Advanced search

Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin was born on June 7, 1848, in Paris, France. His father, Clovis Gaughin, was a Republican editor who died on his way to Peru while escaping from Louis Napoleon. His widowed mother was a Peruvian Creole daughter of writer Flora Tristan. Young Gauguin spent early childhood in Lima, Peru, until 1855, then studied in Orleans, France. He joined the Merchant Marine in 1865 and spent the next six years sailing between France and South America, then spent a hitch in the French navy. In 1871 he returned to France, settled in Paris and became a stockbroker.

In 1874 Gauguin saw the first Impressionist exhibition, which gave him his desire to become an artist. Enchanted with art, he spent some 17,000 francs on paintings by Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and other impressionists. Gauguin discovered art as a way to escape from the pressures of civilization. He met Camille Pissarro and Paul Cezanne in 1874, and joined them for painting on weekends and holidays. His debut in the Salon took place in 1876. He also participated in the Impressionist exhibitions in 1879, 1880 and 1882. By 1884 he became a full-time artist, partly because the bank that employed him had difficulties. Paris became too expensive and Gauguin moved with his wife and five children to Rouen, then to Copenhagen, Denmark, and then back to Paris. In 1885 he and his wife separated and she took the children with her to her family. Gauguin went into depression and at one time attempted suicide.

He met Vincent van Gogh in Paris in 1886 and they became friends. Van Gogh's brother Theo was also Gauguin's art dealer. In 1888 he received an invitation from Vincent and joined him in October of that year in Arles. There Van Gogh presented him several paintings of sunflowers, but their cooperation lasted only for two months. Their arguments about art and life were exacerbated by drinking and rivalry for prostitutes. Van Gogh's mental state was alternating between fits of depression and lucidity. At times his madness led to aggressive actions. In December of 1888 Van Gogh attacked Gauguin with an open razor, was stopped, but eventually cut part of his own ear off and gave it to a prostitute. Gauguin sent a note to Van Gogh's brother Theo and left forever.

In 1891 Gauguin organized an exhibition to finance his project of living and working in places where he could "live with ecstasy, calmness and art." His paintings were bought by Edgar Degas and others, and the proceeds amounted to 10,000 francs. He started his flight from the trappings of civilization by becoming a full-time artist and this time he sailed to the tropics for good. Gauguin left behind "everything that is artificial and conventional." He settled in Tahiti and later in the Marquesas Islands. There he was accepted by the native community and adopted their traditional lifestyle. He fathered a son by his Tahitian model Pau'ura and a daughter with his Tahitian model Vaa'oho. From 1893 to 1895 he made farewell visits to Paris and Copenhagen. There he brought some of his Polynesian-inspired works to show.

Gauguin gradually parted from Impressionism. He discovered the primitive art of Polynesia and was influenced by it. He was calling his new style "synthetic symbolism." Gauguin transformed his art to radical simplifications of composition by giving his paintings an ornamental character. His "Arearea" (Joyousness 1892), "Nave", "Nave Moe" (Miraculous Source 1894) and other paintings made in Tahiti are sincere depictions of an untamed nature with people being an organic part of it. His largest work was painted in Tahiti, the philosophical and highly decorative "D'ou venons nous? Que sommes-nous? Ou allons-nous?" (Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? 1897), now in the permanent collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Art.

Paul Gauguin moved around several islands of Polynesia and finally settled in Atuona, Marqueses. He was fined by the colonial administration, had problems with the Catholic church and was sentenced to three months in prison. Before he could begin his sentence, however, he died on May 8, 1903, and was laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery, Atuona, Hiva'Oa, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Topsy was originally a wild elephant, born in Southeast Asia c. 1875. She was captured by elephant traders while still a baby and smuggled into the United States by 1877 . Her new owner Adam Forepaugh (1831-1890) claimed that she was born in captivity and advertised her as the first American-born baby elephant. Forepaugh was the owner of Forepaugh Circus, one of the two largest circuses in the country. The other was Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Topsy served most of her life as a circus elephant, performing at various incarnations of the Forepaugh Circus from 1877 to 1902. She gained a bad reputation for allegedly injuring and killing circus workers. Sensational news reports claimed that she had killed 12 men, though a 21st-century finds these reports unreliable. There are reports that she injured one of two workers c. 1900, but not that she actually killed them.

