May 14

Birthdays:

 

1984 ~ Mark Zuckerberg (né Mark Elliot Zuckerberg), American computer programmer and co-founder of Facebook.  He was born in White Plains, New York.

 

1983 ~ Amber Tamblyn (née Amber Rose Tamblyn), American actress.  She is best known for her role as Joan Girardi in the television drama Joan of Acadia.  She was born in Santa Monica, California.

 

1979 ~ Dan Auerbach (né Daniel Quine Auerbach), American singer-songwriter.  He is the guitarist and vocalist of Black Keys.  He was born in Akron, Ohio.

 

1972 ~ Kirstjen Nielsen (née Kirstjen Michelle Nielsen), 6^th United States Secretary of Homeland Security.  She served from December 2017 until April 2019 during the Trump Administration.  She was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

1971 ~ Sofia Coppola (née Sofia Carmina Coppola), American film director and screenwriter.  She was born in New York, New York.

 

1969 ~ Cate Blanchett (née Catherine Elsie Blanchett), Australian actress.  She was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

 

1964 ~ Mara Neusel (née Mara Dicle; b. Sept. 5, 2014), German mathematician.  She was born in Stuttgart, Germany.  She died at age 50 in Lubbock, Texas.

 

1961 ~ Tim Roth (né Simon Timothy Roth), English actor.  He was born in London, England.

 

1952 ~ David Byrne, Scottish-born American musician, and frontman of the Talking Heads.  He was born in Dumbarton, Scotland.

 

1944 ~ George Lucas (né George Walton Lucas, Jr.), American film director.  He was born in Modesto, California.

 

1943 ~ Jack Bruce (né John Symon Asher Bruce; d. Oct. 25, 2014), British musician and bassist who wrote Cream’sgreatest hits.  He died of liver disease at age 71.

 

1936 ~ Bobby Darin (né Walden Robert Cassotto; d. May 20, 1973), American singer-songwriter.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died following heart surgery at age 37 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1936 ~ Richard John Neuhaus (d. Jan. 8, 2009), conservative Catholic theologian who worked to forge ties between Catholics and evangelic Christians, which helped energize the Republican party under George W. Bush.  He began his career as a Lutheran minister before converting to Catholicism.  He was a staunch conservative and opposed to abortion.  He was born in Pembroke, Ontario, Canada.  He died of cancer at age 72 in New York, New York.

 

1932 ~ Bob Johnston (né Donald William Johnston; d. Aug. 14, 2015), American record producer who is best known for nurturing Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash.  He was born in Hillsboro, Texas.  He died in Nashville, Tennessee.  He was 83 years old.

 

1925 ~ Oona O’Neill Chaplin, Lady Chaplin (née Oona O’Neill; d. Sept. 27, 1991), daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill and 4^th wife of Charlie Chaplin.  She was born in Warwick Parish, Bermuda.  She died of pancreatic cancer at age 66 in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.

 

1922 ~ Franjo Tuđman (d. Dec. 10, 1999), Croatian politician and 1^st President of Croatia following its independence from Yugoslavia.  He served in Office from May 1990 until his death 9 years later.  He died of cancer at age 77.

 

1914 ~ W.T. Tutte (né William Thomas Tutte, d. May 2, 2002), British mathematician.  He was a code-breaker during World War II.  He died 12 days before his 85^th birthday in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

 

1888 ~ Archie Alexander (né Archie Alphonso Alexander; d. Jan. 4, 1958), African-American engineer and mathematician.  In 1954, he was appointed to serve as the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands.  He served in that position from 1954 until 1955.  He was born in Ottumwa, Iowa.  He died at age 69 in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

1885 ~ Otto Klemperer (né Otto Nossan Klemperer; d. July 6, 1973), German composer and conductor.  He was the father of actor Werner Klemperer, who portrayed Colonel Kling on Hogan’s Heroes.  Otto died at age 88.

 

1869 ~ William Hale Thompson (d. Mar. 19, 1944), Mayor of Chicago.  He served for several terms in that office.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died at age 74 in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1868 ~ Leland Stanford, Jr. (né Leland Dewitt Stanford; d. Mar. 13, 1884), only son of the American railroad magnate.  He was born in Sacramento, California.  He died of typhoid fever at age 15 in Florence, Italy.  His father named Stanford University in California in his memory.

 

1863 ~ John Charles Fields (d. Aug. 9, 1932), Canadian mathematician and founder of the Fields Medal for outstanding achievement in mathematics.  He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  He died at age 69 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  The Fields Medal was first awarded in 1936 for outstanding achievement in mathematics.  Since 1950, it has been awarded every 4 years to a mathematician under the age of 40.

 

1851 ~ Anna Laurens Dawes (d. Sept. 25, 1938), American writer, social activist and suffragist.  She was born in North Adams, Massachusetts.  She died at age 87.

 

1832 ~ Rudolf Lipschitz (d. Oct. 7, 1903), German mathematician.  He died at age 71 in Bonn, German Empire.

 

1771 ~ Thomas Wedgwood (d. July 10, 1805), British early pioneer as a photographer.  He was a son of Josiah Wedgwood.  He died at age 34.

 

1761 ~ Samuel Dexter (d. May 4, 1816), 3^rd United States Secretary of the Treasury.  He served in this position from January 1801 until May 1801.  He also served as the 4^th United States Secretary of War from June 1800 until January 1801, during the John Adams administration.  He was a United States Senator from Massachusetts.  He was born and died in Boston, Massachusetts.  The town of Dexter, Maine is named in his honor.  He died 10 days before his 55^th birthday.

 

1727 ~ Thomas Gainsborough (d. Aug. 2, 1788), English painter.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on May 14, 1727.  He died at age 61 in London, England.

 

1710 ~ Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (d. Feb. 12, 1771).  He was king from March 1751 until his death in February 1771.  He was married to Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (1720 ~ 1782).  They married in 1774.  They were the parents of Gustav III, King of Sweden and Charles XIII, King of Sweden.  He was of the House of Holstein-Gottorp.  He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin and Princess Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach.  He was Lutheran.  He died at age 60.

 

1701 ~ William Emerson (d. May 20, 1782), English mathematician.  He died 6 days after his 81^st birthday.

 

1679 ~ Peder Horrebow (b. Apr. 15, 1764), Danish mathematician.  The crater Horrebow on the moon is named in his honor.  He died a month before his 85^th birthday in Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

1666 ~ Victor Amadeus II, King of Sicily (d. Oct. 31, 1732).  He ruled over Sicily from September 1713 until February 1720, when he became the King of Sardinia.  He abdicated the throne in 1730 in favor of his son, Charles Emmanuel III.  He was married twice.  In 1684, he married Anne Marie d’Orléans (1669 ~ 1728).  After her death, he married Anna Canalis di Cumiana (1680 ~ 1769).  They married in 1730.  She had been his mistress.  His second marriage was a morganatic marriage, thus she was never the queen consort.  He was of the House of Savoy.  He was the son of Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy and Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Nemours.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 66.

 

1553 ~ Margaret of Valois (d. Mar. 27, 1615), Queen consort of France and first wife of Henry IV, King of France (1553 ~ 1610).  They married in 1572.  The marriage was controversial because Margaret was Roman Catholic and Henry was a Huguenot.  There were no children of the marriage, thus it  annulled after 27 years on grounds of infertility and consanguinity.  Interestingly, Henry IV would be assassinated on May 14, 1610, her 65^th birthday.  She was of the House of Valois.  She was the daughter of Henry II, King of France and Catherine de’Medici.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 61.

