On this day in 1519, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, Lady of Pesaro and Gradara, Duchess of Bisceglie and Princess of Salerno, Duchess of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia Borgia died in Ferrara, Italy at the age of 39 from complications after giving birth to her eighth child, having had a lifelong history of complicated pregnancies and miscarriages. Born in Subiaco, near Rome on 18 April 1480. Her mother was Vannozza dei Cattanei, one of the mistresses of Lucrezia’s father, Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI). Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia. Lucrezia’s family later came to epitomize the ruthless Machiavellian politics and sexual corruption characteristic of the Renaissance Papacy. Lucrezia was cast as a femme fatale, a role she has been portrayed as in many artworks, novels, films and an opera. Very little is known of Lucrezia, and the extent of her complicity in the political machinations of her father and brothers is unclear. They certainly arranged several marriages for her to important or powerful men in order to advance their own political ambitions. Lucrezia was married to Giovanni Sforza (Lord of Pesaro), Alfonso of Aragon (Duke of Bisceglie), and Alfonso I d’Este (Duke of Ferrara). Tradition has it that Alfonso of Aragon was an illegitimate son of the King of Naples and that Lucrezia’s brother Cesare may have had him murdered after his political value waned.
The Final Footprint – Lucrezia was entombed in the convent of Corpus Domini. On 15 October 1816, the Romantic poet Lord Byron visited the Ambrosian Library of Milan. He was delighted by the letters between Borgia and her one-time lover, poet Pietro Bembo (“The prettiest love letters in the world”) and claimed to have managed to steal a lock of her hair (“the prettiest and fairest imaginable”) held on display. Victor Hugo’s 1833 stage play Lucrèce Borgia, loosely based on the stories of Lucrezia, was transformed into a libretto by Felice Romani for Donizetti’s opera, Lucrezia Borgia (1834), first performed at La Scala, Milan, 26 December 1834.
#RIP #OTD in 1909 novelist, short story writer (The Country of the Pointed Firs), poet, Sarah Orne Jewett died in her South Berwick, Maine from a stroke aged 59. Portland Street Cemetery, South Berwick, Maine
#RIP #OTD in 1933 soprano, called “The Black Patti” in reference to Italian opera singer Adelina Patti, Sissieretta
Jones died from cancer at the Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island aged 64-65. Grace Church Cemetery, Providence
#OTD #RIP in 1935 French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, the most prominent figure in the history of tango, «El Zorzal”, “The King of Tango” Carlos Gardel died in an airplane crash in Medellín, Columbia, aged 44. La Chacarita Cemetery in Buenos Aires
On this day in 1987 comedian, actor and musician Jackie Gleason died at his home in Lauderhill, Florida at the age of 71. Born Herbert Walton Gleason, Jr. on 26 February 1916 in either Bushwick or Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Perhaps best known for his role on television as Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners and for The Jackie Gleason Show (1952-1970). His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The Hustler (1961) starring Paul Newman, and as Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit movie series. Gleason married three times; Genevieve Halford (1936-1970 divorce), Beverly McKittrick (1970-1975 divorce) and Marilyn Taylor (1975-1987 his death). His trademark phrases were “And away we go!” and “How sweet it is!”. In my opinion, The Honymooners is, without question, the “Bang, Zoom” funniest show that ever aired on television. And I will stand on Jerry Seinfeld’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that. I remember watching The Jackie Gleason Show as a kid. Gleason was hilarious in Smokey and the Bandit.
The Final Footprint – Gleason is entombed in a private mausoleum in Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Miami, Florida. Engraved at the base of the mausoleum is his epitaph; “AND AWAY WE GO”. A life-size statue of Gleason, in full uniform as bus driver Ralph Kramden, stands outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. Another statue stands at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in North Hollywood, California, showing Gleason in his famous “And away we go!” pose. Local signs on the Brooklyn Bridge, which indicate to drivers that they are entering Brooklyn, have the Gleason phrase “How Sweet It Is!” as part of the sign.
