August 1 Dateline

Birthdays

1815 - Richard Henry Dana Jr, American lawyer and politician, a descendant of a colonial family from Massachusetts. He gained renown as the author of the classic American memoir Two Years Before the Mast. Both as a writer and as a lawyer, he was a champion of the downtrodden, from seamen to fugitive slaves and freedmen.

1936 - Yves Saint Laurent (born Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent), French fashion designer who founded his eponymous fashion label in 1961. He is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers in the twentieth century. In 1985, Caroline Rennolds Milbank wrote, "The most consistently celebrated and influential designer of the past twenty-five years, Yves Saint Laurent can be credited with both spurring the couture's rise from its 1960s ashes and with finally rendering ready-to-wear reputable." He was able to adapt his style to accommodate the changes in fashion during that period. He approached fashion in a different perspective by wanting women to look comfortable yet elegant at the same time. He is also credited with having introduced the tuxedo suit for women and was known for his use of non-European cultural references, and non-white models.

1953 - Robert William Cray, American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. He records and tours. He appeared at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, and supported Eric Clapton on his 2006-2007 world tour. In Fargo, North Dakota, he joined Clapton on backup guitar for the Cream song "Crossroads". In 2011, Cray was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame and received the Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance in 2017.

Lefties:
None known.

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 1 August - On This Day.

Historical Events

1740 - Thomas Arne's masque Alfred, the finale of which contains the famous "Rule Britannia," is first produced, at Cliveden, England.

Alfred is a sung stage work about Alfred the Great. The music, composed by Thomas Arne and a libretto by David Mallet and James Thomson, is an opera in three acts initially devised as a masque in 1740. It was first performed at Cliveden, country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales, this day (1740), to commemorate the accession of George I and the birthday of the Princess Augusta. Thomas Arne later revised it into an all-sung oratorio in 1745, and an opera in May 12, 1753. It is best known for its finale "Rule, Britannia!" (sung by mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly, conducted by David Robertson). The video below is  Overture of Alfred. Performed by Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.



1798 - British Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson wins over the Battle of the Nile. One of the French ships destroyed is Napoleon's flagship L'Orient. Nelson collects some of the timbers to have them made into his coffin. Famously known, he had to be pickled first in alcohol to keep him fresh for the trip home after Trafalgar.

1834 - Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire, including its North American colonies. 

July 31 Dateline

Birthdays

1912 - Milton Friedman, American economist, he received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the complexity of stabilization policy. He was among the intellectual leaders of the Chicago school of economics, a neoclassical school of economic thought associated with the work of the faculty that rejected Keynesianism in favor of monetarism until the mid-1970s. He was an advisor to Republican President Ronald Reagan and Conservative British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. His political philosophy extolled the virtues of a free market economic system with minimal intervention, based on rational expectations. 

1919 - Primo Levi (born Primo Michele Levi), Italian Jewish chemist, writer, and Holocaust survivor. He was the author of several books, novels, collections of short stories, essays, and poems. His notable works include: The Periodic Table (short story collection) and If This Is a Man, and The Drowned and the Saved. (Primo Levi: Biography, Books, Chemistry, Early Life, Family, Facts, History (2002). Updated by The Film Writers. Accessed July 31, 2016.  Primo Levi... Uploaded by Eranocento. Accessed July 31, 2018. An English translation has been provided by one of the commenters, Dan L.) 

1944 - Geraldine Chaplin, English-American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with fourth wife Oona O'Neill. She made made her English-language acting debut (and came to prominence in what would be a Golden Globe-nominated role) in her portrayal of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago. She made her Broadway acting debut in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes in 1967, and received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville (1975). She played her grandmother Hannah Chaplin in the biopic, Chaplin (1992) for which she received her third Golden Globe nomination.

1951 - Barry Van Dyke, American actor and the second son of actor and entertainer Dick Van Dyke and Margie Willett, and nephew of Jerry Van Dyke. He has often worked with his father. He is best known to audiences as Lieutenant Detective Steve Sloan, a homicide detective and the son of Dr. Mark Sloan (played by Dick Van Dyke) on Diagnosis: Murder. 

1965 - J.K. Rowling, CH, OBE, HonFRSE, FRCPE, FRSL (born Joanne Rowling), British author writing under the pen names J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith. She is a novelist, philanthropist, film producer, television producer and screen writer, best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series. The books have won multiple awards, and sold more than 500 million copies, becoming the best-selling book series in history. They have also been the basis for a film series, over which she had overall approval on the scripts and a producer on the final films in the series.(J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement. Uploaded by Harvard Magazine. Accessed July 31, 2013.)

Leftie:
Actor Barry Van Dyke

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 31 July - On This Day.

 

In memoriam:  Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist who passed away this day in 1886. Here's Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6, interpreted by the piano child prodigy Martha Argerich in her younger years. A rather turbulent nevertheless splendid interpretation by her of one of Liszt's many rhapsodies, and her apparent getting carried away in the final octaves nearing the finale. Right, it seems that Martha can get the better of Martha. What an inspired performance! (In Munich, 1966)

Historical Events

1703 - Writer Daniel Defoe is out in pillory for publishing a satirical political pamphlet but instead of being thrown with rotten fruit and vegetables, flowers are thrown at him. He is famous for his classic novels Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe. 


1845 - The French Army successfully introduces the saxophone to its band. The saxophone was invented by a Belgian, Adolphe Sax, patented by him in 1846.

July 30 Dateline

Birthdays

1751 - Nannerl Mozart (born Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart), Austrian musician, the older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and daughter of Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart. She was caled "Marianne" and nicknamed "Nannerl".

1818 - Emily Brontë, English novelist and poet best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature (Top 10 notes about 'Wuthering Heights'. YouTube, uploaded by WatchMojo.com. Accessed July 30, 2018. The Life of Emily Brontë, uploaded by Me65179. Accessed July 30, 2019.  Remembrance, A poem by Emily Brontë, read by Frankie MacEachen. Uploaded by Radio TheatreGroup. Accessed July 30, 2019.)

1863 - Henry Ford, American industrialist and business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that middle-class Americans could afford, he converted the automobile from an expensive curiosity into an accessible conveyance that would profoundly impact the landscape of the 20th century. 

1931 - Brian Horace Clemens, OBE, English screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on The Avengers and The Professionals. Clemens was related to Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), a fact reflected in the naming of his two sons, Samuel Joshua Twain Clemens and George Langhorne Clemens. Art & Hue: Remembering Brian Clemens. Accessed January 11, 2020. 
 

1939 - Peter Bogdanovich, American director, writer, actor, and producer. Part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, his best-known and critically most acclaimed film is The Last Picture Show. Bogdanovich also directed the the screwball comedy What's Up, Doc?, the comedy-drama Paper Moon, They All Laughed, the drama Mask, and The Cat's Meow. His most recent film, She's Funny That Way, was released in 2014.

1947 - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American actor, businessman, and politician and professional bodybuilder. He served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2011. 

