September 6

Birthdays:

1968 ~ Nelson de la Rosa (d. Oct. 22, 2006), Dominican-born little person who was the Boston Red Sox’s good luck charm.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 38 years old at the time of his death.

1964 ~ Rosie Perez, American actress.

1963 ~ Alice Sebold, American author best known for her novel, The Lovely Bones.

1962 ~ Chris Christie (né Christopher James Christie), 55^th Governor of New Jersey and US Presidential candidate in the 2016 Presidential run.

1958 ~ Jeff Foxworthy, American comedian.

1954 ~ Carly Firoina (née Carla Carleton Sneed Fiorina), American businesswoman and politician.  She was a US Presidential hopeful candidate in the 2016 presidential run.  Prior to that she was the Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard.

1947 ~ Jane Curtain, American actress and comedian.

1944 ~ Swoosie Kurtz, American actress.

1943 ~ Richard J. Roberts, English biochemist and recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1943 ~ Roger Waters, British musician and member of Pink Floyd.

1939 ~ Susumu Tonegawa, Japanese biologist and recipient of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1937 ~ Swami Bhaktipada (né Keith Gordon Ham, d. Oct. 24, 2011), American Hare Krishna errant swami of West Virginia.  He was 74 years old.

1937 ~ Jo Anne Worley, American actress best known for her role on Laugh-In.

1930 ~ Charles Foley (d. July 1, 2013), American game designer and co-inventor of the game Twister.  He died at age 82.

1928 ~ Niels Diffrient (d. June 8, 2013), the American industrial designer who wedded form to function.  He was an industrial engineer who was a pioneer in the field of ergonomics.  He died at age 84.

1928 ~ Robert Pirsig (d. Apr. 24, 2017), American author who philosophized about the open road.  He is best known for his first novel, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.  He died at age 88 in South Berwick, Maine.

1919 ~ Wilson Greatbatch (d. Sept 27, 2011), American engineer and inventor whose tinkering invented the pacemaker.  He died 3 weeks after his 92^nd birthday.

1906 ~ Luis Federico Leloir (d. Dec. 2, 1987), Argentine chemist and recipient of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 81.

1893 ~ Claire Chennault (d. July 27, 1958), American military aviator.  The Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the former Chennault Air Force Base, is named in his honor.  He died of lung cancer in New Orleans, Louisiana at age 64.

1892 ~ Sir Edward Victor Appleton (d. Apr. 21, 1965), English physicist and recipient of the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 72.

1888 ~ Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (d. Nov. 18, 1969), American banker and diplomat and patriarch of the Kennedy clan.  He died at age 81.

1876 ~ John James Rickard Macleod (d. Mar. 16, 1935), Scottish physician and physiologist.  He was the recipient of the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize, along with Frederick Banting, for their discovery and isolation of insulin.  He died at age 58.

1860 ~ Jane Addams (d. May 21, 1935), American social worker and soman’s suffrage leader.  She was the co-founder of Hull House in Chicago.   In 1931, she became the first woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.  She died at age 74.

1857 ~ Zelia Nuttall (d. Apr. 12, 1933), American archeologist and historian.  She died at age 75.

1829 ~ Maria Zakrzewska (d. May 12, 1902), German-born American physician.  She is best known for establishing the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston, Massachusetts.  She died at age 72.

1766 ~ John Dalton (d. July 27, 1844), English physicist and chemist.  He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory.  He died at age 77.

1757 ~ Gilbert de Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (né Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, d. May 20, 1834), French soldier and statesman.  He fought for American independence and was a leader in the French Revolution, which followed the American Revolutionary War.  He played a pivotal role in the American Revolutionary War.  He is known in the United States as simply Lafayette.  He died at age 76.

1757 ~ Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (d. May 20, 1834), French general who played a pivotal role in the American Revolutionary War.  He died at age 76.

1729 ~ Moses Mendelssohn (d. Jan. 4, 1786), German-Jewish philosopher.  He died at age 56.

1666 ~ Tsar Ivan V of Russia (d. Feb. 8, 1696).  He ruled Russia jointly with his younger half-brother, Peter I.  He was Czar from May 1682 until his death in February 1969.  He was 29 years old at the time of his death.

Events that Changed the World:

1997 ~ The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.

1991 ~ The name, St. Petersburg, was restored to the Russian city that had been known as Leningrad since 1924.

1978 ~ Adolf Dassler (b. Nov. 3, 1900), German founder of Adidas, the sports gear company.  He died at age 77.

1986 ~ Two terrorists from Abu Nidal’s organization entered the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey during Shabbat services and killed 22 worshipers.

1955 ~ Istanbul’s Greek, Jewish and Armenian minority became the target of a government-sponsored pogram.

1940 ~ King Carol II of Romania (1893 ~ 1953) abdicated the throne due to protests from his countrymen.  He was succeeded by his son, Michael I (b. 1921).  Michael reigned until December 1947, when he was forced to abdicate for political reasons, and lived in exile.  Following the collapse of communism in Romania, Michael returned to Romania.

1930 ~ Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen (1852 ~ 1933) was deposed in a military coup.

1916 ~ The first self-service grocery store opened in the United States.  It was a Piggly-Wiggly in Memphis, Tennessee.  Its headquarters in now located in Keene, New Hampshire.

1901 ~ Six months into his second term, an assassination attempt was made on President William McKinley (b. 1843), by anarchist Leon Czolgosz (1873 ~ 1901).  McKinley would die from his wounds less than 2 weeks later.  Czolgosz was immediately arrested and tried.  He was convicted of murder on September 24 and executed on October 29, just 45 days after President McKinley’s death.

