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1-50 of 1,392
- American planter, politician and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including substantial portions of the Fairfax Resolves of 1774, the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, and his Objections to this Constitution of Government (1787) opposing ratification, have exercised a significant influence on American political thought and events.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Charles Wesley was born on 11 December 1757 in Bristol, England, UK. Charles is known for Cast Away (2000), Rushmore (1998) and Serendipity (2001). Charles died on 23 May 1834 in London, England, UK.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Joseph Mohr was born on 11 December 1792 in Salzburg, Archbishopric of Salzburg, Holy Roman Empire [now Salzburg, Austria]. He is known for The Giver (2014), L.A. Confidential (1997) and Get Carter (2000). He died on 4 December 1848 in Wagrain, Salzburg, Austrian Empire [now Austria].- Christian Dietrich Grabbe was born on 11 December 1801 in Detmold, Lippe, Holy Roman Empire [now North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]. He was a writer, known for Don Juan et Faust (1922), Teatro de siempre (1966) and Faust (1994). He was married to Louise Christina Clostermeier. He died on 12 September 1836 in Detmold, Lippe, Germany].
- Music Department
- Writer
- Composer
Hector Berlioz was born on December 11, 1803, into the family of Dr. Louis Berlioz and Marie-Antoinette-Josephine. Hector was the first of six children, three of whom died. He took music lessons at home from a visiting teacher and played flute and guitar. By age 16 he wrote a song for voice and guitar that was later reused for his "Symphonie Fantastique."
In 1821 Berlioz went to Paris to study medicine. His impressions of the Paris Opera performance of "Iphigenie en Tauride" by Christoph Willibald Gluck turned him on music forever. He spent more days at the Paris Conservatory than at the medical school. In 1823 he started writing articles on music for "Le Corsaire". He abandoned medicine for music and successfully performed his "Messe Solennelle" in 1825. After being "cursed" by his mother for abandoning medicine, his allowance from his father was reduced, and was forced to take such jobs as a choir singer to support himself. In 1828 he heard the 3rd and 5th Symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven and with that impression he read "Faust" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. With such inspiration he started composing "La Damnation de Faust."
Berlios fell in love with Irish actress Harriet Smithson and became so inspired that he finished the "Symphonie Fantastique." He premiered the work and met Franz Liszt at the premiere. They became good friends and Liszt transcribed the "Symphonie Fantastique" for piano. In 1830, after being rejected by Harriett Smithson, Berlioz became engaged to pianist Camille Moke. He went to Rome as the Prix de Rome Laureate and met Felix Mendelssohn and the Russian Mikhail Glinka. All three became friends for many years. At that time Berlioz received a letter from his fiancée that she had decided to marry M. Camille Pleyel, a wealthy piano maker in Paris. He decided to return to Paris and kill his fiancée, Mr. Playel and himself, but the long trip cooled him down. He stopped in Nice and composed "Le Roi Lear," inspired by William Shakespeare's play "King Lear".
Back in Paris he became friends with Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Niccolò Paganini, Frédéric Chopin and George Sand. He met writer Ernest Legouve and they became lifelong friends. In 1833 he finally married Harriet Smithson, with Liszt himself as one of his witnesses. Their son was born in 1834. Later he had a mistress, singer Marie Recio, whom he married after the death of Hariet Smithson in 1852.
Berlioz was an influential music critic. He wrote about Giacomo Meyerbeer, Mikhail Glinka, Paganini, Liszt and other musicians. From 1834-38 he completed the opera "Benvenuto Cellini". In 1938 his "Harold en Italie" was performed at the Paris Conservatoire. His friend Paganini was so impressed by that performance that he gave Berlioz 20,000 francs.
