October 15 Dateline

Birthdays

70 B.C.E. -  Virgil or Vergil, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He wrote three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. A number of minor poems, collected in the Appendix Vergiliana, are sometimes attributed to him. Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome since the time of its composition. Modeled after Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Aeneid follows the Trojan refugee Aeneas as he struggles to fulfill his destiny and reach Italy, where his descendants Romulus and Remus were to found the city of Rome. Virgil's work has had wide and deep influence on Western literature, most notably Dante's Divine Comedy, in which Virgil appears as Dante's guide through Hell and Purgatory. (Virgil's Rome - The Historical Context of the Aeneid. uploaded by Eric Luttrell. Accessed October 15, 2018.)

1775 - Bernhard Henrik Crusell, Swedish-Finnish composer, clarinetist and translator considered as the the most significant and internationally best-known Finnish-born classical composer and indeed, — the outstanding Finnish composer before Sibelius.

1844 - Friedrich (Wilhelm) Nietzsche, German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist, and Latin and Greek scholar. He began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. His work has exerted an enormous and  profound influence on Western philosophy and modern intellectual history - writings on truth, morality, language, aesthetics, cultural theory, history, nihilism, power, consciousness, and the meaning of existence. (Friedrch Nietzsche's Life and Philosophy. Uploaded by Wes Cecil. Accessed October 15, 2019.)  

1880 - Marie Stopes (Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes), British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classification, and was the first female academic on the faculty of the University of Manchester. With her second husband, Humphrey Verdon Roe, Stopes founded the first birth control clinic in Britain. She edited the newsletter Birth Control News, which gave explicit practical advice. Her sex manual Married Love brought the subject of birth control into wide public discourse. 

 
1920 - Mario Gianluigi Puzo, American author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is known for his crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably The Godfather (1969), which he later co-adapted into a film trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the first film in 1972 and Part II in 1974. Puzo also wrote the original screenplay for the 1978 Superman film. His final novel, The Family, was released posthumously in 2001.

1924 - Lee Iacocca, (Lido Anthony Iacocca), American automobile executive best known for Ford Mustang and Pinto cars, while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, and for reviving the Chrysler Corporation as its CEO during the 1980s. He was president and CEO of Chrysler until his retirement at the end of 1992. He was one of the few executives to preside over the operations of two of the Big Three automakers. Iacocca authored or co-authored several books, including Iacocca: An Autobiography (with William Novak), and Where Have All the Leaders Gone? Portfolio Magazine named Iacocca the 18th-greatest American CEO of all time. 

1940 - Peter Charles Doherty, AC FRS FMedSci, Australian immunologist, veterinary surgeon and researcher in the field of medicine. He received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1995, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Rolf M. Zinkernagel in 1996 and was named Australian of the Year in 1997, and named a Companion of the Order of Australia for his work with Zinkernagel. He is also a National Trust Australian Living Treasure. In 2009's Q150 celebrations, Doherty's immune system research was one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as an iconic "innovation and invention".

2005 - Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat RE (Christian Valdemar Henri John, the heir apparent to the Danish throne. He is the eldest child of King Frederik X and Queen Mary. He was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Margrethe II. He became Crown Prince of Denmark following his grandmother's abdication and his father's subsequent ascension to the Danish throne in January 2024.

Leftie:
None known

 

 

More birthdays and historical events, October 15 - On This Day

Historical Events

1815 - Napoleon I of France begins his exile on St. Helena on the Atlantic Ocean.

1878 - The U.S. Edison Electric Company and American Electric and Illumination in Canada begin operation.

October 14 Dateline

Birthdays:

1633 - James II and VII, King of England and Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685 until he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He was the last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland. His reign is remembered mainly for struggles over religious tolerance. It also involved the principles of absolutism and divine right of kings, and his deposition ended a century of political and civil strife by confirming the primacy of Parliament over the Crown.

