Birthdays:
1969 ~ Naveen Andrews (né Naveen William Sidney Andrews), British actor. He was born in London, England.
1964 ~ Michelle Obama (née Michelle LaVaughn Robinson), First Lady of the United States and wife of President Barack Obama. She was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1962 ~ Jim Carrey (né James Eugene Carrey), Canadian-American comedian and actor. He was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.
1962 ~ Sebastian Junger, American author and journalist. He is best known for his 1997 book, The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea. He was born in Belmont, Massachusetts.
1957 ~ Steve Harvey (né Broderick Stephen Harvey), American comedian and game show host. He was born in Welch, West Virginia.
1956 ~ Damian Green (né Damian Howard Green), British politician. He was born in Barry, Wales.
1955 ~ Steve Earle (né Stephen Fain Earle), American country and folk-singer. He was born in Hampton, Virginia.
1942 ~ Muhammad Ali (né Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; d. June 3, 2016), African-American heavyweight boxing champion who shook up the wall. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He died at age 74 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
1934 ~ Sydney Schanberg (né Sydney Hillel Schanberg; d. July 9, 2016) American journalist who covered Cambodia during the period known as The Killing Fields in the 1970s. He was born in Clinton, Massachusetts. He died at age 82 of a heart attack in Poughkeepsie, New York.
1934 ~ Bernard S. Cohen (d. Oct. 12, 2020), American lawyer who fought for marriage equality. In 1963, while volunteering for the American Civil Liberties Union, he took the case of Loving v. Virginia to the United States Supreme Court. He believed that the Virginia law prohibiting mixed-race marriages was unconstitutional. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He died at age 86 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
1933 ~ Shari Lewis (née Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; d. Aug. 2, 1998), American puppeteer and ventriloquist. She was known for creating her sock puppets, Lamb Chops and Charlie Horse. She was born in The Bronx, New York. She died at age 65 of uterine cancer in Los Angeles, California.
1931 ~ Don Zimmer (né Donald William Zimmer; d. June 4, 2014), American baseball player and long-time coach of the Boston Red Sox. He was the journeyman who became the face of baseball. His professional playing career was cut short a few years after he was hit in the head with a fastball that fractured his skull. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died at age 83 in Dunedin, Florida.
1931 ~ James Earl Jones, African-American actor. He was the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies. He was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi.
1931 ~ Douglas Wilder (né Lawrence Douglas Wilder), Governor of Virginia. He was the first African-American elected governor of Virginia. He served in that Office from January 2005 until January 2009. He was born in Richmond, Virginia.
1928 ~ Vidal Sassoon (d. May 9, 2012), English cosmetologist and hair stylist. He was born in London, England. He died of leukemia at age 84 in Los Angeles, California.
1927 ~ Eartha Kitt (née Eartha Mae Keith; d. Dec. 25, 2008), American singer and actress. She was born in South Carolina. She died 23 days before her 82nd birthday in Westport, Connecticut.
1924 ~ Jewell Plummer Cobb (d. Jan. 1, 2017), 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 in Maplewood, New Jersey.
1924 ~ Arthur Staats (d. Apr. 26, 2021), American child psychologist who popularized the “time-out” for children’s discipline. He was an opponent of spinking and believed a “time-out” was a more effective response to youthful misbehavior. He was born in Greenburgh, New York. He died of heart failure at age 97 in Oahu, Hawaii.
1922 ~ Nicholas Katzenbach (né Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach; d. May 8, 2012), 65th Attorney General. He served under President Lyndon B. Johnson from February 1965 until October 1966. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died at age 90 in Skillman, New Jersey.
1922 ~ Betty White (née Betty Marion White; d. Dec. 31, 2021), American actress and comedian. She was born in Oak Park, Illinois. She died just 17 days before her 100th birthday.
1914 ~ Irving S. Brecher (d. Nov. 17, 2008), American quick wit who wrote for the Marx Brothers. He was born in New York, New York. He died at age 94 in Los Angeles, California.
1911 ~ George Stigler (né George Joseph Stigler; d. Dec. 1, 1991), American economist and recipient of the 1982 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was born in Seattle, Washington. He died at age 80 in Chicago, Illinois.
1905 ~ Peggy Gilbert (née Margaret Fern Knechtges; d. Feb. 12, 2007), American saxophonist and bandleader. She was born in Sioux City, Iowa. She died less than a month after her 102nd birthday in Hollywood, California.
1899 ~ Al Capone (né Alphonse Gabriel Capone; d. Jan. 25, 1947), American gangster. He was ultimately arrested on tax evasion. He was born in New York, New York. He died 8 days after his 48th birthday of cardiac arrest following a stroke in Miami Beach, Florida.
