Monday, May 31, 2021

May 31

Birthdays:

 

1965 ~ Brooke Shields (née Brooke Christa Shields), American model and actress.  She was born in Manhattan, New York.

 

1961 ~ Lea Thompson (née Lea Katherine Thompson), American actress.  She is best known for her role as Lorraine Baines in the Back to the Future movie trilogy.  She was born in Rochester, Minnesota.

 

1960 ~ Chris Elliot (né Christopher Nash Elliot), American actor and comedian.  He was born in New York, New York.

 

1955 ~ Susie Essman (née Susan Essman), American actress and comedian.  She is best known for her role as Susie Green on Curb Your Enthusiasm.  She was born in The Bronx, New York.

 

1955 ~ Lynne Truss, British journalist and author, best known for her grammar book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

 

1948 ~ Svetlana Alexievich, Ukrainian journalist and author.  She was the recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature.

 

1945 ~ Rainer Werner Fassbinder (b. June 10, 1982), German actor and director.  He died of a drug overdose, just 10 days after his 37th birthday.

 

1943 ~ Sharon Gless (née Sharon Marguerite Gless), American actress.  She was born in Los Angeles, California.

 

1943 ~ Joe Namath (né Joseph William Namath), American football player.  He was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

 

1941 ~ Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.

 

1941 ~ William Nordhaus (né William Dawbney Nordhaus), American economist and recipient of the 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science.  He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

1939 ~ Terry Waite (né Terence Hardy Waite), English humanitarian.  He was kidnapped and held captive from 1987 to 1991 in Lebanon while trying to secure the release of several hostages.  He was born in Bollington, Cheshire, England.

 

1938 ~ Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter and a member of the trio, Peter, Paul and Mary.  He was born in Manhattan, New York.

 

1934 ~ Hazel Smith (née Hazel Ruth Boone; d. Mar. 18, 2018), American journalist who named country’s “outlaw music.”  She was born in Caswell County, North Carolina.  She died at age 83 in Madison, Tennessee.

 

1931 ~ John Robert Schrieffer (d. July 27, 2019), American physicist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was born in Oak Park, Illinois.  He died at age 88 in Tallahassee, Florida.

 

1930 ~ Clint Eastwood (né Clinton Eastwood, Jr.), American actor and movie director.  He was born in San Francisco, California.

 

1923 ~ Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (né Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; d. Apr. 6, 2005), and husband of Grace Kelly.  He died at age 81.

 

1921 ~ The Tulsa Race Massacre began.  Thousands of white citizens of Tulsa began burning homes and black-owned businesses in the area known as the Black Wall Street.  Hundreds of Black citizens were killed.

 

1916 ~ Bernard Lewis (d. May 19, 2018), English-American historian and scholar who shaped Western views on Islam.  He was born in London, England.  He died 12 days before his 102nd birthday in Voorhees Township, New Jersey.

 

1915 ~ George Vujnovich (né George Mane Vujnovich; d. Apr. 24, 2012), American mastermind of a daring World War II rescue.  He is known for organizing Operation Halyard, which rescued over 500 downed Allied airmen from Serbia in August 1944.  He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 96 in New York, New York.

 

1912 ~ Chien-Shiung Wu (d. Feb. 16, 1997), Chinese-American physicist and recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.  She made significant advances in nuclear physics.  She also worked on the Manhattan Project.  She died at age 84 in New York, New York.

 

1911 ~ Maurice Allais (né Maurice Félix Charles Allais; d. Oct. 9, 2010), French economist and recipient of the 1988 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 99.

 

1908 ~ Don Ameche (né Dominic Felix Amici; d. Dec. 6, 1993), American actor.  He was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  He died of prostate cancer at age 85 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

 

1898 ~ Norman Vincent Peale (d. Dec. 24, 1993), American clergyman and author.  He is best known for his book, The Power of Positive Thinking.  He died at age 95.

 

1894 ~ Fred Allen (né John Florence Sullivan; d. Mar. 17, 1956), American comedian and radio personality.  He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He died of a heart attack at age 61 in Manhattan, New York.

 

1887 ~ Saint-John Perse (né Alexis Leger; d. Sept. 20, 1975), French poet and recipient of the 1960 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 88.

 

1883 ~ Lauri Kristian Relander (d. Feb. 9, 1942), 2nd President of Finland.  He served in Office from March 1925 until March 1931.  He died of heart failure at age 58.

