History Blog

April 18

Happy Birthday Barbara Hale–92 Hayley Mills–68 James Woods–67 Frederick “Rick” Moranis–61 Eric Roberts–58 Jane Leeves–53 Eric McCormack–51 Conan O’Brien–51 David Tennant(McDonald)–43 Eli Roth–42 Sean Maguire–38 Melissa Joan Hart–38 ; 1906 – a major earthquake struck San Francisco and set off raging fires. More than 3,000 people died.

April 17

Happy Birthday RIP William Holden(Beedle 1918–1981) Donald Kirshner(1934–2011) John “J. P.” Morgan(1837–1913) ; Michael Sembello–60 Shaun Bean–55 Elizabeth “Liz” Phair–47 Jennifer Garner–42 Victoria Adams-Beckham–39 ; 1937 – Daffy Duck’s first appearance, in Porky’s Duck Hunt ; 1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy

April 16

Happy Birthday RIP Sir Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) Enrico “Henry” Mancini(1924–1994) ; Stanley “Bobby” Vinton–79 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar(Ferdinand Alcindor)–67 Ellen Barkin–60 Jonathan Cryer–49 Martin Lawrence–49 Peter Billingsley–43 Lukas Haas–38 ; 1962 – Walter Cronkite succeeded Douglas Edwards as anchorman of “The CBS Evening News.”

April 15

Happy Birthday RIP Elizabeth Montgomery(1933–1995) ; Linda Bloodworth-Thomason–67 Heloise Cruse Evans–63 Emma Thompson–55 Seth Rogen–32 Emma Watson–24 ; 1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive.

April 14

Happy Birthday RIP Arthur John Gielgud (1904–2000) Rodney Steiger(1925–2002) Johanna “Anne” Sullivan Macy(1866–1936) ; Loretta “Lynn” Webb–82 Julie Christie–73 Peter Rose–73 John Shea–65 Brad “Garrett”(Gerstenfeld)–54 Robert Carlyle–53 Michael Anthony Hall–46 Adrien Brody–41 Sarah Michelle Gellar–37 ; 1828 – Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary ; 1865 – President Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. He died the next day.

April 13

Happy Birthday RIP Samuel Beckett(1906–1989) Donald Yarmy(“Don Adams” 1923–2005) ; Lyle Waggoner–79 Paul Sorvino–75 Tony Dow–69 Albert Greene–68 Ronald Perlman–64 William Sadler–64 Robert “Peabo” Bryson–63 Caroline Rhea–50 Richard “Ricky” Schroder–44  ; 1870 – The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded. ; 1902 – James C. Penney opens his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

April 12

Happy Birthday RIP Johnnie Collier(“Ann Miller” 1923–2004) Charles Napier(1936–2011) Herbert Khaury(“Tiny Tim” 1932–1996) Thomas Clancy Jr(1947–2013) ; Herbert Hancock–74 Edward O’Neill–68 David Letterman–67 David Cassidy–64 Thomas Noonan–63 Andrés “Andy” García Menéndez–58 Shannen Doherty–43 Nicholas Brendon Schultz–43 Claire Danes–35 Jennifer Morrison–35 ; 1955 – The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.

April 11

Happy Birthday RIP Oleg Cassini Loiewski(1913–2006) Ethel Kennedy(Skakel)–86 Joel Grey(Katz)–82 Meshach Taylor–67 Michele Scarabelli–59 Lisa Stansfield–48 ; 1976 – The Apple I is created.

April 10

Happy Birthday RIP Joseph Pulitzer(1847–1911) Kevin “Chuck” Connors(1921–1992) Harry Morgan(Bratsberg 1915–2011) ; Carl “Max” von Sydow–85  Michel Shalhoub(عمر الشريف “Omar Sharif”)–81 John Madden–78 Lee Capellaro(“Ving”)–64 Steven Seagal–62 Brian Setzer–55 Katrina Leskanich–54 Charlie Hunnam–34 Michael Pitt–33 Amanda “Mandy” Moore–30 Haley Joel Osment–26 ; 1866 – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh. ; 1912 – The RMS Titanic leaves port in Southampton, England for her only voyage.

April 9

Happy Birthday RIP Avery Schreiber(1935–2002) ; Hugh Hefner–88 Michael Learned–75 Dennis Quaid–60 Marc Jacobs–51 Cynthia Nixon–48 Jennifer Massoli(“Jenna Jameson”)–40 Keshia Knight Pulliam–35 Jonathan Baruchel–32 Leighton Meester–28 Jesse McCartney–27 Kristen Stewart–24 Mary Elle Fanning–16 ; 1867 – Alaska purchase: Passing by a single vote, the United States Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska.