Birthdays:
1987 ~ Constance Wu, Taiwanese-American actress best known for her role as Jessica Huang on the television comedy Fresh Off the Boat. She was born in Richmond, Virginia.
1976 ~ Reese Witherspoon (née Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon), American actress. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1975 ~ Cole Hauser (né Cole Kenneth Hauser), American actor. He is best known for his role as Rip Wheeler on the television series Yellowstone. He was born in Santa Barbara, California.
1959 ~ Matthew Modine (né Matthew Avery Modine), American actor. He was born in Loma Linda, California.
1955 ~ Lena Olin (née Lena Marie Jonna Olin), Swedish actress. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden.
1948 ~ Wolf Blitzer (né Wolf Isaac Blitzer), American journalist and television news anchor on CNN. He was born in Augsburg, Germany.
1948 ~ Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber, English director and composer. He was born in London, England.
1946 ~ Rudy Rucker (né Rudolf von Bitter Rucker), American mathematician. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky.
1941 ~ Billy Collins (né William James Collins), American poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He was born in New York, New York.
1939 ~ Peter J. Brancazio (né Peter John Brancazio; d. Apr. 25, 2020), American physics professor at Brooklyn College. He is best known for using science to debunk sports myths such as the rising fastball (not physically possible), and Michael Jordan’s seemingly endless hang time. He was born in Astoria, New York. He died of complications from Covid-19 at age 81 in Flushing, New York.
1935 ~ Emmet Walsh (né Michael Emmet Walsh), American character actor. He was born in Ogdensburg, New York.
1934 ~ Orrin Hatch (né Orrin Grant Hatch; d. Apr. 23, 2022), American lawyer and politician. He was conservative who served seven Senate terms. He was a United States Senator from Utah and served as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate from January 2015 until January 2019. He was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania. He died at age 88 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1931 ~ Burton Richter (d. July 18, 2018), American physicist and recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physics. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He died at age 87 in Stanford, California.
1931 ~ William Shatner, Canadian actor best known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1930 ~ Stephen Sondheim (né Stephen Joshua Sondheim; d. Nov. 26, 2021), American composer and songwriter. He was the songwriter who became musical theater’s Shakespeare. He reinvented American musical theater. He made his musical debut with the lyrics for West Side Story in 1957. He was born in Manhattan, New York. He died at age 91 in Roxbury, Connecticut.
1930 ~ Pat Robertson (né Marion Gordon Robertson; d. June 8, 2023), American televangelist who politicized the Christian right. He was also the founder of the conservative Christian Broadcasting Network. He was born in Lexington, Virginia. He died at age 93 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
1924 ~ Paul Fussell, Jr. (d. May 23, 2012), American cultural and literary historian who saw irony in war. He was born in Pasadena, California. He died at age 88 in Medford, Oregon.
1924 ~ Al Neuharth (né Allen Harold Neuharth; d. Apr. 19, 2013), American publisher who revolutionized newspapers. He was the founder of USA Today. He was born in Eureka, South Dakota. He died 27 days after his 89th birthday in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
1923 ~ Marcel Marceau (né Marcel Mengel; d. Sept. 22, 2007), French mime artist. He died at age 84.
1920 ~ Werner Klemperer (d. Dec. 6, 2000), German-born actor best known for his role as Captain Klink on the television sit-com Hogan’s Heroes. He was born in Cologne, Germany. He died of cancer at age 80 in Manhattan, New York.
1920 ~ Katsuko Saruhashi (d. Sept. 29, 2007), Japanese geochemist who turned radioactive fallout into a scientific legacy. She made some of the first measurements of carbon dioxide levels in seawater and subsequently showed the evidence in seawater and the atmosphere of the dangers of radioactive fallout. She was born and died in Tokyo, Japan. She died of pneumonia at age 87.
1917 ~ Irving Kaplansky (d. June 25, 2006), Canadian-born mathematician. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He died at age 89 in Los Angeles, California.
1915 ~ John McConnell (d. Oct. 20, 2012), American peace activist and creator of Earth Day. He designed the Earth Flag. He was born in Davis City, Iowa. He died at age 97.
1912 ~ Agnes Martin (née Agnes Bernice Martin; d. Dec. 16, 2004), Canadian-born American artist. She is best known for her abstractions. She was born in Macklin, Saskatchewan, Canada. She died at age 92 in Taos, New Mexico.
1912 ~ Karl Malden (né Mladen George Sekulovich, d. July 1, 2009), American not-quite leading man who made average Joes shine. He was primarily a character actor and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire. He was also known for his role in the television crime drama The Streets of San Francisco. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He died at age 97 in Los Angeles, California.
