Today in History

On December 15 in history ..

• 0687 - St Sergius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Conon
• 1124 - Chancellor Haimeric selects pope (Lamberto becomes Honorius II)
• 1488 - Bartholomeus Diaz returns to Portugal after sailing round Cape of Good Hope
• 1569 - Westmoreland flees to Scotland
• 1582 - Leidse university names Rembert Dodoens prof of botany/medicine
• 1582 - Spanish Netherlands/Denmark/Norway adopt Gregorian calendar
• 1586 - Laevinus Torrentius, becomes bishop of Antwerp
• 1593 - State of Holland grants patent on windmill with crankshaft
• 1612 - Simon Marius, is 1st to observe Andromeda galaxy through a telescope
• 1640 - Duke of Bragança crowned King Johan IV of Portugal
• 1660 - Philippines: Andres Malongs rebels plunders Bagnotan
• 1664 - English colonizing Connecticut
• 1667 - Brandenburg declares himself neutral in Devolutie War
• 1680 - Tax revolt on Terschelling due to tax on cereal
• 1688 - Lord Delamere sides with King James II [NS 12/25]
• 1745 - Battle at Kesseldorf: Prussia beats Saksen & Austria
• 1791 - 1st US law school established at University of Pennsylvania
• 1791 - Bill of Rights ratified when Virginia gave its approval
• 1792 - 1st life insurance policy issued in US (Phila)
• 1794 - Revolutionary Tribunal abolished in France
• 1810 - 1st Irish magazine in US, Shamrock, is published
• 1811 - Earthquake hits New Madrid, Missouri
• 1815 - Rossini gets assignment for Il barbiere di Siviglia
• 1820 - 1st General pharmacopoeia in US published, Boston
• 1836 - Patent Office burns in Wash, DC
• 1848 - U.S.-Great Britain postal treaty signed, establishing reciprocal rates (1 shilling=24 cents), effective Feb. 15, 1849
• 1854 - 1st street-cleaning machine in US 1st used in Philadelphia
• 1859 - GR Kirchoff describes chemical composition of Sun
• 1863 - Skirmish at Bean's Station, Tennessee (Knoxville Campaign)
• 1864 - Battle of Nashville, TN
• 1864 - Raid on Stoneman: Abingdon & Glade Springs, VA
• 1874 - 1st reigning king to visit US (of Hawaii) received by Pres Grant
• 1877 - Thomas Edison patents phonograph
• 1891 - James Naismith invents basketball (Canada)
• 1893 - Dvoráks "From the New World" premieres at Carnegie Hall NYC
• 1894 - Cricket day 2 1st T Aus v Eng Aus 586 (Gregory 201) England 3-130
• 1899 - Battle at Colenso, South Africa (Boers-British army)
• 1909 - Thomas J Lynch becomes president of baseball's National League
• 1914 - Battle of Lódz ends; Russians retreat toward Moscow
• 1914 - British fleet forfeits chance to destroy German fleet in North Sea
• 1914 - Swedish troops over run Belgrade in Austria-Hungary
• 1916 - French defeat Germans in WW I Battle of Verdun
• 1917 - Moldavian Republic declares independence from Russia
• 1918 - American Jewish Congress holds it's 1st meeting
• 1919 - Edna St Vincent Millay's "Aria da Capo," premieres in NYC
• 1919 - Fiume (Rijeka) declares it's Independence
• 1922 - IVVV (association) peace congress on war forms in Hague
• 1925 - 1st hockey game at Madison Sq Garden, Mont Candiens 3, NY Americans 1
• 1925 - 1st road with a depressed trough (Texas) opens to traffic
• 1926 - Facist national symbol elevated in Italy
• 1927 - Ed Hickman kidnaps child he later beheads
• 1929 - Walter Mittelholzer flies as 1st about the Kilimanjaro
• 1930 - Don Bradman takes his 1st Test Cricket wicket (Ivan Barrow, WI, lbw)
• 1933 - Baseball owners agree to ban Sunday doubleheaders until after June 15
• 1934 - Fokker F18 Snip flies to Neth West Indies
• 1935 - Detroit Lions win NFL championship
• 1935 - Max Euwe becomes world champ chess beating Alexander Aljechin
