July 9 Dateline

Birthdays

1858 - Franz Uri Boaz, German-born American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as Historical Particularism and Cultural Relativism.

1819 - Elias Howe, Jr., American inventor, best known for his creation of the modern lock stitch sewing machine. Although Howe was not the first to conceive of the idea of a sewing machine (many others had formulated the idea of such a machine before him, one as early as 1790, and some had even patented their designs and produced working machines, in one case at least 80 of them, but Howe originated significant refinements to the design concepts of his predecessors, and on September 10, 1846, he was awarded the first United States patent (U.S. Patent 4,750) for a sewing machine using a lockstitch design.

1879 - Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer, violinist and musicologist, famous for his "Roman Trilogy" of orchestral tone poems: Fountains of Rome (1916), Pines of Rome (1924), and Roman Festivals (1928). (Here is Fountains of Rome.)  Respighi's musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to compose pieces based on the music of these periods. He also wrote several operas, the most famous being La fiamma.

1901 - Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ, English novelist. She wrote romance novels, one of the best-selling authors of the 20th century. Her 723 novels were translated into 38 languages and she continues to be referenced in the Guinness World Records for the most novels published in a single year in 1976. As Barbara Cartland she was known for writing numerous romantic novels but she had also written books under her married name of Barbara McCorquodale and under the pseudonym of Marcus Belfry. She wrote more than 700 books, as well as plays, music, verse, drama, magazine articles and operetta, and was a prominent philanthropist.

1906 - Agnes Elisabeth Lutyens, CBE, English composer. A combative and idiosyncratic character and a composer of music that has been described as "sensuously beautiful", Lutyens struggled to earn her place among the composers of classical 20th century musical canon, and her music is still seldom heard or recorded. She was one of the models for Henry Reed's satirical depiction of Dame Hilda Tablet in a series of 1950s radio plays. (E. Lutyens' "En Voyage" suite for full orchestra, conducted by Simon Joly).

1933 - Oliver Wolf Sacks, CBE FRCP,  British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and author. He spent his career in the United States. He believed that the brain is the "most incredible thing in the universe". He explored the phenomena of the brain in his books like Musicophilia and Seeing Voices. He became widely known for writing best-selling case histories about both his patients' and his own disorders and unusual experiences, with some of his books adapted for plays by major playwrights, feature films, animated short films, opera, dance, fine art, and musical works in the classical genre.

1956 - Tom Hanks, American actor, director and producer. Known for his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. His films have grossed more than $4.9 billion in North America and more than $9.96 billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing actor in North America. Hanks' accolades include two Academy Awards out of six nominations. He has received the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2004. In 2014, he received a Kennedy Center Honor, and in 2016, he received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as the French Legion of Honor.

Lefties:
Inventor Elias Howe

More birthdays and historical events today, 9 July - On This Day.

Historical Events

1893 - Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, the only African American surgeon in the American College of Surgeons, performs the world's first successful open-heart surgery in Chicago on a man who had been stabbed.     

1900 - Queen Victoria gives her consent to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (already passed by the British Parliament), that unites the Australian colonies under a federal government.

1922 -  American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller becomes the first person to swim 100 metres in less than a minute. He sets more than 60 swimming world records and wins five Olympic golds. However, he is more famous for playing Tarzan role in 12 films, beginning with Tarzan the Ape Man.

1960 - Roger Woodward at the age of 7 is swept over the Horseshoe Falls at Niagara when the boat he is in capsizes. He is wearing a life jacket, and the first person to survive an accidental drop over Niagara Falls. 

1982 - A man enters the Queen's bedroom avoiding a security at Buckingham Palace. The Queen, after talking calmly with him for 10 minutes, calls for her footman and the man is apprehended.




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 9, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.