October 31

Halloween

 

Birthdays:

 

2005 ~ Leonor, Princess of Asturias.  She is the heir presumptive of Spain.  She is of the House of Borbón.  She is the daughter of Felipe VI, King of Spain and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.  She was born in Madrid, Spain.

 

1990 ~ Patti Harrison, American actress and comedian.  She was born in Orient, Ohio.

 

1967 ~ Adam Schlesinger (né Adam Lyons Schlesinger; d. Apr. 1, 2020), American singer-songwriter.  He was in the band Fountains of Wayne.  He also composed music for movies and television shows, including Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died in Poughkeepsie, New York of complications from Covid-19.  He was 52 years old.

 

1966 ~ Mike O’Malley (né Michael Edward O’Malley), American actor.  He is best known for his role as Burt Hummel on the television drama Glee.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1963 ~ Dermot Mulroney, American actor.  He was born in Alexandria, Virginia.

 

1963 ~ Rob Schneider (né Robert Michael Schneider), American comedian and actor.  He was born in San Francisco, California.

 

1955 ~ Susan Orlean, American author and journalist.  She was born in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

1954 ~ Ken Wahl (né Kenneth M. Wahl), American actor and animal rights activist.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1953 ~ Don Winslow, American novelist best known for his crime and mystery novels.  He was born in New York, New York.

 

1951 ~ Nick Saban (né Nicholas Lou Saban, Jr.), American college football coach who coached for Louisiana State University, before moving on to the University of Alabama.  He was born in Fairmont, West Virginia.

 

1950 ~ John Candy (né John Franklin Candy; d. Mar. 4, 1994), Canadian actor and comedian.  He was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.  He died of a heart attack at age 43 in Durango, Mexico.

 

1950 ~ Dame Zaha Hadid (née Zaha Mohammad Hadid; d. Mar. 31, 2016), Iraqi-British visionary who broke architecture’s glass ceiling.  She was one of the most influential architects of her generation.  She was the first woman to win the Ptitzker Prize.  She was born in Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq.  She died of a heart attack at age 65 in Miami, Florida.

 

1950 ~ Jane Pauley (née Margaret Jane Pauley), American journalist and news anchor.  She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.

 

1946 ~ Stephen Rea, Irish actor.  He is best known for his role as Fergus in the 1992 film The Crying Game.  He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

 

1945 ~ Brian Doyle-Murray (né Brian Murray), American actor and comedian.  He is the older brother of comedian Bill Murray.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1943 ~ Brian Piccolo (né Louis Brian Piccolo, d. June 16, 1970), American football player.  He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  He died of cancer at age 26 in New York, New, New York.  His life story was depicted in the movie, Brian’s Song.

 

1942 ~ David Ogden Stiers (né David Allen Ogden Stiers; d. Mar. 3, 2018), American actor best known for his role as Major Charles Emerson Winchester, III on the television sit-com M*A*S*H.  He was born in Peoria, Illinois.  He died of cancer at age 75 in Newport, Oregon.

 

1939 ~ Ron Rifkin (né Saul M. Rifkin), American actor.  He was born in New York, New York.

 

1936 ~ Michael Landon (né Eugene Maurice Orowitz; d. July 1, 1991), American actor.  He was born in Queens, New York.  He died at age 54 of pancreatic cancer in Malibu, California.

 

1935 ~ Ronald Graham (né Ronald Lewis Graham; d. July 6, 2020), American mathematician.  He was born in Taft, California.  He died at age 84 in San Diego, California.

 

1935 ~ Dale Brown (né Dale Duward Brown), American basketball coach who coached the LSU Tigers for 25 years.  He was born in Minot, North Dakota.

 

1931 ~ Dan Rather (né Dan Irvin Rather, Jr.), American journalist and news anchor.  He was born in Wharton, Texas.

 

1930 ~ Michael Collins (d. Apr. 28, 2021), 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.

 

1927 ~ Roger Kahn (d. Feb. 6, 2020), American Dodgers fan who elevated baseball writing.  He is best known for his 1972 baseball book The Boys of Summer.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died at age 92 in Mamaroneck, New York.

 

1925 ~ Sir John Pople (né John Anthony Pople; d. Mar. 15, 2004), English chemist and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 78 in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1925 ~ Robin Moore (né Robert Lowell Moore, Jr.; d. Feb. 21, 2008), American popular author who wrote The French Connection.  He also wrote The Green Berets.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died at age 82 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

 

1922 ~ Barbara Bel Geddes (d. Aug. 8, 2005), American actress best known for her role as Miss Ellie on the television series, Dallas.  She was born in New York, New York.  She died of lung cancer at age 82 in Northeast Harbor, Maine.

 

1922 ~ Norodom Sihanouk (d. Oct 15, 2012), Cambodian king and 1^st Prime Minister of Cambodia who reigned over independence and bloodshed.  He was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, French Indochina.  He died 2 weeks before his 90^th birthday in Beijing, China.

 

1920 ~ Helmut Newton (né Helmut Neustädter; d. Jan. 23, 2004), German photographer.  He was born in Berlin, Germany.  He was killed in a car accident at age 83 in West Hollywood, California.

 

1920 ~ Dick Francis (né Richard Stanley Francis; d. Feb. 14, 2010), British jockey who became a best-selling novelist.  He was born in Lawrenny, Penbrokeshire, Wales.  He died at age 89 in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

 

1919 ~ Father Magnus Wenninger (né Magnus Joseph Wenninger; d. Feb. 17, 2017), American mathematician and Catholic priest.  He is best known for his work in constructing polyhedron models and wrote the first book on their construction.  He was born in Park Falls, Wisconsin.  He died at age 97 in Minnesota.

 

1918 ~ Griffin Bell (né Griffin Boyette Bell; d. Jan. 5, 2009), 72^nd United States Attorney General.  He served under President Jimmy Carter.  He served as Attorney General from January 1977 until August 1979.  He was also a Judge of the United States Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit from February 1962 until March 1976.  He was born in Americus, Georgia.  He died at age 90 in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

1912 ~ Dale Evans (née Lucille Wood Smith; d. Feb. 7, 2001), American singer-songwriter and actress.  She was the 3^rdwife of Roy Rogers and he was her 4^th husband.  She was born in Uvalde, Texas.  She died of congestive heart failure at age 88 in Apple Valley, California.

 

1912 ~ Oscar Dystel (d. May 28, 2014), American publisher who saved the paperback.  His made Bantam Books a pioneer and main publisher of paperback books.  His publishing house published Catcher in the Rye.  He was born in The Bronx, New York.  He died at age 101 in Rye, New York.

 

1902 ~ Abraham Wald (d. Dec. 13, 1950), Hungarian mathematician.  He was killed in a plane crash at age 48 in India.

 

1896 ~ Ethel Waters (d. Sept. 1, 1977), African-American actress and singer.  She was born in Chester, Pennsylvania.  She died of uterine cancer at age 80 in Chatsworth, California.

