Today in History ^07/27 (Vincent van Gogh)

July 27, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh in 1889 (© De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images)

(1890) Brilliant and tortured artist turns gun on himself

Vincent van Gogh, 37, a Dutch-born artist living in France, shoots himself once in the chest. He’ll live for two days before dying in the company of his beloved brother Theo. He dies broke and unknown, but will later come to be considered one of history’s greatest artists.

Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art. His suicide at 37 followed years of mental illness and poverty.

Lived: Mar 30, 1853 – Jul 29, 1890 (age 37)
Height: 5′ 7″
Siblings: Theo van Gogh (Brother) · Wil van Gogh (Sister) · Elisabeth Huberta Du Quesne-van Gogh (Sister) · Anna Cornelia van Gogh (Sister) · Cornelis Vincent van Gogh (Brother)
Periods: Post-Impressionism · Divisionism
Education: Willem II College (1866 – 1868) · Royal Academy of Fine Arts · Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts
Parents: Theodorus van Gogh (Father) · Anna Carbentus van Gogh (Mother)
Highlights
1857: His brother Theo was born on 1 May 1857.

1886: In February 1886 he wrote to Theo that he could only remember eating six hot meals since the previous May.

1886: Van Gogh moved to Paris in March 1886 where he shared Theo’s rue Laval apartment in Montmartre, and studied at Fernand Cormon’s studio.

1888: The Flowering Orchards (also the Orchards in Blossom) are among the first groups of work completed after Van Gogh’s arrival in Arles in February 1888.

1890: In May 1890 Van Gogh left the clinic in Saint-Rémy to move nearer to both Dr Paul Gachet in Auvers-sur-Oise and to Theo.

1890: Between 1885 and his death in 1890, Van Gogh appears to have been building an oeuvre, a collection that reflected his personal vision, and could be commercially successful.

Vincent van Gogh in 1873, when he worked at the Goupil & Cie’s gallery in The Hague.
wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh

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(1890) Brilliant and tortured artist turns gun on himself.
Also on this day,

1794 | ‘Incorruptible’ Robespierre arrested in Paris

It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times, and few figures from the French Revolution embody this contradiction better than Maximilien Robespierre, a fervent believer in Enlightenment ideals whose involvement in ‘the Terror’ leads to his arrest. He will be guillotined the following day.

1940 | Brazen bunny saunters onto the screen

Huntsman Elmer J. Fudd meets “that pesky wabbit” for the first time in ‘A Wild Hare,’ an animated short subject from Warner Bros. What’s up, Doc? For Bugs Bunny, it’ll be crazy popularity, decades of movie releases, an Oscar win, and a TV compilation show that runs for 40 years.

1996 | Centennial Olympic Park celebrations shattered by pipe bomb

A pipe bomb detonates after midnight at an outdoor music venue in Atlanta during the Summer Olympic Games, and although crowds had been mostly evacuated from the area, the explosion kills two and injures 111 others. A religious extremist, Eric Rudolph, will be convicted of committing the attack.

Today in History ^07/27/17

Officials inspect the scene of the explosion at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta on July 27, 1996 (© Eric Draper/AP)

(1996) Centennial Olympic Park celebrations shattered by pipe bomb

A pipe bomb detonates after midnight at an outdoor music venue in Atlanta during the Summer Olympic Games, and although crowds had been mostly evacuated from the area, the explosion kills two and injures 111 others. A religious extremist, Eric Rudolph, will be convicted of committing the attack.

The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a domestic terrorist pipe bombing attack on the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 27 during the 1996 Summer Olympics. The blast directly killed 1 person and injured 111 others; another person later died of a heart attack. It was the first of four bombings committed by Eric Robert Rudolph. Security guard Richard Jewell discovered the bomb before detonation and cleared most of the spectators out of the park. Rudolph, a carpenter and handyman, had detonated three pipe bombs inside a U.S. military ALICE Pack. Motivated by what he considered to be the government's sanctioning of "abortion on demand," Rudolph wanted to force the cancellation of the Olympics.

Date: Jul 27, 1996
Fatalities: 2

wiki/Centennial_Olympic_Park_bombing

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Today in History ^01/25/18

January 25, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ

Nellie Bly, circa 1887 (© Apic/Getty Images)

(1890) Nellie Bly finishes 72-day trans-global trip

Journalist and adventurer Nellie Bly arrives in New Jersey after completing a journey inspired by the novel ‘Around The World In 80 Days.’ She has traveled mostly solo and circumnavigated the globe in record time.

