This Day in History
March 24

What happened in history on this day: March 24? On March 24 in ... 809 - Harun al-Rashid, caliph of the Abbasid empire (786-809), dies at age 44. 1188 - Birth of Ferrand of Portugal earl of Flanders/son of Sancho I. 1241 - Kaidu's Mongol army enters abandoned Cracow in Poland, burning the city. 1379 - End of Gelderse war victory. 1400 - Florens Radewijns Dutch priest/leader Modern Devotion, dies. 1441 - Birth of Ernst I elector of Saxon (1464-86). 1455 - Nicholas V [Tommaso Parentucelli] Italian Pope (1447-55), dies at age 57. 1455 - Rudolf van Diepholt bishop/cardinal of Utrecht (1448-55), dies. 1471 - Sir Thomas Malory author (Le Morte d'Arthur), dies at age 55. 1494 - Birth of Georgius Agricola Germany, mineralogist (De Re Metallica). 1545 - German Parliament opens in Worms. 1550 - France and England sign Peace of Boulogne. 1558 - Anna van Buren countess of Egmond/Buren/Lingen, dies. 1603 - Elizabeth I Tudor [Maiden Queen] English queen (1558-1603), dies at age 69. 1603 - Scottish king James VI becomes King James I of England. 1607 - Birth of Michiel A de Ruyter Dutch Rear Admiral (Saint Vincent, Dune). 1629 - First game law passed in American colonies, by Virginia. 1630 - Birth of José Saenz d'Aguirre Spanish cardinal. 1631 - Philipp Dulichius composer, dies at age 68. 1635 - Jacques Callot French cartoonist/engraver, dies at about age 42. 1644 - Cecilia Renata arch duchess of Austria, dies. 1645 - Battle at Jankov Bohemia: Sweden beat Roman Catholic emperor Ferdinand III. 1654 - Samuel Scheidt German composer (Concertus sacri), dies at age 66. 1661 - William Leddra last Quaker, hanged in Boston. 1664 - Roger Williams is granted a charter to colonize Rhode Island. 1703 - Birth of José F de Isla [Francisco de Salazar], Spanish Jesuit/writer. 1714 - Birth of Carlo Giovanni Testori composer. 1721 - Johann Sebastian Bach opens his Brandenburgse Concerts. 1732 - Birth of Gian Francesco de Majo composer. 1734 - Netherlands' William K H Friso marries princess Anne of Hanover. 1740 - Birth of John Antes composer. 1749 - Birth of Bernard Jumentier composer. 1755 - Birth of Rufus King framer of US constitution/(Senator-F). 1755 - Theodor Christleib Reinhold composer, dies at age 72. 1762 - Birth of Marcos Antonio da Fonseca Portugal, opera composer (Portogallo). 1765 - Britain enacts Quartering Act, required colonists to provide temporary housing to British soldiers. 1792 - Benjamin West (US) becomes president of Royal Academy of London. 1797 - Birth of Antonio Rosmini-Serbati philosopher/founder (Institute of Charity). 1801 - Aleksandr P Romanov becomes emperor of Russia. 1802 - Birth of Jacob van Lennep attorney/Dutch Member of Parliament. 1809 - Birth of Joseph Liouville Saint Omer Pas-de-Calais France, discover of transcendental numbers. 1814 - Birth of Galen Clark US, naturalist, discovered Mariposa Grove. 1817 - Birth of Aime Maillart composer. 1821 - Birth of Elisa Felix [Rachel] tragedienne. 1821 - Birth of [George] Hector Tyndale Brevet Major General (Union volunteers). 1823 - Cornelis van Foreest Dutch mayor (Alkmaar), dies at age 66. 1825 - Giovanni Domenico Perotti composer, dies at age 64. 1828 - Philadelphia and Columbia Railway (first state owned) authorized. 1832 - Mormon Joseph Smith beaten, tarred and feathered in Ohio. 1834 - Birth of John Wesley Powell US, geologist/explorer/ethnologist. 1834 - Birth of William Morris England, designer/craftsman/poet/socialist. 1835 - Birth of Josef Stefan Austria, physicist (Stefan-Boltzmann law). 1837 - Birth of Philips Count of Flanders Belgium. 1837 - Canada gives blacks the right to vote. 1838 - Thomas Attwood composer, dies at age 72. 1842 - Stendhal [Marie-H Beyle] French writer (The Love), buried at age 59. 1848 - State of siege proclaimed in Amsterdam. 1855 - Birth of Andrew W Mellon founder (Mellon Bank)/US Secretary of Treasury. 1855 - Birth of Olive Schreiner South African writer (Portrait of a South African Woman). 