Almanac – January 12

1946 – Cynthia Robinson born. American musician, best known for being  trumpeter and vocalist inSly and the Family Stone. Robinson is notable for being one of the first (both) black and female trumpet players in a major American band. She also played in  funk band Graham Central Station .

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1967 – Dr. James Bedford died (?) A University of California psychology professor, he was the first person whose body was cryonically preserved (frozen) after legal death, and who remains cryopreserved. Among those in the cryonics community, the anniversary of his cryonic preservation is celebrated as “Bedford Day“.
Bedford’s body was frozen a few hours after he died of natural causes related to  cancer.

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1959 – Blixa Bargeld born. Composer, author, actor, singer, musician, performer and lecturer in a number of artistic fields,  best known for his studio work and tours with Einstürzende Neubauten and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

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2007 – Alice Coltrane died. American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, and composer. She was the second wife of jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane.

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Almanac – August 27

551 BC – Birthdate given for Confucius

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1784 – First balloon ascent in Britain, by James Tytler over Edinburgh.

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1890 – Man Ray born. American modernist artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements.

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1896 – War broke out between the UK and Zanzibar. Happily, it didn’t become a prolonged affair – war was declared at 09:02, peace was declared at 09:40, making this 38-minute long war the shortest on record.

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1913 – Russian pilot Lieutenant Peter Nesterov became the first person to perform the loop-the-loop.

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1937 – Alice Coltrane born. American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, and composer. Wife of John Coltrane.

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1967 – Brian Epstein died.  English music entrepreneur, best known for being the manager of The Beatles. He died of an overdose of Carbitral, a form of barbiturate or sleeping pill.

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1975 – Emperor Haile Selassie died. Revered as the returned messiah of the Bible, God incarnate, among the Rastafari.

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