 

1887 ~ Chiang Kai-shek (d. Apr. 5, 1975), 1^st President of the Republic of China.  He died at age 87.

 

1860 ~ Juliette Gordon Low (née Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon; d. Jan. 17, 1927), American founder of the Girl Scouts.  She died of breast cancer at age 66.  She was born and died in Savannah, Georgia.

 

1860 ~ Andrew Volstead (né Andrew John Volstead; d. Jan. 20, 1947), American Republican member of the United States House of Representatives.  He is best known as being the author of the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly referred to as the Volstead Act, which authorized prohibition of the sale of alcohol.  He was born in Kenyon, Minnesota.  He died at age 86 in Grand Falls, Minnesota.

 

1851 ~ Princess Louise of Sweden (d. Mar. 20, 1926), Queen consort of Denmark and wife of Frederick VIII, King of Denmark.  She was of the House of Bernadotte.  She was the daughter of Charles XV, King of Sweden and Louise of the Netherlands.  She was Lutheran.  She was born in Stockholm, Sweden and died at age 74 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

1848 ~ Boston Custer (d. June 25, 1876), youngest brother of George Armstrong Custer (b. Dec. 5, 1839) and Thomas Ward Custer (b. Mar. 15, 1845).  All were killed in the Battle of Little Big Horn, Montana Territory.  Boston was 27 years old; George Custer was 36 years old, and Thomas was 31.  He was born in New Rumley, Ohio.

 

1838 ~ Luís I, King of Portugal (d. Oct. 19, 1889).  He ascended to the throne upon the death of his elder brother.  He reigned as King from November 1861 until his death in 1889.  He was known as Luís the Popular.  In 1862 he married Maria Pia of Savoy.  He was of the House of Braganza.  He was the son of Maria II, Queen of Portugal and Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died 12 days before his 51^st birthday.

 

1835 ~ Adolf von Baeyer (né Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf Baeyer; d. Aug. 20, 1917), German chemist and recipient of the 1905 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 81.

 

1827 ~ Richard Morris Hunt (d. July 31, 1897), American architect and designer of the New York Tribune Building.  He was born in Brattleboro, Vermont.  He died in Newport, Rhode Island at age 67.

 

1815 ~ Karl Weierstraβ (né Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstraβ; d. Feb. 19, 1897), German mathematician.  He died at age 81 in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia.

 

1795 ~ John Keats (d. Feb. 23, 1821), English poet.  He was born in London, England.  He died of tuberculosis at age 25 in Rome.

 

1705 ~ Pope Clement XIV (né Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli; d. Sept. 22, 1774).  He was Pope from May 19, 1769 until his death on this date 5 years later.  He was 68 at the time of his death.

 

1632 ~ Jan Vermeer (d. Dec. 15, 1675), Dutch/Flemish painter.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on this date.  He is best known for his painting Girl with Pearl Earring, which is on display at the Mauritshius Museum in The Hague, Netherlands.  The date of his death is unknown, but he was buried on December 15, 1675.  He was born and died in Delft, Holland, Dutch Republic.  He died at age 43.

 

1607 ~ Pierre de Fermat (d. Jan. 12, 1665), French mathematician.  He did pioneering work in analytic geometry.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, although it is generally attributed to have been as early as 1601 or as late as 1607.  Also, he may have been born as late as December 7, 1607.  He died in Castres, France.

 

1424 ~ Władysław III, King of Poland (d. Nov. 10, 1444).  He reigned as King from 1434 until his death in 1444.  He never married and had no known children.  He was of the House of Jagiellon.  He was the son of Władysław Jagełło and Sophia of Halshany.  He was Roman Catholic.  He was killed in the Battle of Varna just 10 days after his 20^th birthday.

 

1391 ~ Edward, King of Portugal (d. Sept. 9, 1438).  He reigned as King from August 1433 until his death of the plague at age 46.  In 1428, he married Eleanor of Aragon.  He was of the House of Aviz.  He was the son of John I, King of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 46.

 

1345 ~ Ferdinand I, King of Portugal (d. Oct. 22, 1383).  He reigned as King from January 1367 until his death, probably from poisoning, at age 37 in 1383.  He was known as Ferdinand the Handsome and Ferdinand the Inconsistent.  He married Leonor Teles in 1372.  He was of the House of Burgundy.  He was the son of Peter I, King of Portugal and Constanza Manuel.  He died 9 days before his 38^th birthday.  His death led to the 1383-1385 crisis, known as the Portuguese interregnum.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2017 ~ In an act of terrorism, a truck drove into a crowd of people in Manhattan, killing 8 people.

 

2015 ~ A Russian plane, Metrojet Flight 9268, traveling from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to St. Petersburg, Russia was bombed and crashed in the Sinai.  All 224 passengers and crew perished.  The crash was the result of a terrorist attack.

 

2011 ~ The global population of humans reached the 7 Billion mark.  The United Nations designated this as Seven Billion Day.

 

2002 ~ Former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow (b. 1961) was indicted by a federal grand jury in Houston, Texas on 78 counts of money laundering, conspiracy, wire fraud and obstruction of justice in the collapse of Enron.  Fastow was sentenced to a 6-year prison term for his actions.  He was released from prison in December 2011.

 

1999 ~ EgyptAir flight 990, traveling from New York to Cairo, crashed off the coast of Massachusetts.  All 217 passengers and crew aboard were killed.  The cause of the crash is in dispute.  Two investigations came up with different conclusions: The crash was either due to the deliberate action of the relief first officer or was caused by mechanical failure.

 

1984 ~ Indira Gandhi (1917 ~ 1984), Prime Minister of India, was assassinated by two Sikh security guards.  Riots erupted throughout the country and nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed.

 

1956 ~ During the Suez Crisis, the United Kingdom and France began bombing Egypt in an attempt for force the reopening of the Suez Canal.

 

1941 ~ The sculpture at Mount Rushmore was completed 14 years after work had begun.

 

1922 ~ Benito Mussolini (1883 ~ 1945) became made Prime Minister of Italy.

 

1913 ~ The Lincoln Highway was dedicated.  This was the first automobile road across the United States.

 

1864 ~ Nevada became the 36^th State of the Union.

 

1861 ~ Union General Winfield Scott (1786 ~ 1866) resigned as Commander of the United States Army, citing failing health.

 

1517 ~ The traditional date that Martin Luther (1483 ~ 1546) nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, hence marking the start of the Protestant Reformation.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2020 ~ Sir Sean Connery (né Thomas Sean Connery; b. Aug. 25, 1930), suave Scottish actor who made James Bond a screen icon.  He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.  He died at age 90 in Nassau, The Bahamas

 

2015 ~ Thomas Blatt (né Tomasz Blatt; b. Apr. 15, 1927), Jewish-American Holocaust survivor.  He was a Nazi death camp inmate who survived a daring escape.  At age 16, he escaped during an uprising from the Sobibór concentration camp.  He ultimately immigrated to the United States where he wrote about his experiences.  He was born in Izbica, Poland.  He died at age 88 in Santa Barbara, California.

