On Sept 4:

1862 - Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invaded Maryland, the start of the Antietam Campaign.

September 5, 1972 : Israeli athletes killed at Munich Olympics

On this day in 1972, at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, a
group of Palestinian terrorists storms the Olympic Village apartment
of the Israeli athletes, killing two and taking nine others hostage.
The terrorists, known as Black September, demanded that Israel release
over 230 Arab prisoners being held in Israeli jails and two German
terrorists. In an ensuing shootout at the Munich airport, the nine
Israeli hostages were killed along with five terrorists and one West
German policeman. Olympic competition was suspended for 24 hours to
hold memorial services for the slain athletes.

After a memorial service was held for the athletes at the main Olympic
stadium, International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage
ordered that the games continue, to show that the terrorists hadn't
won.

In the aftermath of the murders at the '72 Olympics, the Israeli
government, headed by Golda Meir, hired a group of Mossad agents to
track down and kill the Black September assassins. In 2005, Steven
Spielberg made a movie, Munich, about these events.

Sept 6, 2007

Luciano Pavarotti dies

Italian tenor and one of the best known vocal performers in contemporary times, in the world of opera and across multiple musical genres. He was also noted for his humanitarian work, and received a medal from the UN High Commission for Refugees for his work related to refugees.

He was born on the outskirts of Modena in north-central Italy on October 12, 1935. Although he spoke fondly of his childhood, the family had little money; its four members were crowded into a two-room apartment. His father was a baker who, according to Pavarotti, had a fine tenor voice but rejected the possibility of a singing career because of nervousness. His mother worked in a cigar factory. World War II forced the family out of the city in 1943. For the following year they rented a single room from a farmer in the neighboring countryside, where young Pavarotti developed an interest in farming.

Pavarotti's earliest musical influences were his father's recordings, most of them featuring the popular tenors of the day — Beniamino Gigli, Giovanni Martinelli, Tito Schipa and Enrico Caruso. At around the age of nine he began singing with his father in a small local church choir. Also in his youth he had a few voice lessons with a Professor Dondi and his wife, but he ascribed little significance to them.

After what appears to have been a normal childhood with a typical interest in sports — in Pavarotti's case soccer above all — he graduated from the Schola Magistrale and faced the dilemma of a career choice. He was interested in pursuing a career as a professional soccer player, but his mother convinced him to train as a teacher. He subsequently taught in an elementary school for two years but finally allowed his interest in music to win out. Recognizing the risk involved, his father gave his consent only reluctantly, the agreement being that Pavarotti would be given free room and board until age 30, after which time, if he had not succeeded, he would earn a living by any means that he could.

Pavarotti began serious study in 1954 at the age of 19 with Arrigo Pola, a respected teacher and professional tenor in Modena who, aware of the family's indigence, offered to teach without remuneration. Not until commencing study with Pola was Pavarotti aware that he had perfect pitch. At about this time Pavarotti met Adua Veroni, whom he married in 1961. When Pola moved to Japan 2½ years later, Pavarotti became a student of Ettore Campogalliani, who was also teaching the now well-known soprano, Pavarotti's childhood friend Mirella Freni. During his years of study Pavarotti held part-time jobs in order to help sustain himself — first as an elementary school teacher and then, when he failed at that, as an insurance salesman.

The first six years of study resulted in nothing more tangible than a few recitals, all in small towns and all without pay. When a nodule developed on his vocal chords causing a "disastrous" concert in Ferrara, he decided to give up singing. Pavarotti attributed his immediate improvement to the psychological release connected with this decision. Whatever the reason, the nodule not only disappeared but, as he related in his autobiography, "Everything I had learned came together with my natural voice to make the sound I had been struggling so hard to achieve."

He made his opera début on April 29, 1961 in the role of Rodolfo in La bohème, in Reggio Emilia.