1855 - Manhattan Kansas founded as New Boston KS. 1860 - Clipper Andrew Jackson arrives in San Francisco, 89 days out of New York. 1866 - Birth of Jack McAuliffe US lightweight boxing champion, hall of famer. 1866 - Maria Amalia of Bourbon-Sicily, wife of Louis Filips of Austria, dies. 1866 - Death of Ferdinand, ending Hesse-Homburg dynasty, which is absorbed by the grand duke of Hess-Darmstadt. 1868 - Metropolitan Life Insurance Co forms. 1869 - Birth of Émile Fabre France, playwright, administrator of Comédie Française. 1871 - Birth of Sir Ernest Rutherford nuclear scientist. 1874 - Birth of Harry Houdini [Erik Weisz] Budapest Hungary, magician/escape artist. 1874 - Birth of Luigi Einaudi economist/first President of Italy (1948-55). 1877 - University boat race between Oxford and Cambridge ends in a dead heat. 1877 - Walter Bagehot English economist/critic/banker, dies at age 51. 1878 - Albin Masek composer, dies at age 73. 1878 - Birth of Top Naeff [Anthonetta van Rhijn-N-Naeff] Dutch writer. 1878 - British frigate Eurydice sunk; 300 lost. 1880 - Tobacco Growers' Mutual Insurance Company incorporates in Connecticut. 1881 - Friedrich Hecker German revolutionary republic politician, dies at age 69. 1882 - German scientist Robert Koch discovers bacillus cause of TB. 1882 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow US poet (Song of Hiawatha), dies at age 75. 1883 - First telephone call between New York and Chicago. 1883 - Birth of James I Wedgwood British theosophist/old-catholic bishop. 1884 - Birth of Gino Marinuzzi composer. 1884 - Birth of Peter Debye Holland, physical chemist (Nobel Prize 1936). 1885 - Birth of Charlie Daniels US swimmer (Olympics-4 gold-1904, 1908). 1887 - Birth of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle Smith Center KS; actor (Keystone comedies). 1887 - Oscar Straus appointed first Jewish ambassador from US (to Turkey). 1888 - Birth of Jameson Thomas London England; actor (Farmer's Wife). 1890 - Birth of Miguel Suriel Netherland Antillian writer (Muhé culpabel). 1891 - Birth of Annie "Charley" Toorop Dutch painter (3 Generations). 1891 - Birth of John Knittel writer. 1893 - Birth of George Sisler baseball hall of fame first baseman (257 hits in 1920). 1894 - 37 miners killed at Franklin Washington. 1894 - Robert Prescott Stewart composer, dies at age 68. 1895 - Birth of Arthur Murray dancer (Arthur Murray's Dance Party). 1895 - Birth of Sid Saylor Chicago Illinois; actor (Wally-Waterfront). 1896 - Birth of Gianna Manzini writer. 1897 - Birth of Charles Eyck Dutch painter/sculptor. 1897 - Birth of Wilhelm Reich Austrian-US psycho analysist (character analysis). 1898 - First automobile sold. 1898 - Birth of Dorothy Stratton organizer (SPARS-women's branch of US Coast Guard). 1898 - Birth of George Alpert railroad executive. 1899 - Billy Barnes cricketer (725 runs in 21 Tests for England), dies. 1900 - Birth of June [Algeria Junius] Clark musician trumpet. 1902 - Birth of Thomas E Dewey Ohio, first Catholic Presidential candidate 1944, 1948 (Republican). 1903 - Birth of Adolph F J Butenandt German bio-chemist (Nobel Prize 1939). 1903 - Birth of John Patrick Sutton Ludlow actor (Agatha). 1903 - Birth of Malcolm Muggeridge English writer (Observer of Life). 1905 - Birth of André Christiaens Flemish writer (Unfindable Country). 1905 - Jules Verne sci-fi author (Around the World in 80 Days), dies at age 77. 1906 - "Census of the British Empire" shows England rules 1/5 of the world. 1906 - Birth of John Cameron Swayze news correspondant, Timex spokesman. 1907 - Birth of Janet Harmon Bragg US pilot/columnist (Chicago Defender). 1907 - Birth of Lauris Norstad US General (NATO commander)/CEO (Owens-Corning Fiberglass). 1907 - Birth of Lucia Chase US ballerina/co-founder (American Ballet Theater). 1907 - Birth of Lydia Korneevna Chukovskaya writer. 1907 - Birth of Martin Kosleck [Nicolaie Yoshkin] Barkotzen Germany; actor (Pursuit to Algiers). 1909 - Birth of Clyde Barrow bank robber (of Bonnie and Clyde fame). 1909 - Birth of Thomas E "Tommy" Trinder English radio comic/actor (Phoenix). 