the grounds of Chalmette Plantation, downriver from New Orleans. British killed/wounded/captured: 2055; American: 101. 1815 - Birth of George Webb Morell Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1883. 1815 - Birth of Lawrence Pike Graham Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1905. 1815 - Edward Pakenham English General (Battle of New Orleans), dies in battle. 1817 - Birth of John Selden Roane Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1867. 1819 - Christian Gottlob Saupe composer, dies at age 55. 1821 - Birth of James Longstreet Confederate General (first Corps, ANV). 1822 - Birth of Alfredo Carlo Piatti composer. 1823 - Birth of Alfred Russel Wallace British zoologist/co-discoverer (evolution). 1824 - Birth of Per August Olander composer. 1824 - Birth of William Wilkie Collins English novelist (The Woman in White, The Moonstone). 1825 - Inventor Eli Whitney dies. 1830 - Birth of Governer Kemble Warren Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1882. 1830 - Birth of Hans von Bülow in Dresden, Germany; pianist/virtuoso conductor/musical writer. 1830 - Dutch King Willem I fires him displeasing parliament members. 1831 - Franz Vinzenz Krommer composer, dies at age 71. 1833 - Boston Academy of Music, first US music school, established. 1836 - Birth of Fannie M Jackson pioneer and educator, first US Black woman college grad. 1836 - Birth of Lawrence Alma Tadema Dutch/British painter/husband of Laura Epps. 1838 - In New Jersey, Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph using dots and dashes (a forerunner of Morse code). 1838 - Rebellion at Amherstburg, Ontario breaks out. 1842 - Dutch King Willem II charters Technical College Delft. 1842 - Pierre Earl the Cambronne, French General (Waterloo, Elba), dies at age 71. 1846 - Birth of Albert Cahen composer. 1846 - Birth of William Wallace Gilchrist composer. 1848 - Austrian soldiers kill 10 students, Pavia. 1851 - Birth of Gérard Leman Belgian count/General. 1853 - First US bronze equestrian statue (of Andrew Jackson) unveiled, Washington. 1856 - Dr John A Veatch discovers borax, Tuscan Springs California. 1857 - Dion Boucicauly's "Poor of NY" premieres in New York City, New York. 1858 - Friedrich Karl Kuhmstedt composer, dies at age 48. 1859 - Antoine GB Schayes Belgian historian/archaeologist, dies at age 50. 1860 - Birth of Nancy Jones US black missionary in Africa. 1862 - Birth of Frank Nelson Doubleday publisher/founder (Doubleday and Co). 1863 - Birth of Paul Scheerbart [Bruno Küfer], German writer (The Seasnake). 1864 - Victor-Charles-Paul Dourlen composer, dies at age 83. 1867 - Birth of Emily Green Balch US, sociologist/feminist/pacifist (Nobel Prize 1946). 1867 - Legislation gives suffrage to DC blacks, despite President Johnson's veto. 1868 - Birth of Sir Frank Dyson proved Einstein right about light bent by gravity. 1870 - Birth of Miguel Primo de Rivera Orbaneja dictator of Spain (1923-30). 1870 - US mint at Carson City Nevada begins issuing coins. 1873 - Birth of Lucien Capet composer. 1878 - Secret meeting of King Leopold II's agent and Henry Morton Stanley. 1880 - [Joshua] Norton I Emperor of US/Protector of México, dies at age 60. 1883 - Birth of Josue Teofilo Wilkes composer. 1884 - Chrome tanning process for leather patented by Augustus Schultz. 1885 - Birth of John Curtin Victoria, Australian Prime Minister (Labor, 1941-45). 1886 - Birth of Noble Drew Ali [Timothy Drew], North Carolina, prophet (Moorish Science Temple). 1888 - Birth of Matt Moore County Meath Ireland; actor (Coquette, Deluge). 1888 - Birth of Richard Courant in Lublinitz, Prussia; German/American mathematics professor. 1889 - Birth of Paul Hartmann Furth Germany; actor (Haunted Castle). 1889 - Dr Herman Hollerith receives first US patent for a tabulating machine (first computer). 1890 - Birth of Sandor Rado Hungarian/US psycho analyst. 1891 - Birth of Bronislava Nijinska ballet choreographer. 1891 - Birth of Storm Jameson English novelist (The Green Man, Cousin Honoré). 