July 22 Dateline

Birthdays

1766 -  Franz Xaver Süssmayr (also Süßmayr, or Suessmayr in English), Austrian composer and conductor, popularly known as the composer who completed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's unfinished Requiem. Also, there have been performances of Süssmayr's operas at Kremsmünster, and his secular political cantata (1796), Der Retter in Gefahr, SmWV 302, received its first full performance in over 200 years in June 2012 in a new edition by Mark Nabholz, conducted by Terrence Stoneberg. There are also CD recordings of his unfinished clarinet concerto (completed by Michael Freyhan), one of his German requiems, and his Missa Solemnis in D.

 

1822 - Gregor Johann Mendel, Austrian monk and scientist, an Augustinian friar and Abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brno, Margraviate of Moravia. He was born in a German-speaking family in the Silesian part of the Austrian Empire and gained posthumous recognition as the founder of the modern science of genetics. (Gregor Mendel. Uploaded by Teacher's Pet. Accessed July22, 2016.)

1882 - Edward Hopper, American realist painter. He later became a prolific artist whose works depict urban loneliness, disappointment, even despair. Hopper continues to be regarded as an important painter of the “American Imagination”, a phenomenon which his urban paintings capture. (Edward Hopper: the artist who evoked urban loneliness and disappointment with beautiful clarity. Written by James Peacock. The Conversation. Accessed January 22, 2020. Edward Hopper - Painter of Alienation. Uploaded by Colin Wingfield. Accessed January 22, 2017.)

1938 - Terence Henry Stamp, English actor. He has been referred to as the “master of the brooding silence” by The Guardian. His performance in the title role of Billy Budd, his film debut, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer. Associated with the Swinging London scene of the 1960s – during which time he was in high-profile relationships with actress Julie Christie and supermodel Jean Shrimpton.

1947 - Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein),  American actor, comedian, writer, and director. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's Broadcast News. He has written, directed, and starred in several comedy films, such as Modern Romance (1981), Lost in America, and Defending Your Life (1991). He is also the author of 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America.

1973 - Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright, American-Canadian singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded nine albums of original music and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set Shakespeare sonnets to music for a theater piece by Robert Wilson. (Rufus Wainwright - Going To A Town. YouTube, (c) 2007 Geffen Records. Accessed July 22, 2010.)

2013 - Prince George of Wales (George Alexander Louis), Member of the British royal family. He is the eldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales. George is the eldest grandchild of King Charles III and is second in the line of succession to the British throne behind his father. George was born at St Mary's Hospital in London during the reign of his paternal great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. His birth was widely celebrated across the Commonwealth realms due to the expectation that he will eventually become king. 

Lefties:
Actor and director Albert Brooks
Actor Terence Stamp

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 22 July - On This Day.

Historical Events 

1793 - Sir Alexander MacKenzie and his party arrive at the Pacific Ocean on this day, making them the first European to cross Canada. They traveled on foot and by canoe.

1812 - In Spain, the Battle of Salamanca takes place. The Duke of Wellington at first intended to pull back to Portugal after six weeks of sparring with French forces under Marshal Marmont. But when he sees a gap open on Marmont's left flank, he orders an attack. The victory is a crucial step in the Napoleonic wars.

July 21 Dateline

Birthdays

1620 - Jean Picard (Jean-Félix Picard), French Astronomer and Priest born in La Flèche, where he studied at the Jesuit Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand. He is principally notable for his accurate measure of the size of the Earth, based on a careful survey of one degree of latitude along the Paris Meridian.

 

1863 - Sir Charles Aubrey Smith, CBE, English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of The Prisoner of Zenda. In Hollywood, he organised British actors into a cricket team, much intriguing local spectators. (Top/Best 10 Movies of C. Aubrey Smith. YouTube uploaded by SuperMovie. Accessed July 21, 2021.)

1883 - Carl Engel, French-born American Pianist, Musicologist and Publisher from Paris. He was also President of G. Schirmer, Inc., a Writer on Music for The Musical Quarterly, and Chief of the Music Division of the Library of Congress.

1899 - Ernest Miller Hemingway, American Journalist, Novelist, Short-story Writer, and Sportsman. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, "for his mastery of the art of narrative, demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style." He published seven novels, six short-story collections, and two non-fiction works. Three of his novels, four short-story collections, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature.

 
1907 - A.D. Hope, AC OBE (Alec Derwent Hope), Australian Poet and Essayist known for his satirical slant. He was also a critic, teacher and academic. In 1998 a celebration of his life and works, The Scythe Honed Fine, was published by the National Library of Australia.

1920 - Isaac Stern, American Violinist (A tribute to Isaac Stern). Sharing Isaac Stern's moving and powerful interpretation of Sibelius's Violin Concerto in D minor, conducted by Andre Previn. Uploaded by Nick Bottom. Accessed July 21, 2017.

1951 - Robin McLaurin Williams, American Actor, Comedian and singer, known for his improvisation skills and the wide variety of memorable voices he created. He is often regarded by critics as one of the best comedians of all time. He began performing stand-up comedy in San Francisco and Los Angeles during the mid-1970s, and rose to fame for playing the alien Mork in the sitcom Mork & Mindy.

1971 - Sara Seager, Canadian-American Astronomer and Planetary Scientist. She is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is known for her work on extrasolar planets and their atmospheres. She is the author of two textbooks on these topics, and has been recognized for her research by Popular Science, Discover Magazine, Nature, and TIME Magazine. Seager was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2013 citing her theoretical work on detecting chemical signatures on exoplanet atmospheres and developing low-cost space observatories to observe planetary transits.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays today, and historical events, today 21 July - On This Day.

Feature:

Isaac Stern performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, Op.64, IBA, with Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. YouTube, uploaded by violinist102. Accessed July 21, 2018.

 

Historical Events

1403 - The Battle of Shrewsbury takes place, between the Lancastrian King Henry IV and a rebel army led by members of the Percy family from Northumberland. It is also remembered as the climax of Shakespeare's play, Henry IV, Part I.

1873 - William Gosse, an English explorer, announces the discovery in Australia of the world's largest monolith, which he names Ayers Rock, named after South Australian Premier, Sir Henry Ayers. In 1985, the rock, named "Uluru" is handed back to the Mutitjulu people.