May 21

Birthdays:

1960 ~ Jeffrey Toobin, American lawyer and author.

1957 ~ Judge Reinhold (né Edward Ernest Reinhold, Jr.), American actor.

1951 ~ Al Franken, American actor, comedian and politician.

1948 ~ Leo Sayer, Australian singer.

1936 ~ Günter Blobel, German biologist and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

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

1934 ~ Bengt I. Samuelsson, Swedish biochemist and recipient of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1925 ~ Franklin Kameny (d. Oct. 11, 2011), American astronomer who fought for gay rights.  He died at age 86.

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 at age 74.

1921 ~ Andrei Sakharov (d. Dec. 14, 1989), Russian physicist.  He died at age 69.

1917 ~ Raymond Burr (d. Sept. 12, 1993), American actor best known for his portrayal of Perry Mason and Ironsides.  He died at age 76.

1904 ~ Fats Waller (né Thomas Wright Waller, d. Dec. 15, 1943), American jazz pianist and singer.  He died of pneumonia at age 39.

1898 ~ Armand Hammer (d. Dec. 10, 1990), American businessman, physician and philanthropist.  He founded Occidental Petroleum.  He died at age 92.

1860 ~ Willem Einthoven (d. Sept. 29, 1927), Dutch physiologist and recipient of the 1924 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 67.

1851 ~ Léon Bourgeois (d. Sept. 29, 1925), French politician and recipient of the 1920 Nobel Peace Prize.  He died at age 74.

1844 ~ Henri Rousseau (d. Sept. 2, 1910), French painter.  He died at age 66.

1843 ~ 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 died at age 74.

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

1799 ~ Mary Anning (b. Mar. 9, 1847), British paleontologist.  She died at age 47 of breast cancer.

1792 ~ Gaspart-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 died at age 51.

1755 ~ Alfred Moore (d. Oct. 15, 1810), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was appointed to the High Court by President John Adams.  He served on the Court from April 1800 until January 1804.  He died at age 55.

1688 ~ Alexander Pope (d. May 30, 1744), English poet.  He died 9 days after his 56^th birthday.

1471 ~ Albrecht Dürer (d. Apr. 6, 1528), German artist, engraver and mathematician.  He died at age 56.

Events that Changed the World:

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 for the murders of George Moscone and Harvey Milk.

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

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

1932 ~ Amelia Earhart 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.

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.

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

Good-Byes:

2009 ~ Sam Maloff (b. Jan. 24, 1916), American woodworker and furniture maker.  His family were Lebanese Jewish immigrants.  He died at age 93.

2006 ~ Katherine Dunham (b. June 22, 1909), African-American dancer and choreographer.  She died a month before her 97^th birthday.

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 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 Secretary of Defense.  He served under President Bill Clinton.  He died of a stroke at age 56.

1991 ~ Rajiv Gandhi (b. Aug. 20, 1944), 6^th Prime Minister of India.  He was the son of Indira Gandhi.  He was assassinated by a female suicide bomber.  He was 46 at the time of his death.

1965 ~ Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (b. July 27, 1882), English 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 Trumbull (b. Mar. 4, 1873), 70^th Governor of Connecticut.  He served as Governor from January 1925 until January 1931.  He died at age 88.

1935 ~ Jane Addams (b. Sept. 6, 1860), American social worker and co-founder of Hull House.   In 1931, she became the first woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.  She died at age 74.

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.

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

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. 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).  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 of England (b. Dec. 6, 1421).  He died at age 49 in the Tower of London.

987 ~ Louis V of France (b. 967).  The date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 20 at the time of his death.