May 7

Birthdays:

1950~ Tim Russert (néTimothy John Russert; d. June 13, 2008), American television news host and political analyst.  He died unexpectedly of coronary thrombosis at age 58.

1948~ Susan Atkins (née Susan Denise Atkins; d. Sept. 24, 2009), American convicted murderer who was a member of the “Manson” family who killed Sharon Tate.  She was sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to life. She died of brain cancer at age 61.

1939~ Sidney Altman, Canadian molecular biologist and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

1927~ Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (d. Apr. 3, 2013), German-born American novelist and screenwriter.  Her family fled to Britain in 1939 to escape the Nazism.  She wrote the screenplay forThe Remains of the Day.  She died just a month before her 86^thbirthday.

1923~ Anne Baxter (d. Dec. 12, 1985), American actress.  Her grandfather was Frank Lloyd Wright.  She died of a brain aneurysm at age 62.

1919~ Eva Perón (née Eva María Duarte; d. July 26, 1952), Argentine actress.  She was also the First Lady of Argentine and second wife of Juan Perón.  She died of cancer at age 33.

1909~ Edwin Land (né Edwin Herbert Land; d. Mar. 1, 1991), American scientist and inventor of the Polaroid camera. He died at age 81 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1901~ Gary Cooper (né Frank James Cooper; d. May 13, 1961), American actor.  He died of prostate cancer 6 days after his 60^thbirthday.

1896~ Pavel Alexandrov (d. Nov. 16, 1982), Russian mathematician.  He made important contributions to set theory and topology. He died at age 86.

1892~ Josep Broz Tito (d. May 4, 1980), 1^stPresident of Yugoskavia.  He was in office from January 1953 until his death on May 4, 1980. He died 3 days before his 88^thbirthday.

1892~ Archibald MacLeish (d. Apr. 20, 1982), American poet and writer.  He served as the 9^thLibrarian of Congress from 1939 to 1944.  He died in Boston, Massachusetts 17 days before his 90^thbirthday.

1867~ Władysław Reymont (d. Dec. 5, 1925), Polish writer and recipient of the 1924 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 58.

1861~ Rabindranath Tagor (d. Aug. 7, 1941), Indian writer and recipient of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 80.

1847~ Archibald Primrose, 5^thEarl of Rosebery, 1^stEarl of Midlothian (d. May 21, 1929), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He served in Office from March 1894 until June 1895 during the reign of Queen Victoria. He died 2 weeks after his 82^ndbirthday.

1845~ Mary Eliza Mahoney (d. Jan. 4, 1926), African-American nurse and social activist.  She was the first African-American to train and work as a professional nurse.  She was from Massachusetts.  She died at age 80.

1840~ Peter Tchaikovsky (né Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; d. Nov. 6, 1893), Russian composer, best known for The Nutcracker Suiteand the 1812 Overture.  He died at age 53.

1836~ Joseph Gurney Cannon (d. Nov. 12, 1926), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.  He served in this office from November 1903 until March 1911, during the terms of Presidents Taft and Roosevelt.  He was a member of Congress from Illinois.  He died at age 90.

1833~ Johannes Brahms (d. Apr. 3, 1897), German composer.  He died about a month before his 64^thbirthday.

1832~ Carl Neumann (né Karl Gottfried Neumann; d. Mar. 27, 1925), German mathematician.  He died at age 92.

1826~ Varina Davis (née Varina Anne Banks Howell; d. Oct. 16, 1906), First Lady of the Confederate States of American and second wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.  She was born in Natchez, Mississippi.  She died at age 80.

1812~ Robert Browning (d. Dec. 12, 1889), English poet.  He died at age 77.

1787~ Jacques Viger (b. Dec. 12, 1858), 1^stMayor of Montreal, Quebec.  He was Mayor from 1833 until 1836.  He died at age 71.

1711~ David Hume (d. Aug. 25, 1776), Scottish philosopher and historian. He died at age 65.

1643~ Stephanus Van Cortlandt (d. Nov. 25, 1700), 10^thand 17^thMayor of New York City.  He initially served from 1677 to 1678.  His second term in office was from 1686 to 1688.  He died at age 57.

Events that Changed the World:

2015~ A general election was held in the United Kingdom.

2007~ Archaeologist uncover what is believed to be the tomb of Herod the Great in Israel, just south of Jerusalem.

2004~ American businessman Nicholas “Nick” Berg (1978 ~ 2004) was beheaded by Islamic militants.  The beheading was videotaped and released on the Internet.

2000~ Vladimir Putin (b. 1952) was inaugurated as president of Russia.

1999~ Pope John Paul II (1920 ~ 2005) traveled to Romania.  He was the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.

1999~ Nancy Mace (b. 1977) became the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel.

1992~ Michigan ratified a proposed Constitutional Amendment to the United States Constitution, thereby enacting the 27^thAmendment, which prohibits members of Congress from giving themselves mid-term pay raises.  This amendment had been initially been proposed on June 8, 1789, over 203 years earlier!

1964~ Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 crashed near San Ramon, California.  All 44 passengers and crew aboard were killed.  The cockpit recorder tape indicated that the pilot and co-pilot had been shot by a suicidal passenger.

