1956

Today in History 10/23/17

Hungarian rebels wave their national flag from a tank captured in the main square of Budapest, Hungary, in 1956 (© AP)(1956) Hungarians stage popular uprising against USSR
Seven years of Soviet domination is more than enough for 20,000 Hungarians who gather in Budapest calling for their country’s independence. Some 180,000 more join them, but state police fire on the crowd, marking the start of a crackdown that will eventually crush the nascent revolution.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 or the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 was a nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian People’s Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956. Though leaderless when it first began, it was the first major threat to Soviet control since the USSR’s forces drove Nazi Germany from its territory at the end of World War II.
Start date: Oct 23, 1956
End date: Nov 10, 1956
Hole in flag - Budapest 1956
Hole in flag – Budapest 1956

wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956
4.4.j17

Today in History 06/05/17

Elvis Presley rehearsing for his performance on the Milton Berle show on June 4, 1956 (© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)(1956) The Milton Berle Show features a scandalous Elvis
New singing sensation Elvis Presley makes his second appearance on NBC’s ‘Milton Berle Show,’ this time to perform his single ‘Hound Dog.’ Teenagers swoon, while the older set and most critics are outraged at Presley’s indecent gyrations. Future TV gigs will film Elvis from the waist up.
Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer-songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll” or simply “the King”.
Lived: Jan 08, 1935 – Aug 16, 1977 (age 42)
Height: 6′ 0″ (1.82 m)
Spouse: Priscilla Presley (m. 1967 – 1973)
Partner: Linda Thompson (1972 – 1976)
Children: Lisa Marie Presley (Daughter)
Buried: Graceland

wiki/Elvis_Presley
John Profumo leaves his car on returning to his London home on June 18, 1963 (© AP )(1963) ‘Profumo Affair’ rocks the British government
Teenage showgirls, possible prostitution, and the British War Secretary sharing a lover with a Soviet diplomat are the ingredients in a stew of a scandal forcing the resignation of John Profumo, and ultimately leading to the fall of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s Conservative government.
The Profumo affair was a British political scandal that originated with a brief sexual relationship in 1961 between John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan’s government, and Christine Keeler, a 19-year-old would-be model. In March 1963, Profumo denied any impropriety in a personal statement to the House of Commons, but was forced to admit the truth a few weeks later. He resigned from the government and from Parliament. The repercussions of the affair severely damaged Macmillan’s self-confidence, and he resigned as prime minister on health grounds in October 1963. His Conservative Party was marked by the scandal, which may have contributed to its defeat by Labour in the 1964 general election.
wiki/Profumo_affair
Israeli Sherman M4 tanks are seen moving towards the Sinai during Israel's invasion of the Sinai in the six day war of Israel on June 6, 1967 (© AP )(1967) Israel launches preemptive attack on Egyptian air power
Citing an Arab military build-up near its border with Egypt, Israel launches air strikes on Egyptian airfields, destroying upwards of 400 aircraft. The Six-Day War will grow to include Syria and Jordan, and Israel will capture the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights.
The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War, or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967 by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.
Start date: Jun 05, 1967
End date: Jun 10, 1967

wiki/Six-Day_War
Presidential candidate Sen. Robert F. Kennedy speaks to campaign workers in Los Angeles minutes before he was shot on June 5, 1968 (© Dick Strobel/AP )(1968) Robert F. Kennedy brought down by assassin’s bullets
Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy is shot three times as he departs the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after giving a victory speech following his California Democratic Primary win. He will die the next day from his wounds, almost five years after his brother John was assassinated.
On June 5, 1968, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was fatally shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, shortly after winning the California presidential primaries in the 1968 election, and died the next day while hospitalized.
Date: Jun 05, 1968