On this day in 2014, actor, graduate of the University of Texas, Eli Wallach died of natural causes at the age of 98 in Manhattan. Born Eli Herschel Wallach on 7 December 1915 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Wallach’s career spanned more than six decades, beginning in the late 1940s. On stage, he often co-starred with his wife, Anne Jackson, becoming one of the best-known acting couples in the American theater. Wallach initially studied method acting under Sanford Meisner, and later became a founding member of the Actors Studio, where he studied under Lee Strasberg. His versatility gave him the ability to play a wide variety of different roles throughout his career, primarily as a supporting actor.
For his debut screen performance in Baby Doll, he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Among his other most famous roles are; Calvera in The Magnificent Seven (1960), Guido in The Misfits (1961), and Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Don Altobello in The Godfather Part III, Cotton Weinberger in The Two Jakes (both 1990), and Arthur Abbott in The Holiday (2006). One of America’s most prolific screen actors, Wallach remained active well into his nineties, with roles as recently as 2010 in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and The Ghost Writer.
Wallach received BAFTA Awards, Tony Awards and Emmy Awards for his work, and received an Academy Honorary Award at the second annual Governors Awards, presented on November 13, 2010. Wallach and Jackson were married from 1948 until his death.
The Final Footprint – Wallach was cremated.
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On this day in 1868, composer, The Italian Mozart, Gioachino Rossini, died at his country house at Passy, France at the age of 76. Born Gioachino Antonio Rossini on 29 February 1792 in Pesaro, Italy. Best known for his 39 operas which inlcude Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), Guillaume Tell (William Tell) and La cenerentola (Cinderella). A 30-year-old Rossini met Ludwig van Beethoven, then aged 51, in 1822. Communicating in writing, Beethoven noted: “Ah, Rossini. So you’re the composer of The Barber of Seville. I congratulate you. It will be played as long as Italian opera exists. Never try to write anything else but opera buffa; any other style would do violence to your nature.” That same year Rossini married the renowned opera singer Isabella Colbran. She died in 1845 and on 16 August 1846, he married Olympe Pélissier. During his life Rossini was photographed by Félix Nadar and Etienne Carjat and had his portrait painted by Giorces, Vincenzo Camuccini and Francesco Hayez. I saw Houston Grand Opera’s production of La cenerentola in October of 1995 with Cecilia Bartoli in the role of Angelina (Cinderella). I fell in love with opera, and Miss Bartoli, that night.
The Final Footprint – Rossini was entombed in the Rossini Private Mausoleum in Cimetière du Père Lachaise, Paris, Ile-de-France Region, France. In 1887, his remains were moved and entombed in the Basilica di Santa Croce, in Florence, at the request of the Italian government. The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce. It is the burial place of some of the most famous Italians; Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell’Itale Glorie). His private mausoleum remains unoccupied at Père Lachaise. Père Lachaise is the largest cemetery in Paris and one of the most visited cemeteries in the world. Bravo Rossini!
On this day in 1903, Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro died in Paris at the age of 73. Born 
The Final Footprint – Pissarro was entombed in the Cimetière du Père Lachaise, Paris, Ile-de-France Region, France, the largest cemetery in the city of Paris (44 hectares or 110 acres). Père Lachaise is in the 20th 
On this day in 1952 writer of children’s books, including Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd, Margaret Wise Brown died in Nice, France at 42 of an embolism. She has been called “the laureate of the nursery” for her achievements. Born 23 May 1910 in Brooklyn.
The Final Footprint – While on a book tour in Nice, France, she died shortly after surgery for a ruptured appendix. Kicking up her leg to show her nurses how well she was feeling caused a blood clot that had formed in her leg to dislodge and travel to her heart. Her cremated remains were scattered at her island home, “The Only House,” in Vinalhaven, Maine.
