Wednesday, November 29, 2023

November 29

Birthdays:

 

1976 ~ Chadwick Boseman (né Chadwick Aaron Boseman; d. Aug. 28, 2020), African-American actor and Black Panther star who portrayed African-American icons.  He was born in Anderson, South Carolina.  He died at age 43 of colon cancer in Los Angeles, California.

 

1964 ~ Don Cheadle (né Donald Frank Cheadle, Jr.), African-American actor.  He was born in Kansas City, Missouri.

 

1962 ~ Andrew McCarthy (né Andrew Thomas McCarthy), American actor.  He was born in Westfield, New Jersey.

 

1961 ~ Tom Sizemore (né Thomas Edward Sizemore, Jr.; d. Mar. 3, 2023), American tough-guy actor who battled addiction.  Throughout his career, he struggled with heroin and cocaine addiction.  He was born in Detroit, Michigan.  He died of a brain aneurysm at age 61 in Burbank, California.

 

1960 ~ Cathy Moriarty, American actress.  She is best known for her role as Vikki LaMotta in the movie Raging Bull. She was born in The Bronx, New York.

 

1959 ~ Richard Borcherds (né Richard Ewen Borcherds), South African mathematician.  He is known for his work in group theory and lattices.  He was the recipient of the 1998 Fields Medal.  He was born in Cape Town, South Africa.

 

1959 ~ Rahm Emanuel (né Rahm Israel Emanuel), American politician.  He was the 23rd White House Chief of Staff.  He served under President Barack Obama from January 2009 until October 2010.  He then became the Mayor of Chicago in May 2011.  He served as Mayor until May 2019.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1957 ~ Janet Napolitano (née Janet Ann Napolitano), 3rd Secretary of Homeland Security.  She served under President Obama from January 2009 until September 2013.  She had previously served as the 21st Governor of Arizona from January 2003 until January 2009.  She was born in New York, New York.

 

1954 ~ Joel Coen, American film director.  He was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

 

1952 ~ John Barrow (né John David Barrow; d. Sept. 26, 2020), British mathematician and theoretical physician.  He was born in London, England.  He died of colon cancer at age 67.

 

1949 ~ Garry Shandling (né Garry Emmanuel Shandling; d. Mar. 24, 2016), American comedian and actor who broke TV’s “fourth wall”.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died of a heart attack at age 66 in Santa Monica, California.

 

1947 ~ Petra Kelly (née Petra Karin Lehmann; d. Oct. 1, 1992), German political activist and ecofeminist.  She was killed in a murder-suicide by her partner in Bonn, Germany.  She was 44 years old.

 

1946 ~ Suzy Chaffee (née Suzanne Stevia Chaffee), American Olympic alpine ski racer.  She competed in the 1968 winter Olympics.  She was known as Suzy Chapstick.  She was born in Rutland, Vermont.

 

1942 ~ Stanley Ann Dunham (d. Nov. 7, 1995), American anthropologist and mother of United States President Barack Obama.  She was born in Wichita, Kansas.  She died of cancer 22 days before her 53rd birthday in Honolulu, Hawaii.

 

1940 ~ Michael G. Crandall (né Michael Grain Crandall), American mathematician best known for his work in differential equations.  He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

 

1939 ~ Peter Bergman (né Peter Paul Bergman; d. Mar. 9, 2012), American who pioneered surreal radio comedy.  He is best known for being a member of the Fireside Theater.  He was born in Cleveland, Ohio.  He died of complications from leukemia at age 72 in Santa Monica, California.

 

1932 ~ Jacques Chirac (né Jacques René Chirac; d. Sept. 26, 2019), French politician and 22nd president of France from May 1995 until May 2007 who defied a rush to war.  Following 9/11, he vowed to stand by the United States against the war on terrorism, however, when United States President George W. Bush sought his assistance in Iraq, Chirac balked.  He was born and died in Paris, France.  He died at age 86.

 

1928 ~ Paul Simon (né Paul Martin Simon; d. Dec. 9, 2003), American politician and United States Senator from Illinois.  He was born in Eugene, Oregon.  He died 10 days after his 75th birthday in Springfield, Illinois.

 

1928 ~ Yolande Fox (née Yolande Margaret Betbeze; d. Feb. 22, 2016), American Miss America who defied convention.  She became the 1951 Miss America.  Following her year as Miss America, she became a social activist.  She was born in Mobile, Alabama.  She died of lung cancer at age 87 in Washington, D.C.

