August 7
Birthdays:
1975 ~ Charlize Theron, South African-American actress. She was born in Benoni, Transvaal, South Africa.
1960 ~ David Duchovny (né David William Duchovny), American actor best known for his role as Fox Muldar on The X Files. He was born in New York, New York.
1955 ~ Wayne Knight (né Wayne Elliot Knight), American actor best known for his role as Newman on Seinfeld. He was born in New York, New York.
1944 ~ John Glover (né John Soursby Glover, Jr.), American actor. He was born in Kingston, New York.
1944 ~ Robert Mueller (né Robert Swan Mueller, III), American attorney and 6th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He served as the Director of the FBI from September 2001 through September 2013 under United States Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In May 1977, he was appointed as Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice to oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States Presidential elections. In May 2017, he was appointed as special counsel to oversee the investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election. When he submitted his report to Attorney General William Barr, Barr provided his sanitized version to the public. He was born in New York, New York.
1944 ~ David Rasche, American actor. He was born in Belleville, Illinois.
1942 ~ B.J. Thomas (né Billy Joe Thomas; d. May 29, 2021), American singer-songwriter. He was born in Hugo, Oklahoma. He died of lung cancer in Arlington, Texas at age 78.
1942 ~ Garrison Keillor (né Gary Edward Keillor), American writer and radio host of Prairie Home Companion. He hosted PHC from 1974 through July 2016, when he was fired due to a sex scandal. He was born in Anoka, Minnesota.
1933 ~ Elinor Ostrom (née Elinor Claire Awan; d. June 12, 2012), American economist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science. She was born in Los Angeles, California. She died of cancer at age 78 in Bloomington, Indiana.
1930 ~ Joseph Farman (né Joseph Charles Farman; d. May 11, 2013), British geophysicist who discovered the ozone hole over the Antarctic. He died at age 82.
1928 ~ Betsy Byars (née Betsy Cromer; d. Feb. 26, 2020), American author who wrote about lost children. She is best known for her 1970 novel Summer of the Swans, about an awkward 14-year-old orphan searching for her brother. She was born in Charlotte, South Carolina. She died at age 91 in Seneca, South Carolina.
1928 ~ James Randi (né Randall James Hamilton Swinge; d. Oct. 20, 2020), Canadian-American magician who debunked the paranormal. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He died at age 92 in Plantation, Florida.
1927 ~ Edwin W. Edwards (né Edwin Washington Edwards; d. July 12, 2021), American politician and four-term Governor of the State of Louisiana. He was the roguish governor who played fast and loose. He was born in Marksville, Louisiana. He died in Gonzales, Louisiana less than a month before his 94th birthday.
1926 ~ Stan Freberg (né Stanley Victor Friberg; d. Apr. 7, 2015), American comedian and satirist who made commercials funny. He also created a humorous album on American history entitled Stan Freberg Modestly Presents the United States of America. He was born in Pasadena, California. He died at age 88 years in Santa Monica, California.
1921 ~ Manitas de Plata (né Ricardo Baliardo; d. Nov. 5, 2014), French-Roma who became a superstar flamenco guitarist. He was born in Sète, France. He died at age 93 in Montpellier, France.
1904 ~ Ralph Bunche (né Ralph Johnson Bunche; d. Dec. 9, 1971), African-American statesman, civil rights activist and recipient of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the first African-American to be awarded the Peace Prize. It was for his role in the mediation in Israel during the late 1940s. He was born in Detroit, Michigan. He died of complication of diabetes at age 68 in New York, New York.
1903 ~ Louis B. Leaky (né Louis Seymour Bazett Leaky; d. Oct. 1, 1972), Kenyan-born British anthropologist and archaeologist. He was born in Kabete, British East Africa, now known as Kenya. He died at age 69 in London, England.
1890 ~ Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (d. Sept. 5, 1964), American social activist and labor leader. She was a strong advocate for women’s rights issues. She was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union. She was born in Concord, New Hampshire. She died in Moscow while visiting the Soviet Union. She died about a month after her 74th birthday.
1876 ~ Mata Hari (née Margaretha Geertruida Zelle; d. Oct. 15, 1917), Dutch exotic dancer who was executed by firing squad for ostensibly spying for the German Empire during World War I. She was executed as a spy at age 41.
