Headline Birthdays for June 24
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and Baron Denbigh 1532-1588
date
and place of birth unknown; younger son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland;
died Sept. 4, 1588 at Cornbury, Oxfordshire; courtier and plotter; on the
death of Edward VI helped his father in the plot to place Lady Jane Grey
upon the throne; jailed in the Tower of London, and condemned to death, but
pardoned after military service in France; 1558 made master of the horse
when Elizabeth I came to the Throne; court favourite and possibly her lover;
failed to win the Queen's hand in marriage but remained her close friend;
1564 Elizabeth offered his hand to Mary Queen of Scots and, to facilitate
this scheme, created him earl of Leicester, but the plan was halted by Mary's
marriage to Lord Darnley; 1585 commanded an expedition to help the United
Provinces of the Netherlands against Spain; 1588 appointed captain general
of the armies on the approach of the Spanish Armada, a patron of the stage,
his company was awarded the first royal patent for actors. [picture: miniature
by Nicholas Hillier]
Saint John of the Cross 1542-1591
born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez
at Fontiveros, Old Castile, Spain; died Dec. 14, 1591 at Ubeda, Andalusia;
Christian mystic, lyric poet, reformer of Spanish monasticism; 1563 became
a Carmelite and took the name of John of St. Matthias; 1567 studied at the
University of Salamanca and became a priest; 1570s wanted to become a Cartusian
monk (who slept in their coffins and never spoke), but St. Teresa of Avila,
who called him a "half-priest", convinced him to remain in the order, and
he cofounded with her the contemplative order of Discalced Carmelites; joined
her as Fray Juan de la Cruz to direct and be confessor of her Convent Monastery
of the Incarnation; 1577 jailed in Toledo for not following Apostolic orders
to return to his old order; best known for his work, The Dark Night of the
Soul, which begins "On a dark night, / inflamed with love's desires, / oh
sweet happiness, / I went forth unnoticed / when my house was already asleep."
[picture: Dali's Christ of St. John of the Cross, 1951 Glasgow Art Gallery]
Éleuthère Irénée Du Pont 1771-1834
born
in France; chemist, industrialist; a student of his father's friend Lavoisier
in Paris, and worked at the French poudrerie d'Essonne making gunpowder;
1800 came to the US with his father Pierre and brother Victor to escape the
French Revolution; 1802 established E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company,
Inc., capitalized at $36,000, with 18 shares at $2000 each, to manufacture
reliable gun and blasting powder; built a black powder plant near Wilmington,
Delaware; 1804 made the first shipments of gunpowder under the DuPont label;
1805 exported first product, to Spain; 1811 Thomas Jefferson wrote du Pont
thanking him for the quality of his powder, which was being used to clear
the land at Monticello; in the 19th century became the world's largest manufacturer
of explosives; in the 20th century, introduced such highly profitable synthetic
materials as nylon, Lucite, Teflon, Orlon, Dacron, Mylar, and neoprene; today
one of the oldest continuously operating industrial enterprises in the world.
[picture: with his teacher, the chemist Lavoisier]
Gustavus Swift 1839-1903
born in Sagamore, Massachusetts; died
in Chicago, Illinois March 29, 1903; butcher meat packer; moved west to Chicago
in the 1870s; founder of the firm Swift & Company; 1878 made an experimental
shipment of meat from Chicago to Boston in warm weather, using the newly
invented refrigerator car; used massive publicity to convince consumers that
refrigerated meat was safe, and built additional packing plants in St. Louis,
Omaha, St. Joseph, St. Paul, and Fort Worth; built a vertically integrated
company by buying, packing, shipping, and marketing large numbers of animals
on an orderly basis; also branched out to make use of animal byproducts by
entering the leather glue, fertilizer, and soap businesses. Swift & Co.
had a marketing division, a meat-packing division, a purchasing or stockyards
division, a shipping division, a sales division, and an advertising division,
each headed by a manager; today's Swift & Company, based in Greeley,
Colorado, has over 4,500 employees and specializes in fresh pork.
