May 20

Birthdays:

 

1964 ~ Charles Spencer, 9^th Earl Spencer (né Charles Edward Maurice Spencer), brother of Diana, Princess of Wales.

 

1959 ~ Israel Kamakawino’ole (d. June 26, 1997), Hawaiian singer-songwriter and ukulele player.  He was born and died in Honolulu, Hawaii.  He died at age 38.

 

1959 ~ Bronson Pinchot (né Bronson Alcott Pinchot), American actor.  He was born in Manhattan, New York.

 

1954 ~ David Paterson (né David Alexander Paterson), 55^th Governor of New York.  He became Governor after Eliot Spitzer resigned due to a sex scandal.  He served as Governor from March 2008 through December 2010.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.

 

1949 ~ Dave Thomas (né David William Thomas), Canadian actor and comedian.  He was born in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada.

 

1946 ~ Cher (née Cherilyn Sarkisian), American singer and actress.  She was born in El Centro, California.

 

1944 ~ Joe Cocker (né John Robert Joseph Cocker; d. Dec. 22, 2014), British singer-songwriter.  He died of lung cancer at age 70 in Crawford, Colorado.

 

1928 ~ Charles A. Reich (né Charles Alan Reich; d. June 15, 2019), American academic and hippy professor who promised The Greening of America, a book of the counterculture of the 1960s.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died 26 days after his 91^st birthday in San Francisco, California.

 

1923 ~ Betty Willis (née Betty Jane Whitehead; d. Apr. 19, 2015), American graphic designer who made Las Vegas “fabulous” with her iconic neon sign “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas.”  She was born and died in Overton, Nevada.  She died a month before her 92^nd birthday.

 

1921 ~ Hao Wang (d. May 13, 1995), Chinese-American logician and mathematician.  He was born in Jinan, Shangong, China.  He died 7 days before his 74^th birthday in New York, New York.

 

1920 ~ Hephzibah Menuhin (d. Jan. 1, 1981), American concert pianist.  She was the sister of Yehudi Menuhin.  She was born in San Francisco, California.  She died at age 60 following a long illness in London, England.

 

1919 ~ George Goebel (né George Leslie Goebel; d. Feb. 24, 1991), American comedian.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died at age 71 shortly after undergoing heart surgery in Los Angeles, California.

 

1918 ~ Edward B. Lewis (né Edward Butts Lewis; d. July 21, 2004), American geneticist and recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 86 in Pasadena, California.

 

1915 ~ Moshe Dayan (d. Oct. 16, 1981), Israeli general.  He died of a massive heart attack at age 66 in Tel Aviv.

 

1913 ~ William Hewlett (né William Reddington Hewlett; d. Jan. 12, 2001), American engineer and co-founder of Hewlett-Packard.  He was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  He died at age 87 in Palo Alto, California.

 

1908 ~ Jimmy Stewart (né James Maitland Stewart; d. July 2, 1997), American actor.  He was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania.  He died of a pulmonary embolism at age 89 in Beverly Hills, California.

 

1901 ~ Max Euwe (né Machgielis Euwe; b. Nov. 26, 1981), Dutch mathematician and World Chess Champion.  He was born and died in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  He died at age 80.

 

1899 ~ John Marshall Harlan, II (d. Dec. 29, 1971), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Dwight David Eisenhower.  He served on the Court from March 1955 until September 1971.  His grandfather, John Marshall Harlan, also served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1877 until 1911.  He replaced Robert Jackson on the Court.  He was succeeded by William Rehnquist.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  John Harlan II died in Washington, D.C., of spinal cancer at age 72, just 3 months after retiring from the Court.

 

1885 ~ Faisal I, King of Iraq (d. Sept. 8, 1933).  He ruled over Iraq from August 1921 until his death 12 years later.  He was married to Huzaima bint Nasser.  He was of the House of Hashemite.  He was the son of Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz and Abdiya bint Abdullah.  He was a Sunni Muslim.  He died at age 48, which was officially recorded as a heart attack, but may have been due to poisoning.

 

1882 ~ Sigrid Undset (d. June 10, 1949), Norwegian author and recipient of the 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature.  She died 21 days after her 67^th birthday in Lillehammer, Norway.

 

1860 ~ Eduard Buchner (d. Aug. 13, 1917), German chemist and recipient of the 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in fermentation.  He was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria.  He died in Romania at age 57 of wounds suffered while in combat during World War I.

 

1851 ~ Emile Berliner (d. Aug. 3, 1929), German-born American inventor who is best known for inventing the phonograph.  He died of a heart attack at age 78 in Washington, D.C.

