Today in History ^10/13 (ABA Basketball)

October 13, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Larry Kenon of the New York Nets goes up to shoot over Roger Brown of the Indiana Pacers during a 1973 ABA game. (© Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

(1967) New league takes a shot at competing with the NBA

The Anaheim Amigos take on the Oakland Oaks to tip off the first season of the American Basketball Association. Known for its colorful ball and colorful personalities, the league will last until 1976, launching the careers of some future NBA stars.

The original American Basketball Association was a men’s professional basketball league, from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading several teams to join the National Basketball Association and the introduction of the 3-point shot in the NBA.

Founded: 1967
Founders: Dennis Murphy · Richard Tinkham · Joe Newman
Teams: Springfield Sting

This is a logo for American Basketball Association.
wiki/American_Basketball_Association

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(1967) New league takes a shot at competing with the NBA.
Also on this day,

1773 | Messier spots another otherworldly ‘object’ and Whirlpool Galaxy is found

While searching the skies for celestial objects that might mislead comet seekers, French astronomer Charles Messier finds a cluster of stars that will later be named the Whirlpool Galaxy. It will eventually be found to have a spiral structure, the first spiral galaxy discovered, and will be plotted at over 23 million light-years away.

1958 | Paddington Bear’s debut as deepest, darkest Peru sends a small bear to London

A small stowaway bear with a distinct fondness for marmalade has turned up at London’s bustling Paddington Railway Station, where Mr. and Mrs. Brown decide to take him home. Author Michael Bond’s book for children, ‘A Bear Called Paddington,’ will launch this upstanding ursine into enduring fame.

1962 | George and Martha invite their new friends over for drinks as ‘Virginia Woolf’ opens

Edward Albee’s new play, ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ opens on Broadway, featuring four characters, a three-hour performance, and dialogue so barbed it could be weaponized. The chronicle of social niceties shredded by drink and neurosis will be adapted into an equally famous film.

Today in History ^10/13/17

This 2005 image made by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) (© NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI), Hubble Heritage Team STS/AP)

(1773) Messier spots another otherworldly 'object'

While searching the skies for celestial objects that might mislead comet seekers, French astronomer Charles Messier finds a cluster of stars that will later be named the Whirlpool Galaxy. It will eventually be found to have a spiral structure, the first spiral galaxy discovered, and will be plotted at over 23 million light-years away.

The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a, M51a, and NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. Recently it was estimated to be 23 ± 4 million light-years from the Milky Way, but different methods yield distances between 15 and 35 million light-years. Messier 51 is one of the best known galaxies in the sky. The galaxy and its companion, NGC 5195, are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may even be seen with binoculars. The Whirlpool Galaxy is also a popular target for professional astronomers, who study it to further understand galaxy structure and galaxy interactions.

Apparent magnitude: 8.40
Absolute magnitude: 8.40
Apparent mass: 160 billion solar-mass
Distance to Earth: 23,157,103 light-year (7,100,000 parsec)
Constellation: Canes Venatici
Galactic group: M51 Group

The Whirlpool Galaxy (Spiral Galaxy M51, NGC 5194), a classic spiral galaxy located in the Canes Venatici constellation, and its companion NGC 5195.

wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy

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Today in History ^10/8 (Alvin C. York)

October 8, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Sgt. Alvin York of the US Army (© Department of US Army/AP)

(1918) Alvin C. York goes above and beyond on the Western Front

Born poor in rural Tennessee, and a conscientious objector at the outbreak of WWI, Corporal Alvin York now fights against the Germans in the Argonne Forest, killing 25 and capturing 132 almost all on his own. This heroism will promote him to Sergeant York and merit him the Medal of Honor.

Alvin Cullum York, also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking at least one machine gun, killing at least 25 enemy soldiers and capturing 132. York’s Medal of Honor action occurred during the United States-led portion of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France, which was intended to breach the Hindenburg line and force the Germans to surrender. He earned decorations from several allied countries during WWI, including France, Italy and Montenegro.

