CHARLES AZNAVOUR
Charles Aznavour was born in France on May 22, 1924, in a family of Armenian immigrants who arrived in France from Georgia at the end of 1923. His father, Mamikon Aznavuryan, was born in 1897 in Akhaltskha, Tiflis province (Aznavur's paternal grandfather, Misak Aznavuryan, was the chef of the governor of Tiflis). Aznavour's mother, Knar Baghdasaryan-Aznavoryan, was from a family of Armenian merchants and lived in Turkey. He studied at a children's art school. At the age of 5, Charles Aznavour made his stage debut. He played the violin. He sang and played on the stage from the age of 5 and already in 1936 he made his debut in cinema. At first, Aznavour performed a duet with composer Pierre Roche. They both were noticed by Edith Piaf and in 1946 Aznavour and Roche took part in her US tour. Like Charles, Pierre was a young composer and musician, and played the piano. The duet was called "Roshe and Aznavour", where Roshe sang more often and Aznavour's voice was not liked by everyone. He wrote more music and lyrics for the songs his partner performed. In the mid-1950s, he selected playlists of his own songs suited his unique voice and set out for North America. Charles' songs became hits in an instant. After 3 years, every performance of the chansonnier was an event. Aznavour wrote the songs of Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Liza Minnelli, Julio Iglesias and other great artists. Aznavour performed a duet with Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Pavarotti, P. Domingo, P. Kaas, Minnelli, Segara and others. Aznavour's world-famous songs include "Bohème" (Fr. La Bohème), "Mama", "Eternal Love", "Immortal Joy", "Youth", "Isabella", "Nostalgia", "He", "Ave Maria", etc. At the age of 90, Aznavour gave a speech in Moscow at the Crocus City Hall on April 22, 2015. The two-hour concert was a complete success. On August 24, 2017, Aznavour received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the "Best Live Performance". His star became the 2618th and is located next to the Pantages theater, where Aznavour performed a concert in October 2016. On April 25, 2018, Charles Aznavour was hospitalized in St. Petersburg, he died on October 1, 2018 in Muries, at the age of 95. The national farewell ceremony with the participation of the President of France and the Prime Minister of Armenia took place on October 5. He is buried in the family cemetery.
During his musical career (starting from 1940), he recorded about 1200 songs in different languages: French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Armenian, Russian, Neapolitan. He has written and co-written more than 1,000 compositions both for himself and for other musicians. Aznavour is one of the most famous singers in the French language.
Not forgetting about art, since 1995 he has represented Armenia in many international diplomatic instances. In 2008, Aznavour received Armenian citizenship, since May 2009 he was the ambassador of Armenia in Switzerland and the permanent representative of Armenia at the UN office in Geneva and other international organizations.
HOVHANNES AIVAZOVSKY
The famous sea painter Hovhannes Aivazovsky was born on
July 17 (29), 1817 in Theodosia. His father, Gevorg Ayvaz or Hayvaz (later
Konstantin Hayvazovsky), was a small merchant who emigrated from Moldavia to
Crimea.
Aivazovsky created about 6000 canvases, he worked very
quickly, with the help of his enormous visual memory. Most of his works are on
marine themes. He depicted the sea in different seasons of the year, at
different times of the day, stormy and peaceful, he deeply felt and reproduced
the majesty of the sea. Aivazovsky also created many paintings dedicated to
Armenia: "Valley of Mount Ararat" 1882, "Ararat" 1868,
"Oath of the Armenian Warrior" 1891, "Baptism of the Armenian
People" 1892, etc. The "View of Tiflis" created in 1868 is one
of the first paintings of the Armenian domestic genre. For the first time, he
depicted Lake Sevan, Ararat and the Ararat valley.
Aivazovsky's
paintings are kept in famous museums of the world, the State Gallery of Armenia
is also rich with his paintings. The largest collection is located in the Theodosia
Aivazovsky Gallery. That gallery was founded by Aivazovsky himself. At
first it was his home and studio, in 1846 Aivazovsky he opened an exhibition
there, and in 1880 he turned it into a public gallery. In 1941 the gallery's
funds and archive were saved from the war and moved to Yerevan. In 1942 on the
125th anniversary of Aivazovsky's birth, the collection of Aivazovsky's
paintings was exhibited in Yerevan which was returned to Theodosia in 1944. In 1946
the restoration of the building that was damaged because of the war was
completed and the gallery, the only museum of marine painting in the territory
of the former USSR, began to function again.
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RAYMOND VAHAN DAMADIAN
Raymond Vahan Damadian is the creator of
magnetic resonance tomography.
"They thought I was crazy when I
presented to the audience the seemingly stupid idea that a person can be put in
a magnet," said the renowned scientist.
