Roberto Maida (1970 - 1993)

Singer. He was an Argentinian tango singer who achieved popularity in the 1930s.

Angel Vargas (1904 - 1959)

Tango Singer. aka “El Ruiseñor de las Calles Porteñas” (The Nightingale of Buenos Aires Streets). Born José Angel Lomio he was a singer with an impressive personality, he was the paradigm of the “orchestra singer”. Sadly, he died young, and still without a decline as singer, he was one of the major artist of the […]

Jani Lane (1964 - 2011)

Singer. Lead singer for the 1990s hair metal band Warrant.  After the success of Warrant, he had a short acting career followed by solo albums and songwriting.  His most recent lead singer gig was filling in for Great White singer Jack Russell in 2010. (bio by: Lanie)

John Singer Sargent (1856 - 1925)

Artist. He was an expatriate American artist who became the most celebrated portrait painter of his time, Known for his glamorous style influenced by Velázquez and the impressionists, Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt, oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, novelists Robert Louis Stevenson and Henry James, actress Ellen Terry and art patron Isabella Stewart Gardner […]

Walter Wallace Singer (1911 - 1992)

Professional Football Player. He was and end at Syracuse University from 1932 to 1934 and then played offensive and defensive end for the New York Giants from 1935 to 1936. He also played baseball at Syracuse with his twim brother Milton. His NFL career stats were as follows: Games: 22, Receptions: 8, Receiving yards: 60, […]

Abby Singer (1917 - 2014)

Production Manager/Assistant Director. In a career that spanned over fifty years, he worked either as a production manager or an assistant director on several films but he worked primarily on television shows. As an assistant director, he worked on movies such as “Death of a Salesman”, “Shot in the Frontier”, “7th Cavalry”, “The Guns of […]

Maida “Muff” Singer (1942 - 2005)

Author. A Chicago native with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, she joined the Peace Corps in 1965 and taught in a penal colony in the Philippines for two years. She returned to the United States and worked for 10 years as chief of staff for Howard L. Berman, member of the House […]

Simeon Singer (1970 - 1970)

Rabbi. Author of the standard prayer book used in British and Commonwealth synagogues since 1890.

Loren Singer (1923 - 2009)

Author. Best known for his thriller “The Parallax View” (1970), which was made into a 1974 motion picture adaptation starring Warren Beatty. The son of a physician, Singer was trained by the Office of Strategic Services while with the United States Army during World War II. In the post-war years, he received a bachelor’s degree […]

Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902 - 1991)

Author. Isaac Bashevis Singer was born Icek-Hersz Zynger in Radzymin, near Warsaw, Poland, the son of a Hasidic rabbi and Bathsheba, the daughter of a rabbi. In 1920 Singer entered the Tachkemoni Rabbinical Seminary for a short time. In 1923 he moved to Warsaw where he worked as a proofreader for the Literarische Bleter, a […]

Israel Joshua Singer (1893 - 1944)

Author. Born Yisroel Yehoshua Zinger (or Zynger), he was the brother of writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. Writing in Yiddish,  he worked as a journalist in Europe and published his first novel, “Steel and Iron”, in 1927.  His long novel “The Brothers Ashkenazy” (1936) is considered his masterpiece.  Singer emigrated to the United States in 1934 […]

James Benson Irwin (1930 - 1991)

Astronaut. After he graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1951, he joined the US Air Force, earned his pilot wings and became a flight instructor. After various services assigned to a top-secret test missions, he was accepted in the astronaut program in 1966. At NASA, he was put in charge of the testing program […]

LTC Virgil Ivan “Gus” Grissom (1926 - 1967)

Astronaut. Grissom was a native of Mitchell, Indiana and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with cluster for his Korean service, two NASA Distinguished Service medals and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the Air Force Command Astronaut Wings. He […]

Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr (1923 - 1998)

American Astronaut.  The first American into space, he is currently the oldest man to have walked on the moon.  Born in Derry, New Hampshire, the son of Army Lieutenant Colonel Alan B. Shepard and Renza Emerson Shepard, Alan Jr graduated from the Admiral Farragut Academy (military high school) in 1941, and received a BS degree […]

Francis X. Carey (1933 - 1982)

Astronaut.  He was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and enlisted in the Air Force where he began technical training at Denver’s Lowry Air Force Base. He later transferred to Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, FL, for advanced training at the Titan Missile site which provided the foundation of future space programs. He was […]

Neil Alden Armstrong (1930 - 2012)

American Astronaut. He was the mission commander of the Apollo 11 manned space flight to the Moon. On July 20, 1969, he became the first person in recorded human history to walk on the moon, before being joined on the lunar surface by fellow astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. Viewed by a global audience of over […]

