January with its misty weather and still chilly nights is not thought to be a romantic month at all in the UK.

Most days are bleak and painfully long as we wait for the arrival of spring, with its fresh new buds and the twitter of newborn birds.

But many a famous face appeared into this world throughout the month of hibernation.

I was amazed at this little line up and I only picked people that interested me but they are all people with an artistic flare. As people born in January are supposed to be, artistic, unique, talented and a little eccentric! See what you think after reading.

January 1st

1879.  E. M. Forster, he was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He wrote the novels, “A Room with a View” in 1908 and “Howard’s End” in 1910, to name two amongst many quite controversial stories. In 1971 he wrote “Maurice” that was a homosexual love story.

Cover via Amazon

January 2nd

1938. David Bailey, he is a celebrated English photographer. He helped create the “Swinging London” in the 1960s: a culture of high fashion and celebrity chic. Here in the swinging sixties he captured images of famous London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray and the Beatles to name just a couple.

January 3rd

1956. Mel Gibson, he is widely known for his acting talents in films like “Mad Max,” “Lethal Weapon,” and “Brave Heart.” As well as staring in Brave heart, he also directed it and received the award fir best director.

Cover of Mad Max (Special Edition)

January 6th

1955. Rowan Atkinson is an English comedian, actor and writer. His work is so extensive it would take up far to much time to name even a third of his work but he has to be best known for “Blackadder” and “Mr Bean,” He also did voice over in the Walt Disney’s film “The Lion King.”

January 8th

This was a good day to be born. On this day there are four people that caught my attention.

1942, Professor Stephen Hawking, 1935, Elvis, 1947, David Bowie and 1937, Dame Shirley Bassey. Some great musical talents as well as the cleverest man on earth! What a line up.

January 12th

1729. Edmund Burke, Anglo-Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher.

January 15th

1929. Martin Luther King, Jr was born. He was an American clergyman an activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. In 1964 he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination.

January 17th

1820. Anne Bronte, joined the Bronte family, she was the youngest of the literary family and specialised in novels and poetry. Her novels were written in a sharp and ironic way. She wrote realistically unlike her famous sisters Charlotte and Emily, who wrote the romantic novels “Wuthering Heights” and “Jane Eyre.” Anne died at the age of 29 years after only writing two novels.

January 18th

1892. Oliver Hardy, half of the famous comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy. This comic act began in the era of silent movies and lasted over 31 years.

January 21st

1957. Geena Davis joined our world. The beautiful Geena is a very talented woman. She is an Academy Awards winning America actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model and woman’s Olympics archery team semi-finalist! Her most famous film to me is Thelma and Louise, just brilliant.

January 22nd

1788. Our very own Lord Byron and I have actually been to this former British poets house and read his diaries. Well it’s a massive Abby rather than a house; he lived a few miles from my home. He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential, both in England and beyond. He writes romanticism.

January 25th

1882. Virginia Woolf, was an English Novelist, essayist, diarist, epistle, publisher, feminist, critic and writer of short stories!  We do have some great strong female writers in England. I think Virginia’s most known work is “A Room of One’s Own.”

January 27th.

This again is a date with many people I would like to mention. I chose these.

1756 saw the arrival of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, I think most people know of him, for those who don’t he was a composer and composed over 600 works in his time.

1832 was the birth of Lewis Carroll, English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. Famous for his story called “Alice in Wonderland,” and the “Jabberwocky,” a poem.

Cover of Alice in Wonderland

1968 it was Lisa Leverton, pseudonym lillyrose, who’s still trying to make her fame. She is very good at erotic short stories, horror and articles on subjects she believes in. She loves to sketch, read and comment on other peoples work and is not afraid to say what she thinks.

January 29th

1945, I just had to add Tom Selleck to my list because I named my first Thoroughbred yearling horse after him, Magnam not Tom. Magnam was a PI in a program when I was a youngster!

This is where I end on my January over history. There are plenty more people born in January but these were the ones that interested me most of all, I hope they interested you also.

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One of the earliest, popular moustached faces in television is that of Groucho Marx, the American comedian and film star. He was born in 1890 and died at the ripe old age of eighty-seven in 1977. At the start of his career, he used grease paint to paint on his outrageously large moustache and eyebrows. However, he soon grew his own – which he wore for the rest of his life. Groucho, in his heyday, was one of the most recognisable celebrities of his time.

Laurel and Hardy

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Stan Laurel – the thin one – was British born. He changed his name from Stanley Jefferson when he moved to America at twenty-two, because he was concerned that his name was too long and fussy for the American show business arena. Oliver Hardy – the bigger one – was American. He was born Norvell Hardy, but also changed his name when he was eighteen years old. They rose to fame on the American TV scene, and were famous around the 1920s – 30s, working mainly in motion pictures and on stage. They managed to appear together in a staggering 106 films. Now how’s that for a partnership! Laurel sported a toothbrush type moustache, the same style as Hitler and Mugabe, but along with his partner, he has provided the world with belly laughs and an impressive amount of slapstick comedy.

Clark Gable

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Another instantly recognizable moustached heart-throb was Clarke Gable. His smooth performance in Gone With the Wind, got him nominated for ‘Best Actor.’ Gable had a hiccoughing start to his life, not only was he registered as a girl on his birth certificate, but his voice was very high and terribly whiny. After much training and make-overs, Clark Gable became what is now known as an A list film star. He worked as a Stage actor between 1924-1930, during which time, he appeared as an extra in many motion pictures. After he made it big-time, his moustache made him probably the most recognizable actor of his time. After all, he played the leading man for most of his film acting life.

Adolf Hitler

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Adolf Hitler was born of parents who were blood-relations to each other, and was the fourth of six children. However, only two of his parents’ children reached adulthood – Adolf and a younger sister. He failed his first year in high school, and had to be put back a grade. During his young years, after twice being refused entry into an art school, he sold his paintings in the street to tourists. Money soon ran out and he eventually found himself homeless. Time progressed, and after being deemed unfit to serve in the Austrian army, he signed up with the Bavarian army during WW1.

He later became a German politician, but the Germans will always rightly point out that he was actually born in Austria. After a year of joining up, he became the leader of what is now known as the Nazi Party, and ruled Germany from 1933-1945. Unfortunately, everyone knows what happened next. This type of moustache would have probably been more widely used, were it not for the fact that this was the man who made it famous.

Mahatma Gandhi

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I included this second picture because it proves that Ghandi had a moustache ever since he was a little boy (but I jest).

His real name was Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi. He was a well-known political and spiritual leader of India. He has since become one of the icons representing non-violent demonstrations and civil rights freedom for downtrodden people all over the world. Mahatma (‘Great Soul’ in Sanskrit) gave up his job as a lawyer in South Africa in 1915, and returned to India to fight the cause of his people living in poverty. He has done so much for the world and the way in which we view our freedom. I think that his round glasses and moustache come together in a way that makes him one of the easiest identifiable men in history.

Frank Zappa

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Zappa was born in 1940 and is of Greek/Arab/Italian decent. He started composing music when he was still at high school.

Zappa was everything and anything. His artistic career over thirty years, saw him as a record producer, guitar player, film director, song writer and solo artist. He had a keen interest in politics and became very active in world affairs during the latter part of his life. He spent all of his music career wearing his trademark bushy moustache with a little goatee under his bottom lip.

All these men made an impact creatively, politically, or socially. I am tempted to think that if it wasn’t for the moustaches, they would be ordinary looking men who would not be so readily identifiable. What do you think?

Part two is now available here

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