Cargo ship suddenly sinks in Lake Superior (1975)
On November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew members on board. It was the worst single accident in Lake Superior’s history.
The . . .
Louisa Jo Killen Dies (9 August 2013)
Louisa Jo Killen (born Louis Killen; 10 January 1934 – 9 August 2013) was an English folk singer from Gateshead, Tyneside, who accompanied themself on the English concertina.
Killen formed one of Britain’s . . .
Don Sineti Dies 1/5/2023
Don Sineti , folksinger, songwriter, part-time sea chanteyman at historic Mystic Seaport Museum (with one of the most powerful voices on the Eastern Seaboard!), and long-neck, . . .
James Henry Miller aka Ewan MacColl dies
(25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989)
James Henry Miller, better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labor activist and actor. Wikipedia
You can view . . .
Construction on the Erie Canal begins 4 July 1817
On July 4, 1817, workers break ground on the Erie Canal at Rome, New York. The canal, completed in 1825, links the eastern seaboard with the Midwest and transforms New York . . .
Stan Hugill Dies (1992)
Stan Hugill (19 November 1906 – 13 May 1992) was a British folk music performer, artist and sea music historian, known as the “Last Working Shantyman” and . . .
Gilbert & Sullivan’s “HMS Pinafore” premieres (1878)
By the spring of 1877, the English light-opera team of W.S. Gilbert and Richard Sullivan had established a strong reputation based on several well-received earlier works, . . .
23 Sept 1991 Peter Bellamy Dies
Peter Franklyn Bellamy (8 September 1944 – 24 September 1991) was an English folk singer. He was a founding member of The Young Tradition and also had a long solo career, recording numerous albums . . .
James Henry Miller aka Ewan MacColl dies (1989)
James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist . . .
Herzogin Cecile grounds on Ham Stone Rock (1935)
With Sven Erikson as her captain and Elis Karlsson her first mate, the ship left Port Lincoln in South Australia on 21 January 1935, with a cargo of wheat, and after taking . . .
Sir Richard Runciman Terry Dies (1938)
Richard Terry was born in 1864 in Ellington, Northumberland. At the age of 11 he started playing the organ at the local church. Educated at various schools in South Shields, . . .
Hythe folk singer Kerry Hearn died in a crash on the A20
On this date in 2014, Hythe folk singer Kerry Hearn died in a crash on the A20 in 2014. He was a member of the folk music band, Quidnunc. He left behind his loving wife, Mandy Hearn and musical . . .
Louisa Jo Killen Dies 9 August 2013
Louisa Jo Killen (born Louis Killen; 10 January 1934 – 9 August 2013) was an English folk singer from Gateshead, Tyneside, who accompanied himself on the English concertina.
Killen . . .
Albert Lancaster Lloyd, aka A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd dies (29 Sept 1982)
Albert Lancaster Lloyd, usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English folk singer and collector of folk songs, and as such was a key figure in the British folk revival of the 1950s and . . .
Sir Francis Drake claims California for England
During his circumnavigation of the world, English seaman Francis Drake anchors in a harbor just north of present-day San Francisco, California, and claims the territory . . .
Albert Lancaster Lloyd, aka A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd dies
Albert Lancaster Lloyd, usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English folk singer and collector of folk songs, and as such was a key figure in the British folk revival of the 1950s and . . .
Bruce Macartney Jr. Dies (2019)
Bruce Jesse Macartney Jr., 70 of Midland, died Thursday morning, September 5, 2019 at the MidMichigan Regional Medical Center. He was born May 22, 1949 in Philadelphia, . . .
Ken Stephens, RIP
We are sad to report that Ken Stephens passed away on Friday, 17 January, 2025.
You can read more about Stephens on his MMDI listing page.
Ed Trickett Dies on May 10, 2022
Ed was a well-loved musician in the folk music community. He appeared on over 40 recordings, most of them with Folk Legacy Records, now part of the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. His discography includes . . .
Francis Drake circumnavigates the globe (1580)
English seaman Francis Drake returns to Plymouth, England, in the Golden Hind, becoming the first British navigator to sail the earth.
On December 13, . . .