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days is an 1890 book by journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, writing under her pseudonym, Nellie Bly. The chronicle details her 72-day trip around the world, which was inspired by the book, Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. She carried out the journey for Joseph Pulitzer’s tabloid newspaper, the New York World.

Author: Nellie Bly
First published: 1890
Genre: Non-fiction
Original language: English

“Round the World with Nellie Bly” board game box cover
wiki/Around_the_World_in_Seventy-Two_Days

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Today in History ^12/29/17

December 29, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ

Sign from 1940 at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota (© John Vachon/Library of Congress/Getty Images)

(1890) US troops massacre Indians at Wounded Knee

When a detachment of the US 7th Cavalry tries to disarm a band of Lakota Sioux, led by peace-seeking Spotted Elk, near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, a gun goes off in a scuffle and the cavalry opens fire. More than 200 Lakota men, women, and children will be killed.

The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota.

Start date: Dec 28, 1890
End date: Dec 29, 1890

Burial of the dead after the massacre of Wounded Knee. U.S. Soldiers putting Indians in common grave; some corpses are frozen in different positions. South Dakota.

wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre

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Today in History ^01/25/17

January 25, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ

(1890) Nellie Bly finishes 72-day trans-global trip

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days is a book by journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, writing under her pseudonym, Nellie Bly. The chronicle details her 72-day trip around the world, which was inspired by the book, Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. She carried out the journey for Joseph Pulitzer’s tabloid newspaper, the New York World.

Author: Nellie Bly
First published: 1890
Genre: Non-fiction

wiki/Around_the_World_in_Seventy-Two_Days

Sonja Henie of Norway skating at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France (© ullstein bild/Getty Images)

(1924) The first Winter Olympic Games open in France

Almost 300 athletes arrive in Chamonix, France to compete in 14 events covering six sports, including crowd-favorites ski jumping, bobsledding, and skiing. Norway will dominate the medal count.

The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Originally called Semaine Internationale des Sports d’Hiver and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, the sports competitions were held at the foot of Mont Blanc in Chamonix, and Haute-Savoie, France between January 25 and February 5, 1924. The Games were organized by the French Olympic Committee, and were in retrospect designated by the International Olympic Committee as the I Olympic Winter Games.

Number of athletes: 258
Number of countries: 16
Start date: Jan 24, 1924
End date: Feb 05, 1924

wiki/1924_Winter_Olympics

Schematic drawing of the cathode ray tube amusement device by Thomas Goldsmith Jr. (Via Wikimedia Commons)

(1947) Patent filed for world’s first video game

Thomas Goldsmith, Jr. files a patent for a Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device, an interactive missile simulator game to be played on a screen. Prototypes will be made and the patent awarded the following year, but no commercial models will be released.

The cathode-ray tube amusement device is the earliest known interactive electronic game. The device simulates an artillery shell arcing towards targets on a cathode ray tube screen, which is controlled by the player by adjusting knobs to change the trajectory of a CRT beam spot on the display in order to reach plastic targets overlaid on the screen. Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Estle Ray Mann constructed the game from analog electronics and filed for a patent in 1947, which was issued the following year. The gaming device was never manufactured or marketed to the public, so it had no effect on the future video game industry. Under most definitions, the device is not considered a video game, as while it had an electronic display it did not run on a computing device. Therefore, despite its relevance to the early history of video games, it is not generally considered a candidate for the title of first video game.
wiki/Cathode-ray_tube_amusement_device

Mayor Fletcher Bowron during the 1st Annual Emmy Awards at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles on January 25, 1949 (© TVA/PictureGroup/Invision for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/AP )

(1949) First Emmy Awards ceremony held

The Hollywood Athletic Club hosts the inaugural Emmy Awards, recognizing technical and artistic achievement in television. A children’s show ventriloquist wins the very first atom-raising statuette.

The 1st Emmy Awards, retroactively known as the 1st Primetime Emmy Awards after the debut of the counterpart Daytime Emmy Awards, were presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday, January 25, 1949. Only shows produced in Los Angeles County, California and aired in the Los Angeles media market were eligible to win. The awards were hosted by Walter O’Keefe who substituted for Rudy Vallée when he had to leave town at the last minute. A special award category was introduced and awarded to Louis McManus for designing the actual Emmy Award statuette.

