Tuesday, December 5, 2023

December 5

Birthdays:

 

1985 ~ Frankie Muniz (né Francisco Muniz, IV), American actor and race car driver.  He is best known for his role as Malcolm in the television sit-com, Malcolm in the Middle.  He was born in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey.

 

1968 ~ Margaret Cho (née Margaret Moran Cho), American comedian.  She was born in San Francisco, California.

 

1945 ~ Moshe Katsav (né Musa Qasab), 8th President of Israel.  He was President from August 2000 to July 2007.  He was born in Yazd, Iran and moved to Israel when his family emigrated in 1951.

 

1938 ~ J.J. Cale (né John Weldon Cale; d. July 26, 2013), rock musician who wrote Cocaine.  He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  He died of a heart attack at age 74 in San Diego, California.

 

1936 ~ Robert Freemen (d. Nov. 6, 2019), British photographer who shaped the Beatles’ image.  He was born and died in London, England.  He died about a month before his 83rd birthday.

 

1936 ~ James Lee Burke, American writer of detective stories, many of which are set in the Louisiana-Texas Gulf coast.  He was born in Houston, Texas.

 

1935 ~ Calvin Trillin (né Calvin Marshal Trillin), American journalist.  He was born in Kansas City, Missouri.

 

1934 ~ Joan Didion (d. Dec. 23, 2021), American novelist and screenwriter.  She was the keen-eyed social critic who chronicled decadence and grief.  She was born in Sacramento, California.  She died in Manhattan, New York 18 days after her 87th birthday.

 

1933 ~ Edward Daly (né Edward Kevin Daly; d. Aug. 8, 2016), the Irish priest who became the face of Bloody Sunday.  In 1972, while participating in a civil rights march in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, British soldiers open fired on the protesters.  A teenager was shot in the back, as two men picked up the teen while Father Daly waived a bloody white handkerchief, leading them to safety.  Daly went on to become the Bishop of Derry.  He died at age 82 in Derry, Northern Ireland.

 

1932 ~ Little Richard (né Richard Wayne Penniman; d. May 9, 2020), American flamboyant showman who shaped rock ‘n roll.  He was born in Macon, Georgia.  He died of bone cancer in Tullahoma, Tennessee at age 87.

 

1932 ~ Sheldon Lee Glashow, American physicist and mathematician.  He was the recipient of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was born in New York, New York.

 

1925 ~ Keith Reemtsma (d. June 23, 2000), American surgeon and pioneer in cross-species transplants.  In 1964, he transplanted a chimpanzee kidney into an ailing woman, which allowed the woman an additional nine months.  He was born in Madera, California.  He died of liver cancer at age 74 in New York, New York.

 

1917 ~ Stanley Resor (né Stanley Rogers Resor; d. Apr. 17, 2012), 9th United States Secretary of the Army.  He served under President Lyndon B. Johnson from July 1965 until June 1971.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 94 in Washington, D.C.

 

1916 ~ Hilary Koprowski (d. Apr. 11, 2013), Polish-born virologist and immunologist.  He is credited with creating the Polio vaccine.  He was born in Warsaw, Poland.  He died at age 96 in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

 

1905 ~ Otto Preminger (né Otto Ludwig Preminger; d. Apr. 23, 1986), Ukrainian-born film director.  He died at age 80 in New York, New York.

 

1903 ~ C.F. Powell (né Cecil Frank Powell; d. Aug. 9, 1969), English physicist and recipient of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died of a heart attack at age 65 while on vacation in Italy.

 

1902 ~ Strom Thurmond, Sr. (né James Strom Thurmond; d. June 26, 2003), United States Senator from South Carolina.  He was a staunch opponent of Civil Rights legislation during the 1950s and ‘60s.  He had also served as the 103rdGovernor of South Carolina.  He was born and died in Edgefield, South Carolina.  He died at age 100.

 

1901 ~ Walt Disney (né Walter Elias Disney; d. Dec. 15, 1966), American movie producer and pioneer in movie animation.  He changed the way the world viewed movies.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died of circulatory collapse caused by lung cancer 10 days after his 65th birthday in Burbank, California.

 

1901 ~ Werner Heisenberg (né Werner Karl Heisenberg; d. Feb. 1, 1976), German physicist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was a pioneer in quantum mechanics.  He died of kidney cancer at age 74.

 

1901 ~ Milton H. Erickson (né Milton Hyland Erickson; d. Mar. 25, 1980), American psychiatrist and hypnotherapist.  He was born in Aurum, Nebraska.  He died at age 78 in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

1897 ~ Gershom Scholem (né Gerhard Scholem; d. Feb. 21, 1982), German-born Israeli philosopher and historian.  He was born in Berlin, Germany.  He died at age 84 in Jerusalem, Israel.

