February 24

Birthdays:

1967 ~ Brian Schmidt, Australian astrophysicist and recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.

1965 ~ Jane Maria Swift, Governor of Massachusetts.  She served as Acting Governor from 2001 to 2003.

1956 ~ Paula Ann Zahn, American journalist.

1955 ~ Steven Paul Jobs (d. Oct. 5, 2011), American visionary who transformed modern technology.  He was a co-founder of Apple, Inc.  He died of pancreatic cancer at age 56.

1950 ~ George Thorogood, American singer and guitarist.

1947 ~ Edward James Olmos, American actor.

1946 ~ Grigory Margulis, Russian-American mathematician.

1945 ~ Barry Knapp Bostwick, American actor, best known for his role as Brad in Rocky Horror Picture Show.

1942 ~ Joseph Isadore Lieberman, American politician.

1932 ~ Michel Jean Legrand, French composer.

1925 ~ Bud Day (né George Everette Day, d. July 27, 2013), American war hero who was imprisoned in Vietnam for five years.  He was a Colonel in the United States Air Force and served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.  He died in Fort Walton Beach, Florida at age 88.

1923 ~ Samuel Lewis Glazer (d. Mar. 12, 2012), American businessman and founder of Mr. Coffee.  He died 16 days after his 89^th birthday.

1922 ~ Steven Hill (né Solomon Krakovsky, d. Aug. 23, 2016), American actor.  He is best known for his role as Adam Schiff, District Attorney on Law and Order.  He died at age 94.

1921 ~ Abe Vigoda (né Abraham Charles Vigoda, d. Jan. 26, 2016), American actor.  He died about a month before his 95^th birthday.

1908 ~ Telford Taylor (d. May 23, 1998), American attorney best known for his role in the Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials and his opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare.  He died at age 90.

1885 ~ Chester William Nimitz, Sr. (d. Feb. 20, 1966), American admiral.  He was a leading authority on submarines.  He died 4 days before his 81^st birthday.

1874 ~ Honus Wagner (né Johannas Peter Wagner, d. Dec. 6, 1955), American baseball player.  He played for the Pittsburg Pirates nearly his entire career.  He died at age 81.

1836 ~ Winslow Homer (d. Sept. 29, 1910), American illustrator and painter.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Prouts Neck, Maine.  He was 74 years old at the time of his death.

1786 ~ Wilhelm Grimm (d. Dec. 16, 1859), German writer and folklorist who, along with his brother, Jacob (1785 ~ 1863), collected folk and fairy tales.  He died at age 73.

1722 ~ General John Burgoyne (d. Aug. 4, 1792), British General who fought in the American Revolutionary War.  He died at age 70.

1557 ~ Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. Mar. 20, 1619).  He died about a month after his 62^nd birthday.

1536 ~ Pope Clement VIII (né Ippolito Aldobrandini, d. Mar. 3, 1605).  He was Pope from February 1592 until his death 13 years later.  He died a week after his 69^th birthday.

1500 ~ Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. Sept. 21, 1558).  He died at age 58.

Events that Changed the World:

2008 ~ Fidel Castro (1926 ~ 2016) retired as President of Cuba after ruling for nearly 50 years.

1989 ~ United Airlines Flight 811 ripped open during a flight between Honolulu, Hawaii and New Zealand.  Nine passengers were blown out of the business-class section of the plane.

1989 ~ The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902 ~ 1989) offered a $3M bounty for the death of Salman Rushdie (b. 1947) after his book, The Satanic Verses, was published.

1981 ~ A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Athens, Greece.  Over 20 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured

1980 ~ The United State Olympic Hockey team defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal in completing the Miracle on Ice.

1920 ~ American-born Nancy Astor (1878 ~ 1964) became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election to Parliament in November 1919.

1920 ~ The Nazi party was founded.

1918 ~ Estonia declared its Independence.

1868 ~ Andrew Johnson (1808 ~ 1875) became the first US President to be impeached by the House of Representatives.  He was impeached for intentionally violating the Tenure of Office Act.  He was ultimately acquitted in the Senate.

1854 ~ The British stamp, the Penny Royal, became the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution and use.

