The King and I is a musical by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon, which derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. The musical relates the experiences of Anna, a British schoolteacher hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. Their relationship is marked by conflict through much of the piece, and a love that neither can admit. Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the musical for veteran star Gertrude Lawrence. Rex Harrison, who played the King in the 1946 movie of Landon's book, was unavailable, so Yul Brynner was chosen. The musical premiered in March 1951 at Broadway's St. James Theatre and ran nearly three years. It was an immediate hit, winning Tony Awards for Best Musical and for Best Actress and Best Featured Actor for Lawrence and Brynner (pictured). A hit London run and U.S. national tour followed, together with a 1956 film for which Brynner won an Academy Award. Professional and amateur revivals of The King and I are staged regularly throughout the English-speaking world.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

628:

Khosrau II, the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, was overthrown by his son Kavadh II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khosrau_II

1866:

Miners in Calaveras County, California, discovered a human skull that a prominent geologist claimed was proof (later disproven) that humans had existed during the Pliocene age. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calaveras_Skull

1956:

In his speech "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" to the 20th Party Congress, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the personality cult and dictatorship of his predecessor Joseph Stalin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Cult_of_Personality_and_Its_Consequences

1986:

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda were ousted from power by the non-violent People Power Revolution, with Corazon Aquino taking over the government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Power_Revolution

1994:

Israeli physician Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim Arabs praying at the mosque in Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, killing 29 people and wounding 125 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Patriarchs_massacre

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

king's ransom: (idiomatic) A very large sum of money. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/king%27s_ransom

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The culture as a whole is losing its individual notes, its diversity. And this is… it's not only sad. It's devastating. It's devastating because routine language means routine thought. And it means unquestioning thought.   --John Leonard https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Leonard_(critic)