1796 ~ The 1st ELEPHANT went to live in the United States (from India) on this 13th day of April in 1796.

1808 ~ ANTONiO MEUCCi an Italian-American inventor, known by several sources as the original inventor of the the telephone, was born on this 13th day of April in 1808 (died 1889 aged 81). Antonio set up a form of voice communication link in his home at Staten Island, connecting his 2nd floor bedroom to his laboratory, in which he submitted a patent caveat to the U.S. Patent Office in 1871, for his telephonic device. But there was no mention of electromagnetic transmission of vocal sound in his caveat. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for the electromagnetic transmission of vocal sound by undulatory electric current.

1870 ~ The New York City METROPOLiTAN MUSUEM of ART, one of the world’s largest art galleries was founded on this 13th day of April in 1870. It contains more than 2 millionworks in its permanent collection.

1899 ~ ALFRED BUTTS an American architect who invented SCRABBLE was born on this 13th day of April in 1899 (died in 1993 aged 93, only 9 days before his 94th birthday)

1933 ~ The 1st flight over MOUNT EVEREST was made by Lord Clydesdaleon this 13th day of April in 1933.

1923 ~ DON ADAMS best known as Maxwell Smart aka Agent 86 in Get Smart  was born on this 13th day of April in 1923 (died in 2005 aged 82). This is the 1st episode from 1965…

1941 ~ Alan Jones the Australian radio broadcaster was born on the 13th April 1941.

1945 ~ JUDY NUNN the Australian actress and author, best known as Ailsa in Home and Away, was born on this 13th day of April in 1945.

1946 ~ AL GREEN the American soulsinger and pastor was born on this 13th day of April in 1946. “Let’s Stay Together” from 1971 was Al’s biggest hit, it’s still a great song to this day…

1951 ~ PEABO BRYSON the American singer was born on this 13th day of April in 1951.

1970 ~ An oxygen tank aboard APOLLO 13 exploded, putting the crew in great danger while causing major damage to the spacecraft on the way to the Moon, on this 13th day of April in 1970.

1975 ~ LOU BEGA the musician and artist, most famous for his song “Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…)” was born in Germany on this 13th day of April in 1975. 

1997 ~ TiGER WOODS became the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament on this 13th day of April in 1997, aged 21.

2012 ~ FRiDAY THE 13TH MOON photographed today by Anton K. Kressnig… 

2013 ~ PSY’s GENTLEMAN MUSiC ViDEO was uploaded on YouTube on the 13th April 2013. The following day Psy was awarded the Most viewed video online in 24 hours Guinness World Record on the 14th April 2013, after his new music video Gentleman, received 38.4 million views on YouTube within it’s first 24 hours (actual total views = 38,409,306).

1557 ~ Cuenca was founded in Ecuador on the 12th April 1557.

1606 ~ The UNiON FLAG was adopted as the flag of Great Britain on the 12th April 1606.

1932 ~ TiNY TiM the singing ukulele player who tiptoed us through the tulips in 1968, was born on the 12th April 1932 (died in 1996 aged 64).

1934 ~ The strongest surface wind gust in the world was measured at 231 mph on the 12th April 1934, on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire.

1935 ~ 1st flight of the Bristol Blenheim was on the 12th April 1935.

1937 ~ Sir Frank Whittle ground-tested the 1st jet engine designed to power an aircraft on the 12th April 1937, at Rugby, England.

1945 ~ U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt died while in office on the 12th April 1945. Vice-president Harry Truman was then sworn in as the 33rd President.

1955 ~ The Polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, was declared safe and effective on the 12th April 1955.

1940 ~ HERBiE HANCOCK the American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer was born on the 12th April 1940.

1946 ~ ED O’NEiLL aka Al Bundy on Married… with Children and Jay Pritchett on Modern Family, was born on the 12th April 1946.

1947 ~ DAViD LETTERMAN the American talk show host was born on the 12th April 1947.

1947 ~ ALEX BRiLEY the G.i singer from the ViLLAGE PEOPLE was born on the 12th April 1947. Alex arranged most of the vocals and harmonies for the Village People.

