July 29

Birthdays:

1953~ Ken Burns (né Kenneth Lauren Burns), American documentary film director.

1953~ Tim Gunn (né Timothy MacKenzie Gunn), American fashion consultant and television host.

1950~ Jenny Holzer, American conceptual artist.

1944~ Jim Bridwell (d. Feb. 16, 2018), American renegade rock climber who conquered Yosemite.  He died at age 73 from complications of hepatitis, which he acquired from a tattoo in the 1980s.

1938~ Peter Jennings (né Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings; d. Aug. 7, 2005), Canadian television journalist.  He died of lung cancer 9 days after his 67^th birthday.

1937~ Daniel McFadden (né Daniel Little McFadden), American economist and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Economic Science.

1936~ Elizabeth Dole (née Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford), United States Senator from North Carolina and wife of Bob Dole. She also served as the 20^th Secretary of Labor during the George H.W. Bush administration from January 1989 until November 1990.

1934~ Albert Speer, Jr. (d. Sept. 15, 2017), German architect who worked to escape his Nazi father’s legacy.  He was born in Berlin a year after Hitler took power.  He became one of Germany’s most successful architects.  He died at age 83.

1932~ Nancy Kasselbaum (née Nancy Landon), American politician.

1930~ Paul Taylor (né Paul Belville Taylor, Jr.; d. Aug. 29, 2018), American choreographer who found light in darkness.  He died of renal failure a month after his 88^th birthday.

1925~ Harold W. Kuhn (né Harold William Kuhn; d. July 2, 2014), American mathematician.  He died 27 days before his 89^th birthday.

1924~ Black Dahlia (née Elizabeth Short, d. Jan. 15, 1947), American waitress and murder victim.  She was the victim of a gruesome and highly publicized murder, which remains unsolved.  She was 22 years old at the time of her death.

1917~ Rochus Misch (d. Sept. 5, 2013), German bodyguard who defended Hitler to the end.  He died at age 96.

1915~ Francis W. Sargent (né Francis Williams Sargent, d. Oct. 22, 1998), 64^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as governor from January 22, 1969 through January 2, 1975. He died at age 83.

1914~ Irwin Corey (d. Feb. 6, 2017), American madcap comedian who mocked expertise.  He was the world’s foremost authority on intellectual doublespeak.  He died at age 102.

1911~ Foster Furcolo (né John Foster Furcolo, d. July 5, 1995), 60^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as governor from January 1957 to January 1961.  He was born in New Haven, Connecticut and died in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He died 3 weeks before his 84^th birthday.

1905~ Dag Hammarskjöld (d. Sept. 18, 1961), Swedish economist.  He also served as the 2^nd Secretary-General of the United Nations.  He was killed in a plane crash on a mission to negotiate peace in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 1961.  Later that year, he was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, being one of a very few honored with a Nobel Prize after death.  He was 56 at the time of his death.

1905~ Clara Bow (née Clara Gordon Bow; d. Sept. 27, 1965), American silent film star, known as The It Girl, because of her role in the film It.  She died at age 60 of a heart attack.

1905~ Stanley Kunitz (né Stanley Jasspon Kunitz; d. May 14, 2006), American Poet Laureate.  He died at age 100.

1900~ Eyvind Johnson (né Olof Edvin Verner Johsson; d. Aug 25, 1976), Swedish author and recipient of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died 27 days after his 76^th birthday.

1898~ Isidor Isaac Rabi (néIsrael Isaac Rabi; d. Jan. 11, 1988), Hungarian-born American physicist and recipient of the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance.  He died at age 89.

1885~ Theda Bara (née Theodosia Burr Goodman; d. Apr. 7, 1955), American silent film actress best known for her role in The Vamp.  She died of stomach cancer at age 69.

1883~ Benito Mussolini (né Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini; d. Apr. 28, 1945), Fascist dictator of Italy.  He served as the 27^th Prime Minister of Italy from October 1922 until July 1943.  He was executed by a firing squad, which consisted of members of the Italian resistance movement.  He was 61.

1878~ Don Marquis (né Donald Robert Perry Marquis; d. Dec. 29, 1937), American humorist, journalist and author.  He died of a stroke at age 59.

1869~ Booth Tarkington (né Newton Booth Tarkington; d. May 19, 1946), American novelist.  He is best known for his novel The Magnificent Ambersons.  He died at age 76.

1861~ Alice Roosevelt (née Alice Hathaway Lee, d. Feb. 14, 1884), first wife of Theodore Roosevelt.  She was born in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.  She died of Bright’s Disease just 2 days after giving birth to their only child, named Alice Lee Roosevelt.  She was 22 years old.

1849~ Max Nordau (né Simon Maximilian Südfeld, d. Jan. 23, 1923), Hungarian physician and co-founder, along with Theodor Herzl, of the World Zionist Organization.  He died at age 73.

1805~ Alexis de Toqueville (d. Apr. 16, 1859), French historian and political scientist. He is best known for his work, Democracy in America.  He died at age 53 of tuberculosis.