1908 ~ Louis L’Amour (né Louis Dearborn LaMoore; d. June 10, 1988), American writer of western novels. He was born in Jamestown, North Dakota. He died of lung cancer at age 80 in Los Angeles, California.
1887 ~ Chico Marx (né Leonard Marx; d. Oct. 11, 1961), American comedian and actor. He was the eldest of the five Marx brothers. He was born in Manhattan, New York. He died of arteriolosclerosis at age 74 in Hollywood, California.
1885 ~ Aryeh Levin (d. Mar. 28, 1969), Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi. He died 6 days after his 84th birthday in Jerusalem, Israel.
1868 ~ Robert Millikan (né Robert Andrews Millikan; d. Dec. 19, 1953), American physicist and recipient of the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the photoelectric effect. He was born in Morrison, Illinois. He died at age 85 in San Marino, California.
1857 ~ Paul Doumer (né Joseph Athanase Gaston Paul Doumer; d. May 7, 1932), President of France. He was president from 1931 until his assassination a year later. Prior to entering politics, Doumer was a professor of mathematics. He was 75 years old at the time of his death in Paris, France.
1817 ~ Braxton Bragg (d. Sept. 27, 1876), Confederate General during the American Civil War. He was born in Warrenton, North Carolina. He died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 59 in Galveston, Texas. Fort Bragg in North Carolina is named in his honor.
1797 ~ Wilhelm I, German Emperor (d. Mar. 9, 1888). He was the first German Emperor. He reigned as German Emperor from January 18, 1871 until his death in March 1888. He was also the King of Prussia from January 2, 1861 until his death. In 1829, he married Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar (1811 ~ 1890). They had 2 children. He was of the House of Hohenzollern. He was the son of Frederick William III, King of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was Lutheran. He died 13 days before his 91st birthday. He was succeeded by his son, Frederick III, German Emperor.
1759 ~ Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (d. June 20, 1818), Queen consort of Sweden. She was known as Queen Charlotte. She was the wife of Charles XIII, King of Sweden (1748 ~ 1818). They married in 1774. She was of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. She was the daughter of Frederick August I, Duke of Oldenberg and Ulrike Friederike Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel. She was Lutheran. She died at age 59.
1615 ~ Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh (d. Dec. 3, 1691), Anglo-Irish scientist and chemist. She was also a political and religious philosopher. She was the sister of Robert Boyle and assisted him in his work in chemistry. She died at age 76.
1609 ~ John II Casimir Vasa, King of Poland (d. Dec. 16, 1672). He ruled King Poland from 1648 until his abdication in 1668. He was married twice. His first wife was Marie Louise Gonzaga (1611 ~ 1667). His second wife was Claudine Françoise Mignot (1624 ~ 1711). He was of the House of Vasa. He was the son of Prince Sigismund III Vasa and Constance of Austria. He was Roman Catholic. He died at age 63.
1599 ~ Sir Anthony van Dyck (né Antoon van Dyck, d. Dec. 9, 1641), Flemish painter. He was born in Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands. He died in London at age 42 following a long illness.
1459 ~ Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. Jan 12, 1519). He ruled as the Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was married three times. His first wife was Mary, Duchess of Burgundy (1457 ~ 1482). They married in 1477. After her death, he married his second wife, Anne, Duchess of Brittany (1477 ~ 1514). They married in 1490. This marriage was annulled for political reasons. His third and final wife was Bianca Maria Sforza (1472 ~ 1510). They married in 1494. He was of the House of Habsburg. He was the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Infanta Eleanor of Portugal. He was Roman Catholic. He died at age 59.
1394 ~ Ulugh Beg (né Mīrza Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh, d. Oct. 27, 1449), Persian mathematician and astronomer. He was also a ruler and sultan. He is best known for his work in trigonometry and geometry. His academic legacy was the creation of the Ulugh Beg Observatory. He died at age 55.
Events that Changed the World:
2021 ~ Ten people were killed in a mass shooting in a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.
2019 ~ Robert Mueller (b. 1944) delivered his report on the Russian government’s influence on Donald Trump’s election in the 2016 presidential election.
2017 ~ Terrorist attack occurred at Parliament in London, England. A suspected terrorist plowed his vehicle into a crowd of people near Parliament, killing 4 people and injuring numerous people. He then stabbed a police officer to death.
2016 ~ A terrorist attack in Brussels, Belgium was carried out by ISIS with three coordinated suicide bombings. Two bombs exploded at the Brussels Airport and the third occurred at the Maalbeek metro station in the city. Thirty-two people were killed and over 260 others were injured.
2015 ~ Texas Senator Ted Cruz (b. 1970) became the first candidate of either party to announce he would be running for president in 2016.
