#RIP #OTD in 1867 Neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres died of pneumonia in his apartment on the Quai Voltaire in Paris, aged 86. Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris with a tomb sculpted by his student Jean-Marie Bonnassieux
#RIP #OTD in 1898 author (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass), poet (Jabberwocky, The Hunting of the Snark), mathematician, photographer, Lewis Carroll died of pneumonia following influenza at his sisters’ home, “The Chestnuts”, in Guildford, Surrey, England He was two weeks away from turning 66 years old. His funeral was held at the nearby St Mary’s Church. His body was interred at the Mount Cemetery in Guildford
On this day in 1957, U.S. Navy veteran, Academy Award-winning actor and American icon, Bogie, Humphrey Bogart, died from cancer at his home in Holmby Hills, California at the age of 57. Born Humphrey DeForest Bogart on 25 December 1899 in New York City. Bogart is a Dutch name meaning orchard. His acting breakthrough came in 1941, with High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon. The next year, his performance in Casablanca raised him to the peak of his profession and cemented his trademark film persona; the hard-boiled cynic who ultimately shows his noble side. Bogart’s other notable movies included; To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), Key Largo (1948), with his wife Lauren Bacall; The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); The African Queen (1951), for which he won his only Academy Award; Sabrina (1954) and The Caine Mutiny (1954). His last movie was The Harder They Fall (1956). During a film career of almost thirty years, he appeared in 75 feature films. Bogart was married four times; Helen Menken (1926 – 1927 divorce), Mary Phillips (1928 – 1937 divorce), Mayo Methot (1938 – 1945 divorce), Bacall (1945 – 1957 his death).
Bogart met Bacall while filming To Have and Have Not (1944), a loose adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel. When they met, Bacall was nineteen and Bogart was forty-five. He nicknamed her “Baby.” Bogart was drawn to Bacall’s high cheekbones, green eyes, tawny blond hair, and lean body, as well as her poise and earthy, outspoken honesty. Their physical and emotional rapport was very strong from the start and quite contrary to the Hollywood norm, it was his first affair with a leading lady. Bogart was still miserably married and his early meetings with Bacall were discreet and brief, their separations bridged by ardent love letters.
Bogart was a founding member of the Rat Pack. In the spring of 1955, after a long party in Las Vegas with Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, her husband, Sid Luft, Mike Romanoff and wife Gloria, David Niven, Angie Dickinson and others, Bacall surveyed the wreckage of the party and declared, “You look like a goddamn rat pack.” Romanoff’s home in Beverly Hills was where the Rat Pack became official. Sinatra was named Pack Leader, Bacall was named Den Mother, Bogart was Director of Public Relations, and Luft was Acting Cage Manager. When asked by columnist Earl Wilson what the purpose of the group was, Bacall responded “to drink a lot of bourbon and stay up late.”
Bogart is credited with five of the most quotable quotes in American cinema: “Here’s looking at you, kid” – Casablanca, “The stuff that dreams are made of.” – The Maltese Falcon, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” – Casablanca, “We’ll always have Paris.” – Casablanca, “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” – Casablanca. Bogart is also credited with one of the top movie misquotations. In Casablanca, neither he, nor anyone else, ever said, “Play it again, Sam“. When Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), his former love, first enters the Café Americain, she spots Sam, the piano player (Dooley Wilson) and asks him to “Play it once, Sam, for old times’ sake.” When he feigns ignorance, she responds, “Play it, Sam. Play “As Time Goes By.“” Later that night, alone with Sam, Rick says, “You played it for her and you can play it for me” and “If she can stand it, I can! Play it!” The slang term “bogarting” refers to taking an unfairly long time with a cigarette, drink, et cetera, that is supposed to be shared (e.g., “Don’t bogart the microphone!“). It derives from Bogart’s style of cigarette smoking, with which he left his cigarette dangling from his mouth rather than withdrawing it between puffs. No one was Bogart cool, before or since. Indeed, here is lookin’ at you. 
