Today CLXXI

Birthdays:

• Louis Victor Jules Vierne, organist and composer, October 8, 1870 – June 2, 1937


• Otto Heinrich Warburg, physiologist and medical doctor, awarded the 1931 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, October 8, 1883 – August 1, 1970


• Collett Everman Woolman, the founder of Delta Air Lines, October 8, 1889 - September 11, 1966


• Edward Vernon EDDIE Rickenbacker, race car driver, automotive designer, and World War I hero/fighter pilot, October 8, 1890 – July 27, 1973


• Julien Duvivier, film director, October 8, 1896 - October 30, 1967


• Doris Twitchell Allen Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Psychology at the University of Cincinnati and retired clinical psychologist specializing in development and psychodrama, October 8, 1901 – March 7, 2002


• Eivind Groven, microtonal composer and music theorist, October 8, 1901 – February 8, 1977


• Kirk Alyn, actor, best known for being the first actor to play Superman on screen, October 8, 1910 - March 14, 1999


• William David BILLY Conn, professional boxer; he was the World Light-Heavyweight Champion; he had a career record of 63 wins, 11 losses, and 1 draw, with 14 wins by knockout, October 8, 1917 in Pittsburgh - May 29, 1993


• Daniel Edward DANNY Murtaugh, MLB second baseman and manager, October 8, 1917 - December 2, 1976


• Rodney Robert Porter Ph.D., biochemist, shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Gerald M. Edelman for determining the exact chemical structure of an antibody, October 8, 1917 – September 7, 1985


• Jens Christian Skou Ph.D., chemist, shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Paul D. Boyer and John E. Walker, 1918


• Frank Patrick Herbert, science fiction author, best known for the novel Dune, and the five novels in the series that followed it, October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986


• César Milstein Ph.D., scientist, whose major field of research was antibodies; he shared the 1984 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Georges Jean Franz Köhler and Niels K. Jerne, October 8, 1927 – March 24, 2002


• Ray Reardon, retired snooker player, who dominated the sport in the 1970's, winning six World Championships [1970, 1973 to 1976, 1978] in that decade, 1932


• Rona Burstein, aka Rona Barrett, gossip columnist and businesswoman, 1936


• Paul Hogan AM, actor and comedian, 1939


• Fred Cash, soul singer, a member of The Impressions from 1960 until 1983, 1940


• Cornelius Crane CHEVY Chase, comedian, writer, and television and film actor, 1943


• John Cummings, aka Johnny Ramone, guitarist for The Ramones, October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004


• Susan Alexandra SIGOURNEY Weaver, actress, 1949


• Robert Earl KOOL Bell, singer and bassist, a founding member of Kool & the Gang, 1950


• Edward Zwick, film director and producer, 1952


• Stephanie Zimbalist, actress, 1956


• Jeffrey Allen JEFF Lahti, former MLB pitcher, 1956


• Steve Coll, journalist and writer of numerous books, won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction, 1958


• Michael Thomas MIKE Morgan, former MLB right-handed pitcher, 1959


• Priscilla "CeCe" Winans, gospel singer, 1964


• Christopher Joseph Ward, aka C. J. Ramone, musician, best known as the bassist for The Ramones from 1989 to 1996, 1965


• Julia Ann Tavella, actress and feature dancer, 1969


• Matthew Paige MATT Damon, screenwriter and actor, 1970


• Kristanna Sommer Loken, actress and former model, 1979

RIP:

• Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, aka Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville, violinist and composer, December 25, 1711 - October 8, 1772


• François-Adrien Boïeldieu, composer, mainly of operas, December 16, 1775 – October 8, 1834


• Leon Kessling RED Ames, MLB starting pitcher, August 2, 1882 - October 8, 1936


• Joseph Edward JOE Adams, MLB pitcher, appeared in one game for the St. Louis Cardinals, October 28, 1877 – October 8, 1952


• William NIGEL Ernle Bruce, character actor, best known as Dr. Watson in a series of films and a radio series starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, February 4, 1895 – October 8, 1953


• Kathleen Mary Ferrier, contralto, April 22, 1912 – October 8, 1953


• Fernando Alvaro Lamas, actor and director, January 9, 1916 – October 8, 1982


• Philip John Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, politician, diplomat, academic, and amateur athlete who received the 1959 Nobel Peace Prize, November 1, 1889 – October 8, 1982


• Barrie James [B. J.] Wilson, the original drummer for Procol Harum, March 18, 1947 - October 8, 1990


• Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm, aka Willy Brandt, politician, Chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974, received the 1971 Nobel Peace Prize, December 18, 1913 - October 8, 1992