Sunday, May 6, 2018

May 6

Birthdays:

1961~ George Timothy Clooney, American actor.

1953~ Tony Blair (né Anthony Charles Lynton Blair), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007.

1945~ Bob Seger (né Robert Clark Seger), American songwriter and musician.

1937~ Rubin “Hurricane” Carter (d. Apr 20, 2014), American boxer convicted of murder.  He spent nearly 20 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.  His story inspired Bob Dylan to write a song about him called Hurricane.  He died of prostate cancer 16 days before his 77thbirthday.

1931~ Willie Mays (né Willie Howard Mays, Jr.), American baseball player.

1929~ Paul Christian Lauterbur (d. Mar. 27, 2007), American chemist and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work that made MRIs possible.  He died at age 77 of kidney disease.

1924~ Patricia Helen Kennedy Lawford (d. Sept. 17, 2006), American socialite and member of the Kennedy clan.  She died of pneumonia at age 82.

1915~ Orson Welles (né George Orson Welles, d. Oct. 10, 1985), American film director and actor.  He died of a heart attack at age 70.

1915~ Theodore H. White (né Theodore Harold White, d. May 15, 1986), American historian and writer.  He died of a stroke one week after his 73rdbirthday.

1906~ André Weil (d. Aug. 6, 1998), French mathematician.  He is best known for his work in number theory and algebraic geometry.  His sister was the philosopher Simone Weil.  He died at age 92.

1904~ Harry Martinson (d. Feb. 11, 1978), Swedish author and recipient of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He committed suicide at age 73 by cutting his stomach open with a pair of scissors.

1904~ Moshé Feldenkrais (d. July 1, 1984), Ukrainian-born Israeli physicist.  He died at age 80.

1903~ Toots Shor (né Bernard Shor, d. Jan. 23, 1977), American businessman who founded Toots Shor’s Restaurant in Manhattan.  He died at age 73.

1895~ Rudolph Valentino (d. Aug. 23, 1926), Italian silent film actor.  He died of peritonitis at age 31.

1895~ Júlio César de Mello e Souza (d. June 18, 1974), Brazilian mathematician.  He died of a heart attack at age 79.

1872~ Willem de Sitter (d. Nov. 20, 1834), Dutch mathematician and astronomer.  He died after a brief illness at age 62.

1871~ Victor Grignard (né François Auguste Victor Grignard, d. Dec. 13, 1935), French chemist and recipient of the 1912 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 64 in Lyons, France.

1868~ Gaston Leroux (né Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux, d. Apr. 15, 1927), French writer best known for his novel,Phantom of the Opera.  He died 3 weeks before his 59thbirthday.

1856~ Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary, Sr. (d. Feb. 20, 1920), American Arctic explorer.  He claimed to be the first person to reach the North Pole.  He died at age 63.

1856~ Sigmund Freud (néSigismund Schlomo Freud, d. Sept. 23, 1939), Austrian physician and founder of psychoanalysis.  He died at age 83.

1808~ William Strong (d. Aug. 19, 1895), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Ulysses Grant.  He served on the Court from February 1870 until December 1880.  He died at age 87.

1769~ Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette (d. Jan. 16, 1834), French mathematician.  He died at age 64.

1758~ Maximilien de Robespierre (d. July 28, 1794), French revolutionary leader who was executed by guillotine in Paris during the French Revolution.  He was 36 years old.

1575~ Pope Innocent X (né Giovanni Battista Pamphilj, d. Jan. 7, 1655).  He was Pope from September 1644 until his death in January 1655.  He was 80 years old.

1501~ Pope Marcellus II (né Marcello Cervini degli Spannochi, d. May 1, 1555).  He was Pope for only 22 days, from April 1555 until his death in May 1555.  He died 5 days before his 54th birthday.

973~ Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. July 13, 1024).  He ruled from February 1014 until his death 10 years later.  He died at age 51.

Events that Changed the World:

2013~ Three women who had been missing for more than 10 years were found alive in a house in Cleveland, Ohio.  They had been kidnapped and abused by Ariel Castro, who ultimately committed suicide in prison.

2001~ Pope John Paul II (1920 ~ 2005) became the first Pope to enter a mosque while on his trip to Syria.

1996~ The body of William Colby (b. Jan. 4, 1920), 10th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency washed ashore on a riverbank in Maryland.  He had disappeared on April 27, 1996, which is the date of his presumed death.  His death is believed to have occurred from a boating accident.

1981~ Yale student Maya Ying Lin’s design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was selected from 1,421 entries.  She was 21 years old.

1976~ An earthquake in northeastern Italy killed over 980 people and destroyed several villages.

1960~ Princess Margaret (1930 ~ 2002) married Anthony Armstrong-Jones (1930 ~ 2017).  This was the first televised royal wedding.  They divorced 18 years later.