The Final Footprint – Bogart was cremated and his cremains are inurned in the Garden of Memory Columbarium of Eternal Light, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. Inurned with his cremains is a small gold whistle, which he had given to Bacall, before they married, in reference to their first movie. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6322 Hollywood Boulevard. The latest in a long line of Bogart biographies is Stefan Kanfer‘s “Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart.” Other notable Final Footprints at Forest Lawn Glendale include; L. Frank Baum, Lon Chaney, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Elizabeth Taylor, Jean Harlow, Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Michael Jackson, Carole Lombard, Tom Mix, Casey Stengel, Jimmy Stewart, and Spencer Tracy.
#RIP #OTD in 1965 soprano, sister of Blossom Rock (see below) actress (The Love Parade, Love Me Tonight, The Merry Widow, One Hour With You, Naughty Marietta, San Franciso) Jeanette MacDonald died; Houston Methodist Hospital, heart failure, aged 61. Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
On this day in 1977, author Anaïs Nin died in Los Angeles, California after a three year battle with cancer, at the age of 73. Born Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell on 21 February 1903 in Neuilly, France to a Cuban father and a French/Danish mother. Nin wrote journals (which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death), novels, critical studies, essays, short stories, and erotica; including Delta of Venus (1977), Little Birds (1979) and Henry and June (1986). On 3 March 1923, in Havana, Cuba, Nin married her first husband, Hugh Parker Guiler (1898–1985), a banker and artist, later known as “Ian Hugo” when he became a maker of experimental films in the late 1940s. According to her diaries, Vol.1, 1931–1934, Nin shared a bohemian lifestyle with writer Henry Miller during her time in Paris. The diaries tell that her union with Miller was very passionate and physical, and that she believed that it was a pregnancy by him that she aborted in 1934. In 1947, at the age of 44, she met former actor Rupert Pole in a Manhattan elevator on her way to a party. The two ended up dating and traveled to California together; Pole was sixteen years her junior. On 17 March 1955, she married him at Quartzsite, Arizona, returning with Pole to live in California. Guiler remained in New York City and was unaware of Nin’s second marriage until after her death in 1977, or chose not to know. Nin referred to her simultaneous marriages as her “bicoastal trapeze”. In 1966, Nin had her marriage with Pole annulled, due to the legal issues arising from both Guiler and Pole having to claim her as a dependent on their federal tax returns. Though the marriage was annulled, Nin and Pole continued to live together as if they were married, up until her death in 1977. Nin often cited authors Djuna Barnes and D. H. Lawrence as inspirations. 
The Final Footrpint – Her body was cremated, and her cremated remains were scattered over Santa Monica Bay in Mermaid Cove. Philip Kaufman directed the 1990 film Henry & June based on Nin’s novel Henry and June: From the Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin. She was portrayed in the film by Maria de Medeiros.
#RIP #OTD in 1977, actor (Network; The Nun’s Story; Raid on Entebbe; Sunday Bloody Sunday), Peter Finch died from a heart attack in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel aged 60. Hollywood Forever
#RIP #OTD in 1978 sister of Jeanette MacDonald (see above), actress (“Grandmama” on The Addams Family) Blossom Rock died in Los Angeles, California, aged 82. Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California
On this day in 1986, actress Donna Reed died of pancreatic cancer in Beverly Hills, at the age of 64. Born Donna Belle Mullenger on January 27, 1921 in Denison, Iowa. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. Perhaps best known for her role as Mary Hatch Bailey in Frank Capra’s 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life. In 1953, she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Lorene Burke in the war drama From Here to Eternity.
Reed is known for her work in television, notably as Donna Stone, a middle-class American mother and housewife in the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966), in which her character was more assertive than most other television mothers of the era. She received numerous Emmy Award nominations for this role and the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star in 1963. Later in her career, Reed replaced Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow in the 1984–1985 season of the television melodrama Dallas.
From 1943 to 1945, Reed was married to make-up artist William Tuttle. After they divorced, in 1945 she married producer Tony Owen. After 26 years of marriage, Reed and Owen divorced in 1971. Three years later, Reed married Grover W. Asmus (1926–2003), a retired United States Army colonel. They remained married until her death.
