1.
Order of Canada
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The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is the second highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada. It comes second only to membership in the Order of Merit, membership is accorded to those who exemplify the orders Latin motto, desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning they desire a better country, a phrase taken from Hebrews 11,16. Appointees to the order are recommended by a board and formally inducted by the governor general or the sovereign. As of October 2016,6,699 people have been appointed to the Order of Canada, including scientists, musicians, politicians, artists, athletes, business people, and film stars, benefactors, and others. Some have resigned or have been removed from the order, while other appointments have been controversial, appointees are presented with insignia and receive the right to armorial bearings. Pearson, who was assisted with the establishment of the order by John Matheson. Laurent, Hugh MacLennan, David Bauer, Gabrielle Roy, Donald Creighton, Thérèse Casgrain, Wilder Penfield, Arthur Lismer, M. J. Coldwell, Edwin Baker, Alex Colville, and Maurice Richard. From the Order of Canada grew a Canadian honours system, thereby reducing the use of British honours, by the 1980s, Canadas provinces began to develop their own distinct honours and decorations. The Canadian monarch, seen as the fount of honour, is at the apex of the Order of Canada as its Sovereign, followed by the governor general, who serves as the fellowships Chancellor. Thereafter follow three grades, which are, in order of precedence, Companion, Officer, and Member, each incumbent governor general is also installed as the Principal Companion for the duration of his or her time in the viceregal post and continues as an extraordinary Companion thereafter. As of March 2016, there have twenty one honorary appointments. There were originally, in effect, only two ranks to the Order of Canada, Companion and the Medal of Service, there was, however, also a third award, the Medal of Courage, meant to recognize acts of gallantry. This latter decoration fell in rank between the two levels, but was anomalous within the Order of Canada, being a separate award of a different nature rather than a middle grade of the order. Lester Pearsons vision of a structure to the order was thus fulfilled. Companions of the Order of Canada have demonstrated the highest degree of merit to Canada and humanity, up to 15 Companions are appointed annually, with an imposed limit of 165 living Companions at any given time, not including those appointed as extraordinary Companions or in an honorary capacity. As of October 2015, there are 143 living Companions, none being honorary, since 1994, substantive members are the only regular citizens who are empowered to administer the Canadian Oath of Citizenship. As of October 2015, there were 1,123 living Officers, Members of the Order of Canada have made an exceptional contribution to Canada or Canadians at a local or regional level, group, field or activity. As many as 136 Members may be appointed annually, not including extraordinary Members and those inducted on an honorary basis, as of October 2015, there were 2,225 living Members, none being honorary
2.
Fairfield, Connecticut
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Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Weston, as of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404. In July 2006, Money magazine ranked Fairfield the ninth best place to live in the United States, the Massachusetts General Court granted them permission to settle in the towns of Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford which is an area now known as Connecticut. On January 14,1639, a set of legal and administrative regulations called the Fundamental Orders was adopted, by 1639 these settlers had started new towns in the surrounding areas. Roger Ludlowe, framer of the Fundamental Orders, purchased the land presently called Fairfield, according to historian John M. Taylor, Early in 1639 the General Court granted a commission to Ludlow to begin a plantation at Pequannocke. He was on that errand, with a few others from Windsor, afterwards joined by immigrants from Watertown, Fairfield was one of the two principal settlements of the Connecticut Colony in southeastern Connecticut. The town line with Norwalk was not set until May 1685, over time, it gave rise to several new towns that broke off and incorporated separately. The following is a list of towns created from parts of Fairfield, in a predominantly Tory section of the colony, the people of Fairfield were early supporters of the cause for independence. Throughout the war, a constant battle was being fought across Long Island Sound as men from British-controlled