In the 1840s Berlioz toured in Europe and strengthened his friendship with Mendelssohn-Bartholdy', Richard Wagner, Giacomo Meyerbeer and Robert Schumann. After extensive concertizing in Belgium and Germany, Berlioz returned to Paris. There his friend Mikhail Glinka, who lived in Paris for over a year, came up with the idea of concerts in Russia. Berlioz's joke "If the Emperor of Russia wants me, then I am up for sale" was taken seriously. Having Mikhail Glinka as a convert, Berlioz was invited to Russia twice, and each tour brought him financial gain beyond his expectation. His deep debts in Paris were all covered many times over after his first concert tour of Russia in 1847. Back in Paris he was having difficulties in funding performances of his massive works and lived on his witty critical publications. His second tour of Russia in 1867 was so much more attractive that Berlioz turned down an offer of $100,000 from American Steinway to perform in New York. In St. Petersburg Berlioz took special pleasure in performing with the first-rate orchestra of the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
His second Russian concert tour was a successful finale to his career and life. Berlioz never performed again. He died on March 8, 1869, and was laid to rest at the Cimetiere de Montmartre with his two wives.- Writer
- Soundtrack
Alfred de Musset was a french romantic poet and dramatist. His autobiographical novel "The Confession of a Child of the Century" and his play "Lorenzaccio" are his most famous works. He is also known for his love affair with George Sand which considerably influenced his texts. He was elected to the French Academy in 1852.- After completing school, Rathenau completed practical training in his uncle's machine factory in Lower Silesia from 1855 to 1859. He then studied at the Polytechnic in Hanover and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. He began his professional life in 1862 at the "August Borsig Locomotive Factory". He then worked for various companies in England. In 1865, together with a school friend, he acquired a machine factory in Berlin to build portable steam engines. In 1866 he married Mathilde Nachmann, daughter of a wealthy Frankfurt banker. The marriage resulted in two sons.
In 1873 the company was converted into a stock corporation that left Rathenau. With new capital he now tried to set up a telephone network in Berlin. However, the plans failed due to the Reichspost's claim to a monopoly. The attempt to promote the expansion of electric street lighting together with Werner von Siemens also failed. At the International Electricity Exhibition in Paris in 1881, he met the American scientist Thomas Alva Edison. In 1882, Emil Rathenau received licenses from Edison to commercially exploit his patents in Germany.
In 1983, the "German Edison Society" was founded under the leadership of Oskar von Miller and Rathenau. In 1887 the American Edison Company broke away from the company, which from then on operated as "AEG Allgemeine Electricity Company". In 1890 Oskar von Miller left the company and Rathenau became general director. Siemens and Deutsche Bank then invested in the company, which became an internationally active group in the following years. AEG produced power plants, railways and electrical machines and devices in various areas. The major cooperation agreement with Siemens ended in 1894, but continued to exist through the expansion of the "Telefunken Gesellschaft für Telegraphie", founded in 1903.
When the crisis in the electrical industry arose at the turn of the century, AEG emerged unscathed through a targeted merger and investment policy. In 1903 his son Walther Rathenau became a member of the AEG board of directors. From 1912 onwards, Emil Rathenau withdrew from active business due to illness, and his son followed him in the position of general director. - Writer
- Music Department
Maxwell Gray was born on 11 December 1846 in Newport, Isle of Wight, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Sealed Lips (1915), The Silence of Dean Maitland (1914) and The Last Sentence (1917). He died on 21 September 1923 in Ealing, London, England, UK.- Alois Sedlácek was born on 11 December 1852 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Cerní myslivci (1921), Marwille detektivem (1922) and Falesný hrác (1913). He died on 22 July 1922 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Anton von Perfall was born on 11 December 1853 in Landsberg am Lech, Kingdom of Bavaria [now Bavaria, Germany]. He was a writer, known for Die Finsternis und ihr Eigentum (1915) and Die Hexe von Norderoog (1919). He was married to Magda Irschick. He died on 3 November 1912 in Schliersee, Bavaria, Germany.
- Soundtrack
Julian Edwards was born on 11 December 1855 in Manchester, England, UK. He was married to Philippine Siedle (diva). He died on 5 September 1910 in Yonkers, New York, USA.- Martha Hachmann-Zipfer was born on 11 December 1864 in Schmiedeberg, Silesia, Germany. She was an actress, known for Aus der Jugendzeit (1921) and Dunkle Gewalten (1924). She was married to Cord Hachmann. She died on 30 December 1940 in Hamburg, Germany.
