Birthdays:
1968 ~ Mitch Hedberg (né Mitchell Lee Hedberg; d. Mar. 30, 2005), American stand-up comedian. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He died at age 37 of a drug overdose in Livingston, New Jersey.
1967 ~ Brian Schmidt (né Brian Paul Schmidt), Australian astrophysicist and recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. He has dual citizenship in both Australia and the United States. He was born in Missoula, Montana.
1965 ~ Jane Swift (née Jane Maria Swift), Governor of Massachusetts. She served as Acting Governor from 2001 to 2003. She began her tenure as governor at age 36, making her the youngest female governor in the United States. She stepped into this Office when the governor, Paul Cellucci, was appointed United States Ambassador to Canada. She was born in North Adams, Massachusetts.
1956 ~ Paula Zahn (né Paula Ann Zahn), American journalist. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
1955 ~ Steve Jobs (né Steven Paul Jobs; d. Oct. 5, 2011), American visionary who transformed modern technology. He was a co-founder of Apple, Inc. He was born in San Francisco, California. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 56 in Palo Alto, California.
1952 ~ Fred Dean (né Frederick Rudolph Dean; d. Oct. 14, 2020), African-American professional football player. He was a fearless pass-rushing specialist who helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl victories in 1982 and 1985. He was born in Acadia, Louisiana. He died en route from West Monroe, Louisiana to Jackson, Mississippi at age 68 of Covid-19.
1950 ~ George Thorogood (né George Lawrence Thorogood), American singer and guitarist. He was born in Wilmington, Delaware.
1947 ~ Edward James Olmos (né Edward Huizar Olmos), American actor. He was born in East Los Angeles, California.
1946 ~ Grigory Margulis, Russian-born American mathematician. He is best known for his work on lattices in Lie groups. He was born in Moscow, Russia.
1945 ~ Barry Bostwick (né Barry Knapp Bostwick), American actor, best known for his role as Brad in Rocky Horror Picture Show. He was born in San Mateo, California.
1942 ~ Joe Lieberman (né Joseph Isadore Lieberman), United States Senator from Connecticut. He was the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee in the 2000 election, running with potential Presidential candidate Al Gore. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut.
1932 ~ John Vernon (né Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; d. Feb. 1, 2005), Canadian classically trained actor who found fame as Dean Wormer in the movie Animal House. He was born in Zehner, Saskatchewan, Canada. He died 23 days before his 73rd birthday of complications following heart surgery in Westwood, California.
1932 ~ Zell Miller (né Zell Bryan Miller; d. Mar. 23, 2018), American United States Senator from Georgia who bucked the Democratic party. In 2004, he supported George W. Bush for President. He was born and died in Young Harris, Georgia. He died a month after his 86th birthday.
1932 ~ Michel Legrand (né Michel Jean Legrand; d. Jan. 26, 2019), French prolific composer and jazz pianist who wrote hit soundtracks. He composed scores of music for over 200 films and television shows. He was born in Paris, France. He died a month before his 87th birthday in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
1925 ~ Bud Day (né George Everette Day; d. July 27, 2013), American war hero who was imprisoned in Vietnam for five years. He was a Colonel in the United States Air Force and served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He was born in Sioux City, Iowa. He died in Fort Walton Beach, Florida at age 88.
1924 ~ Simcha Rotem (né Szymon Rathajzer; d. Dec. 22, 2018), Polish-Israeli veteran. He was the last survivor of the 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising during World War II. He was born in Warsaw, Poland. He died in Jerusalem at age 94.
1923 ~ Samuel Glazer (né Samuel Lewis Glazer; d. Mar. 12, 2012), American businessman and founder of Mr. Coffee. He died of leukemia 16 days after his 89th birthday.
1922 ~ Steven Hill (né Solomon Krakovsky; d. Aug. 23, 2016), American actor. He is best known for his role as Adam Schiff, District Attorney on Law and Order. He was born in Seattle, Washington. He died at age 94 in Monsey, New York.
1921 ~ Abe Vigoda (né Abraham Charles Vigoda; d. Jan. 26, 2016), American actor who outlived reports of his death. In 1982, People magazine erroneously identified him as the “late Abe Vigoda,” leading to a long-running joke of his death. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He died about a month before his 95th birthday in Woodland Park, New Jersey.
