October 17 Dateline

Birthdays

1912 - Pope John Paul 1 (born Albino Luciani), Italian former head of the Catholic Church of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. He was the first pope to have been born in the 20th century. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent year of three popes and the first to occur since 1605. John Paul I remains the most recent Italian-born pope, the last in a succession of such popes that started with Clement VII in 1523. He was declared a servant of God by his successor, John Paul II, on 23 November 2003, the first step on the road to sainthood. Pope Francis confirmed his heroic virtue on 8 November 2017 and named him as venerable. In Italy, he is remembered with the appellatives of "Il Papa del Sorriso" (The Smiling Pope) and "Il Sorriso di Dio" (The smile of God). Time magazine and other publications referred to him as "The September Pope".

1915 - Arthur Asher Miller, American playwright, essayist, and a controversial figure in the twentieth-century American theater whose most popular plays include: All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible and A View from the Bridge. He also wrote several screenplays and was most noted for his work on The Misfits. (Celebrating Arthur Miller at 100. Uploaded by WestportPlayhouse. Accessed October 17, 2016. Arthur Miller Interview on The Death of a Salesman. Uploaded by Manufacturing Intellect. Accessed October 17, 2017.)  

1918 - Rita Hayworth (Margarita Carmen Hayworth (née Cansino), American actress and dancer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined the term "The Love Goddess" to describe Hayworth after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She's best known for her performance in the 1946 film noir Gilda, opposite Glenn Ford, in which she played the femme fatale in her first major dramatic role. She is also known for her performances in Only Angels Have Wings, The Lady from Shanghai, Pal Joey, and Separate Tables. She starred in the Technicolor musical Cover Girl, with Gene Kelly. She is listed as one of the top 25 female motion picture stars of all time in the American Film Institute's survey, AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars.

 
1920 - Edward Montgomery Clift, American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, The New York Times said he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men". He is best known for his roles in Howard Hawks' Red River, William Wyler's The Heiress, George Stevens' A Place in the Sun, Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess, Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity, Edward Dmytryk's The Young Lions, Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg, and John Huston's The Misfits. Along with Marlon Brando and James Dean, Clift was one of the original method actors in Hollywood. He executed a rare move by not signing a contract after arriving in Hollywood, only doing so after his first two films were a success. This was described as "a power differential that would go on to structure the star-studio relationship for the next 40 years".

Leftie:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, October 17 - On This Day

Historical Events

1604 - German astronomer Johannes Kepler discovers the last supernova in the Milky Way in the constellation Ophiuchuc and calls it Kepler's Star.

1761 - Christoph W. Gluck's ballet Don Juan opens successfully in Vienna.

1831 - Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 is first performed, in Munich.

1930 - France announces the creation of the Maginot Line, a defence of concrete and machine-gun positions against German invasion. The Germans, unfortunately, go round it by invading Belgium first. 

1967 - The rock musical "Hair," created by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, opens on Broadway.

1978 - Marian Anderson, American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century, is presented a Congressional Gold Medal by U.S. President Carter at a White House ceremony in Washington. 

1979 - Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her services to humanity as leader of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity.

2003 - Taipei 101 becomes the world's tallest building, taking over from Kuala Lumpur's (Malaysia) Petronas Twin Towers.



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 October 17, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.