1899 ~ Nevil Shute (né Nevil Shute Norway; d. Jan. 12, 1960), British-born Australian author best known for his novel On the Beach, about a nuclear holocaust and A Town Like Alice. He died 5 days before his 61st birthday in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
1882 ~ Arnold Rothstein (d. Nov. 6, 1928), American gangster. He was known as “The Brain.” He is believed to have been the mastermind of the fixing of the 1919 Baseball World Series. He was born and died in New York, New York. He was murdered at age 46.
1881 ~ Antoni Łomnicki (né Antoni Marian Łomnicki, d. July 4, 1941), Polish mathematician. He was murdered at age 60 by the Nazis during the Massacre of the Lwów professors during World War II.
1877 ~ Marie Zdeňka Baborová-Čiháková (d. Sept. 29, 1937), Czech botanist and zoologist. She was the first Czech woman to earn a Ph.D. in this field of science. She was born in Prague. At the time, the city was under the Austria-Hungary regime. She died at age 60.
1871 ~ Nicolae Iorga (d. Nov. 27, 1940), Prime Minister of Romania. He served in that Office from April 1931 until June 1932. He died at age 69.
1867 ~ Carl Laemmle (né Karl Lämmle; d. Sept. 24, 1939). German-born American film producer and founder of Universal Studios. He died of heart disease at age 72 in Los Angeles, California.
1863 ~ David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (d. Mar. 26, 1945), Welsh attorney and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the reign of King George V. He served as Prime Minister from December 1916 until October 1922. He died at age 82 in Wales.
1853 ~ Alva Belmont (née Alva Erskine Smith; d. Jan. 26, 1933), American suffragist and socialite. She was born in Mobile, Alabama. She died 9 days after her 80th birthday in Paris, France.
1829 ~ Catherine Booth (née Catherine Mumford; d. Oct. 4, 1890), British theologian and co-founder of The Salvation Army along with her husband, William Booth (1829 ~ 1912). She died of breast cancer at age 61.
1820 ~ Anne Brontë (b. May 28, 1849), English novelist and poet. She was the youngest member of the Brontë family. She died of tuberculosis at age 29.
1814 ~ Ellen Wood (née Ellen Price; d. Feb. 10, 1887), English author. She died 24 days after her 73rd birthday.
1768 ~ Smith Thompson (d. Dec. 18, 1843), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was nominated to the High Court by President James Monroe. He replaced Henry Brockholst Livingston on the Court. He was succeeded by Samuel Nelson. He had previously served as the 6th United States Secretary of the Navy. He served in that Office during the Monroe Administration from January 1819 until August 1823. He was born in Amenia, New York when it was under British rule. He died in Poughkeepsie, New York a month before his 76th birthday.
1706 ~ Benjamin Franklin (d. Apr. 17, 1790), American statesman, inventor, diplomat, and printer. He served as the 1stUnited States Postmaster General, an Office he held from July 1775 until November 1776. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He died at age 84 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1640 ~ Jonathan Singletary Dunham (d. Sept. 6, 1724), Early American settler. Although born in what is now Newbury, Massachusetts, he settled with his family in what is now New Jersey. He built the first gristmill in New Jersey. He was the 8th great-grandfather of President Barack Obama. He died at age 84 in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey.
1574 ~ Robert Fludd (d. Sept. 8, 1637), British physician, astrologer, and mathematician. He died at age 63 in London, England.
1504 ~ Pope Saint Pius V (né Antonio Ghislieri; d. May 1, 1572). He was Pope from January 1566 until his death 6 years later. He is best known for his role in the Council of Trent and the standardization of the rituals within the Latin Church. He died at age 68.
1492 ~ Adam Ries (d. Mar. 30, 1559), German mathematician. He died at age 66.
1342 ~ Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (d. Apr. 27, 1404). He was known as Philip the Bold. He was married to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders. He was of the House of Valois-Burgundy. He was the son of John II, King of France and Bonne of Bohemia. He died at age 62.
Events that Changed the World:
2002 ~ Mount Nyiragongo erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There had been an increase in seismic activity, so people had been warned. Approximately 400,000 people were evacuated, however, nearly 250 people were killed in the eruption.
1998 ~ The Drudge Report first reported on the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair.
1995 ~ The Great Hanshin earthquake of 6.9 magnitude hit near Kobe, Japan, killing nearly 6,500 people.
1994 ~ Northridge, California was struck by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake. Nearly 60 people were killed and over 8700 people were injured.
1991 ~ Crown Prince Harald V (b. 1937) became Harald V, King of Norway upon the death of his father, Olav V, King of Norway (1903 ~ 1991).
1991 ~ Operation Desert Storm began after Iraq fired 8 Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful attempt to provoke Israeli retaliation. Iraqi missiles continue to be fired into Israel through February 23, 1991.