The Final Footprint
Her remains are interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Other notable final footprints at Westwood include; Ray Bradbury, Sammy Cahn, Truman Capote, James Coburn, Rodney Dangerfield, Janet Leigh, Farrah Fawcett, Hugh Hefner, Brian Keith, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Peter Lawford, Peggy Lee, Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Walter Mathau, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll O’Connor, Roy Orbison, George C. Scott, Dorothy Stratten, Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa.
On this day in 2006, actress Shelley Winters died from heart failure at the Rehabilitation Center of Beverly Hills, at the age of 85. Born Shirley Schrift on August 18, 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her career spanned almost six decades.
She appeared in numerous films, and won Academy Awards for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and received nominations for A Place in the Sun (1951) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Other roles Winters appeared in include A Double Life (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Lolita (1962), Alfie (1966), and Pete’s Dragon (1977).
Winters was married four times. Her husbands were:
- Captain Mack Paul Mayer, whom she married on December 29, 1942 in Brooklyn;[11] they divorced in October 1948. Mayer was unable to deal with Shelley’s “Hollywood lifestyle” and wanted a “traditional homemaker” for a wife. Winters wore his wedding ring up until her death, and kept their relationship very private.
- Vittorio Gassman, whom she married on April 28, 1952 in Juarez, Mexico; they divorced on June 2, 1954.
- Anthony Franciosa, whom she married on May 4, 1957; they divorced on November 18, 1960.
- Gerry DeFord, whom she married on January 14, 2006.
The Final Footprint
Her body was interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City. Her third former husband, Franciosa, had a stroke on the day she died and died five days later. Other notable Final Footprints at Hillside Memorial include; Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Cyd Charisse, Lorne Greene, Moe Howard, Al Jolson, Michael Landon, Jerry Leiber, Suzanne Pleshette, and Dinah Shore.
On this day in 2009, actor Ricardo Montalbán died from congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles at age 88. Born Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino on November 25, 1920 in Mexico City. His career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for many different performances in a variety of genres, from crime and drama to musicals and comedy.
Among his notable roles was Armando in the Planet of the Apes film series from the early 1970s, where he starred in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972).
Montalbán played Mr. Roarke on the television series Fantasy Island (1977–1984), and Khan Noonien Singh in both the original Star Trek series (1967) and the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). He won an Emmy Award for his role in the miniseries How the West Was Won (1978), and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 1993.
Montalbán was professionally active into his 80s, when he provided voices for animated films and commercials, and appeared as Grandfather Valentin in the Spy Kids franchise. During the 1970s and 80s he was a spokesman in automobile advertisements for Chrysler, including those in which he extolled the “rich Corinthian leather” used for the Cordoba’s interior.
Montalbán married actress and model Georgiana Young (born Georgiana Paula Belzer; September 30, 1923 – November 13, 2007) in 1944. Georgiana was the half-sister of actresses Sally Blane, Polly Ann Young and Loretta Young. They were married for 63 years. Her death preceded Montalbán’s by one year and two months.
The Final Footprint
He is buried in Culver City, California at the Holy Cross Cemetery. Other notable final footprints at Holy Cross include; John Candy, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, John Ford, Rita Hayworth, Chick Hearn, Conrad Hilton, Jr., Bela Lugosi, Al Martino, Audrey Meadows, Chris Penn, Jo Stafford, and Sharon Tate.
On this day in 2016, actor and director Alan Rickman died in London of pancreatic cancer, at the age of 69. Born Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman on 21 February 1946 in . He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), performing in modern and classical theatre productions. His first big television role came in 1982, he played the Vicomte de Valmont in the RSC stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, and after the production transferred to Broadway in 1987 he was nominated for a Tony Award.
Rickman’s first cinematic role was as the German terrorist leader Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988). He also appeared as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), for which he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Elliott Marston in Quigley Down Under (1990); Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990); P.L. O’Hara in An Awfully Big Adventure (1995); Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995); Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest (1999); Harry in Love Actually (2003); Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005); and Judge Turpin in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). Rickman gained further notice for his film performances as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series.
