1746 Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes - Spanish artist (The Caprices, The Family of Charles IV, Majas, The 2nd of May, The 3rd of May) He was known for depicting political tyranny in his works
1820 Anna Sewell - British author (Black Beauty) Appalled by the cruel treatment of horses by some masters during her day, Sewell wrote the book "to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses." The story, narrated by the horse, showed Black Beauty's progression through a series of increasingly cruel owners until the exhausted, ill-treated animal collapses. In the end, the horse is saved by a kind owner. Sewell wrote the book during the last seven years of her life, when she became an invalid confined to her home. The book was published shortly before her death in 1878
1840 Charles Booth - British shipowner and sociologist
1853 Vincent van Gogh - Dutch post- impressionist artist (The Potato Eaters, Sunflowers, The Night Café, The Starry Night)
1891 Arthur Herrington - US engineer and manufacturer who developed the World War II jeep
1900 Ted Heath - Trombone player, bandleader. He played big band concerts every Sunday at the Palladium in the 40s and 50s
1913 Frankie Laine - Singer (That's My Desire, Mule Train, That Lucky Old Sun, The Cry of the Wild Goose, Jezebel, High Noon, Moonlight Gambler, Love is a Golden Ring, I Believe, Rango, Rawhide, Blazing Saddles) and actor (He Laughed Last, Meet Me in Las Vegas, Bring Your Smile Along) He also played Danny Ross in the Perry Mason episode, the Case of the Jaded Joker
1929 Richard Dysart - Actor (LA Law, Wall Street, Back to the Future 3, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, The Day of the Locust, Pale Rider, The Terminal Man, Wall Street)
1930 John Astin - Actor (The Addams Family, The Three Penny Opera, National Lampoon's European Vacation, Evil Roy Slade) He also portrayed Riddler #2 in the Batman episodes Batman's Anniversary and A Riddling Controversy
1937 Warren Beatty - Actor (Bonnie and Clyde, Splendour in the Grass, Reds, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Shampoo, Bugsy, Dick Tracy) He is the husband of Annette Bening and the brother of Shirley MacLaine
1941 Graeme Edge - Rock musician with The Moody Blues (Nights In White Satin, Tuesday Afternoon, I'm Just A Singer In A Rock and Roll Band, Your Wildest Dreams, Go Now)
1942 Kenneth Welsh – Canadian actor (The Day After Tomorrow, Eloise at the Plaza, Edison: The Wizard of Light, Legends of the Fall, Timecop, Twin Peaks, Love and Hate: The Story of Colin and Joanne Thatcher, Dick Francis: Blood Sport, The Aviator)
1942 Bobby (John) Wright - Country artist (Lay a Little Happiness on Me, Here I Go Again), actor (McHale's Navy) He is the son of Johnny Wright of the Johnnie and Jack country duo
1945 Eric Clapton - British rock singer and guitarist with the groups John Mayall's Blues Breakers, Yardbirds and Cream, and as a solo artist (For Your Love, Layla, Tears from Heaven, I Shot the Sheriff, Lay Down Sally, Promises, I Can't Stand It, Wonderful Tonight)
1950 Robbie Coltrane - Scottish actor and comedian (Cracker, Krull, Blackadder's Christmas Carol, Nuns on the Run, Alive and Kicking, Goldeneye, The World is Not Enough, Harry Potter movies, Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen)
1957 Paul Reiser - Actor (Diner, Mad About You, Aliens, Beverly Hills Cop)
1964 Tracy Chapman - Singer (Fast Car, Baby Can I Hold You, I'm Ready, Crossroads)
1968 Céline Dion - Singer (Love Can Move Mountains, Water From The Moon, If You Asked Me To, Did You Give Enough Love, When I Fall In Love, My Heart Will Go On) She is the youngest of 14 children. Her parents operated a small club east of Montreal, where she started performing at age 5 with her entire family. In 1983, she became the first Canadian ever to receive a Gold Record in France. She had a huge career in French before her English language breakthrough, when she recorded the title track for the Disney hit Beauty and the Beast
1979 Norah Jones – Singer (Come Away With Me, The Long Day is Over, The Nearness of You) She is the daughter of musician Ravi Shankar
Died this Day
1840 George Bryan (Beau) Brummell - British dandy who fled to Calais to avoid his debts. He died as a pauper in a lunatic asylum
1949 Friedrich Karl Rudolph Bergius - German research chemist who invented a process to convert coal into oil and wood into sugar
1986 James Cagney, age 86 - Actor (G Men, Frisco Kid, Angels with Dirty Faces, Yankee Doodle Dandy, White Heat, Ragtime) He died at his farm in Stanfordville, NY