 

1896 ~ Carl Ferdinand Cori (d. Oct. 20, 1984), Czech-born biochemist and pharmacologist.  He was the co-recipient of the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with his wife Gerty Cori (1896 ~ 1957) and Bernardo Houssay (1887 ~ 1971).  They had discovered how glycogen was broken down and resynthesized by the body as an energy source.  He was born in Prague, Austro-Hungarian Empire.  He died at age 87 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

 

1895 ~ Elbert Frank Cox (d. Nov. 28, 1969), American mathematician.  He was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics.  He earned his degree at Cornell University.  He was born in Evansville, Indiana.  He died 8 days before his 74th birthday in Washington, D.C.

 

1894 ~ Philip K. Wrigley (né Philip Knight Wrigley; d. Apr. 12, 1977), American chewing gum manufacturer and baseball executive.  He inherited the Wrigley company and the Chicago Cubs from his father.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage at 82 in resort home in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

 

1890 ~ Fritz Lang (né Friedrich Christian Anton Lang; d. Aug. 2, 1976), Austrian film director, best known for his silent film, Metropolis and M.  He was born in Vienna, Austria.  He died at age 85 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1886 ~ Rose Wilder Lane (née Rose Wilder; d. Oct. 30, 1968), American journalist and author.  She was the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  She was born in De Smet, Dakota Territory.  She died at age 81 in Danbury, Connecticut.

 

1879 ~ Clyde Cessna (né Clyde Vernon Cessna; d. Nov. 20, 1954), American aviation designer and founder of the Cessna Aircraft Corporation.  He was born in Hawthorne, Iowa.  He died 15 days before his 75th birthday in Wichita, Kansas.

 

1863 ~ Paul Painlevé (d. Oct. 29, 1933), 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.

 

1839 ~ George Armstrong Custer (d. June. 25, 1876), American Army general who led the fateful charge at the Battle of Little Big Horn.  He was born in New Rumley, Ohio.  He died along with two of his brothers, Colonel Thomas Ward Custer (b. 1845) and General Boston Custer (b. 1848), who also died in the Battle of Little Big Horn.  George Custer was 36 years old.  His brother Thomas was 31 and Boston was 27.

 

1830 ~ Christina Rossetti (née Christina Georgina Rossetti; d. Dec. 29, 1894), English poet.  She was born and died in London, England.  She died 24 days after her 64th birthday.

 

1822 ~ Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz (née Elizabeth Cabot Cary; d. June 27, 1907), American educator and co-founder of Radcliffe College.  She also served as the first president of Radcliff College.  She was married to Louis Agassiz, the Swiss-born geologist and biologist.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Arlington, Massachusetts.  She was 84 at the time of her death.

 

1782 ~ Martin Van Buren (né Maarten Van Buren, d. July 24, 1862), 8th President of the United States.  He was President from March 1837 until March 1841.  He had previously served as the 8th United States Vice President under President Andrew Jackson from March 1833 until March 1837.  He served as the 10th United States Secretary of State during the Andrew Jackson administration from March 1829 until May 1831.  He was from New York State and had also served as the Governor of New York from January 1829 until March 1829.  He had previously served as a United States Senator from New York from March 1821 until December 20, 1828.  He was born and died in Kinderhook, New York.  He died at age 79.

 

1443 ~ Pope Julius II (né Guiliano della Rovere; d. Feb. 21, 1513).  He was known as the Warrior Pope and ruled from November 1503 until his death 10 years later.  He died at age 69.

 

1377 ~ Jianwen Emperor (d. July 13, 1402), 2nd Chinese Emperor of the Ming Empire.  He reigned from June 1398 until his disappearance 4 years later.  He was 24 years old.

 

852 ~ Zhu Wen (d. July 18, 912), Chinese emperor at the end of the Tang dynasty.  He reigned from June 907 until his death 5 years later.  He died at age 59.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2017 ~ The International Olympic Committee banned Russia from competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics for doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

 

2012 ~ A 5.6 earthquake struck in the South Khorasan Province in Iran.

 

1991 ~ Leonid Kravchuk (b. 1934) was elected as the first president of Ukraine.  He served in that office until July 1994.

 

1983 ~ The military junta in Argentina was dissolved.

 

1979 ~ Sonia Johnson (b. 1936) was formally excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints for her criticism of the church’s position on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).  She favored the passage of the ERA.

 

1955 ~ The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.

 

1945 ~ Flight 19 was lost in the Bermuda Triangle.  Flight 19 was the designation of 5 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers during a United States Navy overwater navigation training flight.  All the airmen on the flight disappeared and their bodies never found.

 

1936 ~ The Soviet Union adopted a new constitution, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formally established.

 

1933 ~ Prohibition in the United States ended after Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution.  This amendment overturned the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol.