Rickman made his television acting debut playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1978) as part of the BBC’s Shakespeare series. He later starred in television films, playing the title character in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996), which won him a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and Dr. Alfred Blalock in the Emmy-winning Something the Lord Made (2004). His final film roles were as Lieutenant General Frank Benson in the thriller Eye in the Sky (2015), and the voice of Absolem, the caterpillar in Alice Through the Looking Glass.
In 1965, at age 19, Rickman met 18-year-old Rima Horton, who became his girlfriend and would later be a Labour Party councillor on the Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council (1986–2006) and an economics lecturer at the nearby Kingston University. In 2015, Rickman confirmed that they had married in a private ceremony in New York City in 2012. They lived together from 1977 until Rickman’s death. The two had no children.
The Final Footprint
His remains were cremated on 3 February 2016 in the West London Crematorium in Kensal Green. His ashes were given to his wife. His final two films, Eye in the Sky and Alice Through the Looking Glass, were dedicated to his memory.
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On this day in 2010, singer Teddy Pendergrass died from respiratory failure with his wife Joan by his side, at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania at the age of 59. Born Theodore DeReese Pendergrass on March 26, 1950 in Philadelphia. He initially rose to musical fame as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. After leaving the group over monetary disputes in 1976, Pendergrass launched a successful solo career under the Philadelphia International label, releasing four consecutive platinum albums, then a record for an African-American R&B artist. Pendergrass’ career was suspended after a near-fatal car crash in March 1982 that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Pendergrass continued his successful solo career until announcing his retirement in 2007. Pendergrass died from respiratory failure in January 2010.
The Final Footprint
On this day in 2001, thoroughbred racehorse, Champion Two-Year-Old Colt (1977), Champion Three-Year-Old Male (1978), Two-X Horse of the Year (1978, 1979) and 11th Triple Crown Winner (1978), Affirmed, died at Jonabell Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, age 25. Affirmed was euthanized after falling seriously ill with laminitis, a circulatory hoof disease. The same disease led to the death of fellow Triple Crown winner Secretariat. Foaled on 21 February 1975 at Harbor View Farm near Fellowship, Florida. Affirmed was the great-great-grandson of Triple Crown winner War Admiral through damsire Crafty Admiral, and thereby the great-great-great grandson of Man o’ War who won two of the three Triple Crown races himself. Affirmed was also known for his famous rivalry with Alydar, whom he met ten times, including in all three Triple Crown races and where Alydar became the first racehorse to finish second in all three Triple Crown races. I remember watching all three of those races that year. I fell in love with both of these beautiful chestnut horses. Affirmed was trained by Hall of Fame trainer Laz Barrera. Barrera once said: “Affirmed is greater than Secretariat, or any Triple Crown winner, because only Affirmed had to face Alydar.” During the Triple Crown races, Affirmed was ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Steve Cauthen. 
On this day in 2003, musician, singer, songwriter Maurice Gibb died unexpectedly due to complications of a twisted intestine, with his wife, children, and brothers at his side at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida at the age of 53. Born Maurice Ernest Gibb on 22 December 1949 in Douglas, Isle of Man. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his brothers Barry and Robin Gibb were the group’s main lead singers, most of their albums included at least one or two compositions by Maurice, including “Lay It on Me”, “Country Woman”, and “On Time”. Gibb’s role in the group focused on melody and arrangements, providing backing vocal harmony and playing a variety of instruments.
On this day in 2007, jazz musician and composer, and swamini, Alice Coltrane died of respiratory failure at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in suburban Los Angeles, aged 69. Born Alice McLeod on August 27, 1937 in Detroit. Also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda or Turiya. One of the few harpists in the history of jazz, she recorded many albums as a bandleader, beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s for Impulse! and other major record labels. She was the second wife and the widow of jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane.
