Birthdays:
1955 ~ Olga Korbut (née Olga Valentinovna Korbut), Belarusian gymnast.
1955 ~ Debra Winger (née Debra Lynn Winger), American actress. She was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
1953 ~ Pierce Brosnan (né Pierce Brendan Brosnan), Irish actor.
1951 ~ Christian Lacroix (né Christian Marie Marc Lacroix), French fashion designer. He was born in Arles, France.
1950 ~ J. Georg Bednorz (né Johannes Georg Bednorz), German physicist and recipient of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics.
1947 ~ Bob Edwards (né Robert Alan Edwards), American journalist and host of Bob Edwards Weekend on the satellite radio Sirius. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky.
1937 ~ Yvonne Craig (née Yvonne Joyce Craig; d. Aug. 17, 2015), American ballerina who played Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman. She was born in Taylorville, Illinois. She died of breast cancer at age 77 in Pacific Palisades, California.
1931 ~ Paul Brodeur, American investigative science writer and novelist. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1931 ~ Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (né Lowell Palmer Weicker, Jr.), 85th Governor of Connecticut. He served as Governor from January 1991 until January 1995. He was born in Paris, France.
1929 ~ Adrienne Rich (née Adrienne Cecile Rich; d. Mar. 27, 2012), American poet who gave a strong voice to feminism. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She died at age 82 in Santa Cruz, California.
1929 ~ John Coyners (né John James Conyers, Jr.; d. Oct. 27, 2019), African-American trailblazing congressman who fell from glory. He served as a United States Representative Michigan. He was active in sponsoring civil rights legislation. His long political career ended in 2017 due to allegations of sexual harassment. He was born in Highland Park, Michigan. He died at age 90 in Warren, Michigan.
1928 ~ Billy Martin (né Alfred Manuel Pesano, Jr., d. Dec. 25, 1989), American baseball player and manager of the New York Yankees. He was killed on Christmas Day in a single car accident. He was born in Berkeley, California. He died in Johnson City, New York. He was 61 years old.
1925 ~ Nancy Roman (née Nancy Grace Roman; d. Dec. 26, 2018), American astronomer who shattered glass ceilings to get Hubble into orbit. She was one of the first female executives at NASA. She is known as the Mother of Hubble for her role in planning the Hubble Telescope. She was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She died at age 93 in Germantown, Maryland.
1923 ~ Merton Miller (né Merton Howard Miller; d. June 3, 2000), American economist and recipient of the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He died 23 days after his 77th birthday in Chicago, Illinois.
1919 ~ Liberace (né Władziu Valentino Liberace, d. Feb. 4, 1987), American pianist and entertainer. He was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. He died at age 67 in Palm Springs, California.
1917 ~ Ben Kuroki (d. Sept 1, 2015), American World War II airman who battled bigotry to fight for the United States. He was the only American of Japanese descent in the United States Armed Air Forces to serve in combat in the Pacific theater during World War II. He was born in Gothenburg, Nebraska. He died in Camarillo, California. He was 98 years old.
1916 ~ Ephraim Katzir (né Efraim Katchalski; d. May 30, 2009), Israeli biophysicist. He also served as the 4th President of Israel. He was President from May 1973 until May 1978. He was born in Kiev, Russia. He died 14 days after his 93rdbirthday in Rehovot, Israel.
1913 ~ Woody Herman (né Woodrow Charles Herman; d. Oct. 29, 1987), American bandleader and musician during the Swing Era. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He died at age 74 in West Hollywood, California.
1912 ~ Studs Terkel (né Louis Terkel; d. Oct. 31, 2008), American writer and oral historian who tapped into the heart of America. He was born in New York, New York. He died at age 96 in Chicago, Illinois.
1906 ~ Margret Rey (née Margarete Elisabethe Waldstein; d. Dec. 21, 1996), German-born author, who along with her husband, H.A. Rey (né Hans Augusto Rey 1898 ~ 1977), created the Curious George series of children’s books. She was born in Hamburg, Germany. She died at age 90 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1905 ~ Henry Fonda (né Henry Jaynes Fonda; d. Aug. 12, 1982), American actor. He was born in Grand Island, Nebraska. He died of heart failure at age 77 in Los Angeles, California.
1897 ~ Zvi Sliternik (d. Oct. 17, 1993), Israeli entomologist. He died at age 96.
1861 ~ H.H. Holmes (né Herman Webster Mudgett, aka Dr. Henry Howard Holmes; d. May 7, 1896), American serial killer. He is one of the first recorded serial killers. He committed numerous murders in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. He is the subject of the 2003 book, The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson. He was found guilty of murder and was executed 9 days before his 35th birthday.
