Today in History for 19th August 2022

[CoM Moderators]

Historical Events

1591 - French King Henry IV occupies Rouen
1982 - Renaldo Nehemiah of US sets record for 110 m hurdles, 12.93 sec
1983 - Dodgers trade Dave Stewart and Ricky Wright to Texas for Rick Honeycut
1985 - Following the Rubicon speech four days earlier, Archbishop Desmond Tutu snubs P. W. Botha's invitation to attend a meeting to discuss the role and actions of the police and security forces in South Africa
1995 - Bruce Seldon TKOs Joe Hipp in 10 for heavyweight boxing title
2016 - A 6-way tie for first place in the final of the equestrian individual jumping competition at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Nick Skelton of Great Britain wins gold medal jump-off

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1881 - George Enesco, Romanian violinist, conductor, and composer (Romanian Dances), born in Liveni, Dorohoi, Romania (d. 1955)
1896 - Walter Lang, Swiss composer, born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 1966)
1930 - Frank McCourt, Irish-American Pulitzer Prize winning author (Angela's Ashes), and teacher, born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 2009)
1940 - Jill St John [Oppenheim], actress (Diamonds are Forever), born in Los Angeles, California
1969 - Patrick Van Horn, American actor (Swingers)
1972 - Elizabeth Wolfgramm, American singer (The Jets), born in Salt Lake City, Utah

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1650 - Abraham de Verwer, Dutch painter, buried at about 55
1963 - Kathleen Parlow, Canadian violinist, and educator, dies at 72
1981 - Jessie Matthews, English actress (Gangway, First a Girl), dies at 74
2011 - Raúl Ruiz, Chilean filmmaker (Three Sad Tigers), dies at 70
2016 - Donald Henderson, American epidemiologist, led world campaign that eradicated smallpox, dies at 82
2019 - Larry "The Mole" Taylor, American session (The Monkees) and touring rock and blues bass player (Canned Heat - "On the Road Again"; John Mayall; Tom Waits), dies of cancer at 77

More Famous Deaths »