1911

Today in History 10/10/17

The Imperial army in white uniforms marching in single file in front of a Pagoda during the Chinese Revolution, October 1911 (© Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)(1911) 2,000 years of imperial rule begins to crumble in China
The building of railways by foreign powers in China stokes nationalistic fervor, and unfair financial gain for those same foreign powers leads to violent protests. Today’s Wuchang Uprising will start the Xinhai Revolution, the overthrow of more than 2 millennia of imperial rule.
The Xinhai Revolution, also known as the Chinese Revolution or the Revolution of 1911, was a revolution that overthrew China’s last imperial dynasty and established the Republic of China. The revolution was named Xinhai because it occurred in 1911, the year of the Xinhai stem-branch in the sexagenary cycle of the Chinese calendar.
Start date: Oct 10, 1911
End date: Feb 12, 1912
Xinhai Revolution (Chinese characters)
Xinhai Revolution in Chinese characters

wiki/Xinhai_Revolution
Calder Hall and Windscale (now known as Sellafield) power stations in Cumbria, England, October 1957 (© Harold Clements/Express/Getty Images)(1957) Fire at England’s Windscale nuclear reactor
A fuel cartridge has burst in one of the channels of England’s Windscale nuclear weapon facility and catches fire, sending iodine-131 radioactive contamination into the air. Eleven tons of uranium will be ablaze before the world’s first known nuclear accident is contained two days later.
The Windscale fire of 10 October 1957 was the worst nuclear accident in Great Britain’s history, ranked in severity at level 5 out of a possible 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The fire took place in Unit 1 of the two-pile Windscale facility on the northwest coast of England in Cumberland. The two graphite-moderated reactors, referred to at the time as “piles”, had been built as part of the British atomic bomb project. Windscale Pile No. 1 was operational in October 1950 followed by Pile No. 2 in June 1951.
Date: Oct 10, 1957
Windscale Reactor Schematic
Cutaway diagram of Windscale reactor

wiki/Windscale_fire
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Today in History 06/16/17

Drawing of the Switchback Gravity Railway, the first true roller coaster, at Coney Island, New York (© Barry Norman/REX)(1884) A new thrill ride debuts at Coney Island
A nickel gets you on Coney Island’s Switchback Railway, a new amusement park ride carrying passengers on an undulating railroad track at up to 6 mph, running a length of 600 feet and an overall drop of 43 feet. America’s first roller coaster will be a hit, spawning ever-bigger thrills.
The original Switchback Railway at Coney Island was the first roller coaster designed as an amusement ride in America. It was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881 and constructed in 1884. It appears Thompson based his design, at least in part, on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway which was a coal-mining train that had started carrying passengers as a thrill ride in 1827.
Opened: Jun 16, 1884
Height: 50′ 0″ (15.24 m)
Max speed: 6.03 mph (9.70 km/h)
G-force: 2.90 g
Track length: 600 feet (182.88 m)
Duration: 1 minutes

wiki/Switchback_Railway
Engraving of American businessman Charles Flint, circa 1880, who founded the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, which later became IBM (© Kean Collection/Getty Images)(1911) Early computing companies merge to form a tech powerhouse
Charles Flint founds the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (C-T-R) after merging smaller specialized firms, some of which got their start inventing new computing technology to tabulate the 1890 US Census. C-T-R will be renamed International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924.
International Business Machines, or IBM, nicknamed “Big Blue”, is a multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating back to the 19th century. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and offers infrastructure services, hosting services, and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. Ginni Rometty is the president, chairman and CEO of IBM.
wiki/History_of_IBM
Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, in front of the Vostok 6 capsule, June 1963 (© Sovfoto/UIG/Getty Images)(1963) Soviet cosmonaut is the first woman in space
Born into a decidedly earthbound proletariat family in rural Russia, Valentina Tereshkova has been chosen from over 400 applicants to become the world’s first woman in space. She will orbit Earth 48 times on a flight lasting almost three days, and parachute into re-entry at 20,000 feet.
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is a retired Russian cosmonaut and politician. She is the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than 400 applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. She completed 48 orbits of the Earth in her three days in space.
Born: Mar 06, 1937 (age 80) · Bolshoye Maslennikovo, Russia
Spouse: Yuli Shaposhnikov · Andriyan Nikolayev (m. 1963 – 1982)
Children: Elena Andrianovna Nikolaeva-Tereshkova (Daughter)
Space missions: Vostok 6
Parents: Elena Fyodorovna Tereshkova (Mother) · Vladimir Tereshkov (Father)
Highlights
  • 1962: On 16 February 1962, Valentina Tereshkova was selected to join the female cosmonaut corps.