• 1936 - KVL-AM in Seattle Wash changes call letters to KEEN (now KING)
• 1938 - Groundbreaking begins for Jefferson Memorial in Wash DC
• 1939 - "Gone With the Wind" premieres in Atlanta
• 1939 - 1st commercial manufacture of nylon yarn, Seaford, Delaware
• 1939 - Snip departs for 1st flight to Paramaribo/Curaçao
• 1941 - Gas/electrical use restricted in Holland
• 1941 - German submarine U-127 sinks
• 1941 - Nazi's transfers 100 Czech citizens/Heinrich Himmler falls faint
• 1941 - North Africa: allied assault up Italians Gazala-posing
• 1941 - USS Swordfish becomes 1st US sub to sink a Japanese ship
• 1942 - Massachusetts issues 1st US vehicular license plate tabs
• 1944 - Bandleader, Major Glenn Miller, lost over English Channel
• 1944 - Hizbu'allah (Arm forces for Allah) forms
• 1944 - US Congress gives General Eisenhower his 5th star
• 1944 - US troops lands on Mindoro
• 1945 - John J "Cardinal" O'Connor, ordained as a priest
• 1946 - Chic Bears beat NY Giants 24-14 in NFL championship game
• 1946 - Giants Filchock & Hapes suspended by NFL, didn't report bribe attempt
• 1948 - Former state dept official Alger Hiss indicted in NYC for perjury
• 1949 - Albert Camus' "Les Justes" premieres in Paris
• 1950 - Ezzard Charles KOs Nick Barone to retain heavyweight boxing title
• 1950 - NYC's Port Authority opens
• 1952 - "Two's Company" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 90 performances
• 1952 - Christine Jorgenson is 1st person to undergo a sex-change operation
• 1952 - KHON TV channel 2 in Honolulu, HI (NBC) begins broadcasting
• 1952 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Orientales Ecclesias
• 1953 - WJHG TV channel 7 in Panama City, FL (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
• 1954 - Fordham University scraps football team for financial reasons
• 1954 - Netherlands Antilles becomes co-equal part of Kingdom of Netherlands
• 1956 - Emergency crisis in North Ireland proclaimed after IRA strikes
• 1956 - KGW TV channel 8 in Portland, OR (NBC) begins broadcasting
• 1956 - WRAL TV channel 5 in Raleigh-Durham, NC (CBS) begins broadcasting
• 1959 - Everly Brothers record "Let It Be Me"
• 1960 - King Boudouin of Belgium marries doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragon
• 1961 - Adolf Eichmann convicted of crimes against humanity in Israel
• 1961 - Equal access rule, political parties get TV broadcasting time
• 1961 - JFK visits Puerto Rico
• 1961 - L J Suenens appointed archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels
• 1962 - Vaughn Meader's "1st Family," album goes #1 & stays #1 for 12 wks
• 1964 - 1st time 4 people in space
• 1964 - American Radio Relay League (organization for hams) founded
• 1964 - Canada adopts maple leaf flag
• 1965 - 3rd cyclone of year kills another 15,000 at mouths of Ganges River
• 1965 - Bangladesh windstorm kills 10,000
• 1965 - D Heneker & J Taylor's musical "Charlie Girl," premieres in London
• 1965 - Gemini 6 launched; makes 1st rendezvous in space (with Gemini 7)
• 1965 - Queen Juliana opens Zeeland Bridge to Oosterschelde
• 1965 - William Eckert replaces Ford Frick as 4th commissioner of baseball
• 1966 - "Joyful Noise" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 12 performances
• 1966 - Audouin Dollfus discovers 10th satellite of Saturn, Janus
• 1966 - John W Mecom Jr becomes 1st owner of New Orlean Saints
• 1967 - Beatles release "Christmas Time is Here Again"
• 1967 - Joe Garagiola joins Today Show panel
• 1967 - Silver Bay bridge (Oh-WV) collapes during afternoon rush hr, 34 die
• 1969 - Plastic Ono Band, play their only concert at London's Lyceum Ballroom
• 1969 - SF Fire Dept replaces leather helmets with plastic ones
