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| Pakistan flag |
The political session of the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference was held at the Ahsan Manzil palace of the Dhaka Nawab Family on December 30, 1906. In this session a motion to form an All India Muslim League (AIML), the first Muslim political party in the history of India, was proceeded. AIML developed into the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan as a Muslim state on the Indian subcontinent.
Choudhry Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet entitled Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever? in 1933 while a student at Cambridge University's Emmanuel College. It was from Ali's small backstreet house, 3 Humberstone Road, Cambridge that he called for the creation of a Muslim state in northwest India that the young student termed "Pakstan" (without the letter "i").
“Pak” means spiritually pure in Urdu and “Stan” means land. The name coined by Ali was accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s thanks to fears of under-representation and neglect of Muslims in politics. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, greatly espoused the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution.
As the United Kingdom agreed upon partitioning of the Indian empire of British Raj, the modern state of Pakistan was established on August 14, 1947. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was sworn in as first Governor-General of Pakistan in Karachi the nest day.
Queen Elizabeth II ended her role as monarch of Pakistan in 1956, when it became the first country in the world to declare itself an Islamic Republic.
Today is the 13th day of the month of August.
August is named after Augustus, first Emperor of Rome who chose it as it was the month of his greatest triumphs. He died in August AD 14.
Until 8 BC, the Romans called August 'Sextilis' as it was the sixth month of their year.
The Anglo-Saxons called August by the name Weod-monath (weed month) as it is the month when weeds grow most rapidly.
Today is the anniversary of Isaac Singer receiving a patent for his sewing machine.
Today is the 13th day of the month of August.
August is named after Augustus, first Emperor of Rome who chose it as it was the month of his greatest triumphs. He died in August AD 14.
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| The statue known as the Augustus of Prima Porta, 1st century. By Till Niermann - Wikipedia Commons |
Until 8 BC, the Romans called August 'Sextilis' as it was the sixth month of their year.
The Anglo-Saxons called August by the name Weod-monath (weed month) as it is the month when weeds grow most rapidly.
Today is the anniversary of Isaac Singer receiving a patent for his sewing machine.
The first functioning sewing machine was invented by a French tailor by the name of Barthélemy Thimonnier in 1830. His device used the chain stitch; the first such machine to replicate sewing by hand.
Elias Howe, (July 9, 1819 – October 3, 1867) was working in a Cambridge, Massachusetts, cotton machinery factory when he dreamed up the idea of a machine that could sew. The idea fascinated him, and he spent all his spare time during the next five years developing a practical sewing machine. Eventually, Howe left his job to work on his invention. Howe eventually completed his first successful sewing machine in 1845. Howe's innovations included a needle threaded at its point, a shuttle to form a lock stitch and an automatic feed.
The sewing machine was invented at about the same time that factory-made cloth became plentiful. The invention of the sewing machine greatly increased the speed with which a garment could be sewn. Before Howe came up with his device, the fastest sewing possible was only about 50 stitches per minute. Howe's invention stitched five times faster than that. However, it could sew only straight seams of limited length.
Isaac M. Singer of Pittstown, New York invented the first sewing machine with an overhanging arm, making it possible to sew on any part of the garment. His sewing machine was patented on August 12, 1851. Singer also patented the foot treadle and the spring-equipped presser foot for holding down the fabric while sewing.
The first sewing machines were powered by hand or foot. Singer Sewing Co demonstrated the first workable electric sewing machine at the Philadelphia electric exhibition in 1885 and began mass-producing domestic electric machines twenty five years later.
Today is the birthday of hip-hop music.
Today is the birthday of hip-hop music.
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| Herc spins records at a 28 February 2009 event |
Hip hop music is a music genre developed in the United States by inner-city African Americans in the 1970s which consists of rapping accompanied by a stylized rhythmic music. Its roots come from ancient African music rituals of call and response and from groups of singing poets who traveled from town to town spreading news and messages.
Hip hop music involves MCing/rapping and DJing/scratching with turntables. The hip hop culture is also defined by a style of dressing called "urban" clothes (baggy pants, oversize shirts, gold chains), break dancing, and graffiti writing.
The scratch' was invented by a DJ who was trying to hold a spinning record in place in order to listen to his mom, who was yelling at him.
Many believe that August 11, 1973 represents the birthplace of hip hop. DJ Kool Herc was the disc jockey on that day at his sister's back-to-school party in the West Bronx, New York City. He extended the beat of a record by using two record players, isolating the percussion "breaks" by using a mixer to switch between the two records. Herc's experiments with making music with record players became what we now know as breaking or "scratching."
During the mid-2000s, hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. The latter received early acclaim for his production work on Jay-Z's The Blueprint.
Today is the anniversary of the opening of The Louvre Art Museum.
Today is the anniversary of the opening of The Louvre Art Museum.
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| The Cour Carrée of the "Old Louvre". By King of Hearts - |
The Louvre emerged as a medieval fortress built by Philip II of France in the 14th century located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris.
Between 1360 and 1380, Charles V converted the Louvre Castle into a palace, known as the "joli Louvre" ("pretty Louvre").
In 1546, Francis I razed the structure in favor of a larger royal residence in French Renaissance style.
In 1682 Louis XIV abandoned the Louvre, and moved his court to Versailles to establish his independence from the Paris nobility.
The Louvre was converted into an Art Museum during the French Revolution with an exhibition of 537 paintings. It opened for the first time on August 10, 1793. Most of its exhibits at the time consisted of treasures confiscated from the royal family or the Church.
The Louvre has become the globe's most-visited museum, with 35,000 works of art dating from Antiquity to the early modern period. As well as the Mona Lisa, the museum's permanent collection includes masterpieces by European masters such as Rembrandt, Giambattista Pittoni, Caravaggio, Rubens, Titian and Eugène Dela.
Today is the anniversary of the patenting of the diesel engine.
Today is the anniversary of the patenting of the diesel engine.
Rudolph Diesel had the idea to develop an engine which relied on a high compression of the fuel to ignite it. He took his inspiration from watching a lecture where there was a demonstration of a Malaysian fire starting technique called the 'fire piston' which creates flames through air compression.
Diesel first came up with a design for his engine in 1892 and, subsidized by the Krupp company, constructed a ‘rational heat motor’, demonstrating the first compression-ignition engine in 1897. Diesel was granted US Patent No. 608,845 on August 9, 1898, for his engine. He unveiled his engine at the World Fair in 1900.
The first US diesel-power passenger car, a Cummins powered Packard, was built in Columbus, Indiana in 1930.
When he invented the Diesel engine, Diesel envisioned local communities growing crops to run their engines and making themselves entirely self-sufficient. Today, virtually all diesel engines run on petroleum from the ground by multinational oil companies in a globalized market.
Today is International Cat Day.
Today is International Cat Day.
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| Pixiebay |
International Cat Day a celebration that takes place on August 8 every year was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The day raises awareness for cats and educates us in ways to help and protect them.
The earliest authenticated record of the domestication of the cat in ancient Egypt dates from 1500 BC, although the cat was proclaimed to be sacred in that country about 1,000 years earlier. The actual domestication of cats probably came about when the Egyptians noticed that cats protected their granaries from rodents.
The ancient Egyptians 'created' the modern house cats we know today through selective breeding; choosing the most sociable and friendly ones to reproduce.
Cats can comfortably withstand high external temperatures ranging up to 126° F to 133° F before showing any signs that they are hot. This is thought to be a remnant of the fact that they were once probably desert animals.
The cat that holds the world record for amount of mice killed is Towser (1963-1987) who lived in the still house, Glenturret Distillery in Scotland for almost 24 years. She caught 28,899 mice in her lifetime. Her life and exploits are commemorated by a bronze statue at the 'Famous Grouse Experience' visitor centre on the Glenturret site and her paw prints are marked on every bottle of Fairlie’s Light Highland Liqueur.
Today is the anniversary of IBM dedicating the first program-controlled calculator.
Today is the anniversary of IBM dedicating the first program-controlled calculator.
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| Daderot at en.wikipedia |
IBM began as the Computer Tabulating Recording Company in 1914. It changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) ten years later.
Dehomag, a German subsidiary of IBM, was the main provider of computing equipment in Nazi Germany. It provided the German government with machines to conduct censuses and gave the Nazis a way of tracing Jews. The technology was used by the Gestapo to locate and arrest its victims.
The Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I) was the first program-controlled calculator. It was developed and built by IBM at their Endicott plant and shipped to Harvard in February 1944. The ASCC began computations for the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships in May and was officially presented to the university on August 7, 1944.
IBM boasted in 1952 that each of their computers were equivalent to having 150 extra engineers with slide rules
Today is the anniversary of the atom bomb being dropped on Hiroshima.
Dehomag, a German subsidiary of IBM, was the main provider of computing equipment in Nazi Germany. It provided the German government with machines to conduct censuses and gave the Nazis a way of tracing Jews. The technology was used by the Gestapo to locate and arrest its victims.
The Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I) was the first program-controlled calculator. It was developed and built by IBM at their Endicott plant and shipped to Harvard in February 1944. The ASCC began computations for the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships in May and was officially presented to the university on August 7, 1944.
IBM boasted in 1952 that each of their computers were equivalent to having 150 extra engineers with slide rules
Today is the anniversary of the atom bomb being dropped on Hiroshima.
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| The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima |
Hiroshima is the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It gained city status on April 1, 1889.
At 8:16 a.m. on August 6, 1945, Hiroshima became the first city in history to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it near the end of the Second World War.
There were 343,000 inhabitants of Hiroshima on the day the first atom bomb was dropped in 1945, killing 80,000.
The Japanese command didn't realize Hiroshima had been totally destroyed until almost a whole day after it happened. Vague reports of some sort of large explosion had begun to filter in, but the Japanese high command knew that no large-scale air raid had taken place over the city.
Today is the anniversary of the first electric traffic signal system.
Today is the anniversary of the first electric traffic signal system.
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| The first Electric Traffic Light in Bucharest c1924. |
The world's first traffic light system was invented by the British railroad signal engineer JP Knight. These first traffic lights consisted of revolving red and green lanterns, illuminated by gas. They were installed in December 1868 at the intersection of George and Bridge Streets in front of the House of Commons in London to control the flow of horse buggies and pedestrians.
After less than a month's use, the gas lantern that illuminated them exploded, seriously injuring the police officer who was operating them. Traffic lights did not return to the UK until the mid 1920s.
In the first two decades of the 20th century, semaphore traffic were in use all over the United States with each state having its own design of the device. They were controlled by a traffic officer who would blow a whistle before changing the commands on this signal to help alert travelers of the change.
The first electric traffic lights were officially unveiled in Cleveland, Ohio at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street on August 5, 1914. There was no amber light, only red and green.
After witnessing a serious accident between a motor vehicle and a horse-drawn carriage at an intersection, African American inventor, Garrett Morgan set out to come up with a three-position traffic signal. What he came up with was a T-shaped pole unit that featured Stop, Go and an all-directional stop position. This "third position" halted traffic in all directions to allow pedestrians to cross streets more safely. The patent was granted in November 1923.
Garrett Morgan's hand-cranked semaphore traffic management device was in use throughout North America until all manual traffic signals were replaced by the automatic red, yellow, and green-light traffic signals currently used around the world.
Today is the anniversary of the opening of the first supermarket.
Today is the anniversary of the opening of the first supermarket.
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| King Kullen headquarters in Bethpage. By Americasroof |
The concept of a self-service grocery store was developed by entrepreneur Clarence Saunders (August 9, 1881 – September 23, 1953) and his Piggly Wiggly stores. His first store opened on September 6, 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee.
The checkouts and turnstile entrance at Saunders' stores proved such a success that by 1923 a further 2,800 Piggly Wigglies had sprung up across the U.S thus creating the first supermarket chain.
The Food Marketing Institute in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution determined that the first true supermarket in the United States was opened by entrepreneur Michael J. Cullen, on August 4, 1930. His King Kullen Grocery Company was located inside a 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) former garage in Jamaica, Long Island, New York.
Instead of installing elaborate fittings, or even shelves, Cullen piled his goods high and sold them cheap. About 300 loss-leader goods were sold at cost price to draw in customers, who then served themselves.
Within two years, Cullen had opened seven more King Kullen Market stores in buildings that had been owned by bankrupted businesses, in and around New York. Parts of each store were franchised to specialist traders at relatively low rents.
Today is the anniversary of Christopher Columbus setting sail on his first voyage to the New World.
Today is the anniversary of Christopher Columbus setting sail on his first voyage to the New World.
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| Columbus' first voyage. By Keith Pickering |
Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain on August 3, 1492 to try to find a new route to the Orient.
Palos is also the site of the Rábida Monastery where Columbus consulted with the Franciscans about his plans for organizing an expedition of discovery.
He based his calculations for his 1492 journey on Biblical scripture, in particular the second book of Esdras in the Apocrypha.
Columbus’ mission was gold and the gospel, to fill up the Spanish coffers, (he was being sponsored by the Spanish monarchy) and convert the eastern people (he mistakenly though he had landed on an island near Japan).
The Pinta, Niña, and Santa María made their first landfall when they landed on one of the Bahamas islands, 71 days after leaving Spain.
Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Cannae when the Carthaginian army led by Hannibal, defeated a numerically superior Roman army.
Palos is also the site of the Rábida Monastery where Columbus consulted with the Franciscans about his plans for organizing an expedition of discovery.
He based his calculations for his 1492 journey on Biblical scripture, in particular the second book of Esdras in the Apocrypha.
Columbus’ mission was gold and the gospel, to fill up the Spanish coffers, (he was being sponsored by the Spanish monarchy) and convert the eastern people (he mistakenly though he had landed on an island near Japan).
The Pinta, Niña, and Santa María made their first landfall when they landed on one of the Bahamas islands, 71 days after leaving Spain.
Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Cannae when the Carthaginian army led by Hannibal, defeated a numerically superior Roman army.
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| Hannibal and his men crossing the Alps |
Following the assassination of Hasdrubal in 221. Hannibal was elected at the age of 26 Commander-in Chief of the Carthaginian army.
The Second Punic War between Carthage and the Roman Republic broke out in 218. Hannibal marched an his army of 38,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry over the Pyrenees and the Alps into Italy.
After crossing the Alps, Hannibal's army swept through North Italy, winning three dramatic victories—Trebia, Trasimene, and Cannae. The latter battle took place on August 2, 216 BC. The Carthaginian commander distinguished himself for his ability to determine his and his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and to play the battle to his strengths and the enemy's weaknesses—and won over many allies of Rome.
Hannibal's army included 38 elephants. It was not unusual to use elephants in war in Hannibal's day. The big charging jumbos frightened the enemy and their height allowed the archers to survey the whole battlefield. In addition they were relatively speedy with a maximum speed of 18 mph and only needed around five gallons of water per mile.
Hannibal occupied much of Italy for 15 years, but a Roman counter-invasion of North Africa forced him to return to Carthage, where he was decisively defeated by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama on October 19, 202 BC.
Hannibal caused great distress to many in Roman society. Hannibal became such a figure of terror that whenever disaster struck, the Roman senators would exclaim "Hannibal ante portas" ("Hannibal is at the gates!") to express their fear or anxiety.
Today is the anniversary of the discovery of oxygen gas
The Second Punic War between Carthage and the Roman Republic broke out in 218. Hannibal marched an his army of 38,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry over the Pyrenees and the Alps into Italy.
After crossing the Alps, Hannibal's army swept through North Italy, winning three dramatic victories—Trebia, Trasimene, and Cannae. The latter battle took place on August 2, 216 BC. The Carthaginian commander distinguished himself for his ability to determine his and his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and to play the battle to his strengths and the enemy's weaknesses—and won over many allies of Rome.
Hannibal's army included 38 elephants. It was not unusual to use elephants in war in Hannibal's day. The big charging jumbos frightened the enemy and their height allowed the archers to survey the whole battlefield. In addition they were relatively speedy with a maximum speed of 18 mph and only needed around five gallons of water per mile.
Hannibal occupied much of Italy for 15 years, but a Roman counter-invasion of North Africa forced him to return to Carthage, where he was decisively defeated by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama on October 19, 202 BC.
Hannibal caused great distress to many in Roman society. Hannibal became such a figure of terror that whenever disaster struck, the Roman senators would exclaim "Hannibal ante portas" ("Hannibal is at the gates!") to express their fear or anxiety.
Today is the anniversary of the discovery of oxygen gas
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| Equipment used by Priestley in his experiments |
Oxygen was discovered independently by Carl Scheele, Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier. Scheele was first to discover the chemical element, Priestley was first to publish his findings, while Lavoisier was first to isolate it and understand its true nature.
In 1773, the Earl of Shelburne asked the scientist Joseph Priestley to serve as tutor for his children, and librarian for his Calne, Wiltshire estate. The position left ample free time for the research that would earn him a permanent place in scientific history.
On August 1, 1774 Priestley discovered a colorless, odorless tasteless gaseous element by heating mercuric oxide using the sun's rays, whilst staying at Bowood House in the capacity of Librarian to the Earl of Shelbourne. He christened it "Dephlogisticated air". Priestley speculated that one day "Dephlogisticaed air" might become a luxury.
Lavoiser named the chemical element from two Greek roots, “oxys” (acid) and “genes” (producer) as he thought mistakenly that all acids contained oxygen.
Priestley published his findings in 1775 in a paper titled "An Account of Further Discoveries in Air" which was included in the second volume of his book titled Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air. Because he informed the world first, Priestley is usually given priority in the discovery of oxygen.
Today is the anniversary of the last Volkswagen Beetle rolling off the assembly line.
In 1773, the Earl of Shelburne asked the scientist Joseph Priestley to serve as tutor for his children, and librarian for his Calne, Wiltshire estate. The position left ample free time for the research that would earn him a permanent place in scientific history.
On August 1, 1774 Priestley discovered a colorless, odorless tasteless gaseous element by heating mercuric oxide using the sun's rays, whilst staying at Bowood House in the capacity of Librarian to the Earl of Shelbourne. He christened it "Dephlogisticated air". Priestley speculated that one day "Dephlogisticaed air" might become a luxury.
Lavoiser named the chemical element from two Greek roots, “oxys” (acid) and “genes” (producer) as he thought mistakenly that all acids contained oxygen.
Priestley published his findings in 1775 in a paper titled "An Account of Further Discoveries in Air" which was included in the second volume of his book titled Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air. Because he informed the world first, Priestley is usually given priority in the discovery of oxygen.
Today is the anniversary of the last Volkswagen Beetle rolling off the assembly line.
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| 1949 Volkswagen "split rear window" Sedan |
Austrian Ferdinand Porsche was a well-known designer for high-end vehicles and race cars. In 1934 Adolf Hitler asked his fellow Austrian to dream up a basic vehicle able to transport two adults and three children. The car needed to be able to travel at least 100 km/h, or about 60 mph, and use no more than 7 liters of gasoline for 100 kilometers (about 40 mpg). It would be available to citizens of the Third Reich through a savings plan at 990 Reichsmark ($396 in 1930s U.S. dollars).
The result was the Volkswagen ("people's car" in German) Beetle, which was designed by Ferdinand Porsche and a team of engineers. A handful were made, but by the time the Wolfsburg factory was finished in 1938, World War II was starting and the company concentrated on making military vehicles instead.
Mass production of the Volkswagen Beetle did not actually begin in Germany until after the war in 1945 when the United Kingdom army reopened the Wolfsburg factory.
Originally known as the Volkswagen Type 1, the car’s curves and rounded top led to its being nicknamed the 'Bug.' Volkswagen themselves started referring to the car as the VW Beetle in the late 1960s.
The last original Beetle, #21,529,464 was assembled and immediately retired on July 31, 2003, in Puebla, Mexico, at the Volkswagen de Mexico manufacturing plant. It can now be found at Volkswagen's AutoMuseum.
The Beetle was in production between 1938 and 2003, a whopping 65 years, the longest a vehicle has been produced in history.
National Cheesecake Day is observed annually on July 30th.
The result was the Volkswagen ("people's car" in German) Beetle, which was designed by Ferdinand Porsche and a team of engineers. A handful were made, but by the time the Wolfsburg factory was finished in 1938, World War II was starting and the company concentrated on making military vehicles instead.
Mass production of the Volkswagen Beetle did not actually begin in Germany until after the war in 1945 when the United Kingdom army reopened the Wolfsburg factory.
Originally known as the Volkswagen Type 1, the car’s curves and rounded top led to its being nicknamed the 'Bug.' Volkswagen themselves started referring to the car as the VW Beetle in the late 1960s.
The last original Beetle, #21,529,464 was assembled and immediately retired on July 31, 2003, in Puebla, Mexico, at the Volkswagen de Mexico manufacturing plant. It can now be found at Volkswagen's AutoMuseum.
The Beetle was in production between 1938 and 2003, a whopping 65 years, the longest a vehicle has been produced in history.
National Cheesecake Day is observed annually on July 30th.
The first cheesecake may have been created on the Greek island of Samos. Physical anthropologists excavated cheese molds there which were dated circa 2000 BC.
In Greece, cheesecake was considered to be a good source of energy, and there is evidence that it was served to athletes during the first Olympic games in 776 B.C.
Ancient Greek brides and grooms were known to use cheesecake as a wedding cake.
New York-style cheesecake, with its signature simple cream cheese and egg yolks make-up, was created in the 1900s by German immigrant Arnold Reuben.
Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Gravelines when English naval forces defeated the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
In Greece, cheesecake was considered to be a good source of energy, and there is evidence that it was served to athletes during the first Olympic games in 776 B.C.
Ancient Greek brides and grooms were known to use cheesecake as a wedding cake.
New York-style cheesecake, with its signature simple cream cheese and egg yolks make-up, was created in the 1900s by German immigrant Arnold Reuben.
Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Gravelines when English naval forces defeated the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
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| English ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588 |
A champion of the Roman Catholic faith, its counter reformation and a supporter of the inquisition, Philip II of Spain sought to crush Protestantism first in the Low Countries then England and France.
Philip planned to invade England, seize the throne from Elizabeth I and restore the power of the Catholic Church. He wanted to punish England for its support of Dutch Protestants fighting against the Spanish rule and for Francis Drake's plundering of Spanish possessions in America and Cadiz.
In late May 1588 a fleet of 130 ships under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia set sail from Lisbon with the purpose of escorting an army to invade England. The plan was to stop in the Netherlands and pick up an additional 17,000 troops from the Duke of Parma. Unfortunately half of the ships were heavy, badly equipped galleons that were difficult to maneuver and they had insufficient firepower. The English fleet consisted of 226 smaller more maneuverable vessels with a naval gun that was easier and faster to load.
On reaching the English Channel, the fleet was met by the English ships and caused them to scatter to north France. In the ensuing Battle of Gravelines on July 29, 1588 Lord Howard's tactics of sending in fireships forced the Spanish to break formation and abandon its rendezvous with Parma's army, who were blockaded in harbor by Dutch flyboats.
The Armada managed to regroup and withdrew into the North Sea with the English fleet harrying it up the east coast of England. The fleet was disrupted during severe storms in the North Atlantic and a large number of the vessels were wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Of the initial 130 ships over a third failed to return.
The defeat of the Armada marked the beginning of the decline of Spanish power.
Today is the anniversary of the first potato being brought to the United Kingdom.
Philip planned to invade England, seize the throne from Elizabeth I and restore the power of the Catholic Church. He wanted to punish England for its support of Dutch Protestants fighting against the Spanish rule and for Francis Drake's plundering of Spanish possessions in America and Cadiz.
In late May 1588 a fleet of 130 ships under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia set sail from Lisbon with the purpose of escorting an army to invade England. The plan was to stop in the Netherlands and pick up an additional 17,000 troops from the Duke of Parma. Unfortunately half of the ships were heavy, badly equipped galleons that were difficult to maneuver and they had insufficient firepower. The English fleet consisted of 226 smaller more maneuverable vessels with a naval gun that was easier and faster to load.
On reaching the English Channel, the fleet was met by the English ships and caused them to scatter to north France. In the ensuing Battle of Gravelines on July 29, 1588 Lord Howard's tactics of sending in fireships forced the Spanish to break formation and abandon its rendezvous with Parma's army, who were blockaded in harbor by Dutch flyboats.
The Armada managed to regroup and withdrew into the North Sea with the English fleet harrying it up the east coast of England. The fleet was disrupted during severe storms in the North Atlantic and a large number of the vessels were wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Of the initial 130 ships over a third failed to return.
The defeat of the Armada marked the beginning of the decline of Spanish power.
Today is the anniversary of the first potato being brought to the United Kingdom.
The Andean Mountains of South America was the birthplace of the white potato. By around 2000BC The Aymara Indians had developed over two hundred varieties on the Titicaca Plateau at elevations above 10,000 feet.
The 16th century Spanish invaders in South America first came across the potato when entering a Colombian village from which the inhabitants had fled. They originally thought they were truffles.
The Spanish introduced the potato to Europe. They became a standard supply item on the Spanish ships as it was noticed that the sailors who ate potatoes did not suffer from scurvy.
Thomas Harriot was credited with bringing the first potato to Britain on July 28, 1586. The mathematician, astronomer and translator had just returned from Sir Walter Raleigh’s English colony on Roanoke Island in modern-day North Carolina, where he had made detailed studies of the wildlife.
Despite their use by Spanish sailors most Europeans were originally suspicious of them, in part because people realized that the potato is a member of the nightshade family, all of which are very poisonous.
By the late 17th century the Irish had recognized the food value of potatoes and became the first country in Europe to plant them as a staple food crop rather than using it primarily as animal fodder. And in 1719 the first permanent potato patches in North America were established near Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Today is the anniversary of the maiden flight of the first commercial jet airliner
The 16th century Spanish invaders in South America first came across the potato when entering a Colombian village from which the inhabitants had fled. They originally thought they were truffles.
The Spanish introduced the potato to Europe. They became a standard supply item on the Spanish ships as it was noticed that the sailors who ate potatoes did not suffer from scurvy.
Thomas Harriot was credited with bringing the first potato to Britain on July 28, 1586. The mathematician, astronomer and translator had just returned from Sir Walter Raleigh’s English colony on Roanoke Island in modern-day North Carolina, where he had made detailed studies of the wildlife.
Despite their use by Spanish sailors most Europeans were originally suspicious of them, in part because people realized that the potato is a member of the nightshade family, all of which are very poisonous.
By the late 17th century the Irish had recognized the food value of potatoes and became the first country in Europe to plant them as a staple food crop rather than using it primarily as animal fodder. And in 1719 the first permanent potato patches in North America were established near Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Today is the anniversary of the maiden flight of the first commercial jet airliner
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| Comet prototype at Hatfield Aerodrome in October 1949 |
24-year-old RAF fighter pilot Frank Whittle first patented a new kind of aircraft - the turbojet - in 1930, but his new design was so radical that the military wouldn't fund it, nor would any manufacturers, Seven years later he found a few private backers and on April 12, 1937 Whittle ground-tested the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft at Thomson-Houston factory, Rugby, England.
The German Hans von Ohain developed the concept independently. He wrote in February 1936 to aircraft designer Ernst Heinkel, telling him of the design and its possibilities. The first turbojet aircraft to fly was the Heinkel He 178 V1, first prototype of the German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, in August 1939 in Rostock, Germany.
Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at its Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, their Comet 1 prototype made its maiden flight on July 27, 1949 out of Hatfield Aerodrome. The flight lasted 31 minutes.
BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) operated the first commercial jet service with the de Havilland Comet jetliner. It made its maiden flight with fare-paying passengers and inaugurated scheduled service from London to Johannesburg in May 1952.
The Comet was a hit with passengers as flights were about 50 percent faster than on advanced piston-engined aircraft such as the Douglas DC-6 (490 mph for the Comet compared to the DC-6's 315 mph), and a faster rate of climb further cut flight times.
Today is the anniversary of Marie Curie's marriage to fellow scientist Pierre Curie.
The German Hans von Ohain developed the concept independently. He wrote in February 1936 to aircraft designer Ernst Heinkel, telling him of the design and its possibilities. The first turbojet aircraft to fly was the Heinkel He 178 V1, first prototype of the German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, in August 1939 in Rostock, Germany.
Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at its Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, their Comet 1 prototype made its maiden flight on July 27, 1949 out of Hatfield Aerodrome. The flight lasted 31 minutes.
BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) operated the first commercial jet service with the de Havilland Comet jetliner. It made its maiden flight with fare-paying passengers and inaugurated scheduled service from London to Johannesburg in May 1952.
The Comet was a hit with passengers as flights were about 50 percent faster than on advanced piston-engined aircraft such as the Douglas DC-6 (490 mph for the Comet compared to the DC-6's 315 mph), and a faster rate of climb further cut flight times.
Today is the anniversary of Marie Curie's marriage to fellow scientist Pierre Curie.
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| Pierre and Marie Curie |
Polish scientist Marie Sklodowska first met Pierre Curie in spring 1894 after being introduced by their friend, physicist Józef Wierusz-Kowalski. Tall, modest, shy, erudite Pierre was the son of a doctor who had been educated at home and became a bachelor of science aged 16. In 1880 he discovered piezoelectricity which was electricity resulting from the compression of certain types of crystal. One of his first gifts to Marie was a copy of his 1894 paper Symmetry in Physical Phenomena.
At first Marie hesitated before agreeing to marry Pierre. They eventually wed in a civil ceremony in Sceaux, France on July 26, 1895 as "Pierre belonged to no religion and I did not practice any" (she later wrote). Instead of a bridal gown, Marie chose a dark blue dress.
Throughout their marriage, the Curies were very much in love and had equal partnership in the laboratory. Like Marie, Pierre was obsessed with science and hard work.
Marie Curie along with her husband, Pierre, won the Nobel prize for physics for their discovery of radioactivity in 1903. Originally Marie's name was left off the winners’ list but Pierre insisted she be included. She thus became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
Pierre Curie died in a street accident in Paris in April 1906. Crossing the busy Rue Dauphine in the rain, he slipped and fell under a heavy horse-drawn cart. He was killed instantly. Marie went into a deep mourning and took a long time to recover.
Today is the anniversary of the coronation of King James I of England.
At first Marie hesitated before agreeing to marry Pierre. They eventually wed in a civil ceremony in Sceaux, France on July 26, 1895 as "Pierre belonged to no religion and I did not practice any" (she later wrote). Instead of a bridal gown, Marie chose a dark blue dress.
Throughout their marriage, the Curies were very much in love and had equal partnership in the laboratory. Like Marie, Pierre was obsessed with science and hard work.
Marie Curie along with her husband, Pierre, won the Nobel prize for physics for their discovery of radioactivity in 1903. Originally Marie's name was left off the winners’ list but Pierre insisted she be included. She thus became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
Pierre Curie died in a street accident in Paris in April 1906. Crossing the busy Rue Dauphine in the rain, he slipped and fell under a heavy horse-drawn cart. He was killed instantly. Marie went into a deep mourning and took a long time to recover.