1850 ~ Auguste Deter (d. Apr. 8, 1906), German woman and the first recorded Alzheimer’s victim. She died at age 55.
1845 ~ Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov (also known as Élie Metchnikoff, d. July 15, 1916), Russian microbiologist and recipient of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He is credited with discovering macrophages. He died at age 71.
1831 ~ David E. Hughes (né David Edward Hughes; d. Jan. 22, 1900), English scientist and musician. He was the co-inventor of the microphone. He died at age 68.
1824 ~ Edmund Kirby Smith (d. Mar. 28, 1893), Confederate General during the American Civil War. A dormitory at Louisiana State University was named in his honor. He died of pneumonia at age 68.
1824 ~ Levi P. Morton (né Levi Parsons Morton, d. May 16, 1920), 22nd United States Vice President. He served under President Benjamin Harrison from March 1889 until March 1893. He had previously served as Governor of New York. He was born in Shoreham, Vermont. He died on his 96th birthday.
1821 ~ Pafnuty Chebyshev (d. Dec. 8, 1894), Russian mathematician. He died at age 73.
1804 ~ Elizabeth P. Peabody (née Elizabeth Palmer Peabody; d. Jan. 3, 1894), American educator who funded the first kindergarten in the United States. She was born and died in Massachusetts. She died at age 89.
1801 ~ William H. Seward (né William Henry Seward; d. Oct. 10, 1872), 24th United States Secretary of State. He served under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson during the American Civil War, from March 1861 until March 1869. He is best remembered for engineering the purchase of what is now the State of Alaska from Russia. He died at age 71.
1718 ~ Maria Gaetana Agnesi (d. Jan. 9, 1799), Italian mathematician. She was the first woman to write a mathematical handbook. She is credited with writing the first book that discussed both differential and integral calculus. She died at age 80.
1611 ~ Pope Innocent XI (né Benedetto Odescalchi, d. Aug. 12, 1689). He was Pope from September 1676 until his death 13 years later. He died at age 78.
Events that Changed the World:
2007 ~ Nicolas Sarkozy (b. 1955) took office as President of France. He served until May 15, 2012.
2005 ~ Kuwait granted the vote to women.
1991 ~ Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926) became the first British monarch to address the United States Congress.
1988 ~ United States Surgeon General C. Everett Koop (1916 ~ 2013) issued a report comparing the addictive properties of nicotine to heroin and cocaine.
1975 ~ Junko Tabei (1939 ~ 2016), a Japanese mountain climber, became the first woman to reach the top of Mt. Everest.
1974 ~ Josip Broz Tito (1892 ~ 1980) was elected president for life in Yugoslavia.
1966 ~ With the issuance of the “May 16 Notice” by the Communist Party of China, the Cultural Revolution began.
1951 ~ El Al Airlines began its regularly scheduled transatlantic flights. The flights were between what is now John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, England.
1943 ~ The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which had begun a month earlier, ended.
1929 ~ The first Academy Awards were awarded. The best picture was Wings. The Best Actor was Emil Jennings for his role in The Way of All Flesh. The Best Actress was Janet Gaynor for her role in 7th Heaven.
1920 ~ Joan of Arc was canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XV.
1918 ~ United States Congress passed the Sedition Act of 1918, which made it illegal, and punishable by imprisonment, to criticize the government during wartime. The law was repealed in 1920.
1910 ~ The United States Congress authorized the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines. It was dissolved in March 1996.
1875 ~ Charles Elmer Hires (1851 ~ 1937) introduced root beer at the Centennial Exposition, which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1874 ~ A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroyed four villages and nearly 140 people were killed.
1868 ~ President Andrew Johnson (1808 ~ 1875) was acquitted in his impeachment trial.
1866 ~ The United States Congress authorized the minting of the five-cent piece, the nickel.
1843 ~ The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest set out on the Oregon Trail. Approximately 1000 pioneers were in the initial trek.
1770 ~ Marie Antoinette (1755 ~ 1793) married Louis-August (1754 ~ 1793), who later became King Louis XVI of France, in a formal wedding ceremony. They had been married by proxy a month earlier. She was 14 and he was 15 years old.
1532 ~ Sir Thomas More (1478 ~ 1535) resigned as Lord Chancellor of England.
Good-Byes:
2020 ~ Dar’yana Dyson (b. June 2004), African-American high school student who developed multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a rare and occasionally fatal disease associated with Covid-19. She died at age 15 in Dunkalk, Maryland.
2020 ~ Wilson Jerman (né Wilson Roosevelt Jerman; b. Jan 21, 1929), African-American butler. He joined the White House staff as a cleaner during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administrator. He worked on to become a butler who served all the presidents from John F. Kennedy through Barack Obama. He was one of the longest serving White House employees. He was born in Seaboard, North Carolina. He died in Woodbridge, Virginia at age 91 of Covid-19.
