Today in History ^01/24/17

January 24, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ

Painting of the assassination of the Roman Emperor Caligula in 41 CE (© Lazzaro Baldi/De Agostini/Getty Images)

(41 CE) Roman Emperor Caligula assassinated

Stabbed by his own Praetorian Guards, the infamously deviant Caligula’s reign over Rome comes to an end. Hopes of restoring a Republic are dashed when Caligula’s uncle, Claudius, is declared Emperor.

Caligula, properly Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was Roman emperor from AD 37–41. Born Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula’s biological father was Germanicus, and he was the great-nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius. The young Gaius earned the nickname “Caligula” from his father’s soldiers while accompanying him during his campaigns in Germania.

Lived: 12 AD – 41 AD (age 28)
Spouse: Milonia Caesonia (m. 39 AD – 41 AD) · Lollia Paulina (m. 38 AD) · Livia Orestilla (m. 37 AD) · Junia Claudilla (m. 33 AD)
Related movies: Caligula
Siblings: Agrippina the Younger (Sister) · Julia Drusilla (Sister) · Nero Julius Caesar (Brother) · Julia Livilla (Sister) · Drusus Caesar (Brother)
Children: Julia Drusilla (Daughter)
Parents: Germanicus (Father) · Agrippina the Elder (Mother)
Highlights
29 AD: Agrippina and Caligula’s brother, Nero, were banished in 29 AD on charges of treason.

30 AD: In 30 AD, his brother, Drusus Caesar, was imprisoned on charges of treason and his brother Nero died in exile from either starvation or suicide.

35 AD: In 35 AD, Caligula was named joint heir to Tiberius’s estate along with Tiberius Gemellus.

37 AD: When Tiberius died on 16 March 37 AD, his estate and the titles of the principate were left to Caligula and Tiberius’s own grandson, Gemellus, who were to serve as joint heirs.

38 AD: His favorite sister Julia Drusilla died in 38 AD of a fever: his other two sisters, Livilla and Agrippina the Younger, were exiled.

38 AD: Caligula married Lollia Paulina in 38.

39 AD: Caligula married Milonia Caesonia in 39.

wiki/Caligula

Painting depicting fortune seekers during the California Gold Rush in 1849 (© Stock Montage/Getty Images)

(1848) California Gold Rush begins

James Marshall’s morning work on a mill on California’s American River is interrupted when he catches sight of something glimmering in the sand. The discovery of gold will rock the nation.

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands, and Latin America, and they were the first to start flocking to the state in late 1848. All in all, the news of gold brought some 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. Of the 300,000, approximately half arrived by sea and half came overland on the California Trail and the Gila River trail.

Start date: Jan 24, 1848
End date: 1855

wiki/California_Gold_Rush

Robert Baden-Powell in 1914 (© PA Archive/Press Association Images)

(1908) The scouting movement is launched

Writer, British Army officer, and national hero, Robert-Baden Powell publishes the first handbook of his ‘Scouting For Boys’ series. Inspired youngsters will start troops throughout England and, eventually, in many other countries of the world as well.

Scouting for Boys: A handbook for instruction in good citizenship is a book on Boy Scout training, published in various editions since 1908. Early editions were written and illustrated by Robert Baden-Powell with later editions being extensively rewritten by others. The book was originally a manual for self-instruction in observation, tracking and woodcraft skills as well as self-discipline and self-improvement, about the Empire and duty as citizens with an eclectic mix of anecdotes and unabashed personal observations and recollections. It is pervaded by a degree of moral proselytizing and references to the author’s own exploits. It is based on his boyhood experiences, his experience with the Mafeking Cadet Corps during the Second Boer War at the Siege of Mafeking, and on his experimental camp on Brownsea Island, England.

Author: Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
First published: 1908
Genres: Nature · All Ages · Ages 9-12 Nonfiction

wiki/Scouting_for_Boys

Shoichi Yokoi at Guam Memorial Hospital in Agana, Guam, in 1972 after he was found in the jungle by fishermen (© AP)

(1972) Japanese soldier found on Guam 27 years after WWII ends

Shoichi Yokoi, Japanese Imperial Army sergeant, is found living in a remote underground jungle cave on the island of Guam. Having believed it is his duty to die rather than surrender after WWII ends, Yokoi says, upon his return to Japan, “It is with much embarrassment, but I have returned.”

Shōichi Yokoi was a Japanese sergeant in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War. He was among the last three Japanese holdouts to be found after the end of hostilities in 1945, discovered in the jungles of Guam on 24 January 1972, almost 28 years after US forces had regained control of the island in 1944.

Born: Mar 31, 1915 · Saori, Aichi, Japan
Died: Sep 22, 1997 · Nagoya, Japan
Highlights
1941: He was an apprentice tailor when he was conscripted in 1941.

1944: When American forces captured the island in the 1944 Battle of Guam, Yokoi went into hiding with nine other Japanese soldiers.

1974: Yokoi was the third-to-last Japanese soldier to surrender after the war, preceding Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda (relieved from duty by his former commanding officer on 9 March 1974) and Private Teruo Nakamura (arrested 18 December 1974).

1997: Shoichi Yokoi died on September 22, 1997 in Nagoya, Japan.

wiki/Shoichi_Yokoi

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Today in History ^01/11/17

January 11, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ

Illustration of the lottery being drawn in Guildhall, London, in 1763 (© The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

(1569) England draws its first lottery

Chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, the first lottery is drawn in England for benefit of “publique good workes.” Later, ticketing rights will be sold to brokers, the precursor to what will one day be called stockbrokers.

Copper engraving showing damage of an earthquake in Sicily, Italy, in 1693 (© The Kozak Collection via The National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering (NISEE) at UC, Berkeley)

(1693) A devastating earthquake rocks Sicily

A foreshock two days previously did little to prepare Sicilians for the fierce quake that strikes close to the island’s eastern coast, spawning devastating tsunamis, destroying at least 70 towns and cities and killing 60,000 people. It will later be estimated as the most powerful in Italy’s history.

The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria and Malta on January 11 at around 9 p.m. local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, the most powerful in Italian history, and a maximum intensity of XI on the Mercalli intensity scale, destroying at least 70 towns and cities, seriously affecting an area of 5,600 square kilometres and causing the death of about 60,000 people. The earthquake was followed by tsunamis that devastated the coastal villages on the Ionian Sea and in the Straits of Messina. Almost two thirds of the entire population of Catania were killed. The epicentre of the disaster was probably close to the coast, possibly offshore, although the exact position remains unknown. The extent and degree of destruction caused by the earthquake resulted in extensive rebuilding of the towns and cities of southeastern Sicily, particularly the Val di Noto, in a homogeneous late Baroque style, described as “the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe”.
According to a contemporary account of the earthquake by Vincentius Bonajutus, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, “It was in this country impossible to keep upon our legs, or in one place on the dancing Earth; nay, those that lay along on the ground, were tossed from side to side, as if on a rolling billow.”

Date: Jan 11, 1693

wiki/1693_Sicily_earthquake

Toroweap Overlook at sunset in the Grand Canyon, Arizona (© Dan Ballard/Aurora Creative/Getty Images)

(1908) Roosevelt declares Grand Canyon a national monument

Arizona’s astounding 277-mile gorge is given the honor of national monument status by noted wilderness supporter President Teddy Roosevelt, thus insuring the Grand Canyon’s future protection. It will be made a national park in 1919, soon after the establishment of the National Park Service.

Grand Canyon National Park is the United States’ 15th oldest national park. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, the park is located in northwestern Arizona. The park’s central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The park covers 1,217,262 acres of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties. As of 2015, the park received more than five and a half million recreational visitors, which is the second highest count of all U.S. national parks after Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Website: www.nps.gov/grca
Address: 20 South Entrance Road, Grand Canyon Village, AZ 86023
Phone: (928) 638-7888
Established: Feb 26, 1919
Area: 1,902 sq miles (4,926 km²)
Annual visitors: 5.52 million (2015)
Travel tip: The Grand Canyon is on almost every traveler’s bucket list. Indeed, Theodore Roosevelt called it “the one great sight which every American should see.” The Bright Angel and … @tripadvisor

wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park

US Surgeon General Luther Terry holds a copy of the report on the relationship of smoking to health on Jan. 11, 1964 (© hwg/AP)

(1964) Surgeon General reports risks of cigarette smoking

In a publication that will spur the first major anti-smoking campaign in US history, Dr. Luther Terry reports that smoking tobacco is implicated in hazardous health outcomes, including cancer.

