Today In History - Friday, May 1, 2026




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Welcome to Today In History for Friday, May 1, 2026.

On this day in history ..

0305 - Emperor Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Jovius of Rome resigns
1006 - Supernova observed by Chinese & Egyptians in constellation Lupus
1048 - Bishop Bernold flees St Pieterskerk for Utrecht Neth
1394 - Ekiho, exorcised the Zen temple & it's surroundings from an old badger
1523 - Danish king Christian III arrives in Veere
1528 - P nfilo the Narva‚z begins exploration to with 350 men to Florida
1544 - Turkish troops occupy Hungary
1551 - Council of Trente resumes
1598 - Jacob van Necks merchant fleet departs for Java
1625 - Portuguese & Spanish expedition recaptures Salvador (Bahia)
1625 - Prince Frederik Henry appointed viceroy of Holland
1628 - Meiboom in Quincy Mass) degenerates into orgy with indian women
1682 - Louis XIV & his court inaugurates Paris Observatory
1703 - Battle at Rultusk: Swedish army beats Russians
1704 - Boston Newsletter publishes 1st newspaper ad
1707 - England, Wales & Scotland form UK of Great Britain
1711 - Arch duke Karel of Austria/Hungarian rebellion sign Peace of Szatmar
1715 - Prussia declares war on Sweden
1725 - Spain & Austria sign trade treaty
1751 - 1st American cricket match is played
1756 - France & Austria sign alliance
1757 - Austria & France divide Prussia
1759 - British fleet occupies Guadeloupe, West-Indies, on France
1776 - Adam Weishaupt founds secret society of Illuminati
1777 - RB Sheridans "School for Scandal," premieres in London
1781 - Emperor Jozef II decrees protection of population
1786 - Mozart's opera "Marriage of Figaro" premieres in Wien (Vienna)
1822 - John Phillips becomes 1st mayor of Boston
1834 - Belgian parliament accept railway laws
1840 - 1st adhesive postage stamps ("Penny Blacks" from England) issued
1841 - 1st emigrant wagon train leaves Independence, Missouri for Calif
1844 - Samuel Morse sends 1st telegraphic message
1844 - Whig convention nominates Henry Clay as presidential candidate
1846 - Ida Pfeiffer (48) begins trip around world
1850 - John Geary becomes 1st SF mayor
1851 - Great Exhibition opens in Chrystal Palace London
1853 - Argentina adopts it's constitution
1854 - Amsterdam begins transferring drinking water out of the dunes
1857 - William Walker, conqueror of Nicaragua, surrenders to US Navy
1861 - Lee orders Confederate troops under T J Jackson to Harper's Ferry
1862 - Union captain David Farragut conquers New Orleans
1863 - Battle of Chancellorsville, VA (29,000 injured or died)
1863 - Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi
1863 - Confederate "National Flag" replaces "Stars & Bars"
1863 - Confederate congress passed resolution to kill black soldiers
1864 - -8] Battle at Alexandria, Louisiana (Red River Campaign)
1864 - Atlanta campaign, GA
1864 - Wilderness campaign
1866 - American Equal Rights Association forms
1867 - Howard University chartered
1867 - Reconstruction of South begins, black voter registration
1869 - Folies BergŠre opens in Paris
1873 - 1st US postal card issued
1873 - Emperor Franz Jozef opens 5th World's Fair in Vienna
1873 - International Exhibition opens in Vienna
1875 - 238 members of "Whiskey Ring" accused of anti-US activities
1883 - "Buffalo Bill" Cody put on his 1st Wild West Show
1883 - Amsterdam World's Fair opens
1883 - Baseball returns to Phila, 1st NL game since 1876
1883 - NY Athletic Club hires Bob Rogers as 1st American pro sports trainer
1884 - Construction begins on Chicago 1st skyscraper (10 stories)
1884 - Moses Walker became 1st black player in major league
1885 - Maria "Goeie Mie" Swanenburg sentence to life for killing 27 in Neth
1886 - US general strike for 8 hour day, begins
1889 - 1st International Workers Day, according to 2nd International
1889 - Bayer introduces aspirin in powder form (Germany)
1891 - Cy Young pitches 1st game played in Cleveland's League Park Cleveland Spiders 12, Cincinnati Redlegs 3
1892 - US Quarantine Station opens on Angel Island, SF Bay
1893 - World Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago
1898 - George Dewey commands, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley" as US route Spanish fleet at Manila
1900 - Premature blast collapses mine tunnel killing 200 at Scofield, Utah
1900 - Roermond soccer team forms in Roermond
1901 - Detroit Tigers commit 12 errors against Chicago White Sox
1901 - Herb McFarland hit 1st grand slam in American League
1901 - Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo
1906 - Phillie's John Lush no-hits Bkln Dodgers, 6-0
1907 - Belgium govt of De Trooz forms
