August 23

Birthdays:

1978~ Kobe Bryant (né Kobe Bean Bryant), American basketball player.

1975~ Sean Leary (d. Mar. 13, 2014), American extreme athlete who found escape in flight. He was killed at age 38 in a BASE jumping accident in Utah’s Zion National Park.

1974~ Sir Konstantin Novoselov, Russian-English physicist and recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.

1970~ River Phoenix (né River Jude Bottom, d. Oct. 31. 1993), American actor. He died at age 23 of a drug overdose.

1970~ Jay Mohr (né Jon Ferguson Mohr), American actor.

1956~ Andreas Floer (d. May 15, 1991), German mathematician.  He committed suicide at age 34.

1951~ Queen Noor of Jordan (née Lisa Najeeb Halaby). She was the fourth wife of King Hussein of Jordan.

1949~ Shelley Long (née Shelley Lee Long), American actress, best known for her role as Diane on the television sit-com Cheers.

1946~ Keith Moon (né Keith John Moon, d. Sept. 7, 1978), British musician who was the drummer for The Who.  He died of a drug overdose 15 days after his 32^nd birthday.

1944~ Antonia Novello, Puerto Rican-born American physician.  She was the 14^th Surgeon General of the United States.  She served under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

1933~ Robert Curl (né Robert Floyd Curl, Jr.), American chemist and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

1932~ Mark Russell (néMark Ruslander), American political commentator and humorist.

1931~ Barbara Eden (née Barbara Jean Morehead), American actress, best known for her role as the genii, Jeannie, on the television sit-com, I Dream of Jeannie.

1931~ Hamilton O. Smith (né Hamilton Othanel Smith), American microbiologist and recipient of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on restriction enzymes.

1930~ Michel Rocard (d. July 2, 2016), French politician and Prime Minister of France. He died at age 85.

1929~ Vera Miles (née Vera June Miles), American actress.

1924~ Ephraim Kishon (d. Jan. 29, 2005), Israeli writer.  He died at age 80.

1924~ Robert Solow (né Robert Merton Solow), American economist and recipient of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

1921~ Kenneth Arrow (né Kenneth Joseph Arrow, d. Feb. 21, 2017), American economist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 95.

1919~ Vladimir Abramovich Rokhlin (d. Dec. 3, 1984), Soviet mathematician.  He died at age 65.

1912~ Gene Kelly (né Eugene Curran Kelly, d. Feb. 2, 1996), American dancer and actor.  He died at age 83.

1908~ Hannah Frank (d. Dec. 18, 2008), Scottish sculptor.  She died at age 100.

1905~ Ernie Bushmiller (né Ernest Paul Bushmiller, Jr., d. Aug 15, 1982), American cartoonist and creator of Nancy.  He died 8 days before his 77^th birthday.

1902~ Ida Siekmann (b. Aug. 22, 1961), became the first person to die in an attempt to cross the Berlin Wall.  She died from injuries when she jumped out of the window hoping to land on the other side of the Wall.  She died 1 day before her 59^th birthday.

1884~ Ogden L. Mills (néOgden Livingston Mills, d. Oct. 11, 1937), American politician.  He served as the 50^th United States Secretary of the Treasury during the Herbert Hoover administration.  He served in that Office from February 1932 until March 1933.  He died at age 53 of heart disease.

1868~ Edgar Lee Masters (d. Mar. 5, 1950), American author best known for his book of poetry, Spoon River Anthology.  He died at age 81.

1847~ Sarah Frances Whiting (d. Sept. 12, 1927), American physicist and astronomer. She died 20 days after her 80^th birthday.

1846~ Alexander Milne Calder (d. June 4, 1923), Scottish-born American sculptor.  He died at age 76.

1829~ Moritz Cantor (né Moritz Benedikt Cantor, d. Apr. 10, 1920), German mathematician and historian.  He died at age 90.

1785~ Oliver Hazard Perry (d. Aug. 23, 1819), American naval officer known for his heroism during the War of 1812.  He died of yellow fever on his 34^thbirthday.

1781~ John M. Berrien (né John Macpherson Berrien, d. Jan. 1, 1856), 10^th United States Attorney General.  He served under President Andrew Jackson from March 1829 until July 1831. He died at age 81.

1754~ King Louis XVI of France (d. Jan. 21, 1793).  Last French king before the collapse of the monarchy.  He was executed by guillotine after having been found guilty of treason by the French Convention.  He was 38 at the time of his execution.

