January 31

Birthdays:

 

1981 ~ Justin Timberlake (né Justin Randall Timberlake), American singer and actor.  He was born in Memphis, Tennessee.

 

1970 ~ Minnie Driver (née Amelia Fiona Driver), English actress.  She was born in London, England.

 

1965 ~ Peter Sagal (né Peter Daniel Sagal), American author and radio host.  He is best known for hosting NPR’s Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me!  He was born in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.

 

1959 ~ Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor.  He was born in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

 

1954 ~ Mark Slavin (d. Sept. 6, 1972), Russian-born Israeli wrestler.  He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympics in Munich.  He was born in Minsk, Belarus.  He died at age 18.

 

1949 ~ Norris Church Mailer (née Betty Jean Davis; d. Nov. 21, 2010), American model and widow of Norman Mailer.  She was his 6^th wife.  She was born on Norman Mailer’s 26^th birthday.  She was born in Atkins, Arkansas.  She died of cancer at age 61 in New York, New York.

 

1947 ~ Nolan Ryan (né Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr.), American professional baseball pitcher.  He was born in Refugio, Texas.

 

1943 ~ Richard Quick (né Richard Walter Quick; d. June 10, 2009), American head swim coach at Stanford University.  He coached the United States swim team in six Olympic competitions.  He was born in Akron, Ohio.  He died of a brain tumor at age 66 in Austin, Texas.

 

1941 ~ Jessica Walter (d. Mar. 24, 2021), American actress.  She is best known for her role as Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development.  She was born and died in New York, New York.  She died at age 80.

 

1938 ~ Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands (née Beatrix Wilhelima Armgard).  She was Queen from April 1980 until she abdicated in April 2013 in favor of her son, Willem-Alexander.  In 1966, she married Claus von Amsberg.  She is of the House of Orange-Nassau.  She is the daughter of Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld.  She is a member of the Reformed Dutch Church.  She was born at Soestdijk Palace, Baarn, Netherlands.

 

1938 ~ James Watt (né James Gaius Watt), American politician and 43^rd United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served in that Office from January 1981 until November 1983 during the Reagan administration.  He was born in Lusk, Wyoming.

 

1937 ~ Suzanne Pleshette (d. Jan. 19, 2008), American actress. She is best known for her role as Emily Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show.  She was born in Brooklyn Heights, New York.  She died of respiratory failure just 12 days before her 71^st birthday in Los Angeles, California.

 

1937 ~ Philip Glass (né Philip Morris Glass), American avant garde composer.  He was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

1935 ~ Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese writer and recipient of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He was born in Ōse, Ehime, Japan.

 

1934 ~ Eva Kor (née Eva Mozes; d. July 4, 2019), Romanian survivor of Nazi twin experiments who forgave her torturers.  She and her twin sister, Miriam (Jan. 31, 1934 ~ 1933), were the only members of her family to survive the Holocaust.  Miriam died in 1993 of kidney failure that could be traced to the Nazi experimentation.  Eva died at age 85.

 

1933 ~ Ruedi Rymann (né Rudolf Rymann; d. Sept. 10, 2008), Swiss yodeler who was a national icon.  He died at age 75.

 

1933 ~ Nora Johnson (d. Oct. 5, 2017), American author who chronicled a Hollywood childhood.  She is best known for her novel, The World of Henry Orient.  She was born in Los Angeles, California.  She died at age 84 in Dallas, Texas.

 

1932 ~ Rick Hall (né Roe Erister Hall; d. Jan. 2, 2018), American record producer who crafted the Muscle Shoals sound.  He was born in Forest Grove, Mississippi.  He died of prostate cancer 29 days before his 86^th birthday in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

 

1931 ~ Ernie Banks (né Ernest Banks; d. Jan. 23, 2015), African-American baseball player.  He was the optimistic shortstop who played for the Chicago Cubs and was known as “Mr. Cub.”  He was born in Dallas, Texas.  He died 8 days before his 84^th birthday in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1929 ~ Jean Simmons (née Jean Merilyn Simmons; d. Jan. 22, 2010), English actress who brought quiet strength to her roles.  She was born in London, England.  She died 9 days before her 81^st birthday in Santa Monica, California.

 

1929 ~ Rudolf Mössbauer (né Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer; d. Sept. 14, 2011), German physicist and recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He was born in Münich, Germany.  He died at age 82 in Grünwald, Germany.

 

1928 ~ Irma Wyman (d. Nov. 17, 2015), American computer engineer.  She was the first woman to become vice president at Honeywell, Inc.  She was born in Detroit, Michigan.  She died at age 87.

 

1925 ~ Benjamin Hooks (né Benjamin Lawson Hooks; d. Apr. 15, 2010), African-American minister, civil rights activist and attorney.  He was born and died in Memphis, Tennessee.  He died at age 85.

