Today in History ^11/14 (Around the World in 72 Days)

November 14, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

(1889) Journalist Nellie Bly sets out for around-the-world trip

A reporter ahead of her time, Nellie Bly begins what will be a successful attempt to travel around the world in less than 80 days, putting Jules Verne’s fictional story ‘Around the World in 80 days’ to a real-life test. Bly will complete the journey in 72 days, travelling alone for bulk of it.

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days is an 1890 book by journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, writing under her pseudonym, Nellie Bly. The chronicle details her 72-day trip around the world, which was inspired by the book, Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. She carried out the journey for Joseph Pulitzer’s tabloid newspaper, the New York World.

Author: Nellie Bly
First published: 1890
Number of pages: 331
Genre: Non-fiction
Original language: English

A publicity photograph taken by the New York World newspaper to promote Bly’s around-the-world voyage
wiki/Around_the_World_in_Seventy-Two_Days

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(1889) Journalist Nellie Bly sets out for around-the-world trip.
Also on this day,

1840 | Monet’s birthday as Impressionist painting pioneer is born

Oscar-Claude Monet is born in Paris. He will show an interest in art at a young age, enrolling in Le Havre secondary school of the arts at age 10. Monet will go on to become one of the creators of impressionism, and some of his works will sell posthumously for tens of millions of dollars.

1851 | ‘Moby Dick’ in US as Herman Melville’s story of the white whale is published in the US

‘Call me Ishmael’ first appears in print in the United States, the opening line of a new novel by a former sailor. An earlier version of ‘Moby-Dick,’ entitled ‘The Whale,’ had been published in England. The novel will flop on both sides of the Atlantic, but long after Melville’s death, it will be hailed as a classic.

1969 | Rocket lifts off in second manned mission to moon as Apollo 12 blasts off

Apollo 12 takes off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with three astronauts aboard: Charles Conrad, Jr.; Richard Gordon, Jr.; and Alan Bean. A few days later, Conrad and Bean will become the third and fourth persons to walk on the moon’s surface.

Today in History ^11/14/17

Apollo 12 being launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 14, 1969 (© NASA)

(1969) Rocket lifts off in second manned mission to moon

Apollo 12 takes off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with three astronauts aboard: Charles Conrad, Jr.; Richard Gordon, Jr.; and Alan Bean. A few days later, Conrad and Bean will become the third and fourth persons to walk on the moon's surface.

Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean performed just over one day and seven hours of lunar surface activity while Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon remained in lunar orbit. The landing site for the mission was located in the southeastern portion of the Ocean of Storms.

Mission start: Nov 14, 1969
Mission end: Nov 24, 1969
Space program: Apollo program
Astronauts: Alan Bean · Pete Conrad · Richard Gordon
Destination: Moon

Charles Conrad Jr., Apollo 12 Commander, examines the unmanned Surveyor III spacecraft during the second extravehicular activity (EVA-2). The Lunar Module (LM) "Intrepid" is in the right background. This picture was taken by astronaut Alan L. Bean, Lunar Module pilot. The "Intrepid" landed on the Moon's Ocean of Storms only 600 feet from Surveyor III. The television camera and several other components were taken from Surveyor III and brought back to earth for scientific analysis. Surveyor III soft-landed on the Moon on April 19, 1967.

wiki/Apollo_12

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Today in History ^11/12 (World Wide Web)

November 12, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

The world's first web page, created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990, and photographed here in 2013 (Е FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

(1990) A worldwide web of internet communication is proposed

English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee publishes a proposal to interlink communications via the internet through hypertext, like this, for a project called “WorldWideWeb,” a web of documents viewed by “browsers.” Within weeks, he’ll have built the necessary infrastructure and published the first web pages, describing this very project.

The World Wide Web is a global information medium which users can read and write via computers connected to the Internet. The term is often mistakenly used as a synonym for the Internet itself, but the Web is a service that operates over the Internet, just as e-mail also does. The history of the Internet dates back significantly further than that of the World Wide Web. Web is the global information system.

The NeXTcube used by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN became the first Web server.
wiki/History_of_the_World_Wide_Web

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(1990) A worldwide web of internet communication is proposed.
Also on this day,

1892 | Pudge Heffelfinger is the first professional football player

William ‘Pudge’ Heffelfinger is paid $500 to play a game in Pittsburgh. The 6′-3″, 200-pounder scores the only points in the Allegheny Athletic Association’s win over the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Heffelfinger will go on to be a college football coach and mount an unsuccessful bid for US Congress.

