March 20 Dateline

Birthdays 

43 B.C.E. - Ovid, as known in the English-speaking world, was born Publius Ovidius Naso, a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The first major Roman poet to begin his career during the reign of Augustus, Ovid is today best known for the Metamorphoses, a 15-book continuous mythological narrative written in the meter of epic, and for works in elegiac couplets such as Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love") and Fasti. (Ovid's Metamorphoses. Uploaded by Gottfried Leibniz. Accessed March 20, 2019.)

1828 - Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playwrights of his time. (Henrik Ibsen: The Master Playwright Documentary (1987). Uploaded by Manufacturing Intellect. Accessed March 20, 2019.)

1890 - Beniamino Gigli, Italian tenor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tenors of his generation. Gigli made many important debuts in quick succession: in Mefistofele: Teatro Massimo in Palermo (31 March 1915), Teatro di San Carlo in Naples (26 December 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (26 December 1916), La Scala, Milan (19 November 1918), Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires (28 June 1919) and finally the Metropolitan Opera, New York City (26 November 1920). Gigli rose to true international prominence after the death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was his popularity with audiences he was often called "Caruso Secondo", though he much preferred to be known as "Gigli Primo". (Gigli sings Mozart)

1904 - B.F. Skinner (Burrhus Frederic Skinner), American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University until his retirement. Skinner founded the experimental analysis of behavior, a school of experimental research psychology. He also used operant conditioning to strengthen behavior, considering the rate of response to be the most effective measure of response strength. A prolific writer, he published 21 books and 180 articles. Contemporary academia considers Skinner, along with John B. Watson and Ivan Pavlov, a pioneer of modern behaviorism. Accordingly, a June 2002 survey listed Skinner as the most influential psychologist of the 20th century.

1908 - Sir Michael Redgrave, CBE, (born  Michael Scudamore Redgrave), English stage and film actor, director, manager, and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Mourning Becomes Electra, as well as two BAFTA Award for Best British Actor nominations for his performances in The Night My Number Came Up and Time Without Pity. At the 4th Cannes Film Festival, he won Best Actor for his performance in The Browning Version.

1917 - Dame Vera Margaret Lynn, English singer of traditional popular music whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during the WWII. She is known as "the Forces' Sweetheart" for giving outdoor concerts for the troops. The songs associated with her are "We'll Meet Again", "The White Cliffs of Dover", and "There'll Always Be an England". Her last single, "I Love This Land", was released to mark the end of the Falklands War. In 2009, aged 92, she became the oldest living artist to top the UK Albums Chart, with compilation album We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn.  Lynn scored a number one in 2014, when she was 97, with the collection Vera Lynn: National Treasure, and remains the oldest person to top the album charts. (Dame Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again. TheDayTheMusicDidDie. I'll Be Seeing You. M. Maminteng. You'll Never Know. RReady555. Accessed March 20, 2020.)

1950 - William McChord Hurt, American actor. He studied at the Juilliard School and made his film debut as a troubled scientist in Ken Russell's science-fiction feature Altered States, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year. In 1981 he played a leading role, as a lawyer in the neo-noir Body Heat. Hurt garnered multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, for Kiss of the Spider Woman. He received another two Academy Award nominations for his lead performances in Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News. He received his first Tony Award nomination in 1985 for the Broadway production of Hurlyburly. He earned his fourth Academy Award nomination for his supporting performance in a crime thriller A History of Violence.

1957 - Shelton Jackson Spike Lee, American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and professor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films. He made his directorial debut with She's Gotta Have It. He has since written and directed award-winning films. His work has continually explored race relations and colorism in the black community. He has won numerous accolades including an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, two Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, and the Cannes Grand Prix. Lee's films Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, 4 Little Girls and She's Gotta Have It were each selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

1958 - Holly Patricia Hunter, American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film The Piano, she won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. She was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Broadcast News (1987), and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Firm and again for Thirteen. A seven-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee, Hunter won for Roe vs. Wade, and The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom. She also starred in the TNT drama series Saving Grace (2007–2010). Her film roles among others include Raising Arizona, Always, The Incredibles and its sequel Incredibles 2, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and The Big Sick (2017), which earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

 

2004 - Yunchan Lim, pianist from Siheung, South Korea. In 2018, aged 14, Lim won second prize and the Chopin Special Award in the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists. The same year, he was the youngest participant in the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition where he won third prize and the audience prize. In 2019, he became the youngest-ever winner of the Isang Yun Competition at 15 years old. In June 2022, he was the youngest to win the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas where he also took two special prizes. He additionally won US$100,000 and career management for three years. Lim has performed with orchestras such as with the Korea Symphony, Suwon Philharmonic, Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and others.  Lim currently studies at the Korea National University of Arts under Minsoo Sohn.

Leftie:
Filmmaker Spike Lee

More birthdays and historical events, March 20 - On This Day

 

Featured video:  The youngest gold medalist Yunchan Lim plays th famous Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, conducted by Marin Alsop, with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. (Remastered). The Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Live from Fort Worth, Texas, USA, from June 2 to 18, 2022. Yunchan Lim, 임윤찬 South Korea. A gripping performance by this sensational 18-year old from South Korea.  Youtube, uploaded by The Cliburn. Accessed January 20, 2023. 

 

Historical Events

1792 - The Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, is burned at the stake as a heretic. Hundreds more Protestants were executed during the reign of "Bloody Mary," the Catholic daughter of Henry VIII.

1815 - The Yosemite Valley is discovered in California, U.S.

1815 - The notorious U.S. Federal Penitentiary, Alcatraz, closes after 29 years in operation.

1916 - The "Theory of Relativity" of  Albert Einstein is published in German. This paper accounted for the slow rotation of the elliptical orbit of Mercury, and revolutionized physics, and astronomy.

1928 - The New York Symphony Society and the New York Philharmonic Society unite to form the Philharmonic-Symphony Society Orchestra of New York.  Enjoy this link to Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony (Opening Gala Concert 2016 -  September 21, 2016, launch of the New York Philharmonic’s 175th anniversary season, Music Director Alan Gilbert’s farewell season, and “The New World Initiative” — the Philharmonic’s season-long, city-wide project revolving around Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony and its theme of “home.”

1966 - The Football World Cup is stolen while on exhibition in London.

1976 - Patty Hearst, American newspaper heiress, is convicted of bank robbery. She is kidnapped by a terrorist group on February 4, 1974, and she joined them in their activities.

1981 - Britain introduces the £50 note, previously withdrawn in 1943 after it was discovered no shopkeeper could make change from it.

2003 - American missiles are fired on Baghdad, beginning the U.S.-led campaign to oust Saddam Hussein from power.


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



© June 2007. Updated March 20, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.