1891 - Birth of Walther Bothe in Oranienburg, Germany; physics professor at the universities of Berlin, Giessen and Heidelberg, discovered neutron radiation, built Germany's first cyclotron, won the Nobel Prize for Physics for development of a method of detecting subatomic particles. 1891 - Fredrik Pacius composer, dies at age 81. 1892 - Birth of Werner Wehrli composer. 1892 - John Heykamp old-catholic archbishop of Utrecht, dies at age 67. 1892 - Birth of Giovanni Mardersteig in Weimar, Germany; typographer in Germany and Italy. 1894 - Columbus World's fair in Chicago destroyed by fire. 1894 - Pierre-Joseph van Beneden paleontologist (life of tapeworms), dies at age 84. 1896 - Birth of Jaromir Weinberger Prague Czechoslovakia, composer (Bird's Opera). 1896 - Birth of Manuel Rojas Sepulveda Chile, writer (Men of the South). 1896 - Paul M Verlaine French poet (Elégies, Bonne Chanson), dies at age 51. 1897 - Michael Eagan wins first US national amateur handball championship. 1899 - Birth of Solomon WRD Bandaranaike premier of Ceylon (1956-59). 1900 - Billy Bates cricketer (656 runs and 50 wickets in 15 Tests for England), dies. 1900 - Birth of Queen Marie of Yugoslavia. 1901 - Birth of Edmond Vandercammen French/Belgian writer (L'amour responsable). 1901 - New South Wales score 918 all out vs South Australia in 560 minutes. 1902 - First National Bowling Championship held (Chicago Illinois). 1902 - Birth of Alexander Gray Wrightsville Pennsylvania; actor (This is Music). 1902 - Birth of Carl R[ansom] Rogers US, psychologist (Client-Centered Therapy). 1902 - Birth of Georgy M Malenkov Stalin's successor as head of CPSU, Prime Minister (1953-55). 1902 - Birth of Gret Palucca German dancer/choreography (Silent Song). 1903 - Birth of Gene Roth [Eugene Stutenroth], South Dakota; actor (She Demons, Spider). 1904 - Birth of Peter Arno New York City, New York, cartoonist (New Yorker). 1904 - Pope Pius X banned low cut dresses in the presence of churchmen. 1905 - Birth of Carl Gustav Hempel in Oranienburg, Germany; logical positivist philosopher, taught at Yale University and Princeton University in the USA. 1905 - Birth of Giacinto Scelsi composer. 1906 - Birth of Jacob C van Marken Dutch peanut butter maker (Calvé-Delft). 1906 - Birth of Jan A H J S Bruins Slot Dutch founder illegal Trouw/Member of Parliament (ARP). 1906 - Birth of Serge Poliakoff Russian/French painter/guitarist. 1906 - Jacob C van Marken peanut butter maker (Calvé-Delft), dies at age 60. 1907 - Theodoor Verstraete Flemish painter/etcher, dies at age 57. 1908 - Birth of (Fearless) Mary Nadia Wadia actress. 1908 - Birth of William Hartnell London England; actor (Agitator, Jackpot). 1909 - Birth of Bruce Mitchell cricketer (South African bat, their top run-scorer (3471)). 1910 - Birth of Richard Cromwell [LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh], Los Angeles California; actor (Jezebel). 1911 - Birth of Andrej Ocenas composer. 1912 - Birth of José Ferrer Santurce PR; actor/director (Cyrano de Bergerac, Blood Tide, Dune, Big Bus). 1912 - Birth of Rudolf G Escher Dutch composer (True Face of Peace). 1913 - Birth of Horace Smith cricketer (New Zealand, only Test wicket off his first ball (Paynter)). 1913 - Frank Chance becomes New York Yankees manager. 1914 - Birth of Charles Borromeo Mills composer. 1917 - Austria-Hungarian troops conquer Forlani Italy. 1917 - Birth of Peter Taylor US writer. 1917 - Birth of Stanley Prager New York City, New York, comedian (College Bowl). 1918 - Michael Hertz composer, dies at age 73. 1918 - Mississippi becomes first state to ratify 18th amendment (prohibition). 1918 - US President Woodrow Wilson outlines to the American Congress his 14 points for peace after WWI. 1919 - Peter Altenberg writer, dies at age 59. 1919 - Richard Engländer [Peter Altenberg], Austrian author, dies at age 59. 1920 - Birth of Hendrikus J Wittebold civil servant/resistance fighter. 1921 - Luis Villalba Munoz composer, dies at age 48. 1922 - Birth of Abbey Simon New York City, New York, pianist. 1922 - Colonel Charles R Young dies at age 58, in Lagos Nigeria. 1923 - Birth of Giorgio Tozzi Chicago Illinois, basso. 1923 - Birth of Iva Michiels [Rik Ceuppens], Flemish writer (Ksiega Alfa). 