Thursday, April 8, 2021

April 8

Birthdays:

 

1968 ~ Patricia Arquette, American actress.

 

1963 ~ Julian Lennon (né John Charles Julian Lennon), English singer and songwriter.  He is the son of Beatle, John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia.

 

1955 ~ Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist.  She was born in Annapolis, Maryland.

 

1954 ~ Gary Carter (né Gary Edmund Carter; d. Feb. 16, 2012), American Hall of Famer who never lost his joy of baseball.  His nickname was The Kid.  He died of cancer at age 57.

 

1953 ~ Ron Wright (né Ronald Jack Wright; d. Feb. 7, 2021), Republican Representative in the United States House of Representatives from Texas.  He tested positive from Covid-19 shortly after the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.  He became the first sitting member of Congress to die of Covid-19.  He was born in Jacksonville, Texas.  He died at age 67 in Dallas, Texas.

 

1946 ~ Catfish Hunter (né James Augustus Hunter; d. Sept. 9, 1999), American baseball player.  He died at age 53 from ALS.

 

1940 ~ John Havlicek (né John Joseph Havlicek; d. Apr. 25, 2019), American NBA ironman who anchored the Celtics.  He played basketball for the Boston Celtics for 16 seasons.  He was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio.  He died of Parkinson’s disease 16 days after his 79th birthday in Jupiter, Florida.

 

1938 ~ Kofi Annan (né Kofi Atta Annan; d. Aug. 18, 2018), Ghanaian United Nations leader who pushed for humanitarian intervention.  He was a diplomat and 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations.  He served as Secretary-General from January 1997 through December 2006.  He died at age 80.

 

1938 ~ Mary W. Gray (née Mary Lee Wheat), American mathematician and attorney.  She was a founding member of the Association of Women in Mathematics.  She was born in Nebraska.

 

1932 ~ József Antall, Jr. (d. Dec. 12, 1993), Prime Minister of Hungary.  He was the first democratically elected Prime Minister after the fall of communism.  He served from May 1990 until his death in December 1993.  He died of cancer at age 61.

 

1929 ~ Jacques Brel (né Jacques Romain Georges Brel; d. Oct. 9, 1978), Belgian singer-songwriter and actor.  He died from complications of lung cancer at age 49.

 

1928 ~ Leah Rabin (née Leah Schloßberg; d. Nov. 12, 2000), wife of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.  She died of lung cancer at age 72.

 

1919 ~ Ian Smith (né Ian Douglas Smith; d. Nov. 20, 2007), Zimbabwean politician and Prime Minister of Rhodesia.  He died at age 88.

 

1918 ~ Betty Ford (née Elizabeth Ann Bloomer; d. July 8, 2011), First Lady of the United States and wife of President Gerald Ford.  She elevated candor to a public virtue.  She died at age 93.

 

1917 ~ Winifred Asprey (né Winnifred Alice Asprey; d. Oct. 19, 2007), American mathematician and computer scientist.  She was one of a very small group of women to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics in the 1940s.  She died at age 90.

 

1914 ~ María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña (d. Apr. 8, 2002), Mexican film actress and singer.  She was one of the most successful actresses during the 1940s and 1950s in Latin American cinema.  She died of cardiovascular disease on her 88th birthday.

 

1912 ~ Sonja Henie (d. Oct. 12, 1969), Norwegian figure skater.  She died from complications from leukemia while in flight from Oslo to Paris.  She was 57 years old.

 

1911 ~ Melvin Calvin (né Melvin Ellis Calvin; d. Jan. 8, 1997), American chemist and recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 85.

 

1905 ~ Ilka Chase (d. Feb. 15, 1978), American actress.  She was born in New York, New York.  She died at age 72 in Mexico City, Mexico.

 

1904 ~ Sir John Hicks (né John Richard Hicks; d. May 20, 1989), English economist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for his contributions to general equilibrium theory.  He died at age 85.

 

1892 ~ Mary Pickford (née Gladys Marie Smith; d. May 29, 1979), Canadian silent film actress and co-founder of United Artists.  She died at age of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 87.

 

1875 ~ Albert I of Belgium (d. Feb. 17, 1934).  He was the King of the Belgians from December 1909 until his death 15 years later.  He died at age 58 in a mountaineering accident.

 

1859 ~ Edmund Husserl (né Edmund Gustav Albrecht Hesserl; d. Apr. 27, 1938), Austrian mathematician.  He died 19 days after his 79th birthday.

