April 30

Birthdays:

1986~ Dianna Elsie Agron, American actress and singer best known for her role as Quinn Fabray on Glee.

1985~ Gal Gadot, Israel actress.

1961~ Isiah Thomas (néIsiah Lord Thomas, III), American baseball player.

1959~ Paul Michael Gross, Canadian actor best known for his role as the upright Canadian Mounted Police Officer working in with the Chicago Police Department in the TV series, Due South.

1946~ King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.  He became King of Sweden in September 1973.

1945~ Michael John Smith (d. Jan. 28, 1986), American astronaut who was killed in the Space Shuttle Challengerdisaster. He was 40 years old.

1945~ Annie Dillard (née Meta Ann Doak), American author.

1944~ Jill Clayburg (d. Nov. 5, 2010), American actress.  She died of leukemia at age 66.

1930~ Nathaniel Branden (né Nathaniel Blumenthal, d. Dec. 3, 2014), Canadian-American psychologist who became Ayn Rand’s lover.  He died at age 84.

1930~ José Narosky, Argentine writer best known for his aphorisms.

1926~ Cloris Leachman, American actress.

1925~ Johnny Horton (néJohn LaGale Horton, d. Nov. 5, 1960), American musician and singer, best known for his song, The Battle of New Orleans.  He was killed in a car accident at age 35.

1921~ Robert Lee Easton, Sr. (d. May 8, 2014), American scientist and co-inventor of the GPS.  He was born in Craftsbury, Vermont and died in Hanover, New Hampshire.  He died 8 days after his 93^rdbirthday.

1916~ Claude Elwood Shannon (d. Feb. 24, 2001), American engineer and mathematician.  He died in Medford, Massachusetts at age 84.

1909~ Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (d. Mar. 20, 2004).  She reigned as Queen from September 1948 until April 1980, her 61^stbirthday, when she abdicated the throne in favor or her daughter, Wilhelmina.  She died at age 94.

1908~ Eve Arden (née Eunice Mary Quedens, d. Nov. 12, 1990), American actress.  She died at age 82 of heart disease.

1905~ Sergey Nikolsky (d. Nov. 9, 1912), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 107.

1902~ Theodore William Schultz (d. Feb. 26, 1998), American economist and recipient of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. He died at age 95.

1901~ Simon Kuznets (d. July 8, 1985), Ukrainian economist and recipient of the 1971 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. He died at age 84 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1877~ Alice B. Toklas (né Alice Babette Toklas, d. Mar. 7, 1967), American writer and companion of Gertrude Stein.  She died at age 89.

1866~ Mary Haviland Stiwell Kuesel (d. June 22, 1936), American pioneer dentist. She was the founder of the Women’s Dental Association of the United States.  She died of coronary thrombosis at age 70.

1777~ Carl Friedrich Gauss (néJohann Carl Friedrich Gauss, d. Feb. 23, 1855), German mathematician.  He died at age 77.

1662~ Queen Mary II of England (d. Dec. 28, 1694). She died of smallpox at age 32.

1245~ King Philip III of France (d. Oct. 5, 1285).  He was known as Philip the Bold.  He died of dysentery at age 40.

Events that Changed the World:

2013~ Queen Beatrix (b. 1938) of the Netherlands abdicated in favor of her son, Willem-Alexander (b. 1967), who became King of the Netherlands.

2009~ Chrysler automobile company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

2008~ Two skeletal remains found near Yekaterinburg, Russia were confirmed to be the remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia and the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna.

1993~ Tennis star Monica Seles (b. 1973) was stabbed in the back by an obsessed fan during the quarterfinal match of the 1993 Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany.

1980~ Beatrix of the Netherlands (b. 1938) became Queen of the Netherlands.  She abdicated the throne on April 30, 2013 in favor of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander (b. 1967).

1975~ The Vietnam War formally ended with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Duong Văn Minh (1916 ~ 2001).  Communist forces gained control of Saigon.

1973~ Richard Nixon’s top White House aides, including H.R. Haldeman (1926 ~ 1993) and John Ehrlichman (1925 ~ 1999), resigned amid the Watergate Scandal.

1947~ The Boulder Dam in Nevada was renamed the Hoover Dam.

1945~ Soviet troops liberated Stalag Luft I, a German prisoner-of-war camp. Over 9000 American and British airman were freed.

1939~ The 1939-40 New York World’s Fair opened.

1939~ Television was first publically broadcast from the Empire State Building in New York City.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 ~ 1945) presented the New York World’s Fair ceremonial address on NBC.

1927~ Douglas Fairbanks (1883 ~ 1939) and Mary Pickford (1892 ~ 1979) became the first Hollywood celebrities to leave their footprints in the concrete at Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

1927~ The first women’s federal prison in the United States opened in Alderson, West Virginia as the Federal Industrial Institute for Women.

1904~ The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair opened in St. Louis, Missouri.

1900~ Hawaii became a territory of the United States.

1885~ The Governor of New York State signed legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, the first state park in New York State.

1812~ Louisiana became the 18^thState of the Union.

1803~ The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France under the Louisiana Purchase Agreement which, although was signed on May 2, was dated as of April 30.  The purchase price was $15 Million.

1789~ George Washington (1732 ~ 1799) was inaugurated as the first United States President.  The ceremony took place on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City.

