August 15

"The French complain of everything, and always."

Napoleon Bonaparte
(08/15/1769 – 05/05/1821)
Corsican emperor

"The public is a bad guesser."

Thomas de Quincey
(08/15/1785 – 12/08/1859)
English writer ("Confessions of an English Opium Eater")

"The air currents of the world never ventilated his mind."

Walter H. Page
(08/15/1855 – 12/21/1918)
US journalist ("A Publisher's Confession") , on Woodrow Wilson

"I have only one real hobby—my husband."

Florence Harding
(08/15/1860 – 11/21/1924)
US First Lady (36)
(was married to Warren G. Harding)

"For an actress to be a success she must have the face of Venus, the brains of Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of Macaulay, the figure of Juno, and the hide of a rhinoceros."

Ethel Barrymore
(08/15/1879 – 06/18/1959)
US actor ("None but the Lonely Heart")
(sister of John and Lionel, aunt of John Drew, great-aunt of Drew)

"A woman can look both moral and exciting... if she also looks as if it was quite a struggle."

Edna Ferber
(08/15/1885 – 04/16/1968)
US writer ("So Big")

"Sure I'm for helping the elderly. I'm going to be old myself someday."

Lillian Carter
(08/15/1898 – 10/30/1983)
US first family , at age 85
(mother of Jimmy Carter, grandmother of Amy)

"Life itself is the proper binge."

Julia Child
(08/15/1912 – 08/13/2004)
US chef ("The French Chef")
(died near her birthday)

"I've been in show business my whole life. Why start something new now?"

Rose Marie
(08/15/1923 – 12/28/2017)
US comic, actor (Dick Van Dyke Show) , on retirement plans

"I don't believe that a lot of the things I hear on the air today are going to be played for as long a time as Coleman Hawkins records or Brahms concertos."

Oscar Peterson
(08/15/1925 – 12/23/2007)
Canadian pianist, composer ("C Jam Blues")

"Mirrors are the essence of movies."

Nicolas Roeg
(08/15/1928 – 11/23/2018)
English director ("The Man Who Fell to Earth")

Long-winded speaker at a charity luncheon, after finally finishing: "I am sorry, Mr. Toastmaster, that I went beyond the limit, but I left my watch at home."
Will Rogers: "Don't you even have a pocket calendar?"
(11/04/1879 – 08/15/1935)
US humorist ("Judge Priest")

"Rock and roll is the hamburger that ate the world."

Peter York
(08/15/1942 – )
English drummer?

"If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties? How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a little noose around your neck?"

Linda Ellerbee
(08/15/1944 – )
US TV reporter ("Girl Reporter Blows Lid Off Town!")

"Sunshine can burn you, food can poison you, words can condemn you, pictures can insult you; music cannot punish—only bless."

Artur Schnabel
(04/17/1882 – 08/15/1951)
Austrian pianist, composer ("Beethoven Sonata #32 in C min Op. 111")

"Everything we see hides another thing; we always want to see what is hidden by what we see."

René Magritte
(11/21/1898 – 08/15/1967)
Belgian painter ("The Treachery of Images")

"Start young. Throw your arms around ladies' knees. As you get older it will get more interesting."

Edward Shepherd Mead
(04/26/1914 – 08/15/1994)
US writer ("How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: The Dastard's Guide to Fame and Fortune") , on succeeding with women

"If you buy my lamp, you won't need drugs."

Edward Craven Walker
(07/04/1918 – 08/15/2000)
US nudist, inventor , on his invention, the Lava Lamp

"There is a thin line between politics and theatricals."

Julian Bond
(01/14/1940 – 08/15/2015)
US Rep (GA)