Death Anniversary Thread

[Hell 1,334]

British archaeologist and Egyptologist who discovered the intact tomb of the 18th Dynasty Pharoah Tutankhamun in November 1922, the best-preserved pharaonic tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings Howard Carter died on this day 84 years ago, aged 64.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,732]

Michael Foot died on this day 13 years ago, aged 96.

- Foot came from a political family- his father Isaac and his brother Dingle served in Parliament, and his brother Hugh served in the House of Lords and was a colonial governor.

- Foot was first elected to Parliament in 1945, being defeated in 1955 by Joan Vickers. He would return in 1960 and retire in 1992.

- Foot became the leader of the Labour Party in 1980, and was often compared to the character Worzel Gummidge during his tenure. After the Labour Party's defeat in the 1983 election, he resigned as leader and Neil Kinnock succeeded him.

- In 1995, former KGB officer Oleg Gordievsky accused Foot of having taken bribes from the KGB to inform them about British politics and trade unions. Foot would sue The Sunday Times (which used material from Gordievsky's draft) and win.

- Foot was a lifelong fan of Plymouth Argyle FC, and was made an honorary player on his 90th birthday in 2003.

- Foot had an affair with a women 35 years younger than him in the 1970s.

- Foot made eleven appearances on the DeathList, debuting in 1993. He would return in 2000, be dropped in 2001, and then permanently remain on the list. He was the second hit of 2010.

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago, American actor Johnny Brown, who starred in the TV sitcoms "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and "Good Times", passed away at the age of 84.

[time 8,595]

Its 32 years since the death of Howard Head, aged 76.

 

Head was an aeronatical engineer in his early 30s, working for Glenn L. Martin, when he went skiing for the first time; frustrated with the heavy traditional wooden skis, he decided to look into developing a lighter, easier to handle, ski, and quit his job, living off his earnings from playing poker. Early prototypes were certainly lighter, but broke too easily, but he persisted; By the end of the winter of 1947, he'd developed a pair of skis that were as strong as the wooden ones, but only half the weight.

 

The Head Ski company was founded in 1950, and soon became the leading alpine ski supplier in the US, and diversified to other sports equipment, the most notable being the Arthur Ashe tennis racquet, made from an aluminum (sic) honeycomb. In 1969 Head sold the ciompany and retired.

 

On retirement he decided to take up tennis, which lead him to become majority shareholder and chairman of the board of Prince, the manufacturer of his tennis ball machine. He improved the machine, but that didn't improve his tennis. He determined that the size of the racquet's "sweet-spot" was hindering him, and developed an oversize racquet, which he patented. He also pioneered graphite as a material to replace wood, leading that to become industry standard.

[Toast 16,131]

14 minutes ago, time said:

He determined thatthe size of the racquets "sweet-spot" was hindering him, and developed an oversize racquet, which he patented.

 

Cheat.

[time 8,595]

8 minutes ago, Toast said:

 

Cheat.

They were all at it.

[En Passant 3,741]

Racket then.

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,337]

 

 

 

On this day 7 years ago in 2016,  New Zealand cricketer and latterly media sports commentator  Martin Crowe, died of cancer aged 53.

[Hell 1,334]

American actor, comedian, singer and dancer Danny Kaye died on this day 36 years ago, aged 76.

 

 

American lawyer and the 14th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1994 to 1995 Howard W. Hunter died on this day 28 years ago, aged 87.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago, American admiral Thomas Hayward, who was the Chief of Naval Operations from 1978 to 1982, passed away at the age of 97.

[Drewsky1211 4,732]

John Candy died on this day 29 years ago, aged 43.

- Candy's father Sidney died when he was five years old from heart disease at the age of 35.

- Candy's film debut was in 1976's The Clown Murders, and his first American role was the 1979 film Lost and Found (in which Martin Short made his film debut).

- Candy made a cameo in the "Ghostbusters" music video shortly after his breakout role in Splash:

- From 1989 to 1992, Candy worked on the cartoon Camp Candy, voicing a fictional version of himself and producing the episodes. The show would also be adapted into comics published by Marvel's Star Comics.

- Before he died, Disney planned for him to voice a turkey named Redfeather in Pocahontas. He previously voiced Wilbur the albatross in The Rescuers Down Under.

- Similarly to his father, Candy died of a heart attack, complicated by his obesity and drug/alcohol usage.

- I should mention my favorite role of his: Barf in Spaceballs.

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,337]

 

 

 

On this day 10 years ago in 2013, Devon born footballer Peter Wakeham died aged 76.

Over his career he was the goalkeeper  for Sunderland AFC, Torquay United, Lincoln City and Charlton Athletic. 

[time 8,595]

Its one year since the untimely death of Shane Warne, aged 52, a few hours after the slightly less untimely death of Rod Marsh aged 74

 

   

 

Marsh had suffered a heart attack while on his way to an event eight days earlier and died in hospital. Warne was on holiday in Koh Samui, and had paid tribute to Marsh on social media before he too had a fatal heart attack.

[Hell 1,334]

American actor Luke Perry died on this day 4 years ago, aged 52.

 

 

Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991 Javier Pérez de Cuéllar died on this day 3 years ago, aged 100.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,732]

Joseph Stalin died on this day 70 years ago, aged 74.

- Stalin was born as "Ioseb Jughashvili". He took the name "Stalin" ("Man of Steel") in 1912, though his descendants still use variants of his legal name.

- Despite his reputation as a murderer of millions, Stalin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 1945 and 1948.

- Stalin was 5'4" (1.63m)- two inches shorter than Napoleon.