1909 - John Millington Synge Irish dramatist/playwright/poet, dies at age 37. 1910 - 83 degrees F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in March. 1910 - Birth of Jacques Chailley composer. 1910 - Birth of Richard Conte Jersey City New Jersey; actor (Four Just Men, 13 Rue Madeleine, Hotel, Jean Arthur Show). 1911 - Birth of Enrique Jordá San Sebastian Spain, conductor (San Francisco Symphony Orchestra 1970). 1911 - Birth of Herman W "Fritz" Liebert US OSSer/librarian (Yale curator). 1911 - Birth of Jane Beverly Drew architect. 1911 - Birth of Joseph Barbera animator (Hanna-Barbera). 1911 - Matthew Stanley Robison president (Saint Louis Cardinals), dies. 1913 - Netherlands soccer team's first victory over England. 1913 - Palace Theater opens at 1564 Broadway New York City. 1914 - Birth of Lilli Palmer Posen Germany, actress (Boys From Brazil, Sebastian). 1916 - Enrique y Campina Granados Sp opera composer (Goyescas), drowns at age 48. 1918 - Birth of Englebert van Anderlecht Belgian painter. 1918 - Theophile Ysaye composer, dies at age 53. 1919 - Birth of John J Duncan Jr (Representative-Republican-Tennessee, 1965-). 1919 - Birth of Lawrence Ferlinghetti author (Coney Island of the Mind). 1920 - First US coast guard air station established (Morehead City North Carolina). 1920 - Birth of Gene Nelson [Berg], Seattle Washington; actor (Tea For 2, Oklahoma). 1921 - Birth of Wilson Harris Guayanese author. 1921 - Deodat de Severac composer, dies at age 48. 1922 - Birth of Dave Appell singer/musician/songwriter (In the Midnight Hour). 1922 - Birth of Dorothy Irene Height president (national council of negro women). 1922 - Grand National at Aintree sees only three horses out of 32 starters finish. 1923 - Birth of Edna Jo Hunter expert on military families and prisoners of war. 1923 - Birth of Murray Hamilton Washington North Carolina; actor (Rich Man Poor Man). 1924 - Birth of Lois Andrews actress (Ganster, Rustlers, Desert Hawk). 1924 - Birth of Lorraine Gourley Los Angeles California. 1924 - Birth of Norman Fell Philadelphia Pennsylvania; actor (Mr Roper-Three's Company, The End, Graduate). 1924 - Greece becomes a republic. 1925 - Birth of Duncan Wood TV director/producer. 1925 - Birth of Mai Zetterling Vaeras Sweden, actress (Hidden Agenda, Ringer). 1925 - KSL-AM in Salt Lake City UT begins radio transmissions. 1926 - Birth of Dario Fo Leggiuno Sangiano Virginia, playwright (Nobel Prize-1997). 1926 - The Beehive in the Hague opens first escalator in Netherlands. 1927 - Birth of Janos Decsenyi composer. 1927 - Birth of Martin Walser writer. 1927 - Cuban chess champion, Jose Capablanca wins 33-day Grand Chess Tournie. 1927 - Dutch first Chamber condemns Belgian and Netherlands' Wielingen Treaty. 1928 - Birth of Byron "Yanks" Janis McKeesport Pennsylvania, pianist (NBC Symphony Orchestra). 1928 - Birth of Vanessa Brown Vienna Austria, actress (My Favorite Husband). 1929 - Birth of Cuan McCarthy cricketer (36 Test wickets for South Africa, one career no-ball). 1930 - First religious services telecast in US (W2XBS, New York City, New York). 1930 - Birth of Kenneth Nelson Rocky Mount North Carolina; actor (Henry Aldrich-Aldrich Family). 1930 - Birth of Steve McQueen Slater Missouri; actor (Wanted, Dead or Alive, Blob, Bullitt). 1930 - Planet Pluto named. 1930 - Rÿnsburgse Boys soccer team forms. 1931 - Birth of Thelma Kalama US, 4 X 100 metre relay swimmer (Olympics-gold-1948). 1932 - First US radio broadcast from a moving train (Belle Baker, WABC from Maryland). 1932 - Birth of William Smith Columbia Missouri; actor (Rich Man Poor Man, Hawaii Five-O). 1932 - Birth of Yuri Anatoyevich Ponomaryov Russia, cosmonaut (Soyuz 18 backup). 1932 - George Robert Canning cricketer (the 4th Lord Harris), dies. 1933 - Birth of David Harries composer. 1933 - Peter I Island incorporated as a Norwegian dependency. 1935 - Birth of Peter Bichsel writer. 1935 - Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour goes national on NBC Radio Network. 1936 - Birth of Fredrick Kaufmamn composer. 