Raymond Vahan Damadian, born on March 16,
1936, in New York, he is an Armenian inventor who invented the magnetic
resonance imaging diagnostic device, which enables the examination of internal
organs without surgical intervention.
Damadian
received a bachelor's degree in mathematics in the Medical University of
Wisconsin in Madison in 1956. Later, in 1960, he received a doctor's degree at
the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. At the age of 8, he
studied violin at the Juilliard School.
In 1988, the
scientist received the National Medal of Technology. The first example of the
scanner is now exhibited at the National Inventors Hall of Fame (Akron, Ohio,
USA). His work has been recognized at several universities in the United
States. Damadian died on August 3, 2022 in New York.
ASHKHEN HOVAKIMIAN (AGNES JOAQUIM )
Ashkhen Hovakimian (Agnes Joaquim) is the first female horticulturist, by whose hand "Miss Joaquim" (orchid), a hybrid of Burmese and Malayan orchids, became the national symbol of Singapore.
British and Singaporean scientist-horticulturist Ashkhen Hovakimian of Armenian origin received the famous "Vanda Miss Joaquim" type of orchid.
Agnes was born in Singapore on April 7, 1854, in the wealthy family of Barsegh and Urelia Joaquim (the Hovakimians). They had eleven children. Agnes was the eldest daughter and the second child in the family. Agnes' father, Barsegh, was a commercial agent in Singapore. He was a well-known philanthropist and had considerable property and investments, which, after his sudden death in 1872, passed to the whole family. Her mother, Urelia, was engaged in gardening.
Agnes' maternal grandfather, Yesai Zakaria, was one of the first members of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, as well as the leader of the local Armenian community. Agnes, like her mother, was interested in gardening and was an active member of the Armenian community. She grew orchids in the garden of their family property. Attending flower exhibitions every year, Agnes had amassed an impressive collection of awards. Only in 1893-1895, she won a total of twenty-seven first and fifteen second prizes at the three annual Singapore exhibitions. And Agnes won fame in 1899, when she presented the orchid she grew at a flower exhibition, which later received the creator's name: "Vanda Miss Joaquim". In the same year 1899, three months after the awarding ceremony, Agnes, suffering from cancer, died. She was buried in the Bukit Timah cemetery and in the middle of the 20th century, her tombstone was moved from the burial place to the courtyard of the Armenian Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church.
In 1947, the flower was chosen as the symbol of the country's Progressive Party and in 1981, as the national flower, a symbol of all of Singapore.
2015 Ashkhen Hovakimian's name was included in the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.
CHER
Sherilyn Sarkisian was born on May 20, 1946 in El Centro, California, a famous Armenian-American pop singer, songwriter, actress, director and music producer of Armenian origin. She was often called as the "Goddess of Pop", she is known for her enchanting voice and has won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, three Golden Globes and various other awards. She set a new standard in the history of the American hit parade, becoming the first singer whose songs topped the American hit parade for six decades.
Her father, Armenian-American John Paul Sarkisian, was a truck driver. Her mother, Georgia Holt, was an actress, she has Native American, English and French origin. Cher's parents divorced when she was young. She has a sister. Cher saw her father when she was only eleven years old.
In 1962 Cher met Sonny (Salvatore) Bono at a cafe who was the assistant to music producer Phil Spector. He offers Cher to live at him, in exchange for which she would clean the house and prepare food. Soon their relationship becomes closer and they get married. At that time Cher worked as a session singer in Phil Spector's studio on backing vocals and participated in the recordings of such classic songs as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (The Righteous Brothers), "Da Doo Ron Ron" (The Crystals) and "Be My Baby" (The Ronettes).
Cher's first solo recording was "Ringo, I Love You" in 1964 under the pseudonym Bonnie Jo Mason, as Spector believed that the name Sherilyn was not "American" enough. Sonny began writing and releasing songs, as a result of which the duo "Sonny and Cher" released their first album ''Look at Us'' in 1965. Sonny insisted that the first single of the album were the song "I Got You Babe", which neither the management of the label nor Cher believed. Then, he takes the song to the radio, it is broadcasted in a program, during which listeners are offered to vote for their favorite composition by phone. Sonny and Cher with their friends start calling the radio station to vote for "I Got You Babe". The popularity of the song is growing and soon the single tops the US and UK hit parads.
In 1974 Sonny and Cher divorced and their show closed. After divorcing Sonny, Cher married musician Gregg Allman. In 1979, the singer legally changed her name to Cher. Cher arrived in Armenia on April 28, 1993. She brought with her 2,5 million dollars in humanitarian aid: medicine, medical devices and food. She visited orphanages, children's hospitals.
Seeing the sick children, Cher refused to meet with the president and the Catholicos of All Armenians due to heavy impressions.