It happened today
Like all stories, the cartoon story also has a starting date: April 6, 1906. That day Humorous Phases of Funny Faces was released in US theaters, the first animated film shot on standard film, using the stop motion technique. . A hand draws figures on a blackboard, which magically come to life: a man smokes a cigar while a lady looks on with disapproval, a clown plays with his hat and then with a dog… The author was the pioneer James Stuart Blackton. After its debut in America, the genre then conquered the world. Among the countries that have stood out the most is the Rising Sun, where anime is a national passion. One of the most beloved characters — a true Japanese cultural icon — is Doraemon. The “space cat” from the 22nd century, protagonist of highly successful TV series and films, was born as a manga, written and illustrated by the Fujiko Fujio duo – composed of Fujimoto Hiroshi (died in 1996) and Motoo Abiko, who passed away on 6 April 2022. (Luigi Gaetani)
Born of the day
Raffaello Sanzio, 6 April 1483, painter and architect
Giovanni delle Bande Nere, 6 April 1498, leader
Tadeusz Kantor, 6 April 1915, Polish playwright, theater director and painter
Eugenio Scalfari, 6 April 1924, journalist, writer and politician
Gerry Mulligan, April 6, 1927, American saxophonist, composer and arranger
Mario Merola, 6 April 1934, singer, actor and composer
Fred Bongusto, April 6, 1935, singer-songwriter, composer and record producer
Paolo Nespoli, 6 April 1957, former astronaut, engineer and soldier
Pietro Vierchowod, 6 April 1959, football coach and former footballer
Paul Rudd, April 6, 1969, American actor
Maurizia Cacciatori, 6 April 1973, former volleyball player
Deaths of the day
Richard I of England, 6 April 1199, British king
Raffaello Sanzio, 6 April 1520, painter and architect
Domenichino, 6 April 1641, painter
Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli d’Albertone, 6 April 1879, art collector
Giovanni Pascoli, 6 April 1912, poet and literary critic
Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky, 6 April 1971, Russian composer and conductor
Isaac Asimov, April 6, 1992, American writer, biochemist and science communicator
Rainier III of Monaco, 6 April 2005, Monegasque sovereign
Luigi Comencini, 6 April 2007, director and screenwriter
Mickey Rooney, April 6, 2014, American actor and comedian
Giorgio Torelli, 6 April 2023, journalist and writer
Saint of the day
Saint John Baptist de La Salle, French priest and pedagogist born in Reims on 30 April 1651. He was the eldest of ten children and chose at a young age to follow his religious vocation. He studied at the Sorbonne and the seminary of Saint Sulpice, which proved fundamental to his faith. At just 16 he became canon of the cathedral of Reims and at 28 he founded a free school for the less well-off. He soon realized the importance of the role of the teacher and thus decided to lay the foundations of the institute of the Brothers of Christian schools, aimed at the education of working-class children. La Salle assigned the figure of the teacher only one mission to accomplish by taking vows, that is, by giving up getting married and dedicating himself exclusively to students. He died in Rouen on 7 April 1719, Good Friday.