On this day in 1974 chemical technician and labor union activist Karen Silkwood died in a car crash under unclear circumstances near Crescent, Oklahoma at the age of 28. Born Karen Gay Silkwood on February 19, 1946 in Longview, Texas. Primarily known for raising concerns about corporate practices related to health and safety of workers in a nuclear facility. Following her mysterious death her estate filed a lawsuit against chemical company Kerr-McGee, which was eventually settled for $1.38 million. Her story was chronicled in Mike Nichols‘s 1983 Academy Award-nominated film Silkwood in which she was portrayed by Meryl Streep.
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On this day in 2016, musician and songwriter Leon Russell died 
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On this day in 1094, King of Scots, Duncan II, died at the Battle of Mondoynes. Born Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim before c. 1060. Son of Malcolm III (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada) and his first wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, widow of Thorfinn Sigurdsson. About 1093–1094 Duncan married Uchtreda of Northumbria, daughter of Gospatric, Earl of Dunbar and Northumbria. Duncan deposed his uncle Donald III but reigned for only six months. He was succeeded by Donald III. 
I am very proud of my Scottish heritage. In My Defens, God Me Defend!
On this day in 1981 Academy Award winning actor William Holden bled to death from a head wound suffered in a fall in his apartment in Santa Monica, California at the age of 63. Born William Franklin Beedle, Jr. in O’Fallon, Illinois on 17 April 1918. In my opinion, one of the most popular movie stars of all time, Holden was one of the biggest box office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1953 for his role in Stalag 17, and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor for his role in the 1973 television film The Blue Knight. Holden starred in some of Hollywood’s most popular and critically acclaimed films, including such blockbusters as Sunset Boulevard, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Wild Bunch, Picnic, The Towering Inferno, and Network. He was named one of the “Top 10 Stars of the Year” six times (1954–1958, 1961). Holden married actress Ardis Ankerson (stage name Brenda Marshall) (1941 – 1971 divorce). They served as best man and matron of honor as the only guests at the wedding of Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis. During the filming of Sabrina (1954), Audrey Hepburn and Holden became romantically involved. Holden met French actress Capucine in the early 1960s. The two starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn (1964). They began a two-year affair. In 1972, Holden began a nine-year relationship with actress Stefanie Powers. My favorite Holden movies; Sabrina (1954), The Horse Soldiers (1959) and The Wild Bunch (1969).
On this day in 2003 actor Jonathan Brandis died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from injuries sustained in a hanging, aged 27. Born Jonathan Gregory Brandis in Danbury, Connecticut on 13 April 1976.
On this day in 2016, actress and centenarian Lupita Tovar died in Los Angeles at the age of 106. Born Guadalupe Natalia Tovar on 27 July 1910 Perhaps best known for her starring role in the 1931 Spanish language version of Drácula, filmed in Los Angeles by Universal Pictures at night using the same sets as the Bela Lugosi version, but with a different cast and director. She also starred in the 1932 film Santa, one of the first Mexican sound films, and one of the first commercial Spanish-language sound films.
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And on this day in 2018, United States Army veteran, 
On this day in 1831 African American slave Nat Turner was hanged after being convicted of leading a slave rebellion in Virginia. Born 2 October 1800 in Southampton County, Virginia. The rebellion resulted in 60 white deaths. Local residents responded with at least 200 black deaths. In the aftermath, the state executed 56 blacks accused of being part of Turner’s slave rebellion. Across Virginia and other southern states, state legislators passed new laws prohibiting education of slaves and free blacks, restricting rights of assembly and other civil rights for free blacks, and requiring white ministers to be present at black worship services.
On this day in 1855, Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic, and religious author, the “Father of Existentialism”, Søren Kierkegaard died in Frederik’s Hospital in Copenhagen at the age of 42. Born Søren Aabye Kierkegaard on 5 May 1813 in Copenhagen. Kierkegaard wrote critical texts on organized religion, Christendom, morality, ethics, psychology and philosophy of religion, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and parables. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives as a “single individual”, giving priority to concrete human reality over abstract thinking, and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment. He was a fierce critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Swedenborg, Hegel, Goethe, Fichte, Schelling, Schlegel, and Hans Christian Andersen.
