Birthdays:
1969 ~ Adam Riess (né Adam Guy Riess), American astrophysicist and recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. He was born in Washington, D.C.
1963 ~ Benjamin Bratt, American actor. He is best known for his role as Detective Rey Curtis on the television drama Law & Order. He was born in San Francisco, California.
1955 ~ Carol Browner (née Carol Martha Browner), 8th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. She served under President Bill Clinton from January 2009 until March 2011. She was born in Miami, Florida.
1955 ~ Lorenz, Prince of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este. He is the of Princess Astrid of Belgium. He is of the House of Autria-Este. He is the son of Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este and Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta.
1949 ~ Billy Gibbons (né William Frederick Gibbons), American musician. He is the guitarist and primary singer of the band ZZ Top. He was born in Houston, Texas.
1943 ~ Steven Bochco (né Steven Ronald Bochco; d. Apr. 1, 2018), American cop show pioneer who shook up television drama. He produces such television shows as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue. He was born in New York, New York. He died of leukemia at age 74 in Los Angeles, California.
1941 ~ Lesley Stahl (née Lesley Rene Stahl), American journalist. She was born in Lynn, Massachusetts.
1938 ~ Frank Deford (né Benjamin Franklin Deford, III; d. May 28, 2017), American sports journalist and radio commentator. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He died at age 78 in Key West, Florida.
1938 ~ Liv Ullmann (née Liv Johanne Ullmann), Norwegian actress. She was born in Tokyo, Japan, where her father was working as an engineer at the time.
1936 ~ Morris Dees (né Morris Seligman Dees, Jr.), American activist and co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He was born in Shorter, Alabama.
1932 ~ Grace Alele-Williams, Nigerian mathematician. She was the first Nigerian woman to earn a doctorate degree. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. She was born in Warri, Nigeria.
1928 ~ Philip K. Dick (né Philip Kindred Dick; d. Mar. 2, 1982), American author. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He died of a stroke at age 53 in Santa Ana, California.
1927 ~ Warren Alder (d. Apr. 15, 2019), American author of The War of the Roses, which explored human dysfunction. His novel was made into a movie of the same name, which starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. He was born and died in New York, New York. He died at age 91.
1917 ~ Sir Arthur C. Clarke (né Arthur Charles Clark; d. Mar. 19, 2008), British science fiction writer. He is best known for being a co-writer of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He died at age 90 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
1905 ~ Piet Hein (d. Apr. 17, 1996), Danish mathematician. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He died at age 90 in Funen, Denmark.
1901 ~ Margaret Mead (d. Nov. 15, 1978), American anthropologist. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She died a month before her 77th birthday in New York, New York.
1900 ~ Sir V.S. Pritchett (né Victor Sawdon Prichett; d. Mar. 20, 1997), British writer and literary critic. He died of a stroke at age 96.
1899 ~ Sir Noël Coward (né Noël Peirce Coward; d. Mar. 26, 1973), English composer and playwright. He died of heart failure at age 73.
1888 ~ Alexander I, King of Yugoslavia (d. Oct. 9, 1934). He ruled over Yugoslavia from 1929 until his assassination in 1934. He was known as Alexander the Unifier. He was married to Princess Maria of Romania. They married in 1922. He was of the House of Karađorđević. He was the son of Peter I, King of Serbia and Zorka of Montenegro. He was Serbian Orthodox. He was assassinated in Marseille, France at age 45 while on an official visit with Louis Barthou, Prime Minister of France.
1869 ~ Bertha Lamme Feicht (née Bertha Lamme; d. Nov. 20, 1943), American electrical engineer. She was the first woman to receive a degree from the Ohio State University. She was born in Bethel Township, Ohio. She died 26 days before her 74th birthday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1866 ~ Wassily Kandinsky (d. Dec. 13, 1944), 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.
1863 ~ George Santayana (né Jorge Agustín Nicholás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás; d. Sept. 26, 1952), Spanish-American author and philosopher. He was born in Madrid, Spain. He died at age 88 in Rome, Italy.
1804 ~ Viktor Bunyakovsky (d. Dec. 12, 1889), Russian mathematician. He died 4 days before his 86th birthday in St. Petersburg, Russia.
1790 ~ Leopold I, King of Belgium (d. Dec. 10, 1865). He was the first king of Belgium. He ruled from July 1831 until his death 34 years later. He was married twice. His first wife was Princess Charlotte of Wales. They married in 1816. After her death, he married Princess Louise of Orléans in 1832. He was of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was the son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf. He was Lutheran. He died 6 days before his 75th birthday.
1775 ~ Jane Austen (d. July 18, 1817), English novelist. She died at age 41 following a long illness.
1770 ~ Ludwig van Beethoven (d. Mar. 26, 1827), German composer. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he was baptized on December 17, 1770. In his later years he became deaf yet continued to compose music. His famous Ninth Symphony was written when he was completely deaf. He was born in Bonn, Germany. He died at age 56 in Vienna, Austria.