Today is the anniversary of the coronation of King James I of England.
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| Portrait after John de Critz, c. 1606 |
King James was the eldest son of Mary I, Queen of Scots and of her second husband, Henry Stuart, When Mary was forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in 1567 he became James VI (of Scotland)at just thirteen months old.
As Queen Elizabeth I was the last of Henry VIII's descendants, James was seen as the most likely heir to the English throne through his great-grandmother Margaret Tudor, who was Henry VIII's oldest sister. In March 1603, with the Queen clearly dying, her chief minister Sir Robert Cecil sent James a draft proclamation of his accession to the English throne.
After succeeding Elizabeth I on the English throne, James left Edinburgh for London, promising to return every three years (a promise he did not keep). Local lords received him with lavish hospitality along the route and James was amazed by the wealth of his new land and subjects. When he entered London just over a month later, he was mobbed by a crowd of spectators.
His English coronation took place on July 25, 1603, with elaborate allegories provided by dramatic poets such as Thomas Dekker and Ben Jonson. Below is "England and Scotland with Minerva and Love," an allegorical work of the Union of the Crowns by Peter Paul Rubens.
James had been a popular and successful monarch in Scotland, but the same was not true in England. He was unable to deal with a hostile English Parliament; the refusal on the part of the House of Commons to impose sufficiently high taxes crippled the royal finances. His taste for political absolutism, mismanagement of the kingdom's funds and cultivation of unpopular favorites established the foundation for the English Civil War.
Simón Bolívar Day is celebrated in Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Bolivia on July 24th commemorating the Birth Anniversary of the most powerful leader in South America.
As Queen Elizabeth I was the last of Henry VIII's descendants, James was seen as the most likely heir to the English throne through his great-grandmother Margaret Tudor, who was Henry VIII's oldest sister. In March 1603, with the Queen clearly dying, her chief minister Sir Robert Cecil sent James a draft proclamation of his accession to the English throne.
After succeeding Elizabeth I on the English throne, James left Edinburgh for London, promising to return every three years (a promise he did not keep). Local lords received him with lavish hospitality along the route and James was amazed by the wealth of his new land and subjects. When he entered London just over a month later, he was mobbed by a crowd of spectators.
His English coronation took place on July 25, 1603, with elaborate allegories provided by dramatic poets such as Thomas Dekker and Ben Jonson. Below is "England and Scotland with Minerva and Love," an allegorical work of the Union of the Crowns by Peter Paul Rubens.
James had been a popular and successful monarch in Scotland, but the same was not true in England. He was unable to deal with a hostile English Parliament; the refusal on the part of the House of Commons to impose sufficiently high taxes crippled the royal finances. His taste for political absolutism, mismanagement of the kingdom's funds and cultivation of unpopular favorites established the foundation for the English Civil War.
Simón Bolívar Day is celebrated in Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Bolivia on July 24th commemorating the Birth Anniversary of the most powerful leader in South America.
Simon Bolivar was born in a house in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 24, 1783. His father, Coronel Don Juan Vicente Bolívar y Ponter, was a wealthy aristocratic landowner who had married into Spanish aristocracy. His mother was Doña María de la Concepción Palacios y Blanco .
When Simon was fourteen, Don Simón had to abandon the country, as he was accused of being involved in a conspiracy against the Spanish government in Caracas. Thus, Simon entered the military academy of the Milicias de Veraguas, which his father had directed as colonel years earlier. Through these years of military training, he developed his fervent passion for armaments and military strategy, which he later would employ on the battlefields of the wars of independence.
For a time Bolívar was part of Napoleon's retinue during which he witnessed the coronation of the French Emperor in Notre Dame, and this majestic event left a profound a impression upon him. From that moment he wished that he could emulate similar triumphant glory for the people back home in Venezuela.
Venezuela was the first country in the region to start the struggle against Spanish rule. A group of Caracas Creoles including Simón Bolívar deposed the Spanish colonial regime led by Captain General Vicente Emparán on April 19, 1810 and established the First Republic of Venezuela.
Bolivar freed much of South America from Spanish occupation. On December 17, 1819 he proclaimed the republic of Gran Colombia, comprising the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru, western Guyana and northwest Brazil.
America's first lighthouse was authorized on July 23, 1715.
When Simon was fourteen, Don Simón had to abandon the country, as he was accused of being involved in a conspiracy against the Spanish government in Caracas. Thus, Simon entered the military academy of the Milicias de Veraguas, which his father had directed as colonel years earlier. Through these years of military training, he developed his fervent passion for armaments and military strategy, which he later would employ on the battlefields of the wars of independence.
For a time Bolívar was part of Napoleon's retinue during which he witnessed the coronation of the French Emperor in Notre Dame, and this majestic event left a profound a impression upon him. From that moment he wished that he could emulate similar triumphant glory for the people back home in Venezuela.
Venezuela was the first country in the region to start the struggle against Spanish rule. A group of Caracas Creoles including Simón Bolívar deposed the Spanish colonial regime led by Captain General Vicente Emparán on April 19, 1810 and established the First Republic of Venezuela.
Bolivar freed much of South America from Spanish occupation. On December 17, 1819 he proclaimed the republic of Gran Colombia, comprising the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru, western Guyana and northwest Brazil.
America's first lighthouse was authorized on July 23, 1715.
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| Boston Lighthouse by Karl Bodmer, 1839 |
The world's oldest existing lighthouse is Spain's Tower of Hercules, erected in the first century and still operational.
The first lighthouse in America was authorized for construction by the Massachusetts legislature at Little Brewster Island, to mark the entrance to Boston, Massachusetts, harbor on July 23, 1715. The Boston Light was ready for use by mid-September of the following year.
A tonnage tax of 1 penny per ton charged to vessels moving in or out of Boston Harbor, paid for maintaining the light.
The first keeper of Boston Light was George Worthylake. He was paid £50 a year to keep the beacon lit from sundown to sunrise. Worthylake drowned, along with his wife and daughter, when returning to the island in 1718.
The stone structure weathered 60 years of lightning strikes and gale-force winds before the British Army blew up the tower and completely destroyed it during the American Revolutionary War.
The current lighthouse dates from 1783, is the second oldest working lighthouse in the United States (after Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey).
Ratcatcher's Day is celebrated on June 26 or July 22, commemorating the myth of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
One of the oldest and most historic stories about rats is "The Pied Piper of Hamelin". The citizens of the German town of Hamelin promised to pay the piper a large fee if he could eradicate the nasty rats running all over the place. He played some enchanted music on his pipe and the rats followed him out of town and into the River Weser. But once the rodents were eliminated, the local folks decided not to pay after all. This made the piper angry and he repaid the townspeople by playing his pipe for the children of Hamelin, just like he had done for the rats. The Pied Piper led the kids into a hole in a hillside, never to be seen again.
Even though the Pied Piper of Hamelin is just a myth, the town of Hamelin's records state that many children disappeared from the town around the time of the story. The town chronicle even wrote in 1384, "It is 100 since our children left".
In the account of the story by the Brothers Grimm, June 26, 1284 was the day the rat-catcher led the children out of Hamelin. However, Robert Browning’s poem "The Pied Piper Of Hamelin" gives the date as July 22, 1376.
Belgian National Day is the national holiday of Belgium commemorated annually on July 21. It marks the anniversary of the investiture of King Leopold I, the country's first monarch, in 1831.
Born into the ruling family of the small German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold married Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of the future King George IV, thus situating himself as a possible future prince consort of Great Britain. Charlotte died in 1817, although Leopold continued to enjoy considerable status in England. He was inaugurated a Leopold I, the first King of Belgium on July 21, 1831 due to his diplomatic connections with royal houses across Europe.
The first lighthouse in America was authorized for construction by the Massachusetts legislature at Little Brewster Island, to mark the entrance to Boston, Massachusetts, harbor on July 23, 1715. The Boston Light was ready for use by mid-September of the following year.
A tonnage tax of 1 penny per ton charged to vessels moving in or out of Boston Harbor, paid for maintaining the light.
The first keeper of Boston Light was George Worthylake. He was paid £50 a year to keep the beacon lit from sundown to sunrise. Worthylake drowned, along with his wife and daughter, when returning to the island in 1718.
The stone structure weathered 60 years of lightning strikes and gale-force winds before the British Army blew up the tower and completely destroyed it during the American Revolutionary War.
The current lighthouse dates from 1783, is the second oldest working lighthouse in the United States (after Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey).
Ratcatcher's Day is celebrated on June 26 or July 22, commemorating the myth of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Even though the Pied Piper of Hamelin is just a myth, the town of Hamelin's records state that many children disappeared from the town around the time of the story. The town chronicle even wrote in 1384, "It is 100 since our children left".
In the account of the story by the Brothers Grimm, June 26, 1284 was the day the rat-catcher led the children out of Hamelin. However, Robert Browning’s poem "The Pied Piper Of Hamelin" gives the date as July 22, 1376.
Belgian National Day is the national holiday of Belgium commemorated annually on July 21. It marks the anniversary of the investiture of King Leopold I, the country's first monarch, in 1831.
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| Celebrations for National Day in Brussels in 1856 |
On January 20, 1831, the European powers agreed to fix the borders of the new country of Belgium, splitting it from Holland.
Since the installation of Leopold I, Belgium has been a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy.
International Chess Day is celebrated annually on July 20.
Chess had evolved in India by the 6th century AD as a game of war: to illustrate and rehearse army movements.
The Persians adopted the game of chess from India, and when the Arabs conquered Iran, they made chess part of their life and carried it wherever they went. That is how, with the spread of Islam, chess also extended as far West as Spain, as far North as Turkistan, as far East as the Malayan Islands, and as far South as Zanzibar.
The word "checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah-Mat," which means the king is dead.
The International Chess Day is celebrated on July 20, the day the International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded, in 1924. The day has been celebrated by many of the 605 million regular chess players around the world since 1966 after it was established by FIDE.
The first Wimbledon lawn tennis final took place on July 19, 1877.
International Chess Day is celebrated annually on July 20.
Chess had evolved in India by the 6th century AD as a game of war: to illustrate and rehearse army movements.
The Persians adopted the game of chess from India, and when the Arabs conquered Iran, they made chess part of their life and carried it wherever they went. That is how, with the spread of Islam, chess also extended as far West as Spain, as far North as Turkistan, as far East as the Malayan Islands, and as far South as Zanzibar.
The word "checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah-Mat," which means the king is dead.
The International Chess Day is celebrated on July 20, the day the International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded, in 1924. The day has been celebrated by many of the 605 million regular chess players around the world since 1966 after it was established by FIDE.
The first Wimbledon lawn tennis final took place on July 19, 1877.
The Wimbledon Championships is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. It is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and is regarded by many as the most prestigious. The Championships are unique because they are the only Grand Slam played on a grass court.
The inaugural Wimbledon Tennis Championship was held to raise money for repairs to The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis club's pony-drawn lawn roller. The competition was held July 9-19, 1877 and was solely as an amateur competition. Men's singles was the only event that took place with 22 men competing for a 12-guinea prize, plus a silver challenge cup valued at 25 guineas. Entrants had to pay a guinea (£1.05) each.
Just 200 peple turn up to the first Wimbledon lawn tennis final at the original venue in Worple Road. They paid a shilling each to watch Spencer Gore stroll past William Marshall 6-1, 6–2, 6–4.
The Wimbledon women's event began seven years later in 1884 with a a field of thirteen competitors. Playing in a white corset and petticoat, 19-year-old Maud Watson defeated her older sister Lilian Watson 6–8, 6–3, 6–3 in the final.
Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual international day in honor of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on July 18.
Nelson Mandela International Day was officially declared by the United Nations in 2009 with the first UN Mandela Day held on his birthday, July 18, 2010.
The inaugural Wimbledon Tennis Championship was held to raise money for repairs to The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis club's pony-drawn lawn roller. The competition was held July 9-19, 1877 and was solely as an amateur competition. Men's singles was the only event that took place with 22 men competing for a 12-guinea prize, plus a silver challenge cup valued at 25 guineas. Entrants had to pay a guinea (£1.05) each.
Just 200 peple turn up to the first Wimbledon lawn tennis final at the original venue in Worple Road. They paid a shilling each to watch Spencer Gore stroll past William Marshall 6-1, 6–2, 6–4.
The Wimbledon women's event began seven years later in 1884 with a a field of thirteen competitors. Playing in a white corset and petticoat, 19-year-old Maud Watson defeated her older sister Lilian Watson 6–8, 6–3, 6–3 in the final.
Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual international day in honor of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on July 18.
Nelson Mandela International Day was officially declared by the United Nations in 2009 with the first UN Mandela Day held on his birthday, July 18, 2010.
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| Mandela in 2008 By South Africa The Good New |
Nelson Mandela was born in Mvezo, Transkei South Africa on July 18, 1918 to a Thembu royal family.
He studied law at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and opened the first black legal firm in South Africa, with fellow lawyer Oliver Tambo in 1952. Mandela gave free legal counsel to many blacks.
Nelson Mandela was arrested in August 1962 near the South African town of Howick for conspiring to overthrow the state. He was detained wearing a chauffeur’s uniform — just one of the disguises he used while on the run, when he was dubbed the ‘Black Pimpernel.’
He served 27 years in prison and, upon his release in 1994, he became South Africa's first black chief executive, an office he served for five years.
Mandela was able to forgive those who allowed him to languish in a tiny prison cell for 27 years to which the up-and-coming lawyer had been sentenced because of his determination to win justice for South Africa's oppressed black community.
World Emoji Day is celebrated on July 17th each year.
He studied law at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and opened the first black legal firm in South Africa, with fellow lawyer Oliver Tambo in 1952. Mandela gave free legal counsel to many blacks.
Nelson Mandela was arrested in August 1962 near the South African town of Howick for conspiring to overthrow the state. He was detained wearing a chauffeur’s uniform — just one of the disguises he used while on the run, when he was dubbed the ‘Black Pimpernel.’
He served 27 years in prison and, upon his release in 1994, he became South Africa's first black chief executive, an office he served for five years.
Mandela was able to forgive those who allowed him to languish in a tiny prison cell for 27 years to which the up-and-coming lawyer had been sentenced because of his determination to win justice for South Africa's oppressed black community.
World Emoji Day is celebrated on July 17th each year.
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| A colored Emoji from Noto project, released under Apache license |
The brainchild of the founder of Emojipedia, Jeremy Burge, he created World Emoji Day in 2014 with the purpose of promoting the use of emojis. The date originates from the calendar emoji of the Apple Color Emoji typeface, which shows July 17.
Scott Fahlman, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, was the first to suggest using emoticons in messages sent on computer networks. In September 1982, he posted the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System.
Emojis were first created in 1999 in Japan by Shigetaka Kurita for use in electronic messages and on web pages. He was part of the team working on NTT DoCoMo's i-mode mobile Internet platform.
In 2016, New York’s Museum of Modern Art added the original 176 emojis, designed in 1999, to its permanent collection
The word emoji has been used in Japanese since 1928 but according to the Oxford Dictionary was first seen in English in 1997.
The Amazon.com online shop was launched on July 16, 1995 by Jeff Bezos, originally selling only books, but has since extended to selling CDs, videos, DVDs, toys and games, computer software, electronic items, clothes, furniture and food.
Scott Fahlman, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, was the first to suggest using emoticons in messages sent on computer networks. In September 1982, he posted the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System.
Emojis were first created in 1999 in Japan by Shigetaka Kurita for use in electronic messages and on web pages. He was part of the team working on NTT DoCoMo's i-mode mobile Internet platform.
In 2016, New York’s Museum of Modern Art added the original 176 emojis, designed in 1999, to its permanent collection
The word emoji has been used in Japanese since 1928 but according to the Oxford Dictionary was first seen in English in 1997.
The Amazon.com online shop was launched on July 16, 1995 by Jeff Bezos, originally selling only books, but has since extended to selling CDs, videos, DVDs, toys and games, computer software, electronic items, clothes, furniture and food.
The name Amazon.com was chosen because the Amazon River is one of the largest rivers in the world and so the name suggests large size, and also in part because it starts with "A" and therefore would show up near the beginning of alphabetical lists.
The first book sold on Amazon.com was Douglas Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought. Australian software engineer John Wainwright, who was based in California, was a friend of Amazon's first employee Shal Kaphan. In April 1995, he got the opportunity to place the first non-company order from Amazon.com for the book, which explores the mechanisms of intelligence through computer modeling. Bezos later named a building after Wainwright to honor the occasion.
By 2000 Amazon claimed 17 million customers in over 160 countries, and was one of the world's most visited Web sites, but had not yet made a profit. The company recorded its first net profit of $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2001 and reported profits of $359 million in 2005.
In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the United States by market capitalization.
The first banknotes in Europe were issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco on July 15, 1661.
The term "bank note" comes from the notes of the bank ("nota di banco") and dates from the 14th century.
The first banknotes in Europe issued by Stockholms Bancos became popular very quickly simply as they were much easier to carry than the large copper daler, especially for making large payments (a note could be sent in an envelope - previously the large coins had to be transported by horse and cart).
The colony of Massachusetts issued the first paper money in America in 1690. It was a temporary experiment of banknote issue carried out by Sir William Phips as the Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay to help fund the war effort against France.
Bastille Day is the national day of France, which is celebrated on July 14 each year. Known domestically as La Fête Nationale or Le Quatorze Juillet, the holiday actually carries a double historical meaning. It primarily commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille, a medieval fortress symbolizing royal tyranny. Paradoxically, the revolutionaries targeted the building not to free prisoners—only seven were inside—but to seize 250 barrels of gunpowder.
The first book sold on Amazon.com was Douglas Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought. Australian software engineer John Wainwright, who was based in California, was a friend of Amazon's first employee Shal Kaphan. In April 1995, he got the opportunity to place the first non-company order from Amazon.com for the book, which explores the mechanisms of intelligence through computer modeling. Bezos later named a building after Wainwright to honor the occasion.
By 2000 Amazon claimed 17 million customers in over 160 countries, and was one of the world's most visited Web sites, but had not yet made a profit. The company recorded its first net profit of $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2001 and reported profits of $359 million in 2005.
In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the United States by market capitalization.
The first banknotes in Europe were issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco on July 15, 1661.
Development of the banknote began with the Chinese T'ang Dynasty of (618-907AD) with local issues of paper currency. By 960 the Song Dynasty, short of copper for striking coins, issued the first generally circulating paper money.
One of the oddities which struck Marco Polo most forcibly during his travels in the Far East was the use of bank notes. The Italian gave a fascinating description of government officials stamping the notes with a cinnabar seal.
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| A Yuan dynasty printing plate and banknote with Chinese and Mongol words. |
The first banknotes in Europe issued by Stockholms Bancos became popular very quickly simply as they were much easier to carry than the large copper daler, especially for making large payments (a note could be sent in an envelope - previously the large coins had to be transported by horse and cart).
The colony of Massachusetts issued the first paper money in America in 1690. It was a temporary experiment of banknote issue carried out by Sir William Phips as the Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay to help fund the war effort against France.
Bastille Day is the national day of France, which is celebrated on July 14 each year. Known domestically as La Fête Nationale or Le Quatorze Juillet, the holiday actually carries a double historical meaning. It primarily commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille, a medieval fortress symbolizing royal tyranny. Paradoxically, the revolutionaries targeted the building not to free prisoners—only seven were inside—but to seize 250 barrels of gunpowder.
The holiday also marks the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, a peaceful assembly held exactly one year later to celebrate national unity and a new constitutional monarchy.
Today, the occasion is marked by grand traditions. Paris hosts the oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe, marching down the Champs-Élysées beneath a tricolor flyover by the Patrouille de France.
Below is The Patrouille de France with nine Alpha Jets over the Champs-Élysées in Paris in 2017, during the Bastille Day military parade
If you ask a French person about "Bastille Day," they might look at you blankly for a second. The phrase is strictly an English-language term. In France, it is universally referred to as Le 14 Juillet or La Fête Nationale.
National French Fry Day is celebrated each year on July 13th.
National French Fry Day is celebrated each year on July 13th.
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| A cast iron chip pan with aluminum basket by Hayford Peirce |
One of the earliest references to fried potato strips being referred to as "French" was in 1802 when Thomas Jefferson had the White House chef, Frenchman Honoré Julien, prepare “potatoes served in the French manner” for a dinner party. He described them as “Potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings”.
In A Tale Of Two Cities (1859), Charles Dickens refers to “Husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil”. This is the earliest known reference to potato chips in English. But the term “French-fried potatoes” was first seen in 1856.
French Fries are not called that in France. They are known as frites, patates frites, or pommes frites in French.
Around seven per cent of the potatoes grown in the USA end up in french fry bags sold by McDonald’s.
The Twelfth, also known as Orangemen's Day, is an annual Protestant celebration that takes place on July 12th in Northern Ireland and some other parts of the world where Orange Order lodges exist. It commemorates the victory of the Protestant King William III (William of Orange) over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
In A Tale Of Two Cities (1859), Charles Dickens refers to “Husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil”. This is the earliest known reference to potato chips in English. But the term “French-fried potatoes” was first seen in 1856.
French Fries are not called that in France. They are known as frites, patates frites, or pommes frites in French.
Around seven per cent of the potatoes grown in the USA end up in french fry bags sold by McDonald’s.
The Twelfth, also known as Orangemen's Day, is an annual Protestant celebration that takes place on July 12th in Northern Ireland and some other parts of the world where Orange Order lodges exist. It commemorates the victory of the Protestant King William III (William of Orange) over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The Twelfth is the most significant date in the Orange Order's calendar, and it is marked by parades, marches, and other commemorative events. The Orange Order is a Protestant fraternal organization founded in 1795 in Northern Ireland. It promotes the principles of Protestantism, loyalty to the British monarchy, and the defense of Protestant civil and religious liberties.
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| Orangemen in full regalia on 12 July 2011 in Belfast By Ardfern - Wikipedia |
On the Twelfth, thousands of Orangemen and women, accompanied by marching bands and supporters, gather to participate in parades and processions through towns and cities across Northern Ireland. The participants typically wear distinctive orange sashes or collarettes and may also carry banners or flags representing their Orange lodges.
World Population Day is an annual event, observed on July 11 every year, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues.
World Population Day is an annual event, observed on July 11 every year, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues.
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| By Bdm25 - Wikipedia |
The world population is estimated to have reached one billion in 1804, with two, three and four billion in 1927, 1960 and 1974 respectively.
July 11, 1987 was designated "The Day of Five Billion" by the United Nations, marking its estimate of the day on which the world's population would pass that figure. Matej Gašpar from Zagreb, Croatia (then SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia), was chosen as the symbolic 5-billionth person concurrently alive on Earth.
World Population Day was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987. The event aims to increase people's awareness on various population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights.
The total number of humans currently living was estimated to have reached 7.88 billion people as of July 2021. The global population is projected to reach about 10 billion in 2050 and more than 11 billion in 2100.
If Earth's population was a village of precisely 100 people, there would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Americas and 8 Africans.
The Battle of Britain began on this day in 1940.
July 11, 1987 was designated "The Day of Five Billion" by the United Nations, marking its estimate of the day on which the world's population would pass that figure. Matej Gašpar from Zagreb, Croatia (then SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia), was chosen as the symbolic 5-billionth person concurrently alive on Earth.
World Population Day was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987. The event aims to increase people's awareness on various population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights.
The total number of humans currently living was estimated to have reached 7.88 billion people as of July 2021. The global population is projected to reach about 10 billion in 2050 and more than 11 billion in 2100.
If Earth's population was a village of precisely 100 people, there would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Americas and 8 Africans.
The Battle of Britain began on this day in 1940.
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| Heinkel He 111 bombers over the English Channel 1940 |
The Battle of Britain was a World War II air battle between German and British air forces over Britain from July 10, 1940 to October 31, 1940. The height of the battle occurred 30–31 August.
The Battle of Britain had been intended as a preliminary to Operation Sea Lion, Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain.
Six days before Adolf Hitler issued his Directive 16 to the combined Wehrmacht armed forces for Operation Sea Lion, the Kanalkampf shipping attacks against British maritime convoys began on July 10, 1940, in the leadup to initiating the Battle of Britain.
At the outset the Germans had the advantage because they had seized airfields in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, which were basically safe from attack and from which southeast England was within easy range. On August 1, 1940 the Luftwaffe had about 2,800 aircraft in France, Belgium, Holland, and Norway, outnumbering the RAF by four to one.
At first Germany's Luftwaffe aircraft was successful in destroying Britain's air force. It appeared the British RAF was about to be destroyed. In early September, King George VI called the nation to prayer, and many flocked to the churches. On September 15, 1940, two massive waves of German attacks were decisively repulsed by the RAF by deploying every aircraft in 11 Group. Sixty German aircraft were shot down in total.
Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sea Lion on September 17th and abandoned it on October 10th, choosing instead to invade the USSR.
Today is the ninth day in the month of July
The Battle of Britain had been intended as a preliminary to Operation Sea Lion, Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain.
Six days before Adolf Hitler issued his Directive 16 to the combined Wehrmacht armed forces for Operation Sea Lion, the Kanalkampf shipping attacks against British maritime convoys began on July 10, 1940, in the leadup to initiating the Battle of Britain.
At the outset the Germans had the advantage because they had seized airfields in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, which were basically safe from attack and from which southeast England was within easy range. On August 1, 1940 the Luftwaffe had about 2,800 aircraft in France, Belgium, Holland, and Norway, outnumbering the RAF by four to one.
At first Germany's Luftwaffe aircraft was successful in destroying Britain's air force. It appeared the British RAF was about to be destroyed. In early September, King George VI called the nation to prayer, and many flocked to the churches. On September 15, 1940, two massive waves of German attacks were decisively repulsed by the RAF by deploying every aircraft in 11 Group. Sixty German aircraft were shot down in total.
Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sea Lion on September 17th and abandoned it on October 10th, choosing instead to invade the USSR.
Today is the ninth day in the month of July
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| July, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry |
The month of July was named after Julius Caesar by a decision of the Roman Senate in 44 BC as July was the month of his birth. Before that, it had been known as Quintilis (fifth) as it was the fifth month in the old calendar.
Until the 18th century, the word July in English had the stress on the first syllable and rhymed with duly or truly.
July 1 is not the mid-point of the year. The exact halfway point comes at 1pm BST on July 3 in a non-leap year.
No month ends on the same day of the week as July unless it is a leap year, when January does so.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its lowest point of The Great Depression on July 8, 1932, closing at 41.22, down 89 percent from its peak in 1929.
Until the 18th century, the word July in English had the stress on the first syllable and rhymed with duly or truly.
July 1 is not the mid-point of the year. The exact halfway point comes at 1pm BST on July 3 in a non-leap year.
No month ends on the same day of the week as July unless it is a leap year, when January does so.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its lowest point of The Great Depression on July 8, 1932, closing at 41.22, down 89 percent from its peak in 1929.
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| An impoverished American family living in a shanty, 1936 |
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the 1930s. The depression originated in the United States, where it began in August 1929, when the country's economy first went into recession.
The Great Depression became worldwide news with the Wall Street Crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday). It was then that the effects of a declining economy were felt, and a major worldwide economic downturn ensued.
During the Great Depression people often made clothes out of feed sacks. Seeing this, distributors started to print their feed sacks with different colors and patterns to help people remain at least somewhat fashionable.
The Great Depression became worldwide news with the Wall Street Crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday). It was then that the effects of a declining economy were felt, and a major worldwide economic downturn ensued.
During the Great Depression people often made clothes out of feed sacks. Seeing this, distributors started to print their feed sacks with different colors and patterns to help people remain at least somewhat fashionable.
Because of the great economic slump, many Americans found themselves without work and had no money to buy food. Consequently kitchens distributing free soup to the needy started springing up in most large cities in the United States. For the most part it was churches and charity organisations like the Salvation Army, whic provided food for the poorest.
World Chocolate Day is an annual observance that occurs globally on July 7.
World Chocolate Day is an annual observance that occurs globally on July 7.
Early Central Americans and Mexicans used the seeds from the cacao tree to make a drink that tasted bitter, not sweet. The word for "chocolate" in almost every language comes from its name in the Nahuatl language of Mexico, chocolatl.
Some references indicate World Chocolate Day celebrates July 7, 1550 when Spanish conquistadors, who sought gold and silver in Mexico, returned instead with chocolate. The Spanish sweetened the bitter drink with cane sugar and cinnamon and it became a symbol of luxury, wealth and power.
Chocolate originally was just drunk. The first chocolate bar was created by JS Fry & Sons of Bristol, England in 1847. They had discovered a way to mix some of the melted cacao butter back into de-fatted, cocoa powder (along with sugar) to create a paste that could be pressed into a mold. It was sold to the public as chocolate delicieux a manger – delicious to eat.
Despite its bittersweet taste, Fry's chocolate bar was such a hit that people soon began to think of eating chocolate as much as drinking it.
Today is the anniversary of the first person to be inoculated against rabies.
Chocolate originally was just drunk. The first chocolate bar was created by JS Fry & Sons of Bristol, England in 1847. They had discovered a way to mix some of the melted cacao butter back into de-fatted, cocoa powder (along with sugar) to create a paste that could be pressed into a mold. It was sold to the public as chocolate delicieux a manger – delicious to eat.
Despite its bittersweet taste, Fry's chocolate bar was such a hit that people soon began to think of eating chocolate as much as drinking it.
Today is the anniversary of the first person to be inoculated against rabies.
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| Louis Pasteur in his laboratory, 1885 |
Rabies is an infectious disease that can be passed on by animals to humans. The disease causes acute encephalitis (a sudden inflammation in the brain). Generally, people (and animals) die from rabies. However, those who are treated soon after becoming infected have a chance to survive.
The ancient city of Eshnuna in Sumeria was aware of the causes of rabies, which they realized humans could catch from dogs. They had a law setting out the punishment for somebody who allowed a mad dog to escape and bite somebody.
On July 6, 1885, nine-year-old Joseph Meister became the first person to be inoculated against rabies. Dr Louis Pasteur had been experimenting with a vaccine made from a weakened strain of rabies virus grown in rabbits developed from dog saliva, After Joseph was bitten by a rabid dog, he was taken to Dr. Pasteur's surgery where he was treated with an untested version of the vaccine. The treatment was successful and the boy did not develop rabies. Within days, Dr Pasteur found his surgery besieged by crowds of dog bite victims.
Today, almost all human deaths caused by rabies occur in Asia and Africa. There are an estimated 59,000 human deaths annually from rabies worldwide.
On July 5, 1841 Thomas Cook organized the very first package tour.
The ancient city of Eshnuna in Sumeria was aware of the causes of rabies, which they realized humans could catch from dogs. They had a law setting out the punishment for somebody who allowed a mad dog to escape and bite somebody.
