Ingrid Bergman, the actress who memorably starred alongside Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, the 1943 Oscar winner for best picture, was born on Aug. 29, 1915. That makes next Thursday the 109th anniversary of her birth.
The glamorous Swedish actress’s arrival and departure on the same calendar day seems like quite a coincidence. After all, what are the odds of someone’s birthdate and death date being on the same day of the same month?
Well, basic math says they’re approximately four in 1,431. Or, for those born on February 29, one in 1,431.
Given the number of people who’ve inhabited Earth over the past few thousand years, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Ms. Bergman is hardly the only person to have arrived and left on the same calendar day. Arguably the most noted individual having that distinction was William Shakespeare (1564 to 1616). The Bard of Avon not only died on his birthday (April 23), he did so at Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, the very same location where he had been born 52 years earlier.
Feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan (1921 to 2006) was born and died on February 4. Country music legend Merle Haggard’s earthly incarnation (1937 to 2016) started and finished on April 6, and singer/entertainer/talk show host Mike Douglas (1920 to 2006) both began and ended life on August 11.
Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Longden was born on Valentine's Day 1907 and expired exactly eight dozen years later, on Feb. 14, 2003. Another accomplished individual who passed away on his 96th birthday: Levi P. Morton (1824 to 1920), who served as vice-president from 1889 to 1893 under Benjamin Harrison. His four score and 16 years began and ended on August 11.
Not everyone with a recognizable name who was born on the same date they died was famous for what many folks might assume they were. For example, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr. (Aug. 17, 1914 to Aug. 17, 1988) wasn’t the president of the United States during the Depression and World War II. He was, however, FDR’s son. And Raphael, (1483 to 1520) who like Merle Haggard was born and died on April 6, isn’t the famous Ninja Turtle, but rather Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, a renowned Renaissance-era Italian artist and architect.
Not everyone who departs on their birthday dies of natural causes. “Crazy Joe” Gallo, a notorious New York City mobster, was celebrating his 43rd birthday with his family in Little Italy at 4:30 a.m. on April 7, 1972, sitting with his back to the door of Umberto’s Clam House when an unknown assailant walked in, shot him three times, and subsequently jumped into a waiting getaway car. And Bob Moose, a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, died in an auto accident on Oct. 9, 1976, his 29th birthday. Oddly, 39 other major league ballplayers, including Hall of Famers Gabby Hartnett (Dec. 20, 1900 to Dec. 20, 1972), Joe Tinker (July 27, 1880 to July 27, 1948) and Bucky Harris (Nov. 8, 1896 to Nov. 8, 1977) have died on their birthdays, according to baseball-reference.com.
For those who consider studying the lives of people who were born and died on the same calendar date a waste of time, think again. Thanks to what I’ve learned about Johnny Longden and Levi P. Morton, I won’t be taking any unnecessary risks on my 96th birthday, which means no skydiving or bungee jumping that day.
And while I’m not sure how many birthdays I’ve got left, I won’t be spending any of them going to a restaurant for clams at 4:30 in the morning. <
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