Birthdays:
1975 ~ Mindy McCready (née Malinda Gayle McCready; d. Feb. 17, 2013), American tortured country singer who fell from grace. She died by suicide at age 37.
1965 ~ Ben Stiller (né Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller), American comedic actor.
1962 ~ Bo Jackson (né Vincent Edward Jackson), American football and baseball player. He was named an All-Star in both sports.
1957 ~ Colin Mochrie (né Colin Andrew Mochrie), Canadian comedian and actor. He is best known for being a part of the improvisational television show Whose Line is it Anyway?
1957 ~ Margaret Spellings (née Margaret M. Dudar), 8th United States Secretary of Education. She served under President George W. Bush from January 2005 until January 2009.
1955 ~ Billy Idol (né William Michael Albert Broad), British musician.
1954 ~ Lawrence Summers (né Lawrence Henry Summers), American economist and 27th President of Harvard University. He served as the 71st United States Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton Administration. He held that office from July 1999 until January 2001.
1952 ~ Mandy Patinkin (né Mandel Bruce Patinkin), American actor. He is well known for his role as Inigo Montoya in the 1987 movie The Princess Bride.
1947 ~ David Mamet (né David Alan Mamet), American playwright. He is best known for his play Glengarry Glen Ross.
1936 ~ Abbie Hoffman (né Abbot Howard Hoffman; d. Apr. 12, 1989), American political activist. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He died by suicide at age 52.
1936 ~ Dmitri Anosov (d. Aug. 5, 2014), Russian mathematician. He died at age 77.
1931 ~ Bill Walsh (né William Ernest Walsh; d. July 30, 2007), American football player and head coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He died at age 75.
1930 ~ G. Gordon Liddy (né George Gordon Battle Liddy), American politician who was involved in the Nixon Watergate scandal. He was convicted of burglary and conspiracy as a result of the Watergate break in and served 52 months in federal prisons.
1929 ~ Dick Clark (né Richard Augustus Wagstaff Clark; d. Apr. 18, 2012), American radio and television personality, best known for hosting American Bandstand. He was the man who put rock ‘n’ roll on TV. He was 82 years old.
1929 ~ Joan Ganz Cooney (née Joan Ganz), American screenwriter. She was a co-creator of Sesame Street.
1927 ~ Robert Guillaume (né Robert Peter Williams, d. Oct. 24, 2017), African-American actor who refused to be stereotyped. He is best known for his role as Benson on the television series Soap. He died of prostate cancer at age 89.
1926 ~ Richard Crenna (né Richard Donald Crenna; d. Jan. 17, 2003), American actor. He died of congestive heart failure at age 76.
1926 ~ Andrew Schally (né Andrzej Viktor Schally), Polish-born American endocrinologist and recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
1925 ~ Maryon Pittman Allen (née Maryon Pittman, d. July 23, 2018), Alabama senator who foiled George Wallace. She served as United States Senator for five months, from June 1978 until November 1978, following the death of her husband, Senator James Allen. Governor George Wallace appointed her to fill her husband’s term, expecting that he would run for that position in a special election. She refused to step aside, foiling Wallace’s plans. She died at age 92.
1924 ~ Shirley Chisholm (née Shirley Anita St. Hill; d. Jan. 1, 2005), African-American educator who was the first black congresswoman. In 1968, she was the first African-American woman elected to Congress. In 1972, she became the first black candidate and woman to run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. She died at age 80.
1919 ~ Jane C. Wright (née Jane Cooke; d. Feb. 19, 2013), American oncologist. She was a pioneer in cancer research and is best known for her research in chemotherapy. She died at age 93.
1919 ~ Joseph Rogers (né Joseph Wilson Rogers; d. Mar. 3, 2017), American businessman and Waffle House co-founder who put the customer first. He died at age 97.
1918 ~ Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (d. May 2, 2014), American actor, best known for his role in the TV show, The FBI. He died at age 95.
1917 ~ Bill Ash (né William Franklin Ash; d. Apr. 26, 2014), Texas-born British writer who served as a fighter pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. He was the POW who wouldn’t stop escaping. He died at age 96.
1915 ~ Henry Taube (d. Nov. 16, 2005), Canadian-born American chemist and recipient of the 1983 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He died 14 days before his 90th birthday.
1912 ~ Gordon Parks (né Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks; b. Mar. 7, 2006), African American photographer and film director. He died at age 93.
1907 ~ Jacques Barzun (né Jacques Martin Barzun; d. Oct. 25, 2012), French-American historian who focused on cultural history. He died about a month before his 105th birthday.
1889 ~ Reuvein Margolies (d. Aug. 28, 1971), Hungarian-born Israeli author and Talmudic scholar. He died at age 81.
1889 ~ Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian (né Edgar Douglas Adrian; d. Aug. 4, 1977), British electrophysiologist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physiology or medicine for his work on the function of neurons. He died at age 87.
1874 ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery (d. Apr. 24, 1942), Canadian author, best known for Anne of Green Gables. She died at age 67.
