Today CLXIII

Birthdays:

• Michael Maestlin, astronomer and mathematician, a professor at the University of Tübingen for 47 years; among his students was Johannes Kepler; although he taught the Ptolemaic view of the solar system, he was one of the first to accept and teach the Copernican view; in 1582, he wrote a popular introduction to astronomy, September 30, 1550 - October 20, 1631


• William Wrigley, Jr., industrialist, founder of the Wm. Wrigley, Jr. [chewing gum] Company; he was the owner of the Chicago Cubs - Wrigley Field, the Cubs' ballpark in Chicago, is named for him, September 30, 1861–January 26, 1932


• Jean Baptiste Perrin D.Sc., physical chemist, awarded the 1926 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the discontinuous structure of matter, September 30, 1870 - April 17, 1942


• Johannes HANS Wilhelm Geiger, physicist, co-inventor of the Geiger counter, September 30, 1882 – September 24, 1945


• Lev Milstein, aka Lewis Milestone, motion picture director, known for directing Two Arabian Knights, All Quiet on the Western Front, Of Mice and Men, Ocean's Eleven, and Mutiny on the Bounty; won Academy Awards for Best Director for Two Arabian Knights [1927 - 1928] and All Quiet on the Western Front [1929 - 1930], September 30, 1895 - September 25, 1980


• Sir Nevill Francis Mott, FRS, CH, physicist, shared the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics with Philip W. Anderson and J. H. Van Vleck, September 30, 1905 – August 8, 1996


• David Fiodorovich Oistrakh, violinist; the violin concerto of Aram Khachaturian and the two violin concerti by Dmitri Shostakovichs are dedicated to him, September 30, 1908 – October 24, 1974


• Kenneth Laurence KENNY Baker, singer and actor, who first gained notice as the featured singer on Jack Benny's radio shows during the 1930's, after which he appeared in a dozen or so film musicals, September 30, 1912 – August 10, 1985


• Bill Walsh, movie producer and writer, worked on live-action films for Walt Disney Productions, September 30, 1913 - January 27, 1975


• Bernard BUDDY Rich, jazz drummer and bandleader, who began playing drums in vaudeville when he was 18 months old, billed as Traps the Drum Wonder; at 11, he was performing as a bandleader; in 1937, he started playing jazz with Joe Marsala's group, then played with Bunny Berigan, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Carter, Harry James, Les Brown, Charlie Ventura, and Jazz at the Philharmonic, as well as leading his own band and performing with all-star groups; for most of the period from 1966 until his death, he led a successful big band, September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987


• Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer, aka Deborah Kerr, CBE, originally trained as a ballet dancer, famous as an actress, 1921


• Truman García Capote, writer, whose non-fiction, stories, novels, and plays are recognized literary classics; best known for In Cold Blood and the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's; at least 20 films and TV dramas have been produced from his novels, stories, and screenplays, September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984


• Robin Evan Roberts, former MLB starting pitcher, who played from 1948 to 1966; between 1950 and 1955, he won 20 games each season, leading the NL in victories from 1952-55; he led the league in games started six times and in complete games and innings pitched five times; he once pitched 28 complete games in a row and never walked more than 77 batters in any regular season; he was a seven-time All-Star from 1950 to 1956; he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976, 1926


• Eliezer ELIE Wiesel, novelist, philosopher, humanitarian, political activist, and Holocaust survivor, the author of over 40 books, the most famous of which, Night, is a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust; he was awarded the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize, 1928


• Angeline Brown, aka Angie Dickinson, television and film actress, known for her role as Sgt. Leanne "Pepper" Anderson on Police Woman; she co-starred in Rio Bravo with John Wayne, and in Point Blank with Lee Marvin, and she appeared in both the 1960 and 2001 versions of Ocean's Eleven; she won the Saturn Award in 1981 for her role as Kate Miller in Dressed to Kill, 1931


• John Joseph JOHNNY Podres, former MLB left-handed starting pitcher, who played from 1953 to 1969; in 15-season career, he compiled a 148-116 record with 1435 strikeouts, a 3.68 ERA, and 24 shutouts in 440 games; he won the first ever World Series MVP Award in 1955; he was a three-time All-Star, in 1958, 1960, and 1962, 1932


• John Royce JOHNNY Mathis, popular music singer; when I was a teenager, some people referred to him as Johnny Makeout because of his slow music, which they played at their parties, 1935


• Valentin Silvestrov, composer of classical music, 1937


• Jean-Marie Lehn, chemist, shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Donald Cram and Charles Pedersen, 1939