1598~ Henry IV of France (1553 ~ 1610) issued the Edict of Nantes, which allowed the freedom of religion to the Huguenots.

1492~ Spain granted Christopher Columbus (1451 ~ 1506) his commission of exploration.

Good-byes:

2017~ Ueli Steck (b. Oct. 4, 1976), Swiss daredevil mountaineer who raced up peaks.  He died at age 40 from a fall while training in the Himalayas.

2016~ Sir Harry Kroto (néHarold Walter Krotoschiner, b. Oct. 7, 1939), British chemist and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 76.

2016~ Father Daniel Berrigan (né Daniel Joseph Berrigan, b. May 9, 1921), American Catholic priest, political and anti-war/peace activist.  He died 9 days before his 95^thbirthday.

2015~ Ben E. King (né Benjamin Earl Nelson, b. Sept. 28, 1938), American soul legend who sang Stand by Me.  He was 76 years old.

2012~ Benzion Netanyahu (b. Mar. 25, 1910), Israeli historian whose field of expertise was the history of Jews in Spain during the Inquisition.  He was also the father of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  He died at age 102.

2007~ Tom Poston (né Thomas Gordon Poston, b. Oct. 17, 1921), American actor.  He is best known for his portrayal of George Utley on Newhart.  He died of respiratory failure at age 85.

1994~ Richard Scarry (né Richard McClure Scarry, b. June 5, 1919), American author and illustrator of children’s books.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died of a heart attack at age 74.

1983~ Muddy Waters (né McKinley Morganfield, b. Apr. 4, 1913), American musician, considered the “father of modern Chicago blues.”  He died of heart failure 26 days after his 70^thbirthday.

1983~ George Balanchine (b. Jan. 22, 1904), Russian dancer and choreographer.  He died at age 79.

1974~ Agnes Robertson Moorehead (b. Dec. 6, 1900), American actress.  She is best known for her role as Endora on the sit-com Bewitched.  She was born in Clinton, Massachusetts.  She died of uterine cancer at age 73.

1958~ Alvan Fuller (d. Feb. 27, 1878), 50^thGovernor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1925 until January 1929.  He died at age 80.

1956~ Alben William Barkley (b. Nov. 24, 1877). 35^thVice President of the United States.  He served under President Harry S. Truman from January 1949 until January 1953.  He collapsed and died of a heart attack while giving a speech in Virginia.  He died at age 78.

1945~ Adolf Hitler (b. Apr. 20, 1889) dictator of Nazi Germany.  He committed suicide along with Eva Braun (née Eva Anna Paula Braun, b. Feb. 6, 1912), his wife of one day 10 days before his 57^thbirthday.

1936~ A.E. Housman (né Alfred Edward Housman, b. Mar. 26, 1859), English poet.  He died at age 77.

1926~ Bessie Coleman (née Elizabeth Coleman, b. Jan. 26, 1892), African-American civil aviator.  She was the first African-American woman pilot and the first African-American to hold an international pilot license.  She was killed at age 34 in a plane crash.

1900~ Casey Jones (né Jonathan Luther Jones, b. Mar. 14, 1863), American railroad engineer who died in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, when his train, the Cannonball Express, collided with a stalled freight train.  He gave his life to prevent a crash and to save the lives of his passengers.  He was the only fatality in the crash.  He was 37 years old at the time of his death.

1883~ Édouard Manet (b. Jan. 23, 1832), French painter.  He died of gangrene following an operation to amputate his foot.  He was 51 years old.

1879~ Sarah Josepha Hale (b. Oct. 24, 1788), American author and poet.  She was born in Newport, New Hampshire.  She is credited with the nursery rhyme, Mary had a Little Lamb.  She died at age 90.

1513~ Edmund de la Pole, 3^rdDuke of Suffolk (b. 1471), Yorkist pretender to the English throne.  Henry VIII had him executed.  He was the son of Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 41 or 42 at the time of his death

1063~ Emperor Renzong of Song (b. May 30, 1010), 4^thChinese emperor of the Song Dynasty.  He died a month before his 53^rdbirthday.

125~ Emperor An of Han (b. 94), Chinese emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.  The exact date of his birth is not known but he is believed to have died at age 31.

April 29

Birthdays:

1970~ Andre Kirk Agassi, tennis player.

1970~ Uma Karuna Thurman, American actress.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

1958~ Michelle Marie Pfeiffer, American actress.

1957~ Daniel Day-Lewis (Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis), English-Irish actor.

1955~ Kate Mulgrew (née Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew), American actress.

1954~ Jerry Seinfeld (né Jerome Allen Seinfeld), American comedian.

1952~ Nora Eloise Dunn, American actress and comedian.  She is best known for her work on Saturday Night Live.

1951~ Dale Earnhardt (né Ralph Dale Earnhardt, b. Feb. 18, 2001), Seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion.  He was killed at age 49 in a racing accident during the Daytona 500.

1938~ Bernie Madoff (néBernard Lawrence Madoff), American business man and convicted felon who masterminded an elaborate Ponzischeme that bulked thousands people out of billions of dollars.  In June 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison.

