April 30

Birthdays:

 

1986~ Dianna Agron (née Dianna Elsie Agron), American actress and singer best known for her role as Quinn Fabray on Glee.  She was born in Savannah, Georgia.

 

1985~ Gal Gadot, Israel-born actress.  She was born in Peta Tikva, Israel.

 

1982 ~ Kirsten Dunst (née Kirsten Caroline Dunst), American actress.  She was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

 

1961~ Isiah Thomas (né Isiah Lord Thomas, III), American baseball player.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1959~ Paul Gross (né Paull Michael Gross), Canadian actor best known for his role as the upright Canadian Mounted Police Officer working in with the Chicago Police Department in the TV series, Due South.  He was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

 

1946~ Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden.  He became ascended to the Swedish throne in September 1973.  He is married to Silvia Sommerlath.  He is of the House of Bernadotte.  He is the son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

 

1945~ Michael Smith (né Michael John Smith; d. Jan. 28, 1986), American astronaut who was killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.  He was born in Beaufort, North Carolina.  He was 40 years old.

 

1945~ Annie Dillard (née Meta Ann Doak), American author.  She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

 

1944 ~ Jill Clayburg (d. Nov. 5, 2010), American actress.  She was born in New York, New York.  She died of leukemia at age 66 in Lakeville, Connecticut.

 

1942 ~ Martine Colette (née Martine Diane Colette; d. Jan. 23, 2022), animal activist who saved exotic animals.  She was the daughter of a Belgium diplomat.  She was born in Shanghai, China.  She died of lung cancer at age 79 in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

 

1941 ~ Buddy Cianci (née Vincent Albert Cianci, Jr.; d. Jan. 28, 2016), American politician and corrupt mayor who transformed Providence, Rhode Island.  He served as the 32^nd and 34^th Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island.  He served two terms as Mayor.  His first term ran from January 1975 until April 1984.  His second term ran from January 1991 until September 2002.  In April 2001, he was indicted on charges of racketeering, corruption, witness tampering, and mail fraud.  He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison.  He was born in Cranston, Rhode Island.  He died of colon cancer at age 74 in Providence, Rhode Island.

 

1930 ~ José Narosky, Argentine writer best known for his aphorisms.

 

1926 ~ Cloris Leachman (d. Jan. 27, 2021), American prolific actress who shined in dramas and comedies.  She was an Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress who made her greatest mark playing Mary Richards’ scatterbrained landlady in TV’s the Mary Tyler Moore Show.  She was born in Des Moines, Iowa.  She died in Encinitas, California at age 94.

 

1925 ~ Johnny Horton (né John LaGale Horton; d. Nov. 5, 1960), American musician and singer, best known for his song, The Battle of New Orleans.  He was born in Los Angeles, California.  He was killed in a car accident in Milano, Texas at age 35.

 

1925 ~ David Toren (né Klaus-Günther Tarnowski; d. Apr. 19, 2020), German-born Holocaust survivor and New York patent attorney who waged a years-long legal battle to recover artworks stolen from his German family in 1938.  He was born in Breslau, Germany (in current-day Poland).  He was smuggled out of Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport.  He died in New York City of Covid-19 just 11 days before his 95^th birthday.

 

1921 ~ Roger L. Easton, Sr. (né Roger Lee Easton; d. May 8, 2014), American scientist and co-inventor of the Global Positioning System (GPS).  He was born in Craftsbury, Vermont and died in Hanover, New Hampshire.  He died 8 days after his 93^rd birthday.

 

1916 ~ Claude Shannon (né Claude Elwood Shannon; d. Feb. 24, 2001), American engineer and mathematician.  He was born in Petoskey, Michigan.  He died in Medford, Massachusetts at age 84.

 

1909 ~ Juliana , Queen of the Netherlands (née Juliana Louise Emma Marie Whlhelmina; d. Mar. 20, 2004).  She reigned as Queen from September 1948 until April 1980, her 61^st birthday, when she abdicated the throne in favor or her daughter, Beatrix.  She was married to Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld.  She was of the House of Orange-Nassau.  She was the daughter of Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherkands and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.  She died at age 94.

 

1908 ~ Eve Arden (née Eunice Mary Quedens; d. Nov. 12, 1990), American actress.  She was born in Mill Valley, California.  She died at age 82 of heart disease in Los Angeles, California.

 

1905 ~ Sergey Nikolsky (d. Nov. 9, 1912), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 107 in Moscow, Russia.

 

1902 ~ Theodore Schultz (né Theodore William Schultz; d. Feb. 26, 1998), American economist and recipient of the 1979 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.  He was born in Arlington, South Dakota.  He died at age 95 in Evanston, Illinois.

 

1901 ~ Simon Kuznets (né Simon Smith Kuznets; d. July 8, 1985), Ukrainian economist and recipient of the 1971 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 84 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

 

1877 ~ Alice B. Toklas (né Alice Babette Toklas; d. Mar. 7, 1967), American writer and companion of Gertrude Stein.  She was born in San Francisco, California.  She died at age 89 in Paris, France.

 

1866 ~ Mary Haviland Stilwell Kuesel (née Mary Haviland Stilwell; b. Apr. 30, 1866), American pioneering dentist.  She was the founder of the Women’s Dental Association of the United States.  She was born and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She died of coronary thrombosis at age 70.

 

1777 ~ Carl Friedrich Gauss (né Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss, d. Feb. 23, 1855), German mathematician.  He died at age 77.

