Today’s another day where there’s a Pope in both paragraphs, and to this end we see Alfons de Borja who went onto become Pope Callixtus III find himself extra omnes in 1378. Explorer who not only claimed Canada for France, but also has a range of watches named after him – Jacques Cartier kept his appointment in 1491. Charles Edward Louie John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart, or just Bonny Prince Charlie, was the young pretender from 1720. British army general in the American War of Independence – Charles Cornwallis started eyeing things up from 1738. French palette holder Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse impressed his parents from 1869. Cosmetic queen Florence Nightingale Green, or to use her business name – Elizabeth Arden had a bit of colour to her in 1878. Not quite goatee bearded King of Saudi Arabia – Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud, started wearing thobes in 1935. Luvvie Philip Anthony Hopkins was a legend of the fall in 1937. Ill tempered, gum chomping, football boot throwing ex-Manager of Manchester United and best mate of Dave ‘you know’ Beckham, Alexander Chapman ‘Alex’ Ferguson made it through the defences in 1941. Guitarist with 70’s/80’s band The Police – Andrew James ‘Andy’ Summers parents weren’t so lonely from 1942. Singer of virtually every genre of music I dislike, not to mention being a disqualified pilot, (not that it stopped him flying – until he crashed), Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., or just John Denver, had poems, prayers and promises bestowed upon him in 1943. Also born that year, Krishna Bhanji, or, to use his stage name, Ben Kingsley, had to pardon his expression. Actor Timothy Lewis ‘Tim’ Matthieson has been unable to remember his birth since 1947. Disco queen not averse to a spangly top and glitter balls, LaDonna Adrian Gaines who went with the stage name Donna Summer, found it was all systems go in 1948. Loooserrr of the Scottish referendum, seemingly power crazy ex-leader from the Scottish National Party – Alexander Elliot Anderson ‘Alex’ Salmon didn’t put up any opposition to being born in 1954. Actor who not only researches his roles, but also likes a decent spat with his fellow breed, (apparently), Val Edward Kilmer must have had blood out in 1959. British television presenter who’s hypnotising people to watch her shows – Lowri Gwyneth Turner was unable to age regress in 1964. Norwegian of the day, writer Are Kalvø began his backstory in 1969. Youngest of nine(!) children – singer Joseph Mulrey ‘Joey’ McIntyre was the new kid on the block in 1972. Having had his video viewed over 2.4 billion times Park Jae-sang, or just Psy did it gangnam style in 1977. Son to impetuous billionaire ex-President Donald Trump Snr., imaginatively named Donald John ‘Don’ Trump Jr., started trumping in 1977. Olympic gold medal winning artistic gymnast Gabrielle Christina Victoria ‘Gabby’ Douglas made her mother do the splits in 1995.
As for deaths, it’s a very quiet day – but we start with Roman emperor Commodus who left the seat up for the last time in 192. Pope Saint Sylvester I handed in his robes and sandals way back in 335. Godigisel, King of the Vandals had enough of smashing stuff up in 406. First Astronomer Royal who catalogued over 3,000 stars, John Flamsteed found his star well in the descendent in 1719. Russian physicist Alexander Stepanovich Popov did exactly that in 1905, (on the Old Style calendar). Land and water speed record holder who used to live in Reigate, Surrey, Sir Malcolm Campbell had a dead start in 1948. Co-founder of Dutch airline KLM – Dr. Albert Plesman entered the twilight zone in 1953. Eric Hillary Nelson who found fame as singer/songwriter Ricky Nelson has been on a long vacation since 1985. Not eternal Peter Pan of Pop with the dyed hair and vineyard who hates meeting his fans, but poet Harri Webb has come up with blank verses since 1994. Actor Leo Fuchs hasn’t been awake or able to sing since 1994. Comedian John C Wood or John Fortune didn’t have the last laugh in 2013. Daughter of Nat King Cole – singer Natalie Maria Cole found her little bit of heaven in 2015. Singer/songwriter born Thomas McAleese, but known as Dean Ford, hasn’t been back on the road since 2018. Footballer then manager Thomas Henderson ‘Tommy’ Docherty could have done with The Doc in 2020. Emmy winning actress/comedian whose career spanned seven decades – Betty Marion White has had a date with the angels since 2021. Finally, two different people died in 2022 and first up is singer/songwriter Anita Marie Pointer certainly wasn’t having a party. Then there was Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger or Pope Benedict XVI who popped his Papal slippers off for the last time.
With thanks to http://www.onthisday.com for filling in the gaps.
I’d also like to thank you for reading these posts over the years, as I think now’s the time to take some time off from posting them. I’d like to think I’ll start again at some point in the future, either in this format or a slightly abbreviated one, but we’ll see – until then stay safe and have fun!
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