September 17

Birthdays:

1968~ Cheryl Strayed (née Cheryl Nyland), American author and co-host of the podcast,Dear Sugar.

1965~ Kyle Chandler (né Kyle Martin Chandler), American actor.

1962~ Baz Luhrmann (né Mark Anthony Luhrmann), Australian film director.

1953~ Rita Rudner, American comedian.

1950~ Lawrence Anthony (d. Mar. 2, 2012), South African conservationist who saved the Baghdad zoo.  He died of a heart attack at age 61.

1948~ John Ritter (né Jonathan Southworth Ritter; d. Sept. 11, 2003), American actor.  He died 6 days before his 55^thbirthday.

1947~ Jeff MacNelly (né Jeffrey Kenneth MacNelly; d. June 8, 2000), American political cartoonist and creator of the comic strip, Shoe.  He died of lymphoma at age 52.

1944~ Jean Taylor (née Jean Ellen Taylor), American mathematician.  She is best known for her work on the mathematics of soap bubbles.

1939~ David Souter (né David Hackett Souter), United States Supreme Court Associate Justice.  He was nominated to the High Court by President George H.W. Bush.  He replaced William Brennan on the Court.  He served from October 1990 until his retirement 10 years later in 2009. He was replaced by Sonia Sotomayor.

1938~ Paul Benedict (d. Dec. 1, 2008), American actor.  He is best known for his role as Mr. Bentley on The Jeffersons.  He died at age 70.

1936~ Elwin Wilson (d. Mar. 28, 2013), American Klansman who apologized to his victims. In the early 1960s, he participated in beatings of individuals, including Freedom Rider John Lewis.  His actions later haunted him and nearly 50 years later, he made a formal, public apology.  He died at age 76.

1935~ Ken Kesey (néKenneth Elton Kesey; d. Nov. 10, 2001), America author, best known for his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  He died following complications from surgery at age 66.

1932~ Robert B. Parker (né Robert Brown Parker; d. Jan. 18, 2010), American author best known for creating Spenser in his detective series.  He died at age 77.

1931~ Anne Bancroft (née Anna Maria Louisa Italiano, d. June 6, 2005), American actress.  She is best known for her role as Mrs. Robinson in the movie The Graduate.  She died of uterine cancer at age 73.

1930~ James Rohn (né Emanuel James Rohn; d. Dec. 5, 2009), American motivational speaker and entrepreneur and author.  He died of pulmonary fibrosis at age 79.

1930~ Edgar Mitchell (né Edgar Dean Mitchell; d. Feb. 4, 2016), American astronaut who had an epiphany in space.  While looking out of his spacecraft and seeing the Earth and the stars, he was overwhelmed with a sense of “connectedness” and became obsessed with esoteric scientific phenomena and extraterrestrial life. He died at age 85.

1930~ Thomas Stafford (né Thomas Patten Stafford), American astronaut.  He was the Commander of Apollo 10, the second manned mission to orbit the moon.

1923~ Hank Williams (né Hiram King Williams; d. Jan. 1, 1953), American country musician.  He died at age 29 of heart failure exacerbated by drug and alcohol abuse.

1918~ Chaim Herzog (d. Apr. 17, 1997), 6^thPresident of Israel.  He was born in Ireland until his family emigrated to Israel in 1935.  He served as President for 10 years, from 1983 to 1993.  He died at age 78.

1916~ Mary, Lady Stewart (née Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow; d. May 9, 2014), British novelist, best known for her 5-book Merlin Chronicles, about the Arthurian legends.  She died at age 97.

1907~ Warren E. Burger (né Warren Earl Burger, d. June 25, 1995), 15^thChief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Richard Nixon.  He replaced Earl Warren on the Court.  He served as Chief Justice from June 1969 until his retirement in September 1986.  William Rhenquist replaced Burger as Chief Justice.  He died at age 87.

1903~ Frank O’Connor (né Michael Francis O’Donovan; d. Mar. 10, 1966), Irish writer best known for his short stories.  He died of a heart attack at age 62.

1900~ J. Willard Marriott, Sr. (né John Willard Marriott, d. Aug. 13, 1985), American hotelier.  He founded the Marriott Corporation.  He died about a month before his 85^thbirthday in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

1883~ William Carlos William (d. Mar. 4, 1963), American poet and physician.  He was born and died in Rutherford, New Jersey.  He died at age 79.

1869~ Christian Lous Lange (d. Dec. 11, 1938), Norwegian political scientist and recipient of the 1921 Nobel Peace Prize. He died at age 69.