1923 - Birth of Johnny Wardle cricketer (Yorkshire and England left-arm bowler of 1950s). 1923 - Birth of Joseph Wiezenbaum artificial intelligence pioneer. 1923 - Birth of Larry Storch New York City, New York, comedian (F Troop, Larry Storch Show). 1923 - Typography strike in Amsterdam. 1924 - Birth of Antai Ribari composer. 1924 - Birth of Benjamin Lees (Lysniansky) Harbin Manchuria, composer. 1924 - Birth of Robert Starer Vienna Austria, composer. 1924 - Birth of Ron Moody London England; actor (12 Chairs, Wrong is Right). 1925 - First all-female US state supreme court appointed, Texas. 1925 - Birth of James Saunders English chemist/playwright (Ark). 1926 - Abdul-Aziz ibn Sa'ud becomes king of Hejaz; renames it Saudi Arabia. 1926 - Birth of Evelyn Lear [Shulman], Brooklyn New York, soprano. 1926 - Birth of Jani Christou composer. 1926 - Birth of Milton "Soupy Sales" Hines in North Carolina, USA; comedian (Soupy Sales Show). 1926 - Emile Paladilhe composer, dies at age 81. 1928 - Birth of Sander Vanocur Cleveland Ohio, news anchor (NBC Weekend News). 1928 - Dumitru Kiriac-Georgescu composer, dies at age 61. 1929 - First telephone connection between Netherlands and West-Indies. 1929 - CBS radio network buys WABC in New York City, New York. 1930 - Belgium Princess Marie-José marries Italian's crown prince Umberto. 1930 - Birth of Doreen Wilber US, archer (Olympics-gold-1972). 1930 - Birth of May Wynn [Donna Lee Hickey], New York City, New York, actress (Caine Mutiny, Noah's Ark). 1931 - Birth of Bill Graham Germany, rock promoter (Fillmore). 1931 - Philadelphia Quakers set then NHL record of 15 straight loses. 1932 - Ratification of present San Francisco City Charter. 1933 - Birth of Charles Osgood in New York City, New York, USA; news anchor (CBS Weekend News). 1933 - Birth of Jean-Marie Straub France, director (Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach). 1934 - Alexandre Stavisky French swindler, dies. 1934 - Birth of Jacques Anquetil France, Tour de France bicycle racer (5-time winner). 1934 - Birth of Michael Grierson Jarrett archaeologist. 1934 - Birth of Piet Dankert Dutch politician (PvdA). 1934 - Birth of Roy Kinnear Lancashire England; actor (TW3, Help!, The Three Musketeers). 1934 - Jaap Speyers "Bluejackets" premieres in Amsterdam. 1935 - Birth of Elvis Aaron Presley in Tupelo, Mississippi; musician/actor ("Blue Suede Shoes", "Hounddog"). 1935 - Birth of Jesse Garon Presley stillborn twin brother of Elvis. 1935 - Birth of Nolan Miller Burkburnett Texas, fashion designer (Dynasty, The Love Boat). 1935 - Spectrophotometer patented, AC Hardy. 1936 - Birth of Ferdinand Hartzenberg South African minister of Education (1979-82). 1937 - -50 degrees F (-45.6 degrees C), San Jacinto Nevada (state record). 1937 - Birth of Bob Eubanks Flint Michigan, TV host (Newlywed Game). 1937 - Birth of Robert Moran composer. 1937 - Birth of Shirley Bassey Cardiff Wales, singer (Goldfinger, Moonraker). 1937 - John Felix August Korling composer, dies at age 72. 1938 - Birth of Bob Eubanks in Flint Michigan, USA; TV host (Newlywed Game). 1938 - Bradman scores 107 for South Australia vs Queensland (first innings). 1939 - Birth of Yvette Mimieux Hollywood California, actress (Time Machine, Where the Boys Are). 1940 - Birth of Anthony Gaurdine (Little Anthony and Imperials-Goin' Out of My Head). 1940 - Birth of Cristy Lane US, country/gospel singer. 1940 - Birth of Little Anthony [Gourdine] rocker (and Imperials). 1940 - Britain's first WWII rationing (bacon, butter and sugar). 1941 - Birth of Graham Chapman in England; comedian (Monty Python's Flying Circus) (dies 1989). 1941 - Birth of Robby Krieger rocker (Doors). 1941 - British Air Marshal Richard Peirse resigns. 1941 - Lord Robert Baden-Powell founder of the Boy Scout movement, dies at age 83. 1942 - Arvo Hannikainen composer, dies at age 44. 1942 - Birth of John Peterson rocker. 1942 - Birth of Stephen Hawking; English physicist (Black Holes and Baby Universes). 1942 - Birth of Vyacheslav Dmitriyevich Zudov USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 23). 1943 - Birth of Lee Jackson rocker (Nice). 