New Year’s Day
Birthdays:
1986 ~ Glen Davis (né Ronald Glen Davis), American basketball player. He played for Louisiana State University while in college; then went on to play for the Boston Celtics. While playing at LSU, he was known as Big Baby. He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1969 ~ Verne Troyer (né Verne Jay Troyer; d. Apr. 21, 2018), American actor best known for his role as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies. He died at age 49 of a possible suicide.
1966 ~ Ivica Dačić, Prime Minister of Serbia. He served in that Office for a month, from May 2017 through June 2017. He had previously served as Prime Minister from July 2012 until April 2014. He was born in Prizren, Kosovo.
1956 ~ Christine Legarde (née Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette), French lawyer and head of the International Monetary Fund. She assumed this position in July 2011, which she held through September 2019. On November 1, 2019, she became the President of the European Central Bank. She was born in Paris, France.
1953 ~ Gary Johnson (né Gary Earl Johnson), 29th Governor of New Mexico and Libertarian Party nominee for President in the 2012 and 2016 elections. He served as Governor from January 1995 to January 2003. He was born in Minot, North Dakota.
1950 ~ James Richardson, American poet. He was born in Garden City, New York.
1949 ~ Olivia Goldsmith (née Randy Goldfield; d. Jan. 15, 2004), American author. She died following complications of cosmetic surgery just 2 weeks after her 55th birthday.
1947 ~ Jon Corzine (né Jon Stevens Corzine), 54th Governor of New Jersey. He served as Governor from January 2006 until January 2010. He had previously served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from January 2001 until January 2006. He was born in Taylorville, Illinois.
1943 ~ Don Novello (né Donald Andrew Novello), American comedian and screenwriter. He is best known for his portrayal as Father Guido Sarducci on Saturday Night Live. He was born in Ashtabula, Ohio.
1938 ~ Frank Langella, (né Frank A. Langella, Jr.) American actor. He was born in Bayonne, New Jersey.
1936 ~ James Sinegal, American businessman and co-founder of the Costco Wholesale Corp. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1935 ~ Bernard Kliban (d. Aug. 12, 1990), American cartoonist. He signed his work simply B. Kliban. He died at age 55 of a heart embolism.
1933 ~ Alicia Nash (née Alicia Esther Lardé Lopez-Harrison; d. May 23, 2015), Salvadorian-American physicist and engineer. She was the wife of John Forbes Nash (1923 ~ 2015). She was killed in a car accident along with her husband. She was 82 years old.
1927 ~ Vernon L. Smith (né Vernon Lomax Smith), American economist and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science. He was born in Wichita, Kansas.
1923 ~ Daniel E. Gorenstein (d. Aug. 26, 1992), American mathematician. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He died at age 69.
1923 ~ Salamo Arouch (d. Apr. 26, 2009), Greek Sephardic Jew who was a boxer who survived Auschwitz with his boxing skills, which entertained Nazi officers. His story was portrayed in the 1989 film Triumph of the Spirit. He died in Tel Aviv at age 86.
1922 ~ Jerry Robinson (né Sherrill David Robinson; d. Dec. 7, 2011), American cartoonist who created the Batmancharacter the Joker. He died about a month before his 90th birthday.
1919 ~ Marek Edelman (d. Oct. 2, 2009), Polish-Jewish fighter who helped to lead the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. After the war, he went to medical school and became a cardiologist. The exact date of his birth is unknown. He is believed to have been born in 1919, but possibly as late as 1922.
1919 ~ J. D. Salinger (né Jerome David Salinger; d. Jan. 27, 2010), American reclusive writer best know for his coming-of-age novel, The Catcher in the Rye. He died in Cornish, New Hampshire 26 days after his 91st birthday.
1912 ~ Kim Philby (né Harold Adrian Russell Philby; d. May 11, 1988), British spy and Soviet double agent. He defected to the Soviet Union in 1963. He died in Moscow, Russia at age 76.
1912 ~ Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko (d. Dec. 27, 1995), Russian mathematician. He died 4 days before his 83rdbirthday.
1911 ~ Hank Greenberg (né Hyman Benjamin Greenberg; d. Sept. 4, 1986), American Jewish baseball who, in 1934, refused to play baseball on Yom Kippur, the one of the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, even though his team, the Detroit Tigers, were in the middle of a pennant race. He was known at “The Hebrew Hammer” for his batting skills. He died at age 75.
1908 ~ Bill Tapia (né William Tapia; d. Dec. 2, 2011), American musician dubbed the Duke of Uke. By age 8, he was already a professional musician and played for troops in Hawaii during World War I. He died a month before his 104th birthday.