 

1316 ~ Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. Nov. 29, 1378).  He reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1355 until his death in 1378.  He was also the King of Bohemia from 1346 until his death.  He was the first King of Bohemia to become Holy Roman Emperor.  He was married 4 times.  His first wife was Blanche of Valois (1317 ~ 1348).  They married in 1329 when they were both young teenagers.  After her death, he married Anne of Bavaria (1329 ~ 1353).  They married in 1349.  His third wife was Anna von Schweidnitz (1339 ~ 1362).  His fourth and final wife was Elizabeth of Pomerania (1347 ~ 1393).  He was of the House of Luxembourg.  He was the son of John, King of Bohemia and Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia.  He was Roman Catholic.  He was born and died in Prague.  He died at age 62.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2023 ~ Mother’s Day in the United States.

 

2022 ~ An 18-year-old White supremist shot and killed 10 African Americans in a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.  The shooter believed in a “replacement conspiracy theory” in which white, American-born Christians, are being “replaced” by dark-skinned foreigners.

 

2018 ~ The American Embassy moved its location from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  The move caused riots in Gaza.

 

2017 ~ Mother’s Day in the United States.

 

2004 ~ Then Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (b. 1968) married Australian commoner Mary Donaldson (b. 1972) in Copenhagen.  In January 2024, he became Frederik X, King of Denmark.

 

1973 ~ The United States’s first space station, Skylab, was launched.  It orbited the Earth until 1979 when it fell back to earth.

 

1948 ~ Israel declared its independence.  This is the traditional date on the Gregorian calendar.  Immediately after the declaration, Israel was attached by Arab states, which initiated the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

 

1925 ~ Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf (1882 ~ 1941) was first published.

 

1913 ~ William Sulzer (1863 ~ 1941), the governor of New York, approved a charter for the Rockefeller Foundation.  John D. Rockefeller (1839 ~ 1937) made a $100 million donation.

 

1878 ~ The last witchcraft trial in the United States began.  Lucretia Brown accused Daniel Spofford of attempting to harm her through his mental powers.  The trial was held in Salem, Massachusetts.  The judge dismissed the case.

 

1811 ~ Paraguay gained its independence from Spain.

 

1804 ~ Lewis and Clark Expedition began.  The expedition took place between May 1804 and September 1806.  It is also sometimes referred to as the Corps of Discovery Expedition.  It was the first expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States.

 

1796 ~ Edward Jenner (1749 ~ 1823) administered the first smallpox vaccination.

 

1787 ~ A Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia to draft a new United States Constitution.

 

1643 ~ Louis XIV (1638 ~ 1715), the Sun King, became King of France at age 4 following the death of his father, Louis XIII, King of France (1601 ~ 1643).

 

1610 ~ Henry IV, King of France (1553 ~ 1610) was assassinated.

 

1607 ~ Jamestown, Virginia was settled as an English colony.

 

1097 ~ The Siege of Nicaea began.  This was the first major battle of the First Crusade.  The battle raged for just over a month.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2022 ~ Ray Hill (né Raymond Hill; b. Dec. 2, 1939), British ex-neo-Nazi who exposed Britain’s far right.  He was a repentant white supremacist.  He died at age 82.

 

2020 ~ Phyllis George (née Phyllis Anne George; b. June 25, 1949), American beauty queen who broke the sportscast ceiling.  In 1971, she was crown Miss America.  In 1975, she was hired as a reporter and co-host of the CBS Sports pre-show The NFL Today.  She was born in Denton, Texas.  She died at age 70 in Lexington, Kentucky of complications from polycythemia vera, a form of blood cancer.

 

2019 ~ Tim Conway (né Toma Daniel Conway; b. Dec. 15, 1933), American improve master who cracked up his co-stars.  He was best known for his role in sketches in the Carol Burnett Show.  He was born in Willoughby, Ohio.  He died of complications of dementia at age 85 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2018 ~ Tom Wolfe (né Thomas Kennerly Wolfe, Jr.; b. Mar. 2, 1930), American “New Journalist” who gleefully skewered the elite.  He is best known for his books such as The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Right Stuff.   He was born in Richmond, Virginia.  He died at age 87 in New York, New York.

 

2015 ~ B.B. King (né Riley Benjamin King; b. Sept. 16, 1925), American musician.  He was the Mississippi sharecropper who became the King of the Blues.  His nickname of B.B. stood for “Blues Boy.”  He was born in Berclair, Mississippi.  He died at age 89 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

2013 ~ Billie Sol Estes (b. Jan. 10, 1925), Texas businessman and con man who bilked the government.  He is best known for his involvement in a business fraud scheme and his connection to Lyndon Johnson.  He spent several years in prison for swindling, mail fraud and conspiracy.  He was born in Clyde, Texas.  He died at age 88 in DeCordova, Texas.

 

2011 ~ Lord Michael Onslow, 7^th Earl of Onslow (né Michael William Coplestone Dillon Onslow; b. Feb. 28, 1938), British lord and eccentric who enlivened the House of Lords.  He died of cancer at age 73.

 

2011 ~ Murray Handwerker (b. July 25, 1921), American businessman who expanded the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, the company his father had founded.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 89 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

 

2006 ~ Robert Bruce Merrifield (b. July 15, 1921), American chemist and recipient of the 1984 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Fort Worth, Texas.  He died at age 84 in Cresskill, New Jersey.

 

2006 ~ Stanley Kunitz (né Stanley Jasspon Kunitz; b. July 29, 1905), American Poet Laureate.  He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts.  He died at age 100 in New York, New York.

 

2005 ~ Jimmy Martin (né James Henry Martin, b. Aug. 10, 1927), American singer known as the King of Bluegrass.  He was born in Sneedville, Tennessee.  He died at age 77 in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

2003 ~ Robert Stack (né Charles Langford Modini Stack; b. Jan. 13, 1919), American actor.  He was born in Los Angeles, California.  He died at age 84 in Bel Air, California.

 

2003 ~ Dame Wendy Hiller (née Wendy Margaret Hiller; b. Aug. 15, 1912), English actress.  She is best known for her role in the 1974 film Murder on the Orient Express.  She died at age 90.

 

1998 ~ Frank Sinatra (né Francis Albert Sinatra; b. Dec. 12, 1915), American singer and actor.  He was born in Hoboken, New Jersey.  He died of a heart attack at age 82 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1998 ~ Marjory Stoneman Douglas (b. Apr. 7, 1890), American journalist, environmental activist, and feminist.  She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She died at age 108 in Miami, Florida.

 

1995 ~ Christian B. Anfinsen, Jr. (né Christian Boehmer Anfinsen, Jr.; b. Mar. 26, 1916), American chemist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on ribonuclease.  He was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 79 in Randallstown, Maryland.

 

1994 ~ W. Graham Claytor, Jr. (né William Graham Claytor, Jr.; b. Mar. 14, 1912), 15^th United States Secretary of the Navy.  He served during the administration of Jimmy Carter, from August 1979 until January 16, 1981.  He was born in Roanoke, Virginia.  He died at age 82 in Bradenton, Florida.

