Birthdays:
1981 ~ Britney Spears (née Britney Jean Spears), American singer-songwriter. She is known as the Princess of Pop. She was born in McComb, Mississippi.
1973 ~ Monica Seles, Serbian-American tennis player. In 1993, a fan of her rival, Steffi Graf, stabbed her in the back. Her wounds healed, but it was 2 years before she could compete in the sport. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1994.
1968 ~ Lucy Liu, American actress. She was born in New York, New York.
1963 ~ Ann Patchett, American novelist. She was born in Los Angeles, California.
1958 ~ George Saunders, American author. He was born in Amarillo, Texas.
1948 ~ Elizabeth Berg, American author. She was born in St. Paul, Minnesota.
1946 ~ Gianni Versace (né Giovanni Maria Versace; d. July 15, 1997), Italian fashion designer who founded the House of Versace. He was murdered outside his home in Miami, Florida by Andrew Cunanan. He was 50 years old.
1939 ~ Yael Dayan, Israeli writer and politician. She is the daughter of Moshe Dayan. She was born in Nahalal, Israel.
1931 ~ Edwin Meese (né Edwin Meese, III), 75th United States Attorney General. He served in that position from February 1985 until July 1988 during the Reagan administration. He was the 2nd Attorney General to work in the Reagan administration. He replaced William French Smith and was succeeded by Richard Thornburg as Attorney General. He was born in Oakland, California.
1930 ~ Gary Becker (né Gary Stanley Becker; d. May 3, 2014), American economist and recipient of the 1992 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. He died at age 83 in Chicago, Illinois.
1928 ~ Dan Jenkins (né Daniel Thomas Jenkins; d. Mar. 7, 2019), American journalist who cracked up sports fans. His articles often appeared in Sports Illustrated. He is best known for his novel Semi-Tough. He was born and died in Fort Worth, Texas. He died at age 90.
1925 ~ Julie Harris (née Julia Ann Harris; d. Aug. 24, 2013), Tony Award-winning theater and film actress who ruled Broadway for decades. She was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. She died of congestive heart failure at age 87 in Wet Chatham, Massachusetts.
1924 ~ Alexander Haig (né Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr.; d. Feb. 20, 2010), American brash general who became the 59thUnited States Secretary of State. He served as the 1st Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan. He served in that Office from January 1981 until July 1982. He was replaced by George Schultz (b. Dec. 13, 1920). He previously served as the 5th White House Chief of Staff from May 1973 until September 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Bala Cynwyn, Pennsylvania. He died at age 85 in Baltimore, Maryland.
1923 ~ Maria Callas (d. Sept. 16, 1977), Greek-American opera singer. She was born in New York, New York. She died at age 53 of a heart attack in Paris, France.
1885 ~ George Minot (né George Richards Minot; d. Feb. 25, 1950), American physician and recipient of the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work with pernicious anemia. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Brookline, Massachusetts at age 64.
1863 ~ Charles Ringling (né Charles Edward Ringling; d. Dec. 3, 1926), American circus owner and co-founder of the Ringling Brothers Circus. He was born in McGregor, Iowa. He died the day after his 63rd birthday in Sarasota, Florida.
1860 ~ Oliver Herford (d. July 5, 1935), British writer, artist and illustrator. He was born in Sheffield, United Kingdom. He died at age 74 in New York, New York.
1859 ~ Georges-Pierre Seurat (d. Mar. 29, 1891) French post-impressionist painter. He was born and died in Paris, France. He died at age 31.
1810 ~ Henry Yesler (d. Dec. 16, 1892), American businessman and politician. He served as the 7th Mayor of Seattle from 1874 until 1875. He was born in Hagerstown, Maryland. He died 2 weeks after his 82nd birthday in Seattle, Washington.
1760 ~ John Breckinridge (d. Dec. 14, 1806), 5th United States Attorney General. He served under President Thomas Jefferson from August 1805 until his death in December 1806. He replaced Levi Lincoln, Sr., and was succeeded by Caesar A. Rodney as Attorney General. He died of tuberculosis 12 days after his 46th birthday in Fayette County, Kentucky.
1754 ~ William Cooper (d. Dec. 22, 1809), American politician and founder of Cooperstown, New York. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York State. He was the father of author James Fenimore Cooper. He was born in Smithfield, Pennsylvania. He died 20 days after his 55th birthday in Albany, New York.
