August 6, 2012

2012Richard Cragun, American-Brazilian ballet dancer and choreographer (born 1944)^[†]

Richard Cragun was an American ballet dancer, teacher and ballet director who performed with the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany from 1965 to 1996.

2012Marvin Hamlisch, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1944)^[†]

Marvin Frederick Hamlisch was an American composer and conductor. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, a feat dubbed the "EGOT". He and composer Richard Rodgers are the only people to have won those prizes and a Pulitzer Prize ("PEGOT").

2012Robert Hughes, Australian-American author and critic (born 1938)^[†]

Robert Studley Forrest Hughes AO was one of the most notable Australian-born art critics, writer, and producer of television documentaries. He was described in 1997 by Robert Boynton of The New York Times as "the most famous art critic in the world."

2012Bernard Lovell, English physicist and astronomer (born 1913)^[†]

Sir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell was an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980.

2012Mark O'Donnell, American playwright (born 1954)^[†]

Mark O'Donnell was an American writer and humorist.

2012Ruggiero Ricci, American violinist and educator (born 1918)^[†]

Ruggiero Ricci was an American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Paganini.

2012Dan Roundfield, American basketball player (born 1953)^[†]

Danny Thomas Roundfield was an American professional basketball player. The 6'8" forward/center graduated from Detroit's Chadsey Senior High School in 1971. On the collegiate scene, Roundfield was twice selected to the All-Mid-American Conference Team for Central Michigan University; he was also the 1975 MAC Player of the Year.

2012NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars.^[†]

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the American space development effort a distinct civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. It has since led most of America's space exploration programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo program missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA supports the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Commercial Crew Program and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the lunar Artemis program.