May 14 Dateline

Birthdays

1727 - Thomas Gainsborough, English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his bitter rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British portrait artists of the second half of the 18th century.

1771 - Thomas Wedgwood, English inventor, a pioneer in photography. Son of Josiah Wedgwood, the potter, is most widely known as an early experimenter in the field of photography. He is the first person known to have thought of creating permanent pictures by capturing camera images on material coated with a light-sensitive chemical.

1924 - José Manuel Joly Braga Santos, ComSE, Portuguese composer and conductor. He wrote six symphonies. The Three Symphonic Sketches were distinguished by Donemus in 1963, and the 5th Symphony, by the «Tribune Internationale des Compositeurs» (UNESCO). In 2004, the recording of the Symphony No. 4 by Naxos/Marco Polo, performed by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and conducted by Álvaro Cassuto received the Cannes Classical Award for the CD Premier category. Joly Braga Santos was distinguished with the Order of Santiago de Espada by President of the Republic of Portugal. (Symphony No. 4 IV - Joly Braga Santos, uploaded by legendaryclassics. Accessed May 14, 2015.)

1944 - George Lucas, American filmmaker, film director and entrepreneur. He is known for creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic. He was the Chairman and CEO of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. (All Star Wars Movie Trailer (1977-2018). Uploaded by KinoStarTrailer. Accessed  May 14, 2018.)

1945 - Francesca Annis, English actress. She is known for TV roles in Reckless, Wives and Daughters, Deceit and Cranford. A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 1979 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the ITV serial Lillie. Her film appearances include Krull, Dune, The Debt Collector and The Libertine. Annis was trained in her early years as a ballet dancer, with training in the Russian style. She appeared as Tuppence with James Warwick as Tommy in The Secret Adversary and the series, Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime (1983–84). She played Jacqueline Kennedy in Onassis: The Richest Man in the World, as Mrs. Wellington in the second film and directorial debut by Prince, Under The Cherry Moon. She has also pursued a stage career, playing leading roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company. (Francesca Annis. YouTube, uploaded by Audiopedia. Accessed May 14, 2017.)

1952 - David Byrne, British-American singer, songwriter, musician, artist, actor, music theorist, and filmmaker. He is a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American new wave band Talking Heads.

1969 - Cate Blanchett (born Catherine Elise Blanchett), AC, Australian actress and theatre director. One of Australia's most accomplished actors, she is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her generation, noted for her versatile roles in blockbusters, independent films, and in her stage work in various theatre productions. She has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and three British Academy Film Awards. She came to international attention for portraying Elizabeth I in the drama film Elizabeth, for which she won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Actress, and received her first of seven Academy Award nominations. Her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress playing a neurotic former socialite in Blue Jasmine. In 2018, she was ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses.

1984 - Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, American media magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding Facebook, Inc. and serves as its chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling shareholder. In 2007, at age 23, he became the world's youngest self-made billionaire. As of March 2021, Zuckerberg's net worth is $103.6 billion, making him the 5th-richest person in the world. Since 2008, Time magazine has named Zuckerberg among the 100 most influential people in the world as a part of its Person of the Year award. In December 2016, Zuckerberg was ranked 10th on Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People.

Leftie:
Musician David Byrne

 

More birthdays and historical events today, May 14 - On This Day.

 

Historical Events

1643 - Louis XIV becomes King of France at the age of four on the death of his father, Louis XIII. 

1796 - English physician Edward Jenner administers the first vaccination against smallpox to his gardener's son.

1832 - Felix Mendelssohn conducts his Hebrides Overture, "Fingal's Cave," in its first performance, in London. Here's a video performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 

May 13 Dateline

Birthdays

1842 - Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan, MVO, English composer of comic operas, famous for operettas written in collaboration with librettist William Gilbert. His works include 24 operas, 11 major orchestral works, ten choral works and oratorios, two ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and piano and chamber pieces. His hymns and songs include "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord." Sullivan composed a one-act comic opera, Cox and Box. His first opera with W. S. Gilbert was Thespis. Four years later, the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte engaged Gilbert and Sullivan to create a one-act piece, Trial by Jury. Its box-office success led to a series of twelve full-length comic operas by the collaborators. After the extraordinary success of H.M.S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance, Carte used his profits from the partnership to build the Savoy Theatre in 1881, and their joint works became known as the Savoy operas. Among the best known of the later operas are The Mikado and The Gondoliers. Sullivan's most popular choral work is The Golden Legend.

1907 - Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, DBE, English author and playwright. Her parents were the actor/manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and stage actress Muriel Beaumont, and her grandfather was the cartoonist and writer George du Maurier. Although she is classed as a romantic novelist, her stories have been described as "moody and resonant" with overtones of the paranormal.  (Daphne de Maurier, revisited. Uploaded by Nicholas Hoare Books. Accessed May 13, 2019.)  Her bestselling works have since earned an enduring reputation for narrative craft. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, Hungry Hills and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight".  Du Maurier spent much of her life in Cornwall, where most of her works are set. As her fame increased, she became more reclusive.

1937 -  Trinidad "Trini" López III, American singer, guitarist, and actor. His first album included a version of "If I Had a Hammer", which earned a Golden Disc for him. His other hits included "Lemon Tree", "I'm Comin' Home, Cindy" and "Sally Was a Good Old Girl". He designed two guitars for the Gibson Guitar Corporation, which are now collectors’ items. According to his management, Lopez died from COVID-19 complications at the age of 83.

 
1944 - Armistead Maupin (born Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr.), American writer who wrote Tales of the City, a series of novels set in San Francisco. They have been translated into ten languages and there are more than six million copies in print. Several of the books have been adapted and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. His other works include:  Maybe the Moon, The Night Listener (both novel and film).

Leftie:
Author Armistead Maupin

 

More birthdays and historical events today, May 13 - On This Day.

 

Historical Events

1568 - Mary, Queen of Scots, is defeated by the English at the Battle of Langside.

1833 - Felix Mendelssohn conducts the first performance of his Symphony No. 4, "Italian,"  in London.