Albert is Einstein born and Stephen Hawking dead – Chicago Tribune

Today is Thursday, March 14, the 75th day of 2024. There are 292 days left in the year.

Highlights of this day in history:

Albert Einstein, who would revolutionize physics and human understanding of the universe, was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany.

On this date:

In 1794, Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America’s cotton industry.

In 1939, the Republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, leading to the Nazi occupation of Czech regions and the secession of Slovakia.

In 1951, during the Korean War, United Nations forces recaptured Seoul.

In 1962, Democrat Edward M. Kennedy officially launched in Boston his successful bid for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts once held by his brother, President John F. Kennedy. (Edward Kennedy served in the Senate for nearly 47 years.)

In 1964, a jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, and sentenced him to death. (Both the conviction and death sentence were overturned, but Ruby died before he could get a retrial.)

In 1967, the body of President John F. Kennedy was moved from a temporary grave to a permanent memorial site at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

In 1980, a LOT Polish Airlines jet crashed while trying to land in Warsaw, killing all 87 people on board, including 22 members of the U.S. amateur boxing team.

In 1990, the Congress of Soviet People’s Deputies held a secret ballot that elected Mikhail S. Gorbachev to a powerful new presidency.

In 1995, American astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to enter space on a Russian rocket when he and two cosmonauts boarded the Soyuz spacecraft bound for the Mir space station.

In 2011, Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Darlene Love, Dr. John and Leon Russell were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2015, wealthy and eccentric Robert Durst, who was linked to two murders and the disappearance of his wife, was arrested on a murder warrant by the FBI in New Orleans, one day before HBO aired the final episode of a series of documentaries about his life. (Durst would be convicted of shooting his friend Susan Berman to death; he died in January 2022 while serving a life sentence in California.)

In 2018, Stephen Hawking, the best-known theoretical physicist of his time, died at his home in Cambridge, England, at the age of 76; He stunned doctors by living with the normally fatal disease ALS for more than 50 years.

In 2021, female artists including Beyoncé and Taylor Swift took top honors at the Grammy Awards; Beyoncé’s 28th win made her the most decorated woman in Grammy history.

In 2022, country music legend Dolly Parton announced she was withdrawing from her nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, saying she “did not earn the right.” (He would later reverse course and agree to be let into the hall.)

Today’s Birthdays: Michael Caine is 91 years old. Composer-conductor Quincy Jones is 91 years old. Actor Raymond J. Barry is 85 years old. Country singer Michael Martin Murphey is 79. Rock musician Walt Parazaider (formerly of Chicago) is 79. Actor Steve Kanaly is 78 years old. Comedian Billy Crystal is 76, Actor-writer-comedian-radio star Rick Dees is 73, Country singer Jann Browne is 70, actor Adrian Zmed is 70, Monaco ruler Prince II. Albert is 66, actor Laila Robins is 65. Actor Tamara Tunie 65. Producer-director-writer Kevin Williamson 59. Actor Elise Neal 58. Actor Gary Anthony Williams 58. Actor Megan Follows 56. Rock musician Michael Bland 55. Country singer Kristian Bush 54. Actor Betsy Brandt 51, Actor Grace Park 50, Actor Daniel Gillies 48, Actor Corey Stoll 48, Actor Jake Fogelnest 45, Actor Chris Klein 45, Actor Ryan Cartwright (TV: “Kevin Can Wait”) 43 years old. Actor Kate Maberly 42. Singer-musician Taylor Hanson (Hanson) 41. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, 40. Actor Jamie Bell 38. Rock musician Este Haim (Haim) 38. NBA star Stephen Curry 36. Actor Ansel Elgort 30 years old . Olympic gold medalist gymnast Simone Biles is 27 years old. Actor James Freedson-Jackson (Movie: “The Strange Ones”) is 22 years old.