1943 - Birth of Marcus Hutson rock vocalist (Whispers). 1944 - Birth of Terry Brooks US, sci-fi author (Sword of Shannara). 1945 - "Youth for Christ" organizes. 1945 - Birth of John Peters rock drummer (Harpers Bizarre). 1945 - Jac[obus] P Thijsse Dutch biologist (Omgang met planten), dies at age 79. 1946 - Birth of Elaine Cheris Dotham Alabama, fencer-epee (Olympics-1996). 1946 - Birth of Kathleen Noone actress (All My Children, Party of 5, Knots Landing). 1946 - Birth of Robbie Kreiger in Los Angeles, California, USA; guitarist (The Doors - "Come on Baby Light My Fire"). 1946 - Birth of Tod Brannan Vice President (Logos Network Corp). 1947 - Birth of David Bowie [Jones] in London, England; singer/actor (Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust). 1947 - Birth of Igor Ivanov Leningrad, Canadian chess champion (1981-84, 1985-). 1947 - Birth of Terry Sylvester rocker (Hollies-The Air that I Breathe). 1947 - General George Marshall becomes Secretary of State. 1947 - Toronto Maple Leaf rookie Howie Meeker scores five goals in a game. 1948 - Birth of Gillies Mackinnon director (Playboys). 1948 - Birth of Mel Pritchard rocker. 1948 - Kurt Schwitters writer, dies at age 60. 1948 - Queen Wilhelmina signs death sentence against Ans van Dijk for treason. 1948 - Death of Richard Tauber (original name, Richard Denemy) in London, England (born in Linz, Austria) at age 55; operatic tenor/composer. 1949 - "Make Mine Manhattan" closes at Broadhurst Theater New York City, New York after 429 performances. 1949 - "My Romance" closes at Shubert Theater New York City, New York after 95 performances. 1949 - "Small Wonder" closes at Coronet Theater New York City, New York after 134 performances. 1949 - Birth of Lawrence Rowe cricketer (prolific West Indies batsman, 302 vs England 1974). 1950 - George Rowe cricketer (15 wickets in four Tests for South Africa 1895-1902), dies. 1950 - Joseph A Schumpeter Austrian/US economist/Minister of Finance, dies at age 66. 1950 - Joseph Issac Shneerson Jewish Lubavitch Chabal leader, dies. 1951 - Birth of Gérard Leman Belgian General. 1951 - Birth of John McTiernan Albany New York; actor (Predator, Die Hard, Medicine Man). 1951 - Birth of Paul Dresher composer. 1951 - Thought extinct since 1615, a Cahow is rediscovered in Bermuda. 1952 - Antonia Maury discoverer (supergiant, giant and dwarf stars), dies. 1952 - Birth of Laurie Walters San Francisco California, actress (Joannie-Eight is Enough). 1952 - Birth of Norm Jarvis Prince Albert Sask, golfer (1984 Chilliwack). 1952 - Jordan adopts constitution. 1952 - Joseph Arendt Belgian worker's union leader, dies at age 66. 1953 - Birth of Bruce Sutter pitcher (Chicago Cubs, Saint Louis Cardinals, Braves). 1953 - Heinrich Kaspar Schmid composer, dies at age 78. 1953 - Cleveland Indians bar night games with Browns (who refuse to share TV receipts). 1953 - René Mayer forms French government. 1954 - Elvis Presley pays $4 to a Memphis studio and records his first two songs, "Casual Love" and "I'll Never Stand in Your Way". 1955 - Birth of Mike Reno Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, rock vocalist (Loverboy-Get Lucky, Heaven in Your Eyes). 1955 - Furman sets NCAA basketball single-game scoring record with 154 points. 1955 - Georgia Tech ends Kentucky's 130-game home basketball win streak. 1955 - Louise Sugg wins LPGA Los Angeles Golf Open. 1956 - Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Conrad Aiken. 1956 - Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog" single goes to #1 and stays #1 for a record 11 weeks (for a single). 1958 - Cuban revolutionary forces capture Havana. 1959 - Birth of Michael Harwood in Sydney, New South Wales; Australasia golfer. 1959 - Charles de Gaulle inaugurated as President of France's 5th Republic. 1961 - Birth of Shoaib Mohammad; cricketer (son of Hanif Patient and prolific batsman). 1961 - Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Yvor Winters. 1962 - Dutch express train crashes into slow commuter train, 91 die (Netherlands). 1962 - Golfer Jack Nicklaus, 21, first pro appearance, comes in 50th. 1963 - Mona Lisa painting, on loan, is unveiled in America's National Gallery of Art. 1963 - Birth of Hiromi Kobayashi in Fukushima, Japan; LPGA golfer (1993 JAL Big Apple). 