- Writer
- Producer
Henry Hayward was born on 11 December 1865 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, UK. He was a writer and producer, known for The Bush Cinderella (1928). He was married to Louisa Martinengo. He died on 21 August 1945 in Birkenhead, Auckland, New Zealand.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Ignazio Lupi was born on 11 December 1867 in Rome, Papal State [now Lazio, Italy]. He was an actor and director, known for Marc'Antonio e Cleopatra (1913), Ma non è una cosa seria (1921) and Quo Vadis? (1913). He died on 14 December 1942 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Camera and Electrical Department
Dave Smith was born on 11 December 1868 in California, USA. He is known for Black Magic (1944) and Power and the Land (1940). He died on 1 November 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
Lilian Decima Moore was born in Brighton, where her father was the county analytical chemist for Sussex. She had four sisters, all of whom were on the concert platform or the stage as singers. Her preferred roles were in musical comedy and light drama. Moore made her debut in London, aged 17, at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889, playing "Casilda" in the Gilbert and Sullivan opera, "The Gondoliers". It was a hit and more work followed. Two of her roles mentioned by George Bernard Shaw in his book, "Our Theatres in the Nineties", were in "The White Silk Dress" and "Lost, Stolen and Strayed". In 1901, Moore was playing in both "A Diplomatic Theft" at the Garrick Theatre, London and "The Swineherd and the Princess" at the Royalty.
In 1894, in Richmond, New York, whilst touring in the show "The Gaiety Girl", Moore married a fellow cast member, 'Cecil Ainslie Walker-Leigh'. Later, in 1896, to please her mother, she had a church wedding in London. A son was born in 1898, but Moore subsequently divorced her husband for adultery and cruelty, the divorce being finalised in 1902. She later married Brigadier General Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, governor and commander-in-chief of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and British Guiana.
Moore continued to act in the theatre until 1914, after which she was engaged on war work in France, for which she was awarded a CBE in 1918. She later held various official positions including, in the 1920s, that of Honorary Exhibition Commissioner for the Gold Coast at the British Empire Exhibition. She was also a member of the Actress' Freedom League and the International Woman's Franchise Club. In 1931, Moore appeared in the film Nine Till Six (1932).- Mrs. Percival Sykes was born on 11 December 1871 in Derry, County Londonderry, Ireland. She was an actress, known for A Child's Message to Heaven (1910). She was married to Percy Murray. She died on 24 November 1924 in Dublin, Ireland.
- Mikhail Massin was born on 11 December 1872 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Zhivoy trup (1918), Tri portreta (1919) and Martin Vagner (1928). He died on 8 July 1952.
- M. Masin was born on 11 December 1872 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Molchi, grust... molchi (1918). He died on 8 July 1952.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Paul Wegener was born in Arnoldsdorf, West Prussia, part of the German Empire. His birthplace is currently part of Poland, under the name "Jarantowice". Wegener's family included a number of scientists, the most notable being his cousin Alfred Wegener (1880-1930). Alfred is remembered as the originator of the theory of continental drift.
Paul has no known relation to another Paul Wegener (1908-1993), who served as a Nazi Party official and an officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS).
Paul Wegener initially followed legal studies in college, but dropped out in order to become a theatrical actor. By 1906, he was part of an acting troupe led by Max Reinhardt (1873-1943). Reinhardt went on to become a film director. By 1912, Wegener himself had become interested in the film medium, and sought roles as a film actor.
In 1913, Wegener heard of an old Jewish legend, concerning the Golem. He wanted to adapt the legend into film, and started co-writing a script with Henrik Galeen (1881-1949). Their script was adapted into the film "The Golem" (1915), with Wegener and Galeen serving as the two co-directors. The film was a success and established Wegener as a celebrated figure in German cinema. Wegener returned to adapting the Golem legend into film, by directing a parody film in 1917 and the more serious "The Golem: How He Came into the World" (1920). The 1920 film remains one of the classics of German cinema. Wegener's other films often reflected his personal interests, such as trick photography, the supernatural, and mysticism.