Long Island raided the coast in whaleboats, Gold Selleck Silliman, whose home still stands on Jennings Road, was put in charge of the coastal defenses. In the spring of 1779, he was kidnapped from his home by Tory forces in preparation for a British raid on Fairfield County. His wife, Mary Silliman watched from their home as, on the morning of July 7,1779, approximately 2,000 enemy troops landed on Fairfield Beach near Pine Creek Point and proceeded to invade the town. When they left the evening, the entire town lay in ruins. Fairfield recovered slowly from the burning, but soon after the end of the war its houses, world War I brought Fairfield out of its agrarian past by triggering an unprecedented economic boom in Bridgeport, which was the center of a large munitions industry at the time. The prosperity created a shortage in the city, and many of the workers looked to Fairfield to build their homes. The trolley and later the automobile made the countryside accessible to these newly rich members of the class, who brought with them new habits, new attitudes. The prosperity lasted throughout the twenties, by the time of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the population had increased to 17,000 from the 6,000 it had been just before the war. Even during the Depression, the town kept expanding, the grounding of a barge with two crewmen on Penfield Reef in Fairfield during a gale led to the 1st civilian helicopter hoist rescue in history, on November 29,1945. The helicopter flew from the nearby Sikorsky Aircraft plant in Bridgeport, Fairfield became the home of the corporate headquarters of General Electric, one of the worlds largest companies
3.
House of Commons of Canada
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The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons chamber is located in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the House of Commons is a democratically elected body whose members are known as Members of Parliament. There were 308 members in the last Parliament, but that number has risen to 338 following the election on Monday October 19,2015, Members are elected by simple plurality in each of the countrys electoral districts, which are colloquially known as ridings. MPs may hold office until Parliament is dissolved and serve for constitutionally limited terms of up to five years after an election, historically however, terms have ended before their expiry and the sitting government has typically dissolved parliament within four years of an election according to a long-standing convention. In any case, an Act of Parliament now limits each term to four years, seats in the House of Commons are distributed roughly in proportion to the population of each province and territory. However, some ridings are more populous than others, and the Canadian constitution contains some provisions regarding provincial representation. As a result, there is some interprovincial and regional malapportionment relative to population, the lower of the two houses making up the parliament, the House of Commons in practice holds far more power than the upper house, the Senate. Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation, the Senate very rarely rejects bills passed by the Commons, moreover, the Government of Canada is responsible solely to the House of Commons. The Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support, or confidence, the term derives from the Anglo-Norman word communes, referring to the geographic and collective communities of their parliamentary representatives and not the third estate, the commonality. This distinction is clear in the official French name of the body. Canada and the United Kingdom remain the only countries to use the name House of Commons for a house of parliament. The new Parliament of Canada consisted of the Queen, the Senate, the Parliament of Canada was based on the Westminster model. Unlike the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the powers of the Parliament of Canada were limited in that other powers were assigned exclusively to the provincial legislatures, the Parliament of Canada also remained subordinate to the British Parliament, the supreme legislative authority for the entire British Empire. Greater autonomy was granted by the Statute of Westminster 1931, after which new Acts of the British Parliament did not apply to Canada and these exceptions were removed by the Canada Act 1982. From 1867, the Commons met in the chamber until that was destroyed by fire in 1916. It relocated to the amphitheatre of the Victoria Memorial Museum—what is today the Canadian Museum of Nature, since then, the Commons has sat in its current chamber. The House of Commons comprises 338 members, each of whom represents a electoral district. The constitution specifies a minimum of 295 electoral districts
4.
