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The following is a sampling of errors
contained in various editions of the
World Almanac and Book of Facts.
Additional information on each error
correction can be found by clicking on
the link at the beginning and/or end
of each entry below.
Eddie Albert (actor) -
Some editions mistakenly report he was born in "1908."
Correction: Because he was born out of wedlock,
his mother altered his birth certificate
to read "1908." His son, Edward Albert (also
an actor), confirmed this, and the fact that
Eddie Albert was actually born in 1906 in
Rock Island, Illinois. Consult Eddie Albert's profile for more information.
Jack Benny (comedian) -
Some editions erroneously report he was born in
"Waukegan, Illinois."
Correction: He was born February 14th, 1894,
at 4:04 a.m., at Mercy Hospital, in Chicago, Illinois.
Visit our profile of Jack Benny for additional
information.
Barbara Bush
(Former First Lady) - Some editions erroneously
state she was born in "Rye, New York."
Correction: She was born at Booth Memorial Hospital,
in New York City, New York, not Rye, New York,
where she was raised. Mrs. Bush specifically addresses
this issue in her autobiography and confirms her
New York City birth. Visit our biography of
Barbara Bush for additional in-depth information.
Joseph Cotten (actor) - Some editions misspell his
name "Cotton."
Correction: It's actually spelled Cotten. Joseph
Cotten himself, confirms this fact throughout his
1987 autobiography, Joseph Cotten: Vanity Will
Get You Somewhere.
W.C. Fields (comedian) -
Some editions erroneously report "1879" as
his year of birth.
Correction: W.C. Fields was born January 29th,
1880, at Arlington House on the corner of Main
and Mill Streets, Darby, near Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Fields lied about his date of
birth (giving "April 9, 1879" as his d.o.b.)
in order to get married while still underage.
For many years, most reference books reported
this erroneous date. Most reference works have
now corrected their information. The above
birth date has been verified by members of
his family on several occasions, and confirmed
by various government records. Consult W.C. Fields'
profile for more information.
Judy Garland (actress/singer) -
Some editions mistakenly state she was born
in "1923."
Correction: She was born June 10th, 1922,
at Itasca Hospital, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
Senator Barry Goldwater (U.S. Senator) -
Some editions mistakenly report his date of birth.
Correction: This is one error that is perfectly understandable.
Not only did nearly every reference source on the
planet report the same erroneous date of birth, but
Barry Goldwater himself reported January 1st
as his date of birth in his various autobiographies
and other books because he truly believed that it
was his actual date of birth. Late in life, Senator
Goldwater learned he was actually born at 3 a.m.,
on January 2nd, 1909. Additional biographical data
can be found in our profile of Senator Barry Goldwater.
Richard Harris (actor/singer) -
Some editions erroneously state he was
born in "1933."
Correction: He was born October 1st, 1930, at
11:20 a.m. GDT (10:20 GMT), in Limerick, Ireland.
This is the date and time of birth Richard himself
reported as his precise time of birth, and has
subsequently been verified by many researchers.
For additional biographical data, visit our profile
of Richard Harris.
Katharine Hepburn (actress) -
Some older editions erroneously report "November 8,
1909," as her date of birth.
Correction: Ms. Hepburn was born May 12th, 1907,
at 5:47 p.m., at 22 Hudson Street, in Hartford,
Connecticut. Visit our biography of Katharine Hepburn
for additional in-depth information.
Dorothy Lamour (actress/singer) -
Older editions of the World Almanac and
Book of Facts erroneously report her name
at birth was "Mary Kaumeyer." Newer editions
correctly report Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton
as her real name. Additional biographical
data can be found in our profile of
Dorothy Lamour.
Vivien Leigh (actress) -
Some older editions erroneously spell her
real name "Vivien" Hartley, but recent editions
have the correct spelling of Vivian Hartley.
Consult Vivien Leigh's profile for more
information.
Lotte Lenya (actress/singer) -
Some editions mistakenly list the year of
her birth as "1900."
Correction: She was actually born October 18th,
1898, in Vienna, Austria.
Walter Matthau (actor) -
Some editions erroneously report his real name
was "Walter Matuschanskayasky."
Correction: His family has repeatedly verified
that Walter John Matthow was his actual name at
birth. For additional information, visit our
profile of Walter Matthau.
Steve McQueen (actor) -
Some editions erroneously report his birthplace as
"Indianapolis, Ind."
Correction: He was born in Beech Grove, Indiana.
Ethel Merman (actress/singer) -
Some older editions erroneously report her year
of birth as "1909." Thankfully, recent editions
correctly report 1908. For additional in-depth
biographical data, visit our biography of Ethel Merman.
Prince Philip
(Duke of Edinburgh/husband of Queen Elizabeth II) -
Some editions mistakenly list "June 1" as his date
of birth. Thankfully, recent editions correctly
report June 10th, 1921.
Vivian Vance (actress) -
Some editions erroneously report her year of birth as "1912."
Correction: She was born July 26th, 1909,
at 311 East 5th Street, in Cherryvale, Kansas.
Visit our profile of Vivian Vance for
additional information.
Andy Warhol (artist) -
Older editions erroneously list "Cleveland, Oh."
as his birthplace, and "1931" as his year of
birth. This was later changed to "8/6/27" in
some editions.
Correction: Warhol was actually born August 6th,
1928, at 6:30 a.m., at 73 Orr Street, Soho,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It is not our intent to denigrate this fine
publication, but merely to point out the above
inaccuracies to prevent further dissemination of
the erroneous data.
Visit our list of errors contained in other reference books.
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