Thursday, December 7, 2023

December 7

Birthdays:

 

2003 ~ Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, member of the Dutch royal family.  She is the heir apparent.  She is of the House of Orange-Nassau.  She is the daughter of Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti.  She is of the Protestant Church of the Netherlands.

 

1956 ~ Larry Bird (né Larry Joe Bird), American basketball player who had a long career with the Boston Celtics.  He was born in French Lick, Indiana.

 

1952 ~ Susan Collins (née Susan Margaret Collins), American politician and Republican United States Senator from Maine.  She assumed office as Senator in 1997.  She was born in Caribou, Maine.

 

1949 ~ Tom Waits (né Thomas Alan Waits), American singer and composer.  He was born in Pomona, California.

 

1943 ~ Susan Isaacs, American author.  She was born in Brooklyn, New York.

 

1943 ~ Nicholas Katz (né Nicholas Michael Katz), American mathematician.  He was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

1942 ~ Harry Chapin (né Harry Forster Chapin; d. July 16, 1981), American musician.  He was born in New York, New York.  He was killed at age 38 in a car accident in East Meadow, New York.

 

1932 ~ Ellen Burstyn (née Edna Rae Gillooly), American actress.  She was born in Detroit, Michigan.

 

1931 ~ Allan Calhamer (né Allan Brian Calhamer; d. Feb. 25, 2013), American mild-mannered mailman who invented the board game Diplomacy.  He was born in Hinsdale, Illinois.  He died at age 81 in La Grange, Illinois.

 

1928 ~ Noam Chomsky (né Avram Noam Chomsky), American linguist and philosopher.  He is known as the Father of modern Linguistics.  He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

1924 ~ Mary Ellen Ruden (née Mary Ellen Estill; d. Mar. 18, 2013), American mathematician.  She is best known for her work in set-theoretic topology.  She was born in Hillsboro, Texas.  She died at age 88.

 

1923 ~ Ted Knight (né Tadeusz Wladyslaw Konokpka; d. Aug. 26, 1986), America actor.  He was born in Terryville, Connecticut.  He died of colon cancer at age 62 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1923 ~ Alan Ford (né Alan Robert Ford; d. Nov. 3, 2008), American Olympic swimmer known as the “Human Fish.”  He was born in the Panama Canal Zone.  He died of emphysema a month before his 85th birthday in Sarasota, Florida.

 

1921 ~ Valerie Hunter Gordon (née Valerie Ziani de Ferrini; d. Oct. 16, 2016), British army wife who changed the diaper game.  She developed the first commercially successful disposable diaper.  She was born in England.  She died at age Beauly, Scotland at age 94.

 

1919 ~ Brigadier General Charles McGee (né Charles Edward McGee; d. Jan. 16, 2022), African-American fighter pilot who shot down racial barriers.  He was one of the first African-American aviators in the United States military.  He began his career in World War II flying with the Tuskegee Airmen.  He was born in Cleveland, Ohio.  He died at age 102 in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

1915 ~ Eli Wallach (né Eli Herschel Wallach; d. June 24, 2014), American actor.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He died at age 98 in Manhattan, New York.

 

1915 ~ Guido Zappa (d. Mar. 17, 2015), Italian mathematician.  He was born in Naples, Italy.  He died in Florence, Italy.  He was 99 years old.

 

1910 ~ Louis Prima (né Louis Leo Prima; d. Aug. 24, 1978), American musician and bandleader.  He was known as the King of Swing.  He was born and died in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He died at age 67.

 

1903 ~ Danilo Blanuša (d. Aug. 8, 1987), Croatian mathematician.  He died at age 83.

 

1893 ~ Paula Ackerman (née Paula Herskovitz; d. Jan. 12, 1989), the first woman appointed to function as a rabbi in the United States.  She led the congregation at Temple Beth Israel in Meridian, Mississippi, following the sudden death of her husband two weeks earlier.  She was never formally ordained as a rabbi, however.  She was born in Pensacola, Florida. She died about a month after her 95th birthday in Thomaston, Georgia.

