April 11

Birthdays:

1953~ Sir Andrew John Wiles, British mathematician.  He is best known for proving Fermat’s last theorem.

1947~ Meshach Taylor (d. June 28, 2014), American actor best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the television sit-com Designing Women.  He died at age 67 of colon cancer.

1941~ Ellen Holtz Goodman, American journalist and columnist.

1932~ Joel Grey (né Joel David Katz), American actor, dancer and singer.

1930~ Nicholas Frederick Brady, 68^thSecretary of the Treasury.  He served under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.  He was in that Office from September 1988 until January 1993.

1928~ Ethel Skakel Kennedy, wife of Robert Kennedy.

1923~ Theodore Isaac Rubin, American psychotherapist and author.

1919~ Hugh Carey (d. Aug. 7, 2011), 51^stGovernor of New York State.  He served as Governor from January 1975 through December 1982.  He was considered the Democrat who rescued New York.  He died at age 92.

1914~ Dorothy Lewis Bernstein (d. Feb. 5, 1988), American mathematician.  She was the first woman elected to be president of the Mathematics Association of American.  She died at age 73 in Providence, Rhode Island.

1913~ Oleg Cassini (né Oleg Cassini Loiewski, d. Mar. 17, 2006), American fashion designed who designed many of the clothes Jackie Kennedy wore while in the White House.  He died from complications of an aneurism less than three weeks before his 93^rdbirthday.

1908~ Leo Calvin Rosten (d. Feb. 19, 1997), American Yiddish novelist and humorist.  He wrote The Joy of Yiddish.  He died at age 88.

1908~ Masaru Ibuka (d. Dec, 19, 1997), Japanese businessman and co-founder of Sony.  He died at age 89.

1906~ Dale Messick (née Dalia Messick, d. Apr. 5, 2005), American author and illustrator. She was the creator of the comic Brenda Starr.  She died 6 days before her 99^thbirthday.

1893~ Dean Gooderham Acheson (d. Oct. 12, 1971), 51^stUnited States Secretary of State.  He served under President Harry S Truman.  He served in that Office from January 1949 until January 1953.  He died of a stroke at age 78.

1869~ Gustav Vigeland (néAdolf Gustav Thorsen, d. Mar. 12, 1943), Norwegian sculptor who designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal.  He died a month before his 64^thbirthday.

1862~ Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. (d. Aug. 27, 1948), 11^thUnited States Supreme Court Chief Justice.  He was appointed to be the Chief Justice by President Herbert Hoover.  He served on the High Court from February 1930 until June 1941.  He had previously been appointed to the High Court by President William Taft, where he served as an Associate Justice from October 1910 until June 1916.  He resigned from the Court to make a run for President.  He also served as the 44^thSecretary of State from March 1921 until March 1925, serving under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Prior to his federal appointments, he served as the 36^thGovernor of New York State.  He died at age 86 in Osterville, Massachusetts.

1837~ Elmer E. Ellsworth (né Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth, d. May 24, 1861), American soldier.  He has the distinction of being the first casualty in the American Civil War.  He was killed while removing a Confederate flag from the roof of an inn in Alexandria, Virginia.  He was 24 years old.

1794~ Edward Everett (d. Jan. 15, 1865), 20^thUnited States Secretary of State.  He served in this office from November 1852 until March 1853.  He served under President Millard Fillmore.  Previously, he had served as the 15^thGovernor of Massachusetts, from January 1836 until January 1840.  The town of Everett, Massachusetts was named in his honor. He died at age 70.

1770~ George Canning (d. Aug. 8, 1827), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He was the Prime Minister from April 1827 until August 1827.  He died in office at age 57.  He served only 119 days as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1755~ James Parkinson (d. Dec. 21, 1824), English physician, surgeon, geologist, paleontologist and political activist.  He was the first to describe the condition now known as Parkinson’s disease. He died of a stroke at age 69.

1492~ Marguerite de Navarre (d. Dec. 21, 1549), French wife of Henry II of Navarre.  She died at age 57.

1357~ King John I of Portugal (b. Aug. 14, 1433).  He was king from April 1385 until his death in 1433.  He died at age 76.

Events that Changed the World:

2012~ A 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia.

2002~ The Ghriba synagogue in Tunisia was bombed by Al Qaeda, killing 21 people.

1991~ The UN Security Council officially declared an end to the Persian Gulf War.

1979~ Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (1925 ~ 2003) was deposed.

1976~ Apple I was created.

1968~ President Lyndon B. Johnson (1908 ~ 1973) signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibiting the discrimination in sales, rental and financing of housing.

1961~ The trial of Adolf Eichmann (1906 ~ 1962) for war crimes committed during World War II began in Jerusalem.  He would be found guilty and executed.