 

1924 ~ A. Alfred Taubman (né Adolph Alfred Taubman; d. Apr. 17, 2015), the American developer who pioneered indoor malls.  In 2002, he was convicted of a price-fixing scheming that involved the top two auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, in the United States.  He was fined and imprisoned for 10 months.  He was born in Pontiac, Michigan.  He died at age 91 in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

 

1924 ~ Victor R. Fuchs (né Victor Robert Fuchs; d. Sept. 16, 2023), American health economist who offered a fix for health care.  He is best known for his 1975 book Who Shall Live?, which detailed the consequences of rising health care costs in the United States.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 99 in Palo Alto, California.

 

1923 ~ Norman Mailer (né Norman Kingsley Mailer; d. Nov. 10, 2007), American author and journalist.  He was born in Long Branch, New Jersey.  He died at age 84 in Manhattan, New York.

 

1921 ~ Carol Channing (née Carol Elaine Channing; d. Jan. 15, 2019), American Broadway star who was the definition of Dolly.  She was best known for her role as Dolly Levi in the musical Hello, Dolly!, which opened on Broadway on January 16, 1964, almost exactly 45 years before her death.  She was born in Seattle, Washington.  She died 16 days before her 98^th birthday in Rancho Mirage, California.

 

1920 ~ Stu Udall (né Stewart Lee Udall; d. Mar. 20, 2010), 37^th United States Secretary of the Interior.  He served under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from January 1961 until January 1969.  He had also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona.  He was born in St. Johns, Arizona.  He died at age 90 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 

1919 ~ Jackie Robinson (né Jack Roosevelt Robinson; d. Oct. 24, 1972), American baseball player.  He was the first African-American to play in the Major League.  He was the subject of the 2013 movie 42, which was the number on his baseball uniform.  He was born in Cairo, Georgia.  He died of a heart attack at age 53 in Stamford, Connecticut.

 

1915 ~ Thomas Merton (d. Dec. 10, 1968), American author and Trappist monk.  He was born in Prades, France.  He died at age 53 in Thailand.

 

1915 ~ Garry Moore (né Thomas Garrison Morfit, III; d. Nov. 28, 1993), American game show host.  He was born in Baltimore, Maryland.  He died of throat cancer at age 78 in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

 

1905 ~ John O’Hara (né John Henry O’Hara; d. Apr. 11, 1970), American author and screenwriter.  He was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.  He died of cardiovascular disease at age 65 in Princeton, New Jersey.

 

1902 ~ Tallulah Bankhead (née Tallulah Brockman Bankhead; d. Dec. 12, 1968), American actress.  She was born in Huntsville, Alabama.  She died at age 66 of pneumonia in New York, New York.

 

1902 ~ Alva Myrdal (née Alva Reimer; d. Feb. 1, 1986), Swedish sociologist and politician and recipient of the 1982 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the disarmament movement.  She died 1 day after her 84^th birthday.

 

1896 ~ Sofya Yanovskaya (d. Oct. 24, 1966), Russian mathematician.  She specialized in the history of mathematics.  She died from complications of diabetes ate age 70.

 

1896 ~ Lewis Strauss (né Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss; d. Jan. 21, 1974), American businessman and naval officer.  He was one of the original members of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.  In the 1950s, he served as the chairman of the Commission.  He was a major figure in the development of nuclear weapons after World War II.  He tried unsuccessfully several times to change United States policy to accept more Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany.  In 1954, he was the driving force behind the secret controversial hearings to revoke Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance.  His role in these hearings cost him the confirmation as United Secretary of Commerce.  He was born in Charleston, West Virginia.  He died of cancer 10 days before his 78^th birthday in Brandy Station, Virginia.

 

1893 ~ Dame Freya Stark (née Freya Madeline Stark; d. May 9, 1993), British-Italian explorer and travel writer.  She wrote numerous books on the Middle East and Afghanistan.  She was one of the first non-Arabs to travel throughout the southern Arabian Desert.  She was born in Paris, France.  She died in Asolo, Italy at age 100.

 

1892 ~ Eddie Cantor (né Isidore Iskowitz; d. Oct. 10, 1964), American actor and singer.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 72 in Beverly Hills, California.

 

1881 ~ Irving Langmuir (d. Aug. 16, 1957), American chemist, physicist, and engineer.  In 1932, he was the recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in surface chemistry.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died of a heart attack in Woods Hole, Massachusetts at age 76.

 

1872 ~ Zane Grey (né Pearl Zane Grey; d. Oct. 23, 1939), American dentist and author of western novels.  He is best known for his novel Riders of the Purple Sage.  He was born Zanesville, Ohio.  He died at age 67 in Altadena, California.

 

1868 ~ Theodore William Richards (d. Apr. 2, 1928), American chemist and recipient of the 1914 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in determining the atomic weights of several chemical elements. He was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania.  He died at age 60 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

 

1854 ~ David Emmanuel (d. Feb. 4, 1941), Romanian mathematician.  He was born and died in Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania.  He died 4 days after his 87^th birthday.

 

1830 ~ James G. Blaine (né James Gillespie Blaine; d. Jan. 27, 1893) 28^th and 31^st United States Secretary of State.  He first served in this office from March 1881 to December 1881 during the Presidencies of James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur.  He served his second term during the Presidency of Benjamin Harrison from March 1889 to June 1892.  He had also served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representative.  He served as a United States Senator from the State of Maine.  He was born in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania.  He died 4 days before his 63^rd birthday in Washington, D.C.