 

1866 ~ John Ringling (né John Nicholas Ringling; d. Dec. 2, 1936), American circus owner and brother of Charles Ringling.  He died on what would have been his brother, Charles’ 73rd birthday.  John died at age 70,

 

1857 ~ Pope Pius XI (né Ambrogio Damiano Archille Ratti; d. Feb. 10, 1939).  He was Pope from February 1922 until his death in February 1939.  He was 81 at the time of his death.

 

1852 ~ Julius Petri (né Julius Richard Petri; d. Dec. 20, 1921), German microbiologist and inventor of the Petri dish.  He died at age 69.

 

1827 ~ Kusumoto Ine (d. Aug. 27, 1903), Japanese doctor.  She was the first Japanese female doctor of Western Medicine.  She was the daughter of a Japanese courtesan and a German physician.  She died at age 76.

 

1819 ~ Walt Whitman (né Walter Whitman, d. Mar. 26, 1892), American poet.  He died at age 72.

 

1818 ~ John Albion Andrew (d. Oct. 30, 1867), 25th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1861 until January 1866.  He was born in Windham, Maine.  He died in Boston, Massachusetts of apoplexy at age 49.

 

1816 ~ Dimitrie Ghica (d. Feb. 15, 1897), Prime Minister of Romania from 1868 to 1870.  He was born and died in Bucharest, Romania.  He died at age 80.

 

1683 ~ Jean-Pierre Christin (d. Jan. 19, 1755), French mathematician and physicist.  He died at 71.

 

1597 ~ Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (d. Feb. 18, 1654), French writer.  He died at age 59.

 

1557 ~ Feodor I of Russia (d. Jan. 16, 1598).  He was the Tsar of All Rus’ from March 1584 until his death in January 1598.  He is believed to have been about 40 years old at the time of his death as the exact date of his birth is unknown, although it is often considered to have been May 31, 1557.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2021 ~ Memorial Day observed in the United States.

 

2013 ~ A powerful EF5 tornado, with a diameter of 2.6 miles, swept through El Reno, Oklahoma, killing 9 people and destroying the town.  This is the widest recorded tornado in history.

 

2005 ~ Former FBI Agent W. Mark Felt (1913 ~ 2008) came forward identifying himself as Deep Throat, the informant in the Watergate scandal.

 

1996 ~ Benjamin Netanyahu (. 1949) was elected to his first term as Prime Minister of Israel.  He assumed the Office on June 18, 1996, and served as the 9th Prime Minister of Israel until July 1999.  Ten years later, he was re-elected to become the 13th Israeli Prime Minister.

 

1977 ~ The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was completed.

 

1971 ~ In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which Congress passed in 1968, Memorial Day was observed for the first time on the last Monday of May instead of the traditional May 30th observation.

 

1970 ~ A massive earthquake, followed by a landslide buried the town of Yungay, Peru, killing nearly 70,000 people.

 

1962 ~ Adolf Eichmann (1906 ~ 1962) the Nazi SS officer who was intimately involved in Hitler’s “final solution” had been found guilty of war crimes and was hanged.

 

1961 ~ The Union of South Africa, which had been created on this date in 1910, became known as the Republic of South Africa.

 

1947 ~ Communists seized power in Hungary.

 

1927 ~ The Ford Motor Company ceased manufacturing its Model T.  During the course of its production, over 15,007,000 cars had been made.

 

1921 ~ The Tulsa, Oklahoma race massacre began and lasted over a 2-day period.  Mobs of white residents, under the apparent police authority, began attacking Black residents and businesses.  Homes and businesses were burned to the ground and totally destroyed.  Numerous people were killed, although the number of deaths has been disputed.

 

1902 ~ The Boer War in South Africa ended.

 

1889 ~ A dam broke in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing over 2,200 people.

 

1859 ~ The bell known as Big Ben in the bell tower in London, rang out over the Houses of Parliament for the first time.

 

1790 ~ The United States Copyright Act of 1790 was enacted by the United States Congress.

 

1669 ~ Samuel Pepys (1633 ~ 1703) made his last diary entry.  His diary provided valuable insight into everyday life during the English Restoration period.