• 1970 - Ferryboat capsized in Korean Strait drowning 261
• 1970 - S Korean ferry Namyong-Ho sinks in Strait of Korea, 308 killed
• 1970 - Soviet Venera 7 is 1st spacecraft to land on another planet (Venus)
• 1971 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
• 1973 - American Psychiatric Assn declares homosexuality is not mental illness
• 1973 - Golf Resort (Disney Inn) opens
• 1973 - Pirates of Caribbean ride opens at Disneyland
• 1973 - Sandy Hawley becomes 1st jockey to win 500 races in 1 year
• 1973 - Tennessee beats Temple 11-6 in low scoring NCAA basketball game
• 1973 - US Psychiatrist say homosexuals are not mentally ill
• 1974 - A's Catfish Hunter is ruled a free agent (later signs with Yankees)
• 1976 - Argo Merchant tanker off Massachusetts' SE coast, spills 7.6 m gallons of crude when ship ran aground
• 1976 - Jamaica premier Manley wins elections
• 1978 - Saint Maarten Patriotic Movement (SPM) forms under W James
• 1978 - Test Cricket debut of Malcolm Marshall, v India at Bangalore
• 1979 - Deposed Shah of Iran leaves US for Panama
• 1979 - World Court in Hague rules Iran should relase all US hostages
• 1980 - NY Yankee Dave Winfield becomes highest-paid player, 10 years $15M
• 1980 - Premier Queddei troops conquers Chad capital N'djamena
• 1980 - ZBZ Sangha registered after 5 yrs of administrative hassles in Warsaw
• 1981 - 4th Emmy Sports Award presentation
• 1981 - NASA launches Intelsat V
• 1982 - Bill Parcells becomes 12th head coach of NY Giants
• 1982 - Roy Williams, Teamsters pres, & 4 others convicted of bribery
• 1982 - Sao Tome & Principe constitution approved
• 1982 - Spain reopens border with Gibraltar
• 1983 - 3 KC Royals suspended due to cocaine usage
• 1983 - Columbia flies to Kennedy Space Center via El Paso, Kelly AFB
• 1983 - Last 80 US combat soldiers in Grenada withdrew
• 1983 - Wendy Wasserstein's "Isn't It Romantic," premieres in NYC
• 1984 - USSR launches Vega 1 for rendezvous with Halley's Comet
• 1985 - Sylvester Stallone & Brigitte Nielson wed
• 1986 - 150 killed during race riot in Karachi
• 1986 - Carnegie Hall reopens after a $50 million facelift
• 1986 - CIA director William Casey suffers a cerebral seizure
• 1987 - "Les Miserables" opens at Shubert Theatre, Boston
• 1988 - Lori Davis of Long Island sues Mike Tyson for grabbing her buttocks
• 1990 - Rocker Rod Stewart marries super model Rachel Hunter
• 1991 - "Nick & Nora" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 9 performances
• 1991 - Deb Richard wins JBP Cup LPGA Match Play Golf Championship
• 1992 - Arthur Ashe is named Sports Illustrated Sportman of Year
• 1992 - WNew AM (1130) NYC resigns air, replaced by WBBR
• 1993 - British premier Major/Irish premier Reynolds signs Downing Street Declaration concerning Northern Ireland self determination
• 1993 - C-130 flies into a Philippines hill & explodes, 16 killed
• 1993 - Haitian premier Robert Malval resigns
• 1993 - John Williams final appearance as conductor of Boston Pops
• 1993 - Lee Aspen resigns as secretary of defense
• 1993 - Y-12 crashes at Phonesavanh, Laos: 18 killed
• 1994 - "Tuna Christmas" opens at Booth Theater NYC for 20 performances
• 1994 - John Bruton becomes Ireland's premier
• 1994 - Liberia militia kills 48 inhabitants of Monrovia
• 1995 - Playboy goes back on sale after 36 year ban in Ireland
• 1996 - Dottie Pepper & Juli Inkster win LPGA Diner's Club Golf Matches
• 1996 - Jim Colbert & Bob Murphy wins Diner's Club Senior PGA Golf Matches
• 1996 - Tom Lehman & Duffy Waldoff wins Diner's Club PGA Golf Matches
• 1997 - SF 49ers retire Joe Montana's #16

Famous birthdays on December 15 ..

