Wednesday, April 15, 2020

April 15

Federal Tax Day

Birthdays:

1990 ~ Emma Watson (née Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson), British actress.  She was born in Paris, France.

1982 ~ Seth Rogen (né Seth Aaron Rogen), Canadian actor and comedian.  He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

1972 ~ Arturo Gatti (d. July 11, 2009), Italian champion boxer who was known as “The Thunder.”  He was most likely murdered by his wife although the circumstances of his death remain unclear.  He was 37 years old.

1966 ~ Mott Green (né David Lawrence Friedman; d. June 1, 2013), American anarchist who earned acclaim as a chocolatier.  He was electrocuted in a freak accident while working on a solar-powered cooling machine.  He was 47 years old.

1959 ~ Dame Emma Thompson, English actress.  She was born in London, England.

1955 ~ Dodi Al-Fayed (d. Aug. 31, 1997), Egyptian lover of Diana, Princess of Wales.  He was killed in the car crash that also killed the Princess.  He died at age 42.

1947 ~ Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (née Linda Joyce Bloodworth), American television screenwriter and producer.  She was born in Popular Bluff, Missouri.

1946 ~ Peter Rouse (né Peter Mikami Rouse), Acting White House Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama.  He served in that position from October 2010 to January 2011.  He was born in New Haven, Connecticut.

1943 ~ Robert Lefkowitz (né Robert Joseph Lefkowitz), American physician and recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.  He was born in The Bronx, New York.

1942 ~ Kenneth Lay (né Kenneth Lee Lay; d. July 5, 2006), American businessman who was known for his role in the corruption scandal that led to the downfall of the Enron Corporation.  He was found guilty of securities fraud, but died before the matter reached the appellate level.  He died of a heart attack at age 64.

1940 ~ Yossef Romano (d. Sept. 5, 1972), Israeli weightlifter who was murdered in the 1972 Summer Olympics Munich massacre.  He was born in Benghazi, Libya.  He was murdered at age 32 in Munich, Germany.

1940 ~ Jeffrey Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (né Jeffrey Howard Archer), British writer and politician.

1933 ~ Elizabeth Montgomery (née Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery; d. May 18, 1995), American actress, best known for her role as Samantha in Bewitched.  She died of cancer just a month after her 62nd birthday.

1932 ~ Eva Figes (née Eva Unger; d. Aug. 28, 2012), German-born Jewish feminist author who escaped Nazi Germany.  She was born in Berlin, Germany.  She died at age 80 in London, England.

1931 ~ Tomas Tranströmer (né Tomas Gösta Tranströmer; d. Mar. 26, 2015), Swedish writer and recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died less than 3 weeks before his 84th birthday.

1924 ~ Marcella Hazan (né Marcella Polini; d. Sept. 29, 2013), Italian-born Sephardic cookbook author who redefined Italian cooking.  She was born in Cesenatico, Italy.  She died at age 89 in Longboat Key, Florida.

1922 ~ Harold Washington (né Harold Washington; d. Nov. 25, 1987), 1st African-American Mayor of Chicago.  He served as Mayor from April 1983 until November 1987.  He died in Office at age 65.

1920 ~ Thomas Szasz (né Thomas Steven Szasz; d. Sept. 8, 2012), Hungarian-born psychiatrist who attacked his profession.  He is best known for being a critic of psychiatry.  He was born in Budapest, Hungary.  He died at age 92 in Manlius, New York.

1917 ~ Robert Moon (né Robert Aurand Moon; d. Apr. 11, 2001), American postal inspector and creator of the ZIP Code.  He was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  He died 4 days before his 84th birthday in Leesburg, Florida.

1912 ~ Kim Il-sung (d. July 8, 1994), 1st Eternal President of North Korea.  He died at age 82.

1907 ~ Nikolaas Tinbergen (d. Dec. 21, 1988), Dutch ethologist and recipient of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 81.

1904 ~ Arshile Gorky (né Vostanik Manoug Adoian; d. July 21, 1948), Armenian painter.  He died by suicide at age 44.

1896 ~ Nikolay Semyonov (d. Sept. 25, 1986), Russian chemist and recipient of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the mechanism of chemical transformation.  He died at age 90.

1894 ~ Bessie Smith (d. Sept. 26, 1937), American singer.  She was known as the Empress of the Blues.  She died at age 43 after being fatally injured in a car accident.

1894 ~ Nikita Khrushchev (d. Sept. 11, 1971), Soviet politician and 7th Premier of the Soviet Union.  He died at age 77 of heart disease.