 

1873 ~ Willa Cather (née Willa Sibert Cather; d. Apr. 24, 1947), American novelist.  She is best known for her novels of the American frontier, such as O Pioneers! and My Ántonia.  She was born in Gore, Virginia.  She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 73 in Manhattan, New York.

 

1863 ~ Richard Sears (né Richard Warren Sears; d. Sept. 28, 1914), American businessman and co-founder of the department store, Sears and Roebuck.  He was born in Stewartville, Minnesota.  He died at age 50 of Bright’s disease in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

 

1823 ~ Leopold Kronecker (d. Dec. 29, 1891), Polish-German mathematician.  He died 22 days after his 68th birthday in Berlin, German Empire.

 

1804 ~ Noah Haynes Swayne (d. June 8, 1884), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Abraham Lincoln.  He replaced John McLean on the Court.  He was the first Republican to be appointed to the High Court.  He was succeeded by Stanley Matthews.  Swayne served on the Court from January 1862 until January 1881.  He is best known for being one of the 2 dissenters in the Dred Scott Case.  He was born in Frederick County, Virginia.  He died at age 79 in New York, New York.

 

1637 ~ Bernardo Pasquini (d. Nov. 21, 1710), Italian composer.  He was born in Massa, Italy.  He died 16 days before his 73rd birthday in Rome, Italy.

 

1545 ~ Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (d. Feb. 10, 1567), King consort of the Scots and English husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.  He was Mary’s second husband.  He was of the Darnley branch of the Stuart family.  He was the son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and Lady Margaret Douglas.  He was Roman Catholic.  He was murdered at age 21.  His body was found strangled following an explosion at the Kirk o’Field house in Edinburgh.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2022 ~ The Center for Disease Control warned of a likely Covid surge during the holidays amid a “tripledemic” of three viruses: Covid, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.  Covid cases doubled and deaths were up 65 percent in the first few weeks of December.  At the same time, the United States was experiencing the worst flu outbreak in more than a decade.

 

2017 ~ Same-sex marriages became recognized in Australia with the passage of the Marriage Amendment Bill.

 

2016 ~ A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck in the Ache province on the northern tip of Sumatra.  Over 100 people were killed and at least 1,000 others were injured.  Homes and businesses were flattened.

 

1988 ~ A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck in Armenia, killing between 25,000 and 50,000 people and injuring at least 30,000 people.

 

1982 ~ Texas used lethal injection for the first time in executing convicted murderer Charles Brooks, Jr. (1942 ~ 1972).

 

1972 ~ The last of the Apollo moon missions, Apollo 17, was launched.  The crew took the iconic photograph of the Earth, known as The Blue Marble.

 

1963 ~ Instant replay was first used during the Army-Navy football game.

 

1946 ~ A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia killed 119 people.  It is one of the deadliest hotel fires in the United States.

 

1941 ~ The Imperial Japanese Navy executed a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  This was the event that thrust the United States into World War II.

 

1930 ~ The first commercial in the United States was broadcast on the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers.  The company I.J. Fox Furriers sponsored the radio show, hence its name.

 

1917 ~ By declaring war on Austria-Hungary, the United States entered the Great War, later known as World War I.

 

1869 ~ Outlaw Jesse James (1847 ~ 1882) committed his first confirmed bank robber in Gallatin, Missouri.

 

1787 ~ Delaware ratified the United States Constitution.  It was the first state to do so, thereby becoming the first State in the Union.

 

1776 ~ The Marquis de Lafayette (1757 ~ 1834) arranged to enter the American military as a major general.

 

1732 ~ The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, London, England opened.