1717 ~ Elizabeth Carter (d. Feb. 19, 1806), English poet. She died at age 88.
1630 ~ Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (née Mary Capell; d. Jan. 7, 1715), British noblewoman, botanist, and gardener. She died 3 weeks after her 84th birthday.
1534 ~ Hans Bol (d. Nov. 20, 1593), Flemish artist. He died 26 days before his 48th birthday.
1485 ~ Infanta Catherine of Aragon (d. Jan. 7, 1536), Queen consort of England. She was the first wife of Henry VIII, King of England. They married in 1501. She had previously been married to Henry’s older brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales. Arthur died within a year of their marriage, and it was said to have been unconsummated. Henry’s attempt to have their marriage annulled ultimately led to England’s split from the Catholic Church. Henry defied the Pope and declared supremacy over religious matters, thereby allowing him to terminate his marriage to Catherine. She was of the House of Trastámara. She was the daughter of Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and Isabella I, Queen of Castile (the Catholic monarchs). She was Roman Catholic. She died 3 weeks after her 50th birthday.
Events that Changed the World:
2014 ~ Chanukah began at sundown.
2012 ~ A brutal gang rape of a young medical student on a bus in Delhi, India resulted in world-wide outrage. The young woman subsequently died within two weeks after the attack from massive injuries. The adult perpetrators were ultimately found guilty and were hanged in 2020.
2003 ~ President George W. Bush (b. 1946) signed the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 into law. The law established the first national standards for sending commercial e-mail and granted the Federal Trade Commission the authority to enforce its provisions.
1998 ~ United States President Bill Clinton (b. 1946) ordered an air attack over Iraq because the Iraq had refused to cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
1991 ~ Kazakhstan declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
1968 ~ During the Second Vatican Council, the Edict of Expulsion of Jews from Spain was officially revoked. The Edict had been originally issued in March 1492.
1960 ~ A midair collision between a United Airline plane and a TWA plane near New York’s Idlewild Airport killed over 130 people, including six people on the ground. The crash occurred during a blinding snowstorm.
1944 ~ The Battle of the Bulge began with a surprise offense of three German armies through the Ardennes forest.
1942 ~ Nazi officer Heinrich Himmler (1900 ~ 1945) ordered gypsies and Roma to be sent to Auschwitz.
1937 ~ Convicted bank robbers Theodore Cole (1913 ~ 1937) and Ralph Roe (1906 ~ 1937) attempted an escape from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island. Both are presumed to have died in the attempt, although their bodies were never recovered.
1920 ~ An 8.5 earthquake, known as the Haiyuan earthquake in Gansu province in China struck killing over 200,000 people.
1913 ~ Charlie Chaplin (1889 ~ 1977) began his film career at Keystone. He earned $150 per week.
1912 ~ The first United States postage stamp bearing a picture of an airplane was issued. The stamp was for parcel post and cost 20 cents.
1903 ~ The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel in Bombay, India opened. In November 2008, the hotel was a target of a terrorist attack. Approximately 450 guests were staying at the Taj Mahal hotel at the time of the attack. Many people were killed and there was considerable damage to the hotel.
1811 ~ The first two in a series of four severe earthquakes hit the area near New Madrid, Missouri.
1777 ~ Virginia became the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
1773 ~ The Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Indians dumped crates of British tea into Boston Harbor as a protest against the Tea Act, in what became known at the Boston Tea Party.
1707 ~ The volcanic Mount Fuji in Japan erupted. It has not erupted since this date, although it is still an active volcano.
1689 ~ The English Parliament adopted the Bill of Rights after the Glorious Revolution
1653 ~ Oliver Cromwell (1599 ~ 1658) became the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
1631 ~ Mt. Vesuvius in Italy erupted, destroying 6 villages and killing over 4,000 people.
1575 ~ Valdivia, Chile was struck by a massive earthquake.
1497 ~ Vasco de Gama (d. 1524) rounded the Cape of Good Hope on his way to circumvent the earth.
1431 ~ Henry VI, King of England (1421 ~ 1471) was crowned King of France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Good-byes:
2018 ~ Lewis L. Judd (né Lewis Lund Judd; b. Feb. 10, 1930), American neurobiologist and psychiatrist who championed brain science. He was born in Los Angeles, California. He died at age 88 in San Diego, California.
2014 ~ Tim Cochran (né Thomas Daniel Cochran; b. Apr. 7, 1955), American mathematician. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died suddenly at age 59 in Houston, Texas.
2009 ~ Roy E. Disney (né Roy Edward Disney; b. Jan. 10, 1930), American businessman and nephew of Walt and Lillian Disney. He was born in Los Angeles, California. He died less than a month before his 80th birthday in Newport Beach, California.
2005 ~ John Spencer (né John Speshock, Jr.; b. Dec. 20, 1946), American actor. He was best known for his role as Leo McGarry on the television drama West Wing. He was born in New York, New York. He died of a heart attack 4 days before his 59th birthday in Los Angeles, California.
