1865: The great classical composer Jean Sibelius is born in in Hämeenlinna, Finland, then a part of the Russian Empire. A choral adaptation of his inspiring Finlandia has been used since 1991 as theme music for the National Alliance radio program American Dissident Voices. On his 70th birthday (8 December 1935), he was awarded the Goethe Medal with a certificate signed by Adolf Hitler. During World War 2, Sibelius strongly urged Finns to ally with and fight alongside German forces — and said to the Germans, “I wish with all my heart that you may enjoy a speedy victory.”