1869 ~ Mary Winston Newson (née Mary Frances Winston; d. Dec. 5, 1959), American mathematician. She was the first American woman to receive a Ph.D. from a European university. She received her advance degree from the University of Göttingen. She was only 1 of 22 women to join the American Mathematical Society before 1900. She was born in Forreston, Illinois. She died in Poolesville, Maryland at age 90.
1868 ~ Ladislaus Bortkeiwiez (d. July 15, 1931), Russian mathematician. He was born in St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia. He died 23 days before his 63rd birthday in Berlin, Germany.
1867 ~ Emil Nolde (né Hans Emil Hansen; d. Apr. 13, 1956), German-Danish artist. He is known for his brushwork and expressive choice of colors. He was also known as a racist, an antisemite and a staunch supporter of Nazi Germany. He died at age 88.
1862 ~ Princess Victoria of Baden (née Sophie Marie Viktoria; d. Apr. 4, 1930), Queen consort of Sweden and wife of Gustaf V, King of Sweden (1858 ~ 1950). They married in 1881. They were the parents of Gustaf VI Adolf, King of Sweden. She was of the House of Zähringen. She was the daughter of Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess Louise of Prussia. She died at age 67.
1751 ~ Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia (d. June 9, 1820), Princess consort of Orange. She was the wife of William V, Prince of Orange (1748 ~ 1806). They married in 1767. They were the parents of William I, King of the Netherlands. She was of the House of Hohenzollern. She was the daughter of Prince Augustus William of Prussia and Duchess Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. She died at age 68.
1742 ~ Nathanael Green (d. June 19, 1786), General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, British America. He died at age 43 in Mulberry Grove Plantation, Chatham County, Georgia.
1726 ~ James Bowdoin, II (d. Nov. 6, 1790), 2nd Governor of Massachusetts. He was Governor from May 1785 through May 1787. Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine is named in his honor. He was born and died in Boston, Massachusetts. He died at age 64.
1574 ~ Sir Robert Dudley (d. Sept. 6, 1649), British explorer and geographer. He died a month after his 75th birthday.
1282 ~ Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (d. May 5, 1316), member of the British family and English princess. She was married twice. Her first husband was John I, Count of Holland (1284 ~ 1299), making her the Countess consort of Holland. They married in 1297. After his death, she married Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Herefort (1276 ~ 1322). They married in 1302. She was of the House of Plantagenet. She was the eighth child of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile. She died at age 33 due to complications of childbirth of her 11th child.
Events that Changed the World:
1998 ~ Terrorist bombs exploded at United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Over 200 people were killed.
1978 ~ President Jimmy Carter (b. 1924) declared a federal emergency at Love Canal due to the toxic waste that had been negligently discarded there.
1976 ~ The Viking 2 began its orbit around Mars.
1974 ~ Philippe Petit (b. 1949), performed an unauthorized high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. He made eight passes along the wire in 45 minutes. The wire was strung between the building 1,368 feet above the ground. In 2015, a movie entitled The Walk was released, recounting his adventure.
1964 ~ The United States Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Lyndon Johnson (1908 ~ 1973) broad powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.
1962 ~ Canadian-born American pharmacologist Frances Oldham Kelsey (1914 ~ 2015) was awarded the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service for her refusal to authorize Thalidomide from being sold in the United States. Fifty-three years to the day after being given this honor, she died at age 101.
1960 ~ Côte d’Ivoire gained its independence from France.
1959 ~ The Lincoln Memorial design on the United States penny went into circulation. It replaced the sheaves of wheat and was minted until 2008, when it was replaced by the Union Shield. Lincoln’s profile remains on the reverse side.
1938 ~ Construction of the German Mauthausen concentration camp began. This was one of the first massive concentrations camp complexes in Nazi Germany.
1927 ~ The Peace Bridge opened between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.
1912 ~ Teddy Roosevelt (1858 ~ 1919) was nominated as the presidential candidate of the Bull Moose Party.
1909 ~ Alice Huyler Ramsey (1886 ~ 1993) became the first woman to drive across the country in a car. She and three other women, none of whom could drive, set off on a 59-day adventure from New York, New York to San Francisco, California.
1789 ~ The United States War Department was established. The Department of War was renamed the United States Department of Defense in 1949 when it encompassed the Army, the Navy, and Air Force.
1782 ~ President George Washington (1732 ~ 1799) created the Order of the Purple Heart. It was initially called the Badge of Military Merit and was designed to honor soldiers wounded in battle.
