Almanac - Monday March 11, 2023

Today in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In the Sun opened at Barrymore Theater, New York. This was the first play by a Black woman to premiere on Broadway.

Charlotte Friend, a microbiologist in the 1950s at Sloan-Kettering Institute, was born today in 1921. She discovered a link between defective maturation and tumor growth in mice -- discoveries that were critical in establishing the role of viruses in some cancers.

Michelle Bachelet was inaugurated as President of Chile today in 2006. She was the first woman to hold that position.

Michelle Bachelet

Also on this day in history….

1708 – Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.

1851 – The first performance of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice.

1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, making Gorbachev the USSR's de facto, and last, head of state.

1990 – Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.

people.

2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 virus epidemic a pandemic.

2021 – US President Joe Biden signs the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law.

Today’s birthdays include…

1278 – Mary of Woodstock, daughter of Edward I of England (d. c.1332)

1815 – Anna Bochkoltz, German operatic soprano, voice teacher and composer (d. 1879)

1893 – Wanda Gág, American author and illustrator (d. 1946)

1897 – Henry Cowell, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)

1898 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (d. 1968)

1903 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (d. 1992)

1916 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)

1921 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player (d. 1992)

1923 – Louise Brough, American tennis player (d. 2014)

1925 – Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American biochemist and academic (d. 1983)

1926 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (d. 1990)

1927 – Freda Meissner-Blau, Austrian activist and politician (d. 2015)

1931 – Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate

1932 – Leroy Jenkins, American violinist and composer (d. 2007)

1932 – Nigel Lawson, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 2023)

1934 – Sam Donaldson, American journalist

1936 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2016)

1950 – Bobby McFerrin, American singer-songwriter, producer, and conductor

1951 – Dominique Sanda, French model and actress

1952 – Douglas Adams, English author and playwright (d. 2001)

1953 – Jimmy Iovine, American record producer and businessman, co-founded Beats Electronics

1953 – Bernie LaBarge, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist

1955 – Leslie Cliff, Canadian swimmer

1955 – Nina Hagen, German singer-songwriter

1956 – Helen Rollason, English sports journalist and sportscaster (d. 1999)

1957 – Qasem Soleimani, Former Iranian commander of the Quds Force (d. 2020)

1958 – Anissa Jones, American child actress (d. 1976)

1959 – Nina Hartley, American pornographic actress/director, sex educator, sex-positive feminist, and author

1963 – David LaChapelle, American photographer and director

1965 – Jesse Jackson, Jr., American lawyer and politician

1968 – Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter

1969 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2006)

1981 – LeToya Luckett, American singer-songwriter and actress

1982 – Thora Birch, American actress, producer, and director

1993 – Jodie Comer, English actress