Lived: Dec 13, 1887 – Sep 02, 1964 (age 76)
Nationality: American
Spouse: Gracie Williams (m. 1919 – 1964)
Founded: Alvin C. York Institute
Children: woodrow wilson york (Son)
Siblings: Joseph Marion York (Brother) · Henry Singleton York (Brother) · John Samuel York (Brother) · Hattie M. York (Sister) · Lillie Mae York (Sister) · James Preston York (Brother) · Albert York (Brother) · Robert Daniel York (Brother) · Lucy Erma York (Sister) · George Alexander York (Brother)
Highlights
1919: Alvin C. York married Gracie Williams on June 01, 1919.

1919: He had been home for barely a week when, on June 7, 1919, York and Gracie Loretta Williams (February 7, 1900 – September 27, 1984) were married by Tennessee Governor Albert H. Roberts in Pall Mall.

1926: The Alvin C. York Institute was founded in 1926 as a private agricultural high school by Alvin York and residents of Fentress County.

1928: York Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City was named for the Sergeant in 1928.

1935: In 1935 York, sensing the end of his time with the institute, began to work as a project superintendent with the Civilian Conservation Corps overseeing the creation of Cumberland Mountain State Park’s Byrd Lake, one of the largest masonry projects the program ever undertook.

1964: York died at the Veterans Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 2, 1964, of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Alvin York
wiki/Alvin_York

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(1918) Alvin C. York goes above and beyond on the Western Front.
Also on this day,

1871 | Great Chicago Fire as winds whip a small Chicago blaze into a firestorm

A long drought, strong winds, buildings made primarily of wood, and perhaps a twitchy cow all combine to stoke a minor fire into a conflagration the likes of which Chicago has never seen. Two days of ferocious flames will leave hundreds of thousands homeless and kill some 300 people.

1956 | Yankees pitcher Larsen is perfect in World Series game

Yankees pitcher Don Larsen starts game five of the World Series at Yankee Stadium against local rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. Larsen completes the first perfect game in MLB postseason history, retiring 27 batters, and the Bronx Bombers will go on to win their 17th World Series.

1967 | A revolutionary’s journey ends in the Bolivian jungle as Che Guevara captured

Native of Argentina, revolutionary in Cuba, writer and doctor, Che Guevara has spent the last two years traveling in Africa and South America championing the cause of Marxist ideology. He’s now caught in Bolivia after 1,800 CIA-backed soldiers surround his guerrilla encampment.

Today in History ^10/08/17

Revolutionary leader Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (© Tony Ortega/AP)

(1967) A revolutionary's journey ends in the Bolivian jungle

Native of Argentina, revolutionary in Cuba, writer and doctor, Che Guevara has spent the last two years traveling in Africa and South America championing the cause of Marxist ideology. He's now caught in Bolivia after 1,800 CIA-backed soldiers surround his guerrilla encampment.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia in popular culture.

Lived: Jun 14, 1928 - Oct 09, 1967 (age 39)
Height: 5' 9" (1.75 m)
Spouse: Aleida March (m. 1959 - 1967) · Hilda Gadea (m. 1955 - 1959)
Movies: Che: Part Two · Os caminhos de Che: Um Diário de Motocicleta · Carnet de identidad
Children: Aleida Guevara (Daughter) · Hilda Guevara (Daughter) · Celia Guevara (Daughter) · Ernesto Guevara (Son) · Camilo Guevara (Son)
Related movies: The Motorcycle Diaries · Che: Part One
Highlights
1953: Upon returning to Argentina, he completed his studies and received his medical degree in June 1953, making him officially "Dr. Ernesto Guevara".

1955: In June 1955, López introduced him to Raúl Castro, who subsequently introduced him to his older brother, Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader who had formed the 26th of July Movement and was now plotting to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.

1958: Then in late July 1958, Guevara played a critical role in the Battle of Las Mercedes by using his column to halt a force of 1,500 men called up by Batista's General Cantillo in a plan to encircle and destroy Castro's forces.

1959: On June 2, 1959, he married Aleida March, a Cuban-born member of the 26th of July movement with whom he had been living since late 1958.

1965: Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and summarily executed.

1966: His diary documented events of the guerrilla campaign in Bolivia, with the first entry on November 7, 1966, shortly after his arrival at the farm in Ñancahuazú, and the last dated October 7, 1967, the day before his capture.