1960~ During the U-2 Crisis of 1960, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (1894 ~ 1971) announced that Russia was holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers (1929 ~ 1977).  Powers would be imprisoned by the Soviets until a prisoner exchange in February 1962.

1952~ Geoffrey Dummer (1909 ~ 2002) first published an article regarding the concept of the integrated circuit ~ the basis for all modern computers.

1930~ A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck in northwest Iran and southeast Turkey.  At least 3000 people were killed.

1915~ During World War I, a German submarine sank the passenger liner the RMSLusitania, killing 1,198 people.  This event was recounted in Erik Larson’s book, Dead Wake.

1847~ The American Medical Association was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1840~ The Great Natchez Tornado hit Natchez, Mississippi. Over 315 people were killed.  It is one of the deadliest tornados to strike in the United States.

1718~ Jean-Batiste La Moyne de Bienville (1680 ~ 1767) founded the city of New Orleans in what is now the state of Louisiana.

1697~ The Royal Castle in Stockholm, Sweden, which was built in medieval times, was destroyed by fire.

1664~ King Louis XIV of France (1638 ~ 1715) inaugurated the Palais de Versailles.

1348~ Charles University in Prague was established as the first university in Central Europe.

1274~ The Second Council of Lyons, France began and began working on regulations for the election of the Pope.

558~ The dome of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople collapsed. It was immediately rebuilt.  The basilica still stands today.

351~ The date traditionally ascribed to when the Jews of Palestine began a rebellion against the Roman Empire after Gallus was appointed to rule over Antioch.

Good-Byes:

2013~ Ray Harryhausen (né Raymond Frederick Harryhausen, b. June 29, 1920), American animator who made onscreen magic.  He is best known for stop motion model animation, known as Dynamation.  He died at age 92.

2011~ Seve Ballesteros (né Severiano Ballesteros Sota; b. Apr. 9, 1957), Spanish golfer.  He died of a brain tumor a month after his 54^thbirthday.

2011~ Willard S. Boyle (né Willard Sterling Boyle; b. Aug. 19, 1924), Canadian physicist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 86.

2011~ Kate Swift (b. Dec. 9, 1923), American feminist author who skewered sexist language.  She died at age 87.

2005~ Peter W. Rodino, Jr. (né Peter Wallace Rodino, Jr.; b. June 7, 1909), American politician and congressman from New Jersey who presided over President Nixon’s impeachment.  He died a month before his 96^thbirthday.

2002~ Kevyn Aucoin (b. Feb. 14, 1962), American make-up artist and photographer from Lafayette, Louisiana.  He died at age 40.

2000~ Douglas Fairbanks (né Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr.; b. Dec. 9, 1909), American actor.  He died at age 90.

1998~ Allan McLeod Cormack (b. Feb. 23, 1924), South African physicist and recipient of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 74.

1966~ Stanisław J. Lec (né Baron Stanisław Jerzy de Tusch-Lec; b. Mar. 6, 1909), Polish poet.  He is considered one of the most influential writers of post-war Poland.  He died at age 67.

1932~ Paul Doumer (né Joseph Athanase Gaston Paul Doumer; b. Mar. 22, 1857), President of France.  He was president from 1931 until his assassination a year later.  Prior to entering politics, Doumer was a professor of mathematics.  He was 75 years old at the time of his death.

1896~ H.H. Holmes (né Herman Webster Mudgett, aka Dr. Henry Howard Holmes; b. May 16, 1861), American serial killer.  He is one of the first recorded serial killers.  He committed numerous murders in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.  He is the subject of the 2003 book, The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson.  He was found guilty of murder and was executed 9 days before his 35^thbirthday.

1873~ Salmon P. Chase (néSalmon Portland Chase; b. Jan. 13, 1808), 6^thChief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Abraham Lincoln. He served on the Court from December 1864 until his death 9 years later.  He presided over the Senate during the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. He had previously served as the 25^thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury under the Lincoln administration.  Although born in Cornish, New Hampshire, he served as the 23^rdGovernor of Ohio from January 1856 through January 1860.  He died at age 65.

1872~ Alexander Loyd (b. Aug. 19, 1805), 4^thMayor of Chicago.  He served in that office from 1840 until 1841.  He died at age 66.

1825~ Antonio Salieri (b. Aug. 18, 1750), Italian composer.  He died at age 74.

1805~ William Petty, 1^stMarquis of Lansdowne (b. May 2, 1737), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He was Prime Minister during the reign of King George III, from July 1782 until April 1783.  He died 5 days after his 68^thbirthday.

1800~ Niccolò Piccinni (b. Jan. 16, 1728), Italian composer. He died at age 72.

1718~ Mary of Modena (b. Oct. 5, 1658), wife of King James II of England.  She died at age 59.

1682~ Feodor III of Russia (b. June 9, 1661).  He was Tsar from 1676 until his death in 1682.  He died about a month before his 21^stbirthday 20.  His young death sparked the Moscow Uprising of 1682.

973~ Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. Nov. 23, 912).  He reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from February 962 until his death 11 years later.  He died at age 60.