Born to Italian immigrants living in Meriden, Connecticut in 1897, Rosa Ponselle (born Rosa Ponzillo) displayed a natural talent for both singing and instrumental music at an early age. Ponselle, who was destined to become a musical celebrity and one of the most famous opera singers in American history, began her musical career as…
Tag: arts
October 20: Commemorating Thomas Hooker, Founder of Hartford
On October 20, 1950, a crowd of several hundred Connecticans gathered in front of the Old State House in Hartford to observe the unveiling of a new, eight-foot-tall statue of Thomas Hooker, the Puritan minister and “founding father” of Connecticut who founded the settlement of Hartford in 1636. Born in England in 1586, Thomas…
October 19: The Silver City’s “Perfect” Silver Takes First Place.
Today in 1876, through the craftsmanship of the silver pieces produced by the Meriden Britannia Company of Meriden, Connecticut found itself in the national spotlight after the New York Times published a glowing write-up of the company’s wares at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Noting the “peculiar excellence” of both the company’s highly detailed…
July 25: The New Haven-born Carpenters Top the Charts
On this day in 1970, The Carpenters, the iconic pop music duo consisting of New Haven-born siblings Richard and Karen Carpenter, experienced the first major breakthrough of their musical careers. Their song, “Close to You,” reached #1 on the Billboard charts, where it remained for the next four weeks. Born in 1946 and 1950…
July 19: The American Impressionist Movement Blooms in Ridgefield
Located in Ridgefield, Connecticut, the Weir Farm National Historic Site memorializes the life and historic contributions of J. Alden Weir, one of the most iconic painters of the American Impressionist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 1852 to a prosperous family, Weir showed artistic promise at an early age…
May 18: Composer Leroy Anderson dies in Woodbury
On this day, American composer and longtime Connecticut resident Leroy Anderson passed away in his Woodbury home. Famous for whimsical and catchy orchestral pieces like “The Syncopated Clock,” “Blue Tango” and the perennial Christmastime favorite “Sleigh Ride,” Anderson’s compositions helped define popular music of mid-20th century America. Fellow composer and Boston Pops conductor John…
May 8: Author and Illustrator Maurice Sendak Dies
Today in 2012, longtime Connecticut resident Maurice Sendak died in Danbury from complications following a stroke. Sendak was a prolific childrens’ book author and illustrator who wrote and illustrated dozens of books for over a fifty-year period. Born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn in 1928, Sendak was a self-taught illustrator who found work…
May 4: Hudson River School Artist Frederic Edwin Church born in Hartford
On this day in 1826, iconic American landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church was born in Hartford, Connecticut. The internationally-renowned artist’s Connecticut roots ran deep: He was a direct descendant of one of the original English Puritans who settled Hartford under the leadership of Thomas Hooker, and Frederic’s father was a prominent silversmith and later…
February 6: John Trumbull’s Paintings Revolutionize the U.S. Capitol
At birth, few would have expected John Trumbull to live to age one, much less eighty-seven. Yet the infant born suffering multiple seizures daily slowly overcame that condition, and went on to spend a lifetime trying also to overcome his father’s censure of painting as a demeaning profession. In the process, he painted some…
January 24: Legislators Create the Connecticut Hall of Fame
On January 24, 2005, state legislators unveiled a plan to establish an official Connecticut Hall of Fame to honor the state’s most distinguished citizens. Supported by individual donations, state grants, and Connecticut-based businesses, the Hall of Fame was created to recognize the accomplishments of notable inventors, entertainers, artists, politicians, athletes, and others with an…
July 25: The Carpenters Top the Charts
On this day in 1970, The Carpenters, the iconic pop music duo consisting of New Haven-born siblings Richard and Karen Carpenter, experienced the first major breakthrough of their musical careers as their second album, “Close to You,” reached #1 on the Billboard charts, where it remained for the next four weeks. Born in 1946…
July 19: The American Impressionist Movement Blooms in Ridgefield
Located in Ridgefield, Connecticut, the Weir Farm National Historic Site memorializes the life and historic contributions of J. Alden Weir, one of the most iconic painters of the American Impressionist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 1852 to a prosperous family, Weir showed artistic promise at an early age…