1978

Today in History 09/15 (Birmingham Church Bombing)

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A civil defense worker and firemen walk through debris from an expolsion which struck the 16th street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on Sept 15, 1963 (© AP)(1963) Four young girls killed in Birmingham church bombing
Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair, all under 15, are killed when a KKK bomb explodes at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Twenty-two others are injured in the deadliest act of racist violence in the US civil rights era.
The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was an act of white supremacist terrorism which occurred at the African American 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, September 15, 1963, when four members of the Ku Klux Klan planted at least 15 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church.
Date: Sep 15, 1963
Fatalities: 4
Location: Birmingham
Target: 16th Street Baptist Church
Attack type: Church bombing, terrorism, hate crime, mass murder
Deaths: 4

The four girls killed during the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
The four girls killed during the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Clockwise from top left: Addie Mae Collins (aged 14), Cynthia Wesley (aged 14), Carole Robertson (aged 14) and Denise McNair (aged 11)
wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing
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(1963) Four young girls killed in Birmingham church bombing.
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1821 | Act of Independence of Central America is enacted
The Province of Guatemala proclaims the independence of Central America from the Spanish Empire and invites other provinces to meet and determine a path forward. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua will all briefly become part of the Mexican Empire before forming the Federal Republic of Central America.
1950 | General MacArthur lands US Marines at Inchon, Korea
General Douglas MacArthur commands a joint US-United Nations force in a bold invasion of South Korea 25 miles from communist-held Seoul. The amphibious landing of some 50,000 troops 100 miles south of the 38th parallel will end North Korea’s string of victories and cut their forces in two.
1978 | Boxer Muhammad Ali is a triple threat as he wins record 3rd title
Fighting against an opponent 11 years his junior at the Superdome in New Orleans, boxer Muhammad Ali, 36, scores a unanimous win after 15 rounds against Leon Spinks to take the world heavyweight boxing title. Ali becomes the first boxer to win the heavyweight championship belt three times.

Today in History 09/15/17

General Douglas MacArthur is shown after he stepped ashore at Inchon, South Korea, Sept 17, 1950 (© Frank Noel/AP)(1950) General MacArthur lands US Marines at Inchon, Korea
General Douglas MacArthur commands a joint US-United Nations force in a bold invasion of South Korea 25 miles from communist-held Seoul. The amphibious landing of some 50,000 troops 100 miles south of the 38th parallel will end North Korea's string of victories and cut their forces in two.
The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations. The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital of Seoul two weeks later. The code name for the operation was Operation Chromite.
Start date: Sep 10, 1950
End date: Sep 19, 1950
Incheon SK
Incheon, South Korea, in pink coloring.
Inchon landing map
The landing at Incheon.

wiki/Battle_of_Inchon
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Today in History 09/12 (Steve Biko)

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A poster of slain South African anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko on the 10th anniversary of his death, Sept 13, 1987, in Soweto (© John Parkin/AP)(1977) Anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko dies in police custody
After almost a month in South African police custody, Steve Biko, the leader of an anti-apartheid black student movement, has died in a Pretoria hospital. The 30-year-old’s autopsy will show that death was caused by severe brain injury, and 15,000 supporters will attend his funeral.
Bantu Stephen Biko was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement during the late 1960s and 1970s. His ideas were articulated in a series of articles published under the pseudonym Frank Talk.
Lived: Dec 18, 1946 – Sep 12, 1977 (age 30)
Nationality: South African
Spouse: Ntsiki Mashalaba (m. 1970 – 1977)
Children: Hlumelo Biko (Son) · Nkosinathi Biko (Son) · Samora Biko (Son) · Lerato Biko (Daughter) · Motlatsi Biko (Daughter)
Founded: Black Consciousness Movement · South African Students’ Organisation · Black People’s Convention
Parents: Alice Mamcete Biko (Mother) · Mzingayi Mathew (Father)
Highlights
  • 1968: He developed the view that to avoid white domination, black people had to organise independently, and to this end he became a leading figure in the creation of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) in 1968.

  • 1970: Biko married Ntsiki Mashalaba in December 1970.

  • 1971: Biko presented a paper on “White Racism and Black Consciousness” at an academic conference in the University of Cape Town’s Abe Bailey Centre in January 1971.