1908 ~ Telford Taylor (d. May 23, 1998), American attorney best known for his role in the Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials and his opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare. He was born in Schenectady, New York. He died at age 90 in Gaylordsville, Connecticut.
1885 ~ Chester W. Nimitz, Sr. (né Chester William Nimitz; d. Feb. 20, 1966), American admiral. He was a leading authority on submarines. He was born in Fredericksburg, Texas. He died 4 days before his 81st birthday in San Francisco, California.
1874 ~ Honus Wagner (né Johannas Peter Wagner, d. Dec. 6, 1955), American baseball player. He played for the Pittsburg Pirates nearly his entire career. He was born in Chartiers Borough, Pennsylvania. He died at age 81 in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
1836 ~ Winslow Homer (d. Sept. 29, 1910), American illustrator and painter. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Prouts Neck, Maine. He was 74 years old at the time of his death.
1786 ~ Wilhelm Grimm (né Wilhelm Carl Grimm; d. Dec. 16, 1859), German writer and folklorist who, along with his brother, Jacob (1785 ~ 1863), collected folk and fairy tales. He died at age 73.
1774 ~ Prince Adolphus, (d. July 8, 1850), Duke of Cambridge. He was married to Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel. He was of the House of Hanover. He was the 10th child and 7th son of George III, King of England and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He died at age 76.
1722 ~ General John Burgoyne (d. Aug. 4, 1792), British General who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He died at age 70 in London, England.
1557 ~ Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. Mar. 20, 1619). He reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from June 1612 until March 20, 1619. He also reigned as the King of Bohemia from March 1611 until May 1617. He was married to Anna of Tyrol. He was of the House of Habsburg. He was the son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria of Austria. He died about a month after his 62nd birthday.
1545 ~ John of Austria (d. Oct. 1, 1578), illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and his mistress Barbara Blomberg. He was born on his father’s 45 birthday. Soon after his birth, he was taken from his mother and raised in the family of Charles V. He died of fever at age 31.
1536 ~ Pope Clement VIII (né Ippolito Aldobrandini; d. Mar. 3, 1605). He was Pope from February 1592 until his death 13 years later. He was born in Fano, Italy. He died a week after his 69th birthday in Rome, Italy.
1500 ~ Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. Sept. 21, 1558). He ruled both Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. He was married to Isabella of Portugal. He and his wife had no children, however, his illegitimate son, John of Austria, was born on his 45 birthday. He was of the House of Habsburg. He was the son of Joanna, Queen of Castile and Aragon and Philip I, King of Castile. He died at age 58.
1122 ~ Wanyan Liang (d. Dec. 15, 1161), 4th Emperor of the Jin Dynasty. He ruled from January 1150 until his assassination 11 years later. He died at age 39.
Events that Changed the World:
2022 ~ Russia launched a military attack on Ukraine.
2008 ~ Fidel Castro (1926 ~ 2016) retired as President of Cuba after ruling for nearly 50 years.
1989 ~ United Airlines Flight 811 ripped open during a flight between Honolulu, Hawaii and New Zealand. Nine passengers were blown out of the business-class section of the plane.
1989 ~ The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902 ~ 1989) offered a $3M bounty for the death of Salman Rushdie (b. 1947) after his book, The Satanic Verses, was published.
1981 ~ Prince Charles (b. 1948) and Diana Spencer (1961 ~ 1997) officially became engaged.
1981 ~ A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Athens, Greece. Over 20 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured.
1980 ~ The United State Olympic Hockey team defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal in completing the “Miracle on Ice”.
1920 ~ American-born Nancy Astor (1878 ~ 1964) became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election to Parliament in November 1919.
1920 ~ The Nazi party was founded.
1918 ~ Estonia declared its Independence.
1868 ~ Andrew Johnson (1808 ~ 1875) became the first United States President to be impeached by the House of Representatives. He was impeached for allegedly intentionally violating the Tenure of Office Act. He was ultimately acquitted in the Senate.
1854 ~ The British stamp, the Penny Red, became the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution and use.
