Birthdays:
1989 ~ Taylor Swift (née Taylor Alison Swift), American singer. She was born in West Reading, Pennsylvania.
1957 ~ Steve Buscemi (né Steven Vincent Buscemi), American actor. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1953 ~ Benjamin Bernanke (né Benjamin Shalom Bernanke), American economist and 14th Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He served in that Office from February 2006 through January 2014. He was born in Augusta, Georgia.
1950 ~ Thomas Vilsack (né Thomas James Vilsack), 30th and 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture. He first served under President Barack Obama from January 2009 until January 2017. In February 2021, he became the United States Secretary of Agriculture under President Joe Biden. He had previously served as the 40th governor of Iowa. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1945 ~ Herman Cain (d. July 30, 2020), African-American businessman. He ran as a Republican in the 2012 Presidential campaign. His campaign was derailed after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him. He had earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He died at age 74 in Stockbridge, Georgia of Covid-19.
1934 ~ Richard D. Zanuck (né Richard Darryl Zanuck; d. July 13, 2012), American movie producer who produced Jawsand reshaped Hollywood. He was born and died in Los Angeles, California. He died of a heart attack at age 77.
1929 ~ Christopher Plummer (né Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer; b. Feb. 5, 2021), Canadian Shakespearean actor best known for his role as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. He despised this film and referred to it as The Sound of Mucus. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He died at age 91 in Weston, Connecticut of injuries sustained in a fall.
1928 ~ Jack Tramiel (né Idek Trzmiel; d. Apr. 8, 2012), Polish-American businessman behind the Commodore 64. He was born in Łodż, Poland. He died of heart failure at age 83 in Stanford, California.
1927 ~ Harry Hurt (né Hugh Harrison Hurt, Jr.; d. Nov. 29, 2009), American engineer who made motorcycles safer. He was born in Big Spring, Texas. He died 2 weeks before his 82nd birthday in Pomona, California.
1925 ~ Dick Van Dyke (né Richard Wayne Van Dyke), American actor and comedian. He was born in West Plains, Missouri.
1924 ~ Shotgun Shuba (né George Thomas Shuba; d. Sept. 29, 2014), American baseball player who shook hands with history. He is remembered for his role in breaking down the color barrier when, while playing for a farm team in the 1940s, he offered a congratulatory handshake to teammate Jackie Robinson. He was born and died in Youngstown, Ohio. He died at age 89.
1923 ~ Frankie Fraser (né Francis Davidson Fraser; d. Nov. 26, 2014), the British vicious gangster who became a beloved celebrity. He spent over 42 years in prison for numerous violent offenses. He died 17 days before his 91st birthday.
1923 ~ Philip W. Anderson (né Philip Warren Andersonl d. Mar. 29, 2020), American theoretical physicist and recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He died at age 96 in Princeton, New Jersey.
1920 ~ George P. Shultz (né George Pratt Schultz, d. Feb. 6, 2021), American economist and 60th Secretary of State of the United States. He was the steady diplomat who helped end the Cold War. He served under President Ronald Reagan from July 1982 until January 1989. He had previously served as the 62nd United States Secretary of the Treasury from June 1972 until May 1974. He was also the 11th United States Secretary of Labor during the Nixon administration from January 1969 until July 1970. He was born in New York, New York. He died at age 100 in Stanford, Connecticut.
1915 ~ Ross Macdonald (né Kenneth Millar; d. July 11, 1983), American-Canadian author of detective novels. He was born in Los Gatos, California. He died of Alzheimer’s disease at age 67 in Santa Barbara, California.
1911 ~ Trygve Haavelmo (né Trygve Magnus Haavelmo, d. July 28, 1999), Norwegian economist and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He died at age 87 in Oslo, Norway.
1908 ~ Elizabeth Alexander (née Frances Elizabeth Somerville Caldwell; d. Oct. 15, 1958), British geologist and physicist. Her wartime work with radar and radio led to early developments in radio astronomy. She was one of the first women in this field of study. She died of a stroke at age 49 in Ibadan, Nigeria.
1887 ~ George Pólya (d. Sept. 7, 1985), Hungarian-American mathematician. He was born in Budapest, Hungary. He died at age 97 in Palo Alto, California.
1885 ~ Annie Andrews (née Annie Dale Biddle; d. Apr. 14, 1940), American mathematician. She was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. She was born in Hanford, California. She died at age 54 following a long illness.
1846 ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie (d. Dec. 31, 1916), American essayist and literary critic. He was born in Cold Spring, New York. He died 18 days after his 70th birthday.
1818 ~ Mary Todd Lincoln (née Mary Ann Todd; d. July 16, 1882), First Lady and wife of President Abraham Lincoln. She was born in Lexington, Kentucky. She died at age 63 in Springfield, Illinois.