  • 1972: In 1972, he was involved in founding the Black People’s Convention (BPC) to promote Black Consciousness ideas among the wider population.

  • 1972: In September 1972, Biko visited Kimberley, where he met the PAC founder and anti-apartheid activist Robert Sobukwe.

  • 1977: There, Biko died alone in a cell on 12 September 1977.

Steven Bantu Biko's Grave in King Williams Town, SA
Biko’s grave in Ginsberg cemetery, King William’s Town
wiki/Steve_Biko
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(1977) Anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko dies in police custody.
Also on this day,

1846 | A pair of poets Barrett and Browning elope
The lauded poet Elizabeth Barrett joins her beau, the up-and-coming poet Robert Browning, to marry in secret at a London church. They will then move to Italy, cultivate a circle of literary friends, have a son, and craft words for the ages.
1933 | Atom-age breakthrough as Szilárd’s stroll sets off a nuclear chain reaction
Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd has been puzzling over using atoms as a form of energy, and as he strolls London’s streets, he suddenly conceives the idea of a nuclear chain reaction, which will lead to his work in the atom bomb’s formation and the harnessing of nuclear energy.
1978 | ‘Taxi’ brings NYC cab driver stories to TV
‘Taxi’ premieres with a cast that includes Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, and Andy Kaufman. Christopher Lloyd will join later as the Rev. Jim Ignatowski. The show will go on to win 18 Emmy Awards during its five seasons on ABC and NBC.

Today in History 09/12/17

Dr. Leó Szilárd, of the University of Chicago, testifies before the House Military Affairs Committee, Oct 18, 1945 (© Henry Griffin/AP)(1933) Szilárd's stroll sets off a nuclear chain reaction
Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd has been puzzling over using atoms as a form of energy, and as he strolls London's streets, he suddenly conceives the idea of a nuclear chain reaction, which will lead to his work in the atom bomb's formation and the harnessing of nuclear energy.
Leo Szilard was a Hungarian-born physicist and inventor. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi in 1934, and in late 1939 wrote the letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb.
Lived: Feb 11, 1898 - May 30, 1964 (age 66)
Spouse: Gertrud Weiss Szilard (m. 1951)
Academic advisors: Albert Einstein · Max von Laue
Inventions: Einstein refrigerator
Education: Budapest University of Technology and Economics · Technical University of Berlin · Humboldt University of Berlin
Awards: Albert Einstein Award (1960)
Highlights
  • 1922: His doctoral dissertation on thermodynamics Über die thermodynamischen Schwankungserscheinungen (On The Manifestation of Thermodynamic Fluctuations), praised by Einstein, won top honors in 1922.

  • 1938: Foreseeing another war in Europe, Szilard moved to the United States in 1938, where he worked with Enrico Fermi and Walter Zinn on means of creating a nuclear chain reaction.

  • 1950: He publicly sounded the alarm against the possible development of salted thermonuclear bombs, explaining in radio talk on February 26, 1950, that sufficiently big thermonuclear bomb rigged with specific but common materials, might annihilate mankind.

  • 1951: Leó Szilárd married Gertrud Weiss Szilard in 1951.

  • 1961: The Voice of the Dolphins, and Other Stories written by Leó Szilárd was first published in 1961.

  • 1964: On May 30, 1964, he died in his sleep of a heart attack; when Trude awoke, she was unable to revive him.

Fermi-Szilard Neutronic Reactor - Figure 38
An image from the Fermi–Szilard "neutronic reactor" patent

wiki/Leo_Szilard
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Today in History 07/25 (World’s First IVF Baby)

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Dr. Robert Edwards holding baby Louise Joy Brown with the midwife and Dr. Patrick Edwards at Oldham General Hospital, Lancashire, UK, July 25, 1978 (© Keystone/Getty Images)(1978) World’s first IVF baby born
England’s Lesley and John Brown welcome Louise Joy, their newborn daughter and the world’s first child conceived with the help of what will later be called ‘in vitro fertilization,’ or IVF. Although the press dubs Louise a ‘test-tube baby,’ she was in fact conceived in a petri dish.
Louise Joy Brown is an English woman known for being the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.
Born: Jul 25, 1978 (age 40) · Oldham, United Kingdom
Nationality: British
Spouse: Wesley Mullinder (m. 2004)
Parents: John Brown (Father) · Lesley Brown (Mother)
Children: Cameron (Son) · Aiden (Son)
Siblings: Natalie Brown
Highlights
  • 2004: In 2004, Brown married nightclub doorman (bouncer) Wesley Mullinder.