 

1932 ~ Albert Einstein (1879 ~ 1955) was granted an American visa.

 

1876 ~ A fire at the Brooklyn Theater in Brooklyn, New York killed over 275 people.  They had been watching the melodrama Two Orphans.

 

1873 ~ Serial killer Thomas Piper (1849 ~ 1876), the sexton at the Warren Avenue Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts killed his first victim.  He later became known as the Boston Belfry Killer after the body of his final victim was discovered in the church’s belfry.  Piper confessed to the murder and was hanged at age 27 in 1876.

 

1865 ~ In the Chincha Island War, Peru allied with Chile against Spain.

 

1848 ~ In a speech before Congress, President James Polk (1795 ~ 1849) confirmed that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.  This was a precursor to the great California Gold Rush of ’49.

 

1847 ~ Jefferson Davis (1808 ~ 1889) was elected to the United States Senate.  He was a Senator from Mississippi until January 21, 1861.

 

1831 ~ Former President John Quincy Adams (1767 ~ 1848) took his seat in the House of Representatives.

 

1776 ~ The Phi Beta Kappa was founded at the College of William and Mary.  It was the first American college fraternity.

 

1766 ~ James Christie (1730 ~ 1803) held his first auction in London, England.

 

1560 ~ Charles IX (1550 ~ 1574) became king of France.

 

1492 ~ Christopher Columbus (1451 ~ 1506) is said to have reached land in the New World when his ships landed on the island of Hispaniola, which is now present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

 

1496 ~ Manuel I, King of Portugal (1469 ~ 1521), issued a decree ordering the expulsion of all Jewish heretics from the country.

 

1484 ~ Pope Innocent VIII (1432 ~ 1492) issued a papal bull allowing Heinrich Kramer (1430 ~ 1505) and James Sprenger (d. 1495) as inquisitors to root out witchcraft in Germany.  This led to one of the most oppressive witch hunts in European history.

 

771 ~ Charlemagne (d. 814) became the sole King of the Franks following the death of his brother, Carloman (751 ~ 771).  Carloman had died the previous day.  They had co-ruled, but after Carloman’s death, Charlemagne seized the entire realm, leaving Carloman’s son without.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2022 ~ Kirstie Alley (née Kirstie Louise Alley; b. Jan. 12, 1951), American actress.  She is best known for her role as Rebecca Howe on Cheers.  She was born in Wichita, Kansas.  She died of cancer about a month before her 72nd birthday.

 

2021 ~ Jacques Tits (b. Aug. 12, 1930), Belgian-French mathematician.  He is best known for his work in group theory.  He was born in Uccle, Belgium.  He died at age 91 in Paris, France.

 

2021 ~ Bob Dole (né Robert Joseph Dole; b. July 11, 2023), American World War II hero who became a United States Senate Stalwart.  He was a United States Senator from Kansas.  He was a politician and 1996 Republican Presidential candidate.  He was born in Russell, Kansas.  He died at age 98 in Washington, D.C.

 

2017 ~ Michael I, King of Romania (b. Oct. 25, 1921).  He reigned as King from July until June 1930.  He reigned for a second time from September 1940 until his abdication in December 1947.  He was the last King of Romania.  In 1948, he married Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma.  He was of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.  He was the son of Carol II, King of Romania and Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark.  He was Romanian Orthodox.  He died at age 96.

 

2015 ~ Chuck Williams (né Charles Edward Williams; b. Oct. 2, 1915), American businessman and food lover and co-founder of Williams-Sonoma.  He was born in Jacksonville, Florida.  He died at age 100 in San Francisco, California.

 

2014 ~ Fabiola de Mora y Aragón (b. June 11, 1928), Queen consort of Belgium.  She was the wife of Baudouin, King of Belgium.  They married in 1960.  There were no children of this marriage.  She was a Spanish aristocrat.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 86.

 

2013 ~ Nelson Mandela (né Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela; b. July 18, 1918), 1st President of South Africa and recipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.  He was the anti-apartheid icon who forged a new South Africa.  He died at age 95 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

 

2012 ~ Dave Brubeck (né David Warren Brubeck; b. Dec. 6, 1920), American pianist who reshaped the rhythms of jazz.  He was born in Concord, California.  He died 1 day before his 92nd birthday in Norwalk, Connecticut.

 

2012 ~ Oscar Niemeyer (né Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Fiho; b. Dec. 15, 1907), Brazilian architect who designed Brazil’s space-age capital.  He was born and died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He died 10 days before his 105thbirthday.

