29 November

Gaetano Donizetti
29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848
Italian composer (opera).

Alexander Brullov
29 November 1798 – 9 January 1877
Russian artist whose paintings can be seen in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; Finnish National Gallery Art Collections, Helsinki, Finland.

Christian Doppler
29 November 1803 – 17 March 1853
Austrian scientist who researched sound and how it’s effected by movement.

Gottfried Semper
29 November 1803 – 15 May 1879
German architect who build the Dresden Opera House, plus other major buildings in Zurich and Vienna.

Jean-Martin Charcot
29 November 1825 – 16 August 1893
French doctor who established the medical science of neurology.

John Fleming
29 November 1849 – 18 April 1945
English engineer who invented the ‘thermionic valve’ in 1904, the precursor to valves used in radio and television.

Francis Dodd
29 November 1874 – 7 March 1949
English artist who paintings can be seen in the Royal Academy, London; National Portrait Gallery, London; Tate Gallery, London.

Jacob Gade
29 November 1879 – 20 February 1963
Danish composer, remembered particularly for ‘Tango Jalousie’, used in the movie ‘Death on the Nile’ and others.

Busby Berkeley
29 November 1895 – 14 March 1976
American film producer and choreographer.

C. S. Lewis
29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963
English author, remembered for ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’.

Today’s Quote
Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.
… Elmer G. Letterman

Today’s No.1 Hit
1966 – Winchester Cathedral by The New Vaudeville Band.

Today’s events
29 November 1877 – Public demonstration of Thomas Edison’s phonograph.
29 November 1897 – Debut of motor cycle racing, in Surrey England.
29 November 1910 – Traffic lights patented in America by Ernest Sirrine.
29 November 1922 – Opening of Tutankhamen’s Tomb in Egypt by Howard Carter.
29 November 1929 – The first flight over the South Pole by American Richard Byrd.
29 November 1972 – The video game ‘Pong’ is released by Nolan Bushnell.