1882-07-08

PERCY GRAINGER, Australian-born composer, born (d: 1961); A composer, pianist, and champion of the saxophone and the concert band, who worked under the stage name of Percy Aldridge Grainger. Lots and lots of people had crushes on Grainger. He was the object of affection (or obsession) of several leading lights of his day, including composer Edvard Grieg and poet Vachel Lindsay.

Grainger was a sado-masochist, with a particular enthusiasm for flagellation, who extensively documented and photographed everything he did. His walls and ceilings were covered in mirrors so that after sessions of self-flagellation he could take pictures of himself from all angles, documenting each image with details such as date, time, location, whip used, and camera settings. Percy was kinky.

He gave most of his earnings from 1934–1935 to the University of Melbourne for the creation and maintenance of a museum dedicated to himself. Along with his manuscript scores and musical instruments, he donated the photos, eighty-three whips, and a pair of his blood-soaked shorts. Although the museum opened in 1935, it was not available to researchers until the 1960s.