On this day in 1610, Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610, Caravaggio died in Porto Ercole, Tuscany at the age of 38. Born Michelangelo Merisi on 29 September 1571 in Milan. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque school of painting. Caravaggio trained as a painter in Milan under Simone Peterzano who had himself trained under Titian. Caravaggio’s novelty was a radical naturalism that combined close physical observation with a dramatic, even theatrical, use of chiaroscuro. This came to be known as Tenebrism, the shift from light to dark with little intermediate value. He burst upon the Rome art scene in 1600 with the success of his first public commissions, the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and Calling of Saint Matthew. Thereafter he never lacked commissions or patrons, yet he handled his success poorly. Famous while he lived, Caravaggio was forgotten almost immediately after his death, and it was only in the 20th century that his importance to the development of Western art was rediscovered. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from the ruins of Mannerism was profound. It can be seen directly or indirectly in the work of Rubens, Jusepe de Ribera, Bernini, and Rembrandt, and artists in the following generation heavily under his influence were called the “Caravaggisti” or “Caravagesques”, as well as Tenebrists or “Tenebrosi” (“shadowists”). It can be said that in what begins in the work of Caravaggio is modern painting.
The Final Footprint – His death is the subject of much confusion and conjecture. On 28 July an anonymous avviso (private newsletter) from Rome to the ducal court of Urbino reported that Caravaggio was dead. Three days later another avviso said that he had died of fever on his way from Naples to Rome. A poet friend of the artist later gave 18 July as the date of death, and a recent researcher claims to have discovered a death notice showing that the artist died on that day of a fever in Porto Ercole, near Grosseto in Tuscany. Human remains found in a church in Porto Ercole in 2010 are believed to almost certainly belong to Caravaggio. The findings come after a year-long investigation using DNA, carbon dating and other analyses. Some scholars argue that Caravaggio was murdered by enemies he may have made in Malta. Caravaggio might have died of lead poisoning. Bones with high lead levels were recently found in a grave likely to be Caravaggio’s. Paints used at the time contained high amounts of lead salts. Caravaggio is known to have indulged in violent behavior, which can be caused by lead poisoning. Caravaggio’s epitaph was composed by his friend Marzio Milesi. It reads: “Michelangelo Merisi, son of Fermo di Caravaggio – in painting not equal to a painter, but to Nature itself – died in Port’ Ercole – betaking himself hither from Naples – returning to Rome – 15th calend of August – In the year of our Lord 1610 – He lived thirty-six years nine months and twenty days – Marzio Milesi, Jurisconsult – Dedicated this to a friend of extraordinary genius.”
On this day in 1817, novelist Jane Austen died in Winchester, England at the age of 41. Born 16 December 1775 at Steventon Rectory in Steventon, Hampshire, England. In my opinion, one of the great English writers.
With the publications of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. She also left behind three volumes of juvenile writings in manuscript, a short epistolary novel Lady Susan, and another unfinished novel, The Watsons. Her six full-length novels have rarely been out of print, although they were published anonymously and brought her moderate success and little fame during her lifetime.
A significant transition in her posthumous reputation occurred in 1833, when her novels were republished in Richard Bentley’s Standard Novels series, illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering, and sold as a set. They gradually gained wider acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew’s publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience.
Austen did not marry.
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Austen is entombed in the north aisle of the nave of Winchester Cathedral. Her inscription reads; “In memory of JANE AUSTEN, youngest daughter of Rev GEORGE AUSTEN, formerly Rector of Steventon in this court. She departed this life on the 18th of July 1817, aged 41, after a long illness supported with the patience and the hopes of a Christian. The benevolence of her heart, the sweetness of her temper, and the extraordinary endowments of her mind obtained the regard of all who knew her and the warmest love of her intimate connections. Their grief is in proportion to their affection they know their loss to be irreparable but in their deepest affliction they are consoled by a firm though humble hope that her charity, devotion, faith and purity have rendered her soul acceptable in the sight of her REDEEMER.” The term Janeite has been embraced by devotees of the works of Austen.
On this day in 1966, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Bobby Fuller died in Los Angeles at the age of 23. Fuller was found dead in an automobile parked outside his Hollywood apartment. The Los Angeles deputy medical examiner, Jerry Nelson, performed the autopsy. Reportedly the autopsy states; “The report states that Bobby’s face, chest, and side were covered in “petechial hemorrhages” probably caused by gasoline vapors and the heat. He found no bruises, no broken bones, no cuts. No evidence of beating.” The boxes for “accident” and “suicide” were ticked, but next to the boxes were question marks. Despite the official cause of death, some believe Fuller was murdered. Born Robert Gaston Fuller on 22 October 1942 in Baytown, Texas.
