Saturday, March 16, 2024

March 16

Birthdays:

 

1973 ~ Tim Kang (né Yila Timothy Kang), American actor best known for his role as Kimball Cho on The Mentalist.  He was born in San Francisco, California.

 

1969 ~ Judah Friedlander, American comedian, and actor.  He is best known for his role as Frank Rossitano on the television sit-com 30 Rock.  He was born in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

 

1966 ~ David Liss, American author best known for his novel The Coffee Trader.

 

1953 ~ Isabelle Huppert (née Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert), French actress.  She was born in Paris, France.

 

1952 ~ Alice Hoffman, American author.  She was born in New York, New York.

 

1952 ~ Scott Simon, American journalist for NPR.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1949 ~ Victor Garber (né Victor Joseph Garber), Canadian actor.  He was born in London, Ontario, Canada.

 

1942 ~ Jerry Jeff Walker (né Ronald Clyde Crosby; d. Oct. 23, 2020), American folk singer who became a country outlaw.  He is best known for writing the 1968 song Mr. Bojangles.  He was born in Oneonta, New York.  He died of throat cancer at age 78 in Austin, Texas.

 

1941 ~ Bernardo Bertolucci (d. Nov. 26, 2018), Italian film director who shocked the world.  He is best known for his film Last Tango in Paris.  He was born in Parma, Italy.  He died of lung cancer at age 77 in Rome, Italy.

 

1941 ~ Chuck Woolery (né Charles Herbert Woolery), American game show host.  He was born in Ashland, Kentucky.

 

1939 ~ Edna Buchanan (née Edna Rydzik), American journalist and crime mystery novelist.  She was born in Paterson, New Jersey.

 

1937 ~ Amos Tversky (né Amos Nathan Tversky; d. June 2, 1996), Israeli cognitive and mathematical psychologist.  He collaborated with Daniel Kahneman, who was awarded the Nobel Prize 6 years after Tversky’s death.  He was born in Haifa, Israel.  He died of melanoma at age 56 in Stanford, California.

 

1936 ~ Raymond Damadian (né Raymond Vahan Damadian; d. Aug. 3, 2022), American inventor of the MRI who forever seethes at a Nobel snub.  He revolutionized medical diagnostics by building the first magnetic resonance imaging scanner (MRI) in 1977.  He was outraged when two other scientists (Paul Christian Lauteber and Peter Mansfield) won the 2003 Nobel Prize for their work in refining MRI technology.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 86 in Woodbury, New York.

 

1933 ~ Teresa Berganza (née Teresa Berganza Vargar; d. May 13, 2022), Spanish diva who wowed as the ideal Carmen.  She was an opera singer.  She was born in Madrid, Spain.  She died at age 89.

 

1932 ~ Walter Cunningham (né Ronnie Walter Cunningham; d. Jan. 3, 2023), American astronaut.  In 1968, he flew on Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo flight that orbited earth.  He was born in Creston, Iowa.  He died at age 90 in Houston, Texas.

 

1927 ~ Daniel Patrick Moynihan (d. Mar. 26, 2003), American politician and United States Senator from New York State.  He was also the 12th United States Ambassador to the United Nations.  He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He died 10 days after his 76th birthday in Washington, D.C.

 

1926 ~ Jerry Lewis (né Jerome Levitch; d. Aug. 20, 2017), American madcap comic who delighted millions, but not critics.  He is also known for his work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association and held annual marathons for 44 years.  He was born in Newark, New Jersey.  He died at age 91 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

1925 ~ Luis E. Miramontes (né Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cárdenas; d. Sept. 13, 2004), Mexican inventor and best known for being the co-inventor of the chemical used in birth-control pills.  He died at age 79 in Mexico City, Mexico.

 

1923 ~ Bruno Augenstein (né Bruno Wilhelm Augenstein; d. July 6, 2005), German-born mathematician.  He died at age 82.

 

1918 ~ Frederick Reines (d. Aug. 26, 1998), American physicist and recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in neutrino experimentation.  He was born in Paterson, New Jersey.  He died following a long illness at age 80 in Orange, California.

 

1916 ~ Tsutomu Yamaguchi (d. Jan. 4, 2010), Japanese survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings during World War II.  He was an engineer.  He was born and died in Nagasaki, Japan.  He died of stomach cancer at age 93.

 

1915 ~ Kunihiko Kodaira (d. July 26, 1997), Japanese mathematician.  He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1954.  He was born in Tokyo, Japan.  He died at age 82 in Kōfu, Japan.

 

1912 ~ Pat Nixon, (née Thelma Catherine Ryan; d. June 22, 1993), First Lady of the United States and wife of President Richard Nixon.  She was born in Ely, Nevada.  She died at age 81 in Park Ridge, New Jersey.