1936 - Red Wings beat Montréal Maroons in 16 minutes and 30 seconds of 6th period Stanley Cup game lasts 9 periods (176 minutes), ends 1-0. 1937 - Birth of Benjamin Luxon Redruth England, baritone (Owen Wingrave). 1937 - Birth of Bill Tillman baseball player. 1937 - Birth of Billy Stewart US R&B singer (I Do Love You). 1937 - Birth of Erskine Sandiford premier (Barbados, 1987-94). 1937 - Bus blew a tire, going out of control, killing 18 (Salem Illinois). 1937 - Léopold Courouble Belgian writer (Pauline Flatbread), dies at age 76. 1937 - National Gallery of Art established byUS Congress. 1938 - Birth of Larry Wilson NFL back (Cardinals). 1938 - Russian Army Commander B.M. Shaposhnikov produces a war plan, proposing a Red Army offensive or counter-offensive either north or south of the Pripet marshes, with a strong defence in the other sector. 1940 - Birth of Bob Mackie Monterey Park California, designer (Streisand, Cher). 1941 - British troops defeat British Somalia. 1941 - German troops occupy El Agheila Libya. 1941 - Glenn Miller begins work on his first movie for 20th Century Fox. 1941 - Long Island University beats Ohio University 56-42 for NIT basketball championship. 1941 - Richard Wright and Paul Green's "Native Son" premieres in New York City, New York. 1943 - Birth of H Martin Lancaster (Representative-Democrat-North Carolina). 1943 - Birth of Jesus Alou baseball outfielder (San Francisco Giants). 1943 - Birth of Marika Kilius German Federal Republic, pairs ice skating-Franz Ningel/Hans Jurgen Baumler, (Olympics-silver-1960, 64). 1944 - 76 Allied officers escape Stalag Luft 3 (Great Escape). 1944 - Birth of Denny McLain baseball pitcher (Detroit Tigers, 31 wins in 1968). 1944 - Birth of Patti Labelle singer (Phoenix, Tasty, Chameleon). 1944 - (evening) 811 British bombers attack Berlin, Germany. 72 planes are shot down, killing 392 crew members, and leaving 131 as prisoners. This is the final British air assault of the Battle of Berlin. Since August 1943, Bomber Command had flown over 10,000 sorties and dropped over 30,000 tons of bombs, making it the longest and most sustained bombing offensive against a single target in the war. 1944 - (night) The SS unit of Captain Erich Priebke rounds up 335 Italians, and machine-guns them in the Ardentine caves on the outskirts of Rome. The massacre is in reprisal for the killing of 33 German soldiers two days earlier by Italian resistance fighters. 1945 - General Eisenhower, Montgomery and Bradley discuss advance in Germany. 1945 - J S Nicklin Lieutenant-Colonel/Canada's first parachutist, dies. 1945 - (1000 hours) Operation Varsity begins, as 134 American and British gliders cross the Rhine River, landing paratroops in Wesel, Germany. 1945 - Thomas Rennie General-Major (Dutch command 51st Highland Division), dies. 1945 - US minesweepers reach Kerama Retto, South coast of Okinawa. 1946 - Alexander A Aljechin world chess champion (1927-35, 37-46), dies at age 53. 1946 - Birth of Lee Oskar Copenhagen Denmark, rock harmonicist (War-Why Can't We Be Friends). 1946 - Birth of Paul Williams climber. 1946 - Gustaf Heintze composer, dies at age 66. 1947 - Birth of Alan Sugar English multi-millionaire/computer manufacturer (Amstrad). 1947 - Birth of Mike Kellie rock drummer (Spooky Tooth-It's All About). 1947 - Birth of Paul McCandless rocker (Torches on the Lake). 1947 - Birth of Pieter W Coetzer South African journalist/Member of Parliament (NP). 1947 - US Congress proposes two-term limitation on the Presidency. 1947 - John D Rockefeller Jr donates New York City East River site to the United Nations. 1949 - 21st Academy Awards: "Hamlet", Laurence Olivier and Jane Wyman win. 1949 - Birth of Nick Lowe vocalist/producer (I Knew the Bride). 1949 - Birth of Steve Lang Montréal Canada, rock bassist (April Wine-Just Between You and Me). 1949 - Walter and John Huston become first father-and-son team to win Oscars (actor and director of "Treasure of Sierra Madre"). 1950 - Gracie de Moss wins LPGA Pro-Ladies Golf Championship. 