2014 ~ A significant oil spill occurred in the Houston Ship Canal after a 585-foot bulk carrier collided with an oil tanker, spilling approximately 1,000,000 gallons of intermediate fuel oil and 170,000 gallons of tar-like oil into the waters of the Gulf Coast. Numerous bird habitats in Galveston Bay were threatened.
1997 ~ The Hale-Bopp Comet made its closest recorded approach to Earth.
1972 ~ The United States Supreme Court, in Eisenstadt v. Baird, ruled that unmarried couples have the right to access contraceptives. Justice William Brennan (1906 ~ 1997) authored the opinion.
1972 ~ The United States Congress sent the Equal Rights Amendment to the States for ratification. It has yet to be ratified.
1963 ~ The Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me, was released in the United Kingdom.
1960 ~ The first patent for a laser was issued. Theodore Maiman (1927 ~ 2007) is credited with inventing the first working laser, based upon the theoretical work of Arthur Schawlow (1921 ~ 1999) and Charles Townes (1915 ~ 2015). Both Schawlow and Townes were later awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for their work in the development of lasers, in 1981 and 1964, respectively.
1945 ~ The Arab League was founded in Cairo, Egypt. The Arab League is a regional organization of Arab countries. The original six country members were Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
1941 ~ The 99th Pursuit Squadron, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen, was activated. This was the first all African-American Air Army Corps.
1934 ~ The first Masters Golf Tournament began at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The tournament ran through March 25.
1933 ~ The concentration at Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, was completed and opened with the arrival of about 200 prisoners from Munich’s Stadelheim Prison.
1916 ~ Yuan Shikai (1859 ~ 1916), the last Emperor of China, abdicated the throne and the Republic of China was restored. He would die 3 months later from an illness.
1894 ~ The Montreal Hockey Club beat the Ottawa Hockey Club 3-1 in the first Stanley Cup Final game. The first Stanley Cup playoff games had begun 5 days earlier, on March 17, 1894.
1872 ~ Illinois became the first State in the United States to require sexual equality in employment.
1784 ~ The Emerald Buddha was brought to the Wat Phra Kaew, in Bangkok, Thailand. The Buddha is believed to have been created in 43 BCE in India. Althought called the Emerald Buddha, it is actually made of green jasper.
1765 ~ The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which levied a tax directly on the American colonies.
1638 ~ Anne Hutchinson (1591 ~ 1643), a Puritan spiritual leader, was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious dissent.
1631 ~ The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlawed the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables.
1622 ~ This is the date ascribed to when a group Algonquians killed 347 English settlers in the Jamestown, Virginia colony.
1621 ~ The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony signed a peace treaty with the Massasoit (d. 1661) the leader of the Wampanoag Native American Tribe.
1508 ~ Ferdinand II, King of Aragon (1452 ~ 1516) commissioned Amerigo Vespucci (1454 ~ 1512) as the chief navigator of the Spanish Empire.
1312 ~ Pope Clement V (1264 ~ 1314) dissolved the Order of the Knights of Templar.
Good-Byes:
2018 ~ Charles Lazarus (né Charles Philip Lazarus; b. Oct. 4, 1923), American retail pioneer who build a toy empire. In 1957, he opened the first Toys-R-Us store. Ironically, the chain stores closed, and the company filed for bankruptcy just a week before his death. He was born in Washington, D.C. He died at age 94 in New York, New York.
2018 ~ Johan van Hulst (né Johan Willem van Hulst; b. Jan. 28, 1911), Dutch teacher who saved hundreds of children during the Holocaust. He was the principal at a teachers’ college that was situated next to a nursery. He helped to develop an elaborate scheme to stop the children from being sent to concentration camps by the Nazis. He received the Yad Vashem distinction Righteous Among the Nations from Israel in 1973. He was born and died in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He died at age 107.
2017 ~ Francine Hughes Wilson (b. Aug. 17, 1947), American domestic violence victim who inspired The Burning Bed. In March 1977, after suffering years of abuse, she set fire to her husband while he was sleeping. She immediately recognized the horror of her actions and turned herself in to police. Although she was charged with first-degree murder, she was acquitted by the jury. She was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She died of pneumonia at age 69 in Leighton, Alabama.
2017 ~ Dallas Green (né George Dallas Green; b. Aug. 4, 1934), American outspoken baseball coach who took the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in 1980. He was born in Newport, Delaware. He died of kidney disease at age 82 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2013 ~ Bebo Valdés (né Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro; b. Oct. 9, 1918), Cuban pianist and bandleader. He died at age 94 in Havana, Cuba.
2010 ~ Sir James Black (né James Whyte Black; b. June 14, 1924), Scottish physician and recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He died at age 85 in London, England.
2005 ~ Kenzō Tange (b. Sept. 4, 1913), Japanese architect. He died at age 91 in Tokyo, Japan.
