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Today in History 04/21/17

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The bronze sculpture of the Capitoline Wolf with the mythological founders of the city of Rome, Romulus and Remus, displayed at the Campidoglio in central Rome (© Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)(753 BCE) Rome is founded
According to tradition, orphaned twins Romulus and Remus establish what will become one of the world’s great cities. Legend holds that the twins had been saved from starvation by a she-wolf who’d found them abandoned in a cave on Palatine Hill. This area will eventually become Rome’s center.

The founding of Rome can be investigated through archaeology, but traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth.

The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf. This story had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, the one that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.


wiki/Founding_of_Rome
The Battle of San Jacinto' 1895 painting by Henry Arthur McArdle (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)(1836) Texas wins independence at Battle of San Jacinto
The Texas Revolution ends as General Sam Houston and his Texian Army soundly defeat the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna in a surprise attack. The Battle of San Jacinto lasts just 18 minutes, and will lead to the independence of the Republic of Texas.
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna’s Mexican army in a fight that lasted just 18 minutes.
Date: Apr 21, 1836

wiki/Battle_of_San_Jacinto
Manfred von Richthofen, widely known as the Red Baron, in his Albatros aircraft, 1917 (© ullstein bild/Getty Images)(1918) Fabled and feared WWI flying ace ‘The Red Baron’ shot down
Although hit in the chest with a fatal bullet during an aerial dogfight, 25-year-old German fighter pilot Baron Manfred von Richthofen, famed for his unmatched run of 80 combat victories, lands his plane near the French village of Vaux-sur-Somme, and utters “kaputt” before dying in the cockpit.
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during the First World War. He is considered the ace-of-aces of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories.
Born: May 02, 1892 · Wrocław, Poland
Died: Apr 21, 1918 · Vaux-sur-Somme, France
Siblings: Lothar von Richthofen (Brother) · Ilse von Richthofen (Sister) · Bolko von Richthofen (Brother)
Parents: Albrecht Philipp Karl Julius Freiherr von Richthofen (Father) · Kunigunde Hildegard Marie Luise Elisabeth von Schickfus (Mother)
Founded: Jagdgeschwader 1
Highlights
  • 1915: After a chance meeting with the German ace fighter pilot Oswald Boelcke, Richthofen entered training as a pilot in October 1915.

  • 1916: In February 1916 Manfred “rescued” his brother Lothar from the boredom of training new troops in Luben and encouraged him to also transfer to the Fliegertruppe.

  • 1917: He switched to the Albatros D.III in January 1917, scoring two victories before suffering an in-flight crack in the spar of the aircraft’s lower wing on 24 January.

  • 1917: In January 1917, after his 16th confirmed kill, Richthofen received the Pour le Mérite (informally known as “The Blue Max”), the highest military honour in Germany at the time.

  • 1917: He returned to his Albatros D.III on 2 April 1917 and scored 22 victories in it before switching to the Albatros D.V in late June.

  • 1918: Richthofen was shot down and killed near Amiens on 21 April 1918.

wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen
Andrea McArdle as Annie with costar Sandy in 1977 (© Bettman/Getty Images)​(1977) ‘Annie’ opens on Broadway
The musical version of the newspaper comic strip finds a home in New York’s Alvin Theatre and goes on to win seven Tony Awards. Andrea McArdle stars in the title role, and will later be replaced by Sarah Jessica Parker, Allison Smith and others during the show’s six-year run.
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre. It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical’s songs “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life” are among its most popular musical numbers.
Authors: Charles Strouse · Thomas Meehan
First performed: Aug 10, 1976
First published: Nov 14, 2013
Adaptations: Annie (1982) · Annie (2014) · Annie (1999)

wiki/Annie_(musical)
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Today in History 02/23/17

The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey (© Tim O'Brien/Getty Images)(532) Justinian I decrees the building of the Hagia Sophia
Byzantine emperor Justinian I orders a new basilica of grand proportions and precious materials be built in Constantinople. It will endure into the 21st century as one of the great architectural wonders of the world.
Hagia Sophia was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its construction in 537 AD, and until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted by the Fourth Crusaders to a Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was later converted into an Ottoman mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have “changed the history of architecture”. It remained the world’s largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.
Address: Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul
Established: Feb 01, 1935
Height: 180 feet (55 m) (Architectural)
Architects: Isidore of Miletus · Anthemius of Tralles
Architectural style: Byzantine architecture
Categories: Basilica · Mosque