 
1958 - Kate Bush, English singer, songwriter and record producer. In 1978, aged 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a self-written song. (Kate Bush Documentary. Updated by xenbay. Accessed July 30, 2013.  Sharing a favourite: Kate Bush  - The Man I Love - Official Music Video. uploaded by KateBushMusic. Written by George and Ira Gershwin "The Man I Love" was recorded as part of an album by Larry Adler called "The Glory of Gershwin". The song was released as a single on 18th July 1994, and the video was directed by Kevin Godley Accessed July 30, 2019.)

1963 - Lisa Kudrow, American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After making guest appearances in several television sitcoms, including Cheers, she came to prominence with her main role of Phoebe Buffay in Friends (1994–2004), receiving a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Kudrow has received several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series from six nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards from 12 nominations, and a Golden Globe Award nomination.

1974 - Hilary Swank, American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her career, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Swank received critical acclaim for her performance as Brandon Teena, in the biographical drama film Boys Don't Cry, for which she received her first Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. For her portrayal of Maggie Fitzgerald in Clint Eastwood's sports drama film Million Dollar Baby, she received her second Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.  In 2018, she portrayed Gail Getty on the FX television series Trust.

Lefties:
Automobile inventor Henry Ford
Actress Lisa Kudrow
Actress Hilary Swank

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 30 July - On This Day.

Link:  
We honour Emily Brontë and Kate Bush’s birthday by celebrating ‘Wuthering Heights’
FarOutMagazine.co.uk. Accessed July 30, 2018. 

Historical Events

1898 - William Kellogg invents corn flakes. With his brother Dr. John Kellogg, he had been experimenting on grain-based health foods to offer patients at their sanitarium. He William Kellogg founded the Battle Creek Toaster Corn Flake Company in 1906 to sell his healthy cereals.

1945 - The U.S.S. Indianapolis is torpedoed by a Japanese submarine after delivering the components of the bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima. The survivors are spotted by chance four days later. Only about 316 men were saved from the shark-infested waters.

July 29 Dateline

Birthdays

1869 - Booth Tarkington, American novelist and playwright, best known for his novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. He is one of only three novelists to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once, along with William Faulkner and John Updike. (Booth Tarkington. Uploaded by Audiopedia. Accessed July 29, 2017.)

1887 - Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951), was an Austro-Hungarian composer who spent most of his adult life in the United States. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly The Student Prince (1924), The Desert Song (1926) and The New Moon (1928). Listen and enjoy tenor William Olvis sing the famous 'Serenade' from "The Student Prince." YouTube, accessed July 29, 2018. Another popular song is 'Desert Song' from the 1953 film of the same name, starring Kathryn Grayson and Gordon MacRae. It was based on the 1926 play/book by Oscar Hammerstein II, etal... music composed by Romberg. 

1892 - William Horatio Powell, American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Powell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times: for The Thin Man, My Man Godfrey, and Life with Father.

1925 - Mikis Theodorakis, Greek songwriter, lyricist and composer, famous for film score Zorba the Greek. He scored for the films Zorba the Greek, Z, and Serpico. He composed the "Mauthausen Trilogy", also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen", which has been described as the "most beautiful musical work ever written about the Holocaust" and possibly his best work. In his time, he was viewed as Greece's best-known living composer. He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. (Zorba the Greek - Mikis Theodorakis (Official Video Clip). YouTube, accessed July 29, 2020)

1935 - Peter Schreier, German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. A member of the Berlin State Opera from 1963, he appeared in Mozart roles such as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, and in the title role of Pfitzner's Palestrina, among others. He appeared at the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, as one of few singers from the German Democratic Republic to perform internationally. He made recordings, especially of Bach's works; many lieder including the song cycles by Schubert and Schumann. Schreier received awards including the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize and Léonie Sonning Music Prize. (Schubert Ständchen (Serenade) Peter Schreier. YouTube, uploaded by elegant 110, accessed July 29, 2020.)

1972 - Wil Wheaton (born Richard William Wheaton III), American actor, blogger and writer. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me, Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers and Bennett Hoenicker in Flubber. Aside from appearing in other recurring roles, he appeared regularly as a fictionalized version of himself on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory and in the roles of Fawkes on The Guild, Colin Mason on Leverage and Dr. Isaac Parrish on Eureka. Wheaton was also the host and co-creator of the YouTube board game show TableTop.

Leftie:
Actor Wil Wheaton

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 29 July - On This Day.

Historical Events

1588 - Off the coast of France, the Battle of Gravelines begins. The Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England and restore Catholicism is defeated. Philip, the Spanish king, sent 130 ships to land in Portsmouth, but they are beaten by better seamanship and gunnery off the coast of Dorset and the Isle of Wight. By August 8, the swifter ships of the English navy, commanded by Sir Francis Drake and Lord Charles Howard, defeats the 130-ship Spanish Armada.

1907 - Robert Baden-Powell, veteran of the Boer War, takes a group of boys on a camp to England's Brownsea Island, and launches the Boy Scouts movement.

July 28 Dateline

Birthdays

1844 - Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet and Jesuit Priest, whose posthumous fame established him among the leading Victorian poets. His manipulation of prosody – particularly his concept of sprung rhythm and use of imagery – established him as an innovative writer of verse. His works for which he is known today were only published after his death. Much of his verses are about God's relationship to humanity. His ideas and style owed to earlier poets, including John Donne. He in turn influenced some prominent poets of the 20th-century, including T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden. (The Life and Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins- Mr. Steve Ayers, Authenticum Lecture Series. Uploaded by Authenticum Lectures. Accessed July 28, 2018.) 

1866 - Beatrix Potter, English Children's writer, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist, creator of Peter Rabbit. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Born into an upper-middle-class household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children.The World of Beatrix Potter. Accessed July 28, 2019. Patricia Routledge On Beatrix Potter: "Who was the Real Beatrix Potter?". YouTube, uploaded by Timeline - World History Documentaries. Accessed July 28, 2021.)

1887 - Marcel Duchamp (born Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp), French-American painter, sculptor, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. He was careful about his use of the term Dada and was not directly associated with Dada groups. (Dadaism is art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century). Here's Marcel Duchamp interview on Art and Dada (1956), uploaded by Manufacturing intellect. Accessed July 28, 2019.  

1922 - Jacques Piccard, Swiss oceanographer and engineer. An undersea explorer known for having developed underwater submarines for studying ocean currents. In the Challenger Deep, he and Lt. Don Walsh of the United States Navy were the first people to explore the deepest part of the world's ocean, and the deepest location on the surface of Earth's crust, the Mariana Trench, located in the western North Pacific Ocean.

1929 - Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis (née Bouvier), former First Lady of the United States as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. She was regarded as an international fashion icon. Her ensemble of a pink Chanel suit and matching pillbox hat that she wore in Dallas, Texas, when the president was assassinated on November 22, 1963, has become a symbol of her husband's death. Even after her death, she ranks as one of the most popular and recognizable First Ladies in American history, and in 1999, she was listed as one of Gallup's Most-Admired Men and Women of the 20th century.