1907 - Indian Mine Laws passes (concessions from Neth-Indies)
1908 - World's most intense shower (2.47" in 3 minutes) at Portobelo Panama
1909 - Netherlands begins unity with Belgium
1912 - Amsterdam-North soccer team DWV forms
1912 - Beverly Hills Hotel opens
1913 - Longacre Theater opens at 220 W 48th St NYC
1914 - China's 1st president Yuan Shikai wins dictatorial qualification
1915 - British Lusitania leaves NY, for Liverpool
1915 - German submarine sinks US ship Gulflight
1919 - Mount Kelud (Indonesia) erupts, boiling crater lake which broke through crater wall killing 5,000 people in 104 small villages
1920 - Babe Ruth's 1st Yankee HR & 50th of career, out of Polo Grounds
1920 - Belgian-Luxembourg toll tunnel opens
1920 - Brooklyn Dodgers tie Boston Braves, 1-1, in 26 innings
1921 - Drusian sultan Pasja al-Atrasj elected governor of Suwayda
1922 - Charlie Robertson of Chicago pitches a perfect no-hit, no-run game
1924 - Admiral Paul Koundouri¢tis becomes president of Greece
1925 - A's Jimmie Foxx, 17, 1st game; he pinch-hits a single
1925 - Cyprus becomes a British Crown Colony
1926 - British coal-miners go on strike
1926 - Brooklyn Dodgers & Boston Braves deadlock at 1-1 in 26 innings
1926 - Satchel Paige makes pitching debut in Negro Southern League
1927 - 1st British airliner to serve cooked meals (Imperial Airways)
1927 - Netherlands beats Belgium 3-2 in soccer match in Amsterdam
1927 - Panningen soccer team forms in Panningen
1928 - 6 children die & 10 injured by hailstones in Klausenburg, Romania
1928 - Drunken fascist Erich Wichman attacks VARA-radio transmitter
1928 - Lei Day begun (a Hawaiian celebration)
1928 - Pitcairn Airlines (later Eastern) begins service
1928 - Rotterdam soccer team Black White '28 forms
1929 - Brooklyn's Johnny Finn sets 100 yard sack race in 14.4 seconds
1929 - Farm workers strike begins in East-Groningen
1929 - Police kill 19 Mayday demonstrators in Berlin
1930 - Bradman scores 236 Aust v Worcs, his 1st f-class innings in Eng
1931 - Empire State Building opens in NYC
1931 - Norway claims Peter I Island
1931 - Singer Kate Smith begins her long-running radio program on CBS
1932 - 1st Suriname union congress at Paramaribo
1934 - Austria signs pact with Vatican
1934 - Philippine legislature accepts US proposal for independence
1934 - Water state kingdom dismisses NSB-leader Anton Mussert
1935 - Boulder Dam completed
1935 - Canada's 1st silver dollar is circulated
1936 - Emperor Haile Selassie leaves Ethiopia as Italian invades
1936 - FBI's J Edgar Hoover arrests Alvin Karpis
1937 - FDR signs act of neutrality
1939 - Batman comics hit street
1939 - Pulitzer Prize awarded to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Yearling)
1940 - 140 Palestinian Jews die as German planes bomb their ship
1940 - The 1940 Olympics are cancelled
1941 - "Citizen Kane," directed & starring Orson Welles, premieres in NY
1941 - General Mills introduces Cheerios
1941 - German assault on Tobruk
1942 - Radio Orange calls to defy order to wear "Jewish star"
1943 - 1st edition of illegal "The Free Artist" appears in Amsterdam
1943 - 69th Kentucky Derby: Johnny Longden aboard Count Fleet wins in 2:04
1943 - Food rationing begins in US
1943 - German Wehrmacht deployed in order to break Dutch strikes
1943 - German plane sinks boat loaded with Palestinian Jews bound for Malta
1943 - Rauter signs unofficial death sentence
1944 - Messerschmitt Me 262 Sturmvogel, 1st jet bomber, makes 1st flight
1944 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Martin Flavin (Journey in the dark)
1944 - Surprise attack on Weteringschans Amsterdam, fails
1945 - 900 occupiers of Demmin Vorpommeren, commit suicide
1945 - Admiral Karl Doenitz forms German government
1945 - Australian & Dutch troops lands on Tarakan
1945 - General Belgian Labor Union (ABVV) party forms
1945 - Radio Budapest, Hungary re-enters shortwave broadcasting after WW II
1945 - Seys-Inquart flees to Flensburg
1945 - Soviet army reach Rostock
1946 - Fieldmarshal Montgomery appointed British supreme commander
1946 - Mrs Emma Clarissa Clement named "American Mother of Year"
1947 - Cleve Indians abandon League Park to play all games at Municipal Stad
1947 - Lt General Hoyt S Vandenberg, USA, ends term as 2nd head of CIA
1947 - Radar for coml & private planes 1st demonstrated
1947 - Rear Admiral Roscoe H Hillenkoetter, USN, becomes 3th director of CIA
1948 - 74th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro aboard Citation wins in 2:05.4
1948 - North Korean proclaims itself People's Democratic Republic of Korea
1948 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Auspicia quaedam