The Final Footprint
On this day in 1843, lawyer, author, and poet, Francis Scott Key, died at the home of his daughter Elizabeth Howard in Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 63. Born on 1 August 1779 in Carroll County Maryland. During the War of 1812, Key dined aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant, as a guest of the British. Key was there to negotiate the release of prisoners. Key was not allowed to return to his own sloop: he had become familiar with the strength and position of the British units and with the British intent to attack Baltimore. As a result, Key was unable to do anything but watch the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of 13 September – 14 September 1814. When the smoke cleared, Key was able to see an American flag still waving and reported this to the prisoners below deck. On the way back to Baltimore, he was inspired to write a poem describing his experience, “The Defence of Fort McHenry”, which he published in the Patriot on 20 September 1814. He intended to fit the words to the rhythms of composer John Stafford Smith‘s “To Anacreon in Heaven”. It became known as “The Star Spangled Banner”. Under this name, the song was adopted as the American national anthem, first by an Executive Order from President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 (which had little effect beyond requiring military bands to play it) and then by a Congressional resolution in 1931, signed by President Herbert Hoover. In 1832, Key served as the attorney for Sam Houston during his trial in the U.S. House of Representatives for assaulting another Congressman. Key was a distant cousin and the namesake of F. Scott Fitzgerald whose full name was Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. Scott was married to Mary Tayloe “Polly” Lloyd (1784 – 1843 his death). 
On this day in 2015, actress Anita Ekberg died at the clinic San Raffaele in Rocca di Papa in Castelli Romani, Italy, at the age of 83. Born Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg on 29 September 1931 in Malmö, Skåne, Sweden. She is best known for her role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita (1960). Ekberg worked primarily in Italy, where she became a permanent resident in 1964.
The Final Footprint
On this day in 1917, soldier, Medal of Honor recipient, bison hunter and showman, Buffalo Bill Cody, died surrounded by family and friends at his sister’s house in Denver, Colorado, at the age of 70. Born William Frederick Cody on 26 February 1846 near LeClaire, Iowa. One of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, mostly famous for the shows he organized with cowboy themes. At one time or another, the wild west shows Cody appeared in or founded featured, James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and the great Lakota Sioux holy man and war chief Sitting Bull. He was instrumental in founding the city of Cody, Wyoming. Cody established the TE Ranch located on the South Fork of the Shoshone River about thirty-five miles from Cody. The spread eventually included 8,000 acres for a grazing operation that ran about 1,000 head of cattle. Cody was married to Louisa Maud Frederici (1866 – 1917 his death). My heroes have always been Cowboys.
The Final Footprint – Cody is interred in the Cody private estate on Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado. Louisa was interred next to him when she passed in1921. The estate is marked by a stone monument with a bronze plaque with their names and birth and death years. Underneath Louisa’s name is the inscription, AT REST HERE BY HIS REQUEST. Cody’s grave is marked by a bronze individual marker inscribed with his name and birth and death dates and the following; MEDAL OF HONOR INDIAN SCOUT 3 US CAV INDIAN WARS.
On this day in 1971, fashion designer and founder of the Chanel brand, Coco Chanel died at the Hotel Ritz in Paris, where she had resided for more than 30 years, at the age of 87. Born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel on 19 August 1883 to an unmarried mother, Eugénie Jeanne Devolle – known as Jeanne – a laundrywoman, in the charity hospital run by the Sisters of Providence (a poorhouse) in Saumur, France. Her father, Albert Chanel was an itinerant street vendor who peddled work clothes and undergarments. Chanel is the only fashion designer listed on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Along with Paul Poiret, Chanel was credited with liberating women from the constraints of the “corseted silhouette” and popularizing the acceptance of a sportive, casual chic as the feminine standard in the post-World War I era. A prolific fashion creator, Chanel’s influence extended beyond couture clothing. Her design aesthetic was realized in jewelry, handbags, and fragrance. Her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, has become an iconic product. Chanel was known for her lifelong determination, ambition, and energy which she applied to her professional and social life. She achieved both success as a businesswoman and social prominence thanks to the connections she made through her work. These included many artists and craftspeople to whom she became a patron. However, Chanel’s life choices generated controversy, particularly her behaviour during the German occupation of France in World War II. Chanel was the mistress of some of the most influential men of her time, but she never married. She had significant relationships with the poet Pierre Reverdy and the illustrator and designer Paul Iribe. During the German occupation of France, Chanel resided at the Hotel Ritz, which was also noteworthy for being the preferred place of residence for upper echelon German military staff. Her romantic liaison with Hans Gunther von Dincklage, a German officer who had been an operative in military intelligence since 1920, facilitated her arrangement to reside at the Ritz.