Perhaps best known for his singles “I Fought the Law” and “Love’s Made a Fool of You,” recorded with his mid-1960s group, the Bobby Fuller Four.
The Final Footprint – He is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. Other notable final footprints at Hollywood Hills include; Gene Autry, David Carradine, Scatman Crothers, Bette Davis, Sandra Dee, Ronnie James Dio, Michael Clarke Duncan, Andy Gibb, Carrie Fisher, Michael Hutchence, Jill Ireland, Al Jarreau, Lemmy Kilmister, Jack LaLanne, Nicolette Larsen, Liberace, Strother Martin, Ricky Nelson, Bill Paxton, Brock Peters, Freddie Prinze, Lou Rawls, John Ritter, Debbie Reynolds, Telly Savalas, Lee Van Cleef, Paul Walker, and Jack Webb.
#RIP #OTD in 2015 actor (Moe Greene in The Godfather) Alex Rocco died from pancreatic cancer in his Studio City home, at the age of 79. Cremation
RIP #OTD in 2024 Grammy Award-winning comedian and Emmy Award-winning actor (The Bob Newhart Show; Newhart; The Big Bang Theory), Bob Newhart died at his home in Los Angeles aged 94. Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
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On this day in 1918, The Russian Imperial Romanov family (Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra and their five children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei) and all those who chose to accompany them into exile – notably Eugene Botkin, Anna Demidova, Alexei Trupp and Ivan Kharitonov, were shot in Yekaterinburg on 17 July 1918. The murder of the Tsar was carried out by the Ural Soviet which was led by Yakov Yurovsky. In the opinion of historians, the murder had been ordered in Moscow by Vladimir Lenin and Yakov Sverdlov to prevent the rescue of the Imperial Family by approaching White forces during the ongoing Russian Civil War. 
The Final Footprint – Chapin’s remains were interred in the Huntington Rural Cemetery, Huntington, New York. His epitaph is taken from his song “I Wonder What Would Happen to this World”:
The Final Footprint – Stafford’s final resting place is with her husband, Paul Weston, at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Other notable final footprints at Holy Cross include; John Candy, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, John Ford, Rita Hayworth, Chick Hearn, Bela Lugosi, Al Martino, Audrey Meadows, Ricardo Montalbán, Evelyn Nesbit, Hermes Pan, Chris Penn, and Sharon Tate.
On this day in 2012, singer, songwriter, The Clock Stopper, The Queen of Country Music, Kitty Wells died in Madison, Tennessee, from complications of a stroke at the age of 92. Born Ellen Muriel Deason on 30 August 1919 in Nashville, Tennessee. Her 1952 hit recording version of the J. D. Miller song, “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”, made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts, and turned her into the first female country star. Her Top 10 hits continued until the mid-1960s, inspiring a long list of female country singers who came to prominence in the 1960’s. In 1976, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1991 she received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Wells was married to singer, songwriter Johnnie Wright (1937-2011 his death).
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On this day in 1997, fashion designer and founder of Gianni Versace S.p.A., Gianni Versace died from a gunshot wound on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion, the former Casa Casuarina now known as “The Villa By Barton G.”, as he returned from a morning walk on Ocean Drive, at the age of 50. Versace was shot by Andrew Cunanan, who later shot himself, for unknow reasons. Born Gianni Marcus Versace on 2 December 1946, in Reggio Calabria, Italy, where he grew up with his elder brother Santo and younger sister Donatella, along with their father and dressmaker mother, Francesca.
The Final Footprint – Lieutenant Roosevelt was interred by the Germans near Chamery, France where his plane crashed. After his grave came under Allied control, thousands of American soldiers visited it to pay their respects. Lieutenant Roosevelt’s resting place became a shrine and an inspiration to his comrades in arms. The French placed a headstone with the inscription:
On this day in 1793, physician, political theorist, and scientist, Jean-Paul Marat was murdered in his bathtub in Paris by Charlotte Corday, a Girondist sympathizer. He was 50. His last words were to his wife Simonne, “Aidez-moi, ma chère amie!” (“Help me, my dear friend!”) Born on 24 May 1743 in Boudry, Principality of Neuenburg (Neuchâtel), Prussia (in present-day Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland). Perhaps best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution. His journalism became renowned for its fierce tone, uncompromising stance toward the new leaders and institutions of the revolution, and advocacy of basic human rights for the poorest members of society. Marat was one of the most radical voices of the French Revolution. He became a vigorous defender of the sans-culottes, publishing his views in pamphlets, placards and newspapers, including the “L’ami du peuple”, which helped make him their unofficial link with the radical, republican Jacobin group that came to power after June 1793. In his death he became an icon to the Jacobins, a sort of revolutionary martyr, as portrayed in Jacque-Louis David’s famous painting of his death.
