July 11

Birthdays:

1947~ Norman Lebrecht, British author and critic, best known for his novel, The Song of Names.

1934~ Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer.

1933~ Frank Kelso (né Frank Benton Kelso, III, d. June 23, 2013), United States Secretary of the Navy.  He died 18 days before his 80^th birthday.

1931~ Dave Toschi (né David Ramon Toschi, d. Jan. 6, 2018), American dogged detective who hunted the Zodiac serial killer.  He was an inspector with the San Francisco Police Department from 1952 to 1987.  For many years he had been assigned to the homicide detail.  He died at age 86.

1930~ Harold Bloom, American literary critic.

1920~ Yul Brynner (néYuliy Borisovich Briner, d. Oct. 10, 1985), Russian-born actor, best known for his role as Mongkut, the king of Siam in the musical, The King and I.  He died at age 65 of lung cancer.

1916~ Alexander Prokhorov (d. Jan. 8, 2002), Russian physicist and recipient of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on lasers.  He died at age 85.

1903~ Rudolf Abel (né William August Fisher, d. Nov. 15, 1971), British-born Russian spy.  He was captured in the United States and was later exchanged for Gary Powers in a prisoner exchange.  This was recounted in the movie Bridge of Spies.  Abel died at age 68.

1899~ Wilfrid Israel (d. June 1, 1943), Anglo-German businessman and philanthropist. He was born into a wealthy Jewish family and was also active in rescuing many Jews from Nazi Germany.  He was killed at age 42 when the civilian plane he was traveling in from Lisbon to Bristol was shot down by a German fighter plane.

1899~ E.B. White (né Elwyn Brooks White, d. Oct. 1, 1985), American author, best known for his children’s novels, Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little.  He died in North Brooklin, Maine at age 86.

1882~ James Larkin White (d. Apr. 26, 1946), American miner, explorer and park ranger.  He discovered the Carlsbad Caverns.  He died at age 63.

1881~ Isabel Martin Lewis (née Isabel Martin, d. July 31, 1955), American astronomer.  She was the first woman hired by the United States Naval Observatory.  She was born in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.  She died 20 days after her 74^th birthday.

1881~ Clarence B. Kelland (né Clarence Budington Kelland, d. Feb. 18, 1964), American writer who described himself as the “best second-rated writer in America.” He died at age 82.

1767~ John Quincy Adams (d. Feb. 23, 1848), 6^th President of the United States.  He was President from March 1825 until March 1829.  He had previously served as the 8^th United States Secretary of State during the James Monroe administration from September 1817 until March 1825.  He died at age 80.

1760~ Peggy Shippen (née Margaret Shippen, d. Aug. 24, 1804), American wife of Benedict Arnold.  She was also an American Revolutionary War spy.  She died of cancer at age 44.

1274~ Robert the Bruce (d. June 7, 1329), King of the Scots.  He reigned from March 1306 until his death in 1329. He died at age 54.

Events that Changed the World:

1972~ The first game of the World Chess Championship of 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer (1943 ~ 2008) and defending champion Boris Spassky (b. 1937) began.  The last game of the series began on August 31, 1972.  Bobby Fischer won the match becoming the 11^thWorld Chess Champion.

1971~ The copper mines of Chile were nationalized.

1960~ To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (1926 ~ 2016), was first published.

1947~ The Exodus 1947left France on its voyage to what is now Israel.  The British Royal Navy subsequently seized the ship and deported all passengers to Europe.

1940~ The Vichy France regime was formally established.  Philippe Pétain (1856 ~ 1951).  After World War II, he would be tried and convicted of treason.

1921~ Former United States President William Howard Taft (1857 ~ 1930) was sworn in as the 10^th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. To date, he is the only person to hold both offices.

1914~ Babe Ruth (1895 ~ 1948) made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox.

1893~ Kokichi Mikimoto (1858 ~ 1954) successfully began to culture pearls.

1848~ The Waterloo rail station in London opened.

1804~ United States Vice President Aaron Burr (1756 ~ 1836) mortally wounded Alexander Hamilton (1757 ~ 1804) in a duel.  Hamilton would die the following day.

1798~ The United States Marine Corps was re-established.  It had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.

1750~ A devastating fire destroyed much of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

1740~ The Jews were expelled from Little Russia, which is part of modern Ukraine.

1533~ King Henry VIII of England was excommunicated by Pope Clement VII.

1346~ Charles IV (1316 ~ 1378) of Luxembourg was elected Holy Roman Emperor.

Good-Byes:

2016~ William Powell (b. Dec. 6, 1949), American radical who wrote The Anarchist Cookbookwhen he was 19 years old.  The book was a comprehensive “how-to” guide for insurrectionists.  He later tried to atone for his actions in creating the book by co-founding a non-profit organization for handicapped and disabled children.  He died of a heart attack while on vacation with his family.  He was 66 years old.

2014~ Tommy Ramone (né Erdélyi Tamás, b. Jan. 29, 1949), Hungarian-American drummer who defied punk rock.  He was the last surviving original member of the Ramones.  He died of cancer at age 65.

2013~ Egbert Brieskorn (b. July 7, 1936), German mathematician.  He died 4 days after his 77^th birthday.

2009~ Arturo Gatti (b. Apr. 15, 1972), Italian champion boxer who was known as “The Thunder.”  He was most likely murdered by his wife although the circumstances of his death remain unclear.  He was 37 years old.

2009~ Paul Hempell (né Paul James Hempell, b. Feb. 18, 1936), the American writer who chronicled the blue-collar South.  He died of throat cancer at age 73.

2008~ Chuck Stobbs (né Charles Klein Stobbs, b. July 2, 1929), American baseball pitcher who gave up baseball’s longest home run.  On April 17, 1953, he pitched to Mickey Mantle, who blasted a 565-foot hit that is regarded as the longest home run ever.  He died of throat cancer 9 days after his 79^th birthday.

2008~ Michael DeBakey (né Michael Ellis DeBakey, b. Sept. 7, 1908), Lebanese-American cardiologist, surgeon and inventor, best known for being a pioneer in heart transplants.  He made heart transplants seem routine.  He was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  He died at age 99.

2007~ Lady Bird Johnson (née Claudia Alta Taylor, b. Dec. 22, 1912), First Lady of the United States and wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson.  She died at age 94.

1989~ Sir Laurence Olivier, Baron Olivier (né Laurence Kerr Olivier, b. May 22, 1907), English actor.  He died at age 82.

1987~ Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman (b. 1900), American rabbi and scholar.  He died at age 87.

1983~ Ross Macdonald (né Kenneth Millar, b. Dec. 13, 1915), American-Canadian author of detective novels.  He died of Alzheimer’s disease at age 67.

1974~ Pär Lagerkvist (né Pär Fabian Lagerkvist, b. May 23, 1891), Swedish author and poet.  He was the recipient of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 83.

1962~Edward Francis Hutton (b. Sept. 7, 1875), American businessman and financier.  He was a co-founder of E.F. Hutton & Company.  He died at age 86.

1937~ George Gershwin (né Jacob Bruskin Gershowitz, b. Sept. 26, 1898), American composer.  He died at age 38 of a brain tumor.

1920~ Eugénie de Montijo (b. May 5, 1826), French wife of Napoleon III.  She died at age 94.

1909~ Simon Newcomb (b. Mar. 12, 1835), Canadian-born American astronomer and mathematician.  He died of cancer at age 74.

1906~ Grace Brown (née Grace Mae Brown, b. Mar. 20, 1886), American murder victim who inspired Theodore Dreiser’s novel, An American Tragedy. She died at age 20.