On this day in 1976, blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player Howlin’ Wolf died from complications of kidney disease at the Hines VA Hospital in Hines, Illinois at the age of 65. In my opinion, one of the greatest blues artists of all-time. A number of songs written or popularized by Burnett, such as “Smokestack Lightnin'”, “Back Door Man”, “Killing Floor” and “Spoonful”, have become blues and blues rock standards. Born Chester Arthur Burnett on 10 June 1910 in West Point, Mississippi in an area now known as White Station. 
On this day in 1858, doctor, fourth and final President of the Republic of Texas and Architect of Annexation, Anson Jones, died from a self inflicted gunshot wound, in the Capitol Hotel (now the Post Rice Lofts, formerly the Rice Hotel) in Houston, Texas at the age of 59. Born on 20 January 1798 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Before becoming president Jones served as Texas congressman, Minister to the United States under Sam Houston, Texas senator and Secretary of State under Houston. On 19 February 1846, a formal ceremony was held in Austin to bring Texas into the United States. Jones delivered a speech that he concluded by declaring, “The final act in this great drama is now performed. The Republic of Texas is no more.” In his final official act as president, Jones lowered the Texas flag from its pole; Houston, with tears in his eyes, stepped from the crowd to gather the flag in his arms. Jones had hoped to be selected as one of Texas’ two U.S. senators, however, Houston and Thomas Rusk were chosen. 
On this day in 1923, writer Katherine Mansfield died from a 
On this day in 1324 merchant traveler Marco Polo died at his home in Venice at the age of 69. Born 0n 16 September 1254 in Venice, possibly in the former contrada of San Giovanni Crisostomo. His travels are recorded in Livres des merveilles du monde, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. Polo learned the mercantile trade from his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia, and apparently met Kublai Khan. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married and had three children. Polo was not the first European to reach China, but he was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. Polo influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.
http://thefinalfootprint.com/2025/01/08/on-this-day-8-january/The Final Footprint – Due to the Venetian law stating that the day ends at sunset, the exact date of Marco Polo’s death cannot be determined, but according to some scholars it was between the sunsets of January 8 and 9, 1324. Biblioteca Marciana, which holds the original copy of his testament, dates the testament in January 9, 1323, and gives the date of his death at some time in June 1324. Polo was either entombed in the San Lorenzo church in the sestiere of Castello (Venice), or perhaps in the no longer extant San Sebastiano in Venice.
On this day in 1642, astronomer, physicist, engineer, and polymath Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Italy at the age of 77. Born on 15 February 1564 in Pisa (then part of the Duchy of Florence), Italy. Galileo is perhaps the father of observational astronomy, the father of modern physics, the father of the scientific method, and the father of modern science.
On this day in 1896, French poet associated with the Symbolist movement, Paul Verlaine died in Paris at the age of 51. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry. One of my favorite poets. Verlaine married Mathilde Mauté de Fleurville but later left her and their son to begin a love affair with the poet Arthur Rimbaud. The French painter Henri Fantin-Latour depicted Rimbaud and Verlaine in his 1872 painting Around the Table (Writers). Born Paul-Marie Verlaine on 30 March 1844 in Metz, France. 
On this day in 1958 architect and designer Mary Colter died in Santa Fe, aged 88. Born Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter on 4 April 1869 in Pittsburgh.
On this day in 2007, actress, dancer, and singer Yvonne De Carlo died of heart failure in Los Angeles at the age of 84. Born Margaret Yvonne Middleton on September 1, 1922 in Vancouver. A brunette with blue-grey eyes, she became an internationally famous Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and later acted on television and stage.
