Birthdays
1745 - Carl (Karl) Philipp Stamitz, German Composer, is baptized in Mannheim, partial Czech ancestry. He was the most prominent representative of the second generation of the Mannheim School. He was the eldest son of Johann Stamitz, a violinist and composer of the early classical period. (Carl Stamitz Sinfonia in Concertante in D major, uploaded by Jorge. Accessed May 8, 2019.)
1846 - Oscar Hammerstein I, German-born businessman, playwright and theatre impressario, and composer in New York City. He's grandfather of the famous American librettist Oscar Hammerstein II, of the Rodgers and Hammerstein duo in the musical world. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America. He was the father of theater manager William Hammerstein and American producer Arthur Hammerstein.
1884 - Harry S. Truman, 33rd U.S. President, serving from 1945 to 1953, succeeding upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt after serving as the 34th vice president. He implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe, and established the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain communist expansion. He proposed numerous liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the Conservative Coalition that dominated Congress.
1895 - Fulton John Sheen (born Peter John Sheen), American Bishop (later Archbishop) of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and his work on television and radio. As a renowned theologian, he earned the Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy in 1923. He taught theology and philosophy at the Catholic University of America and as acting as a parish priest before being appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1951 until 1966, when he was made the Bishop of Rochester. He resigned in 1969 as his 75th birthday approached, and was made the Archbishop of the Titular see of Newport, Wales.
1906 - Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini, Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema. Truffaut noted in his 1963 essay, Roberto Rossellini Prefers Real Life that Rossellini's influence in France particularly among the directors who became part of the nouvelle vague was so great that he was in every sense "the father of the French New Wave." His posthumous ex-son-in-law Martin Scorsese has acknowledged his seminal influence in his documentary My Voyage to Italy (the title itself a take on Rossellini's Voyage to Italy). Also, Scorsese's selection of Italian films from a select group of directors, Rossellini's films form at least half of the films discussed and analyzed, highlighting Rossellini's monumental role in Italian and world cinema.
1940 - Peter Bradford Benchley, American author, screenwriter, and ocean activist. He is known as the
author of the bestselling novel Jaws and co-wrote its film adaptation with Carl Gottlieb. Several more of his works were also adapted for both cinema and television, including The Deep, The Island, Beast, and White Shark. Later in life, Benchley regretted writing such sensationalist literature about sharks, which he felt encouraged excessive fear of such an important predator in ocean ecosystems, and he became an advocate for marine conservation.
1964 - Melissa Ellen Gilbert, American actress, television director, producer, politician and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. Gilbert began her career as a child actress. She's famous as Laura Ingalls Wilder, the second oldest daughter of Charles Ingalls (played by Michael Landon) on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie. During the run of Little House, Gilbert appeared in several popular TV films. As an adult, she continued her career mainly in TV films. In 2009, her autobiography Prairie Tale: A Memoir, was released. She also wrote a short story for children, called Daisy and Josephine as well as My Prairie Cookbook: Memories and Frontier Food from My Little House to Yours. In 2016, Gilbert ran for U.S. Congress as a Democrat in Michigan's 8th congressional district and she won the Democratic primary but later dropped because of health issues.
1964 - Melissa Ellen Gilbert, American actress, television director, producer, politician and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. Gilbert began her career as a child actress. She's famous as Laura Ingalls Wilder, the second oldest daughter of Charles Ingalls (played by Michael Landon) on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie. During the run of Little House, Gilbert appeared in several popular TV films. As an adult, she continued her career mainly in TV films. In 2009, her autobiography Prairie Tale: A Memoir, was released. She also wrote a short story for children, called Daisy and Josephine as well as My Prairie Cookbook: Memories and Frontier Food from My Little House to Yours. In 2016, Gilbert ran for U.S. Congress as a Democrat in Michigan's 8th congressional district and she won the Democratic primary but later dropped because of health issues.
Lefties:
Author Peter Benchley
Former President Harry S. Truman
More birthdays and historical events today, May 8 - On This Day.
Featuring: Composer Carl Philipp Stamitz.
Carl Philipp Stamitz, born in Mannheim, was a German composer of partial Czech ancestry, a prominent representative of the second generation of the Mannheim School. He was the eldest son of Johann Stamitz, a violinist and composer of the early classical period. He received lessons from his father and Christian Cannabich, his father's successor as leader of the Mannheim orchestra.
Stamitz was employed as a violinist in the court orchestra at Mannheim in his youth. In 1770, he began travelling as a virtuoso, accepting short-term engagements, but never managing to gain a permanent position. He visited a number of European cities, living for a time in Strasbourg and London. In 1794, he moved with his family to Jena in central Germany, but his circumstances deteriorated and he descended into debt and poverty, dying in 1801. Papers on alchemy were found after his death. Stylistically, his music resembles that of Mozart and is characterized by appealing melodies. The opening movements of his orchestral works, in sonata form, are generally followed by expressive and lyrical middle movements, and final movements, in rondo form.
Related link:
C.P. Stamitz: Flute Concerto in C major, Op. 29, and notes by Matthew Lynch, here.
1660 - The late Charles I's son is proclaimed King of England, ending 11 years of civil war.
1924 - Arthur Honegger's symphonic movement Pacific 231 is first performed in Paris, Koussevitzky conducting.
Carl Philipp Stamitz, born in Mannheim, was a German composer of partial Czech ancestry, a prominent representative of the second generation of the Mannheim School. He was the eldest son of Johann Stamitz, a violinist and composer of the early classical period. He received lessons from his father and Christian Cannabich, his father's successor as leader of the Mannheim orchestra.
Stamitz was employed as a violinist in the court orchestra at Mannheim in his youth. In 1770, he began travelling as a virtuoso, accepting short-term engagements, but never managing to gain a permanent position. He visited a number of European cities, living for a time in Strasbourg and London. In 1794, he moved with his family to Jena in central Germany, but his circumstances deteriorated and he descended into debt and poverty, dying in 1801. Papers on alchemy were found after his death. Stylistically, his music resembles that of Mozart and is characterized by appealing melodies. The opening movements of his orchestral works, in sonata form, are generally followed by expressive and lyrical middle movements, and final movements, in rondo form.
Related link:
C.P. Stamitz: Flute Concerto in C major, Op. 29, and notes by Matthew Lynch, here.
Historical Events
1660 - The late Charles I's son is proclaimed King of England, ending 11 years of civil war.
1924 - Arthur Honegger's symphonic movement Pacific 231 is first performed in Paris, Koussevitzky conducting.
1945 - VE Day. Victory in Europe Day as German forces surrender after six years of the bloodiest war in history. Allied countries including Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, U.S. and Russia lost more than 60 million men, women and children in this war.
1963 - Sean Connery appears as James Bond in Dr. No, the first installment in the Bond Film.
1967 - Muhammad Ali, champion boxer, is indicted for refusing induction into the U.s. Army.
1970 - Gunther Schuller's children opera The Fisherman and His Wife, after Grimm's fairy tale, is first performed in Boston.
1980 - The World Health Organization (WHO) declares that smallpox has been eradicated almost two hundred years after Edward Jenner discovered the vaccination for the disease.
1984 - The Soviet Union announces it will not participate in the Summer Olympics planned for Los Angeles.
1996 - A National Constitution is approved by South Africa that guarantees equal rights for all races.
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 and Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org.
(c) June 2007. Updated May 8, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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 and Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org.
(c) June 2007. Updated May 8, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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