Famous Birthdays
1745 - Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, chemist, and pioneer of electricity and power credited as the Inventor of the electric battery and the Discoverer of methane. He invented the Voltaic pile, and reported the results of his experiments in 1800 in a two-part letter to the President of the Royal Society. With this invention Volta proved that electricity could be generated chemically and debunked the prevalent theory that electricity was generated solely by living beings. Volta's invention sparked a great amount of scientific excitement and led others to conduct similar experiments which eventually led to the development of the field of electrochemistry. The International System of Units (SI), unit of electric potential is named in his honour as the volt.
1896 - André Robert Breton, French writer and poet, co-founder, leader, principal theorist and chief apologist of surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto (Manifeste du surréalisme) of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism". He is the author of celebrated books such as Nadja and L'Amour fou. His activities combined with his critical and theoretical work for writing and the plastic arts, made André Breton a major figure in twentieth-century French art and literature.
1925 - George Harris Kennedy Jr., American actor. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role and being nominated for the corresponding Golden Globe. He received a second Golden Globe nomination for portraying Joe Patroni in Airport. Among the notable films he had a significant role in are Charade, McHale's Navy, Shenandoah, The Dirty Dozen, The Boston Strangler, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, among others. Kennedy was the only actor to appear in all four films in the Airport series, having reprised the role of Joe Patroni three times. He also played Police Captain Ed Hocken in the Naked Gun series of comedy films, and corrupt oil tycoon Carter McKay on the original Dallas television series.
1931 - Toni Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford), American novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987). She gained worldwide recognition when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
1932 - Jan Tomáš (Miloš) Milos Forman, Czech and American film
director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his
native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the U.S. in 1968.
In 1975, he directed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest starring Jack Nicholson as a patient in a mental institution. The film received acclaim and was the second in history to win all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor in Leading Role, and Actress in Leading Role.
His featured period biographical film, Amadeus (1984), based on the life of famed composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart starring Tom Hulce, and F. Murray Abraham was both a critical & financial success earning eleven
nominations with eight wins including for Best Picture, and another win
for Forman as Best Director. In 1996, Forman received another Academy
Award nomination for Best Director for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996).
Throughout Forman's career he won two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, a British Academy Film Award, a César Award, David di Donatello Award, and the Czech Lion.
1950 - Cybill Lynne Shepherd, American actress and former model. Shepherd's better-known roles include Jacy in Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show, Kelly in Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid, Betsy in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, and Nancy in Woody Allen's Alice. She was also known for her roles in television, such as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting (1985–1989), Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, Phyllis Kroll on The L Word (2007–2009), Madeleine Spencer on Psych, Cassie in the television film The Client List, and Linette Montgomery on The Client List.
1954 - John Travolta, American actor and singer. He rose to fame appearing on the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Carrie, Saturday Night Fever, and Grease. Travolta was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for performances in Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction. He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his performance in Get Shorty and has received a total of six nominations. In 2014, he received the IIFA Award for Outstanding Achievement in International Cinema. From 2016, other distinguished awards followed. Travolta is also a private pilot and owns four aircraft.
1960 - Greta Scacchi, OMRI, Italian–Australian actress. She holds dual Italian and Australian citizenship. She is best known for her roles in the films White Mischief, Presumed Innocent, The Player, Emma and Looking for Alibrandi. Her first leading role in Heat and Dust earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer to Film. For her portrayal of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia in the television film, Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2006, Scacchi received a second Emmy nomination for her role in the television film Broken Trail, and earned her first Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.
1964 - Matt Raymond Dillon, American actor and film director. He established himself as a teen idol by starring in the films My Bodyguard, Little Darlings, the three S. E. Hinton book adaptations and The Flamingo Kid. From the late 1980s onward, Dillon achieved further success. In the 2000s, he made his directing debut with City of Ghosts and went on to star in other films. For Crash, he won an Independent Spirit Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He had earlier been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for narrating Jack Kerouac's On the Road. In 2015, he starred in the first season of the FOX television series Wayward Pines, for which he was nominated for a Saturn Award.
1968 - Molly Kathleen Ringwald, American actress and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an orphan in a stage production of the musical Annie. She subsequently made her motion-picture debut as Miranda in the independent film Tempest, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year. She is known for her collaborations with filmmaker John Hughes. She established herself as a teen icon after appearing in the successful Hughes films Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. She later starred in other films. Ringwald is part of the "Brat Pack" and she was ranked number one on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars. Since 2017, Ringwald has portrayed Mary Andrews on The CW television series Riverdale.
