Birthdays:
1989 ~ Anton Yelchin (b. June 19, 2016), Russian-born actor. He was killed in a freak accident when he was pinned to a wall by his Jeep Cherokee. He was born in Leningrad, USSR. He died at 27 years old in Los Angeles, California.
1969 ~ Terrence Howard (né Terrance Dashon Howard), African-American actor. He was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1965 ~ Wallace Langham (né James Wallace Langham, III), American actor. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
1954 ~ Gale Norton (née Gale Ann Norton), 48th United States Secretary of the Interior. She served under President George W. Bush from January 2001 until March 2006. She was born in Wichita, Kansas.
1952 ~ Douglas Adams (né Douglas Noel Adams; d. May 11, 2001), English author best known for his book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He was born in Cambridge, England. He died of a heart attack at age 49 in Montecito, California.
1936 ~ Antonin Scalia (né Antonin Gregory Scalia; d. Feb. 12, 2016), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was the sharp-tongued conservative who transformed the Supreme Court. He was nominated to the High Court by President Ronald Reagan. He served on the Court from September 1986 until his death 30 years later. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He died in his sleep following a day of hunting in Texas. He died a month before his 80thbirthday.
1934 ~ Sam Donaldson (né Samuel Andrew Donaldson, Jr.), American journalist and television anchor. He was born in El Paso, Texas.
1932 ~ René A. Morel (d. Nov. 16, 2011), French-born American master restorer of rare violins. He died of cancer at age 79 in Wayne, New Jersey.
1932 ~ Daniel Smith (d. Oct. 19, 2022), African-American civil rights activist whose father was enslaved. His father, Abram, was born in slavery in Virginia in 1863. He was born in Winsted, Connecticut. He died at age 90.
1931 ~ Rupert Murdoch (né Keith Rupert Murdoch), Australian-born newspaper magnate. He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
1927 ~ Robert Mosbacher, Sr. (né Robert Adam Moshbacher; d. Jan. 24, 2010), 25th United States Secretary of Commerce. He served under President George H.W. Bush. He held that position from January 1989 until January 1992. He was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 82 in Houston, Texas.
1926 ~ Ralph Abernathy, Sr. (né Ralph David Abernathy; d. Apr. 17, 1990), African-American minister and civil rights activist. He was born in Linden, Alabama. He died at age 64 in Atlanta, Georgia.
1926 ~ Thomas Starzl (né Thomas Earl Starzl; d. Mar. 4, 2017), American surgeon and transplant pioneer who loathed surgery. He was an expert on organ transplant was performed the first human liver transplants. He is often referred to as the Father of Modern Transplantation. He was born in Le Mars, Indiana. He died 7 days before his 91st birthday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1925 ~ Margaret Oakley Dayoff (née Margaret Belle Oakley; d. Feb. 5, 1983), American biochemist and physical chemist. She was a pioneer in bioinformation. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She died of a heart attack at age 57 in Silver Spring, Maryland.
1921 ~ Frank Harary (d. Jan. 4, 2005), American mathematician. He specialized in graph theory. He was born in New York, New York. He died at age 83 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
1920 ~ Nicolaas Bloembergen (d. Sept. 5, 2017), Dutch physicist and recipient of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics. He was born in Dordrecht, Netherlands. He died at age 97 in Tucson, Arizona.
1920 ~ Benjamin Ferencz (né Benjamin Berell Ferencz; d. Apr. 7, 2023), Hungarian-born American Jewish lawyer who prosecuted Nazis. He investigated Nazi war crimes and was the chief prosecutor for the United States Army at the Einsatzgruppen Trial, one of the Nuremberg Trials. He is the last surviving prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials. Although born in Hungary, he was an infant when his family emigrated to the United States. He died about a month after his 103rdbirthday in Boynton Beach, Florida.
1916 ~ Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (né James Harold Wilson; d. May 24, 1995), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He died of cancer at age 79 in London, England.
1903 ~ Lawrence Welk (d. May 17, 1992), American musician and bandleader. He was the host of The Lawrence Welk Show. He was born in Strasburg, North Dakota. He died of pneumonia at age 89 in Santa Monica, California.