1977 ~ Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore (1940 ~ 1977) was executed by a firing squad in Utah. His was the first execution in the United States in over 10 years, following a moratorium on capital punishment. The United States Supreme Court deemed that States’ death-penalty statutes were constitutional. Norman Mailer wrote an account of the Gilmore case in Executioner’s Song.
1950 ~ The Great Brinks Bank Robbery occurred when 11 thieves stole over $2M from a Brink’s armored car outside the Brinks offices in Boston, Massachusetts. In January 1956, all the perpetrators were eventually arrested. The arrest came shortly before the statute of limitations would have expired.
1946 ~ The United Nations Security Council held its first session.
1945 ~ Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg (1912 ~ 1947) was taken into custody in Hungary by the Soviets. He was never seen again and was presumed killed. In 1947 he was officially declared dead.
1945 ~ The Nazis began to evacuate the Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces began to close in.
1929 ~ The cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man, created by E.C. Segar (1894 ~ 1938) was first published in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
1920 ~ The Volstead Act went into effect, which prohibited the sale of alcohol in the United States.
1917 ~ The United States purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25M.
1912 ~ Captain Robert Scott (1868 ~ 1912) reached the South Pole one month after Roald Amundsen’s expedition.
1899 ~ The United States took possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
1893 ~ The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom began when American businessmen, aided by United States troops, instigated a coup d’état against Queen Lili’uokalani (1838 ~ 1917). A new provisional government was established setting Sanford Ballard Dole (1844 ~ 1926), a sugar plantation owner, as president.
1773 ~ Captain James Cook (1728 ~ 1799) and his crew became the first known Europeans to sail below the Antarctic Circle.
1648 ~ England’s Long Parliament passed the Vote of No Addresses, which broke off negotiations with Charles I, King of England (1600 ~ 1649) setting the stage for the second phase of the English Civil War, a dispute between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians.
1595 ~ Henry IV, King of France (1553 ~ 1610) declared war on Spain during the French Wars of Religion, which was a conflict between the Catholics and the Huguenots.
1562 ~ The Edict of Saint-Germain was executed granting the Huguenots limited tolerance in France.
1377 ~ Pope Gregory XI (1329 ~ 1378) moved the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon, France.
395 ~ Roman Emperor Theodosius I (347 ~ 395) died, causing the Roman Empire to be re-divided into an eastern and western portion.
Good-Byes:
2019 ~ Mary Oliver (née Mary Jane Oliver; b. Sept. 10, 1935), American popular poet who found refuge in nature. She was born in Maple Heights, Ohio. She died of lymphoma at age 83 in Hobe Sound, Florida.
2017 ~ Colo (b. Dec. 22, 1956), the first gorilla bred in captivity, was born at the Columbus Zoo in Columbus, Ohio. On December 22, 2016, Colo celebrated her 60th birthday. She died just 25 days after her 60th birthday.
2010 ~ Erich Segal (né Erich Wolf Segal, b. June 16, 1937), American author, best known for his novel, Love Story. He was a classical scholar. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He died of a heart attack at age 72 in London, England.
2008 ~ Bobby Fischer (né Robert James Fischer; b. Mar. 9, 1943), American chess player. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He died of renal failure at age 64 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
2007 ~ Art Buchwald (né Arthur Buchwald; b. Oct. 20, 1925), American columnist and humorist. He was born in New York, New York. He died of kidney failure at age 81 in Washington, D.C.
2003 ~ Richard Crenna (né Richard Donald Crenna; b. Nov. 30, 1926), American actor. He was born and died in Los Angeles, California. He died of congestive heart failure at age 76.
2002 ~ Camilo José Cela (b. May 11, 1916), Spanish writer and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature. He died at age 85.
1997 ~ Clyde Tombaugh (né Clyde William Tombaugh; b. Feb. 4, 1906), American astronomer who first cited the dwarf planet, Pluto. He was born in Streator, Illinois. He died 18 days before his 91st birthday in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
1996 ~ Barbara Jordan (née Barbara Charline Jordan; b. Feb. 21, 1936), African-American politician from Texas. She served as the United States House of Representatives from the State of Texas January 1973 until January 1979. She was born in Houston, Texas. She died of pneumonia at age 59 in Austin, Texas.
1994 ~ Helen Stephens (née Helen Herring Stephens; b. Feb. 3, 1918), American track star. She was known as The Fulton Flash, after her birthplace of Fulton, Missouri. She competed in the 1936 Olympics that were held in Berlin, Germany. She died 17 days before her 76th birthday in St. Louis, Missouri. She is one of the female athletes depicted in the novel Fast Girls by Elsie Hooper.
1991 ~ Olav V, King of Norway (né Prince Alexander Edward Christian Frederik of Denmark; b. July 2, 1903). He reigned as King from September 1957 until his death in January 1991. He became heir apparent to the Norwegian throne when his father, Haakon VII was elected King of Norway in 1905. He was married to Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was of the House of Glücksburg. He was the son of Haakon VII, King of Norway and Maud of Wales. He died at age 87.
