Today in History for 31st December 2024
Historical Events
1923 – Harry Tierney and Joseph McCarthy’s musical “Kid Boots,” premieres in New York City
1961 – National Football League Championship, City Stadium, Green Bay: Green Bay Packers shutout NY Giants 37-0; first of 5 NFL titles won in 7-season span by Packers and head coach, Vince Lombardi
1963 – Dear Abby show premieres on CBS radio (runs 11 years)
1977 – Revival of Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion’s musical “Man of La Mancha” starring Richard Kiley, closes at the Palace Theater, NYC, after 124 performances
2017 – Singer Lorde called a bigot in ad in Washington Post after cancelling show in Israel
2018 – Houston guard James Harden scores 43 points in Rockets’ 113-101 win over Memphis Grizzlies; 4th straight NBA game with 40+ points and 8th straight with 35+; joins Oscar Robertson as only player with at least 35 points and 5 assists in 8 straight games
Famous Birthdays
1514 – Andreas Vesalius [Andries van Wesel], Flemish physician and anatomist (De humani corporis fabrica), born in Brussels, Habsburg Netherlands (now Belgium) (d. 1564)
1863 – Alfredo Panzini, Italian author (Dizionario Moderno), born in Senigallia, Italy (d. 1939)
1881 – Max Pechstein, German “entartet” painter and graphic artist (The Bridge), born in Zwickau, Germany (d. 1955)
1919 – Recy Taylor, American sexual assault victim, born in Abbeville, Alabama (d. 2017)
1969 – David Rawlings, American guitarist and singer, works with Gillian Welch (All the Good Times), born in North Smithfield, Rhode Island
1981 – Jason Campbell, American football quarterback (Auburn University: Music City Bowl MVP 2003, Sugar Bowl MVP 2005; Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders), born in Laurel, Mississippi
Famous Deaths
1640 – John Francis Regis, French priest and Roman Catholic saint, dies of pneumonia at 43
1652 – Frances Cecil, 2nd wife of English earl of Shaftesbury, dies
1864 – George Mifflin Dallas, American politician (11th Vice President of the United States) and United States Minister to Russia, dies at 72
1960 – Semyon Bogatyrev, Russian and Soviet musicologist and composer (completed a symphony abandoned by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), dies at 70
1994 – Leigh Bowery, Australian performance artist and designer, dies of AIDS at 33
2007 – Milton L. Klein, Canadian politician (b. 1910)