 

1578 ~ King Henry III (1551 ~ 1589) of France laid the first stone of the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2020 ~ Christo (né Christo Vladimirov Javacheff; b. June 13, 1935) and Jeanne-Claude (née Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, June 13, 1935 ~ Nov. 18, 2009), a married artistic couple who were born on the same day.  They were both visual artists and created many environmental works of art throughout the world.  Christo was born in Gabrovo, Bulgaria; Jeanne-Claude was born in Casablanca, Morocco of French parents.  Jeanne-Claude was the French artist who helped Christo wrap his work.  She died at age 74 in Manhattan, New York.  Christo died in New York, New York 13 days before his 85th birthday.

 

2018 ~ Ella Brennan (b. Nov. 27, 1925), American restaurateur who became a New Orleans icon.  She was a part of the Brennan family that specialized in haute Louisiana creole cuisine in New Orleans.  She died at age 92.

 

2017 ~ Fred Kummerow (né Friedrich August Kummerow; b. Oct. 4, 1914), German-born American biochemist who got trans fats out of American diets.  He died at age 102.

 

2013 ~ Jean Stapleton (née Jeanne Murray; b. Jan. 19, 1923), American theater actress best known for her portrayal of Edith Bunker on All in the Family.  She was 90 years old.

 

2010 ~ Louise Bourgeois (née Louise Joséphine Bourgeois; b. Dec. 25, 1911), French artist, sculptor and painter.  She died at age 98.

 

2009 ~ Elizabeth Gladys Millvina Dean (b. Feb. 2, 1912), English secretary who was the last survivor of the sinking of the HMS Titanic.  She was 2 months old when she, along with her parents and sibling, set sail on the Titanic.  She died at age 97.

 

2006 ~ Raymond Davis, Jr. (b. Oct. 14, 1914), American physicist and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was 91 years old.

 

2001 ~ Arlene Francis (née Arline Francis Kazanjian; b. Oct. 20, 1907), American actress, game show panelist and television personality.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  She died at age 93.

 

2000 ~ Petar Mladenov (b. Aug. 22, 1936), He was the last Communist leader of Bulgaria, from 1989 until 1990.  He then briefly served as the 1st President of Bulgaria from April 1990 until July 1990.  He died at age 63.

 

2000 ~ Tito Puente (né Ernesto Antonio Puente; b. Apr. 20, 1923), American jazz musician.  He was born and died in New York, New York.  He died of a massive heart attack at age 77.

 

1996 ~ Timothy Leary (né Timothy Francis Leary; b. Oct. 22, 1920), American psychologist and proponent of the use of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD.  He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.  He died of prostate cancer at age 75.

 

1986 ~ James Rainwater (né Leo James Rainwater; b. Dec. 9, 1917), American physicist and recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died of a heart attack at age 68.

 

1983 ~ Jack Dempsey (né William Harrison Dempsey; b. June 24, 1895), American boxer.  He died 24 days before his 88th birthday.

 

1976 ~ Jacques Monod (né Jacques Lucien Monod; b. Feb. 9, 1910), French biologist and recipient of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died of leukemia at age 66.

 

1910 ~ Elizabeth Blackwell (b. Feb. 3, 1821), British-born physician and first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States.  She died at age 89.

 

1860 ~ Peter Vivian Daniel (b. Apr. 24, 1784), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Martin Van Buren.  He replaced Philip Barbour on the Court.  He was succeeded by Samuel Miller.  He served on the Court from March 1841 until his death in May 19 years later.  He was born in Stafford County, Virginia.  He died in Richmond, Virginia.  He was 76 years old.

 

1832 ~ Évariste Galois (b. Oct. 25, 1811), French mathematician.  He died at age 20 from wounds suffered in a duel.

 

1831 ~ Eugène Cosserat (b. Mar. 4, 1866), French mathematician and astronomer.  He died at age 65.

 

1809 ~ Joseph Haydn (b. Mar. 31, 1732), Austrian composer.  He died at age 77.

 

1594 ~ Tintoretto (né Jacopo Comin; b. Sept. 29, 1518), Venetian Renaissance painter and artist.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but it is generally ascribed to late September or early October.  He died at about age 75

 

1495 ~ Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (b. May 3, 1415), wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and mother of King Edward IV and King Richard III of England.  She was also the mother of Margaret of York who was born on her 31st birthday.  She died 28 days after her 80th birthday.

 

1162 ~ Géza II of Hungary (b. 1130).  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 31 or 32 at the time of his death.

 

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