Good-Bye:
2022 ~ David McCullough (né David Gaub McCullough; b. July 7, 1933), American historian and biographer who brought history to life. He is known for writing best-selling biographies of such United States Presidents as Harry Truman and John Adams. His first book was The Johnstown Flood, which was about the 1990 Pennsylvanian dam failure that killed more than 2000 people. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He died a month after his 89th birthday in Hingham, Massachusetts.
2021 ~ Markie Post (née Marjorie Armstrong Post; b. Nov. 4, 1950), American actress. She is best known for her role as Christine Sullivan on the television sit-com Night Court. She was born in Palo Alto, California. She died of cancer at age 70 in Los Angeles, California.
2021 ~ Jane Withers (b. Apr. 12, 1926), American 1930s child star who played apple-cheeked scamps. She was the anti-Shirley Temple star who was known for playing tomboyish brats. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She died at age 95 in Burbank, California.
2019 ~ David Berman (né David Craig Berman; b. Jan. 4, 1967), American musician, poet, and cartoonist. He is best known for his work with the indie-rock band the Silver Jews. He was born in Williamsburg, Virginia. He died by suicide at age 52 in Brooklyn, New York.
2019 ~ Kary Mullis (né Kary Banks Mullis; b. Dec. 28, 1944), American biochemist and recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He created controversy by expressing doubts about climate changed and questioning whether HIV caused AIDS. He was born in Lenoir, North Carolina. He died of pneumonia in Newport Beach, California at age 74.
2015 ~ Frances Oldham Kelsey (née Frances Kathleen Oldham; b. July 24, 1914), Canadian pharmacologist and physician who blocked a dangerous pregnancy drug. She was most famous as the reviewer for the US Food and Drug Administration who refused to authorize thalidomide for market because she had concerns about the drug’s safety. She died 2 weeks after her 101st birthday.
2011 ~ Mark Hatfield (né Mark Odom Hatfield; b. July 12, 1922), American republican from Oregon who strove for the center. He served as a United States Senator from Oregon from January 1967 until January 1997. He had also served as the Governor of Oregon from January 1959 until January 1967. He was born in Dallas, Oregon. He died less than a month after his 89th birthday in Portland, Oregon.
2011 ~ Hugh Carey (né Hugh Leo Carey; b. Apr. 11, 1919), 51st Governor of New York State. He served as Governor from January 1975 through December 1982. He was considered the Democrat who rescued New York. He was born and died in New York, New York. He died at age 92.
2011 ~ Nancy Wake (née Nancy Grace Augusta Wake; b. Aug. 30, 1912), French secret agent during World War II. She was a leading figure on the French resistance. A fictionalized account of her life was portrayed in Ariel Lawhon’s 2020 novel entitled Code Name Hélène. She was born in Wellington, New Zealand. She died 23 days before her 99th birthday in London, England.
2010 ~ John Nelder (né John Ashworth Nelder; b. Oct. 8, 1929), British statistician and mathematician. He died at age 85.
2005 ~ Peter Jennings (né Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings; b. July 29, 1938), Canadian television journalist. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He died of lung cancer 9 days after his 67th birthday in New York, New York.
2004 ~ Red Adair (né Paul Neal Adair; b. June 18, 1915), American oil field firefighter. He was born and died in Houston, Texas. He died at age 89.
1985 ~ Gábor Szegő (b. Jan. 20, 1895), Hungarian mathematician. He was born in Kunhegyes, Hungary. He died at age 90 in Palo Alto, California.
1974 ~ Virginia Apgar (b. June 7, 1909), American physician who developed the Apgar test for newborns. She was born in Westfield, New Jersey. She died at age 65 in New York, New York.
1960 ~ Salvatore Ferragamo (b. June 5, 1898), Italian shoemaker and founder of Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A. He was born in Bonito, Italy. He died at age 62 in Florence, Italy.
1957 ~ Oliver Hardy (né Norvell Hardy; b. Jan. 18, 1892), American comedian and half of the Laurel and Hardy comedy team. He was born in Harlem, Georgia. He died of cerebral thrombosis at age 65 in Los Angeles, California.
1947 ~ Princess Hermine Reuss of Greitz (b. Dec. 17, 1887), second wife of Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany (1859 ~ 1941). They married in 1922, four years after he abdicated as German emperor, so she was never the empress consort. He was her second husband. He was 63 and she was 43 at the time of their marriage. She was known to share her husband’s antisemitism. She had previously married to Prince Johann of Schönaich-Carolath (1873 ~ 1920). They married in 1907 and he died in 1920. She was of the House of Ruess Elder Line. She was the daughter of Heinrich XXII, Prince of Reuss of Greiz and Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe. She was Lutheran. She died of a heart attack at age 59.
