April 2nd

John Paul II (Wojtyla), Pope (Karol Jósef)
b. May 18, 1920 d. April 2, 2005
Roman Catholic Pope. Born Karol Joseph Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland to an administrative officer in the Polish army and a former schoolteacher, he rose to Pope and is said to have profoundly changed the Catholic church. As a youth he enjoyed sports and later developed a love of theater planning to become a professional actor. During the Nazi occupation of Poland he clandestinely pursued both his studies and his acting while working as a stonecutter to support himself.

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese
b. April 27, 1791 d. April 2, 1872
Inventor, Artist. He is best known for inventing the modern magnetic telegraph. Born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, he was the eldest son of a Congregationalist pastor who wrote a series of widely used geography textbooks. He was raised in Massachusetts and later went to Yale College where he majored in chemistry and natural philosophy. Graduating from Yale in 1810, in 1811 he traveled to England to study art under Washington Allston and Benjamin West, where he gained considerable reputation.

Rich, Buddy
b. September 30, 1917 d. April 2, 1987
Legendary and innovative jazz drummer.

Boone, Joel Thompson
b. August 29, 1889 d. April 2, 1974
World War I Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served during World War I in the United States Navy as a Lieutenant and Surgeon in the Naval Medical Corps, and was awarded the CMOH for his bravery near the vicinity of Vierzy, France, on July 19, 1918. His citation reads "For extraordinary heroism, conspicuous gallantry, and intrepidity while serving with the 6th Regiment, U.S. Marines, in actual conflict with the enemy.

McGunnegle, Wilson
b. August 23, 1829 d. April 2, 1863
Lieutenant, U.S.N. McGunnegle was ordered to take command of the gunboat USS St. Louis near Memphis on the Mississippi River. Soon after, he found himself in charge of a small squadron of gunboats operating on the White River in Arkansas. This came about when the squadron commander's gunboat, the USS Mound City, suffered a direct hit that killed many of the crew & officers. McGunnegle died of consumption while on assignment to Annapolis, Maryland.

Novosel, Michael J.
b. September 3, 1922 d. April 2, 2006
Viet Nam Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. A Chief Warrant Officer in the United States Army, he was born in Etna, Pennsylvania, and became a military aviation cadet at age 19. During World War II he served flying B-29 Superfortress bombers for the Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater. After the war he transferred to the Air Force Reserve in 1949, was temporarily recalled to active duty during the Korean War and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

Vandenberg, Hoyt Sanford
b. January 24, 1899 d. April 2, 1954
United States Air Force General. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy June 12, 1923, at which time he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Service. He completed the Air Service Flying School at Brooks Field, Texas, in February 1924, and from the Air Service Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field, Texas, in September 1924. His first assignment was with the Third Attack Group at Kelly Field, where he assumed command of the 90th Attack Squadron.

Jordan, Thomas Jefferson
b. December 3, 1821 d. April 2, 1895
Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. He practiced law and ran a lumber business when the Civil War broke out and was commissioned a Major in the Pennsylvania Volunteers. In October 1861, he was promoted Colonel in commander of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry and saw action in Kentucky and Tennessee in 1862. In the Battle of Chickamauga, he received recognition of his service and was placed in command of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division of the Cavalry in the March to the Sea.

Howard, Jacob Merritt
b. July 10, 1805 d. April 2, 1871
US Congressman, US Senator. Elected to represent Michigan as At-Large in the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1841 to 1843. He was defeated in 1843 as Whig. Also served as a Member of the Michigan State House of Representatives in 1838, Michigan Stae Attorney General from 1855 to 1860, and United States Senator from Michigan from 1889 to 1902.

Starr, Edwin
b. January 21, 1942 d. April 2, 2003
Musician, Songwriter. Born Charles Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee, he formed his first group, the Future Tones, in 1957, recording one single before his three-year army service. In 1965, he was offered a solo deal following two years of touring with another band. Early hits included "Agent Double-O Soul" and "Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S)." But his biggest success came with "War," a Number 1 hit in 1970 during a time of growing anti-Vietnam War protests. Other top 10 hits included "Contact".

Kephart, Horace Sowers
b. September 8, 1862 d. April 2, 1931Scholar, Author and Outdoorsman. Early champion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Leaving his family and his job as chief librarian of the St. Louis Mercantile Library, Kephart journeyed to the southern Appalachians in 1904, eventually settling near Bryson City in Swain County, North Carolina. He spent most of the remainder of his life traveling the southern mountains, researching the area and its inhabitants.

Furness, Betty Midgley
b. January 3, 1916 d. April 2, 1994
Actress, Consumer Advocate, Commentator. She was born Elizabeth Mary Furness in New York City the daughter of pioneering radio executive George Furness. A child model starting at age 14, she was signed at 16 by RKO Studios to a film contract. With a new name Betty, she appeared in some forty mostly B-melodramas in the 1930s. A few: 'Thirteen Women, her first, Magnificent Obsession, Swing Time with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and Mister Cinderella.' Cause of death: Stomach cancer.

Gass, Patrick
b. June 12, 1771 d. April 2, 1870
Folk Figure. He began his military career fighting Indians with the Virginia militia in 1792 and joined the United States Army with General Alexander Hamilton from 1799 to 1800. He rejoined the army in 1803 and served in Illinois, just across the river from St Louis. It was there on January 1, 1804 that he joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition as a private and was voted to sergeant in August when Sergeant Floyd died of appendicitis.