Today CXVI

Birthdays:

• Hans Christian Ørsted, physicist and chemist, best known for discovering the relationship between electricity and magnetism known as electromagnetism; made a significant contribution to chemistry by producing metallic aluminium for the first time; the CGS unit of magnetic induction (oersted) is named in honor of his contributions to the field of electromagnetism, August 14, 1777 – March 9, 1851


• Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing, psychiatrist, wrote Psychopathia Sexualis in 1886, a famous study of sexual perversity; well-known for coining the terms sadism and masochism, August 14, 1840 – December 22, 1902


• John Henry DOC Holliday, dentist, gambler, and gunfighter, remembered for his associations with Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887


• Guido Castelnuovo, mathematician, known for his contributions to the field of geometry, published work on algebraic curves, 14 August 14, 1865 – April 27, 1952


• John Galsworthy OM, novelist and playwright, whose works include The Forsyte Saga, awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize for Literature, August 14, 1867 – January 31, 1933


• Clarence Algernon "Cupid" Childs, MLB second baseman during his 13-season career, August 14, 1867 - November 8, 1912


• Francis Ford, film actor, writer, and director, acted in over 400 films; the older brother of film director John Ford, August 14, 1881 - September 5, 1953


• Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer, composer and educator, the inventor of musique concrète, and the first composer to make music using magnetic tape, August 14, 1910 – August 19, 1995


• Paul Dee "Daffy" Dean, MLB right-handed pitcher, from 1934 to 1943, pitched a no-hitter on September 21, 1934; brother of pitcher Jay "Dizzy" Dean, August 14, 1913 – March 17, 1981


• Georges Prêtre, conductor, Principal Conductor, Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 1991, former Music Director of the Paris Opera, 1924


• Russell Wayne Baker, writer, essayist, journalist, and biographer, the host of Masterpiece Theatre from 1992 to 2004; won Pulitzer Prizes for the New York Times "Observer" column, and for his memoir entitled Growing Up, 1925


• René Goscinny, author, editor and humorist, best known for the comic strip Astérix, which he created with illustrator Albert Uderzo, and the comic strip Lucky Luke, August 14, 1926 – November 5, 1977


• Arcangela Felice Assunta Wertmüller von Elgg Spanol von Braueich, aka Lina Wertmüller, film director, the first woman to ever be nominated for the Best Director Oscar, with Seven Beauties, which earned four Academy Award nominations, 1926


• Earl Sidney Weaver, former MLB manager, who spent his entire managerial career with the Baltimore Orioles, managing the club from 1968 to 1982 and 1985 to 1986, between which he served as a color commentator for ABC television; his managerial record is 1,480-1,060 (.583), including five 100-win seasons; inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996, 1930


• Richard Robert Ernst, chemist, awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions towards the development of multidimensional, Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, used in medicine as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 1933


• Dash Crofts, drummer, guitarist, and mandolinist, part of the soft rock duo Seals and Crofts, 1940


• David Van Cortland Crosby, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, known as a founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, as well as for his solo career, 1941


• Stephen Glenn STEVE Martin, comedian, writer, producer, actor, musician, and composer, 1945


• Ernst Wilhelm WIM Wenders, film director, photographer, author, and producer, 1945


• Susan Jane Miller, aka Susan Saint James, actress, known for roles in McMillan and Wife and Kate and Allie, 1946


• Larry Graham, Jr., baritone singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer, bass guitar player in Sly & the Family Stone, and founder and frontman of Graham Central Station, credited with the invention of the slapping technique of bass guitar playing, 1946


• Gary Larson, cartoonist, creator of The Far Side, which ran for fourteen years until his 1995 retirement, 1950


• Carl Lumbly, film, stage, television, and voice actor, played Detective Mark Petrie on Cagney and Lacey; the voice of the Martian Manhunter on Justice League and Justice League Unlimited; appeared as Marcus Dixon on Alias, 1952


• James Roy Horner, composer of orchestral music, 1953


• Mark Steven "The Bird" Fidrych, MLB pitcher, 1976 AL Rookie of the Year, 1976 and 1977 AL All-Star, 1954


• Marcia Gay Harden, actress, won the 2000 Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Pollock, 1959


• Earvin MAGIC Johnson, Jr., former NBA basketball player, 1959


• Brannon Braga, television producer and screenwriter, involved with the Star Trek series since 1990, 1965


• Halle Maria Berry, award-winning actress and former fashion model, won an Emmy in 1999 for her lead role in the HBO movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and the 2002 Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Monster's Ball; played Storm in the X-Men movies, 1966


• Catherine Lisa Bell, model and actress, co-star of JAG from 1997 to 2005, 1968


• Christopher Gorham, actor, with roles in Popular, Odyssey 5, Jake 2.0, Party of Five, Felicity, and Medical Investigation, 1974


• Juan D'Vaughn Pierre, MLB centre fielder, currently playing for the Chicago Cubs, led the National League in stolen bases in 2001 with 46 and in 2003 with 65, 1977


• Milena Markovna MILA Kunis, actress and voice actor, known for her role as Jackie Burkhart on That '70s Show, and as the voice of Meg Griffin on Family Guy, 1983

RIP:

• William Croft, composer and organist, baptized December 30, 1678 - August 14, 1727


• Johann Jakob Reiske, scholar and physician, pioneer in the fields of Arabic and Byzantine philology and Islamic numismatics, December 25, 1716 – August 14, 1774


• Simeon Solomon, Pre-Raphaelite painter, October 9, 1840 – August 14, 1905


• Paul Sabatier, chemist and educator, shared the 1912 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Victor Grignard, November 5, 1854 – August 14, 1941


• Joseph James JOE Kelley, MLB left fielder and manager, in 1894, batted .393 with 111 RBI, 165 runs, and 107 walks, for a .502 on base percentage; inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971, December 9, 1871 – August 14, 1943


• Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht, aka Bertolt Brecht, dramatist, stage director, and poet, worked with composer Kurt Weill, February 10, 1898 – August 14, 1956


• Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie, born Joliot, physicist, married Marie Curie's daughter Irène; soon after their marriage, both changed their surnames to Joliot-Curie; the two of them were awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize for Chemistry; member of the French Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Medicine; named a Commander of the Legion of Honour; awarded the Stalin Peace Prize in 1951 for his work as president of the World Council of Peace; Joliot crater on the Moon is named after him, March 19, 1900 – August 14, 1958


• Oscar Levant, pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor, December 27, 1906 - August 14, 1972


• Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten, aka Dorothy Stratten, model, actress, and Playboy Club Bunny, 1980 Playmate of the Year; murdered by her jealous husband, February 28, 1960 - August 14, 1980


• Karl Böhm, conductor, Principal Conductor, Dresden Staatskapelle, from 1934 to 1943, and Director, Vienna State Opera from 1943 to 1945 and 1954 to 1956, August 28, 1894 – August 14, 1981


• John Boynton Priestley, OM, writer, playwright, and broadcaster, September 13, 1894 - August 14, 1984


• Virgil Lawrence SPUD Davis, MLB catcher and manager, December 20, 1904 - August 14, 1984


• Edith Holm GALE Sondergaard, stage and film actress; in 1936, she won the first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as Faith Paleologue in Anthony Adverse, February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985


• Elias Canetti, novelist, awarded the 1981 Nobel Prize in Literature, July 25, 1905 – August 14, 1994


• Czesław Miłosz, poet and essayist, winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature, June 30, 1911 – August 14, 2004