1950 ~ DAViD CASSiDY the singer aka Keith Partridge from The PARTRiDGE FAMiLY was born on the 12th April 1950.

1961 ~ MAGDA SZUBANSKi the Australian actress from The D-Generation, Fast Forward, Kath & Kim and the film Babe, was born on the 12th April 1961.

1971 ~ SHANNEN DOHERTY the American actress best known as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210 and Prue Halliwell in Charmed, was born on the 12th April 1971.

1974 ~ BELiNDA EMMETT the Australian actress and singer, married to Rove McManus , best known for her roles on Home and Away and All Saints, was born on the 12th April 1974 (died 11 November 2006 aged 32) R.i.P. Also see The Channel 7 Tribute to Belinda Emmett YouTube video

1980 ~ Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope at St. John’s, Newfoundland on the 12th April 1980.

1981 ~ The first launch of a SPACE SHUTTLE (Columbia) was launched on the STS-1 mission on the 12th April 1981.

1990 ~ Jim Gary‘s Twentieth Century Dinosaurs exhibition opened at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History on the 12th April 1990, in Washington, D.C..

1992 ~ Euro Disneyland officially opened on the 12th April 1992. The resort and its park’s name were subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.

1994 ~ Saoirse Ronan the Irish actress was born on the 12th April 1994. Saoirse is one of the youngest actresses ever to receive an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Saoirse Ronan is known for her roles in the film Atonement (2001), I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007), The City of Ember (2008), Death Defying Acts (2008), The Way Back (2010), Hanna (2011), The Lovely Bones (2009) and The Host (2013).

1994 ~ Canter & Siegel posted the 1st commercial mass Usenet spam on the 12th April 1994.

1999 ~ US President Bill Clinton was cited for contempt of court on the 12th April 1999, for giving “intentionally false statements” in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit.

2009 ~ Zimbabwe officially abandoned the Zimbabwe Dollar as its official currency on the 12th April 2009.

2012 ~ GLOBAL DAY OF ACTiON ON MiLiTARY SPENDiNG is promoted on on the 12th April annually. The aim of promoting awareness of the problems associated with military expenses, with the suggestion of such monies instead being used to promote human development. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated military spending as being US $1.531 billion worldwide in 2010. Research shows that bigger armies are built to keep a county safe from warfare during conflict, but the funds spent on weapons tend to drain resources from social, political, and economic development, that may actually be the root cause of conflict.

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed”. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

The negative effects not only include the direct ones of money and resources being spent on the weapons systems, but also the associated costs of negative health consequences of research, development, testing and the safe decommissioning of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. So let us start to practice and promote PEACE, let’s make LOVE, not war, and then there’ll be more money for the community at an individual level, such as building and maintaining infrastructure, education, health and psychological welfare, not warfare!

~ By Anton K. Kressnig

1869 – Gustav Vigeland the Norwegian sculptor was born on the 11th April 1869 (died 1943).

1876 – Paul Henry the Irish painter was born on the 11th April 1876 (died 1958).

1887 – Jamini Roy the Indian painter was born on the 11th April 1887 (died 1972).

1906 – Dale Messick the American illustrator was born on the 11th April 1906 (died 2005).

1919 – The International Labour Organization was founded on the 11th April 1919.

1930 – Anton LaVey the American occultist and founder of the Church of Satan was born on the 11th April 1930 (died 1997).

1935 ~ Father Abraham aka Pierre Kartner the Dutch singer-songwriter and musician was born Petrus Antonius Laurentius Kartner on the 11th 1935. Father Abraham has written about 1600 songs, and is best known for writing The Smurf Song in 1977. Father Abraham’s Smurf works have sold about 25 million copies. YouTube video: Father Abraham ~ The Smurf Song…

1958 ~ Stuart Adamson the English-Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and original lead singer of Big Country was born on the 11th April 1958, and sadly took his life on the 16th December 2001, aged 43. YouTube video: Big Country ~ In a Big Country (1983) ~ co-written by Stuart Adamson…

1960 – Jeremy Clarkson the English journalist was born on the 11th April 1960.