1905 ~ Stanisław Mazur (d. Nov. 5, 1981), Polish mathematician. He died at age 76.
1900 ~ Xavier Cugat (né Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingali de Bru y Deulofeu; d. Oct. 27, 1990), Spanish-born musician. He died at age 90.
1895 ~ J. Edgar Hoover (né John Edgar Hoover; d. May 2, 1972), American 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He served in that position from May 1924 until his death 48 years later. He died in office at age 77.
1894 ~ Satyendra Nath Bose (d. Feb. 4, 1974), Indian mathematician and theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics. He died about a month after his 80th birthday.
1883 ~ William J. Donovan (né William Joseph Donovan; d. Feb. 8, 1959), American Director of the Office of Strategic Services, precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency. He is known as the Father of American Intelligence. He was the subject of the 2015 movie, Bridge of Spies. He died just over a month after his 76thbirthday.
1879 ~ William Fox (né Vilmos Fried; d. May 8, 1952), Hungarian-born American film producer and founder of the Fox Film Corporation and Fox Theaters. He died at age 73.
1879 ~ E.M. Forster (né Edward Morgan Forster; d. June 7, 1970), English author, best known for his novels, A Room with a View, to A Passage to India, and Howards End. He died at age 91.
1878 ~ Agner Krarup Erlang (d. Feb. 3, 1929), Danish mathematician and engineer. He invented the field of traffic engineering. He died a month after his 51st birthday following abdominal surgery.
1874 ~ Frank Knox (né William Franklin Knox; d. Apr. 28, 1944), 46th United States Secretary of the Navy. He served under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during most of World War II, from July 1940 until April 1944. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He died in office at age 70.
1867 ~ Mary Acworth Evershed (née Mary Acworth Orr; d. Oct. 25, 1949), British astronomer. She was also a Dante Alighieri scholar. She was born in Devon, England. She died at age 82 in Surrey England.
1864 ~ Alfred Stieglitz (d. July 13, 1946), American photographer. His second wife was artist Georgia O'Keeffe (1887 ~ 1986). He died at age 82.
1803 ~ Gugleilmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja (d. Sept. 28, 1869), Italian mathematician. He is best known for his love and theft of ancient and precious manuscripts. He died at age 66.
1769 ~ Marie-Louise Lachapelle (d. Oct. 4, 1821), French midwife and head of obstetrics at the Hôtel-Dieu in Parish. She argued against the use of forceps during birth. She is considered the Mother of Modern Obstetrics. She died of stomach cancer at age 52.
1768 ~ Maria Edgeworth (d. May 22, 1849), Anglo-Irish writer and women’s rights advocate. She died at age 81.
1752 ~ Betsy Ross (né Elizabeth Griscom; d. Jan. 30, 1836), American seamstress who is credited with making the first American Flag, although there is no evidence to support this legend. She died 29 days after her 84th birthday.
1750 ~ Frederick Mulhenberg (né Frederick Augustus Conrad Mulhenberg; d. June 4, 1801), American minister and politician. He was a United States Representative from Pennsylvania. He was the 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He served in that position from April 1789 until March 1791. He subsequently served as the 3rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from December 1793 until March 1795. He died at age 51.
1745 ~ Anthony Wayne (d. Dec. 15, 1796), American Revolutionary War general known as Mad Wayne Anthony. He died 17 days before his 52nd birthday of complications of gout.
1735 ~ Paul Revere (d. May 10, 1818), American patriot and silversmith. He was born before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, so his birthday is sometimes listed as December 21, 1734. The town of Revere, Massachusetts was named in his honor. He died at age 83.
1548 ~ Giordano Bruno (né Filippo Bruno; d. Feb. 17, 1600), Italian friar, mathematician and cosmological theorist. The exact date of his birth is not known, but it is considered to have been on January 1. He was burned at stake for heresy. He was 52 at the time of his execution.
1516 ~ Margaret Leijonhufvud (d. Aug. 26, 1551), Queen consort and wife of King Gustav I of Sweden. She died at age 35.
1511 ~ Henry, Duke of Cornwall (d. Feb. 22, 1511), first-born child of Henry VIII of England. His mother was Catherine of Aragon. The young Henry died less than 2 months after his birth.
1449 ~ Lorenzo de’Medici (né Lorenzo di Piero de’Medici; d. Apr. 8, 1492), Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic. He died at age 43.
