Today CXXIX

Birthdays:

• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, philosopher, introduced for the first time in philosophy the idea that History and the concrete are important in getting out of the circle of the perennial problems of philosophy, August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831


• Giuseppe Peano, mathematician, educator, and author of over 200 books and papers, a founder of mathematical logic and set theory, to which he contributed much notation, August 27, 1858 – April 20, 1932


• Carl Bosch, chemist, engineer, and amateur astronomer, shared the 1931 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Friedrich Bergius for the introduction of high pressure chemistry, August 27, 1874 – April 26, 1940


• Katharine Dexter McCormick, biologist, suffragette, and philanthropist, remembered today for funding most of the research necessary to develop the birth control pill, August 27, 1875 – December 28, 1967


• Rebecca Helferich Clarke Friskin, classical composer and violist, known for her chamber music featuring the viola, August 27, 1886 – October 13, 1979


• Eric Coates, composer and violist, August 27, 1886 – December 21, 1957


• Emmanuel Radnitzky, aka Man Ray, artist, best described as a modernist, a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements; known in the art world for his avant-garde photography, he produced major works in a variety of media, but considered himself a painter, August 27, 1890–November 18, 1976


• Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, aka Cecil Scott [C. S.] Forester, novelist, famous for his tales of adventure with military themes; wrote 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, and The African Queen, later filmed by John Huston, August 27, 1899 – April 2, 1966


• Lester Willis PREZ Young, jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist; in the film 'Round Midnigh, the fictional main character, played by Dexter Gordon, was partly based on him, August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959


• Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr., Ph.D., physicist and educator, shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of the separated oscillatory field method, which had important applications in the construction of atomic clocks, with Hans G. Dehmelt and Wolfgang Paul, 1915


• Margaret Teresa Yvonne Reed, aka Martha Raye, film and television comic actress and singer, best known for the size of her mouth, which appeared enormous in proportion to the rest of her face, which relegated her motion picture work to largely supporting comic parts; had her own TV programme, The Martha Raye Show, from 1954 - 1956; because of her work with the USO during World War II and subsequent wars, she was buried with full military honors in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994


• Harry Lee PEANUTS Lowrey, MLB outfielder in a 13-season career, August 27, 1917 - July 2, 1986


• Leo Penn, actor and director, blacklisted after he attended a pro-union meeting in which support for the Hollywood Ten was voiced; returned to Broadway, where Actors' Equity had refused to go along with the ban; won the Theatre World Award in 1954 for his performance in the play The Girl on the Via Flaminia; worked as a television director; won an Emmy Award in 1973 for an episode of Columbo; father of singer Michael Penn, and actors Sean Penn and the late Chris Penn, August 27, 1921 – September 5, 1998


• Kristen Nygaard, mathematician, computer programming language pioneer, and politician, co-inventor of object-oriented programming and the programming language Simula with Ole-Johan Dahl; together, they developed SIMULA I and SIMULA 67, the first object-oriented programming languages, introducing the concepts upon which all later OOP languages are built, August 27, 1926 - August 10, 2002


• Ira Levin, novelist, playwright, and songwriter, his first novel, A Kiss Before Dying, earned him the 1954 Edgar Award for Best First Novel; his best known novel is Rosemary's Baby, which was made into a film, as were A Kiss Before Dying, The Boys from Brazil, The Stepford Wives, and Sliver, 1929


• Joseph Robert JOE Cunninhgam, former MLB first baseman over a 12-year career, 1931


• Frank Yablans, film producer and screenwriter, executive producer of such films as Congo and Silver Streak, and wrote and produced Mommie Dearest, 1935


• Ernest Gilbert Broglio, former MLB righthanded pitcher from 1959 to 1966, remembered as the other player in the trade that Lou Brock from the Chicago Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals in June, 1964, 1935


• Thomas Adrian TOMMY Sands, pop music singer, actor, and teen idol, 1937


• Warren Harding SONNY Sharrock, jazz guitarist, August 27, 1940 – May 25, 1994


• Daryl Frank Dragon, keyboardist, known as The Captain of the pop duo The Captain & Tennille, with his wife Toni Tennille; was a keyboard player with The Beach Boys in the early 1970's; son of conductor, composer, and arranger Carmen Dragon, 1942


