About Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan (German: [ˈhɛʁbɛʁt fɔn ˈka(ː)ʁajan]; born Heribert Adolf Ernst Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he sold 200 million records. == Biography == === Early life === ==== Genealogy ==== The Karajans were of Greek ancestry. Herbert's great-great-grandfather, Georg Karajan (Geórgios Karajánnis, Greek: Γεώργιος Καραγιάννης), was born in Kozani, in the Ottoman province of Rumelia (now in Greece), leaving for Vienna in 1767, and eventually Chemnitz, Electorate of Saxony. He married Zoe Domnando, a Greek from Constantinople and Herbert's great-great-grandmother. Herbert's great-grandfather was Theodor Georg Ritter von Karajan, attended the Greek school of Vienna and became the first holder of the Chair of German Language and Literature at the University of Vienna; he received many awards, including an Austrian knighthood.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.