Month: October 2012

Updated October 27, 2012, 2:28 pm

On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.

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On Oct. 28, 1914, Dr. Jonas Edward Salk, the American medical researcher who developed the first vaccine against polio, was born. Following his death on June 23, 1995, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1636	Harvard College was founded.
1793	Eli Whitney applied for a patent for the cotton gin.
1919	Congress enacted the Volstead Act, which provided for enforcement of Prohibition, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.
1922	Fascism came to Italy as Benito Mussolini took control of the government.
1958	The Roman Catholic patriarch of Venice, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was elected pope, taking the name John XXIII.
1962	Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States that he had ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.
1965	Pope Paul VI issued a decree absolving Jews of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
1980	Republican nominee Ronald Reagan asked voters during a debate with President Jimmy Carter in Cleveland “are you better off than you were four years ago?”
2005	Vice President Dick Cheney’s top adviser, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, resigned after he was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements in the CIA leak investigation. (Libby was convicted and sentenced to 30 months in prison. President George W. Bush commuted his sentence.)
2006	Hall of Fame basketball coach Red Auerbach died at age 89.
2007	Cristina Fernandez was elected Argentina’s first woman president.
2009	Angela Merkel was sworn in for a second term as German chancellor.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actress Julia Roberts turns 45 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

Actor Jeremy Davies (“Lost”) turns 43 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

1929	Joan Plowright, Actress, turns 83
1936	Charlie Daniels, Country musician, turns 76
1937	Lenny Wilkens, Hall of Fame basketball coach, turns 75
1944	Dennis Franz, Actor (“NYPD Blue”), turns 68
1945	Wayne Fontana, Singer, turns 67
1949	Bruce Jenner, Olympic track and field gold medalist, turns 63
1952	Annie Potts, Actress (“Designing Women”), turns 60
1955	Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp. Chairman, turns 57
1962	Daphne Zuniga, Actress (“Melrose Place”), turns 50
1963	Lauren Holly, Actress, turns 49
1965	Jami Gertz, Actress, turns 47
1966	Andy Richter, Actor, comedian, turns 46
1969	Ben Harper, Rock singer, turns 43
1972	Brad Paisley, Country singer, turns 40
1974	Joaquin Phoenix, Actor (“Walk the Line”), turns 38

Historic Birthdays

Dr. Jonas Edward Salk 10/28/1914 – 6/23/1995 American physician and researcher; developed polio vaccine.Go to obituary »

38	Henry III 10/28/1017 – 10/5/1056 King of Holy Romam Empire and Germany (1046-56)
69	Desiderius Erasmus 10/28/1466 – 7/12/1536 Dutch scholar
52	Cornelius Otto Jansen 10/28/1585 – 5/6/1638 Flemish Roman Catholic reform leader
67	Eliphalet Remington 10/28/1793 – 8/12/1861 American firearms manufacturer and inventor
88	Georges Auguste Escoffier 10/28/1846 – 2/12/1935 French culinary artist
90	Gilbert H. Grosvenor 10/28/1875 – 2/4/1966 American geographer; president of National Geographic Society (1920-54)
84	Howard Hanson 10/28/1896 – 2/26/1981 American composer and conductor
83	Edith Head 10/28/1897 – 10/24/1981 American motion-picture costume designer
62	Evelyn Waugh 10/28/1903 – 4/10/1966 English writer
82	Francis Bacon 10/28/1909 – 4/28/1992 British painter

Updated October 26, 2012, 2:28 pm

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On Oct. 27, 1904, the first rapid transit subway, the IRT, opened in New York City.

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On Oct. 27, 1932, Sylvia Plath, the American poet known for an intense, confessional quality of writing, was born. Read a review of her life and work that appeared in The Times in 1974.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1787	The first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the U.S. Constitution, was published in a New York newspaper.
1880	Theodore Roosevelt married Alice Lee.
1904	The first rapid transit subway opened, in New York City.
1914	Author-poet Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales.
1947	“You Bet Your Life,” starring Groucho Marx, premiered on ABC Radio.
1978	Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin won the Nobel Peace Prize.
1997	The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 554.26 points, forcing the stock market to shut down for the first time since the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
2002	Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith broke the NFL career rushing yardage record of 16,726 held by Walter Payton.
2002	Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was elected president of Brazil in a runoff, becoming the country’s first elected leftist leader.
2004	The Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 in Game 4.
2005	White House counsel Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to the Supreme Court after three weeks of criticism from fellow conservatives.
2005	Surgeons in France performed the world’s first partial face transplant on a woman who was mauled by a dog.
2008	Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was convicted of seven corruption charges for lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. (A judge later dismissed the case, saying prosecutors had withheld evidence.)

