December 5 Dateline

Birthdays

1822 - Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz (pseudonym, Actaea), American educator, naturalist, writer, and the co-founder and first president of Radcliffe College. A researcher of natural history, she was an author and illustrator of natural history texts as well as a co-author of natural history texts with her husband, Louis Agassiz, and her stepson Alexander Agassiz.  She accompanied her husband on his journey to Brazil in 1865-66 and on the Hassler expedition in 1871-72; of the second, she wrote an account for the Atlantic Monthly. She published A First Lesson in Natural History (Boston, 1859) and edited Geological Sketches (1866).

1830 - Christina Georgina Rossetti, English poet, a leading Victorian poet who wrote various romantic, devotional, and children's poems mainly for her simple but effective ballads, carols and sonnets. "Goblin Market" and "Remember" remain famous. She wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in the UK: "In the Bleak Midwinter", later set by Gustav Holst and by Harold Darke, and "Love Came Down at Christmas", set by Harold Darke and by other composers. (Christina Rossetti (In Our Time). Uploaded by BBC Podcast. Accessed December 5, 2019.)

1898 - Grace Moore, American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee Nightingale." Her films helped to popularize opera by bringing it to a larger audience. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in One Night of Love.  In 1947, Moore died in a plane crash at the age of 48. She published an autobiography in 1944 titled You're Only Human Once. In 1953, a film about her life was released titled So This Is Love starring Kathryn Grayson. (Grace Moore - One Night of Love. YouTube, uploaded by toltec48. Accessed December 5, 2020.)

1901 - Walt Elias Disney, American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor and film producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. (Walt Disney - The Man Behind the Myth (Documentary). Uploaded by TDC - World Biography Documentaries. Accessed September 11, 2019. Some Disney's Magic Moments. Uploaded by Disney Parks. April 26, 2020.)

Leftie:
None known

 

Death:

Beloved composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart dies this day, 5th December 1791. 

 

More birthdays and historical events, December 5 - On This Day

Historical Events

1757 - At the Battle of Leuthen, Frederick the Great of Prussia wins his greatest victory of the Seven Years' War, with an army of some 35,000 troops against Austria's estimated 60,000-strong force.

1791 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arguably considered the greatest composer, dies this day, aged 35. His last work, the Requiem in D, K626, was unfinished, and his student Franz Süssmayr completed it. This final masterpiece of Mozart was commissioned in mid 1791 by the Austrian count Franz Von Walsegg, as a tribute to the passing of his young wife Anna. Mozart began his final composition in Prague, suffering from an undetermined illness, which would eventually take his life unable to see the completion of his Magnum Opus. After Mozart's death, his student/understudy Franz Xaver Süssmayr, at the behest of Mozart's wife, Constanze Mozart, completed the missing parts of the Requiem. It was first performed on January 2, 1793, in a private concert for the benefit of Constanze Mozart.

Below is a video of Mozart's Requiem in D minor, K. 626. provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Mozart: - 1. Introitus: Requiem · Anna Tomowa-Sintow · Wiener Singverein · Wiener Philharmoniker · Herbert von Karajan. To play entire playlist, the link is here.



1830 - Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique is first performed, at the Paris Conservatoire. (Link: Mariss Jansons conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Proms festival 2013, London, Royal Albert Hall)

1872 - The ship Mary Celeste is found adrift, one of the great mysteries of history. It was found without anyone aboard, having sailed from New York on November 7 of the year. There is some evidence of the crew leaving in a great hurry, abandoning their pipes and boots. Sir Conan Doyle would later explore the mystery and wrote about it in a short story that brought it to popular attention.

1989 - British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher survives her first leadership challenge, as disquiet among members of the Conservative Party over her anti-European stance increases.

Video Credit:  

Mozart Requiem in D minor, K.626. Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Mozart: Requiem In D Minor, K.626 - 1. Introitus: Requiem · Anna Tomowa-Sintow · Wiener Singverein · Wiener Philharmoniker · Herbert von Karajan. To play the entire Mozart Requiem, the link is here. Accessed December 5, 2019.

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 December 5, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.