1938 - Robert Hughes, AO (born Robert Studley Forrest Hughes), Australian-born art critic, writer, and producer of television documentaries, known for his contentious critiques of art and artists. Described in 1997 by Robert Boynton of The New York Times as "the most famous art critic in the world." Hughes earned recognition for his book and television series on modern art, The Shock of the New, and for his longstanding position as art critic with TIME magazine. He is also known for his best seller The Fatal Shore, a study of the British convict system in early Australian history.

1941 - Riccardo Muti, OMRI,  Italian conductor. He holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. He has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. Muti has been a prolific recording artist, and has received dozens of honours, titles, awards and prizes. He is especially associated with the music of Giuseppe Verdi. Today he is one of the most successful directors of the world. (Riccardo Muti Music).

Leftie:
None known

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 28 July - On This Day. 

Historical Events

1540 - Henry VIII, aged 44, marries 19-year-old Catherine Howard, wife number five.

1750 - Johann Sebastian Bach dies in Leipzig following a stroke; he was 65.

1850 - The Bach Gesellschaft  (Bach Society) is founded in Leipzig, marking the centenary of Bach's death. The society was for purpose of publishing the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach without editorial additions. The collected works are known as the "Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe."

 

July 27 Dateline

Birthdays

1781 - Mauro Giuliani, Italian guitarist, cellist, singer and composer. He was a leading guitar virtuoso of the early 19th century. (Giuliani Grand Overture played by Manuel Espinás, uploaded by Guitar Salon International. Accessed July 27, 2018.)

1824 - Alexandre Dumas fil, Jr. French author and playwright, son of Alexandre Dumas, Sr. or Père, famous for The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo). Dumas, Jr. is best known for the romantic novel La Dame aux Camélias (The Lady of the Camellias), published in 1848, which was adapted into Giuseppe Verdi's opera La traviata (The Fallen Woman), as well as numerous stage and film productions, usually titled Camille in English-language versions. (La dame aux camelias Camille 1921 Film Complet en Français (In French language only), uploaded by Marcus Telfer. Accessed July 27, 2018. 

1867 - Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer of classical music. He wrote piano music, chamber music (a piano quintet, a piano trio, music for violin and piano), songs, zarzuelas, and an orchestral tone poem based on Dante's Divine Comedy. Many of his piano compositions have been transcribed for the classical guitar: examples include Dedicatoria, Danza No. 5, Goyescas. Granados was a significant influence on at least two other famous Spanish composers and musicians, Manuel de Falla and Pablo Casals. (Granados plays Granados Goyescas No. 1 Los Requiebros. Updated by Gullivior. Accessed July 27, 2017.) 

1870 - Hilaire Belloc (born Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc), British-French writer and historian and one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. His Catholic faith had a strong impact on his works. He was President of the Oxford Union and later MP for Salford South from 1906 to 1910. He became a naturalised British subject in 1902 while retaining his French citizenship. His writings encompassed religious poetry and comic verse for children. His widely sold Cautionary Tales for Children included "Jim, who ran away from his nurse, and was eaten by a lion" and "Matilda, who told lies and was burned to death". He also collaborated with G. K. Chesterton on a number of works.

1877 - Ernst von Dohnanyi, Hungarian pianist and composer and conductor. He used a German form of his name on most of his published compositions. An International Ernst von Dohnányi Festival was held at Florida State University in 2002. The LSU professor Milton Hallman was a student of his and in 1987 recorded a CD called Works For Piano containing some of Dohnányi's most notable music.

1918 - Leonard Rose, American cellist ("America's Golden Age and its First Cellist"). He came much later than another favouite cellist of mine, Jacqueline du Pre. Leonard Rose, heartwarming and inspiring insights about him and his music, what fellow musicians say about him, and more. Leonard Rose: America's Golden Age and Its First Cellist. YouTube, uploaded by Steven Honigberg. Accessed July 27, 2018.)

1942 -  Barbara Gillian Ferris, English actress and former fashion model.  She appeared in a number of films and productions for television and is possibly best remembered as Dinah, the young woman who eloped with Dave Clark in the 1965 film Catch Us If You Can. Her other roles were as diverse as the female lead in Edward Bond's controversial play Saved (1965) and a vicar's wife in the television comedy series All in Good Faith in the mid-1980s. She also appeared in Interlude with Oskar Werner. Barbara Ferris is the older sister of actress Pam Ferris.
 

Lefties:
None known

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 27 July - On This Day.

Historical Events

1586 - Sir Walter Raleigh's colonists return to England from Virginia, bringing with them tobacco and potatoes. Raleigh soon plants the tobacco, so it no longer needs to be imported from Spain; he also plants the potatoes on his lands in Ireland.

1866 - The laying of the 2,000-mile (3,200 km) long copper Transatlantic Cable between Newfoundland and Ireland is completed. Telegraphs can now be sent from Europe to the U.S. Two previous attempts to lay cables had failed.

July 26 Dateline

Birthdays

 

1782 - John Field, was an Irish pianist, composer, and teacher. He is best known as the inventor of the nocturne, mentioned in passing in film War and Peace when Countess Rostova calls on the Rostov household musician to play her favourite nocturne. In London where the family moved to, he studied under Muzio Clementi, later becoming a concert pianist. Field was very highly regarded by his contemporaries and his playing and compositions influenced many major composers, including Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and Franz Liszt. (John Field - 18 Nocturnes. Played by John O'Conor.  YouTube, uploaded by Playliszt. Accessed July 26, 2021.)  

 

1791 - Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, also known as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jr., the youngest child of six born to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his wife Constanze Weber. He was the younger of his parents' two surviving children. Sadly, he hardly knew his famous father for he was born little more than four months before his father's death. Franz Xaver followed in his father's footsteps: a composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher from the late classical period whose musical style was of an early Romanticism, influenced by his father's mature style. (Franz Xaver Mozart - The Complete Piano Chamber Music, uploaded by Expedition Audio. Accessed July 26, 2015.)

1856 - George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright, whose play Pygmalion was the basis for Frederick Loewe's musical, My Fair Lady. He insists to be known simply as 'Bernard Shaw', was also a critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s and beyond after his death. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman, Pygmalion and Saint Joan. With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

1875 - Carl Gustav Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work was influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, and religious studies. He worked as a research scientist at the famous Burghölzli hospital, under Eugen Bleuler. (Introduction to Carl Jung - The Psyche, Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, uploaded by Ideas. Accessed July 26, 2018.)

1894 - Aldous Leonard Huxley, English writer and philosopher. He authored nearly fifty books (novels and non-fiction works) as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.He is famous for his book, Brave New World, a vision of well-ordered and highly-technological society of the future. 

1922 - Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump), American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His best-known films include Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), The Great Race (1965), 10 (1979), Victor/Victoria (1982), and the hugely successful Pink Panther film series with British actor Peter Sellers. Often thought of as primarily a director of comedies, he also directed several drama, musical, and detective films. Late in his career, he took up writing, producing and directing for theater. In 2004, he received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen. For 41 years, Edwards was married to Julie Andrews, his second wife, from 1969 until his death in 2010. 

