George Washington shares a birthday

Sparky Anderson Plaque… with Don Pardo. The original “Jeopardy!” and “Saturday Night Live” announcer is 89.

… with Senator Edward Kennedy. He’s 75.

… with Sparky Anderson. The baseball hall-of-fame manager is 73.

… with Julius Erving. Dr. J is 57.

… with that ass, doctor/senator Bill Frist. He’s 55.

… with Kyle MacLachlan. The actor is 48.

… with Vijay Singh. He’s 44.

Peter Hurd

… with Drew Barrymore. The actress is 32.

Artist Peter Hurd was born in Roswell, New Mexico, on this date in 1904. That’s his watercolor, “The Winos.”

American poets James Russell Lowell and Edna St. Vincent Millay were born on this date; Lowell in 1819 and Millay in 1892.

Edna St. Vincent Millay was a terse and moving spokesman during the Twenties, the Thirties and the Forties. She was an idol of the younger generation during the glorious early days of Greenwich Village when she wrote, what critics termed a frivolous but widely know poem which ended:

My candle burns at both ends, It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, It gives a lovely light!

All critics agreed, however, that Greenwich Village and Vassar, plus a gypsy childhood on the rocky coast of Maine, produced one of the greatest American poets of her time. (The New York Times)

Rembrandt Peale George Washington

Rembrandt Peale was born on this date in 1778. His brothers were named Raphael, Rubens and Titian. Son of portrait-painter Charles Wilson Peale, Rembrandt Peale is known primarily for his many renditions of George Washington. Most are based on his most famous work, this portrait of Washington from 1795 (click to view larger version). Rembrandt Peale also painted a classic portrait of Thomas Jefferson.

Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, should have been 45 today.