Sunday, September 24, 2023

September 24

Birthdays:

 

1993 ~ Ben Platt (né Benjamin Schiff Platt), American actor, singer and songwriter.  He was born in Los Angeles, California.

 

1979 ~ Ross Matthews, American actor and television personality.

 

1962 ~ Nia Vardalos (née Antonia Eugenia Vardalos), Canadian-American actress and screenwriter.  She is best known for her 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

 

1954 ~ Ash Carter (né Ashton Baldwin Carter; d. Oct. 24, 2022), 25th United States Secretary of Defense during the Obama administration.  He served in that Office from February 2015 until January 2017.  He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He died of a heart attack a month after his 68th birthday in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1950 ~ Alan Colmes (né Alan Samuel Colmes; d. Feb. 23, 2017), American radio host who became Fox News’ liberal voice.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died of lymphoma at age 66 in New York, New York.

 

1948 ~ Phil Hartman (né Philip Edward Hartman; d. May 28, 1998), Canadian actor and comedian.  He was on the cast of Saturday Night Live for several seasons.  He was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  He was killed by his wife in a murder-suicide in Los Angeles, California.  He was 49 years old.

 

1948 ~ Gordon Clapp, American actor.  He is best known for his role as Det. Greg Medavoy on the television drama Hill Street Blues.  He was born in North Conway, New Hampshire.

 

1941 ~ Linda McCartney, Lady McCartney (née Linda Louise Eastman; d. Apr. 17, 1998), American designer and photographer and wife of Beatle, Paul McCartney.  She was born in Scarsdale, New York.  She died of breast cancer at age 56 in Tucson, Arizona.

 

1936 ~ Jim Henson (né James Maury Henson, d. May 16, 1990), American puppeteer and creator of the Muppets.  He was born in Greenville, Mississippi.  He died of toxic shock syndrome and pneumonia at age 53 in New York, New York.

 

1931 ~ Anthony Newley (d. Apr. 14, 1999), British singer and actor.  He was born in London, England.  He died of renal cancer at age 67 in Jensen Beach, Florida.

 

1930 ~ John Young (né John Watts Young, d. Jan. 5, 2018), American astronaut who became NASA’s conscience.  He was an outspoken voice for astronaut safety following the tragic Launchpad fire in 1967 that killed three of his fellow astronauts.  He was born in San Francisco, California.  He died of complications from pneumonia at age 87 in Houston, Texas.

 

1923 ~ Raoul Bott (d. Dec. 20, 2005), Hungarian-born American mathematician.  He was born in Budapest, Hungary.  He died at age 82 in San Diego, California.

 

1921 ~ Jim McKay (né James Kenneth McManus; d. June 7, 2008), American sportscaster.  He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 86 in Monkton, Maryland.

 

1905 ~ Severo Ochao (d. Nov. 1, 1993), Spanish physician and chemist.  He was the recipient of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 88 in Madrid, Spain.

 

1902 ~ Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (d. June 3, 1989), Iranian Shi’ite leader during the Iranian revolution.  He was the 1st Supreme Leader of Iran.  He died at age 86 in Tehran, Iran.

 

1898 ~ Howard Florey, Baron Florey (né Howard Walter Florey; d. Feb. 21, 1968), Australian pharmacologist and recipient of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his role in the development of penicillin.  He was born in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.  He died at age 69 in Oxford, England.

 

1898 ~ Charlotte Moore Sitterly (né Charlotte Emma Moore; d. Mar. 3, 1990), American astronomer.  She was born in Ercildoun, Pennsylvania.  She died of heart failure at age 91 in Washington, D.C.

 

1896 ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald (né Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald; d. Dec. 21, 1940), American novelist, best known for his novel, The Great Gatsby.  He was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  He died of a heart attack at age 44 in Rockville, Maryland.

 

1895 ~ André Frédéric Cournand (d. Feb. 19, 1988), French-born physician.  He, along with Werner Forssmann and Dickinson Richards, were the recipients of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research and development of cardiac catheterization.  He was born in Paris, France.  He died at age 92 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

 

1883 ~ Franklin Clarence Mars (d. Apr. 8, 1934), American businessman and founder of Mars, Inc., the chocolate company.  He was born in Hancock, Minnesota.  He died of heart disease at age 51.

