1948

Today in History 09/09 (California Statehood)

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California flag (© iStock/Getty Images)(1850) New state takes up most of the USA’s West Coast
The United States officially admits more than 160,000 square miles of West Coast territory, stretching from arid semi-desert lands near the Mexican border northwards to the evergreen forests of the Pacific Northwest, as the new state of California.
California is a U.S. state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.5 million residents, California is the most populous state in the United States and the third largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation’s second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 8.8 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California’s most populous city, and the country’s second-most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation’s most populous county, Los Angeles County; its largest county by area, San Bernardino County; and its fifth most densely populated county, San Francisco.
Population: 39.54 million (2017)
Capital: Sacramento
Area: 163,696 sq miles
Colleges and universities: Stanford University · University of California, Berkeley · University of California, Los Angeles · University of Southern California · California Institute of Technology · University of California, Santa Barbara · University of California, Davis · California State University, Los Angeles · University of California, San Diego · University of Californi…
Senators: Dianne Feinstein · Kamala Harris
Governor: Jerry Brown

Location of state of California
Map of the United States with California highlighted
wiki/California
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(1850) New state takes up most of the USA’s West Coast.
Also on this day,

1839 | Inventor makes pioneering photograph
England’s John Herschel is a true Renaissance man, and now the mathematician, inventor, chemist, and discoverer of the stunningly beautiful cyanotype process, makes the first photograph on a glass plate.
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.
1954 | Bell becomes the first person to swim Lake Ontario
Marilyn Bell arrives in Toronto, having swum across Lake Ontario from Youngstown, NY. The 16-year-old Canadian swimmer took off the night before with two other swimmers (including American Florence Chadwick), but after nearly 21 hours of swimming, only Bell completed the crossing.

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 08/10 (Smithsonian Institution)

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Exterior view of the Smithsonian Institution in 1967 (© Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)(1846) Senate establishes Smithsonian Institution
The US Senate passes the act organizing the Smithsonian Institution, which will be signed into law by President James K. Polk. The Smithsonian will eventually become the world’s largest museum complex and ‘the nation’s attic,’ with 154 million items in 19 museums, plus a zoo and several research facilities.
The Smithsonian Institution, established on August 10, 1846 “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge,” is a group of museums and research centers administered by the Government of the United States. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. Originally organized as the “United States National Museum,” that name ceased to exist as an administrative entity in 1967.
Website: www.si.edu
Customer service: +1 2026331000
Address: 1000 Jefferson Dr SW, Washington, DC 20560
Founders: James Smithson · Joseph Henry · Joel Roberts Poinsett
Architects: Norman Foster · James Renwick, Jr. · Gordon Bunshaft · James Polshek · Charles A. Platt · George Keister · Almus Pratt Evans · Lewis Shulman · Paul L. Wood
Established: Aug 10, 1846

Smithsonian Building
The “Castle” (1847), the Institution’s first building and still its headquarters
wiki/Smithsonian_Institution
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(1846) Senate establishes Smithsonian Institution.
Also on this day,

1519 | Magellan’s fleet sets sail to circle the globe
Explorer Ferdinand Magellan leads a fleet of five Spanish ships bound westward for an Atlantic crossing, then to sail into what Magellan will name the ‘Mar Pacifico,’ meaning ‘peaceful sea.’ He will die before his one surviving vessel completes the first circumnavigation of the Earth.
1793 | Revolutionaries open French royal art collection to the public
France’s revolutionary government opens to the public what used to be a grand royal residence, displaying a previously private collection of 537 paintings and 184 objects. Paris’ Louvre Museum will grow to hold almost 35,000 works and become the world’s most visited art museum.
1948 | Smile! ‘Candid Camera’ makes its TV debut
The hidden-camera show hits the TV screen a year after its debut on radio as ‘Candid Microphone.’ Creator Allen Funt hosts, playing practical jokes on celebrities as well as ordinary people. The show and specials will air on-and-off for decades.

Today in History 08/10/17

Portrait of Ferdinand Magellan (© DeAgostini/Getty Images)(1519) Magellan's fleet sets sail to circle the globe
Explorer Ferdinand Magellan leads a fleet of five Spanish ships bound westward for an Atlantic crossing, then to sail into what Magellan will name the 'Mar Pacifico,' meaning 'peaceful sea.' He will die before his one surviving vessel completes the first circumnavigation of the Earth.
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who organised the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth, completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano.
Born: 1480 · Sabrosa, Portugal
Died: Apr 27, 1521 · Mactan, Philippines
Spouse: María Caldera Beatriz Barbosa
Children: Rodrigo de Magalhães (Son) · Carlos de Magalhães (Son)
Parents: Rodrigo de Magalhães (Father) · Alda de Mesquita (Mother)
Siblings: Genebra de Magalhães (Sister) · Aires de Magalhães (Sister) · Diogo de Sousa (Brother) · Isabel de Magalhães · Duarte de Sousa
Highlights
  • 1511: In 1511, under the new governor Afonso de Albuquerque, Magellan and Serrão participated in the conquest of Malacca.

  • 1512: After the conquest their ways parted: Magellan was promoted, with a rich plunder and, in the company of a Malay he had indentured and baptized Enrique of Malacca, he returned to Portugal in 1512.

  • 1517: In October 1517 in Seville, Magellan contacted Juan de Aranda, Factor of the Casa de Contratación.

  • 1518: On 22 March 1518 the king named Magellan and Faleiro captains so that they could travel in search of the Spice Islands in July.

  • 1519: On 10 August 1519, the five ships under Magellan's command left Seville and descended the Guadalquivir River to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, at the mouth of the river.

  • 1521: Ferdinand Magellan died on April 27, 1521 in Mactan, Philippines.

Magellan Elcano Circumnavigation
The Magellan–Elcano voyage. Victoria, one of the original five ships, circumnavigated the globe, finishing 16 months after Magellan's death.

wiki/Ferdinand_Magellan
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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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