 

1993 ~ William Randolph Hearst, Jr. (b. Jan. 27, 1908), American newspaper magnate.  He was the second son of publisher William Randolph Hearst, Sr.  He was born and died in New York, New York.  He died of cardiac arrest at age 85.

 

1991 ~ Jiang Qing (b. Mar. 19, 1914), Chinese widow of Mao Zedong.  She died at age 77 in Beijing, China.

 

1987 ~ Rita Hayworth (née Margarita Carmen Cansino; b. Oct. 17, 1918), American actress.  She was born and died in New York, New York.  She died at age 68 of Alzheimer’s disease.

 

1983 ~ Miguel Alemán Valdés (b. Sept. 29, 1900), President of Mexico.  He served as President from December 1946 until November 1952.  He died at age 82 in Mexico City, Mexico.

 

1982 ~ Hugh Beaumont (né Eugene Hugh Beaumont; b. Feb. 16, 1909), American actor best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the sit-com Leave It to Beaver, which ran from 1957 to 1963.  He was born in Eudora, Kansas.  He died of a heart attack at age 73 while visiting his son in Munich, West Germany.

 

1979 ~ Jean Rhys (née Ella Gwendolyn Rees Williams; b. Aug. 24, 1890), English novelist best known for her novel, Wide Sargasso Sea.  She was born in the British Leeward Islands.  She died at age 88 in Exeter, Britain.

 

1968 ~ Husband E. Kimmel (né Husband Edward Kimmel; b. Feb. 26, 1882), American admiral.  He was born in Henderson, Kentucky.  He died at age 86 in Groton, Connecticut.

 

1965 ~ Frances Perkins (née Fannie Coralie Perkins; b. Apr. 10, 1880), first woman to be appointed to a United States cabinet position when she was appointed as the 4^th United States Secretary of Labor.  She served under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman from March 1933 through June 1945.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  She died at age 85 in New York, New York.

 

1959 ~ Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal (b. Nov. 28, 1862), member of the Portuguese royal family.  She was the second wife of Robert I, Duke of Parma (1848 ~ 1907).  Upon her marriage to him in 1884, she became the Duchess consort of Parma.  She was of the House of Braganza.  She was the daughter of Miguel I, King of Portugal and Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 96.

 

1945 ~ Isis Pogson (née Elizabeth Isis Pogson; b. Sept. 28, 1852), British astronomer and meteorologist.  She was born in Oxford, England.  She died at age 92 in London, England.

 

1943 ~ Henri La Fontaine (né Henri Marie La Fontaine, b. Apr. 22, 1854), Belgian lawyer and recipient of the 1913 Nobel Peace Prize.  He was born and died in Brussels, Belgium.  He died less than a month after his 89^th birthday.

 

1940 ~ Emma Goldman (b. June 27, 1869), Lithuanian-born anarchist.  She died of complications of a stroke at age 70 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

 

1936 ~ Edmund Allenby, 1^st Viscount Allenby, (né Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby; b. Apr. 23, 1861), British general.  He died suddenly from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm about 3 weeks after his 75^th birthday in London, England.

 

1922 ~ Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton (b. Dec. 11, 1850), Scottish noblewoman and first wife of Albert I, Prince of Monaco (1848 ~ 1922).  They married in 1869 and the marriage was annulled in 1880.  It was an arranged marriage.  They were the parents of Louis II, Prince of Monaco.  She then married Tassilo Festetics von Toina (1850 ~ 1933).  They married in 1880.  She was of the House of Douglas.  She was the daughter of William Hamilton, 11^th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie Amelie of Baden.  She died at age 71.

 

1919 ~ Henry J. Heinz (né Henry John Heinz; b. Oct. 11, 1844), American businessman and founder of the H.J. Heinz Company.  He was born in Birmingham, Pennsylvania.  He died of pneumonia at age 74 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

 

1912 ~ August Strindberg (né Johan August Strindberg; b. Jan. 22, 1849), Swedish playwright best known for his play, Miss Julie.  He was born and died in Stockholm, Sweden.  He died following a long illness at age 63.

 

1912 ~ Frederick VIII, King of Denmark (b. June 3, 1843).  He was King from January 1906 until his death 6 years later.  He was married to Princess Louise of Sweden (1851 ~ 1926).  They married in 1869.  They were the parents of Christian X, King of Denmark and Haakon VII, King of Norway.  He was of the House of Glücksburg.  He was the son of Christian IX, King of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel.  He was Lutheran.  He died 20 days before his 69^th birthday.

 

1906 ~ Carl Schurz (né Carl Christian Schurz; d. Mar. 2, 1829), German-born American and 13^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President Rutherford Hayes from March 1877 until March 1881.  He died at age 77 in New York, New York.

 

1893 ~ Ernst Kummer (né Ernst Eduard Kummer; b. Jan. 29, 1810), German mathematician.  He died at age 83 in Berlin, Germany.

 

1887 ~ William Woods (né William Burnham Woods; b. Aug. 3, 1824), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Rutherford B. Hayes.  He replaced William Strong on the Court and was replaced by Lucius Lamar.  He served on the Court from December 1880 until his death 6 ½ years later.  He was born in Newark, Ohio.  He died at age 62 in Washington, D.C.

 

1847 ~ Fanny Mendelssohn (b. Nov. 14, 1805), German composer and pianist.  She was the sister of Felix Mendelssohn and the granddaughter of Mendelssohn.  She died of complications of a stroke at age 41.

 

1761 ~ Thomas Simpson (b. Aug. 20, 1710), English mathematician.  He died at age 50.

 

1643 ~ Louis XIII, King of France (b. Sept. 27, 1601).  He ruled France from May 1610 until his death on May 14, 1643.  He was known as Louis the Just.  He was married to Infanta Anne of Austria (1601 ~ 1666).  They were the parents of Louis XIV, King of France.  He was of the House of Bourbon.  He was the son of Henry IV, King of France and Marie de’Medici.  His father was Henry IV, King of France, had also died on May 14, exactly 33 years earlier.  Louis XIII died at age 41 of intestinal tuberculosis.

 

1610 ~ Henry IV, King of France (b. Dec. 13, 1553).  He reigned as King from August 1589 until his assassination.  He was known as Henry the Great.  In 1572, he married Princess Margaret of Valois (1553 ~ 1615).  The marriage was controversial because Margaret was Roman Catholic and Henry was a Huguenot.  This marriage was annulled 27 years later, in 1599.  There were no children of the marriage and the marriage was annulled on grounds of infertility, their consanguinity and the formal defects of their marriage.  He then married Marie de’Medici (1575 ~ 1642) in 1600.  He was of the House of Bourbon.  He was the son of Jeanne III, Queen of Navarre and Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme.  Although baptized as a Catholic, he was raised as a Calvinist.  He was assassinated by a fanatical Catholic at age 56.

 

964 ~ Pope John XII (né Octavianus; b. 927).  He was Pope from December 955 until his death 8 and a half years later.  The date of his birth is not known.

 

649 ~ Pope Theodore I.  He was Pope from November 24, 642 until his death on this day in 649.  The date of his birth is not known.

 

May 21

Birthdays:

 

1997 ~ Alex Gunning, Australian mathematician.  In 2014, he earned a perfect score in the International Mathematical Olympiad.

