Origins & Early Life

Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were the historical drama Gone with the Wind, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director, and the fantasy film The Wizard of Oz (both 1939). Fleming has those same two films listed in the top 10 of the American Film Institute's 2007 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list. Fleming was born at the Banbury Ranch near what is now La Cañada Flintridge, California, the son of Eva (née Hartman) and William Richard Lonzo Fleming.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He served in the photographic section for the United States Army during World War I, and acted as chief photographer for President Woodrow Wilson in Versailles, France. Beginning in 1918, Fleming taught at and headed Columbia University's School of Military Cinematography, training over 700 soldiers to cut, edit, shoot, develop, store and ship film; filmmakers who participated in the program included Josef von Sternberg, Ernest B. Schoedsack, and Lewis Milestone. He showed a mechanical aptitude early in life; while working as a car mechanic, he met the director Allan Dwan, who...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

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

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Adolphe Pégoud — Contemporary (Born in 1889) (1889): Pioneering French aviator and the first recorded fighter ace of World War I.
• Alexandre Cabanel — Contemporary (Died in 1889) (1889): Prominent French Academic painter, celebrated for historical and mythological subjects.
• Anna Akhmatova — Contemporary (Born in 1889) (1889): A seminal Russian poet whose work chronicled the trauma of the Soviet era.
• Ahmed Zaki (actor) — Contemporary (Born in 1949) (1949): Iconic Egyptian actor celebrated for intense dramatic performances.
• Alan Menken — Contemporary (Born in 1949) (1949): Award-winning American composer celebrated for Disney film scores and Broadway musicals.
• Alice Bailey — Contemporary (Died in 1949) (1949): American esoteric writer known for neo-theosophical works and pioneering New Age concepts.
• César Ritz — Shared historical date (02-23 · Born) (1850): Swiss hotelier and pioneer, known as the 'King of Hoteliers' for founding luxury establishments.
• Carl Friedrich Gauss — Shared historical date (02-23 · Died) (1855): German polymath whose work spanned number theory, algebra, and statistics.
• A. R. Rahman — Shared historical date (01-06 · Born) (1966): Visionary Indian composer celebrated for blending global sounds with cinematic emotion.
• Alan Watts — Shared historical date (01-06 · Born) (1915): Philosopher and lecturer popularizing Eastern thought for the West.
• 1889 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1889
• February 23 (02-23) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on February 23
• 1949 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1949
• January 6 (01-06) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on January 6