Today in History ^01/25/17

January 25, 2017 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 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 ^12/15/16

December 15, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1791) The Bill of Rights is ratified and becomes law

	When Virginia ratifies the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights passes the threshold of state ratifications needed to make the amendments law, and the young nation now has codified the freedom of speech, press, and religion, among other bedrock rights of the American system. .
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the oftentimes bitter 1787–88 battle over ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and crafted to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. The concepts codified in these amendments are built upon those found in several earlier documents, including the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the English Bill of Rights 1689, along with earlier documents such as Magna Carta (1215). Created: September 25, 1789 Ratified: December 15, 1791 Location: National Archives Author(s): James Madison — Source: wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights
(1890) Sioux Chief Sitting Bull is killed by police

Indian agency police shoot the powerful holy man in the head and chest during a scuffle at his reservation cabin as they attempted to arrest him. Local authorities thought Sitting Bull was behind the growing Ghost Dance movement, which they feared would spark an Indian uprising.
Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who led his people during years of resistance to United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him, at a time when authorities feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement. Lived: 1831 – Dec 15, 1890 Height: 5′ 9″ (1.75 m) Spouse: Light Hair Children: Crow Foot (Son) · Many Horses (Daughter) Parents: Her-Holy-Door (Mother) · Jumping Bull (Father) Siblings: Spotted Elk (Brother) Highlights 1865: In support of him, Sitting Bull led numerous war parties against Fort Berthold, Fort Stevenson, and Fort Buford and their environs from 1865 through 1868. 1874: Although Sitting Bull did not attack Custer’s expedition in 1874, the US government was increasingly pressured by citizens to open the Black Hills to mining and settlement. 1875: In 1875 the Northern Cheyenne, Hunkpapa, Oglala, Sans Arc, and Minneconjou camped together for a Sun Dance, with both the Cheyenne medicine man White Bull or Ice and Sitting Bull in association. 1876: About three weeks later, the confederated Lakota tribes with the Northern Cheyenne defeated the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer on June 25, 1876, annihilating Custer’s battalion and seeming to bear out Sitting Bull’s prophetic vision. 1881: On August 26, 1881, he was visited by census taker William T. Selwyn, who counted twelve people in the Hunkpapa leader’s immediate family. 1884: In 1884 show promoter Alvaren Allen asked Agent James McLaughlin to allow Sitting Bull to tour parts of Canada and the northern United States. — Source: wiki/Sitting_Bull
(1961) SS officer Adolf Eichmann sentenced to die

	As one of the main organizers of WWII’s Nazi Holocaust, which killed 6 million Jews as well as many others, the former SS officer is to be hanged for war crimes. After the war, Eichmann escaped a prison camp and fled to Argentina, a safe harbor for ex-Nazis. But on May 11, 1960, Mossad agents abducted him and smuggled him to Israel for trial.
Otto Adolf Eichmann was a German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organisers of the Holocaust. Eichmann was tasked by SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich with facilitating and managing the logistics of mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and extermination camps in German-occupied Eastern Europe during World War II. In 1960, he was captured in Argentina by Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service. Following a widely publicised trial in Israel, he was found guilty of war crimes and hanged in 1962. Lived: Mar 19, 1906 – May 31, 1962 (age 56) Height: 5′ 9″ (1.76 m) Spouse: Veronika Liebl (m. 1935 – 1962) Movies: The Eichmann Show Children: Horst Adolf Eichmann (Son) · Klaus Eichmann (Son) · Ricardo Francisco Eichmann (Son) · Dieter Helmut Eichmann (Son) Parents: Maria Eichmann (Mother) · Adolf Karl Eichmann (Father) Highlights 1933: After returning to Germany in 1933, he joined the Sicherheitsdienst (SD; Security Service), where he was appointed head of the department responsible for Jewish affairs—especially emigration, which the Nazis encouraged through violence and economic pressure. 1935: On 21 March 1935 Eichmann married Veronika (Vera) Liebl (1909–93). 1939: After a posting in Prague to assist in setting up an emigration office there, Eichmann was transferred to Berlin in October 1939 to command the Central Office for Jewish Emigration for the entire Reich under Heinrich Müller, head of the Gestapo. 1939: On 19 December 1939, Eichmann was assigned to head RSHA Referat IV B4 (RSHA Sub-Department IV-B4), tasked with overseeing Jewish affairs and evacuation. 1948: In 1948 Eichmann obtained a landing permit for Argentina and false identification under the name of “Ricardo Klement” through an organisation directed by Bishop Alois Hudal, an Austrian cleric then residing in Italy with known Nazi sympathies. 1960: When Eichmann’s father died in 1960, Wiesenthal made arrangements for private detectives to surreptitiously photograph members of the family, as Eichmann’s brother Otto was said to bear a strong family resemblance and there were no current photos of the fugitive. — Source: wiki/Adolf_Eichmann
(1979) Two Canadian friends devise board game Trivial Pursuit

When photo editor Chris Haney and reporter Scott Abbott sit down for a night of Scrabble, they find some tiles missing and so instead sketch out an idea for a game based on inconsequential facts, trivia. When Trivial Pursuit rolls out commercially, it will become one of the most successful board games ever.
Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which winning is determined by a player’s ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in December 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal’s The Gazette, and Scott Abbott, a sports editor for The Canadian Press. After finding pieces of their Scrabble game missing, they decided to create their own game. With the help of John Haney and Ed Werner, they completed development of the game, which was released in 1982. Playing time: 90 minutes Introduced: 1979 Origin: Montreal — Source: wiki/Trivial_Pursuit
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Today in History

August 6, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1806) 800-year-old empire ends in Europe
	At its height spanning a huge area of central Europe, the once-mighty Holy Roman Empire dissolves as Francis II abdicates following Napoleon’s win at the Battle of Austerlitz. The empire’s patchwork of principalities, duchies, and domains will be in prime position for power grabs. .
(1890) Dynamo baseball pitcher starts for the Cleveland Spiders
The Cleveland Spiders made a smart choice when they signed Denton True ‘Cy’ Young, as he pitches a three-hit shutout in his debut major league baseball game. Young will go on to become one of the greatest pitchers of his, or any other day, setting records that stand for a century or more. .
(1945) Hiroshima destroyed by American atomic bomb
	At 8:15 AM, a US B-29 drops a single bomb over Hiroshima, and the first atomic weapon used in warfare detonates with a 13-kiloton blast, destroying nearly 5 square miles of the Japanese city. Upwards of 70,000 die instantly, and tens of thousands will later perish from injury and sickness..
(1965) Protections for minority voting rights signed into US law
President Lyndon Johnson signs the US Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it illegal to bar African Americans and other minorities from voting. Part of a sweep of civil rights legislation, the law is needed to enforce what had already been ratified in 1868 as the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. .

Today in History

July 27, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(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. .
(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. .
(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. .