 

1870 ~ Georges Claude (d. May 23, 1960), French engineer and inventor.  He invented Neon lighting.  He was born in Paris, France.  He died at age 89 in Saint-Cloud, France.

 

1858 ~ Eugene Foss (né Eugene Noble Foss; d. Sept. 13, 1939), 45th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1911 until January 1914.  He was born in West Berkshire, Vermont.  He died 11 days before his 81stbirthday in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

 

1837 ~ Mark Hanna (né Marcus Alonzo Hanna; d. Feb. 15, 1904), United States Senator from Ohio.  He served in Congress from March 1897 until his death in 1904.  He was born in New Lisbon Ohio.  He died of complications from typhoid fever at age 66 in Washington, D.C.

 

1801 ~ Mikhail Vasilyevich Orstrogradsky (d. Jan. 1, 1862), Ukrainian mathematician.  He died at age 60.

 

1755 ~ John Marshall (né John James Marshall; d. July 6, 1835), 4th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President John Adams.  He served in that office from January 1801 until his death in July 1835.  He replaced Oliver Ellsworth on the Court.  He was succeeded by Roger Taney.  He had previously served as the 4th United States Secretary of State, during the John Adams administration, a position he held from June 1800 until March 1801.  He was born in Germantown, Virginia Colony, British America.  He died at age 79 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

1725 ~ Arthur Guinness (d. Jan. 23, 1803), Irish founder of the Guinness brewery.  He was born in County Kildare, Ireland.  He died at age 77 in Dublin, Ireland.

 

1717 ~ Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (d. Mar. 2, 1787), English politician and writer.  He was born and died in London, England.  He died at age 79.

 

1625 ~ Johan de Witt (d. Aug. 20, 1672), 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.

 

1513 ~ Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. Sept. 23, 1535), Queen consort of Sweden.  She was the first wife of Gustav I, King of Sweden (1496 ~ 1560).  They married in 1531.  They were the parents of Eric XIV, King of Sweden.  She was of the House of Ascania.  She was the daughter of Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg.  She died 1 day before her 22nd birthday from a fall while pregnant, which led to complications of childbirth.

 

1501 ~ Gerolamo Cardano (d. Sept. 21, 1576), Italian mathematician.  He died 3 days before his 75th birthday.

 

Events that Changed the World:


2023 ~ Erev Yom Kippur.

 

2019 ~ The United States House of Representatives began the first impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump (b. 1946).  He would ultimately be impeached, but the United States Senate refused to take further action.

 

2017 ~ A gunman opened fire at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tennessee, killing one person and injuring 6 others.  The gunman was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to live without the possibility of parole.

 

2014 ~ Erev Rosh HaShanah.

 

2013 ~ A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck in southern Pakistan, killing over 300 people.

 

2005 ~ Hurricane Rita made landfall devastating western Louisiana and the Texas Gulf coast.  The storm formed on September 18 and dissipated on September 26, 2005.

 

1968 ~ CBS first began airing 60 Minutes.

 

1957 ~ Troops from the 101st Airborne Division were sent to Little Rock, Arkansas under orders of President Dwight David Eisenhower (1890 ~ 1969) in an effort to enforce desegregation in the public schools.

 

1948 ~ The Honda Motor Company was founded.

 

1906 ~ President Theodore Roosevelt (1858 ~ 1919) dedicated Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first National Monument.

 

1890 ~ The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints officially renounced polygamy.

 

1789 ~ The Office of the United States Attorney General was established with the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789.

 

1780 ~ Benedict Arnold (1741 ~ 1801) fled to the British Army when the arrest of British Major John André (1750 ~ 1780) exposed Arnold’s plot to surrender West Point.

 

1664 ~ The Dutch Republic surrendered New Amsterdam to England.