The Final Footprint – Kierkegaard is interred in the Assistens Kirkegård in the Nørrebro section of Copenhagen. At Kierkegaard’s funeral, his nephew Henrik Lund caused a disturbance by protesting Kierkegaard’s burial by the official church. Lund maintained that Kierkegaard would never have approved, had he been alive, as he had broken from and denounced the institution. Hans Christian Andersen is also interred at Assistens Kirkegård.
n this day in 1880 American Quaker, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, social reformer, Lucretia Mott died of pneumonia at her home, Roadside, in the district now known as La Mott, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, aged 87. Born Lucretia Coffin on January 3, 1793 in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
On this day in 1945, Academy Award-winning composer, Jerome Kern, died from a cerebral hemorrhage while walking at the corner of Park Avenue and 57th Street in New York City at the age of 60, with fellow composer Oscar Hammerstein II at his side. Born Jerome David Kern on 27 January 1885 in New York City. In my opinion, one of the most important American theatre composers. He wrote over 700 songs including; “Ol’ Man River”, “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man”, “A Fine Romance”, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”, “All the Things You Are”, “The Way You Look Tonight”, “Long Ago (and Far Away), “The Last Time I Saw Paris” and “Lovely to Look At”. Kern wrote the musical stage version of Edna Ferber’s Show Boat. Arguably his greatest score, it was a huge success. American musical theatre would never be the same. Kern named his yacht Show Boat.
On this day in 1979 film composer and conductor Dimitri Tiomkin died in London two weeks after fracturing his pelvis in a fall, aged 85. Born Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin on May 10, 1894 in Kremenchug, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire.
And on this day in 2016 stage, film and television actor, author, political activist and advertising spokesperson whose career spanned nearly six decades, Robert Vaughn died in a hospice in Danbury, Connecticut from leukemia, aged 83. Born Robert Francis Vaughn on November 22, 1932 at Charity Hospital in Manhattan.
On this day in 1891, poet, Arthur Rimbaud, died in Marseille, France at the age of 37 from bone cancer. Born Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud on 20 October 1854 in Charleville, Ardennes, France. He produced his best known poems in his late teens. Victor Hugo called him the “enfant Shakespeare”. As part of the decadent movement, Rimbaud influenced modern literature, music and art. He had a short and torrid affair with fellow poet Paul Verlaine. Rimbaud never married. He traveled extensively over three continents. His poetry, as well as his life, are said to have influenced writers, musicians and artists including; Pablo Picasso, Dylan Thomas, Vladimir Nabokov, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Jim Morrison. My favorite poem of his is Une Saison en Enfer (A Season in Hell) (1873). The French painter Henri Fantin-Latour depicted Rimbaud and Verlaine in his 1872 painting Around the Table (Writers).
The Final Footprint – Rimbaud is entombed in Charleville-Mezieres Cimetière in Charleville-Mezieres, Champagne-Ardenne Region, France. His tomb is marked by a large upright marble marker. His inscription reads; Priez pour lui (Pray for him).
On this day in 1928 dancer, actress, writer, libertine, subject of Otto Dix paintings, Anita Berber died in a Kreuzberg, Berlin hospital, from tuberculosis, aged 29. Born 10 June 1899 in Leipzig.
Her dancer, friend and sometime lover Sebastian Droste, who performed in the film Algol (1920), was thin and had black hair with gelled up curls much like sideburns. Neither of them wore much more than lowslung loincloths and Anita occasionally a corsage, placed well below her breasts.
On this day in 2001, novelist, essayist, and countercultural figure Ken Kesey died from complications of liver cancer in Eugene, Oregon, at age 66. Born Kenneth Elton Kesey on September 17, 1935 in La Junta, Colorado. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s.
