Death Anniversary Thread

[diego 1,984]

Pope Eutychian died 1740 years ago in Rome at the age of 43, born in Luni, he was pope from January 4, 275 until December 7, 283, He ordered that the martyrs be covered by the "dalmatic", similar to the cloak of the Roman Emperors, today the vestments of deacons in solemn ceremonies. Instituted the blessing of the harvest in the fields

Otto II of the Holy Roman Empire died 1040 years ago at the age of 28 in Rome, born in Saxony, nicknamed "the Red", was the Roman Emperor from 973 until his death, as well as King of Italy from 980 and King of Germania starting in 961. He died from a malaria epidemic.

Wolfgang Paul was born in Lorenzkirch and died in Bonn 30 years ago at the age of 80. He received the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing the ion trap technique.

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,355]

American politician Joe Skeen died on this day 20 years ago, aged 76.

 

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American actress Joan Bennett died on this day 33 years ago, aged 80. She was one of three acting sisters from a show-business family. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 films from the era of silent films, well into the sound era. She is best remembered for her film noir femme fatale roles in director Fritz Lang's films—including Man Hunt (1941), The Woman in the Window (1944), and Scarlet Street (1945)—and for her television role as matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (and ancestors Naomi Collins, Judith Collins, Flora Collins, and Flora Collins PT) in the gothic 1960s soap opera Dark Shadows, for which she received an Emmy nomination in 1968. Bennett's career had three distinct phases: first as a winsome blonde ingenue, then as a sensuous brunette femme fatale (with looks that movie magazines often compared to those of Hedy Lamarr), and finally as a warmhearted wife-and-mother figure. In 1951, Bennett's screen career was marred by scandal after her third husband, film producer Walter Wanger, shot and injured her agent Jennings Lang. Wanger suspected that she and Lang were having an affair, a charge which she adamantly denied. She married four times.

 

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John Lennon died on this day 43 years ago, aged 40.

- Lennon's middle name, "Winston", was given to him by his parents because Winston Churchill was PM at the time.

- Before The Beatles, Lennon formed his first band when he was 15, called The Quarrymen- named after his high school, Quarry Bank. 

- Animated versions of Lennon were voiced by John Clive in Yellow Submarine, and Paul Frees in the 1965 cartoon series based on the band.

- You may have seen this image of Lennon floating around the Internet:

This was taken in 1971 at the Cannes Film Festival- it's believed Lennon was either doing an impression of a cowboy's walk, imitating the "Keep on Truckin'" drawing, or referencing Monty Python's "Ministry of Silly Walks" sketch.

- Because of his songs denouncing the Vietnam War (i.e. "Give Peace a Chance" and "Happy Xmas (War is Over)"), US Senator (and one-time DeathList pick) Strom Thurmond suggested to Richard Nixon that Lennon should be deported from the country. The proceedings would be initiated, but dismissed in 1975.

- Many people first learned of Lennon's murder while watching a football game, with Howard Cosell being the one to deliver the news:

- "Imagine" had initially peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Chart in 1975, but topped it in 1981.

[The Ashes Urn 1,355]

American actor and rodeo performer Slim Pickens died on this day 40 years ago, aged 64.

 

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American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician John Glenn died on this day 7 years ago, aged 95. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a U.S. Senator from Ohio; in 1998, he flew into space again at the age of 77. He was one of the Mercury Seven, military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA as the nation's first astronauts. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, the third American and fifth person in history to be in space. He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1962, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. Glenn resigned from NASA in January 1964. A member of the Democratic Party, Glenn was first elected to the Senate in 1974 and served for 24 years, until January 1999. In 1998, at age 77, Glenn flew on Space Shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission, making him the oldest person to enter Earth orbit, the only person to fly in both the Mercury and the Space Shuttle programs, and the first Member of Congress to visit space since Congressman Bill Nelson (D-FL) in 1986. At the time of his death Glenn was both the oldest and the last surviving member of the Mercury Seven.

 

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King Malcolm IV of Scotland died on this day 858 years ago, aged 24.

- Malcolm became the heir apparent to the Scottish throne when his father Henry died when he was 11- and became king the next year after the death of his grandfather David I.

- Malcolm would attempt to gain the favor of Henry II of England by having several diplomatic meetings with him (accepting ceding Scottish land in exchange for English land), and would be knighted by him after assisting him in besieging Toulouse in 1159.

- Malcolm would then face a rebellion in Moray in 1163, and managed to disperse the revolting populace.

- Malcolm reigned for twelve years, but died at a young age from what historians believe was hastened by Paget's disease (a bone disorder). His death at said age led to his epithet "Malcolm the Maiden", or "Malcolm Virgo" (also fitting due to his death as a virgin). His younger brother William I would succeed him as king.

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 2 years ago, American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger Barry Harris passed away at the age of 91.

 

Photo Credit: Brian McMillen per Creative Commons license

[The Ashes Urn 1,355]

American college basketball player and coach Norm Sloan died on this day 20 years ago, aged 77.

