May 5 Dateline

Birthdays

1813 - Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on organized religion, Christendom, morality, ethics, psychology, and the philosophy of religion displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony, and parables. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives as a "single individual", giving priority to concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment. His theological work focuses on Christian ethics, Christian love, the institution of the Church, the differences between purely objective proofs of Christianity, the infinite qualitative distinction between man and God, and the individual's subjective relationship to the God-Man Jesus the Christ, which came through faith. His psychological work explored the emotions and feelings of individuals when faced with life choices. (Philosophy - S. Kierkegaard, uploaded by The School of Life. Accessed May 5, 2017.)

1818 - Karl Heinrich Marx, German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary. Due to his political publications, Marx became stateless and lived in exile with his wife and children in London for decades, where he continued to develop his thought in collaboration with German thinker Friedrich Engels and publish his writings, researching in the reading room of the British Museum. His best-known titles are the 1848 pamphlet The Communist Manifesto and the three-volume Das Kapital. Marx's political and philosophical thought had enormous influence on subsequent intellectual, economic and political history. His name has been used, collectively understood as Marxism, hold that human societies develop through class conflict. In the capitalist mode of production, this manifests itself in the conflict between the ruling classes (bourgeoisie) that control the means of production and the working classes (proletariat) that enable these means by selling their labour-power in return for wages.

1908 - Rex Harrison, English actor of stage and screen who began his career on the stage in 1924. He won his first Tony Award for his performance as Henry VIII in the play Anne of the Thousand Days in 1949. He is famous for his role as Henry Higgins in the movie musical "My Fair Lady" with Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn & Rex Harrison - Ending scene in My Fair Lady 1964. Uploaded by Rosenkavalier88. Accessed May 5, 2018.)

1914 - Tyrone Edmund Power III, American actor. He appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include The Mark of Zorro, Marie Antoinette, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan, Prince of Foxes, Witness for the Prosecution, The Black Rose, and Captain from Castile. Power's own favorite film among those that he starred in was Nightmare Alley. Though largely a matinee idol in his time, known for his striking looks, Power starred in films in a number of genres, from drama to light comedy. In the 1950s he began placing limits on the number of films he would make in order to devote more time for theater productions. He received his biggest accolades as a stage actor in John Brown's Body and Mister Roberts.

Lefties:
None known

More birthdays and historical events today, May 5 - On This Day.

 

Historical Events

1726 - George Frideric Handel's opera Alessandro premieres at London's King's Theatre.

1891 - Carnegie Hall, then Music Hall, has its opening night in New York. Piotr Tchaikovsky is guest conductor.

1893 - Panic hits the New York Stock Exchange that causes many European investors to withdraw from U.S. interests. About 500 banks and 15,000 companies go bankrupt as a result.

1941 - Benjamin Britten's first opera, Paul Bunyan, is first sung in New York City at Columbia Uiversity; the text is by W.H. Auden.

1961 - Alan Shepard, flying the Freedom 7 capsule as part of the Mercury space exploration program, becomes the first American to travel in space.

1962 - The West Side Story soundtrack goes to number one in the U.S. and stays there for 54 weeks.

1980 - At the Iranian Embassy in London, a siege ends as British commandos and police storm the building.

1987 - The U.S. Congress opens hearings into the Iran-Contra affair. It is about a secret arrangement to provide funds to the Nicaraguan Contra rebels from profits gained by selling arms to Iran. Ronald Reagan was U.S. president.  





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 Timestables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org.



(c) June 2007. Updated May 5, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.