 

2013 ~ Gérard de Villiers (b. Dec. 8, 1929), French spy novelist who spun tales from real sources.  He was born and died in Paris, France.  He died at age 83.

 

2012 ~ John H. Reed (né John Hathaway Reed; b. Jan. 5, 1921), 67^th Governor of Maine.  He served as Governor from December 1959 until January 1967.  Before turning to politics, he was a potato farmer in Aroostook County.  He was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine.  He died at age 91 in Washington, D.C.

 

2012 ~ John Fitch (né John Cooper Fitch, b. Aug. 4, 1917), American racing legend who loved speed and safety.  He invented the safety barriers found on interstate exit ramps.  He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He died at age 95 in Lime Rock, Connecticut.

 

2010 ~ Ted Sorensen (né Theodore Chaikin Sorensen; b. May 8, 1928), 8^th White House Counsel.  He served under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson from January 1961 until February 1964.  He was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.  He died at age 82 of complications from a stroke in New York, New York.

 

2009 ~ Qian Xuesen (b. Dec. 11, 1911), Chinese aerodynamicist who put China in space.  He was born in Shanghai, China.  He died at age 97 in Beijing, China.

 

2008 ~ Studs Terkel (né Louis Terkel; b. May 16, 1912), American writer and oral historian who tapped into the heart of America.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 96 in Chicago, Illinois.

 

2006 ~ P.W. Botha (né Pieter Willem Botha, b. Jan. 12, 1916), South African politician.  He was President of South Africa from 1978 to 1989.  He had a reputation as being a tough and ruthless leader.  He died of a heart attack at age 90.

 

1993 ~ River Phoenix (né River Jude Bottom; b. Aug. 23. 1970), American actor.  He was born in Madras, Oregon.  He died at age 23 of a drug overdose in West Hollywood, California.

 

1993 ~ Frederico Fellini (b. Jan. 20, 1920), Italian movie director.  He died of a stroke at age 73 in Rome, Italy.

 

1991 ~ Joseph Papp (b. June 22, 1921), American stage director and producer.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died of prostate cancer at age 70 in New York, New York.

 

1988 ~ John Houseman (né Jacques Haussmann; b. Sept. 22, 1902), Romanian-born actor.  He was born in Bucharest, Romania.  He died of spinal cancer at age 86 in Malibu, California.

 

1986 ~ Robert S. Mulliken (né Robert Sanderson Mulliken, b. June 7, 1896), American chemist and recipient of the 1966 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts.  He died at age 90 in Arlington, Virginia.

 

1984 ~ Indira Gandhi (né Indira Priyadarshini Nehru; b. Nov. 19, 1917), Prime Minister of India and first woman to hold that Office.  She served as Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination on October 21, 1984.  She was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards.  Her assassination caused riots throughout India in which nearly 10,000 Sikhs were killed.  She was killed in New Delhi, India just 19 days before her 67^th birthday.

 

1983 ~ Lu Jaixi (b. June 10, 1935), Chinese self-taught mathematician.  He made important contributions in the field of combinatorial design theory.  He was born in Shanghai, China.  He ostensibly died suddenly at age 48 of a heart attack caused by exhaustion from overworking.

 

1977 ~ C.B. Colby (né Carroll Burleigh Colby; b. Sept. 7, 1904), American children’s author.  He was born in Claremont, New Hampshire.  He died at age 73.

 

1976 ~ Eileen Gray (née Kathleen Eileen Moray Smith; b. Aug. 9, 1878), Irish architect and furniture designer.  She died at age 98 in Paris, France.

 

1926 ~ Harry Houdini (né Erik Weiss, b. Mar. 24, 1874), Hungarian-born American magician.  He died of gangrene following a rupture of his appendix after he had been punched in the gut two weeks earlier.  He was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary.  He died at age 52 in Detroit, Michigan.

 

1884 ~ Marie Bashkirtseff (née Maria Konstantinovna Bashkirtseva; b. Nov. 12, 1858), Ukrainian-born artist and sculptor.  She died of tuberculosis in Paris, France just 12 days after her 25^th birthday.  Much of her work was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II, although at least 60 pieces remain and are on display in Paris, France.

 

1879 ~ Joseph Hooker (b. Nov. 13, 1814), American general.  He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.  He was born in Hadley, Massachusetts.  He died in Garden City, New York 2 weeks before his 65^th birthday.

 

1834 ~ Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (b. June 24, 1771), French businessman who founded a gunpowder company in 1802.  His company was the forerunner of today’s DuPont chemical company.  He was born in Paris, France.  He died at age 63 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

1732 ~ Victor Amadeus II, King of Sicily (b. May 14, 1666).  He ruled over Sicily from September 1713 until February 1720, when he became the King of Sardinia.  He was married twice.  In 1684, he married Anne Marie d’Orléans.  After her death, he married Anna Canalis di Cumiana.  He was of the House of Savoy.  He was the son of Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy and Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Nemours.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 66.

 

1723 ~ Cosimo III de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. Aug. 14, 1642).  He ruled from May 1670 until his death in 1723.  He was married to Marguerite Louise d’Orléans.  He was of the House of Medici.  He was the son of Ferdinando II de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Vittoria Della Rovere.  He was Roman Catholic.  He was born and died in Florence, Tuscany.  He died at age 81.

 

1517 ~ Fra Bartolomeo (b. Mar. 28, 1472), Italian artist and Dominican friar.  He died at age 45 in Florence, Italy.

 

1214 ~ Eleanor of England (b. Oct. 13, 1163), Queen consort of Castile.  She was the wife of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile.  She was of the House of Plantagenet.  She was the daughter of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.  She died 13 days after her 53^rd birthday.

 

1147 ~ Robert, 1^st Earl of Gloucester (b. 1100), member of the British royal family.  He was the half-brother of Empress Matilda and was her chief military supporter during the civil war known as The Anarchy, in which she vied with Stephen of Blois for the English throne.  He was married to Mabel FitzRobert.  He was the son of Henry I, King of England and an unnamed mistress.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was probably born sometime between 1090 and 1100, thus at the time of his death, he was between 47 and 57 years old. 

October 30

Birthdays:

 

1981 ~ Ivanka Trump (née Ivanka Marie Trump), daughter of President Donald Trump and adviser to her father during his presidency.  She was born in Manhattan, New York.

 

1978 ~ Matthew Morrison (né Matthew James Morrison), American singer and actor.  He is best known for his role as Will Schuester on the television drama Glee.  He was born in Fort Ord, California.

