Birthdays:
1979 ~ Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni activist and journalist. She was the recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.
1978 ~ Ashton Kutcher (né Christopher Ashton Kutcher), American actor. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
1970 ~ Stanley Roberts (né Stanley Corvet Roberts), African-American basketball player who attended Louisiana State University. He was born in Hopkins, South Carolina.
1965 ~ Jason Gedrick (né Jason Michael Gedrick), American actor. He was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1965 ~ Chris Rock (né Christopher Julius Rock, III), African-American actor and comedian. He was born in Andrews, South Carolina.
1962 ~ Garth Brooks (né Troyal Garth Brooks), American country music singer-songwriter. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
1962 ~ Eddie Izzard (né Edward John Issard), English stand-up comedian and actor. He was born in Yemen.
1960 ~ James Spader (né James Todd Spader), American actor. He is best known for his role as Raymond Reddington on the television drama Black List. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1955 ~ Miguel Ferrer (né Miguel José Ferrer; d. Jan. 19, 2017), American actor. He died of throat cancer 19 days before his 62nd birthday.
1952 ~ Mary Norris, American author, journalist and copy editor for the New Yorker. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1946 ~ Pete Postlehwaite (né Peter William Postlewaite; d. Jan. 2, 2011), English character actor. He died of prostate cancer at age 64.
1939 ~ William Devereux Zantzinger (d. Jan. 3, 2009), American farmer from Maryland who inspired a Bob Dylan classic civil rights song, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll. Zantzinger had killed a black barmaid with his cane. He served 6 months for the murder. He died at age 69.
1932 ~ Gay Talese, American author. He helped to define literary journalism. He was born in Ocean City, New Jersey.
1920 ~ An Wang (d, Mar. 24, 1990), Chinese-American engineer and founder of Wang Laboratories. He died of cancer at age 70.
1913 ~ Ramón Mercader (né Jamie Ramón Mercader del Rio; d. Oct. 18, 1978), Spanish assassin of Leon Trotsky in 1940. He served 20 years for the murder. He died in Havana, Cuba of lung cancer at age 65.
1908 ~ Buster Crabbe (né Clarence Linden Crabbe, II; d. Apr. 23, 1983), American swimmer and actor. He died of a heart attack at age 75.
1906 ~ Puyi (né Aisin Gioro Puyi; d. Oct. 17, 1967), 12th and final Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He was emperor from November 1908 until he was forced to abdicate in February 1912. He died of kidney cancer and heart diseases at age 61.
1905 ~ Ulf von Euler (né Ulf Svante von Euler; d. Mar. 9, 1982), Swedish physiologist and recipient of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on neurotransmitters. He died about a month after his 78thbirthday.
1887 ~ Eubie Blake (né James Eubie Blake; d. Feb. 12, 1983), African-American musician and composer. He died 5 days after his 96th birthday.
1885 ~ Sinclair Lewis (né Harry Sinclair Lewis; d. Jan. 10, 1951), American writer. In 1930, he was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He his best known for his books Main Street and Arrowsmith. He died about a month before his 66th birthday.
1877 ~ G.H. Hardy (né Godfrey Harold Hardy; d. Dec. 1, 1947), English mathematician best known for his achievements in number theory and mathematical analysis. He died at age 70.
1973 ~ Thomas Andrews (d. Apr. 15, 1912), Irish shipbuilder. He designed the RMS Titanic. He was on the ship’s maiden voyage and perished when the ship sank. He was 39 years old.
1870 ~ Alfred Adler (d. May 28, 1937), Austrian psychologist. He died at age 67.
1867 ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder (née Laura Elizabeth Ingalls; d. Feb. 10, 1957), American author. She is best known for her children’s books, such as The Little House on the Prairie, which depict life growing up in the American west. She died 3 days after her 90th birthday.
1812 ~ Charles Dickens (né Charles John Huffman Dickens; d. June 9, 1870), British novelist, best known for such novels as Oliver Twist and Great Expectations. He died of a stroke at age 58.
1804 ~ John Deere (d. May 17, 1886), American blacksmith and manufacturer of farm machinery. He was born in Rutland, Vermont. He was the founder of the John Deere & Company. He died at age 82.
