April 12

Birthdays:

1979 ~ Claire Catherine Danes, American actress.

1956 ~ Andy García, Cuban-American actor.

1954 ~ Jon Krakauer, American author.  He was born in Brookline, Massachusetts.

1950 ~ David Bruce Cassidy (d. Nov. 21, 2017), American teen idol who felt trapped by fame.  He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s television musical-sitcom, The Partridge Family.  In early 2017, he announced that he was suffering from dementia.  He died of kidney and liver failure at age 67.

1949 ~ Scott Frederick Turow, American attorney and author.

1947 ~ Tom Clancy (né Thomas Leo Clancy, Jr., d. Oct. 1, 2013), American author of political thrillers who spoke the military’s language.  He died at age 66.

1947 ~ David Letterman (né David Michael Letterman), American television talk show host.

1946 ~ Ed O’Neill (né Edward Leonard O’Neill), American actor best known for his role as Al Bundy on the television sit-com Married … With Children.

1940 ~ Herbie Hancock (né Herbert Jeffrey Hancock), American musician.

1937 ~ Dennis Banks (d. Oct. 29, 2017), Anishinaabe Native American civil rights leader who fought for native rights.  In 1968, he co-founded the American Indian Movement.  He died of complications of pneumonia following heart surgery.  He was 80 years old.

1932 ~ Tiny Tim (né Herbert Buckingham Khaury, d. Nov. 30, 1996). American musician.  He died of a massive heart attack at age 64.

1923 ~ Ann Miller (née Johnnie Lucille Collier, d. Jan. 22, 2004), American actor and dancer.  She was born in Houston, Texas.  She died of lung cancer at age 80.

1916 ~ Beverly Cleary (née Beverly Atlee Bunn), American children’s author.  She created Henry Higgins and Ramona Quimby in children’s literature.

1914 ~ Margaret “Gretel” Bergmann (d. July 25, 2017), German-born Jewish field and track athlete who was banned by the Nazis from participating in the 1936 Summer Olympics.  At the June 1936 Olympic trials, she beat her rivals with a jump of 5 feet 3 inches, but was forbidden to compete in the Olympics and her jump was scrubbed from the record books.  She died at age 103.

1903 ~ Jan Tinberg (d. June 9, 1994), Dutch economist and recipient of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Economic Science.  He died at age 91.

1898 ~ Lily Pons (né Alice Joséphine Pons, d. Feb. 13, 1976), French-born American soprano.  She died of pancreatic cancer at age 77.

1884 ~ Otto Fritz Meyerhof (d. Oct. 6, 1951), German physician and biochemist.  He was the recipient of the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on muscle metabolism.  He died at age 67.

1883 ~ Imogen Cunningham (d. June 23, 1976), American photographer.  She is best known for here botanical photographs and nudes.  She died at age 93.

1874 ~ William Brockman Bankhead (d. Sept. 15, 1940), politician from Alabama.  He served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from June 1936 until his death on September 15, 1940.  He died of an abdominal hemorrhage at age 66.

1852 ~ Carl Louis Ferdinand von Lindemann (d. Mar. 6, 1939), German mathematician.  He died at age 86.

1796 ~ George Nixon Briggs (d. Sept. 12, 1861), 19th Governor of Massachusetts.  He was governor from January 1844 until January 1851.  He died at age 65 of an accidental self-inflicted gun injury.

1794 ~ Germinal Pierre Dandelin (d. Feb. 15, 1847), Belgian mathematician.  He died at age 52.

1777 ~ Henry Clay, Sr. (d. June 29, 1852), 9th Secretary of State.  He served under President John Quincy Adams from March 1825 until March 1929.  He died at age 75.

1577 ~ Christian IV of Denmark and Norway (d. Feb. 28, 1648).  He died at age 70.

1484 ~ Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (d. Aug. 3, 1546), Italian architect.  He designed St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  He died at age 61.

Events that Changed the World:

2014 ~ A wildfire in Valparaíso, Chile destroyed over 2,000 homes.  At least 16 people were killed by the fire.

