Today In History - Wednesday, August 19, 2026




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Welcome to Today In History for Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

On this day in history ..

0440 - St Sixtus III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1071 - Battle at Manzikert: Seldjuken sultan Alp Arslan beats Byzantine King
1099 - Crusaders beat Saracens in Battle of Ascalon
1263 - King James I of Argon censors Hebrew writing
1399 - King Richard II of England surrenders to his cousin Henry
1458 - Aenea Silvio Piccolomini chosen Pope Pius II
1477 - Maximilian I, son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, weds Mary of
1477 - Burgundy & acquires Burgundian possessions in the Netherlands & France
1493 - Maximilian I of Austria becomes Roman Catholic German emperor
1524 - Emperor Charles V's troops besieges Marseille
1561 - Mary Queen of Scots arrives in Leith Scotland to assume throne after spending 13 years in France
1587 - Sigismund III becomes king of Poland
1591 - French king Henri IV occupies Rouen
1627 - Prince Frederik Henry conquerors fort Groenlo
1691 - Battle at Szalankemen: Austrians beat Turks
1692 - 5 women executed for witchcraft in Salem Mass
1698 - Russian czar Peter the Great begins term
1702 - -24] Battle at Santa Marta Venz: English fleet beat French
1757 - Battle at Gross J„gerndorf: Russian army beats Prussia [NS=Aug 30]
1772 - Gustav III seizes effective control of Swedish govt & restores full power of monarchy, which had been subordinate to parliament since 1720
1787 - W Herschel discovers Enceladus, a moon of Saturn
1791 - Benjamin Banneker published his 1st Almanac
1796 - Spain & France sign anti-English alliance
1812 - US warship Constitution defeats British warship Guerriere
1816 - Java again in Dutch hands
1821 - Failed liberal coup against French King Louis XVIII
1826 - Canada Co chartered to colonize Upper Canada (Ontario)
1836 - HMS Beagle anchors at Angra Azores
1839 - Details of Louis Daguerre's 1st practical photographic process are released in Paris
1849 - NY Herald reports gold discovery in California
1861 - Confederacy Congress allies with govt of MI
1864 - 2nd day of battle at Globe Tavern, Virginia
1888 - 1st beauty contest (Spa, Belgium), 18 yr old West Indian wins
1891 - William Huggins describes astronomical application of spectrum
1897 - 1st electric taxi's drive in London
1900 - Start of the one & only olympic cricket match, in Paris
1903 - Phillies suffer record 9th straight posponed game
1905 - Russian tsar installs "Imperial Duma," without legislative powers
1909 - Indianapolis 500 race track opens
1911 - NY Giant Christy Mathewson loses after beating Reds 22 straight times
1912 - Percy Aldridge Grainger's "Shepherd's Key," premieres
1913 - Frenchman P‚goud makes 1st parachute jump in Europe
1914 - Elmer Rice' "On Trial," premieres in NYC
1914 - German army executed 150 Belgians by firing squad
1914 - German fleet bombs English coast
1914 - Harris Theater (Candler, Coan & Harris) opens at 226 W 42nd St NYC
1915 - Rationing laws go into effect in Netherlands
1917 - Sunday benefit baseball game at Polo Grounds results in John McGraw & Christy Mathewson's arrest for violating Blue laws
1918 - Irving Berlin's musical "Yip Yip Yaphank," premieres in NYC
1919 - Afghanistan declares independence from UK