On July 6, 1885, nine-year-old Joseph Meister became the first person to be inoculated against rabies. Dr Louis Pasteur had been experimenting with a vaccine made from a weakened strain of rabies virus grown in rabbits developed from dog saliva, After Joseph was bitten by a rabid dog, he was taken to Dr. Pasteur's surgery where he was treated with an untested version of the vaccine. The treatment was successful and the boy did not develop rabies. Within days, Dr Pasteur found his surgery besieged by crowds of dog bite victims.
Today, almost all human deaths caused by rabies occur in Asia and Africa. There are an estimated 59,000 human deaths annually from rabies worldwide.
On July 5, 1841 Thomas Cook organized the very first package tour.
British Baptist missionary Thomas Cook organized the very first package tour on July 5, 1844 when he chartered a train to take a party of 570 people from Leicester to a temperance rally 11 miles away at Loughborough, for a return fare of 1 shilling. The Baptist evangelist's idea to organize tours had come almost a month earlier when he was walking from his home in Market Harborough to Leicester for a Temperance meeting. Cook later recalled: "The thought suddenly flashed across my mind as to the practicability of employing the great powers of railways and locomotion for the furtherance of this social reform."
Cook subsequently organized other package tours as part of his fight against the demon drink.
Thomas Cook's first for-profit holiday excursion in 1845 took 350 people on a four day rail trip from Leicester to Liverpool. First-class tickets cost 15 shillings (75p) and second-class, 10 shillings (50p).
Cook went international in 1855, taking two groups on a 'grand circular tour' of of Belgium, Germany and France, ending in Paris for the Exhibition. The British tourists were greeted by band music and a cannon salute on arrival.
Cook later organized trips North America and Africa. In Egypt, a fleet of steam ships were launched to take tourists along the Nile.
Today is Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July. This holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, which declared the United States' independence from Great Britain.
Today is Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July. This holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, which declared the United States' independence from Great Britain.
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| A Fourth of July fireworks display at the Washington Monument |
The Americans began observing the Fourth of July in 1777, when the first-ever Independence Day celebration in Philadelphia included a parade, a thirteen-shot cannon salute and fireworks, but
The 4th of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island, is the oldest continuous Independence Day celebration in the US. The town has thrown the celebration every year since 1785.
Congress didn't make it official until 1870, when it made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, Congress changed the legislation to make it a paid federal holiday.
Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only US President to have been born on Independence Day.
According to the official census, 2.5 million people celebrated the first Independence Day, compared to over three hundred million people today.
Today is the anniversary of Karl Benz unveiling the world's first motor car.
The 4th of July Parade in Bristol, Rhode Island, is the oldest continuous Independence Day celebration in the US. The town has thrown the celebration every year since 1785.
Congress didn't make it official until 1870, when it made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, Congress changed the legislation to make it a paid federal holiday.
Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, is the only US President to have been born on Independence Day.
According to the official census, 2.5 million people celebrated the first Independence Day, compared to over three hundred million people today.
Today is the anniversary of Karl Benz unveiling the world's first motor car.
German engineer Karl Benz (1844-1929) developed a two-stroke engine in the late 1870s. In 1885 he fitted his lightweight petrol engine to a three-wheeled carriage to pioneer the motor car.
Benz received the patent for his "horseless carriage" - the first car with an internal combustion engine in January 1886.
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was officially unveiled by Karl Benz on July 3, 1886. The Motorwagen was both revolutionary and very, very slow: it could barely top 10 mph.
His wife and business partner Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip in August 1888, going 106 kilometers (66 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, in a Benz Patent-Motorwagen returning the next day. It has been commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.
The first driver’s licence was issued in 1888 to Karl Benz. The German engineer had received complaints from residents in Mannheim about the noise and smell from his ‘Motorwagen’, so he wrote to the authorities to request written permission to use public highways, which was granted.
The first Walmart store opened for business on July 2, 1962,
Benz received the patent for his "horseless carriage" - the first car with an internal combustion engine in January 1886.
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was officially unveiled by Karl Benz on July 3, 1886. The Motorwagen was both revolutionary and very, very slow: it could barely top 10 mph.
His wife and business partner Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip in August 1888, going 106 kilometers (66 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, in a Benz Patent-Motorwagen returning the next day. It has been commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.
The first driver’s licence was issued in 1888 to Karl Benz. The German engineer had received complaints from residents in Mannheim about the noise and smell from his ‘Motorwagen’, so he wrote to the authorities to request written permission to use public highways, which was granted.
The first Walmart store opened for business on July 2, 1962,
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| By Mike Kalasnik from Fort Mill, USA - Wal-Mart Albemarle Rd Charlotte |
The history of Walmart began in 1945 when 26-year-old businessman Sam Walton purchased a Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, Arkansas with the help of a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law, plus $5,000 he had saved while serving in the Army during World War II. His primary focus was selling products at low prices to get higher-volume sales at a lower profit margin.
Five years later, Walton purchased a store from Luther E. Harrison in Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened a five and dime store Walton's 5 & 10.
The first true Walmart opened on July 2, 1962, in Rogers, Arkansas. Called the Wal-Mart Discount City store, it was located at 719 West Walnut Street. It was Walton's assistant, Bob Bogle, who came up with the name "Wal-Mart" for the new chain.
Within five years the Wal-Mart company had grown to 24 stores across the state of Arkansas, and had reached $12.6 million in sales.
In 1968, the Wal-Mart company opened its first stores outside of Arkansas in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma.
By 1988, Walmart was the most profitable retailer in the United States, and by October 1989, it had become the largest in terms of revenue, though it did not outsell K-Mart and Sears in terms of value of items purchased until late 1990 or early 1991.
The British North America Act took effect on July 1, 1867 created a federal dominion with The Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia all joining into confederation to create the modern nation of Canada. Although still a British colony, Canada gained an increased level of political control and governance over its own affairs, the British parliament and Cabinet maintaining political control over certain areas. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.
Five years later, Walton purchased a store from Luther E. Harrison in Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened a five and dime store Walton's 5 & 10.
The first true Walmart opened on July 2, 1962, in Rogers, Arkansas. Called the Wal-Mart Discount City store, it was located at 719 West Walnut Street. It was Walton's assistant, Bob Bogle, who came up with the name "Wal-Mart" for the new chain.
Within five years the Wal-Mart company had grown to 24 stores across the state of Arkansas, and had reached $12.6 million in sales.
In 1968, the Wal-Mart company opened its first stores outside of Arkansas in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma.
By 1988, Walmart was the most profitable retailer in the United States, and by October 1989, it had become the largest in terms of revenue, though it did not outsell K-Mart and Sears in terms of value of items purchased until late 1990 or early 1991.
The British North America Act took effect on July 1, 1867 created a federal dominion with The Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia all joining into confederation to create the modern nation of Canada. Although still a British colony, Canada gained an increased level of political control and governance over its own affairs, the British parliament and Cabinet maintaining political control over certain areas. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.
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| Canada Day parade in Montreal By Martin C. Barry (Marty555) |
Upon Confederation in 1867, the name Canada was officially adopted for the new Dominion. Alternative names proposed were Tuponia, Borealia, Cabotia, Transatlantica, Victorialand and Superior.
Canada became the only nation in the world with the Dominion in its name. The name the Dominion of Canada is based on Psalm 72; "He shall have Dominion... From sea to sea." Canada stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic and so was called the Dominion of Canada by its founding fathers.
By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "Realm of the Commonwealth". In 1982 the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
The first census of the Dominion of Canada in April 1871 listed the population as 3,689,257.
Canada Day is observed on July 1, unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case July 2 is the statutory holiday.
The emergency 999 phone service, the first of its kind in the world, was introduced to Britain on June 30, 1937.
Canada became the only nation in the world with the Dominion in its name. The name the Dominion of Canada is based on Psalm 72; "He shall have Dominion... From sea to sea." Canada stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic and so was called the Dominion of Canada by its founding fathers.
By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "Realm of the Commonwealth". In 1982 the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
The first census of the Dominion of Canada in April 1871 listed the population as 3,689,257.
Canada Day is observed on July 1, unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case July 2 is the statutory holiday.
The emergency 999 phone service, the first of its kind in the world, was introduced to Britain on June 30, 1937.
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| By xJasonRogersx (Jason Rogers) - https://www.flickr.com |
The introduction of Britain's emergency 999 phone service followed a two-year inquiry into the deaths of five women in a London fire in 1935. This first emergency phone number initially only covered a radius of 12 miles.
The 999 number was chosen due to the ease of dialing it on phones at that time. Tory MP Sir Sidney Herbert had suggested a special emergency button on the handset instead, saying: "How can a lady with a burglar in the house remember to dial 999?"
At first the buzzer which alerted switchboard operators to a 999 emergency call was so loud that a number of girl operators fainted when they heard it. This problem was resolved by inserting a tennis ball in the mouth of the buzzer, which succeeded in reducing the noise to a more tolerable level.
The first 911 emergency telephone system in the US. went operational in Haleyville, Alabama in February 1968.
Today is the anniversary of Apple Inc. releasing its first mobile phone, the iPhone.
The 999 number was chosen due to the ease of dialing it on phones at that time. Tory MP Sir Sidney Herbert had suggested a special emergency button on the handset instead, saying: "How can a lady with a burglar in the house remember to dial 999?"
At first the buzzer which alerted switchboard operators to a 999 emergency call was so loud that a number of girl operators fainted when they heard it. This problem was resolved by inserting a tennis ball in the mouth of the buzzer, which succeeded in reducing the noise to a more tolerable level.
The first 911 emergency telephone system in the US. went operational in Haleyville, Alabama in February 1968.
Today is the anniversary of Apple Inc. releasing its first mobile phone, the iPhone.
Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs unveiled in January 2006 the iPhone—a touch screen mobile phone with an iPod, camera and Web-browsing capabilities—at the Macworld convention in San Francisco.
Jobs called the iPhone a "revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone."
When it went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007 amidst huge hype, thousands of customers lined up at Apple stores across the country to be among the first to purchase an iPhone.
The 4GB phone retailed for $499 and the 8GB model debuted at $599.
In 2007, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said there was "no chance the iPhone is going to get any significant market share."
Today is the anniversary of the day it was proved that tomatoes are safe to eat.
Jobs called the iPhone a "revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone."
When it went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007 amidst huge hype, thousands of customers lined up at Apple stores across the country to be among the first to purchase an iPhone.
The 4GB phone retailed for $499 and the 8GB model debuted at $599.
In 2007, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said there was "no chance the iPhone is going to get any significant market share."
Today is the anniversary of the day it was proved that tomatoes are safe to eat.
The wild tomato originated in the Andes mountains of Peru, but the Aztecs subsequently started cultivating them. The Spanish explorers brought the tomato to Spain from Mexico, a Moor brought it to Tangiers. From there, an Italian brought it to Italy.
In the 1500s the wealthy had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes and led to Europeans fearing eating the fruit.
Tomatoes were put "on trial" on June 28, 1820 in Salem, New Jersey. In front of a courthouse, gentleman farmer Colonel Robert G Johnson ate a basket of tomatoes in order to demonstrate they weren't poisonous. The crowd waited for him to die. He didn't.
An expansive marketing campaign by a Pennsylvania tomato canning factory in 1848 included sending samples to the American President James K Polk and Queen Victoria. As a result of this campaign tomatoes began to gain acceptance in America and Britain.
The world's first nuclear power station was opened at Obninsk near Moscow. It began producing electricity on June 27, 1954.
Hungarian-born physicist Leo Szilard conceived of the idea of the nuclear chain reaction while waiting for a traffic light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, London in September 1933.
German chemist Otto Hahn discovered the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy in December 1938. The decisive experiment was named "radium-barium-mesothorium-fractionation."
In December 1942 a group of scientists achieved the first self-sustaining chain reaction and thereby initiated the controlled release of nuclear energy. Leo Szilard, who had emigrated to America was among the observers.
The first helicopter as we know them today was designed by Heinrich Focke in 1936. The first prototype of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, had its maiden flight on June 26, 1936 with Ewald Rohlfs at the controls.
In the 1500s the wealthy had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes and led to Europeans fearing eating the fruit.
Tomatoes were put "on trial" on June 28, 1820 in Salem, New Jersey. In front of a courthouse, gentleman farmer Colonel Robert G Johnson ate a basket of tomatoes in order to demonstrate they weren't poisonous. The crowd waited for him to die. He didn't.
An expansive marketing campaign by a Pennsylvania tomato canning factory in 1848 included sending samples to the American President James K Polk and Queen Victoria. As a result of this campaign tomatoes began to gain acceptance in America and Britain.
The world's first nuclear power station was opened at Obninsk near Moscow. It began producing electricity on June 27, 1954.
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| Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant Museum By RIA Novosti archive, image #409173 / Pavel Bykov |
Hungarian-born physicist Leo Szilard conceived of the idea of the nuclear chain reaction while waiting for a traffic light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, London in September 1933.
German chemist Otto Hahn discovered the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy in December 1938. The decisive experiment was named "radium-barium-mesothorium-fractionation."
In December 1942 a group of scientists achieved the first self-sustaining chain reaction and thereby initiated the controlled release of nuclear energy. Leo Szilard, who had emigrated to America was among the observers.
The first helicopter as we know them today was designed by Heinrich Focke in 1936. The first prototype of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, had its maiden flight on June 26, 1936 with Ewald Rohlfs at the controls.
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| A replica of Fw 61, ILA 2006 at the Hubschraubermuseum in Bückeburg |
Glaswegian Kenneth Watson became the world’s first passenger to ride in a helicopter in October, 1939. The development of the aircraft — a Weir 6 — was halted soon afterwards because of World War II.
Russian-born aeronautics engineer Igor Sikorsky emigrated to the U.S. after World War I and became known as the ‘father of the helicopter’. The composer Sergei Rachmaninoff helped him start his aviation company in 1923 with a personal cheque for $5,000.
Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the rotor configuration used by most helicopters today. The first flight of the VS-300 was in May 1940.
Sikorsky's success with the VS-300 led to the R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.
Helicopters were used in warfare for the first time when the 1st Air Commando Group used a Sikorsky R-4 in April 1944 for a combat search and rescue operation in the China-Burma-India border area.
The Sikorsky S-51, the first helicopter to be built for civilian instead of military use, made its first flight in 1946.
Today is the anniversary of The Battle of the Little Bighorn, which was fought on June 25, 1876.
Russian-born aeronautics engineer Igor Sikorsky emigrated to the U.S. after World War I and became known as the ‘father of the helicopter’. The composer Sergei Rachmaninoff helped him start his aviation company in 1923 with a personal cheque for $5,000.
Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the rotor configuration used by most helicopters today. The first flight of the VS-300 was in May 1940.
Sikorsky's success with the VS-300 led to the R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.
Helicopters were used in warfare for the first time when the 1st Air Commando Group used a Sikorsky R-4 in April 1944 for a combat search and rescue operation in the China-Burma-India border area.
The Sikorsky S-51, the first helicopter to be built for civilian instead of military use, made its first flight in 1946.
Today is the anniversary of The Battle of the Little Bighorn, which was fought on June 25, 1876.
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| The Custer Fight by Charles Maeion Russell |
In 1866, George Armstrong Custer was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 7th Cavalry Regiment and assigned to Kansas to engage in wars against the native Indians. A cavalier cavalry hero of huge popularity amongst the American populace, Custer would be called today a "media personality" who understood the value of good public relations. He frequently invited correspondents to accompany him on his campaigns, and their favorable reportage contributed to his high reputation that lasted well into the 20th century.
Custer was ordered in 1873 to Dakota territory to protect settlers and miners against the Sioux. As Custer and his 7th Cavalry left Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakota Territory for the Little Big Horn, the band played "The Girl I Left Behind Me."
On June 25, 1876, Custer's regiment located a Sioux village on Little Big Horn. Underestimating its size and against orders he attacked the Indian community. Having sighted the encampment he had cried "hurrah boys, we've got them." 2,500 Sioux warriors counter attacked and defeated Custer's 655 men.
Several individuals claimed personal responsibility for the killing of Custer. In 2005 at a public meeting, the Northern Cheyenne broke more than 100 years of silence about the battle. Storytellers said that according to their oral tradition, Buffalo Calf Road Woman, a Northern Cheyenne heroine of the Battle of the Rosebud, struck the final blow against Custer, which knocked him off his horse before he died.
The only living thing that the U.S. cavalry got back from the Battle of Little Big Horn was a horse named Comanche. The equine survivor lived until 1890 and became a celebrity. The public assumed that he had been Custer's horse (he hadn't) and that he was the battle's only survivor (he wasn't).
Two months after he succeeded his father Henry VII on the English throne, 18-year-old Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were crowned King and Queen of England on June 24, 1509.
Custer was ordered in 1873 to Dakota territory to protect settlers and miners against the Sioux. As Custer and his 7th Cavalry left Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakota Territory for the Little Big Horn, the band played "The Girl I Left Behind Me."
On June 25, 1876, Custer's regiment located a Sioux village on Little Big Horn. Underestimating its size and against orders he attacked the Indian community. Having sighted the encampment he had cried "hurrah boys, we've got them." 2,500 Sioux warriors counter attacked and defeated Custer's 655 men.
Several individuals claimed personal responsibility for the killing of Custer. In 2005 at a public meeting, the Northern Cheyenne broke more than 100 years of silence about the battle. Storytellers said that according to their oral tradition, Buffalo Calf Road Woman, a Northern Cheyenne heroine of the Battle of the Rosebud, struck the final blow against Custer, which knocked him off his horse before he died.
The only living thing that the U.S. cavalry got back from the Battle of Little Big Horn was a horse named Comanche. The equine survivor lived until 1890 and became a celebrity. The public assumed that he had been Custer's horse (he hadn't) and that he was the battle's only survivor (he wasn't).
Two months after he succeeded his father Henry VII on the English throne, 18-year-old Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were crowned King and Queen of England on June 24, 1509.
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| Eighteen-year-old Henry VIII after his coronation in 1509 |
Henry VIII was the first English king to be addressed as "your majesty". Before then, "Your Highness" or "Your Lord King" was always used.
Henry's reign is best known for his six marriages, and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His six wives in order were divorced, beheaded, Died. divorced, beheaded, survived.
In 1534 Henry VIII proclaimed himself Head of the Church in England, transferring ecclesiastical jurisdiction and revenues from the pope to himself and creating the Church of England (Episcopal Church) with The Act of Supremacy.
Between 1536 and 1540, after breaking with the papacy, Henry VIII and his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, sold off the property and valuables of the 800 monasteries, nunneries and friaries in England.
A big spender partly subsidized by the confiscation of lands from the church, Henry needed plenty of money as his war against France emptied the Royal treasury.
The journalist Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called the "Type-Writer" on June 23, 1868. Sholes' invention was originally designed to print page numbers on books. It was his friend Carlos S. Glidden who suggested using it to type letters. Sholes developed his machine with the assistance of Glidden and Samuel W. Soule
The type-writer's original design was described as "a cross between a piano and a kitchen table.
Henry's reign is best known for his six marriages, and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His six wives in order were divorced, beheaded, Died. divorced, beheaded, survived.
In 1534 Henry VIII proclaimed himself Head of the Church in England, transferring ecclesiastical jurisdiction and revenues from the pope to himself and creating the Church of England (Episcopal Church) with The Act of Supremacy.
Between 1536 and 1540, after breaking with the papacy, Henry VIII and his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, sold off the property and valuables of the 800 monasteries, nunneries and friaries in England.
A big spender partly subsidized by the confiscation of lands from the church, Henry needed plenty of money as his war against France emptied the Royal treasury.
The journalist Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called the "Type-Writer" on June 23, 1868. Sholes' invention was originally designed to print page numbers on books. It was his friend Carlos S. Glidden who suggested using it to type letters. Sholes developed his machine with the assistance of Glidden and Samuel W. Soule
The type-writer's original design was described as "a cross between a piano and a kitchen table.
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| Sholes and Glidden typewriter, as depicted in an 1872 Scientific American article. |
The first document to be produced on Scholes' type-writer was a contract he had written in his capacity as the Comptroller for the city of Milwaukee.
The alphabetical layout of Sholes' type-writer meant common letters in close proximity frequently jammed at high typing speeds. To minimize such clashing, Sholes conceived in 1873 the QWERTY layout, which put common letter pairs far apart to reduce the chance of keys jamming and raise typing speed. The QWERTY layout has outlived mechanical keyboards.
Sholes' later improvements brought him two more patents, but he encountered difficulty raising working capital for development. In early 1873 he sold his patent rights for $12,000 to E. Remington and Sons of New York state (which later became the Remington Arms Company). An arms manufacturer seeking to diversify, they were a firm well equipped with the machinery and skill to carry out the development work.
E. Remington and Sons began the manufacturing of the first practical typewriter in Ilion, New York in March 1873.
Today is the anniversary of Galileo Galilei being forced to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe.
The alphabetical layout of Sholes' type-writer meant common letters in close proximity frequently jammed at high typing speeds. To minimize such clashing, Sholes conceived in 1873 the QWERTY layout, which put common letter pairs far apart to reduce the chance of keys jamming and raise typing speed. The QWERTY layout has outlived mechanical keyboards.
Sholes' later improvements brought him two more patents, but he encountered difficulty raising working capital for development. In early 1873 he sold his patent rights for $12,000 to E. Remington and Sons of New York state (which later became the Remington Arms Company). An arms manufacturer seeking to diversify, they were a firm well equipped with the machinery and skill to carry out the development work.
E. Remington and Sons began the manufacturing of the first practical typewriter in Ilion, New York in March 1873.
Today is the anniversary of Galileo Galilei being forced to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe.
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| 1636 portrait by Justus Sustermans |
In 1632, Galileo Galilei published Dialogue on Two Chief World Systems, which updated Copernicus’ theories about the Earth going around the Sun and ridiculed the position taken by the church. Galileo's position on the relationship of discovered truth in nature to revealed truth in the Bible, was in his view perfectly compatible with his Catholic faith. The devout scientist argued “ I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”
The following year, The Inquisition summoned Galileo to Rome where he was cross-examined and threatened with torture. The Roman Catholic Church argued "The doctrine that the Earth is neither the center of the Universe, nor immovable, but moves, even with a daily rotation is absurd and both philosophically and theologically false and the least an error of faith."
On June 22, 1633 the 69-year-old Galileo recanted under pressure from the Holy Office and was sentenced to house arrest for his last years. After his revocation Galileo was heard to mutter under his breath “Eppur si moove” (“But still it moves”).
In 1992 Pope John Paul II admitted the Roman Catholic Church had erred in condemning Galileo, thirteen years after he appointed a commission of philosophers, scientists and theologians to investigate the evidence of the Italian's controversial discoveries.
In America, Father's Day was founded by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington and celebrated on the third Sunday of June for the first time in 1910. It is held on various days in many parts of the world all throughout the year, often in the months of March, May and June.
Although Dodd initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, the Spokane pastors did not have enough time to prepare their sermons, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June.
Dodd used the "Fathers' Day" spelling on her original petition for the holiday, but the spelling "Father's Day" was already being used in 1913 when a bill was introduced to the U.S. Congress as the first attempt to establish the holiday.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized.
President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day in 1966. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.
Today is The Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
In Sweden the Midsummer is such an important festivity that there have been serious discussions to make the Midsummer's Eve into the National Day of Sweden.
World Refugee Day is an international day organized every year on June 20 by the United Nations. It is designed to celebrate and honor refugees from around the world. The day celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to leave their home country to escape conflict, terror or persecution.
The following year, The Inquisition summoned Galileo to Rome where he was cross-examined and threatened with torture. The Roman Catholic Church argued "The doctrine that the Earth is neither the center of the Universe, nor immovable, but moves, even with a daily rotation is absurd and both philosophically and theologically false and the least an error of faith."
On June 22, 1633 the 69-year-old Galileo recanted under pressure from the Holy Office and was sentenced to house arrest for his last years. After his revocation Galileo was heard to mutter under his breath “Eppur si moove” (“But still it moves”).
In 1992 Pope John Paul II admitted the Roman Catholic Church had erred in condemning Galileo, thirteen years after he appointed a commission of philosophers, scientists and theologians to investigate the evidence of the Italian's controversial discoveries.
In America, Father's Day was founded by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington and celebrated on the third Sunday of June for the first time in 1910. It is held on various days in many parts of the world all throughout the year, often in the months of March, May and June.
Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in many countries, including the UK and the US.
The idea for a father's day originated when Sonora Dodd heard a sermon on Mother's Day in 1909 and was inspired to create a date to honor fathers like her own, a Civil War veteran. Through her efforts, the first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane on June 19, 1910.
Although Dodd initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, the Spokane pastors did not have enough time to prepare their sermons, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June.
Dodd used the "Fathers' Day" spelling on her original petition for the holiday, but the spelling "Father's Day" was already being used in 1913 when a bill was introduced to the U.S. Congress as the first attempt to establish the holiday.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized.
President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day in 1966. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.
Today is The Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
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| Midsummer celebration at Årnäs, Sweden, in 1969 |
In the Northern hemisphere, the summer solstice, or longest day, usually falls on June 20 or 21. The last time it did not fall on either of those dates was in 1975 when it was June 22nd.
The solstice is when the Sun is at its highest point in the sky during a year. The solstice itself is one moment, but many use the word to mean the day when the solstice happens.
In the Southern Hemisphere the June solstice is the winter solstice. It is also known as the northern solstice.
The word solstice comes from Latin and means that "the Sun stands still".
Many think the terms Summer Solstice and Midsummer's Day are interchangeable – but they are in fact their own special events. In 2025, the Summer Solstice is on 21st June. It is the longest day of the year with some 16 and a half hours of sunlight. Historically and in some traditions (especially in the UK as one of the four Quarter Days), Midsummer's Day is observed on June 24th. This date is associated with the feast day of St. John the Baptist.
The solstice is when the Sun is at its highest point in the sky during a year. The solstice itself is one moment, but many use the word to mean the day when the solstice happens.
In the Southern Hemisphere the June solstice is the winter solstice. It is also known as the northern solstice.
The word solstice comes from Latin and means that "the Sun stands still".
Many think the terms Summer Solstice and Midsummer's Day are interchangeable – but they are in fact their own special events. In 2025, the Summer Solstice is on 21st June. It is the longest day of the year with some 16 and a half hours of sunlight. Historically and in some traditions (especially in the UK as one of the four Quarter Days), Midsummer's Day is observed on June 24th. This date is associated with the feast day of St. John the Baptist.
In Sweden the Midsummer is such an important festivity that there have been serious discussions to make the Midsummer's Eve into the National Day of Sweden.
World Refugee Day is an international day organized every year on June 20 by the United Nations. It is designed to celebrate and honor refugees from around the world. The day celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to leave their home country to escape conflict, terror or persecution.
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| Stephen Michael Barnett World Refugee Day , Malak, Darwin |
Globally there are estimated to be more than 82 million refugees and internally displaced persons, In the early weeks of the conflict in Ukraine at least 3.5 million people sought sanctuary in neighboring countries. Christians have been forced to flee their homes by Islamist attacks in Nigeria, the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, oppression by the Myanmar military government, and land disputes in various countries where they are driven out by followers of the majority religion.
June 19 is celebrated annually by African-Americans. The celebration of Juneteenth dates back to 1865 when slaves in Texas were told that they were free and that the Civil War had ended.
June 19 is celebrated annually by African-Americans. The celebration of Juneteenth dates back to 1865 when slaves in Texas were told that they were free and that the Civil War had ended.
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| Ashton Villa, where Major Granger read the Order. By Nsaum75 at English Wikipedia |
By proclamation in 1862 President Abraham Lincoln emancipated all the slaves within reach of his northern armies, thereby interpreting the American Civil War as a crusade against slavery.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed them and the American Civil War had largely ended with the defeat of the Confederate States in April 1865, Texas was the most remote of the slave states, with a low presence of Union troops, so enforcement of the proclamation had been slow
The June 19th celebration of Juneteenth dates back to 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in the Texan city of Galveston with an announcement. As the community listened to the reading, the people of Galveston learned for the first time that all slaves in Texas were free and the Civil War was over.
The day was recognized as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Because June 19th fell on a Saturday in 2021, it was celebrated a day earlier.
Despite slavery having been outlawed in all recognized countries, there are currently an estimated 40.3 million people subject to some form of modern slavery worldwide. 70 per cent of victims are female, 30 percent are male. Up to a quarter of victims are children.
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, June 18, 1815, near Waterloo in Belgium.
The Battle of Waterloo started at noon when a British-led coalition consisting of 68,000 soldiers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau, under the command of the Duke of Wellington fought a French army of 73,000 soldiers under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. The British were joined by 48,000 men from the Prussian army under Field Marshal von Blücher. in mid-afternoon.
The Battle actually took place at Braine l'Alleud, about eight miles (13 kms) south of Waterloo, but Wellington had a habit of naming battles after the place he had spent the previous night.
Heavy rain before the battle created swamp-like conditions. Wellington stayed on the high ground, forcing the French to slog uphill from the boggy valley, with their guns sunk up to their axles in thick mud. With the Prussians breaking through on the French right flank, the Anglo-allied army repulsed the Imperial Guard, and the French army was routed. By 11pm the battle had ended News of Wellington's victory was first delivered by a pigeon to England.
The Battle of Waterloo ended 12 years’ war between France and an alliance including Britain, Russia, the Netherlands and Prussia (now in Germany).
After the defeat, Napoleon was captured and exiled to the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
June 17th is Icelandic National Day, celebrating the independence of Iceland from Denmark. The Kingdom of Iceland becomes a sovereign state in 1918, yet remained a part of the Danish kingdom until 1944 when it declared its independence and became a republic.
Below is the festival procession in Reykjavik on the National Day of Iceland, 2007
Root beer was created by Philadelphia pharmacist Charles E. Hires as an herbal tea made of various roots, berries and herbs for cough and mouth sores. It was inspired by a root tea served to him on his honeymoon. Hires packaged his herbal mixture in boxes and sold it to housewives and proprietors of soda fountains making his first sale on June 16, 1869. He decided to call his drink "root beer" despite not containing any alcohol as he wanted to market it to Pennsylvania coal miners.
The June 19th celebration of Juneteenth dates back to 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in the Texan city of Galveston with an announcement. As the community listened to the reading, the people of Galveston learned for the first time that all slaves in Texas were free and the Civil War was over.
The day was recognized as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Because June 19th fell on a Saturday in 2021, it was celebrated a day earlier.
Despite slavery having been outlawed in all recognized countries, there are currently an estimated 40.3 million people subject to some form of modern slavery worldwide. 70 per cent of victims are female, 30 percent are male. Up to a quarter of victims are children.
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, June 18, 1815, near Waterloo in Belgium.
