SRN13's Day of Days Blogosphere

June 28th
Feast Day of Saint Paulus I. Pope Paul I was Pope from 29 May 757 to his death in 767. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiations with the Lombard Kings.

928 Louis the Blind, Holy Roman Emperor between 901-905, died in obscurity. He was the son of Boso, the usurper king of Provence, and Ermengard, a daughter of the Emperor Louis II.Through his father, he was a Bosonid, but through his mother, a Carolingian. He was blinded after a failed invasion of Italy in 905.

1577 Flemish Baroque painter Sir Peter Paul Rubens is born at Siegen, Westphalia. He was a proponent of an extravagant Baroque style that emphasised movement, colour, and sensuality. He is well known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects.

1909 English author Eric Ambler is born in London. Best known for writing spy novels, after the second world war he also produced film screenplays such as The October Man, The Cruel Sea, A Night To Remember and The Way Ahead.

1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated at Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princeps, a 19yo Bosnian, setting in motion events that would lead to the First World War. He was 50yo. The Archduke's wife Sophie Duchess of Hohenberg was also killed during the attack, she was 46yo.

1915 Australian cricketer Victor Trumper died as a result of Bright's Disease in Darlinghurst, Sydney aged 37yo. Trumper's most remarkable Test season was played in England in 1902. It was one of the wettest summers on record, yet Trumper in 53 innings scored 2,570 runs, and without a single not out had an average of 48.49.

1926 Mel Brooks is born in Brooklyn, New York as Melvin James Kaminsky. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies such as "Blazing Saddles", " Young Frankenstein", " High Anxiety", " The Producers", etc.

1935 English actor and singer John Inman is born at Preston as Frederick John Inman. Best known for his role of Mr Humphries in the BBC sitcom " Are You Being Served".

1945 Scottish boxer Ken Buchanan is born at Edinburgh in Scotland. In 1970 Buchanan won the World Lightweight Championship, a title he held until he was stripped of it in June 1971.

1946 American actor and director Bruce Davison was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Best remembered as playing the father of the family, George Henderson in "Harry and the Henderson's" TV series in the early 1990s.

1948 American actress Kathy Bates was born at Memphis, Tennessee asbKathleen Doyle Bates. She rose to prominence through the 1990 film Misery for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe.

1948 Boxer Dick Turpin beats Vince Hawkins at Villa Park in Birmingham to become the first black British boxing champion in the modern era. He was also renowned as a notorious highwayman!

1966 American actor, producer, screenwriter John Cusack was born at Evanston, Illinois. Cusack has appeared in more than 70 films to date including Being John Malkovitch, Grossed Point Blank, Con Air, High Fidelity, America's Sweethearts, etc.

1966 American stage, film and TV actress Mary Stuart Masterson is born in New York City. She has appeared in over 30 films.

Picture of Mary Stuart Masterson

1968 English actor Adam Brinley Woodyat is born at Walthamstow in London. He has played the role of Ian Beale in EastEnders since its inception in 1985.

1976 Welsh acting knight, Sir Stanley Baker died from complications of pneumonia in Malaga, Spain aged 48yo. This followed on from his being diagnosed with lung cancer the same year that had also spread to his bones. Baker's first starring role, after a number of supporting roles and bit parts was in "Hell Drivers" in 1957, the role established him as a "star", he went on to star in many films usually as an anti-hero type. In 1964 he starred in Zulu as Lieutenant John Chard VC, the role he is probably best remembered for. Shortly before his death Baker told his wife Ellen:-
" I have no regrets. I have had a fantastic life; no one has had a more fantastic life than I have. From the beginning I have been surrounded by love. I'm the son of a Welsh miner and I was born into love, married into love and spent my life in love."
He was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium and his ashes were scattered upon Llanwonno, overlooking Ferndale.

1992 Belgian racing driver Guy Nève was killed in practice for an endurance race at Chimay, Belgium. His Porsche 911 clipped another car hitting a grass bank and flipping several times before coming to rest on its roof. During the crash fuel ignited setting the car on fire. Neve was killed instantly at the spot, he was just 37yo and was the younger brother of racing driver Patrick Nève.

2001 English actress Joan Sims died aged 71yo from diverticular disease at Chelsea, London.

Politics: Supernanny Jo Frost has been urgently brought into the coalition government following David Cameron's display of foot stamping and petulance following the election of Jean Claude Juncker as the next President of The European Commission. She has sent the PM to the naughty step for 10 minutes and sent Chancellor Gideon Osborne to bed with no supper for his role in hiring Andy Coulson. Osborne did ask her to spank him as punishment but Ms Frost refused and told him to take off his gimp suit immediately!