Birthdays:
1995~ Gabby Douglas (née Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas), American gymnast.
1977~ Psy (né Park Jae-sang), South Korean singer-songwriter. He is best known for his song and video, Gangnam Style.
1977~ Donald Trump, Jr. (né Donald John Trump, Jr.), American businessman and son of President Donald Trump.
1959~ Val Kilmer (né Val Edward Kilmer), American actor.
1958~ Bebe Neuwirth (née Beatrice Neuwirth), American actress best known for her role as Lilith on Cheers.
1952~ Sir Vaughn Jones (né Vaughan Frederick Randal Jones), New Zealander mathematician.
1948~ Donna Summer (née LaDonna Adrian Gaines, d. May 17, 2012), American singer known as the Queen of Disco. She was the reluctant diva of disco. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She died of lung cancer at age 63.
1945~ Diane von Fürstenberg (née Diane Simone Michelle Halfin), Belgian-born fashion designer.
1944~ Taylor Hackford (né Taylor Edwin Hackford), American film director and screenwriter.
1943~ John Denver (né Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.; d. Oct. 12, 1997), American singer. He was killed at age 53 while piloting his experimental aircraft, which crashed.
1943~ Sir Ben Kingsley (né Krishna Pandit Bhanji), English actor.
1941~ Sarah Miles, English actress.
1937~ Avram Hershko (né HerskóFerenc), Hungarian-born Israeli biochemist and recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
1937~ Sir Anthony Hopkins (né Philip Anthony Hopkins), Welsh actor.
1930~ Odetta Holmes (d. Dec. 2, 2008), African-American singer who gave voice to Black America. She died of heart disease 29 days before her 78th birthday.
1924~ Taylor Mead (d. May 8, 2013), American underground movie star of Warhold’s Factory. He died at age 88.
1919~ Artur Fischer (d. Jan. 27, 2016), German prolific inventor who created a DYI essential. He had more patents than Thomas Edison. He died a month after his 96th birthday.
1914~ Mary Reddick (née Mary Logan; d. Oct. 1, 1966), African-American neuroembryologist. She died at age 51.
1908~ Simon Wiesenthal (d. Sept. 20, 2005), Austrian holocaust survivor, author and Nazi hunter. He died at age 96.
1905~ Helen Dodson Prince (née Helen Dodson; d. Feb. 4, 2002), American astronomer. She is best known for her pioneering work in solar flares. She died at age 96.
1884~ Stanley Forman Reed (d. Apr. 2, 1980), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was nominated to the High Court by President Franklin Roosevelt. He served on the Court from January 1938 until February 1957. He died at age 95.
1880~ George C. Marshall (né George Catlett Marshall, Jr.; d. Oct. 16, 1959), 50th United States Secretary of State and author of the Marshall Plan. He was the recipient of the 1953 Nobel Peace Prize for being the architect of the Marshall Plan, the rebuilding of Europe following World War II. He served as Secretary of State under President Harry S Truman, from January 1947 until January 1949. He subsequently served as the 3rd United States Secretary of Defense, also during the Truman administration. He died at age 78.
1878~ Elizabeth Arden (née Florence Nightingale Graham, d. Oct. 18, 1966), Canadian-American businesswoman and founder of Elizabeth Arden, Inc., the cosmetic company. She died at age 87.
1869~ Henri Matisse (né Henri Émile Benoît Matisse; d. Nov. 3, 1954), French artist. He died at age 84.
1860~ Joseph S. Cullinan (né Joseph Stephen Cullinan; d. Mar. 11, 1937), American businessman and co-founder of Texaco. He died at age 76.
1830~ Isma’il Pasha (d. Mar. 2, 1895), Egyptian ruler. He governed Egypt from January 1863 until June 1879 when he was removed from power by pressure from Great Britain. He died at age 64.
1815~ George Meade (né George Gordon Meade; d. Nov. 6, 1872), Union General during the American Civil War. He is best remembered for defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. He died at age 56.
1738~ Charles Cornwallis, 1stMarquess Cornwallis (né Charles Edward Cornwallis V; d. Oct. 5, 1805), British general who served during the American Revolutionary War. He died at age 66.
1720~ Charles Edward Stuart (d. Jan. 31, 1788), pretender to the British Throne. He died of a stroke a month after his 67th birthday.
1714~ Arima Yoriyuki (d. Dec. 16, 1783), Japanese mathematician. He died 15 days before his 69th birthday.
