May 23
Birthdays:
1974 ~ Ken Jennings (né Kenneth Wayne Jennings, III), game show contestant, game show host and author. He is best known for having the longest winning streak on Jeopardy!, with 74 wins. He was born in Edmonds, Washington.
1970 ~ Yigal Amir, Israeli assassin of Yitzhak Rabin. He is serving a life sentence in prison. He was born in Herzliya, Israel.
1963 ~ Viviane Baladi, Swiss mathematician. She is best known for her work in dynamical systems.
1958 ~ Mitch Albom (né Mitchell David Albom), American journalist and author. He is best known for his book, Tuesdays with Morrie, his interviews with sociology professor Morrie Schwartz. He was born in Passaic, New Jersey.
1958 ~ Drew Carey (né Drew Allison Carey), American actor and game show host. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1954 ~ Marvin Hagler (né Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; d. Mar. 13, 2021), American “marvelous” boxer who dominated the ring. He was known as Marvelous Marvin Hagler. He was born in Newark, New Jersey. He died in Bartlett, New Hampshire at age 66 of Covid-19.
1949 ~ Alan García (d. Apr. 17, 2019), 93rd President of Peru. He served in office from 2006 to 2011. He was born and died in Lima, Peru. He died by suicide at age 69.
1940 ~ Cora Sadosky (née Cora Susana Sadosky; d. Dec. 3, 2010), Argentinian mathematician. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She died at age 70 in Long Beach, California.
1936 ~ Charles Kimbrough (né Charles Mayberry Kimbrough; d. Jan. 11, 2023), American actor best known for his role as Jim Dial on the television sit-com Murphy Brown. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He died at age 86 in Culver City, California.
1934 ~ Robert Moog (né Robert Arthur Moog; d. Aug. 21, 2005), American inventor of the Moog synthesizer. He was born in New York, New York. He died at age 81 in Asheville, North Carolina.
1933 ~ Aharon Lichtenstein (d. April 20, 2015), French-American Orthodox rabbi. He was born in Paris, France. He died about a month before his 82nd birthday in Alon Shvut, Israel.
1933 ~ Dame Joan Collins (née Joan Henrietta Collins), English actress. She was born in London, England.
1931 ~ Barbara Barrie (née Barbara Ann Berman), American actress. She is best known for her role as Evelyn Stoller in the 1979 movie Breaking Away. She was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1928 ~ Rosemary Clooney (d. June 29, 2002), American singer and actress. She was born in Maysville, Kentucky. She died of lung cancer a little over a month after her 74th birthday in Beverly Hills, California.
1925 ~ Joshua Lederberg (d. Feb. 2, 2008), American molecular biologist and recipient of the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He was 33 years old when he received the Nobel Prize. He was awarded the Prize for discovering that bacteria can mate and exchange genes. He was born in Montclair, New Jersey. He died at age 82 of pneumonia in New York, New York.
1924 ~ Sy Presten (né Seymour Herman Prutinsky; d. Oct. 18, 2022), American publicist and press agent. He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. He died at age 98 in New York, New York of esophageal dysphagia.
1919 ~ Robert Bernstein (d. Dec. 19, 1988), American comic book writer and publisher. He died of heart failure at age 69 in Delray Beach, Florida.
1919 ~ Betty Garrett (née Elizabeth Garrett; d. Feb. 12, 2011), American musical-comedy star who was scarred by the Hollywood blacklist. She was born in St. Joseph, Missouri. She died at age 91 in Los Angeles, California.
1917 ~ Edward Norton Lorenz (d. Apr. 16, 2008), American mathematician and meteorologist who formulated chaos theory. He is best known for coining the term “Butterfly Effect.” He was born in West Hartford, Connecticut. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts at age 90.
1915 ~ S. Donald Stookey (né Stanley Donald Stookey, d. Nov. 4, 2014). American inventor and chemist who invented CorningWare, the supertough glass. He held over 60 patents, mostly relating to glass and ceramics. He was born in Hay Springs, Nebraska. He died at age 99 in Rochester, New York.
1910 ~ Margaret Wise Brown (d. Nov. 13, 1952), American children’s author. She is best known for her picture books, Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. She was born in Brooklyn, New York. She died at age 42 of an embolism in Nice, France.
1910 ~ Scatman Crothers (né Benjamin Sherman Crothers; d. Nov. 22, 1986), African-American actor and comedian. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. He died of pneumonia and lung cancer at age 76 in Van Nuys, California.
