Sunday, November 29, 2020

November 29

Birthdays:

1976 ~ Chadwick Boseman (né Chadwick Aaron Boseman; d. Aug. 28, 2020), African-American actor and Black Panther star who portrayed African-American icons.  He was born in Anderson, South Carolina.  He died at age 43 of colon cancer in Los Angeles, California.

 

1964 ~ Don Cheadle (né Donald Frank Cheadle, Jr.), African-American actor.  He was born in Kansas City, Missouri.

 

1962 ~ Andrew McCarthy (né Andrew Thomas McCarthy), American actor.  He was born in Westfield, New Jersey.

 

1959 ~ Richard Borcherds (né Richard Ewen Borcherds), South African mathematician.  He is known for his work in group theory and lattices.  He was the recipient of the 1998 Fields Medal.

 

1959 ~ Rahm Emanuel (né Rahm Israel Emanuel), American politician.  He was the 23rd White House Chief of Staff.  He served under President Barack Obama from January 2009 until October 2010.  He then became the Mayor of Chicago in May 2011.  He served as Mayor until May 2019.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1957 ~ Janet Napolitano (née Janet Ann Napolitano), 3rd Secretary of Homeland Security.  She served under President Obama from January 2009 until September 2013.  She had previously served as the 21st Governor of Arizona from January 2003 until January 2009.  She was born in New York, New York.

 

1954 ~ Joel Coen, American film director.  He was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

 

1949 ~ Garry Shandling (né Garry Emmanuel Shandling; d. Mar. 24, 2016), American comedian and actor.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died of a heart attack at age 66 in Santa Monica, California.

 

1947 ~ Petra Kelly (née Petra Karin Lehmann; d. Oct. 1, 1992), German political activist and ecofeminist.  She was killed in a murder-suicide by her partner.  She was 44 years old.

 

1946 ~ Suzy Chaffee (née Suzanne Stevia Chaffee), American Olympic alpine ski racer.  She competed in the 1968 winter Olympics.  She was known as Suzy Chapstick.  She was born in Rutland, Vermont.

 

1942 ~ Stanley Ann Dunham (d. Nov. 7, 1995), American anthropologist and mother of United States President Barack Obama.  She died of cancer 22 days before her 53rd birthday.

 

1940 ~ Michael G. Crandall (né Michael Grain Crandall), American mathematician best known for his work in differential equations.  He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

 

1939 ~ Peter Bergman (né Peter Paul Bergman; d. Mar. 9, 2012), American who pioneered surreal radio comedy.  He is best known for being a member of the Fireside Theater.  He died of complications from leukemia at age 72.

 

1932 ~ Jacques Chirac (né Jacques René Chirac; d. Sept. 26, 2019), French politician and 22nd president of France from May 1995 until May 2007 who defied a rush to war.  Following 9/11, he vowed to stand by the United States against the war on terrorism, however, when United States President George W. Bush sought his assistance in Iraq, Chirac balked.  He died at age 86.

 

1928 ~ Paul Simon (né Paul Martin Simon; d. Dec. 9, 2003), American politician and United States Senator from Illinois.  He died 10 days after his 75th birthday.

 

1928 ~ Yolande Fox (née Yolande Margaret Betbeze; d. Feb. 22, 2016), American Miss America who defied convention.  She became the 1951 Miss America.  Following her year as Miss America, she became a social activist. She was born in Mobile, Alabama.  She died of lung cancer at age 87 in Washington, D.C.

 

1920 ~ Joseph Shivers, Jr. (né Joseph Clois Shivers, Jr.; d. Sept. 1, 2014), American chemist and developer of spandex.  He died at age 93.

 

1919 ~ Sir Frank Kermode (né John Frank Kermode; d. Aug. 17, 2010), British literary critic considered a giant in his field.  He died at age 90.

 

1918 ~ Madeleine L’Engle (née Madeleine L’Engle Camp; d. Sept. 6, 2007), American author, best known for her children’s novel, A Wrinkle in Time.  She died at age 88.

 

1915 ~ Eugene Polley (d. May 20, 2012), American engineer who invented the TV remote control.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died at age 96 in Downers Grove, Illinois.

