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Byzantine emperor Manuel II died on this day 597 years ago, aged 75. In 1390, Manuel was forced to become an honorary hostage to the Ottomans, and had to participate in their campaign to conquer the Byzantine's last Anatolian enclave. When his father, John V, died the following year, Manuel escaped and rushed to Constantinople to crown himself. This resulted in sultan Bayezid I blockading the city beginning in 1394, lasting until 1402 when they had to retreat to fight the Turco-Mongol leader Timur. In 1399, Manuel began a tour of Europe, visiting Italy, France, and England- he was the only Byzantine Emperor to visit England. During this time, John VII was left in charge of the empire, seizing a small amount of land back from the Ottomans. Manuel returned in 1403, just in time for the children of Sultan Bayezid to begin a civil war against each other- Manuel caused Byzantine-Ottoman relations to improve by befriending the new sultan, Mehmed I- however, things turned sour once he got involved with their next succession crisis in 1422, with sultan Murad II sieging Constantinople. Manuel was soon debilitated by a stroke, and lived his last few years as a monk under the name Brother Matthew. His son, John VIII, took the throne once he died.

Jon Lovitz is 65.

Tammy Faye Bakker died on this day 15 years ago, aged 65. Tammy married televangelist Jim Bakker in 1961, with their show The PTL Club debuting in 1974. During the show's run, Tammy was known for her more tolerant views of homosexuals, and interviewed a gay minister diagnosed with AIDS in one episode- she would continue to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community until her death. The pair managed to gain hundreds of millions of dollars in donations, and in 1978, opened Heritage USA- a Christian theme park that rivalled Disney theme parks in attendance. Things were looking bright- until 1987. That year, Jerry Falwell bought out the PTL Club from the Bakkers, and a rape accusation was made against Jim. In 1989, Jim would soon be convicted for fraud, and Heritage USA soon closed in part from damage from Hurricane Hugo. In 1992, Tammy divorced Jim while he was imprisoned. Tammy married Roe Messner in 1993- and like Jim, was also convicted for fraud, in 1996. That year, she was diagnosed with colon cancer, which went into remission. In 2004, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, which also went into remission- it returned by 2005. At this time, she was a regular guest on The Larry King Show, where she discussed her ongoing battle. By the end of 2006, Tammy had difficulty swallowing and was soon put into hospice care, which caused her appearance on the 2007 list at #19. Tammy's final public appearance was on The Larry King Show on July 18 as a final goodbye for her fans- this above picture of her was from the program, and she weighed only 65 pounds (29.5 kilograms).

Snooker champion Rex Williams, #24 on the 1990 list, is 89.

Syngman Rhee died on this day 57 years ago, aged 90. Rhee first entered politics by protesting against the pro-Japanese emperor, and was imprisoned for plotting against him in 1899. He attempted to escape, and was sentenced to life imprisonment- he was released once the Russo-Japanese War began, thanks to the help of Korean reformist leaders. In 1905, he emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Hawaii and advocating for re-independence from Japan. In 1920, Korea's government-in-exile located in Shanghai appointed him as Acting President, and he moved there. Rhee was impeached and removed from office in 1925 for alleged misuse of power, and he returned to the US and moved to Washington, DC in 1939. Korea was freed from Japan once they were defeated in World War II, and Rhee was elected the country's first president in 1948. Rhee soon began to crack down on communists, and in some instances, assassinated some of their politicians. This caused Kim Il-sung, the premier of the Soviet-controlled northern partition, to launch an invasion in 1950, triggering the Korean War. Once the North Koreans occupied Seoul, Rhee relocated his government to Busan. American involvement chased the invaders back to North Korea, and negotiated a ceasefire (that is still ongoing) in 1953, which Rhee objected to. Rhee was a corrupt president who embezzled money from the public, and desperate to cling to power, ordered the arrest of opposition politicians after they vetoed an amendment that would cause the upcoming election to be decided by popular vote. Rhee received 74% of the vote in the 1952 election, and later amended the constitution to allow him to serve unlimited terms, being re-elected in a landslide in 1956 and 1960 (he got 100% of the vote in the latter due to his main opponent's death before the election). When Rhee's hand-picked successor won the Vice Presidency in a landslide, the opposition party claimed that the vice presidential election was rigged, leading to riots. Rhee fled to the United States as protestors stormed his presidential house.

Brian May is 75.