 

1662 ~ Mary II, Queen of England (d. Dec. 28, 1694).  She co-ruled England, Scotland and Ireland with her husband, William III.  She was of the House of Stuart.  She was the daughter of James II, King of England and Anne Hyde.  She died of smallpox at age 32.

 

1310 ~ Casimir III, King of Poland (d. Nov. 5, 1370).  He ruled Poland from 1333 until his death in 1370.  He was married several times.  His first wife was Aldona of Lithuania.  After her death, he married Adelaide of Hesse.  This marriage was annulled, and he married Christina Rokiczana in a morganatic marriage.  His fourth and final marriage was to Hedwig of Sagan.  He was of the House of Piast.  He was the son of Ladislaus of Poland, also known as Ladislaus the Short and Jadwiga of Kalisz.  He died at age 60.

 

1245 ~ Philip III, King of France (d. Oct. 5, 1285).  He was known as Philip the Bold.  He ruled France from August 1270 until his death in October 1218.  His first wife was Isabella of Aragon.  His second wife was Maria of Brabant.  He was of the House of Capet.  He was the son of Louis IX, King of France and Margaret of Provence.  He died of dysentery at age 40.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2013 ~ Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands (b. 1938) abdicated in favor of her son, Willem-Alexander (b. 1967), who became King of the Netherlands.

 

2009 ~ Chrysler automobile company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

 

2008 ~ Two skeletal remains found near Yekaterinburg, Russia were confirmed to be the remains of Alexei Nikolaevich (1904 ~ 1918), Tsarevich of Russia and the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna (1901 ~ 1918).

 

1993 ~ Tennis star Monica Seles (b. 1973) was stabbed in the back by an obsessed fan during the quarterfinal match of the 1993 Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany.

 

1993 ~ The World Wide Web (WWW) launched in the public domain.

 

1980 ~ Beatrix of the Netherlands (b. 1938) became Queen of the Netherlands.  She abdicated the throne on April 30, 2013, in favor of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander (b. 1967).

 

1975 ~ The Vietnam War formally ended with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Duong Văn Minh (1916 ~ 2001).  Communist forces gained control of Saigon.

 

1973 ~ Richard Nixon’s top White House aides, including H.R. Haldeman (1926 ~ 1993) and John Ehrlichman (1925 ~ 1999), resigned amid the Watergate Scandal.

 

1947 ~ The Boulder Dam in Nevada was renamed the Hoover Dam.  The Dam had been constructed between 1931 to 1936.

 

1945 ~ Soviet troops liberated Stalag Luft I, a German prisoner-of-war camp.  Over 9000 American and British airmen were freed.

 

1939 ~ The 1939-40 New York World’s Fair opened.

 

1939 ~ Television was first publicly broadcast from the Empire State Building in New York City.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 ~ 1945) presented the New York World’s Fair ceremonial address on NBC.

 

1927 ~ Douglas Fairbanks (1883 ~ 1939) and Mary Pickford (1892 ~ 1979) became the first Hollywood celebrities to leave their footprints in the concrete at Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

 

1927 ~ The first women’s federal prison in the United States opened in Alderson, West Virginia as the Federal Industrial Institute for Women.

 

1904 ~ The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair opened in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

1900 ~ Hawaii became a territory of the United States.

 

1897 ~ British physicist J.J. Thompson (1856 ~ 1940) announced the discovery that atoms were comprised of electrons.

 

1885 ~ The Governor of New York State signed legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, the first state park in New York State.

 

1812 ~ Louisiana became the 18^th State of the Union.

 

1803 ~ The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France under the Louisiana Purchase Agreement which, although was signed on May 2, was executed as of April 30.  The purchase price was $15 Million.

 

1789 ~ George Washington (1732 ~ 1799) was inaugurated as the first United States President.  The ceremony took place on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City.

 

1598 ~ Henry IV, King of France (1553 ~ 1610) issued the Edict of Nantes, which allowed the freedom of religion to the Huguenots.

 

1492 ~ Christopher Columbus (1451 ~ 1506) was granted his commission of exploration by Spain.  He was named Admiral of the ocean sea, viceroy and governor of any territory he discovered.

 

Good-byes:

 

2020 ~ Paul Cary (b. May 15, 1953), retired American paramedic from Colorado who traveled to New York City to volunteer in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.  He drove from Denver, Colorado to New York City on March 28, 2020.  He died of Covid-19 at age 66 within weeks of arriving in New York.

 

2018 ~ Jhoon Goo Rhee (b. Jan. 7, 1932), South Korean-born martial artist who popularized Tae Kwon Do in the United States.  He died at age 86 in Arlington County, Virginia.

 

2017 ~ Ueli Steck (b. Oct. 4, 1976), Swiss daredevil mountaineer who raced up peaks.  He died at age 40 from a fall while training in the Himalayas.

 

2016 ~ Sir Harry Kroto (né Harold Walter Krotoschiner; b. Oct. 7, 1939), British chemist and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 76.

 

2016 ~ Father Daniel Berrigan (né Daniel Joseph Berrigan; b. May 9, 1921), American Catholic priest, political and anti-war/peace activist.  He was born in Virginia, Minnesota.  He died 9 days before his 95^th birthday in The Bronx, New York.

 

2015 ~ Ben E. King (né Benjamin Earl Nelson; b. Sept. 28, 1938), American soul legend who sang Stand by Me.  He was born in Henderson, North Carolina.  He died in Harlem, New York.  He was 76 years old.