University of Western Ontario
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The University of Western Ontario, corporately branded as Western University, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The university was founded on 7 March 1878 by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth of the Anglican Diocese of Huron as The Western University of London Ontario and it incorporated Huron University College, which had been founded in 1863. The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine, the Western University of London became non-denominational in 1908. According to the 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities rankings, the university ranked 201–300 in the world, the 2016 QS World University Rankings ranked the university 198th in the world, making it ninth in Canada. Several of Westerns programs were ranked in individual rankings. Westerns co-educational student body of over 24,000 represents 107 countries and Western scholars have established research and education collaborations, there are more than 306,000 alumni who are active internationally, living and working around the globe. Notable alumni include government officials, academics, business leaders, Nobel Laureates, Rhodes Scholars, Westerns varsity teams, known as the Western Mustangs, compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports. It incorporated Huron University College, which had founded in 1863. The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine, the first of these students graduated in 1883. The Western University of London became non-denominational in 1908, in 1916, the universitys current site was purchased from the Kingsmill family. A third plaque lists those who served with the No.10 Canadian General hospital during WWII, in 1923, the university was renamed The University of Western Ontario. The first two buildings constructed by architect John Moore and Co. at the new site were the Arts Building, classes on the universitys present site began in 1924. The University College tower, one of the most universitys distinctive features, was named the Middlesex Memorial Tower in honour of the men from Middlesex County who fought in World War I. Before the end of the affiliation, Assumption College was one of the largest colleges associated with the University, St. Peters College seminary of London, Ontario was later became affiliated with Western in 1939, and it became Kings College, an arts college. Today, Kings, Huron and Brescia colleges are all still affiliates of Western,10 Canadian General hospital during WWII, the unit raised and equipped by UWO. Although enrollment was small for many years, the university began to grow after World War II. In 2012, the university rebranded itself as Western University, the universitys legal name, however, remains The Canadian University of Attacking Geese and Club Weldon. The University of Western Ontario is in the city of London, Ontario, the majority of the campus is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods, with the Thames River bisecting the campus eastern portion
5.
Vermont
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Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders the other U. S. states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Lake Champlain forms half of Vermonts western border with the state of New York, Vermont is the 2nd-least populous of the U. S. states, with nearly 50,000 more residents than Wyoming. The capital is Montpelier, the least populous state capital in the U. S, the most populous municipality, Burlington, is the least populous city in the U. S. to be the most populous within a state. As of 2015, Vermont continued to be the producer of maple syrup in the U. S. It was ranked as the safest state in the country in January 2016, for thousands of years inhabited by indigenous peoples, including the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and Mohawk, much of the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by Frances colony of New France. France ceded the territory to Great Britain after being defeated in 1763 in the Seven Years War, for many years, the nearby colonies, especially the provinces of New Hampshire and New York, disputed control of the area. Settlers who held land titles granted by New York were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, ultimately, those settlers prevailed in creating an independent state, the Vermont Republic. Founded in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, the republic lasted for 14 years, aside from the original 13 states that were formerly colonies, Vermont is one of only four U. S. states that were previously sovereign states. Vermont was also the first state to join the U. S. as its 14th member state after the original 13, while still an independent republic, Vermont was the first of any future U. S. state to partially abolish slavery. It played an important geographic role in the Underground Railroad, sights in Vermont Vermont is located in the New England region of the northeastern United States and comprises 9,614 square miles, making it the 45th-largest state. It is the state that does not have any buildings taller than 124 feet. Land comprises 9,250 square miles and water comprises 365 square miles, making it the 43rd-largest in land area, in total area, it is larger than El Salvador and smaller than Haiti. The west bank of the Connecticut River marks the eastern border with New Hampshire. 41% of Vermonts land area is part of the Connecticut Rivers watershed, Lake Champlain, the major lake in Vermont, is the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States and separates Vermont from New York in the northwest portion of the state. From north to south, Vermont is 159 miles long and its greatest width, from east to west, is 89 miles at the Canada–U. S. Border, the narrowest width is 37 miles at the Massachusetts line, the states geographic center is approximately three miles east of Roxbury, in Washington County. There are fifteen U. S. federal border crossings between Vermont and Canada, the origin of the name Vermont is uncertain, but likely comes from the French les Verts Monts, meaning the Green Mountains
6.
