Birthdays
1728 - Joseph Black, Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glasgow for 10 years from 1756, and then Professor of Medicine and Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh from 1766, teaching and lecturing there for more than 30 years. The chemistry buildings at both the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow are named after Black.
1867 - Wilbur Wright, American aviator, the older of the famous Wright Brothers (the younger is Orville). They were aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful motor-operated airplane. They made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, 4 mi (6 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In 1904–05, the brothers developed their flying machine to make longer-running and more aerodynamic flights with the Wright Flyer II, followed by the first truly practical fixed-wing aircraft, the Wright Flyer III. The Wright brothers were also the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed-wing powered flight possible.
1889 - Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, KBE, English comic Actor, Filmmaker, and Composer. He rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, "The Tramp", and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. (Full-length Biography of Charlie Chaplin. Uploaded by RabbiChaimWhitz. Accessed April 16, 2016. Charlie Chaplin the Musician)
1893 - Federico Mompou Dencausse, Spanish composer and pianist. He is remembered for his solo piano music and songs. Complete Piano Music, played by himself. Uploaded by Brilliant Classics. Accessed April 16, 2018.)
1921 - Sir Peter Alexander von Ustinov CBE FRSA, English actor, writer, and filmmaker. An intellectual and diplomat, he held various academic posts and served as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and president of the World Federalist Movement. Ustinov was the winner of numerous awards during his life, including two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTA Awards for acting, and a Grammy Award for best recording for children, as well as the recipient of governmental honours from, amongst others, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He also displayed a unique cultural versatility which frequently earned him the accolade of a Renaissance man. In 2003, Durham University changed the name of its Graduate Society to Ustinov College in honour of the significant contributions Ustinov had made as chancellor of the university from 1992 until his death.
1922 - Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE, English novelist, poet, critic and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social and literary criticism. He is best known for satirical comedies such as Lucky Jim, One Fat Englishman, Ending Up, Jake's Thing and The Old Devils. His biographer, Zachary Leader, called Amis "the finest English comic novelist of the second half of the twentieth century." He is the father of the novelist Martin Amis. In 2008, The Times ranked him ninth on a list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.
1924 - Henry Nicola Mancini, Award-winning Composer for films and television series, Conductor, Arranger, Pianist and Flautist. He's one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. His works include the theme and soundtrack for the Peter Gunn television series, the music for The Pink Panther film series ("The Pink Panther Theme") and "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Music from Peter Gunn won the first Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Mancini enjoyed a long collaboration composing film scores for the film director Blake Edwards. He also scored a #1 hit single during the rock era on the Billboard charts: his arrangement and recording of the "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" spent two weeks at the top, beginning on June 29, 1969. (The very best of Henry Mancini, his orchestra and chorus. Uploaded by thisboy 91554. Accessed April 16, 2017. Henry Mancini & Friends Broadcast (1987), Uploaded by Edwaldrup. Accessed April 16, 2019. Mancini: Breakfast at Tiffany's. Believe SAS. Accessed April 16, 2019.)
1927 - Pope Benedict XVI (born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger), Retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as head of the Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2005 until his resignation in 2013. Benedict's election as pope occurred in the 2005 papal conclave that followed the death of Pope John Paul II. Benedict chose to be known by the title "pope emeritus" upon his resignation. He speaks French, Italian, Latin and English fluently, and Spanish, adequately. He can read Ancient Greek and Biblical Hebrew. He is a member of several scientific academies, such as the French Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. He plays the piano and has a preference for Mozart and Bach.
1939 - Dusty Springfield, OBE (Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien), British pop singer and record producer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was an important singer of blue-eyed soul and at her peak was one of the most successful British female performers, with six top 20 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 and sixteen on the UK Singles Chart from 1963 to 1989. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and UK Music Hall of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female rock artists of all time. Her image, supported by a peroxide blonde bouffant hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy make-up, as well as her flamboyant performances, made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.
