December 15

Birthdays:

1949 ~ Don Johnson, American actor.

1943 ~ Kathleen Blanco, American politician and 54^th Governor of Louisiana.  She was the first female Governor of Louisiana.  She served from January 2004 through January 2008, during which Hurricane Katrina swept through the State.

1933 ~ Tim Conway, American actor and comedian.

1924 ~ Frank Olver (d. 2013), American mathematician.  He died at age 88.

1923 ~ Uziel Gal (d. 2002), Israeli designer of firearms, most notably the Uzi.  He died at age 78.

1919 ~ Max Yasgur (d. 1973), American farmer and owner of the Woodstock festival site.  He died of a heart attack at age 53.

1916 ~ Maurice Wilkins (né Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins, d. 2004), New Zealand-born physicist and recipient of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 87.

1912 ~ Ray Eames (née Bernice Alexandra Kaiser, d. 1988), American designer.  She and her husband, Charles Eames, Jr. (1907 ~ 1978), made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture.  She died at age 75, 10 years to the day after her husband, Charles.

1902 ~ Robert F. Bradford (d. 1983), 57^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1947 until January 1949.  He died at age 80.

1896 ~ Betty Smith (née Elizabeth Lillian Wehner, d. 1972), American author best known for her novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  She died of pneumonia at age 75.

1892 ~ J. Paul Getty (d. 1976), American oil tycoon.  His grandson, who had been kidnapped 5 months earlier, was found alive on Getty’s 81^st birthday.

1888 ~ Maxwell Anderson (né James Maxwell Anderson, d. 1959), American playwright.  He died at age 70.

1861 ~ Charles Duryea (d. 1938), American automobile pioneer.  He died at age 76.

1861 ~ Pehr Evind Svinhufvud (d. 1944), 3^rd President of Finland.  He served as President from March 1931 until March 1937.  He died at age 82.

1860 ~ Niels Ryberg Finsen (d. 1904), Danish physician and recipient of the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 43.

1859 ~ L.L. Zamenhof (né Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof, d. 1917), Polish Jewish physician, linguist and creator of Esperanto.  He died at age 57.

1852 ~ Henri Becquerel (d. 1908), French physicist and recipient of the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 55.

1832 ~ Gustave Eiffel (né Alexandre Gustave Bönickhausen, d. 1923), French engineer and architect and designer of the Eiffel Tower.  He died 12 days after his 91^st birthday.

37 ~ Nero (d. 68), Roman emperor.  This is the traditional date ascribed to Nero’s birth.  He is believed to have been about 30 at the time of his death.

Events that Changed the World:

2011 ~ The United States formally lowered the US Flag over Iraq, thereby ending its participation in the Iraqi war and American armed forces withdrew from Iraq after 9 years.

2001 ~ The Leaning Tower of Pisa opened after 11 years and a $27M restoration.  The Tower retained its lean.

1981 ~ A suicide car bombing in Beirut, Lebanon destroyed the Iraqi embassy, killing over 60 people.  This attack marked the first modern suicide bombing.

1976 ~ The Liberian-flagged oil tanker MV Argo Merchant ran aground near Nantucket, Massachusetts, causing a massive oil spill.  The tanker had been involved in several other shipping incidents before this event.

1973 ~ John Paul Getty, III (1956 ~ 2011), the grandson of billionaire J. Paul Getty (1892 ~ 1976), was found alive in Naples, Italy.  He had been kidnapped by on July 10, 1973.

1961 ~ Adolph Eichmann was sentenced to death after being found guilty on 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people and being a member of an outlawed organization.  The trial was held in Jerusalem.

1941 ~ German troops murdered over 15,000 Jews at Drobitsky Yar in the Ukraine.

1939 ~ Gone with the Wind made its world premiere at the Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

1933 ~ The 21^st Amendment to the US Constitution officially became effective, repealing prohibition, which was law under the 18^th Amendment.

1914 ~ During World War I, the Serbian Army recaptured Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army.

1905 ~ The Pushkin House was established in St. Petersburg to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin.

1791 ~ The first 10 Amendments to the United States Constitution, better known as the Bill of Rights, became law after they were ratified by the Virginia General Assembly.

Good-Byes:

2013 ~ Joan Fontaine (né Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland, b. 1917), English American actress who stayed clear of her sister, Olivia de Havilland.  She died at age 96.

2011 ~ Christopher Hitchens (b. 1949), political columnist and atheist.  He died of cancer at age 62.

2010 ~ Blake Edwards (né William Blake Crump, b. 1922), American film director and husband of Julie Andrews.  He died at age 86.

2009 ~ Oral Roberts (né Granville Oral Roberts, b. 1918), American televangelist.  She died at age 91.

2005 ~ William Proxmire (né Edward William Proxmire, b. 1915), American politician.  He died at age 90.

1984 ~ Jan Peerce (né Jacob Pincus Perelmuth, b. 1904), American tenor.  He died at age 80.

1971 ~ Paul Lévy (b. 1886), French mathematician.  He died at age 85.

1966 ~ Walter Elias “Walt” Disney (b. 1901), American filmmaker, producer, screenwriter and animator, who changed the way the world viewed movies.  He died only 10 days after his 65^th birthday.

1962 ~ Charles Laughton (d. 1899), English actor.  He died at age 63.

1958 ~ Wolfgang Pauli (b. 1900), Austrian-born American physicist and recipient of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 58.

1944 ~ Glenn Miller (né Alton Glenn Miller, b. 1904), American musician.  He was killed in a plane crash at age 40.

1943 ~ Fats Waller (né Thomas Wright Waller, b. 1904), American musician.  He died of pneumonia at age 43.

1890 ~ Sitting Bull (b.c. 1831), American Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux tribal chief.  He was killed by federal police officers who were called to arrest him after he organized the Ghost Dance, a Native American religious rite.  The US government feared he was organizing a protest against the government.  Both he and his son were killed in the altercation.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 58 or 59 at the time of his death.

1878 ~ Alfred Bird (b. 1811), English chemist and food manufacturer.  He is credited with inventing baking powder.  The exact date if his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been 67 at the time of his death.

1872 ~ Mary Anne Evans Disraeli, 1^st Vicountess Beaconsfield (b. 1792), Welsh wife of Benjamin Disraeli.  She died a month after her 80^th birthday.

1855 ~ Jacques Charles François Sturm (b. 1803), French mathematician.  He died at age 52.

1812 ~ Shneur Zalman of Liadi (b. 1745), Lithuanian rabbi and founder of Chabad.  He died at age 67.

1675 ~ Johannes Vermeer (b. 1632), Dutch painter.  He died at age 43.