Today in History ^07/09/17

July 9, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Bertrand Russell in 1953 (© ullstein bild/ullstein bild/Getty Images)

(1955) A plea for sanity in an age of nuclear menace

Remember your humanity, and forget the rest, is Bertrand Russell’s warning on the threat posed by nuclear weapons and the possibility of global annihilation. The English philosopher is joined by 10 other prominent thinkers, including Albert Einstein, in signing a Manifesto seeking peaceful alternatives.

The Russell–Einstein Manifesto was issued in London on 9 July 1955 by Bertrand Russell in the midst of the Cold War. It highlighted the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and called for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to international conflict. The signatories included eleven pre-eminent intellectuals and scientists, including Albert Einstein, who signed it just days before his death on 18 April 1955. A few days after the release, philanthropist Cyrus S. Eaton offered to sponsor a conference—called for in the manifesto—in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Eaton’s birthplace. This conference was to be the first of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, held in July 1957.
wiki/Russell–Einstein_Manifesto

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Today in History ^06/11/17

June 11, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Country singer Hank Williams poses for a portrait circa 1950 in Nashville, Tennessee (© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

(1949) Hank Williams makes his rapturous Grand Ole Opry debut

‘Lovesick Blues’ is a huge hit and is Hank Williams’ ticket to country music’s Mecca, the Grand Ole Opry, where Hank and his Drifting Cowboys wow the crowd and play a record six encores. Williams’ meteoritic rise will flame out when he dies, due in part to alcohol abuse, at the age of 29.

Hiram King “Hank” Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American country music singer-songwriter and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, Williams recorded 35 singles (five released posthumously) that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked number one (three posthumously).

Born in Mount Olive, Butler County, Alabama, Williams moved to Georgiana, where he met Rufus Payne, who gave him guitar lessons in exchange for meals or money. Payne had a major influence on Williams’ later musical style, along with Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb. During this time, Williams informally changed his name to Hank, believing it to be a better name for country music. He moved to Montgomery, where he began his music career in 1937, when producers at radio station WSFA hired him to perform and host a 15-minute program. He formed as backup the Drifting Cowboys band, which was managed by his mother, and dropped out of school to devote his time to his career.

When several of his band members were conscripted into military service during World War II, Williams had trouble with their replacements, and WSFA terminated his contract because of his alcohol abuse. Williams eventually married Audrey Sheppard, who was his manager for nearly a decade. After recording “Never Again” and “Honky Tonkin'” with Sterling Records, he signed a contract with MGM Records. In 1947 he released “Move It on Over”, which became a hit, and also joined the Louisiana Hayride radio program. One year later, he released a cover of “Lovesick Blues”

recorded at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, which carried him into the mainstream of music. After an initial rejection, Williams joined the Grand Ole Opry. He was unable to read or notate music to any significant degree. Among the hits he wrote were “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “Hey, Good Lookin'”, and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”.

In 1952, he divorced Sheppard and was dismissed by the Grand Ole Opry because of his unreliability and alcohol abuse. On January 1, 1953, he suffered heart failure while traveling to perform at a concert in West Virginia, and died as a result. His death came in the wake of many years of back pain, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse which lead to his poor health and death. Despite his short life, Williams is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century, especially country music. The songs he wrote and recorded have been covered by numerous artists and have been hits in various genres. He has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame, such as the Country Music Hall of Fame (1961), the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1970), and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987).

wiki/Hank_Williams

Spectators flee the searing flames of a smashed Mercedes racing car after an accident at the Le Mans, France, race that killed more than 80 people, June 11, 1955 (© AP)

(1955) Europe’s prestigious Le Mans car race turns deadly

In the worst accident in the history of motorsports, the collision between a Mercedes-Benz and an Austin-Healy in France’s 24 Hours of Le Mans catapults one car onto an embankment where it breaks apart, sending debris hurtling into the crowd, killing 83 and injuring upwards of 100.

