American singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer (died 1993)

Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, songwriter, guitarist, conductor, actor, satirist, filmmaker, and activist. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he additionally produced nearly all the 60-plus albums he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. His discography is characterized by nonconformity, improvisation, sonic experimentation, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers.

Born

1940

December 21

Died

1993

Era

1940s

Country

—

About

Frank, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1940 Born
1993 Died

Also on December 21

What else happened on this day, through history

69 The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors.
1124 Pope Honorius II is consecrated, having been elected after the controversial dethroning of Pope-Elect Celestine II.
1140 After a siege of several weeks, the city of Weinsberg and its castle surrender to Conrad III of Germany.
1237 The city of Ryazan is sacked by the Mongol army of Batu Khan.

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The world in 1940

When Frank arrived

april 14 World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway, preceding a larger force which will arrive two days later.
april 23 The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
april 7 Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
april 8 The Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party elects Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal as General Secretary, marking the beginning of his 44-year-long tenure as de facto leader of Mongolia.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on December 21

Benedict Arnold 1615–1801 Rhode Island colonial governor (died 1678) Benjamin Disraeli 1804–1881 English journalist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1804) Frank Patrick 1885–1960 Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1960) Irakli Alasania 1973– Georgian colonel and politician, Georgian Minister of Defense Iris Cummings 1920–2025 American swimmer and aviator (died 2025) Jan Łukasiewicz 1878–1956 Polish-Irish mathematician and philosopher (died 1956) Jane Fonda 1937– American actress and activist Jeffrey Katzenberg 1950– American screenwriter and producer, co-founded DreamWorks Animation Leopold von Ranke 1795–1886 German historian, author, and academic (died 1886)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1940

Abbas Kiarostami 1940–2016 Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (born 1940) Abdurrahman Wahid 1940–2009 Indonesian journalist and politician, fourth President of Indonesia (born 1940) Bruce Chatwin 1940–1989 English-French author (born 1940) Bruce Lee 1940–1973 American actor and martial artist (born 1940) David Jason 1940– English actor, director, and producer Edmund White 1940–2025 American novelist, memoirist, and essayist (died 2025) Fabrizio De André 1940–1999 Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1999) Fran Tarkenton 1940– American football player and sportscaster George A. Romero 1940–2017 American director and producer (died 2017)

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Keep going

More to explore

Frank's birthday December 21 Frank's zodiac Sagittarius When Frank arrived 1940