Today in History for 4th January 2022:
Historical Events
1920 – Amsterdam actors decide to strike for retirement benefits
1965 – LBJ’s “Great Society” State of the Union Address
1975 – New Orleans Jazz set a then NBA record (with 24-second shot clock) by scoring only 20 points in the first half of a 111-89 loss in Seattle; unwanted record stands for nearly 25 years
1998 – “Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” closes at St James NYC after 715 perform
1999 – Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque, killing 16 people and injuring 25.
2014 – Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: France wins first title; Alizé Cornet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Poland’s Agnieszka Radwa?ska and Grzegorz Panfil 6-0, 6-2 to clinch 2-1 victory
Famous Birthdays
1925 – Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish cross country skier (Olympic gold 1952, 56, 60), born in Kurkijoki, Finland (d. 2003)
1929 – Bobby Tulloch, ornithologist
1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and writer (Team of Rivals, No Ordinary Time), born in Brooklyn, New York
1947 – John King, American rock drummer (Steve Miller Band, 1972-74), born in Kingsport, Tennessee (d. 2010)
1960 – Michael Stipe, American rock vocalist and songwriter (R.E.M. – “Losing My Religion”; “Stand”; “Everybody Hurts”), born in Decatur, Georgia
1967 – Michael “Mike” Peterson, American rower (Olympics 1996), born in Washington, D.C.
Famous Deaths
1612 – Henry L Spieghel, Dutch merchant/writer, dies at 62
1825 – Ferdinand I, King of Sicily/Naples (Ferdinand IV), dies at 73
1886 – Ernest Panckoucke, French publisher (Horace), dies at 77
1942 – Leon Jessel, German composer (The Parade of the Tin Soldiers), dies at 70
1968 – Joseph Pholien, Belgian PM (1950-52) communist fighter, dies at 83
2020 – Walter Ormeño, Peruvian soccer goalkeeper (Peru 1949-57; Boca Juniors, Rosario Central), dies at 93