On this day in 1469, banker, de facto ruler of Florence from 1464 to 1469, during the Italian Renaissance, Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici died from gout and lung disease in Florence at the age of 53. Born in Florence on 19 September 1416, the son of Cosimo de’ Medici the Elder and Contessina de’ Bardi.
The Final Footprint – Medici is entombed in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, next to his brother Giovanni. The tomb, created by Andrea del Verrocchio, was commissioned by his sons Lorenzo and Giuliano. Other notable final footprints at San Lorenzo include; Donatello, Cosimo de’ Medici, Cosimo I de’ Medici, Cosimo II de’ Medici, Cosimo III de’ Medici, Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Ferdinando III de’ Medici, Francesco I de’ Medici, Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici, Giuliano di Lorenzo de’ Medici, Giuliano di Piero de’ Medici, Lorenzo I de’ Medici, and Lorenzo II de’ Medici.
On this day in 1740, French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer, famous for his libertine sexuality, Marquis de Sade died at the age of 74 in Charenton, Val-de-Marne, Paris. Born Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade on 2 June 1740 in the Hôtel de Condé, Paris. His works include novels, short stories, plays, dialogues and political tracts; in his lifetime some were published under his own name, while others appeared anonymously and de Sade denied being their author. Perhaps best known for his erotic works, which combined philosophical discourse with pornography, depicting sexual fantasies with an emphasis on violence, criminality and blasphemy against the Catholic Church. He was a proponent of extreme freedom, unrestrained by morality, religion or law. The words “sadism” and “sadist” are derived from his name. De Sade was incarcerated in various prisons and in an insane asylum for about 32 years of his life; 11 years in Paris (10 of which were spent in the Bastille), a month in the Conciergerie, two years in a fortress, a year in Madelonnettes, three years in Bicêtre, a year in Sainte-Pélagie and 13 years in the Charenton asylum. During the French Revolution he was an elected delegate to the National Convention. Many of his works were written in prison.
The Final Footprint – De Sade left instructions in his will forbidding that his body be opened for any reason whatsoever, and that it remain untouched for 48 hours in the chamber in which he died, and then placed in a coffin and buried on his property located in Malmaison near Épernon. His skull was later removed from the grave for phrenological examination.
#RIP #OTD in 1918 poet and dramatist (Cyrano de Bergerac, Les Romanesques) Edmond Rostand died from the 1918 flu pandemic in Paris, aged 50. Cimetière Saint-Pierre, Marseille, Departement des Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France
On this day in 1982 actor, comedian and writer Marty Feldman died of a heart attack, in a hotel room in Mexico City, aged 48.
The Final Footprint
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles
#RIP #OTD in 1986 actor (I Love Lucy), musician, bandleader, comedian and film and television producer Desi Arnaz died from lung cancer in Solana Beach, California, aged 69. Cremated remains scattered in the Sea of Cortés at Rancho Las Cruces, near La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico.
On this day in 1990, Academy Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, teacher, lecturer, critic, writer and conductor, the dean of American composers, Aaron Copland, died in North Tarryton, New York, at the age of 90. Born on 14 November 1900 in Brooklyn. Best known for Billy the Kid (1938) (ballet), Fanfare for the Common Man (1942), Rodeo (1942) (ballet) and Appalachian Spring (1944) (ballet).
The Final Footprint – Copland was cremated and his cremated remains were scattered in a bower at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. A marker was placed there to mark where he was scattered.
#RIP #OTD in 2006 lead singer of the rock group Shocking Blue (“Send Me a Postcard” and “Venus”) Mariska Veres died of gallbladder cancer in The Hague at age 59. Cremation
On this day in 2008, singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and civil and human rights activist, “The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement” Odetta died of heart disease in New York City at the age of 77. Born Odetta Holmes on December 31, 1930 in Birmingham, Alabama. Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, she influenced many of the key figures of the folk-revival of that time, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples, and Janis Joplin. Time magazine included her recording of “Take This Hammer” on its list of the 100 Greatest Popular Songs, stating that “Rosa Parks was her No. 1 fan, and Martin Luther King Jr. called her the queen of American folk music.”
The Final Footprint
At a memorial service for her in February 2009 at Riverside Church in New York City, participants included Maya Angelou, Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte, Geoffrey Holder, Steve Earle, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Peter Yarrow, Maria Muldaur, Tom Chapin, Josh White Jr., Emory Joseph, Rattlesnake Annie, the Brooklyn Technical High School Chamber Chorus, and videotaped tributes from Tavis Smiley and Joan Baez.
Odetta was cremated and her cremated remains were scattered in the Harlem Meer.
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