 

1825 ~ Antoinette Brown Blackwell (née Antoinette Louisa Brown; d. Nov. 5, 1921), American theologian.  She was the first women ordained as a Protestant minister in the United States.  She was a minister in the Congregational Church.  She was also a woman’s right advocate.  She was born in Henrietta, New York.  She died at age 96 in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

 

1822 ~ Frédéric Passy (d. June 12, 1912), French economist and recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded in 1901.  He was born in Paris, France.  He died 23 days after his 90^th birthday in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

 

1818 ~ William Fargo (né William George Fargo; d. Aug. 3, 1881), American businessman and co-founder of Wells Fargo and American Express.  He also served as the 27^th Mayor of Buffalo, New York from 1862 until 1866.  He was born in Pompey, New York.  He died at age 63 following a long illness in Buffalo, New York.

 

1806 ~ John Stuart Mill (d. May 7, 1873), English philosopher.  He died 13 days before his 67^th birthday in Avignon, France.

 

1799 ~ Honoré de Balzac (d. Aug. 18, 1850), French novelist.  He was born in Tours, France.  He died at age 51 in Paris, France.

 

1768 ~ Dolley Madison (née Dorothea Dandridge Payne, d. July 12, 1849), American First Lady and wife of President James Madison.  She had previously been married to John Todd.  He died of yellow fever at age 29.  She then married James Madison.  She was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, British America.  She died at age 81 in Washington, D.C.

 

1759 ~ Dr. William Thornton (d. Mar. 28, 1828), American physician and architect.  He is best known for designing the United States Capitol.  He was born in the British Virgin Islands.  He died at age 68 in Washington, D.C.

 

1446 ~ Sandro Botticelli (né Alessandro di Mariano de Vanni Filipepi; d. May 17, 1510), Italian painter.  The actual date of his birth is unknown, although some believe it was May 20, 1446.  He is believed to have been about 64 at the time of his death.

 

1315 ~ Bonne of Luxembourg (d. Sept. 11, 1349), Duchess consort of Normandy.  She was the first wife of John II, King of France (1319 ~ 1364).  When they married, he was known as John, Duke of Normandy.  She died before he became king, thus was never the queen consort.  They were the parents of Charles V, King of France.  She was also known as Bonne of Bohemia.  She was of the House of Luxembourg.  She was the daughter of John, King of Bohemia and Elizabeth of Bohemia.  She died of the bubonic plague at age 34.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2013 ~ An EF-5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, killing 24 people and injuring nearly 400 others.

 

2012 ~ A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck northern Italy killing at least 27 people and injuring many more.

 

1996 ~ The United States Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision in Romer v. Evans, against any law that would have prevented any city, town, or county in Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.  Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy (b. 1936) authored the majority report.

 

1989 ~ Chinese authorities declared martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.  Protests in the square had been ongoing for several weeks before martial law was imposed.

 

1983 ~ French virologist Luc Montagnier (1932 ~ 2022) published his report on the discovery that the HIV virus was the cause of AIDS.  His paper appeared in Science.

 

1969 ~ The Battle of Hamburger Hill in during the Vietnam War ended.  The battle, which had begun on May 13, was fought by the United States Army and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam against the People’s Army of Vietnam.  The battle was dubbed Hamburger Hill because those who fought on the hill were “ground up like hamburger meat.”

 

1949 ~ The United States Armed Forces Security Agency was established.  In 1952, the agency would become revised into the National Security Agency.

 

1948 ~ Chiang Kai-shek (1887 ~ 1975) was elected as the first President of the Republic of China.

 

1943 ~ The Luttra Woman, a bog body from the Early Neolithic period was discovered near Luttra, Sweden.  Ahe was nicknamed Hallonflickan, which is Swedish for Raspberry Girl, because the contents of her stomach indicated her last meal was raspberries.

 

1940 ~ The first prisoners began arriving at Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

 

1932 ~ Amelia Earhart (1897 ~ 1937) began the world’s first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot.  She flew from Newfoundland to Ireland.

 

1927 ~ Charles Lindbergh (1902 ~ 1974) began the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean   He landed in Paris on the following day, May 21.

 

1916 ~ The Saturday Evening Post published its first cover with a Norman Rockwell (1894 ~ 1978) painting.  At the time, Rockwell was a young, unknown artist.  During his 50-year career with the magazine, he painted more than 300 covers for the weekly magazine.

 

1902 ~ Cuba gained its independence from the United States.  Thomás Estrada Palma (1832 ~ 1908) was the country’s first President.  He served in that Office from May 20, 1902 until September 1906.