  • 1963: She is the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than 400 applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963.

  • 1963: Valentina Tereshkova married Andriyan Nikolayev on November 03, 1963; their marriage lasted 19 years till 1982.

  • 1982: She and Nikolayev divorced in 1982.

  • 1997: In 1997, London-based electronic pop group Komputer released a song entitled “Valentina” which gives a more-or-less direct account of her career as a cosmonaut.

  • 1997: In 1997, she was retired from the Russian Air Force and the cosmonaut corps by presidential order.

wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova
Jimi Hendrix plays his Fender Stratocaster guitar while performing at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival on June 18, 1967 in Monterey, California (© Ed Caraeff/Getty Images)(1967) The counterculture comes together for music at Monterey
Kicking off the Summer of Love, the Monterey Pop Festival will blow everyone’s minds with a roster of new rock stars including The Who, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and soul superstar Otis Redding. A young guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, will literally be the show’s hottest act.
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. Crowd estimates for the festival have ranged from 25,000-90,000 people, who congregated in and around the festival grounds. The fairgrounds’ enclosed performance arena, where the music took place, had an approved festival capacity of 7,000, but it was estimated that 8,500 jammed into it for Saturday night’s show, with many extra attendees standing around the sides of the arena. Festival-goers who wanted to see the musical performances were required to have either an ‘all-festival’ ticket or a separate ticket for each of the five scheduled concert events they wanted to attend in the arena: Friday night, Saturday afternoon and night, and Sunday afternoon and night. Ticket prices varied by seating area, and ranged from $3 to $6.50.
wiki/Monterey_Pop_Festival
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Today in History 05/30/17

Detail of drawing depicting the burning at the stake of Joan of Arc on May 30, 1431 in Rouen, France (© ullstein bild/Getty Images)(1431) Visionary & teenage French warrior burned at the stake
Flame touches pyre and the execution of 19-year-old Joan of Arc begins in Rouen, France. The peasant girl claims visions from God inspired her leadership of French forces in victory against England, and she dies at the stake for heresy after sentencing by an English-friendly tribunal.
Joan of Arc, nicknamed “The Maid of Orléans”, is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years’ War and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. Joan of Arc was born to Jacques d’Arc and Isabelle Romée, a peasant family, at Domrémy in north-east France. Joan said she received visions of the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria instructing her to support Charles VII and recover France from English domination late in the Hundred Years’ War. The uncrowned King Charles VII sent Joan to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted only nine days later. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VII’s coronation at Reims. This long-awaited event boosted French morale and paved the way for the final French victory.
Born: 1412 · Domrémy-la-Pucelle, France
Died: May 30, 1431 · Rouen, France
Written works: Joan of Arc · The trial of Jeanne d’Arc · Joan of Arc, self portrait
Siblings: Pierre d’Arc (Brother) · Catherine d’Arc (Sister) · Jacquemin d’Arc (Brother) · Jean d’Arc (Brother)
Related movies: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
Parents: Jacques d’Arc (Father) · Isabelle Romée (Mother)
Highlights
  • 1415: Henry V of England took advantage of these internal divisions when he invaded the kingdom in 1415, winning a dramatic victory at Agincourt on 25 October and subsequently capturing many northern French towns.

  • 1418: In 1418 Paris was taken by the Burgundians, who massacred the Count of Armagnac and about 2,500 of his followers.

  • 1420: In 1420 the queen of France, Isabeau of Bavaria, signed the Treaty of Troyes, which granted the succession of the French throne to Henry V and his heirs instead of her son Charles.