On this day in 1954, painter Frida Kahlo
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On this day in 2010, the morning of the 2010 Major 
League Baseball All-Star Game, United States Air Force veteran, shipping magnate, entrepreneur and owner of the New York Yankees, "The Boss", George Steinbrenner died of a heart attack at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Florida, at the age of 80. Born George Michael Steinbrenner III on 4 July 1930 in Rocky River, Ohio. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership, beginning in 1973, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned 7 World Series titles and 11 pennants. He received his B.A. from Williams College and his M.A. from Ohio State University. Steinbrenner was married once to Elizabeth Joan Zieg (1956-2010 his death).
The Final Footprint – Hamilton is entombed in a marble tomb in the graveyard of Trinity Church at Wall Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan. His epitaph reads; The PATRIOT of incorruptible INTEGRITY. The SOLDIER of approved VALOUR. The STATESMAN of consummate WISDOM; Whose TALENTS and VIRTUES will be admired Grateful Posterity. Long after this MARBLE shall have mouldered into DUST.
On this day in 1973, the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney, actor Lon Chaney, Jr. died of heart failure at age 67 in San Clemente, California. Born Creighton Tull Chaney on 10 February 1906 in Oklahoma City. Perhaps best known for playing such characters as The Wolf Man, The Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster and Count Alucard for Universal. He is also notable for portraying Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men. From Warren Zevon’s song “Werewolves of London”; Well, I saw Lon Chaney walking with the Queen, / Doing the Werewolves of London / I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. walking with the Queen / Doing the Werewolves of London.
On this day in 2008, baseball player, 5x All-Star, New York Yankee, Bobby Murcer died from brain cancer, surrounded by his family at his home in Oklahoma City at the age of 62. Born Bobby Ray Murcer on 20 May 1946 in Oklahoma City.
The Final Footprint – Yankees owner George Steinbrenner issued a statement following his death: “Bobby Murcer was a born Yankee, a great guy, very well-liked and a true friend of mine. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Kay, their children and grandchildren. I will really miss the guy.” Baseball commissioner Bud Selig eulogized, “All of Major League Baseball is saddened today by the passing of Bobby Murcer, particularly on the eve of this historic All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, a place he called home for so many years. Bobby was a gentleman, a great ambassador for baseball, and a true leader both on and off the field. He was a man of great heart and compassion.” The memorial service for Bobby was held in Edmond, OK on 6 August 2008, at the Memorial Road Church of Christ. Among the some 2,000 attending the memorial were Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Joe Girardi. Also in attendance Diana Munson, widow of Yankee captain Thurman Munson. The August 6 date was 29 years, to the day, since Murcer gave a eulogy at Munson’s funeral and is also the 25th anniversary of Bobby Murcer Day at Yankee Stadium. The uniform worn by Murcer at his final Yankee Stadium Old Timer’s Day appearance in 2007 was presented to his spouse Kay. Murcer is entombed in Rose Hill Mausoleum, in Oklahoma City, in the left side of the building.
On this day in 1937, composer and pianist, George Gershwin died from a brain tumor at the age of 38 at Cedars Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles. Born Jacob Gershowitz on 26 September 1898 in Brooklyn. Gershwin’s compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), as well as the opera Porgy and Bess (1935). He composed Broadway theatre works with his brother Ira Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, where he began to compose An American in Paris. After returning to New York City, he wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and the author DuBose Heyward. Porgy and Bess is now considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century. Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores. Gershwin’s compositions have been adapted for use in many films and for television, and several became jazz standards recorded in many variations. Countless celebrated singers and musicians have covered his songs.
The Final Footprint – Gershwin is entombed in the George Gershwin Private Mausoleum at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. His brother Ira was entombed in the mausoleum upon his death, 17 August 1983.
On this day in 1989, actor, director and producer, The Right Honourable, The Lord Olivier, Laurence Olivier died at his home in Steyning, West Sussex, England, from renal failure at the age of 82. Born Laurence Kerr Olivier on 22 May 1907 in Dorking, Surrey, United Kingdom. Olivier became determined early on to master Shakespeare, and eventually came to be regarded as one of the foremost Shakespeare interpreters of the 20th century. His three Shakespeare films as actor-director, Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), and Richard III (1955), are among the pinnacles of the Bard at the cinema. Olivier was the youngest actor to be knighted as a Knight Bachelor, in 1947, and the first to be elevated to the peerage two decades later. He married three times, to actresses Jill Esmond (1930 – 1940 divorce), Vivien Leigh (1940 – 1960 divorce) and Joan Plowright (1961 – 1989 his death).