The 1964 report on smoking and health had an impact on public attitudes and policy. A Gallup Survey conducted in 1958 found that only 44 percent of Americans believed smoking caused cancer, while 78 percent believed so by 1968. In the course of a decade, it had become common knowledge that smoking damaged health, and mounting evidence of health risks gave Terry’s 1964 report public resonance. Yet, while the report proclaimed that “cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action,” it remained silent on concrete remedies. That challenge fell to politicians. In 1965, Congress required all cigarette packages distributed in the United States to carry a health warning, and since 1970 this warning is made in the name of the Surgeon General. In 1969, cigarette advertising on television and radio was banned, effective September 1970.

The Reports of the Surgeon General: The 1964 Report on Smoking and Health

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Today in History ^12/26/16

December 26, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1908) Jack Johnson is first black heavyweight boxing champion

American fighter Jack Johnson, the son of two former slaves, defeats Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia. The fight lasts 14 rounds until police stop it and the title is awarded to Johnson on a referee’s decision. Johnson will hold the title until 1915 when he’ll lose a grueling fight with a working cowboy.
Tommy Burns, born Noah Brusso, is the only Canadian-born World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. The first to travel the globe in defending his title, Tommy made 11 title defences despite often being the underdog due to his size. Burns famously challenged all comers as Heavyweight Champion, leading to a celebrated bout with the American Jack Johnson. According to his biographer, Burns insisted, “I will defend my title against all comers, none barred. By this I mean white, black, Mexican, Indian, or any other nationality. I propose to be the champion of the world, not the white, or the Canadian, or the American. If I am not the best man in the heavyweight division, I don’t want the title.” Born: Jun 17, 1881 · Chesley, Canada Died: May 10, 1955 · Vancouver, Canada Height: 5′ 7″ (1.70 m) Martial art: Boxing Boxer weight division: Heavyweight Highlights 1903: In June 1903, he was discovered playing lacrosse under an assumed name for a Detroit team that was playing in Chatham, Ontario. 1904: After starting his boxing career under his real name, in 1904 Brusso took the Scottish-sounding name of Tommy Burns. 1906: When Burns met Marvin Hart for the heavyweight championship of the world on February 23, 1906, Burns was a 2-1 underdog and the betting was 10-7 that he would not last ten rounds. 1908: In December 1908, Burns agreed to a bout with Jack Johnson, becoming the first fighter to agree to a heavyweight championship bout with an African American. 1909: In 1909 in Vancouver, B.C., Johnson told a crowd of people that Burns deserved credit as the only white heavyweight who ever gave a black man a chance to win the title. 1920: A month before his 39th birthday in 1920, Burns challenged British champion Joe Beckett. 1954: He died while visiting a church friend in Vancouver, British Columbia, suffering a heart attack at age 73. — Source: wiki/Tommy_Burns_(boxer)
(1966) The first Kwanzaa holiday is celebrated

Professor Maulana Karenga develops Kwanzaa in the wake of the deadly Watts riots to help build community among black people. The seven-day nonreligious holiday, inspired by African harvest festivals, focuses on seven principles, such as unity and purpose, to celebrate black culture.
Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the Western African diaspora in the Americas. The celebration honors African heritage in African-American culture, and is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving. Kwanzaa has seven core principles. It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966–67. — Source: wiki/Kwanzaa
(1972) Former US President Harry Truman dies at age 88