1928 - Stanley Kubrick, American film director, screenwriter, producer, and photographer. He is cited as one of the most influential filmmakers in cinematic history. His films, mostly adaptations of novels or short stories, cover a wide range of genres, and are noted for their realism, dark humor, unique cinematography, extensive set designs, and evocative use of music. He had two collaborations with Kirk Douglas, the war picture Paths of Glory and the historical epic Spartacus. His first productions in Britain were two films with Peter Sellers, Lolita and Dr. Strangelove.

1939 - John Winston Howard, OM, AC, 25th Prime Minister of Australia, former politician, in office from 1996 to 2007. He is the second-longest serving prime minister, behind only Sir Robert Menzies, and the oldest living former prime minister following the death of Bob Hawke in 2019. He was leader of the Liberal Party from 1985 to 1989 and from 1995 to 2007.

1945 - Dame Helen Mirren, DBE (née Mironoff - Elena Lydia Vasilievna Mironova), English actress. Excelling on stage with the National Youth Theatre, her performance as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra in 1965 saw her invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company before she made her West End stage debut. She has had success in television and film. She is one of the few performers who have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in the US. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the same role in The Audience, and has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie four times.(Top Ten Helen Mirren Performances. YouTube, uploaded by WatchMojo Performances. Accessed July 26, 2020.) 

1956 - Dorothy Hamill, Retired American Olympic figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles.

1959 - Kevin Spacey Fowler, American actor, producer, and singer. He gained critical acclaim in the 1990s, culminating in an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the neo-noir crime thriller The Usual Suspects and an Academy Award for Best Actor for the midlife crisis-themed drama American Beauty. His starring roles have included Glengarry Glen Ross, the comedy-drama film Swimming with Sharks, the psychological thriller Seven, and more... including the musical biopic Beyond the Sea, the superhero film Superman Returns, and the action film Baby Driver. He played Frank Underwood in the Netflix political drama series House of Cards, which won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and two consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and 5 consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Drama Series.

1964 - Sandra Annette Bullock, American-German actress, producer, and philanthropist. She was the highest paid actress in the world in 2010 and 2014. In 2015, Bullock was chosen as People's Most Beautiful Woman and was included in Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. Bullock is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Bullock is the founder of the production company Fortis Films. She has produced some of the films in which she has starred, including Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous and All About Steve. She was an executive producer of the ABC sitcom George Lopez, and made several appearances during its runs.

Leftie:
Olympic figure skater Dorothy Hamill 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 26 July - On This Day.

 

Historical Events

1895 - Pierre Curie and Marie Sklodowska marry in Sceaux, France. In 1896 Marie Curie begins her doctoral thesis on the radioactivity of uranium and Pierre joins her in her work in 1898. Their daughter Irene, is born on September 12, 1897.

1945 - The Conservative Party loses the British general election and Winston Churchill is no longer Prime Minister.

July 25 Dateline

Birthdays

1853 - David Belasco, American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story Madame Butterfly for the stage, and he launched the theatrical career of many actors, including James O'Neill, Mary Pickford, Lenore Ulric and Barbara Stanwyck.

1883 - Alfredo Casella, Italian composer, arranger, pianist and conductor. He developed a deep admiration for Debussy's output after hearing Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune in 1898, but pursued a more romantic vein (stemming from Strauss and Mahler) in his own writing of this period, rather than turning to impressionism. His first symphony of 1905 is from this time, and it is with this work that Casella made his debut as a conductor when he led the symphony's premiere in Monte Carlo in 1908.(Alfredo Casella - Symphony No.1 in B-minor, Op.5 (1906), uploaded by KuhlauDilfeng4. Accessed July 25, 2015. Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma.Conductor: Francesco La Vecchia.) 

1934 - Don Ellis (born Donald Johnson Ellis), American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. He also worked as a film composer, contributing a score to 1971's The French Connection and 1973's The Seven-Ups.

1978 - Louise Joy Brown, English woman who was the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF. On the 25th July 2018 Louise celebrated her 40th birthday. marking the 40th year since the first successful treatment of IVF at Bourn Hall Clinic in the UK. Louise would spend most of the year travelling the world talking about her life and experiences in the fertility spotlight.

Lefties:
None known

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 25 July - On This Day.

 

Listening Pleasure: 

Mozart - Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K550. YouTube, uploaded by Am4d3usMOz4rt. Accessed July 25, 2018.  The 4 movements: 1. Molto Allegro 2. Andante 3. Menuetto; Allegretto 4. Allegro assai. 

Other Link:
Mozart Symphonies Nos. 39-41

Historical Events

1788 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his humanity's masterpiece, the 40th Symphony, the "Great G-minor Symphony," No. 40, KV 550. The composition occupied an exceptionally productive period for the composer for just a few weeks in 1788, during which time he also completed the 39th and 41st symphonies (26 June and 10 August, respectively).  Note July 25, 2016: At first I was hesitant to include this due to arguments from some Mozart biographers about the dates. Thanks to a Mozartian friend, Cristina Iordache, for sharing the information from researches of musicologist Dr. Michael Lorenz.

1797 - Admiral Nelson is badly wounded in his right arm as he leads a disastrous assault on the Spanish city of Santa Cruz, Tenerife. A musket ball shatters his bone and opens a major artery. To save his life, his arm is amputated without anesthetic on board HMS Theseus.

July 24 Dateline

Birthdays

1802 - Alexandre Dumas Sr., French writer, also known as Alexandre Dumas Père, best known for The Three Musketeers. His works have been translated into many languages, and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Movies adapted from Alexandre Dumas works include: The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), The Three Musketeers (1993), The Man in the Iron Mask (I) (1998) The Three Musketeers (2011) The Musketeer (2001) The Three Musketeers (1948) The Three Musketeers (1973) The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974).  (Alexandre Dumas, Sr.)

1803 - Adolphe-Charles Adam, French composer and music critic, best known for the ballet Giselle (1941). and Le corsaire (1856). He's also a prolific composer of operas, including Le postillon de Lonjumeau (1836), Le toréador (1849) and Si j'étais roi (1852). His Christmas carol Minuit, chrétiens! (1844), later set to different English lyrics and widely sung as "O Holy Night" (1847), is extremely popular. (Dame Kiri Te Kanawa sings "O, Holy Night". (Adolphe Adam arr. David Cullen). Performed with Philharmonia Orchestra, Carl Davis / conductor. Recorded at Barbican Center, London, UK, 1988. YouTube, uploaded by Dame Kiri Lover. Accessed July 24, 2012.) Adam was a noted teacher, who taught Delibes and other influential composers.(Enjoy Giselle ballet video below.)

1874 - Oswald Chambers, early twentieth-century Scottish baptist and Holiness Movement evangelist and teacher, best known for the devotional 'My Utmost for His Highest'.