Popularized cropped version of Guerrillero Heroico - Che Guevara at the funeral for the victims of the La Coubre explosion

wiki/Che_Guevara

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Today in History ^08/30 (Leona Helmsley)

August 30, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ

Leona Helmsley leaves the New York Federal courthouse in 1989 (© Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage/Getty Images)

(1989) The ‘Queen of Mean’ is convicted on tax evasion charges

New York hotel magnate Leona Helmsley, is said to have once proclaimed, “We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.” This likely didn’t help her case, and neither did testimony regarding her fiery temper, overinflated ego, and dodgy financial dealings, and she’s found guilty of tax evasion.

Leona Mindy Roberts Helmsley was an American businesswoman, known for her flamboyant personality and her reputation for tyrannical behavior, earning her the sobriquet Queen of Mean.

Lived: Jul 04, 1920 – Aug 20, 2007 (age 87)
Nationality: American
Spouse: Harry Helmsley (m. 1972 – 1997)
Children: Jay Panzirer (Son)
Siblings: Sylvia Roman (Sister) · Alvin Rosenthal (Brother)
Parents: Morris Rosenthal (Father) · Ida Rosenthal (Mother)
Highlights
1968: In 1968, while Roberts was working as a condominium broker, she met and began her involvement with the then-married real estate entrepreneur Harry Helmsley.

1972: Leona Helmsley married Harry Helmsley on April 08, 1972; their marriage lasted 25 years till 1997.

1982: On March 31, 1982, Helmsley’s only child, Jay Panzirer, died of a heart attack resulting from arrhythmia.

1989: In 1989, an unauthorized biography titled The Queen of Mean: The Unauthorized Biography of Leona Helmsley was published by Bantam Books (ISBN 978-0553285581).

1989: After allegations of non-payment were made by contractors hired to improve Helmsley’s Connecticut home, she was investigated and convicted of federal income tax evasion and other crimes in 1989.

2007: Leona Helmsley died of congestive heart failure at the age of 87, on August 20, 2007, at Dunnellen Hall, her summer home in Greenwich, Connecticut.

wiki/Leona_Helmsley

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(1989) The ‘Queen of Mean’ is convicted on tax evasion charges.
Also on this day,

1797 | The creator of a monster, Mary Shelley, is created

Marry Wollstonecraft Shelley (nee Godwin) is born in northwest London. She’ll go on to write biographies, travel books, and novels, most notably ‘Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus’ at age 20.

1967 | Justice Marshall, a slave’s grandson makes history at US Supreme Court

Thirteen years after he successfully argued in front of the US Supreme Court against racial segregation in the landmark case ‘Brown v. Board of Education,’ Thurgood Marshall is confirmed by the Senate to become the first African American justice on that very same court.

1970 | Isle of Wight fest tops Woodstock as more than half a million rock

Some 600,000 people crowd an English island as a five-day rock music concert comes to a close. Europe’s answer to 1969’s epoch-making Woodstock gathering, the Isle of Wight festival features headliner Jimi Hendrix in one of his last performances before his death less than a month later.

Today in History ^08/30/17

Justice Thurgood Marshall stands outside the Supreme Court building in Washington DC, after being sworn in as the first African American justice to serve on the high court (© AP)

(1967) A slave's grandson makes history at US Supreme Court

Thirteen years after he successfully argued in front of the US Supreme Court against racial segregation in the landmark case 'Brown v. Board of Education,' Thurgood Marshall is confirmed by the Senate to become the first African American justice on that very same court.

Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from October 1967 until October 1991. Marshall was the Court's 96th justice and its first African-American justice.

Lived: Jul 02, 1908 - Jan 24, 1993 (age 84)
Spouse: Cecilia Suyat (m. 1955 - 1993) · Vivian Burey (m. 1929 - 1955)
Education: Howard University School of Law · Lincoln University · Howard University · Frederick Douglass High School
Children: Thurgood Marshall, Jr. (Son)
Founded: NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Parents: Norma Africa Marshall (Mother) · William Marshall (Father)
Highlights
1934: He began his 25-year affiliation with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1934 by representing the organization in the law school discrimination suit Murray v. Pearson.