John Paul Jones died on this day 230 years ago, aged 45. Jones was born in Scotland as just "John Paul"- he added a second surname later in life. John Paul Jones emigrated to the Thirteen Colonies in 1774, and once the American Revolution began, Jones was appointed as first lieutenant on the USS Alfred. Jones became the captain of the USS Ranger in 1777, and then sailed to France on a diplomatic mission. From there, he attacked British merchant ships in the Irish Sea, and after a four-day chase, captured the HMS Drake. This led to the British considering him a pirate. In 1779, he became captain of the USS Bonhomme Richard- which was sunk in the Battle of Flamborough Head in September of that year. Jones survived thanks to a reinforcement ship arriving, forcing the captain of HMS Serapis to surrender. After the war ended, Jones was assigned to Europe to collect prize money. Once this mission was over, Jones was effectively unemployed. He decided to join the Russian Navy, to Catherine the Great's delight. Jones served on the warship Vladimir during the Russo-Turkish War- however, other naval captains disliked him due to either jealousy, or that they fought against him in the American Revolution (several ex-British naval officers also worked for Russia). This led to a court-martial following an accusation of child molestation, to which the French envoy concluded that Jones was accused by the prince of Nassau-Siegen for his own political gain- however, Jones admitted that he had "often frolicked with her for a small cash payment". Jones left Russia in 1788, and eventually settled in Paris. Jones died of inflammation of one of his kidneys. Four years after his death, the new Napoleonic government sold the cemetery property. His remains would not be rediscovered until 1905, and his corpse was returned to the United States. Jones was posthumously pardoned by the English town of Whitehaven in 1999, 221 years after his raid on it.

Dion DiMucci is 83.

Walter Cronkite died on this day 13 years ago, aged 92. Cronkite got his start in reporting during World War II, and even saw combat as a journalist by flying a bomber over Germany. Following the war, he delivered news about the Nuremberg trials. In 1950, Cronkite joined CBS's television division, and delivered coverage from both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. He would host the TV version of You Are There, a recreation of historical events if live news coverage existed during their respective times. These included reporters in modern-day clothing interviewing actors dressed as historical figures related to the event. In 1962, Cronkite became the host of CBS's nightly news block, which was extended from 15 to 30 minutes the following year. Cronkite would interrupt the Thanksgiving special of As The World Turns to bring live coverage of the Kennedy assassination- the full footage is below. Following this, CBS Evening News began to compete with the then-leading news program at the time, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, and surpassed them in ratings for the first time in 1967. Cronkite would cover more historic events such as the US involvement in the Vietnam War and the Apollo 11 moon landing, and was the person who introduced the Beatles to an American audience (via a four-minute news story) and the first person to announce the death of former president Lyndon B. Johnson. CBS had a mandatory retirement age of 65, so Cronkite was forced to retire in 1981 (he was replaced by then 49-year old Dan Rather as the lead newscaster). Cronkite would remain in journalism until his death, and from 1981 to 2002, he hosted the Kennedy Center Honors. Cronkite prematurely made his first DeathList appearance in 1992, and was chosen again in 2003 and 2005- he became 2009's fifth death of the year. And that's the way it is, July 17, 2022.

Donald Sutherland is 87.

Biz Markie died on this day a year ago, aged 57. Biz's rap name originated from the first hip-hop record he listened to- one of the rappers' names was Busy Bee Starsky, and Biz started going by Bizzy B Markie- he later truncated it. His first album was released in 1988, and it wasn't until his second album, The Biz Never Sleeps, that Biz hit the mainstream with his single "Just a Friend", which peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1991, Markie was sued by Gilbert O'Sullivan for sampling "Alone Again (Naturally)" in one of his songs, "Alone Again", without his permission. The court ruled in favor of O'Sullivan, and required that samples in music going forward must be approved by the copyright holders. Throughout the '90s, Biz would collaborate heavily with the Beastie Boys, and even got some vocals on some of their tracks (this includes the remastered version of their hit single "Intergalactic"). Markie would also make screen appearances. He cameoed in 2002's Men in Black II as an alien version of himself whose language consisted entirely of beatboxing. Starting in 2007, Biz would host a segment on the Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba! called Biz's Beat of the Day, encouraging the viewer to repeat after him. Markie would also endeavor into voice acting, by voicing one-off characters in Adventure Time and SpongeBob SquarePants. Markie suffered from type 2 diabetes, which left him in a coma in 2020 that caused a stroke. Rumors of his death circulated online two weeks before his actual death.

