Day in History 24 November – John Knox – Diego Rivera – Freddie Mercury – Albert Collins – Barbara – Pat Morita

Portrait of Knox from Theodore Beza’s Icones

On this day in 1572, Scottish clergyman, a leader of the Protestant Reformation and the founder of the Presbyterian denomination in Scotland, John Knox, died in Edinburgh at the approximate age of 62.  Born sometime between 1505 and 1515 in or near Haddington, the county town of East Lothian.  Believed to have been educated at the University of St Andrews.  Influenced by early church reformers he joined the movement to reform the Scottish church.  Knox was caught up in the ecclesiastical and political events surrounding the murder of Cardinal Beaton in 1546 and the intervention of the regent of Scotland, Mary of Guise.  He was taken prisoner by French forces the following year and exiled to England on his release in 1549.  While in exile, Knox was licensed to work in the Church of England, where he quickly rose in the ranks to serve King Edward VI of England as a royal chaplain.  In this position, he exerted a reforming influence on the text of the Book of Common Prayer.  When Mary Tudor ascended the throne and re-established Roman Catholicism, Knox was forced to resign his position and leave the country.  Knox first moved to Geneva and then to Frankfurt.  In Geneva, he met John Calvin, from whom he gained experience and knowledge of Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity.  He created a new order of service, which was eventually adopted by the reformed church in Scotland.  He left Geneva to head the English refugee church in Frankfurt but he was forced to leave over differences concerning the liturgy, thus ending his association with the Church of England.  On his return to Scotland, he led the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Protestant nobility.  The movement may be seen as a revolution, since it led to the ousting of Mary of Guise, who governed the country in the name of her young daughter, Mary Queen of Scots.  Knox helped write the new confession of faith and the ecclesiastical order for the newly created reformed church, the Kirk.  He continued to serve as the religious leader of the Protestants throughout Mary’s reign.

Stained glass window, Knox admonishing Mary, Queen of Scots, Covenant Presbyterian Church Long Beach, California

In several interviews with the queen, Knox admonished her for supporting Catholic practices.  Eventually, she was imprisoned for her alleged role in the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley, and James VI enthroned in her stead.  Knox openly called for her execution.  He continued to preach until his final days.  Knox married twice, first to Marjorie then to Margaret Stewart, the daughter of an old friend, Andrew Stewart, a member of the Stuart family and a distant relative of the queen, Mary Stuart. The marriage was unusual because he was a widower of fifty, while the bride was only seventeen.  One of my great-great grandfathers was a Knox.  I was baptised as an infant in The First Presbyterian Church of Canadian, Texas.

St. Giles at night

The Final Footprint – Knox is interred in the churchyard of St. Giles Cathedral, or the High Kirk of Scotland, though no grave marker exists.  St. Giles was the patron saint of Edinburgh, cripples and lepers.  A statue of Knox was incorporated in the International Monument to the Reformation (French: Monument international de la Réformation, German: Internationales Reformationsdenkmal).  Usually known as the Reformation Wall, it is a monument in Geneva, Switzerland that honours many of the main individuals, events, and documents of the Protestant Reformation by depicting them in statues and bas-reliefs.  One of the bas-reliefs features Knox preaching at St. Giles before the court of Mary Stuart including, James Stewart, Lord Darnley and Matthew Stewart.

On this day in 1957, painter Diego Rivera died in Mexico City at the age of 70. Born Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez on December 8, 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican mural movement in Mexican art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted murals in, among other places, Mexico City, Chapingo, Cuernavaca, San Francisco, Detroit, and New York City. In 1931, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Rivera had a volatile marriage with fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

He married Angelina Beloff in 1911, and she gave birth to a son, Diego (1916–1918). Maria Vorobieff-Stebelska gave birth to a daughter named Marika in 1918 or 1919 when Rivera was married to Angelina. He married his second wife, Guadalupe Marín, in June 1922, with whom he had two daughters: Ruth and Guadalupe. He was still married when he met art student Frida Kahlo. They married on August 21, 1929 when he was 42 and she was 22. Their mutual infidelities and his violent temper led to divorce in 1939, but they remarried December 8, 1940 in San Francisco. Rivera later married Emma Hurtado, his agent since 1946, on July 29, 1955, one year after Kahlo’s death.

Kahlo and Rivera in 1932, photo by: Carl Van Vechten

mural The History of Mexico at the National Palace in Mexico City

Amedeo Modigliani, Portrait of Diego Rivera, 1914

En el Arsenal detail, 1928

Recreation of Man at the Crossroads (renamed Man, Controller of the Universe), originally created in 1934 (detail)

Portrait March 19, 1932 by Carl Van Vechten

Literary portrayals

Rivera, Kahlo, and Leon Trotsky are principal characters in Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Lacuna.

