Birthdays:
1973 ~ Demetri Martin (né Demetri Evan Martin), American comedian. He was born in New York, New York.
1972 ~ Octavia Spencer (née Octavia Lenora Spencer), African-American actress. She was born in Montgomery, Alabama.
1969 ~ Anne Heche (née Anne Celeste Heche), American actress. She was born in Aurora, Ohio.
1963 ~ Mike Myers (né Michael John Myers), Canadian actor best known for his role on Saturday Night Live, and the Austin Powers films. He was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
1960 ~ Wallace Roney (d. Mar. 31, 2020), African-American jazz trumpeter. He was mentored by Miles Davis. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died of complications from Covid-19 in Paterson, New Jersey. He was 59 years old.
1960 ~ Amy Klobuchar (née Amy Jean Klobuchar), American politician and Democratic United States Senator from Minnesota. She was one of many Democratic nominees running for President of the United States for the 2020 election. She was born in Plymouth, Minnesota.
1953 ~ Eve Ensler, American playwright and feminist. She is best known for her play The Vagina Monologues. She was born in New York, New York.
1944 ~ Robert MacPherson (né Robert Duncan MacPherson), American mathematician. He was born in Lakewood, Ohio.
1944 ~ Frank Oz (né Frank Richard Oznowicz), American puppeteer and voice actor. He was born in Hereford, Herefordshire, England.
1943 ~ Leslie Uggams (née Leslie Marian Uggams), African-American actress and singer. She was born in New York, New York.
1939 ~ Dixie Carter (née Dixie Virginia Carter; d. Apr. 10, 2010), American actress. She is best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker on the television sit-com Designing Women. She was born in McLemoresville, Tennessee. She died in Houston, Texas of endometrial cancer at age 70.
1939 ~ Sir Ian McKellen (né Ian Murray McKellen), British actor. He was born in Burnley, Lancashire, England.
1938 ~ Raymond Carver (né Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr.; d. Aug. 2, 1988), American author and short story writer. He was born in Clatskanie, Oregon. He died at age 50 of lung cancer in Port Angeles, Washington.
1932 ~ John Gregory Dunne (d. Dec. 30, 2003), American author and critic. He was married to author Joan Didion. His younger brother was Dominick Dunne. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He died of a heart attack at age 71 in Manhattan, New York.
1932 ~ K.C. Jones (d. Dec. 25, 2020), African-American professional basketball player and coach. He had a long career coaching the Boston Celtics. He was born in Taylor, Texas. He died at age 88 in Connecticut.
1930 ~ Ann McGovern (née Ann Weinberger; d. Aug. 8, 2015), American author whose book Stone Soup became a children’s favorite. She was born and died in New York, New York. She died of cancer at age 85.
1930 ~ Sonia Rykiel (née Sonia Flis, d. Aug. 25, 2016), French fashion designer. She died of complications of Parkinson’s disease at age 86 in Paris, France.
1929 ~ Beverly Sills (née Belle Mariam Silverman; d. July 2, 2007), American soprano and opera singer. She was born in Brooklyn, New York. She died of lung cancer at age 78.
1927 ~ Robert Ludlum (d. Mar. 12, 2001), American suspense-thriller writer. He created Jason Borne of the Borne Identity series of books. He was born in New York, New York. He died at age 73 of burns caused by a mysterious fire in his home in Naples, Florida.
1921 ~ Hal David (né Harold Lane David; d. Sept. 1, 2012), American songwriter, composer and lyricist behind the 20th century’s greatest pop songs. He was born in New York, New York. He died at age 91 in Los Angeles, California.
1921 ~ Jack Steinberger (né Hans Jakob Steinberger; d. Dec. 12, 2020), German physicist and recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the muon neutrino. He emigrated to the United States at age 13. He was born in Bad Kissingen, Germany. He died at age 99 in Geneva, Switzerland.
1898 ~ Bennett Cerf (né Bennett Alfred Cerf, d. Aug. 27, 1971), American publisher and co-founder of Random House. He is best known for his compilation of jokes and puns. He died at age 73.
1878 ~ Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (né Luther Robinson, d. Nov. 25, 1949), African-American dancer and actor. He died at age 71.
1865 ~ Pieter Zeeman (d. Oct. 9, 1943), Dutch physicist and recipient of the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics. He died at age 78.
1865 ~ John Mott (né John Raleigh Mott; d. Jan. 31, 1955), American evangelist and recipient of the 1946 Nobel Peace Prize. He died at age 89.
