Friday, August 7, 2020

August 7

Birthdays:

1975 ~ Charlize Theron, South African-American actress.  She was born in Benoni, South Africa.

1960 ~ David Duchovny (né David William Duchovny), American actor best known for his role as Fox Muldar on The X Files.  He was born in New York, New York.

1955 ~ Wayne Knight (né Wayne Elliot Knight), American actor best known for his role as Newman on Seinfeld.  He was born in New York, New York.

1944 ~ John Glover (né John Soursby Glover, Jr.), American actor.  He was born in Kingston, New York.

1944 ~ Robert Mueller (né Robert Swan Mueller, III), American attorney and 6th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  He served as the Director of the FBI from September 2001 through September 2013 under United States Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.  In May 1977, he was appointed as Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice to oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States Presidential elections.  In May 2017, he was appointed as special counsel to oversee the investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election.  When he submitted his report to Attorney General William Barr, Barr provided his sanitized version to the public.  He was born in New York, New York.

1944 ~ David Rasche, American actor.  He was born in Belleville, Illinois.

1942 ~ Garrison Keillor (né Gary Edward Keillor), American writer and radio host of Prairie Home Companion.  He hosted PHC from 1974 through July 2016, when he was fired due to a sex scandal.  He was born in Anoka, Minnesota.

1933 ~ Elinor Ostrom (née Elinor Claire Awan; d. June 12, 2012), American economist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science.  She died of cancer at age 78.

1930 ~ Joseph Farman (né Joseph Charles Farman; d. May 11, 2013), British scientist who discovered the ozone hole over the Antarctic.  He died at age 82.

1928 ~ Betsy Byars (née Betsy Cromer; d. Feb. 26, 2020), American author who wrote about lost children.  She is best known for her 1970 novel Summer of the Swans, about an awkward 14-year-old orphan searching for her brother.  She was born in Charlotte, South Carolina.  She died at age 91 in Senece, South Carolina.

1927 ~ Edwin W. Edwards (né Edwin Washington Edwards), American politician and three-term Governor of the State of Louisiana.  He was born in Marksville, Louisiana.

1926 ~ Stan Freberg (né Stanley Victor Friberg; d. Apr. 7, 2015), American comedian and satirist who made commercials funny.  He also created a humorous album on American history entitled Stan Freberg Modestly Presents the United States of America.  He was 88 years old.

1921 ~ Manitas de Plata (né Ricardo Baliardo; d. Nov. 5, 2014), French-Roma who became a superstar flamenco guitarist.  He died at age 93.

1904 ~ Ralph Bunche (né Ralph Johnson Bunche; d. Dec. 9, 1971), African-American statesman, civil rights activist and recipient of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize.  He was the first African-American to be awarded the Peace Prize.  It was for his role in the mediation in Israel during the late 1040s.  He died of complication of diabetes at age 68.

1903 ~ Louis B. Leaky (né Louis Seymour Bazett Leaky; d. Oct. 1, 1972), Kenyan-born British anthropologist and archaeologist.  He died at age 69.

1890 ~ Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (d. Sept. 5, 1964), American social activist and labor leader.  She was a strong advocate for women’s rights issues.  She was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union.  She was born in Concord, New Hampshire.  She died while visiting the Soviet Union.  She died about a month after her 74thbirthday.

1876 ~ Mata Hari (née Margaretha Geertruida Zelle; d. Oct. 15, 1917), Dutch dancer who was executed by firing squad for ostensibly spying for the German Empire during World War I.  She was executed as a spy at age 41.

1869 ~ Mary Winston Newson (née Mary Frances Winston; d. Dec. 5, 1959), American mathematician.  She was the first American woman to receive a Ph.D. from a European university.  She received her advance degree from the University of Göttingen.  She was only 1 of 22 women to join the American Mathematical Society before 1900.  She was born in Forreston, Illinois.  She died in Lowell, Indiana at age 90.

1868 ~ Ladislaus Bortkeiwiez (d. July 15, 1931), Russian mathematician.  He died 23 days before his 63rd birthday.

1742 ~ Nathanael Green (d. June 19, 1786), General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.  He died at age 43.

1726 ~ James Bowdoin, II (d. Nov. 6, 1790), 2nd Governor of Massachusetts.  He was Governor from May 1785 through May 1787.  Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine is named in his honor.  He died at age 64.

1574 ~ Sir Robert Dudley (d. Sept. 6, 1649), British explorer and geographer.  He died a month after his 75thbirthday.

Events that Changed the World:

1998 ~ Terrorist bombs exploded at United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  Over 200 people were killed.

1978 ~ President Jimmy Carter (b. 1924) declared a federal emergency at Love Canal due to the toxic waste that had been negligently discarded there.

1976 ~ The Viking 2 began its orbit around Mars.