 

1883 ~ Krakatoa began to erupt.  It would continue to erupt until the final explosion on August 26, 1883.  An estimated 36,000 people were killed by the eruption.

 

1873 ~ Levi Strauss (1829 ~ 1902) and Jacob Davis (1831 ~ 1908) patented their copper-riveted jeans.

 

1862 ~ Abraham Lincoln (1809 ~ 1865) signed the Homestead Act into law.  This allowed any applicant who had never taken up arms against the United States Government to acquire land previously owned or claimed by the United States.

 

1609 ~ Shakespeare’s sonnets are believed to have first been published in London by Thomas Thorpe (1569 ~ 1635), an English book publisher.

 

526 ~ Antioch was struck by a devastating earthquake.  The earthquake probably occurred sometime between May 20 and May 29.

 

325 ~ The First Council of Nicaea, the first Ecumenical Council, of the Christian Church was held.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2023 ~ Brian Shul (b. Feb. 8, 1948), American fighter pilot who came back from a fireball.  He was an attack pilot during the Vietnam War.  He flew over 200 combat missions and was shot down near the end of the War.  He was so badly burned that he was not believed to be able to survive.  He was also an accomplished photographer.  He was born in Quantico, Virginia.  He died of cardiac arrest at age 75 in Reno, Nevada.

 

2022 ~ Roger Angell (b. Sept. 19, 1920), American baseball scribe who lifted the game to poetry.  He was an essayist and sportswriter known for his love of baseball.  He was born and died in New York, New York.  He died at age 101.

 

2021 ~ Roger Hawkins (b. Oct. 16, 1945), American soulful drummer who powered the Muscle Shoals sound.  He was born in Mishawaka, Indiana.  He died at age 75 in Sheffield, Alabama.

 

2019 ~ Niki Lauda (né Andreas Nikolaus Luada; b. Feb. 22, 1949), Austrian Formula One race car champ who got back on the track after a fiery crash.  In August 1976, while racing in the German Grand Prix, he crashed his car into a guard rail.  The car burst into flames, and he suffered serious burns to his face and arms.  Six weeks later, while still in bandages, he raced again.  He was born in Vienna, Austria.  He died at age 70 in Zurich, Switzerland.

 

2018 ~ Billy Cannon (né William Abb Cannon; b. Aug. 2, 1937), 1959 winner of football’s Heisman trophy winner when he played at Louisiana State University.  He was later involved in a counterfeiting scheme and was sentenced to 5 years at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana.  He was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi.  He died in St. Francisville, Louisiana at age 80.

 

2018 ~ Eleanor Storrs (b. May 3, 1926), American biologist who studied the link between armadillos and leprosy.  She was born in Cheshire, Connecticut.  In 1967, she earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Texas before moving to Louisiana.  She was the key scientist to discover that the armadillo is the ideal animal for leprosy research.  In 1978, she and her husband, Dr. Harry P Burchfield, moved to Indialantic, Florida where she worked as a research professor at the Florida Institute of Technology.  She died 17 days after her 92^nd birthday in Indialantic, Florida.

 

2014 ~ Prince Rupert Loewenstein (b. Aug. 24, 1933), Bavarian aristocrat and merchant banker who made the Rolling Stones rich.  He was the financial manager of the Rolling Stones.  He was born in Palma, Spain.  He died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at age 80 in London, England.

 

2013 ~ Ray Manzarek (né Raymond Daniel Manczarek, Jr.; b. Feb. 12, 1939), keyboardist who gave The Doors their signature sound.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died of cancer at age 74 in Rosenheim, Germany.

 

2012 ~ Robin Gibb (né Robin Hugh Gibb; b. Dec. 22, 1949), Australian musician and the brother who launched the Bee Gees during the disco era.  His twin brother was Maurice Gibb (1949 ~ 2003).  They were born in Douglas, Isle of Man.  Robin died of cancer at age 62 in London, England.

 

2012 ~ Eugene Polley (b. Nov. 29, 1915), American electrical engineer who invented the TV remote control.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died at age 96 in Downers Grove, Illinois.

 

2011 ~ Randy Savage (né Randy Mario Poffo; b. Nov. 15, 1952), American show-off who took wrestling mainstream.  He was born in Columbus, Ohio.  He died in Seminole, Florida of a heart attack while driving, which caused a car crash.  He was 58 at the time of his death.

