Birthdays:
1979 ~ Norah Jones (née Geetali Norah Jones Shankar), American singer-songwriter. She was born in Manhattan, New York.
1960 ~ Bill Johnson (né William Dean Johnson; d. Jan. 21, 2016), American bad boy of skiing who won Olympic gold. He became the first American male to win an Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing at the 1985 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. In March 2001, he crashed during a training run and suffered a serious brain injury, from which he never actually recovered. He was born in Los Angeles, California. He died at age 55 in Gresham, Oregon.
1950 ~ Robbie Coltrane (né Anthony Robert McMillan; d. Oct. 14, 2022), warmhearted Scottish actor who embodied the Harry Potter character Rubeus Hagrid. He was born in Rutherglen, Scotland. He died at age 72 following a long illness in Larbert, Scotland.
1949 ~ Ray Magliozzi (né Raymond Francis Magliozzi), American radio personality who, along with his older brother Tom Magliozzi (1937 ~ 2014), hosted NPR’s Car Talk. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1945 ~ Eric Clapton (né Eric Patrick Clapton), English rock musician and composer. Clapton was the first musician to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times. He was born in Ripley, Surrey, England.
1937 ~ Warren Beatty (né Henry Warren Beatty), American actor. He was born in Richmond, Virginia.
1934 ~ Paul Crouch (né Paul Franklin Crouch; d. Nov. 30, 2013), American televangelist who asked believers to dig deep. He founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri. He died at age 79 in Orange, California.
1930 ~ John Astin (né John Allen Astin), American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Gomez on The Addams Family. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
1929 ~ Richard Dysart (né Richard Allen Dysart; d. Apr. 5, 2015), American actor best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on LA Law. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He died 6 days after his 86th birthday in Santa Monica, California.
1928 ~ Tom Sharpe (né Thomas Ridley Sharpe; d. June 6, 2013), British novelist who fused satire and smut. He was born in London, England. He died at age 85 in Spain.
1926 ~ Anthony Smith (né Anthony John Francis Smith; d. July 7, 2014), British adventurer who crossed land, sea, and air. In 2011, well into his 80s, he sailed from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas. He died at age 88 in Oxford, England.
1926 ~ Ingvar Kamprad (né Feodor Ingvar Kamprad; d. Jan. 27, 2018), Swedish entrepreneur and founder of IKEA who took Swedish style global. He died at age 91.
1926 ~ Peter Marshall (né Ralph Pierre LaCock), American game show host. He was the original host of The Hollywood Squares. He was born in Huntington, West Virginia.
1923 ~ Frank Field (né Franklyn Feld; d. July 1, 2023), American meteorologist with a passion for science. In addition to reporting on the weather in New York, he was known for reporting on science and health topics. He was also instrumental in publicizing the Heimlich Maneuver. He was born in Queens, New York. He died at age 100 in Boca Raton, Florida.
1919 ~ McGeorge Bundy (d. Sept. 16, 1996), 6th United States National Security Advisor. He served under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from January 1961 until February 1966. He was born and died in Boston, Massachusetts. He died of a heart attack at age 77.
1919 ~ Robin M. Williams (né Robert Martin Williams; d. Mar. 18, 2013), New Zealand mathematician. He was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He died 12 days before his 94th birthday in Wellington, New Zealand.
1913 ~ Richard Helms (né Richard McGarrah Helms; d. Oct. 23, 2002), 8th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He served under Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon from June 1966 until February 1973. He was born in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He died at age 89 in Washington, D.C.
1910 ~ Józef Marcinkiewicz (d. 1940), Polish mathematician. He is believed to have died in the Katyn massacre near Smolensk during World War II. The exact date of his death is unknown.
1902 ~ Brook Astor (née Roberta Brooke Russell; d. Aug. 13, 2007), American socialite and philanthropist. She was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her third husband was William Vincent Astor. She died at age 105.
1895 ~ Carl Lutz (d. Feb. 12, 1975), Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during World War II. He is credited with saving over 62,000 Jews during the War. By issuing safe-conduct certificates that allowed Jews to emigrate to what is now Israel. He is the Righteous Among the Nations. He died at age 79 in Bern, Switzerland.
1892 ~ Stefan Banach (d. Aug. 31, 1945), Polish mathematician. He is considered the founder of modern functional analysis. He died of lung cancer at age 53 Lviv, Ukraine.