1831 ~ The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, became effective. Under this treaty, the Choctaw Nation of Mississippi ceded land east of the Mississippi River in exchange for payment and land in the West.
1803 ~ The United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Marbury v. Madison, which established the principle of judicial review. Chief Justice John Marshall (1755 ~ 1835) authored the decision.
1711 ~ Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel (1685 ~ 1759), the first Italian opera written for the London stage, premiered in London.
1582 ~ Pope Gregory XIII (1502 ~ 1583) announced the usage of the Gregorian calendar. The rationale for the reform was to bring the date for the Easter celebration to coincide with the time of year that the First Council of Nicaea had agreed upon in 325. Easter celebration was tied to the spring equinox, hence the drift of the date for Easter under the Julian calendar cause problems for the Roman Catholic Church. The first countries to adopt the Gregorian calendar were the Catholic countries. The Gregorian calendar was adopted over the next few centuries by Protestant and Eastern Orthodox countries. In 1923, Greece became the last European country to adopt the Gregorian calendar.
Good-Byes:
2021 ~ Mercia Bowser (b. Mar. 7, 1956), African-American older sister of Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser. She spent her career with Catholic charities helping children, seniors, and people with developmental disabilities. She died of complications of Covid-19 just 11 days before her 64th birthday in Washington, D.C.
2021 ~ David Mintz (b. June 8, 1931), American kosher caterer who turned tofu into ice cream. In 1972, he created Tofutti, a non-dairy frozen dessert. He was born and raised in the Orthodox section of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. He died at age 89 in Englewood, New Jersey.
2020 ~ Clive Cussler (né Clive Eric Cussler; b. July 15, 1931), American scuba-writing adventure author who launched a paperback empire. He is best known for his 1976 novel Raise the Titanic! He was born in Aurora, Illinois. He died at age 88 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
2020 ~ Katherine Johnson (née Creola Katherine Coleman; b. Aug. 26, 1918), African-American mathematician and physicist. She was one of the “hidden figures” who put astronauts in space. She was hired by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (predecessor of NASA) as a mathematician. She was one of the African-American woman mathematicians whose pioneering work for NASA depicted in the 2016 movie Hidden Figures. She was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. She died at age 101 in Newport News, Virginia.
2018 ~ Kalman Aron (b. Sept. 14, 1923), Latvian-born artist who drew to survive the Holocaust. He began drawing at age 3 and at age 13, he had painted the official portrait of the Latvian prime minister. He was born in Riga, Latvia. He died at age 94 in Santa Monica, California.
2016 ~ George C. Nichopoulos (né George Constantine Nichopoulos; b. Oct. 29, 1927), American doctor who enabled Elvis Presley’s drug habit. His medical license was revoked in 1993. He was born in Ridgway, Pennsylvania. He died at age 88 in Memphis, Tennessee.
2015 ~ Bertrice Small (b. Dec. 9, 1937), American novelist who sexed up romantic fiction. She was born in Manhattan, New York. She died at age 77 in Southold, New York.
2014 ~ Harold Ramis (né Harold Allen Ramis; b. Nov. 21, 1944), American filmmaker who made comedy smart. He was born in Chicago, Illinoi. He died at age 69 in Glencoe, Illinois.
2013 ~ Frank Polozola (né Frank Joseph Polozola; b. Jan. 15, 1942) American Federal District Court Judge in the Middle District of Louisiana. He was born and died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He died just over a month after his 71st birthday.
2012 ~ Jan Berenstain (née Janice Marian Grant; b. July 26, 1923), American author, who along with her husband Stan Berenstain (1923 ~ 2005), wrote and illustrated the children’s book series, The Berenstain Bears. Both Jan and Stan were born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jan died at age 88 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania; Stan died at age 82 in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania.
2012 ~ Erland Josephson (b. June 15, 1923), Swedish actor who stood for Ingmar Bergman. He and Bergman collaborated on more than 40 plays and films over 60 years. In Bergman’s films, he often became something of a Bergman surrogate and a thinly veiled stand-in for the director in many of the movies. He was born and died in Stockholm, Sweden. He died at age 88.
2006 ~ Octavia Butler (née Octavia Estelle Butler; b. June 22, 1947), African-American science fiction writer. She was the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. She was born in Pasadena, California. She died at age 58 in Lake Forest Park, Washington.