 

2012 ~ Benzion Netanyahu (b. Mar. 25, 1910), Israeli historian whose field of expertise was the history of Jews in Spain during the Inquisition.  He was also the hawkish father of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  He died at age 102 in Jerusalem, Israel.

 

2007 ~ Tom Poston (né Thomas Gordon Poston; b. Oct. 17, 1921), American actor.  He is best known for his portrayal of George Utley on Newhart.  He was born in Columbus, Ohio.  He died of respiratory failure at age 85 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1994 ~ Richard Scarry (né Richard McClure Scarry; b. June 5, 1919), American author and illustrator of children’s books.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died of a heart attack at age 74 in Gstaas, Switzerland.

 

1983 ~ Muddy Waters (né McKinley Morganfield; b. Apr. 4, 1913), American musician, considered the “father of modern Chicago blues.”  He was born in Issaquena County, Mississippi.  He died of heart failure 26 days after his 70^th birthday in Westmont, Illinois.

 

1983 ~ George Balanchine (né Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; b. Jan. 22, 1904), Russian-born dancer and choreographer.  He was a co-founder of the New York Ballet.  He was born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire.  He died at age 79 in New York, New York.

 

1974 ~ Agnes Moorehead (née Agnes Robertson Moorehead; b. Dec. 6, 1900), American actress.  She is best known for her role as Endora on the sit-com Bewitched.  She was born in Clinton, Massachusetts.  She died of uterine cancer at age 73 in Rochester, Minnesota.

 

1958 ~ Alvan Fuller (né Alvan Tufts Fuller; d. Feb. 27, 1878), 50^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1925 until January 1929.  He was born and died in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died at age 80.

 

1956 ~ Alben Barkley (né Alben William Barkley; b. Nov. 24, 1877), 35^th Vice President of the United States.  He served under President Harry S. Truman from January 1949 until January 1953.  He was born in Lowes, Kentucky.  He collapsed and died of a heart attack while giving a speech in Lexington, Virginia.  He died at age 78.

 

1945 ~ Adolf Hitler (b. Apr. 20, 1889) dictator of Nazi Germany.  He committed suicide along with Eva Braun (née Eva Anna Paula Braun; b. Feb. 6, 1912), his wife of one day, 10 days after his 57^th birthday.

 

1943 ~ Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield (née Martha Beatrice Potter; d. Jan. 22, 1858), British sociologist and economist.  She was one of the founders of the London School of Economics.  She coined the phrase collective bargaining.  She died at age 85.

 

1936 ~ A.E. Housman (né Alfred Edward Housman; b. Mar. 26, 1859), English poet.  He died at age 77 in Cambridge, England.

 

1926 ~ Bessie Coleman (née Elizabeth Coleman; b. Jan. 26, 1892), African-American and Native American civil aviator.  She was the first African-American and Native American woman pilot and the first African-American to hold an international pilot license.  She was born in Atlanta, Texas.  She was killed at age 34 in a plane crash in Jacksonville, Florida.

 

1900 ~ Casey Jones (né Jonathan Luther Jones; b. Mar. 14, 1863), American railroad engineer who died in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, when his train, the Cannonball Express, collided with a stalled freight train.  He gave his life to prevent a crash and to save the lives of his passengers.  He was the only fatality in the crash.  He was born in Cayce, Kentucky.  He was 37 years old at the time of his death in Vaughan, Mississippi.

 

1883 ~ Édouard Manet (b. Jan. 23, 1832), French painter.  He died of gangrene following an operation to amputate his foot.  He was born and died in Paris, France.  He was 51 years old.

 

1879 ~ Sarah Josepha Hale (née Sarah Josepha Buell; b. Oct. 24, 1788), American author and poet.  She is credited with the nursery rhyme, Mary had a Little Lamb.  She was also instrumental in the campaign in having the Bunker Hill Monument constructed.  She was born in Newport, New Hampshire.  She died at age 90 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

1857 ~ Princess Mary, Duchess consort of Gloucester and Edinburgh (b. Apr. 25, 1776).  In 1816, at age 40, she married her 1^st cousin, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh.  There were no children of their marriage.  She was of the House of Hanover.  She was the 11^th child and 4^th daughter of George III, King of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  She died 5 days after her 81^st birthday.

 

1632 ~ Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland (b. June 20, 1566).  He ruled Poland from August 1587 until his death in 1632.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Anne of Austria.  After her death, he married Constance of Austria.  He was of the House of Vasa.  He was the son of John III, King of Sweden and Catherine of Jagiellon.  He died at age 65.

 

1513 ~ Edmund de la Pole, 3^rd Duke of Suffolk (b. 1471), Yorkist pretender to the English throne.  Henry VIII, King of England had him executed.  He was the son of Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 41 or 42 at the time of his death.

 

1063 ~ Emperor Renzong of Song (b. May 30, 1010), 4^th Chinese emperor of the Song Dynasty.  He died a month before his 53^rd birthday.

 

125 ~ Emperor An of Han (b. 94), Chinese emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.  The exact date of his birth is not known but he is believed to have died at age 31.

April 29

Birthdays:

 

2007 ~ Infanta Sofía of Spain.  She is of the House of Bourbon.  She is the 2^nd daughter of Filipe VI, King of Spain and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.  She is Roman Catholic.

