Origins & Early Life

Giles Stannus Cooper, OBE (9 August 1918 – 2 December 1966) was an Anglo-Irish playwright and prolific radio dramatist, writing over sixty scripts for BBC Radio and television. He was awarded the OBE in 1960 for "Services to Broadcasting". A dozen years after his death at only 48 the Giles Cooper Awards for Radio Drama were instituted in his honour, jointly by the BBC and the publishers Eyre Methuen. Giles Stannus Cooper was born into a landed Anglo-Irish family at Carrickmines near Dublin on 9 August 1918, the son of Guy Edward Cooper, a Royal Navy Commander, and nephew of politician and writer Bryan Ricco Cooper.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Cooper was educated at the prep school Arnold House School, St John's Wood, London, at Lancing College on the South Downs, and later studied languages in Grenoble in the French Alps and at a language school at San Sebastian in Northern Spain. It was here, with the Spanish Civil War raging around him, that he was shot through the arm one evening by a sniper's bullet, while on a mission to purchase cigarettes before dinner. The Royal Navy subsequently came to his rescue, gave him medical attention and dropped him off across the French border at St Jean de Luz...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Abdul Hamid II — Contemporary (Died in 1918) (1918): Last effective Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, navigating decline and constitutional upheaval.
• Abraham Pais — Contemporary (Born in 1918) (1918): Pioneering physicist and acclaimed science historian of modern physics.
• Adolfo Pedernera — Contemporary (Born in 1918) (1918): Argentine football legend, nicknamed 'El Maestro,' pivotal in the 1940s.
• A. R. Rahman — Contemporary (Born in 1966) (1966): Visionary Indian composer celebrated for blending global sounds with cinematic emotion.
• Abe Saperstein — Contemporary (Died in 1966) (1966): Founder of the Harlem Globetrotters, revolutionized black basketball.
• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — Contemporary (Born in 1966) (1966): Jordanian jihadist militant known for orchestrating violence in Iraq (1966–2006)
• Alexandre Alexeieff — Shared historical date (08-09 · Died) (1982): Russian-born artist, filmmaker, and illustrator known for inventing the pinscreen technique.
• Almanzor — Shared historical date (08-09 · Died) (1002): Powerful Andalusian statesman and military leader who effectively ruled Islamic Iberia.
• Aaron Copland — Shared historical date (12-02 · Died) (1990): Pioneering American composer, conductor, and critic, known as the "Dean of American Music".
• Alicia Markova — Shared historical date (12-02 · Died) (2004): Pioneering British ballerina, choreographer, and founder of major ballet institutions.
• 1918 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1918
• August 9 (08-09) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on August 9
• 1966 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1966
• December 2 (12-02) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on December 2