February 10

Birthdays:

1974 ~ Elizabeth Banks, American actress.

1967 ~ Laura Dern, American actress.

1961 ~ George Stephanopoulos, American journalist.  He was the White House Communications Director under President Bill Clinton.

1954 ~ Peter Wennik Kaplan (d. Nov. 29, 2013), American New York editor who mentored a generation.  He died of cancer at age 59.

1950 ~ Mark Andrew Spitz, American Olympian swimmer.

1944 ~ Peter Allen (né Peter Richard Woolnough, d. June 18, 1992), Australian singer and songwriter, and first husband of Liza Minelli.  He died at age 48.

1941 ~ Michael David Apted, British movie director.

1937 ~ Roberta Cleopatra Flack, American singer.

1932 ~ Robert Taylor (d. Apr. 13, 2017), American computer scientist and tech pioneer who kick-started the internet.  He died at age 85.

1930 ~ E.L. Konigsburg (né Elaine Lobi Konisburg, d. Apr. 19, 2013), author of children’s books.  She is one of two writers to be the recipient of the Newbery Medal.  She died at age 83.

1930 ~ Robert John Wagner, Jr.,, American actor.

1927 ~ Leontyne Price (née Mary Violet Leontyne Price), African-American soprano and opera star.

1922 ~ Árpád Göncz (d. Oct. 5, 2015), 1^st President of Hungary.  He served in Office from May 1990 until August 2000.  He died at age 93.

1920 ~ Alexander “Alex” Comfort (d. Mar. 26, 2000), English physician and author.  He died at age 80.

1910 ~ Dominique Pire (né George Charles Clement Ghislain Pire, d. Jan. 30, 1969), Belgian monk and recipient of the 1958 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in assisting refugees following World War II.  He died of complications following surgery 11 days before his 59^th birthday.

1906 ~ Lon Chaney, Jr. (né Creighton Tull Chaney, d. July 12, 1973), American actor best known for his role in early silent horror films.  He died of heart failure at age 67.

1905 ~ Walter A. Brown (d. Sept. 7, 1964), American businessman and founder of the Boston Celtics basketball team.  He died at age 59.

1902~ Walter H. Brattain (d. Oct. 13, 1987), American physicist and recipient of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 85.

1901 ~ Stella Adler (d. Dec. 21, 1992), American actress.  She died at age 91.

1898 ~ Bertolt Brecht (d. Aug. 14, 1956), German writer and playwright.  He is best known for his play, Three Penny Opera.  He died of a heart attack at age 58.

1897 ~ John Franklin Enders (d. Sept. 8, 1985), American biomedical scientist and recipient of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He is known as the Father of Modern Vaccines.  He died at age 88.

1894 ~ Harold Macmillan, 1^st Earl of Stockton (né Maurice Harold Macmillan, d. Dec. 29, 1986), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He served as Prime Minister from January 1957 until October 1963.  He died at age 92.

1893 ~ Jimmy Durante (né James Francis Durante, d. Jan. 29, 1980), American actor and comedian.  He died 11 days before his 87^th birthday.

1890 ~ Fanny Kaplan (d. Sept. 3, 1918), Russian activist who was executed after an attempt to assassinate Lenin.  She was 28 at the time of her death.

1890 ~ Boris Pasternak (d. May 30, 1960), Russian writer and recipient of the 1958 Nobel Peace Prize.  He is best known for his novel, Dr. Zhivago.  He died at age 70.

1983 ~ Edith Clarke (d. Oct. 29, 1959), American electrical engineer.  She was the first female electrical engineer and first female electrical engineer to teach at the University of Texas, Austin.  She died at age 76.

1859 ~ Alexandre Millerand (d. Apr. 7, 1943), French lawyer and 12^th President of France.  He died at age 84.

1842 ~ Agnes Mary Clerke (d. Jan. 20, 1907), Irish astronomer.  The lunar crater Clerke is named in her honor.  She died 21 days before her 65^th birthday.

1831 ~ Nadezhda von Meck (d. Jan. 13, 1894), Russian businesswoman best known as being the financial support for Peter Tchaikovsky.  Although they never met, she provided him with financial support for over 13 years.  She died of tuberculosis at age 62.

1806 ~ Orville Hickman Browning (d. Aug. 10, 1881), 9^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President Andrew Johnson from September 1866 until March 1869.  He died at age 75.

1775 ~ Charles Lamb (d. Dec. 27, 1834), English essayist.  He died at age 59.

Events that Changed the World:

1996 ~ The IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov (b. 1963) in a chess match.

1981 ~ A fire at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel killed 8 people and injured about 200 others.

1967 ~ The 25^th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified.  The amendment provides the succession plans in the event of a vacancy of the Office of President or Vice President.

1962 ~ Captured American U2 spy plane pilot Gary Powers (1929 ~ 1977) was exchanged for the captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (1903 ~ 1971).  The prisoner exchange was recounted in the 2015 movieBridge of Spies.

1954 ~ President Dwight Eisenhower (1890 ~ 1969) warned against United States intervention in Vietnam.

