Events in History
- 70 Walls of upper city of Jerusalem battered down by Roman army
- 489 Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona, and is defeated again.
- 1290 Earthquake in the Gulf of Chihli (Bohai Sea) near China, reportedly kills 100,000 people
- 1312 Duke John II of Brabant ends Charter of Kortenberg
- 1331 The Battle of Płowce between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order is fought.
- 1509 Storm ravages Flemish/Dutch/Friese coast, thousands killed
- 1540 Society of Jesus (Jesuits) founded by Ignatius Loyola confirmed by Pope Paul III in Rome
- 1590 Pope Urban VII dies 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, making his reign the shortest papacy in history.
- 1605 The armies of Sweden are utterly defeated by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Battle of Kircholm.
- 1694 Hurricane hits Carlisle Bay Barbados; 27 British ships sink & 3,000 die
Event of Interest
1779 John Adams negotiates Revolutionary War peace terms with Great Britain
John Adams
- 1794 French troops conquer Crèvecoeur
Event of Interest
1821 Mexican revolutionary forces led by Agustín de Iturbide occupy Mexico City as Spanish withdraw, bringing an end to the Mexican War of Independence
Agustín de Iturbide
Rosetta Stone
1822 French scholar Jean-François Champollion announces he has deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone
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- 1824 Charles X, King of France, makes his state entry into Paris to popular acclaim
Event of Interest
1825 George Stephenson's "Locomotion No. 1" becomes the 1st steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the Stockton and Darlington Railway in England
George Stephenson
- 1830 Dutch army leaves Brussels, after hundreds killed
- 1852 George L Aiken's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" premieres in Troy, NY
- 1854 Steamship "Arctic" collides with "vesta" off Newfoundland coast due to heavy fog, killing 322
- 1863 Jo Shelby's cavalry in action at Moffat's Station, Arkansas
- 1864 Battle at Pilot Knob (Ft Davidson) American Civil War, Missouri: 1700 killed/injured
- 1864 Centralia Massacre (Missouri): 24 unarmed Union soldiers captured and executed by "Bloody Bill" Anderson/Frank
Event of Interest
1864 Jesse James' gang surprise attack train: 150 killed
Jesse James
Historic Publication
1905 The physics journal Annalen der Physik publishes Albert Einstein's paper "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?", introducing the equation E=mc².
Albert Einstein
Model T
1908 Henry Ford's first Ford Model T automobile leaves the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan
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Event of Interest
1909 US President Taft sets aside some 3 million acres of oil-rich public land (including Teapot Dome, Wyoming) for conservation purposes
William Howard Taft
- 1910 1st test flight of a twin-engined airplane (France)
- 1916 1st Native American Day celebrated, honoring American Indians
- 1916 Emperor Lidj Jasu of Ethiopia flees a palace coup by his aunt Zauditu
- 1917 Broadhurst Theater opens at 235 W 44th St NYC
- 1919 British troops withdraw from the North Russian town of Archangelsk after fighting Bolsheviks/Soviets
- 1919 Democratic National Committee votes to allow female members
- 1922 King Constantine I of Greece abdicates
- 1923 Italian troops leave occupied Corfu
- 1924 Giants clinch their 4th straight pennant, beating Phils 5-1
- 1928 The Nationalist Republic of China is recognised by the United States.
- 1930 Cub's Hack Wilson's 2 HRs give him NL record 56 HRs
- 1931 Closest NL batting race ends Chick Hafey (.3488) beats Bill Terry's
Victory in Battle
1936 Franco troops conquer Toledo
Francisco Franco
- 1936 Netherlands leave Gold Standard/devaluate guilder
- 1937 1st Santa Claus Training School opens (Albion NY)
- 1937 Balinese Tiger declared extinct.
