March 17 Dateline

Today, 17th of March, is St. Patrick's Day, Patron Saint of Ireland. 

St. Patrick's Day observes of the death of St. Patrick (March 17, 461), the patron saint of Ireland credited for bringing Christianity to its people. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, music, dancing, special foods, drinking and a whole lot of green.

 

This day is also dedicated to Saint Joseph of Arimathea, who laid the body of Jesus in the tomb. Legend has it that he was a tin merchant who traveled to Cornwall and Glastonbury, who knows, perhaps with young Jesus along.  The legend is behind the words of the famous poet William Blake in his hymn "Jerusalem" that begins with: "And did those feet, in ancient time, walk upon England's mountain green?"

Birthdays

1665 - Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, French musician, harpsichordist and composer. Her first published work was her Premier livre de pièces de clavessin, printed in 1687, which includes unmeasured preludes. It was one of the few collections of harpsichord pieces printed in France in the 17th Century, along with those of Chambonnières, Lebègue and d'Anglebert. She composed a ballet, Les Jeux à l'honneur de la victoire (c. 1691). On 15 March 1694, the production of her opera Céphale et Procris at the Académie Royale de Musique was the first of an opera written by a woman in France. The five-act tragédie lyrique was set to a libretto by Duché de Vancy. In 1695 she composed a set of trio sonatas which are among the earliest French examples of the sonata. Her only published opera only had 5 or 6 performances. Cephale et Procris would soon be known as tragedie en musique, a tragedy put into music, and French literary theatre recited musically. (E. Guerre's Cembalo Suites Nos. 1,2 and 3)

1834 - Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler, German engineer, inventor, industrial designer. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development. He invented the high-speed liquid petroleum fueled engine. Daimler and his lifelong business partner Wilhelm Maybach were two inventors whose goal was to create small, high-speed engines to be mounted in any kind of locomotion device. In 1883 they designed a horizontal cylinder layout compressed charge liquid petroleum engine that fulfilled Daimler's desire for a high speed engine which could be throttled, making it useful in transportation applications. This engine was called Daimler's Dream. In 1890, they converted their partnership into a stock company Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG, in English—Daimler Motors Corporation).

1917 - Nat "King" Cole (born Nathaniel Adams Coles), American singer and jazz pianist. He recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. His trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Cole also acted in films and on television and performed on Broadway. He was the first African-American man to host an American television series. He was the father of singer-songwriter Natalie Cole. (Nat "King" Cole singing "Stardust." Uploaded by cto10121. Accessed March 17, 2018.)

1938 - Rudolf Nureyev, Soviet ballet dancer, and contemporary dancer and choreographer. Named 'Lord of the Dance', Nureyev is widely regarded as the greatest male ballet dancer of his generation. Born on a Trans-Siberian train near Irkutsk, Siberia, Soviet Union to a Tatar Muslim family, he began his early career with the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg. He defected from the Soviet Union to the West in 1961. This was the first defection of a Soviet artist during the Cold War and it created an international sensation. He went on to dance with The Royal Ballet in London and from 1983 to 1989 he served as director of the Paris Opera Ballet. In addition to his technical prowess, Nureyev was an accomplished horeographer serving as the chief choreographer of the Paris Opera Ballet. He produced his own classical interpretations including Swan Lake and Giselle. (Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) Ballet Dancer. Uploaded by George Pollen. Accessed March 17, 2019.  Rudolf Nureyev solo debut on American TV 1963. Uploaded by jkircher314. Accessed March 17, 2019.) 

1954 - Lesley-Anne Down, English actress, singer, and former model. She achieved fame as Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs. She received further recognition for her performances in the films The Pink Panther Strikes Again, A Little Night Music, The First Great Train Robbery, Hanover Street, among others. She is also known as Madeline Fabray in the miniseries North and South, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1986. In 1990, Down played the role Stephanie Rogers in the CBS drama series Dallas. During 1997–99, she played Olivia Richards in the NBC series Sunset Beach. From April 2003 to February 2012, she portrayed Jackie Marone in the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

Lefties:
None known

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

 

Historical Events

1845 - Stephen Perry patents the first rubber band in England.

1830 - F. Chopin makes his concert debut in Warsaw as soloist in his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21. Pianist Arthur Rubinstein interprets Chopin's work, with Andre Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Great pianist that he was, Rubinstein was 87 (or 88) and nearly blind when this video was recorded. (YouTube, uploaded by berlinzerberus. Accessed March 17, 2017)

 

1861 - The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed with King Victor Emmanuel as the first regent.

1969 - Golda Meier, one of the founders of Israel, becomes Prime Minister and serves until 1974.

1930 - Clyde W. Tombaugh announces the discovery of the ninth planet in the solar system. On May 24 of this year, 1930, it is named Pluto.

2002 - Robert Mugabe is sworn in as the President of Zimbabwe after being re-elected in an election alleged neither free nor fair on March 13, then, on March 19, the Commonwealth of Nations suspended Zimbabwe for one year due to election rigging.




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 Timestables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org

 

© June 2007. Updated March 17, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.