1928

Today in History 11/04 (Iran Hostage Crisis)

One of the hostages seized when radicals stormed the US embassy in Tehran with hostage takers on November 9, 1979 (© AP)(1979) Militants storm US Embassy in Tehran, take US hostages
The militants demand the US return the Shah of Iran, who’d fled after being overthrown in the Islamic Revolution. US President Carter refuses to “yield to blackmail” and imposes an Iran oil embargo. The hostages will remain in captivity for 444 days.
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic standoff between Iran and the United States of America. Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, after a group of Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. It stands as the longest hostage crisis in recorded history.
Start date: Nov 04, 1979
End date: Jan 20, 1981

Iran hostage crisis - Iraninan students comes up U.S. embassy in Tehran
Iran hostage crisis – Iraninan students comes up U.S. embassy in Tehran
wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis
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(1979) Militants storm US Embassy in Tehran, take US hostages.
Also on this day,

1922 | Tut’s tomb discovered as British archeologist finds the entrance to King Tut’s tomb
After years of scouring the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, archeologist Howard Carter unearths hidden steps down to the sealed tomb of King Tutankhamun, the boy king. When he unseals the tomb in a few months, it will turn out to be remarkably intact, its riches hidden for over 3,000 years.
1928 | Fatal shooting in NYC as NY gambler, racketeer Arnold ‘the brain’ Rothstein shot
Arnold ‘the Brain’ Rothstein, a businessman and gambler known as a leader of the Jewish mob and tied to fixing sporting events, is shot at a Manhattan hotel. The shooting is reportedly related to debts from a poker game. He will die from his wounds two days later.
2008 | Barack Obama elected first black president in US
After a tough primary race against Hillary Clinton, Obama beats John McCain in the general election and makes history as the first African-American president. Obama’s promise of hope and his slogan “Change We Can Believe In” seem to register with voters, who give him a decisive victory.

Today in History 11/04/17

President-elect Barack Obama gives his victory speech to supporters during an election night gathering in Grant Park on November 4, 2008, in Chicago (© Scott Olson/Getty Images)(2008) Barack Obama elected first black president in US
After a tough primary race against Hillary Clinton, Obama beats John McCain in the general election and makes history as the first African-American president. Obama's promise of hope and his slogan "Change We Can Believe In" seem to register with voters, who give him a decisive victory.
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Democratic Party nominees Barack Obama, a U.S. Senator from Illinois, and his running mate Joe Biden, a long-time U.S. Senator from Delaware, defeated Republican Party nominees John McCain, a long-time and current U.S. Senator from Arizona, and his running mate Sarah Palin, a Governor of Alaska. Obama became the first African American ever to be elected president of the United States, and Joe Biden became the first Roman Catholic ever elected vice president.
Election year: Nov 04, 2008

Electoral College 2008
Presidential election results map. Blue denotes those won by Obama/Biden, red denotes states won by McCain/Palin. Numbers indicate electoral votes allotted to the winner of each state.

wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2008
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Today in History 09/28 (William the Conqueror)

Portrayal of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 (© The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)(1066) A Norman duke bent on conquest lands in England
Duke William I of Normandy and his invasion force land at Pevensey on the Sussex coast to begin what will be nothing less than the conquest of England. By Christmas, ‘William the Conqueror’ is crowned king in London’s Westminster Abbey as England’s age of Anglo-Saxon rule ends.
William I, usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. After a long struggle to establish his power, by 1060 his hold on Normandy was secure, and he launched the Norman conquest of England six years later. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands and by difficulties with his eldest son.
Lived: 1028 – Sep 09, 1087
Spouse: Matilda of Flanders
Children: Robert Curthose (Son) · Henry I of England (Son) · William II of England (Son) · Adela of Normandy (Daughter) · Cecilia of Normandy (Daughter) · Constance of Normandy (Daughter) · Richard of Normandy (Son) · Adeliza (Daughter) · Agatha of Normandy (Daughter) · Matilda
Buried: Abbey of Saint-Étienne, Caen
Parents: Robert I, Duke of Normandy (Father) · Herleva (Mother)
Siblings: Odo of Bayeux (Brother) · Adelaide of Normandy (Sister) · Robert, Count of Mortain (Brother)
Highlights
  • 1053: In England, Earl Godwin died in 1053 and his sons were increasing in power: Harold succeeded to his father’s earldom, and another son, Tostig, became Earl of Northumbria.