 

1966 ~ Choua Yang (d. Oct. 9, 2020), Hmong refugee and educator.  She fled Laos as a child following the 1975 Communist takeover and grew up to be an educator in the United States.  She helped to help fellow Hmong refugees adapt to live in the United States and was the co-founder of the Prairie Seeds Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She died of Covid-19 just three weeks after her 59^th birthday.

 

1963 ~ Andrew Solomon, American journalist, and author.  He was born in Manhattan, New York.

 

1961 ~ Larry Wilmore (né Elister Larry Wilmore), African-American comedian and television host.  He was born in Los Angeles, California.

 

1960 ~ Diego Maradona (d. Nov. 25, 2020), Argentine slum kid who became a soccer legend.  He died of a heart attack less than a month after his 60^th birthday.

 

1951 ~ Harry Hamlin (né Harry Robinson Hamlin), American actor.  He was born in Pasadena, California.

 

1946 ~ William Thurston (né William Paul Thurston, d. Aug. 21, 2012), American mathematician.  He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1982.  He was born in Washington, D.C.  He died at age 65 of cancer in Rochester, New York.

 

1946 ~ Andrea Mitchell, American journalist.  She married Alan Greenspan, her 2^nd husband, in 1997.  She was born in New Rochelle, New York.

 

1945 ~ Henry Winkler (né Henry Franklin Winkler), American actor, best known for his role as The Fonz on Happy Days.  He was born in Manhattan, New York.

 

1941 ~ Theodor W. Hänsch (né Theodor Wolfgang Hänsch), German physicist and recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was born in Heidelberg, Germany.

 

1939 ~ Leland H. Hartwell (né Leland Harrison Hartwell), American biologist and recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of protein molecules that control cell division.  He was born in Los Angeles, California.

 

1939 ~ Grace Slick (née Grace Barnett Wing), American singer in the bands Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.  She was born in Highland Park, Illinois.

 

1936 ~ Dick Vermeil (né Richard Albert Vermeil), American professional football coach.  He was born in Calistoga, California.

 

1935 ~ Robert Caro (né Robert Allan Caro), American author best known for writing biographies of political figures.  He was born in New York, New York.

 

1932 ~ Louis Malle (né Louis Marie Malle; d. Nov. 23, 1995), French film director.  His second wife was actress Candice Bergen.  He was born in Thumeries, Nord, France.  He died of lymphoma 24 days after his 63^rd birthday in Beverly Hills, California.

 

1928 ~ Daniel Nathans (d. Nov. 16, 1999), American microbiologist and recipient of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of restriction enzymes.  He was born in Wilmington, Delaware.  He died 17 days after his 71^st birthday in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

1900 ~ Ragnar Granit (né Ragnar Arthur Granit; d. Mar. 12, 1991), Finnish neuroscientist and recipient of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 90 in Stockholm, Sweden.

 

1899 ~ Nadezhda Mandelstam (née Nadezhda Yakovlevna Khazina; d. Dec. 29, 1980), Russian writer and educator.  She was born in Saratov, southern Russia.  She died in Moscow, Russia at age 81.

 

1896 ~ Harry R. Truman (né Harry Randall Truman; d. May 18, 1980), American soldier.  He was best known for being a resident of Washington State.  He lived on Mount St. Helens and refused to leave his home despite evacuation orders when the volcano began to erupt in 1980.  He was killed as a result of the eruptions.  He was born in Ivydale, West Virginia.  He was 83 at the time of his death.

 

1896 ~ Ruth Gordon (née Ruth Gordon Jones; d. Aug. 28, 1985), American actress, best known for her role as Maude in the 1971 cult film Harold and Maude.  She was born in Quincy, Massachusetts.  She died in Edgartown, Massachusetts at age 88.

 

1895 ~ Gerhard Domagk (né Gerhard Johannes Paul Domagk; d. Apr. 24, 1964), German bacteriologist and recipient of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in antibiotics.  The Nazis forced him to refuse to accept the Nobel Prize.  In 1947, he was finally able to accept the medal, however, he due to the lapse in time, he was unable to receive the monetary award.  He died of a heart attack at age 68.

 

1895 ~ Dickinson W. Richards (né Dickinson Woodruff Richards, Jr.; d. Feb. 23, 1973), American physician and recipient of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the development of the cardiac catheterization.  He was born in Orange, New Jersey.  He died at age 77 in Lakeville, Connecticut.

 

1892 ~ Charles Atlas (né Angelo Siciliano; d. Dec. 23, 1972), Italian-American bodybuilder and model.  He was born in Acri, Cosenza, Italy.  He died at age 80 in New York, New York.

 

1885 ~ Ezra Pound (né Ezra Weston Loomis Pound; d. Nov. 1, 1972), American poet.  He was born in Hailey, Idaho Territory.  He died 2 days after his 87^th birthday in Venice, Italy.

 

1882 ~ William Halsey, Jr. (né William Frederick Halsey, Jr.; d. Aug. 16, 1959), American Navy Admiral during World War II.  He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey.  He died at age 76 in Fishers Island, New York.

 

1873 ~ Francisco I. Madero (né Francisco Ignacio Madero Gonzáles; d. Feb. 22, 1913), President of Mexico.  He was President from November 1911 until a coup in February 1913.  He was killed in a military coup at age 39 in Mexico City, Mexico.

 

1871 ~ Paul Valéry (né Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry; d. July 20, 1945), French poet.  He was born in Sète, France.  He died at age 73 in Paris, France.

 

1857 ~ Georges Gilles de la Tourette (d. May 26, 1904), French neurologist after whom Tourette’s syndrome is named.  He died at age 46.

 

1748 ~ Martha Skelton Jefferson (née Martha Wayles; d. Sept. 6, 1782), wife of Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson was her second husband as her first husband had died young.  She died at age 33 shortly after having given birth to her 7^th child.  She is believed to have died due to complications of diabetes combined with childbirth.  Because she died nearly 19 years before Jefferson became President, she was never the American First Lady.  She was born in Charles City, Virginia.  She died in Charlottesville, Virginia.

 

1741 ~ Angelica Kauffman (née Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann; d. Nov. 5, 1807), Swiss painter.  She is known as a neoclassical painter.  She died 6 days after her 66^th birthday.

 

1735 ~ John Adams (d. July 4, 1826), 2^nd President of the United States.  He was President from March 1797 until March 1801.  Prior to that he had served as the 1^st Vice President of the United States under George Washington, from April 1789 until March 1797.  He was born in Braintree, Massachusetts.  He died at age 90 in Quincy, Massachusetts.

 

1668 ~ Sophia Charlotte of Hanover (d. Feb. 1, 1705), Queen consort of Prussia.  She was the 2^nd wife of Frederick William I, King of Prussia.  When they married in 1684, Frederick William was the Elector of Brandenburg, thus she became the Electress consort of Brandenburg.  After he became King, she became the first Queen of Prussia.  She was of the House of Hanover.  She was the daughter of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover and Sophia of the Palatinate.  She was Lutheran.  She died at age 36 of pneumonia.

