September 1

Birthdays:

1939~ Lily Tomlin (néeMary Jean Tomlin), American actress and comedian.

1938~ Alan Dershowitz (né Alan Morton Dershowitz), American attorney and author.

1935~ Robert Taylor (né Robert Ridgley Taylor, d. Aug. 29, 2013), 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^thbirthday.

1935~ Seiji Ozawa, Japanese conductor and music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

1933~ Ann Richards (néeDorothy Ann Willis, d. Sept. 13, 2006), 45^thGovernor of Texas.  She served as Governor from January 1991 through January 1995.  She died of esophageal cancer 12 days after her 73^rdbirthday.

1932~ Sunny von Bülow (née Martha Sharp Crawford, d. Dec. 6, 2008), American heiress and socialite who was in a coma for over 27 years. She was 76 years old at the time of her death.  Her husband, Claus von Bülow (b. 1926) was accused of attempted murder, but his murder conviction was later overturned.

1927~ Wyatt Cooper (né Wyatt Emory Cooper, d. Jan. 5, 1978), American author and screenwriter.  He was married to Gloria Vanderbilt and was the father of Anderson Cooper.  He died at age 50 during heart surgery.

1927~ Lloyd Bucher (né Lloyd Mark Bucher, d. Jan. 28, 2004), United States Navy officer best remembers as the Captain of the USS Pueblo, which was capture by North Korea in January 1968.  He died at age 76.

1923~ Rocky Marciano (né Rocco Francis Marchegiano, d. Aug. 31, 1969), American boxer.  He was born in Brockton, Massachusetts.  He was killed the day before his 46^thbirthday when the small plane he was in crashed.

1920~ Richard Farnsworth (né Richard William Farnsworth, d. Oct. 6, 2000), American actor.  He died of prostate cancer at age 80.

1916~ Dorothy Cheney (née Dorothy May Sutton Bundy, d. Nov. 23, 2014), American tennis champion who improved with age.  She played tennis well into her 90s.  She died at age 98.

1892~ Leverett A. Saltonstall (d. June 17, 1979), 55^thGovernor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1939 until January 1945.  He was born in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. He died of congestive heart failure at age 86.

1877~ Francis William Aston (d. Nov. 20, 1945), British chemistry and 1922 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 68.

1875~ Edgar Rice Burroughs (d. Mar. 19, 1950), American writer best known as the creator of Tarzan.  He died of a heart attack at age 74.

1868~ Kin Hubbard (né Frank McKinney Hubbard, d. Dec. 26, 1930), American cartoonist, humorist and journalist.  He died at age 62.

1866~ James Corbett (néJames John Corbett, d. Feb. 18, 1933), American boxer.  He was known as Gentleman Jim.  He died at age 66.

1854~ Engelbert Humperdinck (d. Sept. 27, 1921), German composer.  He is best known for his opera Hänsel and Gretel.  He died of a heart attack 26 days after his 67^thbirthday.

1711~ William IV, Prince of Orange (d. Oct. 22, 1759). He died at age 40.

1659~ Joseph Saurin (d. Dec. 29, 1737), French mathematician and Protestant minister. He died at age 78.

948~ Jing Zong (d. Oct. 13, 982), 5^thChinese emperor of the Liao Dunasty.  He died at age 34.

Events that Changed the World:

2017~ Vladimir Putin (b. 1952) expelled over 750 United States diplomats from Russia in response to sanctions imposed by the United States.

2014~ Labor Day.

1991~ Uzbekistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

1972~ Bobby Fischer (1943 ~ 2008) became the world chess champion after beating Russian Boris Spassky (b. 1937) in a chess match.  The games were played in Reykjavik, Iceland.

1970~ An assassination attempt was made on Jordan’s King Hussein (1935 ~ 1999) by Palestinian guerrillas.

1969~ Muammar al-Gaddafi (1940 ~ 2011) took power in Libya following a coup.

1952~ Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and the Sea, was published.  It would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize.

1939~ Adolf Hitler signed an order allowing the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people.

1939~ Nazi Germany invaded Poland, beginning the European phase of World War II.  Two days later, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany, beginning World War II.

1914~ The last known passenger pigeon died in captivity.  The bird was a female named Martha and had been in the Cincinnati Zoo. She was believed to have been about 28 or 29 years old.

1914~ St. Petersburg, Russia changed its name to Petrograd.  In 1924, the name would be changed to Leningrad.  In 1991, the name would be changed back to St. Petersburg.

1897~ The Boston Tremont Street Subway opened, thereby becoming the first underground rapid transportation system in the United States.

1878~ Emma Nutt (1860 – 1915), became the world’s first female telephone operator when she began working for the Boston Telephone Dispatch Company in Boston, Massachusetts.  She was hired by Alexander Graham Bell (1847 ~ 1922).

