July 11 Dateline

Birthdays

1274 - Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland. He didn't do well against Edward I, but won the Battle of Bannockburn against the English king's son, Edward II.

1561 - Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora), Spanish Baroque Lyric Poet, best known for The Solitudes. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered the most prominent Spanish poets of all time. His style is characterized by what was called culteranismo, also known as Gongorismo. This style existed in stark contrast to Quevedo's conceptismo.

1767 - John Quincy Adams, American Statesman, Diplomat, Lawyer, and Diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States Secretary of State from 1817 to 1825.

1834 - James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American Artist, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He was averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, and was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake".  (The Complete Works of James Abbott McNeill Whistler. 1st Art Gallery com. Accessed July 11, 2011.)

1857 - Alfred Binet, French Psychologist, Inventor of the first practical IQ test, the Binet–Simon Scale/Test. (Alfred Binet and the Origin of Intelligence Testing. Uploaded by Not So Obvious. Accessed  July 11, 2019.)  

1899 - E.B. White (born Elwyn Brooks White), American Writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan. In a 2012 survey of School Library Journal readers, Charlotte's Web came in first in their poll of the top one hundred children's novels. He was also a contributor to The New Yorker magazine, and a co-author of the English language style guide The Elements of Style.

1916 - Gough Edward Whitlam AC QC, 21st Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. He led the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to power for the first time in 23 years at the 1972 election. He won the 1974 election before being controversially dismissed by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, at the climax of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Whitlam remains the only Australian prime minister to have been removed from office in this manner.

1934 - Giorgio Armani, Fashion Designer, Italian fashion designer. He first came to notice, working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually diversified into music, sport and luxury hotels. By 2001 Armani was acclaimed as the most successful designer of Italian origin, and is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion.

1939 - Louise Marie Lasser, American Actress, TV Writer, Performing Arts Teacher and Director. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. She was married to Woody Allen and appeared in several of his early films. She is also a life member of The Actors Studio.

1958 - Mark Lester (born Mark A. Letzer), English former Child Actor, and later, as Osteopath and Acupuncturist. He starred in a number of British and European films in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1968 he played the title role in the blockbuster film Oliver!, a musical version of the Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. Lester also made several appearances in a number of British television series. In 1977, after appearing in the all-star international action adventure film The Prince and the Pauper, he retired from acting. In the 1980s, he trained as an osteopath specialising in sport injuries. (Tribute to Lionel Bart/Carol Reed's OLIVER! 1968. Mark Lester, Oliver Reed, Shani Wallis. YouTube, uploaded by CARSONART. Accessed July 11, 2013. Eyewitness [Malta]. Youtube, uploaded by mab077. Accessed July 11, 2013.)

Lefties:
Actress Louise Lasser

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 11 July - On This Day.

Historical Events

1786 - Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf's opera Doktor und Apotheker is first performed, in Vienna. 
Doktor und Apotheker (Doctor and Apothecary) is a German-language two-act singspiel by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, with a libretto by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie the Younger, based on the anonymous French comedy L'apothicaire de Murcie (The Apothecary of Murcie). It is considered the composer's masterpiece and premiered on 11 July 1786 at the k.u.k. National-Theater in Vienna. (Doktor & Apotheker. Youtube video uploaded by Musikacademie Rheinsberb. Accessed July 11, 2020.)  

1893 - Kokichi Mikimoto extracts the first cultured pearl at his pearl farm. The pearl was imperfect and took another 10 years a spherical one.

1960 - Harper Lee publishes her all-time bestseller novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a book on racism in the Southern U.S.  It went on to win a Pulitzer Prize, becoming one of the best-selling books in history. (Theme music: here) 

1975 - The discovery of the tomb of the "terracotta warriors" in China is announced to the world. In March 1974, villagers in China's Shanxi Province were digging a well when they found unusual pieces of pottery. Archeologists were called in and explorations revealed a huge pit containing life-sized terracotta warriors.

1979 - Skylab falls back to Earth after 6 years in orbit. The debris falls over the desert regions of Western Australia and the southern Indian Ocean.
1985 - Dr. H. Harlan Stone announces that he has devised and used a self-adhesive zipper to be applied instead of stitches on surgical patients who might need to be re-operated on.



Resources:
1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers. New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)
2. Britannica. www.britannica.com
3. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed. London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
4. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
5. Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org



(c) June 2007. Updated July 11, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.