August 31

Birthdays:

1970~ Queen Rania of Jordan (née Rania Al-Yassin).

1949~ Richard Gere (né Richard Tiffany Gere), American actor.

1949~ H. David Politzer (né Hugh David Politzer), American physicist and recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics.

1945~ Sir Van Morrison (né George Ivan Morrison), singer and musician.

1945~ Itzhak Perlman, Israeli violinist.

1935~ Eldridge Cleaver (né Leroy Eldridge Cleaver, d. May 1, 1998), American political rights activist during the Civil Rights Movement.  He was an early leader in the Black Panther Party.  He died at age 62.

1935~ Frank Robinson, American baseball player.

1928~ James Coburn (né James Harrison Coburn, III, d. Nov. 18, 2002), American actor best known for his role in western films.  He died of a heart attack at age 74.

1924~ Thomas Hudner (né Thomas Jerome Hudner, Jr., d. Nov. 13, 2017), American Navy hero who reached across a racial divide.  During the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War, Hudner deliberately crashed his aircraft in an attempt to save the life of his wingman, Ensign Jesse Brown (1926 ~ 1950), who was African-American.  Unfortunately, Brown subsequently died from wounds he sustained in the battle.  For his efforts, Hudner received the Medal of Honor.  He was from Massachusetts.  He died at age 93.

1918~ Alan Jay Lerner (d. June 14, 1986), American composer.  He died of lung cancer at age 67.

1916~ Daniel Schorr (né Daniel Louis Schorr, d. July 23, 2010), American journalist.  He was 93 years old.

1908~ William Saroyan (d. May 18, 1981), American writer.  He died of prostate cancer at age 72.

1907~ William Shawn (né William Chon, d. Dec. 8, 1992), American journalist and long-time editor of The New Yorker.  He died at age 85.

1903~ Arthur Godfrey (né Arthur Morton Godfrey, d. Mar. 16, 1983), American actor and television host.  He died of emphysema at age 79.

1880~ Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (d. Nov. 28, 1962).  She became queen at age 10, when her father, King William III, died.  She died at age 82.

1879~ Emperor Taishō (d. Dec. 25, 1926), Emperor of Japan.  He died of a heart attack at age 47.

1879~ Alma Mahler (née Alma Margaretha Maria Schindler, d. Dec. 11, 1964), Austrian-born socialite, composer and artist.  She married three famous men, including the composer Gustav Mahler, the architect Walter Gropius, and novelist Franz Werfel.  She died at age 85.

1871~ James E. Ferguson (né James Edward Ferguson, Jr., d. Sept. 21, 1944), 26^th Governor of Texas.  He served as Governor from January 1915 until August 1917.  Several years later, his wife, Miriam, became Governor, making him the First Gentleman of Texas.  He died 3 weeks after his 73^rd birthday.

1870~ Maria Montessori (d. May 6, 1952), Italian educator.  She died at age 81.

1823~ Galusha A. Grow (néGalusha Aaron Grow, d. Mar. 31, 1907), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.  He was a Representative from Pennsylvania.  He served as Speaker from July 1861 through March 1863.  He died at age 84.

1542~ Isabella de’Medici (d. July 16, 1576), Italian princess.  She is believed to have been murdered at age 33. 

1168~ Emperor Zhangzong of Jin (d. Dec. 29, 1208), Chinese Emperor.  He was emperor from January 1189 until his death in December 1208.  He died at age 40.

12~ The traditional date ascribed to the birth of Caligula (d. Jan. 24, 41), a Roman Emperor known for his cruel despotism.  He was assassinated by his Praetorian Guards, who then proclaimed Claudius, Caligula’s uncle, as Emperor.  Caligula was about 28 years old at the time of his death.

Events that Changed the World:

2012~ A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck in the Philippines.

2006~ Edvard Munch’s famous painting, The Scream, which had been stolen in August 2002, almost 2 years to the day, was recovered by Norwegian police.

1997~ Diana, Princess of Wales (1961 ~ 1997) was killed in a car crash in Paris.

1991~ Kyrgyzstan declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

1920~ The first radio news program began broadcasting in Detroit, Michigan.

1895~ Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838 ~ 1917) of Germany patented his Navigable Balloon.

1886~ An earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina killed 100 people.

1864~ General William T. Sherman (1820 ~ 1891) began an assault on Atlanta, Georgia during the American Civil War.

1314~ King Håkon V Magnusson (1270 ~ 1319) moved the capital of Norway from Bergen to Oslo.

Good-Byes:

2013~ Jan Camiel Willems (b. Sept. 18, 1939), Belgian mathematician.  He died less than 3 weeks before his 74^th birthday.