He continued his film career into the 1930s, and made the transition from silent films to sound films. Under the Nazi regime (1933-1945), several actors and directors faced persecution or exile. Wegener instead found himself favored by the regime and appeared regularly in Nazi propaganda films of the 1940s. Wegener personally disliked the regime (which had persecuted a number of his friends and associates) and reputedly financed a number of German resistance groups.
In 1945, with World War II over and Berlin in ruins, Wegener took initiative as president of an organization intended to improve the living standards for surviving citizens of Berlin. He continued to appear in theatrical productions from 1945 to 1948, although he was suffering from an increasingly poor health.
In July 1948, Wegener collapsed on stage during a theatrical performance. The curtain was brought down and the rest of the performance was canceled. It was his last acting role, as he retired in an attempt to recuperate. He died in his sleep in September 1948. He was survived by his last wife Lyda Salmonova (1889-1968).- Carl Jörns was born on 11 December 1875 in Ludwigshafen, Germany. He died on 19 July 1969 in Rüsselsheim, Hessen, Germany.
- Composer
- Music Department
Mieczyslaw Karlowicz was born on 11 December 1876 in Wiszniewo, Poland, Russian Empire [now Vishneva, Belarus]. He was a composer, known for Stanislaw i Anna (1987) and Mieczyslaw Karlowicz: Lonely Trek (2018). He died on 8 February 1909 in Tatra Mountains, Galicia, Austria-Hungary.- Writer
- Actor
Paul Rosenhayn was born on 11 December 1877 in Hamburg, Germany. He was a writer and actor, known for Die Harvard-Prämie (1917), Das Geheimnis der Mumie (1921) and Der Star der großen Oper (1918). He died on 11 September 1929 in Berlin, Germany.- Ray Hall was born on 11 December 1879 in Kentland, Indiana, USA. Ray was an editor, known for Hearst-Selig News Pictorial, No. 12 (1914), Hearst-Selig News Pictorial, No. 57 (1914) and Hearst-Selig News Pictorial, No. 73 (1914). Ray was married to Margaret Agnes Ennis and Marion. Ray died on 23 December 1941 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
- Esme Hubbard was born on 11 December 1879 in Russia. She was an actress, known for In Another Girl's Shoes (1917), Milestones (1916) and The Great Adventure (1916). She died on 12 April 1951 in Ealing, London, England, UK.
- Tadeusz Dura was born on 11 December 1880 in Kraków, Halic, Austria-Hungary [now Poland]. He was an actor, known for Prodaná nevesta (1913) and Zlatý klícek (1922). He died on 2 December 1945 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Elise Aulinger was born on 11 December 1881 in Munich, Germany. She was an actress, known for Request Concert (1940), Venus vor Gericht (1941) and Der Schimmelkrieg in der Holledau (1937). She died on 12 February 1965 in Munich, Germany.
- Fiorello LaGuardia was born on 11 December 1882 in New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Marie Fisher and Thea Almerigotti. He died on 20 September 1947 in Bronx, New York, USA.
- Max Born was born on 11 December 1882 in Breslau, Silesia, Germany [now Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland]. He was married to Martha Hedwig Born (born: Ehrenberg). He died on 5 January 1970 in Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany.
- M.H. McKinstry was born on 11 December 1882 in Tennessee, USA. He is known for Jail Birds (1914), The Cocoon and the Butterfly (1914) and Does It End Right? (1914).
- Henry Woodward was born on 11 December 1882 in Charleston, West Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for The Last of the Mohicans (1920), Nan of Music Mountain (1917) and The Love Burglar (1919). He died on 26 August 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Howard M. Mitchell was born on 11 December 1883 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Mother Heart (1921), Breed of Courage (1927) and Man's Size (1923). He was married to Mary Land. He died on 9 October 1958 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Real life Hero in World War I, Arthur Guy Empey was born in Utah in 1883. Actor/writer who starred in his first film role as a soldier in 'over the Top' which he also directed from his best-selling book, about his own experiences as an American soldier in the British Army during World War 1. made at Vitagraph Film Company. From 1919 he appeared in few drama films until his last screen appearance in 1921's 'Millionaire For a Day'. Died in 1963 age 80 in an army veterans hospital in Kansas leaving his medals to the men in the ward.- S.A. Van Patten was born on 11 December 1883 in Peoria, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for Enemies of Youth (1925), The Race for a Siding (1916) and The Treasure Train (1916). He was married to Isabelle von Petten. He died on 10 January 1973 in Missouri, USA.