1948 - Glenn Taylor, Idaho Senator, arrested in Birmingham Alabama for trying to enter a meeting through a door marked "for Negroes"
1949 - A's Elmer Valo is 1st AL'er to hit 2 bases-loaded triples in a game
1949 - Gerard Kuiper discovers Nereid, (2nd satellite of Neptune)
1950 - Gwendolyn Brooks, is 1st Black awarded a Pulitzer Prize (poetry)
1950 - Mayor of Brussels reluctantly bans May Day parade
1950 - New marriage laws enforced in People's Republic China
1950 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Rodgers & Hammerstein (South Pacific)
1950 - WJIM (now WLNS) TV channel 6 in Lansing, MI (CBS) begins broadcasting
1951 - 600,000 march for peace & freedom in Germany
1951 - Dutch Reformed Church introduces new church choir
1951 - Mickey Mantle's 1st HR
1951 - Minnie Minoso becomes the 1st black to play for the White Sox
1952 - Marines take part in an atomic explosion training in Nevada
1952 - Mr Potato Head, introduced
1952 - TWA introduces tourist class
1954 - 80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York aboard Determine wins in 2:03
1954 - Bishops publish Mandement (member socialist org forbidden)
1954 - HSA-UWC Forms (Unification Church) (Moonies)
1954 - WAPA TV channel 4 in San Juan, PR (NBC/SFN) begins broadcasting
1955 - Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Peach Blossom Golf Tournament
1955 - Bob Feller's 15th 1 or less hitter (12 1-hitters, 3 no-hitters)
1957 - Flevo Boys soccer team forms in Emmeloord
1957 - Larry King's 1st radio broadcast
1957 - US give Poland credit of $95 million
1957 - Vanguard TV-1 booster test reaches 195 km
1958 - Ambonese rebellion bombed Ambon/conquer Morotai
1958 - Arturo Frondizi sworn in as president of Argentina
1959 - Floyd Patterson KOs Brian London in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1959 - West Germany introduces 5 day work week
1959 - White Sox Early Wynn beats Red Sox 1-0 on his own HR
1960 - India's Bombay state split into Gujarat & Maharashtra states
1960 - Pancho Gonzalez retires from tennis
1960 - Russia shoots down Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane over Sverdlovsk
1961 - 1st US airplane hijacked to Cuba
1961 - Fidel Castro announces there will be no more elections in Cuba
1961 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)
1961 - Tanganyika granted full internal self-government by Britain
1962 - 1st French underground nuclear experiment in the Sahara
1962 - Bo Belinsky pitches a no-hitter, in his 4th start
1962 - France performs underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria
1962 - JFK authorizes Area Redevelopment Act (ARA)
1963 - 1st American (James Whittaker) conquers Mount Everest
1963 - Indonesia takes control of Irian Jaya (west New Guinea) from Neth
1964 - 1st BASIC program runs on a computer (Dartmouth)
1965 - 91st Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker on Lucky Debonair wins in 2:01.2
1965 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 3
1965 - USSR launches Luna 5; later impacts on Moon
1966 - Last British concert by Beatles (Empire Pool in Wembley)
1966 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Shreveport Kiwanis Club Golf Invitational
1966 - Radio RSA, South Africa begins shortwave transmitting
1966 - US troops shooting targets in Cambodia
1967 - Anastasio Somoza Debayle becomes president of Nicaragua
1967 - Elvis Presley & Pricilla Beaulieu wed
1967 - Jelle Zijlstra becomes president of Netherlands Bank
1967 - Priscilla Beaulieu & Elvis Presley wed in Las Vegas
1967 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Bernard Malamud (Fixer)
1968 - "Ben Franklin in Paris" closes at Lunt Fontanne NYC after 215 perfs
1968 - Phillies J Boozer is ejected for throwing spitballs during his warmup
1969 - 43 Unification church couples wed in NYC
1969 - Houston Don Wilson 2nd no-hitter beats Cin Reds, 4-0
1969 - Leonard Tose buys NFL Philadelphia Eagles for $16,155,000
1969 - Pirate Radio Station 259 (England/France) begins transmitting
1971 - 97th Kentucky Derby: Gustavo Avila on Canonero II wins in 2:03.2
1971 - Amtrak Railroad begins operation
1971 - Rolling Stones release "Brown Sugar"
1972 - "Different Times" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 24 performances
1972 - North Vietnamese troops occupy Quang Tri Activities Committee
1972 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Wallace Stegner (Angle of Repose)
1972 - Radio's Mutual Black Network premieres
1973 - SF Giants score 7 runs with 2 outs in 9th to beat Pirates, 8-7
1975 - Islander Parise & Potvin score within 14 seconds in playoffs Flyers 5-Isles 4-semifinals-Flyers hold 2-0 lead
