Wednesday, February 28, 2024

February 28

Birthdays:

 

1965 ~ Colum McCann, Irish writer, best known for his novel, Let the World Spin.  He was born in Dublin, Ireland.

 

1961 ~ Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian actress.  She is the daughter of actor Tommy Chong.  She was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

 

1960 ~ Dorothy Stratten (née Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten; d. Aug. 14, 1980), Canadian actress and model.  She was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  She was murdered by her estranged husband at age 20 in Los Angeles, California.  Her life story was depicted in the movie Star 80.

 

1957 ~ John Turturro (né John Michael Turturro), American actor.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.

 

1955 ~ Gilbert Gottfried (né Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried; d. Apr. 12, 2022), American comic’s comic who wasn’t afraid to offend.  He was born and died in New York, New York.  He died at age 67 of a rare muscle disease.

 

1953 ~ Paul Krugman (né Paul Robin Krugman), American economist and recipient of the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.  He was born in Albany, New York.

 

1949 ~ Zoia Ceauşescu (d. Nov. 20, 2006), Romanian mathematician.  She was the daughter of Communist leader Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife, Elena.  She was born and died in Bucharest, Romania.  She died of lung cancer at age 57.

 

1948 ~ Steven Chu, American physicist, and recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was also the 12th Secretary of Energy and served under President Barack Obama from January 2009 until April 2013.  He was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

1948 ~ Mike Figgis (né Michael Figgis), British film director.  He was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England.

 

1948 ~ Bernadette Peters (née Bernadette Lazzara), American actress.  She was born in New York, New York.

 

1948 ~ Mercedes Reuhl, American actress.  She was born in Queens, New York.

 

1946 ~ David Harris (né David Victor Harris; d. Feb. 6, 2023), American journalist and political activist who was jailed for resisting the draft in the Vietnam War.  In 1968, he married musician Joan Baez.  He was born in Fresno, California.  He died of lung cancer just 3 weeks before his 77th birthday.

 

1942 ~ Frank Bonner (né Frank Woodrow Boers, Jr.; d. June 16, 2021), American actor and television director.  He is best known for his role as Herb Tarlek on the television sit-com WKRP in Cincinnati.  He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas.  He died at age 79 of complications of dementia in Laguna Niguel, California.

 

1941 ~ Suzanne Mubarak (née Suzanne Saleh Thabet), First Lady of Egypt and wife of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

 

1940 ~ Mario Andretti (né Mario Gabriele Andretti), Italian-born American race driver.  He was born in Montona, which at the time was part of the Kingdom of Italy (currently in Croatia).

 

1939 ~ Daniel C. Tsui (né Daniel Chee Tsui), Chinese-born American physicist and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was born in Henan, China.

 

1939 ~ Tommy Tune (né Thomas James Tune), American actor and dancer.  He was born in Wichita Falls, Texas.

 

1938 ~ Lord Michael Onslow, 7th Earl of Onslow (né Michael William Coplestone Dillon Onslow; d. May 14, 2011), British lord and eccentric who enlivened the House of Lords.  He died of cancer at age 73.

 

1931 ~ Dean Smith (né Dean Edwards Smith; d. Feb. 7, 2015), American legendary college basketball coach who put his players first.  He was the head men’s basketball coach for 36 years at the University of North Carolina.  He promoted desegregation in the sport at his school.  He was born in Emporia, Kansas.  He died three weeks before his 84thbirthday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

 

1931 ~ Gavin MacLeod (né Allan George See; d. May 29, 2021), American actor best known for his role as Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat.  He was also a Christian television host.  He was born in Mount Kisco, New York.  He died at age 90 in Palm Desert, California.

 

1930 ~ Leon Cooper (né Leon Neil Cooper), American physicist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was born in The Bronx, New York.

 

1929 ~ Frank Gehry (né Frank Owen Goldberg), Canadian-born American architect.  He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

 

1926 ~ Lana Peters (née Svetlana Iosifovna Stalina; d. Nov. 22, 2011), Russian who was Stalin’s peripatetic daughter.  She moved to the United States and changed her name.  She was born in Moscow, Russia.  She died at age 85 in Richland Center, Wisconsin.

