Today LXXIV

Birthdays:

• Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1533–1556, during the reigns of the English kings Henry VIII and Edward VI; credited with writing and compiling the first two Books of Common Prayer which established the basic structure of Anglican liturgy for centuries, and influenced the English language through its phrases and quotations, July 2, 1489 – March 21, 1556


• Christoph Willibald (von) Gluck, composer, July 2, 1714 – November 15, 1787


• Sir Charles Tupper, GCMG, CB, PC, DCL, LL.D, MD, sixth Prime Minister of Canada, July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915


• Sir William Henry Bragg OM, MA, PhD, OKW, physicist and chemist, shared with his son William Lawrence Bragg the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies of X-ray spectra, X-ray diffraction, and of crystal structure, July 2, 1862 – March 10, 1942


• Amalie von Kretschmann, aka Lily Braun, feminist writer, July 2, 1865 - August 8, 1916


• Hermann Hesse, poet, novelist, and painter, received the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature; best known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, July 2, 1877 – August 9, 1962


• Alfons Maria Jakob, neurologist, July 2, 1884 - October 17, 1931


• Sir William Tyrone Guthrie, theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, July 2, 1900 - May 15, 1971


• Hans Albrecht Bethe, physicist, winner of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis, July 2, 1906 – March 6, 2005


• Frederick Fennell, conductor, a leading figure in promoting the wind ensemble as a performing group, July 2, 1914 – December 7, 2004


• Mário Schenberg, electrical engineer, physicist, art critic, and writer, July 2, 1914 - November 10, 1990


• Curtis Wain Gates, aka Ken Curtis, singer and actor, best known as Festus on Gunsmoke, July 2, 1916 - April 28, 1991>/li>
  
• Wisława Szymborska, poet, essayist, and translator, winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1923


• Medgar Wiley Evers, black civil rights activist, murdered because of his activism, July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963


• George Fisher, aka Brock Peters, actor, best known for his role in To Kill a Mockingbird, July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005


• Rex David 'Dave' Thomas, businessman and philanthropist, founder and CEO of Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, July 2, 1932 – January 8, 2002


• Polly Dean Holliday, actress, best known for her role as "Flo" Castleberry on Alice, 1937


• Richard Axel, M.D., scientist, whose work on the olfactory system won him and Linda B. Buck, the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1946


• Ron Silver, movie and television actor, director, and producer, 1946


• Larry David, actor, writer, producer, and film director, 1947


• Roy Bittan, keyboardist, plays the piano, organ, accordion, and synthesizers, known as a member of the E Street Band, 1949


• Patrick Cusack, aka Patrick Cusack, bassist for The Boomtown Rats, 1954


• Mike Hallett, professional snooker player, 1959


• José Canseco Capas, Jr., former MLB outfielder and designated hitter, 1964


• Yancy Butler, TV and movie actress, daughter of Joe Butler, drummer for The Lovin' Spoonful, 1970


• Evelyn Lau, poet and novelist, 1971


• Sean Thomas Casey, MLB first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1999, 2001, and 2004 NL All-Star, 1974


• Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch, singer, songwriter, and guitarist, 1983


• Lindsay Lohan, actress, pop music singer, and former fashion model, 1986

RIP:

• Nostradamus, writer of prophecies, December 14, 1503 – July 2, 1566


• Vincenzo Galilei< lutenist, composer, and music theorist, and the father of astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei, 1520 – July 2, 1591


• Thomas Harriot, astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician; founded the "English school" of algebra; used his knowledge of astronomy/astrology to provide navigational expertise for Sir Walter Raleigh, ca. 1560 – July 2, 1621


• Jean-Jacques Rousseau, philosopher, whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism; he wrote, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains," June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778


• Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, physician, founded homoeopathic medicine, April 10, 1755 - July 2, 1843


• Émile Coué, psychologist and pharmacist, introduced a method of psychotherapy, healing, and self-improvement, based on autosuggestion or self-hypnosis, February 26, 1857 - July 2, 1926


• Amelia Mary Earhart, aviator and early female pilot who mysteriously disappeared in 1937, over the Pacific Ocean during a circumnavigational flight, July 24, 1897 – missing as of July 2, 1937


• Ernest Miller "Papa" Hemingway, novelist, short story writer, and journalist, won the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature; in 1961, he committed suicide, July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961


• Ruth Elizabeth 'Betty' Grable, actress, singer, dancer, and pin-up girl, December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973


• Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, author, April 22, 1899 – July 2, 1977


• Lee Ann Remick, actress, known for roles in 1959's Anatomy of a Murder and 1962's Days of Wine and Roses, December 14, 1935 - July 2, 1991


• James Maitland 'Jimmy' Stewart, Academy Award-winning film and stage actor, and a poet, May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997


• Mario Puzo, author, known for his fictional books about the Mafia, October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999


• John Cullen Murphy, comics artist, best known for his work on Prince Valiant, May 3, 1919 - July 2, 2004


• Ernest Lehman, screenwriter; received 6 Academy Award nominations; in 2001, he received an honorary Oscar for his work, December 8, 1915 - July 2, 2005