2013~ Sir David Frost (né David Paradine Frost, b. Apr. 7, 1939), British journalist most famous for his interviews with U.S. President Richard Nixon.  He was the master interviewer who got President Nixon to apologize.  He died of a heart attack at age 74.

2011~ Betty Skelton Erde (b. June 28, 1926), American aviatrix who raced into the record books. She held a land speed record and aerobatics pilot who set 17 aviation and automobile records.  She helped create opportunities for women in aviation, auto racing, astronautics and advertising.  She was born in Pensacola, Florida.  She died at age 85.

2008~ Ike Pappas (né Icarus Nestor Pappas, b. Apr. 16, 1933), American journalist. He died of congestive heart failure at age 75.

2005~ Sir Joseph Rotblat (né Józef Rotblat, b. Nov. 4, 1908), Polish-English physicist and recipient of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize.  He was born in Warsaw, Poland, but left for England before the Holocaust.  He had been recruited to work on the Manhattan Project, but left on grounds of conscience.  In 1995, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in nuclear disarmament.  He died at age 96.

2002~ George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (b. Dec. 6, 1920), English chemist and recipient of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 81.

2002~ Lionel Hampton (néLionel Leo Hampton, b. Apr. 20, 1908), American jazz musician and bandleader.  He died at age 94.

1997~ Diana, Princess of Wales (née Diana Frances Spencer, b. July 1, 1961), first wife of England’s Prince Charles and mother of Prince William and Prince Henry.  She died at age 36 of injuries sustained in a car accident in Paris, France.  The car she was in was driven by Henri Paul (1956 ~ 1997) and they were fleeing from the paparazzi.

1997~ Dodi Al-Fayed (b. Apr. 15, 1955), Egyptian lover of Diana, Princess of Wales.  He was killed in the car crash that also killed the Princess.  He died at age 42.

1986~ Urho Kekkonen (b. Sept. 3, 1900), President of Finland.  He served as President from March 1956 through January 1982.  He died 3 days before his 86^th birthday.

1986~ Henry Moore (né Henry Spencer Moore, b. July 30, 1898), English sculptor.  He died a month after his 88^th birthday.

1985~ Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet (b. Sept. 3, 1899), Australian virologist and recipient of the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his contribution to the study of immunology.  He died 3 days before his 86^th birthday.

1979~ Sally Rand (née Hattie Helen Gould Beck, b. Apr. 3, 1904), American burlesque dancer.  She died at age 75 from congestive heart failure.

1973~ John Ford (b. Feb. 1, 1894), American film director.  He died of stomach cancer at age 79.

1969~ Rocky Marciano (né Rocco Francis Marchegiano, b. Sept. 1, 1923), American boxer. He was born in Brockton, Massachusetts.  He was killed the day before his 46^th birthday when the small plane he was in crashed.

1963~ Georges Braque (b. May 13, 1882), French artist, painter and sculptor.  He died at age 81.

1945~ Stefan Banach (b. Mar. 30, 1892), Polish mathematician.  He is considered to be the founder of modern functional analysis.  He died of lung cancer at age 53.

1869~ Mary Ward (née Mary King, b. Apr. 27, 1827), Irish astronomer and entomologist. She was killed at age 42 when she fell under the wheels of an experimental steam vehicle.

1867~ Charles Baudelaire (né Charles Pierre Baudelaire, b. Apr. 9, 1821), French post, essayist and art critic.  He was a pioneering translator of Edgar Allen Poe.  He died at age 46.

1800~ John Blair, Jr. (b. Apr. 17, 1732), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated by President George Washington, and was on the first High Court.  He served on the Court from September 1789 until October 1975.  He was replaced by Samuel Chase, who was also born on April 17.  Blair died at age 68.

1688~ John Bunyan (b. Nov. 30, 1628), English writer.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on November 30, 1628.  He died at age 59.

1654~ Ole Worm (b. May 13, 1588), Danish physician and historian.  He died at age 66.

1422~ King Henry V of England (b. Aug. 9, 1386).  He died just 3 weeks after his 36^th birthday of dysentery while in France.  Upon his death, his infant son, Henry VI, became King of England.

August 30

Birthdays:

1972~ Cameron Diaz (née Cameron Michelle Diaz), American actress.

1953~ Robert Parish, American basketball player from Louisiana.  He had a long career with the Boston Celtics, where he was known as Chief.

1948~ Lewis Black (né Lewis Niles Black), American comedian.

1946~ Peggy Lipton (née Margaret Ann Lipton), American model and actress best known for her role on The Mod Squad.  She is the mother of Rashida Jones.

