March 14 Dateline

Birthdays

1681 - Georg Philipp Telemann, (24 March [O.S. 14 March]), German Baroque composer and multi-instumentalist. He became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually settled on a career in music. He held important positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach, and Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became musical director of that city's five main churches. While Telemann's career prospered, his marital life was troubled.

1804 - Johann Strauss, Sr. ( the Elder), Austrian composer, father of  Josef and Johann, Jr., Austrian Romantic composer. He was famous for his waltzes, and he popularised them alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty. He is perhaps best known for his composition of the Radetzky March (named after Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, a Bohemian nobleman and Austrian field marshal. He served as chief of the general staff in the Habsburg Monarchy during the later period of the Napoleonic Wars and afterwards began military reforms.) (Johann Strauss Sr. "Radetzky March" performed by Vienna Philharmonic at new years concert 2011. Franz Welser-Möst conducts Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Uploaded by Axilleass. Accessed March 14, 2012.)

1854 - Paul Ehrlich, Nobel prize-winning German-Jewish physician and scientist. He worked in the fields of hematology, immunology, and antimicrobial chemotherapy. He is credited with finding a cure for syphilis in 1909, and invented the precursor technique to Gram staining bacteria. (Ehrlich (1854-1915): A Century of Eternity. Uploaded by Accessed March 14, 22019.)

1879 - Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist and mathematician who developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). He is also known for his influence on the Manhattan Project, which led to the first atomic bomb. His work is known for its influence on the philosophy of science. To the general public, he is famous for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc², which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation". He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory.

1933 - Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr.), English actor, producer, and author. Known for his trademark Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 130 films and is considered a British film icon. He has been ranked at No. 20 on the list of highest-grossing box office stars. Caine made his breakthrough in the 1960s with starring roles in British films such as Zulu, The Ipcress File, Alfie, The Italian Job, and Battle of Britain. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Alfie. He earned his second Academy Award nomination for Sleuth and went on to achieve some of his greatest critical success, with Educating Rita earning him the BAFTA and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Hannah and Her Sisters.

1933 - Quincy Jones, American musician, composer, record producer, and songwriter. His career spans with a record 80 Grammy Award nominations, 28 Grammys, and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992. In 1968 Jones and his songwriting partner Bob Russell became the first African-Americans to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for "The Eyes of Love" from the film Banning. Jones was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the 1967 film In Cold Blood, making him the first African-American to be nominated twice in the same year. In 1971 he became the first African-American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards ceremony. In 1995 he was the first African-American to receive the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. 

1947 - Peter Skellern, English singer-songwriter and pianist who rose to fame in the 1970s. He had two top twenty hits on the UK Singles Chart - "You're a Lady" (1972), which typifies his signature use of brass bands and choral arrangements for a nostalgic and romantic feel, and "Hold On to Love" (1975). In the 1980s, Skellern formed the band Oasis with Julian Lloyd Webber and Mary Hopkin and established a musical comedy partnership with Richard Stilgoe in cabaret. Over his career, Skellern wrote and performed music for film, television and stage, notably writing and starring in Happy Endings, a 1981 BBC anthology series of comic musical plays. Skellern's songs have been recorded by famous singers.  After developing an inoperable brain tumour, Skellern was ordained as a deacon and priest of the Church of England in October 2016. He died four months later. Peter Skellern - You're A Lady (1972) Part 1 & Part 2 (Full Album).YouTube, uploaded by 54music2. Accesssed March 1, 2023.)   

 

1948 - Billy Crystal, American actor, singer, producer, director, comedian, and television host. He became a Hollywood film star, appearing in the critical and box office successes The Princess Bride, Throw Momma from the Train, When Harry Met Sally..., City Slickers, Mr. Saturday Night, Analyze This, and Parental Guidance, and providing the voice of Mike Wazowski in the Monsters, Inc. films.  He will reprise his role in the upcoming Disney+ series Monsters at Work (2021). He received numerous accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, a Mark Twain Prize and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991. He has hosted the Academy Awards nine times, beginning in 1990 and most recently in 2012.

Leftie:
Physicist Albert Einstein (his handedness under discussion though)

 

More birthdays and historical events, March 14 - On This Day


Suggested Telemann Music for Listening:
Telemann Orchestral Suites

Suggested Johann Strauss, Sr. Music for Listening:
Radetzky March with Karajan. (Johann Strauss Sr.'s famous  "Radetzky March" was the last piece at the New Year's Concert in Vienna 1987, with Herbert Von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, and obviously, the audience. Enjoy!)

Historical Events

1757 - British Admiral John Byng is tried and executed by firing squad on board his ship the Monarch for losing Menorca to French forces through neglect of duty.

1847 - Verdi's opera Macbeth, is first staged, in Florence. 

1850 - After 18 years of romantic correspondence, Honore de Balzac, 51, marries Polish countess Evelina Hanska.

1885 - Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado is first performed, in London, where it ran at the Savoy theatre for 572 performances. To this day, it is one of the most performed of all operas.
BBC playlist link to Mikado with three videos - Here.  (Jacqueline Dark (Katisha) sings "Alone and yet alive" from The Mikado. Accessed March 14, 2016.)     




1945 - Great Britain's Royal air force 617 Squadron drops the first Grand slam "dam buster" bombs. The shockwaves destroy the Bielefeld Viaduct in Germany and are felt hundreds of miles away.

1964 - Jack Ruby is found guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy.


Video Credit:

The Mikado 1992 Buxton. YouTube, uploaded by Jim Manson. Accessed May 13, 2017. 




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.wikipedpia.org


(c) June 2007. Updated March 14, 2024. Tel. Inspired Pen Web.All rights reserved.