Who Died Today

Series produced by Jonathan Thomas Stratman

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A fresh look at history's dead characters. It's a chance to meet people you've never met and really get to know people you only thought you knew. Ho Chi Minh ... who knew he worked as a pastry chef in Harlem in the 1920s?Frank T. Hopkins ... they made the movie "Hidalgo" about him ... who knew his shocking secret? Who was the fourth man to die in the Buddy Holly crash, and why isn't anybody talking about him?

Dynamic three-minute, filler-length episodes, keyed to specific dates throughout the year. You'll discover a fresh point of view on history's dead characters. Who they really were, how they really lived ... what they left behind. Some are obscure, many––though overlooked or overshadowed––were center stage in the unfolding, human drama or comedy that is history and life.


50 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Grace Murray Hopper, January 1, 1992
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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Even if you've never heard of Grace Hopper, she changed your life.

  • Added: Nov 12, 2010
  • Length: 03:00
Erroll Garner, January 2, 1977
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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His friends called him "Hoochie Coo," and he was one of the great jazz pianists ... composer of hundreds of songs, but best known for writing the t...

  • Added: Nov 15, 2010
  • Length: 03:00
Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, January 3, 1923
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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While many of the most-told love stories are fairy tales, hers was real and it changed YOUR life.

  • Added: Dec 08, 2010
  • Length: 03:00
Iron Eyes Cody, January 4, 1999
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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If the name isn't familiar, it's still a good bet you know the face.

  • Added: Nov 15, 2010
  • Length: 03:00
Samuel Huntington, January 5, 1796
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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The first President of the United States, Samuel Huntington, died today. Wait, I know what you're thinking: "What happened to George Washington?" W...

  • Added: Apr 11, 2011
  • Length: 03:01
Tom McCall, January 8, 1983
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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The true story of the first state to sponsor a rock concert ... nicknamed "the Governor's Pot Party"... and what became of that governor.

Bought by KLCC


  • Added: Dec 22, 2010
  • Length: 03:00
  • Purchases: 1
Leopold Samuel Marks, January 15, 2001
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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Marks was a British code maker in World War II. While still in his early twenties, in charge of wireless communication codes to espionage agents an...

  • Added: Jan 04, 2012
  • Length: 04:00
Al Hirschfeld, January 20, 2003
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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He was an artist. And you've likely seen his stuff.

  • Added: Jan 17, 2011
  • Length: 03:01
Roger Arthur Peterson (Buddy Holly Pilot), February 3, 1959
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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The Buddy Holly pilot. Everybody knows how Roger Peterson died, but almost nobody knows who he was.

  • Added: Nov 12, 2010
  • Length: 03:00
Black History: Ossie Davis, February 4, 2005
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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One of our great actors. His mother called him by his initials R.C., but was mis-heard by the county clerk, so we knew him as Ossie.

  • Added: Jan 17, 2011
  • Length: 03:00
St. Valentine, Gangster of Love
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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The shocking truth about the patron saint of romantic love, marriage ... and bee keeping.

Bought by KUT


  • Added: Jan 05, 2013
  • Length: 02:53
  • Purchases: 1
Black History: Thelonious Monk, February 17, 1982
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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A founding father of bebop and modern jazz, wife Nellie called his style "Melodius Thunk."

Bought by KUT


  • Added: Jan 17, 2011
  • Length: 03:00
  • Purchases: 1
Glenn Cunningham, March 10, 1988
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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He was a runner, early on. Before it was popular. Before Spandex, before Nike and Gatorade. At one time, he was one of a handful of the fastest hum...

  • Added: Apr 09, 2011
  • Length: 03:00
Woman's History: Susan B. Anthony March 13, 1906
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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Our unappreciated national treasure, Susan B. Anthony spent more than five decades in a struggle to transform life for American women by securing t...

  • Added: Mar 06, 2012
  • Length: 03:00
Corrie Ten Boom, April 15, 1983
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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The Ten Boom family hides Jews and members of Dutch resistance from the Nazis in a secret room. Raided by the Gestapo, Corrie, her sister and their...

  • Added: Apr 09, 2011
  • Length: 03:00
Charles Gates Dawes, April 23, 1951
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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From great grandson of William Dawes, midnight rider with Paul Revere, to U.S. Vice President under Calvin Coolidge ... to co-writer of a number on...

  • Added: Apr 11, 2011
  • Length: 03:00
John Luther (Casey) Jones, April 30, 1900
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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He was born John Luther Jones, but we knew him as Casey. And even though Casey Jones died in an obscure, single fatality train accident more than 1...

Bought by KZYX and KZYX


  • Added: Apr 20, 2011
  • Length: 03:22
  • Purchases: 2
William T. Tutte (British Codebreaker), May 2, 2002
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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He was shy, geeky ... a genius ... and helped turn the tide in World War II.

  • Added: Apr 28, 2011
  • Length: 03:00
Tenzing Norgay (First on Everest), May 9, 1986
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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Self-described as a simple mountain coolie, he became one of the world's foremost mountaineers and, along with Sir Edmund Hillary, the first ... ev...

  • Added: May 04, 2011
  • Length: 03:00
Irena Sendler, May 12, 2008
From: Jonathan Thomas Stratman
Series: Who Died Today
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She was a small, dark-haired Polish Catholic who somehow managed to save 2500 Jewish children from the Nazis. How? Here's the tale. Also available...

  • Added: Sep 12, 2012
  • Length: 03:00

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