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Georges Méliès was a French illusionist and film director famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.

Méliès was an especially prolific innovator in the use of special effects, popularizing such techniques as substitution splices, multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand-painted color.

His films include A Trip to the Moon (1902) and An Impossible Voyage (1904), both involving strange, surreal journeys somewhat in the style of Jules Verne, and are considered among the most important early science fiction films.

Méliès died of cancer on 21 January 1938 at the age of 76.

In 2016, a Méliès film long thought lost, A Wager Between Two Magicians, or, Jealous of Myself (1904), was discovered in a Czechoslovak film archive.

The son of a sea captain, Theodore Roberts was a veteran stage actor, making his first appearance in 1880. Often referred to as the "Grand Duke of Hollywood," Roberts was a regular on the Cecil B. DeMille team and appeared in 23 of DeMille's films. He is best remembered for his role as Moses in DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1923). A well-known and well-loved actor, his funeral in Westlake Park (he died from uremic poisoning) was attended by nearly 2,000 people. However, Roberts felt so much bitterness in his heart for his immediate relatives that he bequeathed his estate to a nephew (a commercial illustrator) in New York. The estate was valued at nearly $20,000, including a yacht valued at $10,000. Several of Roberts' personal items were left to his friends William C. de Mille and his brother Cecil. Roberts claimed that during the worst times of his life, no one in his family offered a word of sympathy or any help at all. His only request was that he be laid to rest next to his beloved wife Florence Smythe, who passed away in 1925.

Henrietta Crosman was born on 2 September 1861 in Wheeling, West Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Charlie Chan's Secret (1935), The Right to Live (1935) and The Royal Family of Broadway (1930). She was married to Maurice Campbell and Sedley Brown. She died on 31 October 1944 in Pelham Manor, New York, USA.

Florence Roberts was born on 16 March 1861 in Frederick, Maryland, USA. She was an actress, known for March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934), Les Misérables (1935) and Off to the Races (1937). She was married to Walter Gale (actor). She died on 6 June 1940 in Hollywood, California, USA.

Chung Ling Soo was born on 2 April 1861 in New York, USA. He died on 24 March 1918 in Wood Green, London, England, UK.

Jose Rizal was born on 19 June 1861 in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines. He was a writer, known for El filibusterismo (1962), Sisa (1951) and Noli me tangere (1930). He died on 30 December 1896 in Bagumbayan [now Luneta], Manila, Philippines.

Wilhelm Diegelmann was born on 28 September 1861 in Ellers, Electorate of Hesse [now Neuhof, Hesse, Germany]. He was an actor, known for The Wildcat (1921), Deception (1920) and Der Schimmelreiter (1934). He died on 1 March 1934 in Berlin, Germany.

Rabindranath Tagore was born on 6 May 1861 in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India [now India]. He was a writer and composer, known for Song of the Body, Streer Patra (1972) and Natir Puja (1932). He was married to Mrinalini Devi. He died on 7 August 1941 in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India [now India].

Eille Norwood was born on 11 October 1861 in York, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Man with the Twisted Lip (1921), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1921) and The Sign of Four (1923). He was married to Ruth Mackay. He died on 24 December 1948 in London, England, UK.

Maud Gage Baum was born on 27 March 1861 in Fayetteville, New York, USA. Maud Gage was a producer, known for The Wizard of Oz (1938). Maud Gage was married to L. Frank Baum. Maud Gage died on 6 March 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Mrs. William Bechtel was born on 12 June 1861 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Birth of the Star Spangled Banner (1914), Abe Gets Even with Father (1911) and The Purple Lady (1916). She was married to William Bechtel. She died on 21 October 1938 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Wallace McCutcheon was born on 3 November 1861 in New York City, USA. He was a director and cinematographer, known for 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea (1905), The Nihilist (1905) and How They Rob Men in Chicago (1900). He was married to Mira West. He died on 3 October 1918 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.

Dark Cloud was born on 20 September 1861 in St. Francis Indian Village, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for What Am I Bid? (1919), The Dishonored Medal (1914) and The Woman Untamed (1920). He was married to Margaret Camp. He died on 17 October 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Marie Wright was born on 18 December 1861 in Woolwich, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Silver Top (1938), A Cup of Kindness (1934) and Quinneys (1919). She was married to Nelson Barry. She died on 1 May 1949 in Hendon, Middlesex, England, UK.