 

1927 ~ Vin Scully (né Vincent Edward Scully; d. Aug. 2, 2022), American beloved longtime voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He was the sportscaster, known for his 67 seasons calling games for the Los Angeles Dodges baseball team.  He was born in The Bronx, New York.  He died at age 94 in Hidden Hills, California.

 

1920 ~ Joseph Shivers, Jr. (né Joseph Clois Shivers, Jr.; d. Sept. 1, 2014), American chemist and developer of spandex.  He was born in Marlton, New Jersey.  He died at age 93 in Venice, Florida.

 

1919 ~ Sir Frank Kermode (né John Frank Kermode; d. Aug. 17, 2010), British literary critic considered a giant in his field.  He was born on the Isle of Man.  He died at age 90 in Cambridge, England.

 

1918 ~ Madeleine L’Engle (née Madeleine L’Engle Camp; d. Sept. 6, 2007), American author, best known for her children’s novel, A Wrinkle in Time.  She was born in New York, New York.  She died at age 88 in Litchfield, Connecticut.

 

1915 ~ Eugene Polley (d. May 20, 2012), American electrical engineer who invented the TV remote control.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died at age 96 in Downers Grove, Illinois.

 

1912 ~ Sir John Templeton (né John Marks Templeton; d. July 8, 2008), the American-born investor who helped fund the search for God.  In 1968, he took British citizenship and was knighted by Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom in 1987.  He was born in Winchester, Tennessee.  He died of pneumonia at age 95 in Nassau, Bahamas.

 

1912 ~ Viola Smith (née Viola Schmitz; d. Oct. 21, 2020), American trailblazing swing drummer who broke musical boundaries.  She was one of the first female professional drummers.  She was born in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin.  She died in Costa Mesa, California a month before her 108th birthday.

 

1908 ~ Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (d. Apr. 4, 1972), African-American politician and civil rights leader.  He was the first African-American to serve in the United States Congress from New York State.  He was born in New Haven, Connecticut.  He died at age 63 in Miami, Florida.

 

1898 ~ C.S. Lewis (né Clive Staples Lewis; d. Nov. 22, 1963), Irish author best known for his novels The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia.  He was also an Anglican lay theologian, and his writings reflect his religious beliefs.  He was born in Belfast, Ireland.  He died 7 days before his 65th birthday in Oxford, England.

 

1895 ~ Busby Berkeley (né Berkeley William Enos; d. Mar. 14, 1976), American film director and choreographer.  He was born in Los Angeles, California.  He died at age 80 in Palm Desert, California.

 

1876 ~ Nellie Tayloe Ross (né Nellie Davis Tayloe; d. Dec. 19, 1977), American politician and 14th Governor of Wyoming.  She was the first woman to be elected to a State office.  She served as Governor from January 1925 until January 1927.  She later served as the 28th Director of the United States Mint from May 1933 until April 1953.  She was born in St. Joseph, Missouri.  She died 3 weeks after her 101st birthday in Washington, D.C.

 

1874 ~ Egas Moniz (né António Caetano de Aubre Freire de Resende; d. Dec. 13, 1955), Portuguese neurologist and recipient of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died 14 days after his 81st birthday in Lisbon, Portugal.

 

1873 ~ Suzan Rose Benedict (d. Apr. 8, 1942), American mathematician.  She was the first woman awarded a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Michigan.  She had a long career at Smith University in Massachusetts.  She was born in Norwalk, Ohio.  She died of a heart attack at age 68 in Northampton, Massachusetts.

 

1849 ~ Sir John Ambrose Fleming (d. Apr. 18, 1945), British physicist and inventor of the vacuum tube.  He died at age 95.

 

1843 ~ Gertrude Jekyll (d. Dec. 8, 1932), British horticulturist and garden designer.  She created over 400 gardens in England, Europe, and the United States.  She was born in London, England.  She died 9 days after her 89th birthday.

 

1835 ~ Empress Dowager Cixi (d. Nov. 15, 1908), Chinese ruler.  She effectively controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing Dynasty from 1861 until her death in 1908.  She was born in Beijing, Qing Empire.  She died 14 days before her 73rd birthday.

