Today in History ^04/10/17

April 10, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

This 2010 aerial photo shows Mount Tambora's crater, created by the April 1815 eruption (© Iwan Setiyawan/AP)

(1815) Most powerful volcano eruption in 10,000 years

Heard for thousands of miles, the Dutch East Indies’ Mount Tambora erupts with cataclysmic force, devastating everything around it with pyroclastic flows and ash falls. The eruption will significantly change the climate, spawning the “year without a summer” and causing global famine.

The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora was one of the most powerful eruptions in recorded history and is the most recent known VEI-7 event. The eruption of the volcano, on the island of Sumbawa in the Dutch East Indies, reached a climax on 10 April 1815 and was followed by between six months and three years of increased steaming and small phreatic eruptions.
wiki/1815_eruption_of_Mount_Tambora

This undated file photo shows Henry Bergh, who founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1866 (© AP)

(1866) ASPCA animal welfare group founded in New York

Cockfighting, slaughterhouses, and widespread animal abuse leads Henry Bergh to establish the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a group dedicated to promoting the humane treatment of animals and enacting anti-cruelty laws.

Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in April, 1866, three days after the first effective legislation against animal cruelty in the United States was passed into law by the New York State Legislature. Bergh also prompted the formation, in 1874, of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Lived: Aug 29, 1813 – Mar 12, 1888 (age 74)
Spouse: Catherine Matilda Taylor
Founded: American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Buried: Green-Wood Cemetery
Parents: Christian Bergh
Education: Columbia College
Highlights
1862: In 1862, Bergh was appointed secretary and acting vice-consul to the American legation in St. Petersburg, Russia by then President Abraham Lincoln.

1866: The legislature passed the laws prepared by him, and on April 10, 1866 the ASPCA was legally organized, with Bergh as president.

1874: Bergh also prompted the formation, in 1874, of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC).

1874: In 1874, Bergh was approached by a Methodist missionary named Etta Agnell Wheeler, who sought help rescuing a child named Mary Ellen Wilson from her cruel abuser, Mary Connolly.

1875: In response, Bergh himself, along with Elbridge T. Gerry and John D. Wright, formed the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) in 1875.

1888: He died on March 12, 1888, in New York City.

wiki/Henry_Bergh

'The Great Gatsby' book displayed at Olympia Exhibition Centre on June 13, 2013 in London, England. (© Oli Scarff/Getty Imagess)

(1925) Quintessential American tragedy debuts

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel will sell poorly in the years after its publication, but the Jazz Age tale will fare better after Fitzgerald’s death in 1940, and will go on to become a staple for high school students in the US. Fitzgerald’s story of lost romance, materialism, and the American Dream will resonate with readers for decades beyond its disappointing debut.

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion and obsession for the beautiful former debutante Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald’s magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream.

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
First published: Apr 10, 1925
Number of pages: 180
Characters: Jay Gatsby · Daisy Buchanan · Myrtle Wilson · George Wilson · Meyer Wolfsheim · Tom Buchanan · Nick Carraway · Jordan Baker · Mr. Gatz
Adaptations: The Great Gatsby (2013) · The Great Gatsby (1974) · The Great Gatsby (2000) · The Great Gatsby (1949) · The Great Gatsby (1926) · G (2002) · The Great Gatsby · Gatz
Genre: Novel

wiki/The_Great_Gatsby

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, right, US Senator George Mitchell, center, and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern pose together after they signed the agreement for peace in Northern Ireland on April 10, 1998 (© Dan Chung/Pool/AP)

(1998) Good Friday Agreement brings peace to Northern Ireland

Three decades of conflict known as ‘The Troubles,’ and two years of peace talks, are resolved on this Good Friday with the signing of a power-sharing agreement between Northern Ireland’s Protestant and Catholic populations.

The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement (Irish: Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or Irish: Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: Guid Friday Greeance or Bilfawst Greeance) was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s.

