Drewsky1211

Neil Patrick Harris is 49.

US Vice President Adlai Stevenson I died on this day 108 years ago, aged 78. In the 1850s, Stevenson began his career as a lawyer- during this time, he met both Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, and he rallied for the latter against the former in their 1858 Senate election (Douglas won). He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1874, but lost re-election in 1876 by a narrow margin. He regained his seat in Congress in 1878. Again, he lost by a narrow margin two years later, and failed to regain his seat in the 1882 election. However, his political career was far from over. In 1885, Stevenson was appointed as the First Assistant Postmaster General by Grover Cleveland, serving during his first term in office. In 1892, when Cleveland ran for a nonconsecutive term as president, Stevenson was nominated as his Vice President, and their ticket beat the Harrison-Reid ticket by 132 electoral votes. His vice presidency was relatively mundane, though his is recorded as having enjoyed presiding over the Senate, and was praised for his well manners and nonpartisanship. Stevenson's term ended in 1897, as Cleveland declined to seek a third term as president. Stevenson was floated as a candidate for president in 1896 in 1900, but was largely overlooked as he was in his 60s at this time (considering the life expectancy floated around 50 at the time). Stevenson's final political endeavor was a failed run for Illinois governor in 1908. Stevenson was the patriarch of a political dynasty. His son, Lewis, was the Illinois Secretary of State from 1914 to 1917. Lewis' son Adlai II was the Democratic nominee for president in 1952 and 1956. His great-grandson (and Adlai II's son), the late Adlai III, was a senator from 1970 to 1981.

Boy George is 61.

Charles Haughey died on this day 16 years ago, aged 80. Haughey was first elected to the Teachta Dala in 1957. In 1979, Taoiseach Jack Lynch resigned, and Haughey won the leadership election 54-46%. He was sworn in on December 11. During his first term as Taoiseach, Ireland faced an economic crisis, and he attempted to fix the problem by increasing public spending- this spiraled out of control, and Fianna Fail (his political party) lost their majority in the 1981 election to a coalition between the Fine Gael and Labour parties. The party regained control in 1982, and Haughey began his second term as Taoiseach. Financial mismanagement ensued, and Haughey lost an election in November of the same year. Haughey was then entrapped in a wire-tapping scandal the following year. Despite this, Haughey refused to resign, and Fianna Fail gained minority leadership in 1987, becoming Taoiseach a third time. In a 1989 election, Haughey failed to achieve a majority vote for Taoiseach, and was constitutionally forced to resign- he held off on this, and instead became Acting Taoiseach. After Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrat parties formed a coalition government, Haughey was reinstated as Taoiseach. Haughey finally resigned in 1992 following the revelation that Haughey authorized the aforementioned phone scandal. More scandals regarding Haughey arose, including embezzlement in 1997, and an affair in 1999. Haughey was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996, and his first appearance on the DeathList was in 2002. He would appear again in 2004 and 2006, and was the sixth death (out of thirteen) of the year.

Tim Allen is 69.

Pope Leo III died on this day 1206 years ago, aged 66. Leo was elected pope in late December of 795 following the death of Pope Adrian I, and he chose to keep his birth name as his papal name. In 799, some of Adrian's relatives sent hitmen to attempt to remove Leo's tongue and eyes. This attack badly injured him and left him unconscious (though his sensory organs intact)- two Frankish envoys rescued him, and the pope was sheltered by the Duke of Spoleto. Leo and the duke, Winiges, traveled to modern-day Germany to meet the King of the Franks, Charlemagne, who led him back to Rome, and he set up a council between Leo's supporters and enemies. The enemies were exiled from Rome. On Christmas Day in 800, two days after the council's conclusion, Leo crowned Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman Emperor. Leo and Charlemagne's friendship lasted until Charlemagne's death in 814. In 808, Leo declared Corsica to be Frankish property, but the island (as well as Sardinia) were occupied by the Muslim Emirate of Cordoba in 810. Also in 808, he and Charlemagne helped reinstate king Eardwulf of Northumbria to the throne following his ousting in 806. Leo's reign as pope lasted for 20 and a half years, and he was succeeded by Pope Stephen IV.

