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passedmadepresent.bsky.social
Passed Made Present
@passedmadepresent.bsky.social
380 followers 1.2K following 340 posts

Teacher posting an obituary from the past, daily

www.passedmadepresent.org
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passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"It was employed by the armies of dozens of countries, and incorporated in several national flags."

#MikhailKalashnikov
1919-2013
Born on this day

www.bbc.com/news/world-e...
Obituary: Mikhail Kalashnikov
Inventor of the eponymous weapon that became a symbol of revolution around the world
www.bbc.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:37 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"... a development of the invention, known as spread-spectrum technology, is being used in a wide range of electronic products, including mobile phones."

#HedyLamarr
1914-2000
Born on this day

www.economist.com/obituary/200...
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr, a brain as well as a body, died on January 19th, aged 86
www.economist.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:00 AM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"Mr. Bell was the first tenured black professor at Harvard Law School and later one of the first black deans of a law school that was not historically black."

#DerrickBell
1930-2011
Born on this day

www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/u...
Derrick Bell, Law Professor and Rights Advocate, Dies at 80 (Published 2011)
www.nytimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:37 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"Walton retired from the NBA and turned to broadcasting, something he never thought he could be good at... because he had a pronounced stutter at times in his life."

#BillWalton
1952-2024
Born on this day

www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...
Hall of Famer Bill Walton, 71, dies of cancer
Bill Walton, who won two NCAA titles with UCLA and two NBA championships during a Hall of Fame career, died Monday at age 71 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
www.espn.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:41 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"In about the time it takes to fish out your phone and find the right app, she mentally calculated 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779."

#ShakuntalaDevi
1929-2013
Born on this day

passedmadepresent.org/shakuntala-d...
Shakuntala Devi
My instruction has, I’d like to think, a reasonable degree of academic rigor. If pressed, however, I might concede that it’s not daily I transport students to the boundaries of h…
passedmadepresent.org
November 4, 2025 at 10:30 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"He was required listening for anybody interested in any way in the sounds a guitar can make."

#BertJansch
1943-2011
Born on this day

www.the-independent.com/news/obituar...
Bert Jansch: Guitarist whose style influenced his peers across five
Bert Jansch was a musician whose reputation went before him. Guitarists heard about him on the grapevine and checked him out. He was required listening for anybody interested in any way in the sounds ...
www.the-independent.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:19 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"Rosemary Radford Ruether was among the first scholars to think deeply about the role of women in Christianity, shaking up old patriarchies and pushing for change."

#RosemaryRadfordReuther
1936-2022
Born on this day

www.npr.org/2022/05/22/1...
Rosemary Radford Ruether, a founding mother of feminist theology, has died at age 85
Ruether was among the first scholars to think deeply about the role of women in Christianity, shaking up old patriarchies and pushing for change.
www.npr.org
November 2, 2025 at 11:30 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"... a legendary figure in women's basketball who won Olympic gold as a player and as a coach for the United States..."

#AnneDonovan
1961-2018
Born on this day

www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
Donovan, women's basketball legend, dies at 56
Anne Donovan, who won an Olympic gold medal as a player in 1984 and 1988 and also guided the WNBA's Seattle Storm to a title as a coach in 2004, died of heart failure Wednesday. She was 56.
www.espn.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:12 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"A Benedictine monk known for his mathematics prowess and stunning polyhedron art..."

#MagnusWenninger
1919-2017
Born on this day

www.sctimes.com/story/news/l...
Benedictine monk known for his math contributions dies
The Rev. Magnus Wenninger of St. John's Abbey was famous for his knowledge of polyhedrons
www.sctimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:42 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"He will go down in history as the man who, with bogus intelligence, pushed America into a terrible war."

#AhmadChalabi
1945-2015
Born on this day

www.newyorker.com/news/news-de...
Postscript: Ahmad Chalabi
Chalabi will be remembered for his role in pushing for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, but much of the indignation about his legacy is misplaced.
www.newyorker.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:15 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"... the father of the birth control pill. He was also one of the most productive chemists of his time – a developer of antihistamines... and a novelist."

#CarlDjerassi
1923-2015
Born on this day

www.theguardian.com/science/2015...
Carl Djerassi obituary
Pioneer of the birth control pill who also developed antihistamines
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:14 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"An opinion poll ranked him roughly between Churchill and Gandhi as a revered figure of modern history."

#JonasSalk
1914-1995
Born on this day

www.nytimes.com/1995/06/24/o...
Dr. Jonas Salk, Whose Vaccine Turned Tide on Polio, Dies at 80 (Published 1995)
www.nytimes.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:28 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"He had been the first in his tribe to go to college and get a masters degree, and was more than halfway through a doctoral thesis when he was called up."

#JoeMedicineCrow
1913-2016
Born on this day

www.economist.com/obituary/201...
War songs of the Plains
Joseph Medicine Crow, last war chief of the Crow tribe, died on April 3rd, aged 102
www.economist.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:50 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"He beat... a former governor who also supported civil rights, by a 3-to-2 margin despite predictions of a “white backlash” against him."

