June 24 Dateline

Birthdays

1842 - Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce, American short-story writer, journalist and poet. His book The Devil's Dictionary was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. His story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" has been described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature". Bierce was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States, and as a pioneering writer of realist fiction.

1901 - Harry Partch, American composer and music theorist. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century composers in the West to work systematically with microtonal scales. He built custom-made instruments in these tunings on which to play his compositions, and described his theory and practice in his book Genesis of a Music.

1915 - Sir Fred Hoyle, FRS, English mathematician and astronomer, who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. He also held controversial stances on other scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory, a term coined by him on BBC radio, and his promotion of panspermia as the origin of life on Earth. He wrote science fiction novels, short stories and radio plays, and co-authored twelve books with his son, Geoffrey Hoyle.

1930 - Claude Henri Jean Chabrol, French film director and a member of the French New Wave (nouvelle vague) group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer and Jacques Rivette, Chabrol was a critic for the influential film magazine Cahiers du cinéma before becoming a film maker.

1952 -  Dave Willetts, English singer and actor known for his lead roles in West End musicals. (Dave Willetts - Music of the Night, from 'The Phantom Of The Opera', uploaded by davewillettsofficial. Accessed June 24, 2015. Dave Willetts - Make Them Hear You, from "Ragtime", uploaded by davewillettsofficial. Accessed June 24, 2016.)

Lefties:
None known

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 24 June - On This Day. 

Historical Events

1314 - The Bannockburn Day, where the battle in 1314 ends. Robert I of Scotland known as Robert the Bruce, defeats the English forces under Edward II.    

1340 - The Battle of Sluys, with thee fleet personally led by Edward III, takes place at sea, the first battle of the Hundred Years' War against the French. He also goes on to win the Battle of Crecy six years later, supporting his claim to France and establishing sovereignty over the English channel. 

1441 - Eton College is founded by Henry VI of England. IT begins as a charitable teaching institution, and later becomes one of the U.K.'s most prestigious schools.

1509 - Henry VIII is crowned King of England after the death of his father and some years after the death of his older brother Arthur. 

1901 - Pablo Picasso's first exhibition opens in Paris. At 19, he has recently arrived in Paris from Barcelona, Spain. His great talent first showed at the age of 13. He went on great artistic impacts. His best known painting is Guernica, painted in response to the German bombings of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.     

1953 - John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier announce their engagement.     

1970 - Sir Arthur Bliss's Cello Concerto is first performed at Aldeburgh Festival, England, with M. Rostropovich, soloist. Above image is that of Arthur Bliss's Cello Concerto, op.120 (1970),  in three movements:  I. Allegro deciso, II. Larghetto, and III. Allegro. Tim Hugh, violoncello, with English Northern Philharmonia, conducted by David Lloyd Jones. (Cover image: painting by Herbert James Draper.)  Thanks to YouTube and uploader Wellesz Modern.

1983 - Yasser Arafat's PLO is expelled from Damascus, being seen as a threat to the Syrian military.



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 and Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org



(c) June 2007. Updated June 24, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.