1514~ Andreas Vesalius (d. Oct. 15, 1564), Flemish anatomist and physician who published a book entitled On the Structure of the Human Body, which was the first manual of human anatomy with clear and detailed illustrations. He died at age 49.
1491~ Jacques Cartier (d. Sept. 1, 1557), French explorer. He led the exploration along the St. Lawrence River in Canada. He died at age 65.
1378~ Pope Callixtus III (né Alfons de Borja, d. Aug. 6, 1458). He was Pope from April 8, 1455 until his death on this date in 1458. He was responsible for the retrial of Joan of Arc that saw her vindicated. He was the uncle to Pope Alexander VI. He died at age 79.
Events that Changed the World:
2014~ A New Year’s Eve celebration stampede in Shanghai, China killed over 35 people and injured numerous others.
2010~ At least 36 tornadoes struck in the Midwest and Southern United States causing massive damage, especially in Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Oklahoma. At least 9 people were killed in the storms.
2009~ Both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occurred.
2004~ Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper in the world at the time, opened in Taiwan. As of 2018, it stands as the 10th tallest building in the world. It stands at a height of approximately 1,670 feet.
1999~ Boris Yeltsin (1931 ~ 2007), the first president of Russia resigned. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (b. 1952) became acting President.
1999~ The United States relinquished its control over the Panama Canal Zone to the country of Panama.
1994~ The Russian army began a New Year’s storm of Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic, thereby beginning the first Chechen War.
1992~ Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, creating two separate countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This was termed as the Velvet Divorce.
1991~ The Soviet Union officially dissolved and all official institutions of the Soviet Union ceased operation.
1967~ The Youth International Party, known as the Yippies, was founded.
1960~ The United Kingdom ceased to use the farthing coin as legal tender.
1951~ The Marshall Plan sun-setted. It had distributed over $13.3 billion in foreign aid to help rebuild Europe following World War II.
1946~ United States President Harry Truman (1884 ~ 1972) officially proclaimed the end of World War II.
1909~ The Manhattan Bridge, a suspension bridge connecting lower Manhattan with Brooklyn, opened to the public.
1907~ The first New Year’s Eve celebration was held in Times Square New York City. At the time, the square was known as Longacre Square.
1879~ Thomas Edison (1847 ~ 1831) demonstrated his electric light to the public for the first time in Menlo Park, New Jersey. He had successfully found the right filament to produce the first practical incandescent light bulb.
1878~ Karl Benz (1844 ~ 1929) filed a patent on his first reliable two-stroke gas engine. The patent was granted in 1879.
1862~ The Battle of Stones River during the American Civil War began near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
1862~ Abraham Lincoln (1809 ~ 1865) signed an act that admitted West Virginia into the Union, thereby dividing Virginia into two. West Virginia formally entered the Union on June 20, 1863.
1857~ Queen Victoria (1819 ~ 1901) selected Ottawa, Ontario to be the capital of Canada.
1831~ Gramercy Park in New York City was given to the City.
1799~ The Dutch East India Company was dissolved.
1796~ The city of Baltimore, Maryland was incorporated.
1759~ Arthur Guinness (1725 ~ 1803) signed a 9,000 year lease at £45 per year and began brewing his famous Guinness stout and ale.
1696~ A window tax was imposed in England during the reign of King William III (1650 ~ 1702). Many households chose to brick up their windows in order to avoid the tax.
1600~ Queen Elizabeth I (1533 ~ 1603) of Great Britain granted a charter to the British East India Company in an effort to break the Dutch monopoly of the spice trade.
Good-Byes:
2016~ William Christopher (b. Oct. 20, 1932), American actor best known for his role as Father Mulcahy from M*A*S*H. He died of cancer at age 84.
2015~ Natalie Cole (née Natalie Maria Cole; b. Feb. 6, 1950), American singer who carried on her father’s legacy. She was the daughter of Nat King Cole. She died of congested heart failure at age 65.
2015~ Wayne Rogers (né William Wayne McMillan Rogers, III; b. Apr. 7, 1933), American actor best known for his role as Trapper John from M*A*S*H. He died of complications from pneumonia at age 82.
2014~ Edward Herrmann (né Edward Kirk Herrmann, b. July 21, 1943), American actor. He died of brain cancer at age 71.
2011~ Jerzy Kluger (b. Apr. 21, 1921), Polish-born Jewish confident of Pope John Paul II. They were childhood friends and remained so throughout their lives. He died at age 90.