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actress Ruby Dee turns 88 years old today.

AP Photo/Louis Lanzano

TV personality Kelly Osbourne (“The Osbournes”) turns 28 years old today.

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

1920	Nanette Fabray, Actress, turns 92
1922	Ralph Kiner, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 90
1939	John Cleese, Actor, comedian (“Monty Python”), turns 73
1942	Lee Greenwood, Country singer, turns 70
1946	Ivan Reitman, Director, producer, turns 66
1949	Garry Tallent, Rock musician (The E Street Band), turns 63
1950	Fran Lebowitz, Author, turns 62
1952	Roberto Benigni, Actor, director (“Life is Beautiful”), turns 60
1958	Simon LeBon, Singer (Duran Duran), turns 54
1967	Scott Weiland, Rock singer (Stone Temple Pilots), turns 45
1977	Sheeri Rappaport, Actress (“CSI”), turns 35

Historic Birthdays

Sylvia Plath 10/27/1932 – 2/11/1963 American poet.Go to obituary »

35	Catherine of Valois 10/27/1401 – 1/3/1437 French princess and wife of King Henry V
50	James Cook 10/27/1728 – 2/14/1779 British naval captain
57	Niccolo Paganini 10/27/1782 – 5/27/1840 Italian composer
63	Isaac Merrit Singer 10/27/1811 – 7/23/1875 American inventor; developed Singer sewing machine
79	Marcellin Berthelot 10/27/1827 – 3/18/1907 French chemist
60	Theodore Roosevelt 10/27/1858 – 1/6/1919 26th president of the United States (1901-9)
56	Alfred Whitney Griswold 10/27/1906 – 4/19/1963 American educator; president of Yale University (1950-63)
39	Dylan Marlais Thomas 10/27/1914 – 11/9/1953 Welsh writer
75	Oliver Tambo 10/27/1917 – 4/24/1993 South African president of the African National Congress (1969-91)
73	Roy Lichtenstein 10/27/1923 – 9/29/1997 American artist
67	H. R. Haldeman 10/27/1926 – 11/12/1993 American businessman and White House chief of staff (1969-73); convicted of Watergate crimes

Updated October 25, 2012, 2:28 pm

On Oct. 26, 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan signed a peace treaty in a ceremony attended by President Clinton.

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On Oct. 26, 1911, Mahalia Jackson, the American known as the queen of gospel singing, was born. Following her death on Jan. 27, 1972, her obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1774	The First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.
1825	The Erie Canal opened, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River in upstate New York.
1881	Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and “Doc” Holliday confronted Ike Clanton’s gang in a gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Ariz. Three members of Clanton’s gang were killed; Earp’s brothers were wounded.
1962	In one of the most dramatic verbal confrontations of the Cold War, American U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson asked his Soviet counterpart during a Security Council debate whether the USSR had placed missiles in Cuba.
1972	National security adviser Henry Kissinger declared “peace is at hand” in Vietnam.
1984	A newborn with a severe heart defect was given the heart of a baboon in an experimental transplant in Loma Linda, Calif. She lived for 21 more days.
1994	Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty.
2002	A hostage siege by Chechen rebels at a Moscow theater ended with 129 of the 800-plus captives dead, most from a knockout gas used by Russian special forces who stormed the theater.
2005	The Chicago White Sox won their first World Series since 1917 by defeating the Houston Astros 1-0 in Game 4.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton turns 65 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Country singer Keith Urban turns 45 years old today.

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

1942	Bob Hoskins, Actor, turns 70
1945	Jaclyn Smith, Actress (“Charlie’s Angels”), turns 67
1946	Pat Sajak, TV game show host (“Wheel of Fortune”), turns 66
1951	Bootsy Collins, Musician, turns 61
1956	Rita Wilson, Actress, turns 56
1961	Dylan McDermott, Actor (“The Practice”), turns 51
1963	Natalie Merchant, Rock singer (10,000 Maniacs), turns 49
1968	Tom Cavanagh, Actor (“Ed”), turns 44
1971	Rosemarie DeWitt, Actress (“The United States of Tara”), turns 41
1971	Anthony Rapp, Actor (“Rent”), turns 41
1973	Seth MacFarlane, Writer, producer (“Family Guy”), turns 39
1977	Jon Heder, Actor (“Napoleon Dynamite”), turns 35
1984	Sasha Cohen, Figure skater, turns 28

 

Historic Birthdays

Mahalia Jackson
10/26/1911 – 1/27/1972 American gospel singer.Go to obituary »