Ambrose Bierce 1842-1914
born in Meigs County, Ohio; died possibly
in Mexico in 1914, likely fighting with Pancho Villa in the Battle of Ojinaga
on Jan. 11, 1914; journalist, columnist, satirist; served in the US Civil
War, moved to San Francisco, became editor of the News-Letter, and in 1887,
went to work for William Randloph Hearst, new owner of the San Francisco
Examiner; 1891 published the first of his two war story collections, In the
Midst of Life, followed two years later by Can Such Things Be?; 1906 published
The Devil's Dictionary, a book full of witty definitions such as: "BORE,
noun: a person who talks when you wish him to listen;" or "MIND, noun: A
mysterious form of matter secreted by the brain."
Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum 1850-1916
born near Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland; died at sea off the Orkney Islands
June 5, 1916; soldier, imperial administrator; 1868-70 trained at the Royal
Military Academy, Woolwich; 1871 commissioned in the Royal Engineers; 1884-85
took part in the failed attempt to relieve Charles George Gordon at Khartoum;
1889 helped turn back the last Mahdist invasion of Egypt; 1896 began the
reconquest of Sudan, after building a railway along the Nile; 1898 won the
battle of Omdurman, reoccupied Khartoum and held off a French attempt to
claim part of Sudan (in the Fashoda Incident); 1899 chief of staff to Lord
Roberts in the South African War; 1900 took over from Roberts and slowly
crushed the Boer resistance using fortified blockhouses, concentration camps
for civilians, and the burning of farm lands; 1902 commander in chief of
British forces in India; 1911 British Consul general in Egypt; 1914 recalled
to England as the non-political Secretary for War; carried out a vast expansion
of the army from 20 divisions in 1914 to 70 in 1916; idolized by the British
public, his face, with its prominent walrus moustache was used in a famous
recruiting poster; 1916 the Gallipoli disaster damaged his reputation as
a military strategist; drowned on a mission to Russia when his ship, the
H.M.S. Hampshire, hit a German mine and sank off the Orkney Islands; at the
end, he had grown arrogant, could not see any use in munitions, was against
tanks, and opposed to Welsh and Irish divisions. As Asquith quipped, "Kitchener
is not a great man. He is a great poster."
Victor Francis Hess 1883-1964
born in Waldstein, Austria; died in
Mount Vernon, New York Dec. 17, 1964; physicist; 1936 joint winner, with
Carl D. Anderson of the United States, of the Nobel Prize for Physics for
his discovery of cosmic rays, the high-energy radiation that comes from outer
space.
Jack Dempsey 1895-1983
born William Harrison Dempsey in Manassa,
Colorado; died in New York City May 31, 1983; pugilist known as the Manassa
Mauler; left home to ride the rails and started fighting in mining camps
and barrooms at age 17; 1914 started boxing professionally; July 4, 1919
won the world Heavyweight Boxing championship when he knocked out Jess Willard
in three rounds in Toledo, Ohio; Willard, five inches taller and 58 pounds
heavier, retired at the end of the third round with a broken jaw, two broken
ribs, a closed eye, and a partial loss of hearing; 1926 lost the title to
Gene Tunney; 1927 in the Chicago rematch, he knocked Tunney down in the 7th
round but because he did not go to a neutral corner immediately, the referee
delayed the count; Tunney got up at the count of 9 and went on to win the
bout on a decision; the count of 9 was estimated to be a count of 14; his
1926 match with Tunney had an audience numbering 120,757, receipts of $2.5
million, and was also broadcast on radio; his five biggest bouts brought
in receipts totaling $8,453,319, and his match with Frenchman Georges Carpentier
generated boxing's first million-dollar gate; he once scored knockouts in
14 and 18 seconds; in his 78-bout career, he had 49 knockouts, with 25 of
them in the first round. Dempsey retired after the Tunney fight, lost $3
million in the 1929 Crash, then spent nearly four decades as proprietor of
a popular New York City restaurant.