1944~ Molly Ivins (née Mary Tyler Ivans, d. Jan. 31, 2007), American political humorist. She died at age 62 of breast cancer.

1943~ Tal Brody (né Talbot Brody), American-Israeli basketball player.

1943~ Jean-Claude Killy, French skier.

1930~ Warren Buffett (né Warren Edward Buffett), American entrepreneur.

1927~ Geoffrey Beene (né Samuel Albert Bozeman, Jr., d. Sept. 28, 2004), American fashion designer.  He was from Hayesville, Louisiana.  He died of cancer 29 days after his 77^th birthday.

1926~ Daryl Gates (né Darrel Francis Gates, d. Apr. 16, 2010), American police chief of the City of Los Angeles.  He was the co-founder of the D.A.R.E. Program (Drugs Abuse Resistance Education).  He is best known for having been the Chief of Police for the City of Los Angeles during the Rodney King beatings and subsequent riots.  He died of cancer at age 83.

1922~ Robert Rines (né Robert Harvey Rines, d. Nov. 1, 2009), lawyer and inventor who is best known as the man who hunted “Nessie” the Loch Ness monster.  He was also an accomplished violinist and composer.  He died at age 87.

1922~ Robert Blakeley (né Robert Wilson Blakeley, d. Oct. 25, 2017), American graphic artist and civil servant who designed the iconic fallout shelter sign.  He died at age 95.

1919~ Kitty Wells (née Ellen Muriel Deason, d. July 16, 2012), the American trailblazing “Queen of Country Music.”  She died at age 92.

1918~ Ted Williams (né Theodore Samuel Williams, d. July 5, 2002), American baseball player who spent his entire 21-year major league baseball career with the Boston Red Sox.  He died of cardiac arrest at age 83.

1915~ Princess Lilian of Sweden, Duchess of Halland (née Lillian May Davies, d. Mar. 10, 2013), Welsh coalminer’s daughter who became a princess.  She died at age 97.

1913~ Sir Richard Stone (né John Richard Stone, d. Dec. 6, 1991), British economist and recipient of the 1984 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 78.

1912~ Edward Mills Purcell (d. Mar. 7, 1997), American physicist and recipient of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts at age 84.

1912~ Nancy Wake (née Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, d. Aug. 7, 2011), French secret agent during World War II.  She was a leading figure on the French resistance.  She died 23 days before her 99^th birthday.

1908~ Fred MacMurray (né Frederick Martin MacMurray, d. Nov. 5, 1991), American actor, best known for his role as the father on the television series, My Three Sons.  He died of pneumonia at age 83.

1901~ John Gunther (d. May 29, 1970), American journalist and author.  He is best known for his 1949 memoir, Death Be Not Proud, which chronicled the death of his young son from a brain tumor.  Gunther died of liver cancer at age 68.

1898~ Shirley Booth (d. Oct. 16, 1992), American actress.  She is best known for her portrayal of Hazel on the sit-com of the same name.  She died in North Chatham, Massachusetts at age 94.

1893~ Huey P. Long (néHuey Pierce Long, Jr., d. Sept. 10, 1935), 40^th Governor of Louisiana.  He was also a United States Senator.  He was assassinated in the Louisiana Capital building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1935.  He was killed 11 days after his 42^nd birthday.

1884~ Theodor Svedberg (d. Feb. 25, 1971), Swedish chemist and recipient of the 1926 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 86.

1871~ Ernest Rutherford, 1^st Baron Rutherford of Nelson (d. Oct. 19, 1937), British physicist and recipient of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He is known as the Father of Nuclear Physics. He died at age 66.

1856~ Carl David Tolmé Runge (d. Jan. 3, 1927), German mathematician.  He died at age 70.

1852~ Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff (d. Mar. 1, 1911), Dutch physical and organic chemist.  He was the first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which awarded in 1901.  He was the first recipient of the Nobel Prize given in this category.  He died of tuberculosis at age 58.

1837~ Ellen “Nell” Arthur (née Ellen Lewis Herdon, d. Jan. 12, 1880), American wife of President Chester Arthur.  She died of pneumonia at age 42 before her husband became President.

1818~ Alexander H. Rice (né Alexander Hamilton Rice, d. July 22, 1895), 30^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1876 through January 1879.  He was born in Newton, Massachusetts and died in Melrose, Massachusetts.  He died at age 76 following a long illness.

1797~ Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, d. Feb. 1, 1851), English author best known for her gothic novel, Frankenstein.  She died at age 53.

1748~ Jacques-Louis David (d. Dec. 29, 1825), French painter.  He died at age 77.

