Drewsky1211

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 75.

Emma Morano, the last surviving person born in the 1800s, died on this day 5 years ago, aged 117. At the time of her death, she was the fourth-oldest person to have ever lived. (Lucy Hannah, a validated case at the time who was claimed to be older than Morano, has since been debunked- Morano was initially believed to have been the fifth-oldest) To put things in perspective now, she is the eighth-oldest person to have ever lived.

Moskva sunk according to Russian state media.

Singer and actor Burl Ives died on this day 27 years ago, aged 85. Ives is probably best remembered for being the narrator (as the character of Sam the Snowman) of the 1964 Christmas classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and sang several songs for the TV movie. Ives was also the base for the Ren and Stimpy character Stinky Wizzleteats, who is referred to as "Burl Ives" in the episode "Stimpy's Invention"'s script. Several of Ives' quotes can be heard in this song from the show:

American astronomer Annie Jump Cannon died on this day 81 years ago, aged 77. Cannon was one of the creators of the stellar classification scheme, where stars are arranged into types based on their brightness and temperature. The scale (from hottest and brightest stars to coolest and dimmest) is commonly remembered via this mnemonic: Oh, Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me!

RIP. Very unexpected.

Queen Juana of Castile died on this day 467 years ago, aged 75. Juana was also known by her epithet "The Mad". Historians believe that she was diagnosed with depression following the death of her mother (Queen Isabella I) in 1504, and then the death of her husband and co-monarch Philip I in 1506. She travelled with her husband's funeral procession (from Burgos to Granada, a 668 km/415 mi journey), and reportedly kissed Philip's lifeless body. Upon her death, her son (also co-monarch, who had confined her in the Royal Palace due to her "illness") Charles I united Spain and the Holy Roman Empire (the latter of which he ruled over since his grandfather Maximilian I's death in 1519), giving the Habsburg family control over a large swath of Europe. This dynasty would rule Spain until 1700.

J. Geils died on this day 5 years ago, aged 71.

Ethel Kennedy is 94. (this bottom image was from New Year's 2022)

Pope Gregory XIII died on this day 437 years ago, aged 83. In 1582, noticing how the spring equinox occurred well ahead of March 21 (leap years occurred every 3 years), Gregory devised the Gregorian calendar as an updated version of the Julian calendar used at the time. This was due to the fact that the spring equinox was used to calculate which date Easter would occur on any given year. Gregory introduced the calendar in October of that year, skipping the dates of October 5 to 14. Most of the world currently uses this calendar.

Tom Lehrer is 94.

Five-star World War II general Omar Bradley died on this day 41 years ago, aged 88. Bradley was on continual active duty from 1911 to his death- a U.S. Armed Forces record that stands to this day.

Stan Freberg, song parodist whom Weird Al Yankovic cited as one of his biggest influences, died on this day 7 years ago, aged 88. Freberg was also notably the voice of Pete Puma in Looney Tunes cartoons from his introduction in 1952 to 2000.

1987: Ozzy Osbourne (1/31)  1989: Frank Bruno, Mike Ditka, Ozzy Osbourne, Brian Wilson, David Jenkins (5/32)  1990: Queen Elizabeth II, Mike Ditka, Rex Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Terry Waite (5/42)  1991: Leo Beenhakker (1/40)  1992: Shaun Ryder (1/37)  1993: Tony Bennett, Henry Kissinger, George Lineker, Jerry Lee Lewis (4/56)  1994: Edmund White, Holly Johnson, Peter Shilton (3/50)  1995: Holly Johnson (1/50)  1996: Mr T (1/50)  1997: (0/50)  1998: (0/50)  1999: Nick Leeson, Carly Simon (2/50)  2000: Louis Farrakhan (1/50)  2001: Liza Minnelli (1/50)  2002: (0/50) 2003: (0/50)  2004: Pervez Musharraf (1/50)  2005: Hamed Karzai (1/50) 2006: (0/50)  2007: Tim Johnson, Louis Farrakhan (2/50)  2008: Russell Watson, Hamed Karzai, Charles Taylor (3/50)  2009: (0/50)  2010: Angela Lansbury (1/50)  2011: Ali Khamenei, Dick Cheney, Michael Douglas (3/50)  2012: Nigel Lawson, Henry Kissinger, Dick Van Dyke, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (4/50) 2013: Henry Kissinger (1/50)  2014: Wilko Johnson, Dick Van Dyke, Tony Bennett (3/50)  2015: Leslie Phillips, Henry Kissinger, Jake Roberts (3/50)  2016: Prunella Scales, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Tommy Chong, Leslie Phillips, Sandy Gall, Lester Piggott, Paul Gascoigne (8/50)  2017: Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Queen Elizabeth ll, Bob Barker, Sandy Gall, Pope Benedict XVI, Emperor Akihito (7/50)  2018: Linda Nolan, Bob Barker, Prunella Scales, Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Henry Kissinger, Dick Van Dyke, Stanley Baxter, Mel Brooks, Pope Benedict XVI, Louis Farrakhan, Ronnie Wood, Olivia Newton-John, Joni Mitchell, Paul Gascoigne (15/50)  2019: Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Bob Barker, Emperor Akihito, Alan Greenspan, Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Walters, Harry Belafonte, Vanessa Redgrave, Cleo Laine, Loretta Lynn, Mikhail Gorbachev, Prunella Scales, Tina Turner, Shane MacGowan (15/50) 2020: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Angela Lansbury, Bob Barker, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Prunella Scales, Jacques Delors, Willie Nelson, Shane MacGowan, Dick Cheney, Imelda Marcos, Lester Piggott, Joanne Woodward, David Crosby, Tom Smith, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Pervez Musharraf, David Attenborough (22/50) 2021: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Loretta Lynn, Angela Lansbury, Bob Barker, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Jacques Delors, Ali Khamenei, David Crosby, Prunella Scales, Tony Bennett, Rosalynn Carter, Dick Cheney, Queen Elizabeth II, Harry Belafonte, Bob Newhart, Barbara Walters, Pope Benedict XVI, Imelda Marcos, Yoko Ono, Linda Nolan, Joanne Woodward, Mel Brooks, Willie Nelson, Betty Boothroyd, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Raul Castro, Burt Bacharach, Stanley Baxter, Bernard Cribbins, Vanessa Redgrave, Shane MacGowan, Shannen Doherty (36/50) Updated for Tom Smith.