 

1911 ~ Josef Mengele (d. Feb. 7, 1979), Nazi war criminal.  He eluded capture and escaped to South America.  He suffered a stroke while swimming and drowned at age 67.

 

1906 ~ Henny Youngman (né Henry Youngman, d. Feb. 24, 1998), English-born American comedian, best known for his one-liners.  He was born in London, England.  He died less than 3 weeks before his 91st birthday in Manhattan, New York.

 

1902 ~ Leon Roppolo (né Leon Joseph Roppolo; d. Oct. 5, 1943), American clarinet player and member of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings.  He was born in Lutcher, Louisiana.  He died at age 41 in New Orleans.

 

1881 ~ Fannie Charles Dillon (d. Feb. 21, 1947), American composer and educator.  She was born in Denver, Colorado.  She died 23 days before her 66th birthday in Altadena, California.

 

1856 ~ Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (d. June 1, 1879), the last dynastic Bonaparte.  He was the son of Napoléon III.  He was killed in the Anglo-Zulu War at age 23.

 

1846 ~ Rebecca J. Cole (d. Aug. 14, 1922), African-American doctor and social reformer.  She was the second African-American woman to become a doctor in the United States.  She was born and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She died at age 76.

 

1846 ~ Gösta Mittag-Leffer (né Magnus Gustaf Mattig-Leffer; d. July 7, 1927), Swedish mathematician.  He was a strong advocate of women’s rights.  He was a member of the Nobel Prize Committee in 1903 and was instrumental in seeing that, in 1903, Marie Curie was awarded the prize in Physics as well has her husband, Pierre.  Mattig-Leffer died at age 81.

 

1839 ~ Sully Prudhomme (né René François Armand Sully Prudhomme; d. Sept. 6, 1907), French poet and recipient of the first Nobel Prize in Literature, which was awarded in 1901.  He was born in Paris, France.  He died at age 68.

 

1839 ~ John Butler Yeats (d. Feb. 3, 1922), Irish artist and father of the poet William Butler Yeats.  He died at age 82 in New York, New York.

 

1822 ~ Rosa Bonheur (née Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; d. May 25, 1899), French sculptor and painter.  She was born in Bordeaux, France.  She died at age 77 in Thormery, France.

 

1821 ~ Eduard Heine (né Heinrich Eduard Heine; d. Oct. 21, 1881), German mathematician.  He died at age 60.

 

1799 ~ Anna Atkins (née Anna Children; d. June 9, 1871), British botanist and photographer.  She is considered to be the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographic images.  She died at age 72.

 

1789 ~ Georg Ohm (né Georg Simon Ohm; d. July 6, 1854), German physicist and mathematician.  He is best known for determining there is a direct proportionality between the potential difference applied across a conductor and the resultant electric current.  This is known as Ohm’s law.  He died at age 65.

 

1751 ~ James Madison, Jr. (d. June 28, 1836), 4th President of the United States.  He was president from March 1809 until March 1817.  He had previously served as the 5th United States Secretary of State, which he served during the Thomas Jefferson administration from May 1801 until March 1809.  He was born in Port Conway, Virginia.  He died at age 85 in Montpelier, Virginia.

 

1750 ~ Caroline Herschel (née Caroline Lucretia Herschel; d. Jan. 9, 1848), German-born astronomer.  She was the sister of astronomer William Herschel.  She is best known for the discovery of several comets.  The periodic comet, 35P/Herschel-Rigollet is named in her honor.  She died at age 97.

 

1465 ~ Kunigunde of Austria (d. Aug. 6, 1520), Duchess consort of Bavaria and wife of Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria.  She was of the House of Habsburg.  She was the daughter of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal.  She died at age 55.

 

1399 ~ Xuande (d. Jan. 31, 1435), 5th Chinese Emperor of the Ming dynasty.  His personal name was Zhu Zhanji.  He ruled from June 1425 until his death in January 1435.  He died of an illness at age 35.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2022 ~ A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan.

 

2021 ~ In a mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, a gunman shot and killed 8 people at three massage parlors.  The shooter appeared to be targeting women of Asian descent.

 

2017 ~ Mt. Etna in Italy began to erupt.

 

2014 ~ Crimea voted to secede from the Ukraine to join Russia.

 

2005 ~ Israel officially handed over control of the city of Jericho to Palestinian control.

 

1995 ~ Mississippi formally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery.  The 13th Amendment was officially ratified by the Federal government in 1865.

 

1989 ~ A 4,400-year-old mummy was found near the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.

 

1988 ~ Oliver North (b. 1943) and John Poindexter (b. 1936) were indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States in what became known as the Iran-Contra Affair.