1954~ Sir Roger Bannister (1929 ~ 2018) became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.

1941~ Bob Hope (1903 ~ 2003) performed his first USO show at California’s March Field.

1940~ John Steinbeck (1902 ~ 1968) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.

1937~ The Hindenburg, the German zeppelin,exploded in Lakehurst, New Jersey, as it was attempting to dock, killing 36 of the 97 people on board.

1935~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 ~ 1945) signed Executive Order 7034, which created the Works Progress Administration.

1915~ Babe Ruth (1895 ~ 1948) hit his first major league home run while pitching for the Boston Red Sox.  He would go on to have 714 career home runs.

1910~ George V (1865 ~ 1936) became King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, King Edward VII (1841 ~ 1910).

1906~ The Russian Constitution of 1906 was adopted.  This date corresponded to April 23 on the Julian calendar.

1889~ The Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.

1877~ Chief Crazy Horse (d. 1877) of the Oglala Sioux tribe surrendered to the United States troops in Nebraska.

1963~ The Battle of Chancellorsville during the American Civil War ended with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by Confederate troops.

1861~ Arkansas seceded from the Union to join the Confederate States.

1844~ The Glaciarium, the world’s first mechanically frozen ice rink, opened in England.

1682~ King Louis XIV (1638 ~ 1715) of France moved his court to the Palace of Versailles.

1659~ A faction of the British Army removed Richard Cromwell (1626 ~ 1712) as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalled the Rump Parliament.

1536~ King Henry VIII (1491 ~ 1547) ordered English language Bibles to be placed in all churches in England.

1536~ The Siege of Cuzco began, in which the army of the Manco Inca Yupanqui, the Emperor, attempted to reclaim the city of Cuzco, Peru, from the Spanish conquistadors, which were under the command of Hernando Pizarro.  The siege lasted 10 months and was ultimately unsuccessful.

Good-Byes:

2015~ Denise McCluggage (b. Jan. 20, 1927), American female racer who shattered stereotypes.  In 1959, she became the first woman to win a sports-car event at the Thompson Raceway in Connecticut.  She died at age 88.

2015~ Jim Wright (né James Claude Wright, Jr., b. Dec. 22, 1922), United States Speaker of the House of Representatives who resigned in 1989 in scandal amid allegations he was receiving kickbacks from business associates and lobbyists.  He had served from January 1987 until his ouster.  He was the congressional representative from Texas.  He was 92 years old at the time of his death.

2014~ William Harvey Dana (b. Nov. 3, 1930), American test pilot who touched space.  He was an engineer and NASA test pilot.  He died at age 83.

2014~ Farley Mowat (né Farley McGill Mowat, b. May 12, 1921), Canadian writer who championed animals.  He died 6 days before his 93rd birthday.

2013~ Giulio Andreotti (b. Jan. 14, 1919), Seven-time Italian prime minister.  He died at age 94.

2009~ Sid Laverents (néSidney Nicklas Laverents, b. Aug. 5, 1908), American offbeat filmmaker who was an amateur legend.  He didn’t begin making films until he was 50 years old.  He died at age 100.

2006~ Lillian Asplund (b. Oct. 6, 1906), last American survivor of the Titanic.  She was also the last survivor with any memory of the disaster.  She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and died in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.  She was 99 at the time of her death.

1992~ Marlene Dietrich (née Marie Magdalene Dietrich, b. Dec. 27, 1901), German actress.  She died at age 90.

1987~ William Joseph Casey (d. Mar. 13, 1913), 13th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.  He served in that office during the Ronald Reagan administration from January 1981 through January 1987.  He died of a brain tumor at age 74.

1963~ Theodore von Kármán (May 11, 1881), Hungarian-born American mathematician and physicist.  He died at 5 days before his 82nd birthday.

1952~ Maria Montessori (b. Aug. 31, 1870), Italian educator.  She died at age 81.

1951~ Élie Joseph Cartan (b. Apr. 9, 1869), French mathematician.  He died a month after his 82nd birthday.

1949~ Maurice Maeterlinck (b. Aug. 29, 1862), Belgian writer and recipient of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 86.

1919~ L. Frank Baum (né Lyman Frank Baum, b. May 15, 1856), American author, best known for The Wizard of Oz.  He died of a stroke 9 days before 63rd birthday.

1910~ King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (b. Nov. 9, 1841).  He was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  He became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1901.  He ruled as King until his death in May 1910.  He was 68 years old.

1862~ Henry David Thoreau (b. July 12, 1817), American author and philosopher.  He died of bronchitis at age 44.

1792~ Christine Kirch (d. 1696), German astronomer. The date of her birth is not known.

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