1948

Today in History 04/03/18

President Harry Truman signs the history-making foreign aid bill known as the Marshall Plan into law at a White House ceremony in Washington on April 3, 1948 (©AP)(1948) Marshall Plan is approved for a post-WWII Europe
President Harry Truman pledges billions of dollars in US aid to a Europe reeling from the massive destruction of World War II. The Marshall Plan is both a humanitarian effort and a shrewd political move against Soviet expansion.
The Marshall Plan was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $13 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. The plan was in operation for four years beginning on April 3, 1948. The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-torn regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, improve European prosperity, and prevent the spread of Communism. The Marshall Plan required a lessening of interstate barriers, a dropping of many regulations, and encouraged an increase in productivity, trade union membership, as well as the adoption of modern business procedures.
Marshall Plan aid to Germany
Construction in West Berlin with the help of the Marshall Plan after 1948. The plaque reads: “Emergency Program Berlin – with the help of the Marshall Plan”
wiki/Marshall_Plan
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(1948) Marshall Plan is approved for a post-WWII Europe.
Also on this day,
1882 | Ford kills Jesse James
1895 | Oscar Wilde trial
1973 | First cell phone call

Today in History 02/22/18

Members of the 'People's Militia,' formed by members of the Communist Party, march in Czechoslovakia in Feb 1948 (© STR/AFP/Getty Images)(1948) Coup brings Communist rule to Czechoslovakia
With the might of the Soviets behind them, Czechoslovak socialists take power by coup d’état, ushering in what will be 40 years of dictatorship, and spurring the West to enact the Marshall Plan.
The 1948 Czechoslovak coup d’état – in Marxist historiography known as “Victorious February” – was an event late that February in which the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia, marking the onset of four decades of communist rule in the country.
Start date: Feb 21, 1948
End date: Feb 25, 1948

Gottwald & Stalin
Portraits of Klement Gottwald and Joseph Stalin at a 1947 meeting of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
wiki/1948_Czechoslovak_coup_d’état
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Today in History 09/09/17

Kim Il Sung gives a broadcast speech in June 1950 to all North Korean citizens regarding the breakout of the Korean war (© Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)(1948) Socialist state is created on the Korean Peninsula
Following post-WWII annexations by the USSR in the north and the US in the south, the country of Korea is further split as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is announced. The new socialist dictatorship, led by Kim Il Sung, takes over the north, and will close its borders and grow increasingly isolated.
North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang is the nation’s capital and largest city. To the north and northwest the country is bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok and Tumen rivers; it is bordered to the south by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone separating the two. Nevertheless, North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire Korean peninsula.
Population: 25.37 million (2016)
Official language: Korean
Capital: Pyongyang
GDP: $25 billion USD (2015)
Area: 46,541 sq miles (120,540 km²)
Calling code: 850
North Korea (orthographic projection)
Area controlled by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shown in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled regions shown in light green.

wiki/North_Korea
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Today in History 05/14/17

Settlers landing on the site of Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America (MPI/Getty Images)(1607) English colonists put down roots in America
The Virginia Company of London finds a suitable parcel of land 40 miles from the sea on which to build a fortified settlement. Jamestown, named for the English king, will be the first permanent English colony in America, and arguably the first arm of the future British Empire.
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. William Kelso writes that Jamestown “is where the British Empire began.” Jamestown was established by the Virginia Company of London as “James Fort” on May 4, 1607, and was considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610. It followed several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Jamestown served as the capital of the colony of Virginia for 83 years, from 1616 until 1699.
Points of interest: Historic Jamestowne · Jamestown Church · John Smith Statue · Ambler House · James Fort · Tercentenary Monument · Archaearium · Pocahontas Statue · Hunt Shrine

