Today in History

Historical Events

1759 - British fleet occupies Guadeloupe, West Indies, capturing it from France
1795 - Kamehameha I, King of Hawaiʻi defeats Kalanikupule and conquers island of Oʻahu at Battle of Nuʻuanu [approx. date]
1921 - Drusian sultan Pasja al-Atrasj elected governor of Suwayda
1947 - Radar for commercial and private planes is first demonstrated
1954 - WAPA TV channel 4 in San Juan, PR (NBC/SFN) begins broadcasting

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Famous Birthdays

1915 - Archie Williams, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1936), born in Oakland, California (d. 1993)
1928 - Raoul Servais, Belgian cartoonist and filmmaker (Harpya, Palme d'Or 1979), born in Ostend, Belgium (d. 2023)
1930 - Little Walter [Marion Walter Jacobs], blues singer-songwriter and harmonica player, born in Marksville, Louisiana (d. 1968)
1941 - Juraj Hatrík, Slovak composer (Monumento malinconico; Dispute Over a Plastered Dwarf), and educator, born in Orkucany, Slovak Republic (d. 2021)
1987 - Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player (5 WTA singles titles), born in Jerusalem, Israel

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Famous Deaths

1896 - Nasr-ed-Din, shah of Persia (184.-96), murdered at 65
1963 - Lope K. Santos, Filipino writer and Father of the Philippine National Language and Grammar, dies at 83