1880 - Ernest Bloch,  Swiss-born American composer. He was a preeminent artist in his day, recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As well as producing musical scores, Bloch had an academic career that culminated in his recognition as Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley in 1952. Bloch's musical style does not fit easily into any of the usual categories. He studied variously with Jaques-Dalcroze, Iwan Knorr and Ludwig Thuille, corresponding with Mahler. His works draw heavily on his Jewish heritage.(Ernest Bloch - Prayer. YouTube, uploaded by JahanChannel. Accessed July 24, 2020.)

1895 - Robert (von Ranke) Graves, British poet, historical novelist, critic, and classicist. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival. Robert Graves produced numerous works. His poems - together with his translations and innovative analysis and interpretations of the Greek myths; his memoir of his early life, including his role in World War I, Good-Bye to All That; and his speculative study of poetic inspiration, The White Goddess - continue to be in print.

1897 - Amelia (Mary) Earhart, American aviatrix, aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of 'The Ninety-Nines', an organization for female pilots. (What Really Happened to Amelia Earhart? Uploaded by The Story Behind. Accessed July 24, 2019.)

1900 - Zelda Fitzgerald ( (née Sayre), American socialite, novelist, painter and wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband as "the first American Flapper". (The Secret Role of Zelda Fitzgerald. Uploaded by Strand Book Store. Accessed July 24, 2019.)  

1914 - Frances Oldham Kelsey, CM (Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey), Canadian-born American pharmacologist and physician. As a reviewer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), she refused to authorize thalidomide for market because she had concerns about the lack of evidence regarding the drug's safety. Dr. Kelsey helped shape and enforce amendments to FDA drug regulation laws to institutionalize protection of the patient in drug investigations. These regulations required that drugs be shown to be both safe and effective, that informed consent be obtained from patients when used in clinical trials, and that adverse reactions be reported to the FDA. In 1995, the town of Mill Bay, British Columbia, honored Dr. Kelsey by naming the Frances Kelsey Secondary School for her. In 2000, Kelsey was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. (Changing the Life of Medicine: Dr. F. Kelsey Bio. Accessed July 24, 2016.)

1920 - Arthur Boyd, AC OBE (born Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd), Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. His work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, and many canvases feature both. Several famous works set Biblical stories against the Australian landscape, such as The Expulsion (1947–48), now at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Having a strong social conscience, Boyd's work deals with humanitarian issues and universal themes of love, loss and shame.

1947 - Peter (Adolf) Serkin, American classical pianist. He won the Grammy Award for Most Promising New Classical Recording Artist in 1966, and he performed globally, known for not only "technically pristine" playing but also a "commitment to contemporary music". He taught at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, Yale University, and Bard College.

1949 - Michael Anthony Richards, Actor, American retired comedian, and television producer. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first entering the national spotlight when he was featured on Billy Crystal's first cable TV special. He went on to become a series regular on ABC's Fridays, and some film starring roles.

Lefties:
Actor and TV Producer Michael Richards

More birthdays and historical events today, 24 July - On This Day.




Natalia Osipova as Giselle and Carlos Acosta as Albrecht in Act II of Peter Wright's production of Marius Petipa’s Giselle.  Natalia Osipova, in a breath-taking interpreation of the title role, was formerly a Bolshoi star then later Royal Ballet principal.



Adolphe Adam's Giselle remains one of the most popular Romantic ballets of all time.

July 23 Dateline

Birthdays

1796 - Franz Berwald,  Swedish Romantic composer and orthopedic surgeon (I'm sharing a favourite Piano Concerto in D-major by Berwald. YouTube, uploaded by KuhlauDilfeng2. Accessed July 23, 2018.)

1823 - Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore, English poet and critic best known for The Angel in the House, his narrative poem about an ideal happy marriage. As a young man, Patmore found employment in the British Museum. Upon the publication of his first book of poems in 1844, he became acquainted with members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Patmore is today one of the least-known but best-regarded Victorian poets.

1888 - Raymond Thornton Chandler, American-British novelist and screenwriter. At the age of forty-four, he became a detective fiction writer. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime; have been made into motion pictures. Three of Chandler's novels have been regarded as masterpieces: Farewell, My Lovely, The Little Sister, and The Long Goodbye. The Long Goodbye was praised in an anthology of American crime stories as "arguably the first book since Hammett's The Glass Key, ... to qualify as a serious and significant mainstream novel that just happened to possess elements of mystery".

1938 - Romy Schneider (born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach), German-French actress. She began her career in the German Heimatfilm genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central character of Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the Austrian Sissi  trilogy, and later reprised the role in a more mature version in Visconti's Ludwig. The trilogy was also condensed into a popular film "Forever My Love" with  Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, and Vilma Degischer. Schneider moved to France, where she made successful films with most notable film directors of the era.  A musical about Schneider, Romy – Die Welt aus Gold (Romy – The Golden World) was premiered in 2009 at the Theater Heilbronn. The film 3 Days in Quiberon by Emily Atef describes a 1981 episode in Schneider's life in the French town of Quiberon. On 23 September 2020, Google celebrated her 82nd birthday with a Google Doodle in Germany, France, Austria, Iceland and Ukraine. (Sissi-Forever my love (English version) part one; part two.) YouTube, uploaded by LuckyStarat. Accessed July 23, 2018.)   

1961 - Woody Tracy Harrelson, Actor, American actor and playwright. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom Cheers, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from a total of five nominations. He has received three Academy Award nominations: Best Actor for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Best Supporting Actor for The Messenger and for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Marty Hart in the first season of the HBO crime anthology series True Detective.

1989 - Daniel Jacob Radcliffe, English actor and producer. He is known for playing the titular protagonist in the Harry Potter film series, based on the novels by J. K. Rowling. During this period, Radcliffe became one of the highest-paid actors in the world, gained worldwide fame, and received many accolades for his performances in the series. Following the success of the Harry Potter films, Radcliffe portrayed lawyer Arthur Kipps in the horror film The Woman in Black; the poet Allen Ginsberg in the film Kill Your Darlings; Victor Frankenstein's assistant, Igor, in the science fiction fantasy Victor Frankenstein; and more ... e.g., FBI agent Nate Foster in the critically acclaimed thriller Imperium. Radcliffe began to branch out to stage acting in 2007, and in the 2011 Broadway revival of the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Since 2018, Radcliffe has starred in the TBS anthology television series Miracle Workers.

Lefties:
None known

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 23 July - On This Day.

Historical Events

1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Stewart) lands in Scotland at Eriksay with only eight supporters. The army he raises is defeated by English forces at the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746.  He finally returned to France on September 26, evading capture.

1903 - The Ford Motor Company of Detroit sells its first car, the Ford Model A, designed by Henry Ford.

