Bemelmans (Great Bar)

It's the birthday of the author of the "Madeline" books, Ludwig Bemelmans, (books by this author) born in Meran, Tyrol, Austria (1898). He was rebellious as a child. He went to many different schools, but he failed out of all them, so his family sent him to work with his uncle, who owned a chain of hotels. When he shot and almost killed a waiter for one of the hotels, his parents gave him the choice of reform school or emigration to America. He chose America and arrived in New York when he was 16 years old.
He worked at a series of hotels and then started his own restaurant, which became very successful. He didn't think about becoming a writer until a friend in the publishing industry happened to see his childlike drawings on the walls of his apartment. His friend suggested that he write and illustrate a children's book.
And so he wrote his famous book Madeline (1939), which begins: "In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines ... the smallest one was Madeline!"

Next time you are near 76th and Madison, have a nice drink at the Hotel Carlyle Bar named in his honor and whose walls hepainted.