birthday news stories on Newser

Ahead of 85th Birthday, Benedict Asks Strength

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 08:11:38 CDT

Staring down both his 85th birthday and the seventh anniversary of his papacy, Pope Benedict today asked the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square for both prayers and strength, reports the AP . "Next Thursday, on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of my election to the See of Peter, I...

Dying Fan Gets Sneak Peek at Book Series

John Johnson — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:10:04 CST

A pretty cool birthday present, as recounted by hlntv and Techdirt : Nachu Bhatnagar is a young guy with terminal cancer who may not live long enough to see how his favorite book series, Harry Turtledove's The War That Came Early , will turn out. His friend, Colton Jang, turned to Reddit...

Poe Fans Hope Mystery Birthday Visitor Shows

Kate Schwartz — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:04:55 CST

Beginning on Jan. 19, 1949, a mysterious visitor marked Edgar Allan Poe's birthday by laying three red roses and a bottle of cognac on the author's Baltimore grave. But fans of the gothic scribe worry that the tradition may be resting six feet under as well: The birthday visitor last...

Ill Stephen Hawking Misses 70th Birthday

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:25:19 CST

The University of Cambridge says renowned physicist Stephen Hawking isn't well enough to attend a conference held to celebrate his 70th birthday . Hawking's remarkable career is being honored today as part of a daylong conference on cosmology being hosted at the university. But the celebrity scientist, who suffers from Lou...

Quietly, Fidel Castro Turns 85

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 06:58:18 CDT

Fidel Castro marked his 85th birthday outside of the public spotlight today, with little fanfare around the aging revolutionary icon who is rarely seen in public these days but still casts a long shadow over Cuban society. There were no announced celebrations of Castro's birthday, though the previous night two...

Birthday Greetings Congress Wishes It Could Send Obama

Kate Schwartz — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:16:47 CDT

President Obama is officially 50, and he rang in the milestone with a joke. At a fundraiser in Chicago last night—where he was feted by the likes of Jennifer Hudson, OK Go, and supporters willing to pay up to $35,800 a plate—Obama predicted what his first day...

How Obama Will Celebrate the Big 5-0

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:23:46 CDT

President Obama got what he wanted for his birthday , so now he can celebrate turning 50 under a little less pressure. The big day is tomorrow, but the festivities start tonight in his hometown of Chicago, where he will fly this afternoon, reports the Tribune . A $35,800-a-head dinner fundraiser...

Why I Celebrated My 'Facebook Birthday' 3 Times

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:23:32 CDT

Nothing illustrates the "fakery" of Facebook and its so-called friendships quite as much as the "Facebook Birthday," that one day each year when you are bombarded by "exclamation-point-polluted" Wall posts from people you barely know. That's why Slate's David Plotz decided to engage in a little social experiment this year,...

American Celebs Born on July 4

Kate Schwartz — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 17:03:05 CDT

While celebrating our nation's birthday, pause and raise your beer can and toast these famous Americans, born on the fourth of July. Highlights from the Daily Beast's list: Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino: Which news do you find most surprising? That "The Situation" turns 30 today, or that his reality TV...