His American début in February 1965 with the Greater Miami Opera alongside Joan Sutherland on the stage of the Miami-Dade County Auditorium in Miami. The tenor scheduled to perform that night was ill and had no understudy. Sutherland recommended the young Pavarotti, who was traveling with her on her tour, since he was well acquainted with the role. Shortly after that, on April 28, he made his La Scala debut in La bohème. After an extended Australian tour he returned to La Scala where he added Tebaldo from I Capuleti e i Montecchi to his repertoire on March 26, 1966, with Giacomo Aragall as Romeo. His first appearance as Tonio in Pagliacci took place at Covent Garden on June 2 of that year.

He scored another major triumph in Rome on November 20, 1969 when he sang I Lombardi opposite Renata Scotto. This was recorded on a private label and widely distributed, as were various takes of his I Capuleti e i Montecchi, usually with Aragall. Early commercial recordings included a recital of Donizetti and Verdi arias (the aria from Don Sebastiano was particularly good), as well as a complete L'elisir d'amore with Sutherland. His major breakthrough in the United States came on February 17, 1972, in a production of Donizetti's La fille du régiment at New York's Metropolitan Opera, in which he drove the crowd into a frenzy with his nine effortless high Cs in the signature aria. He achieved a record 17 curtain calls. From then on he began to make frequent television performances, such as in his role as Rodolfo (La bohème) in the first Live From The Met telecast in March of 1977, which attracted one of the largest audiences ever for a televised opera. He won many Grammy awards and platinum and gold discs for his performances. In addition to the previously listed titles, his La favorita with Fiorenza Cossotto and his I puritani with Sutherland stand out.

His international recital début at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri in 1973 as part of the college’s Fine Arts Program. Perspiring before the debut, he asked for a handkerchief and was given a white dinner napkin. The prop was a signature part of his act ever since.[1]

At the beginning of the 1980s, he set up The Pavarotti International Voice Competition for young singers, performing with the winners in 1982 in excerpts of La bohème and L'elisir d'amore. The second competition in 1986 staged excerpts of La bohème and Un ballo in maschera. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his career he brought the winners of the competition to Italy for gala performances of La bohème in Modena and Genoa and then to China where they staged performances of La bohème in Beijing. To conclude the visit, Pavarotti performed the first ever concert in the Great Hall of the People before 10,000 people, receiving a standing ovation for nine effortless high Cs. The third competition in 1989 again staged performances of L'elisir d'amore and Un ballo in maschera. The winners of the fifth competition accompanied Pavarotti in performances in Philadelphia in 1997.

Pavarotti's pivotal step in becoming an internationally known celebrity occurred in 1990 when his rendition of Giacomo Puccini's aria, "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot, became the theme song of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. The aria achieved pop status and has, to date, remained his trademark song. This was followed by the hugely successful Three Tenors concert held on the eve of the World Cup final at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome with fellow tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras and conductor Zubin Mehta, which became the biggest selling classical record of all time. Throughout the 1990s, Pavarotti appeared in many well-attended outdoor concerts, his televised concert in London's Hyde Park being the first concert in the history of the park featuring classical music, drawing a record attendance of 150,000. In June 1993, more than 500,000 listeners gathered for his performance on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park, while millions more around the world watched on television. The following September, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, he sang for an estimated crowd of 300,000. Following on from the original 1990 concert, Three Tenors concerts were held during the Football World Cups; in Los Angeles in 1994, in Paris in 1998, and in Yokohama in 2002.

Pavarotti's rise to stardom was not without occasional difficulties, however. He earned a reputation as "The King of Cancellations" by frequently backing out of performances, and his unreliable nature led to poor relationships with some opera houses. This was brought into focus in 1989 when Ardis Krainik of the Lyric Opera of Chicago severed the house's 15-year relationship with the tenor.[2], [3] Over an eight-year period, Pavarotti had cancelled 26 out of 41 scheduled appearances at the Lyric and the decisive move by Krainik to ban him for life was well-noted throughout the opera world, after the performer walked away from a season premiere less than two weeks before rehearsals began, saying pain from a sciatic nerve required two months of treatment.

Pavarotti annually hosted the "Pavarotti and Friends" charity concerts in his home town of Modena in Italy, joining with singers from all parts of the music industry to raise money for several worthy UN causes. Concerts were held for Bosnia, Guatemala, Kosovo, War Child and Iraq.