1936: In 1936, Marshall became part of the national staff of the NAACP.

1955: After her death in February 1955, Marshall married Cecilia Suyat in December of that year.

1955: Thurgood Marshall married Cecilia Suyat on December 01, 1955.

1965: Marshall remained on that court until 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to be the United States Solicitor General, the first African American to hold the office.

1993: Marshall died of heart failure at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, at 2:58 pm on January 24, 1993, at the age of 84.

wiki/Thurgood_Marshall

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Today in History ^07/23 (Battle of Chios)

July 23, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ

Small beach on the eastern shore of Chios Island (© Izzet Keribar/Getty Images)

(1319) Seafaring knights do battle in the Aegean

Turkish Aydinid pirate ships roam the Aegean Sea, pouncing on Latin-held islands. And since Venice and Genoa are feuding with each other, it falls to the Hospitallers to engage in briny battle, where the Knights destroy or capture 22 out of 28 Aydinid vessels for an impressive victory.

The Battle of Chios was a naval battle fought off the shore of the eastern Aegean island of Chios between a Latin Christian—mainly Hospitaller—fleet and a Turkish fleet from the Aydinid emirate. The Christian fleet was resoundingly victorious, but for the Ayinids, who had been engaging in piracy since the collapse of Byzantine power, it was only a temporary setback in their rise to prominence.

Date: Jul 23, 1319

16th-century detailed map of Chios by Piri Reis
wiki/Battle_of_Chios_(1319)

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(1319) Seafaring knights do battle in the Aegean.
Also on this day,

1952 | Egypt’s military coup is launched and an Egyptian king will abdicate

Decadent, politically ineffectual, and increasingly unpopular, Egypt’s King Farouk is overthrown by a military coup headed by future Egyptian president Abdel Nasser. The Revolution of 1952 will erase the last trace of British colonial influence from Egypt and the Sudan.

1967 | Violence in Detroit as the 12th Street Riot begins

Tensions between African American residents and the police flare in Detroit, Michigan, during an early morning raid on a nightclub. Before the riot ends five days later, 43 people will be killed, more than 300 injured, some 1,400 buildings burned, and more than 7,000 people will be arrested.

1996 | Kerri Strug’s gutsy performance vaults US women to gold

Up against Russian and Romanian might, US women have put in a stellar performance at the Atlanta Olympics, and the first US women’s gymnastics team gold medal is secured when Kerri Strug sticks the landing on her second vault, despite having sprained her ankle on the first go.

Today in History ^07/23/17

Meeting of the Egyptian 'Free Officers' in Cairo in 1952 (© AFP/Getty Images)

(1952) Revolution is launched and an Egyptian king will abdicate

Decadent, politically ineffectual, and increasingly unpopular, Egypt's King Farouk is overthrown by a military coup headed by future Egyptian president Abdel Nasser. The Revolution of 1952 will erase the last trace of British colonial influence from Egypt and the Sudan.

The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the July 23 revolution, began on July 23, 1952, by the Free Officers Movement, a group of army officers led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser. The revolution was initially aimed at overthrowing King Faruq. However, the movement had more political ambitions, and soon moved to abolish the constitutional monarchy and aristocracy of Egypt and Sudan, establish a republic, end the British occupation of the country, and secure the independence of Sudan. The revolutionary government adopted a staunchly nationalist, anti-imperialist agenda, which came to be expressed chiefly through Arab nationalism, and international non-alignment.

Date: Jul 23, 1952

The leaders of the revolution, Muhammad Naguib (left) and Gamal Abdel Nasser (right) in a Cadillac

wiki/Egyptian_revolution_of_1952

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Today in History ^06/05/18 (Six-Day War begins)

June 5, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ

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 5 and 10 June 1967 by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

Start date: Jun 05, 1967
End date: Jun 10, 1967

Territory held by Israel before and after the Six Day War. The Straits of Tiran are circled, between the Gulf of Aqaba to the north and the Red Sea to the south.
wiki/Six-Day_War

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(1967) Israel launches preemptive attack on Egyptian air power.
Also on this day,
1956 | “Elvis the Pelvis” on TV
1963 | “Profumo Affair”
1968 | Robert Kennedy shot