Today is the birthday
… of George Martin. The man who produced The Beatles’ records is 82.
… of Dabney Coleman. Franklin M. Hart Jr. is 76 (that’s the boss in Nine To Five).
… of Bobby Hull. The hockey hall-of-famer is 69.
… of Stephen Stills. The rock and roll hall-of-famer is 63.
… of John Paul Jones. No, not the Navy guy. The Led Zeppelin guy. He’s 62.
… of Victoria Principal. Pamela Barnes Ewing (Dallas) is 58.
… of Mel Gibson. Old Blood and Guts is 52.
… of Danica McKellar, 33. You know, Winnie from The Wonder Years.
… of Eli Manning, 27.
J(ohn) R(onald) R(euel) Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on this date in 1892. Tolkien is best known for his fantasy novels The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (1954-1955).
Joseph de Veuster was born on this date in 1840. Known as Father Damien, the Belgian priest spent the last 16 years of his life ministering to the leper colony on Molokai.
“This is my work in the world. Sooner or later I shall become a leper, but may it not be until I have exhausted my capabilities for good.”
With King Kamehameha, Damien’s statue is one of the two chosen by Hawaii to be displayed in Statuary Hall in the nation’s Capitol.