Died On This Date

May 7
Fairbanks Jr., Douglas
b. December 9, 1909 d. May 7, 2000
Actor. Movie star of the 1930s and 1940s. He was the son of silent film star Douglas Fairbanks Sr., and the first husband of actress Joan Crawford. He began his career during the silent era in bit parts until 1923 when he starred in the film Stephen Steps Out which quickly went out of circulation. He continued working and had parts in the films Broken Hearts of Hollywood (1926), Modern Mothers (1928), Dead Man's Curve (1928), A Woman of Affairs (1928) which starred Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.

Rabbitt, Eddie (Edward Thomas)
b. November 27, 1941 d. May 7, 1998
Singer, Songwriter. Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, he was one of the most innovative country artists of alltime. His recording career began in 1964 but he didn't establish himself until he moved to Nashville in 1968. His earliest success was as a songwriter. In 1970 Elvis Presley recorded his song "Kentucky Rain" and in 1974 Ronnie Milsap had his first number one country single with the Eddie Rabbitt composition "Pure Love". Cause of death: Lung cancer.

Stanton, Thomas
b. August 11, 1869 d. May 7, 1950
US Navy Peacetime Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a Chief Machinist's Mate in the United States Navy. His citation reads "For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the fire on board the USS North Dakota, 8 September 1910."

Williams, Guy (Armand Catalano)
b. January 14, 1924 d. May 7, 1989
Actor. Born Armand Joseph Catalano in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Attilio and Clare Catalano. He dropped out of the Peekskill Military Academy in pursuit of an acting career, supporting himself with jobs as a welder, accountant, aircraft-parts inspector, and Wanamaker's salesman. His first success was as a model, appearing in print and on billboards. He then adopted the name Guy Williams. In 1946, he signed with MGM Studios making his film debut in 1947's ‘ Cause of death: Brain aneurysm.

Cormack, Allan Macleod
b. February, 1924 d. May 7, 1998
Nobel prize winner in medicine 1979 for the development of computer assisted tomography, known popularly as CAT-Scans. The prize was shared with Geoffrey Hounsfield of Great Brittain, who developed his machine concurrent with Cormack's theoretical work which was a paper published in 1957 suggesting a reconstruction technique called the Radon transform. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa; educated at University of Cape Town and then lectured there; moved to the United States in 1957.

Lamon, Ward Hill
b. January 6, 1828 d. May 7, 1893
Abraham Lincoln's law partner, later becoming President Lincoln's bodyguard.

Miller, Edmund John 'Bing'
b. August 30, 1894 d. May 7, 1966
Major League Baseball Player. He began his career as an outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1921. The next season he played for the Philadelphia Athletics after an off season trade until 1926. He was traded to the St. Louis Browns and two years later traded back to Philadelphia where he remained until 1934. While with the A's, he was a member of three World Series teams in a row. In the 1929 Series, he played in all five games of the win getting 7 hits and driving in four runs.

McCalmont, Alfred Brunson
b. April 28, 1825 d. May 7, 1874
Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. Served during the Civil War first as Lieutenant Colonel of the 142nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, then as Colonel and commander of the 208th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. In the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he assumed command of the regiment when its Colonel, Robert P. Cummins, was killed during the action of the First Day (July 1). He was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers on March 13, 1865 for "gallant services".

Mack, Ray
b. August 31, 1916 d. May 7, 1969
Professional Baseball Player. Real name Raymond James Mlckovsky. He played Major League Baseball for nine seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, and very briefly with the New York Yankees. After attending Case Western Reserve University, where he was a Division III football star, he made his big league debut with Cleveland in 1938. He played his entire career at second base and was part of the revered double play combination with shortstop teammate, Lou Boudreau.

Fardy, Corp. John Peter
b. August 8, 1922 d. May 7, 1945
World War II Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. John Peter Fardy served as a Corporal and squad leader with Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Islands. It was on May 6, 1945 when Company C was advancing against a strongly fortified defended Japanese position that Corporal Fardy's squad was suddenly brought under heavy small-arms fire.

Keith, Miguel
b. June 2, 1951 d. May 7, 1970
Medal of honor recipient. Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Combined Action platoon 1-3-2, 111 Marine Amphibious Force. Place and date: Quang Ngai province, Republic of Vietnam, 8 May 1970. Entered service at: Omaha, Nebr. Born: 2 June 1951, San Antonio, Tex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machine gunner with Combined Action platoon 1-3-2. Cause of death: Killed in action.

Crowder, Enoch H.
b. April 11, 1859 d. May 7, 1932
United States Army General. A United States Army judge advocate general from 1911 to 1920, his comprehensive military plan for World War I included the Selective Service Act (the national draft, adopted in 1917). He served as United States Ambassador to Cuba from 1923 to 1927. Crowder State Park located in Edinburg, Missouri is named for him.

Berg, Nick (Nicholas)
b. April 2, 1978 d. May 7, 2004
Terrorism Victim. A small business owner who owned Prometheus Methods Tower Service, he was an independent contractor who thought his skills could be used to help the people of Iraq by rebuilding communication antennas. He traveled twice to Iraq (the first time was from December 21, 2003 to February 1, 2004. He returned to Iraq on March 14, 2004). On April 9th when he was reportedly stopped at a checkpoint and arrested. It was later revealed he had been kidnapped by Islamic militants. Cause of death: Beheaded by terrorists.

Wilson, John
b. December 29, 1838 d. May 7, 1864
Civil War Union Army Officer. He entered the Union Army with a commission of Captain in the 43rd New York Volunteer Infantry on Aug 3, 1861, having raised a company. He was subsequently engaged in the Battles of Lee's Mills, Warwick's Creek, Yorktown, Golden's Farm, Seven Days Battles, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Marye's Heights, Salem Church, Bank's Ford, 2nd Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Locust Grove, Mine Run and the Wilderness, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.