1880 ~ Seán O’Casey (né John Casey; d. Sept. 18, 1964), Irish playwright. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. He died at age 84.
1874 ~ Nicolae Rădescu (d. May 16, 1953), Romanian general and Prime Minister of Romania. He was the last pre-Communist Prime minister. He served from December 1944 until March 1945. He died at age 79.
1853 ~ Vincent van Gogh (né Vincent Willem van Gogh; d. July 29, 1890), Dutch painter. He died by suicide at age 37.
1820 ~ Anna Sewell (d. Apr. 25, 1878), English novelist, who is best known for her novel, Black Beauty. She died of tuberculosis just 26 days before her 59th birthday.
1811 ~ Robert Bunsen (né Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen; d. Aug. 16, 1899), German chemist and inventor. He developed the Bunsen burner. He died at age 88.
1746 ~ Francisco Goya (d. Apr. 16, 1828), Spanish painter. He died just over 2 weeks after his 82nd birthday in Bordeaux, France.
1606 ~ Vincentio Reinieri (d. Nov. 5, 1642), Italian mathematician and astronomer. The crater Reiner on the Moon is named in his honor. He was born in Genoa, Italy. He died at age 36 in Pisa, Italy.
1326 ~ Ivan II of Russia, Grand Prince of Moscow (d. Nov. 13, 1359). He was known as Ivan the Fair. He succeeded his brother, Simeon I, Grand Prince of Moscow and was succeeded by his son, Dmitri I, Grand Prince of Moscow. He was married first to Fedosia of Bryansk. There were no children of this marriage. After her death, he married Alexandra Velyaminova (d. Dec. 1364). He was of the House of Rurik. He was the son of Ivan I, Grand Prince of Moscow and Helena. He was Eastern Orthodox. He died at age 33.
1135 ~ Maimonides (né Moshe ben Maimon, also known as the Rambam, which stands for Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, d. Dec. 12, 1204), preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher, rabbi, and Torah scholar. The exact date of his birth is not known. It has been recorded as early as March 29 and as late as April 4, 1135. March 30 is the generally accepted date of his birth. Although he was born in Córdoba, Spain, he traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean. He died in Egypt at age 69.
892 ~ Emperor Shi Jingtang (d. July 28, 942) 1st Chinese Emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty. He reigned from November 936 until his death 6 years later. He died at age 50.
Events that Changed the World:
2023 ~ Former United States President Donald Trump (b. 1946) was indicted by a grand jury in New York. Court. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (b. 1973) had been investigating Trump’s role in covering up hush-money paid to a former porn star during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump was arraigned on 34 felony counts relating to his allegedly falsifying business records to indicate the hush-money was payment for legal fees. Republicans circled their wagons around Trump and claimed that the prosecution was political.
2002 ~ A group of masked men attacked a synagogue in Lyon, France. At the time of the incident, the building was unoccupied. It was the first of a series of attacks on Jewish facilities in a week, which coincided with Passover observation.
1981 ~ President Ronald Reagan (1911 ~ 2004) was shot in Washington, D.C., by John Hinckley, Jr. (b. 1955)
1967 ~ Delta Airlines Flight 9877 crashed at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport during a crew training flight. Nineteen people were killed.
1965 ~ A car bomb exploded in front of the United States Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam. Twenty-two people were killed and nearly 200 were wounded.
1964 ~ The game show Jeopardy! made its debut. The original host was Art Fleming (1924 ~ 1995).
1910 ~ The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi was founded by the Mississippi legislature.
1909 ~ The Queensboro Bridge opened, which linked Manhattan to Queens. This bridge is also known as the 59th Street Bridge.
1870 ~ The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which granted the right to vote to men regardless of race, was adopted. It had been ratified on February 3, 1870; but became a part of the Constitution on this date.
1870 ~ Texas was readmitted into the Union following Reconstruction.
1867 ~ The United States purchased the Alaska territory from Russia for $7.2 M, or about 2 cents/acre. United States Secretary of State William Steward (1801 ~ 1872) was in favor of this purchase and Alaska was initially referred to as Steward’s folly.
1856 ~ The Treaty of Paris was signed, thereby ending the Crimean War.
1842 ~ Ether anesthesia was used for the first time in an operation to remove a tumor from the neck of a patient. Dr. Crawford Long (1815 ~ 1878) performed the operation in Georgia.
1822 ~ The Florida Territory was formally organized as an unincorporated territory into the United States.
