Frederick Delius (1862–1934) was an English composer. Born in the
north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he was sent to
Florida in 1884 to manage an orange plantation. Influenced by African-
American music, he began composing. After a brief period of formal
musical study in Germany from 1886, he embarked on a full-time career as
a composer in France, living in Grez-sur-Loing with his wife Jelka. His
first successes came in Germany in the late 1890s; it was not until 1907
that his music regularly appeared in British concerts. Thomas Beecham
conducted the full premiere of A Mass of Life in London in 1909, staged
the opera A Village Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden in 1910, mounted a
six-day Delius festival in London in 1929, and made gramophone
recordings of many works. After 1918 Delius began to suffer the effects
of syphilis, became paralysed and blind, but completed some late
compositions with the aid of Eric Fenby. His early compositions reflect
the music he had heard in America and Europe; later he developed a style
uniquely his own. The Delius Society, formed in 1962, promotes knowledge
of his life and works, and sponsors an annual competition for young
musicians.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Delius>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1838:
More than 25 Australian Aborigines were massacred near
Inverell, New South Wales.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myall_Creek_massacre>
1871:
Nine days after Korean shore batteries attacked two American
warships, an American punitive expedition landed and captured several
forts on Ganghwa Island.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_expedition_to_Korea>
1918:
First World War: Italian torpedo boats sank the Austro-
Hungarian dreadnought SMS Szent István off the Dalmatian coast.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Szent_Istv%C3%A1n>
1957:
Led by John Diefenbaker (pictured), the Progressive
Conservative Party won a plurality of the seats in the Canadian House of
Commons in the federal election, bringing an end to 22 years of Liberal
Party rule.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_federal_election,_1957>
1991:
Eleven-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped in South Lake
Tahoe, California; she would remain a captive until 2009.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Jaycee_Lee_Dugard>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
white whale:
1. A cetacean, Delphinapterus leucas.
2. (figuratively) An obsession; monomania.
3. (trading cards) A printing plate, for a sports card, that is then issued
as a collectible itself.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/white_whale>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
From their earliest years children live on familiar terms with
disrupting emotions, fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their
everyday lives, they continually cope with frustrations as best they
can. And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is
the best means they have for taming Wild Things.
--Maurice Sendak
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maurice_Sendak>