 

787 ~ The Second Council of Nicaea met at the Hagia Sophia in what is present day Istanbul.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2016 ~ Buckwheat Zydeco (né Stanley Joseph Dural, Jr.; b. Nov. 14, 1947), African-American accordion player.  He was born and died in Lafayette, Louisiana.  He died of lung cancer at age 68.

 

2014 ~ Deborah Cavendish (née Deborah Vivien Freeman-Mitford; b. Mar. 31, 1920), Duchess of Devonshire.  She was the British aristocrat and Mitford sister who restored a country estate.  She died at age 94.

 

2013 ~ Paul Dietzel (né Paul Franklin Dietzel, b. Sept. 5, 1924), American football player and coach who lived his final years in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  He was the head football coach at Louisiana State University from 1955 until 1961.  He was born in Fremont, Ohio.  He died 3 weeks after his 89th birthday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

 

2009 ~ Susan Atkins (née Susan Denise Atkins; b. May 7, 1948), American convicted murderer who was a member of the “Manson” family who killed Sharon Tate.  She was sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to life.  She was born in San Gabriel, California.  She died of brain cancer at age 61 in prison in Chowchilla, California.

 

2004 ~ Françoise Sagan (née Françoise Delphine Quoirez; b. June 21, 1935), French playwright.  She died of a pulmonary embolism at age 69.

 

1991 ~ Dr. Seuss (né Thedor Seuss Geisel; b. Mar. 2, 1904), author of children’s books, such as The Cat in the Hat.  In 2022, six of his books, including And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, were determined to contain racist and offensive imagery, so would no longer be published.  He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.  He died at age 87 in La Jolla, California.

 

1982 ~ Dagobert D. Runes (né Dagobert David Runes; b. Jan. 6, 1902), Ukrainian-born philosopher.  He was born in Zastavna, Ukraine.  He died in New York City at age 80.

 

1975 ~ Earle Cabell (b. Oct. 27, 1906), Mayor of Dallas when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  He served as Mayor of Dallas from 1961 until February 1964.  He died of emphysema about a month before his 69th birthday in Dallas, Texas.

 

1967 ~ Pauline Sperry (b. Mar. 5, 1883), American mathematician.  She was born in Peabody, Massachusetts.  She died at age 82.

 

1950 ~ Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (b. Apr. 5, 1863), wife of Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854 ~ 1921).  They married in 1854.  During World War I, she and her husband abandoned their German titles and adopted the surname Mountbatten.  She was of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt.  She was the daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hess and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom.  She was the granddaughter of Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom.  She was the maternal grandmother of Philip, Prince of Edinburgh.  She died at age 87.

 

1945 ~ Hans Geiger (né Johannes Wilhelm Geiger; b. Sept. 30, 1945), German physicist best known as being the co-inventor of the Geiger Counter.  Unfortunately, the name of his co-inventor, Walther Muller, who was Geiger’s student, has been lost to history.  Geiger died 6 days before his 63rd birthday in Potsdam, Germany.

 

1939 ~ Carl Laemmle (né Karl Lämmle; b. Jan. 17, 1896). German-born American film producer and founder of Universal Studios.  He died of heart disease at age 72 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1938 ~ Lev Schnirelmann (b. Jan. 2, 1905), Russian mathematician.  His death in Moscow, Soviet Union at age 33 may have been a suicide.

 

1920 ~ Peter Carl Fabergé (b. May 30, 1846), Russian goldsmith and jeweler.  He was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.  He died at age 74 in Laursanne, Switzerland.

 

1904 ~ Niels Ryberg Finsen (b. Dec. 15, 1860), Danish physician and recipient of the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 43 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

1896 ~ Baron Louis Gerhard De Geer (b. July 18, 1818), 1st Prime Minister of Sweden.  He served as Prime Minister from March 1876 until April 1880.  He died at age 78.

 

1862 ~ Judith, Lady Montefiore (née Judith Barent Cohen; b. Feb. 20, 1784), British linguist, travel writer and philanthropist.  She authored the first English-language Jewish cookbook.  She was of an Ashkenazi family; she married Moses Montefiorte (1784 ~ 1885), a Sephadic Jew at a time when such mixed marriages were not generally approved by the Portuguese Synagogue.  They married in 1812.  She died at age 78.