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On this day in 1854, socialite and philanthropist, wife of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth Hamilton died in Washington, D.C., at age 97. She was a defender of her husband’s works and co-founder and deputy director of Graham Windham, the first private orphanage in New York City. Hamilton is recognized as an early American philanthropist for her work with the Orphan Asylum Society.
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On this day in 1918, poet, playwright, short story writer, and novelist, Guillaume Apollinaire died in Paris during the Spanish flu pandemic at the age of 38. Born on 26 August 1880 in Rome.
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On this day in 1953, poet and writer, Dylan Thomas, died in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village from pneumonia at the age of 39. Born Dylan Marlais Thomas on 27 October 1914 in Swansea, South Wales. One of my favorite poets. I particularly like the villanelle for his dying father, “Do not go gentle into that good night” and the poem “And death shall have no dominion”. Thomas met the dancer Caitlin MacNamara in the Wheatsheaf pub in London’s West End. They were married on 11 July 1937 in Cornwall. Their marriage was a stormy affair, fuelled by alcohol and infidelity, though the couple remained together until Dylan’s death. I am certainly proud of my own Welsh heritage. Cymru am byth! Wales forever!
The Final Footprint – Following his death, Thomas’ body was brought back to Wales for burial. Thomas’ funeral took place at St Martin’s Church in Laugharne on 24 November. Thomas’ coffin was carried by six friends from the village. The procession to the church was filmed and the wake took place at Brown’s Hotel. Thomas is interred in Saint Martin’s Churchyard. His grave is marked by a white cross. There is a statue of Thomas in Swansea and a memorial. The memorial is a small rock in an enclosed garden in Cwmdonkin Park. The rock is inscribed with the closing lines from his poem Fern Hill; 
On this day in 2004, journalist and writer Stieg Larsson died from a heart attack after climbing the stairs to work in Stockholm, at the age of 50. Born Karl Stig-Erland Larsson on 15 August 1954 in Skelleftehamn, Västerbottens län, Sweden. Perhaps best known for writing the Millennium trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, starting in 2005, after his sudden death. The trilogy was adapted as three motion pictures in Sweden, and one in the U.S. (for the first book only). The publisher commissioned David Lagercrantz to expand the trilogy into a longer series. For much of his life, Larsson lived and worked in Stockholm. His journalistic work covered socialist politics and he acted as an independent researcher of right-wing extremism.
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On this day in 1674, poet John Milton, died in Bunhill, London, England at the age of 65 from kidney failure. Born on 9 December 1608 in Bread Street, London, England. Best known for his epic poem in blank verse, Paradise Lost (1667). The poem concerns the Christian story of the Fall of Man; the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton incorporates Paganism, classical Greek references, and Christianity within the poem. It deals with diverse topics from marriage, politics to monarchy and grapples with many difficult theological issues, including; fate, predestination, the Trinity, the introduction of sin and death into the world, angels, fallen angels, Satan, and the war in heaven. Milton draws on his knowledge of languages and diverse sources – primarily Genesis, much of the New Testament, the deuterocanonical Book of Enoch, and other parts of the Old Testament. Milton’s epic is generally considered one of the greatest literary works in the English language. He remains generally regarded as one of the most significant writer’s in the English language. 
On this day in 1887, dentist, gambler, gunfighter of the American Old West, usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Doc Holliday died from tuberculosis in the Hotel Glenwood in Glenwood Springs, Colorado at the age of 36. Born John Henry Holliday on 14 August 1851 in Griffin, Georgia. The legend and mystique of his life is so great that he has been mentioned in countless books, and portrayed by various actors in numerous movies and television series. Debate continues about the exploits of his life. Earp said, “Doc was a dentist, not a lawman or an assassin, whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a frontier vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit; a long lean ash-blond fellow nearly dead with consumption, and at the same time the most skillful gambler and the nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a six-gun that I ever knew.”