Quote: After his first loss to Tunney, his second wife, actress Estelle Taylor,
asked what had happened. "Honey, I forgot to duck," Dempsey grinned. [picture: Tunney fight]
Juan Manuel Fangio 1911-
born in Balcarce, near Buenos Aires, Argentina,
son of a stonemason from a family of Italian immigrants; racing car driver;
began career as a riding mechanic, then driver of Fords and Chevys in long
distance South American road races; 1936 ran his first race at age 18 in
a converted Ford taxi; 1940 won the two-week long 10,000 km Grand Premio
del Norte road race; 1948 raced a Maserati, owned by the Argentine Automobile
Club, against European drivers for the first time; won the world driving
championship in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957, driving for Maserati, Mercedes-Benz
and Lancia-Ferrari; took 16 world-championship Grand Prix races, including
four consecutive German title races; always gave 10% of his winnings to his
mechanics; 1958 retired from racing. [picture: in Mercedes, 1957]
Fred Hoyle 1915-
born in Bingley, Yorkshire; mathematician, astronomer,
science fiction writer; astronomy lecturer at Cambridge University; foremost
defender of the steady-state (as opposed to Big Bang) theory of the universe,
thatit is expanding and matter is being continuously created to keep the
mean density of matter in space constant; 1946 proposed that the Sun was
initially a binary star, then one part exploded, leaving only a planet rich
in heavy elements; also proposed that the earliest forms of life were carried
through space on comets and that these primitive forms of life found their
way to Earth - "Thinking evolution occurs by selection is like thinking that
a 747 will result if a hurricane roars through a junkyard." His novels include
The Black Cloud (1957), Ossian's Ride (1959) and October the First Is Too
Late (1966).
Quote: "A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect
has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that
there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one
calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion
almost beyond question."
Other Birthdays
1244 06 24 Hendrik I, the Child, first count of Hessen (1256-1308)
1322 06 24 Johanna, duchess of Brabant/Limburg (Joyful Entry)
1499 06 24 Johannes Brenz, German theologist (Dutch Brentians)
1533 06 24 Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester/English commander-in-chief in Neth
1542 06 24 Juan de la Cruz, [de Yepes], Spanish Carmelet/poet/saint
1546 06 24 Robert Parsons, English jesuit (A Letter Disclosure)
1561 06 24 Rombout Hogerbeets, lawyer/pension minister of Leiden
1572 06 24 Jan Campanus, composer
1590 06 24 Samuel Ampzing, poet (Taelbericht der Neth Spellinge)
1619 06 24 Rijcklof Volckertsz van Goens, governor-general (Neth East Indies)
1669 06 24 Franois van Aerssen, Dutch vice-admiral (Suriname/Algeria)
1746 06 24 Jean Baptiste Rochefort, composer
1747 06 24 Johann Melchior Dreyer, composer
1762 06 24 Johann Paul Wessely, composer
1771 06 24 E I Du Pont, France, chemist/scientist (Du Pont)
1783 06 24 Johann Heinrich von Thnen, economist/geographer/farmer
1797 06 24 John Hughes, archbishop, founded Fordham University in the Bronx
1803 06 24 George James Webb, composer
1804 06 24 Stephan L Endlicher, Austrian priest/botanist
1808 06 24 Anna Caroline Oury, composer
1811 06 24 John Archibald Campbell, Asst Secy War (Confederacy), died in 1889
1813 06 24 Henry Ward Beecher, Litchfield Ct, clergyman/orator (Independent)
1820 06 24 Henry Rootes Jackson, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1898
1822 06 24 Birkett Davenport Fry, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1891
1832 06 24 Edward Harland, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1915
1838 06 24 Gustav von Schmoller, German economist (Lectern Socialism)
1839 06 24 Gustavus Franklin Swift, founded Swift & Co
1840 06 24 Louis Brassin, composer
1842 06 24 Ambrose Bierce, US, satirist (Devil's Dictionary)
1847 06 24 Gervais Bernard Gaston Salvayre, composer
1848 06 24 Brooks Adams, US philosopher (Theory of Social Revolutions)
1850 06 24 Horatio Herbert Kitchener, England, original Order of Merit member
1851 06 24 Peter S Kíyer, Danish painter/sculptor/graphic artist
1852 06 24 Victor Adler, Austrian Foreign minister (1918)
1873 06 24 Thomas Carl Whitmer, composer
1877 06 24 Aleksei M Remizov, Russian writer (Iveren)
1879 06 24 Agrippina J Vaganova, Russian ballet dancer
1888 06 24 Gerrit T Rietveld, Dutch architect (Juliana Hall, Sonsbeek Pavillion)
1891 06 24 Irving Pichel, Pitts PA, actor/director (Mme Butterfly, Oliver Twist)
1895 06 24 Jack Dempsey, Manassa Mauler, heavyweight boxing champion (1919-26)
1899 06 24 Bruce Marshall, writer
1899 06 24 Chief Dan George, actor (Harry & Tonto, Little Big Man. Smith!)