1937~ Hasil Adkins (b. Apr. 25, 2005), American musician from an Appalachian county in West Virginia who influenced the creation of rock ‘n roll. He died 3 days before his 68^thbirthday.

1936~ Zubin Mehta, Indian conductor.

1933~ Rod McKuen (né Rodney Marvin McKuen, d. Jan. 29, 2015), American populist poet and songwriter who was loathed by critics. He died of complications of pneumonia at age 81.

1933~ Willie Nelson (né Willie Hugh Nelson), American singer and musician.

1917~ Celeste Holm (d. July 15, 2012), American actress who was a city girl who first starred as a rube.  She died at age 95.

1901~ Hirohito (d. Jan. 7, 1989), Emperor of Japan from 1929 until his death in 1989.  He was the Emperor during World War II.  He died at age 87.

1899~ Duke Ellington (né Edward Kennedy Ellington, d. May 24, 1974), African-American jazz musician.  He died 25 days before his 76^thbirthday.

1893~ Harold Clayton Urey (d. Jan. 5, 1981), American chemist and recipient of the 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on isotopes.  He died at age 87.

1868~ Alice Keppel (d. Sept. 11, 1947), English socialite and mistress of King Edward VII of England.  She died at age 79.

1863~ William Randolph Hearst, Sr. (d. Aug. 14, 1951), American newspaper publisher.  He died at age 88.

1854~ Henri Poincaré (néJules Henri Poincaré, d. July 17, 1912), French mathematician and physicist.  He died of an embolism at age 58.

1818~ Tsar Alexander II of Russia (d. Mar. 13, 1881).  He was killed near his palace when a bomb was thrown at him. In the Julian calendar that was used by Russia at the time, this event was recorded on March 1.  He died at age 62.

1810~ Thomas Adolphus Trollope (d. Nov. 11, 1892), British author and journalist.  He died at age 82.

1745~ Oliver Ellsworth (d. Nov. 26, 1807), 3^rdChief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was appointed to the High Court by President George Washington.  He served on the Court from March 1796 until September 1800.  He died at age 62.

Events that Changed the World:

2011~ Prince William (b. 1982) of England married Kate Middleton (b. 1982).  Upon her marriage, Kate Middleton became known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

2004~ The Oldsmobile ceased production after 107 years of car manufacturing.

1992~ Los Angeles was caught up in massive riots following the acquittal of several police officers of charges that they used excessive force in the beating of Rodney King (1965 ~ 2012).  During the riots, which lasted three days, 53 people were killed, numerous people were injured and hundreds of buildings were destroyed.

1986~ Fire at the Central library of the City of Los Angeles damaged or destroyed over 400,000 books and other items.

1983~ Harold Washington (1922 ~ 1987) was sworn in as Chicago's first African-American mayor.

1968~ The musical Hairdebuted on Broadway.

1945~ The Dachau concentration camp was liberated by American troops.

1945~ Adolf Hitler (1889 ~ 1945) married Eva Braun (1912 ~ 1945) in a bunker in Berlin.  They both committed suicide the following day.

1944~ During World War II, British agent Nancy Wake (1912 ~ 2011), a leading figure in the French Resistance and the Gestapo’s most wanted person, parachuted into France to become a liaison between London and a local resistance group.

1916~ Martial law in Ireland was lifted and the Easter Rising rebellion was deemed official over following the surrender of Irish nationals to the British in Dublin.

1862~ New Orleans fell to Union forces under the leadership of Admiral David Farragut (1801 ~ 1870) during the American Civil War.

1861~ During the American Civil War, Maryland’s House of Delegates voted not to secede from the Union.

1832~ Mathematician Évariste Galois (1811 ~ 1832) was released from prison.  He had been politically active and on Bastille Day, July 14, 1831, he led a protest wearing the uniform of the disbanded artillery.  He was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison for illegally wearing a uniform.  It was not until April 29, 1832, however, before he was released.  He would die about a month later from wounds suffered in a duel.

1781~ During the American Revolutionary War, British and French ships clashed in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique.

1770~ James Cook (1728 ~ 1779) arrived at, and named Botany Bay, Australia.

1587~ Sir Francis Drake (1540 ~ 1596) lead a raid in the Bay of Cádiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish Armada.

1429~ Joan of Arc (1412 ~ 1431) arrived to relieve the Siege of Orleans.

Good-Byes:

2015~ Jean Evelyn Nidetch (b. Oct. 12, 1923), American housewife who was a co-founder of Weight Watchers.  She was 91 years old.

2014~ Bob Hoskins (néRobert William Hoskins, b. Oct. 26, 1942), the stumpy British actor who made it big in Hollywood.  He died of pneumonia at age 71.

2014~ Al Feldstein (néAlbert Bernard Feldstein, b. Oct. 24, 1925), American editor of Madmagazine who made skepticism funny.  He died at age 88.

2014~ Walter Rudolph Walsh (b. May 5, 1907), American FBI marksman who gunned down gangsters.  He joined the FBI in 1934, during the infamous Public Enemy era and was involved in many high-profile cases.  He died 6 days before his 107^thbirthday.

2013~ Ernest Michael (b. Aug. 27, 1925), American mathematician.  He died at age 87.

2008~ Albert Hofmann (b. Jan. 11, 1906), Swiss chemist who was the first to synthesize and try LSD.  He died at age 102.

