December 2 is the birthday of French Post-Impressionist and pointillist GEORGES SEURAT (1859-1891. He was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough surface.

Seurat's artistic personality combined qualities that are usually thought of as opposed and incompatible: on the one hand, his extreme and delicate sensibility, on the other, a passion for logical abstraction and an almost mathematical precision of mind. His large-scale work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884–1886) altered the direction of modern art by initiating Neo-Impressionism, and is one of the icons of late 19th-century painting. To see exmples of his work, CLICK HERE.

December 2 is the birthday of French fashion photographer GUY BOURDIN (1928-1991). He is considered as one of the best known photographers of fashion and advertising of the second half of the 20th century. He set the stage for a new kind of fashion photography. 'While conventional fashion images make beauty and clothing their central elements, Bourdin’s photographs offer a radical alternative. To see examples of his work, CLICK HERE.

December 2 is the birthday of Canadian actor JONATHAN FRID (1920-2012). Frid is best known for his portrayal of vampire Barnabas Collins on the gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows." In 2004 and 2007, it (Dark Shadows) was ranked #19 and #23 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.

December 2 is the birthday of English architect and designer WILLIAM BURGES (1827-1881). He was part of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and one of the greatest architects of the 19th century British Gothic Revival.

Burges sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century industrialisation and the Neoclassical architectural style and re-establish the architectural and social values of a utopian medieval England. Burges stands within the tradition of the Gothic Revival, his works echoing those of the Pre-Raphaelites and heralding those of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Burges's career was short but illustrious; he won his first major commission for Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork in 1863 when he was 35. He died in 1881 at his Kensington home, The Tower House aged only 53. His architectural output was small but varied. Working with a long-standing team of craftsmen, he built churches, a cathedral, a warehouse, a university, a school, houses and castles. To see exmples of his work, CLICK HERE.

December 2 is the birthday of "La Divina," MARIA CALLAS (1923-1977). She was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini, and further to the works of Verdi and Puccini, and in her early career to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina ('The Divine One')

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: On December 2, 1867, Charles Dickens gave his first public reading in New York City. People stood in two lines each a mile long to get tickets.