- 1938 British ocean liner "Queen Elizabeth" launches at Clydebank, Scotland
- 1938 Jewish lawyers forbidden to practise in Germany
- 1938 League of Nations declares Japan the aggressor against China
- 1939 Warsaw surrenders to Germans after 19 days of resistance
- 1940 55 German aircraft shot down above England
- 1940 Black leaders protest discrimination in US armed forces
- 1940 Floyd Giebells, 1st game, 2-0 pennant clinching beating Bob Feller
- 1940 Nazi Germany, Italy & Japan sign 10 year formal alliance (Axis)
Event of Interest
1941 US President Roosevelt launches the 1st Liberty ship, freighter SS Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry
Event of Interest
1941 Reinhard Heydrich, "butcher of Prague," appointed SS-general (Gruppenfuehrer)
Reinhard Heydrich
MacArthur Meets Hirohito
1945 US General and head of the Allied occupation of Japan, Douglas MacArthur, meets Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo for the first time
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- 1946 King George II of Greece returns from exile to Athens
- 1951 Persian troops occupy oil refinery at Abadan
- 1953 Bert Bechichar, Baltimore Colts, kicks a 56-yard field goal
- 1953 Typhoon destroys one third of Nagoya, Japan
- 1954 1st African American Supreme Court page is CV Bush
- 1954 School integration begins in Washington, D.C. & Baltimore Md public schools
- 1957 Giants rent Seals Stadium until Candlestick is built
Event of Interest
1959 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev concludes his US visit
Nikita Khrushchev
- 1960 Europe's 1st "moving pavement" (travelator), opens at Bank station on the London Underground
- 1961 Sandy Koufax sets NL strikeout season record at 269
- 1961 Sierre Leone becomes 100th member of UN
- 1962 Military uprising under Col Abdullah as-Sallal North Yemen
- 1962 US sells Israel Hawk anti-aircraft missiles
Historic Publication
1962 Rachel Carson publishes 'Silent Spring' about the deleterious impacts of pesticide use in the US on the environment
Rachel Carson
- 1963 At 10:59 AM census clock, records US population at 190,000,000
Event of Interest
1963 Lee Harvey Oswald visits Cubans consulate in Mexico
Lee Harvey Oswald
- 1964 Findings of the Warren Commission into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy released, finds Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone
- 1967 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1968 "Hair" opens in London
- 1968 France denies UK entry into common market
- 1971 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- 1971 Tripartite talks involving the prime ministers of Northern Ireland, Britain, and the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) of the Republic of Ireland take place at Chequers, England
- 1973 Soyuz 12 carries 2 cosmonauts into Earth orbit (2 days)
- 1973 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- 1974 -10/26] Rome: 4th bishop synod
- 1974 Australian National Gallery buys W de Kooning's "Woman V" for $850,000
- 1975 Government De Uyl recalls Dutch ambassador from Spain
- 1978 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1978 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- 1979 US Congress' final approval to create Department of Education
- 1979 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- 1980 WHOT (Brooklyn New York pirate radio station) begins on 1620 AM & 92.5 FM
- 1981 Iran defends its besieged port of Abadan, driving back Iraqi forces
- 1982 Cards clinching NL East title
- 1982 Filming begins on "Never Say Never Again"
- 1982 Jan Wolkers awarded but refuses Constantine Huygens-prize
Birthdays in History
- 1275 John II, Duke of Brabant (d. 1312)