• 0037 - Nero Claudius Augustus Germanicus, 5th emperor of Rome (54-68)
• 1534 - Lucas Osiander, composer
• 1567 - Christoph Demantius, composer
• 1574 - Samuel Besler, composer
• 1610 - David Teniers II, Flemish courtpainter (Theatrum Pictorium)
• 1648 - Gregory King, English statistician (Natural & Political Observations)
• 1657 - Michel-Richard Delalande, composer
• 1667 - Ludwig Ernst, composer
• 1720 - J F Beck, writer
• 1735 - Cesare Beccaria-Bonesana, Italian lawyer
• 1765 - Philippe-Jacques Pfeffinger, composer
• 1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, composer
• 1778 - Godert AGP baron van der Capellen, Dutch gov-gen (Dutch-Indies)
• 1787 - Charles Cowden Clarke, English editor/Shakespearean critic
• 1793 - Henry Charles Carey, Phila, economist (Principles of Poli Economy)
• 1802 - János Bolyai, Romania, mathematician (non-Euclidean geometry)
• 1803 - August Freyer, composer
• 1812 - Isidor Dannstrom, composer
• 1821 - Auguste Emmanuel Vaucorbeil, composer
• 1822 - Edward Stephen, composer
• 1823 - Friedrich Gottlieb Schwencke, composer
• 1830 - Francesco D'Arcais, composer
• 1832 - Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, French engineer (Eiffel tower)
• 1836 - Edmond Picard, French/Belgian lawyer/writer (La forge Roussel)
• 1842 - Henry Gadsby, composer
• 1848 - Edwin Howland Blashfield, decorated the dome of Library of Congress
• 1852 - Antoine Henri Becquerel, discovered radioactivity (Nobel 1903)
• 1852 - Tewfik Pasja, khedive (viceroy) of Egypt
• 1853 - Jean B A Kessler, director of oil on Dutch Indies
• 1857 - Eugeniusz Pankiewicz, composer
• 1859 - Ludwik L Zamenhof, Russian Poland, physician/linguist (Esperanto)
• 1860 - Niels Ryberg Finsen, Denmark, physician/phototherapist (Nobel 1903)
• 1861 - Charles Edgar Duryea, inventor (1st auto built & operated in US)
• 1863 - Arthur D Little, US, chemist (patented rayon)
• 1863 - Paul [Prudent] Painlevé, French mathematician/minister/premier [NS]
• 1870 - Josef Hoffmann, Austrian architect
• 1873 - Pongrac Kacsoh, composer
• 1875 - Friedrich Niggli, composer
• 1876 - Ferdinand Hardekopf, writer
• 1878 - Hans Carossa, writer
• 1879 - Hugo W C Bordewijk, Dutch lawyer
• 1879 - Rudolf von Laban, Czech/German choreographer (modern dance)
• 1881 - James Schneider, NY, actor (Keystone Kops)
• 1882 - Helena Rubinstein, US cosmetic manufacturer
• 1887 - Pieter C A Geyl, historian (History of the Dutch Tribe)
• 1888 - Artturi A Leinonen, Finnish journalist/writer (Kati)/politician
• 1888 - Jan Greshoff, Dutch poet/author/journalist (Bric à Brac)
• 1888 - Maxwell Anderson, US, dramatist (Winter Set, High Tor)
• 1892 - David Guion, composer
• 1892 - J Paul Getty, Minneapolis Mn, oil magnate (Getty Oil)
• 1892 - Jose Maria Castro, composer
• 1896 - Carl Ferdinand Cori, US bio-chemist
• 1896 - George B Cressey, US geographer (Asia's Lands & Peoples)
• 1896 - Margaret Bannerman, Toronto Ontario, actress (Elopement)
• 1896 - Paul R Citroen, Dutch sculptor
• 1898 - Fernando Remacha, composer
• 1899 - Frank Vosper, London England, actor (Man Who Knew Too Much)
• 1900 - Francesco Messina, sculptor
• 1904 - Kermit Bloomgarden, producer (Diary of Anne Frank, Music Man)
• 1904 - William Hitzig, Austria, Maxwell physician
• 1905 - Ferenc Farkas, composer
• 1906 - Betty Smith, novelist (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)
• 1907 - Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilians architect (Brasilia)