 

2010 ~ Don Meredith (né Joseph Don Meredith; b. Apr. 10, 1938), American football quarterback who lit up the broadcast booth.  His nickname was “Dandy Don.”  He was born in Mount Vernon, Texas.  He died at age 72 of a brain hemorrhage in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 

2009 ~ James Rohn (né Emanuel James Rohn; b. Sept. 17, 1930), American motivational speaker and entrepreneur and author.  He was born in Yakima, Washington.  He died of pulmonary fibrosis at age 79 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2008 ~ Nina Foch (née Nina Consuelo Maud Fock; b. Apr. 20, 1924), Dutch-American actress.  She was born in Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands.  She died at age 84 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1984 ~ Cecil M. Harden (née Cecil Murray; b. Nov. 21, 1894), American Republican politician.  She was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana.  She served in that Office from January 1949 until January 1959.  She was an advocate for women’s rights.  She was born in Covington, Indiana.  She died 2 weeks after her 90th birthday in Lafayette, Indiana.

 

1974 ~ Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman (née Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss; b. Dec. 20, 1886), American tennis player.  Before World War I, she dominated the American tennis scene and won 45 tennis titles during her lifetime.  She was born in Healdsburg, California.  She died 15 days before her 88th birthday in Newton, Massachusetts.

 

1973 ~ Jimmy Cannon (b. Apr. 10, 1909), American sports journalist.  He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his coverage of boxing.  He was born and died in New York, New York.  He died at age 64.

 

1973 ~ Sir Robert Watson-Watt (né Robert Alexander Watson-Watt; b. Apr. 13, 1892), Scottish inventor who is credited with creating the Radar.  He died at age 81 in Inverness, Scotland.

 

1969 ~ Princess Alice of Battenberg (b. Feb. 25, 1885), great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.  During World War II, she worked sheltering Jewish refugees.  She is recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations by Israel’s Holocaust memorial institution.  She was married to Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (1882 ~ 1944).  They married in 1903.  It was not a happy marriage and they separated by 1930.  She was of the House of Battenberg.  She was the daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine.  She died at age 84.

 

1965 ~ Joseph Erlanger (b. Jan. 5, 1874), American physiologist and recipient of the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was born in San Francisco, California.  He died a month before his 92nd birthday in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

1959 ~ Mary Winston Newson (née Mary Frances Winston; b. Aug. 7, 1869), American mathematician.  She was the first American woman to receive a Ph.D. from a European university.  She received her advance degree from the University of Göttingen.  She was only 1 of 22 women to join the American Mathematical Society before 1900.  She was born in Forreston, Illinois.  She died in Poolesville, Maryland at age 90.

 

1951 ~ Shoeless Joe Jackson (né Joseph Jefferson Jackson; b. July 16, 1887), American baseball player associated with the 1919 Black Sox scandal.  He was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing.  He was born in Pickens County, South Carolina.  He died at age 64 in Greenville, South Carolina.

 

1931 ~ Vachel Lindsay (né Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, b. Nov. 10, 1879), American poet.  He was born and died in Springfield, Illinois.  He died by suicide 25 days after his 52nd birthday.

 

1926 ~ Claude Monet (né Oscar-Claude Monet; b. Nov. 14, 1840), French impressionist painter.  He was born in Paris, France.  He died 3 weeks after his 86th birthday in Giverny, France.

 

1925 ~ Władysław Reymont (b. May 7, 1867), Polish writer and recipient of the 1924 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 58 in Warsaw, Poland.

 

1899 ~ Sir Henry Tate, 1st Baronet (b. Mar. 11, 1819), English sugar magnate of Tate & Lyle, the multinational agribusiness.  He is also known for being the founder of the Tate Art Gallery in London, England.  He died at age 80 in London, England.

 

1870 ~ Alexandre Dumas the Elder (né Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie; b. July 24, 1802), French novelist and playwright.  He is best known for his novels such as The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo.  He died at age 68.

 

1791 ~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (né Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart; b. Jan. 27, 1756), Austrian composer.  He was born in Salzburg, Holy Roman Empire.  He died at age 35.

 

1784 ~ Phillis Wheatley (b. 1753), African-American slave and poet.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 31 at the time of her death.  She died in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1770 ~ James Stirling (b. May 1692), Scottish mathematician.  The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been 78 at the time of his death.  He died in Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

1560 ~ Francis II, King of France (b. Jan. 19, 1544).  He was King from July 1559 until his death 18 months later.  He was the first husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, making him the King consort of Scotland.  He was of the House of Valois-Angoulême.  He was the son of Henry II, King of France and Catherine de’Medici.  He was Catholic.  He died at age 16.

 

902 ~ Ealhswith, Queen consort of Wessex.  She was the wife of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex.  She was the daughter of Æthelred Mucel and Eadburh.  The date of her birth is not known.

 

334 ~ Li Ban (b. 288), Chinese emperor of the Chang Han.  He is believed to have reigned from August 334 until his death 4 months later.  The exact date of his birth is not known.


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