Birthdays
1756 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, (born Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart), Austrian Composer, arguably, the greatest composer of all-time. His music can be categorised into three stages: early 1761-1772, middle 1772-1781, and late 1781-1791 with his best known works. Wolfgang Mozart composed more than 600 works including: 21 theatre/stage and opera works, 15 Masses, over 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos, 27 concert arias, 17 piano sonatas, 26 string quartets, and many other pieces. Together with the work of Haydn, Mozart's music marks the height of the Classical era in its supposed purity of melody and symmetricality of form. In 1788, three years before his death, he wrote his last three symphonies, the summation of the Classical symphonic style. A lot more about this beloved composer has been written in this website... simply search for them. (I try to update the links as much as possible but it's never easy with constant changes online including closures of websites or blogs./Tel.)
1806 - Juan Crisostomo Arriaga, (born Juan Crisóstomo Jacobo Antonio de Arriaga y Balzola), Spanish Basque composer. He was nicknamed "the Spanish Mozart" after he died, because, like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, he was both a child prodigy and an accomplished composer who died young. (Arriaga - Symphony in D Major. Uploaded by winkle522000. Accessed January 27, 2016.)
1823 - Édouard Lalo, (born Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo), French composer, best known for his Symphonie espagnole, which consists of five movements and remains a popular work in the standard repertoire for violin and orchestra. His noted for the clarity of his orchestration. (Édouard Lalo Symphonie espagnole in D minor Op.21, Christian Ferras, violinist. Uploaded by HarpsichordM. Accessed January 27, 2020.)
1832 - Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, an English writer of children's fiction, notably remembered for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass. He was noted for his facility at word play, logic, and fantasy. Although Lewis Carroll became a famous writer, he was also a logician, mathematician, photographer, and novelist. (Brief bio of Lewis Carroll. Uploaded by marqzvideo. Acacessed January 27, 2016.)
1834 - Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (often romanized as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef), Russian chemist and inventor. He is best remembered for formulating the Periodic Law and creating a farsighted version of the periodic table of elements. He used the Periodic Law not only to correct the then-accepted properties of some known elements, such as the valence and atomic weight of uranium, but also to predict the properties of eight elements that were yet to be discovered at the time.
1850 - Edward John Smith, RD, RNR, British Naval Officer, Captain of the RMS Titanic. He served as master of numerous White Star Line vessels. The captain of the Titanic, he perished when the ship sank on its maiden voyage. He joined the merchant navy and the Royal Naval Reserve, then entered the service of the White Star Line, a prestigious British company. His first command was the SS Celtic. He served as commanding officer of numerous White Star Line vessels, including the Majestic (which he commanded for nine years) and attracted a strong and loyal following amongst passengers.
1885 - Jerome Kern, American composer of musicals and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are" and "The Way You Look Tonight". He collaborated with many of the leading librettists and lyricists of his time, including Oscar Hammerstein II, Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Ira Gershwin and Johnny Mercer, among others. ("All the Things You Are (Original Version) - John McGlinn - YouTube". Uploaded by hoffemay. Accessed January 27, 2013. The song was written for the musical "Very Warm for May" (1939). It appeared in the film Broadway Rhythm (1944). As a chorister, I'm particularly sentimental about the chorus I was fortunate to sing many moons ago. The song is rarely sung nowadays as far as I know, but the chorus has become a favorite with singers esp in smaller ensembles.)
1903 - Sir John Carew Eccles, AC FRS FRACP FRSNZ FAA, Australian neuro-physiologist and philosopher who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse. He shared the prize with Andrew Huxley and Alan Lloyd Hodgkin. In March 2012, the Eccles Institute of Neuroscience was constructed in a new wing of the John Curtin School of Medical Research, with the assistance of a $63M grant from the Commonwealth Government.
1921 - Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger), American actress. She is well known for her role as Mary Hatch Bailey in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. In 1953, she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Lorene Burke in the war drama From Here to Eternity. Reed is known for her work in television, notably as Donna Stone, a middle-class American mother and housewife in the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966). She received numerous Emmy Award nominations for this role and the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star in 1963.
1936 - Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr.), American film and television actor and singer. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s.
1940 - James Oliver Cromwell, American character actor and activist. Some of his notable films include Babe, Star Trek: First Contact, L.A. Confidential, The Green Mile, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, The Queen, Spider-Man 3, The Artist, and Still Mine. Cromwell is also known for his performances in television. He has been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Babe. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role in American Horror Story: Asylum and a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor for his role in Still Mine.
1948 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Soviet Latvian-born Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He became a noted dance director. Baryshnikov started in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad before defecting to Canada in 1974. After dancing with American Ballet Theatre, he joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer for one season to learn George Balanchine's neoclassical Russian style of movement. He then returned with the American Ballet Theatre, where he later became artistic director. He became a naturalized citizen of America since 1986. In 2017, the Republic of Latvia granted him citizenship for extraordinary merits. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Yuri Kopeikine in the film The Turning Point. He starred in the movie White Nights with Gregory Hines, Helen Mirren, and Isabella Rossellini, and had a recurring role in the last season of the television series Sex and the City.