Cosimo de Medici
1389 cosimo de' Medici, Italian banker and de facto ruler of Florence and patron of the arts, born in Florence (d. 1464)
Cosimo de Medici
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
1627 Jacques-Benigne bossuet, French bishop and writer (Louis XIV court preacher), born in Dijon, France (d. 1704)
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
- 1643 Solomon Stoddard, American Puritan clergyman, born in Boston (d. 1729)
- 1657 Sophia Alekseyevna, Regent of Russia (1682-89), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1704)
- 1696 Alfonso Liguori, Italian bishop and theologian, born in Marianella, Campania, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1787)
- 1719 Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician, born in Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony (d. 1800)
Samuel Adams
1722 Samuel Adams, American revolutionary (Boston Massacre-Tea Party) and politician (Lt Gov-Mass, 1789-94), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1803)
Samuel Adams
Agustín de Iturbide
1783 Agustin I de Iturbide, General and 1st Emperor of Mexico (1822-23), born in Valladolid, Michoacán, Mexico (d. 1824)
Agustín de Iturbide
- 1792 George Cruikshank, English caricaturist and illustrator (Grimms' Fairy Tales), born in London, England (d. 1878)
- 1803 Samuel Francis DuPont, American Rear Admiral (Union Navy), born in Bayonne, New Jersey (d. 1865)
- 1805 George Müller, Prussian Christian evangelist and orphanage builder, born in Kroppenstedt, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1898)
- 1809 Raphael Semmes, American Rear Admiral (Confederate Navy), born in Charles County, Maryland (d. 1877)
Hiram R. Revels
1817 Hiram R. Revels, 1st African American US Senator, born in Fayetteville, North Carolina (d. 1901)
Hiram R. Revels
- 1821 Henri-Frédéric Amiel, Swiss writer (Grains de Mil), born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 1881)
- 1824 William "Bull" Nelson, American Major General (Union Army), born in Maysville, Kentucky (d. 1862)
- 1830 William Babcock Hazen, American Major General (Union Army), born in West Hartford, Vermont (d. 1887)
- 1835 John Murray Corse, American politician and Major General (Union Army), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1893 [or 4/27])
- 1838 Anthony Modderman, Dutch politician (Minister of Justice, 1879-83), born in Winschoten, Netherlands (d. 1885)
- 1840 Alfred Thayer Mahan, American naval officer (Influence of Sea Power), born in West Point, New York (d. 1914)
Thomas Nast
1840 Thomas Nast, German-American caricaturist and political cartoonist of late 1800s America, born in Landau, Germany (d. 1902)
Thomas Nast
- 1842 Alphonse François Renard, Belgian geologist, born in Ronse, Belgium (d. 1903)
- 1843 Gaston Tarry, French mathematician, born in Villefranche de Rouergue, Aveyron, France (d. 1913)
- 1858 Þorsteinn Erlingsson, Icelandic poet (Pyrnar), born in Iceland (d. 1914)
- 1862 Louis Botha, 1st Prime Minister of South Africa (1910-19), born in Greytown, South Africa (d. 1919)
- 1864 Alexander Cohen, Dutch anarchist and author, born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands (d. 1961)
- 1864 Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and Catholic priest, born in Liptó County, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (d. 1938)
- 1866 Tryggve Andersen, Norwegian writer (Fra Cancelliraadens Dage), born in Ringsaker, Norway (d. 1920)
- 1866 Eurosia Fabris, Italian Catholic (model of holiness in the daily life of a Catholic family), born in Quinto Vicentino, Italy (d. 1932)
- 1867 Rosa Lewis, English chef and owner (Cavandish Hotel London), born in Leyton, Essex (d. 1952)