1899 06 24 Magdalene Székely-Lulofs, Dutch writer (Honger tocht)
1900 06 24 Memphis Minnie, rocker
1901 06 24 Harry Partch, Oakland Calif, composer (Oedipus)
1903 06 24 Ernest Leslie Bouts, motor-racing driver
1903 06 24 Phil Harris, Linton In, actor (Anything Goes, Robin Hood)
1904 06 24 Kurt Kusenberg, German writer (Wein Auf Lebenszeit)
1906 06 24 Pierre Fournier, Paris France, violon cellist (Paris Conservatoire)
1907 06 24 Jose de Lima Siquiera, composer
1908 06 24 Hugo Distler, composer
1909 06 24 Milton Katims, NYC, conductor/violist (WOR-NYC)
1909 06 24 William G Penney, British physicist (first British Atom Bomb)
1910 06 24 Denis Dowling, baritone
1911 06 24 Juan Manuel Fangio, racing driver
1912 06 24 Brian Johnston, cricketer (BBC radio commentator & cake connoisseur)
1912 06 24 Norman Cousins, editor (Saturday Review)
1912 06 24 Selwyn Powell, art editor
1913 06 24 John Kubris, Czech resistance fighter
1913 06 24 Max van Praag, Dutch singer
1915 06 24 Charles James Dunn, Japanese scholar
1915 06 24 Fred Hoyle, cosmologist (proposed steady-state universe theory)
1916 06 24 John Ciardi, poet/critic (translated Dante)
1919 06 24 Al Molinaro, Kenosha Wisc, actor (Murray-Odd Couple, Al-Happy Days)
1920 06 24 Bernhard Krol, composer
1920 06 24 James Eric Storrar, fighter Pilot
1921 06 24 Billy Casper, golfer
1922 06 24 Aadje [Alida WM] Lyre, Dutch twin daughter of Prince Hendrik(?)
1922 06 24 Rietje [Maria SC] Lyre, Dutch twin daughter of Prince Hendrik(?)
1922 06 24 Roy Elihu Travis, NYC, composer (Passion of Dedipus)
1923 06 24 Jack Carter, Bkln NY, comedian/actor (Amazing Dobermans, Octagon)
1924 06 24 Ranasinghe Premadasa, president of Sri Lanka (1989-93)
1925 06 24 Len Jagger, English businessman/multi-millionaire
1927 06 24 Joseph Pierce Jr, horse trainer
1930 06 24 Claude Chabrol, Paris France, director (Les Cousins, Ophélia)
1930 06 24 Herbert C Klien, (Rep-D-New Jersey)
1931 06 24 Billy Casper, SD Ca, golfer, 3-time PGA Player of Year ('66, '68, '70)
1932 06 24 David McTaggart, co-founder (Greenpeace)
1934 06 24 Bob Holthus, horse trainer
1935 06 24 Pete Hamill, Brooklyn, NY, journalist (NY Post)
1935 06 24 Terry Riley, Colfax Calif, composer (Spectra)
1938 06 24 Boris Lagutin, USSR, light-middleweight boxer (Olympic-gold-1964, 68)
1938 06 24 Lowell Cross, composer
1938 06 24 Walter Willison, Monterrey Park Calif, actor (McDuff the Talking Dog)
1939 06 24 Henry Lawrence Garett III, Miami Fla, Sect of Navy (1989-92)
1941 06 24 Graham McKenzie, cricketer (prolific Australian pace bowler 1961-71)
1942 06 24 Gerhart Roth, writer
1942 06 24 Michele Lee, LA Calif, actress/singer (Karen-Knots Landing, Love Bug)
1942 06 24 Mick Fleetwood, London, rock drummer (Fleetwood Mac-Go Your Own Way)
1943 06 24 Georg Stanford Brown, Havana Cuba, actor (Terry Webster-Rookies)
1944 06 24 Arthur Brown, England, rocker (Fire) [or May 24]
1944 06 24 Bruce Johnston, singer/bassist (Beachboys-Surfin' Girl) [or Apr 26]
1944 06 24 Chris Wood, rocker (Traffic)
1944 06 24 Jeff Beck, Surrey England, singer/guitarist (Jeff Beck Group)
1945 06 24 Betty Stove, Netherlands, tennis player (US Doubles 1972)
1945 06 24 Colin Blunstone, England, rocker (Zombies-Never Even Thought)
1945 06 24 George E Pataki, Peekskill NY, (Gov-R-NY, 1995- )
1946 06 24 Ellison S Onizuka, Hawaii, Mjr USAF/ast (STS 51C, 51L-Chal disaster)