 

1820 ~ William B. Washburn (né William Barrett Washburn; d. Oct. 5, 1887), 28^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He was Governor from January 1872 until April 1874, when he became a United States Senator following the death of Charles Sumner.  He was born in Winchendon, Massachusetts.  He died at age 67 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

 

1797 ~ Franz Schubert (né Franz Peter Schubert; d. Nov. 19, 1828), Austrian composer.  He was born in Vienna, Austria.  He died at age 31, possibly of typhoid fever.

 

1756 ~ Marie Thérèsa of Savoy (d. June 2, 1805), Countess of Artois.  In 1773, she married Prince Charles Philippe, Count of Artois.  Nineteen years after her death, he became Charles X, King of France.  She was of the House of Savoy.  She was the daughter of  Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 49.

 

1707 ~ Frederick, Prince of Wales (d. Mar. 31, 1751), member of the British royal family and heir to the British throne.  In 1736, he married Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenberg (1719 ~ 1772).  They were the parents of George III, King of the United Kingdom.  He died before his father, thus never became king.  He was of the House of Hanover.  He was the son of George II, King of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach.  He died at age 44 of what is believed to have been a pulmonary embolism.

 

1512 ~ Henry, King of Portugal (d. Jan. 31, 1580).  He was king from August 1578 until his death on this date in 1580.  He was also a Cardinal in the Catholic Church.  He was known as Henry the Chaste.  He never married and had no children.  He was of the House of Avis.  He was the son of Manuel I, King of Portugal and Maria of Aragon.  He was the last member of the House of Aviz to rule Portugal.  He died on his 68^th birthday.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2021 ~ President Donald Trump (b. 1946) was impeached for the second time.  Trump was charged with incitement of insurrection.  Ten Republicans joined House Democrats in voting to impeach Trump for a second time.  He would be acquitted by the United States Senate on February 13, 2021 by the Senate.

 

2020 ~ The United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union ceased after being a member for 47 years.

 

2018 ~ A super blue moon  occurred when a supermoon, a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse took place simultaneously. This is a rare celestial event that last occurred in 1866.  A supermoon is the lunar body at perigee ~ its closest approach to earth, it is also the second full moon of the month, making it the blue moon.

 

2001 ~ A Scottish court convicted Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (1952 ~ 2012) of Libya for his part in the bombing of the Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.  He was sentenced to life in prison, however, was released in August 2009 on “compassionate” grounds, alleging that he was dying of cancer.  He survived for another 2 and a half years before succumbing in May 2012.

 

1990 ~ The first McDonald’s restaurant in the Soviet Union opened in Moscow.  In 2022, due to Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, McDonald’s suspended all operations in Russia.

 

1988 ~ Doug Williams (b. 1955), the first African-American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, scored four of the five touchdowns of the Washington Redskins (now known as the Washington Football Team), to lead his team’s win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII.  The final score was 42-10.

 

1968 ~ Viet Cong guerrillas attacked the United States embassy in Saigon.  This, and other attacks, in the wee hours of the morning, were later grouped together as part of the Tet Offensive.

 

1958 ~ James Van Allen (1914 ~ 2006) discovered the radiation belt that now bears his name.

 

1953 ~ A North Sea flood occurred killing over 1,800 people in the Netherlands and over 300 people in the United Kingdom.

 

1950 ~ President Harry Truman (1884 ~ 1972) announced a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.

 

1949 ~ The first daytime television soap opera, These Are My Children, began broadcasting by the NBC station in Chicago.  The show ran for only a few weeks, ending on March 4, 1949.

 

1946 ~ The Democratic Republic of Vietnam introduced the đồng to replace the French Indochinese piastre as the country’s currency.

 

1945 ~ Eddie Slovik (1820 ~ 1945), a private in the United States Army, was executed for desertion.  He was the first American to be executed since the Civil War.  He was 24 years old.

 

1942 ~ Allied forces were defeated by the Japanese at the Battle of Malaya and retreated to Singapore during World War II.

 

1930 ~ The 3M company began marketing Scotch Tape.

 

1928 ~ Leon Trotsky (1879 ~ 1940) was exiled by the Soviet Union to Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan.

 

1919 ~ The Battle of George Square, a violent confrontation between the police and striking Glasgow workers occurred in George Square.  The riot was caused by anger at the 47-hour working week.  Despite the violent confrontation, there were no fatalities because of the riots.

 

1915 ~ Germany began using wide-scale use of poison gas during the Battle of Bolimów against Russia during World War I.

 

1865 ~ The United States Congress passed the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery.  The Amendment was then sent to the States for ratification.

 

1747 ~ The first venereal disease clinic opened at London Lock Hospital.

 

1606 ~ Four of the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot, for plotting against Parliament and James IV, King of England (1566 ~ 1625), were executed by being hung, drawn and quartered.