Events that Changed the World:

2011~ A 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Virginia causing considerable damage to the Washington Monument, and other structures in Washington, D.C.

2007~ The skeletal remains of Russia’s last royal family members were discovered near Yekateringburg, Russia.  The remains were identified as being those of Alexei Nikolaevich and the Grand Duchess Anastasia.

1991~ The World Wide Web opened to the public.

1973~ During the course of a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, several hostages were held over the next five days.  During this period, the hostages began to sympathize with their captors, leading to what is now known as Stockholm Syndrome.

1970~ Mexican-American union leader, César Chávez (1927 ~ 1993) organized the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in the US.

1966~ Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first photographs of Earth from orbit around the moon.

1939~ Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a secret agreement outlining specific boundaries for the future division of Northern and Eastern Europe between German and Soviet powers.

1929~ The Jewish community in Hebron was attacked by Arabs, fighting continued for two days and by the end of the second day, nearly 70 Jews were killed and the remainder of the Jewish community was forced to leave the city.

1921~ The British installed King Faisal I to rule over Iraq.  He was the son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali (d. 1931), the leader of the Arab Revolt of 1916 against the Ottoman Empire.

1914~ Japan declared war on Germany in World War I.

1904~ Harry Weed (1872 ~ 1961) received a patent for the automobile tire chain.

1839~ The United Kingdom captured Hong Kong as a base as it prepared for war with Qing China.  This conflict would become known as the First Opium War.

1775~ King George III (1738 ~ 1820) of England proclaimed the American colonies in a state of open rebellion.

1614~ Jews were expelled from Frankfurt, Germany.

1521~ King Christian II (1481 ~ 1559) of Denmark was deposed as King of Sweden and Gustav Vasa (1496 ~ 1560) was elected regent.

1382~ The Mongolians, led by Khan Tokhtamysh, seized the city of Moscow

1244~ The Khwarezmina Empire seized the City of Jerusalem, taking it from the Christians who had claimed the city following the 6^th Crusade.

Good-Byes:

2016~ Steven Hill (néSolomon Krakovsky, b. Feb. 24, 1922), American actor. He is best known for his role as Adam Schiff, District Attorney on Law and Order.  He died at age 94.

2008~ Thomas Huckle Weller (b. June 15, 1915), American virologist and recipient of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 93 in Needham, Massachusetts.

2001~ Peter Maas (b. June 27, 1929), American author.  He died at age 72.

1997~ Sir John Cowdrey Kendrew (b. Mar. 24, 1917), English biochemist and crystallographer.  He was the recipient of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 80.

1995~ Alfred Eisenstaedt (b. Dec. 6, 1898), German-born photographer.  He died at age 96.

1982~ Stanford Moore (b. Sept. 4, 1913), American biochemist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died less than 2 weeks before his 69^thbirthday.

1960~ Oscar Hammerstein, II (né Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein, II, b. July 12, 1895), American lyricist.  He died of stomach cancer at age 65.

1954~ Jaan Sarv (b. Dec. 21, 1877), Estonian mathematician.  He died at age 76.

1927~ Ferdinando Nicola Sacco (b. Apr. 22, 1891) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (b. 1888). They were anarchists who were convicted of murdering two men during a blotched robbery in 1920.  Because they were Italian immigrants, it has been suggested that they did not receive a fair trial.  They were both executed.  Sacco was 36; Vanzetti was 39.

1926~ Rudolph Valentino (b. May 6, 1895), Italian-American silent film actor.  He died of peritonitis at age 31.

1819~ Oliver Hazard Perry (d. Aug. 23 1785), American naval officer known for his heroism during the War of 1812.  He died of yellow fever on his 34^th birthday.

1806~ Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (b. June 14, 1736), French physicist who developed Coulomb’s Law.  He died at age 70.

1795~ William Bradford (b. Sept. 14, 1755), 2^nd United States Attorney General. He served under President George Washington from January 1795 until his death in office in August 1795.  He died 22 days before his 40^th birthday.

1723~ Increase Mather (b. June 21, 1639), American minister and author.  He died at age 84.

1387~ King Olaf II of Denmark (b. Dec. 1370).  The exact date of his birth is unknown.  He died at age 16.

1305~ Sir William Wallace (b. 1272), Scottish knight. He was executed in London for high treason.  He was about 35 years old at the time of his death.  The date of his birth is unknown.