1910 ~ Artie Shaw (né Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; d. Dec. 30, 2004), American clarinetist and bandleader. He was born in New York, New York. He died at age 94 in Thousand Oaks, California.
1908 ~ Hélène Boucher (d. Nov. 30, 1934), French pilot. She set several women’s world speed records for flying. She was born in Paris, France. She was killed at age 26 in a plane crash near Versailles, France in 1934.
1908 ~ John Bardeen (d. Jan. 30, 1991), 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.
1892 ~ Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer (né Albert Edward John Spencer; d. June 9, 1975), British peer and grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales. He was born in London, England. He died 17 days before his 84th birthday.
1891 ~ Pär Lagerkvist (né Pär Fabian Lagerkvist; d. July 11, 1974), Swedish author and poet. He was the recipient of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Literature. He died at age 83 in Stockholm, Sweden.
1887 ~ Thoralf A. Skolem (né Thoralf Albert Skolem; d. Mar. 23, 1963), Norwegian mathematician. He is best known for his work in mathematical logic and set theory. He died at age 75 in Oslo, Norway.
1883 ~ Douglas Fairbanks (né Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; d. Dec. 12, 1939), American actor during the silent film era. He was born in Denver, Colorado. He died of a heart attack at age 56 in Santa Monica, California.
1875 ~ Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. (né Alfred Prichard Sloan, Jr.; d. Feb. 17, 1966), American businessman and longtime CEO of General Motors. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He died at age 90 in New York, New York.
1830 ~ Henry M. Teller (né Henry Moore Teller; d. Feb. 23, 1914), 15th United States Secretary of the Interior. He served under President Chester A. Arthur from April 1882 until March 1885. He also served as a United States Senator from Colorado, first from November 1876 until he became Secretary of the Interior, and again from March 1885 until March 1903. He was born in Granger, New York. He died at age 83 in Denver, Colorado.
1824 ~ Ambrose Burnside (né Ambrose Everett Burnside; d. Sept. 13, 1881), Union General during the American Civil War. He was also served as the 30th Governor of Rhode Island from May 1866 until May 1869. His distinctive style of facial hair became known as Sideburns, in his honor. He was born in Liberty, Indiana. He died of a heart attack at age 57 in Bristol, Rhode Island.
1820 ~ James Buchanan Eads (d. Mar. 8, 1887), American civil engineer. He designed and built the Eads Bridge, the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River. The bridge is in St. Louis, Missouri. He was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He died at age 66 while on vacation in Nassau, Bahamas.
1810 ~ Margaret Fuller (née Sarah Margaret Fuller; d. July 19, 1850), American journalist and women’s rights advocate. She was born in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts. Fuller drowned at age 40 when the ship she was in ran aground outside of Fire Island, New York. She was the subject of the 2013 biography, Margaret Fuller: A New American Life, by Megan Marshall.
1730 ~ Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia (d. May 2, 1813), member of the Prussian royal family. In 1755, he married his niece, Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1738 ~ 1820). He was of the House of Hohenzollern. He was the son of Frederick William I, King of Prussia and Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. He was the grandson of George I, King of England. He was born and died in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia. He died 21 days before his 83rdbirthday.
1707 ~ Carolus Linnæus (d. Jan. 10, 1778), Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist. He is credited for setting the foundation for scientific nomenclature. He died at age 70.
1606 ~ Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz (d. Sept. 8, 1682), Spanish mathematician and philosopher. He was born in Madrid, Spain. He died at age 76 in Vigevano, Italy.
1100 ~ Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. June 14, 1161), 9th Chinese Emperor of the Song Dynasty. He died 23 days after his 61st birthday.
1052 ~ Philip I, King of France (d. July 29, 1108). He ruled from 1059 until his death in 1108. He was married twice. His first wife was Bertha of Holland (1055 ~ 1094). They married in 1072. They were the parents of Louis VI, King of France. He grew tired of her and in 1090, repudiated her to marry his already-married second wife, Bertrade de Montfort (1070 ~ 1117). Because he left his first wife, Pope Urban II excommunicated him and he was not permitted to take part in the First Crusade. He was of the House of Capet. He was the son of Henry I, King of France and Anne of Kiev. He died at age 56.
Events that Changed the World:
2014 ~ A 22-year-old gunman killed six students and injured 14 others at the University of Santa Barbara, California before turning the gun on himself. Three of the victims were stabbed to death; the others, shot.
2013 ~ The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River collapsed in Mount Vernon, Washington.
2011 ~ Strong tornadoes swept through the American Mid-west, killing many people, and causing severe damage.