1963 - Stark Young, US writer (So Red the Rose), dies at age 81. 1964 - Arnoldus JC Krafft, theologist (Atlas of Netherlands Antilles), dies at age 71. 1964 - Birth of Virgil Hill in Missouri, USA; middleweight boxer (Olympics-silver-1984). 1964 - European Parliament accept Mansholt Plan. 1964 - Julius Raab, Austrian chancellor (1953-61), dies at age 72. 1964 - US President Lyndon B Johnson declares "War on Poverty". 1965 - Aloys-Henri-Gerard Fornerod, composer, dies at age 74. 1965 - Birth of Champaka Ramanayake; cricketer (Sri Lankan opening bowler). 1965 - Birth of Eric Wohlberg in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada; cyclist (Olympics-1996). 1965 - Birth of Maria Pitillo in Elmira, New York, USA; actress (Dear God, Nancy Don Lewis - Ryan's Hope). 1965 - Birth of Michelle Forbes; actress (Julianna Cox - Homicide). 1965 - Star of India returned to American Museum of Natural History. 1966 - The Beatles' "Rubber Soul" album goes #1 and stays #1 for six weeks. 1966 - The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out" single goes #1 and stays #1 for three weeks. 1966 - Birth of Darryl Hall; Canadian Football League linebacker (Calgary Stampeders). 1966 - Birth of Loretta Lee [Lee Lai Chan] in China; actress (Happy Ghost). 1966 - Georges Pompidou appointed French premier. 1966 - Who and the Kinks perform on the last Shindig TV show on ABC. 1967 - Birth of Hollis Conway in Chicago, Illinois, USA; high jumper (Olympics-silver/bronze-1988, 1992). 1967 - Birth of Kent Jones in Portales, New Mexico, USA; golfer (NM State Amateur-1990-91). 1967 - Birth of Roger Rowland in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Nike golfer (1990 Macon Open-second). 1967 - Birth of Willie Anderson; American NBA guard (New York Knicks, Olympics-bronze-1988). 1967 - Zbigniew Cybulski, Polish actor (See You Tommorrow), dies at age 39. 1968 - Birth of Alexander Alexeev; NHL defenseman (Belarus, Olympics-1998). 1968 - Birth of Ami Dolenz in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress (General Hospital, Can't Buy Me Love). 1968 - Birth of Brian Johnson in Oakland, California, USA; catcher (San Diego Padres). 1968 - Birth of Mark Duane Croghan in Akron, Ohio, USA; 3k steeplechase (Olympics-5th-1996). 1968 - Birth of Paul Carey; US baseball infielder (Baltimore Orioles). 1968 - Jacques Cousteau's first undersea special on US network TV. 1969 - Birth of Brian Boehringer in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; pitcher (New York Yankees). 1969 - Birth of R Kelly; singer ("I Wish I Could Fly"). 1970 - Birth of Jon Klemm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; NHL defenseman (Colorado Avalanche). 1970 - Jani Christou, composer, dies on 44th birthday. 1971 - 29 pilot whales beach themselves and die at San Clemente Island, California. 1971 - Adriano Lualdi, composer, dies at age 85. 1971 - Birth of Billy Joe Hobert; NFL quarterback (Oakland Raiders). 1971 - Birth of Branislav Janos; hockey forward (Team Slovakia 1998). 1971 - Birth of Brenda Lee Armstrong in Albert Lea, Minnesota, USA; Miss Minnesota-America (1990). 1971 - Birth of Brook Mahealani Lee; Miss Universe/Miss USA-1997 (Hawaii). 1971 - Birth of Darren Langdon in Deer Lake, Newfoundland, Canada; NHL left wing (New York Rangers). 1971 - Birth of Jason Giambi in West Covina, California, USA; infielder (Oakland Athletics). 1971 - Birth of Roosevelt Potts; NFL running back (Indianapolis Colts). 1971 - Birth of Stephane Barin; hockey forward (Team France 1998). 1971 - Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota established. 1972 - Birth of Brandie Burton in San Bernardino, California, USA; LPGA golfer (1993 du Maurier Ltd). 1972 - Birth of Devlin Murphy in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; canoe (alternate-Olympics-1996). 1972 - Dmitri Shostakovich's 15th Symphony premieres in Moscow. 1972 - Kenneth Patchen, American writer (See You in the Morning), dies at age 60. 