Sunday, August 20, 2023

August 20

Birthdays:

 

2003 ~ Prince Gabriel of Belgium, member of the Belgium royal family.  He is of the House of Belgium.  He is the son of Philippe, King of Belgium and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz.

 

1974 ~ Amy Adams (née Amy Lou Adams), American actress.  She was born in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy.

 

1969 ~ Billy Gardell (né William Gardell, Jr.), American actor and comedian.  He was born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania.

 

1957 ~ Sir Simon Donaldson (né Simon Kinwan Donaldson), British mathematician.  He is best known for his work in topology.  He was born in Cambridge, England.

 

1956 ~ Joan Allen, American actress.  She was born in Rochelle, Illinois.

 

1954 ~ Al Roker (né Albert Lincoln Roker, Jr.), African-American journalist and weatherman and television news personality.  He was born in New York, New York.

 

1953 ~ Peter Horton, American actor.  He was born in Bellevue, Washington.

 

1952 ~ Doug Fieger (né Douglas Lars Fieger; d. Feb. 14, 2010), American new-wave rocker who co-wrote My Sharona.  He had been the lead singer of The Knack.  He was born in Oak Park, Michigan.  He died of cancer at age 57 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1948 ~ Robert Plant (né Robert Anthony Plant), English musician.  He is best known for being the lead of Led Zeppelin.  He was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England.

 

1946 ~ Connie Chung (née Constance Yu-Hwa Chung), American journalist.  She is also the wife of Maury Povich.  She was born in Washington, D.C.

 

1944 ~ Rajiv Gandhi (né Rajvi Ratna Gandhi, d. May 21, 1991), 6th Prime Minister of India.  He served as Prime Minister from October 1984 until December 1989.  He was the son of Indira Gandhi.  He was assassinated by a female suicide bomber.  He was 46 at the time of his death.

 

1942 ~ Isaac Hayes (né Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr., d. Aug. 10, 2008), American ultra-cool musician whose sound was pure soul.  He was born in Covington, Tennessee.  He died of a stroke 10 days before his 66th birthday in Memphis, Tennessee.

 

1941 ~ Slobodan Milošević (d. Mar. 11, 2006), Serbian lawyer and President of the Federal Republic of Yugloslavia.  He was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo.  His trial in the international court in The Hague began in February 2002, however, he died before the trial was concluded.  He died of a heart attack in prison at age 64.

 

1936 ~ Carla Fracci (née Carolina Fraccid; d. May 27, 2021), Italian dancer who became a great 20th Century ballerina.  She dazzled audiences with the emotional power of her performances.  She was born and died in Milan, Italy.  She died of cancer at age 84.

 

1936 ~ Hideki Shirakawa, Japanese chemist, and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Tokyo, Japan.

 

1934 ~ Sam Panopoulos (né Sotirios Panopoulous; d. June 8, 2017), Greek-born Canadian pizza pioneer who controversially put pineapple on a pie.  He is credited with creating the Hawaiian pizza.  He was born in Vourvoura, Greece.  He died at age 82 in London, Ontario, Canada.

 

1933 ~ George Mitchell (né George John Mitchell, Jr.), American politician and United States Senator from Maine.  He served in the Senate from May 1980 until January 1995.  He was born in Waterville, Maine.

 

1931 ~ Don King (né Donald King), African-American boxing promotor.  He was born in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

1927 ~ Philip S. Berg (né Shraga Feivel Gruberger; d. Sept. 16, 2013), American rabbi who made Kabballah trendy.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died of a stroke 27 days after his 86th birthday in Los Angeles, California.

 

1923 ~ Tom M. Apostol (né Tom Mike Apostol; d. May 8, 2016), American mathematician and analytic number theorist.  He is best known for writing mathematical textbooks.  He was born in Helper, Utah.  He died at age 92.

 

1922 ~ Bernard Sahlins (d. June 16, 2013), American comic impresario who founded Second City.  He was born and died in Chicago, Illinois.  He died of pancreatic cancer at age 90.

 

1921 ~ Ursula Marvin (née Ursula Bailey Marvin; d. Feb. 12, 2018), American trailblazing geologist who studied space rocks.  She was born in Bradford, Vermont.  She died in Concord, Massachusetts at age 96.

 

1918 ~ Jacqueline Susann (d. Sept. 21, 1974), American novelist best known for her novel, The Valley of the Dolls.  She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She died of breast cancer a month after her 56th birthday in Manhattan, New York.

 

1913 ~ Roger Wolcott Sperry (d. Apr. 17, 1994), American neurobiologist and recipient of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work with split-brain research.  He was born in Hartford, Connecticut.  He died at age 80 in Pasadena, California.