2002 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, age 101 - Born Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, the daughter of Lord Glamis, later 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, she was descended from the Royal House of Scotland. In 1923 she married Prince Albert, Duke of York, never expecting to be Queen. She found herself Queen Consort on the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936, when her husband became King George VI. As Queen she played a significant role in the life of the nation, supporting the King and helping to uphold national morale during the difficult years of the Second World War and its aftermath. During the war, when London was being bombed, she refused to leave, choosing to stay with her subjects. It was this inspiring example of courage that caused Hitler to call her the most dangerous woman in Europe. Widowed at the age of 51, she continued to undertake Royal duties for the next fifty years in support of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Her life was devoted to the service of her country and the fulfilment of her Royal duties, with her public appearances continuing right up to the end of her life, even in periods of ill health. The Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep at Royal Lodge, Windsor. The resilience, sense of duty and gracefulness of The Queen Mother in all areas of her life earned her a secure place in the heart of national life
2004 Sir Alistair Cooke, age 95 – British born US based broadcaster, journalist, TV host and narrator (Omnibus, PBS Masterpiece Theatre, Letter from America, The Three Faces of Eve)
On this Day
1644 The French, fighting under Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve defeated a large band of Iroquois on the site of the Place d'Armes. The Iroquois had had killed several Habitant families
1743 Near what is now Pierre, South Dakota, François de Varennes de La Vérendrye buried a lead plaque in the territory of the Little Cherry Indians, claiming the country for France, and explaining their mission to find the western sea
1809 The Labrador Act gave Labrador to Newfoundland. This was later disputed by Quebec and a final decision was not made until 1927. It was in Newfoundland's favour
1822 Florida became a US territory
1842 Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia, first used ether as an anaesthetic during an operation when he removed a cyst from the neck of a patient
1858 Hyman Lipman of Philadelphia patented a pencil with an eraser attached to one end
1867 US Secretary of State William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal roundly ridiculed as Seward's Folly
1870 Texas was readmitted to the Union
1872 The first issue of The Toronto Mail was published. The newspaper is now part of today's Globe and Mail
1885 Cree chief Poundmaker (Pitikwahanapiwiyin) attacked and surrounded Battleford, Saskatchewan, with 200 warriors. Local settlers were forced to seek shelter in the North West Mounted Police barracks for a month. A formidable soldier, Poundmaker had participated in the signing of Treaty 6, and in 1881 had guided the Marquis of Lorne from Battleford to Calgary. But he was distressed at the treatment given the Cree people, and had agitated for fulfilment of the promises made under the Treaty
1901 The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that marriages of Catholics by Protestant clergymen were valid
1909 The Queensboro Bridge, linking the New York boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, opened
1943 The Rogers and Hammerstein show, Oklahoma!, opened on Broadway
1951 The Rogers and Hammerstein show, The King and I, opened on Broadway
1954The Yonge Street subway, Canada's first subway line, was opened by the Toronto Transit Commission
1972 The last daily rum ration to Canadian naval personnel was issued, ending a navy tradition dating back to 1667
1981 US President Ronald Reagan was shot by 25-year-old John Hinckley in Washington. The shooting took place outside the Hilton Hotel just after the President had addressed the Building and Construction Workers Union of the AFL-CIO. Hinckley, armed with a .22 revolver with exploding bullets, was only 10 feet away from Reagan when he began shooting. Hinckley's first shot hit press secretary James Brady in the head, causing brain damage. Other shots wounded a police officer and a Secret Service agent. The final shot hit Reagan's limousine and then ricocheted into the President's chest. Hinckley said he did it to attract the attention of actress Jodie Foster. Hinckley was later found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a mental institution
1985 A three-storey brick hotel in San Antonio, Texas was moved five blocks on 36 dollies. The building weighed more than 1,400 tons
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