1431 ~ Pope Alexander VI (né Roderic Liançoi i de Borja; d. Aug. 18, 1503). He was Pope from August 11, 1492 until his death 11 years later. He died at age 72.
Events that Changed the World:
2017 ~ António Guterres (b. 1949), a Portuguese diplomat, was elected as the 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2015 ~ Lithuania became the 19th member of the Eurozone.
2014 ~ Latvia became the 18th member of the Eurozone.
2011 ~ A bomb exploded at a Coptic church during services in Alexandria, Egypt, killing over 20 worshippers.
2011 ~ Estonia officially adopted the Euro as its currency and became the 17th country in the Eurozone.
2009 ~ A nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand, killed 66 people.
2008 ~ Malta and Cyprus adopted the Euro and became the 14th and 15th countries in the Eurozone, respectively.
2007 ~ Bulgaria and Romania officially jointed the European Union.
2007 ~ Ban Ki-moon (b. 1944), from South Korea became the 8th Secretary General of the United Nations. He served until December 21, 2016.
1999 ~ The Euro was introduced in 11 member countries in the European Union. The United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden opted out of using the Euro and continued to use their own currency.
1997 ~ Kofi Annan (1938 ~ 2018), a Ghanaian diplomat, became the 7th Secretary General of the United Nations. He served until December 31, 2006.
1995 ~ The World Trade Organization was founded.
1995 ~ Sweden, Austria and Finland joined the European Union.
1994 ~ The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect.
1993 ~ The Czechoslovakia was divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
1992 ~ Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1922 ~ 2016), Egyptian diplomat, became the 6th Secretary General of the United Nations. He served until December 31, 1996.
1990 ~ David Dinkins (b. 1927) was sworn in as the first black mayor of New York City. He served until 1993.
1986 ~ Spain joined the European Community.
1984 ~ Brunei became independent of the United Kingdom.
1984 ~ The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company was divested of its 22 “Baby” Bell System companies as a result of the 1974 anti-Trust settlement.
1982 ~ Javier Pérez de Cuéllar y de la Guerra (b. 1920), a Peruvian diplomat became the 5th Secretary-General of the United Nations. He served until December 31, 1991.
1981 ~ Greece was admitted into the European Community.
1979 ~ Formal diplomatic relations were established between China and the United States.
1973 ~ Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland were admitted into the European Community.
1972 ~ Kurt Josef Waldheim (1918 ~ 2007), an Austrian diplomat, became the 4th Secretary-General of the United Nations. He served until December 31, 1981.
1971 ~ The prohibition of cigarette advertising on television took effect in the United States.
1965 ~ The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan was founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
1962 ~ The United States Navy SEALs (Sea, Air, Land Teams) were established.
1959 ~ Fulgencio Batista (1901 ~ 1973), dictator of Cuba, was overthrown by Fidel Castro’s forces during the Cuban Revolution.
1958 ~ The European Economic Community was first established.
1956 ~ The Sudan became independent from Egypt and the United Kingdom.
1954 ~ NBC made its first coast-to-coast color broadcast when it aired the Tournament of Roses Parade.
1947 ~ The Canadian Citizenship Act of 1946 took effect, thereby giving its British subjects Canadian citizenship. Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874 ~ 1950) became the first Canadian citizen.
1942 ~ The Declaration by United Nations was signed by 26 nations. The initial countries were: the Big Four (the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States); the British Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and South Africa); the Central American and Caribbean powers (Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama); and the countries in exile (Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Yugoslavia).
1937 ~ The United Kingdom made safety glass in vehicle windscreens mandatory.
1934 ~ Alcatraz Island became a United States federal prison. It operated as a high-security prison until its closure in 1963.
1932 ~ The United States Post Office Department issued a set of 12 stamps to commemorate the 200th birthday of George Washington.
1926 ~ Turkey adopted the Gregorian calendar, thus the country went from December 18, 1926 (as per the Julian calendar) to January 1, 1927.
1912 ~ The Republic of China was established. Its first president was Sun Yat-sen (1866 ~ 1925).
1902 ~ The Rose Bowl, the first American college football bowl game, was played in Pasadena, California between Michigan and Stanford. Michigan was the victor with a final score of 49-0.
1899 ~ Spanish rule ended in Cuba.
1892 ~ Ellis Island began to process immigrants into the United States. Many European immigrants were processed through Ellis Island until it closed in 1954.
1890 ~ The first Tournament of Roses Parade was held in Pasadena, California.
1890 ~ Eritrea was consolidated into a colony by the Italian government.
1881 ~ Construction on the Panama Canal was begun by Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805 ~ 1894). The canal as planned by de Lesseps, however, was abandoned and was eventually bought out by the United States.
