Today CII

Birthdays:

• Gabriel Cramer, mathematician, known for his treatise on algebraic curves, published in 1750, July 31, 1704 - January 4, 1752


• Richard Dixon Oldham, geologist who argued that the Earth must have a molten interior, July 31, 1858 – July 15, 1936


• George Liberace, musician and television performer, elder brother of Liberace, appearing regularly on his brother's TV show as violin accompanist and orchestral arranger, July 31, 1911 - October 16, 1983


• Milton Friedman, economist, known for his work on macroeconomics, microeconomics, economic history, statistics, and for his advocacy of laissez-faire capitalism, awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economics, 1912


• William Clyde BILLY Hitchcock, MLB infielder, coach, manager, and scout, manager of Detroit Tigers, 1960, manager of Baltimore Orioles Manager, 1962 to 1963, manager of Atlanta Braves, 1966 to 1967, July 31, 1916 – April 9, 2006


• William BILL Todman, television producer, teamed up with Mark Goodson in producing game shows for radio; they moved into television, producing some of the longest-running game shows in history, July 31, 1916 - July 29, 1979


• Paul Delos Boyer, biochemist, one of the winners of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1918


• Henry HANK Jones, jazz pianist, brother of trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Elvin Jones, 1918


• Curtis Edward CURT Gowdy, sportscaster, longtime voice of the Boston Red Sox, July 31, 1919 – February 20, 2006


• Primo Levi, chemist and author of memoirs, short stories, poems, and novels, best known for his work on the Holocaust, and in particular his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in Auschwitz, July 31, 1919 – April 11, 1987


• Whitney Moore Young, Jr., civil rights leader, July 31, 1921 – March 11, 1971


• Peter James Henry Solomon Benenson, lawyer and the founder of Amnesty International, serving as president from 1961 to 1966, worked at Bletchley Park from 1941 to 1945, July 31, 1921 – February 25, 2005


• Ahmet Ertegün, executive at Atlantic Records, which he co-founded in the late 1940's; in 1987, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which he founded; in 1993, awarded the Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements, 1923


• Lynne Reid Banks, author of books for children and adults, has written forty books, including the best-selling children's novel The Indian in the Cupboard, 1929


• Kenneth Earl KENNY Burrell, jazz guitarist, Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA, 1931


• Víctor VIC José Davalillo Romero, former MLB outfielder, All-Star in 1965, winner of Gold Glove Award in 1964, 1936


• France Nguyen Vannga, aka France Nuyen, actress, portrayed Suzie Wong in the theatrical production of The World of Suzie Wong in 1958; played Elaan of Troyius in an episode of Star Trek, 1939


• Geraldine Chaplin, actress, first child of Charlie Chaplin and Oona O'Neill, 1944


• Robert Carhart Merton, Ph.D., economist, shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Economics with Myron S. Scholes for their work on stock options, 1944


• Gary Harold Lee Lewis, musician, drummer and vocalist for Gary Lewis and the Playboys, 1945


• Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley, former tennis player, 1951


• Barry Van Dyke, actor, director, and writer, 1951


• Robin McLaurin Williams, comedian and Academy Award-winning television, stage, film, and voice actor, won the 1997 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a psychologist in Good Will Hunting; was Mork in Mork and Mindy, 1951


• Michael Biehn, actor, 1956


• Leon Durham, former MLB first baseman and outfielder, played for 10 seasons; in 1982, won a Silver Slugger Award as an outfielder; 1982 and 1983 All-Star, 1957


• Stanley Jordan, jazz/fusion guitarist, known for his development of the touch technique for playing guitar, a form of tapping, 1959


• Wesley Trent Snipes, actor, martial artist, and producer, known for his role as Blade in the Blade trilogy of movies, 1962


• James Steven Ignatius JIM Corr, MBE, guitarist for the folk-rock band The Corrs, 1964


• Joanne JO [J. K.] Rowling, OBE, writer, author of the Harry Potter books, 1965


• Dean George Cain, actor, known for playing Superman in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, 1966

RIP:

• Franz Liszt, virtuoso pianist and composer, listen to his music!, October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886


• James Travis JIM Reeves, country singer and minor league baseball player, August 20, 1923 – July 31, 1964


• Theodore Shaw TEDDY Wilson, jazz pianist, November 24, 1912 - July 31, 1986


• Poul William Anderson, science fiction author, sixth President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, won the Gandalf Grand Master in 1978, the Hugo Award seven times, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 2000, the Nebula Award three times, the Prometheus Award four times, including Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2001, and the SFWA Grand Master Award in 1997, November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001


• Guido Crepas, aka Guido Crepax, comics artist, July 15, 1933 - July 31, 2003


• Virginia Grey, actress, March 22, 1917 - July 31, 2004