Today in History for 30th December 2021:
Historical Events
1610 – Hungarian aristocrat Elizabeth Báthory arrested at Csejte Castle on suspicion of killing and torturing hundreds of young girls and women
1836 – Lehman Theater in St Petersburg catches fire; 100s die
1853 – Dinner party held inside life-sized model of an Iguanodon (ornithopod dinosaur), created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in South London
1888 – Belgium: king Leopold II installs Order of African Star
1968 – -48°F (-44°C), Mazama and Winthrop, Washington (state record)
1968 – Frank Sinatra first records “My Way” with lyrics were written by Paul Anka and based on the French song “Comme d’habitude”
Famous Birthdays
1784 – Dorothea von Benckendorff, Baltic monarch of Lieven
1887 – Henry George Ley, British organist, composer, and teacher (Eton, 1926-45), born in Chagford, England (d. 1962)
1934 – Joseph P. Hoar, former US Central Command commander
1937 – Tsisana Tatishvili, Georgian lyric-dramatic soprano, born in Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (d. 2017)
1949 – Bruce Fairbairn, Canadian musician and record producer (Loverboy; Bon Jovi; Aerosmith), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 1999)
1964 – Kris Tschetter, American golfer (US Open runner-up 1996), born in Detroit, Michigan
Famous Deaths
1912 – Alfred von Kiderlen-Wächter, German foreign minister, dies at 60
1971 – Melba Rae, American actress (Search for Tomorrow) (b. 1922)
1986 – Jiri Jaroch, Czech composer, dies at 66
1988 – Yuli Daniel, Russian writer (b. 1925)
1995 – Heiner Muller, dramatist, dies at 66
2004 – Artie Shaw [Arthur Arshawsky], American bandleader, jazz clarinetist and actor (“Begin the Beguine”), dies at 94