1921 - Ty Cobb, is 4th to get 3,000 hits
1922 - 36th US Womens Tennis: Molla B Mallory beats Helen Wills Moody (63 61)
1931 - Lefty Grove wins AL record tying 16th consecutive game
1932 - 46th US Womens Tennis: Helen Jacobs beats Carolin A Babcock (62 62)
1933 - 47th US Womens Tennis: Helen Jacobs beats Helen Moody (86 36 30 ret)
1934 - 48th US Womens Tennis: Helen Jacobs beats Sarah H P Fabyan (61 64)
1934 - Hitler elected Fhrer (95.7% of German voters)
1934 - Paul Runyan wins PGA golf tournament
1936 - Trial against Ljev Kamenev & Grigori Zinovjev because of "Trotskyism" opens in Moscow
1939 - 37.6 cm rainfall at Tuckerton, NJ (state record)
1941 - Ump Jocko Conlan ejects Pirate manager Frankie Frisch for coming out on field holding an umbrella to get a rainout
1942 - -20] Churchill visits Montgomery's headquarter in Burg-al-Arab
1942 - 1st American offensive in Pacific in WW2, Guadalcanal, Solomon Is
1942 - 4,000 Canadian & British soldiers killed raiding Dieppe, France
1942 - Gen Paulus orders German 6th Army to conquer Stalingrad
1943 - Belgian church excommunicates nazi L‚on Degrelle
1943 - US air raid on German bases at Gilze-Rijen/Vlissingen
1944 - Allied air raid on Maastricht, 80+ killed
1944 - Gen Bradley visits Montgomery
1944 - Last Japanese troops driven out of India
1944 - Nazi's give parts of Paris to R‚sistance
1944 - Paris police strike against nazi occupiers
1944 - Polish 1st Division occupies Hill 262 (Mont Ormel), Normandy
1944 - US 15th Army corp occupies Mantes-Gassicourt at Paris
1944 - US 90th/Polish 1st Division occupy Chambois Normandy
1945 - Phillies Jimmie Foxx, 37, pitches 1st 7 innings vs Reds & wins
1947 - J Arens & D van Dorpen synthetise vitamin A
1950 - ABC begins Saturday morning kid shows (Animal Clinic & Acrobat Ranch)
1951 - Bill Veeck (Browns) sends Eddie Gaedel, a 3'7" midget, to pinch-hit
1953 - England regained cricket Ashes after winning series 1-0
1954 - Ralph J Bunche named undersecretary of UN
1955 - 32.4 cm precipitation at Burlington, Connecticut (state record)
1955 - Hurricane Diane kills 200 & 1st billion $ damage storm (N.E. US)
1955 - US raises import duty on bicycles 50%
1955 - WINS radio, announces it will not play "copy" white cover versions of R&B (DJs must play Fats Domino's "Ain't It A Shame," not Pat Boone's)
1956 - Fay Crocker wins LPGA St Louis Golf Open
1957 - NY Giants vote 8-1 to move their franchise to SF in 1958
1957 - US Major David Simons reaches 30,933m in a balloon
1958 - NAACP Youth Council begin sit-ins at Oklahoma City Lunch counters
1959 - Doctor X beats Wilber Snyder in Omaha, to become NWA wrestling champ
1959 - Honolulu seeks a franchise in Continental League
1959 - Satellite Discoverer 6 launched into polar orbit
1960 - Francis Gary Powers convicted of spying by USSR (U-2 incident)
1960 - Sputnik 5 carries 2 dogs, 3 mice into orbit (later recovered alive)
1961 - US vice-president Lyndon B Johnson visits West Berlin
1962 - Homer Blancos plays finest round in golf, shooting a 55
1962 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Albuquerque Swing Parade Golf Tournament
1963 - NAACP Youth Council begins sit-ins at lunch counters, Oklahoma City
1964 - Communication satellite Syncom 3 launched
1965 - Auschwitz trials end with 6 life sentences
1965 - Cincinnati Red Jim Maloney 2nd no-hitter of year beats Chic Cubs, 1-0
