Happy Birthday June 11

English poet, playwright and critic Ben Jonson was born on June 11, 1572 in Westminster, London. As a child, Ben was said to be so ugly and ridiculously clothed that he was tormented by his schoolmates. He spent his time reading to forget his misery. The second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I, today he is best remembered for his satiric comedies and his lyric and epigrammatic poetry.

English landscape painter John Constable was born in East Bergholt, in Suffolk on June 11, 1776. He was the son of a wealthy corn merchant, Golding Constable, who owned several windmills and watermills. Constable's father was reluctant to let him pursue the uncertain career of an artist and insisted he went into the family business. Realizing that his son’s passion for art would not abate, Constable's father gave him an allowance enabling him to study at the Royal Academy in London.

John Constable by Daniel Gardner, 1796. By Stephencdickson - Wikipedia

Politician Jeannette Pickering Rankin was born on June 11, 1880. In 1916, she became the first woman to hold national office in the United States when, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives by the state of Montana. An ardent pacifist, she believed that President Franklin D. Roosevelt provoked war with the Japanese, and was the only member of Congress to vote against the declaration of war on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

For more June 11 anniversaries, including the marriage of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg to his cousin Nina Hagerup, the graduation of George S Patton from West Point, and the creation of the Pizza Margherita, check out OnThatDay.