Friday, January 31, 2020

January 31

Birthdays:

1981 ~ Justin Timberlake (né Justin Randall Timberlake), American singer and actor.  He was born in Memphis, Tennessee.

1970 ~ Minnie Driver (née Amelia Fiona Driver), English actress.  She was born in London, England.

1954 ~ Mark Slavin (d. Sept. 6, 1972), Russian-born Israeli wrestler.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He died at age 18.

1949 ~ Norris Church Mailer (née Betty Jean Davis, d. Nov. 21, 2010), American model and widow of Norman Mailer.  She was his 6th wife.  She was born on Norman Mailer’s 26th birthday.  She died of cancer at age 61.

1947 ~ Nolan Ryan (né Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr.), American baseball pitcher.  He was born in Refugio, Texas.

1943 ~ Richard Quick (né Richard Walter Quick; d. June 10, 2009), American head swim coach at Stanford University.  He coached the United States swim team in six Olympic competitions.  He died of a brain tumor at age 66.

1938 ~ James G. Watt (né James Gaius Watt), 43rd United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President Ronald Reagan.  He was born in Lusk, Wyoming.

1938 ~ Queen Beatrix (née Beatrix Wilheelima Armgard) of the Netherlands.  She was Queen from April 1980 until she abdicated in April 2013 in favor of her son, Willem-Alexander.  She was born at Soestdijk Palace, Baarn, Netherlands.

1937 ~ Suzanne Pleshette (d. Jan. 19, 2008), American actress.  She died of respiratory failure just 12 days before her 71st birthday.

1937 ~ Philip Glass (né Philip Morris Glass), American avant garde composer.  He was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

1935 ~ Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese writer and recipient of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He was born in Ōse, Ehime, Japan.

1934 ~ Eva Kor (née Eva Mozes; d. July 4, 2019), Romanian survivor of Nazi twin experiments who forgave her torturers.  She and her twin sister, Miriam, were the only members of her family to survive the Holocaust.  Miriam died in 1993 of kidney failure that could be traced to the Nazi experimentation.  She died at age 85.

1933 ~ Ruedi Rymann (né Rudolf Rymann; d. Sept. 10, 2008), Swiss yodeler who was a national icon.  He died at age 75.

1933 ~ Nora Johnson (d. Oct. 5, 2017), American author who chronicled a Hollywood childhood.  She is best known for her novel, The World of Henry Orient.  She died at age 84 in Dallas, Texas.

1932 ~ Rick Hall (né Roe Erister Hall; d. Jan. 2, 2018), American record producer who crafted the Muscle Shoals sound.  He died of prostate cancer 29 days before his 86th birthday.

1931 ~ Ernie Banks (né Ernest Banks; d. Jan. 23, 2015), African-American baseball player.  He was the optimistic shortstop who played for the Chicago Cubs and was known as “Mr. Cub.”  He died 8 days before his 84th birthday.

1929 ~ Jean Simmons (née Jean Merilyn Simmons; d. Jan. 22, 2010), English actress who brought quiet strength to her roles.  She died 9 days before her 81st birthday.

1929 ~ Rudolf Mössbauer (né Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer; d. Sept. 14, 2011), German physicist and recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 82.

1928 ~ Irma Wyman (d. Nov. 17, 2015), American computer engineer.  She was the first woman to become vice president at Honeywell, Inc.  She died at age 87.

1925 ~ Benjamin Hooks (né Benjamin Lawson Hooks; d. Apr. 15, 2010), African-American minister, civil rights activist and attorney.  He died at age 85.

1924 ~ A. Alfred Taubman (né Adolph Alfred Taubman; d. Apr. 17, 2015), the American developer who pioneered indoor malls.  He died at age 91.

1923 ~ Norman Mailer (né Norman Kingsley Mailer; d. Nov. 10, 2007), American author and journalist.  He died at age 84.

1921 ~ Carol Channing (née Carol Elaine Channing; d. Jan. 15, 2019), American Broadway star who was the definition of Dolly.  She was best known for her role as Dolly Levi in the musical Hello, Dolly!, which opened on Broadway on January 16, 1964, almost exactly 45 years before her death.  She died 16 days before her 98th birthday.

1920 ~ Stu Udall (né Stewart Lee Udall; d. Mar. 20, 2010), 37th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from January 1961 until January 1969.  He had also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona.  He died at age 90.

1919 ~ Jackie Robinson (né Jack Roosevelt Robinson; d. Oct. 24, 1972), American baseball player.  He was the first African-American to play in the Major League.  He was the subject of the 2013 movie 42, which was the number on his baseball uniform.  He died of a heart attack at age 53.