 

1924 ~ Chris Kraft (né Christopher Columbus Kraft, Jr.; d. July 22, 2019), American NASA visionary who led Mission Control.  He was born in Pheobus, Virginia.  He died in Houston, Texas at age 95.

 

1923 ~ Charles Durning (né Charles Edward Durning; d. Dec. 24, 2012), American actor.  He was born in Highland Falls, New York.  He died at age 89 in Manhattan, New York.

 

1921 ~ Saul Zaentz (d. Jan. 3, 2014), American film producer who put literature on the screen.  He is best known for such films as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s NestThe English Patient, and The Lord of the Rings.  He was born in Passaic, New Jersey.  He died of complications of Alzheimer’s disease in San Francisco at age 92.

 

1915 ~ Zero Mostel (né Samuel Joel Mostel; d. Sept. 8, 1977), American actor.  He is best known for his portrayal of Tevye in the stage version of Fiddler on the Roof.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died of an aortic aneurysm at age 62 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

1915 ~ Sir Peter Medawar (né Peter Brian Medawar; d. Oct. 2, 1987), Brazilian-born British biologist and recipient for the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on organ transplants and the discovery of acquired immune tolerance.  He died following a stroke at age 72 in London, England.

 

1912 ~ Clara Petacci (d. Apr. 28, 1945), Italian mistress of Benito Mussolini.  She was executed by firing squad along with Mussolini.  She was born in Rome, Italy.  She was 33 years old at the time of her death.

 

1906 ~ Bugsy Siegel (né Benjamin Siegel; d. June 20, 1947), American gangster.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He was murdered at age 41 in Beverly Hills, California.

 

1903 ~ Vincente Minnelli (né Lester Anthony Minnelli; d. July 25, 1986), American film director, husband of Judy Garland and father of Liza Minnelli.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died of emphysema and pneumonia at age 83 in Beverly Hills, California.

 

1901 ~ Linus Pauling (né Linus Carl Pauling; d. Aug. 19, 1994), American chemist political activist.  He was the recipient of two Nobel Prizes: the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize.  He was born in Portland, Oregon.  He died at age 93 in Big Sur, California.

 

1898 ~ Molly Picon (née Malka Opiekun; d. Apr. 5, 1992), American actress.  She began her career in the Yiddish theater.  She was born in New York, New York.  She died at age 94 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

 

1896 ~ Philip Showalter Hench (d. Mar. 30, 1965), American physician and recipient of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He died of pneumonia about a month after his 69thbirthday in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

 

1894 ~ Ben Hecht (d. Apr. 18, 1964), American playwright.  He was born and died in New York, New York.  He died at age 70.

 

1884 ~ Ants Piip (d. Oct. 1, 1942), Prime Minister of Estonia.  He served as Prime Minister from October 1920 until December 1920, at which time he became the 1st State Elder of Estonia.  He served in that position for only a month until January 1921.  He died in a Soviet prison camp at age 58.

 

1878 ~ Pierre Fatou (né Pierre Joseph Louis Fatou; d. Aug. 9, 1929), French mathematician.  He died at age 51.

 

1851 ~ Samuel W. McCall (né Samuel Walker McCall; d. Nov. 4, 1923), 47th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1916 until January 1919.  He had previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts.  He was born in East Providence Township, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 72 in Winchester, Massachusetts.

 

1838 ~ Maurice Lévy (d. Sept. 30, 1910), French mathematician and engineer.  He died at age 72 in Paris, France.

 

1824 ~ Charles Blondin (né Jean François Gravelet; d. Feb. 22, 1897), French acrobat and tightrope walker.  He is best known for crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope.  He died of diabetes 6 days before his 73rd birthday in London, England.

 

1797 ~ Mary Lyon (née Mary Mason Lyon; d. Mar. 5, 1849), American pioneer in women’s education.  She founded the Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts and was its first president.  She was born in Buckland, Massachusetts and died in South Hadley, Massachusetts.  She died of an acute skin infection at just a week after her 52ndbirthday.

 

1792 ~ Henrietta d’Oultremont, Countess of Nassau (d. Oct. 26, 1864), second wife of Willima I, King of the Netherlands.  They married in 1841.  It was a morganatic marriage, thus she was never the queen consort.  She was of the noble house of d'Oultremont de Wégimont.  She was the daughter of Count Ferdinand d'Oultremont de Wégimont and Johanna Susanna Hartsinck.  She died at age 72.

