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 Pritzker 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.

 

1903 ~ Bertrand de Jouvenel (né Bertrand de Jouvenel des Ursins; d. Mar. 1, 1987), French philosopher, political economist and futurist.  He was born and died in Paris, France.  He died at age 83.

 

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 (1843 ~ 1912).  They married in 1869.  They were the parents of Christian X, King of Denmark and Haakon VII, King of Norway.  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 (1847 ~ 1911).  They were the parents of Carlos I, King of Portugal.  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.

 

1714 ~ Hedwig Taube, Countess von Hessenstein (d. Feb. 11, 1744), Swedish royal mistress to Frederick I, King of Sweden.  They had 3 children together.  She was the daughter of Count Edvard Didrik Taub and Christina Maria Falkenberg.  She died in childbirth at age 29.

 

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 (1402 ~ 1445).  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 (1350 ~ 1405) 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, the driver of a pickup truck drove into a crowd of people on a bike path in Manhattan, killing 8 people and injuring numerous others.  The truck then slammed into a school bus.  A note in the truck indicated the attack was ISIS inspired.

 

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:

 

2022 ~ Samuel Katz (b. May 29, 1927), American doctor and virologist who developed the measles vaccine.  He was born in Manchester, New Hampshire.  He died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at age 95.

 

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 abdicated the throne in 1730 in favor of his son, Charles Emmanuel III.  He was married twice.  In 1684, he married Anne Marie d’Orléans (1669 ~ 1728).  After her death, he married Anna Canalis di Cumiana (1680 ~ 1769).  They married in 1730.  She had been his mistress.  His second marriage was a morganatic marriage, thus she was never the queen consort.  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 Renaissance artist and painter and Dominican friar.  He died at age 45 in Florence, Italy.

 

1214 ~ Princess Eleanor of England (b. Oct. 13, 1163), Queen consort of Castile.  She was the wife of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile (1155 ~ 1214).  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 journalist and biographer.  He is 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 because 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 (1657 ~ 1713).  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 (1325 ~ 1382).  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 central 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 Strait.

 

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 leader and 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.  His focus was on social and urban history.  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.

 

1915 ~ Charles Tupper, Jr. (b. July 2, 1821), 6^th Prime Minister of Canada.  He served as Prime Minister briefly from May 1896 until July 8, 1996.  He was also a medical doctor.  He was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia.  He died in England at age 94.

 

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 (1561 ~ 1589).  They married in 1579 when he was the Duke of Södermanland, making her the Duchess consort of Södermanland.  She died in 1589.  His second wife was Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (1573 ~ 1625).  They married in 1592.  They were the parents of Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden.  He was of the House of Vasa.  He was the youngest son of Gustav I, King of Sweden and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud.  He died 26 days after his 61^st birthday.

October 29

National Cat Day

 

Birthdays:

 

1971 ~ Daniel J. Bernstein (né Daniel Julius Bernstein), American mathematician.  He was born in East Patchogue, New York.

 

1971 ~ Winona Ryder (née Winona Laura Horowitz), American actress.  She was born in Winona, Minnesota.

 

1967 ~ Rufus Sewell (né Rufus Frederik Sewell), English actor.  He was born in London, England.

 

1961 ~ Dmitry Muratov (né Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov), Russian journalist and recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

 

1957 ~ Dan Castellaneta (né Daniel Louis Castellaneta), American voice actor best known for being the voice of Homer Simpson on the cartoon The Simpsons.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1951 ~ Dirk Kempthorne (né Dirk Arthur Kempthorne), 49^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President George W. Bush from June 2006 until January 2009.  He had previously served as a United States Senator from Idaho.  He was born in San Diego, California.

 

1950 ~ Abdullah Gül, President of Turkey from August 2007 until August 2014.  He had previously served as the Prime Minister of Turkey from November 2002 until March 2003.  He was born in Kayseri, Turkey.

 

1947 ~ Richard Dreyfuss (né Richard Stephen Dreyfus), American actor.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.

 

1946 ~ Rick Jolly (né Richard Tadeusz Jolly; d. Jan. 13, 2018), British military surgeon who treated both friend and foe.  He served in the 1982 Falklands War and was later decorated by both the British and Argentine governments for his conduct during the conflict.  He was born in Hong Kong.  He died of a heart condition  at age 71.