1950 - US Ladies Figure Skating Championship won by Yvonne C Sherman. 1950 - US Men's Figure Skating Championship won by Richard Button. 1951 - Birth of Dougie Thompson rocker (Supertramp-Bloody Well Right). 1951 - Birth of Earl Williams NBA player. 1951 - Birth of Kenneth S Reightler Jr Patuxent Maryland, Commander USN/astronaut (STS 48, 60). 1951 - Birth of Pat Bradley Westford Massachusetts, LPGA golfer (1981 US Women's Open). 1952 - Birth of Nicholas Campbell Toronto Canada; actor (Nick-The Insiders). 1952 - Great demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. 1953 - Birth of Steve Lubbers cricketer (captain of Dutch World Cup team 1996). 1953 - Felix M Abel French dominican/biblical scholar, dies at age 74. 1953 - Mary [Victoria of Teck] queen of Great Britain/North-Ireland, dies at age 86. 1953 - Queen Mary of Britain dies. 1953 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. 1954 - Birth of Donna Pescow Brooklyn, actress (Angie, Out of this World, Rainbow). 1954 - Birth of Irina Ratushinskaya Odessa Ukraine, dissident poet (Beyond the Limit). 1954 - Birth of Robert Carradine Los Angeles California; actor (Slim-The Cowboys, Wavelength). 1955 - First seagoing oil drill rig placed in service. 1955 - British Army patrols withdraw from Belfast after 20 years. 1955 - Tennessee Williams, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" opens on Broadway for 694 performances. 1956 - Birth of Ijaz Faqih cricketer (Pakistan off-spin all-rounder in five Tests 80-88). 1957 - Birth of Scott J Horowitz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; PhD/Captain USAF/astronaut (STS 75, 82). 1959 - Birth of Renaldo Nehemiah; American hurdler (110 metre at 12.93)/NFL player (San Francisco 49ers). 1959 - Iraq withdraws from the Baghdad Pact. 1960 - Birth of Kelly LeBrock in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Weird Science, Woman in Red). 1960 - Paul Joostens, Flemish painter, dies at age 70. 1960 - US appeals court rules D.H. Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterly's Lover not obscene. 1961 - Birth of Dean Jones; cricketer (dashing Australian batsman and fielder 1984-92). 1961 - Birth of James T Gallagher Jr in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA; PGA golfer (1990 Greater Milwaukee). 1961 - New York Senate approves US$55 million for a baseball stadium at Flushing Meadows. 1962 - 24th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Cincinnati beats Ohio State 71-59. 1962 - Benny Paret is knocked out in a welterweight title; he dies 10 days later. 1962 - Birth of Penny Hammel in Decatur, Illinois, USA; LPGA golfer (Jamie Farr Toledo-1985, 1989). 1962 - Birth of Star Jones; attorney/TV hostess (NBC Inside Edition). 1963 - Birth of Raimond van der Gouw; Dutch soccer goalie (Vitesse, Manchester). 1963 - Birth of Sammy Giammatva in Houston, Texas, USA; tennis star. 1964 - Birth of Hans Schwaier in West Germany; tennis star. 1964 - American Kennedy half-dollar coin issued. 1964 - Peter Lorre, Hungarian/American actor (Casino Royale, Maltese Falcon, Raven), dies at age 59. 1965 - Birth of Angela Zuckerman in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; speed skater (Olympics-1994). 1965 - Birth of Ben Torriero; WLAF running back (Scottish Claymores). 1965 - Birth of Jeff Reese in Brantford, Ontario, Canada; NHL goalie (Tampa Bay Lightning). 1965 - Birth of Marian Vajda in Czechoslovakia; tennis star. 1965 - US Ranger 9 strikes Moon, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of crater Alphonsus. 1966 - Birth of Penny Toler; WNBA guard (Los Angeles Sparks). 1966 - Birth of Tatjana Patitz in Hamburg, German Federal Republic; model/actress (Rising Sun). 1966 - US Selective Service announces college deferments based on performance. 1967 - Birth of Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel in Florida, USA; tennis player (Virginia Slims of Arkansas 1987). 1967 - Birth of Richard Gillam in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; pairs skater (and Erin Moorad). 