1845 ~ Lipman Pike (né Lipman Emanuel Pike; d. Oct. 10, 1893), one of the first American professional baseball players and the first Jewish player. He was born in New York, New York. He died of heart disease at age 48 in Brookyn, New York.
1803 ~ Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (né Edward George Earle Lytton Bylwer-Lytton, d. Jan. 18, 1873), British novelist, poet, playwright and politician. He is best known for drafting the line: It was a dark and stormy night. He died at age 69.
1803 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (d. Apr. 27, 1882), American essayist, poet and philosopher. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He died in Concord, Massachusetts less than a month before his 79th birthday.
1783 ~ Philip Pendleton Barbour (d. Feb. 25, 1841), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was nominated to the High Court by President Andrew Jackson. He replaced Gabriel Duval on the Court. He was succeeded by Peter Daniel. He served on the Court from March 1836 until his death 5 years later. He had previously served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a Representative from Virginia. To date, he is the only person to have served both as Speaker of the House and Supreme Court Justice. He died of coronary thrombosis at age 57.
1725 ~ Samuel Ward (d. Mar. 26, 1776), Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island. He served two terms as governor, first from 1762 until 1763, and then from 1765 until 1767. He died of small pox at age 50.
1713 ~ John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (d. Mar. 10, 1792), Scottish politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He was Prime Minister during the reign of King George III, from May 1762 until April 1763. He died at age 78.
1048 ~ Emperor Shenzong of Song (d. Apr. 1, 1085), 6th Chinese emperor of the Song Dynasty. He reigned from January 1067 until his death in April 1085. He died at age 36.
Events that Changed the World:
2020 ~ Memorial Day was observed in the United States.
2020 ~ George Floyd (1973 ~ 2020), an African-American man, was killed by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota during an arrest for passing counterfeit money. In April 2021, the officer who had knelt on Floyd’s neck for over 9 minutes was convicted of murder.
2015 ~ Memorial Day was observed in the United States.
1982 ~ The HMS Coventry was sunk during the Falklands War. Nineteen crew members were killed in the attack.
1979 ~ Six-year old Etan Patz (1972 ~ disappeared 1979), disappeared just two blocks from his home in New York City, sparking an international search. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan designated May 25 as National Missing Children’s Day. In 2010, the case was reopened and in 2011, the police announced a suspect was in custody. In May 2013, the State Court announced the case against the suspect could move forward. In February 2017, a jury found the suspect guilty of kidnapping and murder. The accused was sentenced to 25-years to life in prison.
1979 ~ American Airlines Flight 191 crashed during takeoff from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. All 271 people aboard were killed, as well as two people on the ground.
1977 ~ The first Star Wars movie opened in theaters.
1968 ~ The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri was dedicated. The Arch was designed by Eero Saarinen (1910 ~ 1961).
1955 ~ A severe F5 tornado struck Udall, Kansas, killing 80 people and injuring over 270 others.
1953 ~ KUHT, the first public television station in the United States, began broadcasting from the campus of the University of Houston.
1953 ~ The United States conducted its first and possibly only nuclear artillery test at the Nevada Test Site.
1935 ~ Babe Ruth (1895 ~ 1948) hit his 714th and final home run.
1925 ~ John Scopes (1900 ~ 1970) was indicted for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution in the Tennessee schools.
1895 ~ Oscar Wilde (1854 ~ 1900) was convicted of “committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons” and sentenced to 2 years in prison.
1878 ~ Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera, HMS Pinafore premiered.
1865 ~ An ordnance depot exploded in Mobile, Alabama, killing 300 people.
1787 ~ The United States Constitutional Convention formally convened when a quorum of seven states met in Philadelphia.
1659 ~ Richard Cromwell (1626 ~ 1712) resigned as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament.
1521 ~ The Diet of Worms ended when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500 ~ 1558) issued the Edict of Worms, which declared Martin Luther (1483 ~ 1546) an outlaw.
240 BCE ~ The first recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet.
Good-Byes:
2019 ~ Claus von Bülow (né Claus Cecil Boberg; b. Aug. 11, 1926), Danish-English socialite who was accused of attempted murder of his wife, Martha “Sunny” Crawford (1931 ~ 2008), by giving her an overdose of insulin in 1980. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He died at age 92 in London, England.
2017 ~ Frédérick Leboyer (b. Nov. 1, 1918), French obstetrician who changed childbirth. He advocated the practices of immersing a newborn in a warm tub of water to ease the transition from the womb. He was born and died in Paris, France. He died at age 98.