 

1970 ~ Andre Agassi (né Andre Kirk Agassi), American professional tennis player.  He was born in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

1970 ~ Uma Thurman (née Uma Karuna Thurman), American actress.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1958 ~ Michelle Pfeiffer (née Michelle Marie Pfeiffer), American actress.  She was born in Santa Ana, California.

 

1957 ~ Sir Daniel Day-Lewis (né Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis), English-Irish actor.  He was born in London, England.

 

1955 ~ Kate Mulgrew (née Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew), American actress.  She was born in Dubuque, Iowa.

 

1954 ~ Jake Burton Carpenter (d. Nov. 20, 2019), American “punk” who made snowboarding a sport.  He was the founder of Burton Snowboards and invented the modern-day snowboard.  He was born in Manhattan, New York.  He died of cancer at age 65 in Burlington, Vermont.

 

1954 ~ Jerry Seinfeld (né Jerome Allen Seinfeld), American comedian.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.

 

1952 ~ Nora Dunn (née Nora Eloise Dunn), American actress and comedian.  She is best known for her work on Saturday Night Live.  She was born in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1951 ~ Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (né Ralph Dale Earnhardt; b. Feb. 18, 2001), Seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion.  He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina.  He was killed at age 49 in a racing accident during the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

 

1938 ~ Bernie Madoff (né Bernard Lawrence Madoff; d. Apr. 14, 2021), American businessman and convicted felon who masterminded an elaborate Ponzi scheme that bilked thousands of people out of billions of dollars.  In June 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison.  He was born in Queens, New York.  He died of kidney disease while imprisoned in Butner, North Carolina.  He died just 15 days before his 83^rd birthday.

 

1937 ~ Hasil Adkins (b. Apr. 26, 2005), American musician from an Appalachian County in West Virginia who influenced the creation of rock ‘n roll.  He was born and died in Boone County, West Virginia.  He died 3 days before his 68^th birthday.

 

1936 ~ Zubin Mehta, Indian bassist and conductor.  He was born in Mumbai, India.

 

1933 ~ Rod McKuen (né Rodney Marvin McKuen; d. Jan. 29, 2015), American populist poet and songwriter who was loathed by critics.  He was born in Oakland, California.  He died of complications of pneumonia at age 81 in Beverly Hills, California.

 

1933 ~ Willie Nelson (né Willie Hugh Nelson), American singer and musician.  He was born in Abbott, Texas.

 

1927 ~ Big Jay McNeely (né Cecil James McNeeley; d. Sept. 16, 2018), African-American hard-honking saxophonist who inspired rock ‘n roll.  He is best known for his tenor rhythm and blues saxophone.  He was born in Los Angeles, California.  He died at age 91 in Moreno Valley, California.

 

1917 ~ Celeste Holm (d. July 15, 2012), American actress who was a city girl who first starred as a rube.  She was born and died in Manhattan, New York.  She died at age 95.

 

1901 ~ Hirohito (d. Jan. 7, 1989), Emperor of Japan from 1929 until his death in 1989.  He was the Emperor during World War II.  He was born and died in Tokyo, Japan.  He died at age 87.

 

1899 ~ Duke Ellington (né Edward Kennedy Ellington; d. May 24, 1974), African-American jazz musician.  He was born in Washington, D.C.  He died 25 days before his 76^th birthday in New York, New York.

 

1894 ~ Marietta Blau (d. Jan. 27, 1970), Austrian physicist.  She is best known for using nuclear emulsions to detect high energy particles.  Her work significantly advanced the field of particle physics.  During World War II, she was forced to leave Austria.  She returned to Austria, however, in 1960 and continued her work in high-energy experiments.  She was born and died in Vienna, Austria.  She died of cancer at age 75.

 

1893 ~ Harold Urey (né Harold Clayton Urey; d. Jan. 5, 1981), American chemist and recipient of the 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on isotopes.  He was born in Walkerton, Indiana.  He died at age 87 in La Jolla, California.

 

1877 ~ Tad Dorgan (né Thomas Aloysius Dorgan; d. May 2, 1929), American cartoonist.  He was born in San Francisco.  He died of heart disease 3 days after his 52^nd birthday in Great Neck, New York.

 

1868 ~ Alice Keppel (née Alice Frederica Edmonstone; d. Sept. 11, 1947), English socialite and mistress of Edward VII, King of England.  She was also the great-grandmother of Camilla Parker-Bowles, mistress then wife of Prince Charles.  Alice died at age 79.

 

1863 ~ William Randolph Hearst, Sr. (d. Aug. 14, 1951), American newspaper publisher.  He was the founder of the Hearst Corporation.  He was born in San Francisco, California.  He died at age 88 in Beverly Hills, California.

 

1854 ~ Henri Poincaré (né Jules Henri Poincaré; d. July 17, 1912), French mathematician and physicist.  He died of an embolism at age 58 in Paris, France.

 

1818 ~ Alexander II, Tsar of Russia (d. Mar. 13, 1881).  He ruled Russia from March 2, 1855 until his assassination 26 years later.  He is best known for being a reformer and for the emancipation of the serfs.  He was married twice.  His 1^stwife, whom he married in 1841, was Maria Alexandrovna (née Marie of Hesse).  She died in 1880 at age 55 of tuberculosis.  Alexander and his 1^st wife had 8 children together.  His 2^nd marriage was a morganatic marriage.  His 2^ndwife, who had been his mistress, was Princess Catherine Mikhailnova Dolgorukova, with whom he already had 4 children.  He was killed near his palace when a bomb was thrown at him.  In the Julian calendar that was used by Russia at the time, this event was recorded on March 1.  He was of the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov.  He was the son of Nicholas I, Tsar of Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna (née Princess Charlotte of Prussia).  He was 62 at the time of his death.

