1741 Andrea Luchesi – Italian composer (d.1801); served in a court chapel in Bonn with the teenaged Beethoven.
1794 Ignaz Moscheles – German-Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso (d.1870); was a trusted confidant of Beethoven, and a friend of Felix Mendelssohn.
1814 premiere of the final version of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera Fidelio at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna; the 17-year-old Franz Schubert was in the audience, having sold his schoolbooks to obtain a ticket; also the first performance of what is known as the Fidelio Overture, the last of the four overtures he wrote for the opera.
1826 American premiere of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni at New York City's Park Theater with Lorenzo da Ponte (Mozart's librettist) in the audience.
1901 Edmund Rubbra – English composer (d.1986); best known today for his 1938 orchestration of Johannes Brahms' piano work Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel.
1912 Jean Françaix – French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator (d.1987); known for his prolific output and vibrant style; the composer himself wrote that his family name is pronounced with the final "x" sounded (as in ‘Aix’-en-Provence), although it is commonly pronounced ‘Français’ in both Europe and America.
1934 Robert Moog – American electronics engineer (d.2005); invented the synthesizer bearing his name which was made famous by performers such as Wendy Carlos (of Switched-On Bach fame).
1943 first performance of Samuel Barber’s Commando March in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with the Army Air Force Technical Training Command Band led by the composer.
1949 Carol E. Barnett – American composer (76 years old); composer-in-residence with the Dale Warland Singers, 1992-2001.
1964 William T. Stromberg – American conductor and composer (61 years old); noted for his work with film scores.