December 13 birthdays and deaths:

Stephen "tWitch" Boss

Stephen "tWitch" Boss is an American dancer, choreographer, and media personality born in 1982. He gained fame as a So You Think You Can Dance contestant, and later became a popular TV host, appearing on shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show and various music competitions.

Deathyear: 2022

Alan Thicke

Alan Thicke was a talented Canadian entertainer born in 1947. He gained fame as a talk-show host, sang in Country music, and acted in TV shows like "Growing Pains" and films. He also hosted game shows and wrote song lyrics, displaying his versatility in the entertainment industry.

Deathyear: 2016

Irma Grese

Irma Grese was a German concentration camp guard notorious for her cruelty and brutality. Born in 1923, she was stationed at Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Ravensbrück. Convicted of war crimes in 1945, she was executed by hanging in 1945 at the age of 22.

Deathyear: 1945

Smita Patil

Smita Patil was a renowned Indian actress and journalist, born in 1955. She began her acting career in the 1970s, starring in films like "Ghar Ghar Kaa Chirag" and "Bhumika." She was known for her versatility and unique on-screen presence. Patil received numerous awards and accolades throughout her career.

Deathyear: 1986

Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky was a pioneering Russian-French painter and theorist, credited with creating the first purely abstract works of art. He explored emotional and expressive qualities of color and form, influencing generations of artists, including the Bauhaus movement.

Deathyear: 1944

Lamar Hunt

Lamar Hunt was a renowned American businessman and sports entrepreneur. He co-founded the American Football League (AFL) and World Championship Tennis (WCT). With his net worth estimated at over $2.5 billion, he was also a pillar of philanthropy, supporting various causes and charities throughout his life.

Deathyear: 2006

Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson, a renowned English poet and lexicographer, was born in 1709.

Deathyear: 1784

Maimonides

Maimonides, a renowned Spanish rabbi and philosopher, was born in Cordoba in 1135. He wrote extensively on Jewish law, philosophy, and medicine. His works included the "Guide for the Perplexed" and "Mishneh Torah".

Deathyear: 1204

Donatello

Donatello (1386-1466) was a renowned Italian artist, innovator of Renaissance sculpture. Noted for his lifelike depictions and attention to detail, he crafted iconic works like "David" and "St. George." His mastery of materials and incredible realism revolutionized the art world.

Deathyear: 1466

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194-1250), was a Norman king and ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily, Egypt, and Jerusalem. He was a skilled politician and military leader who expanded his territories through military conquests and diplomatic alliances.

Deathyear: 1250

Grandma Moses

Anna Mary Robertson Moses, known as Grandma Moses, was an American folk artist and painter who began painting at age 76. Born in 1860, she created over 1,000 works, capturing rural New England scenes and telling stories of her life through her vibrant, naive-style paintings.

Deathyear: 1961

Alexander Selkirk

Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor, was marooned on a Pacific island in 1704. Surviving for four years and one month, he was eventually rescued in 1709. His incredible story inspired Daniel Defoe to write "Robinson Crusoe". Selkirk's remarkable tale has become a legendary testament to human endurance.

Deathyear: 1721

Raymond A. Spruance

Raymond A. Spruance was a renowned American admiral and diplomat. He led the USS Enterprise during WWII, defeating the Japanese at the Battle of Midway. After the war, he served as the United States Ambassador to the Philippines from 1952 to 1955.

Deathyear: 1969

Manuel I of Portugal

Manuel I of Portugal, also known as the Fortunate, reigned from 1495 to 1521. He married Juana of Portugal, a sister of King Philip I of Castile, gaining the throne of Spain.

Deathyear: 1521

António Egas Moniz

Egas Moniz, a pioneering Portuguese psychiatrist and neurosurgeon, introduced the leucotomy, a lobotomy procedure, in 1935. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949 for his work on the cerebral cortex and its disorders. His research aimed to treat mental disorders and Alzheimer's disease.

Deathyear: 1955

Josef Kramer

Josef Kramer was a German SS-Sturmbannführer and Nazi concentration camp commandant. He oversaw the Moeckern, Flossenbürg, and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps during World War II. Estimated to have killed over 41,000 prisoners in Bergen-Belsen alone between 1943 and 1945.