Lefties:
Actor Charlie Chaplin
Actor Peter Ustinov
Feature:
In Memoriam:
Featuring the music of Spanish composer Federico Mompou and American composer & conductor Henry Mancini.
Enrico Nicola "Henry" Mancini (April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994), was an American composer, conductor an arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. His best known works include the theme to The Pink Panther film series ("The Pink Panther Theme"), ""Moon River" to Breakfast at Tiffany's, and theme to the Peter Gunn television series. Mancini also had a long collaboration on film scores with the film director Blake Edwards.
1735 - G.F. Handel's opera Alcina is first staged at Covent Garden Theatre in London.
1746 - The Battle of Culloden takes place, the final clash between the Jacobites and Hanoverians in the second Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. The Jacobites support the right of Charles Stewart ("Bonny Prince Charlie") to the throne of England and Scotland. They are defeated and George II remains in power.
1917 - Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik party, returns to Petrograd from exile in Finland in the wake of Nicholas II's abdication. Lenin called for "peace, land and bread" as the city was in turmoil of strikes due to food shortage.
1943 - Nine days after synthesizing LSD-25, Albert Hoffman, Swiss chemist, accidentally consumes some of the formula, experiencing its hallucinogenic qualities. The drug did not gain wide appeal until the 1960s.
1964 - The 12 thieves involved in Britain's Great Train Robbery are sentenced to a total of 307 years in prison.
1972 - Apollo 16 launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the sixth lunar landing mission. The astronauts explore the moon's surface using the lunar rover vehicle to collect rock samples before returning safely to Earth.
Video Credit:
Breakfast at Tiffany's / Soundtrack Suite (Henry Mancini). YouTube, uploaded by Soundtrack Fred. Accessed April 16, 2018. ( Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1961). Composed and Conducted by Henry Mancini.)
Resources:
1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers. New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)
Featuring the music of Spanish composer Federico Mompou and American composer & conductor Henry Mancini.
Enrico Nicola "Henry" Mancini (April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994), was an American composer, conductor an arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. His best known works include the theme to The Pink Panther film series ("The Pink Panther Theme"), ""Moon River" to Breakfast at Tiffany's, and theme to the Peter Gunn television series. Mancini also had a long collaboration on film scores with the film director Blake Edwards.
Historical Events
1735 - G.F. Handel's opera Alcina is first staged at Covent Garden Theatre in London.
1746 - The Battle of Culloden takes place, the final clash between the Jacobites and Hanoverians in the second Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. The Jacobites support the right of Charles Stewart ("Bonny Prince Charlie") to the throne of England and Scotland. They are defeated and George II remains in power.
1917 - Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik party, returns to Petrograd from exile in Finland in the wake of Nicholas II's abdication. Lenin called for "peace, land and bread" as the city was in turmoil of strikes due to food shortage.
1943 - Nine days after synthesizing LSD-25, Albert Hoffman, Swiss chemist, accidentally consumes some of the formula, experiencing its hallucinogenic qualities. The drug did not gain wide appeal until the 1960s.
1964 - The 12 thieves involved in Britain's Great Train Robbery are sentenced to a total of 307 years in prison.
1972 - Apollo 16 launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the sixth lunar landing mission. The astronauts explore the moon's surface using the lunar rover vehicle to collect rock samples before returning safely to Earth.
Video Credit:
Breakfast at Tiffany's / Soundtrack Suite (Henry Mancini). YouTube, uploaded by Soundtrack Fred. Accessed April 16, 2018. ( Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1961). Composed and Conducted by Henry Mancini.)
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. Federico Mompou. en.wikipedia.org.
6. Henry Mancini. en.wikipedia.org.
7. Grun, Bernard. The Timestables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
8. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org
3. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed. London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
4. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
5. Federico Mompou. en.wikipedia.org.
6. Henry Mancini. en.wikipedia.org.
7. Grun, Bernard. The Timestables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
8. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org
(c) Posted June 2007. Updated April 16, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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