1857~ Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (d. Sept. 19, 1935), Russian rocket scientist and pioneer of the astronautic theory.  He died 2 days after his 78^thbirthday.

1854~ David Dunbar Buick (d. Mar. 5, 1929), Scottish-born American automotive executive and founder of the Buick company.  He died at age 74.

1826~ Bernhard Riemann (né Georg Friedrich Bernhard Rienmann; d. July 20, 1866), German mathematician.  He died at age 39 of tuberculosis.

1825~ Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, II (d. Jan. 23, 1893), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Grover Cleveland.  He served in that Office from January 1888 until his death in January 1893.  He replaced Justice William Woods on the High Court.  He was succeeded by Howell Jackson.  He had previously served as the 16^thUnited States Secretary of the Interior also during the Grover Cleveland administration.  He died at age 67.

1743~ Marquis de Condorcet (né Marie Jean Antoine Nicholas de Caritat; d. Mar. 29, 1794), French mathematician, political scientist and philosopher.  He was also a social advocate and was a strong supporter of women’s rights.  He was arrested and imprisoned during the French revolution.  He died at age 50 in prison by what may have been poisoning.

1739~ John Rutledge (d. July 23, 1800), 2^ndChief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President George Washington.  He initially served as an Associate Justice from September 1789 until his resignation in March 1791.  Four years later he was nominated to be the Chief Justice by George Washington and served in that recess appointment until December 1795, when the Senate rejected his appointment.  John Jay replaced him as Chief Justice.  He died 5 years later at age 60.

1730~ Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (d. Nov. 28, 1794), Prussian solder who served as an American General in the American Revolution.  He died at age 64.

1688~ Maria Luisa of Savoy (d. Feb. 14, 1714), Queen consort of Spain and wife of Philip V of Spain. She was of the House of Savoy. She died of complications of tuberculosis at age 25.

1677~ Stephen Hales (d. Jan. 4, 1761), English clergyman, physiologist and chemist.  He invented the Forceps for use in medical procedures.  He is also the first person known to measure blood pressure. He died at age 83.

1550~ Pope Paul V (né Camillo Borghese; d. Jan. 28, 1621).  He was Pope from May 1605 until his death 16 years later at age 70.  He is best remembered as being the Pope who prosecuted Galileo.

879~ King Charles III, (d. Oct. 7, 929) known as Charles the Simple of France.  He was a member of the Carolingian dynasty.  He died 20 days weeks after his 50^thbirthday.

Events that Changed the World:

2011~ The Occupy Wall Street movement began in Zuccotti Park in New York City.

2006~ Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupted.  It was the first eruption of the volcano in an estimated 10,000 years.

1988~ The 1988 Summer Olympics opened in Seoul, Korea.

1983~ Vanessa Williams (b. 1963) became the first African-American Miss America.  She was forced to relinquish her crown later, however, when pictures of her in compromising positions were published in Penthousemagazine.

1980~ After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, the independent trade union, Solidarity, was established.

1978~ The Camp David Accords, a framework for peace between Israel and Egypt, were signed by Israel and Egypt.

1976~ NASA unveiled its first Space Shuttle, the Enterprise.

1961~ The Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania opened, becoming the first retractable-dome stadium in the world.

1954~ The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding (1911 ~ 1993) was first published.

1928~ The Okeechobee hurricane Struck southeastern Florida.  Over 2,500 people perished in the storm.

1925~ Frida Kahlo (1907 ~ 1947) was seriously injured in a bus accident in Mexico.  Her injuries were so severe that she was forced to give up her medical studies and turn to art instead.

1908~ The Wright Flyer, flown by Orville Wright (1871 ~ 1948) with passenger Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge (1882 ~ 1908), crashed. Selfridge was killed, becoming the first airplane fatality.

1862~ The Allegheny Arsenal, located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which housed ammunition for the American Civil War, exploded causing the largest civilian disaster during the War.  By the time the fire caused by the explosion had been put out, 78 workers at the facility, mostly young women were dead.  Most of the bodies could not be identified and were buried in a mass grave in a nearby cemetery.

1862~ The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in the American Civil War, was fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland.  Union General George McClellan stopped General Robert E. Lee’s troops from advancing northward.  At the end of the day, over 22,717 soldiers were either dead, wounded or missing.

1787~ The United States Constitution was signed in Philadelphia.

1778~ The Treaty of Fort Pitt was signed.  It was the first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe, the Delaware Indians.

