May 26
Birthdays:
1971 ~ Matt Stone (né Matthew Richard Stone), American animator and co-creator of South Park. He was born in Houston, Texas.
1966 ~ Helena Bonham Carter, English actress. She was born in London, England.
1966 ~ Zola Budd, South American athlete. She ran barefoot in the 1984 Olympics. She was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
1961 ~ Rob Matthews (né Robert Matthews; d. Apr. 11, 2018), British blind runner who dominated the Paralympics. He was born with a degenerative eye condition and was blinded by age 20. He died of a brain tumor at age 56.
1951 ~ Sally Ride (née Sally Kristen Ride; d. July 23, 2012), First American female astronaut to go into space. She was born in Encino, California. She died at age 61 of pancreatic cancer in La Jolla, California.
1948 ~ Stevie Nicks (née Stephanie Lynn Nicks), American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac. She was born in Phoenix, Arizona.
1940 ~ Levon Helm (né Mark Levon Helm; d. Apr. 19, 2012), American musician. He was The Band’s purveyor of Southern grit. He was born in Elaine, Arkansas. He died of throat cancer at age 71 in New York, New York.
1928 ~ Jack Kevorkian (né Murad Kervorkian, d. June 3, 2011), American pathologist and activist for assisted suicide. Ironically, he chose not to die by suicide. He was born in Pontiac, Michigan. He died 8 days after his 83rd birthday in Royal Oak, Michigan.
1926 ~ Miles Davis (né Miles Dewey Davis, III, d. Sept. 28, 1991), African-American Jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer. He was born in Alton, Illinois. He died at age 65 in Santa Monica, California.
1925 ~ Dan Robbins (né John Daniel Robbins; d. Apr. 1, 2019), American artist who brought painting to the masses. He developed the idea of the paint-by-numbers kits so children could “create” paintings. He was born in Detroit, Michigan. He died at age 93 in Sylvania, Ohio.
1923 ~ James Arness (né James King Aurness, d. June 3, 2011), American rugged actor who played Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke. His brother was Peter Graves. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Arness died 8 days after his 88thbirthday in Los Angeles, California.
1922 ~ Billy Guste (né William Joseph Guste, Jr.; d. July 25, 2013), Louisiana Attorney General. He served as the Attorney General from May 1972 until January 1992. He was born and died in New Orleans, Louisiana. He died at age 91.
1920 ~ Peggy Lee (née Norma Deloris Egstrom; d. Jan. 21, 2002), American singer and actress. She was born in Jamestown, North Dakota. She died at age 81 of complications from diabetes following a heart attack in Los Angeles, California.
1912 ~ Jay Silverheels (né Harold John Smith, d. Mar. 5, 1980), First Nation Mohawk actor, best known as Tonto, companion of the Lone Ranger on the television show of the same name. He was born in Ontario, Canada. He died of a stroke at age 67 in Calabasas, California.
1908 ~ Robert Morley (né Robert Adolph Wilton Morley; d. June 3, 1992), British actor. He died 8 days after his 84thbirthday.
1907 ~ John Wayne (né Marion Robert Morrison; d. June 11, 1979), American actor. He was born in Winterset, Iowa. He died of stomach cancer 16 days after his 72nd birthday in Los Angeles, California.
1895 ~ Dorothea Lange (née Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn; d. Oct. 11, 1965), American photographer, best known for her work during the Great Depression. She was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. She died of esophageal cancer at age 70 in San Francisco, California.
1886 ~ Al Jolson (né Asa Yoelson; d. Oct. 23, 1950), Lithuanian-born American comedian and singer. He died of a heart attack at age 64 in San Francisco, California.
1867 ~ Mary of Teck (née Princess Victoria Mary of Teck; d. Mar. 24, 1953), Queen consort of the United Kingdom and wife of George V, King of the United Kingdom (1865 ~ 1936). They married in 1893. They were the parents of Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom and George VI, King of the United Kingdom. She was the grandmother of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom. She was of the House of Teck. She was the daughter of Francis, Duke of Teck and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. She died at age 85.
1667 ~ Abraham de Moivre (d. Nov. 27, 1854), French mathematician. He died at age 87 in London, England.
1478 ~ Pope Clement VII (né Giulio di Giuliano de’Medici; d. Sept. 25, 1534). He was Pope from November 1523 until his death in 1534. Clement VII's reign was marked by a rapid succession of political, military, and religious struggles that had far-reaching consequences for Christianity and world politics. He was born in Florence, Republic of Florence. He died at age 56 in Rome.