1966 - Earthquake strikes Varko Turkey: 2,400 killed
1967 - Beatles' "All You Need is Love," single goes #1
1969 - Chicago Cub Ken Holtzman no-hits Atlanta Braves, 3-0
1973 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1973 - Kris Kristofferson weds Rita Coolidge
1973 - Pirate World Music Radio (Holland) closes down after 10 years
1973 - Sandra Palmer wins LPGA St Paul Golf Open
1975 - Astros hire Bill Virdon to replace Preston Gomez as manager
1976 - Pres Gerald R Ford won Republican pres nomination at KC convention
1977 - USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan USSR
1978 - 422 die in an arson fire at a movie theater in Iran
1979 - "My Sharonna" by the Knack hits #1 (stays for 42 days)
1979 - Crew of Soyuz 32 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 34 aft 175 d flight
1979 - Sally wins LPGA Barth Golf Classic Little
1979 - Soviet Cosmonauts Vladimir Lyakov & Valery Ryumin returned to Earth aboard Soyuz 34 after a record 175 days in space
1980 - George Brett ends hitting streak at 30
1980 - Saudi Arabian Lockhead Tristar crashes on landing at Riyadh, 301 die
1980 - Willy Russell's "Educating Rita," premieres in London
1981 - 2 US Navy F-14 jet fighters shoot down 2 Soviet-built Libyan SU-22
1982 - Renaldo Nehemiah of US sets record for 110 m hurdles, 12.93 sec
1982 - Soyuz T-7 launched, Svetlana Savtiskaya 2nd woman in space
1983 - LSU footballer Billy Cannon sentenced to 5 yrs for counterfeiting
1983 - Dodgers trade Dave Stewart & Ricky Wright to Texas for Rick Honeycut
1984 - 66th PGA Championship: Lee Trevino shoots a 273 at Shoal Creek Ala
1984 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Chevrolet World Championship of Women's Golf
1984 - Republican convention in Houston nominates Ronald Reagan for pres
1984 - Sally Quinlan wins LPGA MasterCard Golf International Pro-Am
1985 - Japan launches its 2nd probe of Halley's Comet, Suisei
1986 - Car bomb kills 20 in Tehran Iran
1988 - Iran-Iraq begin a cease-fire in their 8-year-old war (11 PM EDT)
1988 - Muang Muang succeeds Gen Sein Lwin as pres of Burma
1988 - NY Rangers sign ex-Canadien great Guy LaFluer
1989 - Tadeusz Mazowiecki, elected 1st non-communist president of Poland
1990 - Betsy King wins LPGA JAL Big Apple Golf Classic
1990 - Dodger Jose Offerman hits HR in his 1st at bat
1990 - NY Yankee Kevin Mass is quickest to reach 14 HRs (approx 128 at bat)
1991 - -20] Hurricane Bob hits US
1991 - Janajev & KGB coup in Russia deposes Mikhail Gorbachev
1991 - Janel Bishop, 17, of New Hampshire, crowned 9th Miss Teen USA
1992 - Romesh Kaluwitharana scores 132 on Test Cricket debut (SL v Australia)
1992 - Sri Lanka make their highest cricket score ever 8-547 v Australia
1993 - 34th Walker Cup: US, 19-5
1993 - Actress Kim Basinger weds actor Alec Baldwin
1993 - Dow Jones hits record high of 3612.13
1993 - George Tiller, abortion doctor, shot in his arms by Rachelle Shannon
1993 - Mattel & Fisher Price toys merge
1993 - Sally Gunnell runs lady world record 400m hurdles (52.74")
1995 - After 5 days Shannon Faulkner quits as 1st woman at the Citadel
1995 - Bruce Seldon TKOs Joe Hipp in 10 for heavyweight boxing title
1995 - Mike Tyson returns to the ring & DQs Peter McNeeley in 38 seconds
1997 - NY Yank 3rd baseman Wade Boggs pitches a scoreless inning vs Anaheim
1997 - STS 85 (Discovery 23) lands

Famous birthdays for this day ..