 

314 ~ Pope Silvester I (d. 335) began his reign as Pope.  He succeeded Pope Miltiades (d. 314).

 

Good-Byes:

 

2020 ~ Mary Higgins Clark (née Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins; b. Dec. 24, 1927), American suspense writer who pumped out best sellers.  She began writing after her husband died in 1964 and she had to support her young family.  She was born in the Bronx, New York.  She died about a month after her 92^nd birthday in Naples, Florida.

 

2019 ~ Harold Bradley (né Harold Ray Bradley; b. Jan. 2, 1926), American prolific guitarist who shaped the Nashville sound.  He was one of the most recorded guitarists in music history.  He was born and died in Nashville, Tennessee.  He died 29 days after his 93^rd birthday.

 

2018 ~ Oscar Gamble (né Oscar Charles Gamble; d. Dec. 20, 1949), American professional baseball outfielder who had a big bat and big hair.  He was born in Ramer, Alabama.  He died of cancer just over a month before his 69^th birthday in Birmingham, Alabama.

 

2016 ~ Terry Wogan (né Michael Terence Wogan; b. Aug. 3, 1938), Irish radio and television broadcaster.  He was born in Limerick, Ireland.  He died of cancer at age 77 in England.

 

2015 ~ Lizabeth Scott (née Emma Matzo; b. Sept. 29, 1922), American actress known for her smoky voice.  She played the femme fatale in many 1940s and 1950s film noir.  She was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  She died at age 92 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2007 ~ Molly Ivins (née Mary Tyler Ivans; b. Aug. 30, 1944), American political humorist.  She was born in Monterey, California.  She died at age 62 of breast cancer in Austin, Texas.

 

1976 ~ Ernesto Miranda (né Ernesto Arturo Miranda; b. Mar. 9, 1941), American criminal who was convicted of kidnap, rape and armed robbery based on his confession under police interrogation.  He was the Miranda in the United States Supreme Court Case, Miranda v. Arizona, which ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their Constitutional rights.  This case set the police standard of reading arrestees their Constitutional rights.  He was born in Mesa, Arizona.  He was stabbed to death in a bar fight at age 34 in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

1974 ~ Samuel Goldwyn (né Szmuel Gelbfisz; b. Aug. 27, 1882), Polish-born film studio executive and co-founder of Goldwyn Pictures.  He was born in Warsaw, Poland.  He died at age 94 in Los Angeles, California.

 

1973 ~ Ragnar Frisch (né Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch; b. Mar. 3, 1895), Norwegian economist and recipient of the 1969 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 77 in Oslo, Norway.

 

1956 ~ A.A. Milne (né Alan Alexander Milne; b. Jan. 18, 1882), English author, best known for his Winnie the Poohseries of children’s books.  He was born in London, England.  He died 2 weeks after his 74^th birthday.

 

1955 ~ John Mott (né John Raleigh Mott; b. May 25, 1865), American evangelist.  He was also the recipient of the 1946 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in establishing and strengthening international Protestant Christian student organizations that worked to promote peace.  He was born in Livingston Manor, New York.  He died at age 89 in Orlando, Florida.

 

1954 ~ Edwin Armstrong (né Edwin Howard Armstrong; b. Dec. 18, 1890), American engineer and inventor of the FM radio.  He was born in Manhattan, New York.  He died by suicide at age 63 in Manhattan, New York.

 

1945 ~ Eddie Slovik (né Edward Donal Slovik; b. Feb. 18, 1920), American Army private who was executed for desertion.  He was the first such execution of an American soldier since the American Civil War.  He was executed 18 days before his 25^th birthday.

 

1933 ~ John Galsworthy (b. Aug. 14, 1867), British novelist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He is best known for The Forsyte Saga.  He died of a brain tumor at age 65 in London, England.

 

1899 ~ Maria Louise of Bourbon-Parma (b. Jan. 17, 1870), Princess consort of Bulgaria.  She was the first wife of Ferdinand I, Tsar of Bulgaria.  They married in 1893, when he was still known at the Prince of Bulgaria.  She died before he became Tsar, so was never the Tsarina.  They were the parents of Boris III, Tsar of Bulgaria.  She was of the House of Bourbon-Palma.  She was the daughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.  She died in childbirth just 2 weeks after her 29^th birthday.

 

1892 ~ Charles Spurgeon (né Charles Haddon Spurgeon; b. June 19, 1834), English Particular Baptist preacher.  He died at age 57.

 

1856 ~ 11^th Dalai Lama (né Khedrup Gyasto; b. Nov. 1, 1838).  He died at age 17.

 

1632 ~ Jost Bürgi (b. Feb. 28, 1552), Swiss clockmaker and mathematician.  He died 28 days before his 80^th birthday.

 

1606 ~ Guy Fawkes (b. Apr. 13, 1570), English Catholic conspirator.  He was the mastermind behind the Gunpowder Plot, which was a plot against Parliament and King James.  He was captured on November 5, 1605, hence that day is known as Guy Fawkes Day.  He was hanged two months later on January 31, 1606 at age 35.