1967 - Marc Lavry, composer, dies at age 63. 1967 - University of Michigan holds first "Teach-in" after bombing of North Vietnam. 1968 - Howard Petrie, actor (Border River, Bounty Hunter), dies at age 61. 1968 - Lauwrens Voorthuyzen, Dutch sect leader, dies at age 70. 1968 - Mickey Wright wins Port Malabar Golf Invitational. 1969 - Birth of Yoko Zetterlund in San Francisco, California, USA; volleyball setter (Olympics-bronze-1992, 1996). 1969 - Joseph Kasavubu, President of Congo (1960-65), dies at about age 55. 1970 - Birth of Lara Flynn Boyle in Davenport, Iowa, USA; actress (The Practice, The Temp, Twin Peaks). 1970 - Birth of Marques Bragg; NBA forward (Minnesota Timberwolves). 1970 - Birth of Mike Vanderjagt; Canadian Football League kicker (Toronto Argonauts). 1970 - Birth of Shannon Lemora in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; 1.5k runner. 1970 - Dutch cartoonist Frans Piët ends "Sjors and Sjimmie" strip. 1972 - Great Britain imposes direct rule over Northern Ireland. 1973 - Birth of Atle Larsen; WLAF kicker (Rhein Fire). 1973 - Birth of Chip McCaw in Chicago, Illinois, USA; volleyball setter (Olympics-1996). 1973 - Birth of David Moravec; hockey forward (Team Czechoslovakia Olympics-gold-1998). 1973 - Birth of Josh Lakatos in Pasadena, California, USA; trap shooter (Olympics-silver-1996). 1973 - Birth of Philippe Boucher in Saint Apollinaire, California, USA; NHL defense (Los Angeles Kings, Olympics-Gold-1998). 1973 - Immaculata beats Queens College, 59-52 to win AIAW Basketball title. 1973 - Professional track debut of Kip Keino defeating Jim Ryun in the mile. 1973 - San Francisco 49ers' president Lou Spadia proposes NFL expand to 30 teams. 1974 - 36th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: North Carolina State beats Marquette 76-64; this ends UCLA's 7-year reign as NCAA basketball champions. 1974 - Birth of Terry Killens; linebacker (Tennessee Oilers). 1974 - Yoshida Isoya, Japanese architect (modern sukiya style), dies at age 79. 1975 - Birth of Debbie Keller in Winfield, Illinois, USA; soccer forward (Olympics-1996). 1975 - Birth of Julia Bikbova in Kiev, Ukraine; dance skater (and John Lee). 1975 - Muhammad Ali TKOs Chuck Wepner in 15 rounds to retain the heavyweight boxing title. 1975 - Muriel Hutchinson, actor (Another Thin Man), dies at age 60. 1975 - Oscar Rasbach, composer, dies at age 86. 1976 - Argentine President Isabel Perón deposed by country's military. 1976 - Bernard L Montgomery, British General, defeated Rommel, dies at age 88. 1976 - Birth of Danielle Garrett in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania; soccer forward (Olympics-1996). 1976 - Nelson Case, TV host (Trash or Treasure), dies at age 66. 1977 - Birth of Olivia Burnette in San Clemente, California; actress (Torkelsons). 1977 - Saburo Moroi, composer, dies at age 73. 1978 - Brackett Hamilton Leigh [Douglass], author (Ginger Star), dies at age 62. 1979 - Ten rebounds and ten assists, as the Spartans cruise to a 101-67 by University of Pennsylvania; Michigan State's Earvin "Magic" Johnson registers triple-double 29 points. 1979 - First appearance as Australian cricket captain for Kim Hughes. 1979 - Space shuttle Columbia flown on aircraft carrier lands at Kennedy Space Center. 1979 - Yvonne Mitchell, writer, dies at age 53. 1980 - 42nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Louisville beats UCLA 59-54. 1980 - ABC's nightly Iran Hostage crisis program renamed Nightline with Ted Koppel. 1980 - Archbishop Óscar Romero assassinated while conducting mass in San Salvador. 1980 - Birth of Luke Edwards in Nevada City, California; actor (Newsie). 1980 - Capitol Records releases some rare Beatles tracks. 1980 - Death of Pierre Etchebaster, French real tennis player (born 1893). 1980 - The Australia Olympic Committee announces it will send an Olympic delegation to Moscow, despite objections by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. 1981 - Bombay beats Delhi by innings and 46 to win Ranji Cricket Trophy. 