July 23 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1215 Frederick II crowned King of the Romans (King of the Germans) in Aachen

1829 William Austin Burt patents America’s first “typographer” (typewriter)

1840 Union Act passed by British Parliament, uniting Upper & Lower Canada

1944 Conference of Bretton Woods signed; IMF operations begin

1995 Comet Hale-Bopp is discovered and becomes visible to the naked eye nearly a year later

Today’s Historical Events

636 Arabs gain control of most of Palestine from the Byzantine Empire

685 John V begins his reign as Catholic Pope

1148 Crusaders begin siege of Damascus during Second Crusade (abandoned 28 July)

1215 Frederick II crowned King of the Romans (King of the Germans) in Aachen

1253 Jews are expelled from Vienne, France by order of Pope Innocent IV

1298 Rindfleisch (“Beef”) Persecutions – Jewish community in Wurzburg, Germany massacred

1453 Battle at Gavere: Philip the Good beats Gentse rebellion

1532 Emperor Charles V and the Schmalkaldic League sign Peace of Nuremberg

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1966 Frank Sinatra‘s album “Strangers In The Night” hits #1 on the US charts, (Grammy for Record Of The Year and Best Male Vocal Performance)

1975 Alan Ayckbourn’s “Absent Friends” premieres in London

1981 14th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at El Cortez Hotel

1984 Suzette Charles (NJ), 21, replaces Williams as 57th Miss America 1984

1984 Vanessa Williams, 1st African American Miss America, resigns after Penthouse publishes unauthorized nude photos of her

1989 FOX-TV tops ABC, NBC & CBS for 1st time (America’s Most Wanted)

1989 Ringo Starr‘s first All-Starr Band debuts in concert; members include Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Clarence Clemons, Dr. John, Billy Preston, and Jim Keltner

1994 American dancer, actor, and director Gene Kelly suffers a mild stroke

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1961 American opera singer Grace Bumbry becomes the first black singer to perform at the Bayreuth Festival, Germany, she earns 42 curtain calls

1965 The Beatles’ single “Help” is released in the UK

1976 Wings release single “Let ’em In”

1992 Bruce Springsteen begins a world tour, his first with musicians other than the E Street band

1995 “Hamlet” closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 121 performances

2010 One Direction is formed during the X Factor show as Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson join together

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1827 1st US swimming school opens (Boston, Massachusetts)

1866 Cincinnati Baseball club (Red Stockings) forms

1868 All England Lawn Tennis Club is founded as The All England Croquet Club; 1877 name changed to The All England Croquet & Lawn Tennis Club

1902 Dutch Excelsior soccer club is established in Rotterdam (Eerste Divisie winners 1973-4, 78-79, 2005-06)

1907 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Wimbledon: Norman Brookes beats Herbert Roper Barrett 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 to give Australasia a 3-2 win over British Isles

1921 Edward Gourdin of US sets long jump record at 25′ 2 3/4″

1922 16th Tour de France won by Firmin Lambot of Belgium

1925 NY Yankee Lou Gehrig hits his 1st of 23 career grand slammers