 

1580 ~ Henry, King of Portugal (b. Jan. 31, 1512).  He was king from August 1578 until his death on this date in 1580.  He was also a Cardinal in the Catholic Church.  He was known as Henry the Chaste.  He never married and had no children.  He was of the House of Avis.  He was the son of Manuel I, King of Portugal and Maria of Aragon.  He was the last member of the House of Aviz to rule Portugal.  He died on his 68^th birthday.

 

1435 ~ Xuande (b. Mar. 16, 1399), 5^th Chinese Emperor of the Ming dynasty.  His personal name was Zhu Zhanji.  He ruled from June 1425 until his death in January 1435.  He died of an illness at age 35.

January 30

Birthdays:

 

1974 ~ Christian Bale (né Christian Charles Philip Bale), Welsh actor.  He was born in Haverfordwest, Wales.

 

1974 ~ Olivia Colman (née Sarah Caroline Olivia Colman), English actress.  She is best known for her role as Queen Anne in the movie The Favorite.  She was born in Norwich, England.

 

1968 ~ Felipe VI, King of Spain.  He ascended to the throne in June 2014 upon the abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos I.  In 2004, he married Letizia Ortiz Racasolano.  He is of the House of Bourbon-Anjou.  He is the son of Joan Carlos I, King of Spain and Sophia of Greece and Denmark.  He is Roman Catholic.  He was born in Madrid, Spain.

 

1962 ~ Mary Kay Letourneau (née Mary Katherine Schmitz; d. July 6, 2020), American school teacher charged with second-degree rape of one of her 6^th grade students.  After serving time in prison, she married the student.  They were married for 14 years before separating.  She was born in Tustin, California.  She died of colon cancer at age 58 in Des Moines, Washington.

 

1962 ~ Abdullah II, King of Jordan.  He became king in 1999, following the death of his father, Hussein, King of Jordan.  In 1993, he married Raina A;-Yassin.  He was born in Amman, Jordon.

 

1957 ~ Payne Stewart (né William Payne Stewart; d. Oct. 25, 1999), American golfer.  He was born in Springfield, Missouri.  He was killed in a Lear airplane crash over Mina, South Dakota at age 42.

 

1955 ~ John Baldacci (né John Elias Baldacci), 73^rd Governor of Maine.  He served as Governor from January 2003 until January 2011.  He was born in Bangor, Maine.

 

1949 ~ Peter Agre, American physician and molecular biologist.  He was the recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He was born in Northfield, Minnesota.

 

1948 ~ Miles Reid (né Miles Anthony Reid), English mathematician who works in algebraic geometry.  He was born in Hoddesdon, England.

 

1945 ~ Meir Dagan (né Meir Hubermann; d. Mar. 17, 2016), Israeli military officer and Director of Mossad from 2002 until 2011.  He was the daring commando who led Israel’s spy agency.  He was born in Kherson, Ukraine.  He died of cancer at age 71 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

 

1942 ~ Marty Balin (né Martyn Jerel Buchwald; d. Sept. 27, 2018), American s inger who sparked a rock revolution.  He founded the band Jefferson Airplane.  He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He died at age 76 in Tampa, Florida.

 

1941 ~ Dick Cheney (né Richard Bruce Cheney), 46^th Vice President of the United States.  He served under President George W. Bush from January 2001 until January 2009.  He had previously served as the 17^th United States Secretary of Defense during the George H.W. Bush administration from March 1989 until January 1993.  He also served as a Representative from Wyoming in the United States House of Representatives.  From November 1975 until January 1977, he served as the White House Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford.  The 2018 movie Vice was a depiction of his life.  He was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.

 

1937 ~ Vanessa Redgrave, English actress.  She was born in London, England.

 

1937 ~ Boris Spassky (né Boris Vasilievich Spassky), Russian chess master.  He was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

 

1935 ~ Richard Brautigan (né Richard Gary Brautigan; d. Sept. 16, 1984), American poet, novelist and short story writer.  He was born in Tacoma, Washington.  He died by suicide at age 49 in Bolinas, California.

 

1931 ~ Shirley Hazzard (d. Dec. 12, 2016), Australian writer best known for her book The Transit of Venus.  She was born in Sydney, Australia.  She died at age 85 in Manhattan, New York.

 

1930 ~ Gene Hackman (né Eugene Allen Hackman), American actor.  He was born in San Bernardino, California.

 

1928 ~ Harold Prince (né Harold Smith; d. July 31, 2019), American stage and Broadway giant who shook up musicals.  He was born in Manhattan, New York.  He died at age 91 in Keflavik, Iceland.

 

1927 ~ Olof Palme (né Sven Olaf Joachim Palme; d. Feb. 28, 1986), Prime Minister of Sweden.  He was born and died in Stockholm, Sweden.  He was assassinated a month after his 59^th birthday.

 

1925 ~ Douglas Engelbart (né Douglas Carl Engelbart; d. July 2, 2013), American computer scientist and inventor of the computer mouse.  He was also responsible for laying out the principles of computer networking.  He was born in Eugene, Oregon.  He died at age 88 in Atherton, California.