1400~ Vlad II Dracul (d. Dec. 2, 1447).  He was the father of Vlad the Impaler.  His name in English means Vlad the Dragon.  He was assassinated.  The exact dates of his birth and death are not known.  He is believed to have been about 51 or 52 at the time of his death.

Events that Changed the World:

1995~ NATO launched Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serbs during the Bosnian War.

1967~ Thurgood Marshall (1908 ~ 1993) was confirmed as the first African-American Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

1956~ The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway connecting New Orleans with the North Shore opened in Louisiana.

1918~ Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin (1870 ~ 1924), was seriously injured during an assassination attempt by Fanya Kaplan (1890 ~ 1918).  She was executed in early September for her actions.

1862~ The Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as Manassas, which ended in a Confederate victory during the American Civil War.  The battle had begun 2 days earlier.

1835~ The City of Melbourne, Australia was founded.

1464~ Pope Paul II (1417 ~ 1471) succeeds Pope Pius II (1405 ~ 1464) to become the 211^thPope.

Good-Byes:

2017~ Louise L. Hay (née Helen Vera Lunney, b. Oct. 8, 1926), American professional speaker and self-help guru who pushed positive thinking.  She died at age 90.

2015~ Wes Craven (né Wesley Earl Craven, b. Aug. 2, 1939), American film director who was the master of horror creating the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and bringing Freddy Krueger to life.  He died of brain cancer 28 days after his 76^th birthday.

2015~ Oliver Sacks (né Oliver Wolf Sacks, b. July 9, 1933), English neurologist and author who explored the human mind.  He was 82 years old.

2013~ Seamus Heaney (né Seamus Justin Heaney, b. Apr. 13, 1939), Irish writer and poet who wrote of mud, history and country.  He was the recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 74.

2009~ Nancy Talbot (née Nancy Orr, b. Aug. 17, 1920), American women’s clothier who sold classic looks.  She and her husband established Talbot’s in 1947 to sell timeless, fashionable clothing.  She died 2 weeks after her 89^th birthday.

2006~ Naguib Mahfouz (b. Dec. 11, 1911), Egyptian author and recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature.  He died at age 94.

1993~ Richard Jordan, Jr. (né Robert Anson Jordan, Jr., b. July 19, 1937), American actor.  He starred in Taylor Caldwell’s adaptation of Captains and the Kings.  He died of a brain tumor at age 56.

1985~ Taylor Caldwell (née Janet Miriam Holland Taylor Caldwell, b. Sept. 7, 1900), English-born American novelist.  She is best known for her novel entitled Captains and the Kings.  She died 8 days before her 85^th birthday.

1970~ Abraham Zapruder (b. May 15, 1905), American businessman who filed the famous Zapruder film showing the assassination of President John Kennedy.  He died of stomach cancer at age 65.

1940~ Sir J. J. Thomson (né Joseph John Thomson, b. Dec. 18, 1856), English physicist and recipient of the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the electron and for his work on the conduction of electricity in gases.  He died at age 83.

1938~ Max Factor, Sr. (né Maksymilian Faktorowicz,b. Sept. 15, 1877), Polish-born American make-up artist and founder of the Max Factor Company, a cosmetics manufacturer.  He died of an illness following a fright just 16 days before his 66^th birthday.

1928~ Wilhelm Wien (b. Jan. 13, 1864), German physicist and recipient of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 64.

1890~ Marianne North (b. Oct. 24, 1830), British biologist and botanical artist. She died at age 59.

1879~ John Bell Hood (b. June 1, 1831), Confederate General.  He died of yellow fever in New Orleans, Louisiana at age 48.

1483~ King Louis XI of France (b. July 3, 1423).  He was known as Louis the Prudent.  He was King from July 1461 until his death at age 60 in August 1483.

1181~ Pope Alexander III.  He was Pope from September 1159 until his death on this date 22 years later.  The date of his birth is unknown.

August 29

Birthdays:

1959~ Rebecca De Mornay (née Rebecca Jane Pearch), American actress.

1959~ Stephan Wolfram, English-born physicist and mathematician.

1958~ Michael Jackson (né Michael Joseph Jackson, d. June 25, 2009), American singer.  He died at age 50 of a drug overdose.

1955~ Jack Lew (né Jacob Joseph Lew), 76^th United States Secretary of the Treasury.  He assumed that office in February 2013.  He previously served as the White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama, from January 2012 until January 2013.  He served in both positions during the Obama administration.

1943~ Arthur B. McDonald (né Arthur Bruce McDonald), Canadian astrophysicist and recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics.

1940~ James Brady (né James Scott Brady, d. Aug. 4, 2014) 14^th White House Press Secretary.  He served under President Ronald Reagan.  He was the Reagan staffer who championed gun control.  He was seriously injured when he was shot in the head during an assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981 and spent the last 33 years in a wheelchair.  Following his injury, he became a gun control advocate.  He died at age 73, 25 days before his 74^th birthday.

