The symbol ampersand (&) was regarded as the 27th letter of the English alphabet, as taught to children in the US and elsewhere. It was seen as a ligature of the letters 'e' and 't' to form the Latin word 'et' meaning 'and'. So the alphabet would go X,Y,Z and And. An example may be seen in M. B. Moore's 1863 book The Dixie Primer, for the Little Folks. To distinguish it from the rest, children started to say 'and per say and' which later evolved into 'ampersand'.
On September 7, 1822, Prince Pedro declared the independence of Brazil from Portugal on the shores of the Ipiranga creek in São Paulo. After waging a successful war against his father's kingdom, he was acclaimed the following month as Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil. The Monument to Independence in São Paulo's Independence Park is located at the place where then-Prince Pedro proclaimed the independence of Brazil.
 |
| Prince Pedro declares the Independence of Brazi by Pedro Américo. |
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world by landmass with 5.35 million square miles (behind Russia, Canada, China and the United States). Its only 300,000 square miles smaller than the US.
Brazil is the longest country in the world, and spans approximately 2800 miles from north to south via land.
Today is the anniversary of The Victoria becoming the first known ship to circumnavigate the world.
Today is the anniversary of The Victoria becoming the first known ship to circumnavigate the world.
 |
| A detail from a map of 1590 showing Victoria |
Ferdinand Magellan was placed in charge of five ships by King Charles to try to get to the East Indies by sailing westwards. He hoped to find a strait which would lead past North America and end the Portuguese domination of the Spice trade. Ferdinand Magellan and his 270 shipmates set sail in September 1519 from San Lucar, near Seville with the lead ship Trinidad, along with four other vessels – San Antonio, Santiago, Concepcion, and Victoria. On board was enough food to last two years
14 months later, the three remaining ships entered the South Pacific, having survived the wild and stormy waters that divided the Latin American mainland from Tierra Del Fuego. Magellan named the waters the Mar Pacifico (Pacific Ocean) because of its apparent stillness.
When Magellan was killed in battle in The Phillipines, the command went to a merchant ship captain. Juan Sebastián Elcano who had signed on as a subordinate officer for the voyage in order to gain the king's pardon for previous misdeeds.
When the two remaining ships reached the Spice Islands they traded with the Sultan of Tidore, a rival of the Sultan of Ternate. Elcano decided to avoid the Magellan Straits again, so they took the eastern route risking bumping into Portuguese ships who would have pirated the spices they had on board.
