Today in History 02/21/17

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The Globe Theatre in London, circa 1612 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1599) Shakespeare leases marshland on the Thames River
William Shakespeare joins seven other men in signing a lease on a Southwark lot along the Thames. The playwright now owns a share in what will become the Globe Theatre, where some of his most memorable plays will first be staged, including ‘Julius Caesar,’ ‘Macbeth,’ ‘Othello,’ ‘King Lear,’ and ‘Hamlet.’
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s playing company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend and grandson Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed by an Ordinance issued on 6 September 1642.
Address: 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London SE1 9
Phone: 020 7620 0202
Opened: 1599
Closed: 1642
Architects: Peter Street · Theo Crosby

wiki/Globe_Theatre
Model of the first steam locomotive (© SSPL/Getty Images)(1804) World’s first steam train railway journey
The steam train makes its maiden run, as Richard Trevithick and his locomotive embark on a rail journey between the Penydarren Ironworks to Abercynon in South Wales, reaching a speed of 5 mph on the 9-mile trip.
Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall, England. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He performed poorly in school, but went on to be an early pioneer of steam-powered road and rail transport. His most significant contribution was the development of the first high-pressure steam engine. He also built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive. On 21 February 1804 the world’s first locomotive-hauled railway journey took place as Trevithick’s unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks, in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.
Born: Apr 13, 1771 · Tregajorran, United Kingdom
Died: Apr 22, 1833 · Dartford, United Kingdom
Romance: Jane Harvey
Inventions: Steam locomotive
Children: Francis Trevithick (Son)
Parents: Richard F Francis Trevithick · Ann Trevithick
Highlights
  • 1801: Trevithick built a full-size steam road locomotive in 1801 on a site near the present day Fore Street at Camborne.

  • 1804: These were sent to John Whitfield at Gateshead, Trevithick’s agent, who in 1804 built what was probably the first locomotive to have flanged wheels.

  • 1804: On 21 February 1804 the world’s first locomotive-hauled railway journey took place as Trevithick’s unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks, in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.

  • 1808: In 1808, Trevithick publicised his steam railway locomotive expertise by building a new locomotive called Catch Me Who Can, built for him by John Hazledine and John Urpeth Rastrick at Bridgnorth in Shropshire, and named by Davies Giddy’s daughter.

  • 1818: Uville died in 1818 and Trevithick soon returned to Cerro de Pasco to continue mining.

  • 1829: In 1829 he built a closed cycle steam engine followed by a vertical tubular boiler.

wiki/Richard_Trevithick
German soldiers during the Battle of Verdun in 1916 ( © Archive Photos/Getty Images)(1916) Battle of Verdun begins
World War I’s battle at Verdun, in France, begins with Germany’s massive heavy artillery array inspiring their confidence in winning the engagement quickly. The battle’s 303 days and 714,000 casualties will prove them wrong.
The Battle of Verdun, fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916, was one of the largest and longest battles of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies. The battle took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France. The German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Région Fortifiée de Verdun and those of the French Second Army on the right bank of the Meuse. Inspired by the experience of the Second Battle of Champagne the year before, the Germans planned to rapidly capture the Meuse Heights, providing them with an excellent defensive position that would also allow them to bombard Verdun with observed artillery fire. The Germans hoped that the French would commit their strategic reserve to recapture the position and suffer catastrophic losses in a battle of attrition, as the Germans would have a tactical advantage.
Start date: Feb 21, 1916
End date: Dec 18, 1916

wiki/Battle_of_Verdun
Chairman Mao Zedong shakes hands with President Richard Nixon in Beijing in February 1972 (© AFP/Getty Images)(1972) President Nixon arrives for historic China visit
The Cold War freeze begins a slow thaw as Nixon makes a historic trip to China for two weeks of talks in Beijing. The diplomatic breakthrough will be a high point in Nixon’s career.
U.S. President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to the People’s Republic of China was an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and China. It marked the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, which at that time considered the U.S. one of its foes, and the visit ended 25 years of separation between the two sides.
wiki/1972_Nixon_visit_to_China
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