Stewart Copeland is 70.

Vladimir the Great died on this day 1007 years ago, aged 57. Vladimir (also spelt Volodymyr) was named Prince of Novgorod by his father Sviatoslav I, whose death in 972 led to a fratricidal war between him and his brothers. His brother Yaropolk I, ruler of Kyiv, killed his brother Oleg, the ruler of the Drevlians, and Vladimir went to Norway for help. He returned with an army and ended up negotiating with Yaropolk- who was killed in an ambush. Vladimir merged Novgorod into Kyiv by 980, and officially became its Grand Prince. Vladimir would expand his empire westward into modern-day Poland and eastward to the Volga River. Kyiv's inhabitants followed the Slavic religion at the time- Vladimir had 800 concubines, and built a pantheon dedicated to their deities. Christians who had moved from the Byzantine Empire from the south and southwest were persecuted by Kyivan citizens, and following the murder of two of them, Vladimir began to reconsider his faith. He sent envoys to study nearby religions beginning in 987. Several religious officials came to Vladimir, and he began to eliminate options he disliked. He ruled out Islam, as he did not want to be circumcised, nor did he want to give up pork and alcohol. Judaism was also therefore ruled out (minus the alcohol), also for their loss of Jerusalem to the Romans made him feel as if they had been abandoned by their God. It was down to the two factions of Christianity- Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, and after hearing about how beautiful the Hagia Sofia was from his envoys, chose the latter. Vladimir was baptized, and soon married Anna, the daughter of then-Byzantine Emperor Basil II (they may have had at least three children out of wedlock), and introduced the Byzantine code of law to his kingdom- with a few changes, such as the abolishment of the death penalty. For his conversion, he was made into a saint.

Jesse Ventura is 71.

Richard McDonald died on this day 24 years ago, aged 89. His father, Patrick, opened a food stand in Monrovia, California in 1937. In 1948, he and his brother Maurice relocated their father's business to San Bernardino, acquiring a building and reducing the menu options. This restaurant was the first of the most famous fast food chain ever- it should be obvious what it is given the last name. McDonald's opened a second location in Arizona in 1953. The following year, they hired milkshake mixer salesman Ray Kroc as their franchising agent. Kroc grew frustrated that the McDonalds wanted to keep operating a small number of locations, and bought the company from the McDonalds in 1961. Richard and his brother Maurice received at least $1 million from the sale. In 1984, Richard was served the 50 billionth McDonald's burger made.

Former prime minister of Japan Yoshiro Mori is 85.

Pope John III died on this day 1448 years ago, aged 54. Born with the name Catelinus, John was elected to the papacy in 561 after the death of Pope Pelagius I. Four years into his papacy, Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great died. His successor, Justin II, stopped paying tributes to the empire's neighbors, causing a war to break out between the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires. Rome, and therefore John, were left vulnerable to attacks as Justin focused on fighting the Sassanids- beginning in 568, the Lombards began to invade Italy, and besieged Rome several times (they failed to capture it). John went to Naples to retrieve the general Narses for help- Narses was disliked due to over-taxation, and his hatred shed onto John for bringing him back. This hatred was so immense that John now had to perform his papal duties just outside the city limits. John died after a thirteen-year reign and was succeeded by Pope Benedict I.

This longtime announcer of Jeopardy is either 94 or 98 today- the sources vary. "Who is Johnny Gilbert?"

Jean Picard died on this day 340 years ago, aged 61. Picard was a Jesuit priest who was the first person to measure the size of the Earth to near-accuracy. From 1669 to 1670, Picard used arc measurements to calculate that one degree of latitude was equivalent to 110.46 kilometers, resulting in the Earth's radius to be 6328.9 km- it is 6371 km in actuality. Picard was also an astronomer, and he visited Tycho Brahe's observatory to corroborate his proof. Picard kept in touch with other great scientists of his day, such as Isaac Newton, Christiaan Huygens, and Giovanni Cassini- the latter of which he considered his main competitor in the field. And before you ask, no, Jean-Luc Picard is not named after him- but a crater on the Moon is.

Wilko Johnson, #1 on the list in 2014, is 75.