1976 - 102nd Kentucky Derby: Angel Cordero Jr on Bold Forbes wins in 2:01.6
1976 - Jos Hermens, runs Dutch record for 20K (57:24.2)
1977 - Chantal Langlace runs female world record marathon (2:35:15.4)
1977 - Debbie Austin wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic
1977 - Empress Lilly dedicated
1978 - 1st black mayor of New Orleans (Ernest Morial) inaugurated
1978 - MVV soccer team forms in Maastricht
1978 - Naomi Uemura became 1st to reach North Pole overland alone
1979 - Elton John becomes 1st pop star to perform in Israel
1979 - Home rule introduced to Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)
1979 - Marshall Islands (in Pacific) become self-governing
1980 - "Day in Hollywood, A Night..." opens at John Golden NYC for 588 perf
1980 - 15th Academy of Country Music Awards: Barbara Mandrell wins
1980 - Sabres & Islanders play to 1:20 of 5th period in a playoff
1980 - Amer Book Award: William Styron (Sophie Choice)/T Wolfe (Right Stuff)
1981 - Billie Jean King admits to a lesbian affair with Marilyn Barnett
1981 - Harrison Williams (Sen-D-NJ) convicted on FBI Abscam charges
1981 - Radio Shack releases Model III TRSDOS 1.3
1982 - 108th Kentucky Derby: Ed Delahoussaye on Gato Del Sol wins in 2:02.4
1982 - 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville Tennessee opens
1982 - Nordiques 4-Isles 5 (OT)-semifinals-Isles hold 3-0 lead
1983 - "My One & Only" opens at St James Theater NYC for 767 performances
1983 - Hollis Stacy wins LPGA CPC International Golf Tournament
1983 - Nolan Ryan surpasses Walter Johnson for most strikeouts (3,508)
1984 - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1984 - Mick Fleetwood (of Fleetwood Mac) files for bankruptcy
1985 - "Communist" bomb attack kills 2 firemen in Brussels
1985 - US president Reagan ends embargo against Nicaragua
1985 - William Hoffman's "As Is," premieres in NYC
1986 - Bill Elliott sets stock car speed record of 212.229 mph
1986 - Tass reports Chernobyl nuclear power plant mishap
1986 - Will Stegers expedition reaches North Pole
1987 - 46 HRs hit in 13 baseball games
1987 - Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish born nun
1988 - "Romance/Romance" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 297 perfs
1988 - IRA attack in Roermond, kills 3
1988 - Patti Rizzo wins LPGA Sara Lee Golf Classic
1989 - 135 acre Disney's MGM studio officially opens to public
1989 - Jockey Chris Antley ends record of 64 consecutive winning days
1989 - US Supreme Court rules employees have legal burden to prove non- discriminatory reasons for not hiring or promoting
1990 - "Prelude to a Kiss" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC
1991 - "Will Rogers Follies" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 983 performances
1991 - A's Rickey Henderson steals an all time record 939th base vs Yanks
1991 - Actor Robert Duvall weds Sharon Brophy
1991 - Angola's civil war ends
1991 - Last day of Test cricket for Gordon Greenidge
1991 - Milwaukee Brewers beat Chicago Cubs, 10-9, in 19 innings
1991 - Nolan Ryan pitches his 7th no-hitter, beating Toronto
1991 - Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brocks record with his 939th steal
1991 - Tx Ranger Nolan Ryan pitches record 7th no hitter (beats Toronto 3-0)
1991 - Skin-Spit-Skin featuring lesbain, homosexual & hetrosexual nude couples caressing, is seen by 5,000 in NYC
1992 - Eric Houston kills 4 in a Calif HS where he failed history 4 yrs prior
1992 - LA Dodgers postpone 3 games due to racial riots due to Rodney King
1992 - NY Rangers wins their 1st ever 7th game of a playoff (vs NJ Devils)
1992 - Rickey Henderson steals his 1,000th base
1993 - 119th Kentucky Derby: Jerry Bailey aboard Sea Hero wins in 2:02.4
1993 - Bomb attack on Sri Lankan president (26 die)
1994 - "My Fair Lady" closes at Virginia Theater NYC after 165 performances
1994 - "Rise & Fall of Little Voice" opens at Neil Simon NYC for 9 perfs
1994 - -3] Tornado & hail storms hit Jiangxi China, 95 killed
1994 - Charles Kuralt, retires as CBS newsman (On the Road)
1994 - Sandra Palmer wins LPGA Sprint Senior Challenge Golf Tournament
1994 - Sherri Steinhauer wins LPGA Sprint Golf Championship
1995 - "On the Waterfront" opens at Atkinson Theater NYC for 8 performances
1995 - Steve Waugh scores 200 for Australia v WI at Sabina Park
1996 - "Ideal Husband" opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 308 performances
1996 - Gerald Williams is 1st NY Yankee since 1934 to get 6 hits in a game
1997 - Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in San Diego CA on KIOZ 105.3 FM
1997 - Toni Blair elected PM of UK
1999 - 125th Kentucky Derby

Famous birthdays for this day ..