1938~ Elliott Gould (né Elliot Goldstein), American actor.

1938~ Robert Rubin (né Robert Edward Rubin), 70^th United States Secretary of the Treasury.  He served in the Clinton administration from January 1995 until July 1999.

1937~ James Florio (né James Joseph Florio), 49^th Governor of New Jersey.  He served as Governor from January 1990 until January 1994.

1936~ John McCain (né John Sidney McCain, III, d. Aug. 25, 2018), American politician.  He served in Vietnam and from 1967 until 1973, he was a Prisoner of War.   He died of brain cancer 4 days before his 82^nd birthday.

1924~ Dinah Washington (née Ruth Lee Jones, d. Dec. 14, 1963), African-American singer and pianist.  She died at age 39.

1923~ Sir Richard Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (d. Aug. 24, 2014), British actor and film director.  He was the Gandhi director who championed against injustice.  He died 4 days before his 91^st birthday.

1922~ Richard Blackwell (né Richard Sylvan Selzer, d. Oct. 19, 2008), American fashion designer known as Mr. Blackwell, who skewered the worst-dressed celebrities.  He is best known for creating the “10 Worst Dress Women List.”  He died at age 86.

1922~ Arthur Anderson (né Arthur John Miles Anderson, d. Apr. 9, 2016), American versatile actor who voiced the Luck Charms leprechaun.  He was 93 years old.

1920~ Charles “Charlie” Parker, Jr. (d. Mar. 12, 1955), American jazz saxophonist. He was known as Bird.  He died of lobar pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer at age 34.

1919~ Jay Marshall (né James Ward Marshall, d. May 10, 2005), American magician and ventriloquist.  He died of a heart attack at age 85.

1917~ Isabel Sanford (née Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford, d. July 9, 2004), American actress best known for her role as “Weezy” Jefferson on the sit-com The Jeffersons.  She died at age 86.

1915~ Ingrid Bergman (d. Aug.  29, 1982), Swedish actress.  She was also the mother of actress Isabella Rossellini.  She died of breast cancer on her 67^th birthday.

1904~ Werner Forssmann (b. June 1, 1979), German physician and recipient of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work with heart catheterization.  From 1932 until 1945, he was a member of the Nazi Party.  He died at age 74.

1876~ Charles F. Kettering (né Charles Franklin Kettering, d. Nov. 25, 1958), American engineer and inventor and automobile pioneer.  He died at age 82.

1871~ Albert François Lebrun (d. Mar. 6, 1950), President of France.  He was the last president of the Third Republic.  He served in that office from May 1932 until July 1940.  He died of pneumonia at age 78.

1862~ Maurice Maeterlinck (d. May 6, 1949), Belgian writer and recipient of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 86.

1843~ David B. Hill (né David Bennett Hill, d. Oct. 20, 1910), 29^th Governor of New York State.  He served as Governor from January 1885 through December 1891.  He died at age 67.

1811~ Henry Bergh (d. Mar. 12, 1888), American activist and founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).  He died at age 74.

1809~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (d. Oct. 7, 1894), American physician and author.  He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and died in Boston.  He died at age 85.

1780~ Richard Rush (d. July 30, 1859), 8^th United States Attorney General.  He served under President James Madison from February 1814 until November 1817.  He subsequently went on to serve as the 8^th United States Secretary of the Treasury, from March 1825 until March 1829. He died a month before his 79^th birthday.

1780~ Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (d. Jan. 14, 1867), French painter and artist.  He died at age 86.

1756~ Jan Śniadecki (d. Nov. 9, 1830), Polish mathematician.  He died at age 72.

1632~ John Locke (d. Oct. 28, 1704), English philosopher and physician.  He died at age 72.

Events that Changed the World:

2012~ Hurricane Isaac made landfall in Louisiana. The storm had formed in the Atlantic on August 21.

2005~ Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast creating severe damage along the coast of Mississippi and the City of New Orleans.  Nearly 2000 people were killed.

1966~ The Beatles last concert was held in Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

1958~ The United States Air Force Academy opened in Colorado Springs Colorado.

1898~ The Goodyear tire company was founded.

1885~ Gottlieb Daimler (1834 ~ 1900) patented the first internal combustion motorcycle.

1869~ The Mount Washington Cog Railway opened in New Hampshire.

1842~ The signing of the Treaty of Nanking marked the end of the First Opium War.

1831~ Michael Faraday (1791 ~ 1867) discovered electromagnetic induction.