2006~ John Kenneth Galbraith (b. Oct. 15, 1908), Canadian-American economist. He died at age 97 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

2005~ William Joseph Bell (b. Mar. 6, 1927), American screenwriter and producer. He was known for producing many soap operas, including The Young and the Restless.  He died of complications of Alzheimer’s disease at age 78.

2005~ Louis Leithold (b. Nov. 16, 1924), American mathematician.  He died at age 80.

1997~ Mike Royko (néMichael Royko, Jr., b. Sept. 19, 1932), American columnist.  He died of a brain aneurysm at age 64.

1980~ Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (b. Aug. 13, 1899), English film director.  He died at age 80.

1937~ Wallace Hume Carothers (b. Apr. 27 1896), American organic chemist who, while working at DuPont, invented nylon.  He died committed suicide 2 days after his 41^stbirthday.

1921~ Annie Edson Taylor (b. Oct. 24, 1838), was the first person to go Niagara Falls and survive.  She performed this stunt on October 24, 1901, her 63^rdbirthday!  She died at age 82.

1916~ Jørgen Pedersen Gram (b. June 27, 1850), Danish actuary and mathematician.  He died at age 65 after being hit by a bicycle.

1793~ Yechezkel ben Yehudah Landau (b. Oct. 8, 1713), Polish Rabbi.  He died at age 79.

1771~ Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (b. 1700), French-Italian architect who designed the Winter Palace and the Catherine Palace for Imperial Russia. The exact date of his birth is unknown.

1380~ Catherine of Siena (b. Mar. 25, 1347), Italian mystic and Catholic saint.  She died of a stroke at age 33.

April 28

Birthdays:

1974~ Penélope Cruz (née Penélope Cruz Sánchez), Spanish actress.

1964~ L’Wren Scott (née Laura Bambrough, d. Mar. 17, 2014), the American fashion designer who styled the stars.  She was Mick Jagger’s long-time girlfriend.  She committed suicide at age 49.

1960~ Elana Kagan, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  She was appointed to the High Court by President Barack Obama.  She began her term in August 2010.

1950~ Jay Leno (néJames Douglas Muir Leno), American television personality.

1949~ Bruno Kirby (né Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr., d. Aug. 14, 2006), American actor.  He died of leukemia at age 57.

1949~ Paul Guilfoyle, American television actor best known for his role as Captain Brass on the television drama CSI.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

1948~ Sir Terrance David John “Terry” Pratchett (d. Mar. 12, 2015), British author of the Discworldfantasy series.  He died of early onset Alzheimer’s disease at 66 years old.

1941~ Ann-Margaret (née Ann-Margaret Olsson), Swedish actress.

1941~ Karl Barry Sharpless, American chemist and recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with on stereoselective reactions.

1937~ Saddam Hussein (d. Dec. 30, 2006), 5^thPresident of and virtual dictator of Iraq.  He was executed for war crimes and the mass execution of Iraqi Shi’ietes.  He was 69 years old.

1930~ James Addison Baker, III, 61^stUnited States Secretary State. He served in that capacity in under George H.W. Bush.  He also served Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush as White House Chief of Staff. During the Reagan Administration, he also served as the 67^thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury from February 1985 until August 1988.

1926~ Harper Lee (née Nelle Harper Lee, d. Feb. 19, 2016), American author, best known for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird.  In July 2015, a second book written by Lee, Go Set A Watchman, was published.  She was 89 years old at the time of her death.

1923~ Carolyn Cassady (née Carolyn Elizabeth Robinson Cassady, d. Sept. 20, 2013), American woman who was the Beats’ muse and lover.  She was married to Neal Cassady.  She died following complications of surgery at age 90.

1916~ Ferruccio Lamborghini (d. Feb. 20, 1993), Italian businessman and creator of the Lamborghini, a high-end sports vehicle. He died at age 76 of a heart attack.

1908~ Oskar Schindler (d. Oct. 9, 1974), Austro-Hungarian industrialist who saved many Jews during World War II.  Although a member of the Nazi Party, he hired many Jews in his factories, which ultimately saved their lives.  He was named Righteous Among Nations by the Israeli government in 1963.  He died at age 66.  He is buried in the Mount Zion Catholic Cemetery in Jerusalem.

1906~ Kurt Gödel (d. Jan. 14, 1978), Austrian mathematician.  He was born in what is now Brno, Czech Republic. He died at age 71 of starvation.  He had a fear of being poisoned and would only eat food prepared by his wife, Adele. When she became ill and could no longer prepare his food, he stopped eating.

1878~ Lionel Barrymore (néLionel Herbert Blyth, d. Nov. 15, 1954), American actor.  He was a member of the theatrical Barrymore family.  He died of a heart attack at age 76.

1868~ Georgy Voronoy (d. Nov. 20, 1908), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 40 following a severe illness.

1854~ Hertha Marks Aryton (née Phoebe Sarah Hertha Marks Aryton, d. Aug. 26, 1923), British engineer and mathematician.  She died of blood poisoning following a bug bite.  She was 69 years old.

1838~ Tobias Michael Carel Asser (d. July 29, 1913), Dutch lawyer and recipient of the 1911 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the field of private international law.  He died at age 75.

