Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Answer of the Day
Why did Leonard Bernstein change his name from Louis? When he was 16 years old, Louis Bernstein decided to officially change his first name to Leonard, because there were already several other Louis Bernsteins in his family. Perhaps he already knew how famous that name would eventually become. Fresh out of the Curtis Institute, Bernstein was recommended by his musical mentor, Serge Koussevitsky, for the position of assistant conductor to the New York Philharmonic's Artur Rodzinski. Bernstein was put to the test — and passed — on November 14, 1943. Bruno Walter, who was scheduled to conduct at Carnegie Hall, became ill and Bernstein was called in as a substitute. The concert was less than 24 hours away and there was no time to rehearse. With just cursory study of the piece, Bernstein wowed the audience; The New York Times ran a front-page story about him the next day and Bernstein's career was off and running. Leonard Bernstein was born on this date in 1918.

Quote
"To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time." — Leonard Bernstein

Word of the day

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Today's History

Aaliyah

• New Orleans: was founded by French colonists (1718)
• Great Moon Hoax: the first of six articles appeared in The New York Sun, discussing a variety of animal life supposedly discovered on the moon (1835)
• English Channel: was swum for the first time, by Matthew Webb (1875); he died eight years later attempting a swim in the rapids beneath Niagara Falls
• Paris: was liberated by the Allies in World War II (1944)
• Aaliyah: singer/actor died in a plane crash in the Bahamas (2001)

Today's Birthdays

Elvis Costello

• Althea Gibson (1927-2003): tennis champ; athletes Rollie Fingers (64), Albert Belle (44), Robert Horry (40) and Marvin Harrison (38) share this birth date
• Elvis Costello (56): rocker singer/songwriter; plus musicians Wayne Shorter (77), Gene Simmons (61), Rob Halford (59), Billy Ray Cyrus (49) and Jo Dee Messina (40)
• Tim Burton (52): director, Beetlejuice; also, filmmakers Hugh Hudson (74), John Badham (71) and Marshall Brickman (69)
• Blair Underwood (46): actor, In Treatment; also, actors Mel Ferrer (1917-2008), Sean Connery (80), Tom Skerritt (77), David Canary (72), Anthony Heald (66), Anne Archer (63), John Savage (61), Claudia Schiffer (40), Eric Millegan (36), Rachel Bilson (29) and Blake Lively (23)
• Rachael Ray (42): TV chef; also, TV hosts Monty Hall (89) and Regis Philbin (79)