DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD, Swedish diplomat and United Nations Secretary-General, born (d: 1961); During the turbulent years that he was secretary-general of the United Nations, rumors swirled that Hammarskjöld was homosexual. His acquaintances say that he was, instead, merely sexless, a workaholic, an intellectual, whose only indulgence was his love of gourmet food and flowers. The secretary-general dealt with the rumors by writing a haiku: “Because it did not find a mate / they called / the unicorn perverted.” His official biographer writes that “stupid or malicious people sometimes made the vulgar assumption that, being unmarried, he must be homosexual…” Stupid, malicious, vulgar? Perhaps some were merely wishing the Swedish unicorn a modicum of pleasure and happiness. The exact cause of his death has never been conclusively determined. He is the only person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously.

In September 1961, Hammarskjöld found out about the fighting between non-combatant UN forces and Katanga troops of Moise Tshombe. He was en route to negotiate a cease-fire on the night of September 17-18 when his plane crashed near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). The crew had filed no flight plan (for security reasons), and a decoy aircraft (OO-RIC) went (via a different route) ahead of Hammarskjöld's aircraft. He and fifteen others perished. The explanation of investigators at the time is that Hammarskjöld's aircraft descended too low on its approach to Ndola's airport in clear weather at night. No evidence of a bomb, surface-to-air missile, or hijacking has ever been presented, even though, following the crash, 180 men searched a six square kilometer area of the last sector of the aircraft's flight path, looking for such evidence. Neither was any evidence of foul play found in the wreckage of the aircraft.

In 1998, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, chairman of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), stated that recently-uncovered letters had implicated British MI5, American CIA and South African intelligence services in the crash. One TRC letter said that a bomb in the aircraft's wheel-bay was set to detonate when the wheels came down for landing. Tutu said that the veracity of the letters was unclear; the British Foreign Office suggested that they may have been created as Soviet misinformation.

Hammarskjöld is still the only U.N. Secretary-General to die in office. John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century.” Although as an adult he rejected his family's Lutheran faith, he continued to search for spiritual meaning. His collection of spiritual notes was published posthumously under the title Markings, which instantly became a best seller and a Christian classic.

PAUL TAYLOR, American choreographer and dancer, was born; One of the foremost American choreographers of the 20th century, Taylor was born in Pennsylvania and attended Syracuse University on painting and swimming scholarships. He took up dance here after seeing Martha Graham photos in a book at the library and attending dance a ballet performance that came through Syracuse. He continued his studies at the Juilliard School and the American Dance Festival at Connecticut College. In 1952 his dancing at that festival was a sensation and attracted the attention of choreographers Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Charles Weidman and Doris Humphrey.

He has performed in the companies of Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham and George Balanchine, and founded the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1954. Dancers who emerged from his company include Twyla Tharp, Laura Dean Dan Wagoner, Carolyn Adams, Christopher Gillis and David Parsons.

At 6'3" Taylor is a large man for a dancer, but he danced with a startlingly fluid movement. His lyrical approach gave barefoot modern dance a neo-classic style with a virtuosic edge. When Taylor retired from dancing in 1974 at the age of 44, many felt that this very good choreographer was on his way to becoming a great one.

The use of everyday gestures rather than dance moves is the outstanding characteristic of his choreography as well as beautiful dancers. From its beginning the Paul Taylor Dance Company was distinguished by the look of its male dancers. Typically, they are larger than men in other companies. Their size gives Taylor's choreography a muscular weight. He has collaborated with painters Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and Alex Katz, as well as the legendary Tiffany & Co. Designer, Gene Moore. A signature work is Esplanade (1975), to music by J.S. Bach, which he choreographed with a contribution from the National Endowment for the Arts. In his autobiography Private Domain (1987), Taylor states his bisexuality, but concludes that, "As far as romance goes, I can forget it." Same-sex partnering appears in works such as Esplanade (1975), Kith and Kin (1987), Company B (1991), and Piazzolla Caldera (1997).

TIM GUNN, born; An American fashion consultant and TV personality, Gunn was chair of fashion design at Parsons New School for Design from August 2000 to March 2007 and is well-known as on-air mentor to designers on the Bravo reality program Project Runway. Gunn's popularity on Project Runway led to his spin-off show, Bravo's Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style, as well as his book A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style.

Gunn’s father was an FBI agent and worked for J. Edgar Hoover as his ghostwriter and general amanuensis. Gunn was visiting his father at his office one day. He tells this story:

“My sister and I used to take the FBI tour once a year. It was a big deal in D.C., and we never missed it. One year, 1961, when I was eight, I was on the tour and my father asked me if I’d like to meet Vivian Vance. According to Helen Gandy, Hoover’s secretary, Vance was visiting Hoover, and she said she’d be happy to meet us. I was a rabid I Love Lucy fan and was beside myself with excitement… My father smiled and took my sister and me into Hoover’s office, where I shook Vivian Vance’s hand and chatted with her. She was charming and I was thrilled.

Years later, I was reminiscing with my sister about the meeting, and suddenly I realized something. “Does it seem odd to you,” I asked her, “that when we met Vivian Vance in Hoover’s office, Hoover wasn’t there?” I’ve since looked at photos of both Hoover and Vivian Vance from that period of time, and the similarities are rather eerie… I’ve called some Vivian Vance experts, including Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg, who wrote Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy’s Other Couple; none of them knew of any meeting between Vance and Hoover. I was able to check with the scheduler for Mr. Hoover and there is no record of Vivian Vance ever visiting him in their files.”

JEROME ROBBINS, American choreographer, died (b: 1918 ); His work included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater. Among the numerous stage productions he worked on were On The Town, High Button Shoes, The King and I, The Pajama Game, Bells Are Ringing, West Side Story, Gypsy, and Fiddler on the Roof.