 

1924 ~ Margaret Yorke (née Margaret Beda Larminie; d. Nov. 17, 2012), British crime fiction author.  She died at age 88.

 

1922 ~ Dick Martin (né Thomas Richard Martin, d. May 24, 2008), American comedian and goofy co-host of Laugh-In.  He was born in Battle Creek, Michigan.  He died at age 86 in Santa Monica, California.

 

1915 ~ John Profumo, 5^th Baron Profumo (né John Dennis Profumo; d. Mar. 9, 2006), British Secretary of State for War. His career was ended after he was caught in a sex scandal in the 1960s.  He died of a stroke at age 91.

 

1914 ~ David Wayne (né Wayne James McMeekan; d. Feb. 9, 1995), American actor.  He was born in Traverse City, Michigan.  He died of lung cancer 10 days after his 81^st birthday in Santa Monica, California.

 

1912 ~ Barbara W. Tuchman (née Barbara Wertheim; d. Feb. 6, 1989), American historian.  She is best known for her book The Guns of August, which is about the first month of World War I.  She was born in New York, New York.  She died 7 days after her 77^th birthday in Greenwich, Connecticut.

 

1899 ~ Max Theiler (d. Aug. 11, 1972), South African virologist and recipient of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in developing a vaccine against yellow fever.  He was born in Pretoria, South Africa.  He died at age 73 in New Haven, Connecticut.

 

1894 ~ Boris III, Tsar of Bulgaria (d. Aug. 28, 1943).  He reigned over Bulgaria from October 1918 until his death 25 years later.  He is best known for taking steps to protect the Jews of Bulgaria during World War II.  In 1930, he married Princess Giovanna of Italy.  He was of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháy.  He was the son of Ferdinand I, King of Bulgaria and Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma.  He was Eastern Orthodox.  He died of a heart attack at age 49.  He was succeeded by his son, Simeon II, King of Bulgaria.

 

1882 ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt (né Franklin Delano Roosevelt; d. Apr. 12, 1945), 32^nd United States President.  He served in Office from March 1933 until his death on this date in 1945.  He is the only President to have been elected for 3 terms full terms.  He was born in Hyde Park, New York.  He died at age 63 shortly into the beginning of his 4^th term in Warm Springs, Georgia.

 

1844 ~ Richard Greener (né Richard Theodore Greener; d. May 2, 1922), lawyer who was the first African-American to graduate from Harvard College.  He went on to become the dean of the Howard University School of Law.  He was the father of Belle da Costa Green who served as the personal librarian to J.P. Morgan.  He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He died age 78 in Chicago, Illinois.

 

1841 ~ Félix Faure (né Félix François Faure; d. Feb. 16, 1899), President of France.  He served as President from January 1895 until his death in February 1899.  He was born and died in Paris, France.  He died in Office of apoplexy just 17 days after his 58^th birthday.

 

1816 ~ Nathaniel Banks (né Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, d. Sept. 1, 1894), 24^th Governor of Massachusetts.  He served as Governor from January 1858 until January 1861.  He also served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from February 1856 until March 1857.  He was born and died in Waltham, Massachusetts.  He was 78 at the time of his death.

 

1736 ~ James Watt (d. Aug. 25, 1819), Scottish-English inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist.  He is best known for the creation of the modern steam engine.  He died at age 83.

 

1615 ~ Thomas Rolfe (d. 1675), American son of Pocahontas and her husband, John Rolfe.  The exact date of his death is not known.  He may have died as late as 1680.

 

Events that Changed the World:

 

2020 ~ The World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

 

1975 ~ The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, located at the site of the shipwrecked USS Monitor, was established as the first United States Marine Sanctuary.

 

1972 ~ British Paratroopers killed 14 unarmed civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland in this date, which became known as Bloody Sunday.

 

1969 ~ The Beatles’ last public performance took place on the roof of Apple Records in London.  The police later broke up this impromptu concert.

 

1968 ~ The Tet Offensive was launched by forces of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam and the United States.  It was one of the largest military campaigns in the Vietnam War.  It was a campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian command centers throughout South Vietnam.  The offense occurred late at night and in the early morning hours of January 31, on the Vietnamese New Year, hence the name of the event.

 

1948 ~ Mahatma Gandhi (1869 ~ 1948) was assassinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse (1910 ~ 1949), who would later be executed by hanging.

 

1948 ~ The British South American Airways’ Tudor IV Star Tiger disappeared without a trace over the Bermuda Triangle.

 

1933 ~ The Lone Ranger debuted on the radio.

 

1933 ~ Adolf Hitler (1889 ~ 1945) was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.

 

1889 ~ Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria (1858 ~ 1889), heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, was found dead with his 17-year-old mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera (1871 ~ 1889).  They had killed themselves in a suicide pact.

 

1862 ~ The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor, was launched.

 

1847 ~ Yerba Buena, California was renamed San Francisco.