1915 ~ Thomas Merton (d. Dec. 10, 1968), American author and Trappist monk.  He died at age 53.

1915 ~ Garry Moore (né Thomas Garrison Morfit, III; d. Nov. 28, 1993), American game show host.  He died of throat cancer at age 78.

1905 ~ John O’Hara (né John Henry O’Hara; d. Apr. 11, 1970), American author and screenwriter.  He died of cardiovascular disease at age 65.

1902 ~ Tallulah Bankhead (née Tallulah Brockman Bankhead; d. Dec. 12, 1968), American actress.  She died at age 66 of pneumonia.

1902 ~ Alva Myrdal (d. Feb. 1, 1986), Swedish sociologist and politician and recipient of the 1982 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the disarmament movement.  She died 1 day after her 84th birthday.

1896 ~ Sofya Yanovskaya (d. Oct. 24, 1966), Russian mathematician.  She specialized in the history of mathematics.  She died from complications of diabetes ate age 70.

1893 ~ Dame Freya Stark (née Freya Madeline Stark; d. May 9, 1993), British-Italian explorer and travel writer.  She wrote numerous books on the Middle East and Afghanistan.  She was born in Paris, France.  She died in Asolo, Italy at age 100.

1892 ~ Eddie Cantor (né Edward Israel Iskowitz; d. Oct. 10, 1964), American actor and singer.  He died at age 72.

1881 ~ Irving Langmuir (d. Aug. 16, 1957), American chemist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in surface chemistry.  He died in Woods Hole, Massachusetts at age 76.

1872 ~ Zane Grey (né Pearl Zane Grey; d. Oct. 23, 1939), American dentist and author of western novels.  He is best known for his novel Riders of the Purple Sage.  He died at age 67.

1868 ~ Theodore William Richards (d. Apr. 2, 1928), American chemist and recipient of the 1914 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in determining the atomic weights of a number of chemical elements. He was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 60 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1854 ~ David Emmanuel (d. Feb. 4, 1941), Romanian mathematician.  He died 4 days after his 87th birthday.

1830 ~ James G. Blaine (né James Gillespie Blaine, d. Jan. 27, 1893) 28th and 31st United States Secretary of State.  He first served in this office from March 1881 to December 1881 during the Presidencies of James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur.  He served his second term during the Presidency of Benjamin Harrison from March 1889 to June 1892.  He had also served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representative.  He served as a United States Senator from the State of Maine.  He died 4 days before his 63rd birthday.

1820 ~ William B. Washburn (né William Barrett Washburn; d. Oct. 5, 1887), 28th Governor of Massachusetts.  He was Governor from January 1872 until April 1874, when he became a United States Senator following the death of Charles Sumner.  He died at age 67.

1797 ~ Franz Schubert (né Franz Peter Schubert; d. Nov. 19, 1828), Austrian composer.  He died at age 31, possibly of typhoid fever.

1512 ~ King Henry of Portugal (d. Jan. 31, 1580).  He was king from August 1578 until his death on this date in 1580.  He was also a Cardinal in the Catholic Church.  He was known as Henry the Chaste and had no children.  He was the last member of the House of Aviz to rule Portugal.  He died on his 68th birthday.

Events that Changed the World:

2020 ~ The United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union will cease in accordance with Article 50.

2018 ~ Both a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse occurred.

2001 ~ A Scottish court convicted Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (1952 ~ 2012) of Libya for his part in the bombing of the Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.  He was sentenced to life in prison, however, was released in August 2009 on “compassionate” grounds, alleging that he was dying of cancer.  He survived for another 2 and a half years before succumbing in May 2012.

1990 ~ The first McDonald’s restaurant in the Soviet Union opened in Moscow.

1958 ~ James Van Allen (1914 ~ 2006) discovered the radiation belt that now bears his name.

1953 ~ A North Sea flood occurred killing over 1,800 people in the Netherlands and over 300 people in the United Kingdom.

1950 ~ President Harry Truman (1884 ~ 1972) announced a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.

1949 ~ The first daytime television soap opera, These Are My Children, began broadcasting by the NBC station in Chicago.  The show ran for only a few weeks, ending on March 4, 1949.

1945 ~ Eddie Slovik (1820 ~ 1945), a private in the United States Army, was executed for desertion.  He was the first American to be executed since the Civil War.  He was 24 years old.

1942 ~ Allied forces were defeated by the Japanese at the Battle of Malaya and retreated to Singapore during World War II.

1930 ~ The 3M company began marketing Scotch Tape.

1929 ~ Leon Trotsky (1879 ~ 1940) was exiled by the Soviet Union.

1919 ~ The Battle of George Square, a violent confrontation between the police and striking Glasgow workers occurred in George Square.  The riot was caused by anger at the 47-hour working week.  Despite the violent confrontation, there were no fatalities as a result of the riots.