 

[diego 1,984]

Yolande de Polastron, Duchess of Polignac was born in Paris and died in Vienna 230 years ago, at the age of 44, she was Countess and Duchess of Polignac, she was a friend, confidant and alleged lover of the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, she developed a terminal illness while living in Switzerland, although she had been in poor health for several years. The duchess died in Austria in December 1793, aged forty-four, shortly after learning of Marie Antoinette's execution.

Eleanor Parker was born in Cedarville; Ohio and died in Palm Springs; California at the age of 91 10 years ago, nominated three times for the Oscar for best actress from the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and winner, at the 1950 Venice Film Festival, of the Coppa Volpi for best actress.

 

[Hell 1,334]

British amateur astronomer Patrick Moore died on this day 11 years ago, aged 89. He attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter. Moore's early interest in astronomy led him to join the British Astronomical Association at the age of eleven. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II and briefly taught before publishing his first book on lunar observation in 1953. Renowned for his expertise in Moon observation and the creation of the Caldwell catalogue, Moore authored more than seventy astronomy books. He hosted the world's longest-running television series with the original presenter, BBC's The Sky at Night, from 1957 until his death in 2012. Idiosyncrasies such as his rapid diction and monocle made him a popular and instantly recognisable figure on British television. Moore was also co-founder and president of the Society for Popular Astronomy.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 2 years ago, Italian motion picture director and screenwriter Lina Wertmüller who directed and wrote the films "Swept Away" and "Seven Beauties", passed away at the age of 93.

 

Photo Credit: John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com per Creative Commons license

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 2 years ago, American actress Cara Williams, who starred in the film "The Defiant Ones" and the TV sitcom "Pete and Gladys", passes away at the age of 96.

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago American Air Force colonel Joseph Kittinger, who was the first person to conduct stratospheric space diving, passed away at the age of 94.

[Drewsky1211 4,734]

Ed Wood died on this day 45 years ago, aged 54.

- Wood entered the film industry in 1947, mostly doing advertisements, and directed a few TV pilots.

- One of Wood's childhood film heroes was Bela Lugosi, whom he met in 1952. From there, Wood would begin directing grindhouse movies starring both himself and Lugosi- the first being 1953's Glen or Glenda, considered one of the worst movies ever made. Wood starred as the titular crossdresser (he was also one offscreen, too).

- Wood made several more Z-movies over the coming years, which included Jail Bait, Bride of the Monster, and The Violent Years.

- Wood's magnum opus is considered to be 1959's Plan 9 From Outer Space, a film where aliens try to start a zombie apocalypse to prevent humanity from making a universe-destroying device. This was Bela Lugosi's final film role (he died 3 years before its release).

- Wood would shift to pornographic films- examples include 1965's Orgy of the Dead, 1970's Take It Out in Trade, and 1971's Necromania (those first and last movie titles... yikes... (they're fortunately just horror films with smutty elements))

- Wood also wrote over 80 books- in a similar vein to his movies, these mostly consisted of crime novels and erotica.

- Wood died from a heart attack in 1978. Sixteen years later, Tim Burton directed a biopic of him, casting Johnny Depp as Wood, which received two Academy Awards.

 

[diego 1,984]

Isabel de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster was born in Carrickfergus Castle, County Atrim, Ireland and died at the age of 31 in Dublin 660 years ago, she was an Irish noblewoman. She was suo jure 4th Countess of Ulster, 5th Baroness of Connaught and as the first wife of Leonel of Antwerp, son of King Edward III of England, she was Duchess of Clarence.

 

William Gilbert was born in Colchester and died in London aged 59 420 years ago. He studied at St John's College, Cambridge University. He began the practice of medicine in London in 1573 and in 1601 was appointed physician to Elizabeth I, Queen of England. He died of bubonic plague

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,355]

American actor Earle Foxe died on this day 50 years ago, aged 81.

 

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Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel died on this day 59 years ago, aged 85.

- Born to a Jewish family in Vienna, Alma was the daughter of noted painter Emil Schindler.

- Like her father, Alma would enter the field of arts, albeit in music instead of painting. She made several lieder:

- Alma is more famous for her varied celebrity lovers- she dated figures such as Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoscha, and Alexander von Zemlinsky- but only married three people (think of her as the Elizabeth Taylor of early 20th century Europe).

- The first one of her marriages was to Das Lied von der Erde composer Gustav Mahler in 1902, having two daughters with him. Their marriage was unhappy due to Gustav forbidding Alma from composing, and the two would seek therapy from Sigmund Freud.

- While married to Mahler, Alma began an affair with Bauhaus leader Walter Gropius. Mahler died in 1911, and Alma married Gropius in 1915; he would be away fighting in World War I for most of their marriage, leaving Alma to seek other relations- with the man who soon became her third husband.

- Alma divorced Gropius in 1920, and married The Song of Bernadette author Franz Werfel in 1929. The couple fled Austria to France in 1938, then fleeing again to the US in 1940. The two would remain there until their deaths- Franz in 1945, Alma in 1964.