1946 06 24 Robert Reich, US Sec of Labor (Clinton)
1947 06 24 Marianne Delgorge, singer/actress (Ice Cream Soda)
1947 06 24 Peter Weller, Stevens Point WI, actor (Robocop, Of Unknown Origin)
1948 06 24 Patrick Morza, Morges Switzerland, rock keyboardist (Yes)
1949 06 24 John Illsley, Leicester England, rock bassist (Dire Straits)
1950 06 24 Derrick Duckie Simpson, Kingston Jamaica, rocker (Black Uhuru)
1950 06 24 Léon J P M Frissen, Dutch MP (CDA)
1950 06 24 Mercedes R Lackey, US, sci-fi author (Arrow's Fall, Magic's Pawn)
1950 06 24 Nancy Allen, NYC, actress (Carrie, 1941, Robocop, Dress to Kill)
1951 06 24 Ivar Formo, Norway, 50K cross country skier (Olympic-gold-1976)
1951 06 24 Raelene Boyle, Australia, sprinter (Oly-Silver-72)
1955 06 24 Loren Lloyd Roberts, San Luis Obispo CA, PGA golfer (Nestle-1994, 95)
1957 06 24 Astro, [Terrence Wilson], England, rock vocalist (UB40-Red Red Wine)
1958 06 24 Victor M Gerena, NYC, security guard robbed $7 million (FBI wanted)
1959 06 24 Andy McClusky, rocker (Orchestal Manoeveres in the Dark-Electricity)
1959 06 24 Rob Delahaye, soccer player (MVV)
1960 06 24 Juli Inkster, Santa Cruz CA, LPGA golfer (Dinah Shore-1984, 89)
1960 06 24 Nate Carr, Erie Pa, freestyle wrestler (Olympic-bronze-1988)
1961 06 24 Bernie Nicholls, Haliburton, NHL center (Chicago Blackhawks)
1961 06 24 Curt Smith, Bath England, rock bassist/vocalist (Tears For Fears)
1961 06 24 Jim Laver Carter, Spring Lake NC, PGA golfer (1995 Anheuser-Busch)
1961 06 24 Natalya Shaposhnikova, USSR, sidehorse vaulter (Olympic-gold-1980)
1963 06 24 Duval Love, NFL guard (Arizona Cardinals)
1964 06 24 David Daniel, jockey
1964 06 24 Gary Suter, Madison WI, NHL defenseman (Chicago Blackhawks, USA)
1965 06 24 Danielle Spencer, Bronx, actress (Dee Thomas-What's Happening)
1965 06 24 Patrick Jeffrey, Morristown NJ, diver (Olympics-5th-96)
1965 06 24 Shane Churla, Fernie, NHL right wing (LA Kings, NY Rangers)
1965 06 24 Uwe Krupp, Cologne Ger, NHL defenseman (Colo Avalanche, Germany 98)
1966 06 24 John Randle, Chicoutimi Que, golfer (1992 Canadian Tour Fall-3rd)
1967 06 24 Bill Huard, Welland, NHL left wing (Dallas Stars)
1967 06 24 Crystal Carson, Spaulding NE, actress (Cartel, Julia-General Hospital)
1967 06 24 Jeff Cease, Nashville, guitarist (Black Crowes-Shake Your Money Maker)
1967 06 24 Olaf Hampel, WLAF offensive linebacker (Frankfurt Galaxy, Rhein Fire)
1967 06 24 Sherry Stringfield, Colo Springs Colo, actress (Laura-NYPD Blue, ER)
1969 06 24 Melissa Gurney, Calif, tennis player (Virginia Slims of SD, 1986)
1969 06 24 Sean Maye, 400m/800m runner
1969 06 24 Todd Lewis, Flint Michigan, 10k runner
1970 06 24 Carlos Yancy, NFL cornerback (NE Patriots)
1970 06 24 Glenn Medeiros, singer (Someday Love)
1971 06 24 LaMonte Coleman, NFL fullback (Pitts Steelers)
1972 06 24 Jose Simon, WLAF defensive tackle (Barcelona Dragons)
1972 06 24 Mitch Berger, punter (Minnesota Vikings)
1972 06 24 Shawn King, NFL defensive end (Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers)
1973 06 24 Jere Lehtinen, Espoo Fin, NHL right wing (Dallas Stars, Oly-bronze-98)
1973 06 24 Michael Cheever, corner (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1974 06 24 Adam Treu, guard/tackle (Oakland Raiders)
1974 06 24 Carrie Zarse, Chicago Il, diver (Olympics-96)
1976 06 24 Tyce Routson, Bellevue Wash, diver (Olympics-96)