Northern Ireland’s present devolved system of government is based on the agreement. The agreement also created a number of institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

The agreement is made up of two inter-related documents, both agreed in Belfast on Good Friday, 10 April 1998:

a multi-party agreement by most of Northern Ireland’s political parties;
an international agreement between the British and Irish governments (the British-Irish Agreement).

The agreement set out a complex series of provisions relating to a number of areas including:

The status and system of government of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. (Strand 1)
The relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. (Strand 2)
The relationship between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. (Strand 3)

Issues relating to sovereignty, civil and cultural rights, decommissioning of weapons, justice and policing were central to the agreement.

The agreement was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums held on 22 May 1998. In Northern Ireland, voters were asked whether they supported the multi-party agreement. In the Republic of Ireland, voters were asked whether they would allow the state to sign the agreement and allow necessary constitutional changes to facilitate it. The people of both jurisdictions needed to approve the agreement in order to give effect to it.

The British-Irish Agreement came into force on 2 December 1999. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was the only major political group in Northern Ireland to oppose the Good Friday Agreement.

wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement

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Today in History ^03/18/17

March 18, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Minnie Hawkins sits amongst the wreckage of her home in Murphysboro, IL, in the wake of the tri-state tornado, March 1925 (© Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(1925) Deadliest tornado in US history strikes three states

For seven hours, a massive tornado wreaks destruction over some 200 miles, the longest twister track in recorded history, roaring through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. The twister kills 695 people and causes an estimated $1.4 billion in damage.

The Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925 was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. It was also the most exceptional tornado of a major outbreak of at least twelve known significant tornadoes across a large portion of the Midwestern and Southern U.S. It alone inflicted 695 fatalities, more than twice as many as the second deadliest, the Great Natchez Tornado of 1840. The 151 to 235 mi track left by the tornado was the longest ever recorded in the world as it crossed from southeastern Missouri, through southern Illinois, then into southwestern Indiana. Although not officially rated by NOAA, it is recognized by most experts as an F5 tornado, the maximum damage rating issued on the Fujita scale.

Date: Mar 18, 1925
Fatalities: 695

wiki/Tri-State_Tornado

An Algerian FLN (National Liberation Front) company on the move in 1958 (© ullstein bild/Getty Images)

(1962) Algerian War ends in a truce

Seven years of war and 132 years of French rule come to an end in Algeria as the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) and France sign a peace agreement. Hundreds of thousands, mostly civilians, have died in the conflict.

The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian War of Independence or the Algerian Revolution was a war between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria gaining its independence from France. An important decolonization war, it was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare, maquis fighting, and the use of torture by both sides. The conflict also became a civil war between loyalist Algerians supporting a French Algeria and their Algerian nationalist counterparts.

Start date: Nov 01, 1954
End date: Mar 19, 1962

wiki/Algerian_War

Russian astronaut Alexei Leonov steps from the spaceship Voskhod 2 to become the first human to walk in outer space, March 18, 1965 (© Central Press/Getty Images)

(1965) USSR’s Alexey Leonov takes the first spacewalk

Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov emerges from his spacecraft and spends 12 minutes suspended in outer space, with only a tether connecting him to his craft. It’s humankind’s first “extravehicular activity,” or EVA.

Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov is a retired Soviet/Russian cosmonaut, Air Force Major general, a writer and an artist. On 18 March 1965, he became the first human to conduct extravehicular activity, exiting the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission for a 12-minute spacewalk.

Born: May 30, 1934 (age 82) · Listvyanka, Irkutsky District, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia
Height: 5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
Spouse: Svetlana Pavlovna Dozenko
Space missions: Voskhod 2 · Apollo–Soyuz Test Project
Movies and TV shows: From the Earth to the Moon · Tank on the Moon
Children: Oksana A. (Daughter) · Viktoria A. (Daughter)
Highlights
1965: He was outside the spacecraft for 12 minutes and nine seconds on 18 March 1965, connected to the craft by a 5.35-meter tether.

1965: On 18 March 1965, he became the first human to conduct extravehicular activity (EVA), exiting the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission for a 12-minute spacewalk.

