December 11 is the birthday of French composer HECTOR BERLIOZ (1803-1869).

Berlioz, the epitome of a Romantic composer, wrote works like the Symphonie fantastique, Harold in Italy, Béatrice et Bénédict, Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens, Romeo and Juliet and The Damnation of Faust. Berlioz also wrote a beautiful cantata for Christmas, L'Enfance du Christ. One of the most beautiful and popular selections from that work is the Shepherds' Farewell.

December 11 is the birthday of British illustrator and photographer RENÉ BULL (1872-1942). He settled in England and drew cartoons for such magazines as Bystander, Chums, London Opinion, Lika Joko. In The Sketch Bull created cartoons of humorous inventions, predating those of William Heath Robinson. From 1905 he illustrated books, starting with an edition of Fontaine's 'Fables'. Other major titles he illustrated included The Arabian Nights (1912), Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (1913), The Russian Ballet (1913), Carmen (1915), Andersen's Fairy Tales. In 1914, Bull joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a lieutenant and was eventually transferred to the Royal Air Force where he reached the rank of Major. In World War II Bull joined the Air Ministry for technical duties. He died on 14 March 1942. To see samples of his work, CLICK HERE.

December 11 is the birthday of American painter MARK TOBEY (1890-1976).

Tobey's densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophically from most Abstract Expressionist painters ... Tobey was an incessant traveler, visiting Mexico, Europe, Palestine, Israel, Turkey, Lebanon, China and Japan. After converting to the Baháʼí Faith, it became an important part of his life. Whether Tobey's all-over paintings, marked by oriental brushwork and calligraphic strokes, were an influencer on Jackson Pollock's drip paintings has been left unanswered. Born in Centerville, Wisconsin, Tobey lived in the Seattle, Washington area for most of his life before moving to Basel, Switzerland in the early 1960s. To see samples of Tobey’s work, CLICK HERE.

December 11 is the birthday of Russian author and Soviet dissident ALEKSANDR SOLZHENITSYN (1918-2008).

"The battleline between good and evil runs through the heart of every man."

Solzhenitsyn "was born into a family that defied the Soviet anti-religious campaign in the 1920s and remained devout members of the Russian Orthodox Church. However, Solzhenitsyn lost his faith in Christianity, became an atheist, and embraced Marxism–Leninism. While serving as a captain in the Red Army during World War II, Solzhenitsyn was arrested by SMERSH and sentenced to eight years in the Gulag and then internal exile for criticizing Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in a private letter. As a result of his experience in prison and the camps, he gradually became a philosophically minded Eastern Orthodox Christian." (Wikipedia)

December 11 is the birthday of American jazz pianist MCCOY TYNER (1938-2020). He was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Grammy award winner. Unlike many of the jazz keyboardists of his generation, Tyner very rarely incorporated electric keyboards or synthesizers into his work. Tyner has been widely imitated, and is one of the most recognizable and influential jazz pianists of all time.

December 11 is the birthday of American cartoonist MARGE (née Marjorie Lyman Henderson) (1904-1993). She was best known as the creator of Little Lulu.

"Paramount Pictures approached Buell in 1943 with a proposal to develop a series of animated shorts. She traveled to New York to meet with Paramount executives and tour the animation facilities, and there was introduced to William C. Erskine, who became her business re” (Wikipediapresentative.

Thereafter, Little Lulu was widely merchandised, and was the first mascot for Kleenex tissues; from 1952 to 1965 the character appeared in an elaborate animated billboard in Times Square in New York City designed by Artkraft Strauss.

The character appeared in comic books, animated cartoons, greeting cards and more. Little Lulu comic books, popular internationally, were translated into Arabic, Dutch, Finnish, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Greek. Buell stopped drawing Little Lulu in 1947, and the work was continued by others, while she kept creative control. Sketching and writing of the Little Lulu comic book series was taken on by John Stanley, who later drew Nancy and Sluggo. Buell sold her Little Lulu rights to Western Publishing when she retired in 1971.

December 11 is the birthday of Czech animator HERMÍNA TÝRLOVÁ (1900-1993), She was a prominent Czech animator, screen writer, and film director. She was often called the mother of Czech animation. Over the course of her career, she produced over 60 animated children's short films using puppets and the technique of stop motion animation." (Wikipedia)