German composer Clara Schumann born Sept. 13, 1819

German composer Clara Schumann born Sept. 13, 1819

German pianist and composer Clara Schumann was born September 13, 1819 in Leipzig.

“The practice of art is a large part of my self, it is the air I breathe”.
Clara Schumann


Clara Schumann portrait

Birth Bicentenary of Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Issued by Germany in 2019
Designed by Constanze Vogt and Matthias Beyrow

Clara Schumann was a superstar of her time. And she was a self-assured woman with many facets to her life: child prodigy, virtuoso, wife, mother of eight, widow, teacher, composer and editor of her husband Robert Schumann’s works.
Clara Schumann: the most famous woman in the history of music <- this website has an excellent and well written biography on Clara.

2024 focused on Romanian pioneer aviator Aurel Vlaicu’s death on September 13, 1913

Frederick the Great died August 17, 1786

Frederick the Great died August 17, 1786

Frederick the Great, King of Prussia died August 17, 1786.

Frederick the Great wearing a tri corner hat

Frederick the Great (1712-1786)
Issued in 1933 to coincide with the opening session of the new Reichstag in Potsdam

Frederick II (born January 24, 1712, Berlin, Prussia [Germany]—died August 17, 1786, Potsdam, near Berlin) was the king of Prussia (1740–86), a brilliant military campaigner who, in a series of diplomatic stratagems and wars against Austria and other powers, greatly enlarged Prussia’s territories and made Prussia the foremost military power in Europe. An enlightened absolute monarch, he favoured French language and art and built a French Rococo palace, Sanssouci, near Berlin.

… Under his leadership Prussia became one of the great states of Europe. 
Frederick II | Biography, Accomplishments, Wars, Enlightenment, & Facts | Britannica

Last year’s SOD was dedicated to Peter Fechter, a young German murdered while trying to cross the Berlin Wall.

“… he just wanted freedom.”

German film director and animator Lotte Reiniger was born June 2, 1899

German film director and animator Lotte Reiniger was born June 2, 1899

On June 2, 1899, German film director and animator Lotte Reiniger was born.

Reiniger pioneered  silhouette animation and multiplane camera animation, in a career that spanned 60 + years. In that time, she created more than 70 silhouette animation films, covering a variety of themes, including fairy tale classics like Cinderella and Puss ‘n Boots and The Arabian Nights

History hasn’t been so kind to female filmmakers, often overlooking them or, worse, discrediting them completely.
Lotte Reiniger is sadly one of the few exceptions, and even she is probably less well known than what she deserves.
Lotte Reiniger: A Pioneer of Silhouette Animation

LOTTE REINIGER dancing with scissors on a cancelLOTTE REINIGER cancel with scisorscancel with scissors pointing to the left

LOTTE REINIGER single stamp

Post marks: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIEBE LOTTE! and Lotte’s Scissors
Lotte Reiniger (1899-1981) Film Director

Issued by Germany in 2024
Designer: Laucke Siebein

LOTTE REINIGER (1899-1981) was an animator, an inventor, a storyteller, and a trailblazer. Her unique style inspired many, including modern day filmmakers Henry Selick, Nora Twomey and many others. Her 1926 film, The Adventures of Prince Achmed is the oldest surviving feature length animation, and while directing it, she invented the multiplane camera, which was a major contribution to the field of animation. Her films are imbued with an unmatched grace and beauty due to her passion for an aesthetic that she developed so distinctly. Lotte once said that animation is “not so much a technical implement as the expression of the spirit behind it.” Who is Lotte — Lotte That Silhouette Girl

Online-Shop – Universitätsstadt Tübingen has a number of books on Lotte, available for purchase.

 
Organic chemistry pioneer Justus von Liebig born May 12, 1803

Organic chemistry pioneer Justus von Liebig born May 12, 1803

Justus von Liebig, pioneer in organic chemistry and educator, was born May 12, 1803 in Darmstadt, Germany.

He is considered one of the founders of organic chemistry and sometimes described as the “father of the fertilizer industry”. He developed important analytical methods, devised a manufacturing process for beef extracts, and founded the journal Justus Liebig’s Annalen der Chemie. In addition, he modernized chemistry education with systematic teaching methods, combining lectures and laboratory work, and is regarded as one of the great chemistry teachers. Many notable chemists were among his students.
Justus von Liebig: Great Teacher and Pioneer in Organic Chemistry and Agrochemistry – ChemistryViews

Justus von Liebig (1803-1873), chemist and naturalist

Justus von Liebig (1803-1873), chemist and naturalist
From Germany’s 150th birthday of Justus von Liebig
Issued 1953
Designer: Leon Schnell

Birth Bicentenary of Justus von Liebig

Birth Bicentenary of Justus von Liebig
Issued by Germany in 2003
Designer: Gerhard Lienemeyer

 

 

Bertolt Brecht was born Feb. 10, 1898

Bertolt Brecht was born Feb. 10, 1898

On February 10, 1898, Bertolt Brecht was born in Augsburg, Germany.

Art is not a mirror with which to reflect reality but a hammer with which to shape it.
— Bertolt Brecht .

Birth of Bertolt Brecht  Birth of Bertolt Brecht 

Bertolt Brecht
Birth of Bertolt Brecht
Birth of Bertolt Brecht

Birth of Bertolt Brecht (1898 – 1956)
Released in 2023 by German post office 
Designer: Matthias Wittig
Photo: © akg-images / Ruth Berlau Quote: © Bertolt-Brecht-Erben / Suhrkamp Verlag

Regarded as the most important German-language dramatist of the twentieth century, he counts also among the most frequently staged non-English-language playwrights in the Anglophone world. In addition, the new performance style he articulated in his writings on theater practice, dramaturgy, and actor training has been influential around the world among directors and teachers who explore the role of politics on stage. Less known in the Anglophone world is Brecht’s status as a major lyric poet and author of numerous prose works, including anecdotes, short stories, dialogues, and novels.
Bertolt Brecht – Literary and Critical Theory – Oxford Bibliographies