Her notoriety as a "killer elephant" was solidified in 1902, when she killed a spectator by the name of James Fielding Blount. Blount reportedly had been teasing the circus elephants, and throwing sand at Topsy's face. When he burnt the sensitive tip of her trunk with a lit cigar, Topsy grew angry and retaliated. She killed the man easily, although there are contradictory reports on the exact manner of his death.

The death of Blount generated much publicity. The Circus benefited for a time, when crowds of spectators kept arriving to see the "killer elephant". All went well for about a month, until a spectator by the name of Louis Dodero decided to tease the elephant himself. Dodero supposedly used a stick to tickle Topsy behind the ear. She used her trunk to seize him around the waist and then threw him to the ground. Dodero was apparently injured but not killed. The ongoing publicity turned negative and threatened the reputation of the Circus, and its owners decided to sell her.

In Summer 1902, Topsy was sold from the Circus to the Sea Lion Park, a Coney Island amusement park. Its owner was Paul Boyton (1848-1924), a showman best remembered as the inventor (or popularizer) of the immersion suit. The amusement park was famous for its aquatic circus and sea lions, but Boyton was seeking out additional attractions to face the competition. Topsy's animal handler from the circus, William "Whitey" Alt, was hired by Boyton to keep charge of Topsy.

Later that year, Paul Boyton leased the amusement park to aspiring businessmen Frederick Thompson and Elmer Dundy. The new owners started expanding the park, remodeling it, and renamed it to Luna Park. It continued using the name until destroyed by a fire. Taking advantage of Topsy's notoriety, the new owners had her working hard and transporting cargo and a new airship. The media broadcast her work, presenting as Topsy doing "penance" for her bad behavior.

Topsy was however soon involved in negative publicity again, mostly due to the erratic behavior of her handler William "Whitey" Alt . In October, 1902, Alt was arrested by the police for setting Topsy loose in the streets of New York City. In December, a drunk Alt used Topsy to attack a local police station and to scare away the police officers. His employers fired him, but there was the problem of what to do with Topsy.

The Luna Park tried to get rid of the problematic elephant, originally by trying to sell Topsy to someone else. No circus or zoo was interested in buying an elephant notorious for bad behavior. So the owners announced to the press that they would euthanize Topsy by electrocution. The initial plan was to publicize the event and sell admission tickets. A protest by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals resulted in the decision to avoid turning the death to a public spectacle. But the Society still allowed the plans for execution to continue, just demanding that the death should not be inhumane.

Uncertain whether electrocution would be enough to kill Topsy, the planners of the death added two additional ways to kill her. She would also be poisoned by ingesting poisoned food and strangulated by a machine. The execution was set for January 4, 1903, and initially attended by 1500 spectators and 100 press photographers. Only about 100 people were allowed to witness the death itself.

The execution had to be delayed by more than a hour. A new animal handler called Carl Goliath was supposed to lead Topsy over a bridge and towards the execution devices. But Topsy refused to cross the bridge and Goliath could not convince her to move at all. The planners offered 25 dollars to her former handler William "Whitey" Alt to help coax Topsy to the execution place. He refused to help kill the elephant in any way. Deciding to kill Topsy where she stood, the planners had to dismantle the execution devices and bring them to Topsy.

Topsy was first fed 460 grams of potassium cyanide in order to poison her. Then electrocuted with 6,600 volts for about 10 seconds. She fell to the ground following the electrocution, but the owners were not sure that she was dead. They uses a steam-powered winch to strangulate her for 10 minutes. A post-mortem examination of her corpse determined that the 10-second electrocution had already killed her. The winch was not needed at all. The poor innocent soul falsely thought to be a killer was dead.

Her Grand Ducal Highness Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine was born on 11 March 1895 in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse, German Empire [now Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany]. She died on 16 November 1903 in Skierniewice, Congress Poland, Russian Empire [now Skierniewice, Poland].