July 22 Dateline

Birthdays

1766 -  Franz Xaver Süssmayr (also Süßmayr, or Suessmayr in English), Austrian composer and conductor, popularly known as the composer who completed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's unfinished Requiem. Also, there have been performances of Süssmayr's operas at Kremsmünster, and his secular political cantata (1796), Der Retter in Gefahr, SmWV 302, received its first full performance in over 200 years in June 2012 in a new edition by Mark Nabholz, conducted by Terrence Stoneberg. There are also CD recordings of his unfinished clarinet concerto (completed by Michael Freyhan), one of his German requiems, and his Missa Solemnis in D.

 

1822 - Gregor Johann Mendel, Austrian monk and scientist, an Augustinian friar and Abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brno, Margraviate of Moravia. He was born in a German-speaking family in the Silesian part of the Austrian Empire and gained posthumous recognition as the founder of the modern science of genetics. (Gregor Mendel. Uploaded by Teacher's Pet. Accessed July22, 2016.)

1882 - Edward Hopper, American realist painter. He later became a prolific artist whose works depict urban loneliness, disappointment, even despair. Hopper continues to be regarded as an important painter of the “American Imagination”, a phenomenon which his urban paintings capture. (Edward Hopper: the artist who evoked urban loneliness and disappointment with beautiful clarity. Written by James Peacock. The Conversation. Accessed January 22, 2020. Edward Hopper - Painter of Alienation. Uploaded by Colin Wingfield. Accessed January 22, 2017.)

1938 - Terence Henry Stamp, English actor. He has been referred to as the “master of the brooding silence” by The Guardian. His performance in the title role of Billy Budd, his film debut, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer. Associated with the Swinging London scene of the 1960s – during which time he was in high-profile relationships with actress Julie Christie and supermodel Jean Shrimpton.

1947 - Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein),  American actor, comedian, writer, and director. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's Broadcast News. He has written, directed, and starred in several comedy films, such as Modern Romance (1981), Lost in America, and Defending Your Life (1991). He is also the author of 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America.

1973 - Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright, American-Canadian singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded nine albums of original music and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set Shakespeare sonnets to music for a theater piece by Robert Wilson. (Rufus Wainwright - Going To A Town. YouTube, (c) 2007 Geffen Records. Accessed July 22, 2010.)

2013 - Prince George of Wales (George Alexander Louis), Member of the British royal family. He is the eldest child of William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales. George is the eldest grandchild of King Charles III and is second in the line of succession to the British throne behind his father. George was born at St Mary's Hospital in London during the reign of his paternal great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. His birth was widely celebrated across the Commonwealth realms due to the expectation that he will eventually become king. 

Lefties:
Actor and director Albert Brooks
Actor Terence Stamp

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 22 July - On This Day.

Historical Events 

1793 - Sir Alexander MacKenzie and his party arrive at the Pacific Ocean on this day, making them the first European to cross Canada. They traveled on foot and by canoe.

1812 - In Spain, the Battle of Salamanca takes place. The Duke of Wellington at first intended to pull back to Portugal after six weeks of sparring with French forces under Marshal Marmont. But when he sees a gap open on Marmont's left flank, he orders an attack. The victory is a crucial step in the Napoleonic wars.

July 21 Dateline

Birthdays

1620 - Jean Picard (Jean-Félix Picard), French Astronomer and Priest born in La Flèche, where he studied at the Jesuit Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand. He is principally notable for his accurate measure of the size of the Earth, based on a careful survey of one degree of latitude along the Paris Meridian.

 

1863 - Sir Charles Aubrey Smith, CBE, English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of The Prisoner of Zenda. In Hollywood, he organised British actors into a cricket team, much intriguing local spectators. (Top/Best 10 Movies of C. Aubrey Smith. YouTube uploaded by SuperMovie. Accessed July 21, 2021.)

1883 - Carl Engel, French-born American Pianist, Musicologist and Publisher from Paris. He was also President of G. Schirmer, Inc., a Writer on Music for The Musical Quarterly, and Chief of the Music Division of the Library of Congress.

1899 - Ernest Miller Hemingway, American Journalist, Novelist, Short-story Writer, and Sportsman. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, "for his mastery of the art of narrative, demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style." He published seven novels, six short-story collections, and two non-fiction works. Three of his novels, four short-story collections, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature.(Ernest Hemingway Biography. Uploaded by CloudBiography. Accessed July 21, 2015.  Short but beautifully animated story of Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. Uploaded by Encore+. Accessed July 21, 2018. Narrated story of  The Old Man and the Sea. Accessed September 11, 2018.)

1907 - A.D. Hope, AC OBE (Alec Derwent Hope), Australian Poet and Essayist known for his satirical slant. He was also a critic, teacher and academic. In 1998 a celebration of his life and works, The Scythe Honed Fine, was published by the National Library of Australia.

1920 - Isaac Stern, American Violinist (A tribute to Isaac Stern). Sharing Isaac Stern's moving and powerful interpretation of Sibelius's Violin Concerto in D minor, conducted by Andre Previn. Uploaded by Nick Bottom. Accessed July 21, 2017.

1951 - Robin McLaurin Williams, American Actor, Comedian and singer, known for his improvisation skills and the wide variety of memorable voices he created. He is often regarded by critics as one of the best comedians of all time. He began performing stand-up comedy in San Francisco and Los Angeles during the mid-1970s, and rose to fame for playing the alien Mork in the sitcom Mork & Mindy.

1971 - Sara Seager, Canadian-American Astronomer and Planetary Scientist. She is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is known for her work on extrasolar planets and their atmospheres. She is the author of two textbooks on these topics, and has been recognized for her research by Popular Science, Discover Magazine, Nature, and TIME Magazine. Seager was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2013 citing her theoretical work on detecting chemical signatures on exoplanet atmospheres and developing low-cost space observatories to observe planetary transits.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays today, and historical events, today 21 July - On This Day.

Feature:

Isaac Stern performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, Op.64, IBA, with Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. YouTube, uploaded by violinist102. Accessed July 21, 2018.

 

Historical Events

1403 - The Battle of Shrewsbury takes place, between the Lancastrian King Henry IV and a rebel army led by members of the Percy family from Northumberland. It is also remembered as the climax of Shakespeare's play, Henry IV, Part I.

1873 - William Gosse, an English explorer, announces the discovery in Australia of the world's largest monolith, which he names Ayers Rock, named after South Australian Premier, Sir Henry Ayers. In 1985, the rock, named "Uluru" is handed back to the Mutitjulu people.

July 20 Dateline

Birthdays

1304 - Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca), Italian poet. Francesco Petrarca, commonly anglicized as Petrarch, was a scholar and poet of Renaissance Italy who was one of the earliest humanists. His rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with inventing the 14th-century Renaissance. Petrarch is often considered the founder of Humanism. (Petrarch and the Sonnet. Uploaded by SixMinuteScholar. Accessed July 20, 2014.)

