April 2 Dateline

Birthdays

1725 - Casanova (born Giacomo Girolamo Casanova), Italian adventurer, philanderer and author. Casanova's autobiography, Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century. Depending on circumstances, he used fictitious names, such as Baron or Count of Farussi (the name of his mother) or Chevalier de Seingalt. He often signed his works Jacques Casanova de Seingalt after he began writing in French following his second exile from Venice. He became so famous for his complicated and elaborate affairs with women that his name is now synonymous with "womanizer". He associated with European royalty, popes, and cardinals, along with luminaries such as Voltaire, Goethe, and Mozart. He spent his last years in the Dux Chateau (Bohemia) as a librarian in Count Waldstein's household, where he also wrote the story of his life.

1805 - Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children. His stories express themes that transcend age and nationality. (Hans Christian Andersen: The Man Behind the Writer. Uploaded by FutureLearn. Hans Christian Andersen. Uploaded by Steven Ward. Accessed April 2, 2016.)

1840 - Émile Zola (born Édouard Charles Antoine Zola), French novelist, playwright, journalist, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism. He was a major 19th-century novelist known for his realist novels dealing with the working-class. (Zola's Therese Raquin BBC Drama 1979: Part 1/3, Part 2/3, Part 3/3. A disturbing but excellently made, forgotten BBC drama. I think the best adaptation from the book Therese Raquin written by Emile Zola. It's disturbing story set in Paris 1875. Surrounded by a seedy & grimy environment, two people find real love but whose affair is doomed. Uploaded by James Deann. Accessed April 2, 2016. )

1851 - Adolf Davidovich Brodsky, Russian-born violinist, most of his professional life spent in England. He enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a performer and teacher, starting early in Vienna, going on to Moscow, Leipzig, and New York City and finally Manchester. During its course he met and worked with composers such as Tchaikovsky and Elgar. The first performance of Tchaikovsky's famous Violin Concert   was given by Adolph Brodsky on December 4, 1881 in Vienna, under the baton of Hans Richter. (Adolph Brodsky (1851-1929). Accessed April 2, 2021.)

1891 - Max Ernst, German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. He is noted for his novels consisting of collages. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism. He had no formal artistic training, but his experimental attitude toward the making of art resulted in his invention of frottage—a technique that uses pencil rubbings of objects as a source of images—and grattage, an analogous technique in which paint is scraped across canvas to reveal the imprints of the objects placed beneath.

1905 - Kurt Herbert Adler, Austrian-born American Conductor and Opera House Director. The Adler Fellowship program was started in his name by Terence A. McEwen to support young singers managed by the San Francisco Opera.

1939 - Martin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.), American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He helped to shape the sound of Motown, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul". His hits include "Ain't That Peculiar", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". Gaye also recorded duets with Diana Ross, among others. He also recorded the albums What's Going On and Let's Get It On. His later recordings influenced several contemporary R&B sub-genres, such as quiet storm and neo soul. He he released "Sexual Healing" the 1982 hit which won his first two Grammy Awards on the album Midnight Love. 

1971 - Todd Andrew Woodbridge, Australian Tennis Player, retired Australian professional Tennis Player and Sports Broadcaster with the Nine Network. He is best known for his successful Doubles partnerships with Mark Woodforde (nicknamed "The Woodies") and later with Jonas Björkman. He is among the most successful doubles players of all time, having won 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles (nine Wimbledons, three US Opens, three Australian Opens and one French Open), and a further six Grand Slam mixed doubles titles (three US Opens, one French Opens, one Wimbledon, one Australian Open). Additionally, he was a gold medalist with Woodforde at the 1996 Summer Olympics to complete a career Golden Slam. In total he has won 83 ATP doubles titles. Woodbridge reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in July 1992. In 2002, he was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best'.

Leftie:
Author Hans Christian Andersen 

More birthdays and historical events today, 2 April - On This Day.

 

Historical Events

1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon discovers Florida.

1930 - Haile Selassie becomes Emperor of Ethiopia.

1972 - Charlie Chaplin, English comic actor and filmmaker, returns to the U.S. after 20 years, to accept an Academy Award, presented on April 10. He vowed never to return to his country of birth after being labeled a Communist.

1801 - Lord Nelson wins the Battle of Copenhagen, one of the four actions commemorated on his column.

1978 - The first episode of Dallas screens on U.S. television. The show runs for 13 years.

1982 - Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.The Argentinian head of government, General Galtieri, orders the invasion of the British Falkland Islands that started the Falkland War. 

2002 - At the Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, a siege takes place inside. Armed Palestinians force their way inside and hold over 200 nuns and priests captive for 38 days before a negotiation of a release plan with the Israeli military eventuates.

2005 - Pope John Paul II, the head of the Catholic Church, dies after almost 27 years pf papacy. 


Video Credit:

 Luciano Pavarotti in London Kurt Herbert Adler Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Albert Hall 1982. YouTube, uploaded by xx. Accessed April 2, 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 Timestables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org



© June 2007. Updated April 2, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.