February 12 is the birthday of CHARLES DARWIN (1809-1882).

"As many people know, in 1825, a 16-year-old Charles Darwin came to Edinburgh University to study medicine, and to learn skills that would lead him to his incredible discoveries and theories later in life.

However, fewer people know that one of Darwin's teachers in Edinburgh was John Edmonstone, a freed slave from a plantation in what is now Guyana. Darwin paid John to give him lessons about taxidermy, as well as the flora and fauna of South America, to help him prepare for his voyage south on the HMS Beagle.

Darwin used the techniques he had learned from John Edmonstone to preserve the finches he caught on the groundbreaking expedition, which in turn led him to develop his earth-shattering Theory of Evolution."

February 12 is the birthday of American painter and printmaker THOMAS MORAN (1837-1926).

Moran "was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family, wife Mary Nimmo Moran and daughter Ruth took residence in New York where he obtained work as an artist. He was a younger brother of the noted marine artist Edward Moran, with whom he shared a studio. A talented illustrator and exquisite colorist, Thomas Moran was hired as an illustrator at Scribner's Monthly. During the late 1860s, he was appointed the chief illustrator for the magazine, a position that helped him launch his career as one of the premier painters of the American landscape, in particular, the American West." (Wikipedia)

To see examples of Moran’s art, CLICK HERE.

February 12 is the birthday of French photographer EUGÈNE ATGET (1857-1927).

Atget "was a French flâneur and a pioneer of documentary photography, noted for his determination to document all of the architecture and street scenes of Paris before their disappearance to modernization. Most of his photographs were first published by Berenice Abbott after his death. Though he sold his work to artists and craftspeople, and became an inspiration for the surrealists, he did not live to see the wide acclaim his work would eventually receive." (Wikipedia)

To see examples of Atget’s photography, CLICK HERE.

February 12 is the birthday of the great ballerina ANNA PAVLOVA (1881-1931).

Pavlova was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev. Her most famous role is the Dying Swan, which she created. Her life was remarkable and inspiring.

"While touring in The Hague, Pavlova was told that she had pneumonia and required an operation. She was also told that she would never be able to dance again if she went ahead with it. She refused to have the surgery, saying 'If I can't dance then I'd rather be dead.' She died of pleurisy three weeks short of her 50th birthday. Her last words were, 'Get my 'Swan' costume ready." (Wikipedia)

To see photos of Pavlova, CLICK HERE.

In honor of Anna Pavlova's birthday (born February 12, 1881), here's a recipe for pavlova. It was created after the great Russian ballerina visited Australia in 1922. It is still a very popular dessert in Australia and New Zealand.