Today in History ^08/04 (Jesse Owens 1936 Summer Olympics)

August 4, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Jesse Owens practices in the Olympic Village in Berlin in August 1936 (© AP)

(1936) Triumph for Owens at Hitler’s Olympics

Adolf Hitler is not pleased as US track-and-field star Jesse Owens, an African American, continues to rack up wins at the Summer Olympics held in Hitler’s Germany. But the Berlin stadium crowds cheer Owens’ long jump win and the show of camaraderie with his competitor, Germany’s Luz Long.

The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in 1936 in Berlin, Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain, on 26 April 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona. It marked the second and final time the International Olympic Committee gathered to vote in a city that was bidding to host those Games.

Number of athletes: 3,963
Start date: Aug 01, 1936
End date: Aug 16, 1936
Number of countries: 49

Jesse Owens won four gold medals in Berlin. (Jesse Owens at start of record breaking 200 meter race during the Olympic games 1936 in Berlin)
wiki/1936_Summer_Olympics

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(1936) Triumph for Owens at Hitler’s Olympics.
Also on this day,

1821 | An icon of Americana publishes its first Post

A new weekly paper is published using Benjamin Franklin’s printing presses, and its four pages of news and a few ads will grow to become The Saturday Evening Post, a defining magazine of American life featuring great writers and iconic illustrators, most memorably Norman Rockwell.

1914 | World powers take sides as the guns of August loom

A global conflagration flares higher as the United Kingdom joins France, Russia, Belgium, and other European powers in either mobilizing armies or declaring war on an aggressive Germany, whose support of Austria-Hungary advances what will be a war of immense destruction.

1958 | Hot tunes get their definitive US ranking on Billboard Hot 100

Ricky Nelson’s ‘Poor Little Fool’ takes the top spot on a new Billboard Magazine countdown of America’s most popular songs. The Billboard Hot 100 rankings are based on a combination of in-store singles record sales, radio DJ airplay, and jukebox purchases.

Today in History ^08/04/17

New recruits march with English officers in 1914 following the outbreak of WWI (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(1914) World powers take sides as the guns of August loom

A global conflagration flares higher as the United Kingdom joins France, Russia, Belgium, and other European powers in either mobilizing armies or declaring war on an aggressive Germany, whose support of Austria-Hungary advances what will be a war of immense destruction.

World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. Over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a result of the war, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and the tactical stalemate caused by gruelling trench warfare. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. Unresolved rivalries still extant at the end of the conflict contributed to the start of the Second World War only twenty-one years later.

Start date: Jul 28, 1914
End date: Nov 11, 1918

wiki/World_War_I

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Today in History ^08/03 (TRS-80)

August 3, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

A 1970s TRS-80 computer system (© Mark Madeo/Future Publishing/Getty Images)

(1977) Radio Shack unveils the TRS-80 computer

Tandy announces one of the first mass-market home computers, the TRS-80, to be sold in its Radio Shack stores. It features 4K of RAM and sells for $399 (or $599 with a monitor and tape recorder for storage). Upgrades will keep various TRS-80 models on the market until 1991.

The TRS-80 Micro Computer System is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of Tandy/Radio Shack, Z-80 microprocessor. It was one of the earliest mass-produced and mass-marketed retail personal computers.

Radio Shack Tandy TRS-80 Model I with Expansion Interface
wiki/TRS-80

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(1977) Radio Shack unveils the TRS-80 computer.
Also on this day,

1778 | A palace of song is inaugurated in Milan, Italy

Music rings out among the glimmering oil lamps and luxurious boxes of the neoclassical New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala. Later known by its more familiar name, La Scala, the Milan opera house will offer some of the world’s greatest musical performances.

1861 | A pip of a tale finishes with a flourish

Chapters 58 and 59 of Charles Dickens’ latest novel, ‘Great Expectations,’ are published in a British periodical, finishing a tale that has been doled out to the reading public in monthly installments. The story will later be sold as a stand-alone book for those who prefer to binge read.

1949 | Two basketball leagues join to form a powerhouse NBA

Founded in June 1946, the Basketball Association of America meets with rival National Basketball League to join forces and create one organization. The merger will prove fruitful, as the National Basketball Association, or NBA, sees its sport grow from relative obscurity to a worldwide phenomenon.

1958 | America’s nuclear sub first to glide under the North Pole

The world’s first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, is now the first seagoing craft to reach the geographic North Pole. The ‘Operation Sunshine’ sub will spend 96 hours traveling nearly 2,000 miles under the Arctic ice and boost US morale a year after the Soviets launched Sputnik.

