On this day in 1674, poet John Milton, died in Bunhill, London, England at the age of 65 from kidney failure. Born on 9 December 1608 in Bread Street, London, England. Best known for his epic poem in blank verse, Paradise Lost (1667). The poem concerns the Christian story of the Fall of Man; the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton incorporates Paganism, classical Greek references, and Christianity within the poem. It deals with diverse topics from marriage, politics to monarchy and grapples with many difficult theological issues, including; fate, predestination, the Trinity, the introduction of sin and death into the world, angels, fallen angels, Satan, and the war in heaven. Milton draws on his knowledge of languages and diverse sources – primarily Genesis, much of the New Testament, the deuterocanonical Book of Enoch, and other parts of the Old Testament. Milton’s epic is generally considered one of the greatest literary works in the English language. He remains generally regarded as one of the most significant writer’s in the English language. 
In 1643, he published a pamphlet called Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce. He wrote: “Marriage is a cov’nant the very beeing wherof consists, not in a forc’t cohabitation, and counterfet performance of duties, but in unfained love and peace. […] It is a lesse breach of wedlock to part with wise and quiet consent betimes, then still to soile and profane that mystery of joy and union with a polluting sadnes and perpetuall distemper; for it is not the outward continuing of mariage that keeps whole that cov’nant, but whosoever does most according to peace and love, whether in mariage, or in divorce, he it is that breaks mariage least; it being so often written, that Love only is the fulfilling of every Commandment.” A toast to unfained love and peace. Milton married three times; Mary Powell (ended in 1652 her death), Katherine Woodcock (1656 – 1658 her death) and Elizabeth Mynshull (1662 – 1674 his death).
The Final Footprint– Milton is interred in St. Giles Cripplegate Churchyard in London. There is a plaque and a statue of Milton inside the church. There is cenotaph of Milton in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey. There is a plaque commemorating his birth place in Bread Street. There is a statue of Milton in Temple of British Worthies in Stowe. The French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix portrayed Milton in his painting Milton Dictates the Lost Paradise to His Three Daughters, c. 1826.
On this day in 1887, dentist, gambler, gunfighter of the American Old West, usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Doc Holliday died from tuberculosis in the Hotel Glenwood in Glenwood Springs, Colorado at the age of 36. Born John Henry Holliday on 14 August 1851 in Griffin, Georgia. The legend and mystique of his life is so great that he has been mentioned in countless books, and portrayed by various actors in numerous movies and television series. Debate continues about the exploits of his life. Earp said, “Doc was a dentist, not a lawman or an assassin, whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a frontier vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit; a long lean ash-blond fellow nearly dead with consumption, and at the same time the most skillful gambler and the nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a six-gun that I ever knew.”
The Final Footprint – Holliday is buried in Linwood Cemetery overlooking Glenwood Springs. The exact location of his grave was lost. Among the more notable portrayals of Holliday on film include; Kirk Douglas, Jason Robards, Stacy Keach, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, and Dennis Quaid.
On this day in 1890, composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher César Franck died in Paris at the age of 67. Born César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck on 10 December 1822 in Liège, in what is now Belgium (though at the time of his birth it was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands). He studied privately in Paris from 1835. After a brief return to Belgium, and an unfavorable reception to an early oratorio Ruth, he moved to Paris, where he married and embarked on a career as teacher and organist. He gained a reputation as a formidable improviser, and travelled widely in France to demonstrate new instruments built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.
In 1858 he became organist at Sainte-Clotilde, a position he retained for the rest of his life. He became professor at the Paris Conservatoire in 1872; he took French nationality, a requirement of the appointment. After acquiring the professorship Franck wrote several pieces that have entered the standard classical repertoire, including symphonic, chamber, and keyboard works.
The Final Footprint
Tomb at Cimetiere du Montparnasse
Monument to Franck at the Square Samuel-Rousseau, 7th arrondissement.
The funeral mass for Franck was held at Sainte-Clotilde, attended by a large congregation including Léo Delibes (officially representing the Conservatoire), Camille Saint-Saëns, Eugène Gigout, Gabriel Fauré, Alexandre Guilmant, Charles-Marie Widor (who succeeded Franck as professor of organ at the Conservatoire), and Édouard Lalo. Emmanuel Chabrier spoke at the original gravesite at Montrouge. Later, Franck’s body was moved to its current location at Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris, into a tomb designed by his friend, architect Gaston Redon. A number of Franck’s students, led by Augusta Holmès, commissioned a bronze medallion from Auguste Rodin, a three-quarter bust of Franck, which in 1893 was placed on the side of the tomb. In 1904, a monument to Franck by sculptor Alfred Lenoir, César Franck at the Organ, was placed in the Square Samuel-Rousseau across the street from Sainte-Clotilde. Other notable Final Footprints at Montparnasse include; Charles Baudelaire, Samuel Beckett, Simone de Beauvoir, Emmanuel Chabrier, Guy de Maupassant, Adah Isaacs Menken, Man Ray, Camille Saint-Saëns, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Seberg, and Susan Sontag.
#RIP #OTD in 1908 French dramatist (La Tosca, Fédora, Madame Sans-Gêne, Gismonda), Victorien Sardou died in Paris aged 77. Cimetière Bouilhet, Marly-le-Roi, France
#RIP #OTD in 1978 painter (The Saturday Evening Post, Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, The Problem We All Live With, Saying Grace, Four Freedoms) Norman Rockwell died of emphysema at age 84 in his Stockbridge, Massachusetts, home. Stockbridge Cemetery
On this day in 1998 actor, writer, director, sculptor, Jean Cocteau’s muse and lover, Jean Marais died from cardiovascular disease in Cannes, aged 84. Born Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais in Cherbourg, France on 11 December 1913.
He performed in over 100 films and was the lover, muse and friend of acclaimed director Jean Cocteau. In 1996, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his contributions to French cinema.
Marais was Cocteau’s lover from 1937 to 1947, his muse and longtime friend. After Cocteau’s death, Marais wrote a memoir of Cocteau, L’Inconcevable Jean Cocteau, attributing authorship to “Cocteau-Marais”. He also wrote an autobiography, Histoires de ma vie, published in 1975. From 1948 until 1959, his companion was the American dancer George Reich. He is rumored to have been among the lovers of Umberto II of Italy.
The Final Footprint
Village cemetery at Vallauris, near Antibes
#RIP #OTD in 1998 author (Black Narcissus, The River, The Greengage Summer) Rumer Godden died from a stroke in Moniaive, Scotland aged 90. Rye Cemetery, Rye, Rother District, East Sussex, England
And on this day in 2020 game show host and television personality Alex Trebek died at his home in Los Angeles from pancreatic cancer, aged 80. Born George Alexander Trebek on July 22, 1940, in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
He hosted the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons from its revival in 1984 until his death in 2020. Trebek also hosted a number of other game shows, including The Wizard of Odds, Double Dare, High Rollers, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth. He also made appearances, usually as himself, in numerous films and television series. Trebek became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998. He received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host eight times for his work on Jeopardy!
The Final Footprint – What is cremation?
After each posthumous episode in season 37, the title card read, “Dedicated to Alex Trebek. Forever in our hearts. Always our inspiration.”
On the one year anniversary of his death, which was also the day that the first episode Ken Jennings hosted in season 38 was aired, a different title card read, “Alex Trebek, July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020. You are missed every day.”
Have you planned yours yet?
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