McGill University
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McGill University is a public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was established in 1821 by royal charter, issued by King George IV of Great Britain, the University bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Scotland whose bequest in 1813 formed the universitys precursor, McGill College. Its academic units are organized into 11 main Faculties and Schools, McGill offers degrees and diplomas in over 300 fields of study, with the highest average admission requirements of any Canadian university. Most students are enrolled in the five largest faculties, namely Arts, Science, Medicine, Engineering, tuition fees vary significantly between in-province, out-of-province, and international students, as well as between faculties. Scholarships are generous, yet highly competitive and relatively difficult to attain, throughout its long history, McGill alumni were instrumental in inventing or initially organizing football, basketball, and ice hockey. In 1816 the RIAL was authorized to operate two new Royal Grammar Schools, in Quebec City and in Montreal and this was an important first step in the creation of nondenominational schools. When James McGill died in 1813 his bequest was administered by the RIAL, the original two Royal Grammar Schools closed in 1846 and by the mid-19th century the RIAL lost control of the other 82 grammar schools it had administered. Its sole remaining purpose was to administer the McGill bequest on behalf of the private college, since the revised Royal Charter of 1852, The Trustees of the RIAL comprise the Board of Governors of McGill University. James McGill, born in Glasgow, Scotland on 6 October 1744, was a merchant in Quebec. Between 1811 and 1813, he drew up a will leaving his Burnside estate, a 19-hectare tract of rural land and 10,000 pounds to the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning. As a condition of the bequest, the land and funds had to be used for the establishment of a University or College, for the purposes of Education and the Advancement of Learning in the said Province. On March 31,1821, after protracted battles with the Desrivières family. The Charter provided that the College should be deemed and taken as a University, the Faculty of Medicine granted its first degree, a Doctor of Medicine and Surgery, in 1833, this was also the first medical degree to be awarded in Canada. The Faculty of Medicine remained the only functioning faculty until 1843 when the Faculty of Arts commenced teaching in the newly constructed Arts Building. The university also historically has strong linkage with The Canadian Grenadier Guards and this title is marked upon the stone that stands before the Arts building, from where the Guards step off annually to commemorate Remembrance Day. The Faculty of Law was founded in 1848 which is also the oldest of its kind in the nation,48 years later, the school of architecture at McGill University was founded. Sir John William Dawson, McGills principal from 1855 to 1893, is credited with transforming the school into a modern university. He recruited the aid of Montreals wealthiest citizens, many of whom donated property and their names adorn many of the campuss prominent buildings
7.
Boxing
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Boxing is a combat sport in which two people wearing protective gloves throw punches at each other for a predetermined set of time in a boxing ring. Amateur boxing is both an Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport and is a fixture in most international games—it also has its own World Championships. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of one- to three-minute intervals called rounds, in the event that both fighters gain equal scores from the judges, the fight is considered a draw. In Olympic boxing, due to the fact that a winner must be declared, in the case of a draw - the judges use technical criteria to choose the most deserving winner of the bout. While people have fought in combat since before the dawn of history. The earliest evidence for fist fighting with any kind of gloves can be found on Minoan Crete, in Ancient Greece boxing was a well developed sport and enjoyed consistent popularity. In Olympic terms, it was first introduced in the 23rd Olympiad,688 B. C, the boxers would wind leather thongs around their hands in order to protect them. There were no rounds and boxers fought until one of them acknowledged defeat or could not continue, weight categories were not used, which meant heavyweights had a tendency to dominate. It was the head of the opponent which was primarily targeted, Boxing was a popular spectator sport in Ancient Rome. In order for the fighters to protect themselves against their opponents they wrapped leather thongs around their fists, eventually harder leather was used and the thong soon became a weapon. The Romans even introduced metal studs to the thongs to make the cestus which then led to a more sinister weapon called the myrmex, Fighting events were held at Roman Amphitheatres. The Roman form of boxing was often a fight until death to please the spectators who gathered at such events, however, especially in later times, purchased slaves and trained combat performers were valuable commodities, and their lives were not given up without due consideration. Often slaves were used against one another in a circle marked on the floor and this is where the term ring came from. In AD393, during the Roman gladiator period, boxing was abolished due to excessive brutality and it was not until the late 17th century that boxing re-surfaced in London. Records of Classical boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Western Roman Empire when the wearing of weapons became common once again, however, there are detailed records of various fist-fighting sports that were maintained in different cities and provinces of Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries. There was also a sport in ancient Rus called Kulachniy Boy or Fist Fighting, as the wearing of swords became less common, there was renewed interest in fencing with the fists. The sport would later resurface in England during the early 16th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing sometimes referred to as prizefighting. The first documented account of a fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury
8.