1968: In 1968, Leonov was selected to be commander of a circumlunar Soyuz 7K-L1 flight.

1984: Leonov, along with Rusty Schweickart, Vitaly Sevastyanov, and Georgi Grechko established the Association of Space Explorers in 1984.

2001: Space and Time Perception by the Cosmonaut written by Alexey Leonov was first published on January 01, 2001.

2005: Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race written by Alexey Leonov was first published on April 04, 2005.

wiki/Alexey_Leonov

The empty center frame, from which thieves cut Rembrandt's 'Storm on the Sea of Galilee,' remains on display at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston (© Josh Reynolds/AP)

(1990) $500 million worth of art nabbed

Disguised as cops, brazen thieves enter Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and make off with 13 invaluable artworks, including paintings by Vermeer and Rembrandt. The crime will remain unsolved.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner’s lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens. The museum houses an art collection of world importance, including significant examples of European, Asian, and American art, from paintings and sculpture to tapestries and decorative arts. In 1990, thirteen of the museum’s works were stolen; the high-profile crime remains unsolved and the location of the artworks is still unknown.

Website: www.gardnermuseum.org
Address: 25 Evans Way, Boston, MA 02115
Phone: (617) 566-1401
Established: 1903
Architects: Willard T. Sears · William T. Sears
Founder: Isabella Stewart Gardner

wiki/Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Museum

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Today in History ^12/12/16

December 12, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1917) Father Edward Flanagan establishes Boys Town near Omaha

	The 31-year-old Irish priest opens the doors to a Victorian mansion as a home for troubled boys. He starts out with just six kids, but numbers will quickly grow. Thanks to help from local citizens, Flanagan will move the home to a large facility outside of Omaha to serve more children.
Boys Town, formerly Girls and Boys Town and Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home, is a non-profit organization dedicated to caring for its children and families, with national headquarters in the village of Boys Town, Nebraska. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated as a National Historic Landmark on February 4, 1985. Founder: Edward J. Flanagan Address: 14100 Crawford Street, Boys Town, NE 68010 Website: www.boystown.org Opened: 1917 Tax ID: 47-0376606 CEO: Steven E. Boes (2005) Headquarters: Boys Town, NE — Source: wiki/Boys_Town_(organization)
(1925) World’s first motel opens in San Luis Obispo, California

Arthur Heineman opens the Motel Inn in a town midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. As people began driving longer distances, Heineman sought to offer travelers a spot for the night beyond camping. Now, they could drive up to his “motor hotel” or “motel” and sleep in comfort.
The Motel Inn, located in San Luis Obispo, California, is the first motel in the world. It opened on December 12, 1925. The emergence and popularization of the automobile in the United States of the early 20th century inspired many car owners beyond commuting into town. The poor roads of the era combined with the vehicle speeds and reliability required two or more days of nearly all day driving for 400-mile trips such as Los Angeles to San Francisco. Nearby destinations of 40 miles or less could be visited in a day to include a return trip. Longer trips requiring an overnight stay often left travelers looking for places to pitch tent or to sleep in their automobile if arrangements hadn’t been made ahead to destinations and stopovers that also happen to have hotels or inns. The lack of niche accommodations to fill the need for automobile travelers who only needed an overnight stay to continue their trip inspired many entrepreneurs. The combination of the convenience of a campground with the comforts and respectability of a hotel or inn spurred the creation of the motel. Address: 2223 Monterey St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Phone: (805) 543-4000 — Source: wiki/Motel_Inn
(1980) Armand Hammer buys Da Vinci notebook for $5 million

	At an auction in London, the oil tycoon outbids the room for a Leonardo da Vinci notebook, from around 1508, that contains notes and drawings about water and its properties. In 1994, the notebook will be on the block again, but this time it’ll go for $30.8 million.
The Codex Leicester is a collection of famous scientific writings by Leonardo da Vinci. The Codex is named after Thomas Coke, later created Earl of Leicester, who purchased it in 1719. Of Leonardo’s 30 scientific journals, the Codex may be the most famous of all. The manuscript holds the record for the sale price of any book, when it was sold to Bill Gates at Christie’s auction house on 11 November 1994 in New York for US$30,802,500. Author: Leonardo da Vinci First published: 1510 Genre: Handwriting — Source: wiki/Codex_Leicester
(2003) Keiko, the orca star of ‘Free Willy,’ dies in Norwegian fjord

