Birthdays
1587 - Francesca Caccini, Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era. She was known by the nickname "La Cecchina", given to her by the Florentines. Listen to her Ciaccona. Luigi Cozzolino, violino; Andrea Benucci, chitarra; Alfonso Fedi, clavicembalo; Francesco Tomei, viola da gamba. YouTube, uploaded by Massimo Carota. Accessed September 18, 2018)
1709 - Dr. Samuel Johnson, English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. He was a devout Anglican and a generous philanthropist.
1905 - Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson), Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses of all time, Garbo was known for her melancholy, somber persona due to her many portrayals of tragic characters and for her subtle performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the Swedish film The Saga of Gösta Berling. Her performance caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), who brought her to Hollywood in 1925. She stirred interest with her first American silent film, Torrent. Her performance in Flesh and the Devil, made her an international star. For her performances, she received her first of the three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1932, her success allowed her to dictate the terms of her contract, and she became increasingly selective about her roles. She continued in films such as Mata Hari, Inspiration, Grand Hotel, Queen Christina, and Anna Karenina. Many critics and film historians consider her performance as the doomed courtesan Marguerite Gautier in Camille (1936) to be her finest.
1939 - Frankie Avalon (born Francis Thomas Avallone), American actor, singer, and former teen idol. Avalon had 31 charted U.S. Billboard singles from 1958 to late 1962, including the number one hits "Venus" and "Why" in 1959. Avalon's first film was a short appearance in Jamboree, playing a trumpet and singing "Teacher's Pet". In the late 1950s, teen idols were often given roles in films, supporting older male stars in order to attract a younger audience. Alan Ladd's daughter was a Frankie Avalon fan, who recommended that he co-star with her father in the Western Guns of the Timberland. Avalon sings two songs, "The Faithful Kind" and "Gee Whiz Whillikins Golly Gee"; both were released as singles.
Lefties:
None known
More birthdays and historical events, September 18 - On This Day
1809 - London's Royal Opera House opens with a performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth. The foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales, and was incorporated into its present structure after a fire demolished it in 1856.
1919 - The Netherlands gives women the right to vote.
1965 - I Dream of Jeannie, airs in the U.S. It's a television show about a genie (Barbara Eden) in a bottle eager to serve her new master, astronaut Captain Nelson (Larry Hagman who later becomes famous in Dallas.)
1978 - A Middle East peace deal eventuates as Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agree that Israeli troops will be withdrawn at U.S. President Jimmy Carter's Camp David retreat.
1979 - Leonid and Valentina Kozlov, star dancers of Bolshoi Ballet, defect from Russia while in the U.S.
1987 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan and soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev agree to the joint disassembly of nuclear warheads by their countries. It is the first reduction of the nuclear weapons since their invention 50 years earlier.
Resources:
Historical Events
1809 - London's Royal Opera House opens with a performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth. The foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales, and was incorporated into its present structure after a fire demolished it in 1856.
1919 - The Netherlands gives women the right to vote.
1965 - I Dream of Jeannie, airs in the U.S. It's a television show about a genie (Barbara Eden) in a bottle eager to serve her new master, astronaut Captain Nelson (Larry Hagman who later becomes famous in Dallas.)
1978 - A Middle East peace deal eventuates as Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agree that Israeli troops will be withdrawn at U.S. President Jimmy Carter's Camp David retreat.
1979 - Leonid and Valentina Kozlov, star dancers of Bolshoi Ballet, defect from Russia while in the U.S.
1987 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan and soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev agree to the joint disassembly of nuclear warheads by their countries. It is the first reduction of the nuclear weapons since their invention 50 years earlier.
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 18, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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