1892 ~ Corrie ten Boom (née Cornelia Arnolda Johanna ten Boom; d. Apr. 15, 1983), Dutch watchmaker, author and Holocaust survivor, who helped many Jews escape the Nazis.  She was imprisoned for her actions, which she described in her memoir, The Hiding Place.  She died on her 91st birthday.

1889 ~ Thomas Hart Benton (d. Jan. 19, 1975) American painter and muralist.  He died at age 85.

1874 ~ Johannes Stark (d. June 21, 1957), German physicist and recipient of the 1919 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was closely associated with the Nazi party.  He died at age 83.

1863 ~ Ida Freund (d. May 15, 1914), Austrian chemist and educator.  In 1881, she moved to England.  She was the first woman to teach chemistry at a university in England.  She was known for baking a set of periodic table cupcakes as a teaching aids.  She died a month after her 51st birthday following surgery.

1847 ~ Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (d. Jan. 11, 1905), Hasidic rabbi.  He died at age 57.

1843 ~ Henry James (d. Feb. 28, 1916), American novelist.  He died at age 72.

1841 ~ Joseph E. Seagram (né Joseph Emm Seagram; d. Aug. 18, 1919), Canadian politician, philanthropist and founder of the Seagram Company, Ltd.  He died at age 78.

1809 ~ Hermann Grassmann (né Hermann Günther Grassmann; d. Sept. 26, 1877), German mathematician and linguist.  He died at age 68.

1800 ~ Sir James Clark Ross (d. Apr. 3, 1962), British captain and explorer.  He is best known for exploration of the Antarctic.  He died 12 days before his 62nd birthday.

1797 ~ Adolphe Thiers (d. Sept. 3, 1877), 2nd elected President of France and the 1st President of the Third Republic.  He was born in Bouc-Bel-Air, France.  He died at age 80 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France.

1741 ~ Charles Willson Peale (d. Feb. 22, 1827), American painter.  He is best known for his portrait paintings of the leaders of the American Revolution.  He died at age 85.

1707 ~ Leonhard Euler (d. Sept. 18, 1783), Swiss mathematician.  He died at age 76.

1684 ~ Catherine I of Russia (d. May 17, 1727).  She was the second wife of Peter the Great.  She died of tuberculosis just over a month after her 43rd birthday.

1646 ~ King Christian V of Denmark (d. Aug. 25, 1699).  He reigned from February 1670 until his death in August 29 years later.  He died at age 53 from injuries sustained in a hunting accident.

1552 ~ Pietro Cataldi (né Pietro Antonio Cataldi; d. Feb. 11, 1626), Italian mathematician.  He died at age 77.

1452 ~ Leonardo da Vinci (d. May 2, 1519), Italian painter, sculpture, scientist and Renaissance man.  He died 17 days after his 67th birthday.

1367 ~ King Henry IV of England (d. Mar. 20, 1413).  He was king from September 1399 until his death on this date 13 years later.  He died less than a month before 46th birthday.

Events that Changed the World:

2020 ~ Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the due date for Federal Taxes in the United States was postponed until July 15, 2020.

2019 ~ The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was destroyed by fire.

2019 ~ Patriots Day in Boston, which hosted the Boston Marathon.

2018 ~ Because April 15 fell on a Sunday, federal income taxes were not due until the following business day in Washington, D.C., which was Tuesday, April 18, because Emancipation Day was observed on Monday April 16 in Washington, D.C.

2017 ~ Because April 15 fell on a Saturday, federal income taxes were not due until the following business day in Washington, D.C., which was Tuesday, April 18, because Emancipation Day was observed in Washington, D.C., on April 16.

2014 ~ A total lunar eclipse produced a Blood Moon.

2013 ~ Four hours into the Boston Marathon, which was held on Patriot’s Day in Boston, Massachusetts, two bombs exploded near the finish line.  Three people, including a young 8-year old boy, were killed and over 260 others were injured.  Two Chechen brothers, Tamerlan (1986 ~ 2013) and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (b. 1993), were identified as planting the bombs.  In a chase to capture the suspects, Tamerlan was killed.  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial concluded almost exactly two years following the bombing.  He was given a death sentence and is currently incarcerated in a federal prison in Colorado.

1989 ~ The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 began in Beijing, China.  The protests began following the death of Hu Yaobang (1915 ~ 1989), a political reformer within the Communist Party.  Crowds gather to reassess his legacy and continue his reforms.  The protests lasted through June 4, 1989.  The protests were suppressed after the government declared martial law.

1955 ~ The first McDonald’s franchised restaurant opened in Des Plaines, Illinois.  This event is depicted in the 2017 movie, Founder.