1963 – Nigel Pulsford the English guitarist from Bush was born on the 11th April 1963.

1966 ~ Lisa Stansfield the English singer and songwriter, was born on the 11th April 1966.

1970 – Apollo 13 was launched on the 11th April 1970.

1972 – The 1st edition of the BBC comedy panel game I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue was broadcast on the 11th April 1972, becoming one of the longest running British radio shows in history.

1976 ~ The APPLE I personal computer was created on the 11th April 1976. The original Apple Computer was released by the Apple Computer Company, now known as Apple Inc. They were designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak, while Steve Jobs had the idea of selling them. To finance this venture, Steve Wozniak sold his HP-65 calculator for $500, while Steve Jobs sold his VW van.

The Apple I sold for a price of US$666.66, because Wozniak “liked repeating digits”. There were estimated to be less than 50 Apple I computers in existence as of 2008, making it a very rare collector’s item, with a value of $14,000 – $16,000. However, in 2010, an Apple I sold for GB£133,250 ($210,000) at Christie’s auction house in London, but it also came with rare documents, original packaging with the return label showing Steve Jobs’ garage headquarters for Apple Computer Inc at his parents’ address, a personally typed and signed letter from Jobs answering technical questions about the computer, and the original invoice showing ‘Steven’ as the salesman.

1977 – London Transport‘s Silver Jubilee buses were launched on the 11th April 1977.

1979 – Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was deposed on the 11th April 1979.

1987 ~ Joss Stone the English soul singer, songwriter and actress, was born Jocelyn Stoker was born on the 11th April 1987.

1987 ~ Michelle Phan the American make-up demonstrator and entrepreneur who became notable as a YouTube celebrity was born the 11th April 1987. Michelle Phan’s official website: www.MichellePhan.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/MichellePhanOfficial | Twitter: www.Twitter.com/MichellePhan | YouTube channel with over 5 million subscribers: www.youtube.com/user/MichellePhan |  YouTube video: Draw My Life by Michelle Phan (over 3.5 million views)…YouTube video: Barbie Transformation Tutorial by Michelle Phan (over 48 million views)…

2001 ~ Sir Harry Secombe the Welsh entertainer best known for playing Neddie Seagoon in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show (1951–60) died on the 11th April 2001, aged 79.  

Today in History for April 11th ~ video presented by the Associated Press… 

1710 – The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, entered into force in Great Britain on the 10th April 1710.

1778 – William Hazlitt the English critic and painter was born on the 10th April 1778 (died 1830).

1829 – William Booth the English founder of the Salvation Army was born was born on the 10th April 1829 (died 1912).

1877 – Alfred Kubin the Austrian illustrator and author was born on the 10th April 1877 (died 1959).

1912 – The Titanic left port in Southampton, England for her 1st and only voyage on the 10th April 1912.

1916 – Lee Jung Seob the Korean painter was born on the 10th April 1916 (died 1956)

1921 – Chuck Connors the American actor was born on the 10th April 1921 (died 1992).

1924 – Kenneth Noland the American painter was born on the 10th April 1924 (died 2010).

1925 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was 1st published in New York City on the 10th April 1925, by Charles Scribner’s Sons.

1932 – Omar Sharif the Egyptian actor was born on the 10th April 1932.

1936 ~ David A. Hardy the space artist was born on the 10th April 1936.

1947 – Bunny Wailer the Jamaican singer-songwriter and drummer from Bob Marley and the Wailers was born on the 10th April 1947.

1950 – Eddie Hazel the American guitarist from Parliament-Funkadelic was born on the 10th April 1950 (died 1992).

1953 – Warner Brothers premiered the 1st 3D film from a major American studio on the 10th April 1953, entitled House of Wax. YouTube video: House of Wax movie trailer (1953) ~ an American horror film starring Vincent Price and remake of Warners’ Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), without the comic relief featured in the earlier film…

1959 – Brian Setzer the American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Stray Cats was born on the 10th April 1959.

1960 – Katrina Leskanich the American lead singer of pop band Katrina and the Waves was born on the 10th April 1960.

1970 – Paul McCartney announced that he was leaving The Beatles on the 10th April 1970, because of personal and professional reasons.

