September 22 Dateline

Birthdays

1694 - Lord Chesterfield (Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield), English statesman and man of letters, mainly remembered for his letters to his natural son Philip.

1791 - Michael Faraday, English scientist (master of chemistry and physics), regarded the "Father of Electricity", he contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis ~ known for: Faraday's law of induction, electrochemistry, Faraday effect, Faraday cage, Faraday constant, Faraday's laws of electrolysis, Faraday paradox, Faraday rotator, Faraday-efficiency effect, Faraday wave, Faraday wheel, Faraday lines of force. 

 

1880 - Dame Christabel Pankhurst, DBE (Christabel Harriette Pankhurst), British suffragette, a co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed its militant actions from exile in France from 1912 to 1913. In 1914 she supported the war against Germany. After the war she moved to the United States, where she worked as an evangelist for the Second Adventist movement.

1895 - Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund), Austro-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor. He was a five-time Academy Award nominee, with one win. He started his acting career in the Yiddish theater. During the 1930s, he was considered one of the most prestigious actors at the Warner Bros. studio, and was given the rare privilege of choosing which parts he wanted. He made 22 films and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1936 film The Story of Louis Pasteur. He also starred in numerous Broadway plays and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in the 1955 production of Inherit the Wind. (As a lover of Chopin's piano music, I'll remember Paul Muni best as Prof. Joseph Elsner in 'A Song to Remember' from a 1945 American biographical film which tells a fictionalised life story of Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin. /Tel)
 

1931 - Fay Weldon,  CBE, FRSL (born Franklin Birkinshaw), English author, essayist and playwright. Weldon's most celebrated work is her 1983 novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, which she wrote at the age of 52. Her novel The Hearts and Lives of Men was written and published in serial form, appearing in the British magazine Woman between 1 February and 15 November 1986. Weldon serves together with Daniel Pipes as the most notable foreign members of the board of the Danish Press Freedom Society

1945 - Pete Atkin, British singer-songwriter and radio producer notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series This Sceptred Isle. Atkin's musical settings drew most of their inspiration from Tin Pan Alley, although in the "Carnations on the Roof" he set a sombre description of a working class life to themes characteristic of Tamla Motown. Often Atkin turned James' intentions upside down, as with "The Last Hill That Shows You All The Valley", which James wrote as a dirge but which Atkin set to a thumping, angry rock beat. The combination worked as James' mournful cataloguing of man's inhumanity to man became a cry of protest.(The Colours of the Night: Pete Atkin and Clive James. September 22, 2018.)

1958 - Andrea Bocelli, OMRI OMDSM, Italian opera singer, songwriter, tenor and record producer.  He was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma at 5 months old, and became completely blind at age 12. After performing evenings in piano bars and competing in local singing contests, Bocelli signed his first recording contract with the Sugar Music label. He rose to fame in 1994, winning the preliminary round of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing "Miserere", with the highest marks ever recorded in the newcomers section.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 22 - On This Day

Historical Events

1869 - Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold is first produced, in Munich, with Franz Wuellner conducting.

1980 - Iraq invades Iran, bombing several air and military supply bases, and war breaks out between the neighbouring countries. The fighting ends only when the UN organizes a ceasefire in august 1988.

September 21 Dateline

Birthdays

1784 - Karl Thomas Mozart, the second son, and the elder of the two surviving sons, of Wolfgang and Constanze Mozart. He became a gifted pianist, but before he finished his schooling, however, he left for Livorno in 1797 to begin his apprenticeship with a trading firm.

1866 - H.G. Wells, English writer, famous for producing classics of science fiction, with extraordinary insights into the future. His famous works include The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, War of the Worlds, The Shape of Things to Come and The Island of Dr Moreau.

1874 - Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst), English composer, famous for his orchestral suite "The Planets", and whose daughter, Imogen Holst, his biographer, is also a composer. He composed across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style.

 
1931 - Larry Martin Hagman, American actor, film director and producer, famous for TV series Dallas, playing ruthless oil baron J.R. Ewing and the befuddled astronaut Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the  sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. His television appearances also included guest roles on dozens of shows spanning from the late 1950s until his death and a reprise of his signature role on the 2012 revival of Dallas.

1934 - Leonard Cohen, CC GOQ (born Leonard Norman Cohen), Canadian singer, songwriter, poet, and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality, and romantic relationships. Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  (Hallelujah, uploaded by LeonardCohen. Accessed September 21, 2018.)

1947 - Stephen Edwin King, American author. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published 61 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. He has also written numerous 200 short stories published in book collections. King is multi-awarded. Some of his awards include: the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, awards for his contribution to literature for his entire bibliography, such as the 2004 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and the 2007 Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He was awarded with a National Medal of Arts from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts for his contributions to literature. 

1950 - Bill Murray (born William James Murray), American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and writer. Known for his deadpan delivery, he first rose to fame on Saturday Night Live, a series of performances that earned him his first Emmy Award, and later starred in comedy films. He also co-directed Quick Change. Murray later starred in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, which earned him a Golden Globe and a British Academy Film Award, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He received Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Ghostbusters, Rushmore, Hyde Park on Hudson, St. Vincent, and the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge, for which he later won his second Primetime Emmy Award. Murray received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2016.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 21 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1880 - The International Mozart Foundation is established in Salzburg.

1937 - J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit is published. Its first print run is a 1,500 copies, but this acclaimed fantasy novel has now been published in more than 38 languages and sold more than 50 million copies.