Edmund Allenby was born in 1861 at Brackenhurst Hall, Nottinghamshire county, England, one of six children and the son of a country gentleman. His military service began when he entered the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in 1881 where he was commissioned into the Royal Cavalry and sent to South Africa a year later where, as a 2nd Lieutenant, he participated in Bechuanaland and Zululand military expeditions from 1884 to 1888. Allenby attended Staff College in 1896 and was given command of the Royal 3rd Cavalry Squadron which fought in the Boer War in South Africa from 1899 to 1902. He worked his way up the military ladder to Brigadier-General commanding the BEF calvary at the start of World War I in 1914. In May 1915 Allenby was promoted to full General and took over the 5th Corps, and later the 3rd Army in France. He led the British Cavalry at the Battle of Arras (April 9-May 3, 1917) until he was removed to Egypt to take over the British-Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Palestine in June 1917, which saw the high point of his military career with the Battle of Beersheba (October 31-November 7) where he defeated the Turkish army in Palestine which led to the capture of Jerusalem on December 9. In 1918, Allenby led the Jordan Valley operations and launched the final offensive against the Turks at the Battle of Megiddo (September 19-30) which destroyed the last Turkish armies in Palestine and secured an armistice in October ending World War I in the Middle East. After the end of the war, Allenby was made Special High Commissioner for Egypt in March 1919, was promoted to Field Marshall in July, and created a Viscount in October, positions he held until he retired from the British army in 1925 and lived the rest of his life in London until his death in 1936.

Blanche Davenport was born on 11 July 1861 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Man Who Made Good (1917), The Shine Girl (1916) and The Crimson Dove (1917). She died on 9 April 1937 in Orangetown, New York, USA.

Gilbert Dalleu was born on 5 March 1861 in Pons, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. He was an actor, known for Les mystères de Paris (1922), L'agonie des aigles (1922) and Le comte de Monte Cristo - Épisode 15: Le triomphe de Dantès (1918). He died on 1 March 1931 in Paris, France.

William Morris was born on 1 January 1861 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Monsieur Lecoq (1915), Romeo and Juliet (1916) and Behind Office Doors (1931). He was married to [Henrietta Luna] Etta Hawkins (actress). He died on 11 January 1936 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Svevo worked as a bank clerk, and, after marrying Lidia Veneziani, he directed her father's factory, which supplied a special naval paint. He was much more successful as a businessman than as a writer at the time, his scripts being totally neglected. His fame came when he was over sixty, thanks to the interest of his English teacher, a young James Joyce.

Horace Annesley Vachell was born on 30 October 1861 in Sydenham, London, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Her Son (1920), Quinneys (1919) and Quinneys (1927). He was married to Lydie Phillips. He died on 10 January 1955 in Bath, Somerset, England, UK.

Getting her show business start in vaudeville, Phyllis Allen's large physique and excellent timing made her a natural for film comedies, and she appeared in many of Mack Sennett's slapstick films. She also appeared in several of Charles Chaplin's movies, and was often paired with equally hefty comedian Mack Swain.

Leo Stein was born on 25 March 1861 in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary. Leo was a writer, known for The Merry Widow (1934), The Csardas Princess (1934) and The Merry Widow (1925). Leo died on 28 July 1921 in Vienna, Austria.

Percy Winter was born on 16 November 1861 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor and director, known for The Other Girl (1915), The Inevitable Penalty (1915) and The Son (1915). He was married to Mary N. Saunders (actress) and Blanche Armand. He died on 4 May 1928 in Boonton, New Jersey, USA.

Familiarly known as "Tini", Ernestine was the daughter of a shoe maker. When the family moved to Graz, she met Marietta von LeClair, a retired opera singer, who gave her voice lessons. In 1877, she made her first professional performance, in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Graz, appearing with soprano Maria Wilt, and her operatic debut took place at Dresden's Royal Opera House on 15 October 1878 as Azucena in Il trovatore.

In 1882, she married Ernest Heink, secretary of the Semperoper Dresden; as this violated the terms of their contracts, both had their employment abruptly terminated. Ernestine had four children. Son Henry was an opera singer. They divorced in 1893, that same year she married actor Curt Paul Fünstuck Schumann. One of their children, Ferdinand Karl became a prolific, though mostly unbilled, Hollywood character actor in 65 films.

In 1904 Ernestine came to the United States to play in Julian Edwards' operetta Love's Lottery on Broadway. During her performance she often broke off to interact with the audience, asking if her English was good enough. After 50 performances she returned to opera. Then came her breakthrough : when prima donna Marie Goetze argued with the director of the Hamburg opera, he asked Ernestine to sing Carmen, without rehearsal, which she did to great acclaim. Goetze, in a fit of pique, canceled out the role of Fidès in Le prophète planned for the following night, and Ernestine replaced her once more, and also as Ortrud in Lohengrin the following evening, one more time without rehearsal. Then she was offered a ten-year contract.

She performed with Gustav Mahler at the Royal Opera House in London, and became well known for her deliveries of the works of Wagner at the Bayreuth Festivals from 1896 to 1914. She first sang at the Metropolitan in 1898, and would perform there for decades.

In 1900 came the first of her many recordings, mostly reissued on CD and which continue to impress for her rich voice and excellent technique.

On 27 May 1905, she married William Rapp, Jr., a lawyer and her manager. In March 1908 she became an U.S. naturalized citizen. Two years later, she bought farm land outside of San Diego (Helix Hill, in Grossmont), where she would live for most of her life. Her residence there still stands.