 

1810 ~ Thomas Adolphus Trollope (d. Nov. 11, 1892), British author and journalist.  He died at age 82.

 

1745 ~ Oliver Ellsworth (d. Nov. 26, 1807), 3^rd Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President George Washington.  He replaced John Rutledge on the Court.  He was succeeded by John Marshall.  He served on the Court from March 1796 until September 1800.  He was born and died in Windsor, Connecticut.  He died at age 62.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2011 ~ Prince William (b. 1982) of England married Kate Middleton (b. 1982) in Westminster Abbey.  Upon her marriage, Kate Middleton became known as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

 

2004 ~ The World War II Memorial opened in Washington, D.C.

 

2004 ~ The Oldsmobile ceased production after 107 years of car manufacturing.

 

1992 ~ Los Angeles was caught up in massive riots following the acquittal of several police officers of charges that they used excessive force in the beating of Rodney King (1965 ~ 2012).  During the riots, which lasted three days, 53 people were killed, numerous people were injured, and hundreds of buildings were destroyed.

 

1986 ~ Fire at the Central library of the City of Los Angeles damaged or destroyed over 400,000 books and other items.

 

1983 ~ Harold Washington (1922 ~ 1987) was sworn in as Chicago's first African-American mayor.  He died in Office in November 1987.

 

1968 ~ The musical Hair debuted on Broadway.

 

1945 ~ The Dachau concentration camp was liberated by American troops.

 

1945 ~ Adolf Hitler (1889 ~ 1945) married Eva Braun (1912 ~ 1945) in a bunker in Berlin.  They both committed suicide the following day.

 

1945 ~ The German army in Italy surrendered to the Allies in World War II.

 

1944 ~ During World War II, British agent Nancy Wake (1912 ~ 2011), a leading figure in the French Resistance and the Gestapo’s most wanted person, parachuted into France to become a liaison between London and a local resistance group.  An historical fictional version of her life is depicted in Ariel Lawhon’s 2020 novel Code Name Hélène.

 

1916 ~ Martial law in Ireland was lifted and the Easter Rising rebellion was deemed official over following the surrender of Irish nationals to the British in Dublin.

 

1863 ~ The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, was chartered as a land grant agricultural college.

 

1862 ~ New Orleans fell to Union forces under the leadership of Admiral David Farragut (1801 ~ 1870) during the American Civil War.

 

1861 ~ During the American Civil War, Maryland’s House of Delegates voted not to secede from the Union.

 

1852 ~ Peter Roget’s Thesaurus, which he had created in 1805, was first made available to the public.

 

1832 ~ Mathematician Évariste Galois (1811 ~ 1832) was released from prison.  He had been politically active and on Bastille Day, July 14, 1831, he led a protest wearing the uniform of the disbanded artillery.  He was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison for illegally wearing a uniform.  It was not until April 29, 1832, however, before he was released.  He would die about a month later from wounds suffered in a duel.

 

1781 ~ During the American Revolutionary War, British and French ships clashed in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique.

 

1770 ~ James Cook (1728 ~ 1779) arrived at, and named Botany Bay, Australia.

 

1587 ~ Sir Francis Drake (1540 ~ 1596) led a raid in the Bay of Cádiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish Armada.

 

1429 ~ Joan of Arc (1412 ~ 1431) arrived to relieve the Siege of Orleans.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2015 ~ Jean Nidetch (née Jean Evelyn Slutsky; b. Oct. 12, 1923), American housewife who was a co-founder of Weight Watchers.  She was born in Brooklyn, New York.  She was 91 years old in Parkland, Florida.

 

2014 ~ Bob Hoskins (né Robert William Hoskins; b. Oct. 26, 1942), the stumpy British actor who made it big in Hollywood.  He died of pneumonia at age 71 in London, England.

 

2014 ~ Al Feldstein (né Albert Bernard Feldstein; b. Oct. 24, 1925), American editor of Mad magazine who made skepticism funny.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died at age 88 in Montana.

 

2014 ~ Colonel Walter Walsh (né Walter Rudolph Walsh; b. May 4, 1907), American FBI marksman who gunned down gangsters.  He joined the FBI in 1934, during the infamous Public Enemy era and was involved in many high-profile cases.  He was born in West Hoboken, New Jersey.  He died 6 days before his 107^th birthday in Arlington, Virginia.

 

2013 ~ Ernest A. Michael (né Ernest Arthur Michael; b. Aug. 27, 1925), American mathematician.  He is best known for his work in topology.  He was born in Zurich, Switzerland.  His family left for the United States in 1932 due to the rise of Nazi Germany.  He died at age 87 in Seattle, Washington.

 

2011 ~ Joanna Russ (b. Feb. 22, 1937), American author and feminist activist.  She is known for her works in science fiction and fantasy as well as feminist literary criticism.  She was born in New York, New York.  She died at age 74 in Tucson, Arizona.

 

2008 ~ Mary G. Ross (née Mary Golda Ross; b. Aug. 9, 2008), Native American engineer.  She was one of the original 40 members of Skunk Works, the name of Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, which was responsible for designing military aircraft.  She was born in Park Hill, Oklahoma.  She died at age 99 in Los Altos, California.

