Almanac - Tuesday March 26, 2024

Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (2007-09) and Democratic California representative, was born today in 1940.

Grammy award winning singer/actress Diana Ross of the Supremes was born today in 1944.

1942 – Erica Jong, American novelist and poet; she wrote “Fear Of Flying”

1824 – Julie-Victoire Daubié, French journalist, activist, first woman to graduate from a University in France (d. 1874)

1900 – Angela Maria Autsch, German nun, died in Auschwitz; while imprisoned there, she tried to help Jewish prisoners (d. 1941)

1981 Anaïs Mitchell, American singer-songwriter and playwright (Hadestown - 2019 Tony for Best Musical), born in Vermont

Also on this day in history….

624 – First Eid al-Fitr celebration.

1812 – A political cartoon in the Boston-Gazette coins the term "gerrymander" to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.

1967 – Ten thousand people gather for one of many Central Park be-ins in New York City.

1971 – East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Liberation War begins.

1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.

1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in Washington, D.C.

1982 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.

2017 – Russia-wide anti-corruption protests in 99 cities. The Levada Center survey showed that 38% of surveyed Russians supported protests and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption.

Today’s birthdays also include….

1633 – Mary Beale, British artist (d. 1699)

1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Prussia (d. 1757)

1824 – Julie-Victoire Daubié, French journalist (d. 1874)

1850 – Edward Bellamy, American author, socialist, and utopian visionary (d. 1898)

1859 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (d. 1936)

1873 – Dorothea Bleek, South African-German anthropologist and philologist (d. 1948)

1874 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (d. 1963)

1875 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (d. 1965)

1876 – Kate Richards O'Hare, American Socialist Party activist and editor (d. 1948)

1888 – Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse and philanthropist (d. 1948)

1900 – Angela Maria Autsch, German nun, murdered in Auschwitz helping Jewish prisoners (d. 1941)

1904 – Joseph Campbell, American mythologist and author (d. 1987)

1905 – Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997)

1905 – Mona Williams, American novelist, short story writer and poet (d. 1991)

1911 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (d. 1983)

1913 – Jacqueline de Romilly, Franco-Greek philologist, author, and scholar (d. 2010)

1913 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian-Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1996)

1914 – William Westmoreland, American general (d. 2005)

1916 – Sterling Hayden, American actor and author (d. 1986)

1917 – Rufus Thomas, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 2001)

1923 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2016)

1925 – Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2016)

1925 – James Moody, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2010)

1929 – Edward Sorel, American illustrator and caricaturist

1930 – Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001)

1930 – Sandra Day O'Connor, American lawyer and jurist (d. 2023)

1931 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (d. 2015)

1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor (d. 2023)

1937 – Barbara Jones, American sprinter

1940 – James Caan, American actor and singer (d. 2022)

1940 – Nancy Pelosi, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

1941 – Richard Dawkins, Kenyan-English ethologist, biologist, and academic

1942 – Erica Jong, American novelist and poet

1943 – Bob Woodward, American journalist and author

1944 – Diana Ross, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

1949 – Vicki Lawrence, American actress, comedian, talk show host, and singer

1950 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)

1950 – Martin Short, Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, and producer

1953 – Lincoln Chafee, American academic and politician, 74th Governor of Rhode Island

1953 – Elaine Chao, Taiwanese-American banker and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Labor

1953 – Tatyana Providokhina, Russian runner

1954 – Curtis Sliwa, American talk show host and activist, founded Guardian Angels

1954 – Dorothy Porter, Australian poet and playwright (d. 2008)

1957 – Fiona Bruce, Scottish lawyer and politician

1957 – Leeza Gibbons, American talk show host and television personality

1957 – Paul Morley, English journalist, producer, and author

1957 – Shirin Neshat, Iranian visual artist

1960 – Jennifer Grey, American actress and dancer

1964 – Maria Miller, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

1965 – Violeta Szekely, Romanian runner

1971 – Rennae Stubbs, Australian tennis player and sportscaster

1972 – Leslie Mann, American actress

1974 – Irina Spîrlea, Romanian tennis player

1976 – Amy Smart, American actress and former model

1977 – Bianca Kajlich, American actress

1978 – Anastasia Kostaki, Greek basketball player

1979 – Juliana Paes, Brazilian actress

1980 – Margaret Brennan, American journalist

1983 – Floriana Lima, American actress

1984 – Sara Jean Underwood, American model, television host, and actress

1985 – Keira Knightley, English actress

1986 – Emma Laine, Finnish tennis player

1992 – Nina Agdal, Danish model

1994 – Alison Van Uytvanck, Belgian tennis player

1994 – Paige VanZant, American mixed martial artist and model

1994 – Marcela Zacarías, Mexican tennis player

1996 – Kathryn Bernardo, Filipino actress

1998 – Satoko Miyahara, Japanese figure skater

1981 Anaïs Mitchell, American singer-songwriter and playwright (Hadestown - 2019 Tony for Best Musical), born in Vermont

2003 – Bhad Bhabie, American rapper and social media personality

Almanac - Tuesday March 26, 2024

KALW NEWSLETTERS