Birthdays
1858 - Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, conductor, and composer. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". He came from a background of "artisans", though a large part of his family played instruments. Ysaÿe was a friend of Claude Debussy and they corresponded by letter. Ysaÿe was a significant supporter of the younger composer's early career. Debussy dedicated his only string quartet to the violinist, who studied the score with great care. (Hilary Hahn performs Ysaye Sonata No. 5 "Danse Rustique" (Better Quality). YouTube, uploaded by The Violin Netwok. July 16, 2020.)
1872 - Roald Amundsen (born Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen), Norwegian explorer of polar regions and a key figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He led the first expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage by sea, from 1903 to 1906, and the first expedition to the South Pole in 1911. He led the first expedition proven to have reached the North Pole in a dirigible in 1926. He disappeared in 1928 while taking part in a rescue mission for the airship Italia.
1901 - Fritz Mahler, Austrian-American conductor, whose father was a cousin of the composer Gustav Mahler. In Europe he became a leading conductor with the Berlin Radio Symphony, the Dresden Philharmonic and the Danish State Symphony. He fled Europe in 1936 for the United States. He taught at the Juilliard School in New York for many years (advanced conducting, director of the opera department). F. Mahler was music director of the Erie Philharmonic from 1947 to 1953 and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra from 1953 to 1962. (Fritz Mahler conducts Gustav Mahler Symphony No.5 - Rai Roma (1958). YouTube, uploaded by goodmanmusica. Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai di Roma (16.07.58). Accessed July 16, 2020.
1911 - Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath), American actress, dancer and singer during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood and is often considered an American icon. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in Kitty Foyle (1940), but is best remembered for performing during the 1930s in RKO's musical films with Fred Astaire. Her career continued on stage, radio and television throughout much of the 20th century. (Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers (Tap Dance. Youtube, uploaded by ourmarvellousworld. Accessed July 16, 2020.)
1948 - Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Zukerman is on the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and is the founder of the Zukerman Performance Program at the school. In 1999 he founded the National Arts Centre Young Artists Programme, which counts young musicians. Zukerman plays the "Dushkin" Guarnerius del Gesù violin of 1742. His honours include the King Solomon Award, the National Medal of Arts (presented by President Reagan in 1983), the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence, and an honorary doctorate from Brown University. (Pinchas Zukerman: Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 4 in D, K218. YouTube, uploaded by allegrofilms. Accessed July 16, 2019. Zukerman is both conductor and soloist. Live recording from Munich Hercules Hall, Germany (1973).
Lefties:
Actress Ginger Rogers (1911)
More birthdays and historical events today, 16 July - On This Day.
1212 - Spanish King Alphonso VIII leads soldiers from several Christian nations against a Moorish army and defeats them at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. This starts the retreat of the Moors from Spain.
1782 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) premieres.
1945 - The U.S. detonates the first atomic bomb nicknamed "the Gadget" in a test near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
1965 - The Mont Blanc tunnel is opened, linking Italy and France. It took six years to build and at the time considered the world's deepest tunnel at 2,480 m. (8,137ft.)
1969 - Apollo 11 launches in an attempt to put a man on the moon. The historic crew: Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins. They reach the moon four days later, on 20th July.
1999 - A small plane piloted by John f. Kennedy Jr. crashes off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Kennedy, his wife, and sister-in-law all die.
2005 - J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released worldwide, breaking all publishing records. Ever since the first book about Harry Potter, the boy wizard, was published in 1997, the series had become a hit with children and adults. In the lead up to this date (July 17 2005), booksellers were under strict instructions not to sell the sixth Potter book ahead of the scheduled date. Around 9 million copies were sold in the first 24 hours breaking all publishing records. A copy signed by the author herself, J.K. Rowling, sold for U.S. $992.40. (J.K. stands for Joanne Kathleen.)
Resources:
Historical Events
1212 - Spanish King Alphonso VIII leads soldiers from several Christian nations against a Moorish army and defeats them at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. This starts the retreat of the Moors from Spain.
1782 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) premieres.
1945 - The U.S. detonates the first atomic bomb nicknamed "the Gadget" in a test near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
1965 - The Mont Blanc tunnel is opened, linking Italy and France. It took six years to build and at the time considered the world's deepest tunnel at 2,480 m. (8,137ft.)
1969 - Apollo 11 launches in an attempt to put a man on the moon. The historic crew: Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins. They reach the moon four days later, on 20th July.
1999 - A small plane piloted by John f. Kennedy Jr. crashes off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Kennedy, his wife, and sister-in-law all die.
2005 - J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released worldwide, breaking all publishing records. Ever since the first book about Harry Potter, the boy wizard, was published in 1997, the series had become a hit with children and adults. In the lead up to this date (July 17 2005), booksellers were under strict instructions not to sell the sixth Potter book ahead of the scheduled date. Around 9 million copies were sold in the first 24 hours breaking all publishing records. A copy signed by the author herself, J.K. Rowling, sold for U.S. $992.40. (J.K. stands for Joanne Kathleen.)
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 16, 2022. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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 16, 2022. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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