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| The Battle of Waterloo, by William Sadler II |
The Battle of Waterloo started at noon when a British-led coalition consisting of 68,000 soldiers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau, under the command of the Duke of Wellington fought a French army of 73,000 soldiers under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. The British were joined by 48,000 men from the Prussian army under Field Marshal von Blücher. in mid-afternoon.
The Battle actually took place at Braine l'Alleud, about eight miles (13 kms) south of Waterloo, but Wellington had a habit of naming battles after the place he had spent the previous night.
Heavy rain before the battle created swamp-like conditions. Wellington stayed on the high ground, forcing the French to slog uphill from the boggy valley, with their guns sunk up to their axles in thick mud. With the Prussians breaking through on the French right flank, the Anglo-allied army repulsed the Imperial Guard, and the French army was routed. By 11pm the battle had ended News of Wellington's victory was first delivered by a pigeon to England.
The Battle of Waterloo ended 12 years’ war between France and an alliance including Britain, Russia, the Netherlands and Prussia (now in Germany).
After the defeat, Napoleon was captured and exiled to the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
June 17th is Icelandic National Day, celebrating the independence of Iceland from Denmark. The Kingdom of Iceland becomes a sovereign state in 1918, yet remained a part of the Danish kingdom until 1944 when it declared its independence and became a republic.
Many Icelanders refer to World War II as "the blessed war" because the country has the war to thank for their independence.
Below is the festival procession in Reykjavik on the National Day of Iceland, 2007
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| By I, Akigka, Wikipedia |
June 17th was chosen as Independence Day as it was the birthday of Jon Sigurosson, the 19th century leader of the Iceland Independence Movement.
Francis Drake claimed California for England on this day in 1579.
Francis Drake claimed California for England on this day in 1579.
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| View of San Francisco 1846–47 |
Historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego was the first site visited by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain, forming the basis for the settlement of Alta California 200 years later. (Alta California had an area comprising the modern state of California and other states to the east.)
English sea captain Sir Francis Drake claimed the area where San Francisco is now for England on June 17, 1579. The natives thought they were gods and offered them their entire country. Drake accepted and claimed the land in the name of Queen Elizabeth calling it New Albion and staking to a post an engraved metal plate. Technically, this means the West Coast was "New England" before the East as John Smith didn't use the name to describe Massachusetts until 1616.
The name "California" comes from a 16th century romance novel about a mythical island populated solely by black women warriors armed with gold weapons, ruled by a Queen named Calafia.
Between 1530 and 1750, a large portion of the world wholeheartedly believed that California was, in fact, a massive island. Popular opinion slowly shifted to the area being a Peninsula, but many maps continued to show it as an island to the mid-1700s.
1846 marked the outbreak of the Mexican-American War. When Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay and began the military occupation of California by the United States, Northern California capitulated in less than a month to the US forces. After a series of defensive battles in Southern California, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing American control in California.
California was admitted as the thirty-first US state in September 1850.
English sea captain Sir Francis Drake claimed the area where San Francisco is now for England on June 17, 1579. The natives thought they were gods and offered them their entire country. Drake accepted and claimed the land in the name of Queen Elizabeth calling it New Albion and staking to a post an engraved metal plate. Technically, this means the West Coast was "New England" before the East as John Smith didn't use the name to describe Massachusetts until 1616.
The name "California" comes from a 16th century romance novel about a mythical island populated solely by black women warriors armed with gold weapons, ruled by a Queen named Calafia.
Between 1530 and 1750, a large portion of the world wholeheartedly believed that California was, in fact, a massive island. Popular opinion slowly shifted to the area being a Peninsula, but many maps continued to show it as an island to the mid-1700s.
1846 marked the outbreak of the Mexican-American War. When Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay and began the military occupation of California by the United States, Northern California capitulated in less than a month to the US forces. After a series of defensive battles in Southern California, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing American control in California.
California was admitted as the thirty-first US state in September 1850.
Root beer was created by Philadelphia pharmacist Charles E. Hires as an herbal tea made of various roots, berries and herbs for cough and mouth sores. It was inspired by a root tea served to him on his honeymoon. Hires packaged his herbal mixture in boxes and sold it to housewives and proprietors of soda fountains making his first sale on June 16, 1869. He decided to call his drink "root beer" despite not containing any alcohol as he wanted to market it to Pennsylvania coal miners.
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| A Hires' Root beer advertisement from 1894. |
Hines used aggressive advertising to help spread the word about his drink. By 1893, root beer was being distributed widely across the United States.
Global Wind Day is a worldwide event organized by WindEurope (WindEurope) and GWEC (Global Wind Energy Council) that is held on June 15 around the world. It is a day for discovering wind energy, its power and the possibilities it holds to reshape our energy systems, decarbonize our economies and boost jobs and growth.
A wind turbine is a rotating machine that converts the wind's kinetic energy into electrical energy.
James Blyth, inventor of the wind turbine, was born on April 4, 1839 in Marykirk, Scotland. In July 1887 he built a cloth-sailed wind turbine in the garden of his holiday home in Marykirk and used the electricity it produced to charge accumulators; the stored electricity was used to power the lights in his cottage, which thus became the first house in the world to be powered by wind-generated electricity.
Blyth was awarded a UK patent for his "wind engine" in November 1891. He later developed an improved model which served as an emergency power source at Montrose Lunatic Asylum for the next 30 years.
International Bath Day is observed every year on June 14.
Greek scientist and mathematician Archimedes discovered the Archimedian principle when he stepped into his bath and found the displaced water overflowing. This made him excited as he realised the weight of water displaced by an object equals the amount of buoyancy it gets. Thus an object’s volume could be accurately measured by being submerged in water! Unable to contain his excitement, Archimedes leapt out of the bathtub and yelled, “Eureka, Eureka!” as he ran through the streets of Syracuse.
International Bath Day is observed every year on June 14 as Archimedes' discovery occurred precisely one week before the beginning of summer. In ancient Greece Summer began (and still does today) on June 21st. The week before is June 14th, and this was the date set.
According to records of payment made to King John (1166-1216)'s bath attendant, William Aquarius, the king bathed on average about once every three weeks, which cost a considerable sum of 5d to 6d each, suggesting an elaborate and ceremonial affair. Although this may seem barbaric by modern standards, it was civilized compared to monks who were expected to bathe three times a year, with the right not to bathe at all if they so chose.
In Japan, baths, known as of 'ofuro' are deep, short and made of wood. People wash before entering one, as bathing is seen as a leisure activity.
The pin-tumbler lock or yale lock was invented on June 13, 1844.
Global Wind Day is a worldwide event organized by WindEurope (WindEurope) and GWEC (Global Wind Energy Council) that is held on June 15 around the world. It is a day for discovering wind energy, its power and the possibilities it holds to reshape our energy systems, decarbonize our economies and boost jobs and growth.
A wind turbine is a rotating machine that converts the wind's kinetic energy into electrical energy.
James Blyth, inventor of the wind turbine, was born on April 4, 1839 in Marykirk, Scotland. In July 1887 he built a cloth-sailed wind turbine in the garden of his holiday home in Marykirk and used the electricity it produced to charge accumulators; the stored electricity was used to power the lights in his cottage, which thus became the first house in the world to be powered by wind-generated electricity.
Blyth was awarded a UK patent for his "wind engine" in November 1891. He later developed an improved model which served as an emergency power source at Montrose Lunatic Asylum for the next 30 years.
International Bath Day is observed every year on June 14.
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| Wikipedia |
Greek scientist and mathematician Archimedes discovered the Archimedian principle when he stepped into his bath and found the displaced water overflowing. This made him excited as he realised the weight of water displaced by an object equals the amount of buoyancy it gets. Thus an object’s volume could be accurately measured by being submerged in water! Unable to contain his excitement, Archimedes leapt out of the bathtub and yelled, “Eureka, Eureka!” as he ran through the streets of Syracuse.
International Bath Day is observed every year on June 14 as Archimedes' discovery occurred precisely one week before the beginning of summer. In ancient Greece Summer began (and still does today) on June 21st. The week before is June 14th, and this was the date set.
According to records of payment made to King John (1166-1216)'s bath attendant, William Aquarius, the king bathed on average about once every three weeks, which cost a considerable sum of 5d to 6d each, suggesting an elaborate and ceremonial affair. Although this may seem barbaric by modern standards, it was civilized compared to monks who were expected to bathe three times a year, with the right not to bathe at all if they so chose.
In Japan, baths, known as of 'ofuro' are deep, short and made of wood. People wash before entering one, as bathing is seen as a leisure activity.
The pin-tumbler lock or yale lock was invented on June 13, 1844.
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| A common type of pin tumbler lock, of the euro cylinder type By Willh26 |
Locks in varying configurations have been employed by mankind since a large stone was first rolled in front of a cave entrance to assure privacy and control over entry.
The ancient Egyptians used intricate locks 4,000 years ago. The wooden contraption included a key that lifted pins, allowing a latch bar to slide free.
The pin-tumbler lock or yale lock was invented on June 13, 1844 by lock shop owner Linus Yale Sr, whose name still adorns billions of keys. Yale drew his inspiration from the Egyptian pin-and-bolt locks which were made of wood.
In 1850 his son, Linus Yale, Jr. joined him at the lock shop and began working on improving his father’s pin tumbler lock. Linus Yale, Jr.'s June 27, 1865 patent for a pin-tumbler lock and key was a drastic improvement over previous models, and is the basis for pin-tumbler locks since.
Independence Day, also known as "Day of Freedom," is an annual national holiday in the Philippines observed on June 12, commemorating the declaration of Philippine independence from Spain in 1898.
General Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines' independence, ending 333 years of Spanish colonial rule on June 12, 1898. However, the Philippines failed to win international recognition of its independence, specifically including the United States of America and Spain.
The ancient Egyptians used intricate locks 4,000 years ago. The wooden contraption included a key that lifted pins, allowing a latch bar to slide free.
The pin-tumbler lock or yale lock was invented on June 13, 1844 by lock shop owner Linus Yale Sr, whose name still adorns billions of keys. Yale drew his inspiration from the Egyptian pin-and-bolt locks which were made of wood.
In 1850 his son, Linus Yale, Jr. joined him at the lock shop and began working on improving his father’s pin tumbler lock. Linus Yale, Jr.'s June 27, 1865 patent for a pin-tumbler lock and key was a drastic improvement over previous models, and is the basis for pin-tumbler locks since.
Independence Day, also known as "Day of Freedom," is an annual national holiday in the Philippines observed on June 12, commemorating the declaration of Philippine independence from Spain in 1898.
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| The Declaration of Independence document written by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista |
The Philippine archipelago was first sighted in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan on his expedition to the Spice Islands, but it was in 1543 during the reign of King Philip II of Spain that Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos renamed them from the archipelago of St. Lazarus to Las Islas Filipinas in Philip's honor.
General Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines' independence, ending 333 years of Spanish colonial rule on June 12, 1898. However, the Philippines failed to win international recognition of its independence, specifically including the United States of America and Spain.
The Philippine islands were ceded by Spain to the United States as a result of the latter's victory in the Spanish–American War. A compensation of $20 million was paid to Spain according to the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris.
As it became increasingly clear the United States would not recognize the nascent First Philippine Republic, the Philippine–American War broke out. It began in February 1899 when an American soldier, under orders to keep insurgents away from his unit's encampment, fired upon a Filipino soldier in Manila. The U.S. used Concentration camps, water cure and the destruction of crops to Philippines became a US colony.
The declaration wasn't recognized by the United States and it remained an American colony until being granted independence in 1946. On July 4, 1946 the Philippines finally gained their independence after 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers. The Philippines was recognized by the United States as fully independent on that day.
Today is the anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's invention of an all-metal fireplace, which enabled people to warm their houses less dangerously.
Today is the anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's invention of an all-metal fireplace, which enabled people to warm their houses less dangerously.
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| Franklin’s diagram for his stove |
Early clay closed stoves used for cooking were known from the Chinese Qin Dynasty (221 BC–206/207 BC), and a similar design known as kamado appeared in the Kofun period (3rd–6th century) in Japan. These stoves were fired by wood or charcoal through a hole in the front. Such Far Eastern closed stoves did not spread to European countries until the end of the Middle Ages.
By the 1720s, such cast iron stoves were beginning to be made in quantity in North America and Europe. They were called Five-plate stoves and were fed by wood, charcoal, or coal. Used both for heating and cooking, they had an oven below and pot holes on top. However, because they gave off a large amount of heat, they made the kitchen an uncomfortable place in the summer.
On June 11, 1742 Benjamin Franklin, laid the foundations of modern stove design with his 'Pennsylvania Fireplace', which stood in the fireplace. It incorporated a grate and sliding doors that controlled the flow of air through the stove.
The grate of Franklin's stove extended out into the room, where it cast warmth in all directions, providing considerably more heat than the drafty open fireplace. It also enabled people to use less wood.
By the 1720s, such cast iron stoves were beginning to be made in quantity in North America and Europe. They were called Five-plate stoves and were fed by wood, charcoal, or coal. Used both for heating and cooking, they had an oven below and pot holes on top. However, because they gave off a large amount of heat, they made the kitchen an uncomfortable place in the summer.
On June 11, 1742 Benjamin Franklin, laid the foundations of modern stove design with his 'Pennsylvania Fireplace', which stood in the fireplace. It incorporated a grate and sliding doors that controlled the flow of air through the stove.
The grate of Franklin's stove extended out into the room, where it cast warmth in all directions, providing considerably more heat than the drafty open fireplace. It also enabled people to use less wood.
Benjamin Franklin never patented his invention. He chose not to, believing that inventions that could benefit society should be freely available for everyone to use and improve upon.
Franklin's 'Pennsylvania Fireplace' was finicky and achieved few sales until it was improved by David Rittenhouse. Despite never catching on, many stoves continue to be referred to as "Franklin" stoves.
Alexander The Great died on this day in 323BC.
Alexander The Great died on this day in 323BC.
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| Mosaic showing Alexander the Great fighting King Darius III of Persia |
King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, Alexander the Great was renowned as one of history's most successful military commanders as he went undefeated in battle. He'd created one of the largest empires of the ancient world by his early thirties. In the space of eight years he conquered Syria and Egypt and the whole of Middle East as far as India, which he believed was the edge of the world so his men persuaded him to turn back.
On an expedition seeking a potion guaranteeing immortal life, Alexander came across some apples which supposedly prolonged the lives of priests who fed on them and nothing else up to 400 years. It didn't work for him. The Macedonian conqueror died probably of typhoid fever in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, aged 32 on June 10, 323BC.
Some modern historians believe that Alexander the Great may have been accidentally buried alive up to six days before his death, after succumbing to Guillain-Barré Syndrome. This would have left him unable to speak or move, and his breath so shallow that he was pronounced dead.
Alexander's body was laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus that was filled with honey, which was in turn placed in a gold casket. While Alexander's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy seized it and took it temporarily to Memphis. His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least late Antiquity. Its whereabouts now is unknown.
The rise of Alexander was prophesied 250 years before he was born in the Old Testament Book of Daniel (Daniel 8 v5-8 and 20-22). It predicts the kingdom of Medo Persia being overthrown by King of Greece. Then the kingdom is divided on his death between his four generals but they will not have the same power.
The Feast Day of Saint Columba, also known as the Feast of St. Columba or St. Columba's Day, is celebrated on June 9th. St. Columba, also called Columcille, was an Irish monk and missionary who lived in the 6th century. He is one of the most important figures in the early Christianization of Ireland and Scotland.
St. Columba is known for founding several monastic communities, most notably the monastery at Iona in present-day Scotland. He played a significant role in spreading Christianity throughout the region and was known for his learning, piety, and missionary zeal.
On St. Columba's Feast Day, many churches and religious communities that venerate him commemorate his life and contributions to the faith. Special liturgical services may be held, focusing on his teachings and example. It is also a day for believers to reflect on the legacy of St. Columba and seek inspiration from his dedication to God and his evangelistic efforts.
Today is the anniversary of the first sale of ice cream in the USA.
On an expedition seeking a potion guaranteeing immortal life, Alexander came across some apples which supposedly prolonged the lives of priests who fed on them and nothing else up to 400 years. It didn't work for him. The Macedonian conqueror died probably of typhoid fever in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, aged 32 on June 10, 323BC.
Some modern historians believe that Alexander the Great may have been accidentally buried alive up to six days before his death, after succumbing to Guillain-Barré Syndrome. This would have left him unable to speak or move, and his breath so shallow that he was pronounced dead.
Alexander's body was laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus that was filled with honey, which was in turn placed in a gold casket. While Alexander's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy seized it and took it temporarily to Memphis. His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least late Antiquity. Its whereabouts now is unknown.
The rise of Alexander was prophesied 250 years before he was born in the Old Testament Book of Daniel (Daniel 8 v5-8 and 20-22). It predicts the kingdom of Medo Persia being overthrown by King of Greece. Then the kingdom is divided on his death between his four generals but they will not have the same power.
The Feast Day of Saint Columba, also known as the Feast of St. Columba or St. Columba's Day, is celebrated on June 9th. St. Columba, also called Columcille, was an Irish monk and missionary who lived in the 6th century. He is one of the most important figures in the early Christianization of Ireland and Scotland.
St. Columba is known for founding several monastic communities, most notably the monastery at Iona in present-day Scotland. He played a significant role in spreading Christianity throughout the region and was known for his learning, piety, and missionary zeal.
On St. Columba's Feast Day, many churches and religious communities that venerate him commemorate his life and contributions to the faith. Special liturgical services may be held, focusing on his teachings and example. It is also a day for believers to reflect on the legacy of St. Columba and seek inspiration from his dedication to God and his evangelistic efforts.
Today is the anniversary of the first sale of ice cream in the USA.
Ice cream was invented in China when someone packed a soft milk-and-rice mixture in snow. The founder of the AD 618–907 T'ang dynasty, King T'ang of Shang, kept 94 "ice men" on hand to lug ice to the palace to make a dish made of koumiss (heated, fermented milk), flour, and camphor.
The Sicilian chef Francesco Procopia dei Coltelli (1651 - 1727) perfected the making of ice cream.
In 1686 he opened Le Procope, the first café in Paris. Here after being considered a dessert for royalty alone, water ices, cream ices and sorbets were made available to the general public for the first time.
Mrs Mary Eales published the first English recipe for ice cream in 1718. Whilst the continentals favored water ices, the British had a preference for their iced desserts being made with cream.
Ice cream was introduced to the United States by Quaker colonists who brought their ice cream recipes with them. The first commercially made ice cream went on sale in New York in 1786. The New York Post Boy, of June 8, 1786, made this announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen may be supplied with ice cream every day at the City tavern by their humble servant, Joseph Cowe.”
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four was published on this day in 1948.
The Sicilian chef Francesco Procopia dei Coltelli (1651 - 1727) perfected the making of ice cream.
In 1686 he opened Le Procope, the first café in Paris. Here after being considered a dessert for royalty alone, water ices, cream ices and sorbets were made available to the general public for the first time.
Mrs Mary Eales published the first English recipe for ice cream in 1718. Whilst the continentals favored water ices, the British had a preference for their iced desserts being made with cream.
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| Noblewomen eating ice cream in a French caricature, 1801 |
Ice cream was introduced to the United States by Quaker colonists who brought their ice cream recipes with them. The first commercially made ice cream went on sale in New York in 1786. The New York Post Boy, of June 8, 1786, made this announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen may be supplied with ice cream every day at the City tavern by their humble servant, Joseph Cowe.”
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| The first-edition front cover of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. |
In August 1941, the writer George Orwell was taken on full-time by the BBC's Eastern Service as a propagandist. He resigned from the BBC post two years later in order to concentrate on writing Animal Farm.
In 1947 Orwell moved to the Scottish island of Jura in the Outer Hebrides, where he tried to support himself by growing vegetables. Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four there away from the phone and other distractions. It was published June 8, 1949.
He originally wanted to call it "Nineteen Forty Eight" to show it was a contemporary warning rather than a prophecy.
George Orwell named the torture chamber Room 101 in Nineteen Eighty-Four after a conference room at the BBC headquarters where he had to sit through numerous tedious meetings.
On October 21, 1949, a few months after the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell received a letter from his former teacher Aldous Huxley, whose Brave New World had been published 17 years earlier. Huxley commended the book and contrasted it with his own futuristic novel. He wrote: "I feel that the nightmare of Nineteen Eighty-Four is destined to modulate into the nightmare of a world having more resemblance to that which I imagined in Brave New World.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Prince of Preachers," preached his last sermon at the Tabernacle in London on June 7, 1891.
In 1947 Orwell moved to the Scottish island of Jura in the Outer Hebrides, where he tried to support himself by growing vegetables. Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four there away from the phone and other distractions. It was published June 8, 1949.
He originally wanted to call it "Nineteen Forty Eight" to show it was a contemporary warning rather than a prophecy.
George Orwell named the torture chamber Room 101 in Nineteen Eighty-Four after a conference room at the BBC headquarters where he had to sit through numerous tedious meetings.
On October 21, 1949, a few months after the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell received a letter from his former teacher Aldous Huxley, whose Brave New World had been published 17 years earlier. Huxley commended the book and contrasted it with his own futuristic novel. He wrote: "I feel that the nightmare of Nineteen Eighty-Four is destined to modulate into the nightmare of a world having more resemblance to that which I imagined in Brave New World.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Prince of Preachers," preached his last sermon at the Tabernacle in London on June 7, 1891.
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| Spurgeon preaching at the Surrey Music Hall circa 1858 |
One January day in 1850, a snow storm made the 15-year-old Charles Spurgeon seek shelter in a Primitive Methodist chapel in Colchester, Essex. He was converted from nominal Anglicanism while listening to a local preacher there. The text that moved young Charles was Isaiah 45:22 – "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else."
In 1854, three months before his 20th birthday, Spurgeon was appointed Baptist pastor at New Park Street Chapel, in Southwark, London. At the time it was the largest Baptist congregation in the city, but numbers had dwindled for several years.
Spurgeon quickly gained fame for his directness in preaching, which seemed to some to border on irreverence. Charles Spurgeon's sermons were so popular that in 1861 a new hall, the Metropolitan Tabernacle, near the Elephant and Castle, London, was built to accommodate his expanding congregation. It seated 5000 people with standing room for another 1000.
On D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, June 6, 1944, the Allies succeed on landing in occupied France. It was a major turning point in World War II.
In 1854, three months before his 20th birthday, Spurgeon was appointed Baptist pastor at New Park Street Chapel, in Southwark, London. At the time it was the largest Baptist congregation in the city, but numbers had dwindled for several years.
Spurgeon quickly gained fame for his directness in preaching, which seemed to some to border on irreverence. Charles Spurgeon's sermons were so popular that in 1861 a new hall, the Metropolitan Tabernacle, near the Elephant and Castle, London, was built to accommodate his expanding congregation. It seated 5000 people with standing room for another 1000.
On D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, June 6, 1944, the Allies succeed on landing in occupied France. It was a major turning point in World War II.
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| Men of the 16th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 1st Infantry Division wade ashore on Omaha Beach |
General Dwight Eisenhower, as commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, agonized on the date to launch the invasion. Several days of bad weather made aircraft reconnaissance impossible and seas too rough for the landing craft.
A break in the weather was forecast for June 6th. Early that morning, German defenders on bluffs overlooking the beaches were stunned to peer out over the English Channel and see thousands of ships.
156,000 Allied US, British, and Canadian troops landed on the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944. The allied soldiers quickly broke through the Atlantic Wall and pushed inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history. Many felt the hand of God was involved in providing the crucial weather break needed to launch the invasion.
Although the landings turned out to be a resounding success, Eisenhower hedged his bets by keeping in his pocket a communiqué announcing the failure of the landings and accepting full responsibility.
Today is World Environment Day, the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment.
World Environment Day was established in 1972 by the United Nations on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. First held in 1974, it is celebrated on June 5 to raise awareness, support action, and drive changes for the environment.
An early example of concern for environmental protection occurred in England when King Edward I of England banned the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in London in 1272, after its smoke had become a problem. The fuel was so common in England that this earliest of names for it was acquired because it could be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow.
Many people associate the beginning of the environmental movement with the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, which spelled out the dangers of the pesticide DDT. The book awakened many to the potential environmental and health hazards of using powerful chemicals in agriculture.
The first green party in Europe was the Popular Movement for the Environment, founded in 1972 in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel.
Today is the anniversary of Henry Ford giving his first gasoline-powered automobile its first test run.
A break in the weather was forecast for June 6th. Early that morning, German defenders on bluffs overlooking the beaches were stunned to peer out over the English Channel and see thousands of ships.
156,000 Allied US, British, and Canadian troops landed on the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944. The allied soldiers quickly broke through the Atlantic Wall and pushed inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history. Many felt the hand of God was involved in providing the crucial weather break needed to launch the invasion.
Although the landings turned out to be a resounding success, Eisenhower hedged his bets by keeping in his pocket a communiqué announcing the failure of the landings and accepting full responsibility.
Today is World Environment Day, the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment.
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| This is a work (CG or photograph) by Danilo Prudêncio Silva. My Flickr |
World Environment Day was established in 1972 by the United Nations on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. First held in 1974, it is celebrated on June 5 to raise awareness, support action, and drive changes for the environment.
An early example of concern for environmental protection occurred in England when King Edward I of England banned the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in London in 1272, after its smoke had become a problem. The fuel was so common in England that this earliest of names for it was acquired because it could be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow.
Many people associate the beginning of the environmental movement with the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, which spelled out the dangers of the pesticide DDT. The book awakened many to the potential environmental and health hazards of using powerful chemicals in agriculture.
The first green party in Europe was the Popular Movement for the Environment, founded in 1972 in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel.
Today is the anniversary of Henry Ford giving his first gasoline-powered automobile its first test run.
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| Henry Ford sits in his first automobile, the Ford Quadricycle, in 1896. |
In 1891, Henry Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company. Two years later, he was promoted to chief engineer at the main Detroit Edison Company plant with responsibility for maintaining electric service in the city 24 hours a day. When Ford explained his idea of a gasoline powered car to Thomas Edison, Edison encouraged Ford that he "had it". Ford claimed later that "No man up to then had given me any encouragement".
Because he was on call at all times, Ford had no regular hours and could experiment to his heart's content. After experimenting in his spare time he built his first self-propelled vehicle. A small one-cylinder gasoline model, which was capable of 25mph., he named it the Ford Quadricycle. He gave it a successful test run on June 4, 1896.
The Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like heavy bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller like a boat, and had only two forward speeds with no reverse.
When Ford's Quadricycle was initially ready to be driven out of his workshop he had overlooked it was too wide to get it out of his doorway. So Ford smashed a hole through the wall with an axe.
Once Ford had maneuvered his Quadcycle out of his workshop he drove it round the streets of Dearborn and Detroit. Fascinated crowds gathered wherever he drove and terrified horses galloped away in panic.
Today is International World Bicycle Day (June 3).
Because he was on call at all times, Ford had no regular hours and could experiment to his heart's content. After experimenting in his spare time he built his first self-propelled vehicle. A small one-cylinder gasoline model, which was capable of 25mph., he named it the Ford Quadricycle. He gave it a successful test run on June 4, 1896.
The Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like heavy bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller like a boat, and had only two forward speeds with no reverse.
When Ford's Quadricycle was initially ready to be driven out of his workshop he had overlooked it was too wide to get it out of his doorway. So Ford smashed a hole through the wall with an axe.
Once Ford had maneuvered his Quadcycle out of his workshop he drove it round the streets of Dearborn and Detroit. Fascinated crowds gathered wherever he drove and terrified horses galloped away in panic.
Today is International World Bicycle Day (June 3).
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| Woman riding bicycle in Copenhagen By heb@Wikimedia Commons |
The bicycle evolved from a tiny wooden horse with a front wheel that was invented in France in the 1790s. The design was improved in 1817, by Germany's Baron Karl von Drais, who developed the steerable front wheel.
The world’s first pedal bicycle was made by a Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan (d1878) of Keir Mill, Dumfriesshire in 1839. His novel design for the first time enabled cyclists to ride with both their feet continuously off the ground. The popular bicycle of the time, the Hobby Horse, only provided momentum through the swinging of the riders feet back and forth. Macmillan never patented his idea and it was therefore widely copied.
During the four years Macmillan was developing his new machine, he traveled through the country lanes of his home district. Macmillan, who was known locally as 'Daft Pate', was able to attain speeds up to 14 mph and, to the dismay of drivers and passengers, on many occasions he overtook the local stage-coach.
Further advance in the evolution of the cycle was made, once again, in France, when E. Michaux, of Paris began to construct the original "boneshaker" in 1865. This was designed by Pierre Lallement, a mechanic employed by Michaux's firm. Its main feature was that the front wheel (larger than the rear wheel) was driven by a crank, fixed on its axle. The wheels themselves were still made of wood, but had iron tires.
The Briton John Kemp Stanley’s Rover safety bicycle, which he patented in 1885, was the prototype of a design that survives with few modifications today. It turned cycling, which had been something of an extreme sport on the old penny-farthings, into a safe form of mass transportation.
Festa della Repubblica is the Italian National Day and Republic Day, celebrated on June 2nd each year.
The world’s first pedal bicycle was made by a Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan (d1878) of Keir Mill, Dumfriesshire in 1839. His novel design for the first time enabled cyclists to ride with both their feet continuously off the ground. The popular bicycle of the time, the Hobby Horse, only provided momentum through the swinging of the riders feet back and forth. Macmillan never patented his idea and it was therefore widely copied.
During the four years Macmillan was developing his new machine, he traveled through the country lanes of his home district. Macmillan, who was known locally as 'Daft Pate', was able to attain speeds up to 14 mph and, to the dismay of drivers and passengers, on many occasions he overtook the local stage-coach.
Further advance in the evolution of the cycle was made, once again, in France, when E. Michaux, of Paris began to construct the original "boneshaker" in 1865. This was designed by Pierre Lallement, a mechanic employed by Michaux's firm. Its main feature was that the front wheel (larger than the rear wheel) was driven by a crank, fixed on its axle. The wheels themselves were still made of wood, but had iron tires.
The Briton John Kemp Stanley’s Rover safety bicycle, which he patented in 1885, was the prototype of a design that survives with few modifications today. It turned cycling, which had been something of an extreme sport on the old penny-farthings, into a safe form of mass transportation.
Festa della Repubblica is the Italian National Day and Republic Day, celebrated on June 2nd each year.
The main celebration typically takes place in Rome, where various events and ceremonies occur, including a military parade that marches down Via dei Fori Imperiali towards Piazza Venezia and a laurel wreath is placed as a tribute to the Italian Unknown Soldier at the Altare della Patria.
This day commemorates the birth of the Italian Republic and the end of the monarchy, as a result of the 1946 referendum where Italians chose to become a republic.
Today is the first day of the month of June
Today is the first day of the month of June
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| June, Leandro Bassano |
June is named for the Roman goddess Juno, the wife of Jupiter.