 

1835 ~ Richard Lawrence (1800 ~ 1861) attempted an assassination attempt on President Andrew Jackson (1767 ~ 1845) in the first known assassination attempt against an American president.  Lawrence spent the rest of his life in an insane asylum.

 

1826 ~ The first modern suspension bridge, the Menai Suspension Bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the northwest coast of Wales, opened.

 

1820 ~ Irish sailor Edward Bransfield (1785 ~ 1852) claimed the discovery of Antarctica with the sighting of its Trinity Peninsula.

 

1815 ~ President James Madison (1751 ~ 1836) approved the Act of the United States Congress to the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's library.  Jefferson had nearly 6,500 volumes, which became the nucleus of the Library of Congress.

 

1661 ~ Oliver Cromwell (1599 ~ 1658), Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, was ritually executed 2 years after his death, on the anniversary of the execution of Charles I, King of England (1600 ~ 1649), the monarch he had deposed in 1649.

 

1607 ~ A massive flood unexpectedly struck along the coast of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England, which may have been caused by a tsunami.  It is believed about 2,000 people were drowned.

 

516 BCE ~ The traditional date ascribed to the completion of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.

 

Good-byes:

 

2023 ~ Bobby Hull (né Robert Marvin Hull; b. Jan. 3, 1939), Canadian professional ice hockey player.  He was born in Point Anne, Ontario, Canada.  He died 27 days after his 84^th birthday in Wheaton, Illinois.

 

2020 ~~ Fred Silverman (b. Sept. 13, 1937), American master showman who made hit TV.  He was a television executive who worked at CBS, ABC and NBC.  He brought such shows to American audiences as M*A*S*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Hill Street Blues.  He was born in New York, New York.  He died at age 82 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2018 ~ Mark Saling (né Mark Wayne Saling; b. Aug. 17, 1982), American actor and musician.  He was best known for his role as Puck on the television series Glee.  He had been arrested on charges of possession of child pornography.  He pled guilty but died by suicide before he was sentenced.  He was born in Dallas, Texas.  He died at age 35 in Los Angeles, California.

 

2017 ~ Harold Rosen (b. Mar. 20, 1926), American electrical engineer and satellite pioneer who got the world talking.  He was known as the Father of the Communication Satellite.  He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He died at age 90 of complications of a stroke in Los Angeles, California.

 

2015 ~ Želju Mitev Želev (b. Mar. 3, 1935), President of Bulgaria from January 1992 until January 1997.  He died at age 79.

 

2015 ~ Carl Djerassi (b. Oct. 29, 1923), Austrian-born chemist who helped develop the birth control pill.  In his later life, he became a novelist.  He was born in Vienna, Austria.  He died at age 91 in San Francisco, California.

 

2013 ~ Patty Andrews (née Patricia Marie Andrews; b. Feb. 16, 1918), last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters vocal trio.  She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She died 17 days before her 95^th birthday in Los Angeles, California.

 

2009 ~ Ingemar Johansson (né Jens Ingemar Johansson, b. Sept. 22, 1932), Swedish world heavyweight champion who beat Floyd Patterson.  He was known as The Hammer Thor.  He died at age 76.

 

2009 ~ Milton Parker (b. Jan. 10, 1919), American businessman, restaurateur, and co-founder of the Carnegie Deli.  He made the Carnegie Deli famous.  He was born and died in New York, New York.  He died 20 days after his 90^th birthday,

 

2007 ~ Sidney Sheldon (né Sidney Schechtel; b. Feb. 11, 1917), American author.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He died 12 days before his 90^th birthday in Rancho Mirage, California.

 

2006 ~ Wendy Wasserstein (b. Oct. 18, 1950), American playwright.  She was born in Brooklyn, New York.  She died of lymphoma at age 55 in Manhattan, New York.

 

2006 ~ Coretta Scott King (né Coretta Scott; b. Apr. 27, 1927), American civil rights activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.  She was born in Heiberger, Alabama.  She died of ovarian cancer at age 78 years old in Rosarito Beach, Baja California, Mexico.

 

1995 ~ Gerald Durrell (né Gerald Malcolm Durrell; b. Jan. 7, 1925), British naturalist and author.  He wrote The Whispering Lands, which is about Patagonia.  He was born in British India.  He died 23 days after his 70^th birthday in Saint Helier, Jersey.

 

1993 ~ Alexandra of Yugoslavia (b. Mar. 25, 1921), Queen consort of Yugoslavia and wife of Peter II, King of Yugoslavia.  They married in 1944.  She was of the House of Glücksburg.  She was the daughter of Alexander, King of Greece and morganatic wife, Aspasia Manos.  She was born in Athens, Greece.  She died in England at age 71.

 

1991 ~ John Bardeen (b. May 23, 1908), American physicist and recipient of the 1956 and 1972 Nobel Prizes in Physics.  To date, he is the only individual to have won two Nobel Prizes in Physics.  He was born in Madison, Wisconsin.  He died in Boston, Massachusetts at age 82.