 

1832 ~ Louisa May Alcott (d. Mar. 6, 1888), American novelist.  She is best known for her novels Little Women and Little Men.  She was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on her father’s 33rd birthday.  She died of a stroke at age 55 in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1816 ~ Morrison Waite (né Morrison Remick Waite; d. Mar. 23, 1888), 7th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Ulysses S. Grant.  He replaced Salmon Chase on the Court.  He was succeeded by Melville Fuller.  He served in office from March 1874 until his death on this date 14 years later.  He was born in Lyme, Connecticut.  He died in Washington, D.C., at age 71.

 

1803 ~ Christian Doppler (né Christian Andreas Doppler; d. Mar. 17, 1853), Austrian physicist and mathematician.  He is best known for his principle known as the Doppler effect, that the observed frequency of a wave depends upon the relative speed of the source and the observer.  He died at age 49 of pulmonary disease.

 

1799 ~ Amos Bronson Alcott (d. Mar. 4, 1888), American philosopher and educator.  He was the father of author Louisa May Alcott, who was born in his 33rd birthday.  He was born in Wolcott, Connecticut and died at age 88 in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1627 ~ John Ray (d. Jan. 17, 1705), English naturalist.  He died at age 77.

 

1427 ~ Emperor Yingzong of Ming (d. Feb. 23, 1464), Chinese Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.  He ruled from February 1435 until he was forced to abdicate in favor of his brother in September 1449.  A few years later, he deposed his brother and took over the empire reigning from February 1457 until his death 7 years later.  He died at age 36.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2007 ~ A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Martinique affecting many of the Caribbean islands.

 

1972 ~ Atari released the video game, Pong.

 

1967 ~ United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (1916 ~ 2009) announced his resignation following his recommendation to President Lyndon Johnson (1908 ~ 1973) to freeze troop levels and stop bombing in North Vietnam.

 

1963 ~ The Beatles song, I Want to Hold Your Hand, which had been recorded 6 weeks earlier, was release to the public in the United Kingdom.

 

1963 ~ President Lyndon Johnson (1908 ~ 1973) formed the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1917 ~ 1963).

 

1947 ~ The United Nations General Assembly approved a plan for the partition of Palestine.

 

1929 ~ Admiral Richard E. Byrd (1888 ~ 1957) and his three-member crew became the first persons to fly over the South Pole.

 

1863 ~ During the American Civil War, Union forced under the command of Ambrose Burnside (1824 ~ 1881) successfully defended Knoxville, Tennessee from Confederate forced in the Battle of Fort Sanders.

 

1830 ~ The November Uprising, an armed rebellion against Russia’s rule in Poland, began.

 

1783 ~ A 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit New Jersey.

 

1777 ~ San Jose, California was founded as Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe.  It was the first civilian settlement in the area that would later become the state of California.

 

1732 ~ The 6.6 magnitude Irpinia earthquake struck in the Kingdom of Naples (southern Italy) killing nearly 2,000 people.

 

1729 ~ The Natchez Indians, who had been in conflict with the French settlers, massacred over 200 of the French settlers and kidnapped the women and children at Fort Rosalie, near present day Natchez, Mississippi.

 

800 ~ Charlemagne (742 ~ 814) arrived in Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III (d. 816).  Charlemagne protected the Pope from his enemies and thus, became the Holy Roman Emperor.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2021 ~ Arlene Dahl (née Arlene Carol Dahl; b. Aug. 11, 1925), American actress.  She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She died in New York, New York at age 96.

 

2019 ~ Irving Burgie (né Irving Louis Burgie; b. July 28, 1924), African-American lyricist who got the world singing Day-O.  He is considered on of the greatest composers of Caribbean music.  He was sometimes known as Lord Burgess. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died in Queens, New York at age 95.

 

2017 ~ Mary Lee Woods (b. Mar. 12, 1924), British mathematician and computer programmer.  She died at age 93 in London, England.

 

2013 ~ Peter Kaplan (né Peter Wennik Kaplan; b. Feb. 10, 1954), American New York editor who mentored a generation. He is known for modernizing New Journalism for the digital age.  He was born in South Orange, New Jersey.  He died of cancer at age 59 in Manhattan, New York.