- 1871 Grazia Deledda, Italian author (Nobel 1926), born in Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy (d. 1936)
- 1879 Hans Hahn, Austrian mathematician, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1934)
- 1885 Harry Blackstone Sr., American magician, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1965)
- 1893 Joannes Cornelissen, Dutch historian (Hooft & Tacitus)
- 1894 Lothar von Richthofen, German pilot, born in Kleinburg, Germany (d. 1922)
- 1896 Sam Ervin, American politician (U.S. Senator from North Carolina) and Watergate committee chairman, born in Morganton, North Carolina (d. 1985)
- 1905 Vjekoslav Kaleb, Croatian writer (Splendor of the Fabric), born in Tisno, Croatia (d. 1996)
- 1906 William Empson, English poet and critic (Milton's God), born in Hawdon, Yorkshire, England (d. 1984)
- 1906 Jim Thompson, American author (The Killer Inside Me), born in Anadarko, Oklahoma (d. 1977)
Bhagat Singh
1907 Bhagat Singh, Indian freedom fighter, born in Jaranwala Tehsil, Punjab (d. 1931)
Bhagat Singh
- 1908 Shiv Verma, Indian revolutionary soldier (d. 1997)
- 1910 Giles Playfair, English writer, born in Kensington, London (d. 1996)
- 1911 Peter Doig, British Labour Party politician, born in Lochgelly, Fife, Scotland (d. 1996)
- 1912 Gerben Wagenaar, Dutch resistance fighter and communist, born in Amsterdam (d. 1993)
- 1912 Mary Grierson, Welsh botanical artist, born in Bangor, Wales (d. 2012)
- 1913 Albert Ellis, American psychologist, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2007)
- 1916 Samuel S. Stratton, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York), born in Yonkers, New York (d. 1990)
- 1916 Frank Handlen, American artist
- 1917 Louis Auchincloss, Lawrence NY, lawyer/novelist (Watchfires)
- 1918 Malcolm Shepherd [2nd Baron Shepherd], Politician (L) and Leader of the House of Lords (1974-76), born in Blackburn, Lancashire (d. 2001)
- 1918 Martin Ryle, Britain, radio astronomer/astronomer royal (1972-82)
- 1919 Charles H Percy, (Sen-R-Ill)
- 1919 Jayne Meadows, American actress (Dark Delusion, David and Bathsheba) and wife of Steve Allen, born in Wuchang, Hubei, China (d. 2015)
- 1919 James H. Wilkinson, American mathematician (d. 1986)
- 1920 J K Gill, president (Saatchi & Saatchi)
- 1921 Dennis Nineham, British theologian, (d. 2016)
- 1922 Arthur Penn, director (Miracle Worker, Bonnie & Clyde), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1924 Bernard Waber, American author, (d. 2013)
- 1924 Fred Singer, American scientist
- 1924 Josef Skvorecky, Czechoslovakia, writer and publisher (End of the Nylon Age, The Cowards) (d. 2012)
- 1925 Robert Edwards, Batley, Yorkshire, physiologist (IVF pioneer, Nobel 2010), (d. 2013)
- 1927 Eli van der Merwe Louw, South African minister of Transport/Manpower
- 1927 Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman (d. 2006)
- 1928 G H Martin, British keeper of Public Records
- 1928 Margaret Rule, consultant (Mary Rose Trust)
- 1930 Roger Birch, Chief Constable (Sussex)
- 1931 Gerald Warner, deputy secretary (Cabinet Office)
- 1932 Peter Holmes, British businessman, Chairperson of Royal Dutch Shell, born in Athens (d. 2002)
- 1932 Oliver Williamson, American economist (Nobel Prize for Economics 2009), born in Superior, Wisconsin (d. 2020)
- 1932 Yash Chopra, Indian director (Waqt), born in Lahore, British India (d. 2012)
- 1933 Rodney Cotterill, Danish-English physicist (d. 2007)
- 1934 DAER Peake, CEO (Kleinwort Benson Group)
- 1936 Yuri Nikolayevich Stepanov, Russian cosmonaut
- 1938 Alexander Graham, Lord Mayor of London
- 1939 Jim Ross Lightfoot, American politician (Rep-R-Iowa, 1985-97), born in Sioux City, Iowa