The Final Footprint – Holliday is buried in Linwood Cemetery overlooking Glenwood Springs. The exact location of his grave was lost. Among the more notable portrayals of Holliday on film include; Kirk Douglas, Jason Robards, Stacy Keach, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, and Dennis Quaid.
On this day in 1890, composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher César Franck died in Paris at the age of 67. Born César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck on 10 December 1822 in Liège, in what is now Belgium (though at the time of his birth it was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands). He studied privately in Paris from 1835. After a brief return to Belgium, and an unfavorable reception to an early oratorio Ruth, he moved to Paris, where he married and embarked on a career as teacher and organist. He gained a reputation as a formidable improviser, and travelled widely in France to demonstrate new instruments built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.
On this day in 1998 actor, writer, director, sculptor, Jean Cocteau’s muse and lover, Jean Marais died from cardiovascular disease in Cannes, aged 84. Born Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais in Cherbourg, France on 11 December 1913.
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And on this day in 2020 game show host and television personality Alex Trebek died at his home in Los Angeles from pancreatic cancer, aged 80. Born George Alexander Trebek on July 22, 1940, in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
On this day in 1980, United States Marine Corp veteran, Academy Award-nominated actor, The King of Cool, Steve McQueen, died in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico at the age of 50 from complications related to pleural mesothelioma. Born Terence Steven McQueen on 24 March 1930 in Beech Grove, Indiana.
On this day in November 1993; jazz singer and entertainer Adelaide Hall died at London’s Charing Cross Hospital aged 92. Born Adelaide Louise Hall on 20 October 1901 in Brooklyn. Her long career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death and she was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Hall entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2003 as the world’s most enduring recording artist, having released material over eight consecutive decades. She performed with major artists such as Art Tatum, Ethel Waters, Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Fela Sowande, Rudy Vallee and Jools Holland, and recorded as a jazz singer with Duke Ellington (with whom she made her most famous recording, “Creole Love Call” in 1927) and with Fats Waller.
The Final Footprint – Honouring her wish, her funeral took place in New York at the Cathedral of the Incarnation (Garden City, New York) and she was laid to rest beside her mother at the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn.
On this day in 2012, United States Army Air Corp veteran, football player at the University of Oklahoma, head coach of the Texas Longhorns (1957-1976), 3x National Champion, 11x Southwest Conference champion, Darrell Royal died due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease in Austin at the age of 88. Born Darrell K Royal on 6 July 1924 in Hollis, Oklahoma. Royal also served as the head coach at Mississippi State University (1954–1955), the University of Washington (1956), compiling a career college football record of 184–60–5. He won more games than any other coach in Texas Longhorns football history. Royal also coached the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League for one season in 1953. He never had a losing season as a head coach for his entire career. Royal was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1983. Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, where the Longhorns play their home games, was renamed in his honor in 1996.
On this day in 2016, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, and painter Leonard Cohen died at the age of 82 at his home in Los Angeles. Reportedly, his death was the result of a fall at his home on the night of November 7, and he subsequently died in his sleep. Cancer was a contributing cause. Born Leonard Norman Cohen on September 21, 1934 in Montreal.
His funeral was held on November 10, 2016, in Montreal, at a cemetery on Mount Royal. As was his wish, Cohen was laid to rest with a Jewish rite, in a simple pine casket, in a family plot in Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery in Montreal . The city of Montreal held a tribute concert to Cohen in December 2016, entitled “God is Alive, Magic Is Afoot” after a prose poem in his novel Beautiful Losers. It featured a number of musical performances and readings of Cohen’s poetry.
On this day in 1893, composer of the romantic period, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in Saint Petersburg at the age of 53. Born on 7 May 1840 [O.S. 25 April] in Votkinsk, a small town in Vyatka Governorate (present-day Udmurtia) in the Russian Empire. His works are among the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, bolstered by his appearances as a guest conductor in Europe and the United States.