 

1985 ~ Journalist Terry Anderson (b. 1947) was taken hostage in Beirut, Lebanon.  He was released over 6 years later, on December 4, 1991.

 

1984 ~ William F. Buckley (1928 ~ 1985), the CIA Station Chief in Beirut, Lebanon, was kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists.  He died or was killed about a year later while in the custody of Hezbollah.

 

1978 ~ Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro (1916 ~ 1978) was kidnapped by the left-wing Red Brigades.  He was killed 55 days later, on May 9, 1978.

 

1968 ~ The My Lai massacre, in which between 350-500 Vietnamese civilians were shot and killed by American troops, occurred.

 

1945 ~ The Battle of Iwo Jima ended.

 

1935 ~ Adolf Hitler (1889 ~ 1945) ordered Germany to rearm itself in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles.  Conscription was reintroduced.

 

1926 ~ Robert Goddard (1882 ~ 1945) launched the first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts.

 

1864 ~ During the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War, the Union arrived in Alexandria, Louisiana.

 

1861 ~ Edward Clark (1815 ~ 1880) replaced Sam Houston (1793 ~ 1863) as Governor of Texas.  Houston had been evicted from office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy.  Clark’s term coincided with the beginning of the American Civil War.

 

1815 ~ Prince Willem of Orange (1772 ~ 1843) proclaimed himself as the William, King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, becoming the first constitutional monarch of the country.

 

1802 ~ The Army Corps of Engineers was established.  Its function was to establish and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point.

 

1792 ~ Gustav III, King of Sweden (1746 ~ 1792) was shot by an assassin at a masked ball.  He would die two weeks later.

 

1521 ~ Ferdinand Magellan (1480 ~ 1521) reached the Philippines with his crew of 150.

 

1190 ~ Massacre of 150 Jews at Clifford’s Tower, York, England.  Many of the Jews committed suicide to avoid being tortured by the mob leading the pogrom.

 

37 ~ The traditional date in which Caligula is said to have become the Roman Emperor after the death of his great uncle, Tiberius.

 

597 BCE ~ The traditional date ascribed to when the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and named Zedekiah as King.

 

Good-byes:

 

2023 ~ Fuzzy Haskins (né Clarence Eugene Haskins; b. June 8, 1941), African-American exuberant singer who helped shape the doo-wop group, Parliament-Funkadelic.  He was born in Elkhorn, West Virginia.  He died of complications from diabetes at age 81 in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan.

 

2019 ~ Dick Dale (né Richard Anthony Mansour; b. May 5, 1937), American rapid-fire guitarist who pioneered the surf rock sound.  He was known as the King of the Surf Guitar.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died at age 81 in Loma Linda, California.

 

2016 ~ Frank Sinatra, Jr. (né Francis Wayne Sinatra; b. Jan. 10, 1944), American singer who performed in his father’s shadow.  He was the son of Frank Sinatra and his first wife, Nancy Barbato.  He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.  He died of a cardiac arrest at age 72 in Daytona Beach, Florida. 

 

2016 ~ Alexander Esenin-Volpin (b. May 12, 1924), Russian mathematician.  He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia.  He died at age 91 in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

2003 ~ Major Ronald Ferguson (né Ronald Ivor Ferguson; b. Oct. 10, 1931), British soldier and father of Sarah, Duchess of York.  He died of a heart attack at age 71.

 

1998 ~ Esther Bubley (b. Feb. 16, 1921), American photographer who specialized in photographs of everyday life in America.  She was born in Phillips, Wisconsin.  She died of cancer a month after her 77th birthday in New York, New York.

 

1998 ~ Sir Derek Barton (né Derek Harold Richard Barton; b. Sept. 8, 1918), British organic chemist and recipient of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 79.

 

1983 ~ Arthur Godfrey (né Arthur Morton Godfrey; b. Aug. 31, 1903), American actor and television host.  He was born and died in Manhattan, New York.  He died of emphysema at age 79.

 

1971 ~ Thomas E. Dewey (né Thomas Edmund Dewey; b. Mar. 24, 1902), American presidential candidate.  He ran against Harry S. Truman and papers erroneously concluded he had won the 1948 election.  He also served as the 47thGovernor of New York State from January 1943 through December 1954.  He was born in Owosso, Michigan.  He died of a heart attack 8 days before his 69th birthday while on vacation in Miami, Florida.

 

1969 ~ John Mason Brown (b. July 3, 1900), American essayist and drama critic.  He was born in Louisville, Kentucky.  He died in New York, New York at age 68.

 

1963 ~ Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria (b. Sept. 2, 1883).  She married twice.  Her first husband was Prince Otto of Windisch-Graetz.  They married in 1902 and divorced in 1948.  Her second husband, whom she married in 1948, was Leopold Petznek.  She was of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.  She was the daughter of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and Princess Stéphanie of Belgium.  She was the granddaughter of Leopold II, King of Belgium.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 79.

