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Anniversaries in 2011
Andrea Lapsley | March 10, 2011
At our very productive Midwinter meetings, the ALA Public Programs Office’s Public and Cultural Programs Advisory Committee discussed putting together a list of anniversaries in 2011 that librarians could use to plan programming around. I offered to work on this, and the result is this calendar of important dates that could lend themselves to author programs, film programs, panel discussions, and much more. The list includes literary anniversaries as well as historical, scientific, sporting, corporate, and film/movie events.
| March | |
| 3 | Jean Harlow, Hollywood’s “Blonde Bombshell,” born, 1911 (died, 1937). |
| 13 | L. Ron Hubbard, science fiction writer and founder of Church of Scientology, born, 1911 (died, 1986). |
| 24 | Joseph Barbera, founder with William Hanna of cartoon studio, born, 1911 (died, 2006). Produced Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, and Top Cat. |
| 25 | Jack Ruby, killer of Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy, born, 1911 (died, 1967). |
| 26 | Tennessee Williams, playwright, born, 1911 (died, 1983). Wrote The Glass Menagerie (1944), A Streetcar Named Desire (1948), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), and The Night of the Iguana (1961). |
| April | |
| 12 | American Civil War began, 1861. |
| 12 | Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, 1961. |
| 19 | Bay of Pigs invasion by Cuban exiles failed, 1961. |
| May | |
| 1 | The Empire State Building in New York City officially opened, 1931. |
| 1 | Fidel Castro declared Cuba a socialist state and abolished multiparty elections, 1961 |
| 5 | Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space, 1961. |
| 8 | Coca-Cola first went on sale in Atlanta, Georgia, 1886. |
| 13 | Gary Cooper died, 1961 (born, 1901). Starred in Mr Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Sergeant York (1941), and High Noon (1952). |
| 17 | Maureen O’Sullivan born, 1911 (died, 1998). Played Jane in six Tarzan films. |
| 23 | The New York Public Library officially opened, 1911. |
| 28 | Amnesty International was founded in London, 1961. |
| 29 | Sir W.S. Gilbert, British playwright and humorist, died, 1911. Best know for his comic operas produced with composer Sir Arthur Sullivan (H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, and others). |
| 27 | Vincent Price, film actor, born, 1911 (died, 1993). |
| 30 | Frst Indianapolis 500 motor race took place, 1911. |
| 31 | Titanic launched, Belfast, 1911. |
| 31 | South Africa became a republic and left the Commonwealth, 1961. |
| June | |
| 6 | Carl Jung, psychiatrist, died, 1961 (born, 1875). |
| 14 | Harriet Beecher Stowe born, 1811 (died, 1896). Her Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) greatly influenced the campaign to abolish slavery in the United States. |
| 29 | Elizabeth Barrett Browning died in husband’s arms, 1861 (born, 1806). Published narrative poem “Aurora Leigh” in 1856 to acclaim. |
| July | |
| 1 | Diana, Princess of Wales, born as Diana Spencer, 1961 (died, 1997). |
| 2 | Ernest Hemingway commiteed suicide, 1961 (born, 1899). |
| 16 | Ginger Rogers born, 1911 (died, 1995). Made seventy-three films, dancing with Fred Astaire in ten, including Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936) and Follow the Fleet (1936). |
| 18 | William Thackeray, novelist, born, 1811 (died, 1863). Made his mark with Vanity Fair. |
| August | |
| 4 | Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, born, 1961. |
| 6 | Lucille Ball born, 1911 (died 1989). Starred in I Love Lucy (1951–57). |
| 13 | Berlin Wall begun after border with West Berlin sealed off, 1961. |
| 22 | Mona Lisa stolen from Louvre, 1911 (recovered, 1913). |
| 24 | A.S. Byatt, writer, born as Antonia Susan Drabble, 1936. Novels include The Virgin in the Garden (1978), Possession: A Romance (1990), Babel Tower (1997), and A Whistling Woman (2002). |
| September | |
| 19 | William Golding, novelist, born, 1911 (died, 1993). Wrote Lord of the Flies (1945), Pincher Martin (1956), The Spire (1964). |
| October | |
| 11 | Chico Marx died, 1961 (born, 1887). |
| 18 | West Side Story opened as a film, 1961. |
| 22 | Franz Liszt, composer and pianist, born, 1811 (died, 1886). |
| 29 | Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of St Louis Post Dispatch and New York World, died, 1911 (born, 1847). Prize in his name first awarded 1917. |
| November | |
| 2 | James Thurber, writer and cartoonist, died, 1961 (born, 1894). The Years with Ross, about the New Yorker, published in 1959. |
| 5 | Roy Rogers, cowboy actor and singer, born Leonard Slye, 1911 (died, 1998). Made more than one hundred films, many with his horse Trigger (1932–65). |
| 20 | Don DeLillo, author, born, 1936. Novels included White Noise (1985), Libra (1988), and Underworld (1997). |
| December | |
| 1 | Madame Tussaud born as Marie Grosholtz, 1761 (died, 1850). |
| 11 | Marie Curie awarded second Nobel prize for chemistry, 1911. |
2011 will be the 400th anniversary of:
The completion of the King James Bible
2011 will be the 200th anniversary of:
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
2011 will be the 150th anniversary of:
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Silas Marner by George Eliot
2011 will be the 75th anniversary of:
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2011 will be the 50th anniversary of:
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Andrea Lapsley is Director of Development, University Libraries, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
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