 

1792 ~ Karl Ernst von Baer (d. Nov. 28, 1876), Estonian biologist.  He is considered the founding father of embryology.  He was born in Piibe, Estonia.  He died at age 84 in Tartu, Estonia.

 

1735 ~ Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde (d. Jan. 1, 1796), French chemist and mathematician.  He was born and died in Paris, France at age 60.

 

1690 ~ Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia (b. June 26, 1718), member of the Russian royal family.  In 1711, he married Duchess Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1694 ~ 1715).  He was of the House of Romanov.  He was the son of Peter I, Tsar of Russia (Peter the Great) and Euodoxia Lopukhina.  He died mysteriously at age 28 after being sentenced to death by his father for plotting against him.

 

1552 ~ Jost Bürgi (d. Jan. 31, 1632), Swiss clockmaker and mathematician.  He died 28 days before his 80th birthday.

 

1533 ~ Michel de Montaigne (d. Sept. 13, 1592), French philosopher and author.  He died at age 59.

 

1518 ~ Francis III, Duke of Brittany (d. Aug. 10, 1536), French prince.  He never married and had no known children.  He was of the House of Valois-Angoulême.  He was the eldest son of Francis I, King of France and Claude, Duchess of Brittany.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 18 under suspicious circumstances.  He may either have been poisoned or he died of tuberculosis.

 

1261 ~ Princess Margaret of Scotland (d. Apr. 9, 1283), Queen consort of Norway and first wife of Eric II, King of Norway (1268 ~ 1200).  She was of the House of Dunkeld.  She was the daughter of Alexander III, King of Scotland and Princess Margaret of England.  She died at age 22 in childbirth.

 

1155 ~ Henry the Young King (d. June 11, 1183), member of the British royal family.  He was crowned during the reign of his father, Henry II, King of England, and together they jointly ruled.  He was married to Margaret of France (1158 ~ 1197).  They married in 1160.  He was of the House of Plantagenet.  He was the son of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.  He died of dysentery at age 28, six years before his father, thus never ruled alone.

 

1119 ~ Emperor Xizong of Jin (d. Jan. 9, 1119), Chinese emperor of the Jin Dynasty.  He ruled from February 1135 until his assassination at age 30.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2017 ~ Mardi Gras.

 

2013 ~ Pope Benedict XVI (1927 ~ 2022) resigned as Pope of the Catholic Church.  He was the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII (1320s ~ Oct. 18, 1417) resigned in 1415.

 

2001 ~ A 6.8 earthquake, with its epicenter in the southern Puget Sound, damaged the Seattle, Washington metropolitan area.

 

1997 ~ An earthquake in northern Iran killed about 3,000 people.

 

1993 ~ The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raided the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, to arrest David Koresh (1959 ~ 1993), the group’s leader.  Four agents and 5 Davidians were killed in the initial raid.  The ATF and Davidians began a 51-day standoff.

 

1991 ~ The first Gulf War, which had begun in August 1990, was deemed to have ended.

 

1986 ~ Olof Palme (1927 ~ 1986), the Prime Minister of Sweden, was assassinated on the streets of Stockholm as he was walking home late at night.  The assassination remains officially unsolved.

 

1983 ~ The final episode of the television sit-com M*A*S*H aired.

 

1958 ~ In one of the country’s worst school bus accidents, a school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hit a wrecker truck and plunged into the Levisa Fork River.  The driver and 26 students were killed in the accident.

 

1954 ~ The first color televisions using the National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard became available for sale to the general public.

 

1940 ~ The basketball game between Fordham University and the University of Pittsburgh, which was played in Madison Square Garden, was the first televised basketball game.  Pittsburgh beat Fordham in a score of 57-37.

 

1935 ~ Wallace Carothers (1896 ~ 1937), a scientist at DuPont, invented nylon.

 

1922 ~ The United Kingdom ended its protectorate over Egypt.

 

1827 ~ The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became incorporated.  It was the first railroad in the United States to provide commercial transportation to people and freight.

 

1784 ~ John Wesley (1703 ~ 1791) chartered the Methodist Church in the United States.

