May 28

Birthdays:

1971 ~ Marco Rubio, American politician.

1962 ~ Roland Gift, English singer and frontman for Fine Young Cannibals.

1960 ~ Mark Sanford, American politician and governor of South Carolina.

1944 ~ Rudy Giuliani, American politician and mayor of New York City.

1942 ~ Stanley B. Prusiner, American neurologist and recipient of the1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1940 ~ Maeve Binchy (d. 2012), Irish novelist.

1940 ~ Shlomo Riskin, American rabbi.

1934 ~ The Canadian-borne Dionne quintuplets, Annette, Cecile, Emilie (d. 19540, Marie (d. 1970), and Yvonne (d. 2001).  These were the first known quintuplets to survive infancy.

1917 ~ Barry Commoner (d. 2012), American biologist and political activist.

1916 ~ Walker Percy (d. 1990), Louisiana-born American author.

1912 ~ Patrick White (d. 1990), Australian writer and recipient of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature.

1908 ~ Ian Fleming (d. 1964), English author and creator of James Bond.

1888 ~ Jim Thorpe (d. 1953), American athlete.

1858 ~ Carl Richard Nyberg (d. 1939), Swedish inventor of the blow torch.

1818 ~ P.G.T. Beauregard (né Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, d. 1893), Louisiana-born Confederate General during the American Civil War.

1759 ~ William Pitt the Younger (d. 1806), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1660 ~ King George I of Great Britain (d. 1727).

Events that Changed the World:

1987 ~ Mathias Rust, a 19-year-old West German flew his private plane into Soviet Union air space and landed in Red Square in Moscow.  He was detained for over a year before being released on August 3, 1988.

1982 ~ British forces defeated the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War.

1964 ~ The Palestine Liberation Organization was formed.

1937 ~ The Golden Gate Bridge officially opened for vehicular traffic.

1923 ~ The United States Attorney General determined that it is legal for women to wear trousers.

1892 ~ Naturalist John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.

1533 ~ Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, declared the marriage of King Henry VII of England to Anne Boleyn to be valid.

1503 ~ James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor were married in accordance with a Papal Bull issued by Pope Alexander VI.

Good-Byes:

2003 ~ Ilya Prigogine (b. 1917), Russian-Belgian chemist and recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

1998 ~ Phil Hartman (b. 1948), Canadian actor and comedian.  He was killed by his wife in a murde-suicide.

1980 ~ Rolf Nevanlinna (b. 1895), Finnish mathematician.

1972 ~ Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (d. 1894).  He abdicated the throne and was later known as the Duke of Windsor.

1971 ~ Audie Murphy (b. 1924), American actor and soldier.

1849 ~ Anne Brontë (b. 1820), English novelist and poet.

1843 ~ Noah Webster (b. 1758), American writer and lexicographer.

May 26

Birthdays:

1971 ~ Matt Stone, American animator and co-creator of South Park.

1966 ~ Zola Budd, South American athlete.

1966 ~ Helena Bonham Carter, English actress.

1951 ~ Sally Ride (d. 2012), First American astronaut to go into space.

1928 ~ Jack Kevorkian (d. 2011), American pathologist and activist for assisted suicide.

1926 ~ Miles Davis (d. 1991), American Jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer.

1923 ~ James Arness (d. 2011),

1920 ~ Peggy lee (d. 2002), American singer and actress.

1912 ~ Jay Silverheels (d. 1980), Canadian actor.

1907 ~ John Wayne (d. 1979), American actor.

1895 ~ Dorothea Lange (d. 1965), American photographer, best known for her work during the Great Depression.

1886 ~ Al Jolson (né Asa Yoelson, d. 1950), American comedian and singer.

1867 ~ Mary of Teck (d. 1953), Queen consort of King George V of the United Kingdom.

1764 ~ Edward Livingston (d. 1836), American politician from Louisiana.

1478 ~ Pope Clement VII (d. 1534).

Events that Changed the World:

1998 ~ The US Supreme Court ruled in New Jersey v. New York, that Ellis Island, is mainly in the State of New Jersey and not New York.

1978 ~ The first legal casino in the eastern United States opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey

1946 ~ A patent was filed in the United States for the hydrogen bomb.

1897 ~ Bram Stoker’s Dracula was published.

1896 ~ The first edition the of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, by Charles Dow, was published.

1896 ~ Nicholas II became Tsar of Russia.

1869 ~ Boston University received its charter from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

1868 ~ The impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson concluding finding Johnson not guilty.

1830 ~ The Indian Removal Act was passed by US Congress.  President Andrew Jackson signed the Act into law on May 28.  This Act ultimately lead to the Trail of Tears, in which Native Americans were forcibly removed from their land to migrate west.

1736 ~ During the Battle of Ackia, British and Chicksaw soldiers repelled a French and Choctaw attack on the village of Ackia (near present-day Tupelo, Mississippi).  Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, the French Louisiana governor, had hoped to link Louisiana with Acadia and other northern colonies of New France.