The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race in Le Mans, France on 11 June 1955, when a major crash caused large fragments of debris to fly into the crowd. Eighty-three spectators and French driver Pierre Bouillin, who raced under the name Pierre Levegh, were killed and nearly 180 more sustained injuries in the most catastrophic accident in motorsport history which led Mercedes-Benz to retire from motor racing until 1989.
wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster

Aerial view of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay, shown June 12, 1962, the day three prisoners escaped (© AP)

(1962) Inmates escape from ‘The Rock’ and disappear into the bay

The infamous Alcatraz Island penitentiary has been thought escape-proof, but The Rock loses three of its inmates today as they pose dummy heads in their bunks, crawl through spoon-dug holes, scale the prison fence, and shove off into San Francisco Bay on rafts made with prison raincoats.

The June 1962 Alcatraz escape may have been the only successful escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in that facility’s history. Late on the night of June 11 or early morning of June 12, inmates Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris tucked papier-mâché heads resembling their own likenesses into their beds, broke out of the main prison building via an unused utility corridor, and departed Alcatraz Island aboard an improvised inflatable raft to an uncertain fate.

Date: Jun 11, 1962

wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape

(From left) Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara & Alan Ruck publicity portrait for 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' (© Paramount/Getty Images)

(1986) ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ released

John Hughes’ comedy about a high school student’s elaborate plan to skip school hits theaters. It will become a box office success and produce quotes and catch phrases that will permeate pop culture for years to come. It’s over. Go home. Go.

Ferris Bueller is a clever and tricky fast talker, a legend in his own time. He decides to call out sick from school, feigning illness, to embark on a wild adventure involving his girlfriend, Sloane Peterson, his best friend Cameron Frye, and a Ferrari. From Wrigley Field to the Art Institute of Chicago to a Polish Pride parade, Bueller and friends intend on making the most of their day off. However, Ferris’ sister and the school dean, Ed Rooney, suspect that Ferris is simply pretending to be ill. Both Rooney and Ferris’ sister Jeanie are hot on Ferris’ trail and are determined to catch him and his friends in the act of class-cutting.

Release date: Jun 11, 1986 (United States)
Director: John Hughes
Gross revenue: $70.10 million USD
Estimated budget: $6 million USD
Featured songs: Love Missile F1-11 · BAD · Twist and Shout · Danke Schoen · Taking the Day Off · I’m Afraid · Oh Yeah · The Edge of Forever · Main Title · Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (instrumental) · Jeannie · Rebel Blockade Runner · March of the Swivelheads · Beat City · Radio People
Screenwriter: John Hughes

wiki/Ferris_Bueller’s_Day_Off

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Today in History ^05/21/17

May 21, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Clara Barton, founder of the American branch of the Red Cross, circa 1881 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Image)

(1881) Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross

Called “The Angel of the Battlefield” for her courageous service as a Civil War nurse, Clara Barton establishes an American branch of the Red Cross relief organization after working with an international unit in Europe during the Franco-Prussian War.

Clarissa “Clara” Harlowe Barton was a pioneering nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and patent clerk. Nursing education was not very formalized at that time and Clara did not attend nursing school. So she provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work at a time when relatively few women worked outside the home. She had a relationship with John J. Elwell and received three proposals throughout her lifetime, but never married.

Born: Dec 25, 1821 · Oxford, MA
Died: Apr 12, 1912 · Glen Echo, MD
Founded: American Red Cross · National First Aid Society · American Association (20th century)
Parents: Stephen Barton (Father) · Sarah Barton (Mother)
Highlights
1821: Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in North Oxford, Massachusetts.

1868: She closed the Missing Soldiers Office in 1868 and traveled to Europe.

1869: In 1869, Clara Barton closed the Missing Soldiers Office and headed to Europe.

1897: In 1897, responding to the humanitarian crisis in the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of the Hamidian Massacres, Barton sailed to Constantinople and after long negotiations with Abdul Hamid II, opened the first American International Red Cross headquarters in the heart of Turkey.

1900: Barton’s last field operation as President of the American Red Cross was helping victims of the Galveston hurricane in 1900.

