Today LXXIX - RIP Syd Barrett

Birthdays:

• Giuseppe Piazzi, astronomer, discovered asteroid Ceres, July 7, 1746 - July 22, 1826


• Joseph Marie Jacquard, weaver and inventor, who improved on the original punched card design of Jacques de Vaucanson's loom to invent the Jacquard loom, July 7, 1752 – August 7, 1834


• Camillo Golgi, physician and scientist, together with Santiago Ramón y Cajal, received the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his studies of the structure of the nervous system, July 7, 1843 – January 21, 1926


• Gustav Mahler, composer and conductor, Director of Vienna State Opera from 1897 to 1907, Principal Conductor of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from 1898 to 1901, Musical Director of New York Philharmonic from 1909 to 1911, July 7, 1860 – May 18, 1911


• Marc Chagall, painter, July 7, 1887 – March 28, 1985


• George Dewey Cukor, film director, July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983


• Vittorio de Sica, film director and actor, July 7, 1901 – November 13, 1974


• Sam Katzman, produced movies, including the 1948 fifteen-episode Superman serial, July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973


• Theodore Roosevelt "Double Duty" Radcliffe, professional baseball player, July 7, 1902 – August 11, 2005


• William (Vilim) Feller, mathematician, specializing in probability theory, July 7, 1906 - January 14, 1970


• Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige, right-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971, July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982


• Robert Anson Heinlein, science fiction author, won four Hugo Awards for his novels following the year of publication; In addition, fifty years after publication, three of Heinlein's works were awarded "Retro Hugos" — awards given retrospectively for years in which no Hugos had been awarded. He also won the first Grand Master Award given by the Science Fiction Writers of America for lifetime achievement, July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988


• Gian Carlo Menotti, composer and librettist, 1911


• Yul Borisovich Brynner, Academy Award-winningmovie and stage actor, July 7, 1915 – October 10, 1985


• John Devon Roland 'Jon' Pertwee, actor [The Third Doctor], July 7, 1919 – May 20, 1996


• Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen, pop and jazz trumpeter and bandleader, led the Tonight Show Band in the Johnny Carson era, 1927


• Josef Erich Zawinul, jazz keyboardist and composer, founding member of Weather Report, 1932


• Richard Starkey, MBE, aka Ringo Starr, Beatle!, 1940


• Rob Townsend, rock musician, drummer for Family, 1947


• Shelley Duvall, film and television actress, 1949


• Cree Summer Franks, actress and voice actor, 1969


• Michelle Wing Kwan, figure skater, 1980

RIP:

• Johanna Louise Heusser, aka Johanna Spyri, author of children's stories, best known for Heidi, June 12, 1827 - July 7, 1901


• Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL, author, best known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes; a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction, May 22, 1859 – July 7, 1930


• Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson, jazz trumpet player in the early years of the 20th century who enjoyed a revived career in the 1940's, c. 1879 or 1889 – July 7, 1949


• Ub Iwerks, animator and cartoonist, famous for his work for Walt Disney, March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971


• Constance Frances Marie Ockleman, aka Veronica Lake, film actress and pin-up model, November 14, 1919 - July 7, 1973


• Dore Schary, motion picture writer, director, and producer, August 31, 1905 - July 7, 1980


• William Lawrence 'Bill' Cullen, radio and television personality, best known as host and panelist on game shows, February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990


• Fred Neil, blues and folk singer and songwriter, March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001


• Izhak "Ziko" Graziani, conductor, 1924 - July 7, 2003


• Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and artist, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, and solo musical artist, January 6, 1946 – July 7, 2006