Today in History ^08/03/17

The nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus in August 1958 (© AP)

(1958) America's nuclear sub first to glide under the North Pole

The world's first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, is now the first seagoing craft to reach the geographic North Pole. The 'Operation Sunshine' sub will spend 96 hours traveling nearly 2,000 miles under the Arctic ice and boost US morale a year after the Soviets launched Sputnik.

USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine. The vessel was the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on 3 August 1958. Sharing names with Captain Nemo's fictional submarine in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and named after another USS Nautilus that served with distinction in World War II, Nautilus was authorized in 1951 and launched in 1954. Because her nuclear propulsion allowed her to remain submerged far longer than diesel-electric submarines, she broke many records in her first years of operation, and traveled to locations previously beyond the limits of submarines. In operation, she revealed a number of limitations in her design and construction. This information was used to improve subsequent submarines.

Keel laid: 14 Jun 1952
Launched: 21 Jan 1954
Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat

wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571)

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Today in History ^05/09/17

May 9, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ

Illustration of Colonel Thomas Blood (G Scott)

(1671) Captain Blood tries to pinch England’s Crown Jewels

Following an elaborate ruse played on the Tower of London’s custodian, Captain Thomas Blood and his henchmen attempt to steal the Crown Jewels. The Sceptre is sawn in two, the Crown flattened, and the Sovereign’s Orb hidden down a pair of trousers. Blood will be captured, but pardoned by King Charles II.

Colonel Thomas Blood was an Anglo-Irish officer and self-styled colonel best known for his attempt to steal the Crown Jewels of England from the Tower of London in 1671. Described in an American source as a “noted bravo and desperado,” he was known for his attempt to kidnap and, later, to kill, his enemy, the Duke of Ormonde. He had switched allegiances from Royalist to Roundhead during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and despite his subsequent notoriety received a Royal free pardon and found favour at the court of King Charles II.

Born: 1618 · County Meath, Ireland
Died: Aug 24, 1680 · Westminster, England
Buried: St Margaret’s, Westminster
Highlights
1642: At the outbreak of the First English Civil War in 1642, Blood returned to England and initially took up arms with the Royalist forces loyal to Charles I. As the conflict progressed he switched sides and became a lieutenant in Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads.

1653: In 1653 at the cessation of hostilities Cromwell awarded Blood land grants as payment for his service and appointed him a justice of the peace.

1660: Following the Restoration of King Charles II to the Crowns of the Three Kingdoms in 1660, Blood fled with his family to Ireland.

1670: In 1670, despite his status as a wanted man, Blood returned to England and is believed to have taken the name Ayloffe and practised as a doctor or an apothecary in Romford Market, east of London.

1671: On 9 May 1671, in furtherance of the deception, Blood convinced Edwards to show the jewels to him, his supposed nephew, and two of his friends while they waited for a dinner that Mrs Edwards was to put on for Blood and his companions.

1674: He died in 1674 and his tomb rests in the chapel of St Peter’s Ad Vincula, at the Tower of London.

wiki/Thomas_Blood

Anna M. Jarvis, founder of Mother's Day (© Bettmann/CORBIS)

(1914) President Wilson makes Mother’s Day a federal holiday

Since 1905, Anna Jarvis has lobbied various officials to adopt a holiday honoring mothers, and she’s succeeded in convincing many US states to take part. Today, President Woodrow Wilson proclaims the second Sunday in May to be Mother’s Day and a US federal holiday.

Mother’s Day in the United States is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother’s Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well as the positive contributions that they make to society. It was established by Anna Jarvis, with the first official Mother’s Day was celebrated at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908.
wiki/Mother’s_Day_(United_States)

L. Ron Hubbard addresses the first national meeting of Dianetics Auditors in 1951. (© AP)

(1950) ‘Dianetics’ self-help book published

L. Ron Hubbard publishes ‘Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health,’ a system of self-help psychology. Though the American Psychological Association and other organizations will criticize Hubbard’s work, his book will go on to sell millions of copies and become the basis for Scientology.

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, better known as L. Ron Hubbard and often referred to by his initials, LRH, was an American author and the founder of the Church of Scientology. In 2014, Hubbard was cited by the Smithsonian magazine as one of the 100 most significant Americans of all time, as one of the eleven religious figures on that list. After establishing a career as a writer, becoming best known for his science fiction and fantasy stories, he developed a system called Dianetics which was first expounded in book form in May 1950. He subsequently developed his ideas into a wide-ranging set of doctrines and practices as part of a new religious movement that he called Scientology. His writings became the guiding texts for the Church of Scientology and a number of affiliated organizations that address such diverse topics as business administration, literacy and drug rehabilitation. The Church’s dissemination of these materials led to Hubbard being listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most translated and published author in the world. The Guinness World Record for the most audio books published for one author is also held by Hubbard.

