Famous Deaths for the Week of July 20-26

 by Siggurdsson

James Doohan (as Lt. Cmdr. Scott) downing his favorite beverage on Space Station K7
Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2, Episode 15, "The Trouble with Tribbles"
Image courtesy of http://www.blastr.com/2010/11/little_known_sci_fi_fact.php 
(Unless otherwise indicated, all illustrations are courtesy of Wikipedia)

July 20, 2005 – James Montgomery Doohan, age 85

I know many of my loyal readers are wondering why I highlight Mr. Doohan for today’s "Famous Deaths" post. Well, he was not only the finest engineer in Star Fleet on Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969) and the first six Star Trek films (1979-1991). Mr. Doohan was also a veteran of the Second World War.

Jimmy Doohan was born in British Columbia, Canada in 1920. Despite his portrayal of a Scottish engineer in the Star Trek franchise, Doohan was actually of Irish descent. [He had an uncanny facility for accents.] He attended technical school in Ontario (his family had moved), where he excelled in science and math.

At the outset of the Second World War, Doohan enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery, and in 1940 was sent to England for further training. His first combat was on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Landing on Juno Beach, he led his men ashore, taking out two German snipers before making camp for the night. At about 11:30 that night, as he was making his way between 2 command posts, Doohan took six rounds fired from a Bren gun in the hands of a nervous Canadian sentry. Four of the rounds hit his leg, one struck him in the chest (which was deflected by a silver cigarette case he was carrying), and the final bullet struck his right middle finger. That digit was so badly damaged it required amputation. [Note in the above photo Doohan is holding his Scotch glass with his left hand…and no, this isn’t a reversed image.]

After the war, Doohan got involved in radio and television work. Star Trek was probably the pinnacle of his 53-year acting career. He received an honorary degree in engineering, and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004. Despite his poor health, Doohan attended the ceremony, his final public appearance.

After his death, some of Doohan’s ashes were shot into space; the remainder were spread on Puget Sound near his home.

Sir Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy shot by longbow at Battle of Shrewsbury, July 21, 1403
Illustration by Richard Caton Woodville, Jr. for Cassell's British Battles (1910)

July 21, 1403 – Sir Henry Percy "Harry Hotspur," age 39

Henry Percy was born in the year 1364, and over the course of his relatively short life achieved a reputation as one the most valiant knights of his day. He was knighted by King Edward III in 1377 (age 13???). Over the next 25 years, his exploits included: service in Ireland (1380); service in Prussia probably with the Teutonic Knights as a "guest crusader" (1383); appointed as the Warden of the Eastern March, guarding a portion of England’s border with Scotland (1384 or 1385); accompanied an English expedition into Scotland (1385); and, participation in various military endeavors in France (1386-88).

In 1388, Percy was reappointed as the Warden of the Eastern March. In August of 1388, he led the Northumbrian forces which pursued a Scottish raid, fighting the battle of Otterburn on August 19-20. Percy was captured during this battle and held for ransom. [For more information on this fight, please consult my post about this battle from August of 2010, battle-of-otterburn.] He had acquired the nickname of "Harry Hotspur" either for his quick advance in battle, or possibly from his volcanic temper.

His military and diplomatic service brought Percy substantial marks of royal favor in the form of grants and appointments, but despite this the Percy family determined to support Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV, on his return from exile in June 1399. Percy and his father joined Bolingbroke's forces and marched south with them. After King Richard’s deposition, Percy and his father were 'lavishly rewarded' with lands and offices.

Under the new king, Percy had extensive civil and military responsibilities in both the east march towards Scotland and in north Wales, where he was appointed High Sheriff of Flintshire in 1399. In March 1402 Henry IV appointed Percy royal lieutenant in north Wales, and on September 14, 1402 Percy, his father, and the Earl of Dunbar and March were victorious against a Scottish force at the battle of Homildon Hill.

Despite originally supporting Henry IV, in the summer of 1403, Percy revolted against the King. He managed to gather a substantial army (estimated at 14,000 men). He encountered an army of the same size – perhaps larger – commanded by the King near Shrewsbury, Shropshire in the West Midlands. On July 21, 1403, the two armies clashed. As sunset drew near, Henry Percy raised the visor on his helmet, either for more air or to get a better view of the goings-on, when a longbow arrow struck him in the mouth, killing him instantly and causing his army to panic and rout. For his traitorous activities, his body was beheaded and quartered, the parts displayed in various locations in England (the head was displayed above the main gate of the city of York).

Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, wearing his Medal of Honor (awarded in 1930)
Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force (and Wikipedia)

July 23, 1973 – Eddie Rickenbacker, age 82

Eddie Rickenbacker gained eternal fame as America’s first fighter ace, downing 26 German aircraft during his service in the First World War. [The last two kills in that number were German observation balloons, notoriously difficult to destroy.]

He was born in Columbus, OH in 1890. He left school after the 7th grade, and took numerous jobs to support his family (his father had died). Eddie had become a fine mechanic, and began to work on industrial machines and the new-fangled automobile. He became a fine racecar driver, competing in the Indianapolis 500 four times before the First World War.

When American entered the World War in 1917, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He tried to become a pilot, but his mechanical skills were in such demand (and he had no college degree, which was thought to be a prerequesite), he learned to fly on his own time. He was eventually allow to fly. He made his first enemy "kill" on April 29, 1918; one month later he achieved kill #5, becoming America’s first flying ace. Among his numerous awards were the French Croix de Guerre with two palms and the Legion of Honor, the U.S. Distringuished Service Cross with eight oak leaf clusters, and the Medal of Honor.

After the war, Rickenbacker avoided attempts to capitalize on his fame, In 1925 he was a defense witness at the trial of Gen. Billy Mitchell. In 1920 he founded the Rickenbacker Automobile Company, which went bankrupt in 1927. Also in 1927 Rickenbacker purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, owning until 1945. In 1938 he bought Eastern Airlines, leading the airline until he was forced out in 1959.

He survived two airplane crashes, one an Eastern Airline crash near Atlanta in 1941. Then in October of 1942 he was touring American bases in the south Pacific. The plane ran out of fuel and the pilot ditched the plane in the ocean. Rickenbacker and the surviving crew endured 24 days of privation before being rescued.

Rickenbacker suffered a stroke while he was in Switzerland seeking special medical treatment for his wife, and he then contracted pneumonia. He died in Zürich, Switzerland, with burial in Columbus, OH.

Robert Todd Lincoln, eldest son of Abraham Lincoln
Date of photograph unknown (perhaps after 1900), by Harris & Ewing
Photo in the Prints & Photographs division of the Library of Congress

July 26, 1926 – Robert Todd Lincoln, age 82

Robert Todd Lincoln had a most remarkable life. He was the only one of Lincoln’s sons to survive to adulthood (he had three younger brothers – Eddie, Willie, and Tad). Robert was born in Springfield, IL in August of 1843. After preparing for admission to Harvard,he enrolled in 1860 and graduated in 1864. Robert enrolled in Harvard Law School, attending classes from Septemer, 1864 to January 1865.

At the beginning of 1865, Robert was appointed an assistant adjutant with the rank of captain and served on the personal staff of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant until June, 1865 when he resigned his commission. Robert was on hand at the McLean House in Appomatox, VA at Lee’s surrender which essentially ended the War Between the States on April 9, 1865. Five days later, he turned down an invitation from his father to Ford’s Theatre, citing fatigue. Upon receiving the news of the President’s assassination, he went to his father’s bedside and was present when he expired.

After the Lincolns moved out of the White House, they moved to Chicago, where Robert finished law school at what today is Northwestern University School of Law. He was admitted to the bar in late February of 1867. He then practiced corporate law, becoming quite well-to-do.

In 1881, he was appointed Secretary of War in the cabinet of President James A. Garfield. He was an eyewitness on July 2, 1881 to the President’s assassination. He served as Secretary of war through early 1885, during the Presidency of Chester Alan Arthur. From 1889 to 1893 he served as U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain. Then in 1897 Lincoln was appointed chairman of the board of the Pullman Palace Care Company, after serving as the company general counsel for several years. From 1911 to 1922, he served as chairman of the board.

In September of 1901, at the invitation of President William McKinley, Lincoln attended the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. He was not present when anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot President McKinley. After this third coincidence of being associated with Presidential assassinations, Lincoln is said to have refused a later presidential invitation with the comment "No, I'm not going, and they'd better not ask me, because there is a certain fatality about presidential functions when I am present." Between 1884 and 1912, Republican political bosses tried to draft Robert for either the presidential or the vice-presidential position. He steadfastly refused. [The only elected position he accepted was as Town Supervisor of South Chicago, IL from 1876-1877.]

Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Taft,
President Warren G. Harding, and Robert Todd Lincoln
at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, May 1922
Image courtesy of National Photo Company (and Wikipedia)

Robert Lincoln made his last public appearance at the dedication ceremony in Washington, DC for his father's memorial on May 30, 1922. Robert and his family retired to Manchester, VT where Lincoln cultivated an interest in astronomy and golf. He died in his sleep at home. His remains were interred in a sarcophagus in Arlington National Cemetery.

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