1877 ~ Queen Victoria (1819 ~ 1901) of the United Kingdom was proclaimed Empress of India.
1873 ~ Japan began using the Gregorian calendar.
1863 ~ The Emancipation Proclamation became effective in the Confederate territory.
1833 ~ The United Kingdom claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
1818 ~ Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797 ~ 1851), was first published.
1808 ~ The importation of slaves into the United States was banned. Slaves could still be sold domestically, however.
1804 ~ French rule in Haiti ended, making Haiti the first black republic and the second independent country in North America (the first being the United States).
1801 ~ Guiseppe Piazzi (1746 ~ 1826) discovered the dwarf planet Ceres.
1801 ~ The legislative union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland was completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
1788 ~ The first edition of the Times of London was published.
1773 ~ The hymn that became known as Amazing Grace was first used to accompany a sermon lead by John Newton (1725 ~ 1807) in Olney, England.
1772 ~ The world’s first traveler’s cheques, which could be cashed in 90 European cities, went on sale in London, England.
1527 ~ Ferdinand I of Austria (1503 ~ 1564) was elected by Croatian nobles to be the King of Croatia.
1515 ~ Francis, Duke of Brittany I (1494 ~ 1547) succeeded to the French throne to become King Francis I.
1438 ~ Albert II of Habsburg (1397 ~ 1439) was crowned King of Hungary.
1001 ~ Grand Prince Stephen I (~969-1038) of Hungary was named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II (946-1003). Stephen is known for forcing Hungary into becoming a Christian country.
45 BCE ~ The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time, recognizing that a regular year has 365 days, that can be divided into 12 months, with a leap day added every 4 years.
Good-Byes:
2017 ~ Jewell Plummer Cobb (d. Jan. 17, 1924), African-American biologist and cancer researcher. She specialized in the study and cure for melanoma. She was born in Chicago, Illinois. She died 16 days before her 93rd birthday.
2016 ~ Dale Bumpers (né Dale Leon Bumpers; b. Aug. 12, 1925), United States Senator from Arkansas. He served in the Senate from January 1975 until January 1999. He had previously served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas from January 1971 until January 1975. He died at age 90.
2015 ~ Donna Douglas (née Doris Ione Smith; b. Sept. 26, 1932), American actress, best known for her role as Elly May Clampett on the Beverly Hillbillies. She was born and died in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. She died of pancreatic cancer at age 82.
2015 ~ Mario Cuomo (né Mario Matthew Cuomo; b. June 15, 1932), American politician and 52nd Governor of New York. He was governor from January 1983 until December 1994. He was considered the liberal who flirted with a presidential run. He died at age 82.
2014 ~ Tabby Thomas (né Ernest Joseph Thomas; b. Jan. 5, 1929), American blues musician. He was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he ran and operated Tabby’s Blues Box. He died 4 days before his 85thbirthday.
2013 ~ Patti Page (née Clara Ann Fowler; b. Nov. 8, 1927), American 1950s singing sensation who ruled the radio. She made a 1950 hit of Tennessee Waltz. She died at age 85.
2012 ~ Yafa Yakoni (b. Dec. 24, 1925), Israeli singer. She died 8 days after her 86th birthday.
2011 ~ Louise Reiss (née Louise Marie Zibold; b. Feb. 23, 1920), American medical doctor who inspired an atomic test ban. She died at age 90.
2010 ~ Jean Carroll (née Celine Zeigman; b. Jan. 7, 1911), American female comic who blazed new trails in stand-up. She died 6 days before her 99th birthday.
2009 ~ Claiborne Pell (né Claiborne de Borda Pell; b. Nov. 22, 1918), United States Democratic Senator from Rhode Island who was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to United States college students. He died at age 90.
2005 ~ Shirley Chisholm (née Shirley Anita St. Hill; b. Nov. 30, 1924), 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.
2001 ~ Ray Walston (né Herman Raymond Walston; b. Nov. 2, 1914), American actor best known for his role as the Martian on the television show, My Favorite Martian. He was born in Laurel, Mississippi. He died of lupus at age 86.
1996 ~ Gertrude Blanche (née Gittel Kaimowitz; b. Feb. 2, 1897), Russian-American mathematician. She specialized in numerical analysis. She died a month before her 99th birthday.
1995 ~ Eugene P. Wigner (né Eugene Paul Wigner; b. Nov. 17, 1902), Hungarian-born American physicist and mathematician. He was the recipient of the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics. He died at age 92 in Princeton, New Jersey.