Date: Jan 25, 1949

wiki/1st_Primetime_Emmy_Awards

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Today in History ^12/29/16

December 29, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1170) Archbishop Thomas Becket is murdered after king’s comment

When four knights hear King Henry II utter something like, “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?,” they take it as a request to kill Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The knights confront and kill Becket at Canterbury Cathedral, shocking Christians, who canonize Becket just three years later.
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. Born: Dec 21, 1118 · London, England Related movies: Becket Buried: Canterbury Cathedral Education: Merton Priory · University of Paris Parents: Matilda Becket (Mother) · Gilbert Becket (Father) Highlights 1154: Theobald in 1154 named Becket Archdeacon of Canterbury, and other ecclesiastical offices included a number of benefices, prebends at Lincoln Cathedral and St Paul’s Cathedral, and the office of Provost of Beverley. 1155: His efficiency in those posts led to Theobald recommending him to King Henry II for the vacant post of Lord Chancellor, to which Becket was appointed in January 1155. 1162: Becket was nominated as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, several months after the death of Theobald. 1162: His election was confirmed on 23 May 1162 by a royal council of bishops and noblemen. 1163: Attempts by Henry to influence the other bishops against Becket began in Westminster in October 1163, where the King sought approval of the traditional rights of the royal government in regard to the church. 1164: Henry summoned Becket to appear before a great council at Northampton Castle on 8 October 1164, to answer allegations of contempt of royal authority and malfeasance in the Chancellor’s office. — Source: wiki/Thomas_Becket
(1890) US troops massacre Indians at Wounded Knee

When a detachment of the US 7th Cavalry tries to disarm a band of Lakota Sioux, led by peace-seeking Spotted Elk, near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, a gun goes off in a scuffle and the cavalry opens fire. More than 200 Lakota men, women, and children will be killed.
The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The previous day, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M. Whitside intercepted Spotted Elk’s band of Miniconjou Lakota and 38 Hunkpapa Lakota near Porcupine Butte and escorted them 5 miles westward to Wounded Knee Creek, where they made camp. The remainder of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, led by Colonel James W. Forsyth, arrived and surrounded the encampment. The regiment was supported by a battery of four Hotchkiss mountain guns. Date: Dec 28, 1890 — Source: wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre
(1940) The Blitz delivers the Second Great Fire of London

Germany firebombs London with more than 24,000 high explosive bombs and 100,000 incendiary bombs in one of its most aggressive attacks on the city, setting London afire. Firefighters work amid the dropping bombs and are able to save some of the city’s landmarks, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, from total destruction.
The “Second Great Fire of London” is a name used at the time to refer to one of the most destructive air raids of the London Blitz, over the night of 29/30 December 1940. Between 6 pm and the early hours of the morning, more than 24,000 high explosive bombs and 100,000 incendiary bombs were dropped. The raid and the subsequent fire destroyed many Livery Halls and City churches and gutted the medieval Great Hall of the City’s Guildhall. Date: Dec 29, 1940 — Source: wiki/Second_Great_Fire_of_London
(1998) Khmer Rouge leaders apologize for Cambodia genocide

At a news conference, a Khmer Rouge leader whispers he is “sorry, very sorry” for the group’s murderous campaign to cleanse Cambodia of undesirables, including intellectuals and capitalists. The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, ruled Cambodia from 1975-’79 and sought to create an agrarian society.
Khmers rouges, more commonly known in English as Khmer Rouge was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in Cambodia. It was formed in 1968 as an offshoot of the Vietnam People’s Army from North Vietnam, and allied with North Vietnam, the Viet Cong, and Pathet Lao during the Vietnam War against the anti-communist forces from 1968 to 1975. Khmer Rouge emerged victorious in the Cambodian Civil War, overthrew the military dictatorship of the Khmer Republic and installed their own government Democratic Kampuchea in 1975, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, and Khieu Samphan. This was followed by the Cambodian genocide from 1975 until 1979, when Khmer Rouge was finally removed from power by Vietnam in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. The military power of the Khmer Rouge organization was not broken however, and a long era of guerilla warfare involving large swaths of the Cambodian countryside began. Many different military factions were involved in the guerilla war era and it ended around 1994. Founded: 1968 — Source: wiki/Khmer_Rouge
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Today in History 07/27/17

Today in History ^07/27/17