 

1632 ~ Sir Christopher Wren (d. Mar. 8, 1723), English architect and mathematician.  Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, he re-designed many of the city’s churches.  He is best known as being the lead architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.  Under the calendar in use at the time, his birthday was on October 20.  He died at age 90 in London, England.

 

1327 ~ Andrew, Duke of Calabria (d. Sept. 18, 1345), first husband of Joanna I, Queen of Naples.  He was of the House of Anjou-Hungary.  He was the son of Charles I, King of Hungary and Elizabeth of Poland.  He was Catholic.  He was murdered at age 17.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2020 ~ A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey causing numerous buildings to collapse.  The quake also triggered a tsunami

 

2016 ~ A 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck in Castelsantangelo sur Nera, Italy.  It was the strongest quake in the area in 36 years.  Twenty people were injured and 25,000 were left homeless, but no deaths were reported.  The Benedictine cathedral was destroyed as were numerous other historic buildings.  This was the third in a series of quakes struck Italy since late August.

 

2015 ~ President Obama (b. 1961) confirmed plans to expand United States military involvement in Syria.

 

2014 ~ Sweden became the first member of the European Union to officially recognize the Palestine.

 

1983 ~ Argentina held the first democratic elections after being under military rule for the previous seven years.

 

1975 ~ Prince Juan Carlos I of Spain (b. 1938) became the acting head of state, taking over from General Francisco Franco (1892 ~ 1975).  He would formally be named King of Spain in November following the death of Franco.  He would reign until 2014 when he abdicated in favor of his son, Felipe VI (b. 1968).

 

1974 ~ The boxing match between Muhammad Ali (1942 ~ 2016) and George Foreman (b. 1949) dubbed the Rumble in the Jungle took place in Zaire.  Ali won the match.

 

1973 ~ The Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey was completed.  The bridge connects Europe with Asia over the Bosphorus.

 

1960 ~ Dr. Michael Woodruff (1911 ~ 2001) performed the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom.

 

1945 ~ Jackie Robinson (1919 ~ 1972) signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers, thereby becoming the first African-American to play baseball in the major leagues.

 

1944 ~ Anne Frank (1929 ~ 1945) and her sister, Margot (1925 ~ 1945), were deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

 

1941 ~ Over 1,500 Jews from Pidhaytsi in the western Ukraine were sent by the Nazis to the Bełżec extermination camp.

 

1938 ~ Orson Wells (1915 ~ 1985) broadcast The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells, which cause a stir with radio audiences who were not aware that this was a radio play and not real news.

 

1905 ~ Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia (1868 ~ 1918) granted Russia’s first constitution, thereby creating a legislative assembly.  This event occurred on October 17 of the Julian calendar, which was in effect in Russia at the time.

 

1864 ~ Helena, Montana was founded after prospectors found gold at the “Last Chance Gulch.”

 

1817 ~ Simón Bolívar (1783 ~ 1830) became the President of the Third Republic of Venezuela.

 

1534 ~ British Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, thereby making Henry VIII, King of England(1491 ~ 1547) the head of the English Church.  The Pope had previously been head of the Church.

 

1485 ~ Henry VII (1457 ~ 1509) was crowned King of England.

 

1270 ~ The Eight Crusade ended by an agreement between Charles I , King of Sicily (also known as Charles of Anjou; 1220s ~ 1285) and the Hafsid dynasty of Tunis, Tunisia.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2021 ~ Igor Kirillov (né Igor Leonidovich Kirillov; b. Sept. 14, 1932), Soviet news anchor who told comforting lies.  He served as the chief news anchor on the Soviet news station and reported on the Soviet’s latest “triumphs”.  Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he acknowledged that his broadcasts had been filled with propaganda.  He was born and died in Moscow, Russia.  He died at age 89.

 

2021 ~ Justus Rosenberg (b. Jan. 23, 1921), Polish-American language and literature professor who helped artist escape the Nazis.  In his late 90s, he wrote and published his book, The Art of Resistance, in which he described being in the French Resistance during World War II.  He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland).  He died at age 100.

 

2019 ~ Bernard Slade (né Bernard Slade Newbound; b. May 2, 1930), Canadian playwright who created The Partridge Family.  He was also the creator of The Flying Nun.  He was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.  He died at age 89 in Beverly Hills, California.

 

2016 ~ Curly Putman (né Claude Putman, Jr.; b. Nov. 20, 1930), American composer who wrote Green, Green, Grass of Home.  He was born in Princeton, Alabama.  He died three weeks before his 86^th birthday in Lebanon, Tennessee.

 

2016 ~ James Galanos (b. Sept. 20, 1924), American fashion designer who dressed America’s elite.  He designed clothing for such people as Marilyn Monroe, Nancy Reagan, and Elizabeth Taylor.  He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 92 in West Hollywood, California.

 

2015 ~ Al Molinaro (né Umberto Francesco Molinaro; b. June 24, 1919), American Happy Days star who found fame late in life.  He is best known for his role as Big Al Delveccio, the owner of a malt-shop on Happy Days.  He was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  He died at age 96 in Glendale, California.

 

2014 ~ Thomas Menino (né Thomas Michael Menino; b. Dec. 27, 1942), 53^rd Mayor of Boston.  He served as Mayor from July 1993 until January 2014.  He was born and died in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died of cancer at age 71.

 

2009 ~ Michelle Triola Marvin (née Michelle Triola; b. Nov. 13, 1933), American actress who made the case for “palimony.”  She lived with actor Lee Marvin for years and when they split up, she sued for financial support.  She was born in Los Angeles, California.  She died of lung cancer 2 weeks before her 77^th birthday in Malibu, California.

 

2009 ~ Claude Levi-Strauss (b. Nov. 28, 1908), French anthropologist and scholar who changed the study of humanity.  He was born in Brussels, Belgium.  He died 29 days before his 101^st birthday in Paris, France.

 

2007 ~ Robert Goulet (né Robert Gérard Goulet; b. Nov. 26, 1933), American actor and singer.  He was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts.  He died 27 days before his 74^th birthday in Los Angeles, California.

 

2006 ~ Clifford Geertz (né Clifford James Geertz; b. Aug. 23, 1926), American anthropologist.  He was born in San Francisco, California.  He died at age 80 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

2000 ~ Steve Allen (né Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen, b. Dec. 26, 1921), American actor and television personality.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 78 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1997 ~ Sydney Newman (né Sydney Cecil Newman; b. Apr. 1, 1917), Canadian screenwriter and co-creator of Doctor Who.  He was born and died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  He died at age 80.

 

1987 ~ Joseph Campbell (né Joseph John Campbell; b. Mar. 26, 1904), professor of comparative mythology and religion.  He was born in White Plains, New York.  He died at age 83 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

 

1975 ~ Gustav Ludwig Hertz (b. July 22, 1887), German physicist and recipient of the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 88 in East Berlin, East Germany.

