David McDowell Brown (1956 - 2003)

United States Astronaut. Born in Arlington, Virginia, he attended Eastern Virginia Medical School and joined the US Navy immediately after his internship in 1982. He served as director of medical services at Navy Branch Hospital in Adak, Alaska, became a naval aviator in Beeville, Texas in 1990 and was a US Navy Captain test pilot […]

David Michael Carr (1956 - 2015)

Columnist and Author. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father was a clothing store owner. He went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota majoring in psychology and journalism. After graduation he went to work for the Twin Cities Reader in Minneapolis and the Washington City Paper in Washington D.C.. In 2002 he […]

David Modell (1960 - 2017)

David Modell was the son of the late 1960s film and television actress Patricia Breslin and the late television and movie actor David Orrick McDearmon (1914–1979). During his 25-year association with the original Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens, he worked in the ticket office and in the public relations and marketing divisions. He started working […]

David Mountbatten (1919 - 1970)

David Mountbatten was born in 1919. He was only son of George Mountbatten and Russian Countess Nadejda (Nada) Torby who wed in 1916. His paternal grandparents were Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Therefore, he was a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria. His maternal grandparents were Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich […]

David Nelson (1936 - 2011)

David Nelson David Nelson, the elder son of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and the last surviving member of the family that became an American institution in the 1950s and ’60s as the stars of the classic TV sitcom “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” died Tuesday. He was 74. Nelson died at his Century City […]

David Owen Dodd (1846 - 1864)

Civil War Confederate Folk Figure. He was known as the “Boy Martyr of the Confederacy”. A native of Lavaca County, Texas, he relocated with his family to Arkansas during his formative years. At the commencement of the Civil War in 1861, the Dodd family was settled in Little Rock where young David was in studies […]

David Packard (1912 - 1996)

In 1939, David Packard and Hewlett established Hewlett-Packard (HP) in Packard’s garage with an initial capital investment of $538 (approx, adjusted to today $9,000 in 2015). Packard mentions in his book The HP Way that the name Hewlett-Packard was determined by the flip of a coin: HP, rather than PH. Their first product was an […]

David Parker Ray (1939 - 2002)

During his childhood, David Parker Ray lived with his grandfather. However, he still saw his father and was physically abused by him. At Mountainair High School, in Mountainair, New Mexico, he was also bullied by his peers for his shyness around girls, and he started abusing alcohol and other drugs as a teenager. As a […]

David Rappaport (1951 - 1990)

David Rappaport was born to Jewish taxi driver Mark and his wife Diana, née Schneiderman in London, England. As a child, he developed talents in playing the accordion and drums, the latter of which he played professionally during his life. Rappaport studied psychology at the University of Bristol from 1970, graduating with a degree while […]

David Reimer (1965 - 2004)

David Reimer was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was originally named Bruce, and his identical twin was named Brian. At the age of six months, after concern was raised about how both of them urinated, the boys were diagnosed with phimosis. They were referred for circumcision at the age of seven months. On April 27, […]

David Robert Sprüngli-Baud (1970 - 1970)

Confectioner. Son of Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann and grandson of David Sprüngli of the Swiss Sprüngli chocolate dynasty. He inherited the Confiserie Sprüngli with shop and tea-room from his father in 1892 and successfully presided over it until 1924, when he turned it over to his son, Herman Sprüngli. Today, Confiserie Sprüngli has 19 branches in Switzerland […]

David Rose (1910 - 1990)

Recipient of four Emmy awards, David Rose was born in London, to Jewish parents, and raised in Chicago, Illinois. The family name was originally Rosenberg. Rose’s career in music began when he worked with Ted Fio Rito’s band when he was sixteen. Rose also worked as a standby pianist for NBC Radio. It was here, […]

David Salzer Broder (1929 - 2011)

Journalist. In his time he was considered the dean of the Washington press corps, having written for the Washington Post since 1966. Broder covered every presidential race from Eisenhower to Obama, and won a 1973 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for his coverage of the Watergate scandal. He also taught at the University of Maryland’s school […]

David Sarnoff (1891 - 1971)

Founder of the National Broadcast Company (NBC). He was a Brig. General in the US Army in WWII. He was first to recieve the wireless message from the Titanic.  Family links:  Spouse:  Lizette Hermant Sarnoff (1894 – 1974)*  Children:  Robert William Sarnoff (1918 – 1997)* *Calculated relationship

David Selznick (1902 - 1965)

David Selznick was born David Selznick in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Florence Anna (Sachs) and silent movie producer and distributor Lewis J. Selznick. His parents were Lithuanian Jewish immigrants and he had four siblings. Selznick added the “O” to distinguish himself from an uncle with the same name. He studied at Columbia University in New […]

David Street (1917 - 1971)

