British-American poet W.H. Auden was born on this day in 1907, his work was noted for it’s engagement with a wide range of topics from morals, to politics, love and religion.
Auden was born in York but grew up in Birmingham in a middle-class household. He studied English at Oxford at became a School Teacher. He travelled to Iceland and China writing about his journeys.
Auden collaborated with composer Benjamin Britten and author Christopher Isherwood, who he had a long friendship with. The two friends moved to America in 1939, Isherwood eventually settled in California while Auden remained in the New York area. Over the following decades he would continually travel and spend time living in Italy, and Austria.
He won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for his long poem the Age of Anxiety, and returned to Oxford from 1956 to 1961 serving as Professor of Poetry.
Over his career he published over 400 poems, some of them were book length. He also wrote many essays discussing literature, politics, religion and history. In the 1990’s he became more widely known when one of his poems Funeral Blues was featured in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. He died in 1973 aged 66.
David Geffen was born on this day in 1943
David Geffen is a highly successful entertainment executive, film producer, and philanthropist. He co-founded DreamWorks Studios with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg in 1994 and has been involved in the production of numerous hit films and Broadway productions.
In addition to his contributions to the entertainment industry, Geffen has also been a major donor to various causes, including medical research, education, and the arts.
Despite his enormous success, Geffen kept his personal life private for many years. However, in the early 1990s, he publicly came out as gay, becoming one of the most prominent openly gay executives in the entertainment industry.
Geffen’s decision to come out was significant at a time when many high-profile individuals in Hollywood were still closeted due to fear of discrimination and negative impact on their careers. Geffen’s coming out was seen as a positive step forward for LGBT representation in the entertainment industry.
Since coming out, Geffen has been an active advocate for LGBT rights and has used his platform to support various LGBT causes. In 2012, he donated $100 million to the UCLA School of Medicine to establish a research center for the study of HIV and other diseases.
Geffen’s philanthropy has also extended to other areas, including education and the arts. In recognition of his contributions, he has been honored with numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
OIP Staff. This post was first published in 2021 and has subsequently been updated. AI technology was used in generating this post.
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