Songwriter Richard Sherman is 94. Along with his late brother Robert, he made the soundtracks for films such as Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Aristocats, and the 1973 version of Charlotte's Web. They also made songs for Disney rides such as the Carousel of Progress ("There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow") and It's a Small World. Part of me feels like he's gonna debut on the list in 2023 or 2024 (if he makes it that far).

David Brinkley died on this day 19 years ago, aged 82. Brinkley began his news career in 1943 when he moved to Washington, DC, in search of a job, and NBC hired him- he soon became their White House correspondent. He first appeared on television in 1952 for Camel News Caravan (a news show sponsored by Camel Cigarettes). Four years later the host, John Swayze, was dismissed, and Brinkley became the host. Network executives paired him with fellow newscaster Chet Huntley, and they began hosting the Huntley-Brinkley Report. Huntley's cheerful demeanor was contrapuntally matched by Brinkley's wry humor- one famous quote of his was about Boulder Dam being renamed to Hoover Dam, in which he said that former president Herbert Hoover should change his last name to "Boulder". The show was a success, and ran for fourteen years. Both of them ranked higher in polls during the 1960s asking people to identify celebrities, which included John Wayne and The Beatles. The show ended when Huntley left the show in 1970, dying four years later. Brinkley would continue reporting for NBC Nightly News, co-hosting with Frank McGee and John Chancellor. In the broadcast's early years, it failed to achieve the ratings of the Huntley-Brinkley Report, and Brinkley left NBC in 1981. ABC immediately hired him after, and he began hosting This Week. This show was notable for innovating the roundtable discussion format. In 1996, Brinkley retired- this was following an incident in which he criticized Bill Clinton, thinking that he was on commercial break. During his career, he earned ten Emmys and three Peabody Awards.

Peter Dinklage is 53.

Ray Charles died on this day 18 years ago, aged 73. Charles was blind by 7 years old, possibly due to glaucoma. His school music teacher taught him how to use Braille music. His first major hit single, "I Got A Woman", was released in 1954. In 1960, his version "Georgia on My Mind" earned him four Grammys, and his following song, "Hit the Road Jack", is considered to be his most famous song. Once rock and roll came around, Charles' career was in decline. However, interest in him spiked when he appeared in 1980's The Blues Brothers, singing "Georgia on My Mind". In 1985, he was one of the singers for Live Aid's "We Are The World", and in 1989, he provided the lead vocals for Quincy Jones' "I'll Be Good to You". During the production of his biopic Ray, Charles met the actor who would portray him on the big screen, Jamie Foxx, once. He planned to attend a screening of the film, but died of liver failure before the film's release, which occurred four and a half months after his death. The following year, Foxx would sing the chorus of "I Got a Woman" as backing vocals for Kanye West's chart-topper "Gold Digger".

Comedian and actor Bill Burr is 54.

Charles Dickens died on this day 152 years ago, aged 58. Dickens is a person who needs no introduction- you've almost certainly read or heard of some of his works: A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations come to mind. So, here's how he died: Dickens was an alcoholic, and would often perform public readings of his stories all by himself while in a drunken state. His overconsumption of alcohol led to kidney stones, an altered gait where he would walk in circles when he wanted to go straight, temporary paralysis, and eventually, gout. He suffered a stroke in 1869, and suspended his farewell tour after he collapsed following a reading a few days after, on doctor's orders. His final public appearance was at a Royal Academy banquet, with the future King Edward VII in attendance. Dickens died from a second stroke. In all, Dickens created over 13,000 characters for his novels- the most famous of which is A Christmas Carol's Ebenezer Scrooge, the epitome of a stingy miser character (who then goes through a redemption arc).

Recently-exonerated actor Johnny Depp is 59.

I was considering adding a picture of a cat as a joke while making the post. Here's a picture of an Arabian Mau, which could've been the breed.

