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Today in History 11/23 (Life Magazine)

The first cover of Life magazine, dated November 23, 1936, and featuring the Fort Peck Dam in Fort Peck, Montana (AP)(1936) ‘Life’ publishes its first issue as a photo magazine
Vivid images bring ‘Life’ magazine to life. Originally a humor magazine, ‘Life’ is reconceived by new owner Henry Luce, founder of Time, as a magazine focused on photojournalism. ‘Life’ will be huge commercial success, with a circulation of 8 million at the peak of its popularity.
Life was an American magazine published weekly until 1972, as an intermittent “special” until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, Life was a wide-ranging weekly general interest magazine known for the quality of the photography.
Founded: 1936


Cover art for Life, 27 January 1910 issue, illustration by Coles Phillips
wiki/Life_(magazine)
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(1936) ‘Life’ publishes its first issue as a photo magazine.
Also on this day,

1888 | The jukebox debuts in a San Francisco saloon
The Palais Royale Saloon rolls out a device that will be an overnight success and will eventually drum player pianos out of drinking establishments: the jukebox. This initial version, a nickel-and-slot player, is a phonograph with stethoscope-like tubes.
1936 | Blues singer Robert Johnson makes his first recording
In a makeshift studio, Robert Johnson lays down tracks that will influence music for generations. These and later recordings will be considered so powerful that a legend arises purporting that Johnson sold his soul to the devil to achieve success. The blues legend will nevertheless die in poverty at just 27.
1980 | Southern Italy rocked by devastating quake
Nearly 3,000 people are killed and many more are injured after a massive earthquake strikes southern Italy. Many of the victims are at evening mass when the 6.89-magnitude quake hits. Towns in the province of Avellino suffer the greatest damage and causalities.

Today in History 11/23/17

A man makes his way on a street covered with rubble in the small town of Balvano, near Potenza, southern Italy, November 24, 1980 (© Gianni Foggia/AP)(1980) Southern Italy rocked by devastating quake
Nearly 3,000 people are killed and many more are injured after a massive earthquake strikes southern Italy. Many of the victims are at evening mass when the 6.89-magnitude quake hits. Towns in the province of Avellino suffer the greatest damage and causalities.
The 1980 Irpinia earthquake took place in Southern Italy on November 23 with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X. The shock was centered on the village of Conza and left at least 2,483 people dead, at least 7,700 injured, and left 250,000 homeless.
Date: Nov 23, 1980

Teora 1980
Destruction in the town of Teora

wiki/1980_Irpinia_earthquake
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Today in History 10/24 (United Nations)

President Harry S. Truman and the American delegation look on as Sen. Tom Connally signs the United Nations Charter in San Francisco on June 26, 1945 (© AP)(1945) United Nations begins operating
The United Nations charter, written earlier in the year at a conference in San Francisco, takes effect. The first meetings of the General Assembly and Security Council will take place the following January in London. The New York headquarters will be completed in 1952.
The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization tasked to promote international co-operation and to create and maintain international order. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II with the aim of preventing another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, and is subject to extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict. The UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world.
Website: www.un.org
Founded: Oct 24, 1945 · Lake Success, NY
Headquarters: New York, NY
Founders: Commonwealth of the Philippines · Haiti · Dominican Republic · Panama · Guatemala · Cuba · Norway · Argentina · United States · El Salvador · Netherlands · Denmark · Belgium · Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic · Nicaragua
Subsidiaries: World Health Organization · International Monetary Fund · Food and Agriculture Organization · UNICEF · United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees · World Intellectual Property Organization · International Telecommunication Union · World Tourism Organization · United Nations University · United Nations Population Fund · United Nations Human Settlements Programme

A map of United Nations member states at the end of 1945. Light blue are member states, Dark blue are colonies of member states, grey are non-member states
The UN in 1945: Founding members in light blue, protectorates and territories of the founding members in dark blue
wiki/United_Nations
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(1945) United Nations begins operating.
Also on this day,

1260 | Chartres Cathedral consecrated as French Gothic architecture soars heavenward
Workers broke ground 115 years before, and now the Chartres Cathedral is finally consecrated. The Gothic church will stand through the ages as a magnificent achievement, despite lightning damage, having its roof melted down for bullets, and being slated for destruction by Allied forces in WWII.
1857 | The world’s most popular sport kicks off in Sheffield as 1st football team founded
Sheffield is a goliath of steel manufacturing in South Yorkshire, England, and now claims the world’s first football team, as Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest meet to form the Sheffield Football Club. The sport will kick around Britain awhile before scoring worldwide popularity.
1962 | James Brown at Apollo as The godfather of Soul captures lightning in a bottle
His studio cuts can be mind-blowing, but James Brown and his fans know there’s nothing like seeing the R&B dynamo live, fronting his Famous Flames. When a recording of tonight’s session at the Apollo Theater in Harlem is released as an album, it will rocket up the charts.

Today in History 10/24/17

The ratification of the Treaty of Münster, part of the Peace of Westphalia, to end the 30 Years War in 1648 (© Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)(1648) A balance of power arrives to calm a war-torn Europe
Stretching for three brutal decades and encompassing almost the entirety of Europe, what began as a struggle between Catholics and Protestants metastasized into an all-out territorial power grab, and now the conflict finally finds resolution as the Peace of Westphalia treaties are signed.
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts, as well as the deadliest European religious war, in history. It took place in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648 and resulted in eight million casualties.
Start date: May 23, 1618
End date: May 15, 1648
Map Thirty Years War
Map of the Thirty Years' War

wiki/Thirty_Years'_War
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