2015 ~ Mary Ellen Mark (b. Mar. 20, 1940), American photojournalist who documented outcasts. She was born in Ekins Park, Pennsylvania. She was 75 years old in Manhattan, New York.
2014 ~ Bunny Yaeger (née Linnea Eleanor Yeager; b. Mar. 13, 1929), American photographer who perfected the pin-up. She was a model as well as a pin-up model. She was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania and died in North Miami, Florida. She died of congestive heart failure at age 85.
2009 ~ Amos Elon (b. July 4, 1926), Israeli author and journalist who loved and challenged his country. He was born in Vienna, Austria. He died at age 82 in Tuscany, Italy.
2007 ~ Charles Nelson Reilly, II (b. Jan. 13, 1931), American comedian and actor. He died of pneumonia at age 76.
2005 ~ Ismail Merchant (b. Dec. 25, 1936), Indian-born film producer who helped create stylish period dramas. He was born in Mumbai, India. He died following surgery at age 68 in London, England.
2004 ~ Roger Williams Straus, Jr. (b. Jan. 3, 1917), American journalist and publisher and co-founder of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He died at age 87.
1990 ~ Vic Tayback (né Victor Tayback, b. Jan. 6, 1930), American actor best known for his role as Mel on the television sit-com, Alice. He died of a heart attack at age 60.
1981 ~ Ruby Payne-Scott (née Ruby Violet Payne-Scott; b. May 28, 1912), Australian physicist and astronomer. She was the first radio astronomer. She was born in Grafton, Australia. She died in Sydney, Australia 3 days before her 69th birthday.
1954 ~ Robert Capa (né Endre Friedmann; b. Oct. 22, 1913), Hungarian photographer and journalist. He fled to Germany from Hungary as a teenager for political reasons. While witnessing the rise of Hitler, he fled to Paris. He was a well-known war correspondent. While covering the Indochina war, he stepped on a landmine and was killed. He was 40 years old.
1946 ~ Patty Hill (née Patty Smith Hill; b. Mar. 27, 1868), American educator and kindergarten teacher. She is best known for writing Happy Birthday to You. She was born in Anchorage, Kentucky. She died at age 78 in New York, New York.
1934 ~ Gustav Holst (né Gustavus Theodore von Holst; b. Sept. 21, 1874), English composer. He is best known for composing The Planets. He died at age 59 of heart failure following ulcer surgery.
1919 ~ Madam C.J. Walker (née Sarah Breedlove; b. Dec. 23, 1867), African-American entrepreneur and philanthropist. She was the first female self-made millionaire in America. She made her fortune by developing and marking a line of hair products for black women. She was born in Delta, Louisiana. She died of kidney failure at age 51.
1899 ~ Rosa Bonheur (née Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; b. Mar. 16, 1822), French sculptor and painter. She was born in Bordeaux, France. She died at age 77 in Thormery, France.
1866 ~ Nikolai Brashman (b. June 14, 1796), Czech-Russian mathematician. He died less than a month before his 70th birthday.
1786 ~ Peter III of Portugal (b. July 5, 1717). He was King through the marriage to his niece, Maria I, Queen of Portugal who had inherited the throne from her father. He reigned from February 1777 until his death 9 years later. He died at age 68.
1693 ~ Madame de La Fayette (née Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne; b. Mar. 18, 1634), French author. She wrote La Princesse de Clèves, which is considered one of the earliest novels in literature and France’s first historical novel. He was born and died in Paris, France. She died at age 59.
1632 ~ Adam Tanner (b. Apr. 14, 1572), Austrian mathematician and Jesuit theologian. The crater Tannerus on the moon is named in his honor. He died at age 60.
1555 ~ Gemma Frisius (né Jemme Reinerszoon; d. Dec. 9, 1508), Dutch physician, cartographer and mathematician. He died at age 47.
1555 ~ Henry II of Navarre (b. Apr. 18, 1503). He was King of Navarre from February 1517 until his death in 1555. He died at age 52.
1261 ~ Pope Alexander IV (né Rinaldo di Jenne; b. 1185). He was Pope from December 1254 until his death. The date of his birth is unknown.
1085 ~ Pope Gregory VII (né Hildebrand of Sovana; b. 1020). He was Pope from April 1073 until his death 12 years later. The date of his birth is unknown. He was known as the “reform pope”. He is best known for excommunicating Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, 3 times.
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