1398 - I¤igo L¢pez, Spain, marques de Santillana, poet (Comedieta de Ponza)
1521 - Lodovico Guicciardini, Italian historian (Descrittione di Tutti)
1558 - Paulus Merula, Dutch lawyer/historian
1596 - Elisabeth Stuart, English daughter of James I
1631 - John Dryden, 1st poet laureate of England (All for Love)
1646 - John Flamsteed, 1st astronomer royal of England
1686 - Antonio Tonelli, composer
1689 - Samuel Richardson, English novelist (Pamela) (baptized)
1737 - Johann Georg Christoph Schetky, composer
1743 - Marie Jeanne Becu comtesse du Barry, last mistress of Louis XV
1756 - Anthony FRE Haersolte, member of Executing Regime
1780 - B‚ranger, writer
1785 - Seth Thomas, pioneer in mass production of clocks
1813 - William Henry Fry, composer
1815 - John Porter McCown, Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1879
1816 - Julius PJA van Zuylen van Nyevelt, Dutch minister of Foreign affairs
1824 - Georg Goltermann, composer
1831 - Stephen Gano Burbridge, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers)
1839 - Oskar Brefeld, German botanist
1844 - Minna Canth, Finland, novelist/playwright (social evils)
1848 - Gustave Caillebotte, French shipbuilding design/painter (Rue de Paris)
1851 - Frans Schollaert, Belgian premier (1908-11)
1858 - Edith Nesbit, England, children books author (Railway Children)
1858 - Ludwig Wllner, German actor/baritone (Die Burgschaft, Prometheus)
1859 - Charles Comiskey, 1st basemen/manager (Chicago White Sox)
1859 - Hippolyte Delehaye, Flemish historian/hagiographer
1860 - John Kane, Scottish-born US primitivist painter (Self-Portrait)
1870 - Bernard Baruch, financier/presidential adviser (Cold War)
1871 - Orville Wright, Dayton OH, aviator (Wright Brothers)
1873 - Fred Stone, Longmont CO, acrobat/Broadway actor (Alice Adams)
1878 - Manuel Luis Quez¢n y Molina, 1st president of Philippines (1935-42)
1881 - Georges Enesco, [or Enescu], Romania, composer (Romanian Dances)
1885 - Elsie Ferguson, NY, actress (Lie, Footlights, Scarlet Pages)
1885 - Werner Elert, German luthers theologist
1886 - Robert Heger, composer
1889 - Arthur Waley, sinologist, translator from Chinese & Japanese
1890 - Yves Alix, French painter/graphic artist
1893 - Alfred Lunt, Milwaukee WI, Broadway actor (Emmy 1965)
1895 - Andrzejewski, writer
1895 - Arnoldt Bronnen, writer
1896 - Eino Mauno Aleksanteri Linnala, composer
1896 - Walter Lang, composer
1899 - Kenneth MacKenna, Canterbury NH, actor/director (Those We Love)
1899 - Olga Baclanova, Moscow Russia, actress (Freaks, Docks of NY)
1900 - Colleen Moore, Port Huron MI, actress (Scarlet Letter)
1902 - Ogden Nash, Rye NY, humorous poet (I'm a Stranger Here Myself)
1902 - Vladimir M Kirshon, Russian playwright (Ultimatum Factory) [NS]
1903 - Claude Dauphin, Corbell France, actor (April in Paris, Deported)
1903 - James Gould Cozzens, US, novelist (1949 Pulitzer-Guard of Honor)
1903 - Muriel Kirkland, Yonkers NY, actress (Fast Workers, Hold Your Man)
1904 - Ted Nightingale, former colonial governor