 

1525 ~ Hernán Cortés (1485 ~ 1547) and his men executed the Aztec King Cuauhtémoc.

 

202 BCE ~ Lui Bang (d. 195 BCE) became the Emperor of China, thus beginning the rule of the Han Dynasty.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2020 ~ Joe Coulombe (né Joseph Hardin Coulombe; b. June 3, 1930), American businessman and founder of Trader Joe’s.  He was born in San Diego, California.  He died at age 89 in Pasadena, California.

 

2020 ~ Freeman Dyson (né Freeman John Dyson; b. Dec. 15, 1923), British-American theoretical and mathematical physicist.  He was born in England.  He died in Princeton, New Jersey at age 96 from complications sustained in a fall.

 

2019 ~ André Previn (né Andreas Ludwig Priwin; b. Apr. 6, 1929), German-born musical polymath who spurned Hollywood.  He was a composer and conductor.  His third wife was actress Mia Farrow.  His family left Nazi Germany in 1939 and moved to the United States.  He was born in Berlin, Germany.  He died at age 89 in New York, New York.

 

2019 ~ Sarah Lee Lippincott (b. Oct. 26, 1920), American astronomer and academic.  She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She died at age in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania at age 98.

 

2016 ~ George Kennedy (né George Harris Kennedy, Jr.; b. Feb. 18, 1925), American actor best known for his role in Cool Hand Luke.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died of heart disease 10 days after his 91st birthday in Middleton, Idaho.

 

2014 ~ Lee Lorch (né Lee Alexander Lorch; b. Sept. 20, 1915), American mathematician and civil rights activist.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 98 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

 

2013 ~ Donald Glaser (né Donald Arthur Glaser; b. Sept. 21, 1926), American physicist and recipient of the 1960 Nobel Prize for Physics.  He was born in Cleveland, Ohio.  He died at age 86 in Berkeley, California.

 

2011 ~ Peter J. Gomes (né Peter John Gomes; b. May 22, 1942), African-American gifted preacher who spoke out for tolerance.  He was born and died in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died at age 68.

 

2011 ~ Jane Russell (née Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell; b. June 21, 1921), American actress.  She was born in Bermidji, Minnesota.  She died at age 89 of respiratory failure in Santa Maria, California.

 

2009 ~ Paul Harvey (né Paul Harvey Aurandt; b. Sept. 4, 1918), American radio broadcaster.  He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He died at age 90 in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

2007 ~ Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (né Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger; b. Oct. 15, 1917), American historian.  He was born in Columbus, Ohio.  He died at age 89 in New York, New York.

 

2006 ~ Owen Chamberlain (b. July 10, 1920), American physicist and recipient of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was born in San Francisco, California.  He died at age 85 in Berkeley, California.

 

2004 ~ Daniel J. Boorstin (né Daniel Joseph Boorstin; b. Oct. 1, 1914), American historian and writer.  He was the 12thLibrarian of Congress, where he served from November 1975 until September 1987, during the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.  He was born in Atlanta, Georgia.  He died at age 89 in Washington, D.C.

 

1993 ~ Ruby Keeler (née Ethel Ruby Keeler; b. Aug. 25, 1909), Canadian singer and actress.  She was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.  She died of kidney cancer at age 83 in Rancho Mirage, California.

 

1986 ~ Olof Palme (né Sven Olaf Joachim Palme; b. Jan. 30, 1927), Prime Minister of Sweden.  He was born and died in Stockholm, Sweden.  He was assassinated a month after his 59th birthday.

 

1986 ~ Laura Z. Hobson (née Laura Kean Zametkin; b. June 19, 1900), American author best known for her novel, Gentleman’s Agreement.  She was born and died in Manhattan, New York.  She died at age 85.

 

1967 ~ Henry Luce (né Henry Robinson Luce; d. Apr. 3, 1898), American publisher who launched Time and Lifemagazines.  He was born in Tengchow, Qing, China.  He died at age 68 in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

1959 ~ Maxwell Anderson (né James Maxwell Anderson; b. Dec. 15, 1888), American playwright.  He was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 70 in Stamford, Connecticut.