wiki/Jamestown,_Virginia
Painting of British physician and naturalist, Edward Jenner (© James Northcote)(1796) Scourge of smallpox meets its match
English scientist Edward Jenner inoculates a patient with the cowpox pathogen, thereby immunizing him from smallpox, a highly infectious, scarring plague that has already killed millions. Jenner has created the world’s first vaccine and will be called ‘the father of immunology.’
Smallpox vaccine, the first successful vaccine to be developed, was introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796. He followed up his observation that milkmaids who had previously caught cowpox did not later catch smallpox by showing that inoculated cowpox protected against inoculated smallpox. The word “vaccine” is derived from Variolae vaccinae (i.e. smallpox of the cow), the term devised by Jenner to denote cowpox and used in the long title of his An enquiry into the causes and effects of Variolae vaccinae, known by the name of cow pox. Vaccination, the term which soon replaced cowpox inoculation and vaccine inoculation, was first used in print by Jenner’s friend, Richard Dunning in 1800. Initially, the terms vaccine/vaccination referred only to smallpox, but in 1881 Louis Pasteur proposed that to honour Jenner the terms be widened to cover the new protective inoculations being introduced.
wiki/Smallpox_vaccine
David Ben Gurion reads out the declaration of the founding of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv (© Keystone/Getty Images)(1948) Israel is declared an independent state
Declaring itself independent from the British Mandate of Palestine, the Jewish state of Israel is established, and a provisional government put in place. The next day, the Arab-Israeli War will begin, and last for more than nine months before a ceasefire is announced.

The History of Israel encompasses the Jewish history in the Land of Israel, as well as the history of the modern State of Israel. Modern Israel and the West Bank are roughly located on the site of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It is the birthplace of the Hebrew language and of the Abrahamic religions, and contains sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Samaritanism, Druze and Bahá’í Faith.

Although coming under the sway of various empires and home to a variety of ethnicities, the Land of Israel was predominantly Jewish until the 3rd century. The area became increasingly Christian after the 3rd century and then largely Muslim following the 7th century conquest and until the middle of the 20th century. It was a focal point of conflict between Christianity and Islam between 1096 and 1291, and from the end of the Crusades was part of the Syrian province of first the Mamluk Sultanate and then the Ottoman Empire until the British conquest in 1917.

A Jewish national movement, Zionism, emerged in the late-19th century. Following the British capture of Ottoman territories in the Levant, the Balfour Declaration in World War I and the formation of the Mandate of Palestine, Aliyah (Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel) increased, causing Arab–Jewish tensions and a collision of the Arab and Jewish nationalist movements. Israeli independence in 1948 was marked by massive migration of Jews from both Europe and the Muslim countries to Israel, and of Arabs from Israel, followed by the extensive Arab–Israeli conflict. About 43% of the world’s Jews live in Israel today, the largest Jewish community in the world.

Since about 1970, the United States has become the principal ally of Israel. In 1979 an uneasy Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was signed, based on the Camp David Accords. In 1993, Israel signed Oslo I Accord with the Palestine Liberation Organization, followed by establishment of the Palestinian National Authority and in 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed. Despite efforts to finalize the peace agreement, the conflict continues to play a major role in Israeli and international political, social and economic life.

The economy of Israel was initially primarily socialist and the country dominated by social democratic parties until the 1970s. Since then the Israeli economy has gradually moved to capitalism and a free market economy, partially retaining the social welfare system.


wiki/History_of_Israel
The cast of ‘Seinfeld,’ from left, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards (© George Lange/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)(1998) Final episode of ‘Seinfeld’ airs
After nine seasons, the ‘show about nothing’ that introduced TV viewers to Monk’s Café, Festivus, The Soup Nazi—yada yada yada— says goodbye. The 75-minute finale attracts more than 76 million viewers, though reactions from fans and critics are mixed at best.
Jerry Seinfeld stars in this television comedy series as himself, a comedian. The premise of this sitcom is Jerry and his friends going through everyday life, discussing various quirky situations that we can all relate to (especially if we live in New York). The eccentric personalities of the offbeat characters who make up Jerry’s social circle contribute to the fun.
First episode: Jul 05, 1989
Episode duration: 22 minutes
Creators: Jerry Seinfeld · Larry David
Theme song: Seinfeld Theme Song
Producers: Jerry Seinfeld · Larry David · Alec Berg · Jeff Schaffer · George Shapiro · Andrew Scheinman
Awards: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series · Peabody Award · Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

wiki/Seinfeld
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Today in History 05/03/17

Colorized engraving of a portrait of British poet George Gordon, Lord Byron (© Stock Montage/Getty Images)(1810) Poet Lord Byron takes a long swim across the Hellespont
Inspired by the myth of Hero and Leander, George Gordon Byron, 22, swims across a turbulent Turkish strait dividing Europe from Asia. He will recount his aquatic adventure in the second canto of one of the most famous poems of the Romantic era, ‘Don Juan.’
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, FRS, commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet, peer, politician, and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. Among his best-known works are the lengthy narrative poems, Don Juan and Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, and the short lyric poem, “She Walks in Beauty”.
Lived: Jan 22, 1788 – Apr 19, 1824 (age 36)
Height: 5′ 9″ (1.74 m)
Spouse: Anne Isabella Byron, Baroness Byron (m. 1815 – 1816)
Children: Elizabeth Medora Leigh (Daughter) · Ada Lovelace (Daughter) · Allegra Byron (Daughter)
Education: Trinity College, Cambridge (1805 – 1808) · Harrow School (1801 – 1805) · University of Cambridge · Aberdeen Grammar School
Siblings: Augusta Leigh (Sister)
Highlights
  • 1798: When Byron’s great-uncle, the “wicked” Lord Byron, died on 21 May 1798, the 10-year-old boy became the 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale and inherited the ancestral home, Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire.