2002 ~ A female suicide bomber blew herself up in Jerusalem, killing 7 and wounding 104 others.

1961 ~ Yuri Gagarin (1934 ~ 1968), the Soviet astronaut, became the first person to orbit the earth.

1955 ~ The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk (1914 ~ 1995), was declared safe and effective.

1945 ~ Harry S. Truman (1884 ~ 1972) was sworn in as the 33rd President of the United States following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 ~ 1945).

1934 ~ The strongest surface wind gust in the world was recorded at 231 miles per hour on Mount Washington, New Hampshire.

1865 ~ During the American Civil War, Mobile, Alabama fell to the Union Army.

1861 ~ The American Civil War began when Confederate forces began firing on Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.

1633 ~ Galileo (1564 ~ 1642) was convicted of heresy for his belief that the Earth revolved around the Sun.

1606 ~ The Union Jack was adopted as the flag of Great Britain.

1204 ~ During the Fourth Crusade, Crusaders breached the walls of Constantinople and entered the city, which they then completely occupied.

Good-Byes:

2009 ~ Marilyn Chambers (b. Apr. 22, 1952), American pornographic actress.  She began her career as a baby model for Ivory Snow detergent.  She died of a cerebral hemorrhage 10 days before her 57th birthday.

2009 ~ Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick (b. May 2, 1950), American academic scholar who pioneered “queer theory.”  She died of breast cancer less than 3 weeks before her 59th birthday.

2001 ~ Harvey Ross Ball (b. July 10, 1921), American illustrator who created the Smiley Face.  He died of liver failure at age 79.

1997 ~ George David Wald (d. Nov. 18, 1906), American neurologist and recipient of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.  He died at age 90 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1989 ~ Abbie Hoffman (né Abbot Howard Hoffman, b. Nov. 30, 1936), American political activist.  He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts.  He committed suicide at age 52.

1989 ~ Sugar Ray Robinson (né Walker Smith, Jr., b. May 3, 1921), American boxer.  He died less than a month before his 68th birthday.

1981 ~ Joe Lewis (né Joseph Louis Barrow, b. May 13, 1914), American boxer.  He died of cardiac arrest a month before his 67th birthday.

1977 ~ Philip Knight Wrigley (b. Dec. 5, 1894), American chewing gum manufacturer and baseball executive.  He died at 82.

1975 ~ Josephine Baker (née Freda Josephine McDonald, b. June 3, 1906), French actress, activist and humanitarian.  She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but as an African-American, was not able to perform in America.  She became a French citizen and was able to become a well-known and respected artist.  She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 68.

1971 ~ Igor Tamm (b. July 8, 1895), Russian physicist and recipient of the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 75.

1945 ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt (b. Jan. 30, 1882), 32nd United States President.  He served in Office from March 1933 until his death on this date in 1945.  He is the only President to have been elected for 3 terms.  He died at age 63.

1933 ~ Zelia Maria Magdalena Nuttall (b. Sept. 6, 1857), American archeologist and historian.  She died at age 75.

1912 ~ Clara Barton (née Clarissa Harlowe Barton, b. Dec. 25, 1821), American nurse and founder of the American Red Cross.   She was known as the “Angel of the Battlefield”.  She was born in North Oxford, Massachusetts.  She died at age 90.

1878 ~ William Magear “Boss” Tweed (d. Apr. 3, 1823), American political figure known as Boss Tweed.  He died of pneumonia 9 days after his 55th birthday.

1684 ~ Nicola Amati (b. Sept. 3, 1596), Italian instrument maker.  He was the grandson of Andrea Amati, the founder of the Amati family of violin makers.  He died at age 87.

1555 ~ Joanna of Castile (b. Nov. 6, 1479), daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.  She was the queen of Castile and Aragon, which ultimately were united to become modern Spain.  She was known as Joanna the Mad, as she was mentally ill.  She died at age 75.

1167 ~ Charles VII, King of Sweden (b. 1130).  The date of his birth is unknown.

352 ~ Pope Julius I.  He was Pope from February 337 until his death on this date 15 years later.  The date of his birth is unknown.