Juno was the Roman goddess of marriage. Because of this, getting married in June was thought to be lucky.
June begins on a different day of the week each year.
Splitting the year into four seasons of three full months apiece based on the Gregorian calendar, June 1st is the meteorological first day of summer.
Billy Connolly: "There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.
Today is the anniversary of Samuel Pepys' last diary entry.
Juno was the Roman goddess of marriage. Because of this, getting married in June was thought to be lucky.
June begins on a different day of the week each year.
Splitting the year into four seasons of three full months apiece based on the Gregorian calendar, June 1st is the meteorological first day of summer.
Billy Connolly: "There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.
Today is the anniversary of Samuel Pepys' last diary entry.
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| Image by Gemini |
Samuel Pepys kept his famous detailed private diary from 1660 until May 31, 1669. An administrator of the navy of England, Samuel Pepys rose to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under King Charles II and later under James II. Although he had no maritime experience, Pepys rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration.
Pepys referred to his health well over a thousand times in his diaries. Most of the time the purpose of noting his condition was to record sickness episodes to help prevent him from falling ill in a similar way in the future. In particular Pepys frequently caught colds, which he made over one hundred references to. The diarist generally blamed the weather for going down with a chill but in fact he should have blame his own susceptibility to colds on his own carelessness. Pepys caught colds after standing in draughts, leaving off his wig and having a bare head, being under dressed without anything to protect his bare legs, and wearing clothes that hadn't been aired.
Pepys wrote his diary using a fountain pen, which at the time was quite a novelty. He recorded in his diary in August 1663: "This evening came a letter about business from Mr Coventry, and with it a Silver pen he promised me, to carry inke in(sic); which is very necessary."
Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys recorded his last entry in his diary on May 31, 1669. His diaries are one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period.
Today is Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
Pepys referred to his health well over a thousand times in his diaries. Most of the time the purpose of noting his condition was to record sickness episodes to help prevent him from falling ill in a similar way in the future. In particular Pepys frequently caught colds, which he made over one hundred references to. The diarist generally blamed the weather for going down with a chill but in fact he should have blame his own susceptibility to colds on his own carelessness. Pepys caught colds after standing in draughts, leaving off his wig and having a bare head, being under dressed without anything to protect his bare legs, and wearing clothes that hadn't been aired.
Pepys wrote his diary using a fountain pen, which at the time was quite a novelty. He recorded in his diary in August 1663: "This evening came a letter about business from Mr Coventry, and with it a Silver pen he promised me, to carry inke in(sic); which is very necessary."
Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys recorded his last entry in his diary on May 31, 1669. His diaries are one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period.
Today is Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
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| Picture of graves decorated with flags at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day 2008 |
When Memorial Day was originally created, it was actually called Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, three years after the Civil War ended, Major. General. John A. Logan, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, called for the creation of Decoration Day as a nationwide decorating of the graves of those who died in the war with flowers.
During the first Decoration Day on May 30, 1868, General James Garfield spoke at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 observers decorated more than 20,000 Union and Confederate graves.
The name of the holiday wa changed to Memorial Day around the time of World War I.
Memorial Day celebrations continued to take place on May 30. However, on June 28, 1968, the United States Congress signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act that said that the official Memorial Day holiday is May 30, but that Memorial Day was to be observed by Federal Employees as a paid holiday on the last Monday in May.
The 19-year-old Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on this day in 1431 by an English-dominated tribunal during the Hundred Years War.
The execution of Joan of Arc by burning took place in Rouen, France on May 30, 1431. The peasant teenager asked for a cross to be held in front of her that she could see through the flames. Her last words were " Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Blessed be God." As she died, the spectators, including the soldiers, wept.
Joan of Arc was beatified in Rome on April 18, 1909 and canonized in 1920, for her faithfulness for promoting to God's grace. Saint Joan of Arc's feast day is 30th May. She is the only Catholic saint to have been burnt as a heretic.
Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day, was an English public holiday, observed annually on May 29, to commemorate the restoration of the English monarchy in May 1660. In some parts of the country the day is still celebrated.
During the first Decoration Day on May 30, 1868, General James Garfield spoke at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 observers decorated more than 20,000 Union and Confederate graves.
The name of the holiday wa changed to Memorial Day around the time of World War I.
Memorial Day celebrations continued to take place on May 30. However, on June 28, 1968, the United States Congress signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act that said that the official Memorial Day holiday is May 30, but that Memorial Day was to be observed by Federal Employees as a paid holiday on the last Monday in May.
The 19-year-old Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on this day in 1431 by an English-dominated tribunal during the Hundred Years War.
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| Jeanne d'Arc, by Eugène Thirion (1876). |
Joan of Arc first gained prominence during the Hundred Years War when the unanointed King Charles VII of France sent her to the Siege of Orléans as part of a relief army. The siege was lifted only nine days later. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VII's consecration at Reims. This long-awaited event boosted French morale and paved the way for the final French victory.
Joan was sent to relieve Compiègne in 1430. Her success had made her enemies amongst the Burgundians, English and church officials and she fell into the English hands, via the Burgundians (who delivered her for ten thousand French Francs).
Joan of Arc was imprisoned for nine months before being bought before the Court of the Bishop of Beavais in 1431. In fifteen sessions she defended herself, standing up to the charges with good nature, majoring on her devotion to her country and her purity.She was charged, found guilty of witchcraft and heresy and originally sentenced to life imprisonment. However Joan was forced to continue to wear male apparel, (because that was all she was given). This strengthened the prosecution's case, and she was condemned by the pro-English judge, Pierre Cauchon. to be burnt at the stake as a heretic and a cross-dresser.
Joan was sent to relieve Compiègne in 1430. Her success had made her enemies amongst the Burgundians, English and church officials and she fell into the English hands, via the Burgundians (who delivered her for ten thousand French Francs).
Joan of Arc was imprisoned for nine months before being bought before the Court of the Bishop of Beavais in 1431. In fifteen sessions she defended herself, standing up to the charges with good nature, majoring on her devotion to her country and her purity.She was charged, found guilty of witchcraft and heresy and originally sentenced to life imprisonment. However Joan was forced to continue to wear male apparel, (because that was all she was given). This strengthened the prosecution's case, and she was condemned by the pro-English judge, Pierre Cauchon. to be burnt at the stake as a heretic and a cross-dresser.
The execution of Joan of Arc by burning took place in Rouen, France on May 30, 1431. The peasant teenager asked for a cross to be held in front of her that she could see through the flames. Her last words were " Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Blessed be God." As she died, the spectators, including the soldiers, wept.
Joan of Arc was beatified in Rome on April 18, 1909 and canonized in 1920, for her faithfulness for promoting to God's grace. Saint Joan of Arc's feast day is 30th May. She is the only Catholic saint to have been burnt as a heretic.
Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day, was an English public holiday, observed annually on May 29, to commemorate the restoration of the English monarchy in May 1660. In some parts of the country the day is still celebrated.
Charles II was born on May 29, 1630 the second but oldest surviving son of Charles I. He was called by Parliament “the Son of the Last” as they thought his father would be the last King of England.
In 1646, his father, fearing for his safety during the Civil War, ordered him to go to France. In 1650 he returned to Scotland and was crowned Charles II of Scotland at Scone. However, after defeat at Worcester he fled to the continent again. Charles escaped the Roundhead army by hiding in an oak tree at Boscobel House, Shropshire climbing up the tree by means of a hen roost ladder. He ultimately escaped the region posing as the servant of Jane Lane of Bentley and was scolded for incompetence in the kitchen of the King's Lodge.
In 1646, his father, fearing for his safety during the Civil War, ordered him to go to France. In 1650 he returned to Scotland and was crowned Charles II of Scotland at Scone. However, after defeat at Worcester he fled to the continent again. Charles escaped the Roundhead army by hiding in an oak tree at Boscobel House, Shropshire climbing up the tree by means of a hen roost ladder. He ultimately escaped the region posing as the servant of Jane Lane of Bentley and was scolded for incompetence in the kitchen of the King's Lodge.
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| King Charles II and Colonel William Careless in the Royal Oak by Isaac Fuller |
King Charles II returned from exile in Holland and on May 29, 1660, his 30th birthday, he was received in London to public acclaim. To celebrate Charles' return to the country of his birth, May 29th was made a public holiday, popularly known as Oak Apple Day
The Spanish Armada set sail for the English Channel on this day in 1588.
The Spanish Armada set sail for the English Channel on this day in 1588.
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| English ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588 |
Philip II of Spain planned to invade England, seize the throne from Elizabeth I and restore the power of the Catholic Church. He wanted to punish England for its support of Dutch Protestants fighting against the Spanish rule and for Francis Drake's plundering of Spanish possessions in America and Cadiz.
On May 28, 1588 a fleet of 130 ships under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia set sail from Lisbon with the purpose of escorting an army to invade England. The plan was to stop in the Netherlands and pick up an additional 17,000 troops from the Duke of Parma. Unfortunately half of the ships were heavy, badly equipped galleons that were difficult to manoeuvre and they had insufficient firepower. The English fleet consisted of 226 smaller more manoeuvrable vessels with a naval gun that was easier and faster to load.
On reaching the English Channel, the fleet was met by the English ships and caused them to scatter to north France. In the ensuing Battle of Gravelines on July 29, 1588 Lord Howard's tactics of sending in fireships forced the Spanish to break formation and abandon its rendezvous with Parma's army, who were blockaded in harbor by Dutch flyboats.
The Armada managed to regroup and withdrew into the North Sea with the English fleet harrying it up the east coast of England. The fleet was disrupted during severe storms in the North Atlantic and a large number of the vessels were wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Of the initial 130 ships over a third failed to return.
The defeat of the Armada marked the beginning of the decline of Spanish power.
On May 27, 1703, the Russian Tsar, Peter the Great, cut two strips of turf on a desolate swamp taken from the Swedes at the mouth of the River Neva, laid them across one another and declared "Here there shall be a city". That city was St Petersburg.
The picture below shows Peter the Great Meditating the Idea of Building St Petersburg at the Shore of the Baltic Sea by Alexandre Benois, 1916
Peter the Great hated the Kremlin, where as a child he had witnessed the brutal torture and murder of his mother's family. When he built his capital at St Petersburg the Tsar forbade even the slightest repair on stone buildings in Moscow asserting that every mason was needed in the new city.
The beautiful Saint Petersburg was designed by Italian, German and Scottish architects and engineers, and built in record time by conscripted peasants from all over Russia; a number of Swedish prisoners of war were also involved in some years under the supervision of Alexander Menshikov. Tens of thousands of serfs died building the city.
Within nine years, the city was completed and St Petersburg became the Russian capital in 1712.
Peter the Great ordered all Moscow nobles, merchants, and middle-class professionals to pack up their belongings and move to the newly created city. The Tsar also encouraged foreigners to move there to offer their advice and skills.
The first international chess tournament opened on this day in 1851.
Chess evolved in India by the 6th century AD as a game of war: to illustrate and rehearse army movements. The Persians adopted the game of chess from India, and when the Arabs conquered Iran, they made chess part of their life and carried it wherever they went. That is how, with the spread of Islam, chess also extended as far West as Spain, as far North as Turkistan, as far East as the Malayan Islands, and as far South as Zanzibar.
In 1561, a Spanish priest named Ruy López de Segura published his celebrated chess strategy book, Libro de la Invencion liberal y Arte del juego del Axedrez. The tome recommends playing with your back to the sun to blind your opponent. If playing at night by a fire, it advises you to cast a shadow over the board with your hand, so your opponent "will not be able to see where to play his pieces."
The first international chess tournament opened in London on May 26, 1851. The tournament was conceived and organized by English player Howard Staunton, and marked the first time that the best chess players in Europe would meet in a single event. German chess master Adolf Anderssen won the sixteen-player tournament, earning him the status of the best player in Europe.
Garry Kasparov, of the Soviet Union is considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time. From 1986 until his retirement in 2005, Kasparov was ranked world No. 1 for 225 out of 228 months.
May 26th is World Redhead Day. Besides celebrating red hair, the day raises awareness about the stigma associated with red hair, and the discrimination that redheads sometimes face.
Natural red hair occurs naturally in just under 2% of the human population. - approximately 140 million people. It occurs more frequently (2–6%) in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations.
The highest concentration of redheads is in Scotland with 13%, followed by Ireland with 10%.
May 25th is celebrated each year as the National Day of Argentina, a public holiday remembering the First National Government of Argentina.
On May 28, 1588 a fleet of 130 ships under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia set sail from Lisbon with the purpose of escorting an army to invade England. The plan was to stop in the Netherlands and pick up an additional 17,000 troops from the Duke of Parma. Unfortunately half of the ships were heavy, badly equipped galleons that were difficult to manoeuvre and they had insufficient firepower. The English fleet consisted of 226 smaller more manoeuvrable vessels with a naval gun that was easier and faster to load.
On reaching the English Channel, the fleet was met by the English ships and caused them to scatter to north France. In the ensuing Battle of Gravelines on July 29, 1588 Lord Howard's tactics of sending in fireships forced the Spanish to break formation and abandon its rendezvous with Parma's army, who were blockaded in harbor by Dutch flyboats.
The Armada managed to regroup and withdrew into the North Sea with the English fleet harrying it up the east coast of England. The fleet was disrupted during severe storms in the North Atlantic and a large number of the vessels were wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Of the initial 130 ships over a third failed to return.
The defeat of the Armada marked the beginning of the decline of Spanish power.
On May 27, 1703, the Russian Tsar, Peter the Great, cut two strips of turf on a desolate swamp taken from the Swedes at the mouth of the River Neva, laid them across one another and declared "Here there shall be a city". That city was St Petersburg.
The picture below shows Peter the Great Meditating the Idea of Building St Petersburg at the Shore of the Baltic Sea by Alexandre Benois, 1916
Peter the Great hated the Kremlin, where as a child he had witnessed the brutal torture and murder of his mother's family. When he built his capital at St Petersburg the Tsar forbade even the slightest repair on stone buildings in Moscow asserting that every mason was needed in the new city.
The beautiful Saint Petersburg was designed by Italian, German and Scottish architects and engineers, and built in record time by conscripted peasants from all over Russia; a number of Swedish prisoners of war were also involved in some years under the supervision of Alexander Menshikov. Tens of thousands of serfs died building the city.
Within nine years, the city was completed and St Petersburg became the Russian capital in 1712.
Peter the Great ordered all Moscow nobles, merchants, and middle-class professionals to pack up their belongings and move to the newly created city. The Tsar also encouraged foreigners to move there to offer their advice and skills.
The first international chess tournament opened on this day in 1851.
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| Judit Polgár, 2008 By Stefan64 - Self-photographed |
Chess evolved in India by the 6th century AD as a game of war: to illustrate and rehearse army movements. The Persians adopted the game of chess from India, and when the Arabs conquered Iran, they made chess part of their life and carried it wherever they went. That is how, with the spread of Islam, chess also extended as far West as Spain, as far North as Turkistan, as far East as the Malayan Islands, and as far South as Zanzibar.
In 1561, a Spanish priest named Ruy López de Segura published his celebrated chess strategy book, Libro de la Invencion liberal y Arte del juego del Axedrez. The tome recommends playing with your back to the sun to blind your opponent. If playing at night by a fire, it advises you to cast a shadow over the board with your hand, so your opponent "will not be able to see where to play his pieces."
The first international chess tournament opened in London on May 26, 1851. The tournament was conceived and organized by English player Howard Staunton, and marked the first time that the best chess players in Europe would meet in a single event. German chess master Adolf Anderssen won the sixteen-player tournament, earning him the status of the best player in Europe.
Garry Kasparov, of the Soviet Union is considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time. From 1986 until his retirement in 2005, Kasparov was ranked world No. 1 for 225 out of 228 months.
May 26th is World Redhead Day. Besides celebrating red hair, the day raises awareness about the stigma associated with red hair, and the discrimination that redheads sometimes face.
Natural red hair occurs naturally in just under 2% of the human population. - approximately 140 million people. It occurs more frequently (2–6%) in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations.
The highest concentration of redheads is in Scotland with 13%, followed by Ireland with 10%.
May 25th is celebrated each year as the National Day of Argentina, a public holiday remembering the First National Government of Argentina.
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| Argentine national flag |
"Argentum” is the Latin for silver and Argentina's name means "Land of Silver." However, there is actually very little of the metal there. It was misnamed by explorers who thought they saw silver there.
Originally inhabited by American Indian peoples, the population of Argentina numbered about 300,000 at the time of the first visit by Europeans in the early 16th century.
In 1526 Sebastian Cabot, the pilot-major of Charles V, Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain landed at Rio De La Plata. On hearing of mineral wealth in the interior, he explored up the rivers Paraná and Paraguay. He constructed there a small fort called Sancti Spiritu at the confluence of the Paraná and the Río Carcarañá, in what is currently Santa Fe Province.
The population rose against Spanish rule in 1810. On May 25, 1810 The Primera Junta, the first independent government in Argentina, was established in an open cabildo in Buenos Aires, marking the end of the May revolution.
On May 24, 1738, John Wesley was converted while attending a Moravian meeting.
Originally inhabited by American Indian peoples, the population of Argentina numbered about 300,000 at the time of the first visit by Europeans in the early 16th century.
In 1526 Sebastian Cabot, the pilot-major of Charles V, Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain landed at Rio De La Plata. On hearing of mineral wealth in the interior, he explored up the rivers Paraná and Paraguay. He constructed there a small fort called Sancti Spiritu at the confluence of the Paraná and the Río Carcarañá, in what is currently Santa Fe Province.
The population rose against Spanish rule in 1810. On May 25, 1810 The Primera Junta, the first independent government in Argentina, was established in an open cabildo in Buenos Aires, marking the end of the May revolution.
On May 24, 1738, John Wesley was converted while attending a Moravian meeting.
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| Wesley preaching to his assistants in the City Road Chapel |
John Wesley studied at Oxford University with the intention
of becoming a clergyman. There he joined a prayer group, The Holy Club in 1729.
The Holy Club members fasted, went without sleep, lay on grass on frosty
nights, visited the sick and prisoners, but it was all good works and no
personal salvation. Due to their methodical ways they were scathingly called
"Methodists".
Wesley spent an unsuccessful two years ministering in Georgia, America. On a stormy and dangerous trip back from Georgia, Wesley was greatly impressed by the calm faith of some of his fellow passengers, a group of Moravians from Austria who sang hymns in the midst of the storm.
A few months after his disastrous Georgia experience, a down-beaten John Wesley attended a meeting at Aldersgate, London. Whilst a passage from Luther's Preface to the Romans was read, Wesley felt his heart "strangely warmed".
After Wesley had this conversion experience he visited Count Zinzendorf's Moravian community to see how the Gospel was lived out in community. He then returned to England and founded the Methodist movement, an offshoot of the Anglican Church, to spread "scriptural holiness" throughout the land.
For over 50 years Wesley preached 15 times a week on average a total of close to 40,000 sermons, sometimes to crowds of over 20,000 people. His evangelization of the proletariat helped keep Britain from a similar revolution to the one France was experiencing at the time.
World Turtle Day is observed on May 23 each year. The purpose of this holiday is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.
The words turtle, tortoise and terrapin are often used interchangeably but the general rule is to call them tortoises if land-based, turtles if river or sea-based, and terrapins if amphibian.
In Britain, 'turtle' is generally used for saltwater species, 'terrapin' for freshwater varieties. However in the USA the word ‘turtle' covers all types while Australians use ‘tortoise' for any of them.
One way to tell a turtle and a tortoise apart is by looking at their feet – water turtles usually have flippers or webbed feet and their shells are flatter while tortoises have stubby feet and domed shells.
Today is Sherlock Holmes Day, marking the birthday of his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
At Edinburgh he was taught by Dr Joseph Bell whose mastery of educative logic helped to inspire Sherlock Holmes. It was claimed that sometimes he could diagnose a patient's problems purely by looking at him or her.
In 1887 his novel A Study in Scarlet appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual, and introduced readers to Sherlock Holmes. An unsuccessful doctor, when he wrote A Study in Scarlet, Doyle sold the copyright for £25.
One of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, A Scandal in Bohemia, was published in the seventh edition of a new magazine, The Strand, in 1891. It popularized the genre and made Doyle well known in USA and Europe.
Wesley spent an unsuccessful two years ministering in Georgia, America. On a stormy and dangerous trip back from Georgia, Wesley was greatly impressed by the calm faith of some of his fellow passengers, a group of Moravians from Austria who sang hymns in the midst of the storm.
A few months after his disastrous Georgia experience, a down-beaten John Wesley attended a meeting at Aldersgate, London. Whilst a passage from Luther's Preface to the Romans was read, Wesley felt his heart "strangely warmed".
After Wesley had this conversion experience he visited Count Zinzendorf's Moravian community to see how the Gospel was lived out in community. He then returned to England and founded the Methodist movement, an offshoot of the Anglican Church, to spread "scriptural holiness" throughout the land.
For over 50 years Wesley preached 15 times a week on average a total of close to 40,000 sermons, sometimes to crowds of over 20,000 people. His evangelization of the proletariat helped keep Britain from a similar revolution to the one France was experiencing at the time.
World Turtle Day is observed on May 23 each year. The purpose of this holiday is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.
The words turtle, tortoise and terrapin are often used interchangeably but the general rule is to call them tortoises if land-based, turtles if river or sea-based, and terrapins if amphibian.
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| Pixabay |
In Britain, 'turtle' is generally used for saltwater species, 'terrapin' for freshwater varieties. However in the USA the word ‘turtle' covers all types while Australians use ‘tortoise' for any of them.
One way to tell a turtle and a tortoise apart is by looking at their feet – water turtles usually have flippers or webbed feet and their shells are flatter while tortoises have stubby feet and domed shells.
Today is Sherlock Holmes Day, marking the birthday of his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
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| 1891 Paget portrait of Holmes smoking his pipe for "The Man with the Twisted Lip" |
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born May 22, 1859 at 11 Picardy Street, Edinburgh. Doyle went to Edinburgh University where he gained a medical degree and qualified as a doctor.
At Edinburgh he was taught by Dr Joseph Bell whose mastery of educative logic helped to inspire Sherlock Holmes. It was claimed that sometimes he could diagnose a patient's problems purely by looking at him or her.
In 1887 his novel A Study in Scarlet appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual, and introduced readers to Sherlock Holmes. An unsuccessful doctor, when he wrote A Study in Scarlet, Doyle sold the copyright for £25.
One of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, A Scandal in Bohemia, was published in the seventh edition of a new magazine, The Strand, in 1891. It popularized the genre and made Doyle well known in USA and Europe.
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| Illustration of A Scandal in Bohemia, which appeared in The Strand Magazine |
Doyle disliked his fictional detective, referring to him as "this monstrous growth from what was a comparatively small seed" and killed him off by pushing him down a mountainside. He resurrected him in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, before Moriaty killed him off for good.
Today is the anniversary of Charles Lindbergh completing the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
The feat made Lindbergh the most famous person in the world, the first global celebrity and the prototype of the All American hero. Lindbergh was selected as the first Time magazine "Man of the Year" (now "Person of the Year)", appearing in its cover on January 2, 1928.
World Bee Day is celebrated on May 20 in order to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem. The date was chosen as it is the birthday of Anton Janša, the pioneer of beekeeping, who was born in 1734.
Bees deposit a small positive electric charge on each flower they visit. They also possess "Electroreception" which allows them to detect the presence of electric fields on flowers. They use this information to extablish a flower has been recently visited by another bee and therefore has less nectar.
Honeybees, despite having the brain size of a sesame seed, can count up to four and can understand the concept of zero.
Honey bees must gather nectar from two million flowers to make one pound of honey. A single bee would therefore have to fly around 90,000 miles (144,800 kms) to make one pound of honey. The average honey bee will actually make only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
Bees’s wings flap 11,400 a minute, creating their buzz.
The first fax was sent on May 19, 1924.
Today is the anniversary of Charles Lindbergh completing the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
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| Lindbergh with the Spirit of St. Louis – 1927 |
The $25,000 Orteig Prize was designated as an award to the pilot of the first successful nonstop flight made in either direction between New York City and Paris. It was first offered by the French-born New York hotelier (Lafayette Hotel) Raymond Orteig on May 19, 1919.
The still boyish-looking Lindberg was a relative latecomer to the race, and his efforts were being financed only by a single $15,000 bank loan, a $1,000 donation from his employer as an Air Mail pilot, and his own modest savings. He had never been abroad before.
The fabric-covered, single-seat, single-engine high-wing monoplane Spirit of St. Louis had a specially large fuel tank built onto its nose , so that Lindbergh wouldn't be crushed in a crash. This meant that he had to sit on a wicker basket to save weight.
Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on his successful attempt in at 7.50 am on May 20, 1927. Over the next 33.5 hours, Lindbergh and the Spirit—which he referred to as "WE"—faced many challenges, including skimming over both storm clouds at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) and wave tops at as low at 10 ft (3.0 m), fighting icing and. flying blind through fog for several hours.
When Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Airport at 10:22 pm (22:22) on May 21, 1927, his first words on French soil were "well, I made it".
The still boyish-looking Lindberg was a relative latecomer to the race, and his efforts were being financed only by a single $15,000 bank loan, a $1,000 donation from his employer as an Air Mail pilot, and his own modest savings. He had never been abroad before.
The fabric-covered, single-seat, single-engine high-wing monoplane Spirit of St. Louis had a specially large fuel tank built onto its nose , so that Lindbergh wouldn't be crushed in a crash. This meant that he had to sit on a wicker basket to save weight.
Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on his successful attempt in at 7.50 am on May 20, 1927. Over the next 33.5 hours, Lindbergh and the Spirit—which he referred to as "WE"—faced many challenges, including skimming over both storm clouds at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) and wave tops at as low at 10 ft (3.0 m), fighting icing and. flying blind through fog for several hours.
When Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Airport at 10:22 pm (22:22) on May 21, 1927, his first words on French soil were "well, I made it".
The feat made Lindbergh the most famous person in the world, the first global celebrity and the prototype of the All American hero. Lindbergh was selected as the first Time magazine "Man of the Year" (now "Person of the Year)", appearing in its cover on January 2, 1928.
World Bee Day is celebrated on May 20 in order to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem. The date was chosen as it is the birthday of Anton Janša, the pioneer of beekeeping, who was born in 1734.
Bees deposit a small positive electric charge on each flower they visit. They also possess "Electroreception" which allows them to detect the presence of electric fields on flowers. They use this information to extablish a flower has been recently visited by another bee and therefore has less nectar.
Honeybees, despite having the brain size of a sesame seed, can count up to four and can understand the concept of zero.
Honey bees must gather nectar from two million flowers to make one pound of honey. A single bee would therefore have to fly around 90,000 miles (144,800 kms) to make one pound of honey. The average honey bee will actually make only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
Bees’s wings flap 11,400 a minute, creating their buzz.
The first fax was sent on May 19, 1924.
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| A fax machine from the late 1990s |
A device built by the Scottish clockmaker Alexander Bain in 1843, which comprised a pen attached to a pendulum kept in motion by electromagnetic impulses, is remarkably similar in principle to the modern fax machine.
Italian physicist Giovanni Caselli invented The Pantelegraph, which he used for the first commercial telefax service between Paris and Lyons in 1865, some 11 years before the invention of telephones.
The 1888 invention of the telautograph by Elisha Grey marked a further development in fax technology, allowing users to send signatures over long distances, thus allowing the verification of identification or ownership over long distances.
On May 19, 1924, scientists of the AT&T Corporation "by a new process of transmitting pictures by electricity" sent 15 photographs by telephone from Cleveland to New York City, such photos suitable for newspaper reproduction.
Today is International Museum Day. The day, held annually on or around May 18, is coordinated by the International Council of Museums. The idea behind IMD is to raise awareness about the fact that, “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.”
Italian physicist Giovanni Caselli invented The Pantelegraph, which he used for the first commercial telefax service between Paris and Lyons in 1865, some 11 years before the invention of telephones.
The 1888 invention of the telautograph by Elisha Grey marked a further development in fax technology, allowing users to send signatures over long distances, thus allowing the verification of identification or ownership over long distances.
On May 19, 1924, scientists of the AT&T Corporation "by a new process of transmitting pictures by electricity" sent 15 photographs by telephone from Cleveland to New York City, such photos suitable for newspaper reproduction.
Today is International Museum Day. The day, held annually on or around May 18, is coordinated by the International Council of Museums. The idea behind IMD is to raise awareness about the fact that, “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.”
The picture below shows people visiting the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum on International Museum Day
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| By RIA Novosti archive, image #667778 / Petr Chernov |
We get the word ‘museum’ from the Ancient Greeks, who built Musaeums, places holy to the goddesses of art and science, the Muses.
With over 14 million annual visitors, the Palace Museum in Beijing is the most visited Museum in the world. Housed in the Forbidden City, its extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The Umbrella Covers Museum in Peaks Island, Maine, has more than 1,300 umbrella covers.
Italian painter Sandro Botticelli died on this day in 1519.
Italian painter Sandro Botticelli died on this day in 1519.
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| Self-portrait of Botticelli, in his Adoration of the Magi (1475) |
Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He is best known for his treatments of mythological subjects, notably Primavera (Spring) and Birth of Venus, both in the Uffizi.
Botticelli never married and is believed to have had an unrequited love for a married woman Simonetta Vespucci, who was part of Amerigo Vespucci's family. (America was named after Amerigo Vespucci.) She served as the model for his Birth of Venus and recurs throughout his paintings
In Botticelli's later years was much influenced by the teaching of Girolamo Savonarola, who in 1497 organized a “bonfire of the vanities” at the carnival celebration before Lent, in which Florentine luxury goods, works of art, pornographic books and gambling equipment were publicly burnt. Botticelli himself destroyed some of his earlier mythological paintings, feeling that when they were painted, he was unduly influenced by the worldly spirit of the age.
Sandro Botticelli died on May 17, 1519, a lonely man having done little or no more painting in the last ten years. He was buried next to his adored Simonetta Vespucci. It was not until over 350 years after his death that the world recognized his importance in art.
Today is Pentecost Day. Pentecost, observed on the seventh Sunday after Easter, commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, as described in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The event is often regarded as the "birthday" of the Christian Church, since it marks the moment when the apostles were inspired to begin public ministry.
Botticelli never married and is believed to have had an unrequited love for a married woman Simonetta Vespucci, who was part of Amerigo Vespucci's family. (America was named after Amerigo Vespucci.) She served as the model for his Birth of Venus and recurs throughout his paintings
In Botticelli's later years was much influenced by the teaching of Girolamo Savonarola, who in 1497 organized a “bonfire of the vanities” at the carnival celebration before Lent, in which Florentine luxury goods, works of art, pornographic books and gambling equipment were publicly burnt. Botticelli himself destroyed some of his earlier mythological paintings, feeling that when they were painted, he was unduly influenced by the worldly spirit of the age.
