Birthdays
1707 -
Michel Corrette,
French organist, composer and author of musical method books. Corrette was prolific. He composed ballets and divertissements for the stage, including Arlequin, Armide, Le Jugement de Midas, Les Âges, Nina, and Persée. He composed many concertos, notably 25 concertos comiques. Aside from these works and organ concertos, he also composed sonatas, songs, instrumental chamber works, harpsichord pieces, cantatas, and other sacred vocal works.
1829 -
William Booth, English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first "General"
(1878–1912). The Christian movement with a quasi-military structure and
government founded in 1865 has spread from London, England, to many
parts of the world and is known for being one of the largest
distributors of humanitarian aid. In 2002, Booth was named among the 100 Greatest Britons in a BBC poll.
1847 -
Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian-American publisher of the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the
New York World. He became a leading national figure in the Democratic Party and was elected congressman from New York. He crusaded against big business and corruption, and helped keep the Statue of Liberty in New York. He is best known for the Pulitzer Prizes, which were established in 1917 as a result of his endowment to Columbia University.
The prizes are given annually to recognize and reward excellence in
American journalism, photography, literature, history, poetry, music and
drama. Pulitzer founded the Columbia School of Journalism by his philanthropic bequest; it opened in 1912.
1864 -
Eugen d'Albert (originally
Eugène) Francois Charles d'Albert, Scottish-born pianist and composer. At
the age of 17, he won a scholarship to study in Austria. He soon emigrated to Germany,
where he studied with Franz Liszt
and began a career as a concert pianist. D'Albert pretty much considered himself German. He produced 21 operas and output of piano, vocal, chamber and orchestral works. His most successful opera was
Tiefland,
which premiered in Prague in 1903. His successful orchestral works
included his cello concerto, a symphony, two string quartets and
two piano concertos. In 1907, d'Albert became the director of the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he exerted a wide influence on musical education in Germany. He also held the post of Kapellmeister to the Court of Weimar. (
Eugen d'Albert's Cello Concerto in C major, Op. 20. YouTube, uploaded by Johann Rufinatscha. Accessed April 10, 2014.)
1917 -
Robert Burns
Woodward, FRS(For) FRSE, American organic chemist. He is considered by many to be the most preeminent synthetic organic chemist of the twentieth century, having made many key contributions to the subject, especially in the synthesis of complex natural products and the determination of their molecular structure. He also worked closely with Roald Hoffmann on theoretical studies of chemical reactions. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1965.
Chemist and Nobel Laureate
1921 -
Chuck Connors (Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors), American actor, writer, and professional basketball and
baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of
American professional sports to have played both Major League Baseball (Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs) and in the National Basketball Association (Boston Celtics). He is best known
for his five-year role as Lucas McCain in the highly rated ABC series
The Rifleman. Connors realized that he would not make a career in professional sports,
so he decided to pursue an acting career. In 1953, he starred opposite Burt Lancaster as a rebellious Marine private in
South Sea Woman and then as a football coach opposite John Wayne in
Trouble Along the Way.
1929 -
Max von Sydow, born Carl Adolf von Sydow, Swedish
actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema,
television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several
television series in multiple languages. He became a French citizen and lived in France for the last decades of his life.
1932 -
Omar Sharif (born Michel Dimitri Chalhoub), Egyptian
film and television actor. He began his career in his native country in
the 1950s, but is best known for his appearances in British, American,
French, and Italian productions. His films include
Lawrence of Arabia,
Doctor Zhivago, and
Funny Girl. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for
Lawrence of Arabia. He won three Golden Globe Awards and a César Award. Sharif, who spoke Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Greek, and
Italian fluently, was often cast, in British and American films, as a
foreigner of some sort. (Best remembered for the film Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia and Funny Girl. Doctor Zhivago film soundtrack -
here)
Leftie:
Actor Chuck Connors
More birthdays and historical events today, 10 April - On This Day.
Historical Events
1868 - Johannes Brahms conducts his
German Requiem in its entirety for the first time, on Good Friday in Bremen Cathedral.
1912 - The RMS
Titanic, the largest passenger steamship in the world, leaves Southampton, England, on her maiden voyage, headed for New York. Today in 1912, the White Star Line passenger ship RMS Titanic leaves from Southampton Docks on her maiden voyage to America. "RMS" stands for "Royal Mail Steamer" carried the mail as well as passengers. The steam ship is also known as the
SS Titanic.
