November 12

November 3

Birthdays:

1954 ~ Adam Ant (né Stuart Leslie Goddard), English singer and musician.

1942 ~ Martin Cruz Smith, American author.

1938 ~ Martin Dunwoody, English mathematician.

1933 ~ Michael Dukakis, American politician and former Presidential candidate.  He also served as the 65^th and 67^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served his first term from January 1975 until January 1979; and he served his second term from January 1983 until January 1991.

1933 ~ Amartya Sen, Indian economist and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

1918 ~ Russell B. Long (d. 2003), American politician from Louisiana.  He died at age 84.

1918 ~ Elisabeth P. Hoisington (d. 2007), American Brigadier General.  In 1970, she became one of the first two women to reach the rank of Brigadier General.  She died at age 88.

1903 ~ Walker Evans (d. 1973), American photographer.  He died at age 71.

1900 ~ Adolf Dassler (d. 1978), German founder of Adidas, the sports gear company.  He died at age 77.

1884 ~ Joseph William Martin, Jr. (d. 1968), American publisher and politician.  He served as the 44^th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January 1953 until January 1955.  He was a Representative from Massachusetts.  He died at age 83.

1877 ~ Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (d. 1960), 20^th and 26^th President of Chile.  He served from May 1927 until November 1931 in his first term and from November 1952 until November 1958 in his second term.  He died at age 82.

1845 ~ Edward Douglass White (d. 1921), 9^th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was initially appointed to the High Court as an Associate Supreme Court Justice by President Grover Cleveland, where he served from February 1894 until December 1910.  In December 1910, President William Taft appointed him to become the Chief Justice.  He served until his death at age 75 in May 1921.  He was from Louisiana.

1801 ~ Karl Baedeker (d. 1859), German author and publisher and founder of the Baedeker Publishing Company.  He died a month before his 58^th birthday.

1799 ~ William Sprague, III (d. 1856), 14^th Governor of Rhode Island.  He served as Governor from May 1838 until May 1839.  He died 2 weeks before his 57^th birthday.

1793 ~ Stephen Austin (d. 1836), American frontiersman in Texas.  He died of pneumonia at age 43.

1757 ~ Robert Smith (d. 1842), 6^th Secretary of State.  He served under President James Madison from March 1809 until April 1811.  He had previously served as the 2^nd United States Secretary of the Navy under President Thomas Jefferson.  He served in that position from July 1801 until March 1809.  He died 3 weeks after his 85^th birthday.

1500 ~ Benvenuto Cellini (d. 1571), Italian goldsmith and sculptor.  He died at age 70.

Events that Changed the World:

2014 ~ The new World Trade Center officially opened in New York City.

2013 ~ A solar eclipse occurred across Africa, Europe and the Eastern United States.

1997 ~ The United States imposed economic sanctions against the Sudan due to its human rights abuses of its own citizens and its assistance to Islamic extremist groups in the Middle East and across Africa.

1986 ~ The Federated States of Micronesia gained its independence from the United States.

1964 ~ Residents of Washington, D.C., were able to vote for the first time in a presidential election.

1960 ~ The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Morris County, New Jersey, was established by an Act of Congress.

1957 ~ The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, which carried a dog named Laika aboard, the first animal to enter orbit.  The dog did not survive the orbit, but died within hours from overheating.  The true cause of death was not revealed until 2002.

1918 ~ Poland declared its independence from Russia.

1913 ~ The United States introduced the income tax on its citizens.

1911 ~ Chevrolet entered the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T.

1903 ~ Panama became independent from Columbia.

1868 ~ John Willis Menard (d. 1893) was the first African-American elected to the United States Congress.  He was elected to serve Louisiana’s Second Congressional District.  His opponent, Caleb Hunt, contested the election and he was ultimately unable to take his seat.

1783 ~ The American Continental Army was officially disbanded.

1534 ~ The English Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII the head of the English church.  The Pope had previously held this position.

1333 ~ The Arno River in Florence, Italy, caused massive damage to the city.

Good-Byes:

2014 ~ Thomas Magliozzi (b. 1937), American radio personality and host who got laughs out of auto repair.  He, along with his brother, Ray Magliozzi (b. 1949), were known as Click and Clack, the Tappit Brothers on NPR’s Car Talk.  He died at age 77.

2009 ~~ Carl Ballantine (né Mayer Kessler, b. 1917), the comic who was a bumbling magician.  He died at age 92.

2008 ~ Edward Sheehan (b. 1930), foreign correspondent who immersed himself in turmoil.  He died at age 78 from an allergic reaction to medication.

2008 ~ Alan Ford (b. 1923), American Olympic swimmer known as the “Human Fish.”  He died a month before his 85^th birthday.

1998 ~ Bob Kane (né Robert Kahn, b. 1915), American author and illustrator.  He was the co-creator of Batman.  He died 10 days after his 83^rd birthday.

1990 ~ Mary Martin (b. 1913), American actress best known for her role as Peter Pan in the play by the same name.  She was the mother of actor Larry Hagman (1931 ~ 2012).  She died a month before her 77^th birthday.

1954 ~ Henri Matisse (b. 1869), French artist.  He died at age 84.

1949 ~ Solomon R. Guggenheim (b. 1861), American art collector and founder of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.  He died at age 88.

1926 ~ Annie Oakley (b. 1860), American sharp-shooter.  She died at age 66.

1918 ~ Aleksandr Lyapunov (b. 1857), Russian mathematician.  He committed suicide at age 61 following the death of his wife, who died of tuberculosis.

1643 ~ Paul Guldin (b. 1577), Swiss astronomer and mathematician.  He died at age 66.

1600 ~ Richard Hooker (b. 1554), English theologian.  He died at age 46.