After a $20 million project to reintroduce him to the wild, Keiko succumbs to pneumonia off the coast of Norway. In captivity since he was a pup, Keiko never reintegrated with wild orca pods and continued to seek out human contact during his year and a half in the open ocean.
Keiko was a male orca who portrayed Willy in the 1993 film Free Willy. Keiko, whose name means “lucky one” in Japanese, was captured near Reyðarfjörður, Iceland in 1979 and sold to the Icelandic aquarium in Hafnarfjörður. Three years later he was sold to Marineland in Ontario where he first started performing for the public and developed skin lesions indicative of poor health. He was then sold to Reino Aventura, an amusement park in Mexico City, in 1985. He was the star of the movie Free Willy in 1993. Lived: 1976 – Dec 12, 2003 Weight: 11,993 pound (5,440 kg) Movies and TV shows: Free Willy · Azul Awards: Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Animal Star (1996) Nominations: MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (1994) · Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Animal Star (1998, 1996) Birth place: Iceland — Source: wiki/Keiko_(orca)
DIH v2.9.o16

Today in History

July 10, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1553) A 16-year-old begins her nine-day reign of England
	By all accounts an exceptionally intelligent young woman, Lady Jane Grey has the misfortune of attaining the throne of England at a time when Catholics and Protestants are waging merciless power plays. She will last a scant nine days as queen before being imprisoned and later executed..
(1913) Aptly named Death Valley sizzles with record-smashing high
With hot spots like ‘Furnace Creek’ and ‘The Devil’s Golf Course,’ California’s Death Valley doesn’t surprise with a mercury rise, but the temperature today tops out at 134° F, the highest ever recorded on Earth, and a record that will stand more than a century later. .
(1925) Evolution goes on trial in Tennessee
	Renowned lawyer Clarence Darrow defends John Scopes for the crime of teaching the theory of evolution, and former US Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan is counsel to the prosecution in a highly publicized and contentious court case that’s quickly branded ‘the Monkey Trial.’.
(1940) Germany’s Luftwaffe launches air attacks on Britain
Britons begin watching the skies as Hitler unleashes the destructive force of the Luftwaffe’s aerial bombers against Germany’s final unconquered European foe in the ‘Kanalkampf,’ or Channel battles. The Battle of Britain will move inland with raids on cities and civilians just two months later. .

A Historical Day

June 26, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1483) King Richard III begins his rule of England
	The House of York sends their last king to the throne of England, as Richard III begins his rule. His reign will be brief, ending two years later at the Battle of Bosworth Field, but his infamy will live on, as a future scribe named Shakespeare will find inspiration in Richard’s reputed villainy. .
(1925) Chaplin’s Little Tramp stakes his Klondike claim
Silent-film star Charlie Chaplin hits a rich vein of comedy with a tale pitting his ‘Little Tramp’ against severe snowstorms, vicious villains, and dance hall dames. Two months after its Hollywood premiere, ‘The Gold Rush’ will go into wide release, striking box office gold..
(1963) Kennedy is a Berliner in key Cold War speech
	Almost two years after communist East Germany built a wall separating East and West Berlin, US President John F. Kennedy speaks in front of a crowd of 450,000 in West Berlin and assures the city, surrounded by Soviet-backed East Germany, ‘Ich bin ein Berliner,’ or, ‘I am a Berliner.’ .
(1997) Harry meets Hogwarts in a spellbinding story
A boy learns he is not merely a muggle, and is summoned to study at a school of sorcery, in the debut children’s novel published on this day by an unknown British writer. ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ will spawn six sequels and make a household name of author J.K. Rowling..