Today in History ^06/01/17

June 1, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Whisky sample inside the Diageo Claive Vidiz Collection, the world's largest collection of Scottish Whisky on display at The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh, Scotland (© Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

(1495) A batch of whisky is made for Scotland’s King James IV

In the earliest known written mention of the spirit, Brother John Cor, a monk at a Scottish abbey, notes in his exchequer rolls that ‘aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt’ are to be made by order of the King. Lindores Abbey will later be considered the birthplace of Scotch whisky.

Lindores Abbey was a Tironensian abbey on the outskirts of Newburgh in Fife, Scotland. Now a much reduced and overgrown ruin, it lies on the southern banks of the River Tay, about 1-mile north of the village of Lindores.

Address: Abbey Road, Newburgh KY14 6HH
Burials: James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas

wiki/Lindores_Abbey

A photograph of Navajo Native Americans at Fort Defiance, Arizona, circa 1873 (© Fotosearch/Getty Images)

(1868) Treaty of Bosque Redondo
repatriates Navajos with homelands

The Long Walk of the Navajo, a two-year US government relocation of the Navajo people from Arizona to New Mexico in 53 different forced 300-mile marches, ends with a treaty allowing Navajos to return to their original homelands after the catastrophic failure of the New Mexico reservation.

The Long Walk of the Navajo, also called the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo, refers to the 1864 deportation of the Navajo people by the government of the United States of America. Navajos were forced to walk from their land in what is now Arizona to eastern New Mexico. Some 53 different forced marches occurred between August 1864 and the end of 1866. Some anthropologists claim that the “collective trauma of the Long Walk…is critical to contemporary Navajos’ sense of identity as a people”.
wiki/Long_Walk_of_the_Navajo

Martial law in Tulsa, Oklahoma after the race riots (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(1921) Tulsa’s prosperous African-American
community destroyed

Known as the ‘Black Wall Street,’ and the nation’s wealthiest African-American neighborhood, the Greenwood district of Tulsa, OK, is attacked by gangs of marauding whites. When the Tulsa race riot ends, 35 city blocks have been burned, 800 are injured, upwards of 300 are dead, and 10,000 left homeless.

The Tulsa race riot, or Tulsa race riot of 1921, occurred between May 31–June 1, 1921, when a white mob started attacking residents and businesses of the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in what is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in the history of the United States. The attack, carried out on the ground and by air, destroyed more than 35 blocks of the district, at the time the wealthiest black community in the nation. More than 800 people were admitted to hospitals and more than 6,000 black residents were arrested and detained, many for several days. The Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics officially recorded 39 dead, but the American Red Cross estimated 300, a number supported by historians since then.

Start date: May 31, 1921
End date: Jun 01, 1921

wiki/Tulsa_race_riot

The Beatles album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (© SSPL/Getty Images)

(1967) The Beatles usher in the era of the rock album

The Beatles’ eighth studio LP sees the band reinvent itself, and in the process, the entire landscape of modern popular music. ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band will be a smash hit and a revelation for critics, and decades later, many will still call it a work of art that qualifies as the best rock album in history.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26 May 1967 in the United Kingdom and 2 June 1967 in the United States, it was an immediate commercial and critical success, spending 27 weeks at the top of the UK albums chart and 15 weeks at number one in the US. On release, the album was lauded by the vast majority of critics for its innovations in music production, songwriting and graphic design, for bridging a cultural divide between popular music and legitimate art, and for providing a musical representation of its generation and the contemporary counterculture. It won four Grammy Awards in 1968, including Album of the Year, the first rock LP to receive this honour.

Release year: 1967
Genre: Rock music
Label: Capitol Records
Artist: The Beatles
Awards: Grammy Award for Album of the Year · Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album · Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical · Grammy Hall of Fame · Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Performance · Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts · Brit Award for MasterCard British Album of the Year

wiki/Sgt._Pepper’s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band

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Today in History ^05/05/17

May 5, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ

Kublai Khan, Mongol Emperor of China, circa 1260 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(1260) Kublai Khan becomes leader of the Mongol Empire

A grandson of the notoriously fierce Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan ascends the Mongol throne after his older brother dies, but subsequent battles with his younger brother will split the Mongolian Empire apart. Kublai will later go on to found the vast Yuan Dynasty.