2008~ Donald E. Westlake (né Donald Edwin Westlake, b. July 12, 1933), American prolific writer who was a master of mysteries. He died of a heart attack at age 75.
2004~ Gérard Debreu (b. July 4, 1921), French economist and mathematician. He was the recipient of the 1983 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. He died at age 83.
2000~ Binyamin Ze’ev Kahane (b. Oct. 3, 1966), American-Israeli rabbi and scholar. He was the son of Rabbi Meir Kahane. He and his wife were shot and killed in a settlement near Ofra in Israel. He was 34 years old.
2000~ José Greco (né Costanzo Greco Bucci, b. Dec. 23, 1918), Italian-born flamenco dancer. He died 8 days after his 82nd birthday.
2000~ Alan Cranston (né Alan MacGregor Cranston, b. June 19, 1914), American journalist and politician from California. He was a United States Senator from California. He died at age 86.
1999~ Elliot Richardson (né Elliot Lee Richardson, b. July 20, 1920), 23rd United States Secretary of Commerce. He served in this position under the Ford Administration from February 1976 until January 1977. He had previously served in the Nixon Administration in several positions, including the 69th United States Attorney General from May 1973 until October 1973; the 11th United States Secretary of Defense from January 1973 until May 1973; and the 9th United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare from June 1970 until January 1973. He had previously served as the 52nd Attorney General for the State of Massachusetts from January 1967 until January 1969. He was born and died in Boston, Massachusetts. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 79.
1972~ Roberto Clemente (né Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker, b. Aug. 18, 1934), Puerto Rican baseball player who was killed an in plane crash during a humanitarian mission delivering aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. He was 38 years old.
1944~ Ruth Hanna McCormick (née Ruth Hanna; b. Mar. 27, 1880), American politician from Illinois and supporter of woman’s rights. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois. She developed pancreatitis as a result of a fall from a horse and died at age 64.
1936~ Miguel de Umanumo y Jugo (b. Sept. 29, 1864), Spanish Basque essayist, novelist and philosopher. He died at age 72.
1916~ Hamilton Wright Mabie (b. Dec. 13, 1846), American essayist and literary critic. He died 18 days after his 70th birthday.
1894~ Thomas Joannes Stieltjes (b. Dec. 29, 1856), Dutch mathematician. He died 2 days after his 38th birthday.
1888~ Samson Raphael Hirsch (b. June 20, 1808), German rabbi. He opposed the Reform and Conservative movements. He died at age 80.
1877~ Gustave Courbet (né Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet, b. June 10, 1819), French painter and leader of the Realism movement. He died at age 58 of liver disease.
1874~ Alexandre Ledru-Rollin (né Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollins; b. Feb. 2, 1807), French politician and champion of the working class. He was forced into exile after the failed revolution of 1848. He died at age 67.
1864~ George M. Dallas (né George Mifflin Dallas, b. July 10, 1792), 11th Vice President of the United States. He served under President James Polk from March 1845 until March 1849. He died at age 72.
1705~ Catherine of Braganza (b. Nov. 25, 1638), Queen consort England, Scotland and Ireland. She was born in Portugal. She was the wife of King Charles II of England. She died at age 67.
1691~ Robert Boyle (b. Jan. 25, 1627), Irish chemist and physicist. He is considered to be the father of modern chemistry. He died 25 days before his 65th birthday.
1650~ Dorgon (b. Nov. 17, 1612), Chinese prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. He died at age 38.
1610~ Ludolph van Ceulen (b. Jan. 28, 1540), German-Dutch mathematician. He died 29 days before his 71st birthday.
1583~ Thomas Erastus (b. Sept. 7, 1524), Swiss physician and theologian. He argued that sinners should be punished by the government, and not the Church, believing that the Church should not withhold sacraments to sinners. He died at age 59.
1510~ Bianca Maria Sforza (b. Apr. 5, 1472), Holy Roman Empress and Italian wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. He was her second husband and she was his second wife. She died at age 38.
1386~ Johanna of Bavaria (b. 1362), Queen consort of Germany and Bohemia. She was the first wife of King Wenceslaus of Germany and Bohemia. She died from injuries sustained by an attack of her husband’s hunting dogs. The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 23 or 24 years old.
1384~ John Wycliffe (b. 1320s), English theologian and translator of the Bible into common English. The exact date of his birth is unknown.
335~ Pope Sylvester I. He was Pope from January 314 until his death on this date 21 years later. The date of is birth is not known.
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