June 17 Dateline

Birthdays

1703 - John Wesley, English cleric, theologian and evangelist, founder of Methodism. He was leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day. He is the older brother of Charles Wesley, also English leader of the Methodist movement, but most widely known for writing about 6,500 hymns. 

1818 - Charles Gounod, French composer, best known for his Ave Maria, based on a work by J.S. Bach, as well as his opera Faust. Another opera by Gounod still performed is Roméo et Juliette. Gounod's father was a painter, and his mother was a capable pianist who gave Gounod his early training in music. (Cellist Yo-Yo Ma & Pianist Kathryn Stott - Gounod's Ave Maria. Accessed June 17, 2017.  Tenor Luciano Pavarotti - Gounod's Ave Maria. Uploaded by Rodrigo Primeiro. Accessed June 17, 2018.)  

1882 - Igor Stravinsky, Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor, who is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. His compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity. He achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Serge Diaghilev and first performed in Paris by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). The Rite of Spring transformed the way in which subsequent composers thought about rhythmic structure, and was largely responsible for Stravinsky's enduring reputation as a musical revolutionary who pushed the boundaries of musical design.(Sir Simon Rattle conducts The Rite of Spring with the London Symphony Orchestra, uploaded by LSO, recorded live at the Barbican Centre on Sunday 24 September 2017. Accessed June 17, 2019.) 

1898 - M.C. Escher, (born Maurits Cornelis Escher), Dutch graphic artist, who made mathematically-inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for long somewhat neglected in the art world, even in his native Netherlands. He was 70 before a retrospective exhibition of his work was held. (M.C. Escher Official Website)

1914 - John (Richard) Hersey, American writer and journalist, Pulitzer Prize-Winner, considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling techniques of fiction are adapted to non-fiction reportage.

1943 - Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus), American singer-songwriter, arranger, musician, producer and actor with a career that has spanned more than 50 years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "I Write the Songs", "Can't Smile Without You" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)". (Barry Manilow - Mandy. YouTube, Uploaded by TopPop. Could It Be Magic. Uploaded by Steve Mtloff.  Accessed June 17, 2020.)

1980 - Venus Williams (born Venus Ebony Starr Williams), American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1, Along with younger sister Serena Williams, Venus is credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour. Ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association on three occasions for a total of 11 weeks, she first reached the No. 1 ranking on February 25, 2002, the first African American woman to do so in the Open Era, and the second all time since Althea Gibson.
  

Leftie:
Artist M.C. Escher

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 17 June - On This Day.  

 

Historical Events

1923 - Enrico Ferrari wins his first race at Circuito del Savio in Ravenna, Italy.He meets Countess Paolina Baracca after the race who suggests he adopt her late son's emblem of the prancing horse.

1950 - Surgeon Richard Lawler performs the first kidney transplant operation at the Little Company of Mary Hospital in Chicago. Ruth Tucker, the recipient, lives for five years. 

1961 - Rudolf Nureyev, Russian dance prodigy, defects at Le Bourget airport in Paris, France. The star of the Kirov, he went on to form a memorable partnership with Dame Margot Fonteyn.

1994 - Television helicopters follow a white Ford Bronco weaving through Los Angeles highways being pursued by police. Inside is O.J. Simpson, former footballer. After the chase, he is arrested for the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.   

2023 - King Charles III celebrates his first TROOPING THE COLOUR official birthday parade as sovereign by riding on horseback to inspect soldiers in a ceremony. The King was followed by his son the Prince of Wales, his sister Princess Anne and his brother the Duke of Edinburgh who were also on horseback; behind them, Queen Camilla and Princess Catherine are driven in a carriage. The King revives a tradition which his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II gave up in 1986 when she was 60. The parade, known as Trooping the Colour, has been held since 1760. King Charles carries out an inspection of soldiers in front of 8,000 spectators. The British military greeted the King with a Royal Salute, an annual tribute to the monarch. (King Charles celebrates first Trooping the Colour birthday parade. YouTube, uploaded by The Sun. Accessed June 17, 2023. King Charles celebrates first Trooping the Colour parade. uploaded by ABC.net.au. Accessed June 17, 2023.)

 

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. Update June 17, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.