 

1703 ~ The Great Storm of 1703 was the strongest storm recorded in the southern part of Great Britain.  It struck landfall with estimated winds of up to 120 miles and killed over 9,000 people.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2020 ~ Chuck Yeager (né Charles Elwood Yeager; b. Feb. 13, 1923), American no-nonsense fighter plane test pilot who was the first person to break the sound barrier.  He was born in Myra, West Virginia.  He died in Los Angeles, California at age 97.

 

2011 ~ Jerry Robinson (né Sherrill David Robinson; b. Jan. 1, 1922), American cartoonist who created the Batmancharacter the Joker.  He was born in Trenton, New Jersey.  He died about a month before his 90th birthday in New York, New York.

 

2011 ~ Harry Morgan (né Harry Bratsberg; b. Apr. 10, 1915), American hardest-working actor in Hollywood.  He was best known for his role as Col. Sherman Potter on the television sit-com M*A*S*H.  He was born in Detroit, Michigan.  He died at age 96 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2010 ~ Elizabeth Edwards (née Mary Elizabeth Anania; b. July 3, 1949), American lawyer and wife of politician John Edwards.  She blazed her own trail.  She was born in Jacksonville, Florida.  She died of breast cancer at age 61 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

 

2006 ~ Jeane Kirkpatrick (née Jeane Duane Jordan; b. Nov. 19, 1926), 16th United States Ambassador to the United Nations.  She was the American diplomat who shaped President Ronald Reagan’s muscular foreign policy.  She was born in Duncan, Oklahoma.  She died 18 days after her 80th birthday in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

2003 ~ Azie Taylor Morton (né Azie Taylor; b. Feb. 1, 1933), 36th Treasurer of the United States from September 1977 until Jan. 1981.  She served under President Jimmy Carter.  She was the first African American to serve in this position.  She was born in Dale, Texas.  She died of a stroke at age 67 in Bastrop County, Texas.

 

1998 ~ Martin Rodbell (b. Dec. 1, 1925), American biochemist and endocrinologist.  He was the recipient of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was born in Baltimore, Maryland.  He died of organ failure 6 days after his 73rd birthday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

 

1993 ~ Wolfgang Pauli (né Wolfgang Ernst Pauli; b. Aug. 10, 1913), German physicist and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was born in Vienna, Austria.  He died at age 80 in Zurich, Switzerland.

 

1992 ~ Richard J. Hughes (né Richard Joseph Hughes, b. Aug. 10, 1909), 45th Governor of New Jersey.  He served as Governor from January 1962 until January 1970.  He was born in Florence Township, New Jersey.  He died at age 83 in Boca Raton, Florida.

 

1986 ~ Sydney J. Harris (né Sydney Justin Harris; b. Sept. 14, 1917), American journalist and columnist.  He was born in London, England.  He died at age 69 of complications following heart by-pass surgery.

 

1985 ~ Potter Stewart (b. Jan. 23, 1915), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Dwight Eisenhower.  He served on the Court from October 1958 until his retirement in July 1981.  He is best known for his concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio, which pertained to obscenity, in which he wrote “I know [ponography] when I see it.”  He replaced Harold Burton on the Court.  He was succeeded by Sandra Day O’Connor.  He was born in Jackson, Michigan.  He died following a stroke in Hanover, New Hampshire at age 70.

 

1985 ~ Robert Graves (né Robert von Ranke Graves; b. July 24, 1895), English author best known for his book, I, Claudius, which was later made into a miniseries.  He died at age 90 in Dieà, Spain.

 

1981 ~ Ava Pauling (né Ava Helen Miller; b. Dec. 24, 1903), American humanitarian and social activist.  She was also the wife of scientist Linus Pauling.  She was born in Beavercreek, Oregon.  She died 17 days before her 78th birthday in Portola Valley, California following a long battle with stomach cancer.

 

1979 ~ Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (née Cecilia Helena Payne; b. May 10, 1900), British-born American astronomer and astrophysicist.  She died at age 79 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

 

1975 ~ Thornton Wilder (né Thornton Niven Wilder; b. Apr. 17, 1897), American dramatist.  He is best known for his play Our Town, and his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey.  He was born in Madison, Wisconsin.  He died of heart failure at age 78 in Hamden, Connecticut.

