By Cynthia Charlene Greason
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Solange Piaget Knowles (/soʊˈlɑːnʒ/; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Knowles expressed an interest in music from an early age and had temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny’s Child, which featured her older sister Beyoncé Knowles among its members, before signing with her father Mathew Knowles‘ Music World Entertainment label. At 16, Knowles released her first studio album Solo Star (2002). She also appeared in the films Johnson Family Vacation (2004), and Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006).
In 2007, Knowles began to record music again. Heavily influenced by Motown girl groups, her second studio album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (2008) deviated from the pop-oriented music of her debut to Motown-inspired sounds from the 60’s and 70’s. It peaked at number nine on the US Billboard 200 and received positive reviews from critics. She followed this up with the 1980s pop and R&B-inspired extended play True (2012) on Terrible Records and her imprint Saint Records. Her third studio album, A Seat at the Table (2016) was released to widespread critical acclaim and became her first number-one album in the United States. The album’s lead single, “Cranes in the Sky” won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance. Her fourth studio album, When I Get Home, was released in March 2019 to further critical acclaim.
Knowles says that her first passion is songwriting. Frequently compared by the media to her sister Beyoncé, Knowles has claimed that they have different aspirations and are musically different. She has been ranked by Billboard as the 100th most successful dance artist of all time, and in 2017 was honored with the “Impact Award” at the Billboard Women in Music event. Her other ventures include an endorsement deal with Rimmel London and a line of hip-hop-oriented merchandise for young children.
Knowles has also ventured into performance art, working in several international museums and exhibitions, such as the Elbphilharmonie, the Venice Art Biennale and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. In 2022, Knowles became the third woman and first African American to compose a score for the New York City Ballet.
TODAY’S ALMAANC
Although Midsummer Day occurs near the summer solstice, or what we think of as the beginning of summer, to the farmer it is the midpoint of the growing season, halfway between planting and harvesting, and an occasion for celebration. Although it’s also the feast day of St. John the Baptist, it features pagan traditions such as bonfires, fire walking, and a carnival atmosphere, all of which took place on Midsummer Eve. Certainly, it’s a night of magic and soothsaying as well, for as Washington Irving said, this is a time “when it is well known all kinds of ghosts, goblins, and fairies become visible and walk abroad.” After Midsummer Day, the days shorten. In Lithuanian tradition, the dew on Midsummer Day was said to make young girls beautiful and old people look younger. It was also thought that walking barefoot in the dew would keep one’s skin from getting chapped. It was customary to honor all men named John on this day by fixing wreaths of oak leaves around their doors. This is usually done in secret, and John must guess who did it or catch the person in the act, in which case he must give the person a treat.
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Died
- Lucrezia Borgia (Duchess of Ferrara) –
- Grover Cleveland (22nd & 24th U.S. president) –
- Sarah Orne Jewett (writer) –
- Jackie Gleason (actor & comedian) –
- Esther Rome (author) –
- Brian Keith (actor) –
- David Tomlinson (actor) –
- Richard Pough (founder of the Nature Conservancy. Pough wrote a series of Audubon guides on birds. He was also one of the first to warn of the dangers of DDT and helped to get a law banning the sale of wild-bird feathers.) –
- Eli Wallach (actor) –
Born
- Ferdinand Bol (painter) –
- Ambrose Bierce (writer) –
- Jack Dempsey (boxer) –
- Mick Fleetwood (musician) –
- Mindy Kaling (actress) –
- Minka Kelly (actress) –
- Solange Knowles (actress & singer) –
Events
- Battle of Bannockburn—Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce beat Edward II of England. Scotland regained its independence–
- John Cabot landed on North American soil–
- Henry VIII crowned King of England–
- Canada’s national anthem, O Canada, was first performed, at a banquet in Quebec City, Quebec. The original lyrics were in French. English versions didn’t appear until the early 1900s.–
- 9 UFOs reported, Mt. Rainier, Washington–
- The guitar Eric Clapton used to record the song, Layla, sold at auction for $497,500–
- Eric Clapton’s favorite guitar fetched $959,500 at auction, easily eclipsing the record set by the sale of another guitar by the legendary rock musician on this day in 1999–
- John Isner of the U.S. defeated Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon in the longest tennis match to date (11 hours and 5 minutes)–
- Rusty, a red panda, was found exploring a nearby neighborhood after he had disappeared from the The Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., overnight.–
Weather
- While on an Arctic expedition, Admiral Robert Peary reported seeing a large mountainous landmass off the coast. He named it Crocker Land, but later expeditions proved that it was a mirage.–
- 6.54” of rain fell in Brooklyn, New York City–
- The Mount Rainier National Park ranger station in Washington reported 4.4 inches of snow, bringing the season total to 1,122 inches–
- Light snow flurries in northern Manitoba–
COURTESY www.almamac.com