The 33rd president of the US dies of multiple-organ failure after several weeks in the hospital. His wife, Bess, will opt for a small private burial in their hometown of Independence, Missouri, instead of a state funeral in DC, thinking it a more fitting goodbye for the down-to-earth Truman.
Harry S. Truman was an American politician who served as the 33rd President of the United States, coming to office on the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the last months of World War II. He is known for launching the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe, for leading the Cold War against Soviet communism through the Truman doctrine and NATO, and for engaging in a stalemate in the Korean War. In domestic affairs, he was a moderate Democrat whose liberal proposals were a continuation of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, but the Conservative-dominated Congress blocked most of them. He used presidential authority to mandate equal treatment for blacks in the military and put civil rights on the national political agenda. Lived: May 08, 1884 – Dec 26, 1972 (age 88) Height: 5′ 8″ (1.73 m) Party: Democratic Party Successor: Dwight D. Eisenhower Vice President: Alben Barkley Education: University of Missouri-Kansas City · University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law · William Chrisman High School Highlights 1919: After his wartime service, Truman returned to Independence, where he married Bess Wallace on June 28, 1919. 1934: Truman then thought that he might serve out his career in some well-paying county sinecure, but circumstances changed when Pendergast reluctantly backed him in the 1934 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate after four other potential candidates turned him down. 1945: Truman was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 1945. 1945: Truman had been vice president for 82 days when President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. 1948: Truman maintained that civil rights were a moral priority, and in 1948 submitted the first comprehensive civil rights legislation and issued Executive Orders to start racial integration in the military and federal agencies. 1950: On November 1, 1950, Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempted to assassinate Truman at Blair House. — Source: wiki/Harry_S._Truman
(2004) Indian Ocean earthquake triggers tsunamis, killing over 230,000

A 9.3 magnitude underwater earthquake off the coast of Sumatra creates huge tsunamis that devastate Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and other areas in the Indian Ocean. Many of the countries hit lack tsunami warning systems, so people have little time to escape the deadly walls of water.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on 26 December with the epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The shock had a moment magnitude of 9.1–9.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX. The undersea megathrust earthquake was caused when the Indian Plate was subducted by the Burma Plate and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000–280,000 people in 14 countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 metres high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia was the hardest-hit country, followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. Fatalities: 280,000 Date: Dec 26, 2004 — Source: wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_and_tsunami
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Today in History

October 1, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(331 BCE) Alexander the Great defeats the Persians

	His warriors severely outnumbered, Alexander shows why he’s called “Great,” routing Darius III’s Persian army at Gaugamela, Mesopotamia near modern day Mosul, Iraq. With the defeat, almost two centuries of Persian rule ends and over two centuries of Hellenistic rule begins. .
The Battle of Gaugamela, also called the Battle of Arbela, was the decisive battle of Alexander the Great’s invasion of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. In 331 BC Alexander’s army of the Hellenic League met the Persian army of Darius III near Gaugamela, close to the modern city of Dohuk. Even though heavily outnumbered, Alexander emerged victorious due to his army’s superior tactics and his deft employment of light infantry. It was a decisive victory for the Hellenic League and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire. Date: 331 BC — Source: wiki/Battle_of_Gaugamela
(1856) Emma Bovary discovers the dark side of desire

The ‘Revue de Paris’ publishes the first installment of ‘Madam Bovary,’ the tale of a rural doctor’s wife whose yearning for excitement, romance, and luxury lead to ruin. The author, Gustave Flaubert, will be charged with obscenity for a novel that launches the Realist movement. .
Madame Bovary is the French writer Gustave Flaubert’s debut novel. The story focuses on a doctor’s wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. Author: Gustave Flaubert Written: 1856 Genres: Literary realism · Novel · Romance · Fiction · Literary modernism Original language: French — Source: wiki/Madame_Bovary
(1908) Ford makes autos affordable to ‘the great multitude’

