KWSnet

🎂 #BOTD Linus Torvalds (b. 28 Dec 1969), Finnish computer scientist. "Torvalds was the principal force behind the development of the Linux operating system." 📷 Amanda Lucier. WaPo/Getty Images.

#BOTD Chris Ware (b. 28 Dec 1967), American cartoonist known for his 'Acme Novelty Library' series and the graphic novels 'Jimmy Corrigan,' the 'Smartest Kid on Earth' and 'Building Stories.' Shown at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France, 31 Jan 2009.

🎂 #BOTD Denzel Washington (b. 28 Dec 1954), American actor celebrated for his engaging and powerful performances. 🎞️ 'Mo’ Better Blues,' 1990. 🎞️ 'Malcolm X,' 1992. 🎞️ 'The Hurricane,' 1999. 🎞️ 'The Tragedy of Macbeth,' 2021.

🎂 #BOTD Lonnie Liston Smith (b. 28 Dec 1940), American jazz, soul, and funk musician. "Smith played with such jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes." 📷 London, 1994. Jimmy Katz.

🎂 #BOTD Nichelle Nichols (28 Dec 1932 - 30 Jul 2022), American actress, singer, and dancer. "From 1977 until 2015, Nichols volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs and recruit diverse astronauts, including some of the first female and ethnic minority astronauts." 📷 1977, at NASA.

🎂 #BOTD Nichelle Nichols (28 Dec 1932 - 30 Jul 2022), American actress, singer, and dancer. "Best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek and its film sequels, playing one of the first leading recurring Black female characters on U.S. television."

🎂 #BOTD Manuel Puig (28 Dec 1932 - 22 Jul 1990), Argentine author. "His best-known novels include La traición de Rita Hayworth (Betrayed by Rita Hayworth, 1968), Boquitas pintadas (Heartbreak Tango, 1969), and El beso de la mujer araña (Kiss of the Spider Woman, 1976)."

🎂 #BOTD Guy Debord (28 Dec 1931 - 30 Nov 1994), French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationist International. "The SI had above all brought a new spirit into the theoretical debates about society, culture, and life. This spirit was assuredly revolutionary." —Guy Debord 📷 Debord, center, at Third Situationist International, Turin, 1959. 📷 Raoul Vaneigem, June 1968.

🎂 #BOTD Ed Thigpen (28 Dec 1930 - 13 Jan 2010), American jazz drummer. "A tasteful and subtle drummer who was a master with brushes. He worked with Dinah Washington (1954); Lennie Tristano, Johnny Hodges, Bud Powell, and Billy Taylor's Trio (1956-1959); Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965; toured the world with Ella Fitzgerald 1966-1972."

🎂 #BOTD Stan Lee (28 Dec 1922 - 12 Nov 2018), American comic book writer best known for his work with Marvel Comics. "Among the hundreds of characters and teams that he helped to create were the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Avengers, and the X-Men." "In addition to his work in other media, Lee wrote books on comics and on his own life. His published works include Origins of Marvel Comics (1974), Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee (2002), and Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book (2003). In 2008 he was awarded a National Medal of Arts."

🎂 #BOTD Johnny Otis (28 Dec 1921 - 17 Jan 2012), American singer, musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, disc jockey, record producer, TV show host, minister, and impresario. "Otis performed with Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Count Basie, and Art Tatum, but his main impact was in rhythm and blues." "He discovered and promoted Big Mama Thornton (on whose Hound Dog record [1952] he played drums), Little Willie John, and Little Esther Phillips; he also had a hand in developing the careers of Hank Ballard and Jackie Wilson." "As leader of his own band, Otis had 15 Top 40 rhythm-and-blues hits from 1950 to 1952; his biggest success was with Willie and the Hand Jive in 1958. 📷 Otis, center, with Mel Walker and Esther Phillips. Photo: James J. Kriegsmann, via Billy Vera Collection. 📷 1985, AP.