1532~ Lady Anne Boleyn (1501 ~ 1536) was made Marquess of Pembroke by her future husband, King Henry VIII of England (1491 ~ 1547).

Good-Byes:

2017~ Shelley Berman (néSheldon Leonard Berman, b. Feb. 3, 1925), American comedian who found humor in angst.  He died at age 92.

2015~ Dean Jones (né Dean Carroll Jones, b. Jan. 25, 1931), American clean-cut Disney star who found faith.  He had leading roles in several Disney films, including The Love Bugand That Darn Cat!  In the early 1970s, he became a born-again Christian.  He died of Parkinson’s disease at age 84.

2015~ Ben Kuroki (b. May 16, 1917), American World War II airman who battled bigotry to fight for the United States.  He was the only American of Japanese descent in the United States Armed Air Forces to serve in combat in the Pacific theater during World War II.  He was 98 years old.

2014~ Charlie Powell (néCharles Elvin Powell, b. Apr. 4, 1932), American standout boxer who starred on the gridiron. He died at age 82.

2014~ Joseph Shivers, Jr. (né Joseph Clois Shivers, Jr., b. Nov. 29, 1920), American chemist and developer of spandex.  He died at age 93.

2012~ Hal David (né Harold Lane David, d. May 25, 1921), American songwriter, composer and lyricist behind the 20^thcentury’s greatest pop songs.  He died at age 91.

2009~ Francis Rogallo (né Francis Melvin Rogallo; b. Jan. 27, 1912), American aeronautic engineer who invented hang gliding, now known as the Rogallo Wing..  He died at age 97.

1989~ A. Bart Giamatti (né Angelo Bartlett Giamatti, b. Apr. 4, 1938), 7^thCommissioner of Major League Baseball. He is best known for being the Commissioner during the Pete Rose gambling scandal.  He died of a heart attack at age 51.

1988~ Luis Alvarez (né Luis Walter Alvarez, b. June 13, 1911), American physicist.  He was the recipient of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died of cancer at age 77.

1982~ Haskell Curry (né Haskell Brooks Curry, b. Sept. 12, 1900), American mathematician.  He died 11 days before his 82^ndbirthday.

1981~ Albert Speer (né Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, b. Mar. 19, 1905), Nazi architect, who acknowledged moral responsibility for war crimes at the Nuremburg trials. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his war crimes.  He died of a stroke at age 76.

1977~ Ethel Waters (b. Oct. 31, 1896), African-American actress and singer.  She died of uterine cancer at age 80.

1970~ François Mauriac (né François Charles Mauriac, b. Oct. 11, 1885), French author and recipient of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 84.

1961~ Eero Saarinen (b. Aug. 20, 1910), Finish-American architect and son of Eliel Saarinen.  He was born on his father’s 37^thbirthday.  Eero, who designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, died just 12 days after his 52^ndbirthday while undergoing surgery for a brain tumor.

1940~ Lillian D. Wald (b. Mar. 10, 1867), American nurse and early advocate for nursing schools. She was an activist in many social causes, including health care and women’s rights.  She was involved in the formation of the NAACP.  She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 73 in Westport, Connecticut.

1894~ Nathaniel Banks (né Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, b. Jan. 30, 1816), 24^thGovernor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1858 until January 1861.  He also served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from February 1856 until March 1857.  He was born and died in Waltham, Massachusetts.  He was 78 at the time of his death.

1894~ Samuel Kirkwood (néSamuel Jordan Kirkwood, b. Dec. 20, 1813), 14^thUnited States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under Presidents James Garfield and Chester Arthur from March 1881 until April 1882.  He died at age 80.

1838~ William Clark (b. Aug. 1, 1770), American explorer who, along with Meriwether Lewis, led the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition throughout the Louisiana territory to the Pacific Northwest in 1804. He later served as the 4^thGovernor of the Missouri Territory.  He died a month after his 68^thbirthday.

1770~ Hannah Glasse (b. Mar. 28, 1708), English cookbook writer.  She is best known for her book The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.  She died at age 62.

1715~ King Louis XIV of France (b. Sept. 5, 1638). He was a Bourbon monarch who has the distinction of being the longest-reigning king in European history. He was known as Louis the Great or The Sun King.  He reigned for 72 years.  He died 4 days before his 77^thbirthday.

1678~ Jan Brueghel the Younger (b. Sept. 13, 1601), Flemish painter.  He died 12 days before his 77^th birthday.

1648~ Marin Mersenne (b. Sept. 8, 1588), French mathematician.  He died a week before his 60^thbirthday.

1557~ Jacques Cartier (b. Dec. 31, 1491), French explorer.  He led the exploration along the St. Lawrence River in Canada.  He died at age 65.

1159~ Pope Adrian IV (né Nicholas Breakspear, b. 1100).  He was Pope from December 4, 1154 until his death almost 5 years later.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been 59 at the time of his death.