John Gielgud (1904–2000) was an English actor and theatre director who, along with Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. A member of the Terry family theatrical dynasty, he became a star in the West End and on Broadway by the 1930s, appearing in new works and classics. He began a parallel career as a director, and set up his own company at the Queen's Theatre, London. Though he made his first film in 1924 and had successes with The Good Companions (1933) and Julius Caesar (1953), he did not begin a regular film career until his sixties. He appeared in more than 60 films between Becket in 1964 (his first Academy Award nomination) and Elizabeth in 1998. As the acid-tongued Hobson in Arthur (1981) he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He earned a Golden Globe Award and two BAFTAs, and had the rare distinction of winning an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony. He broadcast more than 100 radio and television dramas and made commercial recordings of many plays, including ten of Shakespeare's. He was knighted in 1953 and was president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1977 to 1989.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gielgud

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1264:

Second Barons' War: King Henry III was defeated at the Battle of Lewes and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_of_Lewes

1796:

English physician Edward Jenner began testing cowpox as a vaccine against smallpox. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Jenner

1878:

The last witchcraft trial in the United States opened in Salem, Massachusetts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witchcraft_trial_(1878)

1931:

Five people were killed in Ådalen, Sweden, as soldiers opened fire on an unarmed trade union demonstration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85dalen_shootings

1940:

World War II: The bulk of Dutch forces surrendered to the Wehrmacht, ending the Battle of the Netherlands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Netherlands

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

matriotism: 1. School, hometown, or parish pride or loyalty, as opposed to nationalism or patriotism. [from 19th c.] 2. Love or celebration of a woman's influence upon society; the female equivalent to male patriotism. 3. Love of the motherland, as opposed to patriotism as love of the fatherland. 4. Pacifist patriotism; love of society as opposed to love of the state. 5. Devotion to Mother Earth, ecology, sustainability, peace, and the survival of the human species for as long as possible. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/matriotism

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Don't give in to hate. That leads to the Dark Side.   --The Empire Strikes Back https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Empire_Strikes_Back