- Stalin was a fan of Western movies, and it has been noted that his favorite actors were Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable.

- Stalin's left arm was shorter than his right, stemming from a horse carriage accident he was in as a child.

- Stalin died four days after suffering a stroke- among the treatments in his final days included leeching (to decrease his blood pressure). He died on the same day as Sergei Prokofiev, whose death barely made the news in his home country and his coffin had to be moved in the opposite direction as Stalin's funeral procession (only 30 people attended Prokofiev's funeral).

- Stalin's body was embalmed and displayed with Vladimir Lenin's mummy; he would later be buried in 1961 at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.

[Sir Creep 7,070]

‘A-Hunting We Will Go’ for a casket for Thomas Arne, the English composer of the patriotic Rule, Britannia!, is what Arne’s family did 245 years ago (67).

[Hell 1,334]

Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013 Hugo Chavez died on this day 10 years ago, aged 58.

 

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,337]

 

 

On this day 60 years ago in 1963, American country and western singer Patsy Cline died aged 30 in a plane crash in Tennesse. 

[Drewsky1211 4,732]

Ernest Gallo died on this day 16 years ago, aged 97.

- Gallo founded his winery with his brother Julio in 1933- that year marked the end of Prohibition and the murder-suicide of his parents.

- Gallo's brother Joseph founded a cheese factory and used the family name for his company- Ernest and Julio sued him for trademark infringement.

- Among the brands of wine Ernest and his brother introduced included Boone's Farm, Thunderbird, and Hearty Burgundy. At one point, they owned 25% of the wine market in the US.

- By 2006, Gallo was ranked the 297th wealthiest person in the world by Forbes, with a net worth of $1.2 billion.

- Gallo first appeared on the DeathList in 2001, and he went on to make five more appearances (only being dropped in 2003). He was the first death of 2007 (and that year's only hit until mid-June).

- After his death, over $5 million of his fortune was donated to universities.

[Hell 1,334]

American film actress and the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989 as the second wife of president Ronald Reagan Nancy Reagan died on this day 7 years ago, aged 94.

 

 

English actor, best known for his portrayal of Jeffrey Fairbrother in the first five series of the BBC situation comedy Hi-de-Hi! Simon Cadell died on this day 27 years ago, aged 45.

 

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,337]

 

On this day 10 years ago in 2013, German fencer Sabine Bischoff died aged 54.

 

She won an Olympic gold medal as part of a team in the Womens fencing foil event, were she represented West Germany at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. 

[Drewsky1211 4,732]

Antoninus Pius died on this day 1862 years ago, aged 74.

- Antoninus was born as "Titus Aurelius Fulvius Boionius Arrius Antoninus".

- Antoninus married Faustina the Elder, the niece of the emperor Hadrian, around the year 110. Hadrian adopted Antoninus in 138, therefore he married his adoptive cousin.

- Antoninus ordered the construction of the Antonine Wall in modern-day Scotland in 142. It took twelve years to complete, and marked the northernmost border of the Roman Empire; it would later be abandoned in 162 and the Romans retreated to Hadrian's Wall.

- With a reign of over 22 years, Antoninus was the second-longest reigning Roman emperor at the time, after Augustus (his length would be surpassed by Constantine the Great in 329).

- As Antoninus entered old age, he began to wear corsets to maintain his balance.

- Antoninus' last meal before his death was a plate of Gruyere cheese.

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,337]

 

 

 

On this say 23 years ago in 2000, British actor Charles Gray died aged 71.

 

His most famous films are undoubtedly  Bond films You only live twice and Diamonds are forever and the legendary film The Rocky Horror picture show were he plays a criminologist  narrating events in the Horror musical comedy. 

 

Other film credits include,  An Englishman abroad were he starred alongside Alan Bates, The Devil rides out whose lead man was Christopher Lee, Masquerade (1965) and Seven  nights in Japan. 

[Hell 1,334]

American film director, producer and screenwriter Stanley Kubrick died on this day 24 years ago, aged 70.

 

 

American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing “Tennesse Waltz” Pee Wee King died on this day 23 years ago, aged 86.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,732]

Millard Fillmore died on this day 149 years ago, aged 74.

- Fillmore was the first US president born in the 1800s, exactly one week in.

- Fillmore's unusual first name was his mother Phoebe's maiden name.

- Fillmore's wife Abigail was also his teacher- she was less than two years his senior.

- Fillmore entered politics in 1828 as a member of the Anti-Masonic party.

- Fillmore was a US Representative from 1833 to 1835, and again from 1837 to 1843. By the time he was elected VP in 1848, he was the comptroller of New York.

- Despite being from a free state, Fillmore supported slavery and passed the infamous Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 (that led to the enslavement of many already-free Blacks). These views are seen as one of the main causes of the collapse of the Whig Party (due to the abolitionist Republican Party splitting from it), as well as reasons why Fillmore often tops lists of the worst US presidents.

- Fillmore was the one who ordered the Perry Expedition that opened up Japan to trade.

- During his presidency, France showed signs of wanting to annex Hawaii- Fillmore sent Napoleon III a letter ordering him to back off.

- Fillmore ran for president in 1856 as a member of the anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant Know Nothing Party, only winning Maryland (and receiving 21.5% of the votes).

- Fillmore's house was vandalized with ink following Abraham Lincoln's assassination as he had not put black drapes on it. This was due to Fillmore being out of town, and he put them up when he returned.

- Fillmore died from a stroke shortly after his last meal- soup; his last words were "the nourishment is palatable".