1947 ~ Jackie Robinson (1919 ~ 1972) began playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the color barrier.  Exactly 50 years later, on April 14, 1997, the Major League Baseball retired his jersey number, 42.  This event would be recounted in the 2013 movie, 42.

1945 ~ The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated following World War II.

1936 ~ Aer Lingus was founded and became the National airline of the Republic of Ireland.

1924 ~ Rand McNally published its first road atlas.

1923 ~ Insulin became available for use by diabetics.

1922 ~ Wyoming United States Senator John Kendrick (1857 ~ 1933) introduced a resolution calling for an investigation into the secret land deal that lead to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.

1920 ~ Two security guards were murdered during a robbery in a shoe factory in South Braintree, Massachusetts.  Ultimately Nicola Sacco (1891 ~ 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1888 ~ 1927) would be convicted and executed for the crime.  The case was controversial and subsequent research indicates that their conviction was largely due to anti-Italian prejudice and the fact that both held anarchist beliefs.

1912 ~ The RMS Titanic sank 2 hours and 40 minutes after hitting an iceberg late on the night of April 14.  Of the 2,227 passengers and crew on board, only 710 survived.

1892 ~ The General Electric Company was formed.

1861 ~ President Abraham Lincoln (1809 ~ 1865) called for 75,000 volunteers to quell the insurrection that was to become the American Civil War.

1817 ~ Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1787 ~ 1851) and Laurent Clerc (1785 ~ 1869) founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.  It was the first such school in the United States for deaf children.  Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a school of higher learning for the deaf and hard of hearing, was named in honor of Thomas Gallaudet.

1783 ~ The American Revolutionary War was officially declared over.

Good-Byes:

2019 ~ Warren Alder (b. Dec. 16, 1927), American author of The War of the Roses, which explored human dysfunction.  He novel was made into a movie of the same name, which starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died in Manhattan, New York at age 91.

2018 ~ R. Lee Ermey (né Robert Lee Ermey; b. Mar. 24, 1944), American drill instructor who became a war movie icon.  He is best known for his role of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Medal Jacket.  He died of pneumonia 22 days after his 74th birthday.

2017 ~ Sylvia Moy (née Sylvia Rose Moy; b. Sept. 15, 1938), African-American songwriter who saved Stevie Wonder’s career.  She was born in Detroit, Michigan.  She died in Dearborn, Michigan of complications from pneumonia at age 78.

2014 ~ John Houbolt (né John Cornelius Houbolt; b. Apr. 10, 1919), American engineer who helped NASA reach the moon.  He died of Parkinson’s disease in Scarborough, Maine 5 days after his 95th birthday.

2010 ~ Benjamin Hooks (né Benjamin Lawson Hooks; b. Jan. 31, 1925), African-American minister, civil rights activist and attorney.  He was born and died in Memphis, Tennessee.  He died at age 85.

2009 ~ Sir Clement Freud (né Clement Raphael Freud; b. Apr. 24, 1924), British bon vivant and broadcaster.  He was the grandson of Sigmund Freud and brother of Lucian Freud.  He was born in Berlin, Germany.  He died 9 days before his 85th birthday in London, England.

2002 ~ Byron White (né Byron Raymond White; b. June 8, 1917), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President John F. Kennedy.  He replaced Charles Whittaker on the Court.  He served on the Court from April 1962 until June 1993.  He died at age 84.

2001 ~ Joey Ramone (né Jeffrey Ross Hyman; b. May 19, 1951), American musician.  He died of lymphoma about a month before his 50th birthday.

2000 ~ Edward Gorey (né Edward St. John Gorey; b. Feb. 22, 1925), American illustrator.  He is best known for his eerie Victorian images.  He died at age 75 Hyannis, Massachusetts.

1998 ~ Pol Pot (b. May 19, 1925), Cambodian dictator.  He died at age 72 under mysterious circumstances.

1992 ~ Otis Barton (né Frederick Otis Baton, Jr.; b. June 5, 1899), American deep-see diver and engineer.  He designed the bathysphere.  He was born and died in New York, New York.  He died at age 92.

1990 ~ Greta Garbo (née Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; b. Sept. 18, 1905), Swedish actress.  She was 84 years old.

1984 ~ Grete Hermann (b. Mar. 2, 1901), German mathematician.  She was born in Bremen, German Empire.  She died at age 83 in Breman, West Germany.