1803 ~ The United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Marbury v. Madison, which established the principle of judicial review.

1711 ~ Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel (1685 ~ 1759), the first Italian opera written for the London stage, premiered in London.

1582 ~ Pope Gregory XIII (1502 ~ 1583) announced the usage of the Gregorian calendar.  The rationale for the reform was to bring the date for the Easter celebration to coincide with the time of year that the First Council of Nicaea had agreed upon in 325.  Easter celebration was tied to the spring equinox, hence the drift of the date for Easter under the Julian calendar cause problems for the Roman Catholic Church.  The first countries to adopt the Gregorian calendar were the Catholic countries.  The Gregorian calendar was adopted over the next few centuries by Protestant and Eastern Orthodox countries.  In 1923, Greece became the last European country to adopt the Gregorian calendar.

Good-Byes:

2016 ~ George Constantine Nichopoulos (b. Oct. 29, 1927), American doctor who enabled Elvis Presley’s drug habit.  His medical license was revoked in 1993.  He died at age 88.

2015 ~ Beatrice Small (b. Dec. 9, 1937), American novelist who sexed up romantic fiction.  She died at age 77.

2014 ~ Harold Ramis (b. Nov. 21, 1944), American filmmaker who made comedy smart.  He died at age 69.

2013 ~ Frank Joseph Polozola (b. Jan. 15, 1942) American Federal District Court Judge in the Middle District of Louisiana.  He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  He died just over a month after his 71^st birthday.

2012 ~ Jan Berenstain (née Janice Grant Berenstain, b. July 26, 1923), American author, who along with her husband Stan Berenstain (1923 ~ 2005), wrote and illustrated the children’s book series, The Berenstain Bears.  Jan died at age 88; Stan died at age 82.

2006 ~ Don Knotts (né Jesse Donald Knotts, b. July 21, 1924), American actor best known for his role as Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith Show.  He died of lung cancer at age 81.

2006 ~ Dennis Weaver (né William Dennis Weaver, b. June 4, 1924), American actor.  He died of cancer at age 81.

2001 ~ Claude Elwood Shannon (b. Apr. 30, 1916), American mathematician and engineer.  He died in Medford, Massachusetts at age 84.

1999 ~ Andre Jules Dubus, II (b. Aug. 11, 1936), American writer who was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  His son, Andre Dubus, III, is the author of the novel, House of Sand and Fog.  Andre Dubus, II died of a heart attack at age 62 in Havehill, Massachusetts.

1994 ~ Dinah Shore (née Francis Rose Shore, b. Feb. 29, 1916), American actress and singer.  She was a leapling and died 5 days before her 78^th birthday.

1991 ~ George Leslie Goebel (b.  May 20, 1919), American actor and panelist on Hollywood Squares.  He died following heart surgery at age 71.

1990 ~ Malcolm Forbes (b. Aug. 19, 1919), American publisher and businessman.  He died at age 70.

1988 ~ James Henderson Douglas, Jr. (b. Mar. 11, 1899), 5^th Secretary of the Air Force.  He served in this position under President Dwight David Eisenhower from May 1957 until December 1959.  He died 15 days before his 89^th birthday.

1925 ~ Hjalmar Branting (né Karl Hjalmar Branting, b. Nov. 23, 1860), Swedish diplomat and 16^th Prime Minister of Sweden.  He was the recipient of the 1921 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the League of Nations.  He died at age 64.

1914 ~ Joshua Chamberlain (né Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, b. Sept. 8, 1828), 32^nd Governor of Maine.  He served as Governor from January 1867 until January 1871.  Following his term as Governor, he served as the 6^th President of Bowdoin College.  He died at age 85 in Portland, Maine.

1856 ~ Nikolai Lobachevsky (b. Dec. 1, 1792), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 63.

1815 ~ Robert Fulton (b. Nov. 14, 1765), American inventor and engineer who created the first successful steam ship.  He died of consumption at age 49.

1812 ~ Étienne-Louis Malus (b. July 23, 1775), French physicist and mathematician.  His name is one of 72 that is inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.  He died at age 36.

1810 ~ Henry Cavendish (b. Oct. 10, 1731), English chemist.  He died at age 78.