T is for Thomas and Tesla

Nikola Tesla

Years lived before 1921: Sixty-five

Years Lived after 1921:Twenty-two

Thomas Alva Edison

Years lived before 1921: Seventy-four

Years lived after 1921: Ten

When I decided on people who were living in 1921 as my topic for this year's A to Z challenge, I set a few criteria on deciding exactly who those people would be.  The first of those was that I wasn't going to write about anyone if I was not familiar with them before deciding on the theme.  If you google born in 1921 or died in 1921 or even married in 1921 you come into contact with "famous" people that you have oxymorincally never heard of or only have the vaguest inclination of. I was going to do my best to steer clear of such folks.  Another criterion was to double up and triple up when plausible to feature as many people as I could.

With the letter T those two criteria became some what juxtapostionally opposed. I of course have heard of Thomas Edison and know quite a bit about him.  He's even appeared in this blog a number of times. I have heard of Nikola Tesla but besides Charlotte Nevins Purcell, who my daughter wrote about last week, Tesla is probably the person I know least about.  

Instead of just regurgitating Wikipedia, I think I will instead make a promise to you, the reading public. In order to juggle my 2 jobs, my other myriad responsibilities, and the a to z challenge, I have pretty much given up recreational reading in the month of April.  When the challenge comes to an end, I will find and read a  biography on Tesla. There is also  a movie I have been meaning to see called The Current War which is a period piece featuring Edison, Tesla and George Westinghouse. My promise is after reading a book and seeing the film, I'll write a more informed post on Edison and Tesla.

I think it's a pretty bright idea.  For more of the a to z challenge click here.  

S is for Stewart

  

                                                                Jimmy Stewart

                                                                Years lived before 1921: Thirteen

                                                                Years lived after 1932:Seventy-Six

Jimmy Stewart is probably my favorite actor.  This should not be too surprising as It's A Wonderful Life is my favorite film. Stewart played many original characters in his films but was also in a great deal of bio-pics.  Today we are going to look at 3 of those films as all of the titular subjects were also alive in 1921.

Film 1: The Stratton Story (1949)

                                                                Years lived before 1921: Seven

                                                                Years lived after 1921: Sixty-one

Monty Stratton was a pitcher with the the Chicago White Sox in the 1930's. He lost a leg due to a hunting accident.  He learned to pitch while using his prosthetic leg and had a comeback in the minor leagues but never did get back to the big leagues.   

Film 2: The Glenn Miller Story (1954)

                                                               

                                                               

                                                                            Glenn Miller

                                                               

                                                                Years lived before 1921: Seventeen

                                                                Years lives after 1921: Twenty-three

Glenn Miller was a big band musician and bandleader in the swing era of the 1930's and 1940's before his aircraft disappeared over the English Channel in late 1944.

Fun Fact: June Allyson portrayed both the wife of Glenn Miller in this picture and Monty Stratton in the Stratton story.  She played Stewart's wife in 3 different films.

Film 3: Spirit of St. Louis (1957)

                                                                            Charles Lindbergh 

                                                                            Years Lived Before 1921:19

                                                                            Years lived after 1921: 53

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris in an airplane built for that purpose called the Spirit of St. Louis.  The film tells the story of this event.

A To Z Easter Eggs

 A to Z Archives: S is for Stewart at HSD. We go back 6 years ago today when I wrote about Mr. Stewart in my 2nd go round of the a to z challenge.  For more of the 2021 rendition of the challenge click here.