Celebrating Cultures across the University of Birmingham
75 years ago, on February 4th 1948 in Detroit, Michigan, Alice Cooper (originally Vincent Damion Furnier) was born. He was to become an internationally renowned rock musician who pioneered a theatrical form of heavy metal music performance that allowed the fusion of onstage horror dramatics and raw, dynamic sounds – a unique style that eventually … Continue reading “4 February 75th Anniversary of the birth of rock singer Alice Cooper “
Charles Monroe ‘Sparky’ Schulz (1922-2000) was an American cartoonist and creator of the comic strip ‘Peanuts’ which gave us Snoopy, Charlie Brown and others. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists of the modern era. Schulz loved drawing and sometimes drew his family dog, Spike, who ate unusual things, such as … Continue reading “Charles M Schulz 100th anniversary”
November 18 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Marcel Proust, French novelist, essayist and critic. Born in 1871 in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, Proust was a sickly child who grappled with illnesses which beset him from the age of nine until the end of his life. Despite having his education disrupted … Continue reading “A la recherche du temps perdu”
George Cadbury, third son of John Cadbury, founder of Cadbury’s coca and chocolate company, was an English businessman and social reformer who, with his elder brother, Richard, took over their father’s failing enterprise (April 1861) and built it into the highly prosperous Cadbury Brothers cocoa and chocolate manufacturing firm. George was perhaps more important for his … Continue reading “Centenary of the death of George Cadbury (18 October 2022)”
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the world’s oldest national broadcaster, and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, employing over 22,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 19,000 are in public-sector broadcasting. The BBC was established under a royal charter and its BBC World Service broadcasts in 28 languages. Known colloquially as the Beeb … Continue reading “BBC centenary (18 October)”
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 –1958) was an English composer, born in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, whose works include nine symphonies, five operas, music for film, ballet and stage, several song cycles, church music and works for chorus and orchestra, written over sixty years. Strongly influenced by Tudor music and English folk song, his output marked a decisive … Continue reading “150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams”
21 August marks the centenary of the birth of Aubrey Beardsley whose highly distinctive work in black and white made him one of the best known Art Nouveau artists. Aubrey Beardsley shocked and delighted late-Victorian London with his sinuous black and white drawings inspired by Japanese woodcuts. He explored the erotic and the elegant, the … Continue reading “150th anniversary of the birth of Aubrey Beardsley”
2 August marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Alexander Graham Bell. With the perfect surname for someone who invented the first practical telephone, as well as the refinement of the phonograph, Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish-born American inventor, scientist, and teacher of the deaf. His mother was almost deaf, and his father … Continue reading “Alexander Graham Bell”
Today (24/5/22) marks 50 years since the opening of the iconic Spaghetti Junction (Gravelly Hill interchange). It covers 30 acres (12 ha), serves 18 routes and includes 4 km (2.5 mi) of slip roads, but only 1 km (0.6 mi) of the M6 itself. Across five different levels, it has 559 concrete columns, reaching up to 24.4 m (80 ft). The engineers had … Continue reading “Spaghetti Junction at 50”
22 May marks the 50th anniversary of the death of English actress of stage, television and film, Dame Margaret Rutherford (1892-1972). For many she is the archetypal Miss Marple (she played the role in four films loosely based on Agatha Christie’s writings) but was also known for comedy roles. She played Miss Prism in John … Continue reading “Margaret Rutherford 50th anniversary”