Kublai Khan, born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu, was the fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire, reigning from 1260 to 1294. He also founded the Yuan dynasty in China as a conquest dynasty in 1271, and ruled as the first Yuan emperor until his death in 1294.

Lived: Sep 23, 1215 – Feb 18, 1294 (age 78)
Spouse: Nambui (m. 1286 – 1294) · Chabi · Tegulen Khan
Children: Zhenjin (Son) · Khutugh beki Khan (Daughter) · Toghan Khan · Tsever Khan · Qughchu Khan · Saqulghachi Khan · Manggala Khan · Dorji Khan · Khungjil Khan · Nomukhan Khan · Khulan-temur Khan · Aychi Khan
Parents: Tolui (Father) · Sorghaghtani Beki (Mother)
Buried: Burkhan Khaldun
Siblings: Ariq Böke (Brother) · Hulagu Khan (Brother) · Möngke Khan (Brother)
Highlights
1224: On his way home after the Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia, Genghis Khan performed a ceremony on his grandsons Möngke and Kublai after their first hunt in 1224 near the Ili River.

1257: Möngke Khan sent two tax inspectors, Alamdar (Ariq Böke’s close friend and governor in North China) and Liu Taiping, to audit Kublai’s officials in 1257.

1262: In 1262, Hulagu’s complete purge of the Jochid troops and support for Kublai in his conflict with Ariq Böke brought open war with the Golden Horde.

1286: Kublai Khan married Nambui in 1286.

1287: Threatened by the advance of Kublai’s bureaucratization, Nayan a fourth generation descendant of one of Genghis Khan’s brothers, either Temüge or Belgutei, instigated a revolt in 1287.

1294: Nevertheless, by 1294, the year that Kublai died, the Thai kingdoms of Sukhothai and Chiang Mai had become vassal states of the Yuan dynasty.

wiki/Kublai_Khan

Chanel No. 5 perfume (© Bill Hogan/Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty Images)

(1921) Chanel No. 5 fragrence introduced

French fashion designer Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel introduces ‘a woman’s perfume with a woman’s scent.’ Dozens of prototypes had been considered, but No. 5 stood out, due in part to its heavy use of aldehydes. The perfume will become iconic for its fragrance, celebrity endorsements, and distinctive glass bottle.

Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume launched by French couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. The chemical formula for the fragrance was compounded by French-Russian chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux. Traditionally, fragrance worn by women had adhered to two basic categories: respectable women favored the pure essence of a single garden flower, and sexually provocative perfumes heavy with animal musk or jasmine were associated with women of the demi-monde, prostitutes or courtesans. Chanel felt the time was right for the debut of a scent that would epitomize the flapper and would speak to the liberated spirit of the 1920s.

Inventor: Ernest Beaux

wiki/Chanel_No._5

Astronaut Alan Shepard poses in the Mercury spacecraft in 1961 (© AP)

(1961) Mercury program sends the first American into space

Naval officer, test pilot, and astronaut Alan Shepard pilots the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission as he takes a 15-minute suborbital flight to become the first American in outer space. A decade later he’ll venture somewhat farther and visit the moon.

Mercury-Redstone 3, or Freedom 7, was the first United States human spaceflight, on May 5, 1961, piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard. It was the first manned flight of Project Mercury, the objective of which was to put an astronaut into orbit around the Earth and return him safely. Shepard’s mission was a 15-minute suborbital flight with the primary objective of demonstrating his ability to withstand the high g forces of launch and atmospheric re-entry.