- Mary Boyd was born on 11 December 1883 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for I Married Joan (1952), Celebrity Playhouse (1955) and The Ford Television Theatre (1952). She died on 12 February 1970 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.
- Wilhelm Brückner was born on 11 December 1884 in Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He died on 14 August 1954 in Herbsdorf, Nußdorf, Bavaria, Germany.
- Carlo Wieth was born on 11 December 1885 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was an actor, known for På livets ödesvägar (1913), Hans Kæreste (1918) and Studenterkammeraterne (1917). He was married to Agnes Thorborg Wieth and Clara Rasmussen. He died on 30 June 1943 in Denmark.
- Tusi Juhász was born on 11 December 1885 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. She is known for Ördöglovas (1944) and Csalódás (1943).
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Carl Rosenbaum was born on 11 December 1885 in Frederiksberg, Denmark. He was an actor and writer, known for The Four Devils (1911), Skæbnebæltet (1911) and Die Benefiz-Vorstellung der vier Teufel (1920). He died on 30 October 1961 in Stockholm, Sweden.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Aubrey Fitzmaurice was born on 11 December 1885 in Clapham, London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Ticket-of-Leave Man (1918), On Leave (1918) and A Successful Operation (1916). He died on 7 May 1956 in Bloomsbury, London, England, UK.- Composer
- Soundtrack
Marcel Lattès was born on 11 December 1886 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. Marcel was a composer, known for Melodía de arrabal (1933), Same Old Song (1997) and Hélène (1936). Marcel died on 12 December 1943 in Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Poland.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Harry Berber was born on 11 December 1886 in Celle, Germany. He was an actor and writer, known for Knautsch und Stange (1920), Der Anti-Detektiv (1920) and Nihil Nemo Kakadu (1920). He died on 28 April 1972 in Berlin, Germany.- Geoffrey Moss was born on 11 December 1886. He is known for Isn't Life Wonderful (1924) and Lockendes Gift (1929).
- Ebba Toje was born on 11 December 1887 in Oslo, Norway. She was an actress, known for De vergeløse (1939), Lenkene brytes (1938) and Lille Lord Fauntleroy (1966). She died on 13 March 1972 in Oslo, Norway.
- Will Last was born on 11 December 1887 in Lambeth, London, England, UK. He was married to Nella Last. He died on 19 May 1969 in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England, UK.
- Lucille Kellar was born on 11 December 1887 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for A Peach at the Beach (1914). She died on 29 May 1966 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Marie Wayne was born on 11 December 1887 in Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914), A Song of Sixpence (1917) and Mary's Lamb (1915). She was married to Ben Deeley. She died on 24 May 1949 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jack George was born on 11 December 1888 in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Murder Without Tears (1953), Puddin' Head (1941) and Amazon Quest (1949). He died on 29 October 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Composer
- Music Department
- Sound Department
Soviet composer, sound engineer and conductor. Organizer (1941) and first head of the State Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of Cinematography. Honored Artist of the Tajik SSR (1940). He began his creative career in 1905 as a conductor of an orchestra accompanying silent films. Studied at the Rostov Conservatory (1913-1918). During the silent film period, he led orchestras in major cinemas, scoring silent films and composing music for them. Since 1930, he began working in sound films (in 1931-1947 - sound designer and sound engineer). Since 1938, he was also a conductor at the Soyuzdetfilm film studio, in 1948 - Mosfilm. Conducted the premiere of the Second Suite by S.S. Prokofiev from Romeo and Juliet. David Blok wrote and edited music for more than 200 films. He was a member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. He was buried at the Vostryakovsky cemetery.- Angelo Desfis was born on 11 December 1888 in Greece. He was an actor, known for Dark Mountain (1944). He died on 27 July 1950 in Los Angeles, California, USA.