On This Day November 18

After Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler developed in 1885 a high-speed internal combustion engine, he fitted the engine to a bicycle to create the first internal combustion motorcycle. Daimler's 17-year-old son, Paul, was the first to ride the motorcycle taking it 5–12 kilometers (3.1–7.5 mi), from Cannstatt to Untertürkheim in Stuttgart, Germany on November 18, 1885. The seat caught fire during that journey, due to the engine's hot tube ignition being located directly underneath.

Replica of the Daimler-Maybach Reitwagen. Wikipedia Commons

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On This Day November 16

The Sound of Music musical opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16, 1959. Both of the major New York critics hated it, finding it way too saccharine, but producers already had $2 million in advance ticket sales, so their lack of enthusiasm didn't really matter. The play won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

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On This Day November 12

Jules Léotard (1838–1870) abandoned his law studies to become a trapeze artist. Léotard won almost immediate success during a performance in Cirque Napoleon in Paris on November 12, 1859 when for the first time he swung from one trapeze to the other. The acrobatic act was called “La Course aux Trapèze” and it lasted for 12 minutes.

Jules Léotard

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On This Day October 10

On October 10, 1789, Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French physician, stood before the National Assembly and proposed an apparatus designed for carrying out executions by beheading be adopted as the official means of capital punishment. The device, a decapitation piece of equipment incorporating a vertically-descending blade was originally called a louisette. It was later named after Guillotin, however his family were unhappy at having their name attached to such a device.

Marie Antoinette's execution by guillotine on October 16, 1793

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Today Is November 1

Today is All Saints' Day,  a Christian solemnity celebrated in honor of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown.

Below is All Saints' Day at a cemetery in Gniezno, Poland, the picture shows flowers and candles placed to honor deceased relatives. 

By Diego Delso, Wikipedia

In 609 Pope Boniface IV converted the Roman Pantheon into a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all martyrs. By the 7th century the commemoration of martyrs for the faith had become widespread and as time went on these celebrations came to include not only the martyrs but all saints. 

In 837 Pope Gregory IV established the first celebration of All Saints' Day on November 1st to honor the saints, choosing the first day of November to counter a Celtic festival of the dead, known as Samhain celebrated the night before. However the festival did not die out and in medieval Britain it became known as All Hallows (All Saints) Eve, and later its Scottish equivalent Halloween became more widely used.

On This Day September 15

On September 15, 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, the British sent into action eleven vehicles of an entirely new kind, the Mark I tank.  When the British army was developing the vehicles, known as 'landships', they didn't want to give the Germans any clue what they were up to – so the name 'tank,' which doesn't mean anything, was used to throw them off. It stuck.

British World War I Mark V* tank

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On This Day August 28

At the climax of a Washington interracial march, Dr Martin Luther King gave his famous "I had a dream" speech to 250,000 followers on August 28, 1963. The notes for King's "dream speech" did not contain the passage that started with "I have a dream." However, when the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who was standing behind him cried out: "Tell ’em about the dream, Martin!," King put his notes aside, and started "preaching" improvisationally, punctuating his points with "I have a dream."

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On This Day August 27

The Beatles and Elvis only crossed paths once on August 27, 1965 at Presley 's home in Bel Air, California. The NME reported that Elvis, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison jammed together, but without The Beatles' drummer. "Too bad we left the drums in Memphis," Elvis told Ringo.

When the Beatles met Elvis they were amazed by the device he had that could change channels on the TV from across the room. The King owned an early version of the remote control.

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On This Day August 19

The first five-mile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was held on August 19, 1909. 12,000 spectators watched a car win with the average speed of 57.4 mph. The track, made of crushed rock held together by tar, broke apart killing two drivers and a spectator in the course of a race that lasted just two laps. The speedway was rebuilt that same year with 3.2 million paving bricks to create a safer environment, reopening in December 1909.  

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On This Day May 19

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest on May 19, 1536. Anne refused to be blindfolded and the executioner found her so disarming he persuaded someone to attract her attention so he could steal up silently behind her to carry out the death penalty. Meanwhile Henry was in Epping Forest taking part in a hunt waiting for a signal to proclaim the news that "it" had been done.

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On This Day February 29

Christopher Columbus found himself anchored off the coast of Jamaica with dwindling rations due to uncooperative locals who refused to trade. Consultation of his Zacuto almanac revealed an upcoming lunar eclipse on February 29, 1504. seizing this astronomical knowledge, Columbus gathered the Jamaican chiefs and asserted that, unless they provided him with sustenance, he possessed the ability to obscure the moon. 

Columbus predicts lunar eclipse to the natives

Initially met with laughter, the chiefs were soon alarmed as the eclipse unfolded. Fearing the celestial disturbance, the frightened natives pleaded with Columbus to restore the moon, promising to fulfill his demands in return.

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On This Day February 16

On February 16, 1937, the du Pont company patented their synthetic textile fiber calling it nylon. The letters "nyl" were arbitrary and the "on" was copied from the suffixes of other fibers such as cotton and rayon. One of the first products to be made with this new material was a new type of toothbrush- Dr. West's miracle toothbrush with nylon bristles. Other early uses were for fishing lines and surgical sutures.

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