Sandro Botticelli died on May 17, 1519, a lonely man having done little or no more painting in the last ten years. He was buried next to his adored Simonetta Vespucci. It was not until over 350 years after his death that the world recognized his importance in art.
Today is Pentecost Day. Pentecost, observed on the seventh Sunday after Easter, commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, as described in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The event is often regarded as the "birthday" of the Christian Church, since it marks the moment when the apostles were inspired to begin public ministry.
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| Giotto-inspired Pentecost scene with apostles and Holy Spirit dove |
The name "Pentecost" comes from the Greek pentēkostē, meaning "fiftieth," as it falls 50 days after Easter Sunday. In the Jewish tradition, Pentecost coincides with Shavuot, a harvest festival that also commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
The dramatic events of the first Pentecost included a rushing wind, tongues of fire, and the apostles speaking in multiple languages—an occurrence that baffled the onlookers and prompted Peter’s first recorded sermon. Over 3,000 people were baptized that day.
In medieval England, Pentecost was also called "Whitsunday," short for "White Sunday," named for the white garments worn by those being baptized. It was once one of the biggest feast days of the Christian calendar and a popular time for civic ceremonies, processions, and even royal coronations. The term "Whitsuntide" refers to the week following Pentecost, which was traditionally a time for fairs, games, and time off from work.
The symbol of the dove, representing the Holy Spirit, is often associated with Pentecost, as are red vestments and decorations in many churches—red symbolizing both fire and the vitality of the Spirit.
In some German regions, people once celebrated Pentecost by decorating oxen and parading them through town (a custom known as Pfingstochse, or "Pentecost ox"). In France, trumpets used to be blown in churches to recall the "mighty wind" of the Holy Spirit.
So if you hear a sudden gust of wind today or find yourself strangely gifted in languages, you might just be experiencing a modern echo of Pentecost.
The first Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored the best films of 1927 and 1928 and took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks hosted the show.
The first Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored the best films of 1927 and 1928 and took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks hosted the show.
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| The first Academy Awards at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. |
The first winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the only silent film to achieve that honor, was the 1927 movie, Wings.
Only 12 awards were given out at the first Oscars, and the entire ceremony lasted just 15 minutes.
The 270 guests at the first Academy Awards ceremony knew who had won three months in advance but still paid $5 a ticket for their seats.
Brothers Dick and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant on May 15, 1940. The tiny street corner eatery was located at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, California).
Only 12 awards were given out at the first Oscars, and the entire ceremony lasted just 15 minutes.
The 270 guests at the first Academy Awards ceremony knew who had won three months in advance but still paid $5 a ticket for their seats.
Brothers Dick and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant on May 15, 1940. The tiny street corner eatery was located at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, California).
The eatery was originally a barbecue drive-in, but the McDonald brothers discovered that most of their profits came from hamburgers. In 1948, they closed their restaurant for three months, reopening it in December as a walk-up hamburger stand.
This new venture introduced the "Speedee Service System," establishing the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The brothers replaced the trained cooks in their San Bernardino eatery with low-paid teenagers who simply flipped burgers and dunked fries in oil. The menu was reduced to a few items and cutlery and china was discarded. Customers had to queue for their food and eat out of a cardboard carton with their hands. Prices was reduced, people piled in and the fast food restaurant was born.
American Ray Kroc, a mixer salesman, recognized the idea's potential and partnered with the brothers. Kroc opened his first McDonald's franchise, the ninth overall in Illinois on April 15, 1955, an occasion considered to be the founding of the present corporation. He later bought out the McDonald brothers.
Today is the anniversary of Edward Jenner administering the first smallpox inoculation.
This new venture introduced the "Speedee Service System," establishing the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The brothers replaced the trained cooks in their San Bernardino eatery with low-paid teenagers who simply flipped burgers and dunked fries in oil. The menu was reduced to a few items and cutlery and china was discarded. Customers had to queue for their food and eat out of a cardboard carton with their hands. Prices was reduced, people piled in and the fast food restaurant was born.
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| Downey, California McDonald's By Photo by Bryan Hong (Brybry26) - Wikipedia |
American Ray Kroc, a mixer salesman, recognized the idea's potential and partnered with the brothers. Kroc opened his first McDonald's franchise, the ninth overall in Illinois on April 15, 1955, an occasion considered to be the founding of the present corporation. He later bought out the McDonald brothers.
Today is the anniversary of Edward Jenner administering the first smallpox inoculation.
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| Edward Jenner Advising a Farmer to Vaccinate His Family. Oil painting by an English painter, c. 1910. |
Smallpox was a scourge of the eighteenth century, killing in Europe alone sixty million and all but five percent of those who survived suffered facial pockmark scarring.
When Edward Jenner became a Gloucestershire country doctor, among his patients he encountered was a young milkmaid who asserted that she could not contract smallpox because she had already been infected with cowpox as a result of milking cowpox-infected cows. The milkmaid was guided by a local old wives tale that the mild disease of cowpox conferred immunity from smallpox upon humans. After investigating the milkmaid's belief, Jenner found that there were two forms of cowpox and one of them, which was a modified form of smallpox did indeed provide immunity against the disease.
Jenner decided to test his theory. On May 14, 1796 he took some pus from a cowpox blister on the fingers of a farmer's daughter, Sarah Nelmes. He scratched it with a lancet into the skin of the left arm of eight-year-old James Phipps, the son of Jenner's gardener, who at first showed signs of a light fever but quickly recovered. Two months later he exposed the child to smallpox, but the boy did not get the disease.
In 1798 Jenner published a paper explaining his work. He named the process in which he used the cowpox sore, vaccination, which came from the Latin vaccinus, meaning "from cows." The medical authorities scoffed at his theory so Jenner went to London to show his findings. However he couldn't find any volunteers willing to submit to vaccination. The demoralized Jenner returned to Gloucestershire and it was only after a successful vaccination by a London doctor that the medical world was persuaded that inoculation worked.
Today is the anniversary of the Roman Pantheon being converted into a Catholic church
When Edward Jenner became a Gloucestershire country doctor, among his patients he encountered was a young milkmaid who asserted that she could not contract smallpox because she had already been infected with cowpox as a result of milking cowpox-infected cows. The milkmaid was guided by a local old wives tale that the mild disease of cowpox conferred immunity from smallpox upon humans. After investigating the milkmaid's belief, Jenner found that there were two forms of cowpox and one of them, which was a modified form of smallpox did indeed provide immunity against the disease.
Jenner decided to test his theory. On May 14, 1796 he took some pus from a cowpox blister on the fingers of a farmer's daughter, Sarah Nelmes. He scratched it with a lancet into the skin of the left arm of eight-year-old James Phipps, the son of Jenner's gardener, who at first showed signs of a light fever but quickly recovered. Two months later he exposed the child to smallpox, but the boy did not get the disease.
In 1798 Jenner published a paper explaining his work. He named the process in which he used the cowpox sore, vaccination, which came from the Latin vaccinus, meaning "from cows." The medical authorities scoffed at his theory so Jenner went to London to show his findings. However he couldn't find any volunteers willing to submit to vaccination. The demoralized Jenner returned to Gloucestershire and it was only after a successful vaccination by a London doctor that the medical world was persuaded that inoculation worked.
Today is the anniversary of the Roman Pantheon being converted into a Catholic church
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| Pantheon (Rome) - Front. By Roberta Dragan Wikipedia |
The Pantheon (meaning "Temple of all the gods") is a building in Rome, which was originally commissioned by Roman statesman and architect Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). It was built as a temple to the gods of Ancient Rome.
The Augustan Pantheon was destroyed along with other buildings in a huge fire in the year 80 AD. The emperor Domitian rebuilt the Pantheon temple, which burnt down again thirty years later.
The emperor Hadrian organized the rebuilding of the Pantheon, reconstructing the accustomed temple façade, with columns and pediment, but attaching it to a drum which was surmounted by the most spectacular dome of antiquity. The present building was completed and dedicated about 126 AD.
On May 13, 609 Pope Boniface IV converted the Roman Pantheon into a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all martyrs. To this day, the Catholic Church holds masses and weddings there.
1,900 years after the Pantheon was built it is still the tallest unreinforced concrete dome in the world at 142ft high. A combination of limestone and volcanic ash inside the concrete mix helped form crystals that prevented the spread of microscopic cracks.
In 1974, The International Council of Nurses chose May 12 as the date to celebrate International Nurses Day each year as it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Each year, ICN prepares and distributes the International Nurses' Day Kit. The kit contains educational and public information materials, for use by nurses everywhere
The Augustan Pantheon was destroyed along with other buildings in a huge fire in the year 80 AD. The emperor Domitian rebuilt the Pantheon temple, which burnt down again thirty years later.
The emperor Hadrian organized the rebuilding of the Pantheon, reconstructing the accustomed temple façade, with columns and pediment, but attaching it to a drum which was surmounted by the most spectacular dome of antiquity. The present building was completed and dedicated about 126 AD.
On May 13, 609 Pope Boniface IV converted the Roman Pantheon into a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all martyrs. To this day, the Catholic Church holds masses and weddings there.
1,900 years after the Pantheon was built it is still the tallest unreinforced concrete dome in the world at 142ft high. A combination of limestone and volcanic ash inside the concrete mix helped form crystals that prevented the spread of microscopic cracks.
In 1974, The International Council of Nurses chose May 12 as the date to celebrate International Nurses Day each year as it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Each year, ICN prepares and distributes the International Nurses' Day Kit. The kit contains educational and public information materials, for use by nurses everywhere
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| US President Donald Trump signs a proclamation in honor of National Nurses Day in May 2020 |
Before the foundation of modern nursing, members of religious orders such as nuns and monks often provided nursing-like care. The religious roots of modern nursing remain in evidence today in many countries. One example in the United Kingdom is the use of the honorific "sister" to refer to a senior nurse.
For several centuries in Europe, nursing was regarded as a menial occupation fit only for the lower-classes, because of the unpleasant and disgusting aspects of the work. On October 13, 1836 Theodor Fliedner, the Lutheran pastor of Kaiserswerth near Düsseldorf, established the Deaconess Institute. The scheme led respectable ladies into nursing and produced the world's first trained nurses.
Florence Nightingale laid the foundations of professional nursing during the Crimean War and afterwards with her 1859 publication Notes on Nursing.In 1860 Florence Nightingale set up the first school of nursing connected to a general hospital. The Nightingale Nursing School was founded at St Thomas's Hospital, London and used the founder's Notes On Nursing was the cornerstone of its curriculum.
The HMS Beagle was a 242 ton, 10 gun, 90 ft long ship. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on May 11, 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames.
For several centuries in Europe, nursing was regarded as a menial occupation fit only for the lower-classes, because of the unpleasant and disgusting aspects of the work. On October 13, 1836 Theodor Fliedner, the Lutheran pastor of Kaiserswerth near Düsseldorf, established the Deaconess Institute. The scheme led respectable ladies into nursing and produced the world's first trained nurses.
Florence Nightingale laid the foundations of professional nursing during the Crimean War and afterwards with her 1859 publication Notes on Nursing.In 1860 Florence Nightingale set up the first school of nursing connected to a general hospital. The Nightingale Nursing School was founded at St Thomas's Hospital, London and used the founder's Notes On Nursing was the cornerstone of its curriculum.
The HMS Beagle was a 242 ton, 10 gun, 90 ft long ship. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on May 11, 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames.
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| Beagle during the survey of Tierra del Fuego, painted by Conrad Martens |
The Beagle set sail from Plymouth on May 22, 1826 on her first voyage, under the command of Captain Stokes. The mission was to accompany the larger ship HMS Adventure (380 tons) on a hydrographic survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego,
It's second voyage was Charles Darwin's famous 1831-36 voyage to the Pacific. Darwin took part in the expedition as a self-financing gentleman naturalist and companion to the captain. The Beagle departed from Devonport on December 27, 1831 with 74 on board.
Charles Darwin wrote his account of his five-year voyage on the Beagle to the Pacific, during which he shared a cabin with Robert Fitzroy, the commander of the Beagle. His account attracted no interest at all. However he was lionized on his return to London from the Beagle as a brilliant geologist.
The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad took place on May 10, 1869.
It's second voyage was Charles Darwin's famous 1831-36 voyage to the Pacific. Darwin took part in the expedition as a self-financing gentleman naturalist and companion to the captain. The Beagle departed from Devonport on December 27, 1831 with 74 on board.
Charles Darwin wrote his account of his five-year voyage on the Beagle to the Pacific, during which he shared a cabin with Robert Fitzroy, the commander of the Beagle. His account attracted no interest at all. However he was lionized on his return to London from the Beagle as a brilliant geologist.
The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad took place on May 10, 1869.
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a monumental project that connected the eastern and western coasts of the United States through a continuous railway line. The construction began in 1863 and involved two major railroad companies: the Central Pacific Railroad, which started building from Sacramento, California, and the Union Pacific Railroad, which began construction from Omaha, Nebraska.
The two railroads worked their way towards each other, overcoming numerous challenges such as difficult terrain, harsh weather conditions, and labor shortages.
On May 10, 1869, the tracks of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads met at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. A ceremonial "Golden Spike" was then driven into the ground to mark the completion of the railway line.
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| At the ceremony for the driving of the "Last Spike" at Promontory Summit, Utah |
This historic achievement had a profound impact on the United States. It revolutionized transportation and communication, facilitating trade and travel between the East and West coasts. The Transcontinental Railroad reduced travel time from several months to just over a week, boosting economic development and opening up new opportunities for settlement and expansion in the western regions of the country.
The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad remains an important milestone in American history, symbolizing the country's ambition, engineering prowess, and the spirit of manifest destiny.
Today is Mothers Day in the United States and many other countries.
Today is Mothers Day in the United States and many other countries.
Mother's Day was originally conceived by Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910). After the American Civil War, she suggested it as a day dedicated to peace and the honoring of the pacifism of mothers. Howe organized Mother's Day meetings every year in Boston but the idea failed to take off.
In 1907 Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Virginia decided to commemorate her mother's life by inviting a number of friends to her home and announcing her plans to organize a celebration of mothers. The following year, on May 10, 1908, Anna persuaded her church, Andrews Methodist Church, to hold the first ever official Mother's Day service where her own mother had once taught Sunday school.
The custom caught on and spread rapidly and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day. This tradition is now observed in the United States, Canada and a number of other countries on the second Sunday in May.
Mothering Sunday is a holiday celebrated by Catholic and Protestant Christians in the UK and some other parts of Europe. It falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter.
The Russian Federation has officially recognized May 9 as Victory Day since its formation in 1991 and considers it a non-working holiday even if it falls on a weekend (in which case any following Monday will be a non-working holiday.
In 1907 Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Virginia decided to commemorate her mother's life by inviting a number of friends to her home and announcing her plans to organize a celebration of mothers. The following year, on May 10, 1908, Anna persuaded her church, Andrews Methodist Church, to hold the first ever official Mother's Day service where her own mother had once taught Sunday school.
The custom caught on and spread rapidly and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day. This tradition is now observed in the United States, Canada and a number of other countries on the second Sunday in May.
Mothering Sunday is a holiday celebrated by Catholic and Protestant Christians in the UK and some other parts of Europe. It falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter.
The Russian Federation has officially recognized May 9 as Victory Day since its formation in 1991 and considers it a non-working holiday even if it falls on a weekend (in which case any following Monday will be a non-working holiday.
Photo above shows veterans during a Victory Day Parade in Kyiv in 2011.
Victory Day observances celebrating the Soviet Union victory over Nazi Germany also take place on May 9 in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Victory in Europe Day, generally known as VE Day (United Kingdom) or V-E Day (US), is celebrated across Western European states on May 8. The day celebrates the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces, marking the end of World War II in Europe.
Victory in Europe Day, generally known as VE Day (United Kingdom) or V-E Day (US), is celebrated across Western European states on May 8. The day celebrates the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces, marking the end of World War II in Europe.
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| Celebrations in London on 8 May 1945 |
The act of military surrender was first signed at 02:41 on 7 May in SHAEF HQ at Reims. A slightly modified document, considered the definitive German Instrument of Surrender, was signed the following day in Karlshorst, Berlin at 22:43 local time.
Today is the National Day of Prayer, which is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May. The day is designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation".
Today is the National Day of Prayer, which is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May. The day is designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation".
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| Sailors bow their heads in prayer during the National Day of Prayer. May 3, 2007. |
In early 1952, during the Korean War, evangelist Billy Graham led a movement for a US National Day of Prayer, On February 3, 1952, he led services for approximately 20,000 on the steps of the Capitol. A couple of months later President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer to be observed on July 4, 1952. In 1988, the law was amended by President Ronald Reagan so that the National Day of Prayer would be held on the first Thursday of May. It has been proclaimed each year on that date since.
In 1940 After Hitler’s Nazis invaded France and Belgium, the British Army found itself trapped in northern France standing alone against Germany. King George VI, acting upon the wishes of newspapers and a recommendation from Winston Churchill issued a call to the nation for a National Day of Prayer. The British Christians flocked to the churches to such an extent that many were unable to get into a packed Westminster Cathedral.
A week later their troops were successfully evacuated helped by a curious decision made by Hitler to hold his troops back and not attack the British army. Also for a time the German air-force was stranded in Belgium, unable to move due to a violent storm whilst the English Channel was “as still as a millpond”.
Many acknowledged the deliverance of the 300,000 soldiers to the fact of the nation being at prayer and a Day of National Thanksgiving was subsequently held. Churchill whilst speaking in the House Of Commons described it in as ‘a miracle of deliverance’ and the consciousness of miraculous deliverance pervaded the camps in which the troops were being housed in England.
Research at Columbia University New York, which was published in the respected Journal of Reproductive Medicine, concluded that women having fertility treatment are twice as likely to become pregnant if people are praying they’ll succeed. The researchers put 219 women undergoing IVF treatment into two groups- with half prayed for without them knowing. 46 % of the prayed-for group became pregnant compared with 22% of the not-prayed-for group.
Today is the anniversary of the coronation of Charles III of England.
International No Diet Day (INDD) is celebrated annually on May 6th and was created by Mary Evans Young, who founded "Diet Breakers" in the UK in 1992. The day is designed to raise awareness about the harmful effects of dieting and to promote body acceptance, size diversity, and healthy lifestyle choices. The goal of the day is to encourage people to celebrate their bodies and to embrace a positive body image, regardless of their size or shape.
In 1940 After Hitler’s Nazis invaded France and Belgium, the British Army found itself trapped in northern France standing alone against Germany. King George VI, acting upon the wishes of newspapers and a recommendation from Winston Churchill issued a call to the nation for a National Day of Prayer. The British Christians flocked to the churches to such an extent that many were unable to get into a packed Westminster Cathedral.
A week later their troops were successfully evacuated helped by a curious decision made by Hitler to hold his troops back and not attack the British army. Also for a time the German air-force was stranded in Belgium, unable to move due to a violent storm whilst the English Channel was “as still as a millpond”.
Many acknowledged the deliverance of the 300,000 soldiers to the fact of the nation being at prayer and a Day of National Thanksgiving was subsequently held. Churchill whilst speaking in the House Of Commons described it in as ‘a miracle of deliverance’ and the consciousness of miraculous deliverance pervaded the camps in which the troops were being housed in England.
Research at Columbia University New York, which was published in the respected Journal of Reproductive Medicine, concluded that women having fertility treatment are twice as likely to become pregnant if people are praying they’ll succeed. The researchers put 219 women undergoing IVF treatment into two groups- with half prayed for without them knowing. 46 % of the prayed-for group became pregnant compared with 22% of the not-prayed-for group.
Today is the anniversary of the coronation of Charles III of England.
The basic English coronation service was devised by St Dunstan for the coronation of King Edgar in 973.
The first outside broadcast on UK television was the Coronation of George VI in 1937.
At George VI's Coronation, a dean fell down the steps while carrying the crown, causing a minor scandal. Despite these eccentricities, each Coronation remains an essential part of British history, a testament to the majesty and peculiarities of the monarchy.
A “coronation spoon” has been used at every English coronation since 1349 to anoint the monarch with a secret mixture of oils.
Coronation quiche is a savory pie made with a pastry crust filled with a mixture of spinach, broad beans, and tarragon. The quiche was created by the royal chef, Mark Flanagan, in 2023 in honor of the coronation of King Charles III. The dish is said to be inspired by the king's love of spinach and broad beans, as well as his wife Camilla's love of tarragon.
International No Diet Day (INDD) is celebrated annually on May 6th and was created by Mary Evans Young, who founded "Diet Breakers" in the UK in 1992. The day is designed to raise awareness about the harmful effects of dieting and to promote body acceptance, size diversity, and healthy lifestyle choices. The goal of the day is to encourage people to celebrate their bodies and to embrace a positive body image, regardless of their size or shape.
INDD is celebrated in many countries around the world with a variety of events, workshops, and discussions aimed at promoting body acceptance and challenging the societal pressure to conform to narrow beauty standards.
Coco Chanel introduced Chanel No 5 on May 5, 1921.
Coco Chanel introduced Chanel No 5 on May 5, 1921.
French fashion designer Coco Chanel commissioned Russian-born French perfumer Ernest Beaux to make some perfumes. When presented with small glass vials containing sample scent compositions numbered 1 to 5 and 20 to 24 for her assessment, it was bottle No.5 that was to Chanel's liking and became the chosen formula.
Chanel reportedly told Beaux: “I present my dress collections on May 5, the fifth month of the year, and so we will let this sample number five keep the name. It will bring good luck.”
Chanel introduced the new perfume to some of her friends on the fifth day of the fifth month (May) in 1921. Initially, it was given to good clients for free at her boutique. The fitting rooms in Chanel's boutique were scented with No. 5 to create an ambiance unmatched by her contemporaries.
Chanel claims that every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, a bottle of Chanel No 5 is sold.
Star Wars Day is an informal commemorative day observed annually on May 4 to celebrate the Star Wars media franchise.
Chanel reportedly told Beaux: “I present my dress collections on May 5, the fifth month of the year, and so we will let this sample number five keep the name. It will bring good luck.”
Chanel introduced the new perfume to some of her friends on the fifth day of the fifth month (May) in 1921. Initially, it was given to good clients for free at her boutique. The fitting rooms in Chanel's boutique were scented with No. 5 to create an ambiance unmatched by her contemporaries.
Chanel claims that every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, a bottle of Chanel No 5 is sold.
Star Wars Day is an informal commemorative day observed annually on May 4 to celebrate the Star Wars media franchise.
The franchise began with the release on May 25, 1977 of the film Star Wars (later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981), which became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. Star Wars was followed by the successful sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983); these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy.
By the time filming on Return of the Jedi started in 1982, Star Wars was a gigantic pop culture phenomenon. To maintain secrecy, producers claimed to be shooting a horror movie called "Blue Harvest" and even had caps and T-shirts made for the crew.
The world's first organized Star Wars Day was celebrated at a cinema in Toronto, Canada on May 4, 2011. The reason for choosing that particular date was the pun: "May the 4th be with you", in reference to the popular phrase in Star Wars: "May the Force be with you." May 4th has since been embraced by Lucasfilm as an annual celebration of Star Wars.
International Firefighters’ Day is observed each year on May 4th. It is a time where the world’s community can recognize and honor the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions.
By the time filming on Return of the Jedi started in 1982, Star Wars was a gigantic pop culture phenomenon. To maintain secrecy, producers claimed to be shooting a horror movie called "Blue Harvest" and even had caps and T-shirts made for the crew.
The world's first organized Star Wars Day was celebrated at a cinema in Toronto, Canada on May 4, 2011. The reason for choosing that particular date was the pun: "May the 4th be with you", in reference to the popular phrase in Star Wars: "May the Force be with you." May 4th has since been embraced by Lucasfilm as an annual celebration of Star Wars.
International Firefighters’ Day is observed each year on May 4th. It is a time where the world’s community can recognize and honor the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions.
The date was chosen as May 4 is the feast day of St Florian, the patron saint of firefighters. This date is also known as St Florian’s Day worldwide and has been tradition for more than 150 years in Europe.
St Florian was the first known commander of one firefighting squad in the Roman Empire. He lost his life, as well as those of his colleagues, for protecting the same humane ideas which firefighters all over the world share even today.
Early firefighters weren't paid with cash, instead they first grabbed all valuable items out of the victims house or business, then would sell those items or keep them for themselves.
On May 3, 1978, President Jimmy Carter designated "Sun Day" as a day to promote the use of solar energy and other renewable sources of energy in the United States. The goal was to raise awareness about the potential of solar power and to encourage more people to adopt it as a clean and sustainable energy source. Sun Day events were held across the country, including solar fairs, educational programs, and public demonstrations of solar technology.
Early firefighters weren't paid with cash, instead they first grabbed all valuable items out of the victims house or business, then would sell those items or keep them for themselves.
On May 3, 1978, President Jimmy Carter designated "Sun Day" as a day to promote the use of solar energy and other renewable sources of energy in the United States. The goal was to raise awareness about the potential of solar power and to encourage more people to adopt it as a clean and sustainable energy source. Sun Day events were held across the country, including solar fairs, educational programs, and public demonstrations of solar technology.
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| Dunayskaya Solar Station. L… | Flickr |
Since 1978, the use of solar power has grown significantly in the US and around the world, as more people recognize the importance of transitioning to renewable energy sources.
Sun Day continues to be an important event in the fight for a clean energy future. Each year, millions of people around the world participate in Sun Day events to raise awareness of solar power and its potential to help address climate change.
The King James Bible was published for the first time in London, on May 2, 1611 by printer Robert Barker.
The King James Bible was published for the first time in London, on May 2, 1611 by printer Robert Barker.
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| 1612, first King James Bible in quarto size |
The newly crowned King James I of England convened the Hampton Court Conference, which proposed a new English version of The Bible in response to the perceived problems of earlier translations as detected by the Puritan faction of the Church of England. The motion was carried on January 17, 1604, "...that a translation be made of the whole Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek; and this to be set out and printed, without any marginal notes..."
On July 22, 1604, King James sent a letter to Archbishop Bancroft asking him to contact all English churchmen requesting that they make donations to his project.
The task of translation was undertaken by 47 scholars. All were members of the Church of England and all except Sir Henry Savile were clergy. The scholars worked in six committees, who began work at the end of 1604.
In the years following its publication in 1611, the Geneva Bible remained by far the most popular English Bible. It was the Geneva translation, not the King James, that was used by William Shakespeare and the early American Puritans.
In many north hemisphere countries May Day, which is on May 1, is celebrated as the beginning of summer. It is a traditional spring holiday in many European cultures. Dancing, singing, and cake are usually part of the festivities.
On July 22, 1604, King James sent a letter to Archbishop Bancroft asking him to contact all English churchmen requesting that they make donations to his project.
The task of translation was undertaken by 47 scholars. All were members of the Church of England and all except Sir Henry Savile were clergy. The scholars worked in six committees, who began work at the end of 1604.
In the years following its publication in 1611, the Geneva Bible remained by far the most popular English Bible. It was the Geneva translation, not the King James, that was used by William Shakespeare and the early American Puritans.
In many north hemisphere countries May Day, which is on May 1, is celebrated as the beginning of summer. It is a traditional spring holiday in many European cultures. Dancing, singing, and cake are usually part of the festivities.
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| Children dancing around a maypole as part of a May Day celebration in England By Paul Barnett |
Traditional English May Day rites and celebrations include crowning a May Queen and celebrations involving a maypole, around which dancers often circle with ribbons. Historically, Morris dancing has been linked to May Day celebrations
Labor Day is celebrated on a different day in most countries. Many choose May Day as their day to honor working people. Socialists, communists and other like-minded people celebrate it as International Workers' Day.
The Romans named the month of May after Maia, a goddess of growth and fertility.
No US President has ever died during the month of May. James Buchanan narrowly avoided doing so, dying on the morning of June 1, 1868.
International Jazz Day is an International Day declared by UNESCO in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe." The idea came from jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock. It is celebrated annually on April 30.
Labor Day is celebrated on a different day in most countries. Many choose May Day as their day to honor working people. Socialists, communists and other like-minded people celebrate it as International Workers' Day.
The Romans named the month of May after Maia, a goddess of growth and fertility.
No US President has ever died during the month of May. James Buchanan narrowly avoided doing so, dying on the morning of June 1, 1868.
International Jazz Day is an International Day declared by UNESCO in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe." The idea came from jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock. It is celebrated annually on April 30.
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| The King & Carter Jazzing Orchestra 1921 |
Instruments such as the clarinet, trumpet, and trombone, discarded by army bands after the American Civil War were taken up by the emancipated slaves and, together with such simple 'minstrel' instruments as the banjo, became the basis of a new sound-jazz.
The word “jazz” was originally early 20th century US slang for excitement or energy. In 1913 it started to be used to mean nonsense or babble and it was recorded being used for a form of improvisatory music two years later.
By 1915 New Orleans-style bands were starting to enjoy popularity in Chicago. On May 15, 1915, Tom Brown's Band from Dixieland opened up at Lamb's Café at Clark & Randolph Streets in the Windy City. This band was the first to be popularly referred to as playing "Jazz", or, as it was spelled early on, "Jass.”
The Original Dixieland Jass Band 's February 26, 1917 recording of "Livery Stable Blues" was the first jazz single ever issued. It sold a million copies in 1917 and launched jazz as a national phenomenon. (A Black bandleader, Freddie Keppard, had rejected an offer to record because he though others would copy his style).
International Dance Day is celebrated every year on April 29, the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), the creator of modern ballet.
The word “jazz” was originally early 20th century US slang for excitement or energy. In 1913 it started to be used to mean nonsense or babble and it was recorded being used for a form of improvisatory music two years later.
By 1915 New Orleans-style bands were starting to enjoy popularity in Chicago. On May 15, 1915, Tom Brown's Band from Dixieland opened up at Lamb's Café at Clark & Randolph Streets in the Windy City. This band was the first to be popularly referred to as playing "Jazz", or, as it was spelled early on, "Jass.”
The Original Dixieland Jass Band 's February 26, 1917 recording of "Livery Stable Blues" was the first jazz single ever issued. It sold a million copies in 1917 and launched jazz as a national phenomenon. (A Black bandleader, Freddie Keppard, had rejected an offer to record because he though others would copy his style).
International Dance Day is celebrated every year on April 29, the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), the creator of modern ballet.
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| Marie Sallé, classical ballet dancer |
The first important dramatic ballet, the Ballet comique de la reine, was produced in 1581 by Catherine de Medici 's director of court festivals, Baltazar de Beaujoyeulx for a wedding celebration at her palace in Paris. It was a five hour spectacle, performed by male courtiers, with ladies of the court forming the corps de ballet and an audience of 10,000.
