July 15, 1904: Anton Chekhov Dies

July 15, 1904: Anton Chekhov dies of tuberculosis in Badenweiler, a health-resort town in the Black Forest, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He was 44 years old.

Regarded as Russia's greatest playwright, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860 in Taganrog, in Rostov Oblast, in the southern portion of European Russia. (An "oblast" is an administrative division, like what America calls "States.") He became a physician, but, as a man unmarried for most of his life, admitted, "Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress."

Chekhov renounced the theatre after the poor reception of his play The Seagull in 1896, but the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also produced Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, and premiered his last two plays, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

These four works present a challenge to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of conventional action Chekhov offers a "theatre of mood" and a "submerged life in the text." The plays that Chekhov wrote were not complex, but easy to follow, and created a somewhat haunting atmosphere for the audience.

"Chekhov's gun" is a popular literary device: The idea is that, if you're going to mention something in your narrative, it should be part of the story. In other words, Chekhov believed that, if you write about a gun being in the room, at some point in the story, that gun must be fired.

Chekhov at first wrote stories to earn money, but as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal innovations that influenced the evolution of the modern short story. He made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions, not to answer them.

But he was always unhealthy, and by 1884 had already begun to suffer from tuberculosis. Actress Olga Knipper had appeared in all 4 of his plays, and he married her in 1901, when he was 41 and she was 32. They had no children. The character of Masha in Three Sisters is said to be based on her, although Chekhov also had a sister named Masha. 

On June 3, 1904, like many TB patients before and after, he headed for a town known for its health spas, in his case Badenweiler, taking Olga with him. She described his death on July 15:

Anton sat up unusually straight and said loudly and clearly (although he knew almost no German): Ich sterbe ("I'm dying"). The doctor calmed him, took a syringe, gave him an injection of camphor, and ordered champagne. Anton took a full glass, examined it, smiled at me and said: "It's a long time since I drank champagne." He drained it and lay quietly on his left side, and I just had time to run to him and lean across the bed and call to him, but he had stopped breathing and was sleeping peacefully as a child.

Olga lived on until 1959. It's been suggested that Pavel Chekov, the Russian navigator on the original Star Trek series, was named for Anton Chekhov, but the names are spelled differently.

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July 15, 1904 was a Friday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Highlanders beat the Cleveland Naps, 3-2 at Hilltop Park in Upper Manhattan. The game went 15 innings, and both starters went the distance: Jack Powell for New York, and Earl Moore for Cleveland.

Al Orth, known as "The Curveless Wonder," outpitched future Hall-of-Famer Addie Joss, known as "The Human Hairpin" because of his pitching motion. Jimmy Williams singled home Norman "Kid" Elberfeld to win the game in the bottom of the 9th.

In 1913, the Highlanders renamed themselves the Yankees. Cleveland's 2nd baseman, manager and namesake was Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, who did not play in this game. Nor did the Highlanders' biggest star, "Wee" Willie Keeler. After Lajoie he left in 1914, the team was renamed the Cleveland Indians. In 2022, they renamed themselves again, the Cleveland Guardians.

* The New York Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2 at The Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. Christy Mathewson was the winning pitcher. Sam Mertens went 4-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs.

* The Brooklyn Superbas, forerunners of the Dodgers, beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0 at Robison Field in St. Louis. Ned Garvin pitched a 3-hit, 10-inning shutout.

* The Boston Americans, forerunners of the Red Sox, beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at Columbia Park in Philadelphia.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Washington Senators, 7-2 at American League Park in Washington.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 0-for-1 with 3 walks.

* And the Boston Beaneaters, forerunners of the Braves, beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at the West Side Grounds in Chicago.

May 26, 1933: Jimmie Rodgers Dies

May 26, 1933: Jimmie Rodgers, known as "The Father of Country Music" and "The Singing Brakeman," dies. He was only 35 years old, and had a lot more to say.

James Charles Rodgers was born on September 8, 1897 in Meridian, Mississippi. His father was named Aaron Rodgers, but he wasn't a football player: He was a railroad worker, and Jimmie followed him into the field. He became a brakeman, but had already won a singing contest at age 13. By 1924, his destiny had been set: He had become a recorded musician, and he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis.

On November 30, 1927, in Camden, New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia -- okay, it wasn't in the South, but it was in South Jersey -- he recorded "Blue Yodel #1," also known by its refrain, "T for Texas." He became known as America's foremost yodeler, and his songs incorporated blues influences from black performers.

This was emphasized in 1930, when he got together with trumpeter Louis Armstrong and his wife, pianist Lil Harding Armstrong, in Los Angeles -- okay, it wasn't in the South, but it was in Southern California -- to record "Standing On the Corner," also known as "Blue Yodel #9." One thing Jimmie and Louis, who only sang on this record, without singing on it, was plenty of attitude, and this song has plenty.

Rodgers married twice, and had 2 children with his 2nd wife, but both marriages ended soon due to his drinking. He drank for several reasons, the increasing pain from his tuberculosis being the biggest. But his health woes sapped his finances, so he had to keep touring, all over the South and the Midwest, and back up to Camden to record at RCA Victor's studio there.

On May 17, 1933, he went up to New York to record at RCA's studio at 153 East 24th Street. He recorded 6 songs while sitting on an easy chair, was propped up by pillows to reach the microphone and frequently paused the sessions to give him rest. A new session was scheduled for May 24, in which he recorded 4 songs, and lay on a cot between takes. At the end of the day, he was helped into a cab and returned to his hotel.

The next day, he felt better, and asked his driver to take him to Coney Island. That night, at his hotel, his cough returned with a vengeance, and he developed a hemorrhage. The hotel's doctor could not be found, and he died the next morning.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had its initial class of inductees in 1986, Jimmie Rodgers was inducted in the "Early Influences" category.

On September 18, 1933, nearly 4 months after James Charles Rodgers died, James Frederick Rodgers was born in Camas, Washington. He, too, became known as "Jimmie Rodgers," and sang rock and roll in a country style, having hits including his song "Honeycomb," which hit Number 1 in 1957. However, he has not been elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died in 2021.

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May 26, 1933 was a Friday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 8-6 at Yankee Stadium. Paul Gregory outpitched Red Ruffing. Luke Appling hit a home run. Babe Ruth went 0-for-5, and Lou Gehrig went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Giant manager Bill Terry, still active as a player, did not put himself into the game. Mel Ott went 0-for-4. Paul Waner went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Lloyd Waner also went 2-for-4, but, as the leadoff hitter, had no RBIs.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Redland Field in Cincinnati. The following season, Powel Crosley bought the Reds, and renamed the ballpark Crosley Field.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-5 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 10-1 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Hank Greenberg went 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Jimmie Foxx singled in the 2nd inning, and then left the game.

* The Washington Senators were leading the St. Louis Browns, 5-2 at Griffith Stadium in Washington, in the bottom of the 7th inning, when the game was halted by rain.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Boston Braves, 4-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Billy Herman hit a sacrifice fly to score Lynn Nelson with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Ernie Orsatti singled Dizzy Dean home with the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning. Dean went the distance for the win. For the Phillies, Chuck Klein went 4-for-6 with a home run 2 RBIs, and Virgil Davis went 4-for-5.