November 29 Dateline

Birthdays

1797 - Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas.  Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, Donizetti was a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the 19th century.(featured below is Donizetti's opera L'Elixir D'amore.) Donizetti's close association with the bel canto style was undoubtedly an influence on other composers such as Giuseppe Verdi. Although he did not come from a musical background, at an early age he was taken under the wing of composer Simon Mayr who had enrolled him by means of a full scholarship in a school which he had set up. There he received detailed training in the arts of fugue and counterpoint. Mayr was also instrumental in obtaining a place for Donizetti at the Bologna Academy, where, at the age of 19, he wrote his first one-act opera, the comedy Il Pigmalione.

1803 - Christian Andreas Doppler, Austrian mathematician and physicist (best known for Doppler Effect). He is celebrated for his principle — known as the Doppler effect — that the observed frequency of a wave depends on the relative speed of the source and the observer. He used this concept to explain the color of binary stars.

1832 - Louisa May Alcott, American writer, famous for "Little Women," "Little Men," and "Jo's Boys." She was raised in New England by her transcendentalist parents, she grew up among many of the well-known intellectuals of the day, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Alcott was an abolitionist and a feminist and remained unmarried throughout her life. She was active in such reform movements as temperance and women's suffrage. Alcott's brief biography in short and rare photos - here. (Uploaded by World Wide Biographies. Accessed November 29, 2018)

1898 - C.S. Lewis (Clive Staples Lewis), British writer and lay theologian, famous for various best known works of fiction, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, The Four Loves, A Grief Observed, The Problem of Pain, and Surprised by Joy. He was a close friend of J. R.R. Tolkien. (C.S. Lewis life with a purpose. Uploaded by Kevin Lancast. Accessed November 29, 2018.)

1918 - Madeleine L'Engle, American writer of young adult fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptabale Time. Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in science.(Madeleine L'Engle. Accessed November 29, 2018)

1940 - Charles "Chuck" Frank Mangione, American flugelhorn player, trumpeter and composer. He was a member of Art Blakey's band and co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, Gap. He achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-pop single "Feels So Good". Mangione has released more than 30 albums since 1960. On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Chuck Mangione among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

1954 - Joel Coen, American screenwriter, film director & producer. With brother Ethan Coen, they're collectively referred to as the Coen Brothers. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody.  The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, although until The Ladykillers (2004) Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing editing credits under the alias Roderick Jaynes. They have been nominated for 13 Academy Awards together, and individually for one award each, winning Best Original Screenplay for Fargo and Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men. The duo also won the Palme d'Or for Barton Fink. 

1962 - Andrew Thomas McCarthy, American actor, travel writer and Television director. He is most known as a member of the Brat Pack, with roles in 1980s films such as St. Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink, and Less Than Zero. He is ranked #40 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars of all-time list.

Lefties:
Writer and director Joel Coen
Musician Chuck Mangione
Actor Andrew McCarthy

 

More birthdays and historical events, November 29 -  On This Day
 

 

Below is a performance of Gaetano Donizetti's opera, L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love).  The story of this opera is a mere comedy with respect to the elixir of love. It is a comic opera in two acts, about a poor man who tries to win the heart of a beautiful woman. Donizetti not only excelled in serious operas, e.g., Lucia di Lammermoor (his greatest success) and Anna Bolena, but also in comic operas, for instance, L'elisir d'amore. Singers in their roles:  Adina - Laura Giordano, Nemorino - Juan Diego Florez, Dulcamara - Alfonso Antoniozzi, Belcore - Jose Julian Frontal, Giannetta - Lavinia Rodriguez.  Conductor - Riccardo Frizza. Orchestra - Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria. Chorus - Coro

Historical Events

1907 - Nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, at the age of 87, is awarded the Order of Merit for her services during the Crimean War more than 50 years earlier and for setting up the first school of nursing after the war.

1947 - The United Nations (UN) General Assembly passes a resolution to divide Palestine between Arab and Jewish people.

2004 - The French Government announces plans to exhibit close to 600 works of art currently in the Louvre's storage.


Video Credit:

 
L'elisir d'amore - Gaetano Donizetti.  YouTube, uploaded by Gaetano Donizetti.  Accessed November 29, 2017.



Resources:

 
1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers. New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)

2. Britannica. www.britannic.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 November 29, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.