Website: www.lronhubbard.org
Lived: Mar 13, 1911 – Jan 24, 1986 (age 74)
Height: 6′ 0″ (1.83 m)
Spouse: Mary Sue Hubbard (m. 1952 – 1986) · Sara Northrup Hollister (m. 1946 – 1951) · Margaret Grubb (m. 1933 – 1947)
Parents: Harry Ross Hubbard (Father) · Ledora May (Mother)
Children: Quentin Hubbard (Son) · Ronald DeWolf (Son) · Arthur Hubbard (Son) · Diana Hubbard (Daughter) · Suzette Hubbard (Daughter) · Alexis Valerie Hubbard (Daughter)
Education: George Washington University · Helena High School

wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard

James Stewart in 'Vertigo,' 1958 (© Everett Collection/REX)

(1958) Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’ premieres in San Francisco

A tale of manic obsession and cruel deception, Alfred Hitchcock’s latest thriller has its world premiere. ‘Vertigo’ will disappoint at the box office and receive lukewarm reviews, but will grow in stature to be considered one of history’s greatest films.

A San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend’s wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

Release date: May 09, 1958 (United States)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Gross revenue: $7.30 million USD
Music by: Bernard Herrmann
Screenwriters: Maxwell Anderson · Samuel A. Taylor · Alec Coppel
Story by: Pierre Boileau · Thomas Narcejac

wiki/Vertigo_(film)

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Today in History ^01/04/17

January 4, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ

United Nations soldiers watch flames consume a pontoon bridge across the ice-choked Han River in South Korea on Jan. 4, 1951 during the Korean War (© AP)

(1951) Chinese forces capture Seoul

The Third Battle of Seoul sees Chinese forces crossing the 38th parallel, forcing the US Eighth Army to evacuate Seoul, but ultimately drawing the United Nation’s support to South Korea’s side.

The Third Battle of Seoul, also known as the Chinese New Year’s Offensive, the January–Fourth Retreat or the Third Phase Campaign Western Sector, was a battle of the Korean War, which took place from December 31, 1950 to January 7, 1951 around the South Korean capital of Seoul. In the aftermath of the major Chinese victory at the Battle of the Ch’ongch’on River, the United Nations Command started to contemplate the possibility of evacuation from the Korean Peninsula. Upon learning of this development, China’s Chairman Mao Zedong ordered the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army to cross the 38th parallel in an effort to pressure the United Nations forces to withdraw from South Korea.

Start date: Dec 31, 1950
End date: Jan 07, 1951

wiki/Third_Battle_of_Seoul

Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand stands in front of a snow tractor after arriving at the American Scientific Station at the South Pole, Jan. 4, 1958 (© Rennie Taylor/AP)

(1958) Edmund Hillary reaches the South Pole

For the first time since 1912, an overland expedition reaches the South Pole, this time headed by New Zealander Edmund Hillary, who is also the first man to have reached the summit of Mt. Everest.

Sir Edmund Percival “Ed” Hillary KG ONZ KBE was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. TIME magazine named Hillary one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. He made his first major climb in 1939, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier. He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II. Prior to the 1953 Everest expedition, Hillary had been part of the British reconnaissance expedition to the mountain in 1951 as well as an unsuccessful attempt to climb Cho Oyu in 1952. As part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition he reached the South Pole overland in 1958. He subsequently reached the North Pole, making him the first person to reach both poles and summit Everest.
Following his ascent of Everest, Hillary devoted most of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he founded. Through his efforts, many schools and hospitals were built in Nepal.
wiki/Edmund_Hillary

President Richard Nixon answers questions about the Watergate scandal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, Oct. 1973 (© David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)

(1974) Nixon refuses order to release Watergate tapes

US President Richard Nixon defies the Senate Watergate Committee’s subpoena to turn over recordings he made of Oval Office conversations, but this doesn’t help his cause and he will resign eight months later.