1983 ~ Vera Faddeeva (b. Sept. 20, 1906), Russian mathematician best known for her work in linear algebra.  She was born in Tambov, Russia.  She died at age 76 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

1983 ~ Corrie ten Boom (née Cornelia Arnolda Johanna ten Boom; b. Apr. 15, 1892), Dutch watchmaker, author and Holocaust survivor, who helped many Jews escape the Nazis.  She was imprisoned for her actions, which she described in her memoir, The Hiding Place.  She died on her 91st birthday.

1980 ~ Jean-Paul Sartre (b. June 21, 1905), French existential philosopher and writer.  He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, however he refused it claiming that he always declined official honors.  He died at age 74.

1932 ~ Julia Lathrop (née Julia Clifford Lathrop; b. June 29, 1858), American social activist.  She served as the 1stDirector of the United States Children’s Bureau.  She was the first woman to head a federal bureau.  She was born and died in Rockford, Illinois.  She died at age 73.

1927 ~ Gaston Leroux (né Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux; b. May 6, 1868), French writer best known for his novel, Phantom of the Opera.  He died 3 weeks before his 59th birthday.

1912 ~ Victims of the RMS Titanic disaster:

v 1912 ~ Thomas Andrews (b. Feb. 7, 1873), Irish shipbuilder.  He designed the RMS Titanic.  He was on the ship’s maiden voyage and perished when the ship sank.  He was 39 years old.

v 1912 ~ Benjamin Guggenheim (b. Oct. 26, 1865), American businessman.  He died on the RMS Titanic.  He was 46 years old.

v 1912 ~ John Jacob Astor, IV (né John Jacob Jack Astor; b. July 13, 1864), American businessman.  He died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic.  He was 47 years old.

v 1912 ~ Edward Smith (né Edward John Smith; b. Jan. 27, 1850), English navy officer and captain of the RMS Titanic He went down with the ship.  He was 62 years old.

v 1912 ~ Ida Straus (née Rosalie Ida Blun; b. Feb. 6, 1849), wife of Isidor Straus.  She died on the RMS Titanic.  She and her husband, Isidor Straus, shared a birth and death date.  She was 63 years old.

v 1912 ~ Isidor Straus (b. Feb. 6, 1845), co-owner of Macy’s department store in New York.  He died on the RMS Titanic.  He and his wife, Ida Straus, shared a birth and death date.  He was 67 years old.

1892 ~ Amelia Edwards (née Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards; b. June 7, 1831), English journalist and author.  She died of influenza at age 60.

1889 ~ Father Damien (né Jozef De Veuster; b. Jan. 3, 1840), Roman Catholic priest from Belgium who was known for his ministry to people with leprosy in Molokai, Hawaii.  He died of leprosy at age 49.

1888 ~ Matthew Arnold (b. Dec. 24, 1822), British poet and social and religious critic.  He died at age 65.

1865 ~ Abraham Lincoln (b. Feb. 12, 1809), 16th President of the United States.  He died after being shot by John Wilkes Booth the day before.  He was 56 years old.

1793 ~ Ignacije Szentmartony (b. Oct. 28, 1718), Croatian mathematician, astronomer and Jesuit priest.  He died at age 74.

1764 ~ Madame de Pompadour (née Jeanne Antoinette Poisson; b. Dec. 29, 1721), official chief mistress of King Louis XV of France.  She died of tuberculosis at age 42.

1764 ~ Peder Horrebow (b. May 14, 1679), Danish mathematician.  The crater Horrebow on the moon is named in his honor.  He died a month before his 85th birthday.

1754 ~ Jacopo Riccati (né Jacopo Francesco Riccati, b. May 28, 1676), Italian mathematician.  He died at age 77.

1719 ~ Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon (b. Nov. 27, 1635), second wife of King Louis XIV of France.  Her marriage to the King was never officially announced because it was morganatic, thus she was never considered Queen consort of France.  The King was her second husband.  She had previously been married to Paul Scarron, a man 25 years her senior.  He introduced her to the French Court.  After his death, she married the French King.  She founded the Maison royale de Saint-Louis, a school for impoverished girls.  She died at age 83.

1704 ~ Johann van Waveren Hudde (b. Apr. 23, 1628), Dutch mathematician.  He also served as a governor of the Dutch East Indies Company.  He died 8 days before his 75th birthday.

1632 ~ George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (b. 1580), English politician and colonizer.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been 53 at the time of his death.

1558 ~ Roxelana (b. 1502), Polish wife of Suleiman the Magnificent.  The exact date and year of her birth is unknown, but she is believed to have been about 56 at the time of her death.

943 ~ Liu Bin (b. 920), 2nd Chinese Emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty.  He ruled from June 942 until his death a year later.  The date of his birth is not known.

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