 

2009 ~ Harry Hurt (né Hugh Harrison Hurt, Jr.; b. Dec. 13, 1927), American engineer who made motorcycles safer.  He was born in Big Spring, Texas.  He died 2 weeks before his 82nd birthday in Pomona, California.

 

2008 ~ Jørn Oberg Utzon (b. Apr. 9, 1918), Danish architect who designed the Sydney Opera House in Australia.  He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark.  He died at age 90.

 

2005 ~ Wendie Jo Sperber (b. Sept. 15, 1958), American actress.  She was born in Los Angeles, California.  She died of breast cancer at age 47 in Sherman Oaks, California.

 

2001 ~ George Harrison (b. Feb. 25, 1943), English musician and member of the Beatles.  He was born in Liverpool, England.  He died of lung cancer at age 58 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2001 ~ John Knowles (b. Sept. 16, 1926), American author.  He is best known for his novel A Separate Peace.  He was born in Fairmont, West Virginia.  He died at age 75 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

 

1999 ~ Gene Rayburn (né Eugen Peter Jeljenic; b. Dec. 22, 1917), American game show host.  He hosted the Match Game for over 20 years.  He was born in Christopher, Illinois.  He died of congestive heart failure in Gloucester, Massachusetts 23 days before his 82nd birthday.

 

1997 ~ Coleman Young (né Coleman Alexander Young; b. May 24, 1918), African-American politician and Mayor of Detroit.  He served as Mayor from January 1974 until January 1994.  He was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  He died of emphysema at age 79 in Detroit, Michigan.

 

1992 ~ Jean Dieudonné (b. July 1, 1906) French mathematician.  He was born in Lillie, France.  He died at age 86 in Paris, France.

 

1991 ~ Frank Yerby (né Frank Garvin Yerby, b. Sept. 5, 1916), African-American historical novelist.  He was born in Augusta, Georgia.  He died of liver cancer at age 75 in Madrid, Spain.

 

1986 ~ Cary Grant (né Archibald Alexander Leach; b. Jan. 18, 1904), British-born American actor.  He was born in Bristol, England.  He died of a stroke at age 82 in Davenport, Iowa where he was preparing for a stage performance.

 

1984 ~ Tatyana Pavlovna Ehrenfest (b. Oct. 28, 1905), Dutch mathematician.  She was born in Vienna, Austria.  She is best known for her proof of a lower bound on low-discrepancy sequences.  She about a month after her 79th birthday in Dordrech, Netherlands.

 

1981 ~ Natalie Wood (née Natasha Nikoleavna Zakkharenko; b. July 20, 1938), American actress.  She was born in San Francisco, California.  She died in a mysterious boating accident.  Ostensibly she drowned at age 43, however, in 2012, an investigation into her death was reopened.  Her husband, Richard Wagner, was considered as a “person of interest.”.

 

1980 ~ Dorothy Day (b. Nov. 8, 1897), American journalist and activist.  She was born in Brooklyn, New York.  She died 21 days after her 83rd birthday in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1958 ~ Roy West (né Roy Owen West; b. Oct. 27, 1868), 30th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President Calvin Coolidge from July 1928 until March 1929.  He was born in Georgetown, Illinois.  He died a month after his 90th birthday in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1953 ~ Ernest Barnes (né Ernest William Barnes; b. Apr. 1, 1874), English mathematician.  He was also a member of the clergy.  He was born in Birmingham, England.  He died at age 79.

 

1943 ~ Bertha Knight Landes (née Bertha Ethel Knight; b. Oct. 19, 1868), 38th Mayor of Seattle.  She served as Mayor from 1926-1928.  She was the first female mayor of a major United States city.  She was born in Ware, Massachusetts.  She died at age 75 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 

1924 ~ Giacomo Puccini (b. Dec. 22, 1858), Italian composer best known for his opera Madame Butterfly.  He was born in Lucca, Italy.  He died 23 days before his 66th birthday of complications from throat cancer in Brussels, Belgium.

 

1872 ~ Horace Greeley (b. Feb. 3, 1811), American journalist and politician.  He is credited with coining the phrase: Go West, Young Man!  He also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.  He was born in Amherst, New Hampshire.  He died at age 61 in Pleasantville, New York.

 

1872 ~ Mary Somerville (née Mary Fairfax; b. Dec. 26, 1780), Scottish mathematician and astronomer.  She was born in Jedburgh, Scotland.  She died less than a month before her 92nd birthday in Naples, Italy.