1786~ Armed farmers rebelled against the high debt and tax burdens in what became known as Shays’ Rebellion.

1758~ The first American Indian Reservation was established at Indian Mills, New Jersey.

1756~ Frederick the Great, King of Prussia (1712 ~ 1786) attacked Saxony, thereby initiating the Seven Years’ War.

1541~ The Ottoman Turks captured Buda, the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom.

1484~ Pope Innocent VIII (1432 ~ 1942) began his reign as Pope.  He was Pope until his death in July 1492.  He succeeded Pope Sixtus IV (1414 ~ 1484).

1261~ Pope Urban IV (1195 ~ 1264) began his reign as Pope.  He was Pope until his death in October 1264.  He succeeded Pope Alexander IV (d. 1261) to become the 182^nd Pope.

Good-Byes:

2016~ Gene Wilder (né Jerome Silberman, b. June 11, 1933), American actor and husband of Gilda Radner.  He died at age 83.

2015~ Wayne Dyer (né Wayne Walter Dyer, b. May 10, 1940), American self-help guru who preached self-reliance.  He died of a heart attack at age 75 years old.

2013~ Robert Taylor (né Robert Ridgley Taylor, b. Sept. 1, 1935), American entrepreneur who put soap in a bottle.  He invented Softsoap and sold it to Colgate-Palmolive.  He died of cancer just 4 days before his 78^th birthday.

2012~ Shoshichi Kobayashi (b. Jan. 4, 1932), Japanese mathematician.  He was 80 years old.

2011~ David “Honeyboy” Edwards (b. June 28, 2015), African-American guitarist and last of the original Delta bluesmen.  He died of heart failure at age 96.

2007~ Alfred H. Peet (b. Mar. 10, 1920), Dutch-born businessman and founder of Peet’s Coffee & Tea.  He died at age 87.

1987~ Lee Marvin (b. Feb. 19, 1924), He is best known for his palimony lawsuit in which his live-in girlfriend sued him for financial support after their break-up.  He died of a heart attack at age 63.

1982~ Ingrid Bergman (b. Aug. 29, 1915), Swedish actress.  She was also the mother of actress Isabella Rossellini.  She died of breast cancer on her 67^th birthday.

1981~ Lowell Thomas (né Lowell Jackson Thomas, b. Apr. 6, 1892), American travel writer and journalist.  He died at age 89.

1971~ Nathan F. Leopold, Jr. (né Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr., b. Nov. 19, 1904), American murderer.  In 1924, he, along with his college friend, Richard Albert Loeb (1905 ~ 1936), kidnapped and murdered 14-year Robert Franks simply because they thought they could get away with the “perfect crime.”  They were quickly arrested and tried for the crime.  Both were sentenced to life in prison.  Loeb was killed in prison by a fellow inmate.  Leopold was paroled in 1958.  He died of a heart attack at age 66.

1931~ David T. Abercrombie (né David Thomas Abercrombie, b. June 6, 1867), American businessman and co-founder of the clothing store, Abercrombie and Fitch. He died at age 64.

1930~ William Archibald Spooner (b. July 22, 1844), English priest and scholar.  His name is given to the linguistic phenomenon of spoonerism.  He died at age 86.

1922~ Sophie Willcock Bryant (b. Feb. 15, 1850), Irish mathematician and social activist.  She died at age 72.

1891~ Pierre Lallement (b. Oct. 25, 1843), French inventor of the bicycle.  He died at age 47 in Boston, Massachusetts.

1877~ Brigham Young (b. June 1, 1801), American religious leader of the Mormon.  He died at age 76.

1856~ Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck (née Mary Anne Galton, b. Nov. 25, 1778), British writer and activist in the anti-slavery movement.  She died at age 77.

1799~ Pope Pius VI (né Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, b. Dec. 25, 1717).  He reigned as Pope from February 15, 1775 until his death on this date 24 years later.  He was 81 years old.

1526~ King Louis II of Hungary (b. July 1, 1506).  He was killed during the Battle of Mohács fighting the Ottomans at age 20.

1123~ Eystein I of Norway (b. 1088).  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been between 33 and 35 at the time of his death.

939~ Wang Jipeng, Chinese Emperor of the Min Dynasty.  The date of his birth is not known.

August 28

Birthdays:

2003~ Quvenzhané Wallis, American actress from Houma, Louisiana.  She starred in the film, Beasts of the Southern Wild when she was 5 years old.

1986~ Galid Shalit, Israeli soldier who was abducted by Hamas in June 2006 and held for over 5 years until he was released as part of a prisoner exchange in October 2011.

1957~ Daniel Stern (né Daniel Jacob Stern), American actor.  He is best known for his role as Shrevie in the movie Diner.