 

1966 ~ Linda Edelstein, American actress and playwright.  She is best known for her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the hospital drama House.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1960 ~ Jeffrey Dahmer (né Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, d. Nov. 28, 1994), American serial killer.  He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He was beaten to death in prison at age 34.

 

1960 ~ Jeffrey Toobin (né Jeffrey Ross Toobin), American lawyer and author.  He had been a political analyst on CNN and a writer for The New Yorker, however, he was suspended from these positions after being exposed, literally, on a Zoom call in 2020.  He was born in New York, New York.

 

1957 ~ Judge Reinhold (né Edward Ernest Reinhold, Jr.), American actor.  He was born in Wilmington, Delaware.

 

1951 ~ Al Franken (né Alan Stuart Franken), American actor, comedian and politician.  He was a United States Senator from Minnesota from July 2009 until January 1918.  He resigned following a sex scandal.  He was born in New York, New York.

 

1948 ~ Leo Sayer (né Gerald Hugh Sayer), British-born Australian singer.

 

1944 ~ Janet Dailey (née Janet Anne Haradon; d. Dec. 14, 2013), American romance novelist.  She was born in Storm Lake, Iowa.  She died at age 69 of complications of heart surgery in Branson, Missouri.

 

1937 ~ John Fairfax (d. Feb. 8, 2012), British adventurer who rowed across oceans.  In 1969, he became the first person to row across an ocean when he rowed across the Atlantic.  He was born in Rome, Italy.  He died at age 74 in Henderson, Nevada.

 

1936 ~ Günter Blobel (d. Feb. 18, 2018), German biologist and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was born in Waltersdorf, Germany.  He died at age 81 in New York, New York.

 

1934 ~ Jack Twyman (né John Kennedy Twyman; d. May 30, 2012), All-Star professional basketball player who sent on off-court example.  He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He died 11 days after his 78^th birthday in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 

1934 ~ Bengt I. Samuelsson (né Bengt Igemar Samuelsson), Swedish biochemist and recipient of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of prostaglandins and related substances.  He was born in Halmstad, Sweden.

 

1929 ~ Charles Wadsworth, American classical pianist.  He was born in Newnan, Georgia.

 

1925 ~ Franklin Kameny (d. Oct. 11, 2011), American astronomer who fought for gay rights.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 86 in Washington, D.C.

 

1924 ~ Peggy Cass (née Mary Margaret Cass; d. Mar. 8, 1999), American comedian and game show panelist.  She was a regular on To Tell the Truth.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  She died of heart failure at age 74 in New York, New York.

 

1923 ~ Armand Borel (d. Aug. 11, 2003), Swiss-born American mathematician.  He died at age 80 in Princeton, New Jersey.

 

1923 ~ Ara Parseghian (né Ara Raoul Parseghian; d. Aug. 2, 2017), American football player and college football coach.  He guided the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973.  He was born in Akron, Ohio.  He died at age 94 in Granger, Indiana.

 

1921 ~ Andrei Sakharov (d. Dec. 14, 1989), Russian physicist and recipient of the 1975 Nobel Peace Prize.  He was born and died in Moscow, Russia.  He died at age 68.

 

1917 ~ Raymond Burr (né Raymond William Stacy Burr; d. Sept. 12, 1993), Canadian-born American actor best known for his portrayal of Perry Mason and Ironsides.  He was born in New Westminister, British Columbia, Canada.  He died of cancer at age 76 in Healdsburg, California.

 

1904 ~ Fats Waller (né Thomas Wright Waller; d. Dec. 15, 1943), African-American jazz pianist and singer.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died of pneumonia at age 39 in Kansas City, Missouri.

 

1898 ~ Armand Hammer (d. Dec. 10, 1990), American businessman, physician, and philanthropist.  He founded Occidental Petroleum.  He was born in New York, New York.   He died at age 92 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1895 ~ Lázaro Cárdenas (d. Oct. 19, 1970), President of Mexico.  He served as President from December 1934 until November 1940.  He died at age 75 in Mexico City, Mexico.

 

1864 ~ Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (d. Aug. 23, 1945), Crown Princess consort of Austria.  She was the wife of Archduke Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (1858 ~ 1889).  They married in 1881.  He was her first husband.  It was not a happy marriage.  He died in a suicide pact with his 17-year-old mistress in 1889.  In 1900, she married Prince Elemér Lónyay of Nagy-Lónya (1863 ~ 1946), a Hungarian prince of a lower rank, which then excluded her from the House of Austria-Hungary.  She was of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  She was the daughter of Leopold II, King of Belgium and Marie Henrietta of Austria.  She was Catholic.  She died of a stroke at age 81.

 

1860 ~ Willem Einthoven (d. Sept. 29, 1927), Dutch physician and inventor.  He was the recipient of the 1924 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for inventing the first practical electrocardiogram (ECG).  He died at age 67 in Leiden, Netherlands.

 

1858 ~ Édouard Goursat (d. Nov. 25, 1936), French mathematician.  He died in Paris, France at age 78.

 

1851 ~ Léon Bourgeois (né Léon Victor August Bourgeois, d. Sept. 29, 1925), French politician and recipient of the 1920 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the United Nations.  He was the Prime Minister of France, serving from November 1895 until April 1896.  He was born in Paris, France.  He died at age 74.

 

1844 ~ Henri Rousseau (né Henri Julien Félix Rousseau, d. Sept. 2, 1910), French post-impressionist painter.  He died in Paris, France following surgery for gangrene in his leg.  He was 66 at the time of his death.

 

1843 ~ Charles Gobat (né Charles Albert Gobat, d. Mar. 16, 1914), Swiss politician and recipient of the 1902 Nobel Peace Prize.  He died at age 70.

 

1843 ~ Louis Renault (d. Feb. 8, 1918), French jurist and recipient of the 1907 Nobel Peace Prize.  He was born in Autun, France.  He died at age 74 in Barbizon, France.

 

1808 ~ David de Jahacob Lozez Cardozo (d. Apr. 11, 1890), Dutch Talmudist.  He died at age 81.

 

1801 ~ Princess Sophie of Sweden (née Sophie Wilhelmine Katherine Marie Louise Charlotte Anne; d. July 6, 1865), Grand Duchess consort of Baden and wife of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden (1790 ~ 1852).  He was her half-uncle.  They married in 1819.  She was of the House of Holstein-Gottorp.  She was the daughter of Gustav IV Adolf, King of Sweden and Frederica of Baden.  She died at age 64.

 

1799 ~ Mary Anning (b. Mar. 9, 1847), British paleontologist.  She was a fossil collector who is known for her important finds in Jurassic marine fossil beds along the English Channel in her hometown of Lyme Regis, England.  She was born and died in Lyme Regis.  She died at age 47 of breast cancer.

 

1792 ~ Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis (d. Sept. 19, 1843), French mathematician and engineer.  The term Coriolis Effect was named after him.  His name is inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.  He was born and died in Paris, France at age 51.

 

1788 ~ Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (d. Jan. 9, 1819).  Queen consort of Württemberg and second wife of William I, King of Württemberg (1781 ~ 1864).  He was her second husband, and she was his second wife.  She had previously been married to George, Duke of Oldenburg (1784 ~ 1812).  They had married in 1809.  She was of the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov.  She was the daughter of Paul I, Tsar of Russia and Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.  She died at age 30 from complications of pneumonia.