1765~ Sylvestre François Lacroix (d. May 24, 1834), French mathematician.  He died less than a month after his 78^thbirthday.

1758~ James Monroe (d. July 4, 1831), 5^thPresident of the United States.  He was President from March 1817 through March 1825.  He had previously served as the 8^thUnited States Secretary of War under President James Madison.  He also served as the 7^thUnited States Secretary of State under President James Madison.  He died at age 73.

1676~ King Frederick I of Sweden (b. Apr. 5, 1751).  He died 23 days before his 75^thbirthday.

1442~ King Edward IV of England (d. Apr. 9, 1483).  He was the first Yorkist King of England.  He died 19 days before his 41^stbirthday.

Events that Changed the World:

1994~ Aldrich Ames (b. 1941), former CIA counter-intelligence office, pled guilty to giving US secrets to the former Soviet Union and Russia.

1988~ On Aloha Airlines Flight 243, the fuselage ripped off a Boeing 737 and flight attendant Clarabelle Lansing was sucked through the hole to her death.  The pilot was able to land the plane with no other casualties.

1971~ The Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA) was established by the United States Department of Labor.

1969~ Charles de Gaulle (1890 ~ 1970) resigned as president of France.

1952~ Dwight David Eisenhower (1890 ~ 1969) resigned as the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.

1947~ Thor Heyerdahl (1914 ~ 2002) and his crew of five set out on the Kon-Tikifrom Peru to Polynesia.

1932~ A vaccine for yellow fever was approved for use in humans.

1920~ Azerbaijan was became a part of the Soviet Union.

1863~ The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, was chartered as a land grant agricultural college.

1789~ Lieutenant William Bligh (1754 ~ 1817) and 18 of his loyal sailors were set adrift following the Mutiny on the Bounty.  The mutineers returned to Tahiti, then set sail for Pitcairn’s Island.

1788~ Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.

1503~ The Battle of Cerignola in southern Italy was fought between Spanish and French armies.  The Spanish armies utilized firearms and were victorious; marking the first battle won using gunpowder in small fire arms.

Good-Byes:

1999~ Arthur Leonard Schawlow (b. May 5, 1921), American physicist and recipient of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on lasers.  He died 7 days before his 78^thbirthday.

1988~ Clarabelle Lansing (b. Jan. 18, 1930), American stewardess on the ill-fated Aloha Airlines.  She was the only fatality when the fuselage ripped open mid-flight.  She was 58 years old.

1960~ Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (b. Nov. 3, 1877), President of Chile.  He served two terms, the first from May 1927 until November 1931 in his first term and the second term from November 1952 until November 1958.  He died at age 82.

1954~ Léon Jouhaux (b. July 1, 1879), French labor leader and recipient of the 1951 Nobel Peace Prize. He died at age 74.

1949~ Aurora Quezon (b. Feb. 19, 1888), First Lady of the Philippines.  She was assassinated on her way to open a hospital dedicated to her deceased husband, former president of the Philippines.  She was 61 years old.

1946~ Louis Bachelier (b. Mar. 11, 1870), French mathematician.  He died at age 76.

1945~ Clara Petacci (b. Feb. 28, 1912), Italian mistress of Benito Mussolini.  She was executed by firing squad along with Mussolini.  She was 33 years old.

1945~ Benito Anilcare Mussolini (b. July 29, 1883), Fascist dictator of Italy.  He served as the 27^thPrime Minister of Italy from October 1922 until July 1943.  He was executed by a firing squad, which consisted of members of the Italian resistance movement.  He was 61.

1944~ Frank Knox (néWilliam Franklin Knox, b. Jan. 1, 1874), 46^thSecretary of the Navy.  He served under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during most of World War II, from July 1940 until April 1944.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died in office at age 70.

1936~ King Faud I of Egypt (b. Mar. 26, 1868). He died about a month after his 68^thbirthday.

1922~ Paul Deschanel (b. Feb. 13, 1855), President of France from February 1920 until September 1920.  He died at age 67.

1903~ Josiah Willard Gibbs (b. Feb. 11, 1839), American mathematical physicist. An instructorship at the Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut is named in his honor.  He died at age 64.

1883~ John Russell (b. Dec. 21, 1795), English parson and dog breeder. He died at age 87.

1865~ Sir Samuel Cunard, 1^stBaronet (b. Nov. 21, 1787), Canadian businessman who founded the Cunard Line.  He died at age 77.

April 27

Birthdays:

1945~ August Wilson (né Frederick August Kettel, Jr., d. Oct. 2, 2005), African-American author and playwright. He died of cancer at age 60.

1941~ Fethullah Gülen, Turkish theologian.

1939~ Judy Carne (néeJoyce Audrey Botterill, d. Sept. 3, 2015), British actress.  She is best known for her performances in Laugh-In.  She died of pneumonia at age 76.

1932~ Gian-Carlo Rota (d. Apr. 18, 1999), Italian-born mathematician.  He died of cardiac arrest 9 days before his 67^thbirthday.

1932~ Casey Kasem (né Kemal Amin Kasem, d. June 15, 2014), American radio disc jockey and personality, best known for being the host of American Top 40.  He democratized rock ‘n roll.  He died at age 82.

1932~ Anouk Aimée (née Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus), French actress.