1943~ Lou Piniella (né Louis Victor Piniella), American baseball player and manager.

1940~ Gloria Leonard (née Gale Sandra Klinetsky, d. Feb. 3, 2014), American porn star who became a publisher of High Society, a pornographic magazine.  She was also a pioneer in telephone sex.  She died of a stroke at age 73.

1940~ William Cohen (né William Sebastian Cohen), American politician and United States Senator from Maine.  He was the 20^th Secretary of Defense from 1997 until 2000, during the Clinton administration.  He was born in Bangor, Maine.

1939~ Sir John Kingman (né John Frank Charles Kingman), British mathematician.

1931~ Ed Pauls (né Edward Arthur Pauls, d. Oct. 9, 2011), American inventor of the Nordic Track.  He was 80 years old.

1930~ Ben Gazzara (né Biagio Anthony Gazzarra, d. Feb. 3, 2012), American actor. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 81.

1921~ Nancy Kulp (d. Feb. 3, 1991), American actress best known for her role as Miss Jane on the Beverly Hillbillies.  She died of cancer at age 69.

1919~ Sir Godfrey Hounsfield (né Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield, d. Aug. 12, 2004), English electrical engineer and inventor.  He was the recipient of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He died 2 weeks before his 85^th birthday.

1919~ Ben Agajanian (né Benjamin James Agajanian, d. Feb. 8, 2018), American “Toeless Wonder” who became an NFL Kicker.  In 1941, he suffered a gruesome injury when his right foot was caught in an elevator, damaging his toes beyond repair.  Despite his injury, he was still able to kick a football.  He died at age 98.

1915~ Tasha Tudor (d. June 18, 2008), American author and illustrator.  She was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Marlboro, Vermont.  She was 92 years old.

1911~ Joseph Luns (né Joseph Marie Antoine Hubert Luns, d. July 17, 2002), Dutch politician and 5^th Secretary General of NATO.  He died at age 90.

1910~ Tjalling Koopmans (né Tjalling Charles Koopmans, d. Feb. 26, 1985), Dutch-American mathematician and recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Economic Science.  He died in New Haven, Connecticut at age 74.

1903~ Bruno Bettelheim (d. Mar. 13, 1990), Austrian-born American psychiatrist. He died at age 86.

1878~ George Whipple (né George Hoyt Whipple, d. Feb. 1, 1976), American pathologist and recipient of the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in liver therapy.  He was born in Ashland, New Hampshire.  He died at age 97.

1831~ Lucy Webb Hayes (née Lucy Ware Webb, d. June 25, 1883), First Lady of the United States.  She was the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes.  She was known as Lemonade Lucy due to the fact that alcohol was banned from the White House during the Hayes administration.  She instituted the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn.  She died of a stroke at age 57.

1827~ Grand Duchess Catherine Makhailovna of Russia (d. May 12, 1894).  She died at age 66.

1801~ Antoine Augustin Cournot (d. Mar. 31, 1877), French mathematician.  He died at age 75.

1774~ Elizabeth Ann Seton (née Elizabeth Ann Bayley, d. Jan. 4, 1821), American Catholic nun and American saint.  She was canonized as a saint in 1975.  She died at age 46 of tuberculosis.

1749~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (d. Mar. 22, 1832), German writer and politician.  He died at age 82.

1728~ John Stark (d. May 8, 1822), General during the American Revolutionary War.  He was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  A road in Dover, New Hampshire is named after him.  He died in Derryfield, New Hampshire at age 93.

Events that Changed the World:

2012~ The Republican National Convention was held in Tampa Bay, Florida.

1996~ Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales, were divorced. They had been separated for 4 years. They were married on July 29, 1981.

1968~ The Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois and was interrupted by riots.

1964~ The Philadelphia race riots began.  The riots went on for two days.

1963~ Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 ~ 1968), gave his I Have a Dream speech in Washington, D.C.

1957~ Senator Strom Thurmond (1902 ~ 2003) began a filibuster to prevent the Senate from voting on the Civil Rights Act of 1957.  Senator Thurmond spoke non-stop for 24 hours and 18 minutes.

1955~ Emmett Till (1941 ~ 1955) African-American who was brutally lynched and murdered in Mississippi, sparking a turning point in the American Civil Rights Movement. He was lynched after a white woman claimed he had offended her.

1937~ Toyota Motors became an independent company.

1916~ During World War I, Germany declared war on Romania.  Italy declared war on Germany.

1898~ Caleb Bradham (1867 ~ 1934), invented the soft drink that eventually became known as Pepsi-Cola.

1867~ The United States took possession of the previously uninhabited Midway Atoll.