 

1842 ~ Elizabeth Bacon Custer (née Elizabeth Clift Bacon; d. Apr. 4, 1933), American author and educator.  She was the wife and widow of General George Custer.  She died 4 days before her 91st birthday.

 

1832 ~ Howell Edmunds Jackson (d. Aug. 8, 1895), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Benjamin Harrison.  He replaced Lucius Lamar on the Court.  He was succeeded by Rufus Wheeler Packham.  He served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  He served on the Court from February 1893 until his death at age 63 two years later.

 

1818 ~ August Wilhelm von Hofmann (d. May 5, 1892), German organic chemist.  He died a month after his 74thbirthday.

 

1818 ~ Christian IX of Denmark (d. Jan. 29, 1906).  He ruled from November 15, 1863 until his death in 1906.  He was married to Louise of Hesse-Kassel.  He died at age 87.

 

1732 ~ David Rittenhouse (d. June 26, 1796), American astronomer and mathematician.  He was also the first director of the United States Mint.  He died at age 64.  He died at age 64.

 

1559 ~ Nurhaci (d. Sept. 30, 1626), Chinese Emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty.  He died at age 67.

 

1320 ~ Peter I of Portugal (d. Jan. 18, 1367).  He was also known as both Peter the Just and Peter the Cruel.  He ruled Portugal from May 1357 until his death in 1367.  He was married to Constanze Manuel until her death following childbirth.  He then married Inês de Castro.  He died at age 46.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2020 ~ Passover began as sunset.

 

2012 ~ Easter Sunday.

 

2005 ~ The funeral of Pope John Paul II (1920 ~ 2005) was held two days after his death in the Vatican.  Over 4 million people attended.

 

1974 ~ Hank Aaron (1934 ~ 2021), playing for the Atlanta Braves,  broke Babe Ruth’s career major league home run record with his 715th home run.

 

1959 ~ Grace Hopper (1906 ~ 1992) lead a group of computer manufacturers, user and university staff met at the University of Pennsylvania to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would become known as COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language)

 

1952 ~ President Harry Truman (1884 ~ 1972) called for a seizure of all steel mills in the United States in an effort to prevent a nationwide strike.

 

1943 ~ Otto (1897 ~ 1943) and Elisie (1903 ~ 1943) Hempel were executed in Berlin, Germany for their anti-Nazi activities.  They had protested against Nazism by sending postcards from public places denouncing Hitler’s government.  They were eventually caught and executed.  Their story inspired German novelist Hans Fallada to write his 1947 novel Every Man Dies Alone.

 

1935 ~ The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 became law.  This was a part of the “New Deal.”

 

1913 ~ The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution became law.  The Amendment required direct election of Senators.

 

1904 ~ Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan was renamed Times Square after The New York Times newspaper.

 

1864 ~ During the American Civil War, the Union forces were thwarted by the Confederate Army at Mansfield, Louisiana.

 

1820 ~ The Venus de Milo was discovered on the Aegean Island of Melos.

 

1730 ~ The Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, was dedicated.  The congregation was Sephardic and dates from 1654 when the first Jews settled in New Amsterdam.

 

1093 ~ Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire, England was dedicated.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2015 ~ Joel Spira (né Joel Solon Spira; b. Mar. 1, 1927), American inventor who made mood light possible with the creation of the dimmer light.  He died of a heart attack at age 88.

 

2013 ~ Annette Funicello (née Annette Joanne Funicello; b. Oct. 22, 1942), American actress.  She was one of the original Mickey Mouseketters.  She died at age 70 of complications from multiple sclerosis.

 

2013 ~ Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (née Margaret Hilde Roberts; b. Oct. 13, 1925), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.  She was known as the Iron Lady who remade Britain.  She was Britain’s first female prime minister.  She died at age 87.

 

2012 ~ Jack Tramiel (né Idek Trzmiel; b. Dec. 13, 1928), Polish-American businessman behind the Commodore 64.  He was born in Łodż, Poland.  He died of heart failure at age 83.

 

2002 ~ María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña (b. Apr. 8, 1914), Mexican film actress and singer.  She was one of the most successful actresses during the 1940s and 1950s in Latin American cinema.  She died of cardiovascular disease on her 88th birthday.

 

1996 ~ George Jenkins (né George Washington Jenkins, Jr.; b. Sept. 29, 1907), American businessman and founder of Publix Super Markets.  He died at age 88.