 

1956 ~ Frigyes Riesz (b. Jan. 22, 1880), Hungarian mathematician.  He is best known for his contributions to functional analysis.  He died at age 76 in Budapest, Hungary.

 

1941 ~ Alfonso XIII, King of Spain (b. May 17, 1886).  He became king at birth, as his father had died before he was born.  He was known as The African because of a trip to Melilla, a Spanish city in Africa.  He reigned until he was ousted on April 14, 1931.  He was married to Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1887 ~ 1969).  They married in 1906.  He was known for having friendly relations with Jews and took action to protect them.  He was of the House of Bourbon.  He was the son of Alfonso XII, King of Spain and Maria Christina of Austria.  He died of a heart attack in Rome at age 54.

 

1936 ~ Charles Nicolle (né Charles Jules Henry Nicolle; b. Sept. 21, 1866), French bacteriologist and recipient of the 1928 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work in the identification of lice as transmitters of typhus.  He was born in Rouen, France.  He died at age 69 in Tunis, French Tunisia.

 

1916 ~ Henry James (b. Apr. 15, 1843), American novelist.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 72 in London, England.

 

1901 ~ William M. Evarts (né William Maxwell Evarts; b. Feb. 6, 1818), 27th United States Secretary of State.  He served under President Rutherford B. Hayes from March 1977 until March 1881.  He also served as the 29th United States Attorney General under President Andrew Johnson from July 1868 to March 1868.  Following his positions in the Federal Executive Office, he became a United States Senator from the State of New York from March 1885 until March 1891.  He was born in Charleston, Massachusetts.  He died 22 days after his 83rd birthday in New York, New York.

 

1844 ~ Abel P. Upshur (né Abel Parker Upshur; b. June 17, 1790), 15th United States Secretary of State.  He served under President John Tyler from July 1843 until his death on February 28, 1844.  He had previously served as the 13th United States Secretary of the Navy during the Tyler administration from October 1841 until July 1843.  He was born in Northampton County, Virginia.  He was killed at age 53 while viewing the new steamship USS Princeton and one of the ship’s guns exploded during a demonstration on the Potomac River, Maryland.

 

1648 ~ Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway (b. Apr. 12, 1577).  He ruled as King from April 1588 until his death in February 1648.  He married twice.  His first wife was Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (1575 ~ 1612).  They married in 1597.  They were the parents of Frederick III, King of Denmark.  After her death, he married Kirsten Munk (1598 ~ 1658), a member of a wealthy but untitled noble.  They married in 1615.  Theirs was a morganatic marriage.  She was the mother of their twelve children.  He was of the House of Oldenburg.  He was the son of Frederick II, King of Denmark and Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.  He died at age 70.

 

1621 ~ Cosimo II de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. May 12, 1590).  He ruled from February 1609 until his death in 1621.  He was married to Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria (1589 ~ 1631).  He was of the House of Medici.  He was the son of Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Christina of Lorraine.  He died of tuberculosis at age 30.

 

1572 ~ Catherine of Austria (b. Sept. 15, 1533), Queen consort of Poland and 3rd wife of Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland (1520 ~ 1572).  They married in 1553.  He was her 2nd husband.  She was previously married to Francesco III Gonzaga (1533 ~ 1550).  Her first marriage lasted only 4 months before he died of pneumonia.  She was of the House of Habsburg.  She was the daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary.  She died at age 38.

 

1525 ~ Cuauhtémoc (b. 1495), Aztec ruler.  He was killed by Hernán Cortés.

 

1453 ~ Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine (b. 1400), Queen consort of Naples.  She was the Duchess of Lorraine in her own right.  In 1419, she married René, King of Naples (1409 ~ 1480).  She was his first wife.  She was of the House of Ardennes-Metz.  She was the daughter of Charles II, Duke of Lorraine and Margaret of the Palatinate.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been 53 at the time of her death.

 

1326 ~ Leopold I, Duke of Austria (b. Aug. 4, 1290).  He co-ruled as the Duke of Austria, along with his older brother, Frederick the Fair.  Leopold was known as The Glorious.  He was married to Catherine of Savoy (1284 ~ 1336).  They married in 1315.  Little is known about Catherine.  They had 2 daughters.  He was of the House of Habsburg.  He was the third son of Albert I, King of Germany and Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol.  He died at age 35.


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