1683~ Antonie van Leeuwehoek (1632 ~ 1723) wrote a letter to the Royal Society describing what he called “amiulcules,” which later became known as protozoa.

1630~ The city of Boston, Massachusetts was founded.

1382~ Mary (1371 ~ 1395), daughter of Louis I (1326 ~ 1382), also known as Louis the Great was crowned “King” of Hungary.  She reigned from 1382 to 1385.  Her 2^ndreign was with her husband, Sigismund, from 1386 until her death from a fall from a horse when she was pregnant.

Good-byes:

2017~ Lucy Ozarin (née Lucy Dorothy Ozarin; b. Aug. 18, 1914), American United States Navy lieutenant commander and psychiatrist.  She was one of the first female psychiatrists in the Navy.  She died a month after her 103^rdbirthday.

2016~ Charmian Carr (née Charmian Anne Farnon; b. Dec. 27, 1942), American actress and designer best known for her role as Liesel von Trapp in the 1965 movie The Sound of Music.  She died at age 73.

2013~ Eiji Toyoda (b. Sept. 12, 1913), Japanese industrialist and founder of the Toyota Motor Company.  He died 5 days following his 100^thbirthday.

2011~ Charles Percy (né Charles Harting Percy; b. Sept. 27, 1919), American GOP senator from Illinois who stood for moderation.  He was a United States Senator from Illinois.  He died 10 days before his 92^ndbirthday.

2006~ Patricia Kennedy Lawford (née Patricia Helen Kennedy; b. May 6, 1924), American socialite and member of the Kennedy clan.  She died of pneumonia at age 82.

1997~ Red Skelton (né Richard Bernard Eheart; b. July 18, 1913), American actor and comedian. He died at age 84.

1996~ Spiro T. Agnew (né Spiro Theodore Agnew; b. Nov. 9, 1918), 39^thVice President of the United States.  He served under President Richard Nixon.  He resigned the Office following an investigation of extortion, tax fraud, bribery and conspiracy.  He died at age 77.

1994~ Sir Karl Popper (né Karl Raimund Popper; b. July 28, 1902), Austrian-British philosopher. He died at age 92.

1985~ Laura Ashley (née Laura Mountney; b. Sept. 7, 1925), British fashion designer.  She died just 10 days after her 60^thbirthday after falling down a flight of stairs.  She suffered from a brain hemorrhage.

1942~ Cecilia Beaux (b. May 1, 1855), American painter.  She is best known for her portrait paintings.  She died at age 87 in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

1924~ William Lewis Douglas (b. Aug. 22 1845), 42^ndGovernor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1905 until January 1906. He died 26 days after his 79^thbirthday.

1916~ Seth Low (b. Jan. 18, 1850), 92^ndMayor of New York City.  He was Mayor from January 1902 through December 1903. He had previously served as the President of Columbia University from 1890 until 1901.  He died of cancer at age 66.

1908~ Thomas Selfridge (néThomas Etholen Selfridge; b. Feb. 8, 1882), American lieutenant and first known airplane crash fatality.  He was a passenger in a plane piloted by Orville Wright.  He was 26 years old.

1899~ Charles Alfred Pillsbury (b. Dec. 3, 1842), American businessman and co-founder of the Pillsbury company.  He was born in Warner, New Hampshire.  He died of heart disease at age 56.

1877~ Henry Fox Talbot (né William Henry Fox Talbot; b. Feb. 11, 1800), English photographer and inventor.  He developed the Calotype process, a precursor of modern photography.  He died at age 77.

1858~ Dred Scott (b. 1795), American slave who sued for his freedom in Dred Scott v. Sanford, which went before the United States Supreme Court.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 59 years old.

1836~ Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (b. Apr. 12, 1748), French botanist.  He is credited with developing the classification for flowering plants.  He died at age 88.

1676~ Sabbatai Zevi (d. Aug. 1, 1626), Sephardic-Turkish rabbi who claimed to be the Messiah.  He ultimately was forced to convert to Islam by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV.  He died at age 50.

1609~ Judah Loew ben Bezalel (b. 1512), rabbi of Prague.  He is best known for creating the Golem of Prague.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been born sometime between 1512 and 1526.

1422~ Constantine II of Bulgaria (b. 1370).  Tsar of Bulgaria.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.

1025~ Hugh Magnus (b. 1007), King of France. The exact date of his birth is not known.

454~ Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria.  The date of his birth is unknown.