 

1910 ~ Eero Saarinen (d. Sept. 1, 1961), Finish-American architect and son of Eliel Saarinen.  He was born on his father’s 37th birthday.  Eero, who designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, died just 12 days after his 52nd birthday while undergoing surgery for a brain tumor.  He died in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 

1901 ~ Salvatore Quasimodo (d. June 14, 1968), Italian writer and recipient of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He was born in Modica, Sicily, Italy.  He died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 66 years old in Naples, Italy.

 

1890 ~ H.P. Lovecraft (né Howard Phillips Lovecraft; d. Mar. 15, 1937), American writer of weird and horror fiction.  He was born and died in Providence, Rhode Island.  He died of cancer at age 47.

 

1886 ~ Paul Tillich (né Paul Johannes Tillich, d. Oct. 22, 1965), German-born American Christian theologian.  He died at age 79 in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1881 ~ Edgar Guest (né Edgar Albert Guest; d. Aug. 5, 1959), English poet.  He was born in Birmingham, England.  He died two weeks before his age 78th birthday in Detroit, Michigan.

 

1873 ~ Eliel Saarinen (né Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen; d. July 1, 1950), Finnish-American architect.  He was the father of architect Eero Saarinen, who was born on his father’s 37th birthday.  He died at age 76 in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

 

1860 ~ Raymond Poincaré (d. Oct. 15, 1934), President of France.  He served as President from February 1913 until February 1920.  He died at age 74 in Paris, France.

 

1833 ~ Benjamin Harrison (d. Mar. 13, 1901), 23rd President of the United States.  He was President from March 1889 until March 1893.  He was the grandson of President William Henry Harrison.  He was born in North Bend, Ohio.  He died of pneumonia at age 67 in Indianapolis Indiana.

 

1778 ~ Bernardo O’Higgins (d. Oct. 24, 1842), Chilean independence leader and 2nd Supreme Dictator of Chile.  He died at age 64 in Lima, Peru.

 

1710 ~ Thomas Simpson (d. May 14, 1761), English mathematician.  He died at age 50.

 

1332 ~ Stephen, Duke of Slavonia (d. Aug. 9, 1354).  He was a Hungarian royal prince.  He was married to Margaret of Bavaria.  He was of the Capetian House of Anjou.  He was the son of Charles I, King of Hungary and Elizabeth of Poland.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died 11 days before his 22nd birthday.

 

1086 ~ Bolesław III Wrymouth, King of Poland (d. Oct. 28, 1138).  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.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2020 ~ Joe Biden (b. 1942) gave his acceptance speech for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination at the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention.

 

1993 ~ The Oslo Accords were signed.  The documents are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, aimed at achieving a peace treaty between the two governments.

 

1988 ~ Peru became a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

 

1986 ~ In Edmund, Oklahoma, a United States postal worker walked into his workplace and began shooting co-workers.  Ultimately, 15 people were killed, including the shooter who turned the gun on himself.  At the time it was the deadliest workplace shooting in the United States.  This incident sparked the phrase “going postal” to refer to someone becoming uncontrollably angry, often to the point of violence.

 

1980 ~ The United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 was adopted which stated that member states should not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  The vote was 14 to none, with the United States abstaining.

 

1977 ~ NASA launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft.  The purpose of the Voyager Program is to study the outer planets.

 

1975 ~ NASA launched the Viking 1 planetary probe towards Mars.  The last contact NASA had with the Viking 1 was on November 13, 1982.

 

1940 ~ Leon Trotsky (1879 ~1940), the exiled Russian revolutionary living in Mexico, was stabbed with an ice pick by Ramón Mercader (1913 ~ 1978).  He would die from his wounds the following day, on August 21, 1940.

 

1938 ~ Lou Gehrig (1903 ~ 1941) hit his 23rd career grand slam.  His record remained for 75 years, when it was broken by Alex Rodriguez (b. 1975).

 

1920 ~ The first commercial radio station began operation in Detroit, Michigan.

 

1882 ~ Peter Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture premiered in Moscow.

 

1866 ~ President Andrew Johnson (1808 ~ 1875) declared the American Civil War to be formally over.

 

1858 ~ Charles Darwin (1809 ~ 1882) first published his theory of evolution through natural selection in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2021 ~ R. Allen Gardner (né Robert Allen Gardner; b. Feb. 21, 1930), American researcher who chatted with chimps.  He taught American Sign Language to chimpanzees.  He was a psychology professor in Nevada.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died at age 91 in Reno, Nevada.

 

2017 ~ Jerry Lewis (né Jerome Levitch; b. Mar. 16, 1926), American madcap comic who delighted millions, but not critics.  He is also known for his work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association and held annual marathons for 44 years.  He was born in Newark, New Jersey.  He died at age 91 in Las Vegas. Nevada.

 

2014 ~ B.K.S. Iyengar (né Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar; b. Dec. 14, 1918), Indian guru who helped bring yoga to the west.  He died at age 95.