1912: On April 12, 1912 at the age of 90, she died in her home.

wiki/Clara_Barton

Charles Lindbergh poses in front of his monoplane Spirit of St-Louis at Paris-Le Bourget airport, May 21, 1927, after having achieved the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight, New York to Paris (© OFF/AFP/Getty Images)

(1927) Lucky Lindy flies alone across the Atlantic

Thirty-three hours and 30 minutes after he took off from New York’s Roosevelt Field, aviator Charles Lindbergh lands 3,600 miles away at Paris’ Le Bourget Field. The Detroit native is the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, and becomes an international sensation.

Charles Augustus Lindbergh, nicknamed Slim, Lucky Lindy, and The Lone Eagle, was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, explorer, and environmental activist. At age 25 in 1927, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by making his Orteig Prize–winning nonstop flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris. He covered the 33 ¹⁄₂-hour, 3,600 statute miles alone in a single-engine purpose-built Ryan monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis. This was the first solo transatlantic flight, and the first non-stop flight between North America and mainland Europe. Lindbergh was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve, and he received the United States’ highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for the feat.

Lived: Feb 04, 1902 – Aug 26, 1974 (age 72)
Height: 6′ 3″ (1.91 m)
Spouse: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (m. 1929 – 1974)
Children: Anne Lindbergh (Daughter) · Jon Lindbergh (Son) · Reeve Lindbergh (Daughter) · Land Morrow Lindbergh (Son) · Scott Lindbergh (Son) · Dyrk Hesshaimer (Son) · David Hesshaimer (Son) · Astrid Hesshaimer Bouteuil (Daughter) · Vago Hesshaimer (Son) · Charles Lindbergh Jr. (Son) · Christoph Hesshaimer (Son)
Parents: Charles August Lindbergh (Father) · Evangeline Lodge Lindbergh (Mother)
Awards: Orteig Prize (1927) · Medal of Honor (1927) · Distinguished Flying Cross (1927) · Congressional Gold Medal (1928) · Hubbard Medal (1927) · Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography (1954) · Silver Buffalo Award · Air Force Cross (1927) · Daniel Guggenheim Medal (1953) · Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy (1949)
Highlights
1937: At age 25 in 1927, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by making his Orteig Prize–winning nonstop flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris.

1927: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001) was the daughter of Dwight Morrow who, as partner at J.P. Morgan & Co., had acted as financial adviser to Lindbergh; he was also U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in 1927.

1927: In mid-February 1927 he left for San Diego, California, to oversee design and construction of the Spirit of St. Louis.

1929: Charles Lindbergh married Anne Morrow Lindbergh on May 27, 1929.

1957: In the motion picture The Spirit of St. Louis, directed by Billy Wilder and released in 1957, Lindbergh was played by James Stewart, an admirer of Lindbergh and himself an aviator who had flown bombing missions in World War II.

1974: Lindbergh spent his last years on the Hawaiian island of Maui, where he died of lymphoma on August 26, 1974, at age 72.

wiki/Charles_Lindbergh

Rock and roll musician Chuck Berry, circa 1958 (© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

(1955) Chuck Berry pioneers rock & roll guitar

A part-time construction worker visits the studios of Chess Records and cuts his first record, a souped-up version of a traditional fiddle tune given new lyrics, a new title, and an unforgettable guitar riff. A smash crossover hit, ‘Maybellene’ will make Chuck Berry an overnight sensation and lead Rolling Stone magazine to later write, “Rock & roll guitar starts here.”

“Maybellene” is one of the first rock-and-roll songs. It was written and recorded in 1955 by Chuck Berry, and inspired/adapted from the Western Swing fiddle tune “Ida Red,” which was recorded in 1938 by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Berry’s song tells the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance. It was released in July 1955 as a single by Chess Records, of Chicago, Illinois. It was Berry’s first single and his first hit. “Maybellene” is considered one of the pioneering rock-and-roll songs: Rolling Stone magazine wrote, “Rock & roll guitar starts here.” The record is an early instance of the complete rock-and-roll package: youthful subject matter; a small, guitar-driven combo; clear diction; and an atmosphere of unrelenting excitement. The lyrics describe a man driving a V8 Ford chasing his unfaithful girlfriend in her Cadillac Coupe DeVille.