1972 - NCAA announces freshman can play on teams starting in fall. 1973 - Greg Chappell's best Test bowling, 5-61 vs Pakistan at SCG. 1973 - Secret peace talks between US and North Vietnam resume near Paris, France. 1973 - USSR launches Luna 21 for Moon landing. 1974 - Birth of Arjan Blaauw; Dutch soccer player (FC Groningen). 1974 - Birth of Brian Roberson; wide receiver (New York Giants). 1974 - Gold hits record US$126.50 an ounce in London, England. 1974 - Silver hits record US$3.40 an ounce in New York. 1975 - Anthony Warde, actor (Big Punch, Buck Rogers), dies at age 66. 1975 - Birth of Star Behl; Miss Delaware-USA (1996). 1975 - Birth of Vitali Yachmenev in Chelyabinsk, Russia; NHL right wing (Los Angeles Kings). 1975 - Gertrude Olmsted, actress (Cobra, Torrent), dies at age 70. 1975 - John Dierkes, actor (Red Badge of Courage), dies at age 69. 1975 - John Gregson, actor (Rooney, Assassin), dies at age 55. 1975 - US Judge Sirica orders release of Watergate's John W Dean III, Herbert W Kalmbach and Jeb Stuart Magruder from prison. 1975 - Louis J H C A de Bourbon, Dutch writer/poet (Gypsy Blood), dies at age 66. 1975 - Richard Tucker [Reuben Ticker], US tenor (La Gioconda), dies at age 61. 1976 - Birth of Jenny Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada; actress (Becky - Life With Lucy). 1976 - Birth of Brad Snyder in Ontario, Canada; shot putter (Olympics-1996). 1976 - Chou En-lai, China's Prime Minister (1949-76), dies of cancer in Beijing at age 78. 1976 - Franklin Mint strikes first gold coins for Netherlands Antilles. 1977 - Birth of Pearl Amoah; Miss Ghana-Universe (1996). 1977 - Birth of Ryan Frances; actor (Trevor-Sisters). 1978 - Birth of Petra Minarova; Miss Czech Republic-Universe (1997). 1978 - Israel's Cabinet votes to 'strengthen' settlements in occupied Sinai. 1978 - Walter Keirnan, TV panelist (I've Got a Secret), dies at age 75. 1979 - 512 die as oil tanker Bantry Bay blows up. 1979 - Argentina and Chile sign Beagle Canal accord. 1979 - Birth of Sarah Polley, actress (Sweet Hereafter). 1979 - Vietnamese troops overtake Khmer Rouge and occupy Phnom Penh. 1980 - NCAA decides to sponsor women's championships in five sports. 1980 - Oscar Ewing, US government official (Everybody's Business), dies at age 90. 1980 - Death of John Mauchly, American physicist and inventor (born 1907). 1980 - Birth of Rachel Nichols; American actress. 1980 - New York Islanders' Glenn Resch's 20th shut-out opponent-Vancouver Canucks 3-0. 1981 - Birth of Xie Xingfang; Chinese badminton player. 1981 - Pirates of Penzance opens at Uris Theater in New York City, New York for 772 performances. 1981 - India all out 63 in one-day international vs Australia. 1981 - Matthew Beard, entertainer, dies. 1981 - Cincinnati Reds become last team to sign a free agent (Larry Biitner). 1981 - Disneyland welcomes its 200-millionth guest, Gert Schelvis. 1981 - Woody Chamblis, actor (Mr Lathrop - Gunsmoke), dies at age 66. 1981 - Birth of Genevieve Cortese; American actress. 1981 - Birth of Jeff Francis; Canadian pitcher. 1982 - The US government and AT&T settle their antitrust suit, with AT&T splitting its 22 regional companies into individual entities. 1982 - The US Justice Department decides to drop its antitrust suit against IBM, which was launched 13 years ago. One of its aims had been to break IBM up into several companies. 1982 - Reta Shaw, actress (Ghost and Mrs Muir), dies of emphysema at age 69. 1982 - Birth of Gaby Hoffman, actress (Field of Dreams, Uncle Buck, Now and Then). 1982 - Gregoire Aslan, character actor (Concrete Jungle), dies of a heart attack at age 73. 1982 - Johnny Cash Parkway opens in Hendersonville, Tennessee. 1983 - Birth of Chris Masters; American wrestler. 1983 - Gale Page, actress (Four Daughters, Knute Rockney), dies of cancer at age 72. 1983 - Lois Wilson, actress (Alice - Aldrich Family), dies at age 88. 1983 - A riot breaks out at Sing Sing prison, New York. 1984 - Washington Capitals Bengt Gustafsson scores five goals. 1984 - Birth of Jeff Francoeur, American baseball player. 1984 - In Sulawesi, Indonesia, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurs. 1984 - NCAA announces that basketball tournament will have 64 teams. 