"April, the angel of the months, the young love of the year." – Vita Sackville-West

"Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever." – Charles Lamb

(Calendar scene for April: Courting. A game resembling rounders. The Golf Book, Latin, produced in Bruges, Netherlands, 1520-1530, Workshop of Simon Bening)

April 1 is the birthday of American muralist, illustrator, and painter EDWIN AUSTIN ABBEY (1852-1911).

Abbey "flourished at the beginning of what is now referred to as the 'golden age' of illustration, and is best known for his drawings and paintings of Shakespearean and Victorian subjects, as well as for his painting of Edward VII's coronation. His most famous set of murals, The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail, adorns the Boston Public Library." (Wikipedia)

To see examples of Abbey’s art, CLICK HERE.

April 1 is the birthday of Russian composer SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943).

"I feel like a ghost wandering in a world grown alien. I cannot cast out the old way of writing and I cannot acquire the new. I have made an intense effort to feel the musical manner of today, but it will not come to me."

Rachmaninoff "is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness, dense contrapuntal textures, and rich orchestral colours. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output and he used his skills as a performer to fully explore the expressive and technical possibilities of the instrument."

"My dear hands. Farewell, my poor hands."

(Said by Rachmaninoff on February 27, 1943, during his last illness, after having said that he would never be able to play again.)

April 1 is the birthday of "The Man of a Thousand Faces," silent film star LON CHANEY, SR. (1883-1930).

"A clown is funny in the circus ring, but what would be the normal reaction to opening a door at midnight and finding the same clown standing there in the moonlight?"

Chaney "is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted, characters, and his groundbreaking artistry with makeup. Chaney was known for his starring roles in such silent horror films as THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). His ability to transform himself using makeup techniques that he developed, earned him the nickname 'The Man of a Thousand Faces.'" (Wikipedia)

April 1 is the birthday of Japanese actor TOSHIRO MIFUNE (1920-1997).

Mifune is probably best known for his roles in various samurai films directed by Akira Kurosawa. In Kurosawa's YOJIMBO, Toshiro Mifune is the ultimate badass freelance samurai bodyguard who cleans up a corrupt Japanese village. The film was the inspiration for the classic spaghetti Western "A Fistful of Dollars."

April 1 is the birthday of American soul and jazz musician and poet GIL-SCOTT HERON (1949-2011).

"Color is not the issue in America; class is."

Scott-Heron "was an American jazz poet, singer, musician, and author known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackson fused jazz, blues, and soul with lyrics relative to social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles. He referred to himself as a 'bluesologist,'his own term for 'a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues.' His poem 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,' delivered over a jazz-soul beat, is considered a major influence on hip hop music." (Wikipedia)