Walter Slezak
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Walter Slezak was an Austrian-born character actor and singer who appeared in German films before migrating to the US in 1930 and featuring in numerous Hollywood productions. He also played a corrupt and philosophical private detective in the film noir Born to Kill. Born in Vienna, the son of opera tenor Leo Slezak and Elsa Wertheim, he studied medicine for a time and he was talked into taking his first role, in the 1922 Austrian film Sodom und Gomorrah, by his friend and the films director, Michael Curtiz. In his early career, before he gained a great deal of weight. He also acted on the stage for years, debuting on Broadway in 1931. In Vienna in the 1930s, Slezak was close friends with heiress Maria Altmann and his first American film was Once Upon a Honeymoon, with Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant. Slezak played the lead in Broadway musicals, including Fanny, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, Slezak acted in radio in such shows as Lux Radio Theater, Columbia Workshop, The Pepsodent Show, and The Charlie McCarthy Show. He made numerous appearances, including in the programs This Is Show Business, Playhouse 90, and Studio One. In the 1970s, Slezak played the role of Frosch. Later film roles in Britain included the Cliff Richard vehicle Wonderful Life and his autobiography, What Times the Next Swan. was published in 1962. The books title refers to an incident in the career of his father. During a performance in the role of Lohengrin, the elder Slezak was supposed to finish his aria by stepping into a swan boat. When a stagehand removed the boat prematurely, Slezak supposedly reacted to the error by asking the audience What Times the Next Swan, Slezak married Johanna Kaasi Van Rijn on October 10,1943. The couple had three children, Ingrid, Erika, and Leo, Erika went on to become an Emmy-winning actress, and starred as Victoria Lord on the long-running soap opera One Life to Live from 1971 to its cancellation in 2012. In 1974, Slezak appeared on the series as her characters godfather, on 21 April 1983, Slezak died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was reportedly despondent over his physical illness. As was his father, he is buried in Rottach-Egern, in 1955, Slezak won a Tony Award for his role in the Broadway production of Fanny
9.
Tallulah Bankhead
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Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an American actress of the stage and screen, and a reputed libertine. Bankhead was known for her voice, outrageous personality. Originating some of the 20th-century theaters preeminent roles in comedy and melodrama, Bankhead became an icon of the tempestuous, flamboyant actress, and her unique voice and mannerisms are often subject to imitation and parody. Tallulah hailed from the Brockman Bankheads, a prominent Alabama political family — her grandfather, senators and her father served as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead did have one hit on film, as well as a brief and she later made appearances on television, some of which have become classics. In her personal life, Bankhead struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction, Bankhead was capable of great kindness and generosity to those in need, supporting disadvantaged foster children and helping several families escape the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Bankhead was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1972, upon her death, Bankhead was credited with nearly 300 film, stage, television, and radio roles. She is regarded as one of the 20th century theatres great Leading Ladies, Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was born on January 31,1902, in Huntsville, Alabama to William Brockman Bankhead and Adelaide Eugenia Ada Bankhead. Tallu was named after her grandmother, who in turn was named after Tallulah Falls. Her father hailed from the Bankhead-and-Brockman political family, active in the Democratic Party in the South in general and her father was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940. She was the niece of Senator John