	Henry Ford’s new auto is offered to the public at a relatively economical $825, and buyers can choose any color Model T as long as it’s black. Offering a four-cylinder engine, around 20 mpg, and a top speed of 40 mph, the Detroit automaker markets his car to America’s burgeoning middle class. .
The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie, T‑Model Ford, Model T, T, Leaping Lena, or flivver) is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that opened travel to the common middle-class American; some of this was because of Ford’s efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting. The Ford Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, ahead of the BMC Mini, Citroën DS, and Volkswagen Type 1. With 16.5 million sold it stands eighth on the top ten list of most sold cars of all time as of 2012. Although automobiles had already existed for decades, they were still mostly scarce and expensive at the Model T’s introduction in 1908. Positioned as reliable, easily maintained mass market transportation, it was a runaway success. In a matter of days after the release, 15,000 orders were placed. The first production Model T was produced on August 12, 1908 and left the factory on September 27, 1908, at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan. On May 26, 1927, Henry Ford watched the 15 millionth Model T Ford roll off the assembly line at his factory in Highland Park, Michigan. There were several cars produced or prototyped by Henry Ford from the founding of the company in 1903 until the Model T was introduced. Although he started with the Model A, there were not 19 production models (A through T); some were only prototypes. The production model immediately before the Model T was the Model S, an upgraded version of the company’s largest success to that point, the Model N. The follow-up was the Ford Model A (rather than any Model U). The company publicity said this was because the new car was such a departure from the old that Henry wanted to start all over again with the letter A. The Model T was Ford’s first automobile mass-produced on moving assembly lines with completely interchangeable parts, marketed to the middle class. Henry Ford said of the vehicle: I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces. Although credit for the development of the assembly line belongs to Ransom E. Olds with the first mass-produced automobile, the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, beginning in 1901, the tremendous advancements in the efficiency of the system over the life of the Model T can be credited almost entirely to the vision of Ford and his engineers. Model T – Facts & Summary — Source: wiki/Ford_Model_T — Additional Source: www.history.com/topics/model-t
(1946) Judgments at Nuremberg as Nazis are sentenced

After a war that decimated Europe, and a holocaust that killed upwards of 11 million people, 24 convicted Nazi war criminals hear their sentences read out in a Nuremberg, Germany court following nearly a year of trials. Twelve will be executed, including Gestapo chief Hermann Goering..
The Nuremberg trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the Allied forces after World War II, which were most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, judicial and economic leadership of Nazi Germany who planned, carried out, or otherwise participated in The Holocaust and other war crimes. The trials were held in the city of Nuremberg, Germany. Start date: Nov 20, 1945 End date: Oct 01, 1946 — Source: wiki/Nuremberg_trials
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Today in History

August 17, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1908) Paris smiles at history’s first animated film
	For 1 minute and 20 seconds, Parisians gaze on a fanciful figure seemingly drawn from chalk who morphs and leaps, changing form in amusing and amazing ways in ‘Fantasmagorie,’ a stream-of-consciousness silent film that will come to be regarded as the first animated cartoon. .
(1945) Dutch face a revolution in a long-held colony
An end to more than three centuries of Dutch colonization and control is declared by the Indonesian National Revolution and its leaders Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta. WWII had weakened the Netherlands’ hold on the Southeast Asian archipelago and now Indonesia heads towards independence..
The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution following the postwar and postcolonial Indonesia. It took place between Indonesia’s declaration of independence in 1945 and the Dutch recognition of Indonesia’s independence at the end of 1949. The Indonesian independence movement began in May 1908, which is commemorated as the “Year of National Awakening”. Start date: Aug 17, 1945 – End date: Dec 27, 1949
(1959) Miles Davis remakes jazz music with a landmark album
	A new cool modality unfurls on Miles Davis’ latest album, ‘Kind of Blue.’ Davis’ brilliant horn playing, and his sublime supporting ensemble, including Bill Evans and John Coltrane, will make the disc an enduring success, and it will be considered by some the greatest jazz record of all time. .
(1969) America’s Gulf Coast is slammed by monster storm
A monstrous Category 5 hurricane, whose vortex of clouds fills almost the entire Gulf of Mexico, packs 175-mph winds and pushes a storm surge 24 feet high as it rages into the US at the mouth of the Mississippi River. In the end, Camille will kill 259 and cause $1.42 billion in damage..