Events that Changed the World:

1987~ British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1925 ~ 2013) and French President François Mitterand (1916 ~ 1996) signed an agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel.  The Tunnel opened in May 1994 and the first passenger service began in November 1994.

1981~ Britain’s Prince Charles (b. 1948) and Lady Diana Spencer (1961 ~ 1997) were married in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.  They divorced in 1996.

1976~ David Berkowitz (b. 1953), who called himself the “Son of Sam”, committed his first murder.

1958~ President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 ~ 1969) signed into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

1957~ The International Atomic Energy Agency was established.

1948~ The Summer Olympics of 1948 opened in London, England.  The games ran through August 14.  It was the first Summer Olympics since 1936.

1921~ Adolf Hitler (1889 ~ 1945) became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.

1914~ The Cape Cod Canal opened.  The Canal connects Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay.

1899~ The First Hague Convention international treaty was signed.

1836~ The Arc de Triomphe in Paris was inaugurated.

1588~ In the naval Battle of Gravelines, the English under the command of Lord Charles Howard (1536 ~ 1624) and Sir Francis Drake (1540 ~ 1596) defeated the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.

1565~ Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 ~ 1587), married her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545 ~ 1567), Duke of Albany in Edinburgh, Scotland.

587 BCE~ The traditional date ascribed to the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

Good-Byes:

2018~ Nikolai Volkoff (né Josip Hrvoje Peruzoviċ; b. Oct. 14, 1947), Yugoslav-born wrestler who played a Soviet villain in the ring.  He died at age 70.

2013~ Peter Flanigan (né Peter Magnus Flanigan; b. June 21, 1923), American investment banker and Nixon aide who pioneered education reform.  He died just over a month after his 90^th birthday.

2009~ Dina Gottliebová Babbitt (née Annemarie Dina Gottliebová; b. Jan. 21, 1923), Czech-born Auschwitz prisoner who survived by painting.  She had been selected to paint portraits of Romani inmates. She died of stomach cancer at age 86.

2008~ Bruce Ivins (né Bruce Edwards Ivins; b. Apr. 22, 1946), American scientist and bio-defense research.  He was the primary suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks.  He committed suicide at age 62 after learning that the FBI was about to file charges against him.

2007~ Tom Snyder (né Thomas James Snyder; b. May 12, 1936), American journalist and talk show host.  He died of leukemia at age 71.

1996~ Marcel-Paul Schützenberger (b. Oct. 24, 1920), French mathematician.  He died at age 75.

1994~ Dorothy Hodgkin (née Dorothy Mary Crowfoot; b. May 12, 1910), British biochemist and recipient of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  She advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography and was able to confirm the structure of penicillin.  She died of a stroke at age 84.

1983~ David Niven (né James David Graham Nevin; b. Mar. 1, 1910), British actor.  He died at age 73.

1983~ Luis Buñuel (b. Feb. 22, 1900), Spanish film director.  He died at age 83.

1974~ “Mama” Cass Elliot (née Ellen Naomi Cohen; b. Sept. 19, 1941), American singer and member of The Mamas and Papas.  She died of a heart attack at age 32.

1913~ Tobias Asser (né Tobias Michael Carel Asser; b. Apr. 28, 1838), Dutch lawyer and recipient of the 1911 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the field of private international law.  He died at age 75.

1900~ Umberto I, King of Italy (b. Mar. 14, 1844).  He was born on his father’s 24^th birthday.  He ruled from January 9, 1878 until his assassination on July 29, 1900.  He was 56 at the time of his death.

1890~ Vincent van Gogh (né Vincent Willem van Gogh; b. Mar. 30, 1853), Dutch painter.  He died by suicide at age 37.

1856~ Robert Schumann (b. June 8, 1810), German composer.  He died of pneumonia at age 46.

1839~ Gaspard de Prony (b. July 22, 1755), French mathematician.  His name is one of 72 inscribed in the Eiffel Tower.  He died 7 days after his 84^thbirthday.

1781~ Johann Kies (b. Sept. 14, 1713), German mathematician.  The crater on the moon Kies is named in his honor.  He died at age 67.

1692~ Sarah Good (née Sarah Solart; b. July 21, 1653), American woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials.  She was convicted of witchcraft.  She was executed by hanging 8 days after her 39^th birthday.

1644~ Pope Urban VIII (né Maffeo Barberini; b. Apr. 5, 1568).  He was Pope from August 1623 until his death 21 years later.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on April 5, 1568.  He died at age 76.

1237~ Ingeborg of Denemark, Queen of France (b. 1174), wife of King Philip II of France.  The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 62 or 63 at the time of her death.

1108~ King Philip I of France (b. May 23, 1052).  He died at age 56.

1099~ Pope Urban II (né Ortho de Lagery, b. 1042).  He was Pope from March 1088 until his death 11 years later.  He is best known for initiating the First Crusade, from 1096 to 1099.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 57 at the time of his death.

1095~ Ladislaus I of Hungary (b. 1040), King of Hungary. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been about 54 or 55 at the time of his death.

1030~ King Olaf II of Norway (b. 995).  The exact date of his birth is unknown.  He is believed to have been about 34 or 35 at the time of his death.