Entertainment

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American folk music, writing over 1,000 songs, including his most famous, “This Land is Your Land.”

Composer Bernard Herrmann was born Maximillian Herman on June 29, 1911, in New York City, New York. He famously worked with Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and Martin Scorsese, and is often considered one of the most influential and pioneering composers in cinema history.

Author Pearl Sydenstricker Buck was born on June 26, 1892, in Hillsboro, West Virginia. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1932, the Nobel Prize in 1938, and was the only woman at that time to receive both honors.

Illustrator and writer Rose Cecil O’Neill was born on June 25, 1874, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. O’Neill was the highest-paid female illustrator of her time, most famous for creating Kewpie, the most well-known cartoon character until Mickey Mouse.

On June 23, 2004, the USPS issued the first stamps in its Art of Disney Series. The USPS worked with Disney artists to create this whimsical series of stamps, with each year featuring a different theme.

Composer Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born on June 17, 1882 (or June 5 in the Old Style), in Oranienbaum, Russia (present-day Lomonosov). He is considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Dougherty on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles, California. Dubbed the “Blonde Bombshell,” she was one of the most popular actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s.

Composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold was born on May 29, 1897, in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. A child prodigy, his technical skills and understanding of music combined to make him one of the most talented, yet underrated, musical figures of the 20th century.

Musician Miles Dewey Davis III was born on May 26, 1926, in Alton, Illinois. By continually reinventing his technique, Davis became one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. In a career spanning 50 years, he left his fingerprint on every major development in jazz since the 1940s.