1693 ~ Empress Anna of Russia (d. Oct. 28, 1740). She was the Empress from January 1730 until her death in October 1740. She died at age 47.
1478 ~ Sir Thomas More (d. July 6, 1535), English statesman and theologian. He was opposed to the Protestant Reformation. He was executed by beheading for treason against King Henry VIII of England. He was 57 years old.
1102 ~ Empress Matilda of England (d. Sept. 10, 1167). She was also known as Empress Maude of the Holy Roman Empire. She was the wife of King Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire. She died at age 65.
Events that Changed the World:
2016 ~ Super Bowl 50 was played in San Francisco. The Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers in a score of 24-10.
2014 ~ The 2014 Winter Olympics opened in Sochi, Russia. The games ran until February 23, 2014.
2013 ~ Mississippi officially certified the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Amendment had been formally ratified by Mississippi in 1995.
2010 ~ The New Orleans Saints won the championship in Super Bowl XLIV, beating the Indianapolis Colts in the game played in Miami, Florida. The score was 31 to 17.
2009 ~ Bushfires in Victoria, Australia killed nearly 200 people in the worst natural disaster to date in the country. Bushfires in the 2019-2020 season would surpass the damage cause by these fires.
1999 ~ Crown Prince Abdullah (b. 1962) became King of Jordan following the death of his father King Hussein (1935 ~ 1999).
1995 ~ Ramzi Yousef (b. 1968), the mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan. He was later tried and convicted with murder and conspiracy to murder. He was sentenced to two life sentences plus 240 years for his crimes and is currently incarcerated in a federal prison in Colorado.
1991 ~ Jean-Bertrand Aristide (b. 1953) was sworn in as Haiti’s first democratically-elected president. His election came exactly 5 years to the day after the country’s President for Life, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier (1951 ~ 2014) fled his country.
1990 ~ The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agreed to give up its monopoly on power, thus effectuating the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
1974 ~ Grenada gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
1964 ~ The Beatles made their first trip to the United States. Their first performance was on the Ed Sullivan Showon February 9, 1964.
1962 ~ The United States banned all Cuban imports and exports.
1940 ~ The Disney animated movie Pinocchio made its film debut.
1904 ~ A massive fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroyed over 1,500 buildings in just under 2 days.
1898 ~ Writer Émile Zola (1840 ~ 1902) was brought to trial for libel for publishing J’Accuse in the Dreyfus affair. Alfred Dreyfus (1859 ~ 1935), a Jewish French military officer, had been arrested on false accusations of being a spy. Zola defended Dreyfus in the newspaper with his letter, which was first published on January 13, 1898. The underlying context of both the Dreyfus affair and the Zola trial was anti-Semitism in Catholic France. Ultimately, Dreyfus would be exonerated.
1812 ~ A strong series of earthquakes hit the New Madrid, Missouri region.
1795 ~ The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. The Amendment deals with the individual state’s sovereign immunity.
1497 ~ Supporters of Girolamo Savonarola (1452 ~ 1498), a Dominican priest, gathered in Florence, Italy and publically burned thousands of objects, such as cosmetics, arts and books, and other items that Savonarola deemed as objects of sin. This became known as the Bonfire of the Vanities.
1301 ~ Edward of Caernarvon (1284 ~ 1327), who later became Edward II of England, was named the first English Prince of Wales.
Good-Byes:
2019 ~ Albert Finney, Jr. (b. May 9, 1936), British working-class actor who shunned Hollywood accolades. He is best known for his role as Tom Jones in the 1963 movie of the same name. He died of a chest infection at age 82.
2019 ~ Frank Robinson (b. Aug. 31, 1935), African-American baseball legend who broke racial barriers. He died of bone cancer at age 83.
2019 ~ John Dingell (né John David Dingell, Jr.; b. July 8, 1926), American political giant who shaped landmark laws. He was the longest-serving member of Congress, serving nearly 60 years in the United States House of Representatives as a representative from Michigan. He died at age 92.
2018 ~ John Perry Barlow (b. Oct. 3, 1947), American rock lyricist for the Grateful Dead who became an internet activist. Born in Wyoming, he was a cattle rancher and a cyberlibertarian political activist. He died at age 70.
