Same-day arrivals and departures

Ingrid Bergman, the actress who memorably starred alongside Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, the 1943 Oscar winner for best picture, was born on August 29, 1915. That makes next Thursday the 109th anniversary of her birth.

But it’s going to be a bittersweet day for her remaining devoted fans, because it also marks the 42nd anniversary of the day the three-time Academy Award winner drew her last breath, August 29, 1982.

The glamorous Swedish actress’s arrival and departure on the same calendar day seems like quite a coincidence. After all, what are the odds of someone’s birthdate and death date being on the same day of the same month?

Well, basic math says they’re approximately four in 1431. Or, for those born on February 29th, one in 1431.

Given the number of people who’ve inhabited Earth over the past few thousand years, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Ms. Bergman is hardly the only person to have arrived and left on the same calendar day. Arguably the most noted individual having that distinction was William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The Bard of Avon not only died on his birthday (April 23rd), he did so in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, the very same location where he had been born 52 years earlier.

Feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan (1921-2006) was born and died on February 4th. Country music legend Merle Haggard’s earthly incarnation (1937- 2016) started and finished on April 6th, and singer/entertainer/talk show host Mike Douglas (1920-2006) both began and ended life on August 11th.

Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Longden was born on Valentine's Day 1907, and expired exactly eight dozen years later, on February 14th, 2003. Another accomplished individual who passed away on his 96th birthday: Levi P. Morton (1824-1920), who served as vice-president from 1889-1893 under Benjamin Harrison. His four score and sixteen years began and ended on August 11th.

Not everyone with a recognizable name who was born on the same date they died was famous for what many folks might assume they were. For example, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr. (August 17, 1914-1988) wasn’t the president of the United States during the Depression and World War II. He was, however, FDR’s son. And Raphael, (1483-1520) who like Merle Haggard was born and died on April 6th, isn’t the famous Ninja Turtle, but rather Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, a renowned Renaissance-era Italian artist and architect.

Not everyone who departs on their birthday dies of natural causes. “Crazy Joe” Gallo, a notorious New York City mobster, was celebrating his 43rd birthday with his family in Little Italy at 4:30 AM on April 7, 1972, sitting with his back to the door of Umberto’s Clam House when an unknown assailant walked in, shot him three times, and subsequently jumped into a waiting getaway car. And Bob Moose, a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, died in an auto accident on October 9, 1976, his 29th birthday. Oddly, thirty-nine other major league ballplayers, including Hall of Famers Gabby Hartnett (December 20, 1900-1972), Joe Tinker (July 27, 1880- 1948) and Bucky Harris (November 8, 1896-1977) have died on their birthdays, according to baseball-reference.com.

For those who consider studying the lives of people who were born and died on the same calendar date a waste of time, think again. Thanks to what I’ve learned about Johnny Longden and Levi P. Morton, I won’t be taking any unnecessary risks on my 96th birthday, which means no skydiving or bungee jumping that day.

And while I’m not sure how many birthdays I’ve got left, I won’t be spending any of them going to a restaurant for clams at 4:30 in the morning.

Andy Young
August 23, 2024

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