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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ 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

___________________________ 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