 

1912 ~ Sir John Templeton (né John Marks Templeton; d. July 8, 2008), the American-born investor who helped fund the search for God.  In 1968, he took British citizenship and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1987.  He was born in Winchester, Tennessee.  He died of pneumonia at age 95 in Nassau, The Bahamas.

 

1912 ~ Viola Smith (née Viola Schmitz; d. Oct. 21, 2020), American trailblazing swing drummer who broke musical boundaries.  She was one of the first female professional drummers.  She was born in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin.  She died in Costa Mesa, California a month before her 108th birthday.

 

1908 ~ Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (d. Apr. 4, 1972), African-American politician and civil rights leader.  He was the first African-American to serve in the United States Congress from New York State.  He was born in New Haven, Connecticut.  He died at age 63.

 

1898 ~ C.S. Lewis (né Clive Staples Lewis; d. Nov. 22, 1963), Irish author best known for his novels The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia.  He died 7 days before his 65th birthday.

 

1895 ~ Busby Berkeley (né Berkeley William Enos; d. Mar. 14, 1976), American film director and choreographer.  He died at age 80.

 

1876 ~ Nellie Tayloe Ross (né Nellie Davis Tayloe; d. Dec. 19, 1977), American politician and 14th Governor of Wyoming.  She was the first woman to be elected to a State office.  She served as Governor from January 1925 until January 1927.  She later served as the 28th Director of the United States Mint from May 1933 until April 1953.  She died 3 weeks after her 101st birthday.

 

1874 ~ Egas Moniz (né António Caetano de Aubre Freire Egas Moniz; d. Dec. 13, 1955), Portuguese neurologist and recipient of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died 14 days after his 81st birthday.

 

1873 ~ Suzan Rose Benedict (d. Apr. 8, 1942), American mathematician.  She was the first woman awarded a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Michigan.  She had a long career at Smith University in Massachusetts.  She died of a heart attack at age 68 in Northampton, Massachusetts.

 

1849 ~ Sir John Ambrose Fleming (d. Apr. 18, 1945), British physicist and inventor of the vacuum tube.  He died at age 95.

 

1843 ~ Gertrude Jekyll (d. Dec. 8, 1932), British horticulturist and garden designer.  She created over 400 gardens in England, Europe and the United States.  She died 9 days after her 89th birthday.

 

1835 ~ Empress Dowager Cixi (d. Nov. 15, 1908), Chinese ruler.  She effectively controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing Dynasty from 1861 until her death in 1908.  She died 14 days before her 73rd birthday.

 

1832 ~ Louisa May Alcott (d. Mar. 6, 1888), American novelist.  She is best known for her novels Little Women and Little Men.  She was born on her father’s 33rd birthday.  She died of a stroke at age 55.

 

1816 ~ Morrison Waite (né Morrison Remick Waite; d. Mar. 23, 1888), 7th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was nominated to the High Court by President Ulysses S. Grant.  He replaced Salmon Chase on the Court.  He was succeeded by Melville Fuller.  He served in office from March 1874 until his death on this date 14 years later.  He was born in Lyme, Connecticut.  He died in Washington, D.C., at age 71.

 

1803 ~ Christian Doppler (né Christian Andreas Doppler; d. Mar. 17, 1853), Austrian physicist and mathematician.  He is best known for his principle known as the Doppler effect, that the observed frequency of a wave depends upon the relative speed of the source and the observer.  He died at age 49 of pulmonary disease.

 

1799 ~ Amos Bronson Alcott (d. Mar. 4, 1888), American philosopher and educator.  He was the father of author Louisa May Alcott, who was born in his 33rd birthday.  He was born in Wolcott, Connecticut and died at age 88 in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

1627 ~ John Ray (d. Jan. 17, 1705), English naturalist.  He died at age 77.

 

1427 ~ Emperor Yingzong of Ming (d. Feb. 23, 1464), Chinese Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.  He ruled from February 1435 until he was forced to abdicate in favor of his brother in September 1449.  A few years later, he deposed his brother and took over the empire reigning from February 1457 until his death 7 years later.  He died at age 36.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2007 ~ A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Martinique affecting many of the Caribbean islands.