1905 - Fitzhugh Lee, US pilot/vice-admiral (WW II, Navy Cross)
1905 - Jacques de Menasce, composer
1906 - June Collyer, NYC, actress (Before Midnight, Charley's Aunt)
1906 - Philo T Farnsworth, Beaver Utah, inventor (electronic TV)
1907 - Thurston Morton, (Sen-Ky, 1957-1969)
1907 - Zygmunt Mycielsky, composer
1909 - Jerzy Andrzejewski, Warsaw Poland, writer (Ashes & Diamonds)
1910 - Quentin Bell, artist author/teacher
1913 - Walter B Jones, (Rep-D-NC, 1966-92)
1914 - Fumio Hayasaka, composer
1915 - Lardner Ring Jr, Chicago, screenwriter (Woman of the Year)
1915 - Ring Lardner, jr, writer
1916 - Marie Wilson, Anaheim Calif, actress (My Friend Irma)
1918 - James George "Jimmy" Rowles, jazz pianist
1919 - Malcolm Forbes, publisher (Forbes Magazine)
1920 - Lucila Engels-Boskaljon, Cura‡ao painter
1920 - Paul Kont, composer
1921 - Gene Roddenberry, El Paso Texas, executive producer (Star Trek)
1921 - Philip A Potter, Dominica sec-gen World council of Churches
1922 - Douglas MacKenzie Davey, psychometrist
1923 - Erik Aalb‘k Jensen, Danish vicar/author (Perleporten)
1924 - William Marshall, Gary Ind, actor (Blacula, Something of Value)
1927 - James T Broyhill, (Sen-R-NC, 1986)
1930 - D[avid] G[uy] Compton, UK, sci-fi author (Synthajoy, Radio Plays)
1931 - Willie Shoemaker, jockey (won 8,833 of 40,350 starts)
1932 - John James Fenwick, English warehouse owner/multi-millionaire
1933 - Debra Paget, [Griffin], Denver, actress (Love Me Tender)
1933 - Vladimir Borisovich Alekseyev, Russia, cosmonaut
1934 - Bill Cleary, US, ice hockey player (Olympic-gold-1960)
1934 - David F Durenberger, Minn, (Sen-R-MN, 1978- )
1934 - Renee Richards, [Richard Rankind], trans-sexual tennis player
1934 - William Cleary, Cambridge Mass, hockey center, (Oly-gold/silv-56, 60)
1935 - Bobby Richardson, SC, 2nd baseman (NY Yankees)
1935 - F Story Musgrave, Boston, MD/astronaut (STS 6, 51-F, 33, 44, 61, 80)
1936 - Al Oerter, Astoria NY, discus thrower (Olympics-gold-56, 60, 64, 68)
1938 - Diana Muldaur, NYC, actress (McCloud, Star Trek Next Gen, LA Law)
1938 - Valentin Mankin, USSR, finn class yachtsman (Olympic-gold-1968)
1939 - Ginger [Peter] Baker, England, drummer (Cream-White Room)
1940 - Jan Claire, actor (American Anthem)
1940 - Jill St John, [Oppenheim], LA Calif, actress (Diamonds are Forever)
1940 - Johnny Nash, Houston, Tx, rocker (I Can See Clearly Now)
1942 - Fred Thompson, senator (R-Tenn)/actor (In the Line of Fire)
1942 - Michiel Patijn, Dutch asst sect of state of Foreign affairs (1994- )
1943 - Billy J Kramer, Liverpool, rock vocalist (The Dakotas-Bad to Me)
1944 - Eddy Raven, Lafayette La, country singer (Right Hand Man)
1944 - Samuel J de Beer, S Afr vicar/underminister of Education
1945 - Ian Gillian, heavy metal rocker (Deep Purple-Knocking at Backdoor)
1945 - Jane Blalock, champion golfer
1945 - Lan Gillan, rocker
1946 - Charles F Bolden Jr, Columbia SC, astronaut (STS 61C, 31, 45, 60)
1946 - Dawn Steel, film maker
1946 - William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton, 42nd US Pres (D, 1993-01)
