This Day in History...
Otto von Bismarck—who, as prime minister of Prussia (1862–73, 1873–90), used ruthlessness and moderation to unify Germany, founding the German Empire (1871) and serving as its first chancellor (1871–90)—died this day in 1898.
Historic Events:
- Lutheran clergyman Robert Barnes was burned as a heretic after being used by Thomas Cromwell and King Henry VIII to gain European support for their antipapal movement in England (1540)
- Baltimore: port town and industrial center was founded (1729)
- The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sank within 15 minutes. It was one of the greatest naval losses of World War II, resulting in the deaths of nearly 900 men. (1945) - Shark Week
- President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare Bill into law. (1965)
- Former Teamsters union president James Hoffa was reported missing. Many suspect he was murdered, though his remains have never been found. (1975)
Today's Birthday:
Henry Moore, born this day in 1898, was an English sculptor whose organically shaped, abstract figures in bronze and stone constitute the major 20th-century manifestation of the humanist tradition in sculpture.
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Henry Moore in his studio, mid-1960s)
Other Notables:
Emily Brontë: author of Wuthering Heights (1818)
Henry Ford: inventor who popularized mass production with the Ford Motor Company, Model-T car (1863)
Laurence Fishburne (46), Lisa Kudrow (44), Hilary Swank (33): actors