1977 ~ Gary Gilmore (né Faye Robert Coffman; b. Dec. 4, 1940), American murderer who is known for being the first person to be executed after the United States Supreme Court deemed that the states’ death-penalty statutes were constitutional. Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Draper, Utah. Norman Mailer wrote an account of Gilmore’s story in the novel, Executioner’s Song. He was born in McCamey, Texas. He was 36 years old at the time of his execution.
1972 ~ Betty Smith (née Elizabeth Lillian Wehner; d. Dec. 15, 1896), American author best known for her novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. She was born in Brooklyn, New York. She died of pneumonia about a month after her 75th birthday in Shelton, Connecticut.
1967 ~ Evelyn Nesbit (née Florence Evelyn Nesbit; b. Dec. 25, 1884), American actress. She is best known for her relationship with the much older architect, Stanford White. In 1906, her jealous husband, Harry Kendall Thaw, murdered White. She was born in Natrona, Pennsylvania. She died in Santa Monica, California 23 days after her 82nd birthday.
1964 ~ T.H. White (né Terence Hanbury White; b. May 29, 1906), English author best known for his novel The Once and Future King about the King Arthur legend. He was born Bombay, British India. He died of heart failure at age 57 while aboard a ship in Athens, Greece.
1961 ~ Patrice Lumumba (né Élias Okit’Asomvo; b. July 2, 1925), 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was executed by firing squad at age 35 in a military coup.
1933 ~ Louis Comfort Tiffany (b. Feb. 18, 1848), American artist and glass designer. He was born and died in New York, New York. He died about a month before his 85th birthday.
1927 ~ Juliette Gordon Low (née Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon; d. Oct. 31, 1860), American founder of the Girl Scouts. She was born and died in Savannah, Georgia. She died of breast cancer at age 66.
1911 ~ Sir Francis Galton (b. Feb. 16, 1822), British polymath, geographer, inventor, and meteorologist. He died a month before his 89th birthday.
1893 ~ Rutherford B. Hayes (né Rutherford Birchard Hayes; b. Oct. 4, 1822), 19th President of the United States. He served as President from March 1877 until March 1881. He previously served as Governor of Ohio for two non-consecutive terms. He was born in Delaware, Ohio. He died at age 70 in Fremont, Ohio.
1891 ~ George Bancroft (b. Oct. 3, 1800), 17th United States Secretary of the Navy during the James Polk administration. He served in that capacity from March 1845 until September 1846. During his tenure as Secretary of the Navy, in 1845 he established the United States Navy Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He died at age 90 in Washington, D.C.
1889 ~ Juan Montalvo (né Juan María Montalvo y Fiallos; b. Apr. 13, 1832), Ecuadorian author. He was born in Ambato, Ecuador. He died of tuberculosis at age 56 in Paris, France.
1882 ~ Alexander Bullock (né Alexander Hamilton Bullock; b. Mar. 2, 1816), 26th Governor of Massachusetts. He was Governor from January 1866 until January 1869. He had previously served as the Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts. He was born in Royalston, Massachusetts. He died at age 65 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
1874 ~ Chang and Eng Bunker (b. May 11, 1811), Thai-American conjoined twins. Because they were from Thailand, then called Siam, co-joined twins became known as Siamese Twins. Each brother married and collectively they had a total of 21 children. They died in Mount Airy, North Carolina. They were 62 at the time of their death.
1833 ~ Friedrich Koenig (né Friedrich Gottlob Koenig; b. Apr. 17, 1774), German inventor best known for the invention of the high-speed steam-powered printing press. He died at age 58.
1705 ~ John Ray (b. Nov. 29, 1627), English naturalist. He was born and died in Black Notley, England. He died at age 77.
1598 ~ Feodor I of Russia (b. May 31, 1557). He was the Tsar of All Rus’ from March 1584 until his death in January 1598. He was married to Irina Feodorovna Godunova. He was of the House of Rurik. He was the son of Ivan IV, Tsar of Russia (Ivan the Terrible) and Anastasia Romanovna. He is believed to have been about 40 years old at the time of his death as the exact date of his birth is unknown, although it is often considered to have been May 31, 1557.
1456 ~ Elisabeth of Lorraine-Vaudémont (b. 1395), French translator. She was a pioneer in translation. She translated several French romances into German. The exact date of her birth is not known. She is believed to have been 60 or 61 at the time of her death.
395 ~ Theodosius I (b. Jan. 11, 347), Roman emperor from January 379 until his death in January 395. He was known as Theodosius the Great. He was the last Roman emperor to have ruled both the eastern and western portions of the Roman Empire. He is believed to have died 6 days after his 48th birthday.
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