In 1876, Samuel Gridley Howe died. He was a doctor, educator of the Blind, and an abolitionist. He graduated from Harvard Medical School, and then went to Greece where he joined the Greek Army, taking part in their revolution. Not just as a doctor, but also as a commander- he was nicknamed "The Lafayette of the Greek Revolution". After that, he studied medicine in Paris. Oh, and took part in a revolution there. He then returned to the US, where he got involved in educating the blind, as we noted. To learn more, he returned to Europe, where you won't be surprised to learn, he jumped aboard the Revolutionary Express again. This time, from Paris, he got involved in relief efforts for Poles who fled the revolution in their land. It landed him in a Prussian prison for a while, but the government got him out. He later married a New Yorker named Julia Ward. She took his name of course, and became Julia Ward Howe. Sound familiar? It should- she composed The Battle Hymn of The Republic during the Civil War, which they both supported, being staunch abolitionists.
In 1939, Johann Strauss died. Don't worry, he was actually Johann III, so he wasn't one of the important Strausses. Relative to the earlier ones, that is. He was more of a conductor than a composer, and the one time he had one of his compositions on stage, it was apparently so bad that critics suggested that in the future he use a pseudonym, so he wouldn't embarrass the memories of his uncle and grandfather. Ouch.
In 1995, Peter Cook died. He was one of the better known English comedians of the 1960s, despite being (apparently) kind of a poopy head. He's best known today for his work with Dudley Moore, and also as the Impressive Clergyman in The Princess Bride, one of the best movies ever!
And that's all he wrote!
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