 

1945 ~ Melba Moore (née Beatrice Melba Hill), African-American singer and actress.  Her surname may have been Smith.  She was born in New York, New York.

 

1942 ~ Bob Ross (né Robert Norman Ross; d. July 4, 1995), American painter and art teacher.  He hosted the television show, The Joy of Painting.  He was born in Daytona Beach, Florida.  He died of lymphoma at age 52 in Orlando, Florida.

 

1938 ~ Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (née Ellen Eugenia Johnson), 24^th President of Liberia and recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.  She was President from January 2006 through January 2018.  She was born in Monrovia, Liberia.

 

1928 ~ Ben Chapman (né Benjamin F. Chapman; d. Feb. 21, 2008), American minor actor who was a major movie monster.  He was best known for playing Gill-man in the 1954 horror film classic, Creature From the Black Lagoon.  He was born in Oakland, California.  He died at age 79 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

 

1927 ~ George C. Nichopoulos (né George Constantine Nichopoulos; d. Feb. 24, 2016), American doctor who enabled Elvis Presley’s drug habit.  His medical license was revoked in 1993.  He was born in Ridgway, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 88 in Memphis, Tennessee.

 

1926 ~ Necmettin Erbakan (d. Feb. 27, 2011), Prime Minister of Turkey.  He held that position from June 1996 through June 1997.  He was born in Sinop, Turkey.  He died at age 84 in Ankara, Turkey.

 

1926 ~ Jon Vickers (né Jonathan Steward Vickers; d. July 10, 2015), Canadian musician and opera singer.  He was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada.  He died in Ontario, Canada at age 88.

 

1925 ~ Dominick Dunne (né Dominick John Dunne; d. Aug. 26, 2009), American elegant writer who chronicled the famous and infamous.  He was born in Hartford, Connecticut.  He died of cancer at age 83 in Manhattan, New York.

 

1925 ~ Nathan Divinsky (né Nathan Joseph Harry Divinsky, d. June 17, 2012), Canadian mathematician.  He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  He died at age 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

 

1925 ~ Klaus Roth (né Klaus Friedrich Roth; d. Nov. 10, 2015), German mathematician.  He was born in Breslau, Weimar Germany.  He was raised in the United Kingdom after his family moved there in 1933.  He died 11 days after his 90^thbirthday in Inverness, Scotland.

 

1923 ~ Carl Djerassi (d. Jan. 30, 2015), Austrian-born chemist who helped develop the birth control pill.  In his later life, he became a novelist.  He was born in Vienna, Austria.  He died at age 91 in San Francisco, California.

 

1920 ~ Baruj Benacerraf (d. Aug. 2, 2011), Venezuelan-born American immunologist and recipient of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was born in Caracas, Venezuela.  He died in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts at age 90.

 

1897 ~ Joseph Goebbels (né Paul Joseph Goebbels; d. May 1, 1945), Nazi Minister of Propaganda.  He and his wife Magda (b. Nov. 11, 1901) killed their children then both committed suicides to avoid trial for war crimes at the end of World War II.  He was 47; his wife was 41 at the time of their suicides.

 

1891 ~ Fanny Brice (née Fania Borach; d. May 29, 1951), American singer and actress.  She was born in Manhattan, New York.  She died at age 59 of a cerebral hemorrhage in Hollywood, California.

 

1875 ~ Marie of Edinburgh (d. July 18, 1938), Queen consort of Romania.  She was the wife of Ferdinand I, King of Romania (1865 ~ 1927).  She was the last queen of Romania.  She was of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  She was the daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia.  She was the granddaughter of Victoria., Queen of the United Kingdom.  She died at age 62.

 

1856 ~ Jacques Curie (d. Feb. 19, 1941), French physicist.  He was the older brother of Pierre Curie.  He died at age 84.

 

1828 ~ Thomas F. Bayard (né Thomas Francis Bayard; d. Sept. 28, 1898), 30^th United States Secretary of State.  He served from March 1885 until March 1889 during the administrations of Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison.  He was born in Wilmington, Delaware.  He died about a month before his 70^th birthday in Dedham, Massachusetts.

