July 15 Dateline

Birthdays

1606 - Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Dutch draughtsman, painter and printmaker. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. He was influenced by Caravaggio, Titian, Hercules Seghers and Hendrick ter Brugghen. His paintings are full of drama, contrasts between light and dark and experimental brushwork, and are famous all over the world. 

 
1915 - Gavin Maxwell, FRSL, FIAL, FZS (Sc.), FRGS, Scottish naturalist and author. Best known for his non-fiction writing and his work with otters. He wrote the book Ring of Bright Water, about how he brought an otter back from Iraq and raised it in Scotland.

1919 - Dame Jean Iris Murdoch, Irish and British writer & philosopher  (Iris Murdoch on Philosophy and Literature. YouTube, Uploaded by flame0430. Accessed July 15, 2009.) A 2001 biographical drama film has been adapted on the life of Iris Murdoch entitled Iris, that tells the story of Irish-born British novelist Dame Iris Murdoch and her relationship with John Bayley. It stars Dame Judi Dench (Iris Murdoch), Kate Winslet (young Iris), and Jim Broadband and Hugh Bonneville (young John). Official film trailer, uploaded by Miramax. Accessed July 15, 2017.)

1930 - Jacques Derrida (born Jackie Élie Derrida), Algerian-born French philosopher. Best known for developing a form of semiotic analysis known as deconstruction, which he discussed in numerous texts, and developed in the context of phenomenology.

1933 - Julian Alexander Bream, CBE, English virtuoso classical guitarist. One of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perception of the classical guitar as a respectable instrument. 

 
1934 - Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle, CH, British composer. Leading European figure in contemporary music. His works combine modernist aesthetic, and his orchestral works of recent decades include Panic composed for the Last Night of the BBC Proms, The Shadow of Night commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra and concertos for violinist Christian Tetzlaff and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. His stageworks include The Last Supper for Glyndebourne, The Minotaur for The Royal Opera, The Io Passion, The Corridor and The Cure.

1946 - Linda Maria Ronstadt, retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres. She has earned 10 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award. Many of her albums have been certified gold, platinum or multiplatinum. She has also earned nominations for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe award. On July 28, 2014, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities. Ronstadt was among the five honorees who received the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements, in Washington, D.C., at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 15 July - On This Day.

Featured Artist:  Julian Bream, Virtuoso Guitarist

Julian Bream performs works by Bach, Villa-Lobos, Albeniz and Britten at Old Wardour Castle. Julian Bream Concert 1978.(YouTube, uploaded by RareGuitarVC. Accessed 15th July 2018.)

Historical Events

This day is also known as "St. Swithin's Day." Swithun (old English name or Swithunus in Latin) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester, subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working. When his bones were moved to a shrine in Winchester Cathedral on this day in 971 AD, it rained for the next 40 days.  

1799 - Captain Pierre-Francois Bouchard, a soldier in Napoleon's army, finds the Rosetta Stone in the Egyptian village of Rosetta near Alexandria. the stone proves to be key to deciphering Egyptian Hieroglyphics.

July 14 Dateline

Birthdays

1858 - Emmeline Pankhurst, British suffragist, political activist and helper of the British suffragette movement who helped women win the right to vote. In 1999 Time named Pankhurst as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century, stating "she shaped an idea of women for our time; she shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back". She was widely criticised for her militant tactics, and historians disagree about their effectiveness, but her work is recognised as a crucial element in achieving women's suffrage in the United Kingdom

1862 - Gustav Klimt, Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. He is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by a frank eroticism. In addition to his figurative works, which include allegories and portraits, he painted landscapes. Among the artists of the Vienna Secession, Klimt was the most influenced by Japanese art and its methods. (The Complete Works of Gustav Klimt. Uploaded by Tuen Tony Kwok. Accessed Juky 14, 2019.)

1904 - Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish-American writer, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978. He was a leading figure in the Yiddish literary movement, writing and publishing only in Yiddish. He was also awarded two U.S. National Book Awards, one in Children's Literature for his memoir A Day Of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw (1970) and one in Fiction for his collection A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories (1974).

1910 - William Hanna, American animator, director, producer, voice actor, and cartoon artist whose film and TV cartoon characters entertained millions of people. Working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Hanna met Joseph Barbera. The two men began a collaboration that was at first best known for producing Tom and Jerry (won seven Academy Awards). Hanna-Barbera collaboration became the most successful TV animation studio, creating and/or producing programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear. They won eight Emmy Awards. Their cartoons have become cultural icons, and their cartoon characters have appeared in other media such as films, books, and toys.

1918 - Ingmar Bergman (born Ernst Ingmar Bergman), Swedish director, writer, and producer who worked in film, television, theatre, and radio. Considered to be among the most accomplished and influential filmmakers of all time, Bergman's films include Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Persona, Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage, and Fanny and Alexander; the last two exist in extended television versions.

1921 - Leon Garfield,  FRSL, British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted Shakespeare: The Animated Tales for television.

1926 - Harry Dean Stanton, American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films such as Cool Hand Luke, Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger, The Godfather Part II, Alien, Escape from New York, Christine, Repo Man, Pretty in Pink, The Last Temptation of Christ, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story, The Green Mile, Alpha Dog and Inland Empire. He was given rare lead roles in Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas and Lucky (2017), his last film. 

 

Lefties:

None known

 

 

More birthdays today, 14 July - On This day.

Historical Events

1789 - Bastille Day. Around 800 Parisians armed with muskets and cannons attack the Bastile, a medieval fortress used as a prison. they wipe the garrison out and free the seven prisoners inside. This even triggers the French Revolution. Today this known as Bastille Day is celebrated to commemorate the event and the forming of the French Republic.

1791 - In Birmingham, England, rioters burn the home and laboratory of Joseph Priestly, the chemist who discovered oxygen, because of his support for the French Revolution. Three yearslater, he leaves for the U.S.A.