December 11

Birthdays:

1954 ~ Guolaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Islandic mathematician and engineer.

1950 ~ Christina Onassis (d. 1988), American-born heiress and socialite.  She was the daughter of Ari Onassis and the step-daughter of Jackie Kennedy Onassis.  She died of a heart attack less than a month before her 38^th birthday.

1947 ~ Teri Garr, American actress.

1944 ~ Brenda Lee, American singer.

1943 ~ John Kerry, 68^th Secretary of State.  He served in the second Barak Obama administration.  He assumed office in January 2013.

1939 ~ Tom Hayden (d. 2016), American politician and political activist.  He died at age 73.

1931 ~ Rita Moreno, American actress and dancer.

1927 ~ Stein Ericksen (d. 2015), Norwegian Olympic champion who helped popularize skiing.  He won gold medals in the 1952 Winter Olympics.  He died just over 2 weeks after his 88^th birthday.

1925 ~ Paul Greengard, American neuroscientist and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1923 ~ Lilian Cahn (d. 2013), Hungarian-American businesswoman and co-founder of Coach, Inc.  She died at age 89.

1922 ~ Grace Paley (d. 2007), American writer and political activist.  She died at age 84.

1918 ~ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (d. 2008), Russian writer and Soviet dissident who chronicled the evils of communism.  He was also the recipient of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 89.

1912 ~ Carlos Ponti, Sr. (d. 2007), Italian film producer and husband of Sophia Loren.  He died a month after his 94^th birthday.

1911 ~ Naguib Nahfouz (d. 2006), Egyptian writer and recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 94.

1911 ~ Qian Xuesen (d. 2009), Chinese scientist who put China in space.

1909 ~ Fred Andrew Seaton (d. 1974), 36^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  He served in this office from June 1956 until January 1961.  He died just over a month after his 64^th birthday.

1890 ~ Carlos Gardel (nè Charles Romuald Gardés, d. 1935), Argentine tango star.  He was killed in a plane crash at age 44.

1889 ~ Walter Knott (d. 1981), American farmer and creator of Knott’s Berry Farm Amusement Park in California.  He died 8 days before his 92^nd birthday.

1882 ~ Fiorello LaGuardia (d. 1947), American politician and 99^th Mayor of New York City.  The airport in New York is named after him.  He died at age 64.

1882 ~ Max Born (d. 1970), German physicist and mathematician.  He was the recipient of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died 25 days after his 87^th birthday.

1873 ~ Josip Plemelj (d. 1967), Slovenian mathematician.  He died at age 93.

1863 ~ Annie Jump Cannon (d. 1941), American astronomer.  She died at age 77.

1843 ~ Robert Koch (d. 1910), German bacteriologist and recipient of the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He is considered the Father of Modern Bacteriology.  He died at age 66.

1838 ~ John Labatt (d. 1915), Canadian businessman and brewer.  He was the founder of the Labatt’s Brewing Company.  He died at age 76.

1830 ~ King Kamehameha V of Hawaii (d. 1872).  He died on his 42^nd birthday.

1803 ~ Hector Berlioz (d. 1869), French composer.  He died at age 66.

1781 ~ Sir David Brewster (d. 1868), Scottish mathematician.  He died at age 86.

1725 ~ George Mason (d. 1792), American statesman.  He was a delegate to the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787 and is known as being one of 3 men who refused to sign the document.  He died at age 66.

1475 ~ Pope Leo X (né Giovanni di Lorenzo de’Medici, d. 1521).  He died 10 days before his 56^th birthday.

Events that Changed the World:

2014 ~ The city of Detroit, Michigan came out of bankruptcy.  It had filed for the larges municipal bankruptcy in United States history.

2008 ~ Bernard Madoff (b. 1938) was arrested and charged with securities fraud in an elaborate $50 billion Ponzi scheme.  Madoff would eventually be convicted and sentenced to 150 years in prison.

2001 ~ The People’s Republic of China joined the World Trade Organization.

1994 ~ Russian President Boris Yeltsin (1931 ~ 2007) ordered Russian troops into Chechnya during the First Chechen War.

1980 ~ The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, was enacted by the US Congress.

1972 ~ Apollo 17 was the sixth and last Apollo mission to land on the Moon.

1946 ~ The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established.

1941 ~ Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, following the United States’ declaration of war against Japan.  The United States then declared war on Germany and Italy, thereby formally entering in the fighting during World War II.

1936 ~ King Edward VIII (1894 ~ 1972) abdication the British throne became effective and he ceased to be the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.  Following is abdication; he was given the title of the Duke of Windsor.

1917 ~ During World War I, British General Edmund Allenby (1861 ~ 1936) declared martial law in Jerusalem.

1816 ~ Indiana became the 19^th State of the Union.

1792 ~ King Louis XVI of France was put on trial for treason by the French National Convention during the French Revolution.

1789 ~ The University of North Carolina was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly.

1688 ~ King James II (1663 ~ 1701) of England abdicated the throne when he was essentially deposed during the Glorious Revolution.  He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over England, Scotland and Ireland.

Good-Byes:

2012 ~ Ravi Shankar (b. 1920), Indian sitar player and composer.  He died at age 92.

1998 ~ André Lichnerozicz (b. 1915), French mathematician.  He died at age 83.

1989 ~ Louise Dahl-Wolfe (b. 1895), American photographer.  She died less than a month after her 94^th birthday.

1978 ~ Vincent du Vigneaud (b. 1901), American chemist and recipient of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 77.

1971 ~ Maurice McDonald (b. 1902), American fast-food entrepreneur and, with his brother Richard (1909 ~ 1998), co-founder of McDonald’s restaurants.  The brothers were from Manchester, New Hampshire.  Richard died at age 89; Maurice died 2 weeks after his 69^th birthday.

1964 ~ Sam Cooke (b. 1931), American singer and musician.  He was murdered at age 33.

1941 ~ Émile Picard (b. 1856), French mathematician.  He died at age 85.

1938 ~ Christian Lous Lange (b. 1869), Norwegian pacifist and recipient of the 1921 Nobel Peace Prize.  He died at age 69.

1880 ~ Oliver Winchester (b. 1810), American businessman and founder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in New Haven, Connecticut 11 days after his 70^th birthday

1872 ~ King Kamehameha V of Hawaii (b. 1830).  He died on his 42^nd birthday.

1282 ~ Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (b 1223), the last native Prince of Wales was killed during the Battle of Orewin Bridge/

384 ~ Pope Damasus I (b. 305).  He served as Pope from October 366 until his death 12 years later.