- 1939 Nicholas Haslam, English interior designer, born in Amersham
- 1939 Carol Lynn Pearson, American poet and writer
- 1941 Serge Ménard, Québécois politician
- 1942 Tessa Blackstone "the Red Baroness", British politician and educator, born in Bures
- 1943 Anna Gael, [Gyarmarthy], Lady Weymouth, born in Budapest, Hungary
- 1943 Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat
- 1944 IDG Garnett, British Vice-Admiral, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (NATO)
- 1945 Jack Goldstein, Canadian-born artist (d. 2003)
- 1945 Kay Ryan, American poet (Hide and Seek), born in San Jose, California
- 1946 Peter H Kostmayer, (Rep-D-PA, 1977-81, 83- )
- 1946 Ronald Fox, senior partner (Fox Williams)
- 1946 T.C. Cannon, Kiowa/Caddo artist (d. 1978)
- 1947 Jacques Wallage, sociologist/Dutch undersecretary of Education
- 1947 Mary Jo White, American lawyer and Chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, born in Kansas City, Missouri
- 1948 Michael Houlihan, director (Horniman Museum & Gardens)
- 1948 John K. Reed, American coral biologist
- 1949 Graham Richardson, Australian politician
- 1951 Jim Shooter, American comic book writer
- 1951 Paul Craig, British law professor
- 1952 Doemitri Dorin Prunariu, Romania, cosmonaut (Soyuz 40)
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
1759 Political activist Thomas Paine (22) weds household servant Mary Lambert (21)
Thomas Paine
Wedding of Interest
1865 Physicist Johannes van der Waals (27) weds Anna Magdalena Smit (18)
Johannes van der Waals
Wedding of Interest
1876 Poet Frederic Mistral (46) weds Marie Louise Aimee Rivière
Frederic Mistral
Wedding of Interest
1920 Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies (25) weds Pattie Maie Leckie (21) at Kew Presbyterian Church in Melbourne, Australia
Robert Menzies
- 1947 Fantasy and sci-fiction writer Ray Bradbury (27) weds Marguerite McClure (25)
Deaths in History
- 1249 Count Raymond VII of Toulouse (b. 1197)
- 1259 Ezzeline III da Romano, gentleman of Verona/"cruel monster", dies
- 1404 William of Wykeham, chancellor/Bishop of Winchester, dies
- 1557 Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (b. 1497)
- 1566 Marcus A Vida, [Marcus Hieronymus], Italian humanist/poet/bishop, dies
- 1590 Urban VII, [Giambattista Castagna], Italian Pope (1590), dies
- 1612 Piotr Skarga, Polish theology/PM (Sanctity of Life), dies at 76
- 1615 Arbella Stuart, English great-great-granddaughter of King Henry VII and possible heir to the throne, dies imprisoned in the Tower of London at 39 or 40
- 1617 Johan Earnest count of Nassau-Siegen, dies
- 1641 Francois van d'aerssen, mister of Sommelsdijk and diplomat, dies at 69
- 1651 Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, dies at 78
- 1660 Vincent de Paul, French Roman Catholic Saint, dies at 79
- 1674 Robert Arnauld d'andilly, French literary figure, financier and translator, dies at 85
- 1674 Thomas Traherne, English poet and mystic (Roman Forgeries), dies
- 1700 Innocent XII [Antonio Pignatelli], Pope (1691-1700), dies at 85
- 1719 George Smalridge, English Bishop of Bristol (b. 1662)
- 1730 Laurence Eusden, English poet, Poet Laureate (1718-30), dies at 42
- 1735 Peter Artedi, Swedish naturalist (b. 1705)
- 1737 John Sidney, 6th Earl of Leicester, English privy councillor, dies at 57
- 1742 Hugh Boulter, Irish Archbishop of Armagh (b. 1672)
- 1783 Étienne Bézout, French mathematician (b. 1730)
- 1821 Luis Brión, Curacaos military officer who fought in the Venezuelan War of Independence, dies at 39
- 1831 Henry van Wine, archivist/founder General Rijksarchief, dies at 91
- 1831 Joannis Capodistrias, Greek governor of Troezen, murdered at 55
