March 12

Birthdays:

1968 ~ Aaron Edward Eckhart, American actor.

1962 ~ Darryl Eugene Strawberry, Sr., American baseball player.

1960 ~ Courtney B. Vance (né Courtney Bernard Vance), African-American actor.

1948 ~ James Vernon Taylor, American singer-songwriter.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

1947 ~ Willard “Mitt” Romney, Mormon-politician and presidential candidate in the 2012 election year.  He also served as the 70^th governor of Massachusetts.

1946 ~ Liza May Minnelli, American actress and singer and daughter of Judy Garland.

1940 ~ Al Jarreau (né Alwin Lopez Jarreau, d. Feb. 12, 2017), American vocal virtuoso who crossed genres.  He died a month before his 77^th birthday.

1933 ~ Barbara Feldon (née Barbara Anne Hall), American actress best known for her portrayal of Agent 99 on the television sit-com Get Smart.

1932 ~ Andrew Jackson Young, Jr.  American politician and 14^th United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

1931 ~ Robert Bigger Oakley (d. Dec. 10, 2014), American diplomat who thrived in danger zones.  He served as the 19^th United States Ambassador to Pakistan.  He died at age 83.

1930 ~ Wardell Joseph Quezergue (d. Sept. 6, 2011), American “Creole Beethoven” of New Orleans, Louisiana.  He died at age 81.

1928 ~ Edward Albee (d, Sept. 16, 2016), American playwright.  He died at age 88.

1927 ~ Raúl Ricardo Alfonsin (d. Mar. 31, 2009), 46^th Argentine president who championed democracy after years of brutal authoritarian rule.  He died 19 days 83^rd birthday.

1925 ~ Leo Esaki (né Reona Esaki), Japanese physicist and recipient of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics.

1924 ~ Mary Lee Woods (d. Nov. 29, 2017), British mathematician.  She died at age 93.

1923 ~ Wally Schirra (né Walter Marty Schirra, Jr., d. May 3, 2007), American astronaut.  He was one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts.  He died at age 84.

1923 ~ Mae Young (née Johnny Mae Young, d. Jan. 14, 2014), American professional “lady wrestler” who relished playing the heel.  She died at age 90.

1922 ~ Jack Kerouac (né Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac, d. Oct. 21, 1969), American writer.  He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts.  He is best known for his book, On the Road.  He died of abdominal hemorrhages at age 47.

1920 ~ Roland Fraïssé (d. Mar. 30, 2008), French mathematical logician.  He died 18 days after his 88^th birthday.

1918 ~ Elaine de Kooning (d. Feb. 1, 1989), American artist.  She was also the wife of artist Willem de Kooning.  She died at age 68.

1917 ~ Millard Kaufman (d. Mar. 14, 2009), American screenwriter and co-creator of Mr. Magoo.  He died 2 days after his 92^nd birthday.

1913 ~ Agathe von Trapp (née Agathe Johanna Erwina Gobertina von Trapp, d. Dec. 28, 2010), eldest daughter of the von Trapp family.  She was portrayed as Lisel in the movie, The Sound of Music.  She died at age 97.

1911 ~ Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (d. July 15, 1979), 49^th President of Mexico.  He died of cancer at age 68.

1890 ~ Vaslav Nijinsky (d. Apr. 8, 1950), Russian dancer and choreographer.  He died of kidney failure less than a month after his 61^st birthday.

1863 ~ Gabriele d’Annunzio (d. Mar. 1, 1938), Italian poet.  He died 11 days before his 75^th birthday.

1858 ~ Adolph Ochs (d. Apr. 8, 1935). American owner and publisher of The New York Times.  He died less than a month before his 78^th birthday.

1838 ~ Sir William Henry Perkins (d. July 14, 1907), British chemist best known for his accidental discovery of the first aniline dye, which is a purple mauveine.  He was attempting to synthesize quinine as a treatment for malaria, when he discovered the dye.  He died of pneumonia at age 69 in London, England.