Gallery

Paintings

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    Self-portrait with Broad-Brimmed Hat, 1907, 84.5 × 61.5 cm. Museo Dolores Olmedo

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    Portrait of Adolfo Best Maugard, 1913, 227.5 × 161.5 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte

    

    The Alarm Clock, 1914. Frida Kahlo Museum

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    Two Women (Dos Mujeres, Portrait of Angelina Beloff and Maria Dolores Bastian), 1914, 197.5 x 161.3 cm. Arkansas Arts Center

    

    Young Man with a Fountain Pen, 1914, 79.5 × 63.5 cm. Museo Dolores Olmedo

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    Portrait of Marevna, c.1915, 145.7 x 112.7 cm. Art Institute of Chicago

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    Seated Woman (Women with the Body of a Guitar), 1915-16. Frida Kahlo Museum

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  The Mathematician, 1919, 115.5 × 80.5 cm. Museo Dolores Olmedo

Murals

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    Mural of exploitation of Mexico by Spanish conquistadors, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City (1929–1945)

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    Mural of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City

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    Mural of the Aztec market of Tlatelolco, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City

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    Mural showing Aztec production of gold, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City

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    Mural showing Totonaca celebrations and ceremonies, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City

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    Detail of Man, Controller of the Universe, fresco at Palacio de Bellas Artes showing Leon Trotsky, Friedrich Engels, and Karl Marx

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    Detail of Man, Controller of the Universe, fresco at Palacio de Bellas Artes showing Vladimir Lenin

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    Mural Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central in Mexico City, featuring Rivera and Frida Kahlo standing by La Calavera Catrina

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    Mural at Palacio de Gobierno, Mexico City

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  Detail of The History of Mexico showing betrayed revolution at Palacio Nacional, Mexico City

Sculptures and lithographs

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    Tlaloc Fountain in Cárcamo de Dolores, Mexico City (1951)

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  3D mural of Quetzalcóatl in the Exekatlkalli (Casa de los Vientos) in Acapulco, Guerrero (1957)

On this day in 1991, singer, songwriter, lyricist, lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury died at the age of 45 surrounded by friends at his home in Kensington, London, from bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.  Born Farrokh Bulsara in the British protectorate of Sultanate of Zanzibar, East Africa (now part of Tanzania) on 5 September 1946.  As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range.  As a songwriter, he composed many hits for Queen, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” “Somebody to Love,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” and “We Are the Champions.”  In addition to his work with Queen, he led a solo career, and also occasionally served as a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists.

The Final Footprint – On 27 November 1991, Mercury’s funeral service was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest.  An intensely private man, Mercury’s service was for 35 of his close friends and family, with the remaining members of Queen (Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon) and Elton John among those in attendance.  Mercury was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery, West London.  In accordance with Mercury’s wishes, Mary Austin took possession of his ashes and buried them in an undisclosed location.  The whereabouts of his ashes are believed to be known only to Austin, who has stated that she will never reveal where she buried them.

The outer walls of Mercury’s home purchased with Austin, Garden Lodge in 1 Logan Place became a shrine to Mercury following his death, with mourners paying tribute by covering the walls in graffiti messages.  Three years after his death, Time Out magazine reported, “Since Freddie’s death, the wall outside the house has become London’s biggest rock ‘n’ roll shrine.”.  Today fans continue to visit to pay their respects with messages in letters appearing on the walls.

In 1992 he was awarded the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, and the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was held at Wembley Stadium, London.  As a member of Queen, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004, and the band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002.

In my opinion, Mercury is one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music.

Another notable cremation at Kensal Green: Ingrid Bergman.

On this day in 1993, electric blues guitarist and singer, The Master of the Telecaster, The Ice Man, Albert Collins died from cancer at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 61. Born Albert Gene Drewery on October 1, 1932 in Leona, Texas. Known for his distinctive guitar style, using powerful playing and altered tunings and a capo.

Collins was an inspiration to a generation of Texas guitar players, including Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan. 

Collins is remembered for his informal and audience-engaging live performances. One story recounted in the documentary Antones: Austin’s Home of the Blues: Collins was playing a lengthy solo one night at Antone’s and left the building whilst still playing. He returned to the stage still playing the solo and resumed entertaining the audience in person. Shortly afterwards a man arrived at the club and gave Collins the pizza he had just ordered.

  The Final Footprint

Collins is interred in Davis Memorial Park in Las Vegas.

#RIP #OTD in 1997 singer/songwriter (“Dis, quand reviendras-tu?”, “Ma plus belle histoire d’amour”, “L’Aigle noir”), Barbara (Monique Serf) died of respiratory problems in Neuilly-sur-Seine, aged 67. Cimetière parisien de Bagneux

#RIP #OTD in 2005 comedian, actor (Happy Days, The Karate Kid, M*A*S*H, Sanford and Son) Pat Morita died of kidney failure, at his home in Las Vegas, aged 73. Cremated at Palm Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery in Las Vegas

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