Alex Haley was born 90 years ago today. More about Haley in a separate post.
David Rice Atchison was born on August 11, 1807. Atchison was U.S. senator from Missouri 1844-1855. He was twice present pro tempore of the Senate, including during 1849. Saturday, March 3, 1849, was James K. Polk’s last day as president. Zachary Taylor did not take the oath until Monday, March 5, 1849. So, some claim, on Sunday, March 4, 1849, the president pro tempore of the senate was the president of the United States, and that was David Rice Atchison. Atchison, Kansas, is named for the senator. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad is named for the town.
Mike Douglas was born Michael Delaney Dowd Jr. on August 11, 1925. Douglas began his entertainment career as a singer on a Lake Michigan dinner cruise ship. He was the vocalist with Kay Kyser until 1951, including two hit songs, “Ole Buttermilk Sky” and “The Old Lamplighter.” Douglas did the vocals for Prince Charming in Cinderella. He became a daytime television talk show host in 1961 in Cleveland, first on the five Westinghouse owned stations, but later in wide syndication. The Mike Douglas Show was immensely popular and highly regarded and lasted until 1982. Guests included just about everybody. Douglas died on his birthday five years ago today.
Marilyn dos Savant, once listed by Guinness as having the world record IQ, is 65 today. Many have challenged the validity of IQ testing and Guinness quit listing highest IQ in 1990 — the concept is so vague and as dos Savant herself has said “attempts to measure it are useless.” She has written a column in Parade since 1986. She also is CFO for Jarvik Heart, Inc. Dr. Jarvik is her husband. Vos Savant was first listed in Guinness for having an IQ of 185. At one time, based on a test she took as 10-year-old, she claimed 228.
Co-developer of Apple, with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne, Steve Wozniak is 61 today. Wozniak is considered solely responsible for the 1975 Apple I hardware, circuit board and operating system.
Hulk Hogan is 58 today. The columnist David Brooks is 50. Pablo Sandoval, Kung Fu Panda, is 25.