1979 – Sophie Ellis-Bextor the English singer was born on the 10th April 1979.

1980 – Charlie Hunnam the English actor and screenwriter was born on the 10th April 1980.

1981 – Liz McClarnon the English singer from Atomic Kitten.

1988 – Haley Joel Osment the American actor was born on the 10th April 1988.

Today in History for April 10th ~ video presented by the Associated Press… 

1413 – Henry V was crowned King of England on the 9th April 1413.

1860 – Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville made the oldest known recording of an audible human voice on the 9th April 1860, on his phonautograph machine.

1926 ~ Hugh Hefner the American magazine publisher, and founder and chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises was born in Chicago, Illinois on the 9th April 1926. Hugh Hefner online: Playboy.com  | The Hugh M. Hefner Foundation  |  Twitter.com/HughHefner | YouTube video: Hugh Hefner Biography: Life & Career of the Playboy Founder ~ Despite criticism and controversy, he broke barriers with his ideas and projects…

1937 – The Kamikaze arrived at Croydon Airport in London on the 9th April 1937, it was the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.

1954 – Dennis Quaid the American actor, singer, and producer was born on the 9th April 1954.

1957 – The Suez Canal in Egypt was cleared and opened to shipping on the 9th April 1957.

1957 ~ Jamie Redfern the Australian television presenter and pop singer was born on the 9th April 1957. Jamie was a founding member of Young Talent Time and currently runs the Australian Showbusiness Academy with his wife Judy. Jamie was known as Australia’s little boy with the big voice in the 1970s, when he toured with Liberace, and Elvis Presley called him the best boy singer in the world, and Sammy Davis Junior publicly agreed. Read the Biography of Jamie Redfern, visit the official Jamie Redfern website, watch Jamie Redfern YouTube Videos, become friends on Jamie Redfern’s Facebook, see the Jamie Redfern Photo Gallery

1967 – The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) made its maiden flight on the 9th April 1967.

1978 – Rachel Stevens the English singer-songwriter from S Club was born on the 9th April 1978.

1990 – Kristen Stewart the American actress was born on the 9th April 1990.

2005 ~ KOKO the Australian Kelpie best known for his role as the title character of the 2011 film Red Dog was born on the 9th April 2005 (died 18th December 2012 aged 7). Koko was owned by Nelson Woss, a producer of Red Dog.

Today in History for April 9th ~ video presented by the Associated Press… 

1774 ~ Kaspar Anton Karl van Beethoven the brother of Ludwig van Beethoven was born on the 8th April 1774 (died 15th November 1815).

1820 ~ Venus de Milo was discovered on the Aegean island of Melos on the 8th April 1820.

1904 ~ Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan was renamed Times Square on the 8th April 1904, after The New York Times.

1906 ~ Auguste Deter the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, died on the 8th April 1906.

1911 ~ Heike Kamerlingh Onnes the Dutch physicist discovered superconductivity on the 8th April 1911.

1918 ~ Charlie Chaplin & Douglas Fairbanks sold war bonds for World War I on the streets of New York City’s financial district on the 8th April 1918.

1947 ~ Steve Howe the English guitarist and songwriter from Yes and Asia was born on the 8th April 1947.

1959 ~ Grace Hopper led a team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people to discuss the creation of a new programming language on the 8th April 1959, that would be later called COBOL.

1962 ~ Evan Davis the English journalist, economist and presenter for the BBC was born on the 8th April 1962. Evan Davis is well known as the presenter for the BBC venture-capitalist programme Dragons’ Den. 

1963 ~ Julian Lennon the English singer-songwriter, actor, and photographer was born on the 8th April 1963.

1966 ~ Charlotte Dawson the New Zealand-Australian television host was born on the 8th April 1966.

1973 ~ Pablo Picasso the Spanish painter and sculptor died while drawing in his bed, in Mougins, France on the 8th April 1973 aged 91 (born in Málaga, Spain 25th October 1881). Picasso official website: www.Picasso.fr | YouTube video: The Power of Art – Picasso (complete episode)…

1975 ~ Anouk the Dutch singer was born on the 8th April 1975.