- Upon reading her obituary, Tom Lehrer made a waltz about her life:

 

 

[diego 1,984]

John Stott Howorth (64 years) was born in London and died in Lisbon 130 years ago, the first and only Baron de Howorth de Sacavém, he was a British merchant and industrialist, who was naturalized as Portuguese shortly before his death.

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,355]

British Army officer Neil Ritchie died on this day 40 years ago, aged 86.

 

[time 8,599]

Its 82 years since the death of John Gillespie Magee Jr, an Anglo-American Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, killed in a training accident at the age of 19.

 

Whilst attending Rugby School he began to write poetry, winning the school's poetry prize in 1938. World War II broke out  while he was visiting his father's family in the US, preventing his return to the UK, thus missing his final year at school. Wishing to aid his friends in England, he decided to join the RAF, actually joining the RCAF in 1940, rather than attending Yale, to which he'd been offered a scholarship. He received active-service posting to England in August 1941, and was engaged in one air-battle against the Luftwaffe.

 

In his tenth week of service, he was on a training exercise when, rapidly ascending his Spitfire through a break in the cloud, he collided with an Oxford trainer. He managed to bail out but was too low for his parachute to fully deploy, and was killed on impact with the ground. The Oxford pilot, LAC Pilot-under-Training Ernest Griffin, also died as a result of the collision.

 

Magee is remembered for the sonnet he wrote, said to have been inspired by a Spitfire flight to 33,000 feet - High Flight.

The poem is often recited at funerals of aviators and astronauts, and is inscribed on the Space Shuttle Challenger memorial at Arligton Cemetary.

[Hell 1,334]

Indian sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar died on this day 11 years ago, aged 92. He was a sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of North Indian classical music in the second half of the 20th century, and influenced many musicians in India and throughout the world. Shankar was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1999. in 1944, Shankar worked as a composer, creating the music for the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, and was music director of All India Radio, New Delhi, from 1949 to 1956. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score for scoring the blockbuster Gandhi (1982). In 1956, Shankar began to tour Europe and the Americas playing Indian classical music and increased its popularity there in the 1960s through teaching, performance, and his association with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and Beatles guitarist George Harrison. His influence on Harrison helped popularize the use of Indian instruments in Western pop music in the latter half of the 1960s. Shankar engaged Western music by writing compositions for sitar and orchestra and toured the world in the 1970s and 1980s. From 1986 to 1992, he served as a nominated member of Rajya Sabha, the upper chamber of the Parliament of India. He continued to perform until the end of his life. He was a recipient of numerous prestigious musical accolades, including a Polar Music Prize and five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for The Concert for Bangladesh in 1973.

 

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Norman Bridwell died on this day 9 years ago, aged 86.

- Bridwell started off as a commercial artist, designing neckties and filmstrips.

- Bridwell became an author to increase his income- and in 1963 wrote Clifford, The Big Red Dog, which became an instant hit:

Clifford's owner Emily Elizabeth was named after Bridwell's own daughter.

- From there, Bridwell continued writing Clifford books, writing a total of 80 of them (the final two being released posthumously). It was also adapted into a 2021 film and two TV shows- most notably the PBS series that ran from 2000 to 2003:

(Birdwell Island is a subtle reference to Bridwell himself, and was based off of his home of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts)

[diego 1,984]

Finnian of Clonard was born in Leinster and died aged 93 in Ross Findchuill, Leinster 1460 years ago. He was one of the first Irish monks, founder and first abbot of Clonard Abbey, possibly bishop of the same diocese, and master of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Along with Saint Enda of Aran, he is considered one of the fathers of monasticism in Ireland.

Frederico Adolfo, Duke of East Gotalândia was born in Ekerö and died in Montpelier at the age of 53 220 years ago, he was the third son of King Adolfo Frederico of Sweden and his wife Luísa Ulrica of Prussia. Frederico Adolfo was the younger brother of Kings Gustav III and Carlos XIII & II, and the eldest of Princess Sofia Albertina.

Menelique II was born in Ankober and died in Addis Ababa 110 years ago at the age of 69. He was emperor of Ethiopia, founder of the country's current capital and one of those responsible for its modern territorial reunification.

Heydar Aliyev was born in Nakichevan and died at the age of 80 in Cleveland, Ohio 20 years ago. He was his country's third president after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. He governed his country from 1993 to 2003

Chang Song-taek was born in Kangwon and died 10 years ago in Pyongyang at the age of 67, and was one of the main figures in the North Korean government. He was married to Kim Kyong-hui, aunt of Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea. In early December 2013, he was accused of treason, stripped of all his positions and expelled from the Workers' Party of Korea. A damnatio memoriae was enforced, with his photos retroactively removed from the official press and his image digitally removed from photographs with other Korean leaders. On December 13, North Korea's state press announced that he had been executed.

[The Ashes Urn 1,355]

Hungarian teacher, librarian, historian and statesman József Antall died on this day 30 years ago, aged 61.