1797 ~ Heinrich Heine (né Christian Johann Heinrich Heine; d. Feb. 17, 1856), German poet. He died at age 58 in Paris, France.
1720 ~ James Hargreaves (d. Apr. 22, 1778), English carpenter and inventor of the Spinning Jenny. He died at about age 57. The exact date of his birth is unknown but is assumed to have been December 13.
1678 ~ Yongzheng (d. Oct. 8, 1735), 5th Chinese emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He reigned from 1722 until his death 13 years later. He died at age 56.
1553 ~ Henry IV, King of France (d. May 14, 1610). He reigned as King from August 1589 until his assassination. Although baptized as a Catholic, he was raised as a Protestant. His first marriage to Margaret of Valois was annulled. He then married Marie de’Medici. He was of the House of Bourbon. He was the son of Jeanne III, Queen of Navarre and Antoine, of Navarre. He was assassinated by a fanatical Catholic at age 56.
1540 ~ François Vietè (d. Feb. 23, 1603), French mathematician. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been born on December 1540, making him about 62 or 63 at the time of his death.
1533 ~ Eric XIV, King of Sweden (d. Feb. 26, 1577). He ruled from September 1580 until he was deposed 8 years later in September 1568. After he was deposed, he was imprisoned and believed to have been murdered. He was of the House of Vasa. He was the son of Gustav I, King of Sweden and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenbuurg. He died at age 43.
1521 ~ Sixtus V (né Felice Peretti di Montalto; d. Aug. 27, 1590). He was Pope from April 1585 until his death 5 years later. He died of malarial fever at age 69.
1272 ~ Frederick III, King of Sicily (d. June 25, 1337). He reigned from December 1295 until his death 42 years later. He was married to Eleanor of Anjou. He was of the House of Barcelona. He was the third son of Peter III, King of Aragon and Constance of Sicily. He died at age 64.
Events that Changed the World:
2003 ~ Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (1937 ~ 2006) was capture by American troops in a bunker near his hometown of Tikrit, in an operation known as Operation Red Dawn.
2002 ~ The European Union announced that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia would become members in May 2004.
2000 ~ Al Gore (b. 1948) conceded the Presidential election to George W. Bush (b. 1946).
2019 ~ Greta Thunberg (b. 2003), a 16-year-old environmental activist, was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
1981 ~ General Wojciech Jaurzelski (1923 ~ 2014) declared martial law in Poland to prevent the Solidarity group from dismantling the communist system of government.
1977 ~ Air Indiana Flight 216, which was carrying the University of Evansville basketball team, crashed on takeoff at the Evansville Regional Airport. All aboard were killed. The only basketball team member who was not on the plane was killed two weeks after being involved in a car crash involving a drunk driver.
1972 ~ American astronauts Eugene Cernan (1934 ~ 2017) and Harrison Schmitt (b. 1935) began the third and final extra-vehicular activity, or Moonwalk, of Apollo 17. They were the last humans to walk on the Moon.
1949 ~ The Israeli Knesset voted to have Jerusalem be the capital of Israel. Many countries, including the United States, refuse to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, instead, housing their diplomats in Tel Aviv. In 2017, President Trump (b. 1946) announced that the United States would be moving its embassy to Jerusalem.
1938 ~ The Neuengamme concentration opened in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, Germany during the Holocaust.
1937 ~ During the Nanjing Massacre, Japanese troops began killing and raping civilians after the fall of Nanjing, China. This went on for several weeks.
1928 ~ An American in Paris, by George Gershwin (1898 ~ 1937), was first performed in Carnegie Hall.
1862 ~ General Robert E. Lee (1807 ~ 1870) defeated Union Major General Ambrose Burnside (1824 ~ 1881) at the Battle of Fredericksburg during the American Civil War.
1769 ~ Eleazar Wheelock (1711 ~ 1779) founded Dartmouth College, located in present day Hanover, New Hampshire, with a Royal Charter from George III, King of England (1738 ~ 1820) on land donated by Royal Governor John Wentworth.
1642 ~ Dutch seafarer, Abel Tasman (1603 ~ 1659) reached what is now known as New Zealand.
1636 ~ The Massachusetts Bay Colony organized militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized as the beginning of the United States National Guard.
1577 ~ Sir Francis Drake (1540 ~ 1596) began set sail from England on his voyage around the world.
1545 ~ The Council of Trent began. The Council met for 25 sessions between December 13, 1545 and December 4, 1563.
1294 ~ Saint Celestine V (1215 ~ 1296) resigned the papacy after only serving as Pope for 5 months. He was the only Pope to resign until Benedict XVI (b. 1927) resigned in 2013.
