1937, USA : Paul William Gallico (1897 1976) was a successful American novelist, short story and sports writer. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures. He is perhaps best remembered for The Snow Goose, his only real critical success, and for the novel The Poseidon Adventure, primarily through the 1972 film adaptation. Photo by Carl Van Vechten (1880 - 1964) Gallico was born in New York City. His father was the famous Italian concert pianist, composer and music teacher Paolo Gallico (Trieste, 1868 - New York, 1955) and his mother, Hortense Erlich, came from Austria ; they had emigrated to New York in 1895.