 

1968 ~ Conrad Richter (né Conrad Michael Richter; b. Oct. 13, 1890), American writer and short-story author.  He was born in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania.  He died of a heart attack 16 days after his 78^th birthday in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

 

1968 ~ Rose Wilder Lane (née Rose Wilder; b. Dec. 5, 1886), American journalist and author.  She was the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  She was born in De Smet, Dakota Territory, United States.  She died at age 81 in Danbury, Connecticut.

 

1965 ~ Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. (né Arthur Meier Schlesinger; b. Feb. 27, 1888), American historian and author.  He was born in Xenia, Ohio.  He died in Boston, Massachusetts at age 77.

 

1958 ~ Dame Rose Macaulay (née Emilie Rose Macaulay; b. Aug. 1, 1881), British writer.  She is best known for her seim-autobiographical novel The Towers of Trebizond.  She was born in Rugby, England.  She died at age 77 in London, England.

 

1928 ~ Robert Lansing (b. Oct. 17, 1864), 42^nd United States Secretary of State.  He served under President Woodrow Wilson from June 1915 until February 1920.  He was born in Watertown, New York.  He died in New York, New York 13 days after his 64^th birthday.

 

1923 ~ Bonar Law (né Andrew Bonar Law; b. Sept. 16, 1858), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He served as Prime Minister from October 1922 through May 1923.  He was born in Rexton, New Brunswick, Canada.  He died at age 65 in London, England.

 

1912 ~ James S. Sherman (né James Schoolcraft Sherman; b. Oct. 24, 1855), 27^th Vice President of the United States.  He served under President William Taft from March 1909 until his death in Office.  He was born and died in Utica, New York.  He died 6 days after his 57^th birthday of complications of Bright’s disease.

 

1910 ~ Henry Dunant (né Jean-Henri Dunant, b. May 8, 1828), Swiss businessman and social activist.  He was a co-founder of the Red Cross.  He was also the recipient of the 1901 Nobel Peace Prize, the first such prize awarded.  He was born in Geneva, Switzerland.  He died at age 82 in Heiden, Switzerland.

 

1893 ~ Sir John Abbott (né John Joseph Caldwell Campbell; b. Mar. 12, 1821), 3^rd Prime Minister of Canada.  He served from 1891 to 1892.  He died at age 72.

 

1867 ~ John Albion Andrew (b. May 31, 1818), 25^th 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.

 

1832 ~ Edmund Cartwright (b. Apr. 24, 1743), English clergyman and inventor of the power loom.  He died at age 80.

 

1809 ~ William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3^rd Duke of Portland (b. Apr. 14, 1738), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the reign of King George III, from March 1807 until October 1809, and he was the Prime Minister of Great Britain from April 1783 until December 1783.  He was born in Nottinghamshire, England.  He died at age 71.

 

1626 ~ Willebrord Snell (b. June 13, 1580), Dutch astronomer and mathematician.  He was born and died in Leiden, Dutch Republic.  He died at age 46.

 

1611 ~ Charles IX, King of Sweden (b. Oct. 4, 1550).  He was King from March 1604 until his death in October 1611.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Maria of Palatinate-Simmern.  They married in 1579.  She died in 1589.  His second wife was Christina of Holstein-Gottorp.  They married in 1592.  He was of the House of Vasa.  He was the son of Gustav I, King of Sweden and Margaret Leijonhufvud.  He died 26 days after his 61^st birthday.

October 28

Birthdays:

 

1974 ~ Joaquin Phoenix (né Joaquin Rafel Bottom), American actor.  He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

1972 ~ Brad Paisley (né Brad Douglas Paisley), American country music singer-songwriter.  He was born in Glen Dale, West Virginia.

 

1967 ~ Julia Roberts (née Julia Fiona Roberts), American actress.  She was born in Smyrna, Georgia.

 

1966 ~ Andy Richter (né Paul Andrew Richter), American actor and sidekick to Conan O’Brien.  He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

1963 ~ Lauren Holly (née Lauren Michael Holly), American actress.  She was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

 

1962 ~ Mark Haddon, English writer, best known for his novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.  He was born in Northampton, Northanmptonshire, England.

 

1960 ~ Landon Curt Noll, American mathematician.  He was born in Walnut Creek, California.

 

1956 ~ Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (né Mahmoud Sabbaghian), 6^th President of Iran.  He served in that Office from August 2005 until August 2013.

 

1955 ~ Bill Gates (né William Henry Gates, III), American computer executive and principal founder of Microsoft.  He was born in Seattle, Washington.

 

1952 ~Annie Potts (née Anne Hampton Potts), American actress.  She was born in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

1945 ~ Sandy Berger (né Samuel Richard Berger; d. Dec. 2, 2015), American 18^th 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.

 

1944 ~ Dennis Franz (né Dennis Franz Schlachta), American actor.  He is best known for his role as Lt. Norman Buntz on the television drama Hill Street Blues.  He was born in Maywood, Illinois.

 

1939 ~ Charles Lippincott (né Charles Myers Lippincott, Jr.; d. May 19, 2020), American publicist who helped create the Star Wars phenomenon.  He was born in Adams, Massachusetts.  He died at age 80 in Vermont.

 

1939 ~ Jane Alexander (née Jane Quigley), American actress.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1938 ~ Anne Perry (née Juliet Marion Hulme), British author of historical detective novels.  As a teenager, she and her friend Pauline Parker, were convicted of the murder of Parker’s mother.  She changed her name after serving a 5-year prison term.  She was born in London, England.

 

1936 ~ Charlie Daniels (né Charles Edward Daniels; d. July 6, 2020), American musician, singer-songwriter and fiddle player.  He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina.  He died at age 83 in Hermitage, Tennessee.

 

1933 ~ Anne Morrissy Merick (née Anne Louise Morrissy; d. May 2, 2017), American pioneering journalist who covered Vietnam.  She is best known for persuading the Pentagon to reverse an order, known as the Westmoreland Edict, which had prevented female reporters from accompanying troops on the front lines during the Vietnam War.  She was born in Manhattan, New York.  She died at age 83 in Naples, Florida.

 

1932 ~ Suzy Parker (née Cecilia Ann Renee Parker; d. May 3, 2003), American actress and model.  She was born in Long Island, New York.  She died of kidney failure at age 70 in Montecito, California.

 

1929 ~ Joan Plowright, Baroness Olivier (née Joan Ann Plowright), British actress.  Laurence Olivier was her second husband.  She is often referred to as Dame Joan Plowright  She was born in Brigg, Lincolshire, England.