1981 - Colombia drops diplomatic relations with Cuba. 1982 - US submarine Jacksonville collides with a Turkish freighter near Virginia. 1982 - Birth of Kenichirou Ohashi; Japanese voice actor. 1982 - Ace Goodman, comedian (Easy Aces), dies at age 83 in Kansas City, Missouri. 1983 - The redesigned 1984 model Corvette goes on sale in California, USA. 1984 - International Olympic Committee agrees to six-team exhibition baseball tournament in Olympics. 1984 - Igor Malkov skates world record 10 km (14:01.51). 1984 - Sam Jaffe, American actor (Dr Zorba - Ben Casey), dies of cancer at age 93 (born 1891). 1984 - Birth of Chris Bosh, American basketball. 1984 - Andrea Schöne skates ladies' world record 5 km (7:04.52). 1985 - Birth of Haruka Ayase; Japanese actress and model. 1985 - Golden Raspberry Awards presented to parody Oscar Awards (Bolero wins). 1985 - Jan Stephenson wins LPGA GNA Golf Classic. 1985 - Norman Gifford makes cricket ODI debuts at age 44 (v Australia, Sharjah). 1985 - Norwich City win the English League Cup at Wembley Stadium, beating Sunderland 1-0 in the final. 1986 - 58th Academy Awards: Out of Africa, William Hurt and Geraldine Page win. 1986 - NASA publishes Strategy for Safely Returning the Space Shuttle to Flight Status. 1986 - Sarah Cunningham, actress (Nurse Andrews - Trapper John MD), dies at age 67. 1986 - Suriname army Captain Etienne Boerenveen arrested for cocaine smuggling. 1986 - US and Libya clash in Gulf of Sidra. 1987 - First Soul Train Music Awards: Janet Jackson, Luther Vandross win. 1987 - Western Australia wins the Sheffield Shield by drawing cricket final vs Victoria. 1988 - Gospel at Colonus opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater in New York City for 61 performances. 1988 - Quarterback Dan Fouts retires. 1988 - An Israeli court sentences Mordechai Vanunu to 18 years in prison for disclosing Israel's nuclear program to The Sunday Times. 1989 - In Alaska's Prince William Sound, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spills 240,000 barrels (11.3 million gallons) of oil after running aground. 1990 - Alice Sapritch, actress (European Vacation), dies. 1990 - An Wang, computer manufacturer (Wang), dies at age 70 from cancer. 1990 - Indian troops leave Sri Lanka. 1990 - Ray Goulding, comedian (Bob and Ray), dies from kidney failure at age 68. 1990 - Rene Enriquez actor (Hill Street Blues), dies from pancreatic cancer at age 56. 1990 - Tom Hunter swims world record 50 metre freestyle (21.81 seconds). 1990 - Birth of Keisha Castle-Hughes, Australian-born, New Zealand-raised actress. 1990 - The government of Australian prime minister Bob Hawke is re-elected for a fourth term. 1991 - Les Miserables opens at Auditorium Theatre, Chicago. 1991 - 11th Golden Raspberry Awards: Ford Fairlane and Ghosts Can't Do It win. 1991 - Barcelona Dragons beat New York/New Jersey Knights 19-7 in their first WLAF game. 1991 - Danielle Ammaccapane wins LPGA Standard Register Ping Golf Tournament. 1991 - In liberated Kuwait, banks reopen. 1991 - New York Yankees beat New York Mets, 9-3. 1991 - Wrestlemania VII in Los Angeles, Hulk Hogan pins Sergeant Slaughter for championship. 1992 - "Jake's Women" opens at Neil Simon Theater New York City for 245 performances. 1992 - First Belgian in the space, Dirk Frimout on Atlantis Space Shuttle STS-45 (Atlantis 11) launches into space. 1992 - Sudanese Boeing 707 crashes on mountain Hymettos at Athens; 5-6 die. 1993 - Erik Andriesse, Dutch painter (skulls, skeletons), dies at age 35. 1993 - Ezer Weizman elected President of Israel. 1993 - John Hersey, Pulitzer prize author (Hiroshima), dies at age 78 (born 1914). 1993 - Peter Roovers, Dutch sculptor/teacher (war monuments), dies at age 90. 1993 - Taylor Reed, actor (Easy Money), dies of heart attack at age 60. 1994 - Carousel opens at Beaumont Theater in New York City for 322 performances. 1994 - Song of Jacob Zulu opens at Plymouth Theater in New York City for 53 performances. 1994 - Edith Porada, art historian/archaeologist, dies at age 81. 