In 1588 a book crucial in the development of ballet, Orchesographie by Thoinot Arbeau, was published. It set forth the dance steps and rhythms that became the ballet postures and movements in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Prior to Jean-George Noverre, ballet's were large spectacles that focused mainly on elaborate costumes and scenery and not on the physical and emotional expression of the dancers. Between 1758 and 1760 he produced several ballets at Lyon, and published his Lettres sur la danse et les ballets. Noverre's treatise on dancing and theater expressed his aesthetic theories on the production of ballets and his method of teaching ballet.
The 1830s saw the new calf-length white dress and the introduction of dancing on the toes, sur les pointes. The technique of the female dancer was developed, but the role of the male dancer was reduced to that of being her partner.
Today is the anniversary of the commander of The Bounty, Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors being set adrift after a mutiny by the rebel crew.
In 1588 a book crucial in the development of ballet, Orchesographie by Thoinot Arbeau, was published. It set forth the dance steps and rhythms that became the ballet postures and movements in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Prior to Jean-George Noverre, ballet's were large spectacles that focused mainly on elaborate costumes and scenery and not on the physical and emotional expression of the dancers. Between 1758 and 1760 he produced several ballets at Lyon, and published his Lettres sur la danse et les ballets. Noverre's treatise on dancing and theater expressed his aesthetic theories on the production of ballets and his method of teaching ballet.
The 1830s saw the new calf-length white dress and the introduction of dancing on the toes, sur les pointes. The technique of the female dancer was developed, but the role of the male dancer was reduced to that of being her partner.
Today is the anniversary of the commander of The Bounty, Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors being set adrift after a mutiny by the rebel crew.
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| A 1960 reconstruction of HMS Bounty |
The mission for the Bounty was to collect breadfruit from Tahiti in the hope that it could serve as cheap food for slaves in the West Indies.
The ship spent 10 months at sea sailing to Tahiti, where the crew spent a happy five months ashore and collected 1,015 breadfruit plants. Fletcher Christian fell in love with a Tahitian girl named Maimiti and he and the rest of the crew did not want to have to endure another long journey back to England.
The Bounty left Tahiti on April 4, 1789, on the way to Jamaica. On April 28, 1789, near the Friendly Islands, Fletcher Christian led a mutiny casting adrift Captain Bligh and 18 loyal crewmen in a small boat, while Christian and the Bounty went back to Tahiti. Christian and a small group of sailors, 11 Tahitian women, and 6 Tahitian men then went to the remote Pitcairn Island.
Bligh and the 18 sailors were cast adrift enough food and water for about a week. They were also given four cutlasses, a compass, and a quadrant, but no maps.
After being cast adrift, Captain Bligh survived a 47-day journey to Timor.
The ship spent 10 months at sea sailing to Tahiti, where the crew spent a happy five months ashore and collected 1,015 breadfruit plants. Fletcher Christian fell in love with a Tahitian girl named Maimiti and he and the rest of the crew did not want to have to endure another long journey back to England.
Bligh and the 18 sailors were cast adrift enough food and water for about a week. They were also given four cutlasses, a compass, and a quadrant, but no maps.
After being cast adrift, Captain Bligh survived a 47-day journey to Timor.
For more check out my entry for The Mutiny On The Bounty.
Today is Freedom Day, a public holiday celebrated in South Africa each year on April 27.
Today is Freedom Day, a public holiday celebrated in South Africa each year on April 27.
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| Nelson Mandela voting in 1994 |
The term ‘apartheid’ was coined in the late 1930s by the South African Bureau for Racial Affairs (SABRA), which called for a policy of ‘separate development’ of the races. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalizing previous racial segregation.
In 1991, after years of internal dissent and violence and the boycott of South Africa, including the imposition of international trade sanctions by the United Nations (UN) and other organizations, President F W de Klerk repealed the key elements of apartheid legislation.
Famous Weddings that took place on April 26th include:
British textile designer William Morris married Jane Burden in a low-key ceremony held at St Michael's Church, Ship Street, Oxford on April 26, 1859.
Prince Albert, the Duke of York (the future King George VI) married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey on April 26, 1923.
In 1991, after years of internal dissent and violence and the boycott of South Africa, including the imposition of international trade sanctions by the United Nations (UN) and other organizations, President F W de Klerk repealed the key elements of apartheid legislation.
Famous Weddings that took place on April 26th include:
British textile designer William Morris married Jane Burden in a low-key ceremony held at St Michael's Church, Ship Street, Oxford on April 26, 1859.
Prince Albert, the Duke of York (the future King George VI) married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey on April 26, 1923.
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| Wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon |
On April 26, 1986, the Austrian/American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger married television journalist Maria Shriver, niece of President John F. Kennedy, in Hyannis, Massachusetts
DNA Day on April 25 commemorates the day in 1953 when James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin and colleagues published papers in the journal Nature on the structure of DNA.
DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleicacid. It is the molecule that contains the genetic code of organisms.
James Watson announced with Francis Crick to the press in the Eagle pub near Cavendish Laboratory on February 28. 1953 that they had "discovered the secret of life" after they came up with their proposal for the structure of DNA, the chemical that carries the instruction that determines heredity.
The formal announcement took place in Nature on April 25th. In the early 1950s, Watson and Crick were only two of many scientists working on figuring out the structure of DNA.
Francis Crick and James Watson asked Crick's artist wife Odile Crick to draw an illustration of the double helix for their paper on DNA for Nature in 1953. The sketch was reproduced widely in textbooks and scientific articles and has become the symbol for molecular biology.
Watson and Crick shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 with Maurice Wilkins, who developed the method of X-Ray diffraction that helped in their discovery. They were awarded the Nobel Prize, "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".
Rosalind Franklin is the unsung hero of DNA research. Her X-ray Crystallography allowed her colleagues Watson and Crick to accurately characterize the double helix. Many believe she should’ve shared in their Nobel prize.
DNA Day on April 25 commemorates the day in 1953 when James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin and colleagues published papers in the journal Nature on the structure of DNA.
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| Pencil sketch of double helix by Odile Crick |
James Watson announced with Francis Crick to the press in the Eagle pub near Cavendish Laboratory on February 28. 1953 that they had "discovered the secret of life" after they came up with their proposal for the structure of DNA, the chemical that carries the instruction that determines heredity.
The formal announcement took place in Nature on April 25th. In the early 1950s, Watson and Crick were only two of many scientists working on figuring out the structure of DNA.
Francis Crick and James Watson asked Crick's artist wife Odile Crick to draw an illustration of the double helix for their paper on DNA for Nature in 1953. The sketch was reproduced widely in textbooks and scientific articles and has become the symbol for molecular biology.
Watson and Crick shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 with Maurice Wilkins, who developed the method of X-Ray diffraction that helped in their discovery. They were awarded the Nobel Prize, "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".
Rosalind Franklin is the unsung hero of DNA research. Her X-ray Crystallography allowed her colleagues Watson and Crick to accurately characterize the double helix. Many believe she should’ve shared in their Nobel prize.
April 25th is also World Malaria Day and World Penguin Day.
Between 1915–16 up to 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or deported by the Turks. These events are traditionally commemorated yearly on April 24th, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day is a public holiday in Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh. It commemorates the deportation of Armenian intellectuals on April 24, 1915 from Constantinople (current Istanbul, Turkey).
Talaat Pasha, mastermind of Armenian Genocide, was assassinated by Armenian revolutionary and genocide survivor Soghomon Tehlirian in 1921. Despite the assassination occurring in broad daylight, and with Soghomon Tehlirian pleading guilty, the assassin was acquitted by reason of temporary insanity. Soghomon Tehlirian is a national hero in Armenia.
Saint George's Day is celebrated on April 23rd, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in 303 AD. St George's Day was a major feast and national holiday in England on a par with Christmas from the early 15th century to the end of the 18th century. Today, St. George's day may be celebrated with anything English.
Little is known about the life of Saint George (d c303) apart from the fact he was a soldier in the Roman army who was martyred for his Christian beliefs at Lydda in Palestine at the beginning of the 4th century.
Many stories have been ascribed to the saint, the best known being the legend of George and the dragon. A pagan town in Libya was being victimized by a dragon (representing the devil), which the inhabitants first attempted to placate by offerings of sheep, and then by the sacrifice of various members of their community. The daughter of the king (representing the church) was chosen by lot and was taken out to await the coming of the monster, but George arrived, killed the dragon, and converted the community to Christianity.
By the 5th century the Christians of Syria and Egypt were consecrating monasteries and churches to him and within a hundred years the same thing was happening in Western Europe.
The cult of Saint George, was originally introduced to the English by the crusaders. In 1222 , the Council of Oxford ordered that the feast of Saint George be celebrated as a national festival. Later in the thirteenth century the popular collection of rather outlandish details concerning the saints, The Golden Legend, which included the story of Saint George, enhanced his reputation even further.
As a result of the success of the war cry "St George for England", King Edward III appointed Saint George as patron saint of England, replacing Saint Edmund the Martyr, probably in 1348.
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 every year to honor the Earth, peace and demonstrate support for environmental protection.
San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto issued the first-ever Earth Day proclamation on March 21, 1970. Mayor Alioto's action was inspired by John McConnell, a San Francisco publisher and peace activist, who had proposed an international holiday focused on environmental stewardship and preservation.
The first widespread Earth Day Celebration took place a month later on April 22, 1970. 20 million Americans filled parks and took to the streets in a nationwide teach-in and protest about critical environmental issues facing the world.
April 22, 1970 is often cited as the start of the modern environmental movement.
Today is the traditional date of the founding of Rome.
According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by twins Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a wolf.
Only with Julius Caesar in the first century BC, did the city of Rome began to grow significantly, especially toward the Campo Marzio, at the north of Capitoline Hill.
Rome was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy.
At its height in the 1st century AD, Ancient Rome had a population of one million people. This was a record in Europe until London matched it in the 19th century.
April 20th is the anniversary the first jar of Nutella leaving the factory.
Between 1915–16 up to 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or deported by the Turks. These events are traditionally commemorated yearly on April 24th, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
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| Armenia Genocide memorial in Saint Sarkis Cathedral Tehran. By Zhilbert - Persian Wikipedia, |
Talaat Pasha, mastermind of Armenian Genocide, was assassinated by Armenian revolutionary and genocide survivor Soghomon Tehlirian in 1921. Despite the assassination occurring in broad daylight, and with Soghomon Tehlirian pleading guilty, the assassin was acquitted by reason of temporary insanity. Soghomon Tehlirian is a national hero in Armenia.
Saint George's Day is celebrated on April 23rd, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in 303 AD. St George's Day was a major feast and national holiday in England on a par with Christmas from the early 15th century to the end of the 18th century. Today, St. George's day may be celebrated with anything English.
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| Saint George and the Dragon. Oil painting by Raphael (1505–1506) |
Many stories have been ascribed to the saint, the best known being the legend of George and the dragon. A pagan town in Libya was being victimized by a dragon (representing the devil), which the inhabitants first attempted to placate by offerings of sheep, and then by the sacrifice of various members of their community. The daughter of the king (representing the church) was chosen by lot and was taken out to await the coming of the monster, but George arrived, killed the dragon, and converted the community to Christianity.
By the 5th century the Christians of Syria and Egypt were consecrating monasteries and churches to him and within a hundred years the same thing was happening in Western Europe.
The cult of Saint George, was originally introduced to the English by the crusaders. In 1222 , the Council of Oxford ordered that the feast of Saint George be celebrated as a national festival. Later in the thirteenth century the popular collection of rather outlandish details concerning the saints, The Golden Legend, which included the story of Saint George, enhanced his reputation even further.
As a result of the success of the war cry "St George for England", King Edward III appointed Saint George as patron saint of England, replacing Saint Edmund the Martyr, probably in 1348.
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 every year to honor the Earth, peace and demonstrate support for environmental protection.
The first widespread Earth Day Celebration took place a month later on April 22, 1970. 20 million Americans filled parks and took to the streets in a nationwide teach-in and protest about critical environmental issues facing the world.
April 22, 1970 is often cited as the start of the modern environmental movement.
Today is the traditional date of the founding of Rome.
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| A day in ancient Rome |
Only with Julius Caesar in the first century BC, did the city of Rome began to grow significantly, especially toward the Campo Marzio, at the north of Capitoline Hill.
Rome was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy.
At its height in the 1st century AD, Ancient Rome had a population of one million people. This was a record in Europe until London matched it in the 19th century.
April 20th is the anniversary the first jar of Nutella leaving the factory.
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| By Janine from South Korea, United States - nutella for breakfast, |
The tasty chocolate and hazelnut spread Nutella was invented in 1946 by Italian pastry maker Pietro Ferrero. At the time, there was very little chocolate as cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing, so Ferrero mixed hazelnuts into the chocolate.
Ferrero sold an initial batch of 300 kilograms (660 lb) of "Pasta Gianduja" in 1946. It was originally a loaf designed to be sliced and placed on bread, but Ferrero started to sell a creamy version as "Supercrema" five years later.
Ferrero's son Michele Ferrero revamped Supercrema with the intention of marketing it throughout Europe. Its composition was modified and it was renamed "Nutella". The first jar of Nutella left the company's Alba factory on April 20, 1964.
Patriots' Day is an annual event commemorating the opening battles of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord in 1775. The holiday was originally celebrated on April 19, the actual anniversary of the battles. Since 1969, it has been observed as a state holiday in Maine and Massachusetts on the third Monday in April.
The American Revolutionary War was caused by colonial resentment at the attitude of the British that the commercial and industry interests of their North American colonies should be subordinate to those of the mother country.
The silversmith Paul Revere made a midnight ride from Boston to Concord to warn the colonial militia of the approach of British troops on April 18, 1775. As Revere rode through Massachusetts, he shouted "The Regulars are coming out", not "The British are coming", since Massachusetts colonists still considered themselves British citizens at the time. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War was fought the next day.
The American War for Independence raged on until the 1783 Treaty of Paris, when the victorious colonies formally won their independence from Great Britain.
The most significant celebration of Patriots' Day is the Boston Marathon, which has been run every Patriots' Day since April 19, 1897 to mark the then-recently established holiday, with the race linking the Athenian and American struggles for liberty.
Today is the anniversary of the first appearance of The Simpsons on television.
The Simpsons is an American adult animated sitcom. It is the longest-running scripted prime time TV series in U.S. history, the longest-running US sitcom and the longest-running US animated program.
The Simpsons was created by cartoonist Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Matt Groening's original plan was to pitch an animated version of his bleak Life in Hell comic strip series, which he wrote from 1977 to 2012. It starred Binky the rabbit, who lives in Los Angeles and hates his life. It also features Mr Simpson, Binky's anthropomorphic dog boss.
However Groening decided against his initial plan at the last moment, and came up instead with a dysfunctional family sitcom while sitting outside producer James L Brooks’s office.
The Simpsons started life as short gags on The Tracy Ullman Show beginning on April 19, 1987. Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators and assumed that the figures would be cleaned up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial shorts.
In 1989, a team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour prime time entertainment series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show made its debut on the Fox television network with the episode Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire on December 17, 1989.
Homer Simpson shares a first name with Groening's father, who was born in Saskatchewan, and Marge's first name comes from Groening's mother Margaret. His real-life sisters are named Lisa and Maggie.
Today is the anniversary of the first book of crossword puzzles appearing on the market.
Patriots' Day is an annual event commemorating the opening battles of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord in 1775. The holiday was originally celebrated on April 19, the actual anniversary of the battles. Since 1969, it has been observed as a state holiday in Maine and Massachusetts on the third Monday in April.
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| Acton Minutemen and citizens marching from Acton to Concord on Patriots' Day 2012 By Jrcovert |
The silversmith Paul Revere made a midnight ride from Boston to Concord to warn the colonial militia of the approach of British troops on April 18, 1775. As Revere rode through Massachusetts, he shouted "The Regulars are coming out", not "The British are coming", since Massachusetts colonists still considered themselves British citizens at the time. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War was fought the next day.
The American War for Independence raged on until the 1783 Treaty of Paris, when the victorious colonies formally won their independence from Great Britain.
The most significant celebration of Patriots' Day is the Boston Marathon, which has been run every Patriots' Day since April 19, 1897 to mark the then-recently established holiday, with the race linking the Athenian and American struggles for liberty.
Today is the anniversary of the first appearance of The Simpsons on television.
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| Wikipedia |
The Simpsons was created by cartoonist Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Matt Groening's original plan was to pitch an animated version of his bleak Life in Hell comic strip series, which he wrote from 1977 to 2012. It starred Binky the rabbit, who lives in Los Angeles and hates his life. It also features Mr Simpson, Binky's anthropomorphic dog boss.
However Groening decided against his initial plan at the last moment, and came up instead with a dysfunctional family sitcom while sitting outside producer James L Brooks’s office.
The Simpsons started life as short gags on The Tracy Ullman Show beginning on April 19, 1987. Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators and assumed that the figures would be cleaned up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial shorts.
In 1989, a team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour prime time entertainment series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show made its debut on the Fox television network with the episode Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire on December 17, 1989.
Homer Simpson shares a first name with Groening's father, who was born in Saskatchewan, and Marge's first name comes from Groening's mother Margaret. His real-life sisters are named Lisa and Maggie.
Today is the anniversary of the first book of crossword puzzles appearing on the market.
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| Crossword |
The crossword puzzle was invented by journalist Arthur Wynne and published for the first time in the Sunday edition of the New York World on December 21, 1913.
The new puzzle in the supplement, known as a "word-cross", was welcomed so enthusiastically that it was retained as a weekly feature.
The first book of crossword puzzles was published by Simon Schuster on April 18, 1924. Its impact was huge. Almost overnight a craze for the new brain-teaser swept America.
Americans became obsessed with crosswords. One man shot his wife after she refused to help him with a clue and another left a suicide in the form of a crossword.
National Bat Appreciation Day occurs annually on April 17th.
The new puzzle in the supplement, known as a "word-cross", was welcomed so enthusiastically that it was retained as a weekly feature.
The first book of crossword puzzles was published by Simon Schuster on April 18, 1924. Its impact was huge. Almost overnight a craze for the new brain-teaser swept America.
Americans became obsessed with crosswords. One man shot his wife after she refused to help him with a clue and another left a suicide in the form of a crossword.
National Bat Appreciation Day occurs annually on April 17th.
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| Common fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) flying |
Bats have been getting a bad press as they serve as natural hosts for coronaviruses, However, bats do good work, they keep pests away and they’re also pollinators, which is why they get their own day.
Bats groom themselves for an hour a day, rubbing their wings with oil from glands on their faces.
According to Scientists, vampire bat saliva is the best known medicine for keeping blood from clotting.
Bats account for one-fifth of the mammal population in the world.
Today is the feast day of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes.
Bernadette Soubirous was a young French girl that had religious visions at Lourdes, France. During 1858 she said she saw the Virgin Mary 18 times near the grotto of Massabielle .
In the ninth visitation the Virgin Mary told Bernadette to drink from the spring that flowed under the rock. A crowd gathered and they witnessed Bernadette dig in the earth and drink from a muddy patch. In the next few days, a spring began to flow from the muddy patch first dug by Bernadette. An old stone mason with a blind eye bathed it in the spring's water and as others also followed her example it was soon reported to have healing properties. The grotto soon became a center of pilgrimage. Many sick people who were dipped in the water of the spring were cured.
Bernadette died at the motherhouse at Nevers of tuberculous on April 16, 1879. Her body was buried and exhumed three separate times in the next 45 years in attempts to verify the incorruptibility of her corpse and therefore her sainthood.
Bernadette was canonized in 1933 by the Catholic Church and her feast day is celebrated on April 16th.
Saint Bernadette's body is today remarkably intact and is on display at the chapel of the Convent of St Gildard at Nevers.
The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912, two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg.
RMS Titanic was a British luxury passenger liner which was built by Harland and Wolff ship builders, in Belfast, for the White Star Line company. Before she sailed, many people thought it would be almost impossible for ships of this design to sink.
Titanic's maiden voyage began at noon on Wednesday, April 10, 1912 when the liner left Southampton on the south coast of England. It called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading west to New York.
At 12:50 a.m. EST on April 15, 1912, junior wireless operators at Cape Race, Newfoundland, received a report from the Virginian that they were trying to reach Titanic, but had lost communication. Titanic's last signals at 12:27 a.m. were "blurred and ended abruptly."
There were an estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, and an estimated 1,517 died - only 306 bodies were recovered.
As the Titanic went under, the band played ragtime until the ship's bridge dipped underwater, then the bandmaster led his men in the Episcopal hymn, "Autumn". The male passengers formed up on deck and under the leadership of New York real estate tycoon Colonel John Jacob Astor sung the Welsh hymn "Nearer thy God to Thee".
Celebrated annually on April 14, Dolphin Day is a day dedicated to dolphins, aimed at educating people about dolphins and how they help protect the ocean.
Bats groom themselves for an hour a day, rubbing their wings with oil from glands on their faces.
According to Scientists, vampire bat saliva is the best known medicine for keeping blood from clotting.
Bats account for one-fifth of the mammal population in the world.
Today is the feast day of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes.
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| Bernadette Soubirous when a child. |
Bernadette Soubirous was a young French girl that had religious visions at Lourdes, France. During 1858 she said she saw the Virgin Mary 18 times near the grotto of Massabielle .
In the ninth visitation the Virgin Mary told Bernadette to drink from the spring that flowed under the rock. A crowd gathered and they witnessed Bernadette dig in the earth and drink from a muddy patch. In the next few days, a spring began to flow from the muddy patch first dug by Bernadette. An old stone mason with a blind eye bathed it in the spring's water and as others also followed her example it was soon reported to have healing properties. The grotto soon became a center of pilgrimage. Many sick people who were dipped in the water of the spring were cured.
Bernadette died at the motherhouse at Nevers of tuberculous on April 16, 1879. Her body was buried and exhumed three separate times in the next 45 years in attempts to verify the incorruptibility of her corpse and therefore her sainthood.
Bernadette was canonized in 1933 by the Catholic Church and her feast day is celebrated on April 16th.
Saint Bernadette's body is today remarkably intact and is on display at the chapel of the Convent of St Gildard at Nevers.
The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912, two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg.
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| RMS Titanic departing Southampton on 10 April 1912 |
RMS Titanic was a British luxury passenger liner which was built by Harland and Wolff ship builders, in Belfast, for the White Star Line company. Before she sailed, many people thought it would be almost impossible for ships of this design to sink.
Titanic's maiden voyage began at noon on Wednesday, April 10, 1912 when the liner left Southampton on the south coast of England. It called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading west to New York.
At 12:50 a.m. EST on April 15, 1912, junior wireless operators at Cape Race, Newfoundland, received a report from the Virginian that they were trying to reach Titanic, but had lost communication. Titanic's last signals at 12:27 a.m. were "blurred and ended abruptly."
There were an estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, and an estimated 1,517 died - only 306 bodies were recovered.
As the Titanic went under, the band played ragtime until the ship's bridge dipped underwater, then the bandmaster led his men in the Episcopal hymn, "Autumn". The male passengers formed up on deck and under the leadership of New York real estate tycoon Colonel John Jacob Astor sung the Welsh hymn "Nearer thy God to Thee".
Celebrated annually on April 14, Dolphin Day is a day dedicated to dolphins, aimed at educating people about dolphins and how they help protect the ocean.
The name 'dolphin' comes from the Ancient Greek delphis meaning "with a womb", because it was first thought to be a fish with a womb. It is now known to be a mammal.
A dolphin named Pelorus Jack regularly guided ships in New Zealand through treacherous waters until his disappearance in 1912.
Due to the specialization of their brain hemispheres, dolphins use their right eye to look at unfamiliar objects and the left eye for familiar ones.
Early in life, each dolphin creates its own unique vocal whistle that gives it an individual identity. Because each whistle is unique, dolphins are able to call to each other by mimicking the whistle of a dolphin they want to communicate with. It's the equivalent of calling each other by name.
National Scrabble Day is celebrated on April 13, the day Scrabble inventor Alfred Mosher Butts was born.
While unemployed during the depression, architect Alfred Mosher Butts created a board game in 1930 that utilized chance and skill. He called Lexiko.
Eight years later Butts came up with Criss Cross Words, a variation on Lexiko. The new game added the 15×15 gameboard and the crossword-style game play.
The first few sets Butts made he sold to family and friends but he made no money out of it.
The game went unnoticed until 1948 when James Brunot, from Connecticut, who was an entrepreneur and passionate games player, saw commercial possibilities. He bought the rights to the game, made some small changes to the rules and gave Butts a royalty on every set sold.
Brunot also changed its name to "Scrabble," a real word meaning "to grope frantically."
The International Day of Human Space Flight is the annual celebration, held on April 12, 1961 of the anniversary of the first human space flight by Yuri Gagarin. In the Soviet Union, 12 April was commemorated as Cosmonautics Day since 1963, and is still observed in Russia and some former Soviet states.
National Scrabble Day is celebrated on April 13, the day Scrabble inventor Alfred Mosher Butts was born.
While unemployed during the depression, architect Alfred Mosher Butts created a board game in 1930 that utilized chance and skill. He called Lexiko.
Eight years later Butts came up with Criss Cross Words, a variation on Lexiko. The new game added the 15×15 gameboard and the crossword-style game play.
The first few sets Butts made he sold to family and friends but he made no money out of it.
The game went unnoticed until 1948 when James Brunot, from Connecticut, who was an entrepreneur and passionate games player, saw commercial possibilities. He bought the rights to the game, made some small changes to the rules and gave Butts a royalty on every set sold.
Brunot also changed its name to "Scrabble," a real word meaning "to grope frantically."
The International Day of Human Space Flight is the annual celebration, held on April 12, 1961 of the anniversary of the first human space flight by Yuri Gagarin. In the Soviet Union, 12 April was commemorated as Cosmonautics Day since 1963, and is still observed in Russia and some former Soviet states.
Gagarin was 27 when he made a 108-minute orbital flight in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. His flight was a triumph for the Soviet space program. The announcement on the Soviet radio was made by Yuri Levitan, the same speaker who announced all major events in the Great Patriotic War.
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| Launch of Vostok 1 Wikipedia |
April 12th was established in the Soviet Union as a commemorative day in 1963. The day is still observed in Russia and some former Soviet states.
The International Day of Human Space Flight was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on April 7, 2011, a few days before the 50th anniversary of the flight.
The Space Shuttle Columbia, the first partially reusable orbital spacecraft to fly into space, was launched by the USA on April 12, 1981, the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight.
The Treaty of Fontainebleau between Napoleon and representatives of Austria, Russia and Prussia was signed in Paris on April 11, 1814. It ended the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon, and forced him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time
Following Napoleon's retreat from Russia, the coalition armies led by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, launched the German campaign. Napoleon assumed command against them in Germany and inflicted a series of defeats on the Coalition culminating in the Battle of Dresden in August 1813.
Despite these successes, the numbers continued to mount against Napoleon, and the French army was pinned down by a force twice its size and lost at the Battle of Leipzig between October 16-19. The battle involved about 600,000 soldiers, making it the largest battle before World War I.
After the Battle of Toulouse, which was fought on April 12, 1814 an aide brought the commander of the Allied British-Portuguese and Spanish army, the Duke of Wellington, the news of Napoleon's abdication. The Duke of Wellington - a famously stoic individual - broke into an impromptu flamenco dance, spinning around on his heels and clicking his fingers.
Napoleon was forced to abdicate without conditions. He said: "There is no personal sacrifice [I am] not willing to make for France." The victors exiled him to the Mediterranean island of Elba.
National Farm Animals Day is celebrated annually on April 10th. It's a day dedicated to recognizing the many contributions farm animals make to our lives.
The Treaty of Fontainebleau between Napoleon and representatives of Austria, Russia and Prussia was signed in Paris on April 11, 1814. It ended the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon, and forced him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time
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| Napoleon's abdication |
Following Napoleon's retreat from Russia, the coalition armies led by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, launched the German campaign. Napoleon assumed command against them in Germany and inflicted a series of defeats on the Coalition culminating in the Battle of Dresden in August 1813.
Despite these successes, the numbers continued to mount against Napoleon, and the French army was pinned down by a force twice its size and lost at the Battle of Leipzig between October 16-19. The battle involved about 600,000 soldiers, making it the largest battle before World War I.
After the Battle of Toulouse, which was fought on April 12, 1814 an aide brought the commander of the Allied British-Portuguese and Spanish army, the Duke of Wellington, the news of Napoleon's abdication. The Duke of Wellington - a famously stoic individual - broke into an impromptu flamenco dance, spinning around on his heels and clicking his fingers.
Napoleon was forced to abdicate without conditions. He said: "There is no personal sacrifice [I am] not willing to make for France." The victors exiled him to the Mediterranean island of Elba.
National Farm Animals Day is celebrated annually on April 10th. It's a day dedicated to recognizing the many contributions farm animals make to our lives.
A core aspect of National Farm Animals Day is bringing awareness to the humane treatment of farm animals. This includes ensuring they have good living conditions, proper nutrition, and veterinary care.
The day serves as a reminder of how much we rely on farm animals for various products, including:
Food: Meat, milk, eggs, and honey
Clothing: Wool
Labor: Helping with farm work like plowing fields
National Farm Animals Day can also bring light to various issues surrounding farm animals, such as:
Factory farming practices
Animal welfare concerns
Importance of sustainable agriculture.
National Unicorn Day is celebrated every year on April 9 to honor the beautiful one-horned mythical creature.
The unicorn is a mythical animal referred to by classical authors. It was said to be like a horse but with one straight horn.
According to legend, the unicorn is the strongest of all animals and can defeat an elephant but is humbled by a virgin maiden.
The American Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, when Confederate General Robert Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox.
The American Civil War was, fought between the southern or Confederate States in the United States and the northern or Federal States between 1861-65. The civil war began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over slavery; the Confederate states wished to maintain their 'state rights' regarding the institution of slavery.
When Robert E Lee and the Confederate army surrendered, the Union soldiers silently saluted them. Normally victorious armies would taunt or mock defeated ones, but Union Brig. Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain respected the Confederates too much and ordered that they be treated well.
The Confederacy was defeated at the total cost of the death of 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers.
Roughly 2% of the U.S. population, an estimated 620,000 men, died serving in the American Civil War. As a percentage of today's population the toll would have risen as high as six million. In the English language, April is the first of three months in-a-row, along with May and June, that is also a female given name.
April 8 was officially declared International Romani Day in 1990 in Serock, Poland, the site of the fourth World Romani Congress of the International Romani Union, in honor of the first major international meeting of Romani representatives, April 7-12, 1971 in Chelsfield near London.
Romani or Gypsies are nomadic people of low-caste Indian origin, who migrated to Persia. They moved onto Europe, reaching Germany and France in the 15th century.
The name gypsy derives from the original mistaken belief that they came from Egypt. They were called Egyptians, which became corrupted to Gyptians and so to the present form.