1986 - US President Ronald Reagan freezes Libyan assets in the US. 1986 - Willie McCovey is 16th elected to Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year. 1986 - Yaroslav Seifert, Czechoslovakian poet (Nobel Prize 1984), dies at age 84. 1986 - Death of Pierre Fournier, French cellist (born 1906). 1987 - Dow Jones Industrial Index closes above 2,000 for first time (2,002.25). 1987 - P G Joshi, cricketer (12 Tests for India 1951-60, ct 18 stp 9), dies. 1987 - Peter Adams, actor (Alternative, Blowing Hot and Cold), dies at age 69. 1988 - 9th largest NBA crowd 38,873-Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons. 1988 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 140.58 points (6.85 percent) to close at 1,911.31 in a mini-crash. 1988 - Frank Pace Jr, US Secretary of Army (1950-53), dies at age 76. 1988 - Hewlett-Packard introduces the HP-28S Advanced Scientific Calculator. 1988 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Debi Thomas. 1988 - Birth of Michael Mancienne, English footballer. 1989 - 42nd Street closes at Winter Garden Theater in New York City, New York after 3,486 performances. 1989 - Starlight Express closes at Gershwin Theater in New York City, New York after 761 performances. 1989 - In England, a British Midland Boeing 737-400 plane crashes on approach to East Midlands Airport, leaving 47 dead. 1989 - Johnny Jordaan [Jan van Musscher], Dutch folk singer, dies at age 64. 1989 - Kenneth McMillan, actor (Our Family Honor, Malone, Concrete Beat), dies of heart attack at age 67. 1989 - Soviet Union promises to eliminate stockpiles of chemical weapons. 1990 - Terry Thomas, English comic (Heroes), dies of Parkinson's disease at age 78. 1990 - Demonstrations in Leipzig, Germany, demand reunification; "Wir sind ein Volk!" is the chant used on this day during the demonstrations. 1990 - Birth of Maci Wainwright, American singer-songwriter. 1991 - Davis Rules with Jonathan Winters and Randy Quaid premieres on ABC-TV. 1991 - Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins, and Rod Carew elected to Baseball Hall of Fame. 1991 - Steve Clark, English guitarist (Def Leppard - "Hysteria"), dies at age 30 (born 1960). 1991 - Tamás Darnyi swims world record 400m medley (4:12.36). 1992 - Abderrahim Bouabid, Morroco prime secretary (1972), dies. 1992 - Johnny [Jan] Meijer, Dutch king of accordions (Body and Soul), dies. 1992 - George H. W. Bush is televised falling violently ill at a state dinner in Japan, vomiting into the lap of Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and fainting. 1993 - Asif Nawaz, Pakistani General, dies. 1993 - Chicago Bulls player Michael Jordan scores his 20,000th career point. 1993 - Elvis Presley Commemorative Postage Stamp goes on sale. 1993 - Hakija Turajlic, Bosnian vice-premier, murdered. 1993 - NBC offers The Tonight Show to David Letterman. 1993 - Theo Bruins, Dutch pianist/composer (Syncope), dies at age 63. 1994 - Edward Duke, actor (Decadence, Silver Bears), dies of cancer at age 40. 1994 - Harvey Haddix, pitcher (12 perfect inning game), dies at age 68. 1994 - Jay Blackton, US conductor/arranger (Oklahoma!), dies at age 84. 1994 - Lady Caithness, wife of British undersecretary, commits suicide. 1994 - Pat Buttram, American actor (Haney-Green Acres), dies of kidney failure at 78 (born 1915). 1994 - Rintje Ritsma skates world record 1500m (1:51.60). 1994 - Russian manned space craft TM-18 is launched into orbit. Valeri Polyakov begins his 437.7 day orbit on the Mir space station, eventually setting the world record for days spent in orbit. 1994 - Sri Chandrashekhara Saraswathi, guru of Kanchi, dies at age 99. 1994 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Davis. 1994 - Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Italian actor (Octopus), dies at age 52. 1995 - Guys and Dolls closes at Martin Beck Theater in New York City, New York after 1143 performances. 1995 - 15th United Negro College Fund raises $12,200,000. 1995 - Carlos Monzon [El Macho], Argentine middleweight boxing champion (1970-77), dies at age 52. 1995 - Joyce McCartan, peace campaigner, dies at age 68. 