David Street was born Patrick Devlin in Los Angeles, California. While in high school, he formed a trio that sang in local theaters. Street was a singer on the network programs Meet Me at Parky’s[2]:222-223 and The Sealtest Village Store. In the 1940s, Street had two programs that were distributed via electrical transcription. The David Street Song […]

David T. Wilentz (1894 - 1988)

Lawyer. Born in Dvinsk in the Russian Empire (now Daugavpils, Latvia). He emigrated with his parents to the United States, when he was a year old, settling in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.  He graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1912. He served in the United States Army in World War I as a private […]

David Thomas Dawson (1957 - 2006)

David Thomas Dawson Dawson broke into a family’s Billings, Montana motel room on 18 April 1986. He forced the Rodstein family to go to his room at the motel, which was located right next door to their own room. He bound the family of four with tape, gagged them, and took their money. Over the […]

David Thomson (1592 - 1970)

English Explorer.  David Thomson (sometimes spelled Thompson) was the first non-Native American settler of, and founder of, the State of New Hampshire. He also founded the city of Piscataqua, New Hampshire. David was apprenticed as a seaman as a youth, and made frequent trips to America. His first journey to America was in 1607, well […]

David Tomlinson (1917 - 2000)

Tomlinson was born in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire on 7 May 1917, to a well-respected London solicitor father. He attended Tonbridge School and left to join the Grenadier Guards for 16 months. His father then secured him a job as a clerk at Shell Mex House. His stage career grew from amateur stage productions to his 1940 film […]

David Walker (1944 - 2001)

David Walker graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and subsequently received flight training from the Naval Air Training Command at bases in Florida, Mississippi, and Texas. He was designated a Naval Aviator in December 1967 and proceeded to Naval Air Station Miramar, California, for assignment to F-4 Phantoms aboard the aircraft carriers […]

David Wayne (1914 - 1995)

David Wayne was born Wayne James McMeekan in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen Matilda (née Mason) and John David McMeekan. His mother died when he was 4. He grew up in Bloomingdale, Michigan. When World War II began Wayne volunteered as an ambulance driver with the British Army in North Africa. When the […]

David Wechsler (1896 - 1981)

David Wechsler is best known for his intelligence tests. He was one of the most influential advocates of the role of nonintellective factors in testing. He emphasized that factors other than intellectual ability are involved in intelligent behavior. David Wechsler objected to the single score offered by the 1937 Binet scale. Although his test did […]

David Wesley Froman (1938 - 2010)

Actor. He was a popular character performer in dozens of prime-time television shows in the 1980s and 1990s. Froman is best remembered for his recurring role as Lieutenant Bob Brooks in the series “Matlock” starring Andy Griffith,  appearing in 56 episodes during its eight-year run (1986 to 1994). He also played both as Gunther Wagner […]

David White (1916 - 1990)

Born in Denver, Colorado, his family later moved to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, David White later graduated from Los Angeles City College and began acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and the Cleveland Play House. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during World War II and, after his discharge, made his Broadway debut in 1949 in […]

David William Ferrie (1918 - 1967)

JFK assassination figure. Accused by New Orleans DA Jim Garrison of being a co-conspirator in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  Ferrie was under investigation at the time of his death.  He had been interviewed 3 days prior by investigators and was under surveillance. His death was ruled by Garrison as an “apparent suicide.” However, […]

Davie Kerr (1909 - 1978)

Professional Hockey Player. A native of Toronto, Ontario, Kerr was 5’10”, and 162lbs, and played the position of Goalie for teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), International Hockey League (IHL), and the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL). He played for the Montreal Maroons from 1930 to 1931, and 1932 to 1933, Windsor Bulldogs from […]

Davy Jones (1945 - 2012)

Davy Jones Davy Jones, whose charming grin and British accent won the hearts of millions of fans on the 1960s television series “The Monkees,” died Wednesday, according to the Martin County, Florida, sheriff’s office. He was 66. A witness told authorities he was with Jones in Indiantown, Florida, when Jones “began to complain of not […]

Dawn Steel (1946 - 1997)

Motion Picture Mogul. Born in the Bronx, New York, daughter of Nat, a zipper salesman and Lillian, a businesswoman, who was the family’s sole support after Nat suffered a nervous breakdown. Steel got her start working for ‘Penthouse’ magazine as a merchandising director. Her creations included designer toilet paper which included images imprinted on the […]

Dawn Wells (1938 - 2020)

Dawn Wells She will best be remembered for her character as stranded castaway Mary Ann Summers in the popular 1960s CBS sitcom ‘Gilligan’s Island,’ which aired from 1964 to 1967. The former beauty queen represented the state of Nevada in the 1959 Miss America pageant and appeared on several television shows before being cast on […]