1797 - Sir Paweł Edmund Strzelecki KCMG CB FRS FRGS, also known as Paul Edmund de Strzelecki, Polish explorer, geologist and philanthrope (British subject in 1845.)  He is noted for his contributions to the exploration of Australia, particularly the Snowy Mountains and Tasmania as well as climbing and naming the highest mountain on the continent – Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m). (Australian Dictionary of Biogrpahy)

1919 - Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG ONZ KBE, New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. (Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climb Everest - 1953 archive video. Uploaded by The Guadian. Accessed July 20, 2015. Sir Edmund Hillary - The Race for Everest. Uploaded by dim edin. Accessed July 20, 2018.) 

1924 - Robert D. Maurer, American industrial physicist, noted for his leadership in the invention of the optical fiber.  He holds 16 patents, including:  (1) US Patent 3,659,915: Fused Silica Optical Waveguide; Method of Producing Optical Waveguide Fibers, and (2) US Patent 3,711,262: Optical Fibers.

1927 - Michael Andreas Gielen, Austrian conductor and composer who promoted contemporary music in opera and concert. (Michael Gielen: Beethoven Symphonies Box Nos. 1-9.  YouTube, uploaded by EuroArtsChannel. Accessed July 20, 2018.)

1938 - Dame Diana Rigg, CBE, DBE (born Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg), English actress, famous for her role as Emma Peel in the hit spy television show The Avengers, and as the Bond girl who becomes Mrs. James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. She also played as Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2013–17). Her career in theatre, includes: playing the title role in Medea, in London and New York, for which she won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She was made a CBE in 1988 and a Dame in 1994 for services to drama. Diana Rigg made her professional stage debut in 1957 in The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1959. She made her Broadway debut in the 1971 production of Abelard & Heloise. Her film roles include Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream; Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service; more... She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the BBC miniseries Mother Love, and an Emmy Award for her role as Mrs. Danvers in an adaptation of Rebecca. Her other television credits include Doctor Who episode "The Crimson Horror" with her daughter, Rachael Stirling. (1970s Diana Rigg BBC Parkinson interviews. So clever and intelligent, a favourite interviewee ever. Uploaded by TaggleElgate. Accessed July 20, 2019.)

1938 - Natalie Wood (born born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko), Russian-American actress. She received three Oscar nominations before she was 25. She began acting in films at age 4 and was given a co-starring role at age 8 in the popular Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street. As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Rebel Without a Cause, followed by The Searchers. Wood starred in the musical films West Side Story and Gypsy, and received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her Splendor in the Grass and Love with the Proper Stranger. Her career continued with films such as Sex and the Single Girl, Inside Daisy Clover, and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. She drowned off Catalina Island on November 29, 1981, at age 43. The events surrounding her death have been explained by conflicting witness statements.

Lefties:
None known

 

 

More birthdays today, 20 July - On This Day.


Feature:  
Maestro Michael Gielen:  Conducts Beethoven Symphonies.

Historical Events

1810 - Independence Day of Colombia. On this day in 1810, Simon Bolivar defied Spain and declared Colombia's independence. Full independence was gained three years later, in 1813.

1944 - Colonel Claus Stauffenberg takes a bomb in a briefcase to a meeting in Hitler's bunker. minutes later, the bomb goes off, but Hitler survives (this is the third assassination attempt on the German dictator's life), while four others die.

July 19 Dateline

Famous Birthdays

1834 - Edgar Degas, French artist famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings. He is especially identified with the subject of dance; more than half of his works depict dancers. Regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, he rejected the term, preferring to be called a realist. (Degas Biography from Good-bye Academy, uploaded by Philintecircle. Accessed July 19, 2015. Famous Edgar Degas Painting. Uploaded by Arts Heaven. Accessed July 19, 2015.  Edgar Degas: Collection of 658 Paintings, uploaded by LearnFrom Masters. July 19, 2017.)    

1896 - Archibad Joseph Cronin, Scottish novelist and physician, best-known for his novel The Citadel (1937), the story of a Scottish doctor in a Welsh mining village, who quickly moves up the career ladder in London. (The Citadel by A.J. Cronin. Uploaded by Daisy Mason. Accessed July 19, 2019.)

1941 - Vikki Carr, American vocalist, born to parents with Mexican ancestry. She has performed in a variety of musical genres, including pop, jazz and country, while her greatest success has come from singing in Spanish. She established the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation in 1971.(Vikki Carr 2017 Greatest Hits (Full Album). Uploaded by VikkiCarrVEVO. Accessed July 19, 2017.)   

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 19 July - On This Day.

Historical Events

64 C.E. - The Great Fire of Rome begins and rages for six days, destroying 3 of the 14 precincts of the city,  and damaging 7 more. Some Romans believe that Emperor Nero lit the fire; he is overthrown four years later.

1545 - The Mary Rose sinks during a military engagement with the French off Portsmouth. About 300 people drown. In 1982, the ship is raised and put in a British museum.

July 18 Dateline

Famous Birthdays

 1635 - Robert Hooke,  FRS, English polymath, architect and natural philosopher. He was financially impoverished scientific inquirer as a young adult but came into wealth and good reputation following his actions as Surveyor to the City of London after the great fire of 1666 (in which he appears to have performed more than half of all the surveys after the fire). At that time, he was also the curator of experiments of the Royal Society, and a member of its council, Gresham Professor of Geometry. He was an important architect of his time and was instrumental in devising a set of planning controls for London, the influence of which remains. 

1670 - Giovanni Bononcini (or Buononcini), Italian opera composer. Here's his Baroque music:  Baroque mementos ~ Giovanni Bononcini ~ La nemica d'Amore fatta amante (1693) ~ "Pur ti riveggio." Accessed July 18, 2017.

1811 - William Makepeace Thackeray, British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society. (William Makepeace Thackeray: Vanity Fair. Uploaded by Eric Masters, accessed July 18, 2017.)

1821 - Pauline Viardot-Garcia, French mezzo-soprano (She was a leading nineteenth-century French mezzo-soprano, pedagogue, and composer of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García, her name appears in various forms. Here are two songs by Pauline Viardot: 'Aimez-moi ma mignonne' (from Six chansons du XVe siècle, published 1886) sung by Françoise Masset accompanied by Françoise Tillard (on an 1843 Erard piano) and 'Hai luli!' (from Six mélodies et une havanaise, published 1880) sung by Cecilia Bartoli accompanied by Myung-Whung Chung. )

1902 - (Mary) Jessamyn West, American author of short stories and novels, notably The Friendly Persuasion (1945). She received an honorary Doctor of Letters (Litt.D) degree from Whittier College in 1946, and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize in 1975.

1918 - Nelson Mandela (born Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela), South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.

1921 - John Glenn, Astronaut (5th man in space) and former US Senator. By 2007, he is still the oldest man to have gone into space, reaching the orbit in 1998 at the age of 77.

1947 - Steve Forbes (born Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes Jr.), American publishing executive. He was a candidate in the 1996 and 2000 Republican Presidential primaries. Forbes is the Editor-in-Chief of Forbes, a business magazine.

1950 - Sir Richard (Charles Nicholas) Branson, British business magnate, author and former philanthropist. He founded the Virgin Group in the 1970s, which controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age.

