Advanced search

Tezuka Osamu was born on November 3, 1928 in Toyonaka, Japan as the first child of Fumiko & Yutaka Tezuka. At 5, he & his family moved to the village of Kohama in Hyogo prefecture (present day city of Takarazuka). When he was 7, he entered Ikeda Elementary School in Osaka. Due to his diminutive stature, he was bullied a lot in school. His mother was a good story teller & would tell stories to him. His father was a big comic & animated movies fan. Therefore, he would do a private showing of movies he bought at his house. This influence would later inspire him to write story length comics that was as exciting as watching a movie. He drew his first comic when he was in 3rd grade titled Bin Bin Namachan, a story of a bald-headed boy that was modeled after himself. During those days, he read comics such as Norakuro & Nakamura Manga Library. He even drew a story about martians called Kaseijin Kuru! He also invented his famous character Hyotantsugi in a work he titled Fuku-chan to Uotsuri. . Another one of his works called Shina no Yoru caused quite a sensation.

His other love in life was insects. He would roam around the fields to study them & he would draw his own encyclopedia. One day, he found an insect named Osamushi, which resembled his name. Therefore, he adopted Osamushi as his pen name. He started to draw using pen & ink as well as write comics when he was 15. He self-published 13 books that year. In 1945, he entered Osaka University's medical division. The following year, he made his professional debut w/ the comic Maachan no nikki-cho in an Osaka children's newspaper. Later that year, he met Nanama Sakai at the Kansai manga club meeting & was asked to draw a feature length cartoon. W/ Sakai as story writer, he published Shin Takarajima the following year, selling 400,000 copies. He then went on to win 1st place at the YMCA for his piano performance. He was also a member of the university's acting club during & dabbled in school plays. What separated him from artists before him was that his comic had a 3-dimensional feel to his pictures & more lively motion to his characters.

In 1950, he began writing Jungle Taitei, which was published in the magazine Manga Shonen. After graduating from Osaka University the following year, he wrote the pilot episode for Tetsuwan Atom titled Atom Taishi, which was featured in the magazine Shounen. In 1952, he passed the exam to become a practicing physician. Atom Taishi ended in March & is renamed Tetsuwan Atom w/ syndication continuing until March 1968. He was in a dilemma as to which profession he would choose as his career: to be a manga artist or a doctor. He consulted his mother about his career choice & she advised him to choose whichever he loved the most. Encouraged by this, he chose manga.

In 1953, he moved to the now legendary Tokiwaso apartment where many young comic talents from all over Japan lived to start their career. Most of them were not only younger, but considered him as their guru, becoming a mentor. In 1959, he married Etsuko Okada. That same year, Tetsuwan Atom airs on Fuji TV featuring live actors. In 1961, he started his own animation production company called Tezuka Osamu Production Animation Department & beginning work on the pilot of animated version of Tetsuwan Atom. On January 1, 1963 Tetsuwan Atom starts airing on Fuji TV & is broadcasted by NBC as Astro Boy in the U.S. the following year. He followed up w/ the animated version of his comic Big X & W 3. In 1965, he created his 1st color anime Jungle Taitei, later airing in the Americas as Kimba the White Lion. His works from late the 60s such as Magma Taishi & 70s such as Mitsume ga tooru & Black Jack aren't as well known outside Japan, but he continued to draw at a prolific pace during those years. In 1972, due to internal strife, Mushi pro disintegrates. He later created another production company named after himself called Tezuka pro. During the 80s his work load slowly declined & he was more of a cultural icon, becoming a guest on many social events & TV interviews. He was also busy running his production company.

In 1988, he felt pain in his abdomen & underwent surgery. Not knowing this was due to stomach cancer as his his physician chose not to reveal his terminal illness, he was heard saying, "This doctor doesn't understand my question" as he asked about his condition. He passed away on February 9, 1989. Magazine headlines read Manga Taitei iku. Now, he's remembered as the greatest manga artist of all time, single-handedly jump starting both genre of modern day manga & anime with many manga artists were influenced by Tezuka's works. He was also 1 of the most prolific artist in the field w/ over 700 stories spanning over 170,000 pages to his credit . His impact on the entire social culture of Japan's also seen as immeasurable as he influenced so many different areas of art & society through his comics. Never in history has a comic artist influenced the society of a single country the way he did. He'll be remembered as the founding father of modern day manga.

Wrestler and weightlifter Henry J. "Milo" Steinborn was born on March 14, 1893 in Siegburg, Germany. Milo grew up near Dusseldorf. At age fifteen Steinborn left home to become a merchant sailor. While living in Australia in 1914 Milo was placed in German internment camps after World War I broke out. It was during his time spent in these internment camps that Steinborn developed in interest in both wrestling and weightlifting. Milo was released from the camps in 1919 and came to America two years later. Steinborn initially made a name for himself with his amazing feats of physical strength at Hermann's Gymnasium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: He not only lifted 375 pounds in the two-arm clean and jerk, 220 in the one-arm snatch, and 240 pounds in the one-arm clean and jerk, but also smashed old marks for the squat (Steinborn played a key role in popularizing the squat in America), the one-arm snatch, and the continental lift.

Milo began his career in professional wrestling in 1922. Steinborn wrestled in over 300 matches in such states as New York, Georgia, and Tennessee. On March 7, 1926 Milo was severely injured while performing his Leg Bridge act in which he held up a bridge with his legs acting as pillars while a car filled with passengers drove over the bridge; he resumed his wrestling career several months later after recovering from these injuries. Moreover, when he was 57 Steinborn lifted an 800-pound elephant at the 1950 Chicago World's Fair. In 1952 Milo moved from Richmond, Virginia to Orlando, Florida and retired from wrestling the following year. Steinborn opened his own gym in Orlando in 1960 and went on to operate said gym for eleven years. Moreover, Milo worked as a wrestling promoter for eleven years at the Orlando Sports Stadium, where his weekly shows drew thousands of people. He retired from the world of wrestling in 1978. In addition, Steinborn was still doing deep knee bends with 400 pounds on his shoulders in his early 70's and continued to lift weights well into his 80's (he was still able to squat 125 pounds at age 90). Milo died at age 95 on February 9, 1989 in Orlando, Florida. He was survived by his sons Henry and Dick Steinborn, sisters Anne S. and Toni Marie, and seven grandchildren.

Olga Shaganova-Obraztsova was born on 27 September 1904 in the Russian Empire. She was an actress, known for The Golden Key (1939). She was married to Sergey Obraztsov. She died on 9 February 1989 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].

Simon Virsaladze was born on 24 January 1909 in Tiflis, Russian Empire [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia]. He was a costume designer and production designer, known for Ballet Tales (1955), The Ballet of Othello (1960) and Bolshoi: The Golden Age (1987). He died on 9 February 1989 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia].

Lajos Szalma was born on 13 July 1912 in Miskolc, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was an actor, known for Az ígéret földje (1961), Keserü igazság (1956) and Áprilisi riadó (1962). He died on 9 February 1989 in Pécs, Hungary.

Magda Róna was born on 21 May 1902 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. She was an actress, known for A szerelem örökké él (1930). She was married to Ödön Palasovszky. She died on 9 February 1989 in Budapest, Hungary.