1927~ Coretta Scott King (d. Jan. 30, 2006), American civil rights activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.  She died of ovarian cancer at age 78 years old.

1923~ Jean Harris (d. Dec. 23, 2012), American educator who murdered her lover.  She died at age 89.

1922~ Jack Klugman (né Jacob Joachim Klugman, d. Dec. 24, 2012), American actor.  He is best known for his role as Oscar Madison on the television sit-com, The Odd Couple.  He died at age 90.

1921~ John Robert Stott (d. July 27, 2011), British Christian who evangelized the world.  He died at age 90.

1920~ Mark Krasnosel’skii (d. Feb. 13, 1997), Ukrainian mathematician.  He died at age 76.

1916~ Enos Bradsher Slaughter (d. Aug. 12, 2002), American baseball player. He died at age 86.

1913~ Irving Adler (d. Sept. 22, 2012), American mathematician. He died in Bennington, Vermont at age 99.

1899~ Walter Benjamin Lantz (d. Mar. 22, 1994), American animator, screenwriter and actor.  He is best known for creating such cartoon characters as Woody Woodpecker.  He died of heart failure a month before his 95^thbirthday.

1896~ Wallace Hume Carothers (d. Apr. 29, 1937), American organic chemist who, while working at DuPont, invented nylon.  He died committed suicide 2 days after his 41^stbirthday.

1822~ Ulysses Simpson Grant (néHiram Ulysses Grant, d. July 23, 1885), General in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and 18^thPresident of the United States.  He was President from March 1969 through March 1877.  He has previously served as General in the Union Army during the American Civil War.  He died at age 63.

1791~ Samuel Finley Breese Morse (d. Apr. 2, 1872), American painter and inventor of the Morse code. His contribution greatly advanced the use of the commercial telegraph.  He was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts.  He died three weeks before his 81^stbirthday.

1759~ Mary Wollstonecraft (d. Sept. 10, 1797), English author and early feminist, best known for her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.  She died at age 38 of complications following childbirth.

1755~ Marc-Antoine Parseval (d. Aug. 16, 1836), French mathematician.  He died at age 81.

1593~ Mumtaz Mahal (d. June 17, 1631) died during the birth of her 14^thchild.  She was 38 years old.  She was the third and favorite wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan I (1592 ~ 1666), who spent the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.

Events that Changed the World:

2014~ A tornado outbreak over much of the eastern portion of the United States killed 45 people.

2011~ Over 200 tornados touched down in the Southeastern United States, especially in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee.  During the tornado outbreak, which occurred from April 25 through April 28, over 300 people were killed and scores were injured in the devastation caused by the storms.

2010~ Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greece’s sovereign credit rating to junk.

1987~ The United States Department of Justice banned Austrian President Kurt Waldheim (1918 ~ 2007) from entering the United States because he had been involved in the deportation and execution of thousands of Jews while serving as a German Army officer during World War II.

1967~ Expo 67 officially opened in Montreal, Canada in a ceremony that was broadcast around the world.

1865~ The steamboat, SS Sultana, exploded and sank into the Mississippi River.  The boat’s passenger list was comprised of many Union soldiers who had survived the Andersonville and Cahaba Prisons.  Of the 2,400 passengers aboard the steamboat, over 1,700 were killed.

1865~ The New York State Senate created Cornell University as the state’s land grant institution.

1861~ President Abraham Lincoln (1809 ~ 1865) suspended the writ of habeas corpus.

1810~ Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 ~ 1827) composed his famous piano piece, Für Elise.

1667~ John Milton (1608 ~ 1674), who was blind and impoverished, sold the copyright of his book, Paradise Lostfor £10.

1570~ Pope Pius V (1504 ~ 1572) declared England’s Queen Elizabeth I (1533 ~ 1603) a heretic.

711~ Islamic Moorish troops landed in Gibraltar and began their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.

Good-Byes:

2002~ Ruth Marianna Handler (b. Nov. 4, 1916), American toymaker and creator of the Barbie doll.  She was president of the Mattel toy company.  She died of colon cancer at age 85.

1999~ Al Hirt (néAlois Maxwell Hirt, b. Nov. 7, 1922), American trumpeter.  He was born and died in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2009.  He died at age 76.

1996~ William Colby (b. Jan. 4, 1920), 10^thDirector of the Central Intelligence Agency.  He served under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from September 1973 until January 1996.  He died in what appeared to be a boating accident.  He took off on a canoe on April 27, 1996.  His body was discovered on May 6, 1996.  Although the coroner determined that he died drowning after having suffered a stroke or heart attack, there has been speculation that his death may have been due to foul play or suicide.  He was 76 years old.

1978~ Guido Stampacchia (b. Mar. 26, 1926), Italian mathematician.  He died of a heart attack a month after his 52^ndbirthday.

1965~ Edward R. Murrow (néEgbert Roscoe Murrow, d. Apr. 25, 1908), American broadcast journalist.  He died of lung cancer 2 days after his 57^thbirthday.

1952~ Guido Castelnuovo (b. Aug. 14, 1865), Italian mathematician.  He died at age 86.

1938~ Edmund Husserl (b. Apr. 8, 1859), Austrian mathematician.  He died 19 days after his 79^thbirthday.

