January 3 is the birthday of Roman statesman and philosopher MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO (106 BCE - 43 BCE)

Cicero "tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire. His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy and politics. He is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists and the innovator of what became known as "Ciceronian rhetoric". Cicero was educated in Rome and in Greece. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63 BC.

He greatly influenced both ancient and modern reception of the Latin language. A substantial percentage of his work has survived, and he was admired by both ancient and modern authors alike." (Wikipedia)

January 3 is the birthday of English author and philologist JRR TOLKIEN (1892-1973).

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

"From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and a Fellow of Pembroke College, both at the University of Oxford. He then moved within the same university to become the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature and Fellow of Merton College, and held these positions from 1945 until his retirement in 1959. Tolkien was a close friend of C. S. Lewis, a co-member of the informal literary discussion group The Inklings. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972 ...

While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the tremendous success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings ignited a profound interest in the fantasy genre and ultimately precipitated an avalanche of new fantasy books and authors. As a result, he has been popularly identified as the "father" of modern fantasy literature and is widely regarded as one of the most influential authors of all time." (Wikipedia)

January 3 is the birthday of Italian film director SERGIO LEONE (1929-1989).

Leone "was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots. His films include the Dollars Trilogy of Westerns featuring Clint Eastwood: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966); and the Once Upon a Time films: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Duck, You Sucker! (1971), and Once Upon a Time in America (1984)." (Wikipedia)

Happy Birthday, STEPHEN FABIAN!! The American science fiction and fantasy artist is 95 years old today. Woo Hoo!!

Fabian “became interested in drawing in 1965. He read books by illustrator and art instructor Andrew Loomis, and began practicing at making art in his spare time. Within two years, Fabian's artwork began appearing in fanzines. He was very quickly employed by professional science fiction magazines, and in 1974 (the same year he was laid off by Simmonds), he began working full-time as an illustrator.[2]

Fabian specializes in science fiction and fantasy illustration and cover art for books and magazines. Fabian also produced artwork for TSR's Dungeons & Dragons game from 1986 to 1995, particularly on the Ravenloft line. He was self-taught, two of his primary influences being Virgil Finlay and Hannes Bok. His work is usually signed Stephen Fabian or Stephen E. Fabian.

Fabian was a recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2006. He has also been a two-time nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist (1970 and 1971), and a seven-time nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist (1975–1981). Collections of his work include Ladies & Legends (1993) and Stephen E. Fabian's Women & Wonders (1995)." (Wikipedia)

To see samples of his work, CLICK HERE.