 

1816 ~ Ferdinand II, King of Portugal (d. Dec. 15, 1885), German prince.  He was the second husband of Maria II, Queen of Portugal (1819 ~ 1853) until her death.  They married in 1836 when he was known as Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  In keeping with Portuguese law, he did not acquire the title of King until after the birth of their son in 1837.  After Maria’s death, Ferdinand entered into a morganatic marriage with Elise, Countess von Edia (1836 ~ 1929).  He was of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry.  He was the son of Ferdinand, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry and Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 69.

 

1808 ~ Caterina Scarpellini (d. Nov. 28, 1873), Italian astronomer and meteorologist.  One of the craters of Venus is named in her honor.  She was born and died in Foligno, Italy.  She died a month after her 65^th birthday.

 

1740 ~ James Boswell, 9^th Laird of Auchinleck (d. May 19, 1795), Scottish biographer of his contemporary and literary figure, Samuel Johnson.  He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.  He died at age 54 in London, England.

 

1711 ~ Lauri Bassi (née Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti; d. Feb. 20, 1778), Italian physicist and scholar.  She was the first women to earn a doctorate in the science.  She earned her degree at the University of Bologna.  She was also the first salaried female professor in Europe.  She was born and died in Bologna, Italy.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been born between October 20 and October 31, 1711.  Scholars at the University of Bologna consider her birthday to be October 29.  She died at age 66.

 

1690 ~ Martin Folkes (d. June 28, 1754), British mathematician and astronomer.  He was born and died in London, England.  He died at age 63.

 

1547 ~ Princess Sophia of Sweden (d. Mar. 17, 1611), member of the Swedish royal family.  She was the Duchess consort of Saxe-Lauenburg and wife of Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1543 ~ 1603).  They had 6 children, but only one lived passed infancy.  They married in 1568.  She was of the House of Vasa.  She was the daughter of Gustav I, King of Sweden and Margaret Leijonhufvud.  She died at age 63.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2018 ~ Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 MAX airplane, crashed after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia shortly after lift-off.  All 189 people aboard were killed.

 

2015 ~ China announced the end of its One-Child policy, which had been in effect for 35 years.  The policy allowed for several exceptions, including ethnic minorities, thus the policy effectively impacted the Han majority.

 

2013 ~ Turkey opened a sea tunnel in Istanbul connecting Europe and Asia by rail across the Bosporus Strait.

 

2012 ~ Hurricane Sandy hit the northeast coast of the United States.  The storm killed nearly 300 people, either directly or indirectly, and caused over $70 billion in damages.  This storm became known as Super-Storm Sandy.  The storm formed on October 22, 2012 and dissipated on November 2, 2012.

 

2008 ~ Northwest Airlines merged with Delta Airlines, thereby creating the world’s largest airline.

 

1998 ~ Hurricane Mitch made landfall in Honduras.  The storm is believed to have killed over 11,000 people in Central America.  The storm formed on October 22, 1998 and dissipated on November 9, 1998.

 

1998 ~ John Glenn (1921 ~ 2016), at age 77, was aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, making him the oldest person at the time to go into space.

 

1967 ~ Expo ’67, Montreal’s World Fair, closed.  Over 50 million visitors had attended the Fair between its opening in April 1967.

 

1964 ~ Thieves broke into the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and made off with a collection of gems, including the Star of India, which is one of the largest star sapphires in the world.  The thieves were captured within 2 days of the robbery; however, the stones were not recovered until January 1965.

 

1957 ~ David Ben-Gurion (1886 ~ 1973), Israel’s Prime Minister, and five others were injured when a hand grenade was thrown into the Knesset.

 

1956 ~ The Suez Crisis began when Israeli forces invaded the Sinai Peninsula.

 

1941 ~ In the Kaunas Ghetto, in German-occupied Lithuania, over 10,000 Jews were shot and killed by the Germans in what was known as the Great Action Massacre.

 

1929 ~ The New York Stock Exchange crashed in what would later become known as Black Tuesday.  This event marked the beginning of the Great Depression.

 

1923 ~ Turkey became a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.

 

1922 ~ Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy (1869 ~ 1947) appointed Benito Mussolini (1883 ~ 1945) as Prime Minister.

 

1888 ~ The Convention of Constantinople was signed, which guaranteed free maritime passage through the Suez Canal.

 

1863 ~ The International Red Cross was formed in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

1792 ~ Mount Hood in what is now the State of Oregon was named after the British naval officer Samuel Hood, 1^stViscount Hood (1724 ~ 1816).