1238 - Magnus VI Lagabuter, King of Norway (1263-80)
1493 - Phillippus Paracelsus, Switzerland, physician/alchemist (or 11/10)
1545 - Franciscus Junius, [Fran‡ois du Jon], French/Neth calvinist theologist
1567 - Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt, Dutch royal painter
1577 - Fran‡ois van Kinschot, Dutch treasurer
1582 - Marco da Gagliano, Italian opera composer
1592 - Johann A Schall von Bell, German missionaries/astronomer
1620 - Mikl¢s Zr¡nyi, Hungarian general [or Jan 5]
1633 - S‚bastien le Prestre de Vauban, French fortress architect
1672 - Joseph Addison, England, essayist (Spectator)
1735 - John H van Kinsbergen, Dutch lt-admiral/founder of Dutch Marines Corp
1759 - Jacob Albright, [Albrecht], German/US predictor
1764 - Benjamin Henry Latrobe, engineer/architect (built Capitol)
1764 - Gottfried Rieger, composer
1769 - Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, British PM (C) (1828-30)
1771 - George Guest, composer
1775 - Jacob-Joseph-Balthasar Martinn, composer
1800 - Ret Thomas Aloysius Dornin, Comm (Union Navy), died in 1874
1807 - John Bankhead "Prince John" Magruder, Major General (Confederate Army)
1818 - Jos‚ Amador de los R¡os, Spanish historian/poet
1819 - William Steele, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1885
1825 - George Inness, US landscape painter (Delaware Water Gap)
1829 - Jos‚ M de Alencar, Brazilian writer/minister of Justice
1830 - Mary Harris Jones, [Mother Jones], hell-raiser
1835 - Alfred Napoleon Alexander "Natti" Duffie, Brig Gen (Union volunteers)
1839 - Chardonnet, inventor (rayon)
1851 - Eberhard Nestle, German ori‰ntalist/biblical scholar
1852 - Calamity [Martha] Jane [Burke], frontier adventurer/indian fighter
1858 - Anthony Johnson Showalter, composer
1859 - Bohuslav Jeremias, composer
1859 - Willem J Leyds, Dutch/South Africa lawyer/politician/diplomat
1862 - Anthony G Kr”ller, entrepreneur/govt advisor/husband of Helene Mller
1862 - Marcel Pr‚vost, French publisher/writer (Les demis-vierges)
1872 - Hugo Alfv‚n, Stockholm Sweden, composer (Midsommarvaka)
1880 - Conrad Weiss, German writer/poet (Tantum dic verbo)
1880 - Konrad Weiss, Dutch German writer/poet (Tantum dic verbo)
1881 - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, France, philosopher/paleontologist
1884 - Felipe Boero, composer
1887 - Alan Gordon Cunningham, Irish/Brit gen/director of Palestine (1945-48)
1892 - Howard Barlow, Plain City Ohio, conductor (Voice of Firestone)
1895 - Leo Sowerby, Grand Rapids Michigan, composer (Pulitzer 1946)
1898 - Eugene R Black, US, Pres of World Bank (1953-62)
1899 - J¢n Leifs, Iceland, composer/conductor
1900 - Ignazio Silone, Italy, novelist/politician (Bread & Wine)
1905 - Leila Hyams, NYC, actress (Big House, Ruggles of Red Gap)
1905 - Nikolai Tikhonov, Soviet PM (1980-85)
1907 - Jan Pauw, CEO (Aruban Theater Group)
1908 - Giovanni Guareschi, Italian writer (Don Camillo, Peppone)
1909 - Ethel Jane Cain, original UK Speaking Clock voice
1909 - George Melachrino, composer
1909 - Janis Ritsos, writer
1909 - Kate Smith, Virg, singer (God Bless America)/Phila Flyer luck charm
1909 - Yannis Ritsos, Greek poet
1910 - Cliff Battles, Akron Oh, NFL hall of famer (Braves, Redskins)
1912 - Anna Pollak, mezzo-soprano
1912 - Felipe Padilla de Leon, composer
1913 - Walter Susskind, Praha (Prague) Czechoslovakia, conductor
1916 - Glenn Ford, Quebec Canada, actor (Cade's County, Big Heat, Midway)
1916 - Jack Paar, Canton Ohio, TV host (Jack Paar Show)
1916 - Jane Jacobs, Scranton, Pa, urbanologist
1917 - Danielle Darrieux, France, actress (Alexander the Great, Mayerling)
1917 - John Beradino, LA Calif, actor (Steve Hardy-General Hospital)
1917 - Louis G "Lo" van Hensbergen, actor/author (Amsterdam Affair)
1919 - Alwyn Farquharson, Scottish clan-captain/large landowner
1919 - Dan O'Herlihy, Ireland, actor (Fail Safe, Last Starfighter, Robocop)