 

2008 ~ Albert Hofmann (b. Jan. 11, 1906), Swiss chemist who was the first to synthesize and try LSD.  He died of a heart attack at age 102.

 

2006 ~ John Kenneth Galbraith (b. Oct. 15, 1908), Canadian-American economist.  He was born in Iona Station, Ontario, Canada.  He died at age 97 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

 

2005 ~ William Bell (né William Joseph Bell; b. Mar. 6, 1927), American screenwriter and producer.  He was known for producing many soap operas, including The Young and the Restless.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died of complications of Alzheimer’s disease at age 78 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2005 ~ Louis Leithold (b. Nov. 16, 1924), American mathematician.  He is best known for his book The Calculus, which changed teaching methods of mathematics in high schools.  He was born in San Francisco, California.  He died at age 80 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1997 ~ Mike Royko (né Michael Royko, Jr.; b. Sept. 19, 1932), American columnist.  He was born and died in Chicago, Illinois.  He died of a brain aneurysm at age 64.

 

1980 ~ Sir Alfred Hitchcock (né Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, b. Aug. 13, 1899), English film director.  He died at age 80 in Bel Air, California.

 

1951 ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein (né Ludwig Joseph Johann Wittgenstein; b. Apr. 26, 1889), Austrian-born philosopher who worked in logic and mathematical philosophy.  He died 3 days after his 62^nd birthday.

 

1937 ~ Wallace Carothers (né Wallace Hume Carothers; b. Apr. 27, 1896), American organic chemist who, while working at DuPont, invented nylon.  He was born in Burlington, Iowa.  He died by suicide in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania just 2 days after his 41^st birthday.

 

1921 ~ Annie Edson Taylor (née Anne Edson; b. Oct. 24, 1838), was the first person to go Niagara Falls and survive.  She performed this stunt on October 24, 1901, her 63^rd birthday!  She was born in Auburn, New York.  She died at age 82 in Lockport, New York.

 

1916 ~ Jørgen Pedersen Gram (b. June 27, 1850), Danish actuary and mathematician.  He died at age 65 after being hit by a bicycle.

 

1893 ~ Bailey Gatzert (b. Dec. 29, 1829), American politician and first Jewish mayor of Seattle, Washington.  He served as Mayor from 1875 until 1876.  He was born in Germany.  He emigrated to Natchez, Mississippi before heading further west.  He died in Seattle, Washington at age 63.

 

1793 ~ Yechezkel ben Yehudah Landau (b. Oct. 8, 1713), Polish Rabbi.  He died at age 79.

 

1771 ~ Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (b. 1700), French-Italian architect who designed the Winter Palace and the Catherine Palace for Imperial Russia.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.

 

1380 ~ Catherine of Siena (b. Mar. 25, 1347), Italian mystic and Catholic saint.  She was born in Siena, Italy.  She died of a stroke at age 33 in Rome, Italy.

April 28

Birthdays:

 

1981 ~ Jessica Alba (née Jessica Marie Alba), American actress.

 

1974 ~ Penélope Cruz (née Penélope Cruz Sánchez), Spanish actress.  She was born in Alcobendas, Spain.

 

1964 ~ L’Wren Scott (née Laura Bambrough, d. Mar. 17, 2014), the American fashion designer who styled the stars.  She was Mick Jagger’s long-time girlfriend.  She died by suicide at age 49.

 

1960 ~ Elena Kagan, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  She was appointed to the High Court by President Barack Obama.  She replaced John Paul Stevens on the Court.  She began her term in August 2010.  She was born in New York, New York.

 

1950 ~ Jay Leno (né James Douglas Muir Leno), American television personality.  He was born in New Rochelle, New York.

 

1949 ~ Bruno Kirby (né Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr.; d. Aug. 14, 2006), American actor.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died of leukemia at age 57 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1949 ~ Paul Guilfoyle (né Paul Vincent Guilfoyle), American television actor best known for his role as Captain Brass on the television drama CSI.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1948 ~ Sir Terry Pratchett (né Terrance David John Pratchett; d. Mar. 12, 2015), British author of the Discworld fantasy series.  He was known as the novelist who mixed fantasy and satire.  He died of early onset Alzheimer’s disease at 66 years old.

 

1941 ~ Ann-Margret (née Ann-Margret Olsson), Swedish actress.  She was born in Stockholm, Sweden.

 

1941 ~ Karl Sharpless (né Karl Barry Sharpless), American chemist and recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with on stereoselective reactions.  He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

1937 ~ Saddam Hussein (d. Dec. 30, 2006), 5^th President, and virtual dictator of, Iraq.  He was executed for war crimes and the mass execution of Iraqi Shi’ietes.  He was 69 years old.

 

1930 ~ James Baker (né James Addison Baker, III), 61^st United States Secretary State.  He served in that capacity in under George H.W. Bush.  He also served Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush as White House Chief of Staff.  During the Reagan Administration, he also served as the 67^th United States Secretary of the Treasury from February 1985 until August 1988.  He was born in Houston, Texas.

 

1926 ~ Harper Lee (née Nelle Harper Lee, d. Feb. 19, 2016), American author, best known for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird.  In July 2015, a second book written by Lee, Go Set A Watchman, was published.  She was born and died in Monroeville, Alabama.  She was 89 years old at the time of her death.