 

1787 ~ The first performance of Mozart’s opera, Don Giovanni, was in Prague.

 

1675 ~ The long s uses the long s (∫) was first used as a symbol the integral in calculus by German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 ~ 1716).

 

1591 ~ Pope Innocent IX (né Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti; 1519 ~ 1591) was elected Pope.  He took the Office at the end of October 1591.  He was Pope, however, for only 2 months before his death in December 1591.

 

539 BCE ~ Tradition holds that on this date, Cyrus the Great (600 BCE ~ 530 BCE) entered the City of Babylon and ended the Babylonian captivity of the Jews.  He gave the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple.  Many Jews, however, chose to remain in Babylon, now in present day Iraq.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2017 ~ Dennis Banks (b. Apr. 12, 1937), Anishinaabe Native American civil rights leader who fought for native rights.  In 1968, he co-founded the American Indian Movement.  He died of complications of pneumonia following heart surgery.  He was 80 years old.

 

2012 ~ Letitia Baldridge (b. Feb. 9, 1926), American manners guru who served the Kennedys in the White House.  She was the 11^th White House Social Secretary from 1961 until 1963.  She was born in Miami, Florida.  She died at age 86 in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

2009 ~ David Treen, Sr. (né David Connor Treen; b. July 16, 1928), 51^st Governor of Louisiana.  He was Governor from March 1980 until March 1984.  He was born in Baton Rouge and died in Metairie, Louisiana.  He died at age 81.

 

2004 ~ Peter Twinn (né Peter Frank George Twinn; b. Jan. 9, 1916), English mathematician.  He died at age 88.

 

2004 ~ Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (née Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott; b. Dec. 25, 1901), British wife of Prince Henry (1900 ~ 1974), third son of George V, King of the United Kingdom and Mary, Queen consort.  She was an aunt by marriage to Queen Elizabeth II.  She was of the House of Montagu Douglas Scott.  She was the daughter of John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7^th Duke of Buccleuch and Lady Margaret Bridgeman.  She was born and died in London, England.  She died at age 102.

 

1994 ~ Shlomo Goren (b. Feb. 3, 1917), Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israeli.  He died at age 77 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

 

1993 ~ Lipman Bers (b. May 22, 1914), Latvian-born mathematician.  He died at age 79 in New Rochelle, New York.

 

1987 ~ Woody Herman (né Woodrow Charles Herman; b. May 16, 1913), American bandleader and musician during the Swing Era.  He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He died at age 74 in West Hollywood, California.

 

1971 ~ Duane Allman (né Howard Duane Allman; b. Nov. 20, 1946), American musician and member of The Allman Brothers Band.  He was born in Nashville, Tennessee.  He was killed less than a month before his 25^th birthday in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia.

 

1971 ~ Arne Tiselius (né Arne Wilhelm Kaurin Tiselius; b. Aug. 10, 1902), Swedish chemist and recipient of the 1948 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Stockholm, Sweden.  He died of a heart attack at age 69 in Uppsala, Sweden.

 

1959 ~ Edith Clarke (b. Feb. 10, 1883), American electrical engineer.  She was the first female electrical engineer and first female electrical engineer to teach at the University of Texas, Austin.  She died at age 76 in Olney, Maryland.

 

1957 ~ Louis B. Mayer (né Lazar Meir, b. July 12, 1884), Russian-born American movie producer.  He was a cofounder of MGM studios.  He died of leukemia at age 73 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1950 ~ Gustaf V, King of Sweden (b. June 16, 1858).  He was King of Sweden from December 1907 until his death in October 1950.  In 1881, he married Victoria of Baden (1862 ~ 1930).  They were the parents of Gustaf VI Adolf, King of Sweden.  He was of the House of Bernadotte.  He was the son of Oscar II, King of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau.  He was of the Church of Sweden.  He died at age 92.

 

1947 ~ Frances Folsom Cleveland (née Frances Clara Folsom, b. July 21, 1864), First Lady of the United States and wife of President Grover Cleveland.  They married when he was in Office.  She was 21 years old at the time of her marriage in 1886, making her the youngest First Lady.  President Cleveland was 49 at the time of their marriage.  After Grover Cleveland died, Frances married Thomas Preston, Jr., in February 1913.  She was the first presidential widow to remarry.  She was born in Buffalo, New York.  She died at age 83 in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

1933 ~ Paul Painlevé (b. Dec. 5, 1853), French mathematician and politician.  He served as the Prime Minister of France twice, first from September 1917 until November 1917, and second from April 1925 until November 1925.  He was born and died in Paris, France.  He died at age 69.