In 1909, she created the role of Klytaemnestra in the premiere of Richard Strauss's Elektra. Of which she had no high opinion, calling it 'a fearful din'. Strauss was not taken by her either, and is said to have told the orchestra during rehearsals : "Louder! I can still hear Mme. Schumann-Heink!" In September 1912 she performed a benefit concert to purchase President Grover Cleveland's birthplace, and became the first lifetime member of the museum installed there.

From 1910 she was San Diego's most famous and best-beloved citizen, a legendary figure. She was considered the world's greatest contralto singer. Her records sold by the thousands, and like Babe Ruth and Mary Pickford, her name became a household word. A story was told of a little boy in Sunday school who was asked to name the first man, promptly replying "Adam", and then the first woman, to which he answered "Schumann-Heink."



During World War I, Madame threw herself whole-heartedly into the sale of Liberty Bonds and singing for the soldiers and sailors. She had relatives fighting on both sides, so when she toured the camps she begged indulgence for her boys in the German army who were also doing their duty. She raised money for the war effort and to help wounded veterans. In return, they made her an honorary officer of the American Legion. Throughout the army she was universally called "Mother."

In 1915, she made her first appearance on film in Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco (1915).

In 1926, she first sang Silent Night (in both German and English) over the radio for Christmas, and started a popular weekly show and a Christmas tradition which only her death would end. She lost a fortune in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, so went again singing at 69 years old, having her Golden Jubilee at the Met. She last sang there in 1931, aged 71, performing Erda in Ring des Nibelungen.

In the movies of the 1930s, many a buxom opera singer or music teacher was modeled on her; see for instance Stage Door (1937). She appears in the retrospective The Golden Twenties (1950).



She owed her great popularity to a phenomenal voice with a range from low D to high C, luminous, dark brown eyes and a magnetic personality that charmed everyone from children to grandparents - that all-important combination of talent and charisma that makes the superstar. She had three husbands and eight children, including a stepson. "Tina" barely topped five feet in height, but carried herself with such regal dignity that she was described in the press as looking "tall and stately." Even publicized as a Mother figure, when dressed in a silver gown, her white hair shining and her arms and ample bosom ablaze with diamonds she came across the stage with a radiant smile, she generated her own unique brand of glamour. Her rapport with the audience was established before she ever uttered a note. Besides an astonishing virtuosity, there was extraordinary warmth and beauty in the middle register of her voice.

Although she had sung for many crowned heads in Europe, including a command performance for Queen Victoria's eightieth birthday, she was basically the people's singer. She would sing in any place that wanted her, no matter how small. She even sang in Wenden, Arizona, with a population of thirty, a benefit concert for their Red Cross. The ranchers made her a stage on planks laid across oil drums; hoisted the grand piano up on it; then hoisted Madame and her accompanist up. Her magnificent voice rose clear and true in the desert air to delight an audience many of whom had traveled hundreds of miles to hear her. Cattle grazed in a nearby field and as she sang, one passed its head over the fence, shining in the moonlight, and gave a low, appreciative "Moo-oo-oo." She walked to the edge of the stage, bowed deeply and said, "Thank you" - and the audience roared.

Her recordings began in 1899 for Zonophone Records. Then she made the Grand Opera Series of 1903 for Columbia Records and moved to Victor Records in 1906. For this brand and until 1931 she recorded more than 135 records, around half of them available online at the Library of Congress.

In 1932-33, she went on tours of Fox, RKO, and Loew's State Theaters. The veteran trooper sang four to five times a day, stopping at times to joke with and to scold people in her audience. "I could not retire," she said bravely, "unless I lost my voice. I want to work. I want to be useful. I want to go on singing." She denounced the Nazis persecution of the Jews. In September 1934, Metro Goldwyn Mayer presented her with a three-year contract, two studios filing suits against one another. She was delighted "They call me terrific, colossal and gigantic -- I think I don't like that gigantic very much, hah?"

She appeared as herself in Here's to Romance (1935) singing Brahms Wiegenlied, and already had another project in queue : She was given a role as a poor grandmother in a film on Kathleen Norris's story "Gram", but she became sick with leukemia (this was the reason why a young Edna May -later Deanna- Durbin, who had been given a role in the picture, was dropped by MGM). In November 1936, in her Hollywood home and being 75 years old, the spirit of the great singer entered Valhalla.

Los Angeles stated a funeral with full military honors conducted by the American Legion. Chaplain Hjalmar Carlson said "She loved them all, white and black, American and European, Jew and Gentile. In this she showed herself a master of the greatest of all arts -- the art of living." Veterans escorted the body to Union Station and the Redcaps placed it in an observation car. A police motorcycle escort accompanied the casket. Dorothy R. Snyder, harpist, and Merril Baldwin, cellist, played Gounod's "Ave Maria," Brahm's "Wiegenlied" and Bohm's "Silent as Night."

It was her mixture of engaging and contrasting qualities that made Madame Schumann-Heink a legend in her time.

Maxime Desjardins was born on 17 September 1861 in Auxerre, Yonne, France. He was an actor, known for Les mystères de Paris (1922), The Mystery of the Yellow Room (1930) and L'agonie des aigles (1922). He died on 2 October 1936 in Vence, Alpes-Maritimes, France.