wiki/Assassination_of_Robert_F._Kennedy
4.2.m17

Today in History 05/24/17

Woodcut of horsedrawn carriage on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, circa 1830 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)(1830) Passenger rail service begins in US
Horse-drawn rail coaches begin scheduled runs on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Baltimore, Maryland, and Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland. Three months later, after a rail race between the ‘Tom Thumb’ steam engine and a horse-drawn car, steam-powered travel will come to the route.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with an original line from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook. At this point to continue westward, it had to cross into Virginia over the Potomac River, adjacent to the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. From there it passed through Virginia from Harpers Ferry to a point just west of the junction of Patterson Creek and the North Branch Potomac River where it crossed back into Maryland to reach Cumberland. From there it was extended to the Ohio River at Wheeling and a few years later also to Parkersburg, West Virginia.
Founded: 1827
Headquarters: Baltimore, MD
Founders: William Patterson · John W. Garrett

wiki/Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad
Brooklyn Bridge under construction in 1883 (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)(1883) The East River’s Brooklyn Bridge is open to traffic
A neo-Gothic bridge connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn is officially opened amid fireworks and naval gun salutes. The mayors of the two boroughs, and President Chester Arthur, make the trip across the Brooklyn Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world.
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City and is one of the oldest bridges of either type in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. It has a main span of 1,595.5 feet and was the first steel-wire suspension bridge constructed. It was originally referred to as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge and as the East River Bridge, but it was later dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge, a name coming from an earlier January 25, 1867, letter to the editor of the The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and formally so named by the city government in 1915. Since opening, it has become an icon of New York City and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1972.
Address: Brooklyn Brg, New York, NY 10038
Opened: May 24, 1883
Length: 5,988 feet (1,825 m)
Width: 85′ 4″ (26 m)
Longest span: 1,595 feet (486.30 m)
Clearance below: 135 feet (41 m)
Brooklyn Bridge Schematic

wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge
Swiss singer Lys Assia, shortly after winning the very first Eurovision Song Contest with her song 'Refrain,' May 1956 (© Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1956) First broadcast of continental crooning competition
Celebrating the new sensation of TV as much as songwriting and singing, the Eurovision Song Contest debuts in Switzerland as seven European nations vie for the top tune. Swiss singer Lys Assia will win the inaugural contest. In decades to come, the increasingly spectacular show will be seen by as many as 600 million viewers annually.
The Eurovision Song Contest is the longest-running annual international TV song competition, held, primarily, among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union since 1956. The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951.
Episode duration: 120 minutes
First episode: May 24, 1956
Creator: Marcel Bezençon

wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest
Susan Sarandon (left) and Geena Davis in 'Thelma & Louise' (© Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images)(1991) ‘Thelma and Louise’ get on the road
Ridley Scott’s road movie starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis hits theaters. It will become an iconic feminist film as well as a commercial success. The movie will also put one of its supporting actors on the road to superstardom.
Louise is working in a diner as a waitress and has some problems with her boyfriend Jimmy, who, as a musician, is always on the road. Thelma is married to Darryl who likes his wife to stay quiet in the kitchen so that he can watch football on TV. One day they decide to break out of their normal life and jump in the car and hit the road. Their journey, however, turns into a flight when Louise kills a man who threatens to rape Thelma. They decide to go to Mexico, but soon they are hunted by American police.
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0103074
Release date: May 24, 1991 (United States)
Director: Ridley Scott
Gross revenue: $45.40 million USD
Screenwriter: Callie Khouri
Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay · Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay · Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay · National Board of Review Award for Best Actress · National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor · David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress · London Film Critics’ Circle Award for Director of the Year
Music by: Hans Zimmer