 

1848 ~ Branwell Brontë (b. June 26, 1817), English painter and poet.  He was the brother of writers, Anne, Emily and Charlotte Brontë.  He died of tuberculosis at age 30.

 

1834 ~ Peter IV, King of Portugal / Peter I, King of Brazil (b. Oct. 12, 1798), member of the Portuguese royal family.  He was King of Portugal from March 1826 until May 1826.  He was the Emperor of Brazil from October 1822 until April 1831.  He was the first ruler of the Empire of Brazil.  Unable to deal with the ruling problems in Brazil, he abdicated the throne to his son, Peter II, in 1831.  He was married twice.  He married Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria (1797 ~ 1826) in 1817.  His second wife was Amélie of Leuchtenberg (1812 ~ 1873) in 1829.  He was of the House of Braganza.  He was the fourth child of John VI, King of Portugal and Infanta Carlota Joaquina of Spain.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died of tuberculosis 18 days before his 36th birthday.

 

1742 ~ Johann Matthias Hase (b. Jan. 14, 1684), German mathematician and astronomer.  The crater Hase on the Moon is named in his honor.    He died at age 58.

 

1650 ~ Charles de Valois, Duke of Angoulême (b. Apr. 28, 1573).  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 2nd marriage. He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 77.

 

1459 ~ Eric of Pomerania, King of Norway, Denmark and Sweden (b. 1380s).  He ruled over Denmark and Sweden from October 1412 until his death.  He ruled over Norway from September 1389 until his death.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Philippa of England (1394 ~ 1430).  After he death, he entered into a morganatic marriage with his mistress, a woman named Cecilia.  He was of the House of Griffin by birth and the House of Estridsen by adoption.  He was the son of Wartislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania and Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.  He was Roman Catholic.  The date of his birth is not known.  He is believed to have been about age 76 or 78 at the time of his death.

 

1435 ~ Isabeau of Bavaria (b. 1370), Queen consort of France and wife of Charles VI, King of France.  She was of the House of Wittelsbach.  She was the daughter of Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria and Taddea Visconti.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 64 or 65 at the time of her death.

 

1230 ~ Alfonso IX, King of León and Galicia (b. Aug. 15, 1171).  He ruled from January 1188 until his death in 1230.  He took steps to modernize his dominion and founded the University of Salamanca.  He was married twice; both were annulled for consanguinity.  Each marriage, however, produced several children.  His first wife was Infanta Theresa of Portugal.  After this marriage was annulled, he married Infanta Berengaria of Castile.  Alfonso was her second husband.  He was of the Castilian House of Ivrea.  He was the son of Ferdinand II, King of León and Galicia and Urraca of Portugal.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died just over a month after his 59th birthday.

 

1143 ~ Pope Innocent II (né Gregorio Papareschi; date of birth unknown).  He was Pope from February 1130 until his death 14 and a half years later.

 

1143 ~ Agnes of Germany (b. 1072), Duchess consort of Swabia through her first marriage to Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Margravine consort of Austria through her second marriage to Leopold III, Margrave of Austria.  She was of the Salian dynasty.  She was the daughter of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Bertha of Savoy.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 70 or 71 at the time of her death.

 

1054 ~ Hermann of Reichenau (b. July 18, 1013), German composer, astronomer and mathematician.  He died in a monastery at age 41.

 

768 ~ Pippin the Short (b. 714), Frankish king.  He ruled the Franks from 751 until his death in September 768.  He was married to Bertrada of Laon.  They were the parents of Charlemagne and Carloman I.  He was of the Carolingian Dynasty.  He was the son of Charles Martel and Rotrude of Hesbaye.  He was Catholic.  The exact date of his birth is not known.  He is believed to have died at age 54.

 

366 ~ Pope Liberius.  He was Pope from May 352 until his death on this date 14 years later.  The date of his birth is unknown.


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