1874 ~ Sir Winston Churchill (né Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, d. Jan. 24, 1965), British statesman and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. He was also the recipient of the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature. He died exactly 70 years after the death of his father, Lord Rudolph Churchill. Winston was 90 years old at the time of his death.
1869 ~ Gustaf Dalén (né Nils Gustaf Dalén; d. Dec. 9, 1937), Swedish physicist and recipient of the 1912 Nobel Prize in Physics. He died 9 days after his 68th birthday.
1866 ~ Andrey Lyapchev (d. Nov. 6, 1933), Bulgarian attorney and Prime Minister of Bulgaria. He served as Prime Minister from January 1926 until June 1931. He died 24 days before his 67th birthday.
1835 ~ Mark Twain (né Samuel Langhorne Clemens, d. Apr. 21, 1910), American novelist. He died at age 74.
1817 ~ Theodor Mommsen (né Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen, d. Nov. 1, 1903), German writer and recipient of the 1902 Nobel Prize in Literature. He died 29 days before his 86th birthday.
1810 ~ Oliver Winchester (né Oliver Fisher Winchester; d. Dec. 11, 1880), American businessman and manufacturer of the Winchester Repeating Arms. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in New Haven, Connecticut. He died 11 days after his 70th birthday.
1723 ~ William Livingston (d. July 25, 1790), 1st Governor of New Jersey. He was Governor from August 1776 until his death on this date 4 years later. He was also one of the signers of the United States Constitution. He was 66 years old.
1719 ~ Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (d. Feb. 8, 1772), Princess of Wales. She was married to Frederick, Prince of Wales. He died before becoming King, so she was never the Queen Consort. She died of throat cancer at age 52.
1699 ~ Christian VI of Denmark and Norway (d. Aug. 6, 1746). He died at age 46.
1667 ~ Jonathan Swift (d. Oct. 19, 1745), English author and satirist, best known for his novel, Gulliver’s Travels. He died at age 77.
1628 ~ John Bunyan (d. Aug. 31, 1688), British theologian, minister and author. He is best known for his book, The Pilgrim’s Progress. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on November 30, 1628. He is believed to have been 59 at the time of his death.
1485 ~ Veronica Gambara (d. June 13, 1550), Italian poet and political leader. She died at age 64.
1466 ~ Andrea Doria (d. Nov. 25, 1560), Italian admiral and naval leader. He died 5 days before his 94th birthday.
Events that Changed the World:
2018 ~ A 7.0 magnitude struck near Anchorage, Alaska. There was considerable damage, but no lives were lost.
2005 ~ John Sentamu (b. 1949) became the first black archbishop in the Church of England when he became the Archbishop of York.
2004 ~ Longtime Jeopardy! contestant, Ken Jennings (b. 1974), lost in his 75th appearance on the show. During the course of his long tenure on the show, he accumulated over $2.5 Million.
1998 ~ Exxon and Mobil signed a merger agreement, thereby creating ExxonMobil.
1995 ~ Operation Desert Storm, the Gulf War, officially ended.
1995 ~ President Bill Clinton (b. 1946) became the first United States President to visit Northern Ireland.
1993 ~ President Bill Clinton (b. 1946) signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (the Brady Bill) into law, which mandated a waiting period and background check for handgun purchases. The Bill was named after James Brady (1940 ~ 2014), who was a staff member in the Ronald Reagan administration. James Brady was shot and seriously injured in the same assassination attempt on Reagan’s life. The law went into effect on February 28, 1994.
1982 ~ Michael Jackson’s album, Thriller, was released.
1971 ~ Iran seized the Greater and Lesser Tunbs from the United Arab Emirates.
1967 ~ The Pakistan Peoples Party was founded by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (1928 ~ 1979), who later became its Head of State.
1967 ~ The People’s Republic of South Yemen gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
1966 ~ Barbados gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
1954 ~ In Oak Grove, Alabama, the Hodges meteorite crashed through a house and hit Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges (1920 ~ 1972), who was taking a nap. She was badly bruised, but not killed. This is the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space in the United States.
1940 ~ Lucille Ball (1911 ~ 1989) and Desi Arnaz (1917 ~ 1986) eloped. They divorced 20 years later.
1939 ~ The Russo-Finnish Winter War began when Soviet forces crossed into Finland and bombed Helsinki and several other Finnish cities.
1936 ~ The Crystal Palace, which had been built in London, England to house the Great Exposition of 1851, was destroyed by fire.
1858 ~ John L. Mason (1832 ~ 1902) patented the Mason jar, thereby allowing a method for the preservation of perishable foods.
1804 ~ The Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Senate began impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase (1741 ~ 1811) who was a Federalist.
1803 ~ In New Orleans, Louisiana, Spanish representatives officially transferred the Louisiana Territory to France. Within a month, France transferred the same portion of land to the United State as the Louisiana Purchase.
1786 ~ Peter Leopold Joseph of Habsburg Lorraine (1747 ~ 1792), Grand Duke of Tuscany, promulgated penal reforms abolishing the death penalty, making his country the first state to do such. He would later go on to become known as Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.