Alois Hitler was born on 8 June 1837 in Dollersheim, Austria. He was married to Klara Hitler. He died on 3 January 1903 in Leonding, Austria.

Tom Horn was born on 21 November 1861 in Granger, Missouri, USA. He died on 20 November 1903 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA.

Hart Pease Danks (4/6/1834 - 11/20/1903) was a musician who specialized in composing, singing and leading choral groups. He is best known for his 1873 composition, Silver Threads Among the Gold.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Danks moved with his family to Saratoga Springs, New York when he was eight. He studied music with Dr. E. Whiting, later moving to Chicago, where he worked as a carpenter in his father's construction business before embarking on a full-time music career. In 1858, he married Hattie R. Colahan. In 1864, he moved to New York City. In 1873, he published his best known song, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (words by Eben E. Rexford), which sold over three million copies. Having sold the rights to the song, he died penniless in a boarding house in Philadelphia, his last written words: "It's hard to die alone". His widow died in 1924. Danks is buried at Kensico Cemetery, in Valhalla, New York. Danks was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Edward Raymond Turner was born in 1873 in Clevedon, Somerset, England, UK. Edward Raymond was a director, known for Boy with Red Ensign and Girl on a Swing (2012), Panning Shot from Brighton Pier to Seafront (2012) and Knights Bridge, London, Looking East Towards Hyde Park Corner (2012). Edward Raymond died on 9 March 1903 in London, England, UK.

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil is a British statesman, serving as prime minister three times for a total of over thirteen years. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the last prime minister to serve his term while a member of the House of Lords (Alec Douglas-Home was very briefly a member of the House of Lords at the start of his premiership, but he renounced his peerage and subsequently sat in the House of Commons).

Samuel A. Ward was born on 28 December 1848 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is known for Rollerball (2002), Fighting (2009) and Live Free or Die Hard (2007). He died on 28 September 1903 in Newark, New Jersey, USA.

Camille du Locle was born on 16 July 1832 in Orange, France. Camille was a writer, known for Aïda (1977), Don Carlos (1962) and The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006). Camille died on 9 October 1903 in Capri, Italy.

William Ernest Henley was born on 23 August 1849 in Eastgate, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, UK. William Ernest was a writer, known for Star Trek: Renegades (2015), Invictus (2018) and The Captain (2008). William Ernest was married to Anna Boyle. William Ernest died on 11 July 1903 in Maybury Hill, Woking, Surrey, England, UK.

Frank Harvey was born in April 1842 in Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Shall We Forgive Her? (1917) and Woman Against Woman (1914). He died on 29 March 1903 in Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK.

Danjuro Ichikawa was born in 1838 in Edo, Japan. He was an actor, known for Momijigari (1899). He died on 13 October 1903 in Tokyo, Japan.

Rentarô Taki was born on 24 August 1879 in Tokyo, Japan. Rentarô was a composer, known for La La Land (2016), Emperor and Atarashiki tsuchi (1937). Rentarô died on 29 June 1903.

Luigi Arditi was born on 22 July 1822 in Crescentino, Kingdom of Sardinia [now Piedmont, Italy]. He died on 1 May 1903 in Hove, East Sussex, England, UK.

Frederick S. Gibbs was born on 22 March 1845 in Seneca Falls, New York, USA. He died on 21 September 1903 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA.

George Gissing was born on 22 November 1857 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, UK. George was a writer, known for Why Men Forget (1921) and Your Favorite Story (1953). George was married to Edith Underwood, Marianne Helen 'Nell' Harrison and Nell Harrison. George died on 28 December 1903 in Ispoure, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France.

Koyo Ozaki was born on 28 January 1869 in Edo, Japan. He was a writer, known for Eternal Love of Su-il and Sun-ae (1920), Eternal Love of Su-il and Sun-ae (1926) and Konjiki yasha (1921). He was married to Kabashima Yoshihisa. He died on 30 October 1903 in Tokyo, Japan.