Lefties:
Businessman/Politician Steve Forbes
Author Jessamyn West

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 18 July - On This Day.

Historical Events

1814 - Matthew Flinders' book A Voyage to Terra Australis is published, in which he advocates using the name "Australia" for  the southern continent. He dies the following day.   

1898 - Marie Curie and husband Pierre Curie announce they have discovered a new, highly unstable chemical element, which they call polonium after Marie's homeland, Poland. It is the first element discovered by radioactive analysis.

July 17 Dateline

Birthdays

1889 - Erle Stanley Gardner,  American writer and lawyer, famous as creator of Perry Mason series of detective stories, but he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces and also a series of nonfiction books, mostly narrations of his travels through Baja California and other regions in Mexico. The best-selling American author of the 20th century at the time of his death, Gardner also published under numerous pseudonyms, including A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray and Robert Parr.

1899 - James Cagney, American actor (James Cagney - "Yankee Doodle" Medley. Cagney shows his versatility in these two song and dance numbers from George M. Cohan's life-story.  'Give my Regards to Broadway' &'Yankee Doodle Dandy' scenes from the 1942 film 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'. Uploaded by MinstrelSurfer. Accessed July 17, 2018.)

1902 - Christina Stead, Australian novelist and short-story writer acclaimed for her satirical wit and penetrating psychological characterisations. She was a committed Marxist, although she was never a member of the Communist Party. She was awards the patrick White Award.  Notable work: The Man Who Loved Children.(The Late Great: Christina Stead. Uploaded by WheelerCentre. Accessed July 17, 2018).

1935 - Donald (McNichol) Sutherland, CC, Canadian actor whose film career spans more than seven decades. He has been nominated for eight Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films Citizen X and Path to War; the former also earned him a Primetime Emmy Award.

1935 - Peter Schickele, American composer, arranger, musical educator, and parodist, best known for comedy albums featuring his music, but which he presents as being composed by the fictional P. D. Q. Bach. He also hosted a long-running weekly radio program called Schickele Mix. From 1990 to 1993, Schickele's P.D.Q. Bach recordings earned him four consecutive wins for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.

1947 - Queen Camilla, GCVO, CSM, PC (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles; 17 July 1947) is Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III, member of the British royal family. She is the second wife of King Charles III. Camilla carries out public engagements representing the monarchy, often alongside her husband. She is also the patron, the president, or a member, of numerous charities and organisations. Since 1994, Camilla has campaigned to raise awareness of osteoporosis, which has earned her several honours and awards. She has also campaigned to raise awareness of issues such as rape, sexual abuse, illiteracy, animal welfare, and poverty.

1952 - Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub), American singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues" and her credited guest vocals backing Paul Simon on "Gone at Last". She was described by The New York Times as a "contralto grounded in a bluesy growl and capable of sweeping over four octaves." Snow also sang numerous commercial jingles for many U.S. products during 1980s and 1990s including General Foods International Coffees, Salon Selectives, and Stouffer's. In 2003, Snow released her album Natural Wonder on Eagle Records, containing 10 original tracks, her first original material in 14 years.

1954 - Angela Dorothea Merkel (née Kasner), German former politician and scientist who served as chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She previously served as Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union from 2000 to 2018. Merkel was the first female chancellor of Germany. During her chancellorship, Merkel was frequently referred to as the de facto leader of the European Union (EU) and the most powerful woman in the world. Beginning in 2016, she was often described as the leader of the free world. She obtained a doctorate in quantum chemistry in 1986 and worked as a research scientist until 1989. Merkel entered politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989. Following German reunification in 1990, Merkel was elected to the Bundestag for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. As the protégée of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Merkel was appointed as Minister for Women and Youth in 1991, later becoming Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in 1994. In 2014 she became the longest-serving incumbent head of government in the European Union. 

 
Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 17 July - On This Day.

 

Historical Events

1717 - George Frideric Handel's Water Music is performed on a barge at an aquatic fete on the Thames River for King George I. (Here's a video of Water Music performed by the English Baroque Soloists, with John Eliot Gardiner. Youtube, uploaded by jmymusik, accessed July 17, 2017)

1762 - Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia nine days after her husband, Tsar Peter III, is strangled in his bedroom in a prison fortress.

July 16 Dateline

Birthdays

1858 - Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, conductor, and composer. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". He came from a background of "artisans", though a large part of his family played instruments. Ysaÿe was a friend of Claude Debussy and they corresponded by letter. Ysaÿe was a significant supporter of the younger composer's early career. Debussy dedicated his only string quartet to the violinist, who studied the score with great care. (Hilary Hahn performs Ysaye Sonata No. 5 "Danse Rustique" (Better Quality). YouTube, uploaded by The Violin Netwok. July 16, 2020.)

1872 - Roald Amundsen (born Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen), Norwegian explorer of polar regions and a key figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He led the first expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage by sea, from 1903 to 1906, and the first expedition to the South Pole in 1911. He led the first expedition proven to have reached the North Pole in a dirigible in 1926. He disappeared in 1928 while taking part in a rescue mission for the airship Italia. 

1901 - Fritz Mahler, Austrian-American conductor, whose father was a cousin of the composer Gustav Mahler. In Europe he became a leading conductor with the Berlin Radio Symphony, the Dresden Philharmonic and the Danish State Symphony. He fled Europe in 1936 for the United States. He taught at the Juilliard School in New York for many years (advanced conducting, director of the opera department). F. Mahler was music director of the Erie Philharmonic from 1947 to 1953 and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra from 1953 to 1962. (Fritz Mahler conducts Gustav Mahler Symphony No.5 - Rai Roma (1958). YouTube, uploaded by goodmanmusica. Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai di Roma (16.07.58). Accessed July 16, 2020. 

1911 - Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath), American actress, dancer and singer during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood and is often considered an American icon. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in Kitty Foyle (1940), but is best remembered for performing during the 1930s in RKO's musical films with Fred Astaire. Her career continued on stage, radio and television throughout much of the 20th century. (Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers (Tap Dance. Youtube, uploaded by ourmarvellousworld. Accessed July 16, 2020.)

 1948 - Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Zukerman is on the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and is the founder of the Zukerman Performance Program at the school. In 1999 he founded the National Arts Centre Young Artists Programme, which counts young musicians. Zukerman plays the "Dushkin" Guarnerius del Gesù violin of 1742. His honours include the King Solomon Award, the National Medal of Arts (presented by President Reagan in 1983), the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence, and an honorary doctorate from Brown University. (Pinchas Zukerman: Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 4 in D, K218. YouTube, uploaded by allegrofilms. Accessed July 16, 2019. Zukerman is both conductor and soloist. Live recording from Munich Hercules Hall, Germany (1973).


Lefties:

Actress Ginger Rogers (1911)  

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 16 July - On This Day.

Historical Events

1212 - Spanish King Alphonso VIII leads soldiers from several Christian nations against a Moorish army and defeats them at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. This starts the retreat of the Moors from Spain. 

1782 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera  Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) premieres.