April 12
Roosevelt, Franklin Delanob. January 30, 1882 d. April 12, 1945
32nd US President. Cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, he graduated from Harvard and earned a law degree at Columbia University. He later became a democratic Senator for the state of New York. He was elected Governor of New York twice, 1928 and 1930. Elected president in 1932, he is the only president to have served more than 2 terms (he served for 12 years, until his untimely death in 1945, just before the end of WWII).
Barton, Clara
b. December 25, 1821 d. April 12, 1912
Founder of the American Red Cross (Angel of the Battlefield). Clara Barton was born on Christmas Day on a farm near Oxford, Massachusetts. She was a teacher and a government worker before heading off to minister the wounds of soldiers, often on bloody civil war battlefields. Barton was so close to the front lines at the Battle of Sharpsburg that a bullet passed through her clothes and killed the wounded soldier she was tending. Cause of death: Heart failure.
Robinson (Smith), Sugar Ray (Walker)
b. May 3, 1920 d. April 12, 1989
Welterweight and 5-time Middleweight Champion of the World. Robinson is hailed by fans and fighters alike as being, pound for pound, the greatest fighter in History. He earned the nickname Sugar Ray when a newspaper reporter described him as "sweet as sugar." He combined a dancers grace with a furious two fisted attack to defeat some of the top fighters of all time. In his 25 year career he took on a who's who of opponents. Cause of death: Alzheimer's disease.
Louis (Barrow), Joe 'The Brown Bomber'
b. May 13, 1914 d. April 12, 1981
Professional Boxer. Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1937 to 1949. He began his pro career in 1934, and by 1936 he had beaten such great heavyweights as Stanley Poreda, Natie Brown, and Rosco Toles. He was seemingly invincible, until his meeting with Max Schmeling on June 19, 1936. Schmeling was the underdog but, to the surprise of all, gave Joe Louis a stinging defeat by knocking him out in the 12th round. In 1937, he faced World Heavyweight Champion James J. Braddock in Chicago. Cause of death: Cardiac Arrest.
Poole, George Barney
b. October 29, 1923 d. April 12, 2005
All-American Football player and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. "Barney" Poole was the youngest of three Poole brothers who starred on the gridiron for Ole Miss. He was a member of the Ole Miss "Team of the Century," having followed brothers Buster and Ray to Ole Miss from their home near Gloster, MS. Barney earned All-American honors at Ole Miss in 1947 and 1948, setting NCAA records in 1947 for passes caught in a season (52) and receptions in a game (13).
Freed (Grossman), Arthur
b. September 9, 1894 d. April 12, 1973
Producer, Lyricist. Born Arthur Grossman in Charleston, South Carolina, he was raised in Seattle, Washington. After graduating high school, he moved to Illinois and worked as a pianist for a Chicago music publisher. During his time in Chicago, he met Minnie Marx, the mother of the Marx Brothers. She introduced Arthur to her sons, which led to his teaming with them and touring the vaudeville circuit as a singer and writer of musical material for the brothers.
Baker (Carson), Josephine (Freda)
b. June 3, 1906 d. April 12, 1975
Singer, entertainer. Easily the most successful Black woman of her time, Josephine was born Freda Carson into poverty in St. Louis, Missouri. Her ticket out was her comedic and dance abilities, which powered her rise to early American fame on Broadway. Tiring of performing in demeaning minstrel reviews, she jumped at the chance of a career in Paris where the Jazz Age fueled heady interest in the then sensual and exotic African-American culture. Cause of death: Cerebral hemorrhage
Willie (Martin), Boxcar (Lecil Travis)
b. September 1, 1931 d. April 12, 1999
Country and Folk Musician. Raised in a small home near the local railroad where he grew up playing guitar and fiddle, Lecil Martin joined the Air Force in 1949. After retiring from a twenty-seven year career where he served in the Korean War and logged over 10,000 flight hours, he continued the country music career he had begun in the service. Adopting the name Boxcar Willie after seeing a hobo in Lincoln, Nebraska (where he hosted both a television and a radio program), he centered his music. Cause of death: Leukemia.
Valles, Arlington
b. 1886 d. April 12, 1970
Motion picture costume designer of the 1930s through the 1960s. Born Frederick Arlington Valles, though his designs and film credits most always read 'Valles'.
Mills, Herbert
b. April 2, 1912 d. April 12, 1989
Member of the Mills Brothers singing group. He was a baritone who imitated the trumpet. Originally the brothers would perform in front of their father’s barbershop after school singing while Harry played the kazoo. First named as Four Boys and a Kazoo. At their debut at the Mays Opera house in 1924, Harry forgot his kazoo and improvised a trumpet sound with his mouth and hands. Eventually they became the first African-American group to have a major broadcast sponsor (Columbia).
Cutcheon, Byron Mac
b. May 11, 1836 d. April 12, 1908
Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, US Congressman. Elected to represent Michigan's 9th District in the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1883 to 1891. He was defeated in 1890. Also served as Presidential Elector from Michigan in 1868. During the Civil War he served as a Colonel in the Union Army and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1891 for action at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Kentucky, on May 10, 1863.
Hatch, John Porter
b. January 9, 1822 d. April 12, 1901
Civil War Union Brigadier General, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He was born in Oswego, New York, and graduated 17th in the West Point class of 1845; he was then assigned to the Mounted Rifles. He served meritoriously as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Mexican War, thereafter drawing garrison duty in Oregon, Texas, and New Mexico Territory until the Civil War began. In April 1861 he was ordered east from his post as commissary chief in the Department of New Mexico.
Southwick, Thomas Paine
b. 1837 d. April 12, 1892
Civil War Union Soldier, Historian. Served in the Civil War as a Sergeant on Company F, 5th New York Volunteer Infantry, a unit that was know as "Duryee Zouaves" after their first colonel, Abram Duryee. He was the author of the book "A Duryee Zouave."
Ford, Paul
b. November 2, 1901 d. April 12, 1976
Actor. A Tony-nominated character performer best known for his role as Colonel John Hall on "The Phil Silvers Show" (1955 to 1959). A stage actor from his 40s, he had numerous roles on television, including guest shots on "Love, American Style," and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," and in such films as "The Music Man" (1962), "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963), and "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming" (1966). He died before being able to take the role of Principal McGree.
Lincoln, Sarah Bush
b. December 13, 1788 d. April 12, 1869
She became Abraham Lincoln's stepmother when he was nine - Sarah became a widow in 1816 left with three children while Thomas Lincoln became a widower in 1818 left with two children. He simply knocked on her door one day in Hardin County, Kentucky and proposed marriage. Quickly married, the second for both, Sarah age 31 and Thomas age 41, loaded up a wagon with Sara's things and headed for the Thomas' farm in Indiana. Abraham and his sister found out they had a new mother.
Stacpoole, Henry De Vere
b. April 9, 1863 d. April 12, 1951
Novelist. After qualifying as a doctor he sailed the world as a ship's physician. He was a prolific author, but achieved little financial success until his novel "The Blue Lagoon" (1908) proved immediately popular. It went through 23 editions through 1920 and was later made into a film.
Lynch, James Canning
b. January 16, 1840 d. April 12, 1901
Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. He first served in the Civil War as a Captain in the 106th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, then was detailed to be the Acting Inspector General on the staff of Brigadier General Alexander Hays. When that officer was killed in action at the Battle of the Wilderness, he joined the staff of Major General John Gibbon in the same capacity. Finally, he was promoted to Colonel and commander of the 183rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.
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