Good-byes:
2023 ~ Mark Russell (né Joseph Marcus Ruslander; b. Aug. 23, 1932), American political commentator, satirist, and humorist. He was born in Buffalo, New York. He died at age 90 in Washington, D.C.
2021 ~ G. Gordon Liddy (né George Gordon Battle Liddy; b. Nov. 30, 1930), American operative who masterminded the Watergate break-in, that resulted in the scandal that led to the downfall of President Nixon. He was convicted of burglary and conspiracy as a result of the Watergate break in and served 52 months in federal prisons. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He died in Mount Vernon, Virginia at age 90.
2020 ~ Ben Luderer (b. Sept. 29, 1989), American special education teacher and high school baseball coach. He died of Covid-19 at age 30.
2020 ~ Joanne Mellady (b. 1952), American IT specialist who embraced adventure even after receiving a double lung transplant in 2007. For years she had a mysterious lung infection. After receiving her transplant, she took up hang gliding, skiing, skateboarding and kayaking. She died at age 67 in Concord, New Hampshire of Covid-19.
2020 ~ Bill Withers (né William Harrison Withers, Jr.; b. July 4, 1938), American Rhythm and Blues hitmaker who walked away from fame. He is best known for his 1971 song Ain’t No Sunshine. He retired from his music career in 1985. He was born in Slab Fork, West Virginia. He died at age 81 of heart complications in Los Angeles, California.
2018 ~ Anna Chennault (née Chan Sheng Mai; b. June 23, 1923), Chinese-born power broker who schemed with Richard Nixon. She was actually born in 1923, but her birthday is reported as being on June 12, 1925. She married American General Claire Chennault in 1947. He was 30 years her senior and died in 1958. She was a prominent Republican member of the China Lobby. In 1968, she sent word to South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu that if he boycotted the planned peace talks with North Vietnam, he would secure the full support of President Nixon. She was born in Beijing, China. She died at age 94 in Washington, D.C.
2016 ~ Seymour Lazar (né Seymour Manuel Lazar; b. June 14, 1929), American celebrity lawyer who embraced the counterculture. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He died at age 88.
2015 ~ Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld (b. Oct. 21, 1921), Dutch astronomer. She died at age 93.
2013 ~ Phil Ramone (né Philip Rabinowitz; b. Jan. 5, 1934), South-African born, American music producer who made the stars shine. He produced albums for Paul Simon, Carly Simon, Billy Joel and countless others. He died following surgery for an aortic aneurism. He was 79 years old.
2009 ~ Herman Franks (né Herman Louis Franks; b. Jan. 4, 1914), American professional baseball catcher and manager. He was born in Price, Utah. He died at 95 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
2008 ~ Roland Fraïssé (b. Mar. 12, 1920), French mathematical logician. He was born in Bressuire, France. He died in Marseille, France 18 days after his 88th birthday.
2005 ~ Mitch Hedberg (né Mitchell Lee Hedberg; b. Feb. 24, 1968), American stand-up comedian. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He died at age 37 of a drug overdose in Livingston, New Jersey.
2004 ~ Alistair Cooke (né Alfred Cooke; b. Nov. 20, 1908), English-born journalist and longtime host of Masterpiece Theater. He died at age 95 in New York, New York.
2002 ~ Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (née Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon; b. Aug. 4, 1900), Scottish Queen consort of George VI, King of the United Kingdom (1895 ~ 1952). They married in 1923. She was the mother of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom. She was known as the Queen Mother. She was of the House of Bowes-Lyon. She was the daughter of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. She died at age 101.
1994 ~ William Arthur Ward (b. Dec. 17, 1921), American motivational writer known for his inspirational maxims. He died at age 82.
1986 ~ John Ciardi (né John Anthony Ciardi; b. June 24, 1916), American poet. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He died at age 69 in Metuchen, New Jersey.
1986 ~ James Cagney (né James Francis Cagney, Jr.; b. July 17, 1899), American actor. He was born in New York, New York. He died of a heart attack at age 86 in Stanford, New York.
1981 ~ DeWitt Wallace (né William Roy DeWitt Wallace; b. Nov. 12, 1889), American publisher and co-founder along with his wife, Lila Wallace, of Reader’s Digest. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He died at age 91 in Mount Kisco, New York.
1966 ~ Maxfield Parrish (né Frederick Parrish, b. July 25, 1870), American artist. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died in Plainfield, New Hampshire at age 95.