1921 - 12th Lord Middleton, English large landowner/multi-millionaire
1921 - Paul Daels, president (Flemish Iron Pilgrimage committee)
1923 - Joseph Heller, Bkln NY, novelist (Catch-22, 1963 Arts & Letters Award)
1924 - Earl George, composer
1924 - Enrico Josif, composer
1924 - Patricia Roberts Harris, 1st US black woman cabinet member
1924 - Terry Southern, writer
1925 - Chuck Bednarik, Penn, NFL hall of fame center/linebacker (Phila)
1925 - Malcolm Scott Carpenter, Boulder Colo, astronaut (Mercury 7-Aurora 7)
1927 - Greta Andersen, Denmark, 100m freestyle swimmer (Olympic-gold-1948)
1927 - Harry Belafonte, calypso singer (Banana Boat Song)
1927 - Israr Ali, cricket pace bowler (Pakistani in 4 Tests 1952-59)
1927 - Lord Bathurst, English earl/large landowner/multi-millionaire
1927 - Roland Verhavert, Flemish screen writer (Sea Gulls Die in the Harbor)
1927 - William Mitchell Byers, musician
1928 - Raoul Servais, Belgian cartoonist/pres (l'ASIFA)
1929 - Sonny James, [James Loden], Hackelburg AL, rocker (Young Love)
1929 - Sonny Ramadhin, cricket spin bowler (great WI)
1930 - Little Walter, [Marion Walter Jacobs], rocker
1930 - Ollie Matson, NFL halfback (Cardinals, Rams, Lions, Eagles)
1933 - Uwe Greámann, writer
1934 - Alette Beaujon, Cura‡aos poet (Gedichten on the Bay & Elsewhere)
1937 - Bo Nilsson, Swedish composer (Doppelspiel)
1939 - Judy Collins, Seattle Wash, singer (Send in the Clowns, Clouds)
1939 - Max Robinson, Richmond VA, black news anchor (ABC Evening News)
1939 - Ray Aranha, Miami FL, actor (Nick-Married People)
1941 - Barbara Barendrecht, [BHM Wurfbain], actress (Dirty Picture)
1941 - Juraj Hatrick, composer
1942 - Stephen Macht, Phila Pa, actor (Joe-Knots Landing, Cagney & Lacey)
1943 - Joy Harmon, St Louis Mo, actress (Cool Hand Luke)
1944 - Rita Coolidge, Nashville Tn, singer (Higher & Higher, We're All Alone)
1946 - Bruce Robinson, actor (Story of Adele H)
1946 - Jerry Weiss, NYC, rocker (Blood Sweat & Tears)
1946 - Joanna Lumley, Kashmir India, actress (Abs Fab, OHM's Secret Service)
1946 - Nick Fortune, [Nicholas Fortuna], rock bassist (Buckinghams Chicago)
1946 - Tony Ashton, rocker
1946 - Valentin Muratov, USSR, floor exercise gymnist (Olympic-gold-1956)
1947 - Carlos Ward, rocker (B T Express)
1947 - Ghulam Abbas, cricketer (scored 12 & 0 in only Test for Pakistan 1967)
1948 - James Wise, US soul singer (Archie Bell & the Drells)
1949 - Douglas Barr, Cedar Rapids Iowa, actor (Howie-Fall Guy)
1949 - Margo Miller, SF Calif, fencer-epee (Olympics-96)
1950 - Marina Stepanova, Russian hurdler (world record 1986)
1951 - Gordon Greenidge, cricketer (great West Indian opener 1974-91)
1953 - Elquemedo Willett, cricketer (WI lefty spinner early 70's)
1953 - Felix Hanemann, rocker (Zebra)
1953 - Mindy Moore, LPGA golfer
1954 - Michael Scott, reporter (Entertainment Tonight)
1954 - Ray Parker Jr, Detroit Mich, rock guitarist/vocalist (Ghostbusters)
1954 - Taslim Arif, cricketer (Pakistani keeper/batsman, 210 v Aust 1980)
1955 - Julien Wiener, cricketer (Australian opening batsman 1979-80)
1956 - Byron Stewart, Baxter Springs Ks, actor (Warren Coolidge-St Elsewhere)
1957 - Dick Swett, (Rep-D-New Hampshire)
1957 - Paul D Ronney, LA Calif, ScD/astronaut (STS 83 alt)
1957 - Rick Darling, cricketer (accident-prone/dashing Aussie opener 1978-79)
1957 - Steve Farris, rock guitarist (Mr Mister)
1959 - Eddie Johnson, NBA guard/forward (Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers)
1959 - Paul Smith, rock saxophonist (Haircut 100)
1960 - Albert McDonald, Dartmouth NS, US canoe (alt-Olympics-96)
1961 - Charlie O'Brien, Tulsa OK, catcher (Brewers, Mets, Braves, Blue Jays)
1961 - Steven Cauthen, jockey (1978 Kentucky Derby-Affirmed)
1962 - Gary Clark, NFL wide receiver (Miami Dolphins)
1962 - Paula Weishoff, Hollywood CA, volleyballer (Oly-Sil-84, br-92, 96)