1729 ~ Josiah Bartlett (d. May 19, 1795), Governor of New Hampshire. He served in Office from June 1790 until June 1794. He was born before the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, so his birthday is sometimes given as November 21, 1729, under the Julian calendar, or December 2 under the Gregorian calendar. He was born in what is now Amesbury, Massachusetts. He died at age 65 in Kingston, New Hampshire.
1694 ~ William Shirley (d. Mar. 24, 1771), British lawyer and politician. He served as the Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. He was born in Sussex, England. He died at age 76 in Roxbury, Province of Massachusetts Bay.
885 ~ Zhuang Zong (d. May 15, 926), Chinese emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty. He died at age 40.
503 ~ Emperor Jianwen of Liang (d. 551), Emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty. The date of his death is not known, but he is believed to have been about 47 at the time of his death.
Events that Changed the World:
2020 ~ The United Kingdom licensed the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
2018 ~ Chanukah began as sunset.
2015 ~ At the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, a husband and wife Islamic terrorist team, killed 14 people and wounded 22 others. The shooters would be shot and killed by police.
2013 ~ China launched its Jade Rabbit, its first lunar rover, as part of its lunar exploration mission. The rover landed on December 14, 2013. According to Chinese folklore, a rabbit lives on the moon, hence the name, Jade Rabbit.
2001 ~ Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
1991 ~ Canada and Poland became the first countries to recognize the independence of the Ukraine from the Soviet Union.
1988 ~ Benazir Bhutto (1953 ~ 2007) was sworn was in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to lead an Islamic country.
1982 ~ Barney Clark (1921 ~ 1983) became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart, the Jarvek 7. He survived for 112 days following the heart surgery. The surgery was performed at the University of Utah Medical Center.
1976 ~ Fidel Castro (1926 ~ 2016) became President of Cuba. Prior to this date, he had served as Prime Minister of Cuba.
1971 ~ The United Arab Emirates was formed by Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai and Umm Al Quwain.
1970 ~ The United States Environmental Protection Agency first began operations.
1961 ~ Cuban leader Fidel Castro (1926 ~ 2016) announced in a nationally broadcast speech that Cuba would adopt Communism.
1954 ~ The United States Senate voted to condemn Senator Joseph McCarthy (1908 ~ 1957) for conduct that brought the Senate into dishonor and disrepute as a result of his targeting American citizens and accusing them of communism.
1947 ~ The Jerusalem Riots of 1947 erupted in response to the approval of the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan.
1942 ~ Enrico Fermi (1901 ~ 1954) and his team initiated the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in what was referred to as the Manhattan Project.
1939 ~ La Guardia Airport officially opened in New York City when a TWA-DC-3 from Chicago landed minutes after midnight. The airport quickly became one of the busiest airports in the world.
1927 ~ The Ford Motor Company unveiled the Model A.
1908 ~ Puyi (1906 ~ 1967) became last Emperor of China. He was 2 years old. He was the 12th Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled until February 1912 when he was forced to abdicate following the successful Xinhai revolution
1867 ~ Charles Dickens (1812 ~ 1870) gave his first public reading in the United States when he spoke at Tremont Temple in Boston, Massachusetts.
1865 ~ Alabama ratified the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
1848 ~ Franz Joseph I (1830 ~ 1916) became the Emperor of Austria.
1845 ~ President James Polk (1795 ~ 1849) announced in his State of the Union address that the United States should aggressively expand into the American West, in what has become known as Manifest Destiny.
1823 ~ President James Monroe (1758 ~ 1831) delivered a speech establishing the policy known as the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine stated that efforts by European countries to colonize in North or South America would be regarded as acts of aggression and would lead to United States intervention.
1804 ~ Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 ~ 1821) crowned himself Emperor of France, the first French Emperor in 1000 years, in a ceremony held at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
1763 ~ The Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island was dedicated. It was the first synagogue build in what would become the United States.
1697 ~ St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, rebuilt to Sir Christopher Wren’s design following the Great Fire of London, was consecrated.
Good-Byes:
2020 ~ Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (né Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d’Estaing; b. Feb. 2, 1926), French president. He served as President from May 1974 until May 1981. He died at age 94.
2015 ~ Sandy Berger (né Samuel Richard Berger; b. Oct. 28, 1945), American 19th United States National Security Advisor. He served from March 1997 until January 2001 during the Bill Clinton administration. He was born in Millerton, New York. He died of cancer at age 70 in Washington, D.C.
2014 ~ Bobby Keys (né Robert Henry Keys, b. Dec. 18, 1943), American saxophone player who rolled with the Rolling Stones. He was born in Slaton, Texas. He died of liver cancer 2 weeks before his 71st birthday in Franklin, Tennessee.