1941 ~ Rabindranath Tagore (b. May 7, 1861), Indian writer and recipient of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born and died in Calcutta, India. He died at age 80.
1855 ~ Mariano Arista (né José Mariano Arista; b. July 26, 1802), Mexican general and President of Mexico. He was President from January 1851 until January 1853. He died 12 days after his 53rd birthday in Lisbon, Portugal.
1834 ~ Joseph Marie Jacquard (b. July 7, 1752), French merchant and inventor of the Jacquard loom. He was born in Lyon, Kingdom of France. He died a month after his 82nd birthday.
1821 ~ Caroline of Brunswick (b. May 17, 1768), Queen consort of the United Kingdom. She was the estranged wife of George IV, King of the United Kingdom (1762 ~ 1830). They married in 1895. At the time of the wedding, George was the Prince of Wales, making Caroline the Princess of Wales. It was not a happy marriage. Shortly after the birth of their only child, Princess Charlotte, they separated. After he became King, she became the Queen consort. He wanted a divorce, but she refused. He refused her entry into Westminster Abbey for his coronation. She was of the House of Brunswick-Bevern. She was the daughter of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Augusta of Great Britain. She died at age 53.
1649 ~ Maria Leopoldine, Archduchess of Austria (b. Apr. 6, 1632), Holy Roman Empress consort and second wife of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (1608 ~ 1657). They married in 1648. She was of the House of Habsburg. She was the daughter of Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria and Claudia de’Medici. She was Roman Catholic. She died in childbirth at age 17.
1639 ~ Martin van de Hove (b. 1605), Dutch mathematician. He was born in Delft, Netherlands. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have died at age 34. The crater Hortensius on the moon is named in his honor.
1485 ~ Alexander Steward, Duke of Albany (b. 1454), member of the Scottish royal family. He was married twice. His first wife was Lady Katherine Sinclair. This marriage was later dissolved, and their children were considered illegitimate. His second wife was Anne de la Tour d'Auvergne. He was of the House of Stewart. He was the second surviving son of James II, King of Scotland and Mary of Guelders. The exact date of his birth is not known. He was killed in a duel with Louis XII of France, Duke of Orléans at age 31.
1385 ~ Joan, 4th Countess of Kent (b. 1320s). She was known as the Fair Maid of Kent. She was married three times. Her first husband was Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent (1314 ~ 1360). They married in secret when she was about 12 years old. He then traveled on a Crusade, and in his absence, Joan was forced into a marriage to William Montacute, 2ndEarl of Salisbury (1328 ~ 1397). Her second marriage was annulled in 1349 and she returned to her first husband. After his death, she married Edward the Black Prince (1330 ~ 1376). They were the parents of Richard II, King of England. She was of the House of Plantagenet. She was the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent and Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell. The exact date of her birth is not known, but she is believed to have been about 57 or 58 at the time of her death.
1296 ~ Heinrich II von Rotteneck, prince-bishop of Regensburg. He became the bishop of Regensburg in 1277 and remained so until his death in 1296. He was the son of Count Meinhard of Rotteneck and Beatrix, Countess of Moosburg. The date of his birth is not known.
1106 ~ Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. Nov. 11, 1050). He reigned from October 1056 through March 1084. He had the distinction of being excommunicated five times by three different Popes. He was married twice. His first wife was Bertha of Savoy (1051 ~ 1087). They married in 1066. It was not a happy marriage. They were the parents of Conrad II, King of Italy. After her death, he married Eupraxia of Kiev (1067 ~ 1190). The second marriage ended in divorce. He was of the Salian dynasty. He was the son of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor and Agnes of Poitou. He was Roman Catholic. He died at age 55.
1028 ~ Alfonso V, King of León (b. 994). He ruled from 999 until his death in 1028. He was married twice. His first wife was Elvira Menéndez (996 ~ 1022). They married in 1013. After her death, he married Urraca Garcés of Pamplona. He was of the Astur-Leonese dynasty. He was the son of Bermudo II, King of León and Elvira García of Castile. He was Roman Catholic. He was killed by an arrow while besieging the Muslim-occupied town of Viseu. The exact date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been about 33 or 34 at the time of his death.
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