  • 2006: Brown’s father died in 2006.

  • 2012: Her mother died on 6 June 2012 in Bristol Royal Infirmary at the age of 64 due to complications from a gallbladder infection.

  • 2013: Brown’s second son, Aiden Patrick Robert, was born in August 2013.

Louise Brown IVF
wiki/Louise_Brown
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(1978) World’s first IVF baby born.
Also on this day,

306 CE | An epoch-spanning emperor, Constantine, comes to power
Constantine I is proclaimed leader of Rome’s western empire and he will go on to lay the groundwork for the Byzantine Empire, found the nexus of global power in Constantinople, and become known as Constantine the Great, one of history’s most profound game changers.
1898 | A land invasion nets the US a Caribbean commonwealth, Puerto Rico
Launching a land offensive in the Puerto Rican Campaign, the United States lands 1,300 US infantry soldiers at Puerto Rico’s Guánica Harbor, where they find no resistance. American forces will secure the island in a month’s time, and Spain will cede Puerto Rico to the US as the Spanish-American War ends.
1965 | Folk music icon, Bob Dylan, plugs in at Newport
Bob Dylan feels like changing things up at the premier showcase of his musical genre, the Newport Folk Festival. The 24-year-old takes the stage with an electric guitar and a rock band, and as an amplified version of ‘Maggie’s Farm’ blasts out, popular music is changed forever.

Today in History 07/25/17

American soldiers look through binoculars to gauge the effect of their bombardment, as they shell the Spanish blockhouse at Coamo, Puerto Rico, August 1898 (© Interim Archives/Getty Images)(1898) A land invasion nets the US a Caribbean commonwealth
Launching a land offensive in the Puerto Rican Campaign, the United States lands 1,300 US infantry soldiers at Puerto Rico's Guánica Harbor, where they find no resistance. American forces will secure the island in a month's time, and Spain will cede Puerto Rico to the US as the Spanish-American War ends.
The Puerto Rican Campaign was an American military sea and land operation on the island of Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War. The offensive began on May 12, 1898, when the United States Navy attacked the archipelago's capital, San Juan. Though the damage inflicted on the city was minimal, the Americans were able to establish a blockade in the city's harbor, San Juan Bay. On June 22, the cruiser Isabel II and the destroyer Terror delivered a Spanish counterattack, but were unable to break the blockade and the Terror was damaged.
Start date: May 08, 1898
End date: Aug 13, 1898
Puerto Rico Expedition
Historical Map of the Puerto Rican Campaign Illustrating Operations July 25-August 12, 1898, and showing Municipality borders in 1898. (Blue} are US Naval Forces, {Red} are US land forces, and {Green} are Spanish ground forces.
Puerto Rico USA-España
Map of Puerto Rico under the USA and Spanish flags from August 14 til September 19, 1898. The 23 blue-colored municipalities are under USA flag and the 55 yellow-colored municipalities are under Spanish flag

wiki/Puerto_Rican_Campaign
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Today in History 02/18/17

Copy of sections of the original glass plate on which Pluto was discovered on Feb 18, 1930, with the arrow showing Pluto's movement against the background stars (© Lowell Observatory Archives)(1930) Pluto is first spotted
Clyde Tombaugh, a 23-year-old astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, finds ‘Planet X’ with the help of a blink microscope. The immensely far-off object will be called Pluto, but will be stripped of its planetary status in 2006 and reclassified as merely a “dwarf planet.”
Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond Neptune. It was the first Kuiper belt object to be discovered. Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 and was originally considered to be the ninth planet from the Sun. After 1992, its planethood was questioned following the discovery of several objects of similar size in the Kuiper belt. In 2005, Eris, which is 27% more massive than Pluto, was discovered. This led the International Astronomical Union to define the term “planet” formally. That definition excluded Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet.
Radius: 736 miles (1,185 km)
Surface area: 6.43 million sq miles (16.65 million km²)
Orbital order: 9
Orbital period: 247.84 years
Gravity: 2.16 feet/s² (0.66 m/s²)
Star system: Solar System