wiki/Thelma_&_Louise
4.2.m17

Today in History 04/18/17

Illustration depicting Paul Revere riding to warn people of the impending British landings in Lexington on April 18, 1775 in Middlesex County, Massachusetts (© Interim Archives/Getty Images)(1775) Paul Revere starts his ‘midnight ride’ of warning
Massachusetts silversmith Paul Revere saddles up and heads off into the night to alert his fellow colonial militia members of the British force’s imminent arrival and their intent to commandeer the American’s arms as well as to arrest patriots Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
Paul Revere was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, and a Patriot in the American Revolution. He is best known for alerting the colonial militia to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride”.
Born: Jan 01, 1735 · North End, MA
Died: May 10, 1818 · Boston, MA
Spouse: Rachel Walker (m. 1773 – 1813) · Sarah Orne (m. 1757 – 1773)
Children: Joseph Warren Revere (Son) · Harriet Revere (Daughter) · Joshua Revere (Son) · Mary Revere (Daughter) · Isanna Revere (Daughter) · Paul Revere Jr. (Son) · John Revere (Son) · Lucy Revere (Daughter)
Parents: Apollos Rivoire (Father) · Deborah Hitchborn (Mother)
Highlights
  • 1757: On August 4, 1757, he married Sarah Orne (1736–1773); their first child was born eight months later.

  • 1775: When British Army activity on April 7, 1775 suggested the possibility of troop movements, Joseph Warren sent Revere to warn the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, then sitting in Concord, the site of one of the larger caches of Patriot military supplies.

  • 1792: Beginning in 1792 he became one of America’s best-known bell casters, working with sons Paul Jr. and Joseph Warren Revere in the firm Paul Revere & Sons.

  • 1800: Finally in 1800 he became the first American to successfully roll copper into sheets for use as sheathing on naval vessels.

  • 1801: The copper works founded in 1801 continues today as the Revere Copper Company, with manufacturing divisions in Rome, New York and New Bedford, Massachusetts.

  • 1818: Revere died on May 10, 1818, at the age of 83, at his home on Charter Street in Boston.

wiki/Paul_Revere
People on Sacramento Street watch smoke rise from fires after a severe earthquake in San Francisco, California, on April 18, 1906 (© Arnold Genthe/AP)(1906) San Francisco leveled by colossal earthquake and fires
At 5:12 AM an extremely powerful earthquake, later estimated at 7.8 magnitude, convulses the bustling metropolis of San Francisco, California. The quake and resulting fires will destroy 80 percent of the city, kill 3,000, and leave upwards of 300,000 homeless.
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on April 18 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI. Severe shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley, an agricultural region to the south of the San Francisco Bay Area. Devastating fires soon broke out in the city and lasted for several days. As a result, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of the city of San Francisco was destroyed. The events are remembered as one of the worst and deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States. The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California’s history and high in the lists of American urban disasters.
Fatalities: 3,000
Date: Apr 18, 1906
1906 Earthquake - Intensity

wiki/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake
Irish troops parade on O'Connell Street, celebrating the birth of the Irish Republic in Dublin, Ireland on April 18, 1949 (© AP)(1949) Republic of Ireland officially sheds ties to the UK
Five-sixths of Ireland is no longer part of the United Kingdom’s Commonwealth, as the Republic of Ireland Act takes effect. While peace comes to the Republic, ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland will continue into the second half of the 20th century.

The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 (No. 22 of 1948) is an Act of the Oireachtas (parliament) which declared that Ireland may be officially described as the Republic of Ireland, and vested in the President of Ireland the power to exercise the executive authority of the state in its external relations, on the advice of the Government of Ireland. The Act was signed into law on 21 December 1948 and came into force on 18 April 1949, Easter Monday, the 33rd anniversary of the beginning of the Easter Rising.

The Act ended the remaining statutory role of the British monarchy in relation to the state, by repealing the 1936 External Relations Act, which had vested in George VI and his successors those functions which the Act now transferred to the President.


wiki/Republic_of_Ireland_Act_1948
Prince Rainier III places a ring on Grace Kelly’s finger during their wedding ceremony. (© AP)(1956) Grace Kelly becomes a princess
The movie star marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco in a civil ceremony, effectively ending her acting career. The formal church ceremony will happen the next day, watched by millions on live TV. Prince Rainier III and the Princess consort will remain married until her death in 1982.