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On this day in 1991, Academy Award-nominated actress, Gene Tierney, died of emphysema in Houston, Texas at the age of 70. Born Gene Eliza Tierney on 19 November 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. “Undeniably the most beautiful woman in movie history” – Darryl F. Zanuck, former chief of production and founder of 20th Century Fox. She met Howard Hughes, who reportedly tried to seduce her but she was not impressed by his wealth. They did become lifelong friends, and ironically, are interred in the same cemetery (see below). She married twice; fashion designer Oleg Cassini (1941 – 1952 divorce) and Texas oil baron W. Howard Lee (1960 – 1981 his death). During her separation from Cassini, Tierney allegedly had an affair with John F. Kennedy.
The Final Footprint – Tierney is interred in the Lee Family Private Estate in Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. One of the offices I worked in when I worked in Houston had a great view of Glenwood Cemetery. Other notable Final Footprints at Glenwood include; Maria Franklin Prentiss Langham Gable, Oveta Culp Hobby, William P. Hobby, Howard Hughes, Anson Jones, and Glenn McCarthy.
And on this day in 2007, singer songwriter Hank Thompson died from lung cancer in Keller, Texas at the age of 82. Born Henry William Thompson on 3 September 1925 in Waco, Texas. Perhaps his best known hit was his version of the Arlie Carter and William Warren song “The Wild Side of Life”. The 1987 novel Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb was apparently inspired by Thompson’s life. In 2009 Cobb’s novel was turned into a successful film directed by Scott Cooper and starring Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges.
The Final Footprint – Thompson requested that no funeral be held. On November 14, a “celebration of life,” open to both fans and friends, took place at Billy Bob’s Texas, a Fort Worth, Texas nightclub that bills itself as The World’s Largest Honky Tonk. Thompson is interred in Waco Memorial Park in Waco.
On this day in 1660, English courtier known for her beauty and wit and for her involvement in many political intrigues during the English Civil War, Lucy Hay died of apoplexy probably in London, age 60 or 61. Born Lucy Percy possibly in 1599. She became the second wife of James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle. Her charms were celebrated in verse by contemporary poets, including Thomas Carew, William Cartwright, Robert Herrick and John Suckling, and by Sir Toby Matthew in prose. She was a conspicuous figure at the court of King Charles I. Alexandre Dumas probably based Milady in his The Three Musketeers on Hay. She was the subject of a risqué poem by Suckling; “Upon My Lady Carlisle’s Walking in Hampton Court Garden.”
The Final Footprint – She died suddenly after ‘dining well’ at lunchtime she fell suddenly sick around 2pm whilst ‘cutting a piece of ribbon’. She was dead by 5 or 6pm that same day. Lucy is entombed in the Percy Family Vault, St. Mary the Virgin Chuchyard, Petworth, Chichester District, West Sussex, England.
On this day in 1933 actress, producer and speakeasy club manager Texas Guinan died in Vancouver, aged 49. Born Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan in Waco, Texas on January 12, 1884.
The Final Footprint – While on the road with Too Hot for Paris, she contracted amoebic dysentery in Chicago, Illinois, during the epidemic outbreak at the Congress Hotel during the run of the Chicago World’s Fair. The epidemic was traced to tainted water. She fell ill in Vancouver, British Columbia, and died, exactly one month before Prohibition was repealed; 7,500 people attended her funeral. Bandleader Paul Whiteman was a pallbearer along with two of her former lawyers and writer Heywood Broun.
On this day in 1960 singer, songwriter Johnny Horton died from injuries in a car crash in Milano, Texas, age 35. Born John LaGale Horton in Los Angeles on 30 April 1925.
The Final Footprint – On the night of November 4–5, 1960, Horton and two other band members, Tommy Tomlinson and Tillman Franks, were traveling from the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas, to Shreveport when they collided with an oncoming truck on a bridge near Milano in Milam County, Texas. Horton died en route to the hospital, and Tomlinson (1930–1982) was seriously injured; his leg later had to be amputated. Franks (1920–2006) suffered head injuries, and James Davis, the driver of the truck, had a broken ankle and other minor injuries.