 

1755 ~ Alfred Moore (d. Oct. 15, 1810), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President John Adams.  He served on the Court from April 1800 until January 1804.  He replaced James Iredell on the Court.  He was succeeded by William Johnson.  He wrote only one opinion while on the Court.  At 4 feet, 5 inches, he remains the shortest Justice to serve on the Court.  He was born in New Hanover County, North Carolina, British America.  He died at age 55 in Bladen County, North Carolina.

 

1688 ~ Alexander Pope (d. May 30, 1744), English poet.  He was born in London, England.  He died 9 days after his 56^thbirthday.

 

1653 ~ Eleanor, Archduchess of Austria (d. Dec. 17, 1697), Queen consort of Poland and wife of Michael I, King of Poland.  He was her first husband.  They married in 1670.  After his death, she married Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643 ~ 1690).  They married in 1678.  She was of the House of Habsburg.  She was the daughter of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor Gonzaga.  She was Roman Catholic.  She was born in Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire.  She died at age 44 in Vienna, Austria.

 

1527 ~ Philip II, King of Spain (d. Sept. 13, 1598).  He ruled Spain from January 1556 until his death in September 1598.  He also reigned as Philip I, King of Portugal from September 1580 until his death in September 1598.  He married several times.  His first wife was Infanta Maria Manuela of Portugal (1527 ~ 1545).  They married in 1543.  She died 2 years later at age 17 of complications of childbirth.  His second wife was Mary I, Queen of England (1516 ~ 1558).  They married in 1554 and he became known as the King of England.  After her death, he married Elisabeth of Valois (1545 ~ 1568) in 1559.  She died in 1568.  His fourth and final wife was his niece, Archduchess Anna of Austria (1549 ~ 1580).  He was of the House of Habsburg.  He was the son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Infanta Isabella of Portugal.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 71.

 

1471 ~ Albrecht Dürer (d. Apr. 6, 1528), German artist, engraver, and mathematician.  He was born and died in Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire.  He died at age 56.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2017 ~ The Ringling Brothers and the Barnham & Bailey Circus performed its final act.  The show was performed at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

 

2014 ~ The National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City opened to the public.

 

2003 ~ An earthquake in northern Algeria killed over 2000 people.

 

1979 ~ The City of San Francisco erupted into riots, known as the White Nights Riots, following the manslaughter conviction of Dan White (1946 ~ 1985) for the murders of George Moscone (1929 ~ 1979) and Harvey Milk (1930 ~ 1979).

 

1972 ~ Michelangelo’s Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City was severely damaged when a deranged man hammered it with a sledgehammer.  The statute is now behind Plexiglas.

 

1961 ~ Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson (1921 ~ 2021) declared martial law in attempt to restore order after race riots broke out during civil rights protests.

 

1956 ~ The United States conducted the first airborne test of a hydrogen bomb over the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in a project called Operation Redwing.

 

1942 ~ 1,500 Jews were sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz.

 

1942 ~ Over 4,300 Jews were deported from Chelm, Poland to a concentration camp at Sobibor in occupied Poland where they were all gassed to death.  Sobibor had 5 gas chambers.  Between 1942 and 1943, about 250,000 Jews were killed.

 

1940 ~ Nazis killed over 1,500 individuals it determined were “unfit” people from mental hospitals in East Prussia.

 

1934 ~ Oskaloosa, Iowa became the first town in the United States to fingerprint all of its citizens.

 

1932 ~ Amelia Earhart (b. 1897 ~ 1937) became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  She started the flight the day earlier.  Bad weather forced her to land in a pasture in Northern Ireland.

 

1924 ~ University of Chicago students Richard Loeb (1905 ~ 1936) and Nathan Leopold (1904 ~ 1971) kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks in a Thrill-Killing.  Leopold and Loeb were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.

 

1904 ~ The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in Paris.

 

1899 ~ The first traffic ticket in the United States was issued to a taxicab driver in New York City.  Jacob German was arrested for speeding while driving 12 miles an hour on Lexington Street.

 

1881 ~ Clara Barton (1821 ~ 1912) founded the American Red Cross.

 

1863 ~ During the American Civil War, the Union Army succeeded in closing off the final escape route from Port Hudson, Louisiana, hence were in preparation for the upcoming siege.

 

1851 ~ Colombia, South America abolished slavery.

 

1758 ~ Mary Campbell (1748 ~ 1801) was abducted by a band of Lenape, a Native American tribe, from her home in what is now western Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War.  She lived among the tribe for 6 years before being returned to a European settlement when she was 16.

 

996 ~ Otto III (980 ~ 1002) was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.  He was 16 years old at the time of his coronation.

 

878 ~ Syracuse, Sicily was captured by the Muslim Aghlabids after a nine-month siege.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2023 ~ Ed Ames (né Edmund Dantes Urick; b. July 9, 1927), American Jewish actor and singer who played Native Americans.  He is best known for his portrayal of Mingo on the TV series, Daniel Boone.  He was the youngest of 11 children of Jewish parents from Ukraine.  He was born in Malden, Massachusetts.  He died at age 95 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2020 ~ Oliver E. Williamson (né Oliver Eaton Williamson; b. Sept. 27, 1932), American economist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science.  He was born in Superior, Wisconsin.  He died at age 87 in Berkeley, California.

 

2018 ~ Glenn Snoddy (b. May 4, 1922), American engineer who accidently invented rock’s “fuzz tone.”  He developed a device that would allow guitarist to go from a clean sound to a “dirty” or fuzzy sound with the tap of the foot.  He was born in Shelbyville, Tennessee.  He died of congestive heart failure 17 days after his 96^th birthday in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

 

2016 ~ Jane Fawcett (née Jane Carolin Hughes; b. Mar. 4, 1921), British code breaker who helped sink the Bismarck.  She was responsible for decoding a message that led to the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck.  In 1941, while working at Bletchley Park, the home of British code breaking, she realized that an intercepted message revealed that the battleship was heading to the French port of Brest.  Within 48 hours, the Royal Navy sank the vessel.  In her later life, she became a heritage preservationist.  She was born in London, England.  She died at age 95 in Oxford, England.

 

2013 ~ Vernon McGarity (b. Dec. 1, 1921), American World War II hero who won the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of the Bulge.  He was born in Hardin County, Tennessee.  He died at age 91 in Bartlett, Tennessee.

 

2009 ~ Sam Maloof (né Samuel Solomon Maloff; b. Jan. 24, 1916), American woodworker and furniture maker.  He was the first craftsman to be awarded a MacArthur fellowship.  His family were Lebanese Jewish immigrants.  He was born in Chino, California.  He died at age 93 in Alto Loma, California.

 

2006 ~ Katherine Dunham (née Katherine Mary Dunham; b. June 22, 1909), African-American dancer and choreographer.  She was born in Chicago, Illinois.  She died a month before her 97^th birthday in New York, New York.

 

2000 ~ Sir John Gielgud (né Arthur John Gielgud; b. Apr. 14, 1904), English actor.  He died at age 96.

 

2000 ~ Dame Barbara Cartland (née Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland; b. July 9, 1901), American author of romance novels and step-grandmother to Diana, Princess of Wales.  She died at age 98.

 

1995 ~ Les Aspin (né Leslie Aspin, Jr.; b. July 21, 1938), 18^th United States Secretary of Defense.  He served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 until February 1994.  He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He died of a stroke at age 56 in Washington, D.C.