wiki/Pluto
Portraits of the White Rose resistance members and a copy of the sentences against them is displayed at the White Rose Memorial in Munich district court (© Johannes Simon/Getty Images)(1943) White Rose resistance members arrested by Nazi Gestapo
Six members of a non-violent student group from the University of Munich are arrested for their campaign of writing and distributing leaflets critical of Hitler’s regime. They will be found guilty of treason and beheaded.
The White Rose was a non-violent, intellectual resistance group in Nazi Germany led by a group of students and a professor at the University of Munich. The group conducted an anonymous leaflet and graffiti campaign which called for active opposition against the Nazi regime. Their activities started in Munich on June 27th, 1942, and ended with the arrest of the core group by the Gestapo on February 18th, 1943. They, as well as other members and supporters of the group who carried on distributing the pamphlets, faced unjust trials by the Nazi People’s Court, and many were sentenced to death or imprisonment.
Founders: Sophie Scholl · Hans Scholl

wiki/White_Rose
The Church of Scientology building in Los Angeles (© HBO/Courtesy Everett Collection/Rex Features)(1954) The first Church of Scientology opens
Following the 1950 publication of his book ‘Dianetics,’ L. Ron Hubbard and his followers establish the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles, the first in what will become more than 5,000 Scientology churches worldwide.
The Church of Scientology is a multinational network and hierarchy of numerous ostensibly independent but interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, a new religious movement. The Church of Scientology International is officially the Church of Scientology’s parent organization, and is responsible for guiding local Scientology churches. At a local level, every church is a separate corporate entity set up as a licensed franchise and has its own board of directors and executives. The first Scientology church was incorporated in December 1953 in Camden, New Jersey by L. Ron Hubbard. Its international headquarters are located at the Gold Base, in an unincorporated area of Riverside County, California. The location at Gilman Hotsprings is kept secret from most Scientologists. Scientology Missions International is under CSI and overseers Scientology missions, which are local Scientology organizations smaller than churches.
Founded: 1954
Headquarters: Gilman Hot Springs, California, CA
Founder: L. Ron Hubbard

wiki/Church_of_Scientology
Two participants in the 1979 Ironman Triathlon on Oahu, Hawaii (© Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)(1978) The Ironman Triathlon holds its first competition
Oahu, Hawaii, hosts a grueling triad of events, described on the competition’s rules sheet as “Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!” The race sees 15 men start and 12 finish. Navy specialist Gordon Haller wins the first Ironman title.

An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.

Most Ironman events have a strict time limit of 17 hours to complete the race. The race typically starts at 7:00 a.m.; the mandatory swim cut off for the 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim is 9:20 a.m. (2 hours 20 minutes), the mandatory bike cut off time is 5:30 p.m. (8 hours 10 minutes), and the mandatory marathon cut off is midnight (6 hours 30 minutes). Any participant who manages to complete the triathlon within these timings is designated an Ironman.

The name “Ironman Triathlon” is also associated with the original Ironman triathlon which is now the Ironman World Championship. Held in Kailua-Kona, the world championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978 (with an additional race in 1982) and is preceded by a series of qualifying Ironman events. The Ironman World Championship has become known for its grueling length, harsh race conditions, and Emmy Award-winning television coverage.

Other races exist that are of the same distance as an Ironman triathlon but are not produced, owned, or licensed by the World Triathlon Corporation. Such races include The Challenge Family series’ Challenge Roth or the Norseman Triathlon.

wiki/Ironman_Triathlon
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Today in History 11/27/16

Today in History
(1095) Pope Urban II orders the Crusades: “God wills it”
1095 In one of the most influential speeches of the Middle Ages, Pope Urban II calls on Christians to take up arms to drive Muslims from the Holy Land, in what will become the First Crusade. The pope will die on July 15, 1099, a few days before news of Jerusalem’s fall reaches Rome. .