 

2008 ~ Hamilton Jordan (né William Hamilton McWhorter Jordan; b. Sept. 21, 1944), 8^th White House Chief of Staff.  He was the political advisor who had President Jimmy Carter’s ear.  He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.  He died of cancer at age 63 in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

2005 ~ Paul Riocœur (né Jean Paul Gustave Riocœur, b. Feb. 27, 1913), French philosopher who taught in a POW camp during World War II.  He died at age 92.

 

2002 ~ Stephen Jay Gould (b. Sept. 10, 1941), American paleontologist.  He was born in Queens, New York.  He died of cancer at age 60 in Manhattan, New York.

 

2000 ~ Toyoichi Tanaka (b. Jan. 4, 1946), Japanese biophysicist.  He is best known for his work on creating “smart” gels that are used to clean up toxic waste and to release insulin in the body.  He died of heart failure while playing tennis.  He was 54.

 

2000 ~ Jean-Pierre Rampal (né Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal; b. Jan. 7, 1922), French flutist.  He was born in Marseille, France.  He died at age 78 in Paris, France.

 

1989 ~ Gilda Radner (née Gilda Susan Radner; b. June 28, 1946), American comedian and actress.  She was born in Detroit, Michigan.  She died of uterine cancer about a month before her 43^rd birthday in Los Angeles, California.

 

1989 ~ Sir John Hicks (né John Richard Hicks; b. Apr. 8, 1904), English economist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for his contributions to general equilibrium theory.  He died at age 85.

 

1956 ~ Sir Max Beerbohm (né Henry Maximilian Beerbohm; b. Aug. 24, 1872), English essayist and humorist.  He was born in London England.  He died in Rapallo, Italy at age 83.

 

1947 ~ Philipp Lenard (né Phillipp Eduard Anton von Lenard; b. June 7, 1862), German physicist and recipient of the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on cathode rays.  He died 17 days before his 85^th birthday.

 

1940 ~ Verner von Heidenstam (né Carl Gustav Verner von Heidenstam; b. July 6, 1859), Swedish writer and recipient of the 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 80.

 

1896 ~ Clara Schumann (née Clara Josephine Wieck; b. Sept. 13, 1819), German pianist and composer.  She was the wife of composer Robert Schumann.  They married in 1840.  She died at age 76 in  Frankfurt, German Empire.

 

1885 ~ Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (né Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen; b. Aug. 4, 1817), 25^th United States Secretary of State.  He served in that office from December 1881 until March 1885, during the administrations of President Chester Arthur and Grover Cleveland.  He had previously served as a United States Senator from New Jersey.  He was born in Millstone, New Jersey.  He died at age 67 in Newark, New Jersey.

 

1834 ~ Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (né Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette; b. Sept. 6, 1757), French soldier and statesman.  He fought for American independence and was a leader in the French Revolution, which followed the American Revolutionary War.  He played a pivotal role in the American Revolutionary War.  He is known in the United States as simply Lafayette.  He died at age 76 in Paris, Kingdom of France.

 

1782 ~ William Emerson (b. May 14, 1701), English mathematician.  He died 6 days after his 81^st birthday.

 

1648 ~ Władysław IV Vasa, King of Poland (b. June 9, 1595).  He ruled over Poland from November 1632 until his death in May 1648.  He was known for supporting religious tolerance.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Cecilia Renata of Austria (1611 ~ 1644).  They married in 1637.  She died of complications of childbirth.  His second wife was Marie Louise Gonzaga (1611 ~ 1667).  He was of the House of Vasa.  He was the son of Sigismund III, King of Poland and Anne, Archduchess of Austria.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 52.  He was succeeded by his half-brother, John II Casimir Vasa, who subsequently married Marie Louise Gonzaga.

 

1506 ~ Christopher Columbus (b. 1451), Italian explorer who set sail and discovered the Americas.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.

 

1503 ~ Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’Medici (b. Aug. 4, 1463), Italian banker and politician.  He died at age 39.

 

1449 ~ Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra (b. Dec. 9, 1392), member of the Portuguese royal family.  He was married to Isabella of Urgell (1409 ~ 1459).  He was of the House of Aviz.  He was the son of John I, King of Portugal and Princess Philippa of Lancaster.  He was Roman Catholic.  He died at age 56.

 

1277 ~ Pope John XXI (né Pedro Julião, b. 1215).  He was Pope from September 1276 until his death in May 1277.  He was born in Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal. The exact date of his birth is unknown.

 

685 ~ Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria.  He ruled over Northumbria from 670 until his death.  His reign ended when he was killed in the Battle of Nechtansere against the Picts of Fortriu.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Æthelthryth.  His second wife was Eormenburg.

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.