 

1993 ~ Marian Anderson (b. Feb. 27, 1897), African-American contralto.  She died at age 96 of congestive heart failure and complications of a stroke.

 

1992 ~ Daniel Bovet (b. Mar. 23, 1907), Swiss-born pharmacologist and recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery that certain drugs can block the action of specific neurotransmitters.  He died 16 days after his 85th birthday.

 

1990 ~ Ryan White (né Ryan Wayne White; b. Dec. 6, 1971), American AIDS activist.  He had hemophilia and contracted AIDS from his numerous blood transfusions.  He died at age 18.

 

1984 ~ Pyokr Kapitsa (b. July 8, 1894), Russian physicist and recipient of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics. He is best known for his work in low-temperatures physics.  He was born when Russia still used the Julian calendar, so his birth date is sometimes given as June 26.  He died at age 89.

 

1981 ~ Omar Bradley (né Omar Nelson Bradley; b. Feb. 12, 1893), American Five-Star General.  He was the 1stChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  He served in this position under Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower.  He died at age 88.

 

1973 ~ Pablo Picasso (b. Oct. 25, 1881), Spanish artist and sculptor.  He died at age 91.

 

1950 ~ Vaslav Nijinsky (b. Mar. 12, 1890), Russian dancer and choreographer.  He died of kidney failure less than a month after his 61st birthday.

 

1942 ~ Suzan Rose Benedict (b. Nov. 29, 1873), American mathematician.  She was the first woman awarded a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Michigan.  She had a long career at Smith University in Massachusetts.  She died of a heart attack at age 68 in Northampton, Massachusetts.

 

1936 ~ Róbert Bárány (b. Apr. 22, 1876), Austrian physician and recipient of the 1914 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He died 14 days before his 60th birthday.

 

1935 ~ Adolph Ochs (né Adolph Simon Ochs; b. Mar. 12, 1858). American owner and publisher of The New York Times.  He died less than a month before his 78th birthday.

 

1934 ~ Franklin Clarence Mars (b. Sept. 24, 1883), American businessman and founder of Mars, Inc., the chocolate company.  He died of heart disease at age 51.

 

1931 ~ Erik Alex Karlfeldt (b. July 20, 1864), Swedish poet and recipient of the 1931 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He was awarded the Nobel Prize posthumously.  He was the first person to be awarded a Nobel Prize after his death.  He died at age 66.

 

1919 ~ F.W. Woolworth (né Frank Winfield Woolworth; b. Apr. 13, 1852), American merchant and founder of the Five-and-Dime store chain, Woolworth’s.  He was the first to use self-service display cases in a store.  He died 5 days before his 67th birthday.

 

1917 ~ Richard Olney (b. Sept. 15, 1835), 40th United States Attorney General.  He served under President Grover Cleveland from March 1893 until June 1895.  He also served as the 34th United States Secretary of State from June 1895 until March 1897 during the administrations of Grover Cleveland and William McKinley.  He died in Boston, Massachusetts at age 81.

 

1906 ~ Auguste Deter (b. May 16, 1850), German woman and the first recorded Alzheimer’s victim.  She died at age 55.

 

1861 ~ Elisha Otis (né Elisha Graves Otis; b. Aug. 3, 1811), American industrialist, inventor of the modern elevator break.  He was the founder of the Otis Elevator Company.  He was born in Vermont.  He died of diphtheria at age 49.

 

1492 ~ Lorenzo de’Medici (né Lorenzo di Piero de’Medici; b. Jan. 1, 1449), Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic.  He died at age 43.

 

1461 ~ Georg von Peuerbach (b. May 30, 1423), German-Austrian mathematician and astronomer.  He died at age 37.

 

1364 ~ King John II of France (b. Apr. 26, 1319).  He reigned France from August 22, 1350 until his death in April 1364.  He was known as John the Good.  He was married twice.  His first wife, whom he married in 1332, was Bonne of Bohemia.  They had 9 children together.  After her death, he married Joan I, Countess of Auvergne.  They married in 1350.  John was her 2nd husband.  They had 3 children together.  He was of the House of Valais.  He was the son of Philip VI, King of France and Joan of Burgundy.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died 18 days before his 45thbirthday.

 

944 ~ Wang Yanxi, Chinese emperor of Min, during the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.  The date of his birth is not known.


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