1965 ~ Philip Showalter Hench (d. Feb. 28, 1896), 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.
1950 ~ Léon Blum (né André Léon Blum; b. Apr. 8, 1872), Jewish-French lawyer and Prime Minister of France. He served in that office for three terms, first for a month from March to April 1938; second from June 1936 until July 1937; and then for a month from December 1946 until January 1047. He was influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 1800s. Post-World War II, he was a transitional leader in French politics. He was born in Paris, France. He died 10 days before his 78th birthday.
1949 ~ Friedrich Bergius (né Friedrich Karl Rudolf Bergius; b. Oct. 11, 1884), German chemist and recipient of the 1931 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition of contributions to the invention and development of chemical high-pressure measures. Due to his collaboration with a company with Nazi ties, he immigrated to Argentina after World War II. He died at age 64 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1911 ~ Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (née Ellen Henrietta Swallow; b. Dec. 3, 1842), American industrial and environmental chemist. She was the first woman admitted to MIT. After her graduation, she became MIT’s first female instructor. She was born in Dunstable, Massachusetts. She died at age 68 in Boston, Massachusetts.
1871 ~ Louise of the Netherlands (b. Aug. 5, 1828), Queen consort of Sweden and Norway and wife of Charles XV, King of Sweden (1826 ~ 1872). They married in 1850. She was of the House of Orange-Nassau. She was the daughter of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands and Princess Louise of Prussia. She was of the Dutch Reform Church. She died of pneumonia at age 42.
1853 ~ Abigail Fillmore (née Abigail Powers; b. Mar. 13, 1798), First Lady of the United States and wife of President Millard Fillmore. She was born in Stillwater, New York. She died of pneumonia just over 2 weeks after her 55th birthday in Washington, D.C.
1842 ~ Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (b. Apr. 16, 1755), French portrait painter. She created over 660 landscapes and 200 portraits. She was born and died in Paris, France. She died 17 days before her 87th birthday.
1787 ~ Anna Amalia, Abbess of Quedlinburg (b. Nov. 9, 1723), Prussian princess and member of the Prussian royal family. She was an early modern German composer. She also served as the Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg. She never married. She was of the House of Hohenzollern. She was the daughter of Frederick William I, King of Prussian and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. She was also the sister of Frederick the Great. She was Lutheran. She died at age 63.
1796 ~ Augusta Wilhelmina (b. Apr. 14, 1765), Duchess consort of Zweibrücken. She was the first wife of Maximilian, Duke of Zweibrücken. They married in 1785 before he became king of Bavaria. They were the parents of Ludwig I, King of Bavaria. She was of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was the daughter of Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt and Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg. She was Lutheran. She died 2 weeks before her 31st birthday.
1559 ~ Adam Ries (b. Jan. 17, 1492), German mathematician. He died at age 66.
1465 ~ Isabella of Clermont (b. January 1424), Queen consort of Naples. She was the first wife of Ferdinand I, King of Naples (1423 ~ 1494). When they married, he was the Duke of Calabria, making her the Duchess of Calabria. They were the parents of Alfonso II, King of Naples. She was the daughter of Tristan of Clermont and Catherine of Taranto. She was Roman Catholic. The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 40 or 41 at the time of her death.
1225 ~ Gertrude, Countess of Dagsburg. She was the Countess in her own right. Her first husband was Theobald, Duke of Lorraine, making her the Duchess consort of Lorraine. After his death, she married Theobald IV of Champagne. She was his first wife. He repudiated her in 1222, before he became the King of Navarre, thus she was never the queen consort. In 1224, she married Simon III, Count of Leiningen. She died within a year of their marriage. The date of her birth is not known.
1185 ~ Beatrice of Rethel (b. 1130s), Queen consort of Sicily and third wife of Roger II, King of Sicily (1095 ~ 1154). They were the parents of Constance I, Queen of Sicily. She was the daughter of Guitier, Count of Rethel and Beatrix of Namur. The date of her birth is not known.
943 ~ Li Bian (b. Jan. 7, 889), 1st Chinese Emperor of Southern Tang. He was the founding emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Southern Tang. He ruled from November 937 until his death 4 years later. His second wife was Empress Song (d. 945). He died at age 54.
365 ~ Ai of Jin (b. 341), Chinese Emperor of the Jin Dynasty. The exact date of his birth is not known.
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