Pope Urban II, born Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was Pope from 12 March 1088 to his death in 1099. He is best known for initiating the First Crusade and setting up the modern-day Roman Curia in the manner of a royal ecclesiastical court to help run the Church.

Born: 1042 · Lagery, France
Died: Jul 29, 1099 · Rome, Italy

Highlights

  • 1084: He was one of the most prominent and active supporters of the Gregorian reforms, especially as legate in the Holy Roman Empire in 1084.

  • 1095: Though the Council of Clermont held in November of the same year was primarily focused on reforms within the church hierarchy, Urban II gave a speech on 27 November 1095 to a broader audience.

  • 1097: The most important effect of the First Crusade for Urban himself was the removal of Clement III from Rome in 1097 by one of the French armies.

  • 1099: Urban II died on 29 July 1099, fourteen days after the fall of Jerusalem to the Crusaders, but before news of the event had reached Italy; his successor was Pope Paschal II.

— Source: wiki/Pope_Urban_II
(1924) Macy’s puts on its first Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy’s kicks off what will be a beloved annual tradition. The parade contains floats, employees dressed as clowns, cowboys, and animals from the Central Park Zoo. The parade isn’t to celebrate Thanksgiving as much as to put Christmas – and shopping for presents – in the minds of spectators lining the streets.. 1924

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual event featuring imaginative floats and spectacular pageantry making it one of America’s favorite holiday extravaganzas.

First episode: Nov 24, 1927
Number of episodes: 89
Episode duration: 180 minutes
First occurred: 1924
Website: social.macys.com/parade

— Source: wiki/Macy’s_Thanksgiving_Day_Parade
(1973) US Senate confirms Gerald R. Ford as vice president
1973 The US Senate votes 92-3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Richard Nixon’s vice president. He succeeds Spiro Agnew, who had resigned after pleading no contest to tax evasion. Ford will serve as vice president for less than a year before succeeding Nixon as president, after he resigns in the fallout from the Watergate scandal. .

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977. Prior to this he was the 40th Vice President of the United States, serving from 1973 until President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, following the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew on October 10, 1973. Becoming president upon Richard Nixon’s departure on August 9, 1974, he claimed the distinction as the first and to date only person to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States without being elected to either office. Before ascending to the vice presidency, Ford served 25 years as U.S. Representative from Michigan’s 5th congressional district, the final nine of them as the House Minority Leader.

Lived: Jul 14, 1913 – Dec 26, 2006 (age 93)
Height: 6′ 0″ (1.84 m)
Spouse: Betty Ford (m. 1948 – 2006)
Party: Republican Party
Successor: Jimmy Carter
Vice President: Nelson Rockefeller

Highlights

  • 1948: On October 15, 1948, at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Ford married Elizabeth Bloomer Warren (1918–2011), a department store fashion consultant.

  • 1974: On September 8, 1974, Ford issued Proclamation 4311, which gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while President.

  • 1980: Had Ford won the election, the provisions of the 22nd Amendment would have disqualified him from running in 1980, because he had served more than two years of Nixon’s remaining term.

  • 1981: In April 1981, he opened the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the north campus of his alma mater, the University of Michigan, followed in September by the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids.

  • 2001: In 2001, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award to Ford for his pardon of Nixon.

  • 2006: After his death in December 2006, the University of Michigan Marching Band played the school’s fight song for him one final time, for his last ride from the Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

— Source: wiki/Gerald_Ford
(1978) Assassinations at San Francisco City Hall
Ex-Supervisor Dan White requests a meeting with Mayor George Moscone and then shoots and his kills his old boss in his office. White then guns down Harvey Milk, an openly gay politician and well-respected gay-rights activist. Later on the steps of City Hall, Supervisor Dianne Feinstein will confirm both men are dead.. 1978

The Moscone–Milk assassinations were the killings of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were shot and killed in San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978. White was disappointed that Moscone had refused to reappoint him to his seat on the Board of Supervisors, from which White had just resigned, and that Milk had lobbied heavily against his reappointment. These events helped bring national notice to then-Board President Dianne Feinstein, who became the first female mayor of San Francisco and eventually U.S. Senator for California.

Date: Nov 27, 1978

— Source: wiki/Moscone–Milk_assassinations
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