1977 06 24 Cliff Bayer, NYC, fencer-foil (Olympics-96)
1980 06 24 Kelly Dutra, Miss Rhode Island Teen USA (1996)
1986 06 24 Kaitlin Cullum, LA Calif, actress (Libby Kelly-Grace Under Fire)
1993 06 24 Primera, an Andean condor, hatched at Cleve Zoo, 5th born in captivity
«« | Calendar | »» | Milestones |
|
date
and place of birth unknown; younger son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland;
died Sept. 4, 1588 at Cornbury, Oxfordshire; courtier and plotter; on the
death of Edward VI helped his father in the plot to place Lady Jane Grey
upon the throne; jailed in the Tower of London, and condemned to death, but
pardoned after military service in France; 1558 made master of the horse
when Elizabeth I came to the Throne; court favourite and possibly her lover;
failed to win the Queen's hand in marriage but remained her close friend;
1564 Elizabeth offered his hand to Mary Queen of Scots and, to facilitate
this scheme, created him earl of Leicester, but the plan was halted by Mary's
marriage to Lord Darnley; 1585 commanded an expedition to help the United
Provinces of the Netherlands against Spain; 1588 appointed captain general
of the armies on the approach of the Spanish Armada, a patron of the stage,
his company was awarded the first royal patent for actors. [picture: miniature
by Nicholas Hillier]
born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez
at Fontiveros, Old Castile, Spain; died Dec. 14, 1591 at Ubeda, Andalusia;
Christian mystic, lyric poet, reformer of Spanish monasticism; 1563 became
a Carmelite and took the name of John of St. Matthias; 1567 studied at the
University of Salamanca and became a priest; 1570s wanted to become a Cartusian
monk (who slept in their coffins and never spoke), but St. Teresa of Avila,
who called him a "half-priest", convinced him to remain in the order, and
he cofounded with her the contemplative order of Discalced Carmelites; joined
her as Fray Juan de la Cruz to direct and be confessor of her Convent Monastery
of the Incarnation; 1577 jailed in Toledo for not following Apostolic orders
to return to his old order; best known for his work, The Dark Night of the
Soul, which begins "On a dark night, / inflamed with love's desires, / oh
sweet happiness, / I went forth unnoticed / when my house was already asleep."
born
in France; chemist, industrialist; a student of his father's friend Lavoisier
in Paris, and worked at the French poudrerie d'Essonne making gunpowder;
1800 came to the US with his father Pierre and brother Victor to escape the
French Revolution; 1802 established E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company,
Inc., capitalized at $36,000, with 18 shares at $2000 each, to manufacture
reliable gun and blasting powder; built a black powder plant near Wilmington,
Delaware; 1804 made the first shipments of gunpowder under the DuPont label;
1805 exported first product, to Spain; 1811 Thomas Jefferson wrote du Pont
thanking him for the quality of his powder, which was being used to clear
the land at Monticello; in the 19th century became the world's largest manufacturer
of explosives; in the 20th century, introduced such highly profitable synthetic
materials as nylon, Lucite, Teflon, Orlon, Dacron, Mylar, and neoprene; today
one of the oldest continuously operating industrial enterprises in the world.