1951~ President Harry S Truman (1884 ~ 1972) relieved General Douglas MacArthur (1880 ~ 1964) of his command in Korea.

1945~ American forces liberated Buchenwald concentration camp at the end of World War II.

1909~ The city of Tel Aviv, Israel was founded.

1881~ Spelman College was founded in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary.  In 1884, the name was changed to the Spelman Seminary in honor of Laura Spelman (1839 ~ 1915), John D. Rockefeller’s wife, who was supportive of the school.  It was designed as an institution of higher learning for African-American women.

1689~ William III (1650 ~ 1702) and Mary II (1662 ~ 1694) were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain.

Good-Byes:

2017~ J. Geils (né John Warren Geils, b. Feb. 20, 1946), American blues guitarist who became an ‘80s hitmaker. He founded the J. Geils Band.  He died in Groton, Massachusetts at age 71.

2014~ Jesse Winchester (né James Rideout Winchester, Jr., b. May 17, 1944), American-Canadian singer-songwriter who made music in exile.  He was born in Bossier City, Louisiana.  He was an anti-Vietnam War protester and fled to Canada after receiving his draft notice. He died of bladder cancer about a month before his 70^thbirthday.

2013~ Jonathan Harshman Winters, III (b. Nov. 11, 1925), American comic and actor who thrived on improvisation. He died at age 87.

2013~ Maria Tallchief (néeElizabeth Marie Tall Chief, b. Jan. 24, 1925), Native American dancer hailed as America’s prima ballerina.  She was a member of the Osage Nation.  She broke her hip in December 2012 and died from complications from that injury.  She was 88 years old.

2013~ Hilary Koprowski (d. Dec. 5, 1916), Polish-born virologist and immunologist.  He is credited with creating the Polio vaccine.  He died at age 96.

2007~ Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (b. Nov. 11, 1922), American novelist, best known for his novels Slaughter-House Fiveand Cat’s Cradle.  He died at age 84.

2007~ Roscoe Lee Browne (b. May 2, 1922), African-American actor.  He died less than a month before his 85^thbirthday.

2003~ Cecil Howard Green (b. Aug. 6, 1900), English-American businessman and founder of Texas Instruments. He died at age 102.

2001~ Robert Aurand Moon (b. Apr. 15, 1917), American postal inspector and creator of the ZIP Code.  He died 4 days before his 84^thbirthday.

1987~ Primo Michele Levi (b. July 31, 1919), Italian chemist and author.  He was a Holocaust survivor and much of his writings reflected his time in Auschwitz concentration camp.  He committed suicide at age 67.

1987~ Erskine Preston Caldwell (b. Dec. 17, 1903), American author.  He is best known for his novel God’s Little Acre.  He died of lung cancer at age 83.

1970~ John Henry O’Hara (b. Jan. 31, 1905), American author.  He died of cardiovascular disease at age 65.

1953~ Paul Andrew Dever (b. Jan. 15, 1903), 58^thGovernor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1946 until January 1953. He was born and died in Boston. He died at age 55 of a heart attack.

1947~ Louise Peete (née Lofie Louise Preslar, b. Sept. 20, 1880), Louisiana serial killer.  She led a colorful life, marrying several times, with a number of her husbands “committing suicide.”  She was tried for murder several times, once being sentenced to life in prison, but was released after serving only 19 years.  Following additional murders, she was finally found guilty and sentenced to death, where she was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin.  She was 66 years old at the time of her execution.

1926~ Luther Burbank (b. Mar. 7, 1849), American horticulturist.  He was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts.  He died just over a month after his 77^thbirthday.

1906~ James Anthony Bailey (néJames Anthony McGinnis, b. July 4, 1847), American businessman and co-founder of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.  He died at age 58.

1890~ John Carey Merrick (b. Aug. 5, 1862), English man known as The Elephant Man due to the severe deformities he suffered as a result most likely from a combination of neurofibromatatosis and Proteus syndrome.  He died at age 27.

1890~ David de Jahacob Lozez Cardozo (b. May 21, 1808), Dutch Talmudist.  He died at age 81.

1779~ Joseph de Jussieu (b. Sept. 3, 1704), French explorer and botanist.  He is best known for introducing the common garden heliotrope to European gardeners. He died at age 74.

1626~ Marin Getaldić (b. Oct. 2, 1568), Croatian mathematician.  He died at age 57.

1165~ King Stephen IV of Hungary (b. 1133).  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been between 31 and 33 at the time of his death.

678~ Pope Donus.  He was Pope from November 676 until had death less than 2 years later.  The date of his birth is unknown.

618~ Emperor Yang of Sui (b. 569), 2^ndChinese Emperor of the Sui Dynasty.  The exact date of his birth is not known.