2004 ~ Janet Akyüz Mattei (née Janet Akyüz; b. Jan. 2, 1943), Turkish-American astronomer. She was the head of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. She died of leukemia in Boston, Massachusetts at age 61.
2001 ~ William Hanna (né William Denby Hanna, b. July 14, 1910), American cartoon animator and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera. He was born in Melrose, New Mexico territory. He died of throat cancer at age 90 in Los Angeles, California.
1994 ~ Walter Lantz (né Walter Benjamin Lantz; b. Apr. 27, 1899), American animator, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for creating such cartoon characters as Woody Woodpecker. He was born in New Rochelle, New York. He died of heart failure a month before his 95th birthday in Burbank, California.
1978 ~ Karl Wallenda (b. Jan. 21, 1905), German-born acrobat and member of the Flying Wallendas. He died when he fell from an attempted high-wire walk between two towers of a ten-story building in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was 73 years old.
1973 ~ Hilda Geiringer (b. Sept. 28, 1893), Austrian mathematician. In the early 1930, she and her then fiancé moved to Turkey to escape the Nazis. She later moved to the United States. She died at age 79.
1958 ~ Mike Todd (né Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen; b. June 22, 1909), American film producer and third husband of Elizabeth Taylor. He was the only husband that Taylor did not divorce, however, he was killed in a plane crash in Grants, New Mexico a year after their marriage. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was 48 at the time of his death.
1945 ~ John Hessin Clarke (b. Sept. 18, 1857), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was nominated to the High Court by President Woodrow Wilson. He served as an Associate Justice from July 1916 until September 1922. He replaced Charles Hughes on the Court. He was succeeded in the Court by George Sutherland. He was born in New Lisbon, Ohio. He died at age 87 in San Diego, California.
1924 ~ Sir William Macewen (b. June 22, 1948), Scottish surgeon and neuroscientist. He is best known for his pioneering work in brain surgery and bone grafts. He died at age 75 in Glasgow, Scotland.
1912 ~ John Noble (né John Willock Nobel; b. Oct. 26, 1831), 18th United States Secretary of the Interior. He served under President Benjamin Harrison from March 1889 until March 1893. During his time in Office, he negotiated 11 agreements with the Cherokee Commission that removed 19 indigenous tribes to small allotments in the Oklahoma Territory and he opened the land to homesteaders. He was born in Lancaster, Ohio. He died at age 80 in St. Louis, Missouri.
1889 ~ Stanley Matthews (né Thomas Stanley Matthews; b. July 21, 1824), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was nominated to the High Court by President James Garfield. He replaced Noah Swayne on the Court. He was succeeded by David Brewer. He served on the Court from May 1881 until his death 8 years later. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died at age 64 in Washington, D.C.
1852 ~ Marie of Hesse-Kassel (b. Oct. 28, 1767), Queen consort of Denmark and Norway and wife of Frederick VI, King of Denmark (1768 ~ 1839). They married in 1790. She was of the House of Hesse-Kassel. She was the daughter of Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kessel and Princess Louise of Denmark. She died at age 84.
1845 ~ Cassandra Austen (née Cassandra Elizabeth Austen; b. Jan. 9, 1773), English watercolorist and older sister of writer Jane Austen. She died of a stroke at age 72.
1840 ~ Étienne Bobillier (b. Apr. 17, 1798), French mathematician. He died of an illness less than a month before his 42nd birthday. The crater Bobillier on the moon is named in his honor.
1832 ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (b. Aug. 28, 1749), German writer and politician. He died at age 82.
1820 ~ Stephen Decatur, Jr. (b. Jan. 5, 1779), American naval officer during the American Revolutionary War. He is known for his heroism during the Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812. He was born in Sinepuxent, Maryland. He was killed in a duel at age 41 in Washington, D.C.
1758 ~ Jonathan Edwards (b. Oct. 5, 1703), American Congregationalist theologian on colonial America. He served as the 3rd President of Princeton University. He was born in East Windsor, Connecticut. He died at age 54 in Princeton, New Jersey.
1544 ~ Johannes Magnus (b. Mar. 19, 1488), Swedish archbishop and theologian. He was the last functioning Catholic bishop in Sweden. He died 3 days after his 56th birthday in Rome, Italy.
1471 ~ George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia (b. Apr. 23, 1420). He ruled Bohemia from March 1458 until his death in 1471. He was married twice. His first wife was Kunigunde of Sternberg (1425 ~ 1449). His second wife was Johana of Rožmitál (1430 ~ 1475). He was of the House of Poděbrady. He was the son of Victor of Munsterberg and Anna of Wartenberg. He died a month before his 51st birthday.
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