 

1972 ~ Atari released the video game, Pong.

 

1967 ~ United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (1916 ~ 2009) announced his resignation following his recommendation to President Lyndon Johnson (1908 ~ 1973) to freeze troop levels and stop bombing in North Vietnam.

 

1963 ~ President Lyndon Johnson (1908 ~ 1973) formed the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1917 ~ 1963).

 

1947 ~ The United Nations General Assembly approved a plan for the partition of Palestine.

 

1929 ~ Admiral Richard E. Byrd (1888 ~ 1957) and his three-member crew became the first persons to fly over the South Pole.

 

1922 ~ Howard Carter (1874 ~ 1939) and George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon (1866 ~ 1923) became the first people to enter the tomb of King Tut (the Pharaoh Tutankhamun) in over 3000 years.  The tomb had been discovered a few weeks earlier, on November 4, 1922.

 

1830 ~ The November Uprising, an armed rebellion against Russia’s rule in Poland began.

 

1783 ~ What is believed to have been a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit New Jersey.

 

1777 ~ San Jose, California was founded as Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe.  It was the first civilian settlement in the area that would later become the state of California.

 

1732 ~ The 6.6 magnitude Irpinia earthquake struck in southern Italy killing nearly 2,000 people.

 

1729 ~ The Natchez Indians, who had been in conflict with the French settlers, massacred over 200 of the French settlers and kidnapped the women and children at Fort Rosalie, near present day Natchez, Mississippi.

 

800 ~ Charlemagne (742 ~ 814) arrived in Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III (d. 816).  Charlemagne protected the Pope from his enemies and thus, became the Holy Roman Emperor.

 

Good-Byes:

 

2019 ~ Irving Burgie (né Irving Louis Burgie; b. July 28, 1924), African-American lyricist who got the world singing Day-O.  He is considered on of the greatest composers of Caribbean music.  He was sometimes known as Lord Burgess.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died in Queens, New York at age 95.

 

2017 ~ Mary Lee Woods (b. Mar. 12, 1924), British mathematician and computer programmer.  She died at age 93.

 

2013 ~ Peter Kaplan (né Peter Wennik Kaplan; b. Feb. 10, 1954), American New York editor who mentored a generation.  He is known for modernizing New Journalism for the digital age.  He was born in South Orange, New Jersey.  He died of cancer at age 59 in Manhattan, New York.

 

2009 ~ Harry Hurt (b. Dec. 13, 1927), American engineer who made motorcycles safer.  He died 2 weeks before his 82nd birthday.

 

2008 ~ Jørn Oberg Utzon (b. Apr. 9, 1918), Danish architect who designed the Sydney Opera House in Australia.  He died at age 90.

 

2005 ~ Wendie Jo Sperber (b. Sept. 15, 1958), American actress.  She was born in Los Angeles, California.  She died of breast cancer at age 47 in Sherman Oaks, California.

 

2001 ~ George Harrison (b. Feb. 25, 1943), English musician and member of the Beatles.  He died of lung cancer at age 58.

 

2001 ~ John Knowles (b. Sept. 16, 1926), American author.  He is best known for his novel A Separate Peace.  He died at age 75.

 

1999 ~ Gene Rayburn (né Eugen Peter Jeljenic; b. Dec. 22, 1917), American game show host.  He hosted the Match Game for over 20 years.  He died of congestive heart failure in Gloucester, Massachusetts 23 days before his 82ndbirthday.

 

1997 ~ Coleman Young (né Coleman Alexander Young; b. May 24, 1918), American politician and Mayor of Detroit.  He served as Mayor from January 1974 until January 1994.  He died of emphysema at age 79.

 

1992 ~ Jean Dieudonné (b. July 1, 1906) French mathematician.  He died at age 86.

 

1991 ~ Frank Yerby (né Frank Garvin Yerby, b. Sept. 5, 1916), African-American historical novelist.  He was born in Augusta, Georgia.  He died of liver cancer at age 75 in Madrid, Spain.

