On June 12, the historic conviction of Nelson Mandela took place and the poet Irina Mavrodin was born. Also on June 12, the literary critic Alexandru Balaci and the writer Anne Frank were born.
Nelson Mandela's sacrifice for freedom
1915: American philanthropist David Rockefeller was born
The youngest and last living grandson of John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil and America's first billionaire, David Rockefeller was the only one of John Rockefeller Jr.'s five sons to build his entire career in the corporate environment. His death marked the end of an era in the history of the famous family.
Known as “The Brothers”—David, Laurance, John, Nelson, and Winthrop—they profoundly influenced American business, politics, philanthropy, and art.
David Rockefeller PHOTO: Archive
David was close to many world leaders, from Deng Xiaoping and Nelson Mandela to the Shah of Iran and Henry Kissinger. He was also a generous philanthropist, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to social causes, museums and universities.
The Rockefeller family was also present in Romania, through the Europa Capital investment fund, part of the American financial group, which together with RPF Development developed the Vitan Residence and Tineretului Park residential complexes in Bucharest.
1916: The literary critic and historian Alexandru Balaci was born
Alexandru Balaci was born in the town of Aurora in Mehedinți County. He attended the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest. Later, between 1952-1959, he was editor-in-chief at the State Publishing House for Literature and Art.
Alexandru Balaci PHOTO: Wikipedia
Between 1962 and 1965 he held the position of vice-chancellor of the University of Bucharest. He was vice-president of the State Council for Culture and Art, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Romanian Life” etcand vice president of the Romanian Writers' Union.
In 1994 he was elected full member of the Romanian Academy.
Alexandru Balaci died in 2002.
1929: Irina Mavrodin, poet, essayist, translator and university professor, was born
Irina Mavrodin (b. June 12, 1929 – d. May 22, 2012) was a professor of French literature (initially at the University of Bucharest, later a consulting professor at the University of Craiova), Romanian translator of the French language, poet and essayist.
He translated the cycle of novels “In Search of Lost Time” of Marcel Proust.
The poet was educated in Focşani towards the end of the interwar period, at the Unirea High School, and she remained attracted to the places of her childhood, in Satu Nou, near Panciu, until the end of her life.
He published a series of books that have become first-rate bibliographic landmarks; had an important contribution in the field of literary theory and history, as well as in the field of literary translation.
Irima Mavrodin PHOTO: ICR
She is the author of numerous volumes of important translations, poems and essays.
The writer confessed in an interview that during her student days she deified her colleague in the field of writing, the poet, essayist and translator Mircea Ivănescu, whom she proposed to marry.
A relationship “of being and not being together“, as Irina Mavrodin characterizes her.
A few years before her death, Irina Mavrodin defined her youth as extremely beautiful.
“I had great loves, about which perhaps one day I will write, and great unhappiness from love. I was hopeless, destroyed, and yet I believed only in love, in the love between a man and a woman, which seemed to me the supreme value. At the same time, as if it were two beings and not one, I wrote my books with the hand of another, as it were, I delivered my lectures as if with the mouth of another. Everything was as it should be, everything is good as it was, I say looking back at my youth, my life. Let's not forget that there was also a context, almost dead now: an artistic, literary bohemia, which had its own brilliance and flavor”.
1929: Anne Frank, author of a famous diary about the Holocaust, was born
Anne Frank was born on June 12, 1929 and hid with her family in an annex in Amsterdam from 1942–1944. He kept a diary that became one of the best-known documents of the Holocaust.
Anne Frank
After the betrayal, the family was deported, and Anne and her sister died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. Her father, Otto Frank, the only survivor, published the diary. The original manuscript is preserved in the Anne Frank Memorial House in Amsterdam, being included in the UNESCO Heritage.
1941: American pianist Chick Corea was born
Armando Anthony “Chick” Corea (b. June 12, 1941, Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA) is an American musician. He is a multiple Grammy Award winner in the American Jazz Pianist/Keyboardist and Composer categories.
He became very well known through his activity in the 70s, promoting the style of jazz fusion or jazz-rock as it was called at the time. It can be said that he directly contributed to the birth of this style of jazz. He was part of the famous ˝Miles Davis Band˝ taking part in the legendary recordings of Miles Davis in the late 60s, early 70s.
