June 20

Birthdays:

1969~ Misha Verbitsky, Russian mathematician.

1967~ Nicole Kidman (née Nicole Mary Kidman), Australian actress.

1955~ E. Lynn Harris (né Everette Lynn Harris, d. July 23, 2009), the African-American author who wrote about gay Black men.  He died of heart disease at age 54.

1954~ Ilan Ramon (né Ilan Wolferman, d. Feb. 1, 2003), Israeli combat pilot and astronaut, who was killed, along with 6 other crew members, when the Columbiacrashed upon re-entry.  He was 48 years old.

1952~ John Goodman (né John Stephen Goodman), American actor.  He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1949~ Lionel Richie (né Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr.), American musician.

1942~ Neil Trudinger (né Neil Sidney Trudinger), Australian mathematician.

1940~ John Mahoney (né Charles John Mahoney, d. Feb. 4, 2018), British-born American actor best known for his role as Martin Crain in the television sit-com Frasier.  He found fame late in life.  He died of throat cancer at age 77.

1933~ Danny Aiello (né Daniel Louis Aiello, Jr.), American actor.

1931~ Olympia Dukakis, American actress.  She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts.

1930~ Catherine Aird (née Kinn Hamilton McIntosh), author of “cozy” crime fiction novels.

1928~ Martin Landau (né Martin James Landau, d. July 15, 2017), American versatile actor who fought against typecasting.  He died of an abdominal hemorrhage 25 days after his 89^th birthday.

1926~ Rehavam Ze’evi (d. Oct. 17, 2001), Israeli general and politician.  He was an Israeli tourist minister.  He was the first Israeli minister to be assassinated in a terrorist attack.  He died at age 75.

1925~ Audie Murphy (né Audie Leon Murphy, d. May 28, 1971), American actor and soldier.  He was a hero in World War II.  He was killed in a private plane crash.  He died less than a month before his 46^th birthday.

1925~ Doris Hart (d. May 29, 2015), American tennis champion who beat the odds.  She was a World Number 1 tennis player who was active in the 1940s and ‘50s. She was one of just three players to have a “boxes set” of Grand Slam titles by winning the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles from all four Grand Slam events.  She died 22 days before her 90^th birthday.

1917~ Helena Rasiowa (d. Aug. 9, 1994), Polish mathematician.  She died at age 77.

1909~ Errol Flynn (né Errol Leslie Flynn, d. Oct. 14, 1959), Australian actor known for his romantic swashbuckling roles.  He died of a heart attack at age 50.

1905~ Lillian Hellman (née Lillian Florence Hellman, d. June 30, 1984), American playwright.  She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  She died in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts 10 days after her 79^th birthday.

1884~ Mary Ross Calvert (d. June 25, 1974), American astronomer and astrophotographer.  She died in Nashville, Tennessee 5 days after her 90^thbirthday.

1861~ Sir Frederick Hopkins (né Frederick Gowland Hopkins, d. May 16, 1947), English biochemist and recipient of the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died just over a month before his 86^th birthday.

1837~ David Josiah Brewer (d. Mar. 28, 1910), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was appointed to the High Court by President Benjamin Harrison.  He served on the Court from December 1889 until his death on this date 21 years later.  He died at age 72.

1819~ Jacques Offenbach (d. Oct. 5, 1880), German-born French composer.  He died at age 61.

1808~ Samson Raphael Hirsch (d. Dec. 31, 1888), German rabbi.  He was against the Reform and Conservative movements.  He died at age 80.

Events that Changed the World:

2009~ During the Iranian elections protests, Neda Agha-Soltan (1983 ~ 2009) shot to death and her death was caught on video and immediately released on the internet.

1977~ The Trans-Alaska oil pipeline opened.

1975~ The movie, Jaws, was released.

1945~ The United States government approved the transfer of Wernher von Braun (1912 ~ 1977) and his team of Nazi scientist to America.

1893~ Lizzie Bordon (1860 ~ 1927) was acquitted of the murders of her father and step-mother.

1877~ Alexander Graham Bell (1847 ~ 1922) installed the world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

1863~ West Virginia was admitted as the 35^th State in the Union.

1840~ Samuel Morse (1791 ~ 1772) received a patent for the telegraph.

1837~ Queen Victoria of England ascended to the British throne.  Her coronation would take place in June 1838.  She reigned over England and the British Commonwealth until her death on January 22, 1901.

1782~ United States Congress adopted the design for the Great Seal of the United States.

1248~ The University of Oxford received its Royal charter.

Good-Byes:

2012~ LeRoy Neiman (né Leroy Leslie Runquist, b. June 8, 1921), American artist who immortalized sporting legends.  He died 12 days after his 91^st birthday.

2012~ Judy Agnew (née Elinor Isabel Judefind, b. Apr. 23, 1921), Second Lady of the United States and wife of United States Vice President, Spiro T. Agnew.  She was 91 years old.

2005~ Larry Collins (né John Lawrence Collins, b. Sept 14, 1929), American writer and journalist who wrote Is Paris Burning?, about the Nazi occupation of France during World War II, and O Jerusalem!,about the birth of Israel.  He died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 75.

2005~ Jack Kilby (né Jack St. Clair Kilby, b. Nov. 8, 1923), American physicist and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 81.

1999~ Clifton Fadiman (né Clifton Paul Fadiman, b. May 15, 1904), American author and television personality.  He died of pancreatic cancer just a month after his 95^th birthday.

1972~ Howard Johnson (né Howard Deering Johnson, b. Feb. 2, 1897), American businessman and founder of the Howard Johnson restaurant chain.  He was born and died in Massachusetts.  He died at age 75.

1965~ Bernard Baruch (néBernard Mannes Baruch, b. Aug. 19, 1870), American financier and statesman.  He died at age 94.

1963~ Raphaël Salem (b. Nov. 7, 1898), Greek mathematician.  He died at age 64.

1958~ Kurt Alder (b. July 10, 1902), German chemist and recipient of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died under mysterious circumstances 20 days before his 56^th birthday.

1947~ Bugsy Siegel (né Benjamin Siegel, b. Feb. 28, 1906), American gangster.  He was assassinated at age 41.

1862~ Barbu Catargui (b. Oct. 26, 1807), 1^st Prime Minister of Romania. He served as Prime Minister from February 1862 until he was assassinated at age 54.  His assassin was never caught.

1843~ Hugh S. Legaré (né Hugh Swinton Legaré, b. Jan. 2, 1797), 16^th United States Attorney General.  He served under President John Tyler from September 1841 until his death at age 46 in June 1843.  He died in office.  He also briefly served as Acting Secretary of State under President Tyler.  He was born in Charleston, South Carolina and died in Boston, Massachusetts.

1837~ King William IV of the United Kingdom (b. Aug. 21, 1765).  He died at age 71.

1800~ Abraham Gotthelf Kästner (b. Sept. 27, 1719), German mathematician.  He died at age 80.

1605~ Feodor II of Russia (b. 1589).  He was assassinated by strangulation 3 months after being installed as tsar.  He died at age 16.  The exact date of his birth is unknown.