Today in History for 31st October 2022:
Historical Events
802 – Empress Irene of Byzantium driven out
1887 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestral work “Capriccio Espagnol” premieres in St Petersburg
1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba in southern Palestine – “last successful cavalry charge in history” performed by the 4th Australian Light Horse
1973 – Tom Seaver wins NL Cy Young Award
1981 – 1st live US radio drama in 25 years (Halloween Story on NBC)
2003 – Bethany Hamilton, aged 13, has her arm bitten off by a shark while surfing in Hawaii
Famous Birthdays
1838 – Luís I, King of Portugal (1861-89), born in Necessidades Palace, Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1889)
1887 – William Whysall, British cricketer (4 Tests for England 1924-30) (d. 1930)
1912 – Ollie Johnston, American animator and the last living member of Disney’s Nine Old Men, born in Palo Alto, California (d. 2008)
1914 – Joe Carcione, American consumer advocate (The Green Grocer) (d. 1988)
1970 – Craig Kelly, English actor (Queer as Folk, Coronation Street), born in Lytham St Annes, England
1970 – Nicholas “Nicky” Wu, Taiwanese singer, actor and martial arts expert (Xiao Hu Dui/Little Tiger Team), born in Taipei, Taiwan
Famous Deaths
1917 – Tibby Cotter, Australian cricket fast bowler and soldier (21 Tests, 49 wickets), dies in world’s last successful cavalry charge, 4th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba at 33
1926 – Harry Houdini [Erich Weiss], Famous magician and escape artist, dies at 52 in Detroit of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured
1939 – Otto Rank [Rosenfeld], Austria psychoanalyst (Trauma of Geburt), dies
1991 – Johan Schmitz, actor (Gysbregt van Aemstel/Soldat van Orange), dies
1996 – Andrew Hutchings, British trade union leader, dies at 88
2014 – Käbi Laretei, Estonian-Swedish concert pianist, dies at 92