1967 ~ Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran and blockaded the port of Eilat to Israeli shipping. This closure eventually led to the Six-Day War.
1960 ~ A tsunami caused by the Chilean Validivia earthquake from the day before, struck Hilo, Hawaii and killed over 60 people.
1949 ~ The Federal Republic of Germany, more commonly known as West Germany, was established as a separate, independent country. In 1990, East and West Germany were finally reunited as one unified country.
1939 ~ The United States Navy submarine the USS Squalus sank off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire during a test dive. Twenty-six of the crew members were drowned. The remaining 33 passengers were saved the following day. The submarine was later salvaged and decommissioned. In 1940, however, the submarine was recommissioned and renamed the USS Sailfish.
1934 ~ Bank robbers Bonnie Parker (1910 ~ 1934) and Clyde Barrow (1909 ~ 1934) were killed in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
1911 ~ The New York Public Library was dedicated.
1829 ~ Cyrill Demain (1772 ~ 1847) was granted a patent for the accordion in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
1788 ~ South Carolina ratified the United States Constitution, thus becoming the 8th State in the Union.
1618 ~ The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitated the Thirty Years’ War.
1568 ~ Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau (1538 ~ 1574), the brother of William of Orange, defeated Jean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg (1525 ~ 1568) in the Battle of Heiligerlee, thus beginning the 80 Years’ War.
1533 ~ The marriage of Henry VIII, King of England (1491 ~ 1547) of England and Infanta Catherine of Aragon (1485 ~ 1536) was declared null and void.
1430 ~ Joan of Arc (1412 ~ 1431) was captured by the Burgundians while leading an army during the Siege of Compiènge.
Good-Byes:
2021 ~ Eric Carle (b. June 25, 1929), American author and illustrator who hatched a hungry caterpillar. He delighted millions of young children with The Very Hungary Caterpillar and other story time staples. He was born in Syracuse, New York. He died about a month before his 92nd birthday in Northampton, Massachusetts.
2017 ~ Sir Roger Moore (né Roger George Moore; b. Oct. 14, 1927), British suave actor who charmed as James Bond. He was born in London, England. He died of cancer at age 89 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
2015 ~ Alicia Nash (née Alicia Esther Lardé Lopez-Harrison; b. Jan. 1, 1933), Salvadorian-American physicist and engineer. She was the wife of John Forbes Nash (1923 ~ 2015). She was killed in a taxi car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike along with her husband. She was born in San Salvador, El Salvador. She was 82 years old.
2015 ~ Anne Meara (née Anne Theresa Meara; b. Sept. 20, 1929), American actress and comedian. She was married to Jerry Stiller (b. 1927) and together the two were a comedy team, Stiller and Meara. She was the mother of comedian and actor Ben Stiller. She was born in Brooklyn, New York. She died at age 85 in Manhattan, New York.
2015 ~ John Forbes Nash, Jr. (b. June 13, 1928), American mathematician and recipient of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economic Science. He was plagued by mental illness and became the subject of the movie, A Beautiful Mind. He was born in Bluefield, West Virginia. He and his wife, Alicia Nash (1933 ~ 2015) were killed in a taxi crash in Monroe Township, New Jersey on their way home from the airport after having been abroad. He died three weeks before his 87thbirthday.
2012 ~ Paul Fussell, Jr. (b. Mar. 22, 1924), American cultural and literary historian who saw irony in war. He was born in Pasadena, California. He died at age 88 in Medford, Oregon.
2006 ~ Lloyd Bentsen (né Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr., b. Feb. 11, 1921). American politician and 69th Secretary of the United States Treasury. He served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 until December 1994. He was also the 1988 Vice Presidential candidate as a running mate to Michael Dukakis. He was born in Mission, Texas. He died at age 85 in Houston, Texas.
2002 ~ Sam Snead (né Samuel Jackson Sneed; b. May 27, 1912), American golfer. He was born in Ashwood, Virginia. He died 4 days before his 90th birthday in Hot Springs, Virginia.
1998 ~ Telford Taylor (b. Feb. 24, 1908), 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 Manhattan, New York.
1982 ~ Florence Violet McKenzie (né Florence Violet Granville; b. Sept. 28, 1890), Australian electrical engineer. She was Australia’s first female electrical engineer. She also founded the Women’s Emergency Signaling Corps and served in the Australian naval service. She was born in Melbourne, Australia. She died at age 91.
1960 ~ Dr. Ida Scudder (née Ida Sophia Scudder; b. Dec. 9, 1870), American missionary and physician in India. She died at age 89.