2006 ~ Don Knotts (né Jesse Donald Knotts; b. July 21, 1924), American actor best known for his role as Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith Show. He was born in Morgantown, West Virginia. He died of lung cancer at age 81 in Los Angeles, California.
2006 ~ Dennis Weaver (né William Dennis Weaver; b. June 4, 1924), American actor. He is best known for his role as Chester Goode in Gunsmoke. He was born in Joplin, Missouri. He died of cancer at age 81 in Ridgway, Colorado.
2001 ~ Claude Shannon (né Claude Elwood Shannon; b. Apr. 30, 1916), American mathematician and engineer. He was born in Petoskey, Michigan. He died in Medford, Massachusetts at age 84.
1999 ~ Andre Dubus (né Andre Jules Dubus, II; b. Aug. 11, 1936), American writer who was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His son, Andre Dubus, III, is the author of the novel, House of Sand and Fog. Andre Dubus, II, died of a heart attack at age 62 in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
1998 ~ Henny Youngman (né Henry Youngman; b. Mar. 16, 1906), English-born American comedian, best known for his one-liners. He was born in London, England. He died less than 3 weeks before his 91st birthday in Manhattan, New York.
1994 ~ Dinah Shore (née Frances Rose Shore; b. Feb. 29, 1916), American actress and singer. She was a leapling. She was born in Winchester, Tennessee. She died of ovarian cancer 5 days before her 78th birthday in Beverly Hills, California.
1991 ~ George Goebel (né George Leslie Goebel, b. May 20, 1919), American actor and panelist on Hollywood Squares. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He died following heart surgery at age 71 in Los Angeles, California.
1990 ~ Malcolm Forbes (né Malcolm Stevenson Forbes; b. Aug. 19, 1919), American publisher and businessman. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey. He died of a heart attack at age 70 in Far Hills, New Jersey.
1988 ~ James Douglas, Jr. (né James Henderson Douglas, Jr.; b. Mar. 11, 1899), 5th Secretary of the Air Force. He served in this position under President Dwight David Eisenhower from May 1957 until December 1959. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He died 15 days before his 89th birthday in Lake Forest, Illinois.
1925 ~ Hjalmar Branting (né Karl Hjalmar Branting; b. Nov. 23, 1860), Swedish diplomat and Prime Minister of Sweden. He served several terms as Prime Minister. He was the recipient of the 1921 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the League of Nations. He was born and died in Stockholm, Sweden at age 64.
1914 ~ Joshua Chamberlain (né Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain; b. Sept. 8, 1828), 32nd Governor of Maine. He served as Governor from January 1867 until January 1871. Following his term as Governor, he served as the 6th President of Bowdoin College. He was born in Brewer, Maine. He died at age 85 in Portland, Maine.
1856 ~ Nikolai Lobachevsky (b. Dec. 1, 1792), Russian mathematician. He is best known for his work on hyperbolic geometry. He died at age 63.
1815 ~ Robert Fulton (b. Nov. 14, 1765), American inventor and engineer who created the first successful steam ship. He died of consumption at age 49 in New York, New York.
1812 ~ Étienne-Louis Malus (b. July 23, 1775), French physicist and mathematician. He participated in Napoleon’s expedition into Egypt. His name is one of 72 that is inscribed on the Eiffel Tower. He was born and died in Paris, France. He died at age 36.
1810 ~ Henry Cavendish (b. Oct. 10, 1731), English chemist. He died at age 78.
1799 ~ Georg C. Lichtenberg (né Georg Christoph Lichtenberg; b. July 1, 1742), German physicist and satirist. He died at age 56 following a short illness.
1777 ~ Joseph I, King of Portugal (b. June 6, 1714). He ruled over Portugal from July 1750 until his death 27 years later. He was married to Mariana Victoria of Spain. He was of the House of Braganza. He was the son of John V, King of Portugal and Maria Anna of Austria. He died at age 62.
616 ~ Æthelbert of Kent (b. 550). He was the King of Kent from about 589 until his death in February 616. He was married to Bertha of Kent. He was of the House of Kent. He was the son of Eormenric and a unnamed mother. The date of his birth is not known.
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