Today CXCV

Birthdays:

• Jan Brozek, aka Joannes Broscius, mathematician, physician, and astronomer, November 1, 1585 - November 21, 1652


• Marie-Louise-Emma-Cécile Lajeunesse, aka Dame Emma Albani DBE, soprano, the first Canadian singer to become an international star, November 1, 1847 - April 3, 1930


• Stephen Crane, author, best known for 1895's The Red Badge of Courage, November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900


• Roger Quilter, composer, November 1, 1877 – September 21, 1953


• Carlos Saavedra Lamas, academic and politician, awarded the 1936 Nobel Peace Prize, November 1, 1878 – May 5, 1959


• Alfred Lothar Wegener, Ph.D. in astronomy, interdisciplinary scientist and meteorologist, who became famous for his theory of continental drift; he died on an expedition to the North Pole, November 1, 1880 – November 2 or 3, 1930


• Edward Van Sloan, movie character actor, remembered for his roles in Universal Studios horror films, including Dracula (1931), in which he played Abraham van Helsing, Frankenstein (1931), and The Mummy (1932), November 1, 1881 - March 6, 1964


• Philip John Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, politician, diplomat, academic, and amateur athlete who received the 1959 Nobel Peace Prize, November 1, 1889 – October 8, 1982


• Eugen Jochum, conductor; Principal Conductor, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1932 to 1934; Chief Conductor, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1949 to 1960; Principal Conductor, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra from 1969 to 1973, November 1, 1902 – March 26, 1987


• Rabbi Moshe (Moses) Teitelbaum, Hasidic rebbe, the world leader of the Satmar Hasidim, which is believed to be the largest Hasidic community in the world, with some 100,000 followers, November 1, 1914 – April 24, 2006


• Gordon Rupert Dickson, science fiction author, known for his Childe Cycle books; he won three Hugo Awards: best short story, 1965, for Soldier, Ask Not; best novella, 1981, for Lost Dorsai; best novelette, 1981, for The Cloak and the Staff; he won a Nebula Award for best novelette, 1966, for Call Him Lord, November 1, 1923 – January 31, 2001


• Victòria de los Àngeles, operatic soprano, whose career began in the early 1940's and reached its height in the mid 1970's; while later making fewer appearances in opera, she continued to give recitals into the 1990's, focusing on mostly French and Spanish lieder; she sang at the Barcelona [her city of birth] Olympic Games in 1992, November 1, 1923 – January 15, 2005


• Lou Donaldson, jazz alto saxophonist, known for his soulful, bluesy approach to the sax, 1926


• Patricia Betsy Hrunek, aka Betsy Palmer, movie and television actress; she was a long-time panelist on I've Got a Secret [1957 to 1967]; from 1953 to 2001, she was a guest star on 73 TV programmes, 1926


• A. R. Gurney, playwright and novelist, 1930


• Alger Joseph AL Arbour< former NHL player and coach, 1932


• William Mathias, composer, November 1, 1934 — July 29, 1992


• Edward Wadie Said, literary theorist, critic, and Palestinian activist, a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, November 1, 1935 – September 25, 2003


• James William BILL Anderson III, country music singer and songwriter, 1937


• Barbara Bosson, television and film actress, 1939


• Barry Sadler, author and musician, who served as a Green Beret medic and Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, known for his Ballad of The Green Berets, November 1, 1940 – September 8, 1989


• Larry Claxton Flynt, Jr., publisher, the head of Larry Flynt Publications, publisher of Hustler magazine, 1942


• Dennis Muren, movie special effects artist, known for his work on the films of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, 1946


• Richard Roman RIC Grech, rock bassist, played for Family, Blind Faith, Ginger Baker's Air Force, and Traffic, November 1, 1946 – March 17, 1990


• Dr. Michael Douglas Griffin, Administrator of NASA since April, 2005; he holds seven degrees, and is pursuing his eighth, 1949


• Robert Betts Laughlin Ph.D., a professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University who shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics with Horst L. Störmer and Daniel C. Tsui for the explanation of the fractional quantum Hall effect, 1950


• Dan Peek, musician, a member of America from 1970 to 1977, contributing lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, and harmonica to their music, 1950


• Ronald Bell, singer and saxophonist, a founding member of Kool & the Gang, 1951


• Lyle Lovett, singer-songwriter, 1957


• Rachel Ticotin, actress, 1958


• Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea, former MLB left-handed pitcher, the 1981 NL Rookie of the Year, and NL Cy Young Award winner; in June, 1990, he threw a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals; he retired with a career record of 173-153 and a 3.54 ERA, 1960


• Sophie Ballantine Hawkins, singer, songwriter, musician, and painter, 1967


• Aishwarya Rai, actress and former model, the 1994 Miss World, 1973

R.I.P.:

• Christian Matthias THEODOR Mommsen, classical scholar, jurist, and historian, whose work on Roman history is still important for contemporary research, awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize in Literature, November 30, 1817 – November 1, 1903


• Hugo Distler, composer and organist, known mostly for his church choral music, June 24, 1908 – November 1, 1942


• Dale Carnegie, writer and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills, the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, November 24, 1888 - November 1, 1955


• Ezra Weston Loomis Pound, poet, musician, and critic, who was a major figure of the Modernist movement in early 20th century poetry, and the driving force behind several Modernist movements, notably Imagism and Vorticism, October 30, 1885 – November 1, 1972


• King Wallis Vidor, film director; he was nominated five times for an Academy Award, but never won in direct competition - he received an honorary Oscar in 1979, February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982


• Anthony van Hoboken, musicologist, March 23, 1887 – November 1, 1983


• Philip Silversmith, aka Phil Silvers, comedy actor, whose best-known work is The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950's sitcom set on a US Army post in which he played Sergeant Bilko, May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985


• Serge Garant, composer and conductor; in 1979, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, September 22, 1929 – November 1, 1986


• Severo Ochoa de Albornoz M.D., biochemist, awarded the 1959 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synthesis of RNA, September 24, 1905 – November 1, 1993


• Richard Terrence Knapp, aka Terry Knight, rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter, and radio personality, April 9, 1943 - November 1, 2004


• Lyle Russell Cedric SKITCH Henderson, pianist, conductor, and composer; "Skitch" was a nickname said to derive from his ability to quickly "re-sketch" a song in a different key; after WW II, he worked for NBC Radio, where he was the musical director for Frank Sinatra's Lucky Strike Show and The Philco Hour with Bing Crosby; he also played on Bob Hope’s Pepsodent Show; he succeeded Toscanini as music director for NBC Television, and was the original conductor of the orchestras for The Tonight Show and The Today Show, January 27, 1918 - November 1, 2005


• Michael Piller, television scriptwriter and producer, who was most famous for his contributions to the Star Trek series, from Next Generation to Voyager, and the movie Star Trek: Insurrection; with his son, he co-developed the TV series Dead Zone and Wildfire [starring Nana Visitor], May 30, 1948 - November 1, 2005