Deathyear: 1945

Ella Baker

Ella Baker (1903-1986) was a pioneering American civil rights activist. She worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Her tireless efforts to empower African Americans through education and grassroots organizing earned her the nickname "The Unknown Unsung Hero."

Deathyear: 1986

Nicholas Roerich

Nicholas Roerich was a Russian archaeologist, painter, and philosopher born in 1874. He is best known for his advocacy for the preservation of ancient cultures and his artistic depictions of mythological landscapes.

Deathyear: 1947

Elisabeth Volkenrath

Elisabeth Volkenrath, a German-Polish supervisor, managed Ravensbrück and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps during the Holocaust. Born in 1919, she oversaw the brutal treatment of prisoners, including forced labor, medical experiments, and mass murder. Her cruelty earned her notoriety as one of the most notorious Nazi war criminals.

Deathyear: 1945

Mahmud I

Mahmud I (1696-1754) was an Ottoman sultan from 1730 to 1754. Born in Constantinople, he ascended to the throne after a tumultuous period of Ottoman history. He brought stability and launched several military campaigns, including the Siege of Belgrade in 1737.

Deathyear: 1754

Gustave Le Bon

Gustave Le Bon, a pioneer in social psychology, explored the collective unconscious, mob psychology, and crowd behavior. His influential work, "The Crowd," examined how crowds shape individual behavior, influencing Western thought on social dynamics.

Deathyear: 1931

Zal Yanovsky

Zal Yanovsky, a pioneering Canadian musician, co-founded The Lovin' Spoonful in 1965 with John Sebastian. As lead guitarist and vocalist, Yanovsky contributed to the band's successful run, producing hits like "Do You Believe in Magic" and "Summer in the City".

Deathyear: 2002

Samuel Gompers

Samuel Gompers, a product of industrial England, emigrated to the US and dedicated his life to advocating for workers' rights. He founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1886, leading labor movements and promoting fair labor practices.

Deathyear: 1924

Abraham Wald

Abraham Wald, a Hungarian mathematician and academic, was born in 1902. He made significant contributions to statistics, probability, and operations research, particularly in the fields of aerodynamics and wartime optimization. His work has had a lasting impact on various fields, including economics, physics, and engineering.

Deathyear: 1950

Lew Grade

Lew Grade, a Ukrainian-born British impresario and media proprietor, founded Associated Television (ATV) and Thames Television, and produced numerous films and TV shows. A showman and entrepreneur, Grade was known for his charismatic personality and shrewd business acumen.

Deathyear: 1998

Jon Hall (actor)

Jon Hall was an American actor and director, born in 1915. He gained fame in the 1940s and 1950s for his roles in films like "The Vampire's Ghost" and "Arabian Nights". He also directed several films and was a prolific producer.

Deathyear: 1979

Heather Angel (actress)

Heather Angel was a British-American actress born on February 9, 1909, in London, England. She began her career in the 1930s and went on to appear in over 70 films, including dramas, comedies, and musicals, often playing charming and witty characters.

Deathyear: 1986

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney was a renowned American businessman and philanthropist, born in 1899. He was a member of the wealthy Whitney family and served as the chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation.

Deathyear: 1992

Johannes Trithemius

Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516) was a German cryptographer, historian, and abbot. He was a skilled cryptographer, writing "Polygraphia", a comprehensive book on cryptography. His works also include "Opus Aureum Omni" and "DeSeptenario".

Deathyear: 1516

Cyril Delevanti

Cyril Delevanti was an English-American actor born in 1889. He appeared in numerous films and television shows between 1925 and 1988. Delevanti was a prolific character actor, with over 150 credits to his name, often playing authority figures, professors, and gentlemen.

Deathyear: 1975

Conrad Gessner

Conrad Gessner, a Swiss botanist and physician, was born in 1516. He is renowned for his comprehensive works on botany, including the first exhaustive catalog of plants, "De Rerum Medicinalium", and his significant contributions to the field of comparative anatomy.

Deathyear: 1565