In 1422 King Henry V of England died of dysentery while in France, his son Henry VI became King of England at the age of nine months. In 1535 Pope Paul III excommunicated Henry VI’s grandson Henry VIII, from the church over his divorce of his first wife – Catherine of Aragon. In 1864 Gen Sherman launched the attack on Atlanta during the Civil War and in 1895 German count Ferdinand von Zepplin patented his navigable balloon, later named after him.
Two notoriously nasty Roman emperors were born on this date Caligula (12 AD) and Commodous (192). Both were assassinated at around the same age – 29 and 31. Three actors shared this birth date – Richard Basehart (1914 – Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Buddy Hackett (1924 – Love Bug), and James Coburn (1928 Westerns). It was also the birthdate for African-American activist and author Eldridge Cleaver (1938) and Israeli-American violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman (1945).
Leaving us on this date were boxer Rocky Marciano (1969), American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter John Ford (1973), and Princess Diana (1997).
Leave a Reply