 

1924 ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett (née Frances Eliza Hodgson; b. Nov. 24, 1849), British author best known for her children’s classic, The Secret Garden.  She was born in Cheetham, Manchester, England.  She died less than a month before her 75^th birthday in Plandome Manor, New York.

 

1911 ~ Joseph Pulitzer (né József Pulitzer; b. Apr. 10, 1847), Hungarian-American publisher.   He introduced the technique of yellow journalism, journalism with little well researched news.  He became and American citizen and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York State.  He died at age 64 in Charleston, South Carolina.

 

1901 ~ Leon Czolgosz (né Leon Frank Czolgosz; b. May 5, 1873), American assassin of President William McKinley.  He shot the President in September 1901.  He was electrocuted at age 28, just 7 weeks after the assassination.  He was born in Detroit, Michigan.  He was electrocuted at the Auburn Prison in Auburn, New York.

 

1885 ~ George B. McCellan (né George Brinton McCellan; b. Dec. 3, 1826), American Union Civil War General.  Following the Civil War, he served as the 24^th Governor of New Jersey, from January 1878 until January 1881.  He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He died of a heart attack at age 58 in West Orange, New Jersey.

 

1877 ~ Nathan Bedford Forrest (b. July 13, 1826), General in the Confederate Army.  He was an early leader and Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.  In June 2020, many statues of him throughout the South were torn down.  He was born and died in Memphis, Tennessee.  He died of complications from diabetes at age 56.

 

1829 ~ Maria Anna Mozart (née Maria Anna Walburg Ignatia Mozart; b. July 30, 1751), Austrian pianist and older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  She was born and died in Saltzburg, Austria.  She died at age 78.

 

1804 ~ Sarah Crosby (b. Oct. 6, 1729), British theologian and first female Methodist preacher.  She died 23 days after her 75^th birthday.

 

1783 ~ Jean le Rond d’Alembert (b. Nov. 16, 1717), French mathematician.  He was born and died in Paris, France.  He died 18 days before his 66^th birthday.

 

1618 ~ Sir Walter Raleigh (b. Jan. 22, 1552), English explorer and adventurer.  Although he had been a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, he fell out of favor.  He was executed by beheading on October 29, 1618 for allegedly conspiring against James I, King of England.  He was born in Devon, England.  He was executed in London, England.  The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been born on January 22, 1552, thus making him 65 at the time of his death.

 

1321 ~ Stefan Uroš II Milutin, King of Serbia (b. 1253).  He ruled Serbia from 1282 until his death in 1321.  He was married multiple times.  His first wife was Jelena.  They had two children together.  His second wife was Helena Doukaina Angelina.  There were no children of his second marriage.  His third wife was Elizabeth of Hungary.  They had a daughter together.  His fourth wife was Anna Terter of Bulgaria and his fifth and final wife was Simonis Palaiologina.  He had a son with his fourth wife, and no children with his fifth wife.  He was of the House of Nemanjić.  He was the son of Stefan Uroš I, King of Serbia and Helen Anjou.  He was Serbian Orthodox.  The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been about age 68 at the time of his death.

 

1268 ~ Conrad II, King of Sicily (b. Mar. 25, 1252).  He was also known as Conradin.  He ruled Sicily from May 1254 until 1258.  He then became known as the King of Jerusalem.  He never married and had no known children.  He was of the House of Hohenstaufen.  He was the son of Conrad IV, King of Germany and Elisabeth of Bavaria.  After his failed attempt to reclaim Sicily, he was captured and beheaded.  He was 16 years old at the time of his death.

 

1266 ~ Margaret of Austria (b. 1204), Queen consort of Germany through her 1^st marriage to Henry VII, King of Germany and Queen consort of Bohemia through her 2^nd marriage to Ottokar II, King of Bohemia.  She was of the House of Babenberg.  She was the daughter of Leopold VI, Duke of Austria and Theodora Angelina.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 61 or 62 at the time of her death.