1947 - Gerald McRaney, Collins Miss, actor (Simon & Simon, Major Dad)
1948 - Tipper Gore, wife of vice president Al Gore (1993-01)
1950 - Graeme Beard, cricketer (NSW medium-pace all-rounder 3 Tests 1980)
1951 - John Deacon, British pop guitarist (Queen-Somebody to Love)
1951 - Lillian Mller, Grimstad Norway, playmate of year (Aug, 1975)
1951 - Randi Oakes, Randalia Iowa, actress (Officer Bonnie Clark-CHiPs)
1952 - Jonathan Frakes, actor (Commander William T Riker-Star Trek Next Gen)
1953 - Debra Paget, Denver Co, actress (Love Me Tender)
1953 - Johan F de Leeuw, Dutch MP (CDA)
1955 - Peter Gallagher, Armonk NY, actor (Player, Summer Lovers, Dreamchild)
1956 - Adam Arkin, Bkln, actor (Busting Loose, Pearl, Northern Exposure)
1956 - Cindy Nelson, US, skier (Olympic-bronze-1976)
1957 - Darby Hinton, Santa Monica Calif, actor (Israel-Daniel Boone)
1957 - Paul-Jan Bakker, cricketer (Hampshire & Netherlands pace bowler)
1958 - Gary Gaetti, Centralia IL, infielder (St Louis Cardinals)
1959 - Ricky Pierce, NBA guard/forward (Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks)
1959 - Steve Grimmett, heavy metal rocker
1960 - Bobby Hebert, NFL quarterback (Atlanta Falcons)
1960 - Dan "Woody" Woodgate, rocker
1960 - Morten Andersen, NFL kicker (Atlanta Falcons)
1960 - Ron Darling, Hawaii, baseball pitcher (NY Mets)
1961 - Danuta Bartoszek, Pyrzyce Poland, Canadian marathoner (Olympics-96)
1962 - Eric Lutes, Charlestown RI, actor (Del-Caroline in the City)
1962 - Kim Shipman, Athens PA, LPGA golfer (1995 LPGA Corning Classic-25th)
1962 - Michael J Massimino, Oceanside NY, PhD/astronaut
1962 - Nancy Ramsbottom, Birmingham AL, LPGA golfer (1994 McCall's-2nd)
1962 - Valerie Kaprisky, Paris France, actress (Breathless, Public Woman)
1963 - Joey Tempest, rocker (Europe-The Final Countdown)
1963 - John Stamos, Cypress Calif, actor (General Hospital, Full House)
1965 - James Tomkins, Australian rower (Olympics-96)
1965 - Kevin Dillon, NY, actor (Heaven Help Us, Remote Control, Platoon)
1965 - Kyra Sedgwick, actress (Phenomenon, Singles, Julia-Another World)
1967 - Jason Starkey, son of Beatle Ringo
1967 - Randy Baldwin, NFL running back (Carolina Panthers)
1967 - Tabitha Soren, San Antonio Texas, MTV reporter (This Week in Rock)
1969 - Christian Slater, NYC, actor (Legend of Billie Jean)
1969 - Matthew Perry, Williamstown Mass, actor (Sydney, Chandler-Friends)
1969 - Scott Ford, Norbrooke Germany, golfer (1994 Trafalgar CPGA-2nd)
1970 - Scott Brumfield, NFL guard (Cin Bengals)
1971 - Mary Joe Fernandez, Dom Rep, US tennis star (Olympics-gold-96)
1971 - Tricia Ann Luedtke, Oostburg Wisc, Miss Wisc-America-1991
1972 - Colleen Thornburn, Toronto Ontario, softball catcher (Olympics-96)
1972 - Elizabeth Wolfgramm, rocker (Jets)
1972 - Pierre Allard, hockey forward (Team France 1998)
1973 - Roy Rogers, NBA forward (Boston Celtics)
2335 - William T Riker, Valdez Alaska, character on Star Trek Next Generation

Famous deaths for this day ..