  • 1429: Entrance of Joan of Arc into Reims in 1429, painting by Jan Matejko

  • 1431: Legal proceedings commenced on 9 January 1431 at Rouen, the seat of the English occupation government.

  • 1431: Joan of Arc died on May 30, 1431 in Rouen, France.

wiki/Joan_of_Arc
Andrew Jackson circa 1844 (© Library Of Congress/Getty Images)(1806) A future US president kills a man in a duel
Already infamous for his quick temper, Andrew Jackson challenges Charles Dickinson to a duel for publishing an article citing Jackson’s wife’s bigamy. America’s future seventh president takes a bullet that lodges near his heart, and then carefully aims at his foe, fires, and kills him.
Andrew Jackson was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837 and was the founder of the Democratic Party. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson served in Congress and gained fame as a general in the United States Army. As president, Jackson sought to advance the rights of the “common man” against a “corrupt aristocracy” and to preserve the Union.
Lived: Mar 15, 1767 – Jun 08, 1845 (age 78)
Height: 6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
Spouse: Rachel Jackson
Parties: Jacksonian democracy · Democratic Party · Democratic-Republican Party
Vice Presidents: Martin Van Buren · John C. Calhoun
Buried: The Hermitage
Highlights
  • 1805: Jackson longed for war against Spain or Great Britain, and he briefly became part of Aaron Burr’s plot to attack Spain before the latter was arrested in 1805.

  • 1821: After the ratification of the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1821, Jackson briefly served as the Governor of Florida before returning to Tennessee.

  • 1823: In 1823, with his political ambitions growing, Jackson allowed his name to be placed in contention for one of Tennessee’s U.S. Senate seats, and the legislature narrowly elected him.

  • 1832: At the first Democratic National Convention, which was privately engineered by members of the Kitchen Cabinet, Calhoun and Jackson broke from each other politically and Van Buren replaced Calhoun as Jackson’s running mate in the 1832 presidential election.

  • 1832: On December 28, 1832, with less than two months remaining in his term, Calhoun resigned as Vice President to become a U.S. Senator for South Carolina.

  • 1845: Jackson died at his plantation on June 8, 1845, at the age of 78, of chronic tuberculosis, dropsy, and heart failure.

wiki/Andrew_Jackson
The starting line-up at the first ever Indianapolis 500 motor race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1911 (© Archive Photos/Getty Images)(1911) Forty cars run in inaugural 500-mile race in Indianapolis
The world’s best drivers compete for a purse of $27,550 at the 1911 International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s first ‘500’ competition. Ray Harroun comes out of retirement for the race, and he wins it in his self-built six-cylinder Marmon ‘Wasp.’
The 1911 International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1911. It was the inaugural running of the Indianapolis 500, which is one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. Ray Harroun, an engineer with the Marmon Motor Car Company, came out of retirement to drive, and won the inaugural event before re-retiring for good in the winner’s circle.
Date: May 30, 1911
Marmon Wasp

wiki/1911_Indianapolis_500
Babe Ruth playing for the Boston Braves in 1935 (© Bettmann/Getty Images)(1935) Babe Ruth plays his final game
Playing for the Boston Braves, Babe Ruth appears in his final Major League Baseball game, striking out once before injuring his knee in the first game of a double-header. He will officially retire three days later, with records for career home runs and RBIs, among others.
George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr. was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed “The Bambino” and “The Sultan of Swat”, he began his MLB career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth established many MLB batting records, including career home runs, runs batted in, bases on balls, slugging percentage, and on-base plus slugging; the latter two still stand today. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its “first five” inaugural members.
Lived: Feb 06, 1895 – Aug 16, 1948 (age 53)
Height: 6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
Spouse: Claire Merritt Ruth (m. 1929 – 1948) · Helen Woodford Ruth (m. 1914 – 1929)
Children: Dorothy Ruth (Daughter) · Julia Ruth Stevens (Daughter)
Buried: Gate of Heaven Cemetery
Education: Cardinal Gibbons School
Highlights
  • 1914: Babe Ruth married Helen Woodford Ruth on October 17, 1914; their marriage lasted 15 years till January 11, 1929.