1994 ~ Cesar Romero (né Cesar Julio Romero, Jr.; b. Feb. 15, 1907), American actor. He is best known for his role as the Joker on Batman. He died at age 86.
1992 ~ Grace Hopper (née Grace Brewster Murray; b. Dec. 9, 1906), Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and computer scientist pioneer. She was the computer scientist who designed COBOL. In November 2016, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She died 23 days after her 85th birthday.
1988 ~ Ilona Fehér (b. Dec. 1, 1901), Hungarian-Jewish violinist. She died a month after her 87th birthday.
1981 ~ Hephzibah Menuhin (b. May 20, 1920), American concert pianist. She was the sister of Yehudi Menuhin. She died at age 60 following a long illness.
1972 ~ Maurice Chevalier (né Maurice Auguste Chevalier; b. Sept. 12, 1888), French actor and singer. He is best known for his signature song, Thank Heaven for Little Girls. He died at age 83.
1966 ~ Vincent Auriol (né Vincent Jules Auriol; b. Aug. 27, 1884), French politician and first President of the Fourth Republic. He served as President from January 1947 until January 1954. He died at age 81.
1958 ~ Edward Weston (né Edward Henry Weston; b. Mar. 24, 1886), American photographer. He died at age 71.
1953 ~ Hank Williams (né Hiram King Williams, b. Sept. 17, 1923), American country musician. He died at age 29 of heart failure exacerbated by drug and alcohol abuse.
1904 ~ Frederick Pabst (né Johann Gottlieb Friedrich Pabst; b. Mar. 28, 1836), German-born American brewer and founder of the Pabst Brewing Company. He was 67 years old.
1894 ~ Heinrich Hertz (né Heinrich Rudolf Hertz; b. Feb. 22, 1857), German physicist. He proved the existence of electromagnetic waves. The unit of frequency (cycle per second), known as the Hertz, was named in his honor. He died of an illness at age 36.
1892 ~ Roswell B. Mason (b. Sept. 19, 1805), 25th Mayor of Chicago. He served as Mayor from 1869 until 1971. The town of Mason, Illinois was named in his honor. He died at age 86.
1862 ~ Mikhail Vasilyevich Orstrogradsky (b. Sept. 24, 1801), Ukrainian mathematician. He died at age 60.
1856 ~ John M. Berrien (né John Macpherson Berrien, b. Aug. 23, 1781), 10th United States Attorney General. He served under President Andrew Jackson from March 1829 until July 1831. Following his service as Attorney General, he became a United States Senator from Georgia. He died at age 81.
1796 ~ Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde (b. Feb. 28, 1735), French chemist and mathematician. He died at age 60.
1782 ~ Johann Christian Bach (b. Sept. 5, 1735), German composer. He was the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He died at age 46.
1748 ~ Johann Bernoulli (b. Aug. 6, 1667), Swiss mathematician. He is best known for his contributions to infinitesimal calculus. He was also the teacher of mathematician Leonhard Euler. He died at age 80.
1730 ~ Samuel Sewall (b. Mar. 28, 1652), American judge best known for presiding over the Salem witch trials. He later apologized for his actions in those trials. He died at age 77.
1631 ~ Thomas Hobson (b. 1544), best known for the person behind the expression “Hobson’s Choice,” which means there is really no choice available. The exact date of his birth is not known. Although the exact date of his death is unknown, this is the date ascribed to his death.
1559 ~ King Christian III of Denmark and Norway (b. Aug. 12, 1503). During his reign, he established Lutheranism as the state religion. He was married to Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (1511 ~ 1571). He died at age 55.
1515 ~ King Louis XII of France (b. June 27, 1462), King of France from April 1498 until his death 17 years later. He was forced to marry Joan of France (1464 ~ 1505) in 1476. For political reasons, his marriage to Joan was annulled so he could marry Anne, Duchess of Brittany (1477 ~ 1514), widow of King Charles VII (1470 ~ 1498). After Anne’s death, he married Mary Tutor (1496 ~ 1533), sister of King Henry VIII (1491 ~ 1547) of England. He died at age 52. Because he had no sons, he was succeeded to the throne by his cousin, Francis I (1494 ~ 1547).
1204 ~ King Haakon III of Norway (b. 1170s). He was King of Norway from March 1202 until his death on this date 2 years later. The exact date of his birth is not known.
466 ~ Emperor Qianfei (b. Feb. 25, 449), Chinese emperor of the Liu Song dynasty. His brief reign was known for his violent and impulsive acts. He was assassinated age 16 after reigning for just a year and a half.
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