Stan Laurel was a comic actor, writer and film director who was a native of England. He is best known as a member of the comedy double-act Laurel and Hardy. Oliver Hardy was an American actor. The comedy duo became well known for their slapstick comedy films during the first half of the 20th century.

Stan Laurel was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Ulverston, Lancashire, England on June 16^th 1890. He was born into a theatrical family and made his stage debut at the age of 16. With a theatrical company, he toured the United States on several occasions. He eventually decided to live in the US when he began his movie career.

Laurel made his first film with Oliver Hardy in 1921. Laurel and Hardy officially became a team in 1927. The duo went on to appear in 107 films, including The Music Box, Way Out West, Men O’ War, Another Fine Mess, Sons of the Desert, Block-Heads and Busy Bodies. Stan Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award in 1961.

Stan Laurel, a comic actor best known as a member of the comedy double-act Laurel and Hardy, died aged of 74 in Santa Monica, California in the year 1965 On This Day.

Photo by Alan Light

Photo by twm1340

Frederick Banting was a Canadian physician who was the first person to use insulin to treat diabetes in humans. For his work Banting, with his colleague John Macleod, was the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1923. Though insulin was like a miracle drug it did not cure diabetes. However it assists people with diabetes to lead an almost normal life and is one of the biggest discoveries in medicine.

Frederick Grant Banting was born in Alliston, Ontario, Canada on November 14^th 1891. He studied medicine at the University of Toronto and graduated with and MB degree in 1916. He served with the Canadian Army Medical Corps during World War I. He was wounded at Cambrai, France in 1918 and was later awarded the Military Cross.

Banting returned to Canada after the War. He worked in various medical posts and continued his medical studies. He was awarded an MD in 1922. He became interested in diabetes and was given facilities to carry out research at the University of Toronto.

Following successful experiments on animals, the first person to receive insulin was a 14-year old boy named Leonard Thompson in January 1922. Thompson was at the time extremely ill but he recovered rapidly. The testing was quickly expanded to other people suffering from diabetes. The results were positive. The discovery by Banting has led to millions of people suffering from diabetes to lead almost normal lives.

Frederick Banting, who was the first person to use insulin to treat diabetes in humans, died aged 49 in the year 1941 On This Day.

Photo by Ken Lund

Banting House, Birthplace of Insulin, London, Ontario

Eric Liddell was an athlete who competed for Great Britain in the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924. The award winning film ‘Chariots of Fire’ tells the story of Liddell and another British athlete Harold Abrahams. They both won Gold Medals at the games. Chariots of Fire was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1982 and won four.

Eric Liddell was born in Tientsin, China on January 16^th 1902. His parents were Scottish who were working as missionaries in China. Liddell was an outstanding athlete who was educated at the University of Edinburgh. He competed successfully in sprint races and played on the wing for the Scotland national rugby union team in the 1922 and 1923 Five Nations Championships.

In the 1924 Olympic Games Liddell was listed to compete in the 100m. A heat for the race was to be held on Sunday. Because of his Christian convictions Liddell would not compete on the Sabbath. Liddell later competed in the 400m race and won gold. In 1925 Liddell returned to China to work as a missionary.

Eric Liddell, Olympic Gold Medal winner, rugby player, and missionary whose story was told in the film Chariots of Fire died aged 43 in an internment camp in China in the year 1945 On This Day.

http://lewishamlegacy.wdfiles.com/local–files/eric-liddell/EricLiddell

Frederick Douglass was an escaped African-American slave. He escaped from slavery in the state of Maryland on September 3^rd 1838. Following his escape Douglass became a leader of the abolitionist movement in America.  He travelled first to New York and later settled in Massachusetts. In the years following his escape he travelled the northern states to speak at rallies demanding the abolition of slavery.

In 1845 Douglass visited Ireland, where he met Daniel O Connell. He gave lectures, which were very popular, in several locations across Ireland. In a letter to the abolitionist William Garrison, Douglass wrote: I have travelled almost from the hill of Howth to the Giant’s Causeway and from the Giant’s Causeway to Cape Clear. Plaques in Waterford and Cork commemorate visits by Douglass to those cities.

During his travels Douglass spoke at meetings in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Belfast, Wexford and Waterford. He described the great sense of freedom which he felt while visiting Ireland. “I am covered with the soft, grey fog of the Emerald Isle. I breathe, and lo! The chattel becomes a man. I gaze around in vain for one who will question my equal humanity, claim me as his slave, or offer me an insult”.

Frederick Douglass, who was an escaped African-American slave, died in Washington DC in the year 1895 On This Day.

Photo by Internet Archive Book Images

Lee Marvin was an award winning actor who was a native of America.  He appeared in over 70 films during his acting career. His most famous films include ‘Cat Ballou’, ‘The Dirty Dozen’ and ‘Paint Your Wagon’.

Lee Marvin was born in New York City in 1924. Following service in the US Marine Corps during World War II he began his stage career in New York. He appeared in several television shows and made his film debut in 1951 in ‘You’re in the Navy Now’. He went on to appear in over 70 films and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in ‘Cat Ballou’ in 1965.

Lee Marvin, award winning actor whose most famous films include ‘Cat Ballou’, ‘The Dirty Dozen’ and ‘Paint Your Wagon’, was born in New York City in the year 1924 On This Day.

By NBC TelevisionUploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia – eBay itemphoto frontphoto backTransferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by SreeBot., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16446080