1816

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Today in History 12/30/16

Today in History
(1816) Percy Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin marry
Color lithograph of Percy Bysshe Shelley (© Getty Images)
Two years after poet Percy Shelley and then-17-year-old Godwin eloped to France, the couple marries in England after Shelley’s first wife, whom he never divorced, dies. Later, the couple and their friend Lord Byron will challenge each other to write a ghost story. Only Mary Shelley will finish hers.

Mary Shelley | Novelist
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was an English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin, and her mother was the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.

Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets, and is regarded by some as among the finest lyric, as well as epic, poets in the English language. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not see fame during his lifetime, but recognition for his poetry grew steadily following his death. Shelley was a key member of a close circle of visionary poets and writers that included Lord Byron, Leigh Hunt, Thomas Love Peacock, and his own second wife, Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.

— Source: wiki/Mary_Shelley
— Source: wiki/Percy_Bysshe_Shelley
(1903) Deadly fire kills 600 at a Chicago theatre
This is the burned interior of the orchestra section of the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, after a fire that claimed over 600 lives destroyed it, Dec. 30, 1903. (AP Photo)
The “most beautiful” stage in Chicago, the Iroquois Theatre, turns into a death trap for over 600 people when a fire erupts backstage. Most of the victims die on the balcony level, which lacks fire escapes or ladders to safety. The tragedy will lead to new safety standards for public buildings that will be adopted nationwide.

The Iroquois Theatre fire happened on December 30, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois. It was the deadliest theater fire and the deadliest single-building fire in United States history. At least 602 people died as a result of the fire, but not all the deaths were reported, as some of the bodies were removed from the scene.

Date: Dec 30, 1903

— Source: wiki/Iroquois_Theatre_fire
(1922) The Soviet Union is founded
A man holds a Soviet Union flag as he attends a pro-Russian rally at the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol March 6, 2014. The decree making Crimea part of Russia is already in force and Ukrainian troops still on its territory will be treated as occupiers and forced to surrender or leave, the Russian-controlled region's deputy prime minister said. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili (UKRAINE - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Soviet Union, becomes the first Marxist country in the world, following the October Revolution and the grueling Civil War that ended the Russian Empire. The USSR comprises a federation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation, but will grow larger still.

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, abbreviated to USSR, was a socialist state on the Eurasian continent that existed from 1922 to 1991. A union of multiple subnational Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The Soviet Union was a one-party federation, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital.

Dissolved: Dec 26, 1991
Population: 293.05 million (1991)
Official language: Russian
Area: 8.65 million sq miles (22.40 million km²)
Calling code: 7
Capital: Moscow

— Source: wiki/Soviet_Union
(1965) Ferdinand Marcos is inaugurated president of Philippines
Ferdinand Marcos, right, poses with his wife Imelda Marcos, Nov. 22, 1965, Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo)
The leader of the Philippine Senate is sworn in as president. During his campaign, Marcos touted his decorated war record, which will later be found to be largely untrue. He will impose martial law in 1972 and his 20 years in power will be known for corruption and brutality.

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino lawyer, politician, World War II veteran and kleptocrat who was President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled as a dictator under martial law from 1972 until 1981. While his regime started an unprecedented number of infrastructure projects and monuments, it also became infamous for its corruption and brutality.

Lived: Sep 11, 1917 – Sep 28, 1989 (age 72)
Height: 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
Spouse: Imelda Marcos (m. 1954 – 1989)
Children: Imee Marcos (Daughter) · Bongbong Marcos (Son) · Irene Marcos-Araneta (Daughter) · Aimee Marcos (Daughter)
Previous offices: Prime Minister of the Philippines (1978 – 1981) · Secretary of National Defense (1971 – 1972) · President of the Philippines (1965 – 1986) · President of the Senate of the Philippines (1963 – 1965)
Parents: Mariano Marcos (Father) · Josefa Edralin (Mother)

Highlights

  • 1954: Ferdinand Marcos married Imelda Marcos on May 01, 1954.

  • 1964: When the previous Philippine president, Macapagal, suggested in 1964–1965 to send troops it had been Marcos who had led the opposition against this plan on both legal and moral grounds.

  • 1965: Marcos won the presidency in 1965.

  • 1965: He was elected President in 1965.

  • 1978: In 1978, the position returned when Ferdinand Marcos became Prime Minister.

  • 1986: Allegations of mass cheating, political turmoil and excesses of human rights abuses led to the People Power Revolution in February 1986, which removed him from power.

— Source: wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos
DIH v2.11.d16

A Historical Day

(1260) Kublai Khan becomes leader of the Mongol Empire
1260 A grandson of the notoriously fierce Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan ascends the Mongol throne after his older brother dies, but subsequent battles with his younger brother will split the Mongolian Empire apart. Kublai will later go on to found the vast Yuan Dynasty..
(1816) John Keats’s first poem is published
‘O Solitude,’ a sonnet by 21-year old John Keats, is printed in the liberal magazine The Examiner. This greatly encourages the young English poet, as he’d recently abandoned plans to enter the medical profession in favor of a career in the arts. . 1816
(1961) Mercury program sends the first American into space
1961 Naval officer, test pilot, and astronaut Alan Shepard pilots the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission as he takes a 15-minute suborbital flight to become the first American in outer space. A decade later he’ll venture somewhat farther and visit the moon. .
(1981) Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands dies in prison
Member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and prisoner in Northern Ireland’s Maze Prison, Bobby Sands, 27, dies after a 66-day hunger strike protesting prison conditions. A month earlier, he had won a seat in the British House of Commons. . 1981