 

1991 ~ Rajiv Gandhi (né Rajvi Ratna Gandhi; b. Aug. 20, 1944), 6^th Prime Minister of India.  He served as Prime Minister from October 1984 until December 1989.  He was the son of Indira Gandhi.  He was assassinated by a female suicide bomber.  He was 46 at the time of his death.

 

1983 ~ Eric Hoffer (b. July 25, 1902), American social and moral philosopher.  Shortly before his death in 1983, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  He was born in The Bronx, New York.  He died at age 80 in San Francisco, California.

 

1965 ~ Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (b. July 27, 1882), English aviation pioneer, aircraft designer and engineer.  He died at age 82 of a cerebral hemorrhage.

 

1964 ~ James Franck (b. Aug. 26, 1882), German physicist and recipient of the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 81.

 

1961 ~ John H. Trumbull (né John Harper Trumbull; b. Mar. 4, 1873), 70^th Governor of Connecticut.  He served as Governor from January 1925 until January 1931.  He was born in Ashford, Connecticut.  He died at age 88 in Hartford, Connecticut.

 

1935 ~ Jane Addams (b. Sept. 6, 1860), American social worker and woman’s suffrage leader.  She was the co-founder of Hull House in Chicago.   In 1931, she became the first woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.  She was born in Cedarville, Illinois.  She died at age 74 in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1929 ~ Archibald Primrose, 5^th Earl of Rosebery, 1^st Earl of Midlothian (b. May 7, 1847), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He served in Office from March 1894 until June 1895 during the reign of Queen Victoria.  He died 2 weeks after his 82^nd birthday.

 

1920 ~ Venustiano Carranza (né Venustian Carranza Garza; b. Dec. 29, 1859), 37^th President of Mexico.  He was President from May 1917 until his assassination at age 60 in May 1920.

 

1919 ~ Yevgraf Fyodorov (b. Dec. 22, 1853), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 65.

 

1911 ~ Williamina Fleming (née Williamina Paton Stevens Stevens; b. May 15, 1857), Scottish-American astronomer and academic.  She is best known for her discovery of the Horsehead Nebula.  She is also known for discovering the first White Dwarf.  She was born in Dundee, Scotland, but emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts at age 21.  She died of pneumonia 6 days after her 54^th birthday in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1806 ~ Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily (b. Dec 14, 1784) member of the Sicilian royal family.  Upon her marriage to Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (1784 ~ 1833), she became the Princess of Asturias.  She was the first wife of four wives of Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias.  After her death, he ascended to the throne as Ferdinand, VII, King of Spain.  Because she died before he became king, she was never the queen consort.  She was of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.  She was the daughter of Ferdinand IV, King of Naples/Ferdinand III, King of Sicily and Archduchess.  Maria Carolina of Austria.  She died of tuberculosis at age 21.

 

1654 ~Elizabeth Poole (b. Aug. 25, 1588), English settler in the New England.  She is the first woman known to have founded a town in the Americas when she founded Taunton, Massachusetts.  She died at age 65.

 

1542 ~ Hernando de Soto (b. Oct. 1495), Spanish explorer and first known European to cross the Mississippi River.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 46 at the time of his death in what is now known as Ferriday, Louisiana.

 

1481 ~ Christian I of Denmark (b. Feb. 1426).  He ruled Denmark from September 1448 until his death in 1481.  In 1449, he married Dorothea of Brandenburg (1430s ~ 1495).  He was her second husband.  He was of the House of Oldenburg.  He was the son of Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg and Helvig of Schauenburg.  He was Roman Catholic.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been 55 at the time of his death.

 

1471 ~ Henry VI, King of England (b. Dec. 6, 1421).  His first reign was from September 1422 until March 1461, and his second reign ran from October 1470 until April 1471.  He was also the disputed King of France from October 1422 until October 1453.  He was married to Margaret of Anjou (1430 ~ 1482).  They married in 1445.  He was of the House of Lancaster.  He was the son of Henry V, King of England and Princess Catherine of Valois.  He died, at what may have been a murder, at age 49 in the Tower of London.

 

1416 ~ Anna of Celje (b. 1386), Queen consort of Poland and second wife of Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland (1350s ~ 1434).  They married in 1402.  She was of the House of Celje.  She was the daughter of William, Count of Celje and Anna of Poland.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about age 30 at the time of her death.

 

1075 ~ Richeza of Poland (b. Sept. 22, 1013), Queen consort of Hungary.  She was married to Béla I, King of Hungary (1015 ~ 1063).  She was of the House of Piast.  She was the daughter of Mieszko II Lambert, King of Poland and Richeza of Lotharingia.  She died at age 61.

 

987 ~ Louis V of West Franica (b. 967).  He was known as Louis the Do-Nothing.  He married Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou (940 ~ 1026) in 982.  He was 15 years old at the time and his bride was almost 40.  The marriage was annulled 2 years later.  He was of the Carolingian Dynasty.  He was the son of Lothair, King of France and Emma of Italy.  The date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 20 at the time of his death.

May 12

International Nurse’s Day in honor of Florence Nightingale.

 

Birthdays:

 

2003 ~ Madeleine McCann (née Madeleine Beth McCann; disappeared May 3, 2007), British missing person.  She disappeared from her bed in Praia da Luz, Portugal while on holiday with her parents.  In June 2020, she was declared presumed dead in absentia.

 

1981 ~ Rami Malek (né Rami Said Melek), American actor.  He is best known for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody.  He was born in Los Angeles, California.

 

1980 ~ Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He assumed the Office in October 2022.  He became the third Prime Minister in two months and is the first non-white leader of the country.  He was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England.

 

1977 ~ Maryam Mirzakhani (d. July 14, 2017), Iranian mathematician prodigy who shattered math’s glass ceiling.  In 2014, she was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal.  She was born in Tehran, Iran.  She died of breast cancer at age 40 in Stanford, Connecticut.

 

1970 ~ Samantha Mathis, American actress.  She was born in New York, New York.

 

1968 ~ Catherine Tate (né Catherine Jane Ford), British actress.  She was born in London, England.

 

1962 ~ Emilo Estavez, American actor, and son of actor Martin Sheen.  He was born in New York, New York.

 

1950 ~ Gabriel Byrne (né Gabriel James Byrne), Irish actor.  He was born in Dublin, Ireland.

 

1948 ~ Lindsay Crouse (née Lindsay Ann Crouse), American actress.  She was born in New York, New York.

 

1939 ~ Ron Ziegler (né Ronald Louis Ziegler; d. Feb. 10, 2003), White House Press Secretary.  He served during the Nixon Administration from January 1969 until August 1974.  He was born in Covington, Kentucky.  He died of a heart attack at age 63 in Coronado, California.

 

1937 ~ George Carlin (né George Denis Patrick Carlin; d. June 22, 2008), American subversive comedian who honored no sacred cows.  He was born in Manhattan, New York.  He died of heart failure at age 71 in Santa Monica, California.

 

1936 ~ Tom Snyder (né Thomas James Snyder; d. July 29, 2007), American journalist and talk show host.  He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He died of leukemia at age 71 in San Francisco, California.

 

1936 ~ Frank Stella (né Frank Philip Stella; d. May 4, 2024), American painter and sculptor who never stopped inovating.  He was born in Malden, Massachusetts.  He died 8 days before his 88^th birthday in New York, New York.