  • 1915: The winning pitcher, Warhop, would in August 1915 conclude a major league career of eight seasons, undistinguished but for being the first major league pitcher to give up a home run to Babe Ruth.

  • 1916: By 1916, he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs, a feat unusual for any player in the pre-1920 dead-ball era.

  • 1920: Yankees business manager Harry Sparrow had died early in the 1920 season; to replace him, Ruppert and Huston hired Barrow.

  • 1921: Ruth hit home runs early and often in the 1921 season, during which he broke Roger Connor’s mark for home runs in a career, 138.

  • 1923: Yankee Stadium was completed in time for the home opener on April 18, 1923, at which the Babe hit the first home run in what was quickly dubbed “the House that Ruth Built”.

wiki/Babe_Ruth
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Today in History 03/25/17

Clock tower of Giacomo di Rialto in Venice, Italy (© David C. Tomlinson/Getty Images)(421) Venice, Italy founded at the stroke of noon
Legend has it that the northern Italian city of Venice is created precisely at 12 noon with the dedication of its first church, San Giocomo, on the islet of Rialto. Venice will eventually spread across 117 small islands.
Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 117 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges. These are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork. The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site.
Website: www.comune.venezia.it
Population: 264,579 (2014)
Area: 160.07 sq miles (414.57 km²)
Travel tip: Stunning architecture. Mysterious passageways. And of course, the canals. Venice is one of the most alluring cities in the world—the type of place where, as a visitor, you’ll @tripadvisor
Mayor: Luigi Brugnaro

wiki/Venice

For more things to do in Italy, including Venice, check out Jen’s Review

Drawing depicting slaves aboard a ship (© Rischgitz/Getty Images)(1807) British Empire ends its slave trade
Championed by religious groups and slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce, the Slave Trade Act becomes law in Great Britain and its colonies, ending the trading of slaves throughout the empire. It will be another 26 years before slavery itself will be abolished in the United Kingdom.
The Slave Trade Act 1807 or the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed on 25 March 1807, with the title of “An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade”. The original act is in the Parliamentary Archives. The act abolished the slave trade in the British Empire, in particular the Atlantic slave trade, and also encouraged British action to press other European states to abolish their slave trades, but it did not abolish slavery itself. Many of the Bill’s supporters thought the Act would lead to the death of slavery, but it was not until 26 years later that slavery itself was actually abolished. Slavery on English soil was unsupported in English law and that position was confirmed in Somersett’s Case in 1772, but it remained legal in most of the British Empire until the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.
wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_1807
Firefighters at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York on March 25, 1911 (© New York Public Library/Getty Images)(1911) Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire kills 146
A Manhattan garment sweatshop is the scene of a horrific, and avoidable, tragedy as crowded conditions and an almost total lack of safety measures lead to the deaths of 146 workers after a fire breaks out. Legislation requiring factory safety standards will follow, as will sweatshop workers unions.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911 was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in US history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers – 123 women and 23 men – who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged 16 to 23; of the victims whose ages are known, the oldest victim was Providenza Panno at 43, and the youngest were 14-year-olds Kate Leone and “Sara” Rosaria Maltese.
Date: Mar 25, 1911
Fatalities: 146

wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire
Allen Ginsberg circa 1957 (© CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)(1957) US Customs Office seizes ‘Howl’
As 520 copies of Allen Ginsberg’s poem ‘Howl’ arrive in the US from a London publisher, customs officials seize the books on charges of obscenity. Ginsberg and his publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, will fight those charges and win, the trial a publicity bonanza for ‘Howl’ and the cause of free speech.
“Howl” is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg in 1955, published as part of his 1956 collection of poetry titled Howl and Other Poems, and dedicated to Carl Solomon. Ginsberg began work on “Howl” as early as 1954. In the Paul Blackburn Tape Archive at the University of California, San Diego, Ginsberg can be heard reading early drafts of his poem to his fellow writing associates. “Howl” is considered to be one of the great works of American literature. It came to be associated with the group of writers known as the Beat Generation.
Author: Allen Ginsberg
Written: 1955
Movements: Beat Generation
Original language: English

wiki/Howl
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Today in History 03/08/17