2015 ~ Dean Smith (né Dean Edwards Smith; b. Feb. 28, 1931), American legendary college basketball coach who put his players first. He was the head men’s basketball coach for 36 years at the University of North Carolina. He prompted desegregation in the sport at his school. He died three weeks before his 84thbirthday.
2009 ~ Jack Cover (né John Higson Cover, Jr.; b. Apr. 6, 1920), American pilot and inventor of the Taser stun gun. He died of pneumonia at age 88.
2007 ~ Alan MacDiarmid (b. Apr. 14, 1927), New Zealand chemist and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He died at age 79.
2001 ~ Dale Evans (née Lucille Wood Smith; b. Oct. 31, 1912), American singer-songwriter and actress. She was the third wife of Roy Rogers and he was her 4th husband. She died of congestive heart failure at age 88.
2001 ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh (née Anne Spencer Morrow; b. June 22, 1906), American writer and wife of Charles Lindbergh. She died at age 94 in Passumpsic, Vermont.
2000 ~ Doug Henning (né Douglas James Henning; b. May 3, 1947), Canadian magician. He died of liver cancer at age 52.
1999 ~ King Hussein of Jordan (né Hussein bin Tal; b. Nov. 14, 1935). He was King of Jordon from August 1952 until his death in February 1999. His fourth wife was the American, Lisa Halaby, who became known as Queen Noor, upon her marriage to the King. He died of cancer at age 63.
1979 ~ Josef Mengele (b. Mar. 16, 1911), Nazi war criminal. He eluded capture and escaped to South America. He suffered a stroke while swimming and drowned at age 67.
1938 ~ Harvey Firestone (né Harvey Samuel Firestone; b. Dec. 20, 1868), American automobile pioneer and founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. He died of coronary thrombosis at age 69.
1937 ~ Elihu Root (b. Feb. 15, 1845), 38th United States Secretary of State and recipient of the 1912 Nobel Peace Prize. He served as Secretary of State under President Theodore Roosevelt from July 1905 until January 1909. He also served as the 41st United States Secretary of War under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt from August 1899 until January 1904. He died 8 days before his 92nd birthday.
1894 ~ Adolphe-Joseph Sax (b. Nov. 6, 1814), Belgian musician and inventor of the saxophone. He died at age 79.
1878 ~ Pope Pius IX (né Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti; b. May 13, 1792). He was Pope from June 1846 until his death 32 years later. He died at age 85.
1871 ~ Henry E. Steinway (né Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg; b. Feb. 15, 1797), manufacturer of the Steinway & Sons pianos. He died 8 days before his 74th birthday.
1837 ~ Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (b. Nov. 1, 1778). He was King from March 1792 until his abdication in March 1809. He was also the last Swedish ruler of Finland. He was married to Federica of Baden. He died of a stroke at age 58.
1826 ~ Thomas Todd (b. Jan. 23, 1765), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was nominated to the High Court by President Thomas Jefferson. This seat was established during the Jefferson administration. He served on the Court from March 1807 until his death in February 1826. He was succeeded by Robert Trimbel. He was born in Virginia when it was under British rule. He died in Frankfort, Kentucky 15 days after his 61stbirthday
1823 ~ Ann Radcliffe (né Ann Ward; b. July 9, 1764), English novelist. She is considered one of the pioneers of the Gothic novel. She died at age 58.
1799 ~ Qianlong (b. Sept. 25, 1711), 5th Chinese Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He abdicated 2 years before his death in favor of his son. He died at age 87.
1603 ~ Hermann Wilken (b. 1522), German mathematician. The exact date of his birth is not known.
1127 ~ Ava (b. 1060), German poet. She is the first known named writer in the German language. The exact date of her birth is not known.
590 ~ Pope Pelaguis II (b. 520), Pope from November 579 until his death in February 590. The date of his birth is not known, but his is believed to have been about 69 or 70 at the time of his death.
318 ~ Jin Mindi (b. 300), Chinese Emperor of the Jin Dynasty. The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been about 17 or 18 at the time of his death.
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