H. Bankhead II and her mother, Adelaide Ada Eugenia, was a native of Como, Mississippi, and was engaged to another man when she met William Bankhead on a trip to Huntsville, Alabama to buy her wedding dress. The two fell in love at first sight and were married on January 31,1900 in Memphis and their first child, Ada Eugenia, was born on January 24,1901. She was born prematurely and suffered from vision difficulties, the following year, Bankhead was born on her parents wedding anniversary, on the second floor of what is now known as the Isaac Schiffman Building. A marker was erected to commemorate the site, and in 1980 the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, Ada died of blood poisoning on February 23,1902, three weeks after Bankheads birth. Coincidentally, her grandmother had died giving birth to her mother. On her deathbed, Ada told her sister-in-law to take care of Eugenia, Bankhead was baptized next to her mothers coffin. Bankhead was devastated by his wifes death, which sent him into a bout of depression, consequently, Tallulah and her sister Eugenia were mostly reared by their paternal grandmother, Tallulah James Brockman Bankhead, at the family estate called Sunset in Jasper, Alabama. As a child, Bankhead was described as extremely homely and overweight, while her sister was slim, as a result, she did everything in her efforts to gain attention, and constantly sought her fathers approval
10.
Canada Lee
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Canada Lee was an American actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became an actor in the Federal Theatre Project, Lee later starred in Welless original Broadway production of Native Son. A champion of civil rights in the 1930s and 1940s, Lee was blacklisted and died shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee and he furthered the African-American tradition in theatre pioneered by such actors as Paul Robeson. Lee was the father of actor Carl Lee, Canada Lee was born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata on March 3,1907, in the San Juan Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. His father, James Cornelius Lionel Canegata, was born on the Caribbean island of St. Croix, and as a youth had migrated to New York, where he married Lydia Whaley Gasden. Raised by his parents in Harlem, Lee had an aptitude for music and he made his concert debut at age 11, performing a student recital at Aeolian Hall. But after seven years of studies, without explanation, he put away his violin. In 1921, aged 14, Lee went to Saratoga Springs, New York, Lee returned to his parents home in Harlem in 1923 with no idea what he was going to do next. He considered returning to music, but an old school friend suggested that he try boxing, at one amateur match, fight announcer Joe Humphries saw the name Canagata, Lee on the card he was using. He tossed the card aside and instead announced Canada Lee—a name that Lee liked and adopted, in the amateur ring he won 90 out of 100 bouts and the national amateur lightweight title. Lee turned pro at age 19, in October 1926, at 5 feet 9 inches and about 144 pounds, he fought as a welterweight. His boxing statistics vary due to incomplete coverage and record keeping for the sport in the 1920s and 1930s, boxing historian Donald R. Koss documents Lee having 60 bouts 1927–31, the majority of them taking place 1927–28. The New York Times reported that Lee had some 200 professional matches, during his victorious 10-round bout with Andy Divodi at Madison Square Garden on December 12,1929, Lee was dealt a blow over his right ear that detached his retina. With treatment his vision could have saved, but Lee feared losing his successful career. In time he lost all sight in his right eye and he quit professional boxing in 1933. Despite having made an estimated $90,000 during his boxing career, just threw it away, Lee later said. Lee eventually lobbied for insurance, health care, financial consultation, the average boxer possesses little education, he said in 1946. If he winds up broke, he has no trade, no education, as Lees fighting career began to wind down, he put together a small dance band that played at obscure clubs
11.