 

1957 ~ Constantin Brâncuși (b. Feb. 19, 1876), Romanian artist, photographer, and sculptor.  He died in Paris, France about a month after his 81st birthday.

 

1940 ~ Selma Lagerlöf (née Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf; b. Nov. 20, 1858), Swedish writer and recipient of the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature.  She was the first female recipient of the Prize in Literature.  She died at age 81.

 

1935 ~ John James Rickard Macleod (b. Sept. 6, 1876), Scottish physician and physiologist.  He was the recipient of the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize, along with Frederick Banting, for their discovery and isolation of insulin.  He died at age 58.

 

1925 ~ August Paul von Wassermann (b. Feb. 21, 1866), German bacteriologist.  He developed the Wassermann Test that allowed for the early detection of syphilis.  He died 23 days after his 59th birthday.

 

1914 ~ Charles Gobat (Charles Albert Gobat, b. May 21, 1843), Swiss politician and recipient of the 1902 Nobel Peace Prize.  He died at age 70 in Bern, Switzerland.

 

1903 ~ Roy Bean (né Phantly Roy Bean, Jr.; b. 1825), Justice of the Peace in the Texas territory.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 77 or 78 at the time of his death.  He died in Langtry, Texas.

 

1899 ~ Joseph Medill (b. Apr. 6, 1823), 26th Mayor of Chicago.  He was Mayor from 1871 ~ 1873.  He was born in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada.  He died in San Antonio, Texas less than a month before his 75th birthday.

 

1898 ~ Aubrey Beardsley (né Aubrey Vincent Beardsley; b. Aug. 21, 1872), English author and illustrator.  He died of tuberculosis at age 25.

 

1890 ~  Princess Ljubica of Montenegro (née Ljubica Petrović-Njegoš; b. Dec. 23, 1864).  She was the wife of Prince Peter Karađorđević (1844 ~ 1921) and became known as Princess Princess Zorka Karađorđević.  After her death, he became Peter I, King of Serbia, so she was never the Queen consort.  She was of the House of Petrović-Njegoš.  She was the daughter of Nicholas I, King of Montenegro and Milena Vukotić.  She died in childbirth at age 25.

 

1861 ~ Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. Aug. 17, 1786), German-born mother of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain.  She was married twice.  Her first husband was Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen.  After his death, she married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn.  She was of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.  She was the daughter of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf.  She died at age 74.

 

1838 ~ Nathaniel Bowditch (b. Mar. 26, 1773), American mathematician.  He is best known for his contribution to ocean navigation.  He was born in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay.  He died in Boston, Massachusetts of stomach cancer 10 days before his 65th birthday.

 

1679 ~ John Leverett (b. July 7, 1616), Early American soldier and 19th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  The exact date of his birth is unknown; however, he was baptized on July 7, 1616.  He is believed to have been 62 or 63 at the time of his death.

 

1485 ~ Anne Neville (b. June 11, 1456), Queen consort and wife of Richard III, King of England (1452 ~ 1485).  They married in 1472.  He was her second husband.  At the time of their wedding, he was the Duke of Gloucester, making her the Duchess of Gloucester.  She had previously been married to Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (1453 ~ 1471). They married in 1470.  He died within a year of their wedding.  She was of the House of Neville.  She was the daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and Lady Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick.  She died of tuberculosis at age 28.

 

1405 ~ Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (b. Apr. 13, 1350), Duchess consort of Burgundy.  She was the Countess of Flanders in her own right.  She was married twice.  Both marriages were to a duke of Burgundy.  In 1355, she married Philip I, Duke of Burgundy (1346 ~ 1361).  He died either from the plague or from injuries sustained from a fall from a horse.  Upon his death, John II, King of France claimed the Duchy of Burgundy and granted his youngest son the title of Philip II, Duke of Burgundy.  In 1369, Margaret married Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342 ~ 1404).  Margaret was of the House of Dampierre.  She was the daughter of Louis II, Count of Flanders and Margaret of Brabant.  She died about a month before her 55th birthday.

 

1279 ~ Joan of Dammartin (b. 1220s), Queen consort of Castile and León and second wife of Ferdinand III, King of Castile (1200 ~ 1252).  They married in 1237.  He was her first husband.  After his death, she married Jean de Nesle, Seigneur de Falvy et de La Hérelle.  She was the Countess of Ponthieu in her own right.  She was of the House of Dammartin.  She was the daughter of Simon, Count of Aumale and Marie, Countess of Ponthieu.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 58 or 59 at the time of her death.

 

37 ~ Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar (b. Nov. 16, 42, BCE), Roman Emperor.  He is believed to have been 77 at the time of his death.


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