2019 ~ I.M. Pei (né Ieoh Ming Pei; b. Apr. 26, 1917), Chinese-American architect who designed modernist icons. He was the chief architect for the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts. He is best known for creating the Pyramid at the Louvre in Paris. He died less than a month after his 102nd birthday.
2014 ~ Clyde Snow (b. Jan. 7, 1928), American forensic detective who read bones. He was a well-known anthropologist. His work identified such skeletal remains of John F. Kennedy, John Wayne Gacy and Joseph Mengele. He was born in Ralls, Texas. He died at age 86 in Norman, Oklahoma.
2013 ~ Heinrich Rohrer (b. June 6, 1933), Swiss physicist and recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics. He died 21 days before his 80th birthday.
2008 ~ Robert Mondavi (né Robert Gerald Mondavi; b. June 18, 1913), American winemaker. He was born in Virginia, Minnesota. He died about a month before his 95th birthday in Yountville, California.
2004 ~ June Taylor (née Marjorie June Taylor; b. Dec. 14, 1917), American choreographer. She was the choreographer for the Jackie Gleason Show. She died at age 86.
1990 ~ Jim Henson (né James Maury Henson; b. Sept. 24, 1936), American puppeteer and creator of the Muppets. He died of toxic shock syndrome and pneumonia at age 53.
1990 ~ Sammy Davis, Jr. (né Samuel George Davis, Jr.; b. Dec. 8, 1925), American entertainer. He died of throat cancer at age 64.
1985 ~ Margaret Hamilton (née Margaret Brainard Hamilton; b. Dec. 9, 1902), American actress best known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. She died in Salisbury, Connecticut of a heart attack at age 82.
1984 ~ Irwin Shaw (né Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff; b. Feb. 27, 1913), American author. He is best known for his books Rich Man, Poor Man and Beggarman, Thief. He died of prostate cancer at age 71.
1983 ~ Edouard Zeckendorf (b. May 2, 1901), Belgian doctor and mathematician. He is best known for his work on Fibonacci numbers. He died 2 weeks after his 82nd birthday.
1965 ~ Mary Carson Breckinridge (b. Feb. 17, 1881), American nurse-midwife and founder of the Frontier Nursing Service, which provided medical care to rural and under-populated areas. She died at age 84.
1957 ~ Eliot Ness (b. Apr. 19, 1903), American FBI agent best known as being an agent during the American Prohibition. He pursued Al Capone. He died of a massive heart attack less than a month before his 55th birthday.
1956 ~ H.B. Reese (né Harry Burnett Reese; b. May 24, 1876), American candy-maker and creator of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. He was born in York County, Pennsylvania. He died 8 days before his 77th birthday in West Palm Beach, Florida.
1955 ~ James Agee (né James Rufus Agee; b. Nov. 27, 1909), American playwright. He died of a heart attack at age 45.
1953 ~ Nicolae Rădescu (b. Mar. 30, 1874), Romanian general and Prime Minister of Romania. He was the last pre-Communist Prime minister. He served from December 1944 until March 1945. He died at age 79.
1947 ~ Sir Frederick Hopkins (né Frederick Gowland Hopkins; b. June 20, 1861), English biochemist and recipient of the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He died just over a month before his 86th birthday.
1938 ~ Joseph Strauss (né Joseph Baermann Strauss; b. Jan. 9, 1870), American structural engineer and co-designer of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He died at age 68.
1920 ~ Levi P. Morton (né Levi Parsons Morton, b. May 16, 1824), 22nd United States Vice President. He served under President Benjamin Harrison from March 1889 until March 1893. He had previously served as Governor of New York. He was born in Shoreham, Vermont. He died on his 96th birthday.
1830 ~ Joseph Fourier (né Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier; b. Mar. 21, 1786), French mathematician and physicist. He died at age 62.
1826 ~ Elizabeth Alexeievna (née Princess Louise Marie Auguste of Baden, b. Jan. 24, 1779), Tsarina consort of Russia and German wife of Alexander I, Tsar of Russia. She was of the House of Zähringen. She was the daughter of Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden and Langravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. She died of heart failure at age 47.
1703 ~ Charles Perrault (b. Jan. 12, 1628), French author known for laying the foundation for the fairy tale. He died at age 75.
1696 ~ Mariana of Austria (b. Dec. 24, 1634), Queen consort of Spain and second wife of Philip IV, King of Spain. She was of the House of Habsburg. She was the daughter of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Anna of Spain. She died at age 61.
290 ~ Emperor Wu of Jin (b. 236), Chinese Emperor of the Jin Dynasty. The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been 54 at the time of his death.
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