1954 | Ellis Island closes its doors

Having processed about 12 million immigrants seeking entry to the US since it opened in 1892, Ellis Island shuts down operations. In the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, the processing center will fall into disrepair but the main building will be restored and will reopen in 1990 to host a museum of immigration.

1969 | Journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the My Lai massacre story

Freelance reporter Seymour Hersh breaks the story of a massacre in a Vietnamese village where hundreds of civilians were gunned down by US troops. The story of the horrific act and its subsequent cover-up gets widespread coverage and will help erode US public support for the Vietnam War.

Today in History ^11/12/17

Arne Petterson, the last immigrant to leave Ellis Island, waves from the ferry on November 12, 1954 (© AP)

(1954) Ellis Island closes its doors

Having processed about 12 million immigrants seeking entry to the US since it opened in 1892, Ellis Island shuts down operations. In the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, the processing center will fall into disrepair but the main building will be restored and will reopen in 1990 to host a museum of immigration.

Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the United States as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station for over sixty years from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with land reclamation between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965 and has hosted a museum of immigration since 1990.

Website: www.libertyellisfoundation.org
Address: 17 Battery Pl Ste 210, New York, NY 10004
Phone: (212) 561-4588
Established: Jan 01, 1892
Managed by: National Park Service

Ellis Island's location in Upper New York Bay

wiki/Ellis_Island

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Today in History ^11/10 (Badlands National Park)

November 10, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Badlands national park in South Dakota (© Andrew Nay/EyeEm/Getty Images)

(1978) Badlands becomes a national park

A national monument since 1939, Badlands in southwest South Dakota is designated as a national park. The 244,000-acre park will eventually host about a million visitors a year coming to see wildlife, fossils, and the Badlands wall.

Badlands National Park is an American national park located in southwestern South Dakota. The park protects 242,756 acres of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The National Park Service manages the park, with the South Unit being co-managed with the Oglala Lakota tribe.

Website: www.nps.gov/badl
Address: 25216 Ben Reifel Pl, Interior, SD 57750
Phone: (605) 433-5361
Established: Jan 29, 1939
Area: 379.31 sq miles
Annual visitors: 1.05 million (2017)

Badlands National Park
wiki/Badlands_National_Park

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(1978) Badlands becomes a national park.
Also on this day,

1871 | Henry Stanley finds missing explorer Dr. David Livingstone

‘Dr. Livingstone, I presume?’ Journalist Henry Stanley will claim he uttered those words on this day, upon finding David Livingstone after a harrowing search in central Africa. The quote, however, and even the date, will later come into question.

1969 | ‘Sesame Street’ is introduced to the airwaves of American public television

‘Sesame Street,’ featuring Jim Henson’s Muppets, catchy songs, and animated shorts, aims to educate while it entertains young kids. The show will be a huge success, and will be credited as a valuable learning tool, but will also ruffle convention as it tackles serious subjects, such as death, poverty, and AIDS.

1997 | Judge frees British au pair

Louise Woodward, 19, a British au pair convicted for murdering an infant while he was in her care in Massachusetts, has been freed from prison, her conviction reduced from murder to involuntary manslaughter. Woodward’s case drew intense worldwide attention, especially in Britain.

Today in History ^11/10/17

Funeral procession of Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow on November 10, 1982 (© KeystoneUSA/ZUMA/Rex Features)

(1982) Soviet leader Brezhnev dies at age 75

Leonid Brezhnev, who ruled the USSR for 18 years during the height of the Cold War, dies of a heart attack. In poor health, he had been largely a figurehead during his final years. His death will start a long cycle of reform eventually leading to the country's breakup.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was a Soviet politician who led the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982 as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, presiding over the country until his death and funeral in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in duration. During Brezhnev's rule, the global influence of the Soviet Union grew dramatically, in part because of the expansion of the Soviet military during this time. His tenure as leader was marked by the beginning of an era of economic and social stagnation in the Soviet Union.

Lived: Dec 19, 1906 - Nov 10, 1982 (age 75)
Height: 5' 8" (1.73 m)
Spouse: Viktoria Brezhneva (m. 1928 - 1982)
Buried: Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Children: Yuri Brezhnev (Son) · Galina Brezhneva (Daughter)
Previous offices: Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1977 - 1982) · General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1964 - 1982)
Highlights
1928: Leonid Brezhnev married Viktoria Brezhneva in 1928.