Lady Bird Johnson died on this day 15 years ago, aged 94. Her name wasn't really Lady Bird- it was actually Claudia. She got her nickname from her family's maid, who called her as "pretty as a ladybird". Lady Bird married Lyndon Johnson in 1934- it should be noted that her two kids also shared the initials "LBJ"- Lynda Bird Johnson and Luci Baines Johnson. While Lyndon was climbing the political ladder, Lady Bird bought a radio station, and eventually expanded to television- Lady Bird became the first millionaire wife of a president before they became president, and would stay involved with her holdings company until the 1990s. Once LBJ became vice president, Lady Bird would often act as a substitute for Jackie Kennedy at events when she wasn't available. Following the JFK assassination, Lyndon was sworn in, and Lady Bird became First Lady. Her primary goal was the beautification of the country, which included planting plenty of trees, and the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, cleaning up the nation's interstate. Lady Bird remained active following Lyndon leaving office in 1969 (and his death in 1973). She became involved in feminist events such as the 1977 National Women's Conference, and was a speaker with fellow First Ladies Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, and Rosalynn Carter in 1988 discussing the impact that the US Constitution had on women, and promote awareness of sex-based inequality. Lady Bird's health began to fail following a stroke in 1993, and her eyesight went soon after. A second stroke in 2002 left her wheelchair-bound and unable to speak coherently anymore. A weeklong hospitalization for bronchitis in 2005 was likely the cause of the DeathList committee selecting her to be on the list in 2006, and again in 2007, when she died. At the time of her death, Lady Bird was the second-longest-lived First Lady after Bess Truman (Rosalynn Carter and Nancy Reagan have since surpassed her age, but Bess Truman retains the record to this day).

Mindy Sterling is 69. "SEND IN THE CLONE CAKE!"

Mel Blanc, one of the most famous voice actors of all time, died on this day 33 years ago, aged 81. Blanc began his career by voice acting on radio shows, which included The Jack Benny Show. Blanc joined Schlesinger Productions in 1936, and the following year, replaced Joe Dougherty as the voice of Porky Pig due to their stutter- Blanc would retain Dougherty's stutter as part of Porky's character. Blanc would also voice Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, who would soon become the mascots of the company. During World War II, Blanc would provide the voice of the character Private Snafu, in a series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. made exclusively for the Army to help illiterate soldiers, with Snafu embodying everything a soldier should not do. Blanc's exclusive Warner Bros. contract expired in 1960, and he began to lend his voice to other companies' cartoons (while still working for WB). This included Hanna-Barbera's The Flintstones as Fred's neighbor Barney and his pet dinosaur Dino, and The Jetsons as George's boss Mr. Spacely. Blanc also turned to commercial work, becoming the first voice of Froot Loops mascot Toucan Sam. Blanc was still active in his final decade, voicing the title character of Heathcliff beginning in 1980, and reprising his roles as Bugs Bunny in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Mr. Spacely in Jetsons: The Movie (released posthumously). Blanc died in 1989, with his last words being "I love you Noel"- directed to his son in Yosemite Sam's voice. Engraved on Blanc's tombstone is the quote his first major character is best known for:

James Rolfe, better known by his online persona the Angry Video Game Nerd, is 42.

Suffragette Alice Paul died on this day 45 years ago, aged 92. Paul joined the movement in 1907 after seeing a Christabel Pankhurst speech, having moved to England after earning her master's degree. During her time with the Women's Social and Political Union, she was imprisoned three times, regularly demanding to be treated as a political prisoner and going on hunger strikes, while also befriending fellow suffragette Lucy Burns while in jail. She returned to the US in 1910. In 1913, Paul organized the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington DC, which occurred the day before Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated. With inadequate police protection, onlookers began to heckle the protesters, causing it to devolve into a near-riot where the National Guard was activated to help the procession move. In 1917, Paul created the Silent Sentinels- a picketing group who protested outside the White House. Many of them were soon arrested for "obstructing traffic", including Paul- they experienced terrible conditions while imprisoned (this included Paul being forced-fed after going on a hunger strike, and one night in November where prison guards would severely beat the suffragettes). After the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, Paul continued to strive for female equality- this included campaigning for women to keep their American citizenship after they married foreigners, and showed support for a future Equal Rights Amendment. Paul advocated for the inclusion of protection against sex discrimination in labor in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Paul suffered a stroke in 1974 and was placed under the guardianship of her nephew, who squandered her fortune and put Paul in a nursing home. News of her condition spread in her home state of Pennsylvania, and her local Quaker congregation organized a charity benefit for her, and ended up getting her into a better facility before her death in 1977.