1992 ~ Arthur Ashe the retired tennis great announced that he had AIDS on the 8th April 1992, due to a blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.

2005 ~ The Funeral of Pope John Paul II was attended by over 4 million people on the 8th April 2005.

2008 ~ Bahrain World Trade Centre become the World’s first building to integrate wind turbines with its completion on the 8th April 2008.

Today in History for April 8th ~ video presented by the Associated Press… 

1613 ~ Gerrit Dou the Dutch painter was born on the 7th April 1613 (died 1675).

1739 ~  Dick Turpin the English criminal died on the 7th April 1739 (born 1705).

1883 ~ Gino Severini the Italian painter was born on the 7th April 1883 (died 1966).

1891 ~ Ole Kirk Christiansen the Danish businessman and founder of the Lego Group (died 1958).

1906 ~ Mount Vesuvius erupted and devastates Naples on the 7th April 1906.

1915 ~ BiLLiE HOLiDAY the American jazz singer and songwriter was born Eleanora Harris on the 7th April 1915, and died aged 44 in 1959.

1920 ~ RAVi SHANKAR the Indian musician, composer and sitar player was born on the 7th April 1920. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor, and received 3 Grammy Awards. In the 2000’s he still performs, often with his daughter Anoushka.  The Beatles’ lead guitarist George Harrison involved himself in several of Shankar’s projects, and can be seen in this > ViDEO < on this link, being taught Sitar by Ravi Shankar. The video below is of Ravi Shankar on the Dick Cavett Show…

1927 ~ The 1st distance public television broadcast was on the 7th April 1927, from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover.

1928 ~ James Garner the American actor was born on the 7th April 1928.

1930 ~ Yves Rocher the French businessman and founder of the Yves Rocher Company was born on the 7th April 1930 (died 2009).

1938 ~ Spencer Dryden the American drummer from Jefferson Airplane was born on the 7th April 1938 (died 2005).

1939 ~ David Frost the English journalist and game show host was born on the 7th April 1939. (died 31st August 2013 aged 74).

1941 ~ CORNELiA FRANCES the Australian actress aka as judge Morag Bellingham on Home and Away, sister Grace Scott on The Young Doctors, and host of The Weakest Link, was born on the 7th April 1941. This video shows Cornelia in the opening of The Young Doctors soap opera, seen on TV from 1976 to 1983…

1947 ~ Patricia Bennett the American singer from The Chiffons was born on the 7th April 1947.

1947 ~ Florian Schneider the German singer and drummer from Kraftwerk was born on the 7th April 1947.

1947 ~ HENRY FORD the American automobile manufacturer and founder of the Ford Motor Company died on the 7th April 1947, aged 83.

1948 ~ The World Health Organization was established by the United Nations on the 7th April 1948.

1948 ~ Carol Douglas the American singer was born on the 7th April 1948.

1949 ~ JOHN OATES  the American guitarist, songwriter and producer from Hall & Oates was born on the 7th April 1949.

1950 ~ WORLD HEALTH DAY was first held on this 7th April 1950.

1951 ~ JANiS iAN the American singer, songwriter, musician, and author was born Janis Fink on the 7th April 1951. Janis won a Grammy Award for At Seventeen in 1975. Another great song of Janis Ian is Fly Too High from 1979. At Seventeen is a beautiful song…

1954 ~ JACKiE CHAN the Chinese actor, director, producer, and martial artist was born on this 7th April 1954.

1955 ~ Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on the 7th April 1955.

1957 ~ SiMON CLiMIE the UK songwriter, producer and former lead singer of pop duo Climie Fisher was born on the 7th April 1957. “Love Changes (Everything)” from 1987 was their biggest hit…

1964 ~ RUSSELL CROWE the New Zealand / Australian actor was born on the 7th April 1964.

1964 ~ IBM announced the System/360 computer on the 7th April 1964. The System/360 models had 256 kB to 8 MB of internal main memory, the same memory size of a standard SD memory card in a 2012 digital camera.

1968 ~ Duncan Armstrong the Australian swimmer was born on the 7th April 1968.