• 1913 - Muriel Rukeyser, US, poet (1977 Shelley Memorial Award)
• 1913 - Rik Jacobs, Flemish stage manager
• 1914 - Ernie Toshack, cricket pace bowler (Aussie left-arm post-WWII)
• 1915 - Jose Toribio Merino Castro, admiral
• 1916 - Maurice Wilkins, England, physicist, worked with DNA (Nobel 1962)
• 1918 - Jeff Chandler, [Ira Grossel], Bkln, actor (Broken Arrow)
• 1919 - Ake Seyffarth, 10K speed skater (Olympic-gold-1948)
• 1921 - Bobby Todd, US comic/actor (Original Sin)
• 1922 - Alan Freed, Penn, DJ, accepted payola/introduced term "rock-n-roll"
• 1924 - Ida Haendel, Polish violinist/author (Woman with Violin)
• 1928 - Jimmy Nelson, Chic Ill, ventriloguist (Nestles, Farfel)
• 1929 - Keith Andrew, cricketer (England wicket-keeper in 2 Tests 1954-63)
• 1930 - Alim-ud-Din, cricketer (Pakistani batsman in 25 Tests 1954-62)
• 1931 - Evald Schorm, Prague Czech, director (Courage for Every Day)
• 1932 - Edna O'Brien, Ireland, writer (Fanatic of Heart, Casualties of Peace)
• 1932 - Elaine Barkin, composer
• 1932 - Igor Stuhec, composer
• 1933 - Jesse Belvin, Texarkana Arkansas, rock vocalist (Mr Easy)
• 1933 - Tim Conway, Willoughby Oh, comic (McHale's Navy, Carol Burnett Show)
• 1937 - John [Thomas] Sladek, US, sci-fi author (Tik-Tok, Bugs)
• 1937 - Karen Morrow, Chic, actress (Aunt Minerva-Tabitha, Jim Nabors Hour)
• 1938 - Dennis RB Madide, South African Internal minister of Transkei
• 1939 - Cindy Birdsong, Camden NJ, rock vocalist (Labelle-Rainbow, Supremes)
• 1939 - Nicolaus A Huber, composer
• 1940 - Nick Buoniconti, NFL linebacker (Miami Dolphins)/sportscaster (NBC)
• 1941 - Austin Savage, Welsh hockey player
• 1941 - Geoffrey Davies, English actor (Doctor at Sea, Doctor on the Go)
• 1942 - Dave Clark, London England, rock drummer (Dave Clark 5-Glad All Over)
• 1943 - Mihaly Hesz, Hungary, 1K kayak (Olympic-gold-1968)
• 1944 - Stan Bahnsen, pitcher (NY Yankee, 1968 AL Rookie-of-year)
• 1945 - Thaao Penghlis, actor (Mission Impossible, Tony-Days of Our Life)
• 1946 - Carmine Appice, musician (Have You Heard, Keep on Rolling)
• 1946 - Harry Ray, Hackensack NJ, rock vocalist (Ray, Goodman, Brown)
• 1948 - David Gwillim, Plymouth England, actor (Island at Top of the World)
• 1949 - Don Johnson, Flatt Creek Mo, actor (Miami Vice, Harrad Experiment)
• 1949 - Ton [Teunis] Sijbrands, Dutch world checkers champion
• 1950 - Ernst Hirsch Ballin, Dutch minister of Justice (198?-94)
• 1951 - Joe Jordan, Scottish soccer star
• 1951 - Ken Knox, rock vocalist (Chairmen of the Board)
• 1954 - Alex Cox, director (Repo Man)
• 1954 - Justin Ross, Bkln NY, actor (Sinatra, Chorus Line, Fan, Quick Change)
• 1954 - Mike Ratledge, author (2DAY & NEWDAY)/ratledgm@spawar.navy.mil
• 1955 - Melanie Chartoff, West Haven Ct, actress (Fridays, Parker Lewis)
• 1955 - Paul Simonon, English pop bassist (Clash-Havana 3 AM)
• 1959 - Greg Matthews, cricketer (NSW & Aust off-spin all rounder Yeah yeah)
• 1959 - Heidi Bohay, Somerset NJ, actress (Megan-Hotel)
• 1959 - Rashid Khan, cricketer (4 Tests for Pakistan 1982-85)
• 1960 - Don Franklin, actor (Seaquest 2032, Noah Dixon-The Young Riders)
• 1960 - Doug Phelps, Leachville Ar, singer (Ky Headhunters-Davy Crockett)
• 1961 - Annie Pujol, Perpignan, French TV hostess (Roue de la Fortune)
• 1961 - Reginald Hudlin, director (House Party)
• 1963 - Asif Karim, cricketer (slow left-arm bowler for Kenya 1996 World Cup)