 

1926 ~ Bowie Kuhn (né Bowie Kent Kuhn; d. Mar. 15, 2007), American lawyer and businessman.  He served as the 5^th Commissioner of Major League Baseball.  He was the Baseball Commissioner from February 1969 until September 1984.  He was born in Takoma Park, Maryland.  He died of complications of pneumonia at age 80 in Jacksonville, Florida.

 

1919 ~ Gerhard Ringel (d. June 24, 2008), Austrian mathematician.  He was born in Bad Pirawarth, Austria.  He died at age 88 in Santa Cruz, California.

 

1914 ~ Richard Synge (né Richard Laurence Millington Synge; d. Aug. 18, 1994), British biochemist and recipient of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Liverpool, England.  He died at age 79 in Norwich, England.

 

1914 ~ Jonas Salk (né Jonas Edward Salk, b. June 23, 1995), American biologist and physician.  He was best known for his discovery and development of a polio vaccine.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 80 in La Jolla, California.

 

1911 ~ Shiing-Shen Chern (d. Dec. 3, 2004), Chinese mathematician.  He was born in Jiaxing, China.  He died at age 93 in Tianjin, China.

 

1909 ~ Francis Bacon (d. Apr. 28, 1992), Irish-born British painter, known for his raw, unsettling imagery.  He was born in Dublin, Ireland.  He died of a heart attack while on vacation in Madrid, Spain.  He died at age 82.

 

1908 ~ Arturo Frondizi (d. Apr. 18, 1995), President of Argentina.  He served as President from May 1958 until March 1962.  He died at age 86 in Buenos Aries, Argentina.

 

1905 ~ Tatyana Pavlovna Ehrenfest (d. Nov. 29, 1984), Dutch mathematician.  She was born in Vienna, Austria.  She is best known for her proof of a lower bound on low-discrepancy sequences.  She about a month after her 79^th birthday in Dordrech, Netherlands.

 

1903 ~ Evelyn Waugh (né Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh; d. Apr. 10, 1966), English writer.  He was born in London, England.  He died of heart failure at age 62 in Combe Florey, Somerset, England.

 

1897 ~ Edith Head (né Edith Claire Posener; d. Oct. 24, 1981), American costume designer for Hollywood.  She was born in San Bernadino, California.  She died 4 days before her 84^th birthday in Los Angeles, California.

 

1879 ~ Channing H. Cox (né Channing Harris Cox; d. Aug. 20, 1968), 49^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1921 until January 1925.  He was born in Manchester, New Hampshire.  He died at age 88 in West Harwich, Massachusetts.

 

1804 ~ Pierre François Verhulst (d. Feb. 15, 1849), Belgian mathematician.  He focused his work on number theory.  He died at age 44.

 

1793 ~ Eliphalet Remington (d. Aug. 12, 1861), American inventor and designer of the Remington rifle.  He was the founder of the Remington Arms Company.  He was born in Suffield, Connecticut.  He died at age 67 in Ilion, New York.

 

1767 ~ Marie of Hesse-Kassel (d. Mar. 22, 1852), Queen consort of Denmark and Norway and wife of Frederick VI, King of Denmark.  She was of the House of Hesse-Kassel.  She was the daughter of Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kessel and Princess Louise of Denmark.  She died at age 84.

 

1718 ~ Ignacije Szentmartony (d. Apr. 15, 1793), Croatian mathematician, astronomer, and Jesuit priest.  He died at age 74.

 

1703 ~ Antoine Deparcieux (d. Sept. 2, 1768), French mathematician.  He died at age 64.

 

1667 ~ Maria Anna of Neuburg (d. July 16, 1740), Queen consort of Spain and 2^nd wife of Charles II, King of Spain.  Her marriage was dominated by a political struggle between French and Austrian factions over the Spanish throne, which ultimately resulted in the War of Spanish Succession in the early 1700s.  She was of the House of Wittelsbach.  She was the daughter of Philip William, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 72.

 

1466 ~ Desiderius Erasmus (né Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus; d. July 12, 1536), Dutch theologian and philosopher.  The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is generally believed to have been born on October 28.  He was 69 years old.

 

1016 ~ Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. Oct. 5, 1056).  He served as Emperor from December 1046 until his death.  He was also known both as Henry the Dark and Henry the Pious.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Gunhilda of Danmark.  They married in 1036.  After her death, he married Agnes of Poitou.  He was of the Salian Dynasty.  He was the son of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor and Gisela of Swabia.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died 23 days before his 40^th birthday.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2020 ~ Hurricane Zeta, the 27^th named storm of the year, made landfall in Louisiana.  The eye of the storm went directly over New Orleans.

 

2018 ~ The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to become the 2018 Baseball Champions.  It was their 4^thchampionship since 2004.

 

2016 ~ In a letter to Congress, FBI Director James Comey (b. 1960) announced that the FBI was reviewing new emails related to Hillary Clinton’s time as secretary of state.  Comey noted that, while it wasn’t clear that the emails were significant, he felt that he needed to update Congress.  Comey’s letter was issued just 11 days before the Presidential election.  Comey’s action would impact the election.

 

2007 ~ Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (b. 1953) became the first woman elected President of Argentina.  She became President upon the death of her husband.  She served as President until December 2015.

 

1965 ~ Construction of the St. Louis Arch in Missouri was completed.  Construction on the Arch, which was designed by Eero Sarrinen (1910 ~ 1961), had begun on February 12, 1963.

 

1965 ~ Pope Paul VI (1897 ~ 1978) promulgated Nostra aetate, which the Church officially acknowledged the legitimacy of non-Christian faiths.

 

1965 ~ The Second Vatican Council promulgated the Nostra aetate, or the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions, which absolved the Jews of the responsibility for the death of Jesus.

 

1962 ~ The Cuban Missile Crisis ended after Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev (1894 ~ 1971) ordered the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.

 

1958 ~ John XXIII (1881 ~ 1963) was elected Pope.

 

1948 ~ Paul Müller (1899 ~ 1965) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT.  DDT was later banned due to its carcinogenic effect.

 

1942 ~ The Alaska Highway, which ran though Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska, was completed.

 

1929 ~ The Wall Street Crash of 1929, which saw a major stock market upheaval.  This date has been called Black Monday.

 

1919 ~ The United States Congress passed the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, thus paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January.

 

1886 ~ President Grover Cleveland (1837 ~ 1908) dedicated the Statute of Liberty.  It also marked the first ticker-tape parade.  Office workers spontaneously threw ticker tape into the streets during the dedication.

 

1775 ~ During the American Revolutionary War, a British proclamation was issued that forbade residents from leaving the City of Boston.

 

1726 ~ Jonathan Swift’s novel, Gulliver’s Travels, was first published.

 

1636 ~ Harvard University (initially known as Harvard College) was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  It was the first college in what would become the United States.

 

1628 ~ The Siege of La Rochelle, which had been going on for 14 months, ended when the Huguenots surrendered.

 

1453 ~ Ladislaus the Posthumous (1440 ~ 1457) was crowned king of Bohemia.