1782 ~ Following the American Revolutionary War, representatives from the United States and from Great Britain met in Paris and signed the preliminary peace articles, that were later formalized as the 1873 Treaty of Paris.
1700 ~ At the Battle of Navra, the Swedish army under King Charles XII defeated a much larger Russian army. Under the calendar in use at the time, this battle occurred on November 19, 1700. He would be killed during the siege of the fortress of Fredriksten in Norway 18 years later, to the date.
1487 ~ Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria-Munich (1447 ~ 1508) promulgated the German Beer Purity law, which stated that beer should be brewed using only three ingredients ~ water, malt and hops.
Good-Byes:
2018 ~ George H.W. Bush (né George Herbert Walker Bush; b. June 12, 1924), 41st President of the United States. He served as President from January 1989 until January 1993. He was the war hero and president who stood tall on the world stage. He died in Houston, Texas at age 94.
2017 ~ Jim Nabors (né James Thurston Nabors; b. June 12, 1930), American actor who played TV’s most lovable klutz. He is best known for his portrayal of Gomer Pyle, who appeared first on the Andy Griffith Show, then became a spin-off. He died at age 87.
2014 ~ Ian Player (né Ian Cedric Audley Player; b. Mar. 15, 1927), South African game warden who saved the white rhinoceros. He was the brother of professional golfer Gary Player. He died of a stroke at age 87.
2013 ~ Paul Crouch (né Paul Franklin Crouch; b. Mar. 30, 1934), American televangelist who asked believers to dig deep. He founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He died at age 79.
2007 ~ Evel Knievel (né Robert Craig Knievel; b. Oct. 16, 1938), American stuntman. He died at age 69.
2003 ~ Gertrude Ederle (né Gertrude Caroline Ederle; b. Oct. 23, 1905), American athlete and swimmer. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. She died at age 98.
1998 ~ Margaret Walker (née Margaret Abigail Walker; b. July 7, 1915), African-American poet. She was a part of the African-American literary moment in Chicago known as the Chicago Black Renaissance. She died of breast cancer at age 83.
1996 ~ Tiny Tim (né Herbert Buckingham Khaury; b. Apr. 12, 1932). American musician. He died of a massive heart attack at age 64.
1979 ~ Zeppo Marx (né Herbert Manfred Marx; b. Feb. 25, 1901), American actor and comedian. He was the youngest of the Marx brothers. He was the last surviving Marx brother. He died of lung cancer at age 78.
1979 ~ Laura Gilpin (b. Apr. 22, 1891), American photographer. She is best known for her portraiture of Native Americans and their culture. She died at age 88.
1961 ~ Sam Zemurray (né Schmuel Zmurri; b. Jan. 18, 1877), Russian-born American businessman who founded the Cuyamel Fruit Company. He entered into the banana trade, establishing a center in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was known as Sam the Banana Man. The story of his rise in the trade was depicted in Rich Cohen’s book, The Fish that Ate the Whale. He died in New Orleans at age 84.
1944 ~ Albert B. Fall (né Albert Bacon Fall; b. Nov. 26, 1861), 28th United States Secretary of the Interior. He served under President Warren G. Harding from March 1921 until March 1923. He died 4 days after his 83rd birthday.
1934 ~ Hélène Boucher (b. May 23, 1908), French pilot. She set several women’s world speed records for flying. She was killed at age 26 in a plane crash in 1934.
1930 ~ Mother Jones (née Mary G. Harris; b. 1837), American labor organizer. Her actual birthdate is unknown, although she was baptized on August 1, 1837. May 1 is ascribed to her birth because it is International Labor Day. She was 93 at the time of her death.
1907 ~ Paula Modersohn-Becker (née Paula Becker; b. Feb. 8, 1876), German painter and artist. She is best known for being the first known female to paint nude self-portraits. She died at age 31 of a postpartum embolism.
1900 ~ Oscar Wilde (né Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde; b. Oct. 16, 1854), Irish author and playwright. He died at age 46.
1836 ~ Pierre-Simon Girard (b. Nov. 4, 1765), French mathematician. He is known for his work in fluid dynamics. He died 26 days after his 71st birthday.
1830 ~ Pope Pius VIII (né Francesco Saverio Castiglioni; b. Nov. 20, 1761). He was Pope for a year and a half, from March 31, 1829 until his death on November 30 1830. He died 10 days after his 69th birthday.
1718 ~ King Charles XII of Sweden (b. June 17, 1682). He was killed during the Siege Fredriksten in Norway at age 36.
1675 ~ Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (b. Aug. 8, 1605), British colonial governor of Maryland. He died at age 70.
1647 ~ Bonaventura Cavalieri (b. 1598), Italian mathematician and astronomer. The exact date of his birth is not known.
1016 ~ King Edmund II of England (b. 993). He was also known as Edmund Ironside. He was King of the English from April through November 1016. It is not clear whether or not he died of an illness or murder. The exact date of his birth is unknown but he is believed to have been 26 at the time of his death.
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