1968 ~ Jennifer Lynch the American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer was born on the 7th April 1968.

1969 ~ iNTERNET was born on this 7th April 1969 with the publication of RFC aka Request for Comments.

1978 ~ Duncan James the English singer from Blue was born on the 7th April 1978.

1978 ~ The neutron bomb development was canceled by President Jimmy Carter was born on the 7th April 1978.

1983 ~ STS-6 astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson performed the 1st space shuttle spacewalk on the 7th April 1983.

2001 ~ MARS ODYSSEY was launched on the 7th April 2001. The robotic spacecraft for orbiting Mars was launched on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and reached Mars orbit on the 24th October in 2001. The NASA mission named as a tribute to Arthur C. Clarke cost US$297 million. On the 15th of December in 2010 The Odyssey broke the record for longest serving spacecraft at Mars, after 3,340 days of operation. As of 2012 it holds the record for the longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth, for over 10 years.

1320 ~ The DECLARATiON OF ARBROATH was signed on the 6th April 1320. TARTAN DAY has been celebrated on the 6th of April in the United States and Canada since the 1980’s, to celebrate the day the Declaration of Arbroath. In Australia has a similar International Tartan Day but it’s held on the 1st of July, the anniversary of the repeal of the 1747 Act of Proscription that banned the wearing of tartan.

1483 ~ RAPHAEL the Italian painter and architect was born on this 6th day of April in 1483 and also died on this 6th day of April in 1520 aged 37.

1820 ~ NADAR the French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist and balloonist was born on the 6th April 1820 (died 23 March 1910, 2 weeks before his 90th birthday).

1826 ~ GUSTAVE MOREAU the French painter was born on this 6th day of April in 1826 (died aged 72 on 18 April 1898).

1926 ~ GiL KANE the cartoonist who co-created the modern-day superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, was born on this 6th day of April in 1926 as Eli Katz (died aged 73 on 31 January 2000)

1930 ~ GANDHi raised a lump of mud and salt and declared, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.” on the 6th April 1930, beginning the Salt Satyagraha aka the Salt March. This influenced American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., and his fight for civil rights for blacks and other minority groups in the 1960s.

1933 ~ NEW BEER’S EVE  has been celebrated on the 6th of April since 1933 in the United States, to celebrate the end of Prohibition, after the signing into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, resulting in beer becoming legal on the following day, 7th April in 1933. Cheers!

1957 ~ ARiSTOTLE ONASSiS decided that being one of the wealthiest men in the World as the Greek shipping tycoon wasn’t enough, so he bought the Hellenic National Airlines, and founded Olympic Airlines, on this 6th day of April in 1957. See Pam Ann’s comedy sketch One world Alliance as Olympic Airlines hostess Malaka Pustis…

1969 – Paul Rudd the American actor was born on the 6th April 1969.

1974 ~ ABBA won the 19th annual Eurovision Song Contest on the 6th April 1974 with Waterloo.

1998 ~ TAMMY WYNETTE  the biggest-selling country female vocalists aka the First Lady of Country Music died on the 6th April 1998 aged 55. Tammy was best known for the biggest selling hit country single by a woman in history ~ Stand by Your Man (1968)

2012 ~ THOMAS KiNKADE aka America’s most-collected living artist, notable for the mass marketing of his idealised popular printed reproductions, died of natural causes on the 6th April 2012, aged only 54. Thomas Kinkade estimated his mass-produced works hung in 1 out of 20 US homes, with his business expanding to include his art on mugs, watches, calendars, greeting cards, puzzles, 120 books, themed housing developments, and an autobiographical film, with Peter O’Toole playing his art teacher.

Thomas Kinkade became a multimillionaire, reported to have earned $53 million for his art fom 1997 to May 2005, and the only artist to have a company on the New York Stock Exchange. According to some accounts, by 2000, his art business was taking up to $US250 million a year, but a few years later the value of his company fell so much, he bought it back for $US32 million. Despite having a devoted following that numbered in the millions, Kinkade was not taken seriously by most critics.

In memory of Thomas Kinkade “A Lifetime of Light” video…