 

1924 ~ Kenneth Kaunda (né Kenneth David Kaunda; d. June 17, 2021), Zambian leader who battled colonialism.  He served as the first president of Zambia from 1964 until 1991.  He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule.  He was born in Chinsali, Northern Rhodesia (now known as Zambia).  He died at age 97 in Lisaka, Zambia.

 

1923 ~ Carolyn Cassady (née Carolyn Elizabeth Robinson; d. Sept. 20, 2013), American woman who was the Beats’ muse and lover.  She was married to Neal Cassady.  She died following complications of surgery at age 90.

 

1916 ~ Ferruccio Lamborghini (d. Feb. 20, 1993), Italian businessman and creator of the Lamborghini, a high-end sports vehicle.  He died at age 76 of a heart attack.

 

1908 ~ Oskar Schindler (d. Oct. 9, 1974), Austro-Hungarian industrialist who saved many Jews during World War II.  Although a member of the Nazi Party, he hired many Jews in his factories, which ultimately saved their lives.  He was the subject of Steven Spielberg’s movie, Schindler’s List.  He was named Righteous Among Nations by the Israeli government in 1963.  He died at age 66.  He is buried in the Mount Zion Catholic Cemetery in Jerusalem.

 

1906 ~ Kurt Gödel (né Kurt Friedrich Gödel; d. Jan. 14, 1978), Austrian mathematician.  He was born in what is now Brno, Czech Republic.  He died at age 71 of starvation.  He had a fear of being poisoned and would only eat food prepared by his wife, Adele.  When she became ill and could no longer prepare his food, he stopped eating.

 

1878 ~ Lionel Barrymore (né Lionel Herbert Blyth; d. Nov. 15, 1954), American actor.  He was a member of the theatrical Barrymore family.  He died of a heart attack at age 76.

 

1868 ~ Georgy Voronoy (d. Nov. 20, 1908), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 40 following a severe illness.

 

1854 ~ Hertha Marks Aryton (née Phoebe Sarah Marks; d. Aug. 26, 1923), British engineer and mathematician.  She died of blood poisoning following a bug bite.  She was 69 years old.

 

1838 ~ Tobias Asser (né Tobias Michael Carel Asser; d. July 29, 1913), Dutch lawyer and recipient of the 1911 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the field of private international law.  He died at age 75.

 

1765 ~ Sylvestre François Lacroix (d. May 24, 1834), French mathematician.  He died less than a month after his 78^thbirthday.

 

1761 ~ Marie Harel (d. Nov. 9, 1844), French cheesemaker.  She is credited with inventing Camembert Cheese.  She died at age 83.

 

1758 ~ James Monroe (d. July 4, 1831), 5^th President of the United States.  He was President from March 1817 through March 1825.  He had previously served as the 8^th United States Secretary of War under President James Madison from September 1814 until March 1815.  He also served as the 7^th United States Secretary of State under President James Madison from April 1811 until March 1817.  He died at age 73.

 

1676 ~ Frederick I, King of Sweden (b. Apr. 5, 1751).  He reigned as King from March 24, 1720 until his death in April 1751.  He was married twice.  His 1^st wife, whom he married in 1700, was Luise Dorothea of Prussia.  They had 2 daughters.  She died in childbirth in December 1705.  In 1715, he married Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden.  She abdicated in favor of her husband, allowing him to reign as King.  There were no surviving children of his second marriage, however, he had 3 illegitimate children with his mistress.  He was of the House of Hesse-Kassel.  He was the son of Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Maria Amalia of Courland.  He died 23 days before his 75^th birthday.

 

1573 ~ Charles de Valois, Duke of Angoulême (d. Sept. 24, 1650).  He was of the House of Valois-Angoulême.  He was the illegitimate son of Charles IX, King of France and his mistress, Marie Touchet.  He was married twice.  His first wife, whom he married in 1591, was Charlotte de Montmorency.  They had 3 children.  After her death, he married Françoise de Narbonne in 1644.  There were no children of his 2^nd marriage. He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 77.

 

1442 ~ Edward IV, King of England (d. Apr. 9, 1483).  He reigned from March 4, 1461 until Oct. 3, 1470 and again from April 11, 1471 until his death in April 1483.  He was the first Yorkist King of England.  He married Elizabeth Woodville in 1464.  They had 10 children together.  He also had several illegitimate children with his numerous mistresses.  He was of the House of York.  He was the son of Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville.  He died 19 days before his 41^stbirthday.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2021 ~ Federal agents executed a search warrant of the home and office of Rudi Guiliani (b. 1944) as part of their investigation into his work in Ukraine leading up to the 2020 presidential election.  Guiliani’s phone and electronics were seized.

 

2020 ~ The United States confirmed that 100,000 people have died of Covid-19 since January 2020.

 

1994 ~ Aldrich Ames (b. 1941), former CIA counter-intelligence office, pled guilty to giving United States secrets to the former Soviet Union and Russia.

 

1988 ~ On Aloha Airlines Flight 243, the fuselage ripped off a Boeing 737 and flight attendant Clarabelle Lansing (1930 ~ 1988) was sucked through the hole to her death.  The pilot was able to land the plane with no other casualties.

 

1971 ~ The Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA) was established by the United States Department of Labor.

 

1969 ~ Charles de Gaulle (1890 ~ 1970) resigned as president of France.

 

1952 ~ Dwight David Eisenhower (1890 ~ 1969) resigned as the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.

