Today is December 5, 2009 and the 339th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 26 days left in the year 2009. It is known as the “Day of the Ninja” where people are encouraged to dress like Ninjas, partake in Ninja-like activities, and spread Ninja-related information online. In parts of eastern Europe, Saint Nicholas’ Eve – in honor of Saint Nicholas, the inspiration for Santa Claus, is celebrated on this night. Here are five people that share a birthday on this day:
Walt Disney (1901-1966)
Born in Chicago, Illinois, film animator and producer Walt Disney introduced Mickey Mouse in 1928, and made the first full-length cartoon feature, ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs‘ (1937). He went on to produce films with live actors, launch a successful TV series and, in 1955, open Disneyland amusement park. Disney is considered a genius of pop entertainment.
George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876)
U.S. cavalry officer born in New Rumley, Ohio. He graduated from West Point and at age 23 became a brigadier general. His vigorous pursuit of Confederate troops under Gen. Robert E. Lee in retreat from Richmond hastened Lee’s surrender in 1865. In 1874 he led U.S. troops to investigate rumors of gold in South Dakota’s Black Hills, a sacred Indian hunting ground. The resulting gold rush led to hostile encounters with the Indians. In 1876 the 36-year-old Custer commanded one of two columns of a planned attack against Indians camped near Montana’s Little Bighorn River. In the Battle of the Little Bighorn he and all his troops were killed –also known as Custer’s Last Stand.
Little Richard (Born 1932)
Born in Macon, Georgia, this flamboyant American singer and pianist (real name Richard Wayne Penniman) whose hit songs of the mid-1950s were defining moments in the development of rock and roll. As a teenager he left home to perform rhythm and blues in medicine shows and nightclubs, where he took the name “Little Richard,” achieving notoriety for high-energy onstage antics. His breakthrough came in September 1955 at a recording session at J & M Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, where Little Richard, backed by a solid rhythm-and-blues band, howled “Tutti Frutti,” with its unforgettable exhortation, “A wop bop a loo bop, a lop bam boom!” In the year and a half that followed, he released a string of songs on Specialty Records that sold well among both black and white audiences: “Rip It Up,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Ready Teddy,” “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” and “Send Me Some Lovin’,” among others.
Strom Thurmond (1902-2003)
Born James Strom Thurmond in Edgefield, South Carolina, USA. He studied at Clemson University, and was a teacher and superintendent of education before turning to the law, becoming a U.S. Senator. Originally appointed a Democrat to the US Senate in 1954, he was elected on his own in 1956; switching to the Republican Party in 1964, he continued to be re-elected, and became a prominent force in the emergence of a conservative Republican Party in the South. He was appointed chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the 105th Congress (1997). Strom Thurmond died on June 26, 2003. Shortly after his death it was revealed that at the age of 22 he had fathered a daughter out of wedlock. The mother was a 16-year-old African American maid who worked for his family.
Frankie Muniz (Born 1985)
Born Francisco Muniz IV on December 5, 1985, in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Muniz and his older sister Christina briefly lived in Knightdale, North Carolina before returning to New Jersey with their mother, Denise, following their parents’ separation. His acting career began at age 8 when he landed the role of Tiny Tim in a local community theater’s presentation of A Christmas Carol. Muniz soon focused his efforts on television and appeared on the popular shows Spin City and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. In 1997, Muniz starred in two TV movies — To Dance With Olivia and Hallmark Hall of Fame’s production of What the Deaf Man Heard. Muniz rose to fame on Fox TV’s Malcolm in the Middle where he portrays the title character – a confused child with an IQ of 165.
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