 

1449 ~ Christian I (1426 ~ 1481) was crowned King of Denmark.

 

1420 ~ Beijing was officially designated as the capital of the Ming dynasty.  The construction of the Forbidden City complex was also completed.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2020 ~ Billy Joe Shaver (b. Aug. 16, 1939), American songwriter from Texas who shaped outlaw country.  He was born in Corsicana, Texas.  He died at age 81 in Waco, Texas.

 

2020 ~ Cecilia Chiang (née Sun Yun; b. Sept. 19, 1920), Chinese-American restaurateur who brought authentic Chinese food to America.  She is best known for opening a Mandarin restaurant in San Francisco in 1961.  She was born in China.  She died in San Francisco, Califorina at age 100.

 

2014 ~ Galway Kinnell (né Galway Mills Kinnell; b. Feb. 1, 1927), American poet.  He was born in Providence, Rhode Island.  He died at age 87 in Sheffield, Vermont.

 

2013 ~ Tadeusz Mazowiecki (b. Apr. 18, 1927), Polish author and editor who became Poland’s first post-communist leader.  He was the 1^st Prime Minister of Poland.  He served from August 1989 until January 1991.  He died at age 86 in Warsaw, Poland.

 

2012 ~ Kevin Reilly (né Kevin Patrick Reilly, Sr., b. July 22, 1928), American politician who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but served from Louisiana.  He died of Parkinson’s disease in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at age 84.

 

2010 ~ Ehud Netzer (b. May 13, 1934), Israeli archaeologist.  He is best known for his excavation of the Herodium, where he uncovered the tomb of Herod the Great.  He died at age 76 of injuries sustained when he fell from a railing that gave way at the dig at the Herodium.  He was born and died in Jerusalem, Israel.  He died at Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem.

 

2006 ~ Red Auerbach (né Arnold Jacob Auerbach, b. Sept. 20, 1917), American basketball coach of the Boston Celtics.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 89 in Washington, D.C.

 

2005 ~ Richard Smalley (né Richard Errett Smalley; b. June 6, 1943), American chemist and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Akron, Ohio.  He died of leukemia at age 62 in Houston, Texas.

 

1998 ~ Ted Hughes (né Edward James Hughes, b. Aug. 17, 1930), English poet and husband of Sylvia Plath.  He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from December 1984 until his death in October 1998.  He was born in Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire, England.  He died of a heart attack at age 68 in London, England.

 

1993 ~ Doris Duke (b. Nov. 22, 1912), American philanthropist and art collector.  She was an American tobacco heiress. She was born in New York, New York.  She died about a month before her 81^st birthday in Beverly Hills, California.

 

1983 ~ Otto Messmer (né Otto James Messmer, d. Aug. 16, 1892), American cartoonist and co-creator of Felix the Cat.  He was born in Union City, New Jersey.  He died at age 91 in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

 

1968 ~ Harold Burton (né Harold Hitz Burton; b. June 22, 1894), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Harry S Truman.  He replaced Owen Roberts on the Court.  He was succeeded by Potter Stewart.  He served on the Court from September 1945 until October 1958.  He had previously served as the 45^th Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.  He was born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.  He died at age 76 in Washington, D.C.

 

1944 ~ Helen Magill White (née Helen Magill; b. Nov. 28, 1853), first American woman to earn a Ph.D in the United States.  She earned her degree in Greek in 1877 from Boston University.  She was born in Providence, Rhode Island.  She died a month before her 91^st birthday in Kittery Point, Maine.

 

1930 ~ Mary Harrison McKee (née Mary Scott Harrison; b. Apr. 3, 1858), American daughter of President Benjamin Harrison.  She served as First Lady during her father’s presidency after her mother, Caroline died.  She assumed the role of First Lady at age 34 and served from October 1892 until March 1893.  She was born and died in Indianapolis, Indiana.  She died at age 72.

 

1918 ~ Edward Bouchet (né Edward Alexander Bouchet; b. Sept. 15, 1852), African-American physicist.  He was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. at any American university.  He earned his Ph.D. at Yale University.  He was born and died in New Haven, Connecticut.  He died at age 66.

 

1918 ~ Ulisse Dini (b. Nov. 14, 1845), Italian mathematician and politician.  He is best known for his contribution to real analysis.  He was born and died in Pisa, Italy.  He died 17 days before his 73^rd birthday.

 

1893 ~ Carter Harrison, Sr. (né Carter Henry Harrison; b. Feb. 15, 1825), Mayor of Chicago.  He served several terms as Mayor.  He was assassinated during his 5^th term.  He was born in Fayette County, Kentucky.  He was killed in Chicago, Illinois.  He was 68 years old at the time of his death.

 

1818 ~ Abigail Adams (née Abigail Smith; b. Nov. 22, 1744), 2^nd First Lady and wife of President John Adams.  She was born in Waymouth, Massachusetts Bay, British America.  She died about a month before her 74^th birthday in Quincy, Massachusetts.

 

1740 ~ Anna, Empress of Russia (b. Feb. 7, 1693).  She was the Empress from January 1730 until her death in October 1740.  She was married to Frederick William, Duke of Courland.  He died just two months after their wedding, and she never remarried.  She was of the House of Romanov.  She was the daughter of Ivan V, Tsar of Russia and Praskovia Saltykova.  She was Russian Orthodox.  She died at age 47.

 

1708 ~ Prince George of Denmark (b. Apr. 2, 1653), Prince consort of Great Britain and husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain.  They married in 1683.  He was a member of the Danish royal family.  He was of the House of Oldenburg.  He was the son of Frederick III, King of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg.  He was Lutheran.  He died at age 55.

 

1704 ~ John Locke (b. Aug. 29, 1632), English philosopher and physician.  He is considered one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers.  He was born in Wrington, Somerset, England.  He died at age 72 in High Laver, Essex, England.

 

1412 ~ Margaret I, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (b. March 15, 1353), She was originally the Queen consort, but later became Queen in her own right.  She was married to Haakon VI, King of Norway.  She was of the House of Estridsen.  She was the daughter of Valdemar IV, King of Denmark and Helvig of Schleswig.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 59.

 

1312 ~ Elizabeth of Carinthia (b. 1262), Queen consort of Germany.  She was the wife of Albert I, King of Germany.  They married in December 1274.  She was of the House of Gorizia.  She was the daughter of Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia and Elisabeth of Bavaria.  The exact date of her birth is not known.  She is believed to have been about age 49 or 50 at the time of her death.

 

1138 ~ Bolesław III Wrymouth, King of Poland (b. Aug. 20, 1086).  He ruled over Poland from 1107 until his death in October 1138.  He was married first to Zbyslava of Kiev and then to Salomea of Berg.  He was of the House of Piast.  He was the son of Władysław I Herman, Duke of Poland and Judith of Bohemia.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 52.