1994 - F-16 collides with C-130 Hercules above air force base in North Carolina, 120 die. 1994 - Robert F Kennedy Jr divorces Emily Black. 1994 - Tommy Benford, jazz drummer, dies at age 88. 1995 - Anthony Standerwick Heal, businessman, dies at age 88. 1995 - Joey Long, blues/cajun guitarist, dies at age 62. 1995 - Trevor Oswald Ling, religious studies professor, dies at age 75. 1995 - Buena Vista Pictures releases the Hollywood Pictures live-action feature film Funny Bones to theaters in the USA. 1995 - Buena Vista Pictures releases the Walt Disney Pictures live-action feature film Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill to theaters in the USA. 1995 - For the first time in 26 years, no British soldiers patrol the streets of Belfast, Northern Ireland. 1996 - 16th Golden Raspberry Awards: Showgirls wins. 1996 - Laura Davies wins LPGA Standard Register Ping Golf Tournament. 1996 - MTA raises New York City bridge tolls to $3.50 each way. 1996 - Maria Lucia Beltran Alcayaga, singer, dies at age 66. 1997 - 69th Academy Awards: The English Patient, Tom Cruise and Frances McDormand win. 1997 - Australian parliament overturns world's first and only euthanasia law. 1997 - Roberto Sanchez Vilella, the second democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, dies at age 84. 1998 - The Jonesboro massacre: two young boys (aged 11 and 13 years) fire upon students at Westside Middle School while hidden in woodlands near the school. Four students and one teacher are killed, and 10 are injured. 1999 - NATO launches air strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which refused to sign a peace treaty. This marks the first time NATO attacked a sovereign country. 1999 - Fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel kills 39 people, closing the tunnel for nearly three years. 1999 - Death of Birdie Tebbetts, baseball player and manager (born 1912). 2001 - During an exhibition baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks, Randy Johnson's fastball hits and instantly kills a dove flying in front of home plate. The bird appears to explode as the pitch sends it over the catcher's head. 2001 - Apple Computer begins selling the Mac OS X 10.0 operating system, for US$129. 2002 - Death of César Milstein, Argentine scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1927). 2004 - The European Competition Commission labels Microsoft an abusive monopolist. The Commission says Microsoft must offer European computer makers two versions of Windows, with and without Windows Media Player, must share technical information on server software with rivals, and must pay a US$613 million fine. 2005 - The Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan reaches its climax with the overthrow of president Askar Akayev. 2005 - Sony releases the PlayStation Portable handheld video game system in North America. It includes a 32 MB Memory Stick Duo card, battery pack, and the film Spider-Man 2 on UMD. Price is US$249.99 in the US. 500,000 units are sold in the first two days. 2006 - Death of Lynne Perrie, English actress (born 1931). 2008 - In northern Chile, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes. 2008 - Death of Neil Aspinall in New York at age 66 from lung cancer. Aspinall ran the Apple Corps music company for The Beatles, as chief executive from 1970 to 2007. 2008 - Richard Widmark, actor (Tommy Udo - Kiss of Death), dies in Roxbury, Connecticut at age 93. 2008 - First election in Bhutan, with turnout of 80 percent of 320,000 registered voters. Druk Phuensum Tshogpa party wins 44 of 47 seats, with leader Jigme Thinley. 2008 - In Iowa City, Iowa, USA, former bank executive Steven Sueppel, facing trial for embezzlement, beats to death his wife Sheryl Sueppel and the couple's four adopted children, then kills himself by ramming his car into a highway sign post. 2008 - Death of Neil Aspinall, manager of The Beatles, CEO of Apple Corps, at age 66 from lung cancer. 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