1942 ~ The first gold record was presented to Glenn Miller for his song, Chattanooga Choo-Choo.

1923 ~ Texas Tech University was founded as the Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas.

1870 ~ The YMCA was founded in New York City.

1863 ~ The fire extinguisher was patented by Alanson Crane.

1840 ~ Queen Victoria (1819 ~ 1901) of the United Kingdom married Prince Albert (1819 ~ 1861) of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

1763 ~ The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War.  France ceded Quebec to Great Britain.

1258 ~ Baghdad fell to the Mongols and the Abbasid Caliphate was destroyed.

Good-Byes:

2017 ~ Michael “Mike” Ilitch, Sr. (b. July 20, 1929), American entrepreneur who founded the Little Caesars pizza chain and relentlessly promoted Detroit.  He died at age 87.

2014 ~ Shirley Temple Black (b. Apr. 23, 1928), American child star who became a U.S. Ambassador.  She died at age 85.

2010 ~ Charlie Wilson (b. June 1, 1933), American Representative from Texas and “party animal” behind the movie Charlie Wilson’s War.  He died at age 76.

2008 ~ Roy Scheider (b. Nov. 10, 1932), American actor, best known for his role in Jaws.  He died of multiple myeloma at age 75.

2007 ~ Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Jr. (b. Mar. 4, 1906), American businessman and son of the founder of the Walgreen drug store chain.  He died less that a month before his 101^st birthday.

2005 ~ Arthur Asher Miller (b. Oct. 17, 1915), American playwright.  He died at age 89.

2003 ~ Ron Ziegler (né Ronald Louis Ziegler, b. May 12, 1939), 14^th White House Press Secretary.  He served during the Nixon Administration from January 1969 until August 1974.  He died of a heart attack at age 63.

2002 ~ Vernon Anthony Walters (b. Jan. 3, 1917), 17^th Ambassador to the United Nations during the Ronald Reagan administration, from May 1985 until March 1989.  He died at age 85.

2001 ~ Abe Beame (né Abraham David Beame, b. Mar. 20, 1906), 104^th Mayor of New York City.  He served as Mayor from January 1974 through December 1977.  He died at age 94.

1992 ~ Alex Haley (né Alexander Murray Palmer Haley, b. Aug. 11, 1921), African-American historian and writer, best known for his book, Roots, which was later made into a television mini-series.  He was born in Ithaca, New York.  He died at age 70.

1989 ~ Wayne Levere Hays (b. May 13, 1911), American politician from Ohio whose career was cut short due to a sex scandal.  He died at age 77.

1966 ~ Billy Rose (né William Samuel Rosenberg, b. Sept. 6, 1899), American composer and band leader.  He was married to Fanny Brice.  He died at age 66.

1957 ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Feb. 7, 1867), American author.  She is best known for her children’s books, such as The Little House on the Prairie, which depict life growing up in the American west.  She died 3 days after her 90^th birthday.

1939 ~ Pope Pius XI (né Ambrogio Damiano Archille Ratti, b. May 31, 1857).  He was Pope from February 1922 until his death in February 1939.  He was 81 at the time of his death.

1923 ~ Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (b. Mar. 27, 1845), German physicist and recipient of the 1901 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the X-ray.  He died at age 77.

1918 ~ Ernesto Toedoro Moneta (b. Sept. 20, 1833), Italian pacifist and recipient of the 1907 of the Nobel Peace Prize.  He died at age 84.

1912 ~ Joseph Lister, 1^st Baron Lister (b. Apr. 5, 1827), English surgeon, who developed the practice of antiseptic surgery.  He died at age 84.

1904 ~John Roche (b. Aug. 12, 1844), 30^th Mayor of Chicago.  He was May or from 1887 until 1889.  He died at age 59 of uremic poisoning.

1891 ~ Sofia Kovalevskaya (b. Jan. 15, 1850), Russian mathematician.  She is known for her contributions to analysis, differential equations and mechanics.  She died of influenza 26 days after her 41^st birthday.

1887 ~ Ellen Price Wood (b. Jan. 17, 1814), English author.  She died 24 days after her 73^rd birthday.

1879 ~ Honoré-Victorin Daumier (b. Feb. 26, 1808), French artist, painter, illustrator and sculptor.  He died 16 days before his 71^st birthday.

1868 ~ Sir David Brewster (b. Dec. 11, 1781), Scottish mathematician.  He died at age 86.

1837 ~ Alexander Pushkin (b. June 6, 1799), Russian poet.  He died at age 37 from injuries sustained in a duel with his brother-in-law.

1829~ Pope Leo XII (né Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nocola Sermattei della Genga, b. Aug. 22, 1760).  He was Pope from September 1823 until his death 5.5 years later at age 68.

1567 ~ Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (b. Dec. 7, 1545), English husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.  He was the second husband of Mary.  He was murdered at age 21.

1524 ~ Catherine of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria (b. July 24, 1468).  She died at age 55.

1162 ~ King Baldwin III of Jerusalem (b. 1130).  The date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been 33 at the time of his death.