 

1933 ~ Stephen Vizinczey (né István Vizinczey; d. Aug. 18, 2021), Hungarian author who sang the praises of older women.  He fled to Canada after the failed 1956 Hungarian revolution and settled in Canada.  He is best known for his 1965 semi-autobiographical novel In Praise of Older Women.  He was born in Káloz, Hungary.  He died at age 88 in London, England.

 

1930 ~ Pat McCormick (née Patricia Joan Keller; d. Mar. 7, 2023), American Olympic diver who never stopped achieving.  She was the first diver to sweep all gold medals in two Olympic games.  She won both diving events at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics.  She was born in Seal Beach, California.  She died at age 92 in Orange County, California.

 

1928 ~ Burt Bacharach (né Burt Freeman Bacharach; d. Feb. 8, 2023), American songwriter, composer, and pianist who crafted complex classics.  He was born in Kansas City, Missouri.  He died at age 94 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1925 ~ Yogi Berra (né Lawrence Peter Berra; d. Sept. 22, 2015), American professional baseball player and manager.  He was the baseball great who became a fount of wisdom.  He was born in St. Louis, Missouri.  He died in West Caldwell, New Jersey.  He was 90 years old.

 

1924 ~ Evan Mecham (d. Feb. 21, 2008) American loose-lipped governor from Arizona who was impeached.  He served as governor from January 1987 until April 1988.  He was impeached on charges of obstruction of justice and misuse of government funds.  He was born in Duchesne, Utah.  He died at 83 years old in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

1924 ~ Alexander Esenin-Volpin (d. Mar. 16, 2016), Russian mathematician.  He was born in Leningrad, Russia.  He died at age 91 in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1921 ~ Farley Mowat (né Farley McGill Mowat; d. May 6, 2014), Canadian writer who championed animals.  He is best known for his 1963 book Never Cry Wolf.  He was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada.  He died 6 days before his 93^rdbirthday in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.

 

1918 ~ Julius Rosenberg (d. June 19, 1953), American who was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.  He and his wife, Ethel (1918 ~ 1953), were executed.  He was born in Manhattan, New York.  He died in Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York.  He was 35 years old.

 

1918 ~ Mary Kay Ash (née Mary Kathryn Wagner; d. Nov. 22, 2001), American entrepreneur and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics.  She was born in Hot Wells, Texas.  She died in Dallas, Texas at age 83.

 

1914 ~ Howard K. Smith (né Howard Kingsbury Smith; d. Feb. 15, 2002), American journalist.  He was born in Ferriday, Louisiana.  He died of pneumonia at age 87 in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

1910 ~ Dorothy Hodgkin (née Dorothy Mary Crowfoot; d. July 29, 1994), British biochemist and recipient of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  She advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography and was able to confirm the structure of penicillin.  She was born in Cairo, Egypt.  She died of a stroke at age 84.

 

1907 ~ Katherine Hepburn (née Katherine Houghton Hepburn; d. June 29, 2003), American actress.  She was born in Hartford, Connecticut.  She died at age 96 in Fenwick, Connecticut.

 

1895 ~ William Giauque (né William Francis Giauque; d. Mar. 28, 1982), Canadian-born American chemist and recipient of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.  He died at age 86 in Berkeley, California.

 

1889 ~ Otto Frank (né Otto Heinrich Frank; d. Aug. 19, 1980), German-born Swiss father of Anne Frank and Holocaust survivor.  He died of lung cancer at age 91.

 

1855 ~ George Woodberry (né George Edward Woodberry; d. Jan. 2, 1930), American poet and literary critic.  He was born and died in Beverly, Massachusetts.  He died at age 79.

 

1850 ~ Henry Cabot Lodge (d. Nov. 9, 1924), American politician and United States Senator from Massachusetts.  He was born in Beverly, Massachusetts.  He died following a stroke suffered after gall bladder surgery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He was 74 years old.

 

1846 ~ Boutros Ghali (d. Feb. 21, 1910), Prime Minister of Egypt.  He served as Prime Minister from November 1908 until his assassination on this date.  He was the father of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who became the United Nations Secretary-General.  The exact date of his birth is not known, it is often believed to have been May 12, 1846.  He died in Cairo, Khedivate of Egypt.  He is believed to have been about 64 or 65 years of age.

 

1828 ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti (d. Apr. 9, 1882), English poet and illustrator.  He was born in London, England.  He died of kidney disease at age 53.

 

1820 ~ Florence Nightingale (d. Aug. 13, 1910), British nurse.  She is the founder of modern nursing.  She was instrumental in the health of British soldiers during the Crimean War.  She was born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany.  She was named after her birth city.  She died at age 90 in London, England.

 

1812 ~ Edward Lear (d. Jan. 29, 1888), English artist and poet, who is most famous for his limericks.  He died of heart disease at age 75.

 

1670 ~ Augustus II, King of Poland (d. Feb. 1, 1733).  He was known as Augustus the Strong.  He ruled Poland from 1697 until 1706.  He was married to Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1671 ~ 1727).  They married in 1693.  They were the parents of Augustus III, King of Poland.  He was of the House of Wettin.  He was the son of John George III, Elector of Saxony and Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark.  He was Lutheran but converted to Roman Catholicism upon becoming King.  He died at age 62.

 

1590 ~ Cosimo II de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. Feb. 28, 1621).  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.

 

1496 ~ Gustav I, King of Sweden (né Gustav Eriksson, d. Sept. 29, 1560).  He ruled from June 1523 until his death in September 1560.  He was known as Gustav Vasa.  He was married 3 times.  His first wife was Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513 ~ 1535).  They married in 1531.  They were the parents of Eric XIV, King of Sweden.  After her death of complications of childbirth, he married Margaret Leijonhufvud (1516 ~ 1551).  They married in 1536.  They were the parents of John III, King of Sweden.  His third and final wife was Catherine Stenbock (1535 ~ 1621).  There were no children of his third marriage.  He was of the House of Vasa.  He was the son of Erik Johansson Vasa and Cecilia Månsdotter Eka.  He was born Catholic but converted to Lutheranism in 1523.  He was 64 years old at the time of his death.

 

1258 ~ Sancho IV, King of Castile and León (d. Apr. 25, 1295).  He was King from April 4, 1284 until his death 11 years later.  He was known as Sancho the Brave.  In 1282, he married María de Molina (1265 ~ 1321).  They had 7 children.  He also had 3 illegitimate children.  He was of the Castilian House of Ivrea.  He was the son of Alfonso X, King of Castile and Violant of Aragon.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died of an illness, probably tuberculosis, at age 36.  He was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand IV, King of Castile.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2024 ~ Mother’s Day in the United States.

 

2021 ~ Representative Liz Chaney (b. 1966) was stripped of her leadership position because she did not support “The Big Lie” that Donald Trump actually won the 2020 Presidential election.

 

2019 ~ Mother’s Day in the United States.

 

2018 ~ In a terrorist attack, a Chechnya-born French citizen attached pedestrians near the Paris Opera House with a knife.  He killed one pedestrian and injured several others before he was shot and killed by police.

 

2015 ~ A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck in Nepal.  Over 200 people were killed.

 

2015 ~ An Amtrak train running from New York City towards Washington, D.C., derailed in Philadelphia.  Eight people were killed and over 200 people were injured.