0440 - Sixtus III, Italian Pope (432-40), dies
0472 - Ricimer, Barbaars general, dies
1493 - Frederick III of Innsbruck, German Emperor (1440-1493), dies at 77
1580 - Andrea Palladio, architect/writer (Il Redentore, Venice), dies at 71
1601 - Michael the Brave, ruler of Turkey, dies
1650 - Abraham de Verwer, painter, buried at about 55
1654 - Yom Tov Lipmann Heller, rabbi/author (Tosefot Yom Tov), dies
1691 - Mustafa K”prl, Turkish grand vizer, dies in battle
1699 - Jos‚ Saenz d'aguirre, Spanish cardinal, dies at 69
1719 - Karl H Freiherr von Canstein, German lawyer, dies at 52
1744 - Carlo Arrigoni, composer, dies at 46
1753 - [Johann] Balthasar Neumann, German architect, dies at 66
1780 - Bernhard Haltenberger, composer, dies at 32
1795 - Friedrich Hartmann Graf, composer, dies at 67
1812 - Vincenzo Righini, composer, dies at 56
1813 - Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab, composer, dies at 54
1813 - Josef Blazej Smrcek, composer, dies at 61
1822 - Melchor Lopez Jimenez, composer, dies at 62
1851 - Gioseffo Catrufo, composer, dies at 80
1872 - Eugene-Prosper Prevost, composer, dies at 63
1876 - George Smith, English assyriologist (script), dies at 36
1881 - Joseph Labitzky, composer, dies at 79
1888 - Spencer F Baird, US biologist (Wood's Hole Station), dies at 65
1889 - Jean MMPA de Villiers de l'isle-Adam, French writer (Axel), dies at 60
1891 - Gestur P lsson, Icelandic writer (Verdandi, Ritsafn), dies at 38
1892 - Frantisek Zdenek Xavier Alois Skuhersky, composer, dies at 62
1909 - Rembt THPLA of Boneval Faure, lawyer/1st-Member of parliament, dies
1912 - Alfonse Hasselmans, composer, dies at 67
1922 - Felipe Pedrell, composer, dies at 81
1929 - Sergei P Diaghilev, Russia, dance master (Imperial Ballet), dies at 57
1936 - Federico Garc¡a Lorca, Spanish poet/composer, murdered at 37 or 38
1944 - Gnther von Kluge, German field marshal, commits suicide, dies at 62
1944 - Henry J Wood, English conductor (My Life of Music, Proms), dies at 75
1947 - Ernst Laqueur, Dut chemist/psychologist (sexual hormones), dies at 67
1954 - Alcide de Gasperi, Italian premier (1945..53), dies at 73
1955 - G‚za R‚v‚sz, Hungary/Dutch psychologist (Talent & genius), dies at 76
1958 - Antonius "Toon" Verhey, violin cellist/conductor, dies at 63
1959 - Jacob Epstein, US/English sculptor/painter, dies at 78
1962 - Kerstin Hesselgren, 1st woman in Swedish parliament, dies at 90
1967 - Carl W de Vries, Dutch (Great-granddad King William III), dies at 84
1967 - Isaac Deutscher, Polish/Eng historian (Stalin-biography), dies at 60
1968 - Sara Jane Roberts, child actress (Our Gang), dies after surgery at 44
1971 - Walther Victor, writer, dies
1974 - ... Davies, US ambassador on Cyprus, murdered
1976 - Alastair Sim, actor (Christmas Carol, Green for Danger), dies at 75
1976 - Jeno Kenessey, composer, dies at 70
1976 - Ken Wadsworth, cricketer (Exciting NZ keeper), dies of cancer at 29
1977 - Groucho Martin, NYC, comedian (Marx Bros), dies in LA at 86
1979 - Dorsey Burnette, rocker, dies at 46 of a heart attack
1981 - Jessie Matthews, actress (Gangway, First a Girl), dies at 74
1986 - Hermione Baddeley, actress (Camp Runamuck, Maude), dies at 79
1986 - Jacob A W Burger, chairman (Dutch soc-dem party), dies at 81
1986 - Lorenzo Tucker, actor (Black King), dies
1987 - Hayden Rorke, Brooklyn, actor (I Dream of Jeannie, Night Walker), dies
1990 - Ben Rutgers Van de Loeff-Basenau, children's book writer, dies at 80
1992 - Feliks Arons, Dutch director/actor (A Bridge Too Far), dies at 48
1993 - Jean King, actress (Night Hasa a Thousand Eyes), dies at 76
1993 - Lucinda Ballard, US costume designer/wife of Howard Dietz, dies at 90
1994 - John George Hughes, bishop of Kensington, dies at 59
1994 - Ladislav Fuks, Czech author (Th‚odore Mundstock), dies at 70
1994 - Linus Pauling, Nobel prize scientist (Vitamin C advocate), dies at 93
1994 - Nancy Keene Lancaster, US/British architect (Binnen House), dies at 96
1994 - Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky, poet, dies at 64
1994 - Walter Bartley, biochemist, dies at 78
1995 - Danny Arnold, British TV producer, dies at 70
1995 - Pierre Schaeffer, composer/radio innovator, dies at 85