Don Rickles died on this day 5 years ago, aged 90.

Paul Rudd is 53. His obligatory bait-and-switch clip below (I couldn't think of any clever way to hide it):

Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast? EDIT: Just noticed you were talking about her role in Murder, She Wrote. This is what I most know her from.

While on the topic of birthdays, a trio of potential debut names are turning 94 this week: - James D. Watson, co-discoverer of the double helix DNA structure (April 6) - Tom Lehrer, musical humorist and inventor of the Jell-O shot (April 9) - Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy and human rights activist (April 11)

Kurt Cobain joined the 27 Club on this day 28 years ago.

An update to the "deaths by age" list: Accurate as of July 18, 2024

1987: Ozzy Osbourne (1/31)  1989: Frank Bruno, Mike Ditka, Ozzy Osbourne, Brian Wilson, David Jenkins (5/32)  1990: Queen Elizabeth II, Mike Ditka, Rex Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Terry Waite (5/42)  1991: Leo Beenhakker (1/40)  1992: Shaun Ryder (1/37)  1993: Tony Bennett, Henry Kissinger, George Lineker, Jerry Lee Lewis (4/56)  1994: Edmund White, Holly Johnson, Peter Shilton (3/50)  1995: Holly Johnson (1/50)  1996: Mr T (1/50)  1997: (0/50)  1998: (0/50)  1999: Nick Leeson, Carly Simon (2/50)  2000: Louis Farrakhan (1/50)  2001: Liza Minnelli (1/50)  2002: (0/50) 2003: (0/50)  2004: Pervez Musharraf (1/50)  2005: Hamed Karzai (1/50) 2006: (0/50)  2007: Tim Johnson, Louis Farrakhan (2/50)  2008: Russell Watson, Hamed Karzai, Charles Taylor (3/50)  2009: (0/50)  2010: Angela Lansbury (1/50)  2011: Ali Khamenei, Dick Cheney, Michael Douglas (3/50)  2012: Nigel Lawson, Henry Kissinger, Dick Van Dyke, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (4/50) 2013: Henry Kissinger (1/50)  2014: Wilko Johnson, Dick Van Dyke, Tony Bennett (3/50)  2015: Leslie Phillips, Henry Kissinger, Jake Roberts (3/50)  2016: Prunella Scales, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Tommy Chong, Leslie Phillips, Sandy Gall, Lester Piggott, Paul Gascoigne (8/50)  2017: Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Queen Elizabeth ll, Bob Barker, Sandy Gall, Pope Benedict XVI, Emperor Akihito (7/50)  2018: Linda Nolan, Bob Barker, Prunella Scales, Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Henry Kissinger, Dick Van Dyke, Stanley Baxter, Mel Brooks, Pope Benedict XVI, June Brown, Louis Farrakhan, Ronnie Wood, Olivia Newton-John, Joni Mitchell, Paul Gascoigne (15/50)  2019: Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Bob Barker, Emperor Akihito, June Brown, Alan Greenspan, Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Walters, Harry Belafonte, Vanessa Redgrave, Cleo Laine, Loretta Lynn, Mikhail Gorbachev, Prunella Scales, Tina Turner, Shane MacGowan (15/50) 2020: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Angela Lansbury, Bob Barker, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Prunella Scales, Jacques Delors, Willie Nelson, Shane MacGowan, Dick Cheney, Imelda Marcos, Lester Piggott, Joanne Woodward, David Crosby, Tom Smith, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Pervez Musharraf, David Attenborough (23/50) 2021: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Loretta Lynn, Angela Lansbury, Bob Barker, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, June Brown, Jimmy Carter, Leslie Phillips, Jacques Delors, Ali Khamenei, David Crosby, Prunella Scales, Tony Bennett, Rosalynn Carter, Dick Cheney, Queen Elizabeth II, Harry Belafonte, Bob Newhart, Barbara Walters, Pope Benedict XVI, Imelda Marcos, Yoko Ono, Linda Nolan, Joanne Woodward, Mel Brooks, Willie Nelson, Betty Boothroyd, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Raul Castro, Burt Bacharach, Stanley Baxter, Bernard Cribbins, Vanessa Redgrave, Shane MacGowan, Shannen Doherty (36/50) Updated for June Brown.

Fourth death on the fourth day of the fourth month of the year. What a coincidence. RIP.

Pope Formosus died on this day 1126 years ago, aged 80. His afterlife was probably much more interesting: In January 897, due to politically-motivated reasons (it was believed that Formosus invited Arnold of Carinthia to overthrow king Lambert of Italy), Pope Stephen VI ordered his body exhumed and put on trial. This trial was known as the Cadaver Synod. Formosus was found guilty, and the actions that he decreed during his papacy were nullified. Formosus' corpse was thrown into the River Tiber, which was then recovered (some people even reported his body had performed miracles) and re-interred at St. Peter's Basilica. The Cadaver Synod was later declared void by Popes Theodore II and John IX, but overturned by Pope Sergius III (who had served as a judge in the trial). All of Sergius' successors as pope have reaffirmed that the Cadaver Synod is invalid.

"Harris was born in 1929" Someone needs to proofread.