1900 ~ Hanna Bergas (d. January 1987), German school teacher who was fired from her job because she was Jewish. She then found work in a private school, but when it became too dangerous in Germany, she emigrated to England, where she became active in the Kindertransport. She contributed to the rescue of many Jewish children during World War II. She died at age 86.
1899 ~ Frederick IX, King of Denmark (d. Jan 14, 1972). He reigned from April 1947 until his death 25 years later. He was married to Princess Ingrid of Sweden (1910 ~ 2000). They married in 1935. He was of the House of Glücksburg. He was the son of Christian X, King of Denmark and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He was Lutheran. He died at age 72.
1899 ~ James Douglas, Jr. (né James Henderson Douglas, Jr.; d. Feb. 24, 1988), 5th Secretary of the Air Force. He served in this position under President Dwight David Eisenhower from May 1957 until December 1959. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He died 15 days before his 89th birthday in Lake Forest, Illinois.
1898 ~ Dorothy Gish (née Dorothy Elizabeth Gish; d. June 4, 1968), American silent screen actress. Her younger sister was Lillian Gish. She was born in Dayton, Ohio. She died at age 70 of pneumonia in Rapallo, Italy.
1895 ~ Shemp Howard (né Samuel Horowitz; d. Nov. 22, 1955), American comedian best known for his role as one of the Three Stooges. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He died at age 60 of a heart attack in Hollywood, California.
1873 ~ David Horsley (d. Feb. 23, 1933), English-born American pioneer in the film industry and co-founder of Universal Studios. He died 16 days before his 60th birthday in Los Angeles, California.
1870 ~ Louis Bachelier (né Louis Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Bachelier; d. Apr. 28, 1946), French mathematician. He died at age 76.
1854 ~ Jane Meade Welch (d. Sept. 30, 1931), American journalist and historian. She was born in Buffalo, New York. She died at age 77.
1822 ~ Joseph Louis François Bertrand (d. Apr. 5, 1900), French mathematician. He was born and died in Paris, France. He died less that a month before his 79th birthday.
1819 ~ Sir Henry Tate, 1st Baronet (d. Dec. 5, 1899), 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.
1812 ~ James Speed (d. June 25, 1887), 27th United States Attorney General. He served from December 1864 until July 1866 under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. He was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky. He died at age 75 in Louisville, Kentucky.
1811 ~ Urbain Le Verrier (né Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier; d. Sept. 23, 1877), French mathematician who is best known for his work with John Couch Adams and their discovery of Neptune. They were credited with the planet’s discovery almost exactly 31 years to the day earlier! He died at age 66 in Paris, France.
1785 ~ John McLean (d. Apr. 4, 1861), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was nominated to the High Court by President Andrew Jackson. He served on the Court until his death 32 years later in April 1861. He was one of two Justices who dissented in the Dred Scott case. He replaced Robert Trimble on the High Court. He had previously served as the 6th United States Postmaster General under Presidents James Monroe and John Quincy Adams, from June 1823 until March 1829. He was born in Morris County, New Jersey. He died less than a month after his 76thbirthday in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1544 ~ Torquato Tasso (d. Apr. 25, 1595), Italian poet. He is best known for his poems depicting imaginative combats between Christians and Muslims during the Crusades. He died at age 51.
1279 ~ Princess Mary of Woodstock (d. May 29, 1332), member of the British royal family. She never married and became a Benedictine nun. She was of the House of Plantagenet. She was the seventh named daughter of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile. The exact date of her death is not known, but she is believed to have died age 53 on May 29, 1332.
378 ~ Pope Innocent I (d. Mar. 12, 417). He was Pope from December 401 until his death. He is known as Pope Saint Innocent I. He is believed to have died 1 day after his 39th birthday.
Events that Changed the World:
2021 ~ The American Rescue Plan, also known as the Covid-19 Stimulus Package, was signed into law and became effective without a single Republican vote. The law was a $1.9 million trillion economic stimulus bill designed to help the country’s recovery from the economic and health effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
2020 ~ The World Health Organization declared Covid-19 to be a pandemic. Much of the United States and the world went into Stay-at-Home orders of varying strictness.