The Final Footprint – He was cremated and his ashes inurned in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey, London. Other notable Final Footprints at Westminster include; Robert Browning, Lord Byron, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles II, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward The Confessor, Elizabeth I, George II, George Friederic Handel, Henry III, Henry V, Henry VII, Stephen Hawking, James VI and I, Samuel Johnson, Ben Jonson, Rudyard Kipling, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Mary I, Mary II, Mary Queen of Scots, John Milton, Isaac Newton, Henry Purcell, Richard II, Thomas Shadwell, Edmund Spenser, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Dylan Thomas, and William III.
the United States, entrepreneur, beloved daughter of Texas, Lady Bird Johnson died at her home in West Lake Hills, Texas at the age of 94. Born Claudia Alta Taylor on 22 December 1912 in Karnack, Texas. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation’s cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that her major initiative as First Lady. After first attending the University of Alabama and St. Mary’s junior college in Dallas, she attended the University of Texas at Austin and earned two bachelor’s degrees; in history and journalism, both with honors. On 17 November 1934 she married Lyndon Baines Johnson at St.Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio. They were married until his death in 1973. Lady Bird was instrumental in froming LBJ Holding Company which owned KTBC radio station, KTBC-TV/7, KLBJ-AM, KLBJ-FM and KGSR. Lady Bird was one of the speakers to address the graduates at UT’s Centennial graduation ceremony in May 1983. We wore burnt orange caps and gowns that night. The Goodyear blimp circled the outdoor ceremony. Some of my fondest childhood memories are playing at my cousins’s house in West Lake Hills where Lady Bird would one day own a home.
On this day in 2010, United States Navy veteran, public address announcer Bob Sheppard died at his home in Baldwin, New York on July 11, 2010, three months and nine days shy of his 100th birthday. Born Robert Leo Sheppard on 20 October 1910, in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York City. Sheppard was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the MLB New York Yankees (1951–2007), and the NFL New York Giants (1956–2006). Sheppard announced more than 4,500 Yankees baseball games over a period of 56 years, including 22 pennant-winning seasons and 13 World Series championships; he called 121 consecutive postseason contests, 62 games in 22 World Series, and six no-hitters, including three perfect games. Sheppard was also the in-house voice for a half-century of Giants football games, encompassing nine conference championships, three NFL championships (1956, 1986, 1990), and the game often called “the greatest ever played”, the classic 1958 championship loss to Baltimore. His smooth, distinctive baritone and precise, consistent elocution became iconic aural symbols of both the old Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium. Reggie Jackson famously nicknamed him “The Voice of God”, while Carl Yastrzemski once said, “You’re not in the big leagues until Bob Sheppard announces your name.”
The Final Footprint – Sheppard was interred in Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, New York. In announcing his father’s death, Sheppard’s son Paul said, “I know St. Peter will now recruit him. If you’re lucky enough to go to Heaven, you’ll be greeted by a voice saying, ‘Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Heaven!” In 2008, Derek Jeter asked Sheppard to record his at-bat introductions. The recordings have been used to introduce each of Jeter’s home at-bats since the beginning of the 2008 season, and will continue to do so for the rest of his Yankee career. Sheppard said: “It has been one of the greatest compliments I have received in my career of announcing. The fact that he wanted my voice every time he came to bat is a credit to his good judgment and my humility.” A recording of Sheppard was also used to introduce Jeter at the 2010 All-Star Game in Anaheim two days after Sheppard’s death. The Yankees wore a Bob Sheppard commemorative patch on the left sleeve of their home and road jerseys for the remainder of the 2010 season. The Yankees’ first home game after Sheppard’s death, a 5–4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on 16 July 2010, was played with an empty PA booth and no public address announcements. On 26 September 2013 a recording of Sheppard’s introduction, followed by Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, was played as Mariano Rivera stepped to the mound at Yankee Stadium for the final time. 
The Yankees dedicated a plaque in his memory for Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. Monument Park is an open-air museum containing a collection of monuments, plaques, and retired numbers honoring distinguished members of the Yankees. Other notable Yankees whose final footprints include memorialization in Monument Park; Mel Allen, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, George Steinbrenner, Roger Maris, Thurman Munson, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Phil Rizzuto, Billy Martin, and Casey Stengel.