1974 ~ Philippe Petit (b. 1949), performed an unauthorized high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.  He made eight passes along the wire in 45 minutes.  The wire was strung between the building 1,368 feet above the ground.  In 2015, a movie entitled The Walk was released, recounting his adventure.

1964 ~ The United States Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Lyndon Johnson (1908 ~ 1973) broad powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.

1962 ~ Canadian-born American pharmacologist Frances Oldham Kelsey (1914 ~ 2015) was awarded the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service for her refusal to authorize Thalidomide from being sold in the United States.  Fifty-three years to the day after being given this honor, she died at age 101.

1960 ~ Côte d’Ivoire gained its independence from France.

1959 ~ The Lincoln Memorial design on the United States penny went into circulation.  It replaced the sheaves of wheat and was minted until 2008, when it was replaced by the Union Shield.  Lincoln’s profile remains on the reverse side.

1938 ~ Construction of the German Mauthausen concentration camp began.  This was one of the first massive concentrations camp complexes in Nazi Germany.

1927 ~ The Peace Bridge opened between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.

1909 ~ Alice Huyler Ramsey (1886 ~ 1993) became the first woman to drive across the country in a car.  She and three other women, none of whom could drive, set off on a 59 day adventure from New York, New York to San Francisco, California.

1789 ~ The United States War Department was established.  The Department of War was renamed the United States Department of Defense in 1949 when it encompassed the Army, the Navy and Air Force.

1782 ~ President George Washington (1732 ~ 1799) created the Order of the Purple Heart.  It was initially called the Badge of Military Merit and was designed to honor soldiers wounded in battle.

Good-Bye:

2019 ~ David Berman (né David Cloud Berman; b. Jan. 4, 1967), American musician, poet and cartoonist.  He is best known for his work with the indie-rock band the Silver Jews.  He was born in Williamsburg, Virginia.  He died by suicide at age 52 in Brooklyn, New York.

2015 ~ Frances Oldham Kelsey (née Frances Kathleen Oldham; b. July 24, 1914), Canadian pharmacologist and physician who blocked a dangerous pregnancy drug.  She was most famous as the reviewer for the US Food and Drug Administration who refused to authorize thalidomide for market because she had concerns about the drug’s safety.  She died 2 weeks after her 101st birthday.

2011 ~ Mark Hatfield (né Mark Odom Hatfield; b. July 12, 1922), American republican from Oregon who strove for the center.  He had also served as the Governor of Oregon.  He was born in Dallas, Oregon.  He died less than a month after his 89th birthday in Portland, Oregon.

2011 ~ Hugh Carey (né Hugh Leo Carey; b. Apr. 11, 1919), 51st Governor of New York State.  He served as Governor from January 1975 through December 1982.  He was considered the Democrat who rescued New York.  He was born and died in New York, New York.  He died at age 92.

2011 ~ Nancy Wake (née Nancy Grace Augusta Wake; b. Aug. 30, 1912), French secret agent during World War II.  She was a leading figure on the French resistance.  She died 23 days before her 99th birthday.

2010 ~ John Nelder (né John Ashworth Nelder; b. Oct. 8, 1929), British statistician and mathematician.  He died at age 85.

2005 ~ Peter Jennings (né Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings; b. July 29, 1938), Canadian television journalist.  He died of lung cancer 9 days after his 67th birthday.

2004 ~ Red Adair (né Paul Neal Adair; b. June 18, 1915), American oil field firefighter.  He died at age 89.

1985 ~ Gábor Szegő (b. Jan. 20, 1895), Hungarian mathematician.  He was born in Kunhegyes, Hungary.  He died at age 90 in Palo Alto, California.

1974 ~ Virginia Apgar (b. June 7, 1909), American physician who developed the Apgar test for newborns.  She was born in Westfield, New Jersey.  She died at age 65 in New York, New York.

1960 ~ Salvatore Ferragamo (b. June 5, 1898), Italian shoemaker and founder of Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A.  He was born in Bonito, Italy.  He died at age 62 in Florence, Italy.

1957 ~ Oliver Hardy (né Norvell Hardy, b. Jan. 18, 1892), American comedian and half of the Laurel and Hardy comedy team.  He died of cerebral thrombosis at age 65.

1941 ~ Rabindranath Tagore (b. May 7, 1861), Indian writer and recipient of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He died at age 80.

1855 ~ Mariano Arista (b. July 26, 1802), Mexican general and President of Mexico.  He was President from January 1851 until January 1853.  He died 12 days after his 53rd birthday.

1834 ~ Joseph Marie Jacquard (b. July 7, 1752), French merchant and inventor of the Jacquard loom.  He died a month after his 82nd birthday.

1639 ~ Martin van de Hove (b. 1605), Dutch mathematician.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have died at age 34.

1106 ~ Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. Nov. 11, 1050).  He reigned from October 1056 through March 1084.  He had the distinction of being excommunicated five times by three different Popes.  He died at age 55.


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