June 27 Dateline

Birthdays

1850 - Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Japanese name: Koizumi Yahumo), Greek-Irish writer, later a naturalised Japanese citizen, traveler and expert on Japanese culture. He is best remembered for his books about Japanese culture, especially his collections of legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. His writings about Japan offered the Western world a glimpse into a largely unknown but fascinating culture at the time. In the United States, he is also known for his writings about New Orleans, based on his decade-long stay there.

1880 - Helen Adams Keller, American educator, author and political activist. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, was made famous by Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life, and its adaptations for film and stage, The Miracle Worker. Her June 27 birthday is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in Pennsylvania. A prolific author, Keller was well-traveled and outspoken in her convictions. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1971 and was one of twelve inaugural inductees to the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame on June 8, 2015.

1955 - Isabelle Adjani (born Isabelle Yasmina Adjani) French film actress and singer. She is the only actress or actor in history to win five César Awards. She was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 2010, and a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2014. Adjani's performance as Adèle Hugo in The Story of Adele H. earned her the first of two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her second nomination—for Camille Claudel—made her the first French actress to receive two nominations for foreign-language films. She won Best Actress at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival for her performances in Possession and Quartet, and, later, she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 1989 Berlin Film Festival for Camille Claudel.

Lefties:
Author and Humanitarian Helen Keller
Businessman/Former presidential candidate Ross Perot

More birthdays today, 27 June - On This Day.

Features:

Claude Debussy's  "L'enfant prodigue."  YouTube, uploaded by robertocovatta. Accessed June 27, 2018.   Composer: Claude Debussy (1862-1918) L'enfant prodigue, L. 57 (1884).  Lia: Jessye Norman, soprano Azaël: José Carreras, tenore Siméon: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritono. Direttore: Gary Bertini 1981. Stuttgart Radio Symphony.

Historical Events

1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie escapes to the Isle of Skye dressed as a maid, after the failed second Jacobite Rebellion in 1745 and the disastrous Battle of Culloden.

1884 - French composer Claude Debussy's cantata L'Enfant prodigue is first performed in Paris, and also wins him the prestigious Prix de Rome.

1829 - English scientist James Smithson dies, leaving behind the bequest founding the Smithsonian Museum, the foremost science and technology museum in the U.S. - interestingly, a country with which Smithson has no ties.

1929 - The first public demonstration of color television is given at Bell Laboratories in New York.

1954 - The world's first nuclear power station opens in Obninsk, near Moscow. It produces electricity for about 2,000 homes until 1959, then used for the production of isotopes and research until the year 2000.  

1967 - The world's first ATM, designed by John Shepherd-Barron, is installed in a branch of Barclay's Bank in Enfield, North London.

1991 - The start of the Yugoslav Wars as Yugoslav forces sweep into Slovenia after its declaration of independence. The war claims about 120,000 lives as the Balkan states separate.     

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. Updated June 27, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.