Anthelme Nizier Philippe, born on April 25, 1849 in Le Rubathier, Loisieux, Savoy, France, the son of peasants. He was also known as “Maître Philippe” or “Maître Philippe de Lyon”. His mother was Marie Vashod (1823-1899) and his father Joseph Philippe (1819 – 1898). From the age of fourteen he stayed with his uncle Vachod, a Butcher in Lyon. He gained a reputation as a healer by the age of thirteen. He soon gained a reputation as a miracle worker amongst Paris occultists. Having been harassed for practicing medicine without a license, he went to St Petersburg where he was awarded his Doctor’s Diploma in recognition of extraordinary feats of remote healing conducted in St Petersburg.
William Thetford (April 25, 1923 – July 4, 1988) was trained as a psychologist and remained professionally active in this field throughout his life. Thetford worked in a collaborative venture with Helen Schucman in writing and providing some of the initial edits for A Course In Miracles (ACIM), a self-study curriculum.[1] He died in 1988, aged 65, in Tiburon, California, after having made his involvement with the ACIM material and its study the most central focus of his life.
1873 – Walter de la Mare, English poet and author (d. 1956)
1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian businessman and inventor, developed Marconi’s law, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
1878 – William Merz, American gymnast (d. 1946)
1887 – Kojo Tovalou Houénou, Beninese politician and writer (d. 1936)
1892 – Maud Hart Lovelace, American author (d. 1980)
1900 – Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
1913 – Kenneth Lee Spencer, American opera singer and actor (d. 1964)
1914 – Ross Lockridge, Jr., American author (d. 1948)
1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1996)
1921 – Karel Appel, Dutch painter and sculptor (d. 2006)
1926 – Johnny Craig, American illustrator (d. 2001)
1927 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (d. 2009)
1927 – Albert Uderzo, French author and illustrator
1928 – Cy Twombly, American painter and sculptor, long based in Italy (d. 2011)
1930 – Paul Mazursky, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
1931 – James Fenton, Irish linguist and poet
1931 – David Shepherd, English painter
1938 – Ton Schulten, Dutch painter
1939 – Ted Kooser, American poet
1940 – Al Pacino, American actor and director
1941 – Princess Muna al-Hussein of Jordan
1941 – Bertrand Tavernier, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1943 – Tony Christie, English singer-songwriter and actor
1945 – Stu Cook, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (Creedence Clearwater)
1945 – Richard C. Hoagland, American theorist and author
1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer (ABBA and Hootenanny Singers)
1949 – James Fenton, English poet and critic
1955 – Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor and singer
1958 – Fish, Scottish singer-songwriter and actor (Marillion)
1959 – Daniel Kash, Canadian actor and director
1960 – Bruce Redman, Australian director, producer, and critic
1961 – Dinesh D’Souza, Indian-American educator, pundit and author
1964 – Hank Azaria, American actor and director
Libera il tuo cuore ed ascolta, perché non vi è altro da fare.
E quando hai ascoltato, dimentica più che puoi, se sei saggio.
Ciò che non puoi dimenticare, ridillo: in che modo non importa.
L’arpa dei serafini, il mugghio del toro in amore,
Il gemito della colomba, il solitario vento notturno,
La campana ed il tuono son tutte voci accettabili.
Non preoccuparti della scelta perché al momento troverai le parole.
Né della gloria: è solo un fischio rotto –
E detto questo non vi è molto da aggiungere.
Margherita Guidacci, nata il 25 aprile 1921, Sole in Toro e Luna in Sagittario, poetessa e traduttrice italiana
Immagine: “Poesia” di Gustave Boulanger, nato il 25 aprile 1824, Sole in Toro e Luna in Pesci, pittore francese.
“Ho messo la mia anima fra le tue mani.
Curvale a nido. Essa non vuole altro
che riposare in te.
Ma schiudile se un giorno
la sentirai fuggire. Fa’ che siano
allora come foglie e come vento,
assecondando il suo volo.
E sappi che l’affetto nell’addio
non è minore che nell’incontro. Rimane
uguale e sarà eterno. Ma diverse
sono talvolta le vie da percorrere
in obbedienza al destino.”
“La leggenda è del popolo, la fiaba è per il fanciullo: ma l’una e l’altra si somigliano fin quasi a identificarsi: infatti, i popoli nelle loro origini storiche e le creature nella loro infanzia vedono il mondo con lo stesso sguardo: par quasi che un prisma azzurro sia posto tra il loro occhio e quello che gli uomini adulti chiamano la Realtà.”
(Olga Visentini, nata il 25 aprile 1893, Sole in Toro e Luna in Leone, scrittrice italiana)