Events that Changed the World:
2021 ~ A mass shooting at the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) rail yard in San Jose, California killed 10 people. The shooter was a disgruntled VTA employee.
1998 ~ The United States Supreme Court ruled in New Jersey v. New York, that Ellis Island is mainly in the State of New Jersey and not New York. Associate Justice David Souter (b. 1939) authored the decision.
1986 ~ The European Community adopted the European flag.
1983 ~ A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Japan and caused a tsunami that killed over 100 people and injured scores of others.
1978 ~ The first legal casino in the eastern United States opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
1972 ~ The United States and the Soviet Union signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
1946 ~ A patent was filed in the United States for the hydrogen bomb.
1938 ~ The United States House Un-American Activities Committee began meeting.
1927 ~ The Ford Motor Company ceased manufacturing its Model T. During the course of its production, over 15,007,000 cars had been made.
1923 ~ The first 24 Hour of Le Mans was held. This race has been run annually ever since in June. It is the world’s oldest sports car race.
1908 ~ At Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East was made. The rights to the oil was acquired by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, which in 1954 became known as the British Petroleum or BP Company.
1897 ~ Bram Stoker’s Dracula was published.
1896 ~ The first edition the of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, by Charles Dow (1851 ~ 1902), was published.
1896 ~ Nicholas II (1868 ~ 1918) was crowned Tsar of Imperial Russia. He would be the last Tsar of Imperial Russia.
1869 ~ Boston University received its charter from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
1868 ~ The impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson (1808 ~ 1875) concluding finding Johnson not guilty.
1830 ~ The Indian Removal Act was passed by US Congress. President Andrew Jackson (1767 ~ 1845) signed the Act into law two days later, on May 28. This Act ultimately led to the Trail of Tears, in which Native Americans were forcibly removed from their land to migrate west.
1736 ~ During the Battle of Ackia, British and Chicksaw soldiers repelled a French and Choctaw attack on the village of Ackia (near present-day Tupelo, Mississippi). Jean Baptiste Le Moyne (1680 ~ 1767), the French Louisiana governor, had hoped to link Louisiana with Acadia and other northern colonies of New France.
1647 ~ Alse Young (1600 ~ 1647), of Hartford, Connecticut, became the first recorded person executed as a witch in the American colonies.
1538 ~ The city of Geneva expelled John Calvin (1509 ~ 1564) and his followers. He relocated in exile to Strasbourg.
1293 ~ An earthquake in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan killed an estimated 23,000 people.
Good-Byes:
2022 ~ Ray Liotta (né Raymond Allen Liotta; b. Dec. 18, 1954), American actor committed to the character. He was born in Newark, New Jersey. He died at age 67 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
2019 ~ Bart Starr (né Bryan Bartlett Starr; d. Jan. 9, 1934), American football quarterback who led Green Bay’s dynasty. He was born and died in Montgomery, Alabama. He died at age 85.
2018 ~ Alan Bean (né Alan LaVern Bean; b. Mar. 15, 1932), American astronaut who turned his lunar experience into art. He was the lunar-module pilot on Apollo 12, the second manned flight to land on the moon. He was the 4th person to walk on the moon. He was born in Wheeler, Texas. He died in Houston, Texas at age 86.
2017 ~ Zbrigniew Brzezinski (né Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski; b. Mar. 28, 1928), Polish-born American political scientist and cold warrior who guided Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy. He was the 10th United States National Security Advisor and served under President Jimmy Carter from January 1977 until January 1981. His daughter, Mike Brzezinski, is a co-anchor on the MSNBC news show, Morning Joe. He was born in Warsaw, Poland. He died at age 89 in Falls Church, Virginia.
2010 ~ Art Linkletter (né Arthur Gordon Kelly; b. July 17, 1912), Canadian-American radio and television host. He was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. He died at age 97 in Los Angeles, California.
2008 ~ Sydney Pollack (né Sydney Irwin Pollack; b. July 1, 1934), American Oscar-winning director, who tackled many genres. He was born in Lafayette, Indiana. He died of cancer at age 73 in Los Angeles, California.
2005 ~ Dale Velzy (b. Sept. 23, 1927), American surfboard maker who defined the “surfer dude lifestyle.” He was born in Oakland, California. He died at age 77 in Mission Viejo, California.