 

1980 ~ Professor Longhair (né Henry Roeland Byrd; b. Dec. 19, 1918), African-American New Orleans Blues singer-songwriter and pianist.  He was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana and died in New Orleans.  He died of a heart attack at age 61.

 

1973 ~ Elizabeth Baker (née Elizabeth Faulkner Baker; b. Dec. 10, 1885), American economist.  She was born in Abilene, Kansas.  She died at age 87 in Seattle, Washington.

 

1969 ~ Dominique Pire (né George Charles Clement Ghislain Pire; b. Feb. 10, 1910), Belgian monk and recipient of the 1958 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in assisting refugees following World War II.  He died of complications following surgery 11 days before his 59^th birthday.

 

1958 ~ Ernst Hienkel (b. Jan. 24, 1888), German aviation engineer.  He was a member of the Nazi party.  He died 6 days after his 70^th birthday.

 

1951 ~ Ferdinand Porsche (b. Sept. 3, 1875), Austrian-German engineer and businessman.  He founded the Porsche automobile company.  He joined the Nazi party in connection with his contract to develop cars for Germany.  He died of a stroke at age 75.

 

1948 ~ Orville Wright (b. Aug. 19, 1871), American aviation pioneer, who along with his brother, Wilber (1867 ~ 1912), invented the airplane.  Orville was born and died in Dayton, Ohio.  He died of a heart attack at age 76.

 

1948 ~ Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi aka Mahatma Gandhi (b. Oct. 2, 1869), Indian pacifist and spiritual leader.  He advocated non-violent disobedience.  He was assassinated by a Hindu extremist.  He was 78 at the time of his death.

 

1934 ~ Frank Doubleday (né Frank Nelson Doubleday; b. Jan. 8, 1862), American publisher and founder of the Doubleday Publishing Company.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York.  He died 22 days after his 72^nd birthday.

 

1928 ~ Johannes Fibiger (né Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger; b. Apr. 23, 1867), Danish physician and recipient of the 1926 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died of colon cancer at age 60 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

1910 ~ Granville Woods (né Granville Tailer Woods; b. Apr. 23, 1856), African-American inventor and engineer.  He held over 50 patents.  He was born in Columbus, Ohio.  He died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 53 in New York, New York.

 

1889 ~ Archduke Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (b. Aug. 21, 1858), heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown.  He was married to Princess Stéphanie of Belgium.  They married in 1881.  He was of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.  He was the son of Franz Joseph I, Archduke of Austria and Elisabeth in Bavaria.  He was found dead in a suicide pact with his mistress Baron Mary Vetsera at age 30.

 

1888 ~ Asa Gray (b. Nov. 18, 1810), American botanist.  He was born in Sauquoit, New York.  He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He died at age 77.

 

1836 ~ Betsy Ross (née Elizabeth Griscom; b. Jan. 1, 1752), American seamstress who is credited with making the first American Flag, although there is no evidence to support this legend.  She married three times.  John Ross was her first husband, and it is his name that she is known by.  After he died, she married Joseph Ashburn.  He died within 3 years of their marriage.  Her third husband was John Claypoole.  She died 29 days after her 84^th birthday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

1788 ~ Charles Edward Stuart (b. Dec. 20, 1720), pretender to the British Throne.  He was married to Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern.  He was of the House of Stuart.  He was the son of James Francis Edward Stuart and Maria Clementina Sobieska.  His grandfather was James II, King of England.  He died of a stroke a month after his 67^th birthday.

 

1730 ~ Peter II, Tsar of Russia (b. Oct. 23, 1715).  He was Emperor from May 1727 until his death 3 years later in January 3 1730.  He never married.  He was of the House of Romanov.  He was the son of Alexi Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his 1^st wife Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg.  He was Russian Orthodox.  He died of smallpox at age 14.

 

1716 ~ Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d’Arquein (b. June 28, 1641), Queen consort of Poland and wife of John III Sobieski, King of Poland.  He was her second husband.  They married in 1665.  She had previously been married to John Zamoyski.  They were married from 1658 until his death in 1665.  She was the daughter of Henri de la Grange d’Arquein and Françoise de la Châtre.  She was Roman Catholic.  She died at age 74.

 

1649 ~ Charles I, King of England and Ireland and King of Scotland (b. Nov. 19, 1600).  He was king from March 1625 until his execution in January 1649.  He was married to Henrietta Marie of France.  They married in 1625.  He was of the House of Stuart.  He was the son of James VI, King of England /James I, King of Scotland and Anne of Denmark.  He was Anglican.  He was tried and convicted of high treason and was beheaded at age 48 during the English Civil War.

 

970 ~ Peter I, Tsar of Bulgaria.  He was Tsar from 927 until 969.  He was married to Irene Lekapene.  Little is known of her life.  He then became a monk and died of a stroke in January 970.  He was of the Krum’s dynasty.  He was the son of Simeon I, King of Bulgaria and the sister of George Sursuvul.  The date of his birth is not known.

 

680 ~ Balthild (b. 620s), Queen consort of Burgundy and wife of Clovis II, King of Burgundy.  She is also known as Saint Balthild in the Catholic Church.