1940 - James Oliver Cromwell, American character actor and activist. Some of his notable films include Babe, Star Trek: First Contact, L.A. Confidential, The Green Mile, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, The Queen, Spider-Man 3, The Artist, and Still Mine. Cromwell is also known for his performances in television. He has been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Babe. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role in American Horror Story: Asylum and a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor for his role in Still Mine.
1948 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Soviet Latvian-born Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He became a noted dance director. Baryshnikov started in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad before defecting to Canada in 1974. After dancing with American Ballet Theatre, he joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer for one season to learn George Balanchine's neoclassical Russian style of movement. He then returned with the American Ballet Theatre, where he later became artistic director. He became a naturalized citizen of America since 1986. In 2017, the Republic of Latvia granted him citizenship for extraordinary merits. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Yuri Kopeikine in the film The Turning Point. He starred in the movie White Nights with Gregory Hines, Helen Mirren, and Isabella Rossellini, and had a recurring role in the last season of the television series Sex and the City.
1956 - Mimi Rogers, (née Spickler), American film and television actress and producer. Her notable film roles include Gung Ho, Someone to Watch Over Me, and Desperate Hours. She garnered the greatest acclaim of her career for her role in the religious drama The Rapture. Rogers has since appeared in Reflections on a Crime, The Mirror Has Two Faces, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Lost in Space, Ginger Snaps, The Door in the Floor, and For a Good Time, Call... She has had extensive work in television, including roles on The X-Files, Two and a Half Men, Wilfred, and Bosch.
1964 - Bridget Fonda (Bridget Jane Fonda Elfman), a retired american actress. She is known for her roles in The Godfather Part III, Single White Female, Singles, Point of No Return, It Could Happen to You, and Jackie Brown. She is the daughter of Peter Fonda, niece of Jane Fonda, and granddaughter of Henry Fonda. Fonda was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Mandy Rice-Davies in the 1989 film Scandal and provided the voice for Jenna in the 1995 animated feature film Balto. She received an Emmy Award nomination for the 1997 TV film In the Gloaming, and a second Golden Globe Award nomination for the 2001 TV film No Ordinary Baby.
1980 - Marat Mubinovich Safin, Russian politician and retired professional tennis player. He achieved the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 1 singles ranking on 20 November 2000. Safin is the older brother of former world No. 1 WTA player Dinara Safina. They are the only brother–sister tandem in tennis history who have both achieved No. 1 rankings. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2000 US Open, defeating Pete Sampras, and won the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Despite his dislike of grass courts, he became the first Russian man to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to Roger Federer. In 2016, he became the first Russian tennis player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Lefties:
None known
1964 - Bridget Fonda (Bridget Jane Fonda Elfman), a retired american actress. She is known for her roles in The Godfather Part III, Single White Female, Singles, Point of No Return, It Could Happen to You, and Jackie Brown. She is the daughter of Peter Fonda, niece of Jane Fonda, and granddaughter of Henry Fonda. Fonda was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Mandy Rice-Davies in the 1989 film Scandal and provided the voice for Jenna in the 1995 animated feature film Balto. She received an Emmy Award nomination for the 1997 TV film In the Gloaming, and a second Golden Globe Award nomination for the 2001 TV film No Ordinary Baby.
1980 - Marat Mubinovich Safin, Russian politician and retired professional tennis player. He achieved the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 1 singles ranking on 20 November 2000. Safin is the older brother of former world No. 1 WTA player Dinara Safina. They are the only brother–sister tandem in tennis history who have both achieved No. 1 rankings. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2000 US Open, defeating Pete Sampras, and won the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Despite his dislike of grass courts, he became the first Russian man to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to Roger Federer. In 2016, he became the first Russian tennis player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Lefties:
None known
More birthdays and historical events, January 27 - On This Day
1895 - Swan Lake / Le Lac de Cygne, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, is first performed at full length in Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake / Le Lac de Cygne - Kirov Ballet
1906 - Mozart's Don Giovanni is staged at the Metropolitan Opera to honour the composer's sesquicentennial.
1945 - The liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet army takes place. Auschwitz is the largest killing camp established by the Nazis, responsible of the death of over a million Jewish people.
Historical Events
1895 - Swan Lake / Le Lac de Cygne, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, is first performed at full length in Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake / Le Lac de Cygne - Kirov Ballet
1906 - Mozart's Don Giovanni is staged at the Metropolitan Opera to honour the composer's sesquicentennial.
1945 - The liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet army takes place. Auschwitz is the largest killing camp established by the Nazis, responsible of the death of over a million Jewish people.
1983 - the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (33.5 miles or 53.90 km), opens in Japan, connecting the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido.
1984 - Michael Jackson's hair catches fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in Los angeles. He was hospitalized for a few days.
1997 - It is revealed that French museums contain nearly 2,000 pieces of art stolen by Nazis.
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
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 January 27, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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