1870 ~ Louisa Ann Swain (1801 ~ 1880) of Laramie, Wyoming became the first woman in the United States to legally cast a vote in a general election.

1861 ~ During the American Civil War, Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant (1822 ~ 1885) captured Paducah, Kentucky, giving the Union control of the mouth of the Tennessee River.

1803 ~ John Dalton (1766 ~ 1844) began using symbols to represent atom of the different elements.

1628 ~ The Massachusetts Bay Colony was established.

1620 ~ In accordance with the Gregorian calendar, the Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth, England on the Mayflower to settle in the new World.  They anticipated arriving in the Virginia territory.  Under the Julian calendar, the date for the initiation of the sail would be considered September 16.

1522 ~ The only surviving ship, the Victoria, from Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition returned to Spain.  The Victoria was the first ship to successfully circumnavigate the world.

Good-Byes:

2012 ~ Jake Eberts (b. July 10, 1941), Canadian film producer who aimed high for Oscar glory.  He produced such films as Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Driving Miss Daisy and Dances with Wolves.  He died at age 71.

2012 ~ Arthur “Art” Modell (b. June 23, 1925), American NFL owner of the Cleveland Browns that the people of Cleveland loved to hate.  He died at age 87.

2012 ~ Jerome Horwitz (b. Jan. 16, 1919), American scientist who unwittingly created a treatment for AIDS.  He died at age 93.

2011 ~ Michael Hart (b. Mar. 8, 1947), American digital rebel who invented the e-book.  He was the founder of Project Gutenberg.  He died of a heart attack at age 64.

2011 ~ Wardell Quezergue (b. Mar. 12, 1930), American “Creole Beethoven” of New Orleans, Louisiana.  He died at age 81.

2009 ~ Catherine Gaskin (b. Apr. 2, 1929), Irish-Australian writer.  She died at age 80 of ovarian cancer.

2007 ~ Luciano Pavarotti (b. Oct. 12, 1935), Italian tenor.  He was 71 years old.

2007 ~ Madeleine L’Engle (b. Nov. 29, 1918), American author, best known for her children’s novel, A Wrinkle in Time.  She was 88 years old.

2001 ~ Iosif Vorovich (b. June 21, 1920), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 81.

1998 ~ Akira Kurasawa (b. Mar. 23, 1910), Japanese film director.  He was 88 years old.

1994 ~ James Clavell (né Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell, b. Oct. 10, 1924), Australian-born author and novelist.  He is best known for his Asian Saga series, which included Tai-Pan and Shōgun.  He was 72 years old.

1990 ~ Tom Fogerty (né Thomas Richard Fogerty, b. Nov. 9, 1941), American singer and guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival.  He died at age 48.

1972 ~ Victims of the Summer Olympic Munich massacre:

v Mark Slavin (b. Jan. 31, 1954), Russian-born Israeli wrestler.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He died at age 18.

v Eliezer Halfin (b. June 18, 1948), Russian-born Israeli wrestler.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He was 24 years old.

v Andre Spitzer (b. July 4, 1945), Romanian-born Israeli fencing master and coach.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He died at age 27.

v David Berger (b. May 24, 1944), American-born Israeli weightlifter.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He died at age 28.

v Ze’ev Friedman (b. June 10, 1944), Polish-Israeli weightlifter.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He was 28 years old.

v Amitzur Shapira (b. July 9, 1932), Israeli short-distance runner and coach.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He died at age 40.

v Yossef Gutfreund (b. Dec. 20, 1931), Israeli wrestling judge.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He died at age 40.

v Yakov Springer (b. 1921), Polish-born Israeli wrestler and weighlifting coach.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  The exact day of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been 51 years old.

v Kehat Shorr (b. Feb. 21, 1919), Romanian-born Israeli shooting coach.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He died at age 53.

1966 ~ Hendrick Verwoerd (b. Sept. 8, 1901), 7^th Prime Minister of South Africa.  He was best known for creating and implementing Apartheid in his country.  He was stabbed to death 2 days before his 65^th birthday during a parliamentary meeting.

1966 ~ Margaret Sanger (née Margaret Louise Higgins Singer, b. Sept. 14, 1879), American birth control activist.  She died a week before her 87^th birthday.

1956 ~ Witold Hurewics (b. June 29, 1904), Polish mathematician.  He died at age 52 from a fall from a Mayan step pyramid in Mexico City.

1907 ~ René François Armand Sully Prudhomme (b. Mar. 16, 1839), French writer and recipient of the first Nobel Prize in Literature, which was awarded in 1901.  He died at age 68.

1868 ~ Pierre Adolphe Rost (b. 1797), Louisiana judge and Confederate Commissioner.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.

1782 ~ Martha Skelton Jefferson (b. Oct. 30, 1748), wife of Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson was her second husband as her first husband had died young.  She died at age 33 shortly after having given birth to her 7^th child.  She is believed to have died due to complications of diabetes combined with childbirth.  Because she died before Jefferson became President, she was never the American First Lady.

1724 ~ Jonathan Singletary Dunham (b. Jan. 17, 1640), Early American settler and 8^th great-grandfather of President Barack Obama.  He died at age 84.

1649 ~ Sir Robert Dudley (b. Aug. 7, 1574), British explorer and geographer.  He died a month after his 75^th birthday.

1635 ~ Metius (né Adriaan Adriaanszoon, b. Dec. 9, 1571), Dutch mathematician and astronomer.  He died at age 63.

1566 ~ Suleiman the Magnificent (b. Nov. 6, 1494), Ottoman sultan.  He died at age 71.

972 ~ Pope John XIII (né Giovanni Crescentius).  He was pope from October 1, 965 until his death on this date 7 years later.  The date of his birth is unknown.