He was a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales. They raised money for the elimination of land mines worldwide. He was invited to sing at her funeral service, but declined, as he felt he could not sing well "with his grief in his throat".

On December 12, 1998 he became the first (and, so far, only) opera singer to perform on Saturday Night Live, singing alongside Vanessa L. Williams. He also sang with U2, in the band's 1995 song Miss Sarajevo.

In 1998, Pavarotti was presented with the Grammy Legend Award. Given only on special occasions, it has only been awarded 15 times since its first presentation in 1990 (as of 2007).

In 2002 he split with his manager of 36 years Herbert Breslin. The breakup, which was acrimonious, was followed in 2004 with the publication of a book by Breslin entitled The King & I, seen by many as sensationalist and largely critical of the singer's acting (in opera), his ability to read music and learn parts, and of his personal conduct, although acknowledging their mutual success. In an interview in 2005 with Jeremy Paxman on the BBC, Pavarotti rejected the allegation that he could not read music, although acknowledging he sometimes had difficulty following orchestral parts.

He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2001 and currently holds two Guinness World Records: for receiving the most curtain calls — at 165 — and for the best selling classical album (this album is In Concert by The Three Tenors and is thus shared by fellow tenors, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras).

In 2003 he released his final compilation, Ti Adoro, which has Pavarotti singing in more of a "popera" style.

Subsequently he married his assistant, Nicoletta Mantovani, and they had two children; however, due to complications at the time of birth, only one, Alice, survived. He started his farewell tour in 2004, at the age of 69, performing one last time in old and new locations, after over four decades on the stage.

Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera at the New York Metropolitan Opera on March 13, 2004 for which he received a 12-minute standing ovation for his role as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. On December 1, 2004, he announced a 40-city farewell tour to be produced by Harvey Goldsmith.

On February 10, 2006, Pavarotti sang "Nessun Dorma" at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Turin, Italy. The final act of the opening ceremony, his performance received the longest and loudest ovation of the night from the international crowd.

Shortly after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.


Rest in Peace Maestro !!

September 6, 1915 : First tank produced

On this day in 1915, a prototype tank nicknamed Little Willie rolls off the assembly line in England. Little Willie was far from an overnight success. It weighed 14 tons, got stuck in trenches and crawled over rough terrain at only two miles per hour. However, improvements were made to the original prototype and tanks eventually transformed military battlefields.

The British developed the tank in response to the trench warfare of World War I. In 1914, a British army colonel named Ernest Swinton and William Hankey, secretary of the Committee for Imperial Defence, championed the idea of an armored vehicle with conveyor-belt-like tracks over its wheels that could break through enemy lines and traverse difficult territory. The men appealed to British navy minister Winston Churchill, who believed in the concept of a "land boat" and organized a Landships Committee to begin developing a prototype. To keep the project secret from enemies, production workers were reportedly told the vehicles they were building would be used to carry water on the battlefield (alternate theories suggest the shells of the new vehicles resembled water tanks). Either way, the new vehicles were shipped in crates labeled "tank" and the name stuck.

The first tank prototype, Little Willie, was unveiled in September 1915. Following its underwhelming performance--it was slow, became overheated and couldn’t cross trenches--a second prototype, known as "Big Willie," was produced. By 1916, this armored vehicle was deemed ready for battle and made its debut at the First Battle of the Somme near Courcelette, France, on September 15 of that year. Known as the Mark I, this first batch of tanks was hot, noisy and unwieldy and suffered mechanical malfunctions on the battlefield; nevertheless, people realized the tank's potential. Further design improvements were made and at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, 400 Mark IV’s proved much more successful than the Mark I, capturing 8,000 enemy troops and 100 guns.

Tanks rapidly became an important military weapon. During World War II, they played a prominent role across numerous battlefields. More recently, tanks have been essential for desert combat during the conflicts in the Persian Gulf.

On Sept 7:

1940 - Nazi Germany began its first blitz of London in World War II. Eight days later, the RAF staged a dramatic counterattack against the Luftwaffe, turning the tide in the Battle of Britain.