2005 ~ Eddie Albert (né Edward Albert Heimberger; b. Apr. 22, 1906), American versatile actor who appeared in TV’s Green Acres. He is best known for his role as Oliver Wendell Douglas on the sit-com Green Acres. He was born in Rockland, Illinois. He died of complications of pneumonia at age 99 in Los Angeles, California.
1994 ~ George Ball (né George Wildman Ball; b. Dec. 21, 1909), American diplomat. He served as the 7th United States Ambassador to the United Nations. He was also the United States Under Secretary of State, where he is best remembered for being the only major dissenter to the Vietnam War. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He died in New York City at age 84.
1943 ~ Edsel Ford (né Edsel Bryant Ford; b. Nov. 6, 1893), American businessman. He was the son of Henry Ford. The car named after him was introduced in 1957, many years after his death. He was born in Detroit, Michigan. He died of stomach cancer at age 49 in Grosse Point Shores, Michigan.
1939 ~ Charles H. Mayo (né Charles Horace Mayo; b. July 19, 1865), American physician and co-founder of the Mayo Clinic. He was born in Rochester, Minnesota. He died of pneumonia at age 73 in Chicago, Illinois.
1931 ~ Kate Marsden (b. May 13, 1859), British nurse best known for traveling to Siberia to research and find a cure for leprosy. She was born and died in London, England. She died 13 days after her 72nd birthday.
1914 ~ Jacob Riis (né Jacob August Riis; b. May 3, 1849), Dutch-born American journalist and photographer. He devoted his career to social reformer. He was born in Ribe, Denmark. He died 3 weeks after his 65th birthday in Barre, Massachusetts.
1907 ~ Ida McKinley (née Ida Saxton; b. June 8, 1847), First Lady and wife of President William McKinley. She was born and died in Canton, Ohio. She died 13 days before her 60th birthday.
1904 ~ Georges Gilles de la Tourette (b. Oct. 30, 1857), French neurologist who first described the condition now known as Tourette’s syndrome. He died at age 46 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
1902 ~ Almon Strowger (né Almon Brown Strowger; b. Feb. 11, 1839) American undertaker and inventor who patented the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching. He was born in Penfield, New York. He died of an aneurysm at age 63 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
1793 ~ Eliza Lucas (b. Dec. 28, 1722), English-American agriculturalist. She was born in the British West Indies before moving to what is now South Carolina. It was in South Carolina where she developed indigo as an important cash crop. She was born in Antigua. She died of cancer at age 61 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1703 ~ Samuel Pepys (b. Feb. 23, 1633), English naval administrator, civil servant and diarist. He is best known for his diary, which provided a first-hand account of life in the 1700s. He was born in London, England. He died at age 70.
1497 ~ Antonio Manetti (b. July 6, 1423), Italian mathematician and architect. He was born and died in Florence, Italy. He died at age 73.
1362 ~ Louis I, King of Naples (b. 1320). He ruled over Naples from 1352 until his death. Prior to their marriage, he was the Prince of Taranto. He became king when he married his cousin Joanna I, Queen of Naples (1325 ~ 1382). They married in 1347. He was her second husband. It was not a happy marriage. He was of the Capetian House of Anjou. He was the son of Philip I, Prince of Taranto and Catherine of Valois. The exact date of his birth is not known. He died, probably of the bubonic plague, at about age 41 or 42.
1339 ~ Aldona of Lithuania (b. 1309), Queen consort of Poland and first wife of Casimir III, King of Poland (1310 ~ 1370). They married in 1325 before Casimir became king. She was of the House of Gediminas. She was the daughter of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Jewna. The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 29 or 30 at the time of her death.
946 ~ Edmund I of England (b. 920s). He ruled from October 939 until his death. He was married twice. His first wife was Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury (d. 944). His second wife was Æthelflæd of Damerham. He was of the House of Wessex. He was the son of Edward the Elder, King of England and Eadgifu. He was murdered by a thief. The exact date of his birth is unknown.
735 ~ Bede (b. 673), English monk, historian, theologian and scholar. He is often referred to as Saint Bede the Venerable. The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been about 61 or 62 at the time of his death.
604 ~ Augustine of Canterbury, Benedictine monk and first Archbishop of Canterbury. The date of his birth is not known.
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