Muhammad, the prophet of the Muslim faith, died on this day 1390 years ago, aged 62. This is probably the best image I'm allowed to show. The reason why Muslims get angry at visual depictions of Muhammad is that they believe that they should be worshipping Allah (God) more, and worship of the prophet is shunned. The Quran, however, does not explicitly forbid pictures, but considering the extremist reactions to 21st-century depictions, I'm not taking any chances. Anyways, here's the story of Islam: As an adult, Muhammad would isolate himself in a cave to pray for several days at a time. During one of these prayer sessions in 610, Muhammad was visited by the archangel Gabriel, who gave him a revelation. Muhammad then began to preach to his polytheistic peers that there is only one god, and complete devotion to Him was the right way of life. Muhammad began to attract followers/companions, but they were persecuted by the polytheists, and they fled from Mecca to Medina in 622, which is considered the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Muhammad gained more followers there, and amassed a holy army. In 629, they returned to Mecca with little resistance, and destroyed sculptures of the polytheistic deities in the Kaaba- the place of worship. During the annual Hajj, millions of devout Muslims circle this place as an act of devotion to Allah. One specific "companion" of Muhammad I would like to bring light to was his pet cat. Her name was Muezza, and there is a story regarding her: one day, Muhammad was putting his prayer clothes on, only to find Muezza sleeping on his robe's sleeve. Rather than awakening her, Muhammad cut the sleeve off, leaving her undisturbed.

Bonnie Tyler is 71.

Alan Turing died on this day 68 years ago, aged 41. Turing was a mathematician, and as a fellow (appointed postgraduate) at King's College, he came up with the concept of a Turing machine- a machine that determined that some computations are impossible. He was awarded with a PhD in 1938. During World War II, Turing worked as a decipherer of intercepted German messages at Bletchley Park, and managed to crack the Nazi's Enigma Machine code. After the war, Turing developed several of the UK's earliest computers, including the stored-program Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) in 1950. (remember that this eventually led to the phone, laptop, or desktop computer that you're using to look at this now) Despite his achievements, Turing was vilified during his lifetime due to one simple thing: his homosexuality. 39-year old Turing began having sexual relations with 19-year old Arnold Murray in 1952, and one of Murray's acquaintances robbed his home soon after. Turing reported this to the police and revealed his relationship, and both he and Murray were charged with "gross indecency". Turing pled guilty at his trial, and he was forced to take synthetic estrogen to lower his sex drive (this did cause impotence, but he also developed breasts). Turing was also fired from his position at the GCHQ, and was banned from entering the United States. In 1954, Turing committed suicide by eating an apple laced with cyanide. In 2009, a petition was sent to the British government asking for a public apology of its treatment of Turing, and then-PM Gordon Brown obliged. Several petitions were then made for a posthumous pardon (which astrophysicist Stephen Hawking was in support of), and Queen Elizabeth II (who was listed as the plaintiff of Turing's trial as she was the monarch) officially pardoned him on Christmas Eve 2013, and gave a public apology in June of the following year. An amendment in the Policing and Crime Act of 2017 was nicknamed the "Alan Turing Law", which retroactively pardoned those convicted under homosexual acts. On what would've been his 109th birthday in 2021, Turing was placed on the reverse side of the 50-pound note.

Liam Neeson is 70.

Billy Preston died on this day 16 years ago, aged 59. Preston was a child prodigy pianist, and by the time he was twelve, he had already performed with people such as Fats Domino, Mahalia Jackson, and Nat King Cole. He joined Little Richard's gospel band at the age of 16, and it is during a performance that he met and befriended the Beatles. Preston would later be nicknamed as "The Fifth Beatle", having collaborated on their Let it Be album, most notably performing on the organ and piano on "Get Back". He would soon sign on the Beatles' record label, Apple Records, but left it in 1971 for Herb Alpert's A&M Records. 1973 was the peak of his solo career, with his song "Will It Go Round In Circles" staying on the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks. Preston would later return to Beatles-related content in 1978, by making an appearance in the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. He appears at the end of the film singing the song he helped make, saving Peter Frampton's character from suicide as a deus ex machina, and returning everything back to normal (critics thought the plot was garbage, but the soundtrack was the best part of the film). Preston's kidneys began to fail in the late '90s and early 2000s, and he received a kidney transplant in 2002. He managed to appear on the American Idol season 4 finale in March 2005. In November of that year, while at a drug rehabilitation center (he had been addicted to alcoholic beverages), he suffered from pericarditis (inflammation of the outer heart wall), which led to respiratory failure. He fell into a coma, was put on life support, and died six and a half months later.

Robert Englund is 75.