1931: Brezhnev had met Khrushchev in 1931, shortly after joining the Party, and before long, as he continued his rise through the ranks, he became Khrushchev's protégé.

1952: In 1952 Brezhnev became a member of the Central Committee, and during 1964, Brezhnev succeeded Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary, while Alexei Kosygin succeeded Khrushchev in his post as Soviet premier.

1957: He was now a senior member of Khrushchev's entourage, and in June 1957, he backed Khrushchev in his struggle with Malenkov's Stalinist old guard in the Party leadership, the so-called "Anti-Party Group".

1977: In 1977, he forced the retirement of Podgorny and became once again Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, making this position equivalent to that of an executive president.

1982: After years of declining health, Brezhnev died on 10 November 1982 and was quickly succeeded in his post as General Secretary by Yuri Andropov.

USSR postage stamp of 1979, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Virgin Lands Campaign

wiki/Leonid_Brezhnev

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Today in History ^10/16 (John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry)

October 16, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Fallen trees across a suburban street after the Great Storm in southern England, October 17, 1987 (© John Downing/Getty Images)

(1859) An abolitionist attacks an armory at Harpers Ferry

Inspired by his anti-slavery beliefs, and enraged by pro-slavery violence, abolitionist John Brown launches an armed assault on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Brown and his small band of supporters is no match for the US Marines that will be called out against him.

The Great Storm of 1987 was a violent extratropical cyclone that occurred on the night of 15–16 October, with hurricane-force winds causing casualties in England, France and the Channel Islands as a severe depression in the Bay of Biscay moved northeast. Among the most damaged areas were Greater London, the East Anglian coast, the Home Counties, the west of Brittany and the Cotentin Peninsula of Normandy which weathered gusts typically with a return period of 1 in 200 years.

Michael Fish is resigned to the nation remembering only part of his famous forecast – ‘Hurricane Fish’ still wouldn’t have been predicted today.
wiki/John_Brown’s_raid_on_Harpers_Ferry

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(1859) An abolitionist attacks an armory at Harpers Ferry.
Also on this day,

1916 | Margaret Sanger’s first family planning clinic opens

America’s first family planning clinic opens in Brooklyn, New York, breaking that state’s laws by dispensing birth control and educating patients on contraception. The clinic’s founder, nurse Margaret Sanger, will be arrested nine days later, and become known as a birth control pioneer.

1969 | Major-league upset as ‘Miracle Mets’ stun Baltimore, win World Series

The New York Mets—who had never finished with a winning record and started the season as a 100-1 longshot to win the World Series—complete a dramatic turnaround. The Mets defeat the star-studded Baltimore Orioles in game five at Shea Stadium to win the series.

1987 | Britain hit with devastating, unexpected Great Storm of 1987

Expecting only minor trouble on the south coast, most Britons are shocked when a deadly cyclone packing hurricane-force winds slams into England with gusts as high as 122-mph that uproot trees, tear buildings apart, cause £2 billion of damage, and kill 22.

Today in History ^10/16/17

Margaret Sanger poses before leaving Brooklyn Court of Special Sessions after her arraignment in New York in October 1916 (© AP)

(1916) Margaret Sanger's first family planning clinic opens

America's first family planning clinic opens in Brooklyn, New York, breaking that state's laws by dispensing birth control and educating patients on contraception. The clinic's founder, nurse Margaret Sanger, will be arrested nine days later, and become known as a birth control pioneer.

Margaret Higgins Sanger was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth control", opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Lived: Sep 14, 1879 - Sep 06, 1966 (age 86)
Spouse: James Noah (m. 1922 - 1943) · William Sanger (m. 1902 - 1921)
Founded: Planned Parenthood · American Birth Control League · International Planned Parenthood Federation
Children: Peggy Sanger (Daughter) · Stuart Sanger (Son) · Grant Sanger (Son)
Movies: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed · Birth Control
Siblings: Bob Higgins (Brother) · Ethel Bryne (Sister)
Highlights
1914: In August 1914 Margaret Sanger was indicted for violating postal obscenity laws by sending the The Woman Rebel through the postal system.