Grace KellyGrace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who became Princess of Monaco after marrying Prince Rainier III, in April 1956. After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at age 20, Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions and more than 40 episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. In October 1953, she gained stardom from her performance in the film Mogambo, which won her a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination in 1954. Subsequently, she had leading roles in five films, including The Country Girl, for which her deglamorized performance earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. Other films include High Noon with Gary Cooper, Dial M for Murder with Ray Milland, Rear Window with James Stewart, To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant, and High Society with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.


Lived: Nov 12, 1929 – Sep 14, 1982 (age 52)
Height: 5′ 7″ (1.69 m)
Spouse: Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (m. 1956 – 1982)
Children: Princess Stéphanie of Monaco (Daughter) · Caroline, Princess of Hanover (Daughter) · Albert II, Prince of Monaco (Son)
Awards: Academy Award for Best Actress (1955) · Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (1954) · Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (1955) · National Board of Review Award for Best Actress

wiki/Grace_Kelly

Rainier III, Prince of MonacoRainier III ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs in European history. Though internationally known for his marriage to the American actress Grace Kelly, he was also responsible for reforms to Monaco’s constitution and for expanding the principality’s economy beyond its traditional casino gambling base. Gambling accounts for only approximately three percent of the nation’s annual revenue today; when Rainier ascended the throne in 1949, it accounted for more than 95 percent.


Lived: May 31, 1923 – Apr 06, 2005 (age 81)
Spouse: Grace Kelly (m. 1956 – 1982)
Children: Princess Stéphanie of Monaco (Daughter) · Albert II, Prince of Monaco (Son) · Caroline, Princess of Hanover (Daughter)
Siblings: Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy (Sister)
Parents: Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois (Father) · Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois (Mother)
Highlights
  • 1944: In 1944, upon his 21st birthday, Rainier’s mother renounced her right to the Monegasque throne and Rainier became Prince Louis’s direct heir.

  • 1944: In World War II Rainier joined the Free French Army in September 1944, and serving under General de Monsabert as a second lieutenant, and seeing action during the German counter-offensive in Alsace.

  • 1949: Rainier became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco on the death of Louis II on 9 May 1949.

  • 1950: Rainier established a postal museum in 1950: the Museum of Stamps and Coins, in Monaco’s Fontvieille district by using the collections of the Monegasque princes Albert I and Louis II.

  • 1956: Rainier III, Prince of Monaco married Grace Kelly on April 18, 1956; their marriage lasted 26 years till September 14, 1982.

  • 1962: As Prince of Monaco, Rainier was also responsible for the principality’s new constitution in 1962 which significantly reduced the power of the sovereign.

wiki/Rainier_III,_Prince_of_Monaco
4.0.a17

Today in History 12/22/16

Today in History
(1849) Dostoevsky spared at last minute from firing squad
(GERMANY OUT) Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - Author, Russia - *11.11.1821-09.02.1881+ - 1863 (Photo by Elizaveta Becker/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky stands before a firing line but as the guns are about to fire gets a reprieve and is sent into exile. A member of an underground intellectual group, he’d been condemned to die for antigovernment activities. He’ll go on to write ‘Crime and Punishment’ and ‘The Brothers Karamazov.’

On this day in 1849, a Russian court sentences Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for his allegedly antigovernment activities linked to a radical intellectual group. His execution is stayed at the last minute.

Dostoevsky’s father was a doctor at Moscow’s Hospital for the Poor, where he grew rich enough to buy land and serfs. After his father’s death, Dostoevsky, who suffered from epilepsy, studied military engineering and became a civil servant while secretly writing novels. His first, Poor People, and his second, The Double, were both published in 1846-the first was a hit, the second a failure.

Dostoevsky began participating in a radical intellectual discussion group called the Petrashevsky Circle. The group was suspected of subversive activites, which led to Dostoevsky’s arrest in 1849, and his sentencing to death.

On December 22, 1849, Dostoevsky was led before the firing squad but received a last-minute reprieve and was sent to a Siberian labor camp, where he worked for four years. He was released in 1854 and worked as a soldier on the Mongolian frontier. He married a widow and finally returned to Russia in 1859. The following year, he founded a magazine and two years after that journeyed to Europe for the first time.