  • 1815: The vessel was launched only a few miles south of Seaham Hall, where in 1815 Byron married Annabella Milbanke.

  • 1817: He also had an illegitimate child in 1817, Clara Allegra Byron, with Claire Clairmont, stepsister of Mary Shelley and stepdaughter of William Godwin, writer of Political Justice and Caleb Williams.

  • 1822: Upon the death of Byron’s mother-in-law Judith Noel, the Hon. Lady Milbanke, in 1822, her will required that he change his surname to “Noel” in order for him to inherit half of her estate.

  • 1823: Whilst sailing from Genoa to Cephalonia in 1823, every day at noon, Byron and Trelawny, in calm weather, jumped overboard for a swim without fear of sharks, which were not unknown in those waters.

  • 1824: He died in 1824 at the age of 36 from a fever contracted while in Missolonghi.

wiki/Lord_Byron
Engraving of William Walker training his soldiers at Virgin Bay (© Bettmann/Corbis)(1855) William Walker sets off to conquer Nicaragua
A self-styled colonial kingpin, William Walker departs San Francisco for Central America, where he plans to rule over as much territory as possible, an exploit known as filibustering. He will succeed briefly in Nicaragua, but will be executed in Honduras five years later.
William Walker (May 8, 1824 – September 12, 1860) was an American physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary who organized several private military expeditions into Latin America, with the intention of establishing English-speaking colonies under his personal control, an enterprise then known as “filibustering.” Walker usurped the presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua in 1856 and ruled until 1857, when he was defeated by a coalition of Central American armies. He was executed by the government of Honduras in 1860.
wiki/William_Walker_(filibuster)
Douglas Edwards of CBS News circa 1962 (© CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)(1948) CBS begins nightly newscast
‘CBS Television News’ (later ‘CBS Evening News’) debuts as a 15-minute show anchored by Douglas Edwards. In 1963 it will become the first 30-minute weeknight network news broadcast. Future anchors will include Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Katie Couric, and Scott Pelley.
The CBS Evening News is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The program has been broadcast since May 3, 1948 under the original title CBS Television News, eventually adopting its current title in 1963. Since June 6, 2011, the weekday editions of the program have been anchored by Scott Pelley. Previous anchors have included Douglas Edwards, Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Connie Chung, Bob Schieffer, and Katie Couric.
First episode: May 03, 1948
Episode duration: 15 minutes
Creator: Don Hewitt
Producers: CBS News · Don Hewitt · Keith Summa · Rick Kaplan · Jim Murphy · Patricia Shevlin · Mary Walsh · Vinnie Malhotra · Michael Rey · Thomas Flynn · Heather Abbott · Max McClellan · Bill Piersol · Christopher Scholl · Beth Loyd
Network: CBS
Awards: Peabody Award · News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast · News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism – Segments · News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast

wiki/CBS_Evening_News
Playbill from the Off-Broadway musical production of 'The Fantasticks' at the Jerry Orbach Theater in New York City (© WENN Ltd/Alamy)(1960) World’s longest-running musical premieres
‘The Fantasticks’ opens off-Broadway in New York’s Greenwich Village, featuring Jerry Orbach singing ‘Try to Remember,’ the musical’s signature song. It will run 42 years, longer than any other musical play in history, for 17,162 performances.
The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play The Romancers by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into falling in love by pretending to feud. The fathers hire traveling actors to stage a mock abduction, so that Matt can heroically seem to save Luisa, ending the supposed feud. When the children discover the deception, they reject the arranged love match and separate. Each then gains disillusioning experiences of the real world, seen in parallel fantasy sequences. They return to each other bruised but enlightened, and they renew their vows with more maturity.
Author: Tom Jones
First published: 1964
First performed: May 03, 1960
Adaptations: The Fantasticks (1995)
Genre: Performing Arts

wiki/The_Fantasticks
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