• Susan Ker TUESDAY Weld, child model and actress, made her feature film debut at age thirteen in a bit role in The Wrong Man; played the lead in the film Rock, Rock, Rock, featuring Alan Freed, Chuck Berry, Frankie Lymon, and Johnny Burnette; in 1959, given a role in TV's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, 1943


• Barbara Goldbach, aka Barbara Bach, model and actress, best known as Anya Amasova from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, is married to Ringo Starr, whom she met on the set of the film Caveman, 1947


• Herbert Streicher, aka Harry Reems, theater and adult film actor, 1947


• Charles Fleischer, actor, comedian and voice actor, known as the voices of Roger Rabbit and Benny The Cab in Who Framed Roger Rabbit; had a recurring role on Welcome Back, Kotter [Carvelli] and Laverne & Shirley [Chuck], 1947


• David Gus BUDDY Bell, former MLB third baseman and current manager for the Kansas City Royals, won six Gold Gloves, and made five All-Star Game appearances; son of former player Gus Bell and the father of players David and Mike, 1951


• Paul Rubenfeld, aka Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman, actor, writer, and comedian, started a stage show with the Pee-wee character; his big hit was the Pee-wee's Playhouse TV show; appeared in two movies, Pee-wee's Big Adventure and Big Top Pee-wee; continues to appear in film and on television, but not as Pee-wee, 1952


• Alexander Zivojinovich OC, aka Alex Lifeson, musician, the guitarist for Rush, plays guitar and bass pedals and composes; solo album, Victor, was released in 1996; is a gourmet chef and part owner of the Toronto restaurant The Orbit Room; is a licensed pilot, 1953


• Peter Ebdon, professional snooker player, won the 2002 World Championship after an 18-17 victory against Stephen Hendry, 1970


• James Howard JIM Thome, MLB player, currently the DH for the Chicago White Sox, 1970


• José Vidro, MLB switch-hitting second baseman for the Washington Nationals, 2000, 2002, and 2002 All-Star, 1974


• Sarah Cassandra Chalke, television and movie actress, 1976

RIP:

• Josquin Des Prez, Renaissance composer, c. 1450 to 1455 – August 27, 1521


• Tiziano Vecelli, aka Titian, painter, leader of the 16th-century Venetian school of the Italian Renaissance, c. 1488-90 – August 27, 1576


• Emil Christian Hansen, fermentation physiologist, May 8, 1842 - August 27, 1909


• Herman Potočnik, aka Hermann Noordung, rocket engineer and pioneer of cosmonautics [astronautics], chiefly remembered for his work addressing the long-term habitation of space, December 22, 1892 - August 27, 1929


• Ernest Orlando Lawrence, Ph.D., physicist, known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation in the Manhattan Project, awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the cyclotron and its applications; chemical element number 103 is named Lawrencium in his honor, August 8, 1901 – August 27, 1958


• Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie GRACIE Allen, comedian, famous as the zany partner of husband George Burns in a career spanning vaudeville through television; a gifted dancer, she began performing with her three sisters as The Four Colleens; became a vaudeville performer with her sister Bessie in 1909; teamed up with George Burns in 1922, and married him in 1926; Burns always said, "One day, the audience realised I had a terrific talent. They were right. I did have a terrific talent. And I was married to her for 38 years;" when she died, he missed her terribly, and I miss them both, July 26, 1895 1 - August 27, 1964


• Brian Samuel Epstein, businessman, best known as the manager of The Beatles; in a meeting in December, 1961, it was decided that Epstein would manage them; also managed Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, The Fourmost, The Cyrkle, Cilla Black, and many other artists; socialized with producer George Martin and his future wife, and hosted their 1966 bridal dinner, September 19, 1934 – August 27, 1967


• Bennett Alfred Cerf, publisher and co-founder of Random House, also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, and for his television appearances on What's My Line?, May 25, 1898 - August 27, 1971


• Stephen STEVIE Ray Vaughan, blues guitarist, credited with reviving interest in blues in the 1980's, died in a helicopter crash, October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990


• Brandon Tartikoff, TV and film executive, January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997


• Willie Murphy Crawford, MLB outfielder, played from 1964 to 1977, September 7, 1946 – August 27, 2004