Good-Byes:
2016 ~ Thomas Schelling (né Thomas Crombie Schelling; b. Apr. 14, 1921), American economist and recipient of the 2005 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He died at age 95.
2010 ~ Richard Holbrooke (né Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke, b. Apr. 24, 1941), 22nd American Ambassador to the United Nations. He died at age 69 from complications of a torn aorta.
2009 ~ Paul Samuelson (né Paul Anthony Samuelson; b. May 15, 1915), American economist and recipient of the 1970 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science. He was born in Gary, Indiana. He died in Belmont, Massachusetts at age 94.
1992 ~ K.C. Irving (né Kenneth Colin Irving, b. Mar. 14, 1899), Canadian businessman and founder of Irving Oil. He died at age 93.
1992 ~ Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (b. Feb. 20, 1899), American businessman and philanthropist. He died at age 93.
1983 ~ Mary Renault (née Eileen Mary Challans; b. Sept. 4, 1905), English novelist of historical fiction. She was born in London, England. She died at age 78 in Cape Town, South Africa.
1974 ~ John G. Bennett (né John Godolphin Bennett; b. June 8, 1897), British mathematician, technologist and author. He was born in London, England. He died at age 77.
1972 ~ L.P. Hartley (né Leslie Poles Hartley; b. Dec. 30, 1895), British novelist. He died 17 days before his 77th birthday.
1961 ~ Grandma Moses (née Anna Mary Robertson, b. Sept. 7, 1860), American folk artist. She took up painting at age 78. She died at age 101.
1955 ~ Egas Moniz (né António Caetano de Aubre Freire de Resende, b. Nov. 29, 1874), Portuguese neurologist and recipient of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He died 14 days after his 81st birthday in Lisbon, Portugal.
1950 ~ Abraham Wald (b. Oct. 31, 1902), Hungarian mathematician. He was killed in a plane crash at age 48.
1944 ~ Wassily Kandinsky (b. Dec. 16, 1866), Russian-born French painter and artist who is credited as being the Father of Abstract Painting. He was born in Moscow, Russia. He died three days before his 78th birthday in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
1935 ~ Victor Grignard (né François Auguste Victor Grignard; b. May 6, 1871), French chemist and recipient of the 1912 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He died at age 64 in Lyons, France.
1934 ~ Thomas Watson (né Thomas Augustus Watson; b. Jan. 18, 1854), American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell during the invention of the telephone. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts. He died of heart disease in Pass-Grille Key, Florida just over a month before his 81st birthday.
1930 ~ Fritz Pregl (b. Sept. 3, 1869), Slovenian-born Austrian chemist and recipient of the 1923 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He died at age 61 in Graz, Austria.
1927 ~ Mehmet Nadir (b. 1856), Turkish mathematician. The exact date of his birth is not known.
1924 ~ Samuel Gompers (b. Jan. 27, 1850), English-born American labor leader. He was the founder of the American Federation of Labor. He died at age 74 in San Antonio, Texas.
1873 ~ Samuel Nelson (b. Nov. 10, 1792), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was appointed to the High Court by President John Tyler. He served on the Court from February 14, 1845 until November 28, 1872. He replaced Smith Thompson on the Court. He was replaced by Ward Hunt. He was born in Hebron, New York. He died at age 81 in Cooperstown, New York.
1784 ~ Samuel Johnson (b. Sept. 18, 1709), British biographer and lexicographer. He died at age 75.
1621 ~ Catherine Stenbock (b. July 22, 1535), Swedish wife of Gustav I of Sweden. She was his 3rd wife. She was the Queen consort from August 1552 until her husband’s death in 1560. She died at age 86.
1557 ~ Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia (b. 1499), Italian mathematician. The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been 57 or 58 at the time of his death.
1466 ~ Donatello (né Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi; b. 1386), Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor from Florence, Italy. The exact date of his birth is not known.
1250 ~ Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. Dec. 26, 1194). He reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from November 1220 until his death 30 years later. He was married several times. His first wife was Constance of Aragon (1179 ~ 1222). She was twice his age at the time of their marriage. His second wife was Isabella II, Queen of Jerusalem (1212 ~ 1228). His third wife was Isabella of England (1214 ~ 1241). His fourth and final wife was his mistress, Bianca Lancia. He was of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was the son of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Constance, Queen of Sicily. He died 13 days before his 56th birthday.
1124 ~ Pope Callixtus II (né Guy of Burgundy, b. 1065). He was pope from February 1119 until his death on this date 5 years later. The exact date of his birth is not known.
558 ~ Childebert I (b. 496), King of Paris. The date of his birth is not known.
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