2013 ~ Jean-Claude Beton (b. Jan. 14, 1925), French businessman and founder of Orangina. He died at age 87.
2011 ~ Bill Tapia (né William Tapia; b. Jan. 1, 1908), American musician dubbed the Duke of Uke. By age 8, he was already a professional musician and played for troops in Hawaii during World War I. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He died in Los Angeles, Californai a month before his 104th birthday.
2008 ~ Odetta Holmes (b. Dec. 31, 1930), African-American singer who gave voice to Black America. She died of heart disease 29 days before her 78th birthday.
2007 ~ Robert Orville Anderson (b. Apr. 13, 1917), American businessman and founder of Atlantic Richfield Oil, Co. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He died at age 90 in Roswell, New Mexico.
2007 ~ Elizabeth Hardwick (b. July 27, 1916), American literary critic and novelist. She died at age 91.
2002 ~ Ivan Dominic Illich (b Sept. 4, 1926), Austrian theologian, Catholic priest, and philosopher. He was born in Vienna, Austria. He died at age 76 in Bremen, Germany.
1993 ~ Pablo Escobar (né Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria; b. Dec. 1, 1949), Columbian drug lord. He was killed in a shootout one day after his 44th birthday.
1990 ~ Aaron Copland (d. Nov. 14, 1900), American composer. He died 18 days after his 90th birthday.
1987 ~ Luis Federico Leloir (b. Sept. 6, 1906), Argentine chemist and recipient of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He died at age 81.
1986 ~ Desi Arnaz (b. Mar. 2, 1917), Cuban-born actor and bandleader. He was the husband of Lucille Ball. He died of lung cancer at age 69.
1982 ~ Marty Feldman (né Martin Alan Feldman; b. July 8, 1934), English comedian and actor. He died of a heart attack at age 48.
1967 ~ Francis Spellman (né Francis Joseph Spellman; b. May. 4, 1889), American cardinal in the Catholic Church. He served as the 6th Archbishop of New York. He was born in Whitman, Massachusetts. He died at age 78 in New York, New York.
1966 ~ L. E. J. Brouwer (né Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer; b. Feb. 27, 1881), Dutch mathematician. He died at age 85.
1963 ~ Sabu Dastagir (né Selar Sabu; b. Jan. 27, 1924), Indian actor. He is best known for his role in the 1937 film Elephant Boy. He died at age 39 of a heart attack.
1936 ~ John Ringling (né John Nicholas Ringling; b. May 31, 1866), 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.
1918 ~ Edmond Rostand (né Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand; b. Apr. 1, 1868), French dramatist best known for his play, Cyrano de Bergerac. He died at age 50 during the flu epidemic.
1892 ~ Jay Gould (né Jason Gould, b. May 27, 1836), American railroad developer and financier. He died of tuberculosis at age 56.
1863 ~ Jane Pierce (née Jane Means Appleton; b. Mar. 12, 1806), First Lady of the United States and wife of President Franklin Pierce. She was born in Hampton, New Hampshire and died in Andover, Massachusetts. She was died of tuberculosis at age 57.
1859 ~ John Brown (b. May 9, 1800), American abolitionist. He was hanged for his leading the October 16 raid on Harper’s Ferry. He was 59 years old.
1814 ~ Marquis de Sade (né Donatien Alphonse François de Sade; b. June 2, 1740), French author, politician and philosopher. He died at age 74.
1594 ~ Gerardus Mercator (né Geert de Kremer; b. Mar. 5, 1512), Flemish mapmaker and mathematician. He developed the Mercantor projection, a way of showing the earth on a flat sheet. He died at age 82.
1547 ~ Hernán Cortés (b. 1485), Spanish explorer and conqueror. The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been about 61 or 62 at the time of his death.
1469 ~ Piero di Cosimo de’Medici (b. Sept. 19, 1416), Italian banker and politician. He died at age 53.
1445 ~ Isabella of Coimbra (b. Mar. 1, 1432), Queen consort of Portugal and first wife of Afonso V of Portugal. She was of the House of Aviz. She died at age 23, possibly of poisoning.
1447 ~ Vlad II Dracul (b. Aug. 30, 1400). He was the father of Vlad the Impaler. His name in English means Vlad the Dragon. He was assassinated. The exact dates of his birth and death are not known. He is believed to have been about 51 or 52 at the time of his death.
537 ~ Pope Silverius. Little is know of this Pope other than he ruled from June 536 until he was deposed in March 537.
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