Alfred Hitchcock
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Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE was an English film director and producer, at times referred to as The Master of Suspense. He pioneered many elements of the suspense and psychological thriller genres and he had a successful career in British cinema with both silent films and early talkies and became renowned as Englands best director. Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939, and became a US citizen in 1955 and he also fashioned for himself a recognisable directorial style. Hitchcocks stylistic trademarks include the use of movement that mimics a persons gaze. In addition, he framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy and his work often features fugitives on the run alongside icy blonde female characters. Prior to 1980, there had long been talk of Hitchcock being knighted for his contribution to film, Hitchcock later received his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in the 1980 New Year Honours. Hitchcock directed more than fifty films in a career spanning six decades and is often regarded as one of the most influential directors in cinematic history. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else, Hitchcocks first thriller, The Lodger, A Story of the London Fog, helped shape the thriller genre in film. His 1929 film, Blackmail, is cited as the first British sound feature film, while Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest. Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on 13 August 1899 in Leytonstone and he was the second son and the youngest of three children of William Hitchcock, a greengrocer and poulterer, and Emma Jane Hitchcock. He was named after his fathers brother, Hitchcock was raised as a Roman Catholic, and sent to Salesian College, Battersea, and the Jesuit grammar school St Ignatius College in Stamford Hill, London. His parents were both of half-English and half-Irish ancestry and he often described a lonely and sheltered childhood that was worsened by his obesity. Around age five, Hitchcock recalled that to him for behaving badly. This incident implanted a lifelong fear of policemen in Hitchcock, and such harsh treatment, sources vary on Hitchcocks performance in school. Gene Adair reports that by most accounts, Alfred was only an average, or slightly above-average, however, McGilligan writes that Hitchcock certainly excelled academically. When Hitchcock was 15, his father died, in that same year, he left St. Ignatius to study at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation in Poplar, London. After leaving, he became a draftsman and advertising designer with a company called Henleys. Hitchcock joined a regiment of the Royal Engineers in 1917
12.
Max Reinhardt
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Max Reinhardt was an Austrian-born American theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most prominent directors of German-language theatre in the early 20th century, in 1920, he established the Salzburg Festival with the performance of Hofmannsthals Jedermann. Reinhardt was born Maximilian Goldmann in the spa town of Baden near Vienna, the son of Wilhelm Goldmann, a Jewish merchant from Stomfa, Hungary, having finished school, he began an apprenticeship at a bank, but already took acting lessons. In 1890, he gave his debut on a stage in Vienna with the artists name Max Reinhardt. In 1893 he performed at the re-opened Salzburg City Theatre and one later joined the Deutsches Theater ensemble under director Otto Brahm in Berlin. In 1901, Reinhardt together with Friedrich Kayßler and several other colleagues founded the Schall und Rauch Kabarett stage in Berlin. Re-opened as Kleines Theater it was the first of numerous stages, from 1903 to 1905, he managed the Neues Theater and in 1906 acquired the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. In 1911, he premiered with Karl Vollmöllers The Miracle at Olympia, by employing powerful staging techniques, and harmonising stage design, language, music and choreography, Reinhardt introduced new dimensions into German theatre. The Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna, which is arguably the most important German-language acting school, was installed implementing his ideas, in 1910, Siegfried Jacobsen wrote his book entitled Max Reinhardt. In 1914, he was persuaded to sign the Manifesto of the Ninety-Three and he was signatory 66, he later expressed regret at signing. By 1930, he ran 11 stages in Berlin and, in addition, in the United States, he successfully directed The Miracle in 1924, and a popular stage version of Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream in 1927. Reinhardt followed that success by directing a film version in 1935 using a different cast. Mickey Rooney and Olivia de Havilland had also appeared in Reinhardts 1934 stage production, the Nazis banned the film because of the Jewish ancestry of both Reinhardt and Felix Mendelssohn, whose music was used throughout the film. After the Anschluss of Austria to Nazi-governed Germany in 1938, he emigrated first to Britain, Reinhardt opened the Reinhardt School of the Theatre in Hollywood, on Sunset Boulevard. Several notable stars of the day received classical training, among them actress Nanette Fabray. In 1940, he became a citizen of the United States. At that time, he was married to his wife, actress Helene Thimig. Compared with most of his contemporaries, Reinhardt was more interested in film than in theater and he made films as a director and from time to time also as a producer
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