She gained a new generation of fans as a star of the CBS sitcom The Munsters (1964–1966), playing Herman Munster’s glamorous vampire wife, Lily, a role she reprised in the feature film Munster, Go Home! (1966) and the television film The Munsters’ Revenge (1981). In 1971, she played Carlotta Campion and introduced the popular song “I’m Still Here” in the Broadway production of the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies. Yvonne, her best-selling autobiography, was published in 1987. A stroke survivor, De Carlo died of heart failure in 2007. She was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures and television.
On this day in 2020, 
The Final Footprint
On this day in 1536, Princess of Wales as the wife of Prince Arthur, as the wife of King Henry VII, Queen of England from 1509 until 1533, Catherine of Aragon died at Kimbolton Castle at the age of 50. Born at the Archbishop’s Palace in Alcalá de Henares near Madrid, on the night of 16 December 1485. She was the youngest surviving child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. Catherine was three years old when she was betrothed to Prince Arthur, heir apparent to the English throne. They married in 1501, and Arthur died five months later. In 1507, she held the position of ambassador for the Spanish Court in England, becoming the first female ambassador in European history. Catherine subsequently married Arthur’s younger brother, the recently succeeded Henry VIII, in 1509. For six months in 1513, she served as regent of England while Henry VIII was in France. During that time the English won the Battle of Flodden, an event in which Catherine played an important part. By 1525, Henry VIII was infatuated with his mistress, Anne Boleyn, and dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter, the future Mary I of England, as heiress presumptive at a time when there was no established precedent for a woman on the throne. He sought to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain of events that led to England’s schism with the Catholic Church. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage, Henry defied him by assuming supremacy over religious matters. In 1533 their marriage was declared invalid and Henry married Anne on the judgement of clergy in England, without reference to the Pope. Catherine refused to accept Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England and considered herself the King’s rightful wife and queen, attracting much popular sympathy. Despite this, she was acknowledged only as Dowager Princess of Wales by Henry.
The Final Footprint – Catherine was entombed in Peterborough Cathedral with the ceremony due to a Dowager Princess of Wales, not a queen. Henry did not attend the funeral and forbade Mary to attend. Catherine’s English subjects held her in high esteem, and her death set off tremendous mourning among the English people. The controversial book The Education of Christian Women by Juan Luis Vives, which claimed women have the right to an education, was commissioned by and dedicated to her. Such was Catherine’s impression on people that even her enemy, Thomas Cromwell, said of her, “If not for her sex, she could have defied all the heroes of History.” 
On this day in 1899, Texas Ranger, Big Foot Wallace, died in Big Foot, Texas at the age of 82. Born William Alexander Anderson Wallace on 3 April 1817 in Lexington, Virginia. Wallace was a famous Texas Ranger who took part in many of the military conflicts of the Republic of Texas and the United States in the 1840s, including the Mexican-American War. Reportedly a descendant of Scottish hero William Wallace. Larry McMurtry included a fictionalized version of Wallace in his Lonesome Dove prequel, Dead Man’s Walk. In this book, Wallace is one of the Rangers who signs on with 
he Final Footprint – Wallace was originally interred in Devine, Texas, but the Texas legislature appropriated the necessary funds to have him disinterred and reinterred in a place of honor in the Texas State Cemetery, Austin, Texas. His grave is marked by a large granite marker inscribed with his name and birth and death dates and the following; HERE LIES HE WHO SPENT HIS MANHOOD DEFENDING THE HOMES OF TEXAS. BRAVE HONEST AND FAITHFUL. Other notable final footprints at Texas State Cemetery include; Stephen F. Austin, John B. Connally, Nellie Connally, J. Frank Dobie, Barbara Jordan, Tom Landry (cenotaph), James A. Michener (cenotaph), Ann Richards, Edwin “Bud” Shrake, and Walter Prescott Webb.