On this day in 2005, United States Army veteran, 
On this day in 1847 Romantic composer, pianist, organist, conductor Felix Mendelssohn died in Leipzig after a series of strokes, age 38. Born on 3 February 1809, in Hamburg.
The Final Footprint – Mendelssohn suffered from poor health in the final years of his life, probably aggravated by nervous problems and overwork. A final tour of England left him exhausted and ill, and the death of his sister, Fanny, on 14 May 1847, caused him further distress. Less than six months later, on 4 November, aged 38, Mendelssohn died in Leipzig after a series of strokes. His grandfather Moses, Fanny, and both his parents had all died from similar apoplexies. Although he had been generally meticulous in the management of his affairs, he died intestate.
On this day in 1918, English poet and soldier Wilfred Owen was killed in World War I action, at the age of 25, during the crossing of the Sambre–Oise Canal, exactly one week (almost to the hour) before the signing of the Armistice. Born Wilfred Edward Salter Owen on 18 March 1893 at Plas Wilmot, a house in Weston Lane, near Oswestry in Shropshire. One of the leading poets of the First World War, his shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was heavily influenced by his friend and mentor Siegfried Sassoon, and stood in stark contrast both to the public perception of war at the time and to the confidently patriotic verse written by earlier war poets such as Rupert Brooke. Among his best-known works – most of which were published posthumously – are “Dulce et Decorum est”, “Insensibility”, “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, “Futility” and “Strange Meeting”.
The Final Footprint – His mother received the telegram informing her of his death on Armistice Day, as the church bells were ringing out in celebration. He is interred at the Communal Cemetery in Ors, France.
On this day in 1924 composer, organist, pianist and teacher Gabriel Fauré died in Paris from pneumonia at the age of 79. Born Gabriel Urbain Fauré in Pamiers, Ariège, France on 12 May 1845. He was given a state funeral at the Église de la Madeleine and is buried in the Passy Cemetery in Paris. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his best-known works are his Pavane, Requiem, Sicilienne, nocturnes for piano and the songs “Après un rêve” and “Clair de lune”.
The Final Footprint – He was given a state funeral at the Église de la Madeleine and is buried in the Passy Cemetery in Paris.
On this day in 1955 baseball Hall of Famer, Cy Young, died on his farm near Newcomerstown, Ohio at the age of 88. Born Denton True Young on 29 March 1867 in Gilmore, Ohio. During his 22-year career he pitched for five different teams; Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos, Boston Americans/Red Sox, Cleveland Naps and the Boston Rustlers. He pitched three no hitters and one perfect game, earned one world series ring and still holds five MLB records.
Their graves are marked by a large upright granite marker inscribed as follows: FROM 1890 TO 1911 “CY YOUNG” PITCHED 874 MAJOR LEAGUE BASE BALL GAMES. HE WON 511 GAMES, THREE NO HIT, AND ONE PERFECT GAME IN WHICH NO MAN REACHED FIRST BASE. One year after Young’s death, the Cy Young Award was created to honor the previous season’s best pitcher. The first award was given to Brooklyn’s Don Newcombe. Originally, it was a single award covering the whole of baseball. The honor was divided into two Cy Young Awards in 1967, one for each league. In 1957, Warren Spahn became the first left-handed pitcher to win the award. In 1963, Sandy Koufax became the first pitcher to win the award in a unanimous vote; two years later he became the first multiple winner. In 1974, Mike Marshall won the award, becoming the first relief pitcher to win the award. Roger Clemens currently holds the record for the most awards won, with seven won the most.
On this day in 2008, author, screenwriter, film director and producer Michael Crichton died from lymphoma in Los Angeles at the age of 66. Born John Michael Crichton October 23, 1942 in Chicago. Perhaps best known for his work in the science fiction, thriller, and medical fiction genres.
