RIp for May 21

Oooh, we're off to an interesting start!  RIP Louis V of France.  He was the Louis VIII spots before Louis XIII, of course.  Remember him- he took over from his father on May XIV, and then died on the same date in A.D. MDCXLIII?  Anyhow, V died roughly DCLVI years before XIII, which would make it DCXXIII years before XIII's father, Henry IV.  Got all that?

Well the next person on our list is Conrad IV of Germany.  He died in A.D. MCCLIV, age XXVI.  (I gave you an easy one there at the end!)

Then we recall Christian I of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.  Since the joke is momentarily getting old, we'll skip all the details. 

Harry Bensley died on this date in 1956.  Supposedly, he made a bet- or was the subject of a bet, lots of details are uncertain, including the truth of the whole story, but how can we ignore a person who is identified as a "rake and adventurer" in the mid-20th century?  However, he was supposedly challenged to walk around the world, without ever being recognized.  Including walking through a large number of English cities, where one might presume he would be recognized.  It's unclear how far he got, or if he was really required to wear an iron mask and push a baby carriage the whole way.  He might have gotten to China, or he might not have gotten very far at all, though he was supposedly on the road for over six years.  The legend says he was in Italy when WWI broke out, and was either released from the wager or gave it up to fight for England.  He was wounded, and in the end died in poverty, having lost his fortune somewhere along the line-either in a wager that led to his bet, during the War, or... something else.

In 1988, Sammy Davis died.  That's Senior, not Junior.  Junior outlived him by almost exactly two years.  Senior was also a dancer of some note.

And finally, in 2000 we lost the legendary actor Sir John Gielgud.  He won an Oscar, Tony, Emmy, and a Grammy.  Maybe even a couple of extras, rather than a mere one of each.  His family came from the Lithuanian town of Gielgudyszki.  Did you catch the similarity there?  Subtle, no?  In 1935, he was in Romeo and Juliet.  He played both Romeo and Mercutio- not at the same time, but alternating with his costar, a chap named Olivier. 

So it's not a bad die to recall those who left us.  RIP to the whole bunch, and anyone else who died on this date.