1538 ~ The city of Geneva expelled John Calvin and his followers.  He relocated in exile to Strasbourg.

1293 ~ An earthquake in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan killed about 30,000 people.

Good-Byes:

2010 ~ Art Linkletter (b. 1912), Canadian-American radio and television host.

2008 ~ Sydney Pollack (b. 1934), American actor, director and screenwriter.

2005 ~ Dale Velzy (b. 1927), American surfboard maker who defined the “surfer dude lifestyle.”

2005 ~ Eddie Albert (b. 1906), American actor, best known for his role in the television sit-com, Green Acres.

1943 ~ Edsel Ford (b. 1893), American businessman.  He was the son of Henry Ford.  The car named after him was introduced in 1957, many years after his death.

1939 ~ Charles Horace Mayo (b. 1865), American physician and co-founder of the Mayo Clinic.

1914 ~ Jacob August Riis (b. 1849), Danish-American journalist and reformer.

1907 ~ Ida Saxton McKinley (b. 1847), American First Lady and wife of President William McKinley.

1904 ~ Georges Gilles de la Tourette (b. 1857), French neurologist who first described the condition now known as Tourette’s syndrome.

1703 ~ Samuel Pepys (b. 1633), English civil servant and diarist.

946 ~ Edmund I of England (b. 921).  He was murdered by a thief.

735 ~ Bede (b. 673), English historian and theologian.

February 2

Ground Hog Day

Birthdays:

1954 ~ Christie Brinkley, American model.

1947 ~ Farrah Fawcett (d. 2009), American actress.

1931 ~ Judith Viorst, American author.

1927 ~ Stan Getz (d. 1991), American musician.

1926 ~ Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, French president.

1923 ~ Liz Smith, American gossip columnist.

1915 ~ Abba Eban (d. 2002), Israeli diplomat.

1912 ~ Millvina Dean (d. 2009), last survivor of the RMS Titanic.

1905 ~ Ayn Rand (d. 1982), Russian-born American author and philosopher, best known for her novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

1897 ~ Howard Johnson (d. 1972), American hotelier and founder of the Howard Johnson hotel and restaurant chain.

1882 ~ James Joyce (d. 1941), Irish author.

1861 ~ Solomon Guggenheim (d. 1949), American art collector and philanthropist.

1786 ~ Jacques Philippe Marie Binet (d. 1856), French mathematician.

1650 ~ Nell Gwynne (d. 1687), English actress and long-time mistress of King Charles II of England.

1649 ~ Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730).

1522 ~ Lodovico Ferrari (d. 1565), Italian mathematician.

1455 ~ King John of Denmark (d. 1513).

1208 ~ King James I of Aragon (d. 1276).

Events that Changed the World:

1971 ~ Idi Amin became leader and dictator of Uganda.

1935 ~ The first polygraph machine was tested.

1925 ~ Dog sleds reached Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum.  This inspired the Iditarod races.

1922 ~ James Joyce published his novel, Ulysses.

1913 ~ Grand Central Terminal was opened in New York City.

1901 ~ The funeral for Queen Victoria was conducted.

1899 ~ The Australian Premiers’ Conference, which was held in Melbourne, decided to locate Australia’s capital city to Canberra.

1887 ~ The first Groundhog Day was observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

1876 ~ The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of the Major League Baseball was formed.

1848 ~ The first wave of Chinese immigrants arrived in San Francisco, California to assisted with the California Gold Rush.

1653 ~ The city of New Amsterdam, alter renamed New York City, was incorporated.

1536 ~ The city of Buenos Aries, Argentina was founded by Pedro de Mendoza.

1032 ~ Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor became King of Burgundy.

962 ~ Otto I was crown Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII.

Good-byes:

1996 ~ Gene Kelly (b. 1912), American dancer and actor.

1992 ~ Bert Parks (b. 1914), American television host and long-time emcee for the Miss America pageants.

1980 ~ William Howard Stein (b. 1911), American biochemist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

1980 ~ Hanna Rovina (b. 1893), Israeli actress.

1970 ~ Sid Vicious (né John Simon Ritchie, b. 1957), English musician and frontman for the Sex Pistols.  He died from a drug overdose that was possibly a suicide.

1970 ~ Bertrand Russell (b. 1872), English mathematician, writer and philosopher.  He was the recipient of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature.

1969 ~ Boris Karloff (d. 1887), English actor best known for his characters in horror films.

1950 ~ Constantin Cathathéodory (b. 1873), Greek mathematician.

1918 ~ John L. Sullivan (b. 1858), American heavyweight boxer.

1904 ~ William C. Whitney (b. 1841), American financier.

1769 ~ Pope Clement XIII (b. 1689).

1768 ~ Robert Smith (b. 1689) English mathematician.

1704 ~ Guillaume François Antoine, Marquis de l’Hôpital (b. 1661), French mathematician.

1461 ~ Owen Tudor, (b.~ 1400), Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty of England.