- 1832 Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher, dies at 51
- 1844 Charles Nodier, French writer (History du chien the Brisquet), dies at 63
- 1868 Alexander Walewski, French earl and Foreign Minister, dies at 58
- 1870 Henry TP Comstock, Canadian silver prospector, dies at 50
- 1876 Braxton Bragg, American Confederate general (b. 1817)
- 1883 Ram Mohan Roy, Hindu reformer (founded Brahmo Sabha), dies at 61
- 1891 Ivan Goncharov, Russian author (b. 1812)
- 1903 Alson Sherman, American politician (8th Mayor of Chicago 1844-45), dies at 92
- 1911 Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist and petrologist, dies at 67
- 1915 Conrad T van Deventer, Dutch jurist/MP (liberal), dies at 57
- 1915 Kaspar C E Ritter von Zumbusch, German/Austrian sculptor, dies at 84
- 1915 Remy de Gourmont, French poet, dies at 57
- 1916 Emile A G Verhaeren, Belgian writer (Les Heures du Soir), dies at 61
- 1917 Edgar Degas, French impressionist painter, sculptor and artist (The Bellelli Family), dies at 83
- 1940 Walter Benjamin, German/French literature critic/writer, dies at 48
- 1940 Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian neuroscientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1857)
- 1942 Douglas Munro, only US Coast Guard with WW II-Med of Honor, dies
- 1944 Aimee Semple McPherson, Canadian-American evangelist (Pentecostal), dies at 53
- 1944 Aristide Maillol, French painter and sculptor (Seated Woman), dies in car crash at 82
- 1944 Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, Russian photographer and chemist, dies at 81
- 1953 Jules-Marie Canneel, Flemish painter and caricaturist (Rocks of Oran), dies at 72
- 1955 Henri Liebrecht, Belgian stagewriter/journalist, dies at 71
- 1956 Milburn G. Apt, American test pilot, 1st person to exceed Mach 3, killed in a X-2 rocket plane reaching 3370 kph, dies in the crash at 32
- 1960 Sylvia Pankhurst, English feminist and suffragette, dies at 78
- 1961 Hilda Doolittle, American poetess (Bid Me to Live), dies at 75
- 1962 Francisco Brochado da Rocha, Prime Minister of Brazil (1962), dies at 52
- 1967 Felix Yussupov, Russian aristocrat, dies at 80
- 1972 S. R. Ranganathan, Indian mathematician (b. 1892)
- 1974 Silvio Frondizi, Argentine lawyer, assassinated by the Triple A(b. 1907)
- 1975 Jack Lang, Australian politician (b. 1876)
- 1981 Coenraad van Emde Boas, Dutch sexologist, dies at 77
- 1982 Saad Sayd, [Abu Walid], Palestinian commandant in Lebanon, dies
- 1983 Wilfred Burchett, Australian communist and writer (Catapult to Freedom), dies at 72
- 1988 William V. Shannon, American journalist and ambassador to Ireland (1977-81), dies at 61
- 1991 Jan Hart, director (Friends of Curacao), dies
- 1991 Oona Chaplin, daughter of Eugene O'Neill and wife of Charlie Chaplin, dies at 66
- 1992 Wim Van Exter, founder Unity Profession Central (1944), dies
- 1993 Andrei Solovyiov, Russian photographer, dies in battle at 38
Jimmy Doolittle
1993 James Doolittle, US air force general (Tokyo 1942), dies at 96
Jimmy Doolittle
- 1994 Guiseppe Martelli, Italian physicist, dies at 71
- 1995 Alison "Night Bird" Steele, DJ (WNEW-FM, WXRK-FM), dies of cancer
- 1996 Mohammad Najibullah, President of Afghanistan (1987-92), executed at 49
- 1997 Walter Trampler, American violist (Beaux Arts Trio), dies at 82
- 2004 John E. Mack, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1929)
- 2007 Kenji Nagai, Japanese photojournalist (b. 1957)
William Safire
2009 William Safire, American Columnist, dies at 79
William Safire
Hugh Hefner
2017 Hugh Hefner, American magazine publisher and businessman (Playboy), dies of natural causes at 91
Hugh Hefner