Politician Flip-Flops on Birth Date

Sen. Robert Byrd—the oldest and longest-serving member of the Senate—celebrated the wrong birthday for decades. He was born Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr., in Wilkesboro, N. C., but his name was changed when he was adopted by his aunt and uncle.

His natural mother died Nov. 10, 1918, a victim of a national influenza epidemic, [Byrd aide Cindy] Huber said.

“When Sen. Byrd met one of his brothers — I think this was in the 1970s — he told him that his birthday was Nov. 20, not Jan. 15,” Huber said.

Since the Byrds in West Virginia had no children, they adopted the future senator but somehow confusion developed as to his actual birth date, the staff spokesperson said, and wasn’t cleared up until the brother came to see him. [Link]

Old and Dated

WEST TROY, N.Y., March 9.— Mrs. Martin McCabe, who died at North Creek, Warren County, a few days ago, was 112 years old. It is said that the date of her birth was tattooed on her arm. [The New York Times, Mar. 10, 1888 (pdf)]

A Centenarian's Shocking Secret

Rose Elliot was ready to celebrate her 100th birthday on September 16, 1907.

But after her niece, Doreen McWhirter from north Belfast, checked her birth certificate, she discovered her aunt was actually born on September 28, 1905 - making her 102.

"It was a real shock," Mrs McWhirter said.

"The nursing home she lives in was all set for a big party and I had already bought her a 100th birthday card.

"I told them that we had a wee bit of a hiccup and explained about the birth certificate and her birthday being on the 28th. They were shocked, too." [Link]

A Born-Again Christian Criminal

From The New York Times of Aug. 1, 1880:

Infancy has its privileges. A woman was arrested in Presburg, Hungary, for receiving stolen goods. She was by birth a Jewess, but six months previous to her detection had been baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. When put upon her trial she pleaded that she was an infant, and could not, therefore, be held answerable for what she had done—the date of birth in Hungary running according to the date of baptism—and after serious cogitation the tribunal declared the defense a good one, and that she, a woman of 40, was legally but six months old, with a score of years before her which she might turn to dishonest account with impunity.—Chamber's Journal [Link (pdf)]

Mariano Gets a Second Date

As I wrote about in June, the wrong date of birth was carved into the tombstone of General Mariano Vallejo in Sonoma, California. Last week, the correct date was added.

It took months of negotiations with the city, a nationwide search for Vallejo's descendants, and a high-powered sandblaster loaded with garnet dust to get the job done.

On Wednesday at 10 a.m., two Bay Area TV outlets and a few interested citizens gathered in Mountain Cemetery to watch the words "Actual Birthdate: July 4 1807" blasted into the marble slab of Vallejo's tomb... [Link]

Centenarian Not as Old as She'd Thought

Upon inspection of her birth certificate, a 100-year-old woman in Wales has learned that she blew out her birthday candles on the wrong day for 99 years.

Nellie Davies, who has no idea how the mix-up happened, said: "I couldn't believe it. Who'd have thought all these years I'd been celebrating the wrong day?"

Ever since Nellie was a child she had been celebrating her birthday on May 2 but that has changed since a relative noticed the birthdate was May 24. It was in-fact 22 days later in 1907 Mrs. Davies was born. [Link]

We had a similar situation in my own family. My grandmother always celebrated her birthday on November 18, but her official birth record gives the date as November 9. The family record I shared here gives the November 18 date, with the time and day of the week written by another hand. In this case, the official record is almost certainly wrong—perhaps the product of a country doctor with poor penmanship.

So maybe Nellie was celebrating the right birthday all along.

Fact About Founder Found Faulty

General Mariano Vallejo was the founder of Sonoma, California, but his tombstone at Mountain Cemetery in Sonoma gives the wrong date of birth—July 7, 1808.

There's even documentation to back it up. A letter written by a genealogist at the Monterey Diocese says Vallejo was born on July 4th, 1807, the day before his baptism. But trying to correct history hasn't been easy. The cemetery is maintained by the city of Sonoma.

The people here at city hall say they'd be happy to change the tombstone, but it's not up to them. They say only family members can make that call. [Link]

Happy Birthday to Few

According to mental_floss (citing a 2001 study), today is the least popular day to be born.

According to the inquiry, an average of 12,576 people are born each year on the 5th of October. It also suggests that some 968,000 Americans celebrate this day annually.

Which birth date is the least common? May 22nd with an average of 10,259 persons born each year.

Kids Took Three Years Off Her Life

Some obituaries are incorrect through ignorance or accident. Others are intentionally incorrect, like that of dance-studio owner Joan Harris.

Her obituary says she was 73, but [her son] Sean said that’s not entirely correct. The fudging on the obituary is par for Joan’s course.

“That’s not her true birthday,” Sean said of the printed April 14, 1933. “The date is right, but the year is off by three because Mom would have wanted it that way.” [Link]