 

1986 ~ Cary Grant (né Archibald Alexander Leach; b. Jan. 18, 1904), British-born American actor.  He died at age 82.

 

1984 ~ Tatyana Pavlovna Ehrenfest (b. Oct. 28, 1905), Dutch mathematician.  She was born in Vienna, Austria.  She about a month after her 79th birthday in Dordrech, Netherlands.

 

1981 ~ Natalie Wood (née Natasha Nikoleavna Zakkharenko; b. July 20, 1938), American actress.  She died in a mysterious boating accident.  Ostensibly she drowned at age 43, however, in 2012, an investigation into her death was reopened.  Her husband, Richard Wagner, was considered as a “person of interest.”.

 

1980 ~ Dorothy Day (b. Nov. 8, 1897), American journalist and activist.  She died 21 days after her 83rd birthday.

 

1958 ~ Roy West (né Roy Owen West; b. Oct. 27, 1868), 30th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under President Calvin Coolidge from July 1928 until March 1929.  He was born in Georgetown, Illinois.  He died a month after his 90th birthday in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1953 ~ Ernest Barnes (né Ernest William Barnes; b. Apr. 1, 1874), English mathematician.  He was also a member of the clergy.  He died at age 79.

 

1943 ~ Bertha Knight Landes (née Bertha Ethel Knight; b. Oct. 19, 1868), Mayor of Seattle from 1926-1928.  She was the first female mayor of a major United States city.  She was born in Ware, Massachusetts.  She died at age 75 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 

1924 ~ Giacomo Puccini (b. Dec. 22, 1858), Italian composer best known for his opera Madame Butterfly.  He died 23 days before his 66th birthday of complications from throat cancer.

 

1872 ~ Horace Greeley (b. Feb. 3, 1811), American journalist and politician.  He is credited with coining the phrase: Go West, Young Man!  He also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.  He was born in Amherst, New Hampshire.  He died at age 61 in Pleasantville, New York.

 

1872 ~ Mary Somerville (née Mary Fairfax; b. Dec. 26, 1780), Scottish mathematician and astronomer.  She died less than a month before her 92nd birthday.

 

1871 ~ John Bigler (b. Jan. 8, 1805), 3rd Governor of California.  He served as Governor from January 1852 until January 1856.  He was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 66 in Sacramento, California.

 

1780 ~ Maria Theresa (b. May 13, 1717), Austrian wife of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor.  She was the Holy Roman Empress in her own right.  She died at age 63.

 

1759 ~ Nicolaus I Bernoulli (b. Oct. 21, 1687), Swiss mathematician.  He died at age 72.

 

1694 ~ Marcello Malpighi (b. Mar. 10, 1628), Italian astronomer, physician and botanist.  He died at age 66.

 

1590 ~ Philipp Nicodemus Frischlin (b. Sept. 22, 1547), German astronomer, mathematician and writer.  He was arrested in March 1590 for writing libelous letters.  He is believed to have been killed at age 43 from a fall while trying to escape from prison.

 

1543 ~ Hans Holbein the Younger (b. 1497), German artist.  He was the son of artist Hans Holbein the Elder.  The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been born 1497.  The exact date of his death is also unknown, but he is believed to have died sometime in October or November 1543.

 

1530 ~ Thomas Wolsey (b. March 1470), British religious figure.  The exact date of his birth is not known.  He died at age 57.

 

1463 ~ Marie of Anjou (b. Oct. 14, 1414), Queen consort of France.  She was the wife of King Charles VII of France.  She died at age 59.

 

1378 ~ Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. May 14, 1316).  He was born and died in Prague.  He died at age 62.

 

1314 ~ King Philip IV of France (b. 1268).  He ruled as king from October 1285 until his death in 1314.  He died at age 46.  The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been born between April and June in 1268.

 

1268 ~ Pope Clement IV (né Gui Foucois, b. Nov. 23, 1190).  He was Pope from February 1265 until his death 2 years later.  He died 6 days after his 78th birthday.

 

561 ~ Chlothar I (b. 497), Frankish king.  The exact date of his birth is not known.

 

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