Today CLXIX - RIP Buck O'Neil

Birthdays:

• James McGill, businessman and philanthropist, bequeathed 10,000 pounds to found McGill University, October 6, 1744 – December 19, 1813


• Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, hysicist and meteorologist, October 6, 1803 – April 4, 1879


• Johanna JENNY Maria Lind, singer, October 6, 1820 – November 2, 1887


• Julius Wilhelm Richard Dedekind, mathematician, worked in abstract algebra, algebraic number theory, and the foundations of the real numbers, October 6, 1831 – February 12, 1916


• George Westinghouse, Jr., engineer and entrepreneur and engineer; in 1886, he founded the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, which was renamed the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1889, October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914


• Reginald Aubrey Fessenden, known for his work in early radio; his achievements include: the first audio transmission by radio, in 1900; the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission, in 1906; and the first radio broadcast of entertainment and music, in 1906, October 6, 1866 – July 22, 1932


• Karol Maciej Korwin-Szymanowski, composer and pianist, October 6, 1882 - March 28, 1937


• Edwin Fischer, classical pianist and conductor, October 6, 1886 – January 24, 1960


• Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton, physicist, shared the 1951 Nobel Prize for Physics with Sir John Douglas Cockcroft, October 6, 1903 – June 25, 1995


• Laura Gainor, aka Janet Gaynor, actress, whose performances in Seventh Heaven, Sunrise, and Street Angel earned her the first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1928, October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984


• Jane Alice Peters, aka Carole Lombard, actress, October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942


• Sobolev, Sergei L'vovich, mathematician, working in mathematical analysis and partial differential equations, October 6, 1908 - January 3, 1989


• Thor Heyerdahl, marine biologist with a great interest in anthropology, who became famous for his Kon-Tiki Expedition in which he sailed by raft 4,300 miles from South America to the Tuamotu Islands, October 6, 1914 – April 18, 2002


• Yevgeniy Mikhailovich [E. M.] Landis, mathematician, who worked mainly on partial differential equations, October 6, 1921 – December 12, 1997


• Joseph Filmore JOE Frazier, former MLB outfielder and manager, 1922


• Riccardo Giacconi, astrophysicist, awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, which have led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources, 1931


• Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), holding the title across two reigns for over 12 years in total, as well as the longest world championship reign in professional wrestling history, from May 17, 1963 to January 18, 1971, 1935


• Britt-Marie Eklund, aka Britt Ekland, actress, 1942


• Millicent Dolly May Small, aka Little Millie Small, singer, known for her 1964 hit, My Boy Lollipop, 1942


• Glen DAVID Brin, NASA consultant, physics professor, and science fiction author, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Interstellar War Awards, , 1950


• Manfred Winkelhock, racecar driver, October 6, 1951 - August 12, 1985


• Elisabeth Shue, actress, 1963


• Rubén Angel Sierra García, MLB right fielder/designated hitter, in a 20-season career, 1965


• Troy Shaw, professional snooker player, 1969


• Darren Christopher Oliver, MLB pitcher for the New York Mets, 1970

RIP:

• Francesco Onofrio Manfredini, Baroque composer, violinist, and church musician, June 22, 1684 – October 6, 1762


• Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, poet, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, wrote Idylls of the King, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Lady of Shalott, and Ulysses, among other works, August 6, 1809 – October 6, 1892


• Auguste Marie François Beernaert, statesman, shared the 1909 Nobel Peace Prize with Paul d'Estournelles de Constant, July 26, 1829 – October 6, 1912


• Leevi Antti Madetoja, composer, February 17, 1887 – October 6, 1947


• Otto Fritz Meyerhof, physician and biochemist, awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine, together with Archibald Vivian Hill, for his work on muscle metabolism, April 12, 1884 – October 6, 1951


• Will Keith [W.K.] Kellogg, industrialist in food manufacturing; in 1906 he founded the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company which later became the Kellogg Company, April 7, 1860 – October 6, 1951


• Charles Albert Browning, Jr., aka Tod Browning, film actor and director whose career spanned the silent and talkie eras, known as the director of the 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi, July 12, 1880 - October 5, 1962


• Josephine Edwina HATTIE Jacques, comic actress, February 7, 1922 – October 6, 1980


• Field Marshal Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat, soldier and politician, the third President of Egypt from September 28, 1970, until his assassination on October 6, 1981; shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize with Menachem Begin, December 25, 1918 – October 6, 1981


• Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr., bandleader, arranger, and orchestrator, June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985


• Aleksandr (Alexander) Semenovich Kronrod, mathematician and computer scientist, October 22, 1921 – October 6, 1986


• Bette Davis, film, television, and theatre actress, April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989


• John Samuel JOHNNY Vander Meer, MLB pitcher from 1937 through 1951, a four-time All-Star; he is the only pitcher in major league history to pitch two consecutive no-hitters, November 2, 1914 - October 6, 1997


• Mark Henry Belanger, MLB shortstop who played almost his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles; he won eight Gold Glove Awards between 1969 and 1978, leading the American League in assists and fielding percentage three times each, and retired with the highest career fielding average by an AL shortstop (.977), June 8, 1944 - October 6, 1998


• Robert Otto Marella, aka Gorilla Monsoon, professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker, June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999


• Richard Farnsworth, actor, whose career was mainly in Western films; he began his film career as a stunt man, performing several horse riding stunts in such films as the A Day at the Races at the age of 17; he received his first credit as "Dick Farnsworth" in Texas Across the River in 1966, September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000


• John Jordan BUCK O'Neil, Negro League first baseman and manager, most notably in the Negro American League with the Kansas City Monarchs; he had a career batting average of .288, including four .300-plus seasons at the plate; in 1946, he led the league in hitting with a .353 average, following that in 1947 with a career-best .358 mark; he posted averages of .345 in 1940 and .330 in 1949; he played in four East-West All-Star games and two Negro League World Series; in 1956, he became a scout for the Chicago Cubs, who made him the first black coach in the major leagues 1962; he gained national prominence with his compelling narration of the Negro Leagues as part of Ken Burns' 1994 PBS documentary on baseball, becoming a popular and renowned speaker and interview subject, helping to renew widespread interest in the Negro Leagues, and played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, serving as its honorary board chairman until his death; he was nominated to a special Hall of Fame ballot for Negro League players, managers, and executives in 2006, but failed - by a single vote - to receive the necessary 75% to gain admission, November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006