January 9 Dateline

Birthdays

1898 - Gracie Fields, DBE (born Grace Stansfield), English actress, singer and comedienne, a star of both cinema and music hall. She spent the later part of her life on the isle of Capri, Italy. Fields was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for Services to Entertainment in 1938, and in 1979, seven months before her death, she was invested as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

1908 - Simone de Beauvoir (born Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir), French writer, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist and social theorist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, she had a significant influence on both feminist existentialism and feminist theory. In her famous book, The Second Sex, published in 1949, Simone de Beauvoir downplayed her association with feminism as she then knew it. Like many of her associates, she believed that socialist development and class struggle were needed to solve society's problems, not a women's movement. She had an open relationship with prominent existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. (S. de Beauvoir: 1975 Interview (English sub), uploaded by thinkingaloud7189. Accessed January 9, 2016; and Simone de Beauvoir: Life and Philosophy, uploaded by Wes Cecil. Accessed January 9, 2013.)

1913 - Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th U.S. President, serving from 1969 until 1974. A member of the Republican Party, Nixon previously served as the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961, having risen to national prominence as a representative and senator from California. After five years in the White House that saw the conclusion to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, détente with the Soviet Union and China, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, he became the only president to resign from the office, following the Watergate scandal.

1939 - Susannah York (born Susannah Yolande Fletcher), English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including Tom Jones and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, formed the basis of her international reputation. York's early films included The Greengage Summer and a Golden Globe-nominated role in Freud. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? She also won the 1972 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for Images. Her other film appearances included The Killing of Sister George, Battle of Britain, Jane Eyre, Conduct Unbecoming, Eliza Fraser, The Shout, The Silent Partner, and Superman. She was appointed an Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1991.

1941 - Joan Chando Baez, Folksinger and Activist, famous for her protest folk songs in mid-1960s. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest or social justice. Baez has releasing over 30 albums. Fluent in Spanish and English, she has also recorded songs in at least six other languages. Baez is generally regarded as a folk singer, but her music has diversified since the counterculture era of the 1960s and encompasses genres such as folk rock, pop, country and gospel music. (J. Baez singing "Blowin' in the Wind," uploaded by Juliogarten. Accessed January 9, 2008.)

1951 - Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb), American country music singer and songwriter, best known for her 1977 crossover hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue." She is the younger sister of Loretta Lynn. Gayle's sound was sometimes referred to as middle-of-the-road (MOR) or country pop, and was part of a bigger musical trend by many country artists of the 1970s to appeal to a wider audience. Gayle became one of the most successful crossover artists of the 1970s and 80s.

1982 - Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, GCVO, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton), is a member of the British royal family. Her husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is expected to become king of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms, making Catherine a likely future queen consort. The Duchess of Cambridge holds patronage within over 20 charitable and military organisations, including Action for Children, SportsAid and the National Portrait Gallery. She undertakes projects through The Royal Foundation, with her charity work focusing on issues surrounding young children, addiction and art. To encourage people to open up about their mental health issues, the Duchess envisioned the mental health awareness campaign "Heads Together", launched with the Duke and Prince Harry in April 2016. The media have called Catherine's impact on British and American fashion the "Kate Middleton effect". In 2012 and 2013, Time magazine selected her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Leftie:
Singer Crystal Gayle

More birthdays and historical events, January 9 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1431 - The Judges' investigations for the trial of Joan of Arc begin in Rouen, France, which was then under English-occupation government.

1806 -  The funeral of Lord Nelson at St Paul's Cathedral in London. Having been preserved in alcohol for the voyage home, his body had been brought up the Thames the previous day, staying overnight in the Admiralty. The cathedral is hung with enemy banners captured at Trafalgar for the occasion. At the service's end, his coffin is lowered into the crypt, secure in an ebony coffin. 

1839 - The French Academy of Sciences announces the daguerreotype photography process (named after inventor Louis J.M. Daguerre). It exposes an image directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver.

1886 - Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 2 receives its American premiere by the New York Philharmonic, Theodore Thomas conducting. (Dvorak's Symphony No. 2 performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, with Václav Neumann conducting. Accessed January 9, 2014.)

1894 - New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.

1986 - After losing a patent battle with Polaroid, Kodak leaves the instant camera business.

2002 - The U.S. Department of Justice announces it will pursue a criminal investigation of Enron, a major distributor of electricity and gas throughout the U.S., and supplier of other energy infrastructure to the world. 




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