July 2006

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First black Navy diver dead at 75

Carl M. Brashear, the first black U.S. Navy diver, died Tuesday at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth of respiratory and heart failure. Brashear joined the Navy in 1948 at the age of 17, not long after the U.S. military desegregated. In 1954, he was accepted and graduated from the diving program, but in 1966, as he was attempting to recover a hydrogen bomb that dropped into the waters off of Spain, his left leg was injured and was later amputated. Brashear began a grueling training program that included diving, running and calisthenics, in an effort to remain on active duty. In 1970, after completing 600- to 1,000-foot-deep dives while being evaluated at the Experimental Diving Unit in Washington, D.C., Brashear became a master diver. Brashear retired from the Navy in 1979 after more than 30 years of service. Brashear was portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the 2000 film "Men of Honor," co-starring Robert DeNiro. Brashear was 75.

Sources: U.S. Navy, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, IMDB, Yahoo News

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 28, 2006 8:55 AM | Comments (0)

 

Last Socialist mayor dead at 93

Frank Zeidler, a former Milwaukee mayor, died Friday, July 14, of congestive heart failure and diverticulitis. Zeidler was the last Socialist to run a major American city, his tenure lasting from 1948 through 1960. German immigrants who had flocked to the Cream City fueled the popularity of the Socialist Party, which, at its peak, had thousands of members and control of the mayor's office for nearly a half-century, ending with Zeidler. Accomplishments during his three terms in office include large-scale public and veterans housing construction, city beautification, slum clearance, and the first educational television station in Wisconsin. Zeidler remained an ardent Socialist until his death, serving as chairman of the ever-shrinking national Socialist party. He was 93.

Sources: Wisconsin Historical Society, City of Milwaukee, Yahoo News, National Socialist Party

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 20, 2006 10:37 AM | Comments (0)

 

First female American jockey dead at 85

Anna Lee Aldred, the first woman in the United States to receive a jockey's license, died June 12 at a nursing home in Montrose, Colorado. Aldred received the license in 1939, at the age of 18, from the Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico. The license was a small wooden badge that now resides in the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. Aldred was inducted into the hall in 1983. Aldred rode until 1945, then opened a riding school in California, which was followed by a career as a rodeo trick rider. She was 85.

Sources: National Cowgirl Museum, Yahoo News, Cindy Pierson Dulay's Horse-Races.net

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 12, 2006 5:39 PM | Comments (0)

 

"Mama Said" songwriter dead at 69

Singer and songwriter Willie Denson, best known for the hit "Mama Said," has died. "Mama Said," co-written by Luther Dixon and sung by 1960s girl group the Shirelles (who recorded four other Denson numbers), reached No. 4 on the American charts in 1961. Denson published more than 250 songs, some recorded by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Gene Pitney and the Ronettes. He also worked more than 30 years for the U.S. Postal Service in New York City, returning to his native Columbus in 1995. In 2001, he won a $3 million Lotto Georgia jackpot, taking a $1.29 million cash option. Denson was 69.

Sources: Yahoo News, Motown.com

Posted by Corey Anderson at July 4, 2006 10:30 AM | Comments (0)

 

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