1915 ~ Germany began using wide-scale use of poison gas during the Battle of Bolimów against Russia during World War I.

1865 ~ The United States Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery.  The Amendment was then sent to the States for ratification.

1801 ~ John Marshall (1755 ~ 1835) was nominated as the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by President John Adams (1735 ~ 1826).  He began his tenure as Chief Justice four days later, on February 4, 1801.  He served until his death in July 1835.

1747 ~ The first venereal disease clinic opened at London Lock Hospital.

314 ~ Pope Silvester I (d. 335) began his reign succeeding Pope Miltiades (d. 314).

Good-Byes:

2019 ~ Harold Bradley (né Harold Ray Bradley; b. Jan. 2, 1926), American prolific guitarist who shaped the Nashville sound.  He was one of the most recorded guitarists in music history.  He died 29 days after his 93rdbirthday.

2018 ~ Oscar Gamble (né Oscar Charles Gamble; d. Dec. 20, 1949), American professional baseball outfielder who had a big bat and big hair.  He died in Birmingham, Alabama of cancer at age 68.

2015 ~ Lizabeth Scott (née Emma Matzo; b. Sept. 29, 1922), American actress known for her smoky-voice.  She played the femme fatale in many 1940s and 1950s film noir.  She was 92.

2007 ~ Molly Ivins (née Mary Tyler Ivans; b. Aug. 30, 1944), American political humorist.  She died at age 62 of breast cancer.

1976 ~ Ernesto Miranda (né Ernesto Arturo Miranda; b. Mar. 9, 1941), American criminal who was convicted of kidnap, rape and armed robbery based on his confession under police interrogation.  He was the Miranda in the United States Supreme Court Case, Miranda v. Arizona, which ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their Constitutional rights.  This case set the police standard of reading arrestees their Constitutional rights.  He was stabbed to death in a bar fight at age 34.

1974 ~ Samuel Goldwyn (né Szmuel Gelbfizs; b. Aug. 17, 1882), Polish-born film studio executive and co-founder of Goldwyn Pictures.  He died at age 94.

1973 ~ Ragnar Frisch (né Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch; b. Mar. 3, 1895), Norwegian economist and recipient of the 1969 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 77.

1956 ~ A.A. Milne (né Alan Alexander Milne; b. Jan. 18, 1882), English author, best known for his Winnie the Poohseries of children’s books.  He died 2 weeks after his 74th birthday.

1955 ~ John Mott (né John Raleigh Mott; b. May 25, 1865), American evangelist and recipient of the 1946 Nobel Peace Prize.  He died at age 89.

1954 ~ Edwin Armstrong (né Edwin Howard Armstrong; b. Dec. 18, 1890), American engineer and inventor of the FM radio.  He committed suicide at age 63.

1945 ~ Eddie Slovik (né Edward Donal Slovik; b. Feb. 18, 1920), American Army private who was executed for desertion.  He was the first such execution of an American soldier since the American Civil War.  He was executed 18 days before his 25th birthday.

1933 ~ John Galsworthy (b. Aug. 14, 1867), British novelist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He is best known for The Forsyte Saga.  He died of a brain tumor at age 65.

1892 ~ Charles Spurgeon (né Charles Haddon Spurgeon; b. June 19, 1834), English Particular Baptist preacher.  He died at age 57.

1856 ~ 11th Dalai Lama (né Khedrup Gyasto; b. Nov. 1, 1838).  He died at age 17.

1788 ~ Charles Edward Stuart (b. Dec. 31, 1720), pretender to the British Throne.  He died of a stroke a month after his 67th birthday.

1632 ~ Jost Bürgi (b. Feb. 28, 1552), Swiss clockmaker and mathematician.  He died 28 days before his 80thbirthday.

1606 ~ Guy Fawkes (b. Apr. 13, 1570), English Catholic conspirator.  He was the mastermind behind the Gunpowder Plot, which was a plot against Parliament and King James.  He was captured on November 5, 1605, hence that day is known as Guy Fawkes Day.  He was hanged two months later on this date at age 35.

1580 ~ King Henry of Portugal (b. Jan. 31, 1512).  He was king from August 1578 until his death on this date in 1580.  He was also a Cardinal in the Catholic Church.  He was known as Henry the Chaste and had no children.  He was the last member of the House of Aviz to rule Portugal.  He died on his 68th birthday.

1435 ~ Xuande (b. Mar. 16, 1399), 5th Chinese Emperor of the Ming dynasty.  His personal name was Zhu Zhanji.  He ruled from June 1425 until his death in January 1435.  He died of an illness at age 35.

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