Lefties:
Actor Matt Dillon
Actor George Kennedy
1954 - John Travolta, American actor and singer. He rose to fame appearing on the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Carrie, Saturday Night Fever, and Grease. Travolta was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for performances in Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction. He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his performance in Get Shorty and has received a total of six nominations. In 2014, he received the IIFA Award for Outstanding Achievement in International Cinema. From 2016, other distinguished awards followed. Travolta is also a private pilot and owns four aircraft.
1960 - Greta Scacchi, OMRI, Italian–Australian actress. She holds dual Italian and Australian citizenship. She is best known for her roles in the films White Mischief, Presumed Innocent, The Player, Emma and Looking for Alibrandi. Her first leading role in Heat and Dust earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer to Film. For her portrayal of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia in the television film, Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2006, Scacchi received a second Emmy nomination for her role in the television film Broken Trail, and earned her first Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.
1964 - Matt Raymond Dillon, American actor and film director. He established himself as a teen idol by starring in the films My Bodyguard, Little Darlings, the three S. E. Hinton book adaptations and The Flamingo Kid. From the late 1980s onward, Dillon achieved further success. In the 2000s, he made his directing debut with City of Ghosts and went on to star in other films. For Crash, he won an Independent Spirit Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He had earlier been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for narrating Jack Kerouac's On the Road. In 2015, he starred in the first season of the FOX television series Wayward Pines, for which he was nominated for a Saturn Award.
1968 - Molly Kathleen Ringwald, American actress and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an orphan in a stage production of the musical Annie. She subsequently made her motion-picture debut as Miranda in the independent film Tempest, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year. She is known for her collaborations with filmmaker John Hughes. She established herself as a teen icon after appearing in the successful Hughes films Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. She later starred in other films. Ringwald is part of the "Brat Pack" and she was ranked number one on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars. Since 2017, Ringwald has portrayed Mary Andrews on The CW television series Riverdale.
Lefties:
Actor Matt Dillon
Actor George Kennedy
More birthdays and historical events, February 18 - On This Day.
1743 - G.F. Handel's oratorio Samson is first performed at London's Covent Garden Theatre.
1885 - Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published. (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Updated by Bjgtjme. Accessed February 18, 2019.)
1929 - The First Academy Awards are announced, and awarding ceremonies on May 16, 1929, Roosevelt Hotel.
1930 - Whilst studying photographs of the night sky, American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers the ninth planet in our solar system, Pluto. It does not orbit the sun on the same planet as the other planets, and sometimes comer closer in than Neptune, the 8th planet. But Pluto is big enough to be spherical, as opposed to irregularly shaped asteroids); also, it has a moon named "Charon" ... thus humans think it's a planet.
1930 - Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in an airplane, and also the first cow to be milked in an airplane.
1953 - The first 3D film, Bwana Devil, opens in New York City. (refer video below)
1991 - The Irish Republican Army (IRA) explodes bombs in the early morning at both Paddington Station and Victoria Station in London.
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 18, 2023. Tel. Inspired PenWeb. All rights reserved.
Historical Events
1743 - G.F. Handel's oratorio Samson is first performed at London's Covent Garden Theatre.
1885 - Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published. (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Updated by Bjgtjme. Accessed February 18, 2019.)
1929 - The First Academy Awards are announced, and awarding ceremonies on May 16, 1929, Roosevelt Hotel.
1930 - Whilst studying photographs of the night sky, American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers the ninth planet in our solar system, Pluto. It does not orbit the sun on the same planet as the other planets, and sometimes comer closer in than Neptune, the 8th planet. But Pluto is big enough to be spherical, as opposed to irregularly shaped asteroids); also, it has a moon named "Charon" ... thus humans think it's a planet.
1930 - Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in an airplane, and also the first cow to be milked in an airplane.
1953 - The first 3D film, Bwana Devil, opens in New York City. (refer video below)
1991 - The Irish Republican Army (IRA) explodes bombs in the early morning at both Paddington Station and Victoria Station in London.
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 18, 2023. Tel. Inspired PenWeb. All rights reserved.
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