 

1871 ~ John Bigler (b. Jan. 8, 1805), 3rd Governor of California.  He served as Governor from January 1852 until January 1856.  He was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 66 in Sacramento, California.

 

1780 ~ Maria Theresa (née Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; b. May 13, 1717), Holy Roman Empress.  She was the only woman to become Holy Roman Empress in her own right.  She despised Jews and Protestants and was known to expel them from her realm.  In 1836, she married Francis III Stephen, Duke of Lorraine (1708 ~ 1765).  Upon their marriage, he became Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor.  They were the parents of 16 children.  She was of the House of Habsburg.  She was the daughter of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Princess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.  She was born and died in Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire.  She died at age 63.

 

1759 ~ Nicolaus I Bernoulli (b. Oct. 21, 1687), Swiss mathematician.  He was one of many prominent matheticians in the Bernoulli family.  He died about a month after his 72nd birthday.

 

1694 ~ Marcello Malpighi (b. Mar. 10, 1628), Italian astronomer, physician, and botanist.  He died at age 66 in Rome, Italy.

 

1632 ~ Frederick I, King of Bohemia (b. Aug. 26, 1596).  He ruled as king of Bohemia from August 1619 until November 1620 when he was forced to abdicate.  Because of his brief reign, he was known as the Winter King.  In 1613, he married Princess Elizabeth Stuart.  He was of the House of Palatine Simmern.  He was the son of Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine and Princess Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau.  He was Calvinist.  He died at age 36 of an infection.

 

1590 ~ Philipp Nicodemus Frischlin (b. Sept. 22, 1547), German astronomer, mathematician, and writer.  He was arrested in March 1590 for writing libelous letters.  He is believed to have been killed at age 43 from a fall while trying to escape from prison.

 

1543 ~ Hans Holbein the Younger (b. 1497), German artist.  He was the son of artist Hans Holbein the Elder.  The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been born 1497.  The exact date of his death is also unknown, but he is believed to have died sometime in October or November 1543.  He died in London, England.

 

1530 ~ Thomas Wolsey (b. March 1470), British statesman and Catholic bishop.  The exact date of his birth is not known.  He died at age 57.

 

1463 ~ Marie of Anjou (b. Oct. 14, 1414), Queen consort of France.  She was the wife of Charles VII, King of France (1403 ~ 1461).  They married in 1422.  They were the parents of Louis XI, King of France.  She was of the House of Valois-Anjou.  She was the daughter of Louis II, Duke of Anjou and Princess Yolande of Aragon, Duchess consort of Anjou.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 59.

 

1378 ~ Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. May 14, 1316).  He reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1355 until his death in 1378.  He was also the King of Bohemia from 1346 until his death.  He was the first King of Bohemia to become Holy Roman Emperor.  He was married 4 times.  His first wife was Blanche of Valois (1317 ~ 1348).  They married in 1329 when they were both young teenagers.  After her death, he married Anne of Bavaria (1329 ~ 1353).  They married in 1349.  His third wife was Anna von Schweidnitz (1339 ~ 1362).  His fourth and final wife was Elizabeth of Pomerania (1347 ~ 1393).  He was of the House of Luxembourg.  He was the son of John, King of Bohemia and Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia.  He was Roman Catholic.  He was born and died in Prague.  He died at age 62.

 

1314 ~ Philip IV, King of France (b. 1268).  He ruled as king from October 1285 until his death in 1314.  In 1284 he married Joan I, Queen of Navarre.  He was of the House of Capet.  He was the son of Philip III, King of France and Infanta Isabella of Aragon.  The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been born between April and June in 1268.  He died at age 46.

 

1268 ~ Pope Clement IV (né Gui Foucois, b. Nov. 23, 1190).  He was Pope from February 1265 until his death 2 years later.  He died 6 days after his 78th birthday.

 

561 ~ Chlothar I (b. 497), King of the Franks.  He ruled the Franks from 558 until his death in 561.  He was married several times.  His first wife was Guntheuc.  His second wife was Radegund.  His third wife was Ingund.  His fourth wife was Aregund.  His final wife was Chunsina.  He was of the Merovingian Dynasty.  He was the son of Clovis I, King of the Franks and Clotilde.  He was a Chalcedonian Christian.  The exact date of his birth is not known.


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