NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actor Richard Dean Anderson, who was born in 1950; Princess Caroline of Hanover, who was born in 1957; U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, who was born in 1947; actor Gil Gerard, who was born in 1943; college football executive and former player Pat Haden, who was born in 1953; actress Mariska Hargitay, who was born in 1964; actor Rutger Hauer, who was born in 1944; actress Gail O’Grady, who was born in 1963; mixed martial artist Tito Ortiz, who was born in 1975; singer and actress Chita Rivera, who was born in 1933; and actress Tiffani Thiessen, who was born in 1974.
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ELIZABETH BLACKWELL RECEIVED A MEDICAL DEGREE ON THIS DAY IN 1849. She became the first woman to receive an MD degree. The native of Bristol, England, was awarded her degree by the Medical Institution of Geneva, NY.
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EDOUARD MANET WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1832. The painter is best-known for his paintings “Olympia” and “Déjeuner sur l’herbe.” Manet died in 1883 in Paris.
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ERNIE KOVACS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1919. Throughout the ’40s and ’50s the comedian and TV pioneer made a name for himself hosting his own shows, including “The Ernie Kovacs Show” and “Ernie in Kovacsland” and a variety of quiz shows. He died in a car accident in California in 1962.
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STENDHAL WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1783. The French author, born Marie-Henri Beyle, was known as Stendhal, his pseudonym. His best-remembered novels are “The Red and the Black” (1831) and “The Charterhouse of Parma” (1839). Stendhal died in Paris in 1842.
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THE USS PUEBLO WAS SEIZED BY NORTH KOREA ON THIS DAY IN 1968. The ship was seized in the Sea of Japan, claiming the ship was on a spy mission. The crew was held for 11 months and the vessel was confiscated. Accompanying the crew when released — on Dec. 22, 1968 — was the body of Duane D. Hodges, the only crewman killed.
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JOHN HANCOCK WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1737. The American patriot and statesman is best remembered as the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hancock served as president of the Continental Congress and served as Massachusetts governor for nine terms beginning in 1780. Because of his conspicuous signature on the Declaration, Hancock’s name has become part of the American language, referring to any handwritten signature. Born in Massachusetts, he died there in 1793.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
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“A novel is a mirror carried along a main road.” — Stendhal, who was born on this day in 1783