Mission start: May 05, 1961
Mission end: May 05, 1961
Astronaut: Alan Shepard
Space program: Project Mercury

wiki/Mercury-Redstone_3

Marchers carry a mosaic of Bobby Sands, who was named honorary Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City in 1982 (© Warren Jorgensen/AP)

(1981) Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands dies in prison

Member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and prisoner in Northern Ireland’s Maze Prison, Bobby Sands, 27, dies after a 66-day hunger strike protesting prison conditions. A month earlier, he had won a seat in the British House of Commons.

Robert Gerard Sands, commonly known as Bobby Sands, was an Irish member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze.

Lived: Mar 09, 1954 – May 05, 1981 (age 27)
Height: 5′ 10″ (1.77 m)
Spouse: Geraldine Noade (m. 1972 – 1981)
Children: Gerard Sands
Party: Sinn Féin
Parents: Rosaleen Sands (Mother) · John Sands (Father)
Highlights
1955: His younger sisters, Marcella and Bernadette, were born in 1955 and 1958, respectively.

1972: In 1972, Sands joined the Provisional IRA.

1972: Bobby Sands married Geraldine Noade in 1972.

1972: In June 1972, Sands’ parents’ home was attacked and damaged by a loyalist mob and they were again forced to move, this time to the West Belfast Catholic area of Twinbrook, where Sands, now thoroughly embittered, rejoined them.

1980: In late 1980 Sands was chosen as Officer Commanding of the Provisional IRA prisoners in Long Kesh, succeeding Brendan Hughes who was participating in the first hunger strike.

1981: Sands died on 5 May 1981 in the Maze’s prison hospital after 66 days on hunger strike, aged 27.

wiki/Bobby_Sands

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Today in History ^11/11/16

November 11, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1852) Louisa May Alcott sees her first published story in print

	American writer Lousia May Alcott, 21, receives $5 in payment from the Saturday Evening Gazette, a Boston weekly, for her story “The Rival Painters: A Story of Rome.” Alcott will go on to publish several more stories in the Gazette before writing the popular children’s novel, ‘Little Women.’.
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist and poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo’s Boys. Raised by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May and Amos Bronson Alcott in New England, she grew up among many of the well-known intellectuals of the day such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau. Born: Nov 29, 1832 · Germantown, PA Died: Mar 06, 1888 · Boston, MA Siblings: Abigail May Alcott Nieriker (Sister) · Anna Alcott Pratt (Sister) · Elizabeth Sewall Alcott (Sister) Parents: Amos Bronson Alcott (Father) · Abby May (Mother) — Source: wiki/Louisa_May_Alcott
(1918) The ‘war to end all wars’ has itself finally ended

Germany and the Allies sign an armistice to end the war at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. Over 16 million people have died in four years of fighting. WWI is described as ‘the war to end all wars’ due to the bloody devastation. This day will hereafter be known as Armistice Day. .
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was an armistice during the First World War between the Allies and Germany – also known as the Armistice of Compiègne after the location in which it was signed – and the agreement that ended the fighting on the Western Front. It went into effect at 11 a.m. Paris time on 11 November 1918 (“the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”), and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not formally a surrender. The Germans were responding to the policies proposed by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points of January 1918. The actual terms, largely written by French Marshal and Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies Ferdinand Foch, included the cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of German troops to behind their own borders, the preservation of infrastructure, the exchange of prisoners, a promise of reparations, the disposition of German warships and submarines, and conditions for prolonging or terminating the armistice. Although the armistice ended the actual fighting, it took six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty, the Treaty of Versailles. Observance: Commemoration of the Armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front. Date: 11 November Frequency: annual First time: World’s first official observance at Buckingham Palace, London, on 11 November 1919 Related to: Coincides with Remembrance Day and Veterans Day; and related to Remembrance Sunday — Source: wiki/Armistice_with_Germany_(Compiègne) — Related Source: wiki/Armistice_Day
(1921) The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated in Arlington