Francis Richard “Dick” Scobee (1939 - 1986)

Space Shuttle Challenger Pilot. Francis Scobee was born in Cle Elum, Washington. Enlisting in the Air Force in 1957 as an engine mechanic, he attended college in his off-duty hours and was eventually awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1965. He was made an officer the same year and attended flight […]

Minnie (1970 - 1998)

Animal Astronaut. Minnie was the only female chimp trained for the Mercury Project in the early 1960s, but she never flew.  After her role in the Mercury program ended, Minnie became part of an Air Force chimp breeding program, producing nine offspring and helping raise the offspring of several other members of the chimp colony. […]

Michael John Smith (1945 - 1986)

Astronaut. Mike Smith was the pilot of the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger. From the time he graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1967, he had an accomplished Navy career which lasted almost 20 years. He earned a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1968 and completed […]

James Lawton Collins, Sr (1882 - 1963)

United States Army General. The father of astronaut Michael Collins, he served as aide-de-camp to General John J. Pershing during the Philippine Insurrection, the Mexican Punititve Expedition and in France during World War I. During World War II he commanded the Puerto Rican Division and the 5th Service Command. He retired in 1946. (bio by: […]

William Cameron McCool (1961 - 2003)

United States Astronaut. Served as pilot of the Space Shuttle Columbia. On February 1, 2003, NASA lost all communication and radar contact with the shuttle just minutes before a 9:16AM scheduled landing time. A short time later it was confirmed that the Columbia had broken apart over eastern Texas, and that there were no survivors. […]

William C. McCool (1961 - 2003)

United States Astronaut. Served as pilot of the Space Shuttle Columbia. On February 1, 2003, NASA lost all communication and radar contact with the shuttle just minutes before a 9:16AM scheduled landing time. A short time later it was confirmed that the Columbia had broken apart over eastern Texas, and that there were no survivors. […]

Dr Karl G. Henize (1926 - 1993)

Astronaut. Crewmember aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. Their mission lasted from July 29, 1985, to August 6, 1985. Dr. Henize died of a heart attack while attempting to climb Mount Everest. He was buried on Changste Glacier on Mount Everest. (bio by: Erik Lander) Cause of death: High Altitude Pulmonary Edema

Stephen D. Thorne (1953 - 1986)

American Astronaut. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in systems engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1975. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy, Thorne entered flight training and received his wings in December 1976. Following training in the F-4 Phantom, he joined Fighter Squadron 21 and deployed to the Western Pacific aboard […]

Dr Eugene Merle “Gene” Shoemaker (1928 - 1997)

Astronomer and geologist. He is best known as one of the discoverers of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which crashed spectacularly into Jupiter. He had tried to be an astronaut but was unable due to medical reasons. Upon his death, one ounce of his cremated remains were carried to the moon aboard NASA’s Lunar Prospector.  Family links: […]

Gordon “Gordo” Cooper, Jr (1927 - 2004)

Pioneer Astronaut. As a veteran WW II Air Force Pilot, he was a member of the original first seven selected as a Mercury Astronaut in April 1959. On May 15 and 16, 1963, he piloted the “Faith 7” spacecraft on a 22 orbit mission which concluded the operational phase of Project Mercury. During the 34 […]

John H. Glenn, Sr (1895 - 1966)

Father of renowned Marine aviator, astronaut and U.S. senator, John H. Glenn, Jr.  Family links:  Spouse:  Clara Theresa Sproat Glenn (1897 – 1971)* *Calculated relationship

Henry Warren “Hank” Hartsfield, Jr (1933 - 2014)

US Astronaut. During the course of his career at NASA, he logged roughly 483 hours in space and served as commander of the space shuttle Discovery’s maiden mission in 1984. Raised in Alabama, he received his bachelors degree in Physics from Auburn University in 1954 and continued his studies at Duke University. He later studied […]

Edward Higgins White, II (1930 - 1967)

Astronaut. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, whom received flight training in Florida and Texas, following his graduation from West Point. He then spent 3-1/2 years in Germany with a fighter squadron, flying F-86’s and F-100’s. He was a Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, […]

Edward Galen Givens, Jr (1930 - 1967)

American Astronaut. Died in a car accident while returning home from a party. Conspiracy advocates claim he was “murdered,” but all inquires into the theory have proven baseless. (bio by: Brad Haines)  Family links:  Parents:  Edward Galen Givens (1904 – 1991)  Mary Helen Jarrell Givens (1909 – 2002)  Sibling:  Edward Galen Givens (1930 – 1967) […]