February 15 Dateline

Birthdays

1571 - Michael Praetorius, German Composer, Organist, and Music Historian/Theorist, who also died the same day, in 1621 (video:  Praetorius: Danses di Terpsichore. Accessed Feb. 15, 2018.) He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms based on Protestant hymns.

1564 - Galileo Galilei, Italian Astronomer, Physicist and Engineer. (born Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaulti de Galilei), He's described as a polymath, from Pisa. Galileo has been called the "father of observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics", the "father of the scientific method", and the "father of modern science".

1820 - Susan Brownell Anthony, American social reformer and women's rights activist, famous for The History of Woman Suffrage. In 1856, she became the New York state agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society. When she first began campaigning for women's rights, Anthony was ridiculed and accused of trying to destroy the institution of marriage. However, public perception of her changed radically during her lifetime. Her 80th birthday was celebrated in the White House at the invitation of President William McKinley. She became the first female citizen to be depicted on U.S. coinage when her portrait appeared on the 1979 dollar coin.

1861 - Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS FBA, English Mathematician and Philosopher. He is best known as the defining figure of the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which today has found application to a wide variety of disciplines, including ecology, theology, education, physics, biology, economics, and psychology, among other areas.

1874 - Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, British polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. (Documentary on the Endurance, a documentary on Sir Shackleton's trip to reach the south pole. Uploaded by historical-oracle. Accessed February 15, 2015.)

1882 - John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15), American Actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly attempted a career as an artist, but appeared on stage together with his father Maurice in 1900, and then his sister Ethel the following year.

1899 - Georges Auric, Composer and Member of "Les Six" group of French Composers associated with Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie.  Before turning 20 years old, he had orchestrated and written incidental music for several ballets and stage productions, and also became a distinguished film composer. ("The Song from Moulin Rouge" also known as "Where Is Your Heart"), a popular song that first appeared in the 1952 film 'Moulin Rouge.' (The Les Six: Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Arthur Honegger, Georges Auric, Louis Durey, and Germaine Tailleferre.)

1907 - Cesar Julio Romero Jr., American Actor, Singer, Dancer, and Vocal artist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost 60 years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in costume dramas, characters in light domestic comedies, and the Joker on the Batman television series, which was included in TV Guide's 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time.

1931 - Claire Bloom, CBE (born Patricia Claire Blume), English Actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as A Streetcar Named Desire, A Doll's House, and Long Day's Journey into Night, and has starred in nearly sixty films. Bloom was discovered by Hollywood film star Charlie Chaplin to co-star alongside him in Limelight. During her film career, she starred alongside numerous major actors. In 2010, Bloom played the role of Queen Mary in the British film The King's Speech. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to drama.

1946 - Marisa Berenson (Vittoria Marisa Schiaparelli Berenson), American Actress and Model. She appeared on the front covers of Vogue and Time, and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Natalia Landauer in the 1972 film Cabaret. The role also earned her Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut in the revival of Design for Living. Her other film appearances include Death in Venice, Barry Lyndon, S.O.B. and I Am Love.

1947 - John Coolidge Adams,  American Composer and Conductor of classical music and opera, with strong roots in minimalism. Among over 60 major compositions are his breakthrough piece for string septet, Shaker Loops, his first significant large-scale orchestral work, Harmonielehre, the popular fanfare Short Ride in a Fast Machine, and On the Transmigration of Souls, a piece for orchestra and chorus commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2003. He has written several operas, notably Nixon in China, which recounts Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China, among others. In addition In addition to the Pulitzer, Adams has received the Erasmus Prize, five Grammy Awards, the Harvard Arts Medal, France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and six honorary doctorates. (Nixon in China - John Adams. YouTube, uploaded by Mofaxx. Accessed February 15, 2017.)

1951 - Jane Seymour,  OBE, (born Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg), British-American Actress, best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die; Somewhere In Time; East of Eden; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Onassis: The Richest Man in the World; War and Remembrance; the French epic La Révolution française as the ill-fated queen Marie Antoinette; Wedding Crashers; and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. She has earned an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2000, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

1951 - Melissa Manchester, American Singer-Songwriter and Actress, Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has appeared on television, in films, and on stage. She learned the piano and harpsichord at the Manhattan School of Music, began singing commercial jingles at age 15, and became a staff writer for Chappell Music while attending Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts. Melissa Manchester beautifully sings "I'll Never Say Goodbye" / (with Lyrics)  and "Through The Eyes of Love". The song was nominated for an Oscar in 1979, resulting in her having two movie theme songs "Through the Eyes of Love" (from Ice Castles) and "I'll Never Say Goodbye" (from The Promise) nominated for Best Original Song in the same year at the 52nd Academy Awards.

1954 - Matt Groening, American Cartoonist, Producer, and Animator. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell and the television series The Simpsons, Futurama, and Disenchantment. The Simpsons is the longest-running U.S. primetime-television series in history and the longest-running U.S. animated series and sitcom. Groening has won 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, 11 for The Simpsons and 2 for Futurama and a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy". In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell.

Lefties:
Cartoonist Matt Groening
Singer Melissa Manchester

More birthdays and historical events, February 15 -  On This Day.

 

Historical Events

399 B.C.E. - The Athenian philosopher Socrates is tried and sentenced to death.

1868 - Piotr Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1, "Winter Dreams," is first performed in Moscow.

This is one gem of a symphony by Tchaikovsky that I love which I think is underrated. Below, I'm sharing one performed by MRSO, Alte Oper Frankfurt, with Vladimir Fedoseyev, conducting. Great ensemble. Flawless intonation, technique and phrasing.  Conductor is in perfect communication with the orchestra, little direction he uses, yet on queue with every measure, and the orchestra knows. Certainly, brilliantly rehearsed.



1879 - U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court.   

1903 - Morris Michtom and his wife Rose introduce the first teddy bear in the U.S..

Image Source:  kkguru.com

1936 - Adolf Hitler announces the building of Volkswagens for the German people.

1965 - A red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.

1971 - Decimal currency is introduced in Great Britain for the first time. Sixpences remain legal tender until 1980. 

1989 - The Soviet Union officially announces that all troops have left Afghanistan, ending nine years of military conflict.

2003 - Protests against the Iraqi War take place worldwide.



Video Credit:

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 Gm "Winter Daydreams."  YouTube, uploaded by Mikael Kenner.  Accessed February 15, 2017.

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 February 15, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.