1936~ Karl Pearson (b. Mar. 27, 1857), English statistician and mathematician.  He died a month after his 79^thbirthday.

1932~ Hart Crane (né Harold Hart Crane, b. July 21, 1899), American writer.  He is believed to have intentionally committed suicide at age 32 by throwing himself off a steamship.

1915~ John Labatt (b. Dec. 11, 1838), Canadian businessman and brewer.  He was the founder of the Labatt’s Brewing Company.  He died at age 76.

1902~ Julius Sterling Morton (b. Apr. 22, 1832), 3^rdUnited States Secretary of Agriculture. He served in that Office from March 1893 until March 1897 in the Grover Cleveland administration.  He died 5 days after his 70^thbirthday.

1886~ Henry Hobson Richardson (b. Sept. 29, 1838), American architect.  He designed Trinity Church in Copley Square in Boston.  He was born in St. James Parish, Louisiana.  He died in Brookline, Massachusetts at age 47 of Bright’s disease.

1882~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (b. May 25, 1803), American essayist. He died less than a month before his 79^thbirthday.

1813~ Zebulon Montgomery Pike (b. Jan. 5, 1779), American army officer, frontiersman and explorer.  Pikes Peak in Colorado is named for him.  He was killed in action age 34 in the Battle of York during the War of 1912.

1605~ Pope Leo XI (né Alessandro Ottaviano de’ Medici, b. June 2, 1535).  He was Pope for less that a month, from April 1 until April 27, 1605.  He died at age 69.

1521~ Ferdinand Magellan (b. 1480), Portuguese explorer who was killed by natives in the Philippines.  He is believed to have been about 40 years old at the time of his death.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.

April 26

Birthdays:

1983~ Jessica Dawn Lynch, American soldier and who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.  Her convoy was ambushed by Iraqi forces and she was serious injured.  She was a POW, but was successfully rescued by Special Forces.

1980~ Channing Matthew Tatum, American actor.

1970~Melania Trump (née Melanija Knavs), First Lady of the United States.  She was a Slovenian-American model and third wife of President Donald Trump.

1958~ Giancarlo Esposito, American actor.

1956~ Koo Stark (née Kathleen Dee-Anne Norris Stark), American actress and former girlfriend of Prince Andrew.

1938~ Leonid Plyushch (d. June 4, 2015), Ukrainian mathematician.  He died at age 77.

1938~ Duane Eddy, American guitarist.

1933~ Carol Burnett (née Carol Creighton Burnett), American comedian.

1933~ Arno Allan Penzias, German-American physicist and recipient of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics.

1932~ Michael Smith (d. Oct. 4, 2000), English chemist and recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 68.

1927~ Eugene Foster (d. July 21, 2008), American pathologist who linked President Thomas Jefferson to his slave, Sally Hemmings. He died of renal failure at age 81.

1925~ Vladimir Boltyansky, Russian mathematician.

1917~ I.M. Pei (né Ieoh Ming Pei), Chinese-born architect.

1916~ Morris Lango West (d. Oct. 9, 1999), Australian writer.  He is best known for his novels The Shoes of the Fishermanand The Devil’s Advocate.  He died at age 83.

1914~ Bernard Malamud (d. Mar. 18, 1986), American novelist.  He is best known for his novel The Fixerabout anti-Semitism in Czarist Russia, and The Natural.  He died at age 71.

1900~ Charles Francis Richter (d. Sept. 30, 1985), American geophysicist and creator of the Richter magnitude scale that measures the strength of earthquakes.  He died at age 85.

1898~ Vincente Aleixandre (d. Dec. 14, 1984), Spanish writer and recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 86.

1894~ Rudolf Hess (d. Aug. 17, 1987), Nazi official and convicted war criminal.  He committed suicide in prison at age 93.

1889~ Anita Loos (née Corinne Anita Loos, d. Aug. 18, 1981), American writer.  She is best known for her comic novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  She died at age 92.

1879~ Sir Owen Willans Richardson (d. Feb. 15, 1959), English physicist and recipient of the 1928 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on thermionic emission.  He died at age 79.

1822~ Frederick Law Olmsted (d. Aug. 28, 1903), American landscape architect, best known for his planning and designing of Central Park in New York City.  He died at age 81 in Belmont, Massachusetts.

1798~ Eugène Delacroix (né Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix, d. Aug. 13, 1863), French painter.  He died at age 65.

1785~ John James Audubon (né Jean-Jacques Rabin, d. Jan. 27, 1851), American ornithologist and painter.  He identified 25 new species of birds.  He died at age 65.

1765~ Emma, Lady Hamilton (née Amy Lyon, d. Jan. 15, 1815), English mistress of Horatio Nelson.  She died of liver failure at age 49.

1575~ Marie de’Medici (d. July 3, 1642), wife of King Henry IV of France.  She died at age 67.

1319~ King John II of France (d. Apr. 8, 1364). He died 18 days before his 45^thbirthday.

570~ Muhammed (d. June 8, 632), founder and prophet of Islam.  This is the traditional date according to the Shi’a sect.  He is believed to have been about 62 at the time of his death.

121~ Marcus Aurelius (d. Mar. 17, 180), this is the traditional date ascribed to the birth of this Roman emperor.  He ruled the Roman Empire from March 161 until his death in March 180.  He died about the age of 58.