1995 - Louis "Loulou" Gasté, guitarist/composer (Doggy in the Window), dies at age 88. 1995 - Mike Schmidt is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame. 1996 - For first time in 25 years no one is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame. 1996 - Francois Mitterrand, President of France (1981-95), dies of cancer at age 79. 1996 - A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital Kinshasa - 350 dead. 1996 - William Mac Lance "Tiny" McCloud, musician/songwriter, dies at age 52. 1997 - Intel releases the 166 MHz and 200 MHz Pentium processors with MMX multimedia extension instructions. Bus speed is 66 MHz. They incorporate 4.5 million transistors. Performance of the 200 MHz version is 350 MIPS. Code-name during development was P55C. MMX originally stood for "matrix-multiplication extensions". 1997 - Carole Carr, singer/actress (Down Among the Z Men), dies at age 68. 1997 - Joseph George Handy Hendleman, musician, dies at age 76. 1997 - Melvin Calvin, scientist, dies at age 85. 1997 - Phyllis Hartnoll, writer/editor, dies at age 90. 1997 - Ronald William Eastman, cinematographer, dies at age 60. 1998 - Death of Michael Tippett, English composer, at age 93 (born 1905). 1998 - New York Giants' general manager George Young resigns to accept NFL position. 1998 - Roseanne files for divorce from third husband Ben Thomas. 1998 - Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski asks to act as his own lawyer. 1998 - Walter Diemer, inventor (bubble gum 1928), dies of heart failure at age 93. 1998 - Ramzi Yousef is sentenced to life in prison for planning the World Trade Center bombing. 1998 - Cosmologists announce that the universe's expansion rate is increasing. 2001 - Noah, a gaur, is born, the first individual of an endangered species to be cloned. 2002 - IBM announces it will no longer manufacture desktop personal computers in most of the world. It will sell its desktop facilities in US and Europe to Sanmina-SCI. 2002 - Juan Gonzalez agrees to a $24 million, two-year deal with the Texas Rangers. 2002 - Death of Alexander Prochorow, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1916). 2002 - Death of Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (born 1932). 2003 - US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people aboard. 2003 - Death of Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (born 1925). 2004 - Queen Elizabeth II christens the Cunard Line's RMS Queen Mary 2 cruise liner, the largest ocean liner in the world (151,400 gross tons, 3090 passengers). 2005 - Over night, violent storm Gudrun sweeps across the southern half of Sweden, the worst storm in the country since 1969, and one of the worst natural catastrophes in recorded Swedish history. Storm gusts reached 150 km/hour, knocking down 250 million trees, the equivalent of a year's normal harvest of 80 million cubic metres throughout the country. Seven die in the storm, another nine die in clean-up work. 500,000 households are left with no electricity, and the Öresund bridge is closed to road traffic. 2006 - A powerful, magnitude 6.9 earthquake centered off the coast of the Greek island of Kythera shakes much of Greece and is felt throughout the eastern Mediterranean basin. 2006 - Death of Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, British politician (born 1943). 2007 - Russian oil supplies to Poland, Germany, and Ukraine are cut as the Russia-Belarus energy dispute escalates; restored three days later. 2007 - Death of Iwao Takamoto, Japanese animator (born 1925). 2007 - Death of Yvonne de Carlo, American actress (born 1922). 2008 - In the USA, CBS airs the 34th Annual People's Choice Awards. 2008 - In New Hampshire, USA, the Democratic caucuses choose Hillary Clinton as candidate for the presidential election on November. The Republican caucuses choose John McCain. You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history. Bookmark this URL:   http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/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. Other web pages of interest: Chronology of World History