June 7: The day when the athlete Iolanda Balaș set the world record in the high jump
In the 70s he formed his own jazz group ˝Return to Forever˝, with which he continued to explore fusion sounds.
In the 80's and '90's he had numerous other collaborations exploring various musical styles. In 2010 he was appointed an honorary doctor of the Norwegian Technical and Scientific University (NTNU) in Trondheim.
1964: South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in Transkei, South Africa. Originally from the Thembu royal family of Mvezo, South Africa, he studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of the Witwatersrand, eventually practicing law in Johannesburg.
He became deeply involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, becoming one of the most important anti-apartheid activists in South Africa.
In 1963, he was arrested for his role as a leader in the liberation movement against apartheid and for his unwavering commitment to the inherent right of individuals to live in freedom.
On June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was imprisoned on Robben Island, located off the coast of Cape Town.
Nelson Mandela PHOTO: Archive
As inmates were identified by their prison number and year, “46664” became Nelson Mandela's defining identifier.
His release in 1990 became a turning point in South Africa's political landscape, fueling crucial debates and catalyzing the country's transformation into a multiracial democracy.
After his release from prison, Mandela continued to advocate for racial reconciliation in his country and supported initiatives aimed at healing a divided nation.
In recognition of his tireless efforts, he was elected President of South Africa in 1994, serving until 1999.
In 1993, he received the Nobel Peace Prize alongside former South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk.
The formation of the Elders in 2007, an independent group of world leaders who harness their wisdom and experience to promote peace, alleviate human suffering and uphold the common interests of humanity, is due to Mandela's post-presidential efforts.
He died at the age of 95 on December 5, 2013.
1991: Boris Eltin is elected president of the Russian Federation
Boris Yeltsin, former president of the Russian Federation
Boris Nikolaievich Yeltsin (b. February 1, 1931 in Sverdlovsk [azi Ekaterinburg]Russia, USSR – d. April 23, 2007), was, in 1991, the first president of Russia, as well as the first directly elected leader in the history of this country.
2003: American actor Gregory Peck died
Gregory Peck won the Oscar in 1962 for his role in To Kill a Mockingbird and was honored with numerous awards throughout his career, including the Medal of Freedom and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
June 8: Prince Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen becomes king of Romania under the name Carol II
Gregory Peck, American actor
Iconic figure of Hollywood, in 1991 Gregory Peck was appointed “Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters” in 1991.
2023: Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi died
Silvio Berlusconi died exactly one year ago, at the age of 86, in the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, where he had been hospitalized.
The former Italian businessman and prime minister was suffering from leukemia.
Silvio Berlusconi was born on September 29, 1936, in Milan. He graduated with honors in 1961 from the Faculty of Law of the State University of Milan. He entered the media market in 1976, when he founded the cable television station Telemilano Cavo. Two years later, he founded the Fininvest holding, which, over time, would include numerous companies from fields such as food, construction and media, including the Mediaset television group, notes Agerpres.
In 1980, Berlusconi founded Canale 5, Italy's first private television channel with national coverage. From 1986 until 2017, he was the owner of the AC Milan football club, which increased his reputation both nationally and internationally.
He entered politics in 1993, as the founder of the center-right party Forza Italia, whose president he was until 2009. Between 2009 and 2013 he led the People of Freedom Party, and in November 2013 he brought back the Forza Italia formation on the political scene.
Silvio Berlusconi PHOTO: Getty Images
In 2009, Forbes magazine placed Silvio Berlusconi on the 12th place in the list of the most powerful people in the world.
Berlusconi was a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies for several terms, but also a member of the European Parliament, between July 20, 1999 and June 10, 2001. In the European parliamentary elections of July 2, 2019, he obtained a new mandate.
On August 1, 2013, the Italian Court of Cassation confirmed Silvio Berlusconi's prison sentence for tax fraud, after he had been sentenced at first instance and on appeal to four years in prison.
He was never imprisoned, because Italian law prevents the detention of people over the age of 70.