1835 ~ Simon Newcomb (d. July 11, 1909), Canadian-born American astronomer and mathematician.  He died of cancer at age 74.

1832 ~ Charles Cunningham Boycott (d. June 19, 1897), British land agent.  He was ostracized by his local community, hence the verb Boycott.  He died at age 65.

1831 ~ Clement Studebaker (d. Nov. 27, 1901), American businessman and co-founder of the Studebaker automotive company.  He died at age 70.

1821 ~ Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (d. Oct. 30, 1893), 3^rd Prime Minister of Canada.  He served from 1891 to 1892.  He died at age 72.

1806 ~ Jane Means Pierce, (d. Dec. 2, 1863), First Lady of the United States and wife of President Franklin Pierce.  She was born in Hampton, New Hampshire and died in Andover, Massachusetts.  She was 57 years old at the time of her death.

1710 ~ Thomas Augustine Arne (d. Mar. 5, 1778), British composer.  He is best known for writing England’s national anthem, God Save the King.  He died 7 days before his 68^th birthday.

1637 ~ Anne Hyde (d. Mar. 31, 1671), first wife of James II of England.  She converted to Catholicism shortly after her marriage to James II.  She died of breast cancer 19 days after her 34^th birthday.

Events that Changed the World:

2011 ~ A nuclear reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan melted, exploded and released radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after the devastating earthquake.

2009 ~ Bernard Madoff (b. 1938) plead guilty to scamming more than $18 Billion from investors.  He was ultimately sentenced to 150 years in prison.

1994 ~ The Church of England ordained its first female priests.

1993 ~ Janet Reno (1938 ~ 2016) was sworn in as the 78^th US Attorney General.  She was the first female US Attorney General.  She had been confirmed the previous day.  She served in the Bill Clinton administration.

1993 ~ The Blizzard of 1993 began in the eastern portion of the United States bringing snow, tornadoes, thunder snow storms and high winds.  The storm lasted for 30 hours.

1968 ~ Maruitius gained its independence from the United Kingdom.  It would become a republic on this date in 1992, but remain a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

1964 ~ New Hampshire became the first State of the Union to legally sell lottery tickets in the 20^th century.

1933 ~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1883 ~ 1945) began the first of his “Fireside Chats.”

1930 ~ Mohandas Gandhi (1869 ~ 1948) and his followers began the Dandi March.  They began the 24-day march through the Gujarat villages to Dandi, where Gandhi committed an act of civil disobedience by making salt, which was forbidden by British law.

1928 ~ The St. Francis Dam in California failed causing a severe flood that killed over 600 people.

1918 ~ Moscow became the capital of Russia.  St. Petersburg had been the capital for the previous 215 years.

1912 ~ Juliette Gordon Low (1860 ~ 1927) founded the American Girl Scout movement in the United States.

1894 ~ Coca-Cola was bottled and sold for the first time by a local soda fountain operator in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Good-Byes:

2017 ~ Joseph Michael Hilbe (b. Dec. 30, 1944), American mathematician.  He died at age 72.

2016 ~ Lloyd Stowell Shapley (b. June 2, 1923), American mathematician and economist.  He was the recipient of the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science.  He died at age 92.

2015 ~ Sir Terrance David John “Terry” Pratchett (b. Apr. 28, 1948), British author of the Discworld fantasy series.  He died of early onset Alzheimer’s disease 66 years old.

2012 ~ Samuel Lewis Glazer (b. Feb. 24, 1923), American businessman and founder of Mr. Coffee.  He died 16 days after his 89^th birthday.

2011 ~ Owsley Stanley (né Augustus Owsley Stanley, III, b. Jan. 19, 1935), American-born blue blood who mass produced LSD.  He was an audio engineer and a key figure in the counter-culture in San Francisco in the 1960s.  He was killed in a car accident in Australia.  He was 76 years old.

