October 28 is the birthday of Irish painter FRANCIS BACON (1909-1992). He was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his raw, unsettling imagery. Focusing on the human form, his subjects included crucifixions, portraits of popes, self-portraits, and portraits of close friends, with abstracted figures sometimes isolated in geometrical structures. Rejecting various classifications of his work, Bacon said he strove to render 'the brutality of fact.' He built up a reputation as one of the giants of contemporary art with his unique style. To see samples of Bacon’s art, CLICK HERE.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: On October 28, 1589, the "Werewolf of Bedburg," Peter Stubb, was found guilty of feeding on livestock, 13 children and two pregnant women. It sounds like his execution (he was broken on "the wheel," for starters) was almost as brutal as his alleged crimes. To learn more, CLICK HERE.

October 28 is the birthday of English novelist and journalist EVELYN WAUGH (1903-1966). Some of Waugh’s most well-known novels are “Handful of Dust,” “The Loved One” and “Brideshead Revisited.”

“His strongest tastes were negative. He abhorred plastics, Picasso, sunbathing and jazz — everything in fact that had happened in his own lifetime.” (Evelyn Waugh - The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold)

Waugh had a reputation as "the nastiest-tempered man in England.”

In 1956, Edwin Newman made a short film about Waugh. In the course of it, Newman learned that Waugh hated the modern world and wished that he had been born two or three centuries sooner. Waugh disliked modern methods of transportation or communication, refused to drive or use the telephone, and wrote with an old-fashioned dip pen.

To see an interview with “the nastiest-tempered man in England,” CLICK HERE.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: On October 28, 1915, Richard Strauss conducted the first performance of his majestic Alpine Symphony in Berlin. I love this piece! The Kansas City Symphony gave a killer performance of the Alpine Symphony a couple of years ago. André Previn affectionately referred to it as a big piece of strudel. The hear the Berlin Philharmonic perform a selection from the Alpine Symphony, CLICK HERE.

October 28 is the birthday of French chef and author AUGUSTE ESCOFFIER (1846-1935). He popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Antoine Carême, one of the codifiers of French haute cuisine, but Escoffier's achievement was to simplify and modernize Carême's elaborate and ornate style. In particular, he codified the recipes for the five mother sauces ... Alongside the recipes, Escoffier elevated the profession. Kitchens used to be loud and riotous where drinking on the job was commonplace - Escoffier demanded cleanliness, quiet and discipline from his staff. To visit the Museum Escoffier in Villeneuve Loubet, CLICK HERE.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: On October 28, 1726, Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" was published. Swift claimed that he wrote "Gulliver's Travels" "to vex the world, rather than divert it." The book was an immediate success.

“The tiny Lilliputians surmise that Gulliver's watch may be his god, because it is that which, he admits, he seldom does anything without consulting.”

Based on Gulliver's descriptions of their behaviour, the King describes Europeans as "the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth.”

October 28 is the birthday of English-American actress ELSA LANCHESTER (1902-1986). Among Lanchester's famous roles are the disgruntled nanny in "Mary Poppins," Aunt Queenie in "Bell, Book and Candle" and the title character in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. For a glimpse of the Bride of Frankenstein, CLICK HERE.

On October 28, 1909. the students at the Loretto Academy (1111 W. 39th St.) threw their annual Hallowe'en party. It would end in tragedy with a fire and the deaths of three students.

"The theme of the party revolved around a recent hot topic – the discovery of the North Pole. The girls were costumed as Indigenous Inuit people. Their dresses were made of cambric fabric, had cotton fronts, and were adorned around the waist with decorated icicles, also made of cotton. The auditorium was decorated for the theme as well as with lit jack-o-lanterns, which served to remind guests that the soiree was indeed a Halloween party ...

To learn more, CLICK HERE.