1962 - Reggie Pleasant, CFL cornerback (Edmonton Eskimos)
1963 - Robert Seguso, Minneapolis MN, tennis star
1964 - Carlos Aalbers, Dutch soccer player (NEC)
1964 - Ruth Picardie, journalist
1964 - Sarah FE Armstrong-Jones, daughter of princess Margaret & Lord Snowdon
1965 - Jon Warren, Akron Ohio, 1.5k runner
1966 - Armando Reynoso, San Luis Potosi Mexico, pitcher (Colorado Rockies)
1966 - Charlie Schlatter, NYC, actor (18 Again, Heartbreak Hotel)
1966 - Johnny Colt, Cherry Point NC, rock bassist (Black Crowes)
1966 - Mark Coogan, Manhaset NY, marathoner (Olympics-96)
1967 - Bill Schultz, NFL/WLAF offensive tackle (Den Broncos, Scot Claymores)
1967 - Marvcus Patton, NFL linebacker (Washington Redskins)
1967 - Scott Coffey, HI, actor (Satisfaction, Shout)
1967 - Tawni Cable, Salem Oregon, playmate (June 1989)
1967 - Yael Arad, Israel, Women's half middleweight judoka (Oly-1996)
1968 - Anton Scheutjens, soccer player (Roda JC)
1968 - Lisa Campbell, Victoria Australia, badminton player (Olympics-96)
1968 - Mark Scott, Paramus NJ, rock drummer (Trixter-Give It To Me Good)
1969 - Billy Owens, NBA forward/guard (Sacramento Kings)
1969 - Bryan Marchment, Scarborough, NHL defenseman (Edmonton Oilers)
1969 - Carrie Stevens, Buffalo NY, playmate (June 1997)
1970 - Alex Van Pelt, NFL quarterback (Buffalo Bills)
1970 - Allen DeGraffenreid, WLAF wide receiver (Scotland Claymores)
1970 - Alundis Brice, NFL cornerback (Dallas Cowboys)
1970 - Damon Diletti, Australian field hockey goal keeper (Oly-silver-92, 96)
1971 - Ethan Albright, NFL tackle (Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills)
1971 - Jamie Marie Swenson, Miss USA-South Dakota (1997)
1971 - Renee Poetschka, Australian 200m/400m (Olympics-92, 96)
1971 - Stuart Appleby, Cohuna Australia, Nike golfer (1994 Victorian PGA)
1972 - Bobby Chouinard, Manilla Phillipines, pitcher (Oakland A's)
1973 - Curtis Martin, NFL running back (NE Patriots)
1973 - Frank Beede, NFL center (Seattle Seahawks)
1974 - Keri Phebus, Laguna Beach Calif, tennis star
1974 - Matthew Hatchette, NFL wide receiver (Minnesota Vikings)
1974 - Vladimir Zavyalov, hockey forward (Team Kazakhstan Olympics-1998)
1975 - Austin Croshere, NBA forward (Indiana Pacers)
1976 - Darius McCrary, actor (Edward Winslow-Family Matters)
1977 - Anna Louise Wilson, Dunedin NZ, 100m breast stroke (Olympics-96)
1979 - Jennifer Botterill, ice hockey forward (Canada, Oly-98)
1979 - Kimberly Grigsby, Miss Virginia Teen USA (1997)

Famous deaths for this day ..

1171 - Dermot MacMurrough, last Irish King of Leinster, dies
1277 - Stefanus IV Uros I de Great, King of Serbia (1243-76), dies
1308 - Albrecht I van Habsburg, German King (1298-1308), murdered
1447 - Louis VII, Duke of Baveria (1413-43), dies
1456 - Hugues de Lannoy, Flemish viceroy of Holland/Zealand, dies
1471 - Thomas a Kempis, spiritual writer (Navolging of Christ), dies at 91
1555 - Marcellus II, [Marcello Cervini], Italian Pope (1555), dies at 53
1572 - Pius V, [Antonio Ghislieri], great-inquisiteur/Pope (1566-72), dies
1679 - Esaias Reusner, composer, dies at 43
1700 - John Dryden, English poet/playwright (Rival Ladies), dies
1703 - Kiva Yoshinaka, Japanese monarch, murdered
1733 - Nicolas Coustou, French sculptor (Sa“n), dies at 75
1772 - Gottfried Achenwall, German lawyer/statistics/economist, dies at 52
1831 - Antonius van Alphen, apostle vicar of De Bosch, dies at 82
1863 - Edward Dorr Tracy, US Confederate brig-general, dies in battle at 29
1869 - ?, colt reported killed by a meteorite near New Concord Ohio
1870 - Francisco Solano L¢pez, fieldmarshal/president of Paraguay
1872 - Amalia, princess of Weimar/wife of prince Hendrik the Navigator, dies
1873 - David Livingstone, British physician/explorer (Africa), dies at 60
1874 - Vilem Blodek, composer, dies at 39
1886 - Conrad Busken Huet, writer (Country of Rubens)