 

1947 ~ Thor Heyerdahl (1914 ~ 2002) and his crew of five set out on the Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia.

 

1932 ~ A vaccine for yellow fever was approved for use in humans.

 

1920 ~ Azerbaijan was became a part of the Soviet Union.

 

1789 ~ Lieutenant William Bligh (1754 ~ 1817) and 18 of his loyal sailors were set adrift following the Mutiny on the Bounty.  The mutineers returned to Tahiti, then set sail for Pitcairn’s Island.

 

1788 ~ Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.

 

1503 ~ The Battle of Cerignola in southern Italy was fought between Spanish and French armies.  The Spanish armies utilized firearms and were victorious; marking the first battle won using gunpowder in small fire arms.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2021 ~ Michael Collins (b. Oct. 31, 1930), American astronaut.  He was the command module pilot for Apollo 11.  While his crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren made the first crewed landing on the Moon, Collins was all alone in space.  He was born in Rome, Italy.  He died of cancer at age 90 in Naples, Florida.

 

2019 ~ John Singleton (né John Daniel Singleton; b. Jan. 6, 1968), African-American film director who stunned with Boyz n the Hood.  At age 24, he was the youngest person to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Director for his film Boyz n the Hood.  He died at age 51 of complication of a stroke.

 

2019 ~ Richard Lugar (né Richard Green Lugar; b. Apr. 4, 1932), American Hoosier Senator who shaped world affairs.  He served in the United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 until 2013.  He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He died 24 days after his 87^th birthday in Falls Church, Virginia.

 

2018 ~ Larry Harvey (b. Jan. 11, 1948), American artist and freethinker who co-founded Burning Man.  He was born and died in San Francisco, California.  He died of a massive stroke at age 70.

 

2018 ~ Art Paul (né Arthur Paul; b. Jan. 18, 1925), American graphic designer who gave Playboy its bunny.  He was born and died in Chicago, Illinois.  He died at age 93.

 

2016 ~ Jenny Diski (née Jennifer Simmonds; d. July 8, 1947), British writer.  She died of lung cancer at age 68.

 

2000 ~ Penelope Fitzgerald (née Penelope Mary Knox; b. Dec. 17, 1916), British author.  She died at age 83.

 

1999 ~ Arthur Leonard Schawlow (b. May 5, 1921), American physicist and recipient of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on lasers.  He died 7 days before his 78^th birthday.

 

1988 ~ Clarabelle Lansing (b. Jan. 18, 1930), American stewardess on the ill-fated Aloha Airlines.  She was the only fatality when the fuselage ripped open mid-flight.  She was 58 years old.

 

1960 ~ General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (b. Nov. 3, 1877), President of Chile.  He served two terms, the first from May 1927 until November 1931 in his first term and the second term from November 1952 until November 1958.  He was born in Linares, Chile.  He died at age 82 in Santiago, Chile.

 

1954 ~ Léon Jouhaux (b. July 1, 1879), French labor leader and recipient of the 1951 Nobel Peace Prize. He died at age 74.

 

1949 ~ Aurora Quezon (b. Feb. 19, 1888), First Lady of the Philippines.  She was assassinated on her way to open a hospital dedicated to her deceased husband, former president of the Philippines.  She was 61 years old.

 

1946 ~ Louis Bachelier (né Louis Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Bachelier; b. Mar. 11, 1870), French mathematician.  He died at age 76.

 

1945 ~ Clara Petacci (b. Feb. 28, 1912), Italian mistress of Benito Mussolini.  She was executed by firing squad along with Mussolini.  She was born in Rome, Italy.  She was 33 years old at the time of her death.

 

1945 ~ Benito Mussolini (né Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, b. July 29, 1883), Fascist dictator of Italy.  He served as the 27^th Prime Minister of Italy from October 1922 until July 1943.  He was executed by a firing squad, which consisted of members of the Italian resistance movement.  He was 61.

 

1944 ~ Frank Knox (né William Franklin Knox; b. Jan. 1, 1874), 46^th United States Secretary of the Navy.  He served under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during most of World War II, from July 1940 until April 1944.  Prior to becoming the Secretary of the Navy, he was a newspaper publisher.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died in Washington, D.C., while still in Office at age 70.

 

1936 ~ King Faud I of Egypt (b. Mar. 26, 1868).  He was born and died in Cairo, Egypt.  He died about a month after his 68^th birthday.

 

1922 ~ Paul Deschanel (né Paul Eugène Louis Deschanel; b. Feb. 13, 1855), President of France from February 1920 until September 1920.  He was born in Schaerbeek, Belgium.  He died at age 67 in Paris, France.

 

1903 ~ Josiah Willard Gibbs (b. Feb. 11, 1839), American mathematical physicist.  An instructorship at the Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut is named in his honor.  He was born and died in New Haven, Connecticut.  He died at age 64.

 

1883 ~ Jack Russell (né John Russell; b. Dec. 21, 1795), English parson and dog breeder.  He died at age 87.

 

1865 ~ Sir Samuel Cunard, 1^st Baronet (b. Nov. 21, 1787), Canadian businessman who founded the Cunard Line.  He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  He died at age 77.

 

1802 ~ Richard Howell (b. Oct. 25, 1754), 3^rd Governor of New Jersey.  He served in that Office from June 1792 until October 1, 1801.  He was born in Newark, Delaware.  He died at age 47 in Trenton, New Jersey.