1960 ~ Georges Claude (b. Sept. 24, 1870), French engineer and inventor. He created Neon lighting. He was born in Paris, France. He died at age 89.
1945 ~ Heinrich Himmler (né Heinrich Luitpold Himmler, b. Oct. 7, 1900), German Nazi commander and head of the SS. He committed suicide while in Allied custody. He was 44 years old.
1937 ~ John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (né John Davidson Rockefeller; b. July 8, 1839), American industrialist and philanthropist. He founded the Standard Oil Company as well as Rockefeller University. He was born in Richford, New York. He died at age 97 in Ormond Beach, Florida.
1934 ~ Bonnie Parker (née Bonnie Elizabeth Parker; b. Oct. 1, 1910), American criminal who, along with her partner, Clyde Barrow (1909 ~ 1934), robbed banks throughout the South and Midwest. She and Clyde were killed in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. She was born in Rowena, Texas. She was 23 years old.
1934 ~ Clyde Barrow (né Clyde Chestnut Barrow; b. Mar. 24, 1909), American criminal, who along with his partner, Bonnie Parker (1910 ~ 1934), robbed banks throughout the South and Midwest until they were killed in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. He was born in Ellis County, Texas. He died at age 25.
1906 ~ Henrik Ibsen (né Henrick Johan Ibsen, b. Mar. 20, 1828), Norwegian playwright and poet. He died at age 78.
1905 ~ Mary Livermore (née Mary Ashton Rice; b. Dec. 19, 1820), American journalist, abolitionist, and women’s right activist. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She died at age 84 in Melrose, Massachusetts.
1895 ~ Franz Ernst Neumann (b. Sept. 11, 1798), German mathematician, physicist, and mineralogist. He died at age 96.
1868 ~ Kit Carson (né Christopher Houston Carson; b. Dec. 24, 1809), American general, frontiersman, scout, and Indian agent. He was born in Richmond, Kentucky. He died at age 58 at Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory.
1857 ~ Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy (b. Aug. 21, 1789), French mathematician. He was born in Paris, France. He died at age 67 in Sceaux, France.
1836 ~ Edward Livingston (b. May 28, 1764), American politician. He served as the 11th United States Secretary of State in President Martin Van Buren’s administration from May 1831 until May 1933. He was also influential in drafting the Louisiana Civil Code. He served as a United States Senator from Louisiana. He had also served as the 46th Mayor of New York City. He was born in Clermont, New York, British America. He died 5 days before his 71st birthday in Rhinebeck, New York.
1783 ~ James Otis, Jr. (b. Feb. 5, 1725), early American lawyer and patriot. He was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay, British America. He died at age 58 after being struck by lightning in Andover, Massachusetts.
1701 ~ Captain William Kidd (b. Jan. 22, 1645), Scottish pirate. He was convicted of piracy and murder and was hanged in London. The exact date of his birth is not known, but it is often ascribed to January 22, 1654. He was 47 at the time of his death.
1670 ~ Ferdinando II de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. July 14, 1610). He served as the Grand Duke of Tuscany from February 1621 until his death in May 1670. He was married to Vittoria della Rovere (1622 ~ 1694). They married in 1632. He was of the House of Medici. He was the son of Cosimo II de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria. He was Roman Catholic. He died at age 59.
1498 ~ Girolamo Savonarola (b. Sept. 21, 1452), Italian-Dominican priest, philosopher and ruler of Florence. He tried to reform the Church and was subsequently excommunicated by Pope Alexander VI. He was burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. He was 45 years old at the time of his death.
1482 ~ Princess Mary of York (b. Aug. 11, 1467), member of the British royal family. She never married. She was of the House of York. She was the second daughter of Edward IV, King of England and Elizabeth of Woodville. She died at age 14.
1423 ~ Antipope Benedict XIII (né Pedro Martinez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor; b. Nov. 25, 1328). He died at age 95.
1125 ~ Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. Aug. 11, 1081). He ruled from April 1111 until his death 14 years later. He was married to Matilda of England (1102 ~ 1167), Holy Roman Empress consort. They married in 1114. He was of the Salian Dynasty. He was the son of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Bertha of Savoy. He was Roman Catholic. The exact year of his birth is unknown. He is believed to have been born between 1081 and 1086. He is believed to have been between 39 and 44 at the time of his death.
230 ~ Pope Urban I. He was Pope from 222 until his death about a year later. The date of his birth is unknown.
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