2011 ~ Joseph Albert “Joe” Morello (b. July 17, 1928), American drummer who swung in 5/4 time.  He was the drummer for the Dave Brubeck band.  He died at age 82.

2009 ~ Leonore Cohn Annenberg (b. Feb. 20, 1918), American society hostess who was the Chief of Protocol of the United States during the Reagan administration.  She died 20 days after her 91^st birthday.

2003 ~ Zoran Đinđić (b. Aug. 1, 1952), 6^th Prime Minister of Serbia.  He served as Prime Minister from January 2001 until March 2003, when he was assassinated.  He had previously served as the 67^th Mayor of Belgrade.  He was assassinated in Belgrade, Serbia at age 50.

2003 ~ Howard Melvin Fast (b. Nov. 11, 1914), American author.  He died at age 88.

2001 ~ Robert Ludlum (b. May 25, 1927), American suspense-thriller writer.  He created Jason Borne of the Borne Identity series of books.  He died at age 73 of burns caused by a mysterious fire in his home.

1999 ~ Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (b. Apr. 22, 1916), American-born violinist.  He died of bronchitis at age 82.

1998 ~ Beatrice Wood (d. Mar. 3, 1893), American illustrator and potter.  She died 9 days after her 105^th birthday.

1991 ~ Ragnar Arthur Granit (b. Oct. 30, 1900), Finnish neuroscientist and recipient of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 90.

1987 ~ Woody Hayes (né Wayne Woodrow Hayes, b. Feb. 14, 1913), American football player and college coach.  He had a long-term career coaching the football team at Ohio State University.  He died about a month before his 75^th birthday.

1955 ~ Charles “Charlie” Parker, Jr. (b. Aug. 29, 1920), American jazz saxophonist.  He was known as Bird.  He died of lobar pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer at age 34.

1943 ~ Gustav Vigeland (né Adolf Gustav Thorsen, b. Apr. 11, 1869), Norwegian sculptor who designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal.  He died a month before his 64^th birthday.

1942 ~ Sir William Henry Bragg (b. July 2, 1862), English physicist and mathematician.  He was the recipient of the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He shared the Nobel Prize with his son, William Lawrence Bragg (1890 ~ 1971), who was 25 years old at the time.  He died at age 79.

1929 ~ Asa Griggs Candler (b. Dec. 20, 1851), Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.  He served as Mayor from 1916 until 1919.  He died at age 77.

1925 ~ Sun Yat-sen (b. Nov. 12, 1866), Chinese revolutionary and politician.  He was the 1^st President of the Republic of China.  He died of liver cancer at age 58.

1914 ~ George Westinghouse, Jr. (b. Oct. 6, 1846), American entrepreneur and engineer.  He died at age 67.

1898 ~ Johann Jakob Balmer (b. May 1, 1825), Swiss mathematician.  He died at age 72.

1889 ~ John Archibald Campbell (b. June 24, 1811), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was appointed to the High Court by President Franklin Pierce.  He served on the Court from March 1853 until April 1861.  He died at age 77.

1888 ~ Henry Bergh (b. Aug. 29, 1811), American activist and founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).  He died at age 74.

1507 ~ Cesare Borgia (b. Sept. 13, 1475), Italian politician and cardinal.  He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and his mistress Vannozza die Cattanei, and brother of Lucrezia Borgia.  He became the first cardinal to resign, afterwhich he married Charlotte of Albfet.  He was assassinated at age 31.

969 ~ Mu Zong (b. Sept. 19, 931), Chinese emperor of the Liao Dynasty.  He reigned from October 951 until his death in March 969.  He was 37 years old at the time of his death.

604 ~ Pope Gregory I (b. 540).  He served as Pope from September 590 until his death on this date 13 ½ years later.  The actual date of his birth is unknown.

417 ~ Pope Innocent I (b. Mar. 11, 378).  He was Pope from December 401 until his death.  He is believed to have died 1 day after his 39^th birthday.