2016 ~ Heavy rainstorms and flooding continued throughout the American South. The National Weather Service estimated that between 12 to 18 inches of rain drenched in low-lying south-central Louisiana, including Lafayette, Acadia, St. Landry and St. Martin parishes.
2011 ~ An 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan, causing an enormous tsunami, killing thousands of people and setting off the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, which resulted in a nuclear meltdown of three of the plant’s six nuclear reactors.
2010 ~ While Sebastián Piñera (b. 1949) was being sworn in as President of Chile, the country was hit by three strong earthquakes. He served until March 11, 2014. In March 2018, he again was sworn in as President and served until March 2022.
2006 ~ Michelle Bachelet (née Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria; b. 1951) was inaugurated as the first woman president of Chile. She served as President until March 11, 2010. She assumed the office of President again on March 11, 2014 and served until March 11, 2018.
2004 ~ Several bombs were exploded on rush hour trains in Madrid, Spain, killing over 190 people. The bombings were a terrorist attack directed by Al-Qaeda.
1993 ~ Janet Reno (1938 ~ 2016) was confirmed by the United States Senate and was sworn in the next day to become the first female Attorney General of the United States. She served in the Clinton administration from March 1993 through January 2001.
1990 ~ Lithuania became independent from the Soviet Union.
1990 ~ Patricio Aylwin (1918 ~ 2016) was sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970. He served as President until March 1994.
1977 ~ The hostages held during the Hanafi Muslim Siege in Washington, D.C., were set free. More than 130 hostages had been taken in the siege, which began on March 9, 1977.
1946 ~ Rudolf Höss (1901 ~ 1947), the Nazi commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, was captured by British troops. He was hanged on April 2, 1947 for war crimes.
1927 ~ The Roxy Theatre was opened in New York City by Samuel Roxy Rothafel (1882 ~ 1936). The theater was demolished in 1960.
1918 ~ The first cases of the Spanish flu were reported, causing a devastating world-wide pandemic. The initial outbreak was reported at Ft. Riley in Kansas.
1888 ~ The Great Blizzard of 1888 began along the eastern seaboard of the United States, which eventually killed over 400 people.
1867 ~ Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, Don Carlos, was first performed. The performance was in Paris, France.
1861 ~ The Constitution of the Confederate States of America was adopted by the states that had ceded from the Union.
1851 ~ Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, Rigoletto, was first performed. The performance was in Venice, Italy.
1824 ~ The Bureau of Indian Affairs was created as a subdivision of the United States Department of War.
1702 ~ England’s first daily newspaper, The Daily Courant, was published for the first time.
Good-Byes:
2023 ~ John Jakes (né John Williams Jakes; b. Mar. 31, 1932), American author who made historical fiction fun. He is best known for his Civil War North and South trilogy. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He died 3 weeks before his 91stbirthday in Sarasota, Florida.
2019 ~ Hal Blaine (né Harold Simon Belsky; b. Feb. 5, 1929), American session drummer who defined the pop beat. He was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He died about a month after his 90th birthday.
2016 ~ Keith Emerson (né Keith Noel Emerson; b. Nov. 2, 1944), British virtuoso keyboardist who mixed classical and rock. He played in the progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer. He died by suicide at age 71 in Santa Monica, California.
2012 ~ James B. Morehead (né James Bruce Morehead; b. Aug. 16, 1916), American World War II fighter ace who hunted big game. He flew combat missions over a three-year span of the war with a total of eight aerial victories. He was awarded two Distinguished Service Crosses, a Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and sixteen Air Medals. He was born in Paoli, Oklahoma. He died at age 95 in Petaluma, California.
2006 ~ Slobodan Milošević (b. Aug. 20, 1941), Serbian lawyer and President of the Federal Republic of Yugloslavia. He was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo. His trial in the international court in The Hague began in February 2002, however, he died before the trial was concluded. He died of a heart attack in prison at age 64 in the Hague, Netherlands.
2002 ~ James Tobin (b. Mar. 5, 1918), American economist and recipient of the 1981 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. He was born in Champaign, Illinois. He died 6 days after his 84th birthday in New Haven, Connecticut.
