George Formby Sr (1875–1921) was one of the greatest music hall performers of the early 20th century. His comedy and songs played upon Lancashire stereotypes, and he was popular around Britain. His nickname, "The Wigan Nightingale", was coined because of the way he would use his bronchial cough as a comedic device. Born into poverty, he sang on street corners before starting a professional career in the 1890s, when he built up a following in Lancashire. He also developed a series of stage characters, including that of "John Willie", an accident-prone northerner. Formby had a successful recording career and made the transition from music hall to revue in 1916. He suffered from tuberculosis, and a stage accident in 1916 weakened him further; after he contracted influenza in the 1918 pandemic, he died in 1921 at the age of 45. Formby's act, and one of his costumes, inspired Charlie Chaplin to create the Tramp, his signature film character. Formby's son used parts of his father's act when starting his stage career and, once established, also changed his name to George Formby; he went on to become the top British male star in box office takings between 1937 and 1943.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1779:

American Revolution: James Wilson and his colleagues were forced to defend themselves after a mob, angered by his successful legal defense of 23 people from exile, converged on his house, resulting in six deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wilson

1876:

Texas A&M; University opened as the first public institution of higher education in the U.S. state of Texas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_A%26M_University

1917:

First World War: The British devastated the German defence in the Battle of Broodseinde, which prompted a crisis among the German commanders and caused a severe loss of morale in the German Fourth Army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Broodseinde

1957:

Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, was launched by an R-7 rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam, Kazakh SSR. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1

2010:

The dam holding a waste reservoir in western Hungary collapsed, freeing 1 million cubic metres (1,300,000 cu yd) of red mud, which flooded nearby communities and killed at least nine people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajka_alumina_plant_accident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hoyden: (archaic) A rude, uncultured or rowdy girl or woman. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoyden

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Every age has its temptations, its weaknesses, its dangers. Ours is in the line of the snobbish and the sordid.   --Rutherford B. Hayes https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rutherford_B._Hayes