Curated playlist
1922 births
- Lotte MotzIllness ended Lotte Motz's teaching in 1984, so she turned to Norse giantesses.
- Jack KerouacJack Kerouac typed On the Road on a 120-foot roll of taped tracing paper. He finished the final draft in 20 days.
- Kurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut survived the bombing of Dresden by hiding in an underground meat locker.
- Judy GarlandMGM fired Judy Garland in 1950, and Bing Crosby invited her onto his radio show. The audience gave her an ovation.
- William R. LucasMarshall director William R. Lucas retired in 1986 after a commission criticized his role in Challenger.
- Stan LeeStan Lee used a pen name because comic books embarrassed him. He wanted his real name saved for a novel he never wrote.
- Michael FlandersOxford refused Michael Flanders re-entry after polio left him in a wheelchair. He became a stage comedian instead.
- Christopher LeeSir Christopher Lee was 91 years and 6 months old when his single "Jingle Hell" entered the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart at number 22. Press attention then pushed it up to number 18, which made him the oldest person to have a top 20…
- Marshall HodgsonMarshall Hodgson coined "Islamicate" for culture tied to Muslim societies but not religious.
- Philip LarkinPhilip Larkin turned down the job of Poet Laureate in 1984. He felt he had long since stopped being a poet.
- Gerald HoltonGerald Holton was labeled an "Enemy Alien" in America, yet Harvard hired him. He taught naval officers to use radar.
- Erich HartmannErich Hartmann is credited with shooting down 352 aircraft, more than any other fighter pilot in the history of air combat. He flew for the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War, and almost all of his opponents were Soviet. Over…
- Annemarie SchimmelAnnemarie Schimmel earned a doctorate at 19 in Nazi-era Germany. Examiners rated her thesis magna cum laude.
- Pauline BaynesPauline Baynes drew all seven Narnia books for a flat £100 each. She was too unworldly to negotiate royalties.
- Richard Hamilton (artist)Richard Hamilton defined pop art in a 1957 letter to two architects. He called it expendable, witty and Big Business.
- Robert BerksSculptor Robert Berks had living subjects stay a week or two before he touched the clay. He watched how they moved.
- William BaumolEconomist William Baumol explained why string quartets keep getting pricier.
- Alexander ZinovievSoviet writer Alexander Zinoviev was expelled from his country, then returned by choice 21 years later.