born in Meigs County, Ohio; died possibly
in Mexico in 1914, likely fighting with Pancho Villa in the Battle of Ojinaga
on Jan. 11, 1914; journalist, columnist, satirist; served in the US Civil
War, moved to San Francisco, became editor of the News-Letter, and in 1887,
went to work for William Randloph Hearst, new owner of the San Francisco
Examiner; 1891 published the first of his two war story collections, In the
Midst of Life, followed two years later by Can Such Things Be?; 1906 published
The Devil's Dictionary, a book full of witty definitions such as: "BORE,
noun: a person who talks when you wish him to listen;" or "MIND, noun: A
mysterious form of matter secreted by the brain."
born near Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland; died at sea off the Orkney Islands
June 5, 1916; soldier, imperial administrator; 1868-70 trained at the Royal
Military Academy, Woolwich; 1871 commissioned in the Royal Engineers; 1884-85
took part in the failed attempt to relieve Charles George Gordon at Khartoum;
1889 helped turn back the last Mahdist invasion of Egypt; 1896 began the
reconquest of Sudan, after building a railway along the Nile; 1898 won the
battle of Omdurman, reoccupied Khartoum and held off a French attempt to
claim part of Sudan (in the Fashoda Incident); 1899 chief of staff to Lord
Roberts in the South African War; 1900 took over from Roberts and slowly
crushed the Boer resistance using fortified blockhouses, concentration camps
for civilians, and the burning of farm lands; 1902 commander in chief of
British forces in India; 1911 British Consul general in Egypt; 1914 recalled
to England as the non-political Secretary for War; carried out a vast expansion
of the army from 20 divisions in 1914 to 70 in 1916; idolized by the British
public, his face, with its prominent walrus moustache was used in a famous
recruiting poster; 1916 the Gallipoli disaster damaged his reputation as
a military strategist; drowned on a mission to Russia when his ship, the
H.M.S. Hampshire, hit a German mine and sank off the Orkney Islands; at the
end, he had grown arrogant, could not see any use in munitions, was against
tanks, and opposed to Welsh and Irish divisions. As Asquith quipped, "Kitchener
is not a great man. He is a great poster."
born William Harrison Dempsey in Manassa,
Colorado; died in New York City May 31, 1983; pugilist known as the Manassa
Mauler; left home to ride the rails and started fighting in mining camps
and barrooms at age 17; 1914 started boxing professionally; July 4, 1919
won the world Heavyweight Boxing championship when he knocked out Jess Willard
in three rounds in Toledo, Ohio; Willard, five inches taller and 58 pounds
heavier, retired at the end of the third round with a broken jaw, two broken
ribs, a closed eye, and a partial loss of hearing; 1926 lost the title to
Gene Tunney; 1927 in the Chicago rematch, he knocked Tunney down in the 7th
round but because he did not go to a neutral corner immediately, the referee
delayed the count; Tunney got up at the count of 9 and went on to win the
bout on a decision; the count of 9 was estimated to be a count of 14; his
1926 match with Tunney had an audience numbering 120,757, receipts of $2.5
million, and was also broadcast on radio; his five biggest bouts brought
in receipts totaling $8,453,319, and his match with Frenchman Georges Carpentier
generated boxing's first million-dollar gate; he once scored knockouts in
14 and 18 seconds; in his 78-bout career, he had 49 knockouts, with 25 of
them in the first round. Dempsey retired after the Tunney fight, lost $3
million in the 1929 Crash, then spent nearly four decades as proprietor of
a popular New York City restaurant.
born in Bingley, Yorkshire; mathematician, astronomer,
science fiction writer; astronomy lecturer at Cambridge University; foremost
defender of the steady-state (as opposed to Big Bang) theory of the universe,
thatit is expanding and matter is being continuously created to keep the
mean density of matter in space constant; 1946 proposed that the Sun was
initially a binary star, then one part exploded, leaving only a planet rich
in heavy elements; also proposed that the earliest forms of life were carried
through space on comets and that these primitive forms of life found their
way to Earth - "Thinking evolution occurs by selection is like thinking that
a 747 will result if a hurricane roars through a junkyard." His novels include
The Black Cloud (1957), Ossian's Ride (1959) and October the First Is Too
Late (1966).