WILHELM AUGUST IFFLAND, German playwright and librettist, born (d: 1814); Iffland was a powerful force in the German theater of the 18^th century, even though his plays are generally unknown outside his native country. To learn more about him, read Iffland’s autobiography, Meine theatralische Laufbahn. It has never been translated into English.

PRINCE EDMOND DE POLIGNAC, French composer, born (d: 1901); A descendant of one of the more illustrious families of France. His father Auguste Jules Armand Marie, Prince de Polignac (1780-1847) was the Minister of State in the Restoration government of King Charles X, and was the author of the Thirty Ordinances in 1830, which revoked the Constitution, suspended freedom of the press, and gave the king extraordinary powers, including absolute power in the name of "insuring the safety of the state".

In 1875 a new friend entered de Polignac’s life, Comte Robert de Montesquiou, a beautiful and intelligent man, twenty-one years his junior. They shared many interests, and began an intimate relationship at that time. In his later years, Montesquiou used his wit to shield himself from sincere emotional interaction. He is remembered as a model for Des Esseintes in Huysman's A Rebours, and the Baron de Charlus in Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu.

Through Montesquiou's circle, Polignac made the acquaintance of the Elisabeth, comtesse Greffuhle and of Gabriel Fauré, and became a member of the Société Nationale de Musique, where his compositions were performed alongside those of Chausson, Debussy and Faure.

By 1892, Polignac, inept with money and impoverished through investments in a series of get-rich-quick schemes, was destitute; his nephews helped him with loans, but noted that desperate action was needed. The solution they suggested was marriage to a woman of appropriate means. Polignac discussed the matter with Montesquiou, and Montesquiou with his cousin Élisabeth Greffulhe, and out of these conversations the name of Winnaretta Eugene Singer, Lesbian daughter of Isaac Singer, the sewing machine magnate, with her marriage to Prince Louis de Scey-Montbéliard lately annulled, arose.

Singer's social status could be improved by marrying a prince, even a poor one. And the arrangement would have other benefits: Winnaretta was not sexually interested in men at all. She was intimately interested in music, however, something the two did have in common. Polignac asked the Comtesse Greffulhe to sound out Madame Singer on the subject of a mariage blanc (unconsummated marriage), in which each partner would have their own bed but would share artistic interests. Montesquiou, who collaborated with Winnaretta on some artistic projects, asked her to speak with Madame Greffulhe, and there the arguments were reviewed; her social position, compromised by divorce, would be improved by an alliance with one of the oldest and most distinguished aristocratic families in France; with the thirty-one year age difference, and the predilections of the bride and groom, Winnaretta would be free to lead her personal life as she wished, with no sexual demands from Edmond. You got that?

The advantages clear, a friendship and affection grew. In November 1893, Edmond proposed marriage to Winnaretta, and she accepted, a year after the idea had first been broached. On December 16, 1893 the couple was married by the Abbé de Broglie in the Chapelle des Carmes. The union received the blessings of Pope Leo XIII. Montesquiou, who felt Edmond owed him a debt of gratitude for effecting this marriage of convenience, felt slighted when Edmond was not sufficiently effulgent, and the friendship was irrevocably broken.

DICK SARGENT, American actor (d. 1994); Sargent is best known for his portrayal of "the second Darrin Stephens" on the television series Bewitched. Later in life, he came out and supported Gay Rights issues. He had long hidden his sexual orientation, appearing with Lesbian actress Fannie Flagg on the 1970s game show Tattletales as a couple. The game show featured celebrity married couples, and Sargent and Flagg claimed they were dating.

In reality, Sargent lived with life partner Albert Williams until his death. In June 1992, and in keeping with Los Angeles’ unfathomable proclivity for selecting less than admirable, closety role models (putting a whole new spin on “there is no such thing as ‘bad’ publicity) to put forward (hey, at least Sargent was gay!...unlike a bimbo heiress who shall remain nameless...) Sargent was a Grand Marshal of the Los Angeles Gay Pride parade along with former co-star and LGBT ally. Elizabeth Montgomery. This writer always thought "Dick Sargent" would have made a great porn name.

TIM CURRY, British actor, born; Curry's first full-time role was as part of the original London cast of the musical Hair in 1968, where he first met Richard O’Brien who went on to write Curry's next full-time and perhaps still most famous role, that of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. Originally, Curry rehearsed the character with a German accent and peroxide blond hair, but the character evolved into the sly, very upper-class English mad scientist and transvestite that carried over to the movie version of The Rocky Horror Show and made Curry both a star and a cult figure. He continued to play the character in London, Los Angeles and New York until 1975.

For many years, Curry was reluctant to talk about Rocky Horror, feeling that it was a trend that had gone too far and had distracted attention away from his later roles. And aside from the iconic nature of the show, the other reason we include it here is this writer’s personal connection with it: I was one of the San Francisco Rocky’s on stage at the Montgomery Theater way back in 1976. And I have the photos to prove it.

BENJAMIN DISRAELI, who died on this date, was a British Conservative politician, writer and aristocrat who twice served as Prime Minister. He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party, defining its policies and its broad outreach. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone, and his one nation conservatism or "Tory democracy".

He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the glory and power of the British Empire. He is, as of 2015, the only British Prime Minister of Jewish birth. Disraeli was born in London. His father left Judaism after a dispute at his synagogue; young Benjamin became an Anglican at age 12.

Together with his sister's fiancé, William Meredith, Disraeli traveled widely in southern Europe and beyond in 1830–31. The trip was financed partly by another high society novel, The Young Duke, written by Disraeli in 1829–30. The tour was cut short suddenly by Meredith's death from smallpox in Cairo in July 1831. Despite this tragedy, and the need for treatment for a sexually transmitted disease on his return, Disraeli felt enriched by his experiences. He became, in Parry's words, "aware of values that seemed denied to his insular countrymen. The journey encouraged his self-consciousness, his moral relativism, and his interest in Eastern racial and religious attitudes."

After several unsuccessful attempts in which his opposition accused Disraeli of practicing “Eastern love”, i.e. homosexuality, Disraeli entered the House of Commons in 1837. When the Conservatives gained power in 1841, Disraeli was given no office by the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel. In 1846, Peel split the party over his proposal to repeal the Corn Laws, which imposed a tariff on imported grain. Disraeli clashed with Peel in the Commons. The Conservatives who split from Peel had few who were adept in Parliament, and Disraeli became a major figure in the party, though many in it did not favor him. When Lord Derby, the party leader, thrice formed governments in the 1850s and 1860s, Disraeli served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons. He also forged a bitter rivalry with the Liberal Party’s William Ewart Gladstone.

Cross-dressing Joan of Arc is beatified.

Mae West is sentenced to 10 days in jail for obscenity for her play SEX.

On this date a truck-bomb explosion outside the ALFRED P. MURRAH FEDERAL BUILDING in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, left 168 people dead and hundreds more injured. The blast was set off by a home-grown, ex-military, white anti-government militant terrorist, Timothy McVeigh, who in 2001 was executed for his crimes. His co-conspirator Terry Nichols received life in prison. Until September 11, 2001, the Oklahoma City bombing was the worst terrorist attack to take place on U.S. soil.