October 12 Dateline

Birthdays

1725 - Etienne Louis Geoffroy, French entomologist and pharmacist. He followed the binomial nomenclature of Carl von Linné and devoted himself mainly to beetles. He was the author of Histoire abrégée des Insectes qui se trouvent aux environs de Paris. Paris : Durand Vol. 1 8 + 523 pp. 10 pls (1762) and co-author with Antoine François of Entomologia Parisiensis, sive, Catalogus insectorum quae in agro Parisiensi reperiuntur ... (1785).

1872 - Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over sixty years. Strongly influenced by Tudor music and English folk-song, his output marked a decisive break in British music from its German-dominated style of the 19th century.

1935 - Luciano Pavarotti, Italian operatic tenor who also crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time. He made numerous recordings gaining worldwide fame for the quality of his tone, and eventually established himself as one of the finest tenors of the 20th century, achieving the honorific title "king of the high C's". From the beginning of his professional career as a tenor in 1961 in Italy to his final performance of "Nessun dorma" at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Pavarotti was at his best in bel canto operas, pre-Aida Verdi roles, and Puccini's famous works. Pavarotti was also noted for his charity work on behalf of refugees and the Red Cross, amongst others. (Pavarotti sings Nessun Dorma and Torna a Surriento. YouTube, uploaded by dreamer100pre. Accessed October 12, 2015.)

1968 - Hugh Jackman, Australian actor, singer, and producer. He is best known for playing Wolverine in the X-Men film series from 2000 to 2017, a role for which he holds the Guinness World Record for "longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero". Jackman is also recognised for his lead roles in romantic comedy, action and drama films. Versatile and multi-talented, Hugh Jackman has also played the roles for period romance Australia (2008), the film version of Les Misérables (2012), the thriller Prisoners (2013), and the musical The Greatest Showman (2017), for which he received a Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album. For playing Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Leftie:
Actor and Film Producer Hugh Jackman

 

Death:

Singer & Songwriter John Denver (October 12, 1997). In remembrance: John Denver / Live at The Apollo Theatre, 26 October 1982. Uploaded by M masassa. Accessed Oct 12, 2018. 

 

 

More birthdays and historical events, October 12 - On This Day

Historical Events

1910 - Ralph Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony, for soprano, baritone, chorus, and orchestra (after American poet Walt Whitman's poem of the same name), is first performed at the Leeds Festival in England.

1931 - Johnny Weismuller, Olympic swimmer, is offered the role of Tarzan by MGM after being spotted at a hotel swimming pool. He makes Tarzan movies throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

October 11 Dateline

Birthdays

1815 - Prince Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte, French nobleman, revolutionary and politician, the son of Lucien Bonaparte and his second wife Alexandrine de Bleschamp. He was a nephew of Napoleon I of France.

1884 - Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Former U.S. First Lady, American political figure, Diplomat and Activist. Then President Harry Truman called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements. She served as the First Lady of the United States from March 4, 1933, to April 12, 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office, making her the longest-serving First Lady of the United States.  She was the niece of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. Her husband, FDR (the 32nd President), was her distant cousin. (Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Speech. Uploaded by PublicResourceOrg.  Eleanor Roosevelt - Her Star Shines. Uploaded by FDRLibrary. Both accessed October 11, 2011.) Eleanor Roosevelt advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace, the civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans, and the rights of World War II refugees. Following her husband's death in 1945, she remained active in politics for the remaining 17 years of her life.

1884 - Friedrich Bergius, German chemist and inventor, Nobel Laureate, known for the Bergius process for producing synthetic fuel from coal, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition of contributions to the invention and development of chemical high-pressure methods.

1885 - Francois Charles Mauriac, French author, poet, playwright, critic and journalist. He was a member of the Académie française (from 1933), and laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1952. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur in 1958.

1966 - Luke Perry (born Coy Luther Perry III), American actor. He became a teen idol for playing Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990 to 1995, and again from 1998 to 2000. He also starred as Fred Andrews on the CW series Riverdale . He had guest roles on notable shows which are Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Simpsons, and Will & Grace, and also starred in several films, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 8 Seconds, The Fifth Element, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his final feature performance.

1974 - Rachel Barton Pine (born Rachel Elizabeth Barton), American violinist. She debuted with the Chicago Symphony at age 10, and was the first American and youngest ever gold medal winner of the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition. Pine tours worldwide as a soloist with prestigious orchestras, has an active recording career, and runs The Rachel Barton Pine Foundation since 2001 which provides services and funding to promote classical music education and performances. (Rachel Barton Pine plays Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs with the Highland Park Strings at Ravinia. Accessed October 11, 2015. Rachel Barton Pine On Mozart, with Sir Neville Mariner, St Martin in the Fields. Accessed October 11, 2018.)

Leftie:
Actor Luke Perry

 

More birthdays and historical events, October 11 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1727 - One of George Frideric Handel's best-known works, Zadok the Priest: The Coronation Anthem (HWV 258), alongside other three coronation anthems: The King Shall Rejoice, My Heart is Inditing, and Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened, premiered on October 11, 1727, when King George II was crowned in London's Westminster Abbey. Zadok the Priest has been sung prior to the anointing of the sovereign at the coronation of every British monarch since its composition and has become recognised as a British patriotic anthem.

1811 - The first steam-powered ferry begins service between New York and Hoboken, New Jersey

1830 - Frederic Chopin is soloist in his Piano Concerto No. 1, in a Warsaw theatre, Poland.