Album: The Great Twenty-Eight
Artist: Chuck Berry
Release year: 1955
Duration: 2:20
Genre: Rock, Early Rock & Roll / Oldies

wiki/Maybellene

The cast of 'The Real World' (© Ron Galella Ltd./WireImage/Getty Images)

(1992) ‘The Real World’ debuts on MTV

MTV introduces ‘the true story…of seven strangers…picked to live in a loft…and have their lives taped…’ The show will quickly become a hit and help usher in the reality TV era. It will run for more than 30 seasons.

Real World (formerly known as The Real World from 1992 to 2013) is a reality television series on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the longest-running reality series in history, credited with launching the modern reality TV genre. Seven to eight young adults are picked to temporarily live in a new city together in one residence while being filmed non-stop.

The series was hailed in its early years for depicting issues of contemporary young-adulthood relevant to its core audience, such as sex, prejudice, religion, abortion, illness, sexuality, AIDS, death, politics, and substance abuse, but later garnered a reputation as a showcase for immaturity and irresponsible behavior indicative of the declining morals of contemporary youth.

Following Bunim’s death from breast cancer in 2004, Bunim/Murray Productions continues to produce the program. The current 32nd season, set in Seattle, Washington, premiered on October 12, 2016.

The series has generated two notable related series, both broadcast by MTV: Road Rules, a sister show, which lasted for 14 seasons (1995–2007), and the ongoing spin-off reality game show The Challenge, which has run for 29 seasons since 1998.

First episode: May 21, 1992
Episode duration: 30 minutes
Creators: Jonathan Murray · Mary-Ellis Bunim
Network: MTV
Producers: Jonathan Murray · Matt Kunitz
Awards: GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program · GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary Series

wiki/The_Real_World

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Today in History ^12/24/16

December 24, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1851) Massive fire devastates Library of Congress

A large fire ravages the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, destroying about two-thirds of the collection, including books from Thomas Jefferson’s personal library. Congress will open its wallets to replace the lost volumes over the next several years.
The Library of Congress is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. The Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, which houses the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. Address: 101 Independence Ave, Washington, D.C. 20540 Phone: (202) 707-9779 Founded: Apr 24, 1800 · District of Columbia, United States Founder: John Adams Architects: Paul J. Pelz · John L. Smithmeyer · Edward Pearce Casey . Alfred Easton Poor — Source: wiki/Library_of_Congress
(1865) Ku Klux Klan is founded in Tennessee

In the aftermath of the Civil War, several Confederate veterans establish the secret vigilante group to threaten and murder freed blacks and their supporters and to restore white supremacy. The name reportedly is derived from the Greek word for circle, “kyklos.” Soon the KKK will spread to every state in the American South.
The Ku Klux Klan, or simply “the Klan”, is the name of three distinct movements in the United States that have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration, and, especially in later iterations, Nordicism, anti-Catholicism, and antisemitism, historically expressed through terrorism aimed at groups or individuals whom they opposed. All three movements have called for the “purification” of American society, and all are considered right wing extremist organizations. Founded: 1915 Founders: Frank O. McCord · John C. Lester · J. Calvin Jones · Richard R. Reed · James R. Crowe · John B. Kennedy — Source: wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan
(1955) NORAD’s newest mission: Tracking Santa

An ad in a Colorado newspaper gives children Santa’s phone number, but a misprint routes calls to a red phone at the NORAD air defense command center. Strait-laced Col. Harry Shoup adjusts on the fly and tells staff to give the kids Santa’s “current location.” A tradition is born.
NORAD Tracks Santa is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program, which has existed since 1955, produced under the auspices of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Every year on Christmas Eve, “NORAD Tracks Santa” purports to track Santa Claus as he leaves the North Pole and delivers presents to children around the world. First occurred: 1955 — Source: wiki/NORAD_Tracks_Santa
(1979) Soviet Union invades Afghanistan