• 1963 - David Wingate, NBA guard/forward (Seattle Supersonics)
• 1963 - Helen Slater, NYC, actress (Supergirl, Billie Jean, Ruthless People)
• 1964 - Carlton Bailey, NFL linebacker (Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers)
• 1964 - Jerry Ball, NFL defensive tackle (Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings)
• 1965 - Kimberly Donley, Aurora IL, playmate (Mar, 1993)
• 1965 - Walter Reeves, NFL tight end (Cleve Browns)
• 1966 - Carl Hooper, cricketer (WI off-spin all-rounder)
• 1967 - Chris Gioskos, CFL tackle (Toronto Argonauts)
• 1967 - Christine Larsen, New Westminster BC, synchro swimmer (Oly-silver-96)
• 1967 - Frank Hartley, NFL tight end (Cleve Browns, SD Chargers)
• 1967 - Keith Askins, NBA guard/forward (Miami Heat)
• 1967 - Mo Vaughn, Norwalk Conn, infielder (Boston Red Sox, MVP-1995)
• 1968 - Garrett Wang, actor (Star Trek Voyager)
• 1969 - Dan Williams, NFL defensive end (Denver Broncos, KC Chiefs)
• 1969 - Sean Briscombe, Minneapolis Minn, diver (Olympics-96)
• 1969 - Wayne Simmons, linebacker (KC Chiefs)
• 1970 - Damon Thomas, NFL wide receiver (Buffalo Bills)
• 1970 - Lawrence Funderburke, NBA forward (Sacramento Kings)
• 1970 - Mitchell Butler, NBA guard (Washington Bullets, Cleveland Cavaliers)
• 1971 - Boudewijk Pahlplatz, soccer player (FC Twente, PSV)
• 1971 - Chris Maumalanga, NFL defensive tackle (Chicago Bears, Az Cardinals)
• 1971 - Eric Bjornson, NFL tight end (Dallas Cowboys)
• 1971 - Ken Alexander, WLAF linebacker (Barcelona Dragons)
• 1972 - Rodney Harrison, NFL safety (SD Chargers)
• 1972 - Stanislav Jasecko, Spisska Nova Ves, hockey defenseman (Team Slovakia)
• 1973 - Geoff Stewart, Australian rower (Olympics-96)
• 1973 - James Stewart, Australian rower (Olympics-96)
• 1973 - Mike Cherry, quarterback (NY Giants)
• 1973 - Mirko Ludemann, Weiwasser GER, NHL defenseman (Team Germany, Colorado)
• 1973 - Tammy Melinda Pearman, Bkln Ny, soccer forward/defender (Olympics-96)
• 1974 - Jeffrey van der Stone, soccer player (RKC)
• 1977 - Catherine Fox, 400m freestyle relay (Olympics-gold-96)
• 1977 - Larissa Fontaine, Chicago Ill, gymnast (alt-Olympics-96)
• 1978 - Henrietta Nagyova, Nove Zamky Slovakia, tennis star (ITF/Cali-COL)
• 1985 - Sheeba Reiter, Fla, illegitimate daughter of Jackie Mason

Famous deaths on December 15 ..

• 1025 - Basilius II, the Bulgarendoder, Byzantine emperor (976-1025), dies
• 1230 - Ottokar I, king of Bohemia (1197-1230), dies
• 1515 - Alfonso de Albuquerque, viceroy of Portuguese Indies, dies
• 1576 - Joachim Hopperus, [Hoppers], Frisian lawyer/politician, dies at 53
• 1598 - Philip van Marnix, Flemish ruler of St Aldegonde/poet, dies at 58
• 1621 - Charles d'albert duke of Luynes/PM of France, dies at 43
• 1626 - Adriaen de Vries, Dutch sculptor/painter, dies at about 70
• 1675 - John Vermeer, Dutch painter (Love Letter), dies at 43
• 1688 - Gaspar Fagel, lawyer/Neth grand pensionary (1672-88), dies at 54
• 1699 - Henrik A van Reede tot Drakenstein, Dutch botanist, dies at about 63
• 1712 - Sidney 1st earl of Godolphine, English minister of Finance, dies at 67
• 1715 - George Hickes, English linguist (Old German Philology), dies at 73
• 1779 - Manuel Jeronimo Romero de Avila, composer, dies at 62
• 1792 - Joseph Martin Kraus, composer, dies at 36
• 1816 - Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz, composer, dies at 44
• 1817 - Maria Walewska [Leszczinska], lover of emperor Napoleon I, dies
