Today LXXXIX

Birthdays:

• Hermannus Contractus, monk, scholar, composer, and music theorist, July 18, 1013 – September 24, 1054


• William Makepeace Thackeray, novelist, famous for his satirical works, notably Vanity Fair, July 18, 1811 – December 24, 1863


• Pauline Garcia-Viardot, mezzo-soprano and composer, July 18, 1821 – May 18, 1910


• Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, physicist, awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on electromagnetic radiation, July 18, 1853 – February 4, 1928


• Chill Theodore Wills, actor, singer, and movie voice of Francis the Mule, July 18, 1903 – December 15, 1978


• Clifford Odets, playwright, screenwriter, socialist, and social protester, July 18, 1906 - August 18, 1963


• Hume Blake Cronyn, OC , LL.D, stage and film actor, husband of the late actress Jessica Tandy, July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003


• Richard Bernard RED Skelton, clown, comedian, star of vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, clubs and casinos, painter, short story writer, and composer, July 18, 1913 – September 17, 1997


• Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela OM, CC, AC, QC, anti-apartheid activist, first democratically-elected President of South Africa, recipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, 1918


• John Herschel Glenn, Jr., astronaut, Marine Corps fighter pilot, ordained Presbyterian elder, corporate executive, and politician, 1921


• Kurt Masur, conductor, Principal Conductor, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra 1967–1972, Principal Conductor, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, 1970–1996, Musical Director, New York Philharmonic 1991–2002, Principal Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra, 2000–present, Principal Conductor, Orchestre National de France, 2002-present, 1927


• Jalacy Hawkins, aka Screamin' Jay Hawkins, singer, famous for such songs as I Put a Spell on You, July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000


• Burt Kwouk, actor, Cato in the Pink Panther films, Lin Futu in the Doctor Who serial Four to Doomsday, 1930


• Roald [Safran] Hoffmann, Ph.D., theoretical chemist, shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kenichi Fukui, awarded the Priestley Medal 1n 1990, 1937/li>
  
• Hunter Stockton Thompson, journalist and author, credited as the creator of gonzo journalism, July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005


• Paul Verhoeven, director, 1938


• James Bruderlin, aka James Brolin, television and film, character actor, producer, and director, 1940


• Joseph Paul JOE Torre, manager of the New York Yankees, former MLB catcher and NL manager, All-Star from 1963 to 1967, Gold Glove Award winner in 1965, 1971 NL Batting Champion; on May 7, 2006, won his 1,000th game as Yankees manager, 1940


• Martha Rose Reeves, R&B and soul singer, lead singer of Martha & the Vandellas, 1941


• Hartmut Michel, biochemist, received the 1988 Nobel Prize for Chemistry jointly with Johann Deisenhofer and Robert Huber, 1948


• Anne-Marie Johnson, actress, 1960


• Elizabeth McGovern, movie and theater actress, 1961


• Michael Lewis MIKE Greenwell, former MLB left fielder, All Star in 1988 and 1989, tit for the cycle on September 14, 1988, hit an inside-the-park grand slam on September 1, 1990, 1963


• Torii Kedar Hunter, MLB outfielder, currently plays for the Minnesota Twins, 5-time Gold Glove award winner, 1975


• Ben M. Sheets, MLB pitcher, currently plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, 1978

RIP:

• Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, artist, September 29, 1571 – July 18, 1610


• Jane Austen, novelist, December 16, 1775 – July 18, 1817


• Thomas Cook, travel agent, November 22, 1808 – July 18, 1892


• Vítězslav Novák, composer and teacher, December 5, 1870 – July 18, 1949


• Dr. Corneille Jean François Heymans, physiologist, awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for demonstrating how blood pressure and oxygen content of the blood are measured by the body and transmitted to the brain, March 28, 1892 – July 18, 1968


• Donnie Ray Moore, MLB relief pitcher; in a 14-season career, Moore posted a 43-40 record with 89 saves, 416 strikeouts, and a 3.67 ERA in 655 innings; All-Star in 1985, February 13, 1954 – July 18, 1989


• James Howard Hatfield, American author, wrote Fortunate Son, a book which alleges that George W. Bush received preferential treatment throughout his life; on July 18, 2001, his body was found by a hotel housekeeper, an apparent suicide; the mysterious events surrounding Hatfield's death, and the focus of his controversial work in life, have led to persistent allegations that his suicide was precipitated by reprisals from those whom he had embarrassed, January 7, 1958 - July 18, 2001


• Victor John Emery, Ph.D., theoretical physicist, specialist on superconductors and superfluidity, 1933 – July 18, 2002