  • 1065: In 1065 Northumbria revolted against Tostig, and the rebels chose Morcar, the younger brother of Edwin, Earl of Mercia, as earl in place of Tostig.

  • 1066: Harold’s brother Tostig made probing attacks along the southern coast of England in May 1066, landing at the Isle of Wight using a fleet supplied by Baldwin of Flanders.

  • 1066: Harold’s brother Tostig and Harald Hardrada invaded Northumbria in September 1066 and defeated the local forces under Morcar and Edwin at the Battle of Fulford near York.

  • 1083: More difficulties struck in 1083, when William’s eldest son Robert rebelled once more with support from the French king.

  • 1087: He was taken to the priory of Saint Gervase at Rouen, where he died on 9 September 1087.

Location of major events during the Norman conquest of England in 1066
Locations of some of the events in 1066
wiki/William_the_Conqueror
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(1066) A Norman duke bent on conquest lands in England.
Also on this day,

1928 | Bacteria finally, and accidentally, meet their match as Penicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming
On his return from vacation, Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming finds a staphylococci culture has been sullied by a mold that is destroying the bacteria. With this accidental discovery, Fleming has found penicillin, an antibiotic that will change the world and save countless lives.
1963 | Pop art explodes with the first showing of ‘Whaam!’
Roy Lichtenstein’s new art exhibition includes a big, bold diptych titled, quite appropriately, ‘Whaam!’ Zooming across canvas is the artist’s reworking of a panel from a war comic book. At once shocking, amusing, and utterly modern, it will become one of pop art’s emblematic works.
1981 | Olivia Newton-John gets ‘Physical’ hit single
The Australian singer—and ‘Grease’ star—releases the saucy single and its suggestive fitness-themed video. The song will become her biggest US hit, topping Billboard’s singles chart for 10 weeks.

Today in History 09/28/17

Scottish biologist Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1928) Bacteria finally, and accidentally, meet their match
On his return from vacation, Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming finds a staphylococci culture has been sullied by a mold that is destroying the bacteria. With this accidental discovery, Fleming has found penicillin, an antibiotic that will change the world and save countless lives.
Sir Alexander Fleming FRS FRSE FRCS was a Scottish physician, biologist, pharmacologist and botanist. His best-known discoveries are the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the world's first antibiotic substance benzylpenicillin from the mould Penicillium notatum in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy.
Lived: Aug 06, 1881 - Mar 11, 1955 (age 73)
Spouse: Amalia Fleming (m. 1953 - 1955) · Sarah Fleming (m. 1915 - 1949)
Inventions: Penicillin
Awards: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1945) · John Scott Medal (1944)
Education: St Mary's Hospital Medical School (1903 - 1906) · Imperial College London · University of Westminster · Kilmarnock Academy
Highlights
  • 1915: Alexander Fleming married Sarah Fleming on December 22, 1915; their marriage lasted 34 years till October 28, 1949.

  • 1927: By 1927, Fleming had been investigating the properties of staphylococci.

  • 1929: He identified the mould as being from the Penicillium genus, and, after some months of calling it "mould juice", named the substance it released penicillin on 7 March 1929.

  • 1940: Shortly after the team published its first results in 1940, Fleming telephoned Howard Florey, Chain's head of department, to say that he would be visiting within the next few days.

  • 1945: Fleming, Florey and Chain jointly received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945.

  • 1955: On 11 March 1955, Fleming died at his home in London of a heart attack.

Synthetic Production of Penicillin TR1468
Synthetic Production of Penicillin Professor Alexander Fleming, holder of the Chair of Bacteriology at London University, who first discovered the mould Penicillin Notatum. Here in his laboratory at St Mary's, Paddington, London.

wiki/Alexander_Fleming
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