1916: On October 16, 1916 Sanger opened a family planning and birth control clinic at 46 Amboy Street in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, the first of its kind in the United States.

1921: After World War I, Sanger shifted away from radical politics, and she founded the American Birth Control League (ABCL) in 1921 to enlarge her base of supporters to include the middle class.

1922: In 1922 she married her second husband, James Noah H. Slee.

1966: In 1966, Planned Parenthood began issuing its Margaret Sanger Awards annually to honor "individuals of distinction in recognition of excellence and leadership in furthering reproductive health and reproductive rights."

1966: Sanger died of congestive heart failure in 1966 in Tucson, Arizona, aged 86, about a year after the U.S. Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut, which legalized birth control in the United States.

Margaret Sanger (* 1879)
wiki/Margaret_Sanger

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Today in History ^10/15 (Mata Hari)

October 15, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, better known by the stage name Mata Hari, circa 1914 (© ullstein bild/Getty Images)

(1917) An alluring spy faces a French firing squad

Courtesan, exotic dancer, and WWI spy, Margaretha Geertruida Zelle stands in front of a firing squad after her conviction on espionage charges. Dutch-born but inspired to adopt a new name and persona after living in Java, ‘Mata Hari’ is executed for her role as a German spy.

Margaretha Geertruida “Margreet” MacLeod, better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I and executed by firing squad in France.

Lived: Aug 07, 1876 – Oct 15, 1917 (age 41)
Height: 5′ 10″
Nationality: Dutch
Spouse: Rudolf John MacLeod (m. 1895 – 1907)
Children: Louise Jeanne MacLeod (Daughter) · Norman-John MacLeod (Son)
Siblings: Ari Anne Zelle (Sister) · Cornelis Coenrad Zelle (Brother) · Johannes Henderikus Zelle (Brother)
Highlights
1895: Mata Hari married Rudolf John MacLeod on July 11, 1895; their marriage lasted 12 years till 1907.

1905: By 1905, Mata Hari began to win fame as an exotic dancer.

1916: In late 1916, Zelle travelled to Madrid, where she met with the German military attaché, Major Arnold Kalle, and asked if he could arrange a meeting with the Crown Prince.

1916: In December 1916, the French Second Bureau of the French War Ministry let Mata Hari obtain the names of six Belgian agents.

1917: In January 1917, Major Kalle transmitted radio messages to Berlin describing the helpful activities of a German spy code-named H-21, whose biography so closely matched Zelle’s that it was patently obvious that Agent H-21 could only be Mata Hari.

1917: On 13 February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Elysée Palace on the Champs Elysées in Paris.

Mata Hari
wiki/Mata_Hari

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(1917) An alluring spy faces a French firing squad.
Also on this day,

1581 | First ballet staged as a new art form debuts in De’ Medici’s court

Great art patron, former queen of France, mother of kings, and continual power-broker, Catherine de’ Medici enjoys a new spectacle put on for her court in Paris. The mixture of story, song, and dance, titled the ‘Ballet Comique de la Reine,’ is history’s first true work of ballet.

1764 | A moment in Rome inspires a colossal work of history in the ‘Capitoline vision’

Not yet 30, English writer Edward Gibbon arrives in Rome and experiences a life-changing epiphany. As he watches friars singing their vespers within the Temple of Jupiter’s ruins, the idea of writing a history of Rome first strikes him, and he’ll later date the ‘vision’ to this day.

1969 | Millions take to the streets, protesting for peace

With some 40,000 American troops killed in the Vietnam War, millions of people across the US and the world gather in a Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, a mass demonstration calling for peace and a withdrawal of forces from Southeast Asia. It will be called history’s largest peace rally.

Today in History ^10/15/17

Demonstrators in Bryant Park in New York City gather for Moratorium Day, October 15, 1969 (© AP)

(1969) Millions take to the streets, protesting for peace

With some 40,000 American troops killed in the Vietnam War, millions of people across the US and the world gather in a Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, a mass demonstration calling for peace and a withdrawal of forces from Southeast Asia. It will be called history's largest peace rally.

The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was a massive demonstration and teach-in across the United States against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. It took place on October 15, 1969, followed a month later by a large Moratorium March on Washington.

Date: Oct 15, 1969

Vietnam Moratorium protesters in the City Square, Melbourne, 18 September 1970
wiki/Moratorium_to_End_the_War_in_Vietnam

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