Events that Changed the World:

1991~ Over 70 tornadoes broke out over the central United States.

1986~ The Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident occurred in the Ukraine, the worst nuclear accident to date.

1981~ Dr. Michael Harrison (b. 1943) performed the world’s first human open fetal surgery at the San Francisco Medical Center. The surgery was to correct an advanced urinary tract obstruction in the fetus.

1964~ The countries of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania.

1937~Guernica was bombed by German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War.

1933~ The Gestapo, the official secret police of Nazi Germany, was established.

1923~ The Duke of York, who later became King George VI (1895 ~ 1952), married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900 ~ 2002) at Westminster Abbey.

1865~ Confederate Memorial Day and the date in which Confederate General Joseph Johnston (1807 ~ 1891) surrendered his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820 ~ 1891) at Bennett Place, near Durham, North Carolina.

1777~ Sibyl Ludington (1761 ~ 1839), at age 16, rode her horse 40 miles from Carmel to Mahopac, New York to warn the militia men under her Colonel Henry Ludington, her father, that the British were poised to take control over Danbury, Connecticut.

1721~ A massive earthquake devastated the city of Tabriz in modern-day Iran.

1564~ William Shakespeare (1564 ~ 1616) was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, thereby estimating his actual birth date to be 1 or 2 days earlier.

Good-Byes:

2017~ Jonathan Demme (né Robert Jonathan Demme, b. Feb. 22, 1944), American director who made The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won an Academy War.  He died of complications from esophageal cancer and heart disease.  He was 73 years old.

2015~ Jayne Meadows (née Jane Meadows Cotter, b. Sept. 27, 1919), American actress.  She died at age 95.

2014~ Jacqueline Ferrand (b. Feb. 17, 1918), French mathematician.  She died at age 95.

2014~ William Franklin Ash (b. Nov. 30, 1917), Texas-born British writer who served as a fighter pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II.  He was the POW who wouldn’t stop escaping.  He died at age 96.

2013~ George Glenn Jones (b. Sept. 12, 1931), American country singer who became the voice of heartbreak.  He had such hits as He Stopped Loving Her Today.  He died of respiratory failure at age 81.

2011~ Phoebe Snow (née Pheobe Ann Laub, b. July 17, 1950), American singer and songwriter.  She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 60.

2009~ Salamo Arouch (b. Jan. 1, 1923), Greek Sephardic Jew who was a boxer who survived Auschwitz with his boxing skills, which entertained Nazi officers.  His story was portrayed in the 1989 film Triumph of the Spirit. He died in Tel Aviv at age 86.

1989~ Lucille Ball (b. Aug. 6, 1911), American actress and comedian.  She died at age 77.

1988~ Guillermo Haro Barraza (b. Mar. 21, 1913), Mexican astronomer.  He was very influential in the development of astronomy in Mexico.  He died just a month after his 75^thbirthday.

1986~ Broderick Crawford (néWilliam Broderick Crawford, b. Dec. 9, 1911), American actor.  He died at age 74.

1984~ Count Basie (né William James Basie, b. Aug. 21, 1904), American jazz musician, bandleader and composer.  He was born in Red Bank, New Jersey.  He died at age 79.

1981~ Jim Davis (né Marlin Davis, b. Aug. 26, 1909), American actor best known for his role as the patriarch, Jock Ewing, on the television drama, Dallas.  He died of multiple myeloma at age 71.

1973~ Irene Ryan (née Jessie Irene Noblett, b. Oct. 17, 1902), American actress, best known for her role as Granny on The Beverly Hillbillies. She died of a heart attack at age 70.

1970~ Gypsy Rose Lee (née Rose Louise Hovick, b. Jan. 8, 1911), American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She died of lung cancer at age 59.

1946~ James Larkin White (b. July 11, 1882), American miner, explorer and park ranger.  He discovered the Carlsbad Caverns.  He died at age 63.

1940~ Carl Bosch (b. Aug. 27, 1874), German chemist and recipient of the 1931 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 65.

1920~ Srinivasa Ramanujan (b. Dec. 22, 1887), Indian mathematician.  He was the subject of the 2015 movie The Man Who Knew Infinity.  He died at age 32 from tuberculosis.

1910~ Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (b. Dec. 8, 1832), Norwegian author and recipient of the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He was 77 years old.

1865~ John Wilkes Booth (b. May 10, 1838), American assassin who killed President Abraham Lincoln.  He was shot by Union Calvary troopers in Virginia.  He was killed 14 days before his 27^thbirthday.

1810~ Blind Jack (né John Metcalf, b. Aug. 15, 1717), the first professional road builder.  Despite being blind, he was able to build over 180 miles of turnpike roads in England. He died at age 92.

1478~ Giuliano de’Medici (b. Mar. 25, 1453), ruler of Florence, Italy.  He was murdered by members of the Pazzi family, who had conspired to kill both Guiliano and Lorenzo de’Medici during High Mass in the Duomo of Florence.  Lorenzo was not killed in this attack.  Guiliano was killed a month after his 26^thbirthday.

757~ Pope Stephen II (b. 715).  He was Pope from March 752 until his death 5 years later. The date of his birth is unknown but he is believed to have been 43 at the time of his death.