#EdwardBrooke
1919-2015
Born on this day

www.politico.com/story/2015/0...
Edward Brooke, first black elected senator, dies at 95
Brooke was the first black elected to the Senate, in 1966, serving two terms.
www.politico.com
October 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"... an innovative and influential designer who created sets for hundreds of plays, dance works and operas, and whose ideas continue to influence the field..."

#TyrusWong
1910-2016
Born on this day

passedmadepresent.org/scenesters/
Scenesters
Tyrus Wong and Ming Cho Lee were immigrants from China, and both used the artistic traditions of their homeland to change American entertainment.   Ming Cho Lee “radically and almost sin…
passedmadepresent.org
October 25, 2025 at 8:27 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"... only the second American to design and fly a prototype helicopter in 1943, two years after... Igor Sikorsky had flown the first. Unlike Sikorsky, however, Piasecki concentrated on helicopters with tandem rotors..."

#FrankPiasecki
1919-2008
Born on this day

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Obituary: Frank Piasecki
Obituary: Helicopter pioneer who invented one of world's most famous aircraft, the Chinook
www.theguardian.com
October 24, 2025 at 8:15 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"... he earned the admiration of millions with his focus on pursuing childhood dreams, learning how to be humble, working hard and seeing brick walls as challenges..."

#RandyPausch
1960-2008
Born on this day

www.post-gazette.com/news/educati...
Randy Pausch, CMU professor who inspired millions, dies
In a recent e-mail exchange with his friend and co-author, Jeffrey Zaslow, Randy Pausch said he was still amazed at how he had been
www.post-gazette.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:56 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"... regarded by many as the greatest goaltender in modern soccer history..."

#LevYashin
1929-1990
Born on this day

www.upi.com/Archives/199...
Legendary goalkeeper Yashin dies - UPI Archives
Lev Yashin, regarded by many as the greatest goaltender in modern soccer history, died Wednesday of stomach cancer, the official Tass news agency said. He...
www.upi.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:16 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"His journey - from birth in a small wooden house with no plumbing... to his flight around the earth in the space shuttle Challenger in 1984, to his death in its explosion this January - required 35 years."

#RonaldMcNair
1950-1986
Born on this day

www.nytimes.com/1986/05/18/o...
ASTRONAUT BURIED IN CAROLINA; 35-YEAR 'MISSION' IS COMPLETE (Published 1986)
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 8:53 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"Abebech Gobena, who escaped a forced marriage as a child bride and became one of the most prominent humanitarians in her native Ethiopia..."

#AbebechGobena
1935-2021
Born on this day

wapo.st/3L4JnmW
Abebech Gobena, Ethiopian humanitarian known as ‘Mother Teresa of Africa,’ dies at 85
Ms. Gobena, who died of covid-19, built an orphanage, schools, a hospital and training centers credited with serving thousands amid drought, famine and war.
wapo.st
October 20, 2025 at 9:36 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"Thanks to his prompt action, the epidemic was contained in Vietnam. However, because of close daily contact with SARS patients, he contracted the infection."

#CarloUrbani
1956-2003
Born on this day

www.theguardian.com/news/2003/ap...
Obituary: Carlo Urbani
A dedicated and internationally respected epidemiologist, he died when infected by the new Sars virus, which he had helped to identify.
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 9:33 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"In her writing, she expressed what it means to be, how it feels to be, a Black woman in America."

#NtozakeShange
1948-2018
Born on this day

www.essence.com/culture/reme...
Remembering Ntozake Shange, The Poet Who Poured Her Heart Onto The Page | Essence
In her writing, she expressed what it means to be, how it feels to be, a Black woman in America.
www.essence.com
October 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"Shinichi Suzuki opened up new paths in musical education of the very young."

#ShinichiSuzuki
1898-1998
Born on this day

www.the-independent.com/news/obituar...
Obituary: Shinichi Suzuki
Shinichi Suzuki, violin teacher: born Nagoya, Japan 18 October 1898; married 1928 Waltraud Prange; died Matsumoto, Japan 26 January 1998.
www.the-independent.com
October 17, 2025 at 8:22 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"He made crucial contributions to Voodoo, the epochal album by D'Angelo, released in 2000."

#RoyHargrove
1969-2018
Born on this day

www.npr.org/2018/11/03/6...
Roy Hargrove, Grammy-Winning Jazz Trumpeter, Dies At 49
Hargrove first emerged in the late 1980s, at a cultural moment when his precocity and poise amounted to a form of currency in jazz, quickly earning the approval of the genre's elders.
www.npr.org
October 16, 2025 at 7:01 PM
passedmadepresent.bsky.social
"For years, Fela was merely Nigeria's most popular musician."

#FelaKuti
1938-1997
Born on this day

www.nytimes.com/1997/08/04/a...
Fela, 58, Dissident Nigerian Musician, Dies (Published 1997)
www.nytimes.com
October 15, 2025 at 8:19 PM