• Franklin FRANKIE Lymon, singer, the leader of the early rock and roll group The Teenagers; in 1965, the group released their debut single Why Do Fools Fall in Love?, to great success; a Top 40 success at age 13, he was perhaps the first black teen idol; Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000, September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968


• Johann Deisenhofer, biochemist, shared the 1988 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Hartmut Michel and Robert Huber, 1943


• Marilyn McCoo, singer, one of the original members of The Fifth Dimension, part of a successful duo with her husband and ex-Fifth Dimension member Billy Davis, Jr.; she hosted TV's Solid Gold from 1981 to 1984 and from 1986 to 1988, 1943


• Mark Feld, aka Marc Bolan, singer and songwriter for Tyrannosaurus Rex [T. Rex], from 1967 until his death in a car crash, September 30, 1947 – September 16, 1977


• Barry James Marshall, FRS FAA, physician and Professor of Clinical Microbiology, well-known for proving that the bacteria Helicobacter pylori is the cause of most stomach ulcers, reversing decades of medical doctrine which held that ulcers were caused by stress, spicy foods, and too much acid; the H. pylori theory was ridiculed by establishment scientists and doctors, who did not believe that any bacteria could live in the acidic stomach - to force people to pay attention to this theory, Marshall drank a petri-dish of the bacteria and soon developed gastritishe; he shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with his long-time collaborator Dr. Robin Warren, 1951


• Jack Wild, actor, who achieved fame for his roles on both stage and screen productions of the musical Oliver!; for his movie performance as the Artful Dodger, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 16, September 30, 1952 – March 2, 2006


• Stephen Michael [S.M.] Stirling, science fiction and fantasy author, 1953


• Barry William Blenkhorn, aka Barry Williams, actor, known for his role as Greg Brady on TV's The Brady Bunch, 1954


• Francine Joy FRAN Drescher, film and television actress, whose first break was a bit part in the movie Saturday Night Fever; she is best known as Fran Fine on the sitcom The Nanny from 1993 to 1999, 1957


• Eric Stoltz, actor, 1961


• Crystal Bernard, actress and singer, 1961


• Ernesto Giuseppe TREY Anastasio III, guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist for Phish, 1964


• Monica Bellucci, actress and former model, 1964


• Martina Hingis, tennis player, 1980


• Brandon Watson, MLB centre fielder for the Cincinnati Reds, 1981


• Kieran Kyle Culkin, actor, 1982


• Michelle Marsh, model, 1982

RIP:

• Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel, inventor, invented the Diesel engine, March 18, 1858 – September 30, 1913


• James Byron Dean, actor, February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955


• Iris Colleen Summers, aka Mary Ford, singer, one-half of the duo Les Paul and Mary Ford; she teamed up with Les Paul in 1946, and they married in 1949; in 1964, they broke up both personally and professionally, and she went into retirement, July 7, 1924 - September 30, 1977
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• Edgar John Bergen, ventriloquist, father of Candace Bergen, February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978


• Simone-Henriette-Charlotte Kaminker, aka Simone Signoret, actress, won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1959 for Room at the Top, and BAFTA Awards for Best Foreign Actress for Casque d'or in 1953, Les Sorcières de Salem in 1958, and for Room at the Top in 1959, March 25, 1921 - September 30, 1985


• Charles Francis Richter, seismologist, amous as the creator of the Richter magnitude scale, which quantifies the size of earthquakes, April 26, 1900 – April 20, 1985


• Virgil Thomson, composer and music critic for the New York Herald-Tribune from 1940 through 1954, studied with Nadia Boulanger; in the 1930s, he worked as a theatre and film composer; he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1949 with his film score for Louisiana Story, November 25, 1896 - September 30, 1989


• Patrick White, author, whose writings make great use of the stream of consciousness technique; his first book, The Ploughman and Other Poems, was published in 1935; his mature works include twelve novels, two short story collections, plays, and non-fiction; he was awarded the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature, May 28, 1912 – September 30, 1990


• Andre Michael Lwoff, microbiologist, shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, with François Jacob and Jacques Monod, May 8, 1902 – September 30, 1994


• Daniel Raymond DAN Quisenberry, MLB right-handed relief pitcher, and poet; he played primarily for the Kansas City Royals; he led the American League in saves a record five times, in 1980 and from 1982 to 1985; from 1980 to 1985, he was the AL's dominant closer, winning the Rolaids Relief Man Award in all but the strike-shortened 1981 season; he was the first pitcher to record 40 saves in a season, doing so with 45 in 1983, and following with 44 saves in 1984; he retired in 1990 with 244 saves, February 7, 1953 – September 30, 1998


• Michael Relph, film director and producer, February 16, 1915 - September 30, 2004