71	Domenico Scarlatti 10/26/1685 – 7/23/1757 Italian composer
34	Georges Jacques Danton 10/26/1759 – 4/5/1794 French Revolutionary leader
?	Henry Deringer 10/26/1786 – 2/28/1868 American gunsmith
59	Charles William Post 10/26/1854 – 5/9/1914 U.S. manufacturer of breakfast cereals
81	Richard Dudley Sears 10/26/1861 – 4/8/1943 American tennis champion
86	John S. Knight 10/26/1894 – 6/16/1981 American journalist and publisher
83	Beryl Markham 10/26/1902 – 8/3/1986 British aviator, horse trainer and breeder, and writer
91	Jack Sharkey 10/26/1902 – 8/17/1994 Hall-of-fame heavyweight boxer
60	Primo Carnera 10/26/1906 – 6/29/1967 Italian-born U.S. heavyweight boxer
77	Charlie Barnet 10/26/1913 – 9/4/1991 American musician
69	Jackie Coogan 10/26/1914 – 3/1/1984 American silent film actor; played “The Kid”
79	Francois Mitterand 10/26/1916 – 1/8/1996 French president (1981-95)
60	Mohammed Reza Pahlavi 10/26/1919 – 7/27/1980 Iranian Shah (1941-79)

 

Updated October 24, 2012, 2:28 pm

On Oct. 25, 1971, the United Nations General Assembly voted to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan.

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On Oct. 25, 1881, Pablo Ruiz Picasso, the Spanish-born painter and sculptor considered the most influential artist of the 20th century, was born. Following his death on April 8, 1973, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1400	Author Geoffrey Chaucer died in London.
1760	Britain’s King George III succeeded his late grandfather, George II.
1854	The English suffered heavy losses against Russia in the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. The battle inspired Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “Charge of the Light Brigade.”
1881	Artist Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain..
1962	Author John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.
1971	The U.N. General Assembly voted to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan.
1983	A U.S.-led force invaded Grenada at the order of President Ronald Reagan, who said the action was needed to protect U.S. citizens there.
1986	The New York Mets won Game 6 of the World Series in the 10th inning when a routine ground ball went through Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner’s legs.
1994	Susan Smith of Union, S.C., claimed that a black carjacker had driven off with her two sons. She later confessed to drowning the children and was convicted of murder.
2001	Microsoft released the Windows XP operating system.
2002	Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., 58, was killed in a plane crash in northern Minnesota.
2003	Florida State’s Bobby Bowden became the winningest coach in major college football history with his 339th victory as the Seminoles beat Wake Forest 48-24.
2005	U.S. military deaths in Iraq reached 2,000.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Singer Katy Perry turns 28 years old today.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

R&B singer Ciara turns 27 years old today.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

1917	Lee MacPhail, Hall of Fame baseball executive, turns 95
1927	Barbara Cook, Singer, actress, turns 85
1928	Marion Ross, Actress (“Happy Days”), turns 84
1940	Bobby Knight, Hall of Fame college basketball coach, turns 72
1941	Anne Tyler, Author, turns 71
1944	Jon Anderson, Rock singer (Yes), turns 68
1948	Dave Cowens, Bsaketball Hall of Famer, turns 64
1957	Nancy Cartwright, Actress (“The Simpsons”), turns 55
1963	Tracy Nelson, Actress (“Father Dowling Mysteries”), turns 49
1970	Adam Goldberg, Actor, turns 42
1971	Pedro Martinez, Baseball player, turns 41
1971	Midori, Violinst, turns 41
1981	Young Rome, R&B singer, turns 31

 

Historic Birthdays

Pablo Ruiz Picasso 10/25/1881 – 4/8/1973 Spanish-born painter and sculptor.Go to obituary »

85	Samuel Heinrich Schwabe 10/25/1789 – 4/11/1875 German astronomer
20	Evariste Galois 10/25/1811 – 5/31/1832 French mathematician
73	Johann Strauss, Jr. 10/25/1825 – 6/3/1899 Austrian composer
36	Georges Bizet 10/25/1838 – 6/3/1875 French composer
79	Henry Norris Russell 10/25/1877 – 2/18/1957 American astronomer
68	Richard Evelyn Byrd 10/25/1888 – 3/11/1957 American naval officer
37	Floyd Bennett 10/25/1890 – 4/25/1928 American aviator
88	Charles Coughlin 10/25/1891 – 10/27/1979 American Roman Catholic priest and radio commentator
95	Henry Steele Commager 10/25/1902 – 3/2/1998 American writer and educator
30	Eddie Lang 10/25/1902 – 3/26/1933 American musician
84	Jack Kent Cooke 10/25/1912 – 4/6/1997 American businessman and sports team owner
83	Minnie Pearl 10/25/1912 – 3/4/1996 American country singer and entertainer