1886 - Heinrich Franz Daniel Stiehl, composer, dies at 56
1892 - Willem A Scholten, manufacturer (potatoes), dies at 89
1896 - Nasr-ed-Din, shah of Persia (184.-96), murdered at 65
1898 - Alphonse Wauters, Belgian historian, dies at 81
1900 - Mih ly von Munk csy, [Michael von Lieb], German painter, dies at 56
1902 - John Glover, English chemist (production sulfuric acid), dies at 85
1903 - Arthur Haygarth, cricketer (compiler of "Scores & Biographies"), dies
1903 - Luigi Arditi, violist/composer, dies at 80
1904 - Anton¡n Dvorak, Czech composer (Slavic Dancing), dies at 62
1917 - Jos‚ E Rodo, Uruguayan writer (Motivos de proteo), dies
1921 - Louis Campbell-Tipton, composer, dies at 43
1924 - August Cuppens, Flemish author (Limburgs Driemanschap), dies at 62
1926 - Nicolaus Adriani, translator (Middle-Celebes Language), dies at 60
1932 - Paul Doumer, Pres France (1931-32), assassin by Russia's Paul Gargalov
1934 - Alexander Alexandrovich Davidenko, composer, dies at 35
1937 - Snitz Edwards, actor (Phantom of the Opera, College), dies at 75
1939 - Wilhelm Normann, German chemist (harden van oli‰n), dies
1941 - John R Locksmith de Brown, vicar/CHU-politician, dies at 71
1945 - Desider Antalffy-Zsiross, Hungarian organist/composer, dies at 59
1945 - Paul Josef Goebbels, Nazi minister on propoganda, commits suicide
1946 - Edward Cuthbert Bairstow, composer, dies at 71
1946 - Percy William Whitlock, composer, dies at 42
1947 - Sanner, leader of Norger blood bath, executed
1948 - Christos Ladas, Greek minister of Justice, murdered
1952 - William Fox, [Fried], US film pioneer (Nickelodeon), dies at 73
1954 - Tom Tyler, actor (Lost Ranch, Coyote Trails), dies at 50
1957 - Grant Mitchell, actor (Great Lie, Laura, Cairo, Conflict), dies at 82
1959 - Oscar Torp, Norwegian premier, dies
1965 - Leo Spies, composer, dies at 65
1965 - Spike Jones, composer (Spike Jones Show), dies at 53
1968 - Harold G Nicolson, English author (English sense of humor), dies at 71
1969 - Ella Logan, actress (52nd Street, Woman Chases Man), dies at 56
1969 - George Parker, cricketer (2 Tests for S Afr 1924), dies
1971 - Edith Day, actress (Romance of Air), dies at 75
1971 - Glenda Farrell, actress (Grand Slam, Exposed), dies at 66
1972 - Fernand Ansseau, Belgian operator (Orfeo), dies at 82
1976 - Rex O'Malley, actor (Camille, Zara, Midnight, Thief), dies at 75
1978 - Aram Katchaturian, Russian composer (The Earth), dies at 74
1979 - Berkeley Bertram McGarrell Gaskin, cricketer (2 Tests for WI), dies
1981 - Clarence A Bacote, historian/political scientist, dies at 75
1981 - Peter Huchel, writer, dies at 78
1982 - Gene Sheldon, actor (Bernardo-Zorro), dies at 72
1983 - V N Swamy, Indian cricket pace bowler (without distinction), dies
1984 - Gordon Jenkins, orch leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at 73
1988 - Carroll Righter, astrologer, dies at 88 of postrate cancer
1988 - Paolo Stoppa, actor (Garibaldi, Visit, Freedom Fighters), dies
1989 - David Webster, South African white anti-apartheids activist, murdered
1989 - Douglass Watson, actor (Mac Cory-Another World), dies at 68
1989 - Marion Mack, actress (General), dies
1990 - Sunset Carson, cowboy actor (El Paso Kid, Oregon Trail), dies at 62
1991 - Richard Thorpe, director (Jailhouse Rock, Night Must Fall), dies
1993 - Hans [Henri EA] Tuynman, provo (Full-time Provo), dies at 50
1993 - Pierre B‚r‚govoy, PM of France (1992-93), commits suicide at 67
1993 - Ranasinghe Premadasa, pres (Sri Lanka, 1989-93), assassinated at 68
1994 - Ayrton Senna, Brazilian Grand prix driver, dies in crash at 34
1994 - Imre Gy”ngy”ssy, Hungarian director, dies at 64
1996 - Asher Wallfish, journalist, dies at 67
1996 - Ivo Rudolph Jarosy, film scholar/exhibitor, dies at 74
1996 - William Mitchell Byers, musician, dies on 79th birthday
1997 - Bebe, AKA Flipper, dolphin, dies at 40