Timeline May 1908

Events in May 1908 6

• 1844 – 1908 Pablo de Sarasate Spanish violin virtuoso Spanish violinist and composer whose Carmen Fantasy and Zigeunerweisen remain showpieces for every great violinist.
• 1908 – 1997 James Stewart (1908-1997) Died 2 July 1997, aged 89 James Stewart was an American actor known for films including It's a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, and Rear Window. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Philadelphia Story and received an honorary Oscar in 1985. He also served as a decorated bomber pilot during World War II.
• 1908 Oil at Masjed Soleyman The first Middle Eastern oilfield After seven years of drilling, a bankrupt concession and a telegram from London ordering him to stop, George Reynolds strikes oil in south-west Persia at fifty-one degrees before dawn. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company is formed the following year, becomes Anglo-Iranian, and eventually BP. The Royal Navy converts from coal to oil on the strength of it. Every subsequent argument about the Middle East runs through this well.
• 1908 – 1992 Robert Morley (1908-1992) Died 3 June 1992, aged 84 Robert Morley was an English actor known for character roles in films such as "The African Queen" and for his frequent appearances in British television advertisements. He was noted for his large, jovial screen presence and sharp wit. He worked in film and theater for over five decades.
• 1908 – 1989 Mel Blanc (1908-1989) Died 10 July 1989, aged 81 Mel Blanc was an American voice actor known as 'The Man of a Thousand Voices' for characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig. He voiced the majority of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes characters for decades. His work established many conventions of cartoon voice acting.
• 1908 – 1993 Don Ameche (1908-1993) Died 6 December 1993, aged 85 Don Ameche was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, from 1930s radio and film through a career resurgence with "Trading Places" and an Oscar-winning role in "Cocoon." He was famously, if inaccurately, credited by the public with inventing the telephone due to his role in a 1939 biopic of Alexander Graham Bell. He died of prostate cancer in Scottsdale, Arizona.