September 15 Dateline

Birthdays

1254 - Marco Polo, (some biographers uncertain of his birthdate, presumably in Venice), Italian merchant, explorer, and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in Livre des merveilles du monde (Book of the Marvels of the World, also known as The Travels of Marco Polo and Il Milione, c. 1300), a book that described to Europeans the then mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of China and its capital Peking, giving their first comprehensive look into China, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries. (Marco Polo: The World's Greatest Explorer. Uploaded by Biographics. Accessed September 15, 2019.)

1889 -  Robert Benchley, American drama critic, essayist, humourist, actor and screenwriter, best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From The Harvard Lampoon, through his many years writing essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and his acclaimed short films, Benchley's style of humor brought him respect and success during his life, from his peers to his contemporaries in the film industry. He is best remembered for his contributions to The New Yorker, where his essays influenced many modern humorists. He also made a name in Hollywood, when his short film How to Sleep was a popular success and won Best Short Subject at the 1935 Academy Awards.

1890 - Dame Agatha Christie, DBE - English writer, creator of famous characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Regarded the greatest crime writer of all-time. She is known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around her fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Christie also wrote the world's longest-running play, a murder mystery, The Mousetrap, and, under the pen name Mary Westmacott, six romances. Guinness World Records lists her as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible. According to Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author, having been translated into at least 103 languages. Christie's stage play The Mousetrap holds the world record for longest initial run. It opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End on 25 November 1952, and as of April 2019 is still running after more than 27,000 performances. Want to know more about this greatest and a favourite crime writer of all time?  (Agatha Christie at Youtube. Accessed September 15, 2019. Witness for the Prosecution, 1982 version of Agatha Christie's play, with Ralph Richardson, Wendy Hiller, Beau Bridges, Deborah Kerr, Diana Rigg (as Christine) & Donald Pleasence. Uploaded by FunFillums. Accessed September 15, 2019.) Also, I highly recommend this video perhaps not popular in the 21st century Agatha Christie movies adaptation, it's the 1938  whodunit story, starring Ann Harding and Basil Rathbone, in black & white. Interestingly, Joan Hickson who acted as Emmy, would become the famous Miss Marple in recent times. Agatha Christie website.    

1894 - Jean Renoir, French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s. His films La Grande Illusion and The Rules of the Game are often cited by critics as among the greatest films ever made.

1945 - Jessye Mae Norman, American opera singer and recitalist. A dramatic soprano, she is associated in particular with the Wagnerian repertoire. She was one of the most decorated of American singers. Multi-awarded Grammy winner, she won five Grammy Awards, four for her recordings and one for lifetime achievement. She received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor in 1997 and the National Medal of Arts in 2009. She is inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1999, and became a Spingarn Medalist in 2013. (Richard Strauss, Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs), Jessye Norman, Kurt Masur. Uploaded by Arnold van der Waals.  Jessye Norman_Samson et Dalilah_ "Mon coeur souvre à ta-voix". Uploaded bye-mujeres.net. Accessed September 15, 2016.  Jessye Norman - O Divine Redeemer {Repentir (Charles Gounod)}. Uploaded by James. Accessed September 15, 2013. Jessye Norman - A Portrait - Purcell's When I am Laid on Earth. Uploaded by texmex0303. Accessed September 15, 2011.)

1946 - Tommy Lee Jones, American actor and filmmaker. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive. His other notable starring roles include Texas Ranger Woodrow F. Call in the TV miniseries Lonesome Dove, Agent K in the Men in Black film series, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in No Country for Old Men, the villain Two-Face in Batman Forever, and Warden Dwight McClusky in Natural Born Killers. Jones has also portrayed real-life figures such as businessman Howard Hughes in The Amazing Howard Hughes, Radical Republican Congressman Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln, U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur in Emperor, businessman Clay Shaw, the only person prosecuted in connection with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in JFK. 

1946 - William Oliver Stone, American film director, writer and conspiracy theorist. He won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of Midnight Express (1978), and wrote the acclaimed gangster movie Scarface (1983). Stone achieved prominence as writer and director of the war drama Platoon (1986), which won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture. Many of Stone's films focus on controversial American political issues during the late 20th century, and as such were considered contentious at the times of their releases. They often combine different camera and film formats within a single scene, as demonstrated in JFK, Natural Born Killers, and Nixon.

1984 - Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, KCVO ADC (Henry Charles Albert David; 15 September 1984), a member of the British Royal Family, is the younger son of King Charles III and the late Diana, then Princess of Wales. Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014 and remains patron of its foundation. He also gives patronage to several other organisations, including the HALO Trust, the London Marathon Charitable Trust, and Walking With The Wounded. On 19 May 2018, he married American actress Meghan Markle. Hours before the wedding, his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II made him Duke of Sussex. In January 2020, the couple announced their intention to step back as senior members of the royal family and split their time between the UK and North America.

Lefties:
None known
 

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 15 - On This Day 

Historical Events

921 - The Duchess of Bohemia (later St. Ludmila), is murdered at the command of her daughter-in-law. She and her husband built the first Christian church in Bohemia, and taught her granson, later known as Good King Wenceslaus.

1966 - The U.S. spaceship Gemini XI, with astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. and Richard Gordon Jr. on board, returns to Earth after 2 days, 23 hours, 17 minutes and 8 seconds.

1968 - Soviet spaceship Zond 5 launches, becoming the first spaceship to fly around the Moon then re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.  It's a precursor of manned Moon flights, and has turtles on board to monitor effects of extended space travel.  

2000 -The 27th Summer Olympics open in Sydney, Australia. Homegrown Cathy Freeman wins her country's 100th gold medal in the 400-meter track event, Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe and Dutch swimmer Inge de Bruijn each win four gold medals in the pool.

2005 - Renee Zellweger (Oscar-winning actress) and Kenny Chesney (country singer) file for divorce after just four months of matrimony.




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 September 15, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.