Aviatrix Baroness Raymonde de Laroche at the wheel of her aeroplane (© Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)(1911) First pilot license for a woman
A plumber’s daughter from Paris, having convinced an aviator friend, Charles Voisin, to instruct her in how to fly an airplane, demonstrates her flying skills to the Aero-Club of France which awards her a pilot’s license, the first ever issued to a woman.
Raymonde de Laroche, born Elise Raymonde Deroche, was a French pilot and the first woman in the world to receive an aeroplane pilot’s licence. Born on 22 August 1882 in Paris, Elise Raymonde Deroche was the daughter of a plumber. She had a fondness for sports as a child, as well as for motorcycles and automobiles when she was older. As a young woman she became an actress and used the stage name “Raymonde de Laroche”. Inspired by Wilbur Wright’s 1908 demonstrations of powered flight in Paris and being personally acquainted with several aviators, including artist-turned-aviator Léon Delagrange, who was reputed to be the father of her son André, de Laroche determined to take up flying for herself.
Born: Aug 22, 1882 · Paris, France
Died: Jul 18, 1919 · France
Highlights
  • 1990: In October 1909, de Laroche appealed to her friend, aviator and aeroplane builder Charles Voisin, to instruct her in how to fly.

  • 1909: On 22 October 1909, de Laroche went to the Voisin brothers’ base of operations at Chalons, 90 miles (140 km) east of Paris.

  • 1910: On 8 March 1910, de Laroche became the first woman in the world to receive a pilot licence when the Aero-Club of France issued her licence #36 of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (International Aeronautics Federation or F.A.I.).

  • 1910: In July 1910, de Laroche was participating in the week-long airshow at Reims in France.

  • 1912: On 26 September 1912, she and Charles Voisin were involved in a car crash.

  • 1913: On 25 November 1913 de Laroche won the Aero-Club of France’s Femina Cup for a non-stop long-distance flight of over 4 hours duration.

wiki/Raymonde_de_Laroche
First day of the February Revolution in Moscow, which led to the Russian Revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy, March 1917 (© Slava Katamidze Collection/Getty Images)(1917) Russia’s February Revolution roils
Petrograd (St. Petersburg) sees 50,000 striking workers join others celebrating International Women’s Day and together they battle police over food shortages and government corruption in the beginnings of what will be known, in reference to the date in the nation’s Julian calendar, as the February Revolution.
The February Revolution, known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution was the first of two Russian revolutions in 1917.
Start date: Mar 03, 1917
End date: Nov 07, 1917

wiki/February_Revolution
King Faisal of the Arab Kingdom of Syria at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1920) First modern-day Arab state is founded
With British and French colonial powers angling for control of the Middle East, the Arab Kingdom of Syria establishes itself as an Arab-led state. It will last four months before falling to French forces.
The Arab Kingdom of Syria was the first modern Arab state to come into existence but only lasted a little over four months. During its brief existence, the kingdom was led by Sharif Hussein bin Ali’s son Faisal bin Hussein. Despite its claims to territory of a Greater Syria, Faisal’s government controlled a limited area and was dependent on Britain which, along with France, generally opposed the idea of a Greater Syria and refused to recognize Faisal as its king. The kingdom surrendered to French forces on 24 July 1920.
Dissolved: 1920

Flag of Kingdom of Syria (1920-03-08 to 1920-07-24)Flag of Kingdom of Syria (1920-03-08 to 1920-07-24)
wiki/Arab_Kingdom_of_Syria
US Marines scramble out of a barge onto the beach at Da Nang, Vietnam, March 8, 1965 (© AP)(1965) US ground combat troops land in Vietnam
After Viet Cong attacks on US Air Force bases in Da Nang, 3,500 Marines arrive for defense, the first US land combat deployment in Vietnam. Nine months later, they’ll be joined by almost 200,000 additional US combat troops.
The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, and known in Vietnam as Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was a war that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies and the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. The war is therefore considered a Cold War-era proxy war.
Start date: Nov 01, 1955
End date: Apr 30, 1975

wiki/Vietnam_War
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