Charles Gabet was born on 16 May 1821 in Paris, France. Charles was a writer, known for A cornevillei harangok (1922) and Musical TV Theater (1970). Charles died on 15 January 1903.

Gavrlil Musicescu was born on 20 March 1847 in Izmail, Bessarabia, Russian Empire. He is known for Aurora (2010). He died on 8 December 1903 in Iasi, Kingdom of Romania.

Augustus Hare was born on 13 March 1834 in Villa Strozzi, Rome [now Italy]. Augustus was a writer, known for Famous Gossips (1965). Augustus died on 22 January 1903 in St Leonards, Sussex, England, UK.

B.L. Farjeon was born on 12 May 1838 in London, England, UK. B.L. was a writer, known for A Just Deception (1917), Miriam Rozella (1924) and Das waren noch Zeiten (1959). B.L. was married to Margaret Jefferson. B.L. died on 23 July 1903 in London, England, UK.

Hugo Wolf was born on 13 March 1860 in Windischgrätz, Styria, Austrian Empire [now Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia]. He was a composer, known for The Music Teacher (1988), Dafne (2008) and Forsaken (2005). He died on 22 February 1903 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria].

Richard Henry Savage was born on 12 June, 1846, at Utica, New York, the son of Richard (1817-1903) and Jane Moorhead Savage (née Ewart). His father was a lawyer who became famous as one of the discoverers of the Comstock Lode in Nevada. During the Civil War he served in the Lincoln administration as Internal Revenue Collector and Federal Assessor. Savage's father is also remembered as one of the founders of the Californian Republican Party.

As a young boy growing up in San Francisco, Savage was among the first students there to be able to attend public school. At the age of twenty-two he graduated toward the top of his class at West Point Military Academy and soon saw service in the American West on the staffs of former Civil War generals, Henry Halleck (1815-1872), Edward Ord (1818-1883), George Thomas (1816-1870) and John Schofield (1831-1906). Between 1871 and 1872 he served as a Major in the Egyptian Army as Military Secretary to former American General Charles Pomeroy Stone (1824 -1887), who at that time was Chief of Staff and General aide-de-camp to Isma'il Pasha (1830-1895), Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. Later Savage served as American Vice-Counsel in Marseilles and Rome and was appointed to a commission investigating a border dispute between the United States and Mexico. After his retirement from government service in 1884, Savage traveled extensively carrying out geographical studies in Japan, China, Korea, Russia, Turkey, the Mid East, and Honduras. Some have suggested that the 1930s and 1940s pulp hero, Doc Savage, was at least in part based on the eventful life of Richard Henry Savage.

In civilian life Savage was a lawyer, but eventually writing became his chief occupation. Of the over 40 books he wrote, "My Official Wife", Delilah of Harlem", "The Mask of Venus", "Our Mysterious Passenger and Other Stories" and "In the Shadow of the Pyramids", a biography of Isma'il Pasha were among his most popular. Savage published some thirty volumes of prose and poetry along with several more volumes of essays and speeches culled from his many speaking engagements.

On 2 January, 1873, Savage married Mme. Anna Josephine Schible (1843-1910), a recently widowed German aristocrat. The wedding took place at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., where Baron Schlozer, the German Ambassador, was the witness of honor for the bride. Their only child, a daughter, later married Anatol de Carriere, the Russian Imperial Councilor of State.

Savage volunteered during the American war with Spain and served with distinction in Cuba as senior Captain of the 27th U.S. Volunteer Infantry. After the war he was appointed Brigadier General and Chief Engineer of Spanish War Veterans.

Richard Henry Savage died on 11 October, 1903, eight days after a horse and wagon ran over him at the corner of 6th Avenue and 42nd Street in New York City. Ironically his 86 year old father passed away in San Francisco on the same day his son was fatally struck down.

Lina Sandell was born on 3 October 1832 in Småland, Sweden. Lina is known for A Man Called Ove (2015), One Summer of Happiness (1951) and Prison (1949). Lina was married to Oscar Berg . Lina died on 27 July 1903 in Stockholm, Sweden.