October 17 is the birthday of American Impressionist painter CHILDE HASSAM (1859-1935). His father claimed descent from a seventeenth-century English immigrant whose name, Horsham, had been corrupted over time to Hassam. With his dark complexion and heavily lidded eyes, many took Childe Hassam to be of Middle Eastern descent—speculation which he enjoyed stoking. In the mid-1880s, he took to painting an Islamic-appearing crescent moon (which eventually degenerated into only a slash) next to his signature, and he adopted the nickname 'Muley' (from the Arabic 'Mawla,' Lord or Master), invoking Muley Abul Hassan, a fifteenth-century ruler of Granada whose life was fictionalized in Washington Irving's novel Tales of the Alhambra. To see samples of his art, CLICK HERE.

October 17 is the birthday of Spanish film director and cinematographer SEGUNDO DE CHOMÓN (1871-1929). He was a pioneering Spanish film director, cinematographer and screenwriter. He produced many short films in France while working for Pathé Frères and has been compared to Georges Méliès, due to his frequent camera tricks and optical illusions. He is regarded as the most significant Spanish silent film director in an international context. To see his 1907 film “Le Spectre Rouge,” CLICK HERE.

October 17 is the birthday of French caricaturist ANDRÉ GILL (1840-1885).

"André Gill was a 19th-century French caricaturist who pioneered drawing celebrities with huge heads on tiny bodies. This practice influenced practically every cartoonist in his century and beyond. During his lifetime he was known for his controversial political cartoons, which led to court cases and - on one occasion - the emprisonment of his chief editor. A champion of freedom of expression, Gill also drew an early text comic, 'L'Amateur de Violon: Étude Musicale' (1866). Sadly he spent the final years of his life in a mental institution and died in poverty." (Lambiek Comiclopedia)

To see samples of his work, CLICK HERE.

October 17 is the birthday of American actress, dancer and singer RITA HAYWORTH (1918-1987).She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined the term "The Love Goddess" to describe Hayworth after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She was the top pin-up girl for GIs during World War II ... Fred Astaire, with whom she made two films, once called her his favorite dance partner. To see Hayworth and Fred Astaire in a dazzling dance number from “The Shorty George,” CLICK HERE.

October 17 is the birthday American photographer ALEXANDER GARDNER (1821-1882). He was a Scottish photographer who immigrated to the United States in 1856, where he began to work full-time in that profession. He is best known for his photographs of the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, and of the conspirators and the execution of the participants in the Lincoln assassination plot. To see three of his classic photos, CLICK HERE.

October 17 is the birthday of American comic book writer and illustrator JERRY SIEGEL (1914-1996) Siegel is the co-creator of Superman, in collaboration with his friend Joe Shuster, published by DC Comics. They also created Doctor Occult, who was later featured in The Books of Magic. Siegel and Shuster were inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993. To learn more about Siegel and the history of Superman, CLICK HERE.