wiki/Hagia_Sophia
Gutenberg Bible (© imageBROKER/Rex Features)(1455) First book in the West to be printed by moveable type
The Gutenberg Bible is produced using Johannes Gutenberg’s invention, the moveable type printing press. Forty-eight copies of the original pressing will survive to the 21st century, and be sought after as immensely valuable collectibles.
The Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the “Gutenberg Revolution” and the age of the printed book in the West. Widely praised for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities, the book has an iconic status. Written in Latin, the Catholic Gutenberg Bible is an edition of the Vulgate, printed by Johannes Gutenberg, in Mainz, in present-day Germany, in the 1450s. Since its publication, 49 copies have survived, and they are considered to be among the most valuable books in the world even though no complete copy has been sold since 1978.
wiki/Gutenberg_Bible
Illustration of the Battle of the Alamo in San Antonio in 1836 (© Kean Collection/Getty Images)(1836) Battle of the Alamo begins
Mexican general Santa Ana leads 1,500 men in a siege against US colonel William Travis’ much smaller Texian force garrisoned behind the walls of the Alamo Mission. The 13-day siege will end in death for all the Texians and inspire calls for vengeance in what will prove a turning point in the Texas Revolution.
The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar, Texas, United States, killing all of the Texian defenders. Santa Anna’s cruelty during the battle inspired many Texians—both Texas settlers and adventurers from the United States—to join the Texian Army. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution.
Start date: Feb 23, 1836
End date: Mar 06, 1836

wiki/Battle_of_the_Alamo
Dr. Jonas Salk gives a boy a trial polio vaccine in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Feb 23, 1954 (© Underwood Archives/Getty Images)(1954) Mass polio vaccine inoculations start
Pittsburgh elementary school students are the first group to receive Dr. Jonas Salk’s new polio vaccine. The disease that for centuries has paralyzed and killed millions will be almost eradicated by the end of the 20th century.
Polio vaccines are vaccines used to prevent poliomyelitis. There are two types: one that uses inactivated poliovirus and is given by injection, and one that uses weakened poliovirus and is given by mouth. The World Health Organization recommends all children be vaccinated against polio. The two vaccines have eliminated polio from most of the world, and reduced the number of cases each year from an estimated 350,000 in 1988 to 74 in 2015.
Developers: Jonas Salk · Albert Sabin
May prevent: Polio (poliomyelitis)
Drug class: Vaccine
Pregnancy risk category: C

wiki/Polio_vaccine
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Today in History

Today in History
(1588) English spoil the Spanish Armada’s invasion plans
1588 The Spanish Armada, a force of 130 ships and 20,000 soldiers bent on invading England and overthrowing its monarch Queen Elizabeth I, is cunningly repelled off the coast of France at Gravelines by England’s navy under commanders Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake..
(1836) France honors its war veterans with a triumphal arch
Standing 164 feet tall and 148 feet wide, Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, a neoclassical monument to the heroism of Revolutionary and Napoleonic War veterans, creates a breathtaking sight and will quickly become a favorite backdrop for struggles and celebrations in the City of Light. . 1836
(1976) Shootings begin, terrorizing New York City
1976 Just after 1 AM in New York City’s Bronx borough, David Berkowitz approaches a car and shoots two teenage girls, killing one and wounding the other. He will continue his serial shooting spree for a year, killing five and injuring six more, sparking citywide paranoia before he’s arrested..
(1981) London’s royal wedding transfixes millions
Deemed the ‘wedding of the century,’ the nuptials between Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles are broadcast live to more than 700 million global viewers. Over 2,000 guests, including the groom’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, witness the vows at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral.. 1981

A Historical Day

(753 BCE) Rome is founded
753 BCE According to tradition, orphaned twins Romulus and Remus establish what will become one of the world’s great cities. Legend holds that the twins had been saved from starvation by a she-wolf who’d found them abandoned in a cave on Palatine Hill. This area will eventually become Rome’s center..
(1836) Texas wins independence at Battle of San Jacinto
The Texas Revolution ends as General Sam Houston and his Texian Army soundly defeat the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna in a surprise attack. The Battle of San Jacinto lasts just 18 minutes, and will lead to the independence of the Republic of Texas.. 1836
(1918) Fabled and feared WWI flying ace ‘The Red Baron’ shot down
1918 Although hit in the chest with a fatal bullet during an aerial dogfight, 25-year-old German fighter pilot Baron Manfred von Richthofen, famed for his unmatched run of 80 combat victories, lands his plane near the French village of Vaux-sur-Somme, and utters “kaputt” before dying in the cockpit. .
(1962) World’s Fair opens in Seattle
A festival that embraces all the promise of the 21st century, the Century 21 Expo, aka the Seattle World’s Fair, opens with the motto ‘Living in the Space Age.’ Over 10 million will attend, marveling at the towering Space Needle and sci-fi-styled Monorail. . 1962