Romani are well known for their folk music. The earliest reference to what are believed to be Gypsies as musicians was used in the mid 11th century in Constantinople.
World Health Day is held each year on April 7th to celebrate the founding of the World Health Organisation on that date in 1948. It's headquarters are in Geneva.
National Unicorn Day is celebrated every year on April 9 to honor the beautiful one-horned mythical creature.
The unicorn is a mythical animal referred to by classical authors. It was said to be like a horse but with one straight horn.
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| Pixiebay |
According to legend, the unicorn is the strongest of all animals and can defeat an elephant but is humbled by a virgin maiden.
The American Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, when Confederate General Robert Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox.
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| Union Army general Ulysses S. Grant accepting Confederate general Robert E. Lee's surrender in 1865. |
The American Civil War was, fought between the southern or Confederate States in the United States and the northern or Federal States between 1861-65. The civil war began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over slavery; the Confederate states wished to maintain their 'state rights' regarding the institution of slavery.
When Robert E Lee and the Confederate army surrendered, the Union soldiers silently saluted them. Normally victorious armies would taunt or mock defeated ones, but Union Brig. Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain respected the Confederates too much and ordered that they be treated well.
The Confederacy was defeated at the total cost of the death of 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers.
Roughly 2% of the U.S. population, an estimated 620,000 men, died serving in the American Civil War. As a percentage of today's population the toll would have risen as high as six million. In the English language, April is the first of three months in-a-row, along with May and June, that is also a female given name.
April 8 was officially declared International Romani Day in 1990 in Serock, Poland, the site of the fourth World Romani Congress of the International Romani Union, in honor of the first major international meeting of Romani representatives, April 7-12, 1971 in Chelsfield near London.
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| A Romani wagon in Germany in 1935. By Bundesarchiv, Wikipedia |
Romani or Gypsies are nomadic people of low-caste Indian origin, who migrated to Persia. They moved onto Europe, reaching Germany and France in the 15th century.
The name gypsy derives from the original mistaken belief that they came from Egypt. They were called Egyptians, which became corrupted to Gyptians and so to the present form.
Romani are well known for their folk music. The earliest reference to what are believed to be Gypsies as musicians was used in the mid 11th century in Constantinople.
World Health Day is held each year on April 7th to celebrate the founding of the World Health Organisation on that date in 1948. It's headquarters are in Geneva.
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| World Health Organization Flag. By United States Mission Geneva |
In 1938 the New Zealand Social Security Act provided a pioneering state medical service. Stimulated by its success the British economist and civil servant William Beveridge published his report proposing a full welfare state for Britain.
The post war UK Labour government took heed of Beveridge's report and on July 5, 1948 they created a public funded healthcare system, the National Health Service as part of their new welfare state. The aim of the founders of the NHS was that the state should care for its citizens "from the cradle to the grave."
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare, a health insurance program for elderly Americans, into law on July 30, 1965.
Over 95% of the world’s population has health problems, with over a third having more than five ailments.
Today is the anniversary of the opening of The first modern Olympic Games in Athens.
The post war UK Labour government took heed of Beveridge's report and on July 5, 1948 they created a public funded healthcare system, the National Health Service as part of their new welfare state. The aim of the founders of the NHS was that the state should care for its citizens "from the cradle to the grave."
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare, a health insurance program for elderly Americans, into law on July 30, 1965.
Over 95% of the world’s population has health problems, with over a third having more than five ailments.
Today is the anniversary of the opening of The first modern Olympic Games in Athens.
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| Opening ceremony in the Panathinaiko Stadium |
The first Wenlock Olympian Games, a precursor to the modern Olympics, was centered on the little market town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire, England, in 1850. The Games were founded by Dr William Penny Brookes, who took inspiration from the Ancient Greeks’ sporting contest.
The successful campaign to revive the Olympics was started in France by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1890, after attending the Olympian Games of the Wenlock Olympian Society.
On April 6, 1896, in the presence of a crowd of 50,000, the King of Greece declared the first of the new series of Olympic Games open at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.
The Games consisted of 43 events. They brought together 14 nations and 241 athletes mostly from Greece, Germany and France.
Winners received a silver medal and a crown of olive branches, with bronze for the runners-up.
On April 6, 1896 an American college student named James Connolly won the triple jump, becoming the first Olympic champion in over 1,500 years.
National Read a Road Map Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated on April 5th. It's a day dedicated to the good old-fashioned paper map, encouraging people to ditch the GPS and rediscover the thrill of navigating with a physical map.
The successful campaign to revive the Olympics was started in France by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1890, after attending the Olympian Games of the Wenlock Olympian Society.
On April 6, 1896, in the presence of a crowd of 50,000, the King of Greece declared the first of the new series of Olympic Games open at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.
The Games consisted of 43 events. They brought together 14 nations and 241 athletes mostly from Greece, Germany and France.
Winners received a silver medal and a crown of olive branches, with bronze for the runners-up.
On April 6, 1896 an American college student named James Connolly won the triple jump, becoming the first Olympic champion in over 1,500 years.
National Read a Road Map Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated on April 5th. It's a day dedicated to the good old-fashioned paper map, encouraging people to ditch the GPS and rediscover the thrill of navigating with a physical map.
Here's a breakdown of the day's significance:
A Throwback Experience: It's a chance to revisit a time before smartphones and GPS became ubiquitous. It's a reminder of the planning and map-reading skills that were essential for travellers in the past.
The Adventure of Planning: Reading a physical map can spark a sense of adventure. It allows you to visualize your route, discover interesting stops along the way, and foster a connection with the journey itself.
Challenging Your Skills: Deciphering road maps can be a fun challenge. It requires critical thinking and spatial reasoning skills that GPS navigation doesn't.
Today is April 4.
It is unclear as to where April got its name. A common theory is that it comes from the Latin word "aperire", meaning "to open", referring to flowers opening in spring. Another theory is that the name could come from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.
In Old English the month of April was called Eastermonad.
In Western Christianity, there is a bigger likelihood of Easter falling in April than in March.
In the English language, April is the first of three months in-a-row, along with May and June, that is also a female given name.
Today is the anniversary of the first ever phone call made on a cell phone.
Martin Cooper of Motorola publicly demonstrated the world's first handheld mobile phone on April 3, 1973. He made a call from a New York City street on a prototype DynaTAC model to a landline phone, which was answered by Joel Engel, the head of research at AT&T's Bell Labs.
The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X was the first portable cellular phone to be commercially released. It received approval from the U.S. FCC on September 21, 1983. It was priced at $3,995 in 1984.
The world's first smartphone, the IBM Simon was released in 1994. The device cost $899, and had only one third party app.
The Motorola StarTAC, the first clamshell/flip mobile phone, was released on January 3, 1996. The StarTAC was among the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption; approximately 60 million StarTACs were sold.
National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day celebrates on April 2, 2020 the favorite lunchtime sandwich of American children, and many adults.
Today is April 4.
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| Daily flower. By Ntgr - |
It is unclear as to where April got its name. A common theory is that it comes from the Latin word "aperire", meaning "to open", referring to flowers opening in spring. Another theory is that the name could come from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.
In Old English the month of April was called Eastermonad.
In Western Christianity, there is a bigger likelihood of Easter falling in April than in March.
In the English language, April is the first of three months in-a-row, along with May and June, that is also a female given name.
Today is the anniversary of the first ever phone call made on a cell phone.
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| Renactment of Martin Cooper's first mobile call |
Martin Cooper of Motorola publicly demonstrated the world's first handheld mobile phone on April 3, 1973. He made a call from a New York City street on a prototype DynaTAC model to a landline phone, which was answered by Joel Engel, the head of research at AT&T's Bell Labs.
The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X was the first portable cellular phone to be commercially released. It received approval from the U.S. FCC on September 21, 1983. It was priced at $3,995 in 1984.
The world's first smartphone, the IBM Simon was released in 1994. The device cost $899, and had only one third party app.
The Motorola StarTAC, the first clamshell/flip mobile phone, was released on January 3, 1996. The StarTAC was among the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption; approximately 60 million StarTACs were sold.
National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day celebrates on April 2, 2020 the favorite lunchtime sandwich of American children, and many adults.
The first reference to peanut butter being paired with jelly was in 1901. It was in an article by Julia Davis Chandler in the Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics.
The average American child will have eaten over 1500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school.
The world's largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich was assembled in Grand Saline, Texas on November 13, 2010. It was made in Grand Saline, Texas, weighed 1,342 pounds and contained 292 pounds of peanut butter, 340 pounds of grape jelly, and 710 pounds of bread.
Many trace the origins of April Fools' Day back to 1582 when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian, resulting in the new year starting on January 1st instead of March 25th. “Those who continued to celebrate the end of New Year Week on April 1st were referred to as fools,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
One of the first April Fool pranks occurred in 1698, when the citizens of London were tricked into attending the lion-washing ceremony at the Tower of London, a ceremony that did not actually exist.
The prank was repeated on April 1, 1857 when tickets were offered for "Washing the Lions" at the Tower of London in London.
Astronomer Patrick Moore told BBC listeners on April 1, 1976 that due to a unique planet alignment, we would feel lighter at 9.47am.
As part of an April Fool's Day prank in 1989, a TV news station in Seattle reported that the city's iconic Space Needle had collapsed. So many people called 911 that the lines went down, and medical professionals left from hours away to volunteer in the 'recovery' efforts.
Holy Innocents Day on December 28th commemorates The Massacre of the Innocents, the biblical recount of infanticide by Herod the Great. It is a day for pranks, equivalent to April Fool's Day in many countries including Spain, Hispanic America, and the Philippines. After somebody plays a prank on somebody else, the joker usually cries out, in some regions of Ibero-America: Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar ("You innocent little dove that let yourself be fooled").
National Crayon Day is celebrated on March 31 every year. The day is intended to celebrate the creation of crayons as well as the joy of using crayons to color.
The average American child will have eaten over 1500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school.
The world's largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich was assembled in Grand Saline, Texas on November 13, 2010. It was made in Grand Saline, Texas, weighed 1,342 pounds and contained 292 pounds of peanut butter, 340 pounds of grape jelly, and 710 pounds of bread.
Many trace the origins of April Fools' Day back to 1582 when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian, resulting in the new year starting on January 1st instead of March 25th. “Those who continued to celebrate the end of New Year Week on April 1st were referred to as fools,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
One of the first April Fool pranks occurred in 1698, when the citizens of London were tricked into attending the lion-washing ceremony at the Tower of London, a ceremony that did not actually exist.
The prank was repeated on April 1, 1857 when tickets were offered for "Washing the Lions" at the Tower of London in London.
Astronomer Patrick Moore told BBC listeners on April 1, 1976 that due to a unique planet alignment, we would feel lighter at 9.47am.
As part of an April Fool's Day prank in 1989, a TV news station in Seattle reported that the city's iconic Space Needle had collapsed. So many people called 911 that the lines went down, and medical professionals left from hours away to volunteer in the 'recovery' efforts.
Holy Innocents Day on December 28th commemorates The Massacre of the Innocents, the biblical recount of infanticide by Herod the Great. It is a day for pranks, equivalent to April Fool's Day in many countries including Spain, Hispanic America, and the Philippines. After somebody plays a prank on somebody else, the joker usually cries out, in some regions of Ibero-America: Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar ("You innocent little dove that let yourself be fooled").
National Crayon Day is celebrated on March 31 every year. The day is intended to celebrate the creation of crayons as well as the joy of using crayons to color.
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| 4-crayon pack sporting built-in sharpener. CC BY 3.0, $2 |
The most recognizable scent for adults in the USA was the smell of crayons in the 18th century.
In 1903 a wax crayon was developed in Europe and was first used to mark crates and boxes. Later called Crayola, it made its way in several colors to the USA. where the boxes of eight retailed for five cents on October 23, 1903.
A crayon molder named Emerson Moser helped create 1.4 billion crayons over a 37-year career. On his last day he revealed that he was color blind.
Crayons can be used as candles in case of an emergency. Each crayon can burn up to 30 minutes.
National Doctors' Day is celebrated on March 30 each year to recognize the contributions of physicians to individual lives and communities.
In 1903 a wax crayon was developed in Europe and was first used to mark crates and boxes. Later called Crayola, it made its way in several colors to the USA. where the boxes of eight retailed for five cents on October 23, 1903.
A crayon molder named Emerson Moser helped create 1.4 billion crayons over a 37-year career. On his last day he revealed that he was color blind.
Crayons can be used as candles in case of an emergency. Each crayon can burn up to 30 minutes.
National Doctors' Day is celebrated on March 30 each year to recognize the contributions of physicians to individual lives and communities.
The first Doctors Day was observed in Winder, Georgia on March 30, 1933. Dr. Charles B. Almond’s wife, Eudora Brown Almond, wanted to have a day to honor physicians. The date chosen was the anniversary of the first use of general anesthesia in surgery. On March 30, 1842, in Jefferson, Georgia, Dr. Crawford Long used ether to anesthetize a patient, James Venable, and painlessly excised a tumor from his neck.
The first observance included the mailing of cards to the physicians and their wives, and flowers placed on graves of deceased doctors, including Dr. Long. The red carnation is commonly used as the symbolic flower for National Doctors Day
On February 21, 1991, President George H.W. Bush proclaimed National Doctors Day to honor the Nation’s physicians for their dedication and leadership.
National Vietnam War Veterans Day is a US holiday observed annually on March 29 recognizing veterans who served in the US military during the Vietnam War.
The first observance included the mailing of cards to the physicians and their wives, and flowers placed on graves of deceased doctors, including Dr. Long. The red carnation is commonly used as the symbolic flower for National Doctors Day
On February 21, 1991, President George H.W. Bush proclaimed National Doctors Day to honor the Nation’s physicians for their dedication and leadership.
National Vietnam War Veterans Day is a US holiday observed annually on March 29 recognizing veterans who served in the US military during the Vietnam War.
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| U.S. soldiers searching a village for potential Viet Cong/ |
The Vietnam War was a war following the division of Indochina under the 1954 Geneva Convention into the separate states of North and South Vietnam.
Within South Vietnam the communist Viet Cong, supported by North Vietnam and China, attempted to seize power. South Vietnam were backed by the USA, who provided military aid from 1964.
Several large-scale invasion attempts by North Vietnam were defeated by indigenous and US forces, but the unpopularity of the war within the USA led to American withdraw from 1973.
2,500,000 US troops went to Vietnam, 58,000 were killed or reported missing, 200,000 wounded, and 100,000 are alleged to have committed suicide; Vietnamese casualties are unknown.
Easter is the yearly festival observed by Christians to commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Within South Vietnam the communist Viet Cong, supported by North Vietnam and China, attempted to seize power. South Vietnam were backed by the USA, who provided military aid from 1964.
Several large-scale invasion attempts by North Vietnam were defeated by indigenous and US forces, but the unpopularity of the war within the USA led to American withdraw from 1973.
Easter is the yearly festival observed by Christians to commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Easter message is the core of Christian belief: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified and died as a sacrifice for humanity's sins, but then gloriously rose from the dead on the third day, conquering death and offering the promise of eternal life to all who believe in him. This resurrection is the ultimate victory over sin and death, bringing hope and new life to the world.
The name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, who symbolized hares and eggs. Only the Venerable Bede mentions her.
Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection occurred after he went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, the Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt.
Easter Day falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox (the time when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are equal).
Easter Sunday may fall on any date between March 22nd and April 25th.
World Theatre Day is celebrated annually on March 27 by International Theatre Institute (ITI) Centres and the international theatre community. It was initiated in 1961 by the ITI
Theatre (British English), or Theater (mostly American English) as we know it began in ancient Greece with a religious ceremony called 'dithyramb' in which a chorus of men dressed in goat skins sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility. The performances were given in semi-circular auditoria cut into hillsides, capable of seating 10,000–20,000 people.
The performance of mime as a dramatic art form originated in Ancient Greece; the name was taken from a single masked dancer called Pantomimus, although performances were not necessarily silent.
The world's largest theatrical wardrobe department is at Walt Disney World, Florida, which houses 1.2 million costumes.
Due to covid-19 outbreak, the ITI conducted the 2021 activities online.
The Independence Day of Bangladesh is a national holiday that takes place ever March 26. It commemorates the country's declaration of independence from Pakistan in the early hours of March 26, 1971 by the leader of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Present-day Bangladesh was formed into the eastern province of Pakistan when India was partitioned 1947.
Substantially different in culture, language, and geography from Western Pakistan, East Pakistan resented their political and military dominance. A movement for political autonomy gained strength as a result of West Pakistan's indifference, when flooding killed 500,000 in East Pakistan in 1970.
The Bangladesh Liberation War began after the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of March 25, 1971. It pursued the systematic elimination of nationalist Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, religious minorities and armed personnel and resulted in the flight of 10 million East Pakistani refugees to India.
The violent crackdown by the Pakistan Army led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan's independence as the state of Bangladesh the following day.
Today is Good Friday. Good Friday is a significant day in the Christian calendar, marking the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. It falls on the Friday before Easter Sunday, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. Good Friday is observed with solemnity and reverence by Christians worldwide.
We have called the Friday before Easter Sunday Good Friday since around 1300.
33 AD was the possible year of Jesus’ crucifixion according to the Bible and earthquake research reported in the International Geology Review in 2012.
In the Philippines, some Catholics volunteer to be non-lethally crucified on Good Friday. Sterilized nails are driven through their palms and they are hung on crosses. A carpenter named Ruben Enaje has been crucified over 32 times. Philippines Department of Health advises tetanus shots before crucifixion.
Tolkien Reading Day is an annual event, launched by The Tolkien Society in 2003, that takes place on March 25. It has the aim of encouraging the reading of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, and the use of Tolkien's works in education and library groups.
J. R. R. Tolkien was the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He is popularly identified as the "father" of modern fantasy literature.
The date of of March 25th was chosen as the date on which the Ring was destroyed, completing Frodo's quest and vanquishing Sauron.
Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, is a significant day in the Christian liturgical calendar. It commemorates several key events in the life of Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament of the Bible, particularly in the Gospels.
The lung disease tuberculosis was the scourge of the 18th and 19th centuries in the West wiping out thousands every year. By the middle of the 19th century it was responsible for one in seven of all European deaths. The cause was unknown until on March 24, 1882 German doctor Robert Koch discovered the bacterium causing it.
Eight years later Koch prematurely announced he had developed tuberculin, a cure for tuberculosis. Though it proved ineffective as a vaccine against the disease it did work as a way of finding out whether a patient had experienced tuberculosis.
The Bacillus Calmette–Guerin vaccine against tuberculous is based on a bovine strain of the bacterium. It was developed by Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin in the 1910s and first used on humans in 1921. Today, in countries where tuberculosis is common, one dose of BCG is recommended in healthy babies as close to the time of birth as possible.
The organism that usually causes tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can travel through the air and spread from one person to the next. This happens when infected people cough, speak, sneeze, or spit.
In 2012, 8.6 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.3 million died from the disease, mostly in low and middle-income countries.
Pakistan Day, also Republic Day, is a national holiday in Pakistan commemorating the Lahore Resolution passed on March 23, 1940 and the adoption of the first constitution of Pakistan during the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on March 23, 1956.
Choudhry Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet entitled Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever? on January 28, 1933 while a student at Cambridge University's Emmanuel College. It was from Ali's small backstreet house, 3 Humberstone Road, Cambridge that he called for the creation of a Muslim state in northwest India that the young student termed "Pakstan" (without the letter "i").
“Pak” means spiritually pure in Urdu and “Stan” means land. The name coined by Ali was accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s thanks to fears of under-representation and neglect of Muslims in politics. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, greatly espoused the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution.
As the United Kingdom agreed upon partitioning of the Indian empire of British Raj, the modern state of Pakistan was established on August 14, 1947.
Queen Elizabeth II ended her role as monarch of Pakistan on March 23, 1956, when it became the first country in the world to declare itself an Islamic Republic.
Today is World Water Day, an annual UN observance day ( March 22) that highlights the importance of freshwater and how it is linked to climate change. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
In 1900, the average American used just five gallons (19 litres) of water a day. Only 15 percent of households had flushing toilets, and even fewer had bath tubs. People often had no conception of what it was like to be wet all over. People on farms have to dig wells by hand and carry water to the house. They required 50 gallons (189 litres) of it for one load of laundry.
Between 1900 and 2000, water consumption increased by 600% and, with natural sources of water becoming an increasingly valuable commodity the United Nations was anxious that rivers crossing national boundaries, would soon become a source of conflict.
Some studies suggest that by 2025 more than half the people around the world will not have enough fresh water.
The world's purest fresh water can be found on the southern tip of Chile, in a town called Puerto Williams. The water has been found to have only two chemical parts per million, hence making it the world's cleanest.
International Color Day is celebrated each year on March 21 by the International Color Association. Apparently they chose the date to mark the spring equinox, when light and dark are equal, though the equinox usually falls on March 19 or 20.
The human eye can detect more shades of green than any other color.
The color you see in a pitch-black room is "Dark Gray" not black and it is called "Eigengrau".
When asked to name a color, 60% of any sample will name the color “red.”
Today is Palm Sunday, the Sunday preceding Easter. It is so called in memory of Jesus Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when the multitude strewed the way with palm branches. The event is mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels.
The name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, who symbolized hares and eggs. Only the Venerable Bede mentions her.
Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection occurred after he went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, the Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt.
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| Resurrection of Christ by Hans Rottenhammer |
Easter Day falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox (the time when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are equal).
Easter Sunday may fall on any date between March 22nd and April 25th.
World Theatre Day is celebrated annually on March 27 by International Theatre Institute (ITI) Centres and the international theatre community. It was initiated in 1961 by the ITI
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| The inside of the Apollo Theater as seen from the stage. David Shankbone |
The performance of mime as a dramatic art form originated in Ancient Greece; the name was taken from a single masked dancer called Pantomimus, although performances were not necessarily silent.
The world's largest theatrical wardrobe department is at Walt Disney World, Florida, which houses 1.2 million costumes.
Due to covid-19 outbreak, the ITI conducted the 2021 activities online.
The Independence Day of Bangladesh is a national holiday that takes place ever March 26. It commemorates the country's declaration of independence from Pakistan in the early hours of March 26, 1971 by the leader of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
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| Bangladesh Indepednce Day celebration By Sajeeb Ahmed Photography |
Substantially different in culture, language, and geography from Western Pakistan, East Pakistan resented their political and military dominance. A movement for political autonomy gained strength as a result of West Pakistan's indifference, when flooding killed 500,000 in East Pakistan in 1970.
The Bangladesh Liberation War began after the Pakistani military junta based in West Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan on the night of March 25, 1971. It pursued the systematic elimination of nationalist Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, religious minorities and armed personnel and resulted in the flight of 10 million East Pakistani refugees to India.
The violent crackdown by the Pakistan Army led to Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declaring East Pakistan's independence as the state of Bangladesh the following day.
Today is Good Friday. Good Friday is a significant day in the Christian calendar, marking the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. It falls on the Friday before Easter Sunday, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. Good Friday is observed with solemnity and reverence by Christians worldwide.
The events of Good Friday are recounted in the New Testament of the Bible, particularly in the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. According to Christian tradition, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, and arrested by the religious authorities in Jerusalem. He was then subjected to a series of trials before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, who ultimately sentenced him to death by crucifixion.
The crucifixion of Jesus is considered by Christians as the ultimate sacrifice, representing the atonement for humanity's sins. It is believed that Jesus willingly underwent this ordeal to offer redemption and reconciliation between humanity and God.
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| A Stabat Mater depiction, 1868 |
Good Friday is observed with various rituals and customs in different Christian denominations. Many churches hold solemn liturgical services, which may include readings of the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion, prayers, hymns, and meditations on the suffering of Christ. Some churches also re-enact the Stations of the Cross, depicting the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion.
33 AD was the possible year of Jesus’ crucifixion according to the Bible and earthquake research reported in the International Geology Review in 2012.
In the Philippines, some Catholics volunteer to be non-lethally crucified on Good Friday. Sterilized nails are driven through their palms and they are hung on crosses. A carpenter named Ruben Enaje has been crucified over 32 times. Philippines Department of Health advises tetanus shots before crucifixion.
Tolkien Reading Day is an annual event, launched by The Tolkien Society in 2003, that takes place on March 25. It has the aim of encouraging the reading of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, and the use of Tolkien's works in education and library groups.
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| JRR Tolkien |
The date of of March 25th was chosen as the date on which the Ring was destroyed, completing Frodo's quest and vanquishing Sauron.
Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, is a significant day in the Christian liturgical calendar. It commemorates several key events in the life of Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament of the Bible, particularly in the Gospels.
The Last Supper: Maundy Thursday marks the occasion of the Last Supper, which Jesus shared with his disciples in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. During this meal, Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion or the Eucharist, where he broke bread and shared wine with his disciples, symbolizing his body and blood.
The Washing of the Feet: Another significant event associated with Maundy Thursday is the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus. This act of humility and service demonstrated Jesus' love for his followers and set an example of servant leadership.
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| Maundy ceremony in a Church in Wales parish church By Peter Mackriell - Flickr |
The Agony in the Garden: After the Last Supper, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, where he experienced great anguish and agony over the events that were about to unfold, including his betrayal and crucifixion. This moment in the garden signifies Jesus' submission to the will of God.
Betrayal and Arrest: Maundy Thursday also marks the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who identified Jesus to the authorities with a kiss. Following this betrayal, Jesus was arrested by the Roman soldiers and taken into custody.
The term "Maundy" is derived from the Latin word "mandatum," meaning commandment, and refers to Jesus' commandment to his disciples during the Last Supper to love one another as he had loved them (John 13:34). In some Christian traditions, Maundy Thursday is observed with special church services, including the reenactment of the Last Supper, foot washing ceremonies, and the stripping of the altar to symbolize Jesus' impending crucifixion. It is the beginning of the Easter Triduum, which also includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, leading up to Easter Sunday, the celebration of Jesus' resurrection.
World Tuberculosis Day is commemorated annually on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic.
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| A close up of a culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Wikipedia |
Eight years later Koch prematurely announced he had developed tuberculin, a cure for tuberculosis. Though it proved ineffective as a vaccine against the disease it did work as a way of finding out whether a patient had experienced tuberculosis.
The Bacillus Calmette–Guerin vaccine against tuberculous is based on a bovine strain of the bacterium. It was developed by Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin in the 1910s and first used on humans in 1921. Today, in countries where tuberculosis is common, one dose of BCG is recommended in healthy babies as close to the time of birth as possible.
The organism that usually causes tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can travel through the air and spread from one person to the next. This happens when infected people cough, speak, sneeze, or spit.
In 2012, 8.6 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.3 million died from the disease, mostly in low and middle-income countries.
Pakistan Day, also Republic Day, is a national holiday in Pakistan commemorating the Lahore Resolution passed on March 23, 1940 and the adoption of the first constitution of Pakistan during the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on March 23, 1956.
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| Flag of Pakistan |
“Pak” means spiritually pure in Urdu and “Stan” means land. The name coined by Ali was accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s thanks to fears of under-representation and neglect of Muslims in politics. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, greatly espoused the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution.
As the United Kingdom agreed upon partitioning of the Indian empire of British Raj, the modern state of Pakistan was established on August 14, 1947.
Queen Elizabeth II ended her role as monarch of Pakistan on March 23, 1956, when it became the first country in the world to declare itself an Islamic Republic.
Today is World Water Day, an annual UN observance day ( March 22) that highlights the importance of freshwater and how it is linked to climate change. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
In 1900, the average American used just five gallons (19 litres) of water a day. Only 15 percent of households had flushing toilets, and even fewer had bath tubs. People often had no conception of what it was like to be wet all over. People on farms have to dig wells by hand and carry water to the house. They required 50 gallons (189 litres) of it for one load of laundry.
Between 1900 and 2000, water consumption increased by 600% and, with natural sources of water becoming an increasingly valuable commodity the United Nations was anxious that rivers crossing national boundaries, would soon become a source of conflict.
Some studies suggest that by 2025 more than half the people around the world will not have enough fresh water.
The world's purest fresh water can be found on the southern tip of Chile, in a town called Puerto Williams. The water has been found to have only two chemical parts per million, hence making it the world's cleanest.
International Color Day is celebrated each year on March 21 by the International Color Association. Apparently they chose the date to mark the spring equinox, when light and dark are equal, though the equinox usually falls on March 19 or 20.
The color you see in a pitch-black room is "Dark Gray" not black and it is called "Eigengrau".
When asked to name a color, 60% of any sample will name the color “red.”
Today is Palm Sunday, the Sunday preceding Easter. It is so called in memory of Jesus Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when the multitude strewed the way with palm branches. The event is mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels.
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| Palm Sunday in East Timor |
The waving of palm branches, the Palestinian equivalent of a ticker-tape welcome, was also something done to celebrate the arrival of an important person.
Despite this rapturous reception, many who shouted “Hosanna” would calling for Jesus to be crucified when He stood on trial only a few days later. Why this change? Because they came to realize that Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they had been expecting. The crowd were looking for a warrior king who would lead them into battle against their Roman oppressors. They had missed the clue in Jesus’ entry – his arrival on a donkey rather than a war horse. He was coming in peace to save them from their sins, not to fight against the Romans. Zechariah said he will come "gentle" and riding on a donkey.
Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week, the last week of the Christian solemn season of Lent that precedes the arrival of Eastertide.
In most liturgical churches, Palm Sunday is celebrated by the blessing and distribution of palm branches (or the branches of other native trees), representing the palm branches which the crowd scattered in front of Christ as he rode into Jerusalem.
In medieval England, palms were often made from box, willow, and yew.
Today, March 20, 2026, marks the Vernal Equinox, the official start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. While the name implies equal day and night, most locations actually reached that 12-hour balance a few days ago during the equilux. From today onward, the days will continue to be longer than the nights until the Autumnal Equinox on September 22nd.
We have used the word 'spring' for the season since the 16th century. Before that it was used for centuries to apply to the source of a river.
Before we called it spring the season was known as Lent or Lenten.
Persephone was the Greek goddess of spring. She spent winters as Queen of the Underworld but returned in spring to preside over rebirth.
The earliest known use of the term 'spring-cleaning' was in 1857.
Saint Joseph's Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Joseph, is a Christian celebration that honors Saint Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus Christ. It is observed on March 19th each year in many Christian traditions, including Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Saint Joseph's Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Joseph, is a Christian celebration that honors Saint Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus Christ. It is observed on March 19th each year in many Christian traditions, including Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Saint Joseph is highly revered in Christian tradition for his role as the earthly guardian and protector of Jesus. He is often depicted as a humble and righteous man who faithfully cared for Mary and Jesus. According to the Bible, Joseph was a carpenter by trade and lived in Nazareth. He is believed to have died before Jesus began his public ministry.