 

2014 ~ The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., opened for the first time since the 2011 earthquake, which caused massive damage to the monument.

 

2013 ~ Mother’s Day in the United States.

 

2008 ~ A massive 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people.

 

2002 ~ Former President Jimmy Carter (b. 1924) visited Fidel Castro (1926 ~ 2016) in Cuba.  He became the first United States President to visit Cuba since Castro took power in the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

 

1984 ~ The World’s Exposition opened in New Orleans.  It was a financial disaster.

 

1948 ~ Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands (1880 ~ 1962) ceded the throne to her daughter, who became Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands (1909 ~ 2004).

 

1942 ~ During World War II, the United States tanker, the SS Virginia was torpedoed in the mouth of the Mississippi River by a German submarine.

 

1937 ~ George VI (1895 ~ 1952) and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900 ~ 2002) were crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland following the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII (1894 ~ 1972).

 

1935 ~ Alcoholics Anonymous met for the first time in Akron, Ohio.

 

1933 ~ The Agricultural Adjustment Act was enacted to restrict agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies.

 

1932 ~ Just over 2 months after his abduction, the body of the infant son of Charles Lindbergh (1902 ~ 1974) was discovered a few miles from the Lindberghs’ home.

 

1873 ~ The coronation of Oscar II, King of Sweden (1829 ~ 1907) took place.  He had been ruling the country since September 1872.

 

1862 ~ During the American Civil War, Union troops began their occupation of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

 

1780 ~ The Continental Army suffered its largest defeat during the American Revolutionary War when Charleston, South Carolina was taken by British forces.

 

1551 ~ The National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, was founded in Lima, Peru.

 

1364 ~ The Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, was founded in Kraków.

 

1191 ~ Richard I, King of England (1157 ~ 1199) married Princess Berengaria of Navarre (d. 1230).  She was crowned Queen consort of England on her wedding day.

 

254 ~ Pope Stephen I (d. 257) became the 23^rd Pope of the Catholic Church.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2022 ~ Robert McFarlane (né Robert Carl McFarlane; b. July 12, 1937), 13^th United States National Security Advisor.  He served under President Ronald Reagan from October 1983 until December 1985.  He was the Iran-Contra operative who lived with regret.  He was born in Washington, D.C.  He died at age 84 in Lansing, Michigan.

 

2014 ~ H.R. Giger (né Hans Rudolf Giger; b. Feb. 5, 1940), Swiss artist who made monsters.  He was a surreal artist who designed the monster in the movie Alien.  He died at age 74 from injuries suffered in a fall.

 

2008 ~ Robert Rauschenberg (né Milton Ernest Rauschenberg; b. Oct. 22, 1925), American graphic artist.  He was born in Port Arthur, Texas.  He died of heart failure at age 82 in Captiva, Florida.

 

2008 ~ Irena Sendler (née Irena Krzyżanowska; b. Feb. 15, 1910), Polish nurse and humanitarian.  She led a cell in the Polish Resistance and helped save over 2500 Jewish children during the Holocaust.  She is recognized by the State of Israel as a Righteous Among the Gentiles.  Her story is depicted in the book, Irena’s Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto.  She was born and died in Warsaw, Poland.  She died at age 98.

 

2001 ~ Perry Como (né Pierino Ronald Como; b. May 18, 1912), American singer.  He was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.  He died 6 days before his 89^th birthday in Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida.

 

1992 ~ Robert Reed (né John Robert Rietz, Jr.; b. Oct. 19, 1932), American actor best known for his role as Mike Brady from the television sit-com The Brady Bunch.  He was born in Highland Park, Illinois.  He died of cancer at age 59 in Pasadena, California.

 

1980 ~ Bette Nesmith Graham (née Bette Clair McMurray; b. Mar. 23, 1924), American inventor of Liquid Paper.  She was born in Dallas, Texas.  She died at age 56 in Richardson, Texas.  Her son, Michael Nesmith, was in the band The Monkees.

 

1975 ~ Emma Vyssotsky (née Emma Williams; b. Oct. 23, 1894), American astronomer.  She earned her Ph.D., in astronomy at Harvard College.  She was born in Media, Pennsylvania.  She died at age 80 in Winter Park, Florida.

 

1970 ~ Nelly Sachs (née Leonie Sachs; b. Dec. 10, 1891), German-born, Swedish writer and recipient of the 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature.  She was born in Berlin, German Empire.  She died of cancer at age 78 in Stockholm, Sweden.

 

1964 ~ Agnes Forbes Blackadder (b. Dec. 4, 1875), Scottish medical doctor.  She was the first female graduate of the University of St. Andrews.  She was also the first consultant dermatologist appointed at St. John’s Hospital.  She died in London, England at ag 86.

 

1925 ~ Amy Lowell (née Amy Lawrence Lowell; b. Feb. 9, 1874), American poet.  She was born and died in Brookline, Massachusetts.  She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 51.

 

1902 ~ Maria Zakrzewska (née Maria Elizabeth Zakrzewska; b. Sept. 6, 1929), German-born American physician.  She is best known for establishing the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston, Massachusetts.  She died in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts at age 72.

 

1894 ~ Grand Duchess Catherine Makhailovna of Russia (b. Aug. 28, 1827).  She became the Duchess Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz upon her 1851 marriage to Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1824 ~ 1876).  They married in 1851.  She was of the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov.  She was the daughter of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia and Princess Charlotte of Württemberg.  She was the granddaughter of Paul I, Tsar of Russia.  She was Russian Orthodox.  She died at age 66.

 

1864 ~ Jeb Stuart (né James Ewell Brown Stuart; b. Feb. 6, 1833), Confederate Army General.  He was born in Patrick County, Virginia.  He was killed in the Battle of Yellow Tavern in Henrico County, Virginia.  He was 31 years old.

 

1856 ~ Jacques Philippe Marie Binet (b. Feb. 2, 1786), French mathematician.  He made significant contributions to number theory.  He was born in Rennes, France.  He died at age 70 in Paris, France.

 

1490 ~ Joanna, Princess of Portugal (b. Feb. 6, 1458), member of the Portuguese royal family.  She never married and became a nun.  She was of the House of Aviz.  She was the daughter of Afonso V, King of Portugal and Infanta Isabel of Coimbra.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 38.

 

1429 ~ Elizabeth of Pilica (b. 1372), Queen consort of Poland and third wife of Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland (1350s ~ 1434).  He was her second husband.  She had previously been married to Wincenty Granowski.  She was the daughter of Otton Pilica and Jadwiga of Melsztyn.

 

1182 ~ Valdemar I, King of Denmark (b. Jan. 14, 1131).  He reigned from 1154 until his death in May 1182.  He was known as Valdemar the Great.  He was married to Sophia of Minsk (1140 ~ 1198).  He was of the House of Estridsen.  He was the son of Canute Lavard, Duke of Schleswig and Ingeborg of Kiev.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 51.

 

1012 ~ Pope Sergius IV (né Pietro Martino Buccaporci, b. 970).  He was pope from July 1009 through his death on this date in May 1012.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.

 

1003 ~ Pope Sylvester II (né Gerbert d’Aurillac, b. 946).  He was Pope from April 999 until his death on this date 4 years later.  He was the first French Pope.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.