1845~ Scientific American magazine began publication.

1789~ Astronomer William Herschel (1738 ~ 1822) discovered a new moon of Saturn that would be named Enceladus.

1619~ Ferdinand II (1578 ~ 1637) was elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

1609~ Henry Hudson (1565 ~ 1611) discovered the Delaware Bay.

1521~ The Ottoman Turks began occupation of Belgrade, Serbia.

Good-Byes:

2014~ John A. Walker, Jr. (né John Anthony Walker, Jr., b. July 28, 1937), American Navy officer who lead a family spy ring.  He was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union from 1968 until 1985.  He died in prison a month after his 77^th birthday.

2013~ Manson Whitlock (b. Feb. 21, 1917), American repairman who cherished typewriters.  He died at age 96.

2012~ Eva Figes (née Eva Unger, b. Apr. 15, 1932), German-born Jewish feminist author who escaped Nazi Germany.  She died at age 80.

2006~ Melvin Schwartz (b. Nov. 2, 1932), American physicist and recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died of Parkinson’s Disease at age 73.

2005~ George Szekeres (b. May 29, 1911), Hungarian mathematician and husband of Esther Szekeres (1910 ~ 2005).  He died within hours of his wife.  He was 94 years old.

2005~ Esther Szekeres (née Esther Klein, b. Feb. 20, 1910), Hungarian mathematician and wife of George Szekeres (1911 ~ 2005).  She and her husband died within hours of each other.  She was 95 years old.

1987~ John Huston (né John Marcellus Huston, b. Aug. 5, 1906), American director and father of actress Angelica Huston.  He died in Rhode Island 23 days after his 81^st birthday.

1985~ Ruth Gordon (née Ruth Gordon Jones, b. Oct. 30, 1896), American actress, best known for her role as Maude in the 1971 cult film Harold and Maude.  She was born in Quincy, Massachusetts.  She died in Edgartown, Massachusetts at age 88.

1984~ Muhammad Naguib (b. Feb. 20, 1901), Egyptian general and 1^st President of Egypt.  He served as President from June 1953 until November 1954He died at age 83.

1978~ Bruce Catton (né Charles Bruce Catton, b. Oct. 9, 1899), American historian whose focus was the American Civil War.  He died of a respiratory illness at age 78.

1971~ Reuvein Margolies (b. Nov. 30, 1889), Hungarian-born Israeli author and Talmudic scholar.  He died at age 81.

1965~ Guilio Racah (b. Feb. 9, 1909), Italian-born Israeli physicist and mathematician.  He died at age 56 of asphyxiated of an apparent faulty heater.

1955~ Emmett Till (né Emmitt Louis Till, b. July 25, 1941), African-American teenager who was lynched and murdered in Mississippi, thereby galvanizing the American Civil Rights Movement.  He was 14 years old.

1943~ Boris III of Bulgaria (b. Jan. 30, 1894), Tsar of Bulgaria from October 1918 until his death on this date 25 years later.  He is best known for taking steps to protect the Jews of Bulgaria during World War II.  He died of a heart attack at age 49.

1915~ John Davis Long (b. Oct. 27, 1838), 34^th United States Secretary of the Navy.  He served under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt from March 1897 until Apr. 1902.  He had previously served as the 32^nd Governor of Massachusetts from January 1880 until January 1883.  He was born in Buckfield, Maine and died in Hingham, Massachusetts.  He was 76 years old at the time of his death.

1903~ Frederick Law Olmsted (b. Apr. 26, 1822), American landscape architect, best known for his planning and designing of Central Park in New York City.  He was born in Hartford, Connecticut and died at age 81 in Belmont, Massachusetts.

1784~ Junípero Serra (b. Nov. 24, 1713), Franciscan missionary who, in 1769, explored the California coast and founded the first mission in present-day San Diego de Alcala, California.  He died at age 70.

1665~ Elisabetta Sirani (b. Jan. 8, 1638), Italian painter and printmaker.  She established an academy for other women artists.  She died under mysterious circumstances at age 27.

1582~ Taichang (d. Sept. 26, 1620), 15^th Chinese Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.  He was emperor for only a month, from August 28 until his death on September 26, 1620.  He died a month after his 38^th birthday.

1231~ Eleanor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark (b. 1211), Portuguese infant.  She married Vlademar the Young of Denmark. The exact date of her birth is not known.  She died in childbirth at age 19 or 20.

1055~ Emperor Xingzong of Liao (b. Apr. 3, 1016), 7^th Chinese Emperor of the Liao Dynasty.  He died at age 39.

430~ Saint Augustine of Hippo (b. Nov. 13, 354), early Christian theologian.  He died at age 75.