- 1752 Premiere of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's opera "Le Devin du Village" (The Village Soothsayer), before the royal court at Fontainebleau, France
Prometheus
1855 Franz Liszt's symphonic poem "Prometheus" premieres
Symphony No. 5
1904 Gustav Mahler's 5th symphony premieres in Cologne, Germany
Too Many Girls
1939 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musical "Too Many Girls" opens at the Imperial Theatre, later transferring to the Broadway Theatre, NYC; runs for 249 performances
Music History
1945 Paul Robeson wins Spingarn Medal for singing and acting achievements
Music Premiere
1946 Aaron Copland's 3rd Symphony first performance, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Serge Koussevitzky
- 1952 Arthur Jones, Fred Stamer, and Gen Genovese's musical "Buttrio Square" closes at New Century Theater, NYC, after 7 performances
The Frank Sinatra Show
1957 "The Frank Sinatra Show" television variety/drama anthology series debuts on ABC; the singer-actor is given almost complete control of the program
West Side Story
1961 Film adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical "West Side Story", directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, and starring Natalie Wood, premieres (Academy Award - Best Picture, 1962)
Let's Dance
1962 Tony Sheridan & Beat Brothers (later known as The Beatles) record "Let's Dance" in Hamburg, Germany
Music History
1966 Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's musical "The Apple Tree", starring Alan Alda and Barbara Harris, opens at Shubert Theater, NYC; runs for 463 performances
The Jungle Book
1967 Walt Disney's animated musical adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" film is released; cast features voices of Phil Harris, Louis Prima, Sterling Holloway, and Sebastian Cabot
Music History
1968 Police find 219 grains of cannabis resin in John Lennon and Yoko Ono's apartment, they are fined £150 for marijuana possession
Music History
1969 British singer Rod Stewart joins rock band Small Faces
- 1973 Judd Woldon & Robert Britten's musical"Raisin" opens at 46th St Theater, NYC for 847 performances
- 1974 Wings (Country Hams) release "Walking in the Park with Eloise"
- 1979 Stage musical "Beatlemania" opens in London
Once on This Island
1990 Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' musical "Once on This Island", based on Rosa Guy's novel "My Love, My Love" (a Caribbean-set retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid"), opens at Booth Theater, NYC; runs for 469 performances
My Own Private Idaho
1991 "My Own Private Idaho" directed and written by Gus van Sant starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves is released
The Most Happy Fella
1991 Revival of Frank Loesser's 1956 musical "The Most Happy Fella" closes at NY State Theater, NYC, after a limited run by the New York City Opera
- 1992 "Oba Oba '93" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 22 performances
Music History
2000 Zack de la Rocha announces he is leaving rock band Rage Against the Machine
Mamma Mia!
2001 Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus' musical "Mamma Mia!", featuring the songs of ABBA, opens at The WInter Garden Theatre, NYC, later transferring to The Broadhurst; runs for 5,733 performances
- 2022 American cellist Yo-Yo Ma is awarded the fifth $1 million Birgit Nilsson Prize
