December 19, 2008

2008James Bevel, American minister and activist (born 1936)^[†]

James Luther Bevel was an American minister and a leader and major strategist of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. As a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and then as its director of direct action and nonviolent education, Bevel initiated, strategized, and developed SCLC's three major successes of the era: the 1963 Birmingham Children's Crusade, the 1965 Selma voting rights movement, and the 1966 Chicago open housing movement. He suggested that SCLC call for and join a March on Washington in 1963 and strategized the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches which contributed to Congressional passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

2008Carol Chomsky, American linguist and educator (born 1930)^[†]

Carol Doris Chomsky was an American linguist and education specialist who studied language acquisition in children.

2008Michael Connell, American political consultant (born 1963)^[†]

Michael Louis Connell was a high-level Republican consultant who was subpoenaed in a case regarding alleged tampering with the 2004 U.S. presidential election and a case involving thousands of missing emails pertaining to the political firing of U.S. Attorneys. Connell was killed when the plane he was flying crashed on December 19, 2008.

2008Dock Ellis, American baseball player and coach (born 1945)^[†]

Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1968 through 1979, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won five National League Eastern Division titles in six years between 1970 and 1975 and won the World Series in 1971. Ellis also played for the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and New York Mets. In his MLB career, Ellis accumulated a 138–119 (.537) record, a 3.46 earned run average, and 1,136 strikeouts.