 

1970 ~ Rube Goldberg (né Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg; b. July 4, 1883), American sculptor and cartoonist.  He was born in San Francisco, California.  He died at age 87 in New York, New York.

 

1947 ~ Nicholas Murray Butler (b. Apr. 2, 1862), American philosopher and diplomat.  He was President of Columbia University.  He was, ironically, the recipient of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize, considering his stance on Italy and Germany during World War II.  He exhibited anti-Semitic views and enforced the quotas on the number of Jews who could attend Columbia University.  He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey.  He died at age 85 in New York, New York.

 

1942 ~ Hannah Solomon (née Hannah Greenebaum; b. Jan. 14, 1858), American social reformer and founder of the National Council of Jewish Women in 1893.  She was born and died in Chicago, Illinois.  She died at age 84.

 

1913 ~ Aaron Montgomery Ward (b. Feb. 17, 1844), American businessman and founder of the Montgomery Ward department store.  His birthday is sometimes listed as being on February 17, 1943.  He was born in Chatham, New Jersey.  He died at age 69 or 70 in Highland Park, Illinois.

 

1906 ~ Élie Ducommun (b. Feb. 19, 1833), Swiss journalist and recipient of the 1902 Nobel Peace Prize.  He helped found the Ligue de la paix et de la liberté (League of Peace and Freedom), a non-governmental international peace organization.  He was born in Geneva, Switzerland.  He died at age 73 in Bern, Switzerland.

 

1902 ~ Thomas Nast (b. Sept. 27, 1840), German-born American political cartoonist.  He created such figures as Uncle Sam and the Republican Elephant and the Democratic Donkey.  He died in Ecuador of yellow fever at age 62.

 

1894 ~ Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps (b. Nov. 19, 1805), French diplomat and engineer who developed the Suez Canal.  The company he organized began work on the Canal in 1859 and completed the task 10 years later.  He died 18 days after his 89th birthday.

 

1817 ~ William Bligh (b. Sept. 9, 1754), British admiral and politician.  He was the Admiral of the HMS Bounty, when his crew mutinied.  He survived, and 15 years after the mutiny, he became the Governor of New South Wales.  He served as Governor from August 1806 until January 1808.  He died at age 63 in London, England.

 

1815 ~ Michel Ney, 1st Duc d’Elchingen (b. Jan. 10, 1769), French Marshal and commander during the Napoleonic Wars.  He was executed for treason about a month before his 47th birthday.

 

1672 ~ Richard Bellingham (b. 1592), English-American politician and Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  He served several non-consecutive terms as governor.  He was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, England.  The date of his birth is not known.  He died in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British America.

 

1383 ~ Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg (b. Feb. 25, 1337), ruler of Luxembourg.  He was married to Joanna, Duchess of Brabant (1322 ~ 1406).  They married in 1352.  He was of the House of Luxembourg.  He was the son of John, King of Bohemia (also known as John the Blind) and Beatrice of Bourbon.  He died at age 46, probably of leprosy.

 

1254 ~ Pope Innocent IV (né Sinibaldo Fieschi, b. 1195).  He was Pope from 1243 until his death 11 years later.  The date of his birth is not known.  He is believed to have been about 59 years old.

 

983 ~ Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 955).  He ruled from May 973 until his death 10 years later.  He married to Theophanu in 972.  He was of the Ottonian Dynasty.  He was the son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy.  He was Roman Catholic.  The date of his birth is not known.  He is believed to have been about 27 or 28 at the time of his death of malaria.

 

283 ~ Pope Eutychian.  He was Pope from January 274 until his death 9 years later.  The date of his birth is not known.

 

43 BCE ~ Marcus Tillius Cicero (b. BCE Jan. 3, 106), Roman politician and author.  These are the dates ascribed to his birth and assassination.  He died at age 63.


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