The Nixon White House tapes are audio recordings of conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Nixon administration officials, Nixon family members, and White House staff, produced between 1971 and 1973.
In February 1971, a sound-activated taping system was first installed in the Oval Office, using Sony TC-800B open-reel tape recorders to capture audio transmitted by telephone taps and concealed microphones. The system was subsequently expanded to include other rooms within the White House and Camp David. The recording system was turned off on July 18, 1973, two days after they became public knowledge as a result of the Senate Watergate Committee hearings.
Nixon was not the first president to record his White House conversations; the practice was initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940.
The tapes’ existence came to light during the Watergate scandal of 1973 and 1974, when the system was mentioned during the televised testimony of White House aide Alexander Butterfield before the Senate Watergate Committee. Nixon’s refusal of a congressional subpoena to release the tapes constituted an article of impeachment against Nixon, and led to his subsequent resignation on August 9, 1974.
On August 19, 2013, the Nixon Library and the National Archives and Records Administration released the final 340 hours of the tapes that cover the period from April 9 through July 12, 1973.
wiki/Watergate_tapes

Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai (© FUTURE LIGHT/Getty Images)

(2010) World’s tallest building opens

The Burj Khalifa officially opens, soaring 2,722 feet over Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It features the world’s highest restaurant at the 122nd floor and the highest nightclub at the 144th.

The Burj Khalifa, known as the Burj Dubai before its inauguration, is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest structure in the world, standing at 829.8 m.

Address: 1 Emaar Boulevard, Dubai
Opened: Jan 04, 2010
Floors: 163
Height: 2,717 feet (828 m) (Architectural) · 2,722 feet (829.80 m) (Tip)
Architects: Adrian Smith · Marshall Strabala · George J. Efstathiou
Architecture firm: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

wiki/Burj_Khalifa

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Today in History ^12/28/16

December 28, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1065) Westminster Abbey is consecrated in London

King Edward the Confessor is near death and unable to attend the consecration ceremony of the church he commissioned as a burial place and to atone to the pope for a broken vow. Edward will die eight days later. The abbey will be completed in 1090 but rebuilt in the Gothic style by Henry III.
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom’s most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral. Since 1560, however, the building is no longer an abbey nor a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England “Royal Peculiar”—a church responsible directly to the sovereign. The building itself is the original abbey church. Address: 20 Dean’s Yard, London SW1P 3PA Phone: 020 7222 5152 Opened: 1090 Height: 225 feet (68.70 m) (Architectural) Architects: Christopher Wren · Henry Yevele · Nicholas Hawksmoor · John of Gloucester · Robert of Beverley · Henry of Reyns Burials: Elizabeth I of England · Edward the Confessor · The Unknown Warrior · Mary I of England · Isaac Newton · Henry III of England · Edward I of England · Edward III of England · Edward VI of England . Anne, Queen of Great Britain — Source: wiki/Westminster_Abbey
(1846) Iowa becomes the 29th US state

President James K. Polk signs a law making an area that was part of the Louisiana Purchase the 29th state. Iowa, named for a Native American tribe, joins the nation as a slave-free state and will support the Union in the Civil War.
Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States, bordered by the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west. Surrounding states include Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Minnesota to the north. Population: 3.12 million (2015) Area: 56,272 sq miles (145,743 km²) Colleges and universities: Iowa State University · University of Iowa · University of Northern Iowa · Grinnell College · Upper Iowa University · Drake University · Morningside College · Simpson College Capital: Des Moines Website: www.iowa.gov Senators: Joni Ernst · Chuck Grassley · Tom Harkin · Roger Jepsen · Smith W. Brookhart · Clyde L. Herring · Richard L. Murphy · George A. Wilson · Thomas E. Martin · Dick Clark · Albert B. Cummins Governor: Terry Branstad — Source: wiki/Iowa
(1895) Audience pays admission to see a movie

At the Grand Cafe in Paris, brothers Louis and Auguste Lumière charge admission to see short films they made about ordinary French life. It marks the first time an audience has paid money to see a movie. The films are shown on a hand-cranked camera-projector the brothers invented: the Cinematographe.
The Lumière brothers, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean, were among the first filmmakers in history. They patented the cinematograph, which in contrast to Edison’s “peepshow” kinetoscope allowed simultaneous viewing by multiple parties. — Source: wiki/Auguste_and_Louis_Lumière
(1958) Baltimore Colts win ‘Greatest Game Ever Played’

The 1958 National Football Championship Game between the Colts and the New York Giants is the first playoff game in NFL history to go into sudden-death overtime. The Colts win 23-17 in Yankee Stadium and the matchup will become known as the ‘Greatest Game Ever Played.’
The 1958 National Football League Championship Game was the 26th NFL championship game, played on December 28 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first NFL playoff game to go into sudden death overtime. The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17, and the game has since become widely known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” — Source: wiki/1958_NFL_Championship_Game
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Today in History 08/04/17

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Today in History ^08/04/17

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