Data Department

by David Fisher

Last time I gave data for Amy Johnson and George Orwell, both of whom were born one hundred years ago. I would like to round off 2003 by giving the data of a composer who was born two hundred years ago and a savant who was born five hundred years ago.

Hector Berlioz first studied medicine, but had already composed some large-scale works before entering the Paris Conservatoire in 1826. He wrote his famous Symphonie Fantastique for the Irish Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, and they married in 1833. Berlioz's other works include the symphony Harold en Italie (1834), the cantata La Damnation de Faust (1846) and the operas Les Troyens (1856-58) and Beatrice et Benedict (1860-62).

The music of Berlioz is not to everyone's taste. In his own lifetime his "over the top" style was lampooned by cartoonists and he never won the respect he deserved in his own country, although he established a considerable reputation in Germany and Britain. His later years were overshadowed by the deaths of his second wife and son. Berlioz himself died 8 March 1869.

Louis Hector Berlioz: 11 December 1803; Cote St Andre, France (45N11 5E43); 5:00 pm LMT (16:37:08 GMT) Gauquelin Vol 4 No. 1556.

Nostradamus or Michel de Nostradame to give him his correct name, became a doctor of medicine in 1529 and established a respectable practice in Agen Lyons and other places. He did not set himself up as a prophet until around 1547. His Centuries, rhymed couplets of predictions, appeared in two collections between 1555 and 1558, and they brought Nostradamus a great reputation despite the enigmatic way in which they were given. King Charles IX of France appointed him his physician in ordinary. Nostradamus correctly predicted the date of his own death, the night of ½ July 1566.

Michel de Nostradame: 14 December 1503 OS (24 December 1503 NS); St Remy, France (46N46 4E50); 12:14:20 LMT (11:55 GMT). The time appears on a 16th century square horoscope although no horoscope of the great seer was published during his lifetime.

There can be few British comedy series more revered than Dad's Army. It ran from 1968 to 1977, totalling 80 episodes (including three Christmas specials). Who can forget the pompous Captain Mainwaring (pronounced "Mannering); the upper class Sgt. Wilson; the "old soldier" Jones, who once fought with Kitchener in the Suda; the fatalistic Fraser with his cry "We're doomed!"; and "mummy's boy" Pike? The programme is still being repeated in the 21st century and is probably the best of Jimmy Perry and David Croft's considerable output.

First transmission Dad's Army: 31 July 1968; London (51N30 0W10); 8:20 pm BST (19:20 GMT). Source: Dad's Army: The Complete Scripts (Orion Books 2003).

Farewell to...

Tennis player Althea Gibson (d. 28 September 2003), the first black player to win a Wimbledon singles title, in 1957 and again the following year.

Althea Gibson: 25 August 1927; Silver, South Carolina (33N43 80W17); 9:00 am EST (14:00 GMT). The Gauquelin Book of American Charts from birth certificate.

Legendary country and western singer Johnny Cash (d. 12 September 2003).

Johnny Cash: 26 February 1932; Kingsland, Arkansas (33N52 92W18); 07:30 (07:30 AM) CST(+6:00).

Rodden rating: A/from memory. "Coleen Gauthier quotes his mom, Mercury Hour, 10/1979. Data and place confirmed in B.C. via Bob Garner"

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