	The remains of an unknown US soldier killed in World War I have been interred in a tomb in Arlington National Cemetery, and US President Warren Harding consecrates the monument known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Many more soldier remains will follow..
The Tomb of the Unknowns is a monument dedicated to American service members who have died without their remains being identified. It is also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but it has never been officially named so. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States of America. The World War I “Unknown” is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross, and several other foreign nations’ highest service awards. The U.S. Unknowns who were interred are also recipients of the Medal of Honor, presented by U.S. Presidents who presided over their funerals. Address: Memorial Dr, Arlington, VA 22211 Website: arlingtoncemetery.mil Phone: (877) 907-8585 Opened: 1921 Architect: Thomas Hastings — Source: wiki/Tomb_of_the_Unknowns
(2000) Disaster strikes an Austrian train

A funicular railway crammed with skiers turns into death trap when it catches fire in an Alpine tunnel. Toxic smoke and flames overwhelm the passengers, which include many children, claiming 115 lives. Only 12 people escape. A heater turns out to be the source of the fire..
The Kaprun disaster was a fire that occurred in an ascending train in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn Kaprun 2 funicular in Kaprun, Austria, on 11 November 2000. The disaster claimed the lives of 155 people, leaving 12 survivors from the burning train. The victims were skiers on their way to the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier. Fatalities: 155 Date: Nov 11, 2000 — Source: wiki/Kaprun_disaster
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Today in History

July 14, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1789) Parisians storm an ancient symbol of royal tyranny
	The French Revolution’s flash point is centered on Paris’ Bastille, as upwards of 1,000 insurgents attack the medieval fortress and prison to acquire its large stores of gunpowder. Bastille Day will be celebrated from then on as a national holiday in France. .
(1881) A notorious Wild West outlaw is brought down
Henry McCarty, better known by his deceptively childlike nickname ‘Billy the Kid,’ first killed a man at 17 and has since become famous as both a folk hero and vicious criminal. New Mexico Sheriff Pat Garrett ends the 21-year-old Kid’s storied career with a shot just above the heart..
(1921) Italian anarchists found guilty of murder
	The robbery of a Massachusetts shoe company resulted in the shooting death of two employees, and two Italian-born anarchists are now found guilty of the murders. Despite much controversy over the trial, and a growing belief in their innocence, Sacco and Vanzetti will be executed six years later. .
(1960) A young woman journeys into Africa to study chimpanzees
With funds raised by her friend and mentor, noted paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey, 26-year-old Jane Goodall journeys to Gombe Stream National Park on Lake Tanganyika, in what will later be Tanzania, Africa. There the amateur primatologist will begin her groundbreaking studies of chimpanzee communities..

A Historical Day

June 1, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1495) A batch of whisky is made for Scotland’s King James IV
	In the earliest known written mention of the spirit, Brother John Cor, a monk at a Scottish abbey, notes in his exchequer rolls that ‘aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt’ are to be made by order of the King. Lindores Abbey will later be considered the birthplace of Scotch whisky..
(1868) Treaty of Bosque Redondo repatriates Navajos with homelands
The Long Walk of the Navajo, a two-year US government relocation of the Navajo people from Arizona to New Mexico in 53 different forced 300-mile marches, ends with a treaty allowing Navajos to return to their original homelands after the catastrophic failure of the New Mexico reservation. .
(1921) Tulsa’s prosperous African-American community destroyed
	Known as the ‘Black Wall Street,’ and the nation’s wealthiest African-American neighborhood, the Greenwood district of Tulsa, OK, is attacked by gangs of marauding whites. When the Tulsa race riot ends, 35 city blocks have been burned, 800 are injured, upwards of 300 are dead, and 10,000 left homeless. .
(1967) The Beatles usher in the era of the rock album
The Beatles’ eighth studio LP sees the band reinvent itself, and in the process, the entire landscape of modern popular music. ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band will be a smash hit and a revelation for critics, and decades later, many will still call it a work of art that qualifies as the best rock album in history..