Soviet forces enter the country under the guise of enforcing the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty. Soon the Soviets will control Kabul and other cities, though guerilla fighters, the mujahidin, will hold onto the countryside. After nine years, the Soviets will withdraw, defeated.
The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups fought against the Soviet Army and allied Afghan forces. Between 850,000–2 million civilians were killed and millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees, mostly to Pakistan and Iran. The war is considered part of the Cold War. Start date: Dec 24, 1979 End date: Feb 15, 1989 — Source: wiki/Soviet–Afghan_War
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Today in History ^12/01/16

December 1, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1934) ‘Great Purge’ begins with assassination of Party leader

	Sergei Kirov is gunned down at Communist Party headquarters in Leningrad. Many suspect Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is behind the assassination, though a connection will not be proved. Kirov’s death, however, marks the beginning of Stalin’s ‘Great Purge,’ in which a million or more people will be executed..
Sergei Mironovich Kirov, born Kostrikov, was a prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union. Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the party organization in Leningrad. On 1 December 1934, Kirov was shot and killed by a gunman at his offices in the Smolny Institute. Some historians place the blame for his assassination at the hands of Joseph Stalin and believe the NKVD organized his execution, but conclusive evidence for this claim remains lacking. Kirov’s death served as one of the pretexts for Stalin’s escalation of repression against dissident elements of the Party, and disarming of the Party (every Party member was issued with a revolver up to that time, when Stalin had them all taken away), culminating in the Great Purge of the late 1930s in which many of the Old Bolsheviks were arrested, expelled from the party, and executed. Complicity in Kirov’s assassination was a common charge to which the accused confessed in the show trials of the period. — Source: wiki/Sergey_Kirov
(1955) Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man

Cops arrest the African-American seamstress for violating Montgomery, Alabama’s racial segregation laws that require black patrons to sit in the back of a bus and give up their seats to whites. The incident leads to a bus boycott, spearheaded by a young minister, Martin Luther King, Jr. .
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”. Her birthday, February 4, and the day she was arrested, December 1, have both become Rosa Parks Day, commemorated in California and Missouri, and Ohio and Oregon. Lived: Feb 04, 1913 – Oct 24, 2005 (age 92) Height: 5′ 3″ (1.60 m) Spouse: Raymond Parks (m. 1932 – 1977) Parents: Leona McCauley (Mother) · James McCauley (Father) Education: Highlander Folk School · Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes TV shows: Touched by an Angel Highlights 1932: In 1932, Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber from Montgomery. 1943: In December 1943, Parks became active in the Civil Rights Movement, joined the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, and was elected secretary. 1944: In 1944, in her capacity as secretary, she investigated the gang-rape of Recy Taylor, a black woman from Abbeville, Alabama. 1955: On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake’s order to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. 1992: In 1992, Parks published Rosa Parks: My Story, an autobiography aimed at younger readers, which recounts her life leading to her decision to keep her seat on the bus. 2005: The lawsuit was settled on April 15, 2005 (six months and nine days before Parks’ death); OutKast, their producer and record labels paid Parks an undisclosed cash settlement. — Source: wiki/Rosa_Parks
(1959) Treaty turns Antarctica into a scientific preserve

	Twelve countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign a treaty that prohibits any military activity on Antarctica. The agreement stipulates that the continent will be used only for scientific research. It will be considered the first arms control agreement of the Cold War..
The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth’s only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude. The treaty, entering into force in 1961 and having 53 parties as of 2016, sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, establishes freedom of scientific investigation and bans military activity on that continent. The treaty was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War. The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat headquarters have been located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, since September 2004. — Source: wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System
(1990) Workers drill breakthrough hole in Chunnel project

England is now connected to the European mainland via a tunnel that runs deep under the English Channel. When it opens in 1994, the Chunnel project will have taken 13,000 workers about six years to complete the 31-mile long tunnel that stretches from the English town of Folkestone to Coquelles in France..
The Channel Tunnel is a 50.5-kilometre rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom, with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France, beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is 75 m deep. At 37.9 kilometres, the tunnel has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world, although the Seikan Tunnel in Japan is both longer overall at 53.85 kilometres and deeper at 240 metres below sea level. The speed limit for trains in the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour. Opened: 1994 — Source: wiki/Channel_Tunnel
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