In 1864 and 1865, his wife and his brother died, the magazine folded, and Dostoevsky found himself deeply in debt, which he exacerbated by gambling.

In 1866, he published Crime and Punishment, one of his most popular works. In 1867, he married a stenographer, and the couple fled to Europe to escape his creditors. His novel The Possessed (1872) was successful, and the couple returned to St. Petersburg. He published The Brothers Karamazov in 1880 to immediate success, but he died a year later.

FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY IS SENTENCED TO DEATH

— Source: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fyodor-dostoevsky-is-sentenced-to-death
(1864) Sherman gives Lincoln the city of Savannah as a Christmas present
Gen. William T. Sherman, ca. 1864-65. Mathew Brady Collection. (Army) Exact Date Shot Unknown NARA FILE #: 111-B-1769 WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #: 125
Union Gen. William T. Sherman wires President Abraham Lincoln a message: “I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah.” The telegraph relieves Lincoln who had not heard from Sherman for weeks on his infamous March to the Sea across the South, but the capture of Savannah demonstrates the campaign’s success.

Sherman’s March to the Sea, more formally known as the Savannah Campaign, was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army. The campaign began with Sherman’s troops leaving the captured city of Atlanta, on November 15 and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21. His forces destroyed military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property and disrupted the Confederacy’s economy and its transportation networks. Sherman’s bold move of operating deep within enemy territory and without supply lines is considered to be revolutionary in the annals of war.

Start date: Nov 15, 1864
End date: Dec 21, 1864

— Source: wiki/Sherman’s_March_to_the_Sea
(1956) Ohio zoo welcomes the first gorilla born in captivity
This 2011 photo provided by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium shows Colo. Colo, the first gorilla born in a zoo, is turning 56 Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012, and celebrating the birthday with some special treats at her central Ohio home. Colo is the oldest gorilla in any zoo. She was born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in 1956. (AP Photo/Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Grahm S. Jones)
Colo is born at the Columbus Zoo on this day in 1956. Her parents had been surreptitiously put together at night by a zookeeper going against his boss’s orders to keep them separated. The success of Colo’s birth will spur a captive-breeding program for western lowland gorillas in zoos.

Colo is a western gorilla widely known as the first gorilla to be born in captivity anywhere in the world and as the oldest gorilla in captivity in the world. Colo was born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to Millie Christina and Baron Macombo. She was briefly called Cuddles before a contest was held to officially name her. Colo’s name is derived from the place of her birth, Columbus, Ohio. Tomatoes are her favorite food.

— Source: wiki/Colo_(gorilla)
(1984) Bernhard Goetz shoots four black youths on NY subway
Bernhard Goetz, escorted by detectives, leaves New York Police headquarters, Jan. 3, 1984, after his return from Concord, N.H., where he turned himself in and admitted to shooting four youths on a New York subway train in December. A Manhattan court judge set his bail at $50,000. (AP Photo)
Bernhard Goetz shoots four teens after one says to Goetz, “Give me $5.” All four survive but are seriously wounded. After nine days on the run, Goetz will turn himself in to police. A jury will rule he acted in self-defense, but one victim will win a $43 million judgment against the self-styled subway vigilante.

The 1984 New York City Subway shooting was a shooting in the New York City Subway, in which Bernhard Goetz shot four alleged muggers on a New York City Subway train in Manhattan on December 22, 1984. He fired five shots, seriously wounding all four men. Goetz surrendered to police nine days after the shooting and was eventually charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and several firearms offenses. A jury found him not guilty of all charges except for one count of carrying

Location: New York City, United States
Date: December 22, 1984
Attack type: Mass shooting
Weapons: Smith & Wesson Model 38
Non-fatal injuries: 4
Perpetrator: Bernhard Goetz

— Source: wiki/1984_New_York_City_Subway_shooting
DIH v2.11.d16