Today in History 05/24/17

Woodcut of horsedrawn carriage on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, circa 1830 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)(1830) Passenger rail service begins in US
Horse-drawn rail coaches begin scheduled runs on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Baltimore, Maryland, and Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland. Three months later, after a rail race between the ‘Tom Thumb’ steam engine and a horse-drawn car, steam-powered travel will come to the route.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with an original line from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook. At this point to continue westward, it had to cross into Virginia over the Potomac River, adjacent to the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. From there it passed through Virginia from Harpers Ferry to a point just west of the junction of Patterson Creek and the North Branch Potomac River where it crossed back into Maryland to reach Cumberland. From there it was extended to the Ohio River at Wheeling and a few years later also to Parkersburg, West Virginia.
Founded: 1827
Headquarters: Baltimore, MD
Founders: William Patterson · John W. Garrett

wiki/Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad
Brooklyn Bridge under construction in 1883 (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)(1883) The East River’s Brooklyn Bridge is open to traffic
A neo-Gothic bridge connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn is officially opened amid fireworks and naval gun salutes. The mayors of the two boroughs, and President Chester Arthur, make the trip across the Brooklyn Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world.
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City and is one of the oldest bridges of either type in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. It has a main span of 1,595.5 feet and was the first steel-wire suspension bridge constructed. It was originally referred to as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge and as the East River Bridge, but it was later dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge, a name coming from an earlier January 25, 1867, letter to the editor of the The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and formally so named by the city government in 1915. Since opening, it has become an icon of New York City and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1972.
Address: Brooklyn Brg, New York, NY 10038
Opened: May 24, 1883
Length: 5,988 feet (1,825 m)
Width: 85′ 4″ (26 m)
Longest span: 1,595 feet (486.30 m)
Clearance below: 135 feet (41 m)
Brooklyn Bridge Schematic

wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge
Swiss singer Lys Assia, shortly after winning the very first Eurovision Song Contest with her song 'Refrain,' May 1956 (© Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1956) First broadcast of continental crooning competition
Celebrating the new sensation of TV as much as songwriting and singing, the Eurovision Song Contest debuts in Switzerland as seven European nations vie for the top tune. Swiss singer Lys Assia will win the inaugural contest. In decades to come, the increasingly spectacular show will be seen by as many as 600 million viewers annually.
The Eurovision Song Contest is the longest-running annual international TV song competition, held, primarily, among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union since 1956. The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951.
Episode duration: 120 minutes
First episode: May 24, 1956
Creator: Marcel Bezençon

wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest
Susan Sarandon (left) and Geena Davis in 'Thelma & Louise' (© Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images)(1991) ‘Thelma and Louise’ get on the road
Ridley Scott’s road movie starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis hits theaters. It will become an iconic feminist film as well as a commercial success. The movie will also put one of its supporting actors on the road to superstardom.
Louise is working in a diner as a waitress and has some problems with her boyfriend Jimmy, who, as a musician, is always on the road. Thelma is married to Darryl who likes his wife to stay quiet in the kitchen so that he can watch football on TV. One day they decide to break out of their normal life and jump in the car and hit the road. Their journey, however, turns into a flight when Louise kills a man who threatens to rape Thelma. They decide to go to Mexico, but soon they are hunted by American police.
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0103074
Release date: May 24, 1991 (United States)
Director: Ridley Scott
Gross revenue: $45.40 million USD
Screenwriter: Callie Khouri
Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay · Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay · Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay · National Board of Review Award for Best Actress · National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor · David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress · London Film Critics’ Circle Award for Director of the Year
Music by: Hans Zimmer

wiki/Thelma_&_Louise
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