• 1822 - Ferenc Verseghy, composer, dies at 65
• 1826 - William Browser, revolting slave, executed in NYC
• 1831 - Paul R Cantzlaar, gov of Saba/Curaçao/Dutch-West Indies, dies at 60
• 1839 - Matthijs I van Bree, Flemish court-painter, dies at 66
• 1861 - Gualtiero Sanelli, composer, dies at 45
• 1880 - Carlo Boncompagni di Mombello, Ital minister of Justice, dies at 76
• 1889 - Ferdinand II A F A, king of Portugal, dies at 73
• 1890 - Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa-Sioux chief (Little Big Horn), killed by US
• 1892 - Charles Balmer, composer, dies at 75
• 1896 - John GR Acquoy, Dutch theologist/church historian, dies at 67
• 1901 - Elias Alvares Lobo, composer, dies at 67
• 1909 - Francisco Tarrega y Eixea, composer, dies at 57
• 1934 - Maggis Lena Walker, 1st US (black) woman to head a bank, dies at 69
• 1939 - Tom McKibbin, cricketer (5 Tests for Aust 1895-1898, 17 wkts), dies
• 1943 - Thomas W "Fats" Waller, jazz pianist, dies at 39 in KC Missouri
• 1944 - Glenn Miller, US band leader/jazz composer, dies at 40
• 1946 - Conrad Haebler, historian (Hundert Kalenderinkunabeln), dies at 89
• 1946 - Gordon Frederic Norton, composer, dies at 77
• 1950 - Robert Muller-Hartmann, composer, dies at 66
• 1951 - Eric Drummond, 1st sec-gen League of Nations (1919-33), dies at 75
• 1953 - Kishio Hirao, composer, dies at 46
• 1961 - William "Dummy" Hoy, professional baseball player, dies at 99
• 1962 - Charles Laughton, English actor (Hunchback of Notre Dame), dies at 63
• 1966 - Walt Disney, animator, dies at 65, put in suspended animation
• 1968 - Jess Willard, Heavyweight boxing champ (1915-19), dies at 86
• 1972 - Edward Earle, actor (Charlie Chan-Meeting at Midnight), dies at 90
• 1972 - Herbert Eimert, German composer (Glockenspiel), dies at 75
• 1973 - Orest Alexandrovich Evlahkov, composer, dies at 61
• 1974 - Erich Walter Sternberg, composer, dies at 83
• 1974 - Harry Hershfield, cartoonist (Can You Top This?), dies at 89
• 1975 - Mukhtar Ashrafi, composer, dies at 63
• 1978 - Chill Wills, actor (Frontier Circus, Rounders), dies at 75
• 1979 - Bern Hoffman, actor (Major Dell Conway), dies at 66
• 1984 - Avon Long, actor (Roots: Next Generation), dies at 74
• 1984 - Jan Peerce, [Perelmuth], operatic tenor, dies at 80 following a stroke
• 1989 - Arnold Moss, actor (Gambit), dies at 79
• 1990 - Betty Warren actress (Passport to Pimlico), dies
• 1990 - Jean Paige, actress (Capt Blood, Black Beauty), dies
• 1991 - Horatio Luro, US horse trainer (Northern Dancer), dies at 90
• 1991 - Ray Smith, British actor (And Then You Die), dies at 55
• 1992 - Fré [Frederik] Meis, Dutch MP (CPN), dies at 71
• 1993 - Kakuei Tanaka, PM of Japan (1972-74), dies
• 1994 - Hans de Jong, musician/conductor (Amsterdams Vrouwenkoor), dies at 86
• 1994 - Harry Tobias, songwriter, dies at 99
• 1994 - Henry Phelps Brown, historian/economist, dies at 88
• 1994 - Mollie Doreen Phillips, Brit figure skater (Eur-bronze-33), dies at 87
• 1995 - James Geoffrey Cutcliffe Hepburn, tap-dancer/socialist, dies at 88
• 1995 - Manuel Gutierrez Mellado, PM of Defense of Spain (1977-81), dies at 83
• 1996 - Gerald Moverley, priest, dies at 74
• 1996 - Guiseppe Dossetti, politician/priest, dies at 83
• 1996 - Laurens jan van der Post, explorer/conservationist, dies at 90
• 1997 - Lillian Disney, widow of Walt Disney, dies at 98
• 1997 - Pananayiotis Taki Vatikiotis, middle east scholar, dies at 69