Ronald Reagan died on this day 18 years ago, aged 93. Reagan's presidency had its ups and downs- yes, he ended the Cold War, but he also bungled the AIDS crisis. Reagan had a plethora of health issues. In 1985, part of his large intestine was removed due to colorectal cancer, and he also developed skin cancer on his nose. It's no wonder why he was chosen to be included on the inaugural DeathList in 1987, in 26th spot- he would end up making 13 more appearances, and was labelled as an "Idiot" (to the chagrin of some American forumites, which resulted in '(Former)' being added). In 1994, Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, with him showing cognitive decline since 1992. A 1989 head injury may be related to his ailment. In October 2001, at the age of 90, Reagan surpassed John Adams to become the longest-lived president of all time (Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter have since surpassed his record). Reagan died of pneumonia complicated by his Alzheimer's. As the 2004 election cycle was approaching, several candidates put their campaigns on pause, so as not to be disrespectful during the mourning period. Below is Reagan's last publicly released photo, taken in February of 2000:

Joe Clark, Canadian PM from 1979 to 1980, is 83.

Wilhelm II, Kaiser of the German Empire, died on this day 81 years ago, aged 82. Wilhelm ascended to the German throne in 1888 following the death of his father, Frederick III (after a 99-day reign). In the early years of his reign, he often feuded with Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who resigned in 1890. Beginning in 1898, Germany was engaged in a naval arms race with the United Kingdom, with both countries expanding their fleets. Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (whom he was friends with), Wilhelm supported Austria taking military action against Serbia. Russia soon declared war on Austria to defend Serbia- and in response, Wilhelm declared war on Russia, officially entering World War I. During the war, Germany notably invaded Belgium, Luxembourg, and France, sunk the civilian ship RMS Lusitania (killing over 1000 passengers), tried convincing Mexico to declare war on the US, and used mustard gas in one of the first instances of chemical warfare. In 1918, the German offensive collapsed, and a civilian revolution arose. Wilhelm abdicated on November 28, and fled to the Netherlands. In the 1930s, Wilhelm viewed the rising Nazi Party as a stimulation of the restoration of the monarchy- however, Hitler absolutely hated Wilhelm, seeing him as being responsible for Germany's biggest defeat (funny how he would outdo Wilhelm in that regard). After former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and his wife were murdered during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934, Wilhelm officially condemned the party. Wilhelm was shocked by Kristallnacht, calling it a "gangsterism", and feeling "ashamed to be a German"- albeit he accused the Jews of being responsible for the hostilities. Wilhelm died just weeks before Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and was interred at the manor he had spent his exile living at. German monarchists congregate at his mausoleum each year on the anniversary of his death.

Ruth Westheimer, probably the world's most famous sex therapist, is 94. She also had a recurring segment on the PBS Kids series Between the Lions:

Jack Kevorkian died on this day 11 years ago, aged 83. In 1959, Kevorkian began to express some- let's call them "interesting" ideas about euthanasia. He advocated for death row inmates to be executed via medical experiments (while under anesthesia), and their organs harvested and transplanted into sick patients following execution. As a doctor, he successfully transfused blood from a cadaver into a living patient, hoping that the US military would be interested in this technique to help soldiers who were bleeding out in battle. In the 1980s, Kevorkian began to openly advocate for assisted suicide. He became a counselor for terminally ill people in 1987. His first assisted suicide occurred in 1990, when Kevorkian euthanized a 54-year old woman suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's. He was charged with murder, but these charges were dropped, as Michigan (where he lived) had no laws regarding voluntary euthanasia. However, his medical license was still revoked. Between 1990 and 1998, Kevorkian helped 130 terminally ill patients end their lives, through the use of a machine that would administer lethal drugs or chemicals, that the patient had to voluntarily activate. His final patient was a 52-year old man with ALS, and a videotape of the event was broadcast when Kevorkian was the guest of a 60 Minutes episode two months later. Three days after the interview aired, Kevorkian was charged with second-degree murder, and was found guilty in a trial that occurred the next year. He was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison, and was released on parole for good behavior after serving eight years of his sentence. Kevorkian made his only appearance on the DeathList in 2007 (the year of his release) in the number 47 spot. In 2008, he ran in the election for Michigan's 9th congressional district, finishing in a distant third. Kevorkian died from a thrombosis related to longtime kidney disease- without the use of assisted suicide.