Category: Today’s Birthday

Apprenticed to a Flemish painter at age 10, van Dyck soon came under the influence of master painter Peter Paul Rubens. In 1632, he was invited by Charles I to England, where he was made court painter and knighted. Overwhelmed with commissions, van Dyck employed a team of assistants to help complete his portraits, many of which can be seen in the Louvre, the Museo del Prado, and Buckingham Palace. His works influenced generations of portraitists. What king employed van Dyck before Charles I did? Discuss

An American theatrical producer, Ziegfeld was best known for his Ziegfeld Follies, a series of lavish Broadway revues he produced for 24 years beginning in 1907. Combining comedy, pageantry, and beautiful women, the successful shows made Ziegfeld a legend while launching the careers of stars such as Will Rogers and Fanny Brice. He also produced the hit musical Show Boat in 1927. What actress first suggested the idea of the Follies to Ziegfeld? Discuss

Lee is an American filmmaker whose movies often celebrate the richness of African-American culture and address problems such as racism, sexism, and addiction. He first gained recognition with his New York University graduation film in 1982. He went on to make Do the Right Thing, which focuses on the complexities of interracial relations, and Malcolm X, a biopic about the African-American leader. To prevent the use of his nickname, Lee sought legal action against whom in 2003? Discuss

Despite being a dominant force in the US Democratic Party, Bryan lost three bids for the presidency. However, he helped secure the presidential nomination for Woodrow Wilson, under whom he became secretary of state. Bryan’s belief in neutrality led him to resign when it appeared that Wilson would enter the US into World War I. A devout Presbyterian, he later campaigned for Prohibition and, in 1925, died after exhausting himself prosecuting and finally winning what famous legal case? Discuss

Updike was a prolific American author whose novels and stories usually deal with the tensions and frustrations of middle-class life. Published between 1961 and 1990, his four famous “Rabbit” novels follow an ordinary American man through the latter decades of the 20th century. Updike is one of the few authors to have won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction more than once. He was also a respected literary critic who championed young authors and espoused what five rules for literary criticism? Discuss

A practicing attorney, Jones was only an amateur golfer, yet in 1930 he became the only man to win four major golf championships in a single year and the only sports figure to be honored with two New York City ticker-tape parades. At 28, he had already won 13 major championships. He was hailed for his sportsmanship when he lost a major tournament by one stroke after calling a penalty on himself for an infraction that no one else saw. What was the infraction, and what tournament did he lose? Discuss

Caroline Herschel was a British astronomer. At the age of 10, she contracted typhus, which permanently stunted her growth—but not her ambition. Her family assumed that she would never marry because of her height and trained her to be a household servant. But when her brother, Sir William Herschel, took up astronomy and accepted the position of King’s Astronomer, she joined him as his assistant and assumed the laborious task of cataloguing thousands of stars and nebulae. What did she discover? Discuss

Tragically orphaned at the age of 12, Strauss was apprenticed to a bookbinder but studied violin on the side. After completing his apprenticeship, he performed in string quartets around Vienna before deciding to start his own band and write his own music. He enjoyed much professional success, but his family life was tempestuous. He forbade his children to study music, but they did anyway, with Johann II eventually overshadowing him. In 1849, he died after contracting scarlet fever from whom? Discuss

A regular contributor to Mad for more than 55 years, Jaffee is the satirical magazine’s longest-running contributor, as both an illustrator and writer. Since 1964, only one issue has been published without new material from Jaffee, now in his 90s. He created some of the magazine’s most popular features, such as blueprint-style inventions and his famous “fold-ins”—which he continues to draw by hand. Before joining Mad, Jaffee worked with what then-unknown comic book pioneer? Discuss

Nijinsky was a ballet dancer and ballet’s first modernist choreographer. One of the greatest dancers of the 20th century, he performed spectacular leaps with unrivaled grace. During his career, his innovations were considered both scandalous and revolutionary. He had a romantic relationship with his mentor, Sergey Diaghilev, who dismissed him from the Ballets Russes when he married a Hungarian countess. A few years later, acute schizophrenia ended his career. Did he and Diaghilev ever reconcile? Discuss