October 23

Birthdays:

1962 ~ Doug Flutie, American football player.

1960 ~ Randy Pausch (d. July 25, 2008), American professor whose last lecture inspired millions.  He died at age 47 of pancreatic cancer.

1959 ~ “Weird Al” Yankovic (né Alfred Matthew Yankovic), American comedian and songwriter.

1956 ~ Dwight Yoakam, American country musician.

1954 ~ Ang Lee, Taiwanese-American film director.

1946 ~ Mel Martínez (né Melquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz), 12^th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.  He served under President George W. Bush from January 2001 until December 2003.

1942 ~ Dame Anita Roddick (d. Sept. 10, 2007), English businesswoman and environmentalist.  She was founder of The Body Shop.  She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 64.

1942 ~ Michael Crichton (d. Nov. 4, 2008), American physician and author of “technothrillers”.  He died 12 days after his 66^th birthday.

1940 ~ Pelé (né Edison Arantes do Nascimento), Brazilian soccer player.

1931 ~ William P. Clark, Jr. (d. Aug. 10, 2013), 44^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served in that Office from November 1983 until February 1985.  Prior to being appointed as Secretary of the Interior, he served as the 12^th National Security Advisor.  He served in that Office from January 1982 until October 1983.  He served both offices during the Ronald Reagan Administration.  He died at age 81.

1929 ~ Mervyn Lee Adelson (d. Sept. 8, 2015), American mogul involved in real estate and television who produced Dallas, but then lost his fortune.  He died of cancer at age 85.

1925 ~ Johnny Carson (né John William Carson, d. Jan. 23, 2005), American television host of The Late Show.  He died at age 79.

1920 ~ Frank Rizzo (né Francis Lazarro Rizzo, d. July 16, 1991), American police officer who became Philadelphia’s 93^rd Mayor.  He died at age 70.

1908 ~ Ilya Frank (d. June 22, 1990), Russian physicist and recipient of the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 81.

1905 ~ Felix Bloch (d. Sept. 10, 1983), Swiss-American physicist and recipient of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 77.

1905 ~ Gertrude Caroline Ederle (d. Nov. 30, 2003), American athlete and swimmer.  On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.  She died at age 98.

1899 ~ Bernt Balchen (d. Oct. 17, 1973), Norwegian-American aviation pioneer.  He died a week before his 74^th birthday.

1892 ~ Gummo Marx (né Milton Marx, d. Apr. 21, 1977), fourth of the Marx brothers, and American actor and comedian.  He died at age 84.

1869 ~ John Heisman (d. Oct. 3, 1936), American football player and coach.  The college Heisman Trophy is named in his honor.  He died 20 days before his 67^th birthday.

1835 ~ Adlai Ewing Stevenson, I (d. June 14, 1914), 23^rd United States Vice President.  He served under President Grover Cleveland from March 1893 until March 1897.  He died at age 78.

1715 ~ Tzar Peter II of Russia (d. Jan. 30, 1730).  He was Emperor from May 1727 until his death in January 3 years later.  He died of smallpox at age 14.

1491 ~ Ignatius of Loyola (d. July 31, 1556), Spanish theologian and founder of the Society of Jesus.  He died at age 64.

Events that Changed the World:

2015 ~ Hurricane Patricia, which was the most powerful Category 5 Storm to hit in the Western Hemisphere, slammed into Mexico’s west coast.  It soon was downgraded to a tropical storm and caused less damage than originally anticipated.

2011 ~ A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Van Province, Turkey killing over 580 people.

1998 ~ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (b. 1949) and PLO leader Yasser Arafat (1929 ~ 2004) reached a “land for peace” agreement.

1989 ~ The Hungarian Republic was officially declared, replacing the communist Hungarian People’s Republic.

1983 ~ The US Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon was hit by a truck bomb and 241 US military personnel were killed.  The French army barracks were also hit with a similar bomb, which killed 58 soldiers.

1973 ~ The United Nations sanctioned a cease-fire that officially ended the Yom Kippur War between Israel and Syria.

1973 ~ United States President Richard M. Nixon (1913 ~ 1994) agreed to turn over the subpoenaed audio tapes of his Oval Office conversations to the Senate Watergate Committee.

1956 ~ Thousands of Hungarians protested the government and Soviet occupation.  The Hungarian Revolution would ultimately be crushed a few weeks later on November 4.

1956 ~ Thousands of Hungarians protested against Soviet occupation.  By November 4, 1956, less than three weeks later, Hungarian Revolution had been crushed.

1946 ~ The United Nations General Assembly convened for the first time.

1917 ~ Lenin called for the October Revolution.

1915 ~ Nearly 33,000 women marched on Fifth Avenue in New York City to advocate their right to vote.

1861 ~ President Abraham Lincoln (1809 ~ 1965) suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus for all military-related cases.

1850 ~ The first National Women’s Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Massachusetts.

1707 ~ The first Parliament of Great Britain convened.

Good-Byes:

2014 ~ Bernard Mayes (b. Oct. 10, 1929), British former priest who reached out to the suicidal.  He started America’s first suicide prevention hotline.  He died 2 weeks after his 85^th birthday.

2011 ~ Herbert A. Hauptman (b. Feb. 14, 1917), American mathematician and chemist.  He was the recipient of the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 94.

2010 ~ Stanley Tanger (b. Apr. 13, 1923), American businessman and founder of the Tanger Factory Outlet Stores.  He died of pneumonia at age 87.

2009 ~ Lou Jacobi (né Louis Harold Jacobovitch, b. Dec. 28, 1913), Canadian-born actor who wore his heart on his face.  He died at age 95.

2002 ~ Richard Helms (b. Mar. 30, 1913), 8^th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.  He served under Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon from June 1966 until February 1973.  He died at age 89.

1986 ~ Edward Adelbert Doisy (b. Nov. 13, 1893), American biochemist and recipient of the 1943 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died 3 weeks before his 93^rd birthday.

1983 ~ Jessica Savitch (b. Feb. 1, 1947), American journalist.  She was killed in a car accident at age 36.

1957 ~ Christian Dior (b. Jan. 21, 1905), French fashion designer.  He died of a heart attack at age 52.

1950 ~ Al Jolson (né Asa Yoelson, b. May 26, 1886), Lithuanian-born American comedian and singer.  He died of a heart attack at age 64.

1944 ~ Charles Glover Barkla (b. June 7, 1877), English physicist and recipient of the 1917 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 67.

1939 ~ Zane Grey (n Pearl Zane Grey, b. Jan. 31, 1872), American dentist and author of western novels.  He is best known for his novel Riders of the Purple Sage.  He died at age 67.

1896 ~ Columbus Delano (b. June 4, 1809), 11^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President Ulysses S. Grant from November 1870 until September 1875.  He was born in Vermont.  He died at age 87.

1869 ~ Edward Smith-Stanley, 14^th Earl of Derby (b. Mar. 29, 1799), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He served as Prime Minister in three separate terms, first from February 1852 until December 1852; then from February 1858 until June 1859; and finally from June 1866 until 1868.  He died at age 70.

1874 ~ Abraham Geiger (b. May 24, 1810), German rabbi and scholar.  He died at age 64.

1581 ~ Michael Neander (b. Apr. 3, 1529), German mathematician and astronomer.  The Neander crater on the moon is named after him.  He died at age 52.