2004 ~ Agnes Martin (née Agnes Bernice Martin; b. Mar. 22, 1912), Canadian-born American artist. She is best known for her abstractions. She was born in Macklin, Saskatchewan, Canada. She died at age 92 in Taos, New Mexico.
1997 ~ Lillian Disney (née Lillian Marie Bounds; b. Feb. 15, 1899), wife of Walt Disney. She died at age 98.
1980 ~ Colonel Harland Sanders (né Harland David Sanders; b. Sept. 9, 1890), American businessman, fast-food entrepreneur, and founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, later renamed KFC. He died at age 90.
1965 ~ W. Somerset Maugham (né William Somerset Maugham; b. Jan. 25, 1874), English writer best known for his novel Of Human Bondage. He died at age 91.
1951 ~ Dorothy Dix (né Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer; b. Nov. 18, 1861), American journalist. She was born in on a plantation in Tennessee. She died in New Orleans, Louisiana a month after her 90th birthday.
1945 ~ Giovanni Agnelli (b. Aug. 13, 1866), Italian businessman and founder of Fiat S.p.A. He died at age 79.
1944 ~ Philip Guedalla (b. Mar. 12, 1889), British barrister and travel writer. He died at age 55.
1928 ~ Elinor Wylie (née Elinor Morton Hoyt; b. Sept. 7, 1885), American author and poet. She was born in Somerville, New Jersey. She died of a stroke at age 43.
1922 ~ Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (né Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman; b. Jan. 7, 1958), a Jewish lexicographer who was the driving spirit behind the revival of the Hebrew language in the modern era. He died 3 weeks before his 65th birthday in Jerusalem, Israel.
1921 ~ Camille Saint-Saëns (né Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns, b. Oct. 9, 1835), French composer. He died of a heart attack at age 86.
1892 ~ Henry Yesler (d. Dec. 2, 1810), American businessman and politician. He served as the 7th Mayor of Seattle from 1874 until 1875. He was born in Hagerstown, Maryland. He died 2 weeks after his 82nd birthday in Seattle, Washington.
1863 ~ John Buford, Jr. (b. Mar. 4, 1826), American Union general who served the United States in the American Civil War. He is best known for his role during the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg by identifying, taking, and holding the “high ground” while in command of his division. He was born in Woodford County, Kentucky. He died of illness, possibly typhus, at age 37 in Washington, D.C.
1859 ~ Wilhelm Grimm (né Wilhelm Carl Grimm; b. Feb. 24, 1786), German writer and folklorist who, along with his brother, Jacob (1785 ~ 1863), collected folk and fairy tales. He died at age 73.
1783 ~ Arima Yoriyuki (b. Dec. 31, 1714), Japanese mathematician. He died 15 days before his 69th birthday.
1672 ~ John II Casimir Vasa (b. Mar. 22, 1609), He ruled King Poland from 1648 until his abdication in 1668. He was married twice. His first wife was Marie Louise Gonzaga. His second wife was Claudine Françoise Mignot. He was of the House of Vasa. He was the son of Prince Sigismund III Vasa and Constance of Austria. He died at age 63.
1495 ~ Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France (b. Oct. 11, 1492), member of the French royal family. He was of the House of Valois. He was the son of Charles VII, King of France and Anne of Brittany. He was Roman Catholic. He died at age 3.
1474 ~ Ali Quishji (né Ali al-Din Ali ibn Muhammed, b. 1403), Uzbek astronomer and mathematician. The date of his birth is not known.
1325 ~ Charles, Count of Valois (b. Mar. 12, 1270), French prince and member of the French royal family. He was married three times. His first wife was Margaret of Naples. They married in 1290. After her death, he married Catherine of Courtenay. They married in 1302. His third wife was Mahaut of Châtillon. They married in 1308. He was of the House of Capet and the founder of the House of Valois. He was the third son of Philip III, King of France and Infanta Isabella of Aragon. He died at age 55.
1263 ~ Haakon IV Haakonsson, King of Norway (b. 1204). He ruled as King of Norway from June 1217 until his death 46 years later. In 1225 he married Margaret Skulesdatter. He was of the House of Sverre. He was the son of Haakon III, King of Norway and Inga of Varteig. He was Roman Catholic. The date of his birth is not known. He died at age 59.
999 ~ Adelaide of Italy (b. 931), Holy Roman Empress consort. She was married to Otto the Great, Holy Roman Emperor. She was of the House of Welf. She was the daughter of Rudolph II, King of Burgundy and Bertha of Swabia. The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been 68 at the time of her death.
882 ~ Pope John VIII. He was Pope from December 872 until his death on December 16, 882. The date of his birth is not known
705 ~ Wu Zetian (b. 624), Empress of the Zhou Dynasty in China. She ruled the Zhou Dynasty from October 690 until her death 15 years later. The date of her birth is not known.
604 ~ Houzhu (b. Dec. 9, 553), last Chinese emperor of the Chen dynasty. He ruled from February 582 until February 589 when his government was overthrown. He died 6 days after his 51st birthday.
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