1644 - William Penn, London-born American writer, founder of Pennsylvania, son of the admiral and politician Sir William Penn. He was an early member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the English North American colony the Province of Pennsylvania. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans. Under his direction, the city of Philadelphia was planned and developed. The streets are named with numbers and tree names. He chose to use the names of trees for the cross streets because Pennsylvania means "Penn's Woods".

1890 - Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, 34th U.S. President from 1953 to 1961, American army general and statesman. During World War II, he was a five-star general in the United States Army and served as supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe. (Dwight D. Eisenhower Biography: Military General & U.S. President. Uploaded by WatchMojo.com. Accessed October 14, 2013. Ike '52: The Best known Candidate of All  by Feather S. Foster. Presidential History Blog. Accessed 19 Sept 2020.)

1898 - Maurice Louis Eugène Martenot, French cellist, inventor, and a radio telegrapher during the first World War. He is best known for his invention of the ondes Martenot. He unveiled a microtonal model in 1938. He was responsible for teaching the first generation of ondes Martenot performers, including Karel Goeyvaerts, Jeanne Loriod, Georges Savaria, Gilles Tremblay, and his sister Ginette Martenot. Martenot himself performed as an 'ondist' with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski in 1930. The 1937 World's Fair in Paris awarded him "Le Grand Prix de l'Exposition Mondiale". He taught lessons at the Paris Conservatoire during the 1940s.

1927 - Roger Moore, KBE, English actor, famous in the roles of British secret agent James Bond 007, The Saint, and Lord Sinclair in The Persuaders! He played James Bond in seven feature films from 1973 to 1985, beginning with Live and Let Die. His most notable television role was playing the main character, Simon Templar, in the British television series The Saint from 1962 to 1969. He also had roles in some American television shows and films in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including replacing James Garner and portraying Beau Maverick in the Maverick series in 1960 to 61. Moore starred with Tony Curtis in The Persuaders television series in 1971 to 1972, and had roles in several theatrical films in the 1970s and 1980s. Sir Roger Moore was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for services to charity. In 2007, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television and film. In 2008, the French government appointed him a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. (Refer below for his documentary video.)

1939 - Ralph Lauren, honorary KBE (né Lifshitz), American fashion designer, philanthropist, and businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become known for his collection of rare automobiles, some of which have been displayed in museum exhibits. Lauren stepped down as CEO of the company in September 2015 but remains executive chairman and chief creative officer. As of 2019, Forbes estimates his wealth at $6.3 billion, which makes Ralph Lauren the 102nd richest person in America.

 
1940 - Sir Cliff Richard OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb), British singer, musician, performer, actor and philanthropist. Richard has sold more than 250 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He has total sales of over 21 million singles in the United Kingdom and is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley. Over a career spanning 60 years, Richard has amassed several gold and platinum discs and awards, including two Ivor Novello Awards and three Brit Awards. (Cliff Richard - Blue Moon (Cliff!, 23 Feb. 1961). YouTube, accessed June 9, 2022).

 

Leftie:
None known.

Death:
1990 - Leonard Bernstein, Composer

More birthdays and historical events, October 14 - On This Day

 

 

 

In Memoriam:  
Sir Roger Moore (14 Oct 1927 - 23 May 2017) :

Sir Roger George Moore, KBE, was an English actor. He is best known for having played secret agent James Bond in seven feature films from 1973 to 1985. He also played Simon Templar in the television series The Saint from 1962 to 1969 and Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders! with Tony Curtis from 1971 to 1972. He took over the role of Bond from Sean Connery in 1972, and made his first appearance as 007 in Live and Let Die (1973). The longest serving Bond, he went on to portray the spy in six more films until his retirement from the role in 1985. He was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for "services to charity". In 2007, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and 2008, the French government appointed him a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Historical Events

1066 - Duke William of Normandy defeats Harold II of England in the Battle of Hastings and becomes William the Conqueror.

1926 - The first Winnie-the-Pooh book by A.A. Milne is published, becoming one of the most successful children's books of all-time. It was inspired by his son Christopher Robin's love for a bear in the London Zoo called Winnipeg.