1971 ~ Philo Farnsworth (né Philo Taylor Farnsworth; b. Aug. 19, 1906), American inventor and television pioneer. He was born in Beaver, Utah. He died at age 64 of pneumonia in Holladay, Utah.
1970 ~ Erle Stanley Gardner (b. July 17, 1889), American mystery writer and lawyer. He is best known as being the creator of Perry Mason. He was born in Malden, Massachusetts. He died at age 80 in Temecula, California.
1958 ~ Ole Kirk Christiansen (b. Apr. 7, 1891), Danish businessman, carpenter and toymaker. He founded The Legos Group. He died of a heart attack less that a month before his 67th birthday.
1957 ~ Richard E. Byrd (né Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr.; b. Oct. 25, 1888), American admiral and polar explorer. He was born in Winchester, Virginia. He died at age 68 in Boston, Massachusetts.
1955 ~ Sir Alexander Fleming (b. Aug. 6, 1881), Scottish biologist and pharmacologist known for his discovery of penicillin, for which he shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine. He was born in Scotland. He died of a heart attack at age 73 in London, England.
1955 ~ Oscar Mayer (né Oscar Ferdinand Mayer; b. Mar. 29, 1859), Bavarian-born American entrepreneur and founder of the Oscar Mayer, Co., which is known for its hotdogs and cold cuts. He died 18 days before his 96th birthday in Chicago, Illinois.
1953 ~ Zizi Lambrino (née Joanna Marie Valentina Lambrino; b. Oct. 3, 1898), first wife of Carol II, King of Romania (1893 ~ 1953). They married in 1918. They married when he was known as Prince Carol. She was a commoner and the Carol’s parents opposed the marriage and force an annulment in 1919, claiming that the marriage was unconstitutional. They were the parents of Carol Lambrino. She was born in Roman, Romania. She died at age 54 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
1952 ~ Pierre Renoir (b. Mar. 21, 1885), French actor and movie director. He was the son of the impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir. He was born and died in Paris, France. He died 10 days before his 67th birthday.
1950 ~ Heinrich Mann (né Luiz Heinrich Mann; d. Mar. 27, 1871), German writer. His writing often had strong social themes, and his criticism of the growing of fascism in German led him to ultimately flee Germany after the rise of Nazism. He was the older brother of writer Thomas Mann. He was born in Lübeck, Germany. He died in Santa Monica, California less than 3 weeks before his 79th birthday.
1937 ~ Joseph S. Cullinan (né Joseph Stephen Cullinan; b. Dec. 31, 1860), American businessman and co-founder of Texaco. He was born in Pulaski Township, Pennsylvania. He died of pneumonia at age 76 while visiting in Palo Alto, California.
1920 ~ Julio Garavito Armero (b. Jan. 5, 1865), Colombian mathematician, astronomer, and engineer. He was born and died in Bogotá, Columbia. He died at age 55.
1907 ~ Jean Casimir-Perier (né Jean Paul Casimir-Perier; b. Nov. 8, 1847), President of France during the 3rd Republic. He was President for only 6 months, from June 1894 until January 1895. He was born and died in Paris, France. He died at age 59.
1874 ~ Charles Sumner (b. Jan. 6, 1811), American politician and United States Senator from Massachusetts. He served as a Senator from April 1851 until his death in March 1874. He was a leader in the anti-slavery movement in Massachusetts. He is probably best remembered for being nearly beaten to death in on the floor of Congress by Congressman Preston Brooks (1819 ~ 1857). Brooks beat Sumner for having given an anti-slavery speech. Sumner was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He died of a heart attack at age 63 in Washington, D.C.
1820 ~ Benjamin West (b. Oct. 10, 1738), English-American painter. He was born in Springfield, Province of Pennsylvania. He died at age 81 in London, England.
1198 ~ Marie of France (b. 1145), Countess consort of Champagne through her marriage to Henry I, Count of Champagne. She was of the House of Capet. She was the daughter of Louis VII, King of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The exact date of her birth is not known.
452 ~ Tai Wu Di (b. 408), Chinese emperor of Northern Wei. He ruled from December 423 until his assassination in March 452. The exact date of his birth is not known.
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