Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

James Horner

Role / Field:

Award-winning American film composer known for blending Celtic and electronic motifs.

Born:

1953-08-14

Died:

2015-06-22

Century / Era:

1953s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American film composer and conductor. He is known for the integration of choral and electronic elements alongside traditional orchestrations, and for his use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner worked on more than 160 films and television productions between 1978 and 2015. He won two Academy Awards for his musical composition to James Cameron's Titanic (1997), which became the best-selling orchestral film soundtrack of all time.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He also wrote the score for the highest-grossing film of all time, Cameron's Avatar (2009). Horner's other Oscar-nominated scores were for Aliens (1986), An American Tail (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Apollo 13 (1995), Braveheart (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and House of Sand and Fog (2003). Horner's other notable scores include Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Willow (1988), The Land Before Time (1988), Glory (1989), The Rocketeer (1991), Legends of the Fall (1994), Jumanji (1995), Casper (1995), Balto (1995), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Deep Impact (1998), The Perfect Storm (2000), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Troy (2004), The New World (2005), The Legend of Zorro (2005...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

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

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Ahmad Shah Massoud — Contemporary (Born in 1953) (1953): Afghan military leader, known as the "Lion of Panjshir", fought against foreign occupations.
• Alex Gibney — Contemporary (Born in 1953) (1953): Acclaimed American documentary filmmaker known for investigative works on power and belief.
• Andrew Wiles — Contemporary (Born in 1953) (1953): English mathematician renowned for proving Fermat's Last Theorem.
• A. P. J. Abdul Kalam — Contemporary (Died in 2015) (2015): Visionary aerospace engineer, scientist, and former President of India.
• Adrian Frutiger — Contemporary (Died in 2015) (2015): Pioneering Swiss typeface designer, master of sans-serif aesthetics.
• Al Arbour — Contemporary (Died in 2015) (2015): Pioneering Canadian hockey player, coach, and executive known for leading the Islanders.
• Alija Sirotanović — Shared historical date (08-14 · Born) (1914): Famous Yugoslav coal miner and model worker, recognized as a Hero of Socialist Labour.
• Bertolt Brecht — Shared historical date (08-14 · Died) (1956): Pioneering German playwright and poet, master of epic theatre techniques.
• Abbas Kiarostami — Shared historical date (06-22 · Born) (1940): Master Iranian filmmaker known for blending fiction and documentary styles.
• Ada Yonath — Shared historical date (06-22 · Born) (1939): Pioneering crystallographer known for elucidating the structure and function of the ribosome.
• 1953 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1953
• August 14 (08-14) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on August 14
• 2015 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 2015
• June 22 (06-22) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on June 22

Frequently Asked Questions about James Horner