On this day in 2018, 
On this day in 2020, musician, songwriter, author, drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush, The Professor, Neil Peart died 
On this day in 1993, jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, Dizzy Gillespie died from pancreatic cancer in Englewood, New Jersey at the age of 75. Born John Birks Gillespie on 21 October 1917 in Cheraw, South Carolina. In my opinon Gillespie’s had an important influence on jazz and was one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time. Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser and added layers of harmonic complexity previously unknown in jazz. His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing, his bent horn, pouched cheeks and his light-hearted personality were essential in popularizing bebop. In the 1940s Gillespie, together with Charlie Parker, became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. Gillespie was married to Lorraine Willis (1940 – 1993 his death). 
On this day in 1993, ballet and contemporary dancer and choreographer, Lord of the Dance, Rudolf Nureyev died from AIDS complications at the hospital Notre Dame du Perpétuel Secours in Levallois-Perret, at the age of 54. Born Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev on 17 March 1938 on a Trans-Siberian train near Irkutsk, Siberia, Soviet Union. He was director of the Paris Opera Ballet from 1983 to 1989 and its chief choreographer until October 1992. In my opinion, Nureyev is the greatest male ballet dancer of his generation.
On this day in 2006, singer, songwriter, actor, voice actor, and record producer Lou Rawls died from lung cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 72. Born Louis Allen Rawls on December 1, 1933 in Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his song “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”. He worked as a film, television, and voice actor. He was also a three-time Grammy-winner, all for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
On this day in 1066, Anglo-Saxon king of England and saint, Edward the Confessor, died in London at the apporoximate age of 62. Born c. 1003 in Islip, Oxfordshire, England, the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. Edward’s reign began in 1042 on the death of his half brother Harthacanut; the king of Denmark and England was the son of Cnut the Great and Emma of Normandy, Edward’s mother. His reign restored the rule of the House of Wessex after the period of Danish rule since Cnut had conquered England in 1016 but marked the continuing disintegration of royal power in England and the advancing power of the earls. Edward married Edith of Wessex but the union was childless. When Edward died in 1066 he had no son to take over the throne and conflict arose as three men claimed the throne of England. His nearest heir would have been his great nephew Edgar Ætheling who was 14 at the time. Edward made a deathbed bestowal of the crown on Harold Godwinson, the brother of Queen Edith. The Viking king, Harald III of Norway based a claim to the throne of England on an agreement supposedly made by Magnus and Harthacnut, which stated that if either died, the other would inherit the deceased’s throne and lands. When Harthacnut died, Magnus assumed the crown of Denmark, but did not press his claim on England, allowing Edward to take the throne. William, Duke of Normandy (William the Conqueror), whose great aunt Emma was Edward’s mother, claimed that Edward promised him the throne upon Edward’s death. The resulting conflict led to the Norman Conquest and the subsequent influence of Norman-French culture on England. Osbert de Clare, a monk of Westminster, represented Edward as a holy man, reported to have performed several miracles and to have healed people by his touch. Edward had a stone abbey built at Westminster Abbey which became the traditional place for English and British royalty coronations and burials. 
On this day in 1589, Italian noblewoman, as the wife of King Henry II, the Queen of France from 1547 until 1559, 
On this day in 1979, jazz double bassist, pianist, composer and bandleader, The Angry Man of Jazz, Charles Mingus died from ALS in Cuernavaca, Mexico, at the age of 56. Born Charles Mingus Jr. on April 22, 1922 on the US Army base in Nogales, Arizona. A major proponent of collective improvisation, in my opinion, he is one of the greatest jazz musicians and composers in history. His career spanned three decades.
On this day in 1998, singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident at Heavenly Mountain Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California, at the age of 62. Born Salvatore Phillip Bono on February 16, 1935 in Detroit. He came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher, as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. He was mayor of Palm Springs, California from 1988 to 1992, and the Republican congressman for California’s 44th district from 1995 until his death in 1998.
Bono married his first wife, Donna Rankin, on November 3, 1954. They divorced in 1962. In 1964, Bono married Cher. In 1975 they divorced. Bono then married Susie Coelho in 1983, but divorced her within a year in 1984. He wed Mary Whitaker in 1986.