 

2013 ~ Elmore Leonard, Jr., (né Elmore John Leonard, Jr.; b. Oct. 11, 1925), American author who made his bad guys interesting.  He wrote suspense thrillers.  He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He died at age 87 in Bloomfield, Michigan.

 

2012 ~ Phyllis Diller (née Phyllis Ada Driver; b. July 17, 1917), American comedian who paved the way for female stand-up.  She was born in Lima, Peru.  She died at age 95 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2011 ~ Frederick Fay (d. Sept. 12, 1944), American quadriplegic who fought for the disabled.  A freak backyard trapeze accident left him a quadriplegic at age 16.  He spent the rest of his life advocating for disabled Americans.  He was born in Washington, D.C.  He died 3 weeks before his 67th birthday in Concord, Massachusetts.

 

2008 ~ Gene Upshaw (né Eugene Josiah Upshaw, Jr.; b. Aug. 15, 1945), African-American union leader who helped make the National Football League players rich.  He was known as Uptown Gene.  He was born in Robstown, Texas.  He died of pancreatic cancer 5 days after his 63rd birthday in Lake Tahoe, California.

 

2008 ~ Hua Guofeng (b. Feb. 16, 1921), Chinese premiere who ushered in the post-Mao era.  He was the 6th Chairman of the Communist Party of China from October 1976 until June 28, 1981.  He died at age 87.

 

2007 ~ Leona Helmsley (née Lena Mindy Rosenthal; b. July 4, 1920), American businesswoman who was known as the Queen of Mean.  She was born in Marbletown, New York.  She died at age 87 in Greenwich, Connecticut.

 

1989 ~ George Adamson (b. Feb. 3, 1906), British wildlife conservationist.  He and his wife, Joy Adamson (1910 ~ 1980), were best known for their book Born Free, about Elsa the orphaned lioness cub.  He was murdered at age 83 by bandits near his camp in the Kora National Park in Kenya.  Ironically, his wife had also been murdered 9 years earlier.

 

1972 ~ Carol Karp (née Carol Ruth Vander Velde; b. Aug. 10, 1926), American mathematician.  She is best known for her work on infinitary logic.  She was born in Michigan.  She died of breast cancer just 10 days after her 46th birthday.

 

1968 ~ Channing H. Cox (né Channing Harris Cox, b. Oct. 28, 1879), 49th 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 Harwich, Massachusetts.

 

1961 ~ Percy Williams Bridgman (b. Apr. 21, 1882), American physicist and recipient of the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the physics of high pressures.  He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and died in Randolph, New Hampshire.  He suffered from cancer and died by suicide at age 79.

 

1944 ~ Leon Chwistek (d. June 13, 1884), Polish avant-garde painter, philosopher and mathematician.  He was born in Krakow, Poland.  He died at age 60 in Moscow, Russia.

 

1939 ~ Agnes Giberne (b. Nov. 19, 1845), British astronomer and novelist.  She was born in India.  She died at age 93 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England.

 

1917 ~ Adolf von Baeyer (né Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf Baeyer; b. Oct. 31, 1835), German chemist and recipient of the 1905 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Berlin, Prussia.  He died at age 81.

 

1915 ~ Paul Ehrlich (b. Mar. 14, 1854), German physician and recipient of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He is known for developing the Gram Stain, which helps to identify bacteria.  He is also credited for finding a cure to syphilis.  He died of a heart attack at age 61.

 

1914 ~ Pope Pius X (né Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; b. June 2, 1835).  He was Pope from August 1903 until his death 11 years later.  He is best known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine.  He died of a heart attack at age 79.  He was made a saint in 1954.

 

1912 ~ William Booth (b. Apr. 10, 1829), English Methodist minister and founder of the Salvation Army.  He died at age 83 in London, England.

 

1854 ~ Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (b. Jan. 27, 1775), German philosopher.  He was born in Leonberg, Germany.  He died at age 79 in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland.

 

1823 ~ Pope Pius VII (né Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; b. Aug. 14, 1742).  He was Pope from March 14, 1800 until his death in 1823.  He died 6 days after his 81st birthday.

 

1672 ~ Johan de Witt (b. Sept. 24, 1625), Dutch mathematician.  He was also a politician and at age 46 he was lynched by an angry crowd.  He died about a month before his 47th birthday in The Hague, Dutch Republic.

 

1484 ~ Ippolita Maria Sforza (b. Apr. 18, 1446), Duchess of Calabria.  She was married to Alfonso, Duke of Calabria (1448 ~ 1495).  They were the parents of Ferdinand II, King of Naples.  She was of the House of Sforza.  She was the daughter of Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan and Bianca Maria Visconti.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died suddenly at age 38.

 

984 ~ Pope John XVI (né Pietro Canepanova).  He was Pope from December 983 until his death less than a year later.  The date of his birth is unknown.


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