Today in History for 29th August 2022:
Historical Events
1864 – William Huggins discovers chemical composition of nebulae
1941 – German Einsatzkommando in Russia kills 1,469 Jewish children
1949 – USSR performs its first nuclear test at Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR
1953 – KHSL TV channel 12 in Chico, CA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1960 – Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser wins blue ribband 100m freestyle gold medal at the Rome Olympics; retains title won in Melbourne 1956; will win unprecedented 3rd consecutive 100m gold in Tokyo 1964
1962 – Some provisions of Kuwaiti constitution are suspended
Famous Birthdays
1881 – Valery-Nicolas Larbaud, French novelist and translator (Enfantines), born in Vichy, France (d. 1957)
1898 – Preston Sturges [Edmund Biden], American director and screenwriter (Sullivan’s Travels), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1959)
1926 – María Dolores Pradera, Spanish melodic singer and actress, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 2018)
1941 – Robin Leach, English TV host (Life Styles of Rich and Famous), born in London, England (2018)
1949 – Peter Wiegold, British composer (Earth and Stars; Kafka’s Wound), born in Ilford, Essex, England
1957 – Jerry D. Bailey, American Racing Hall of Fame jockey/broadcaster (Kentucky Derby 1993, 1996), born in Dallas, Texas
Famous Deaths
1856 – Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, British Christian writer, dies at 77
1990 – Sandy, dog in the play Annie, dies at 16
1991 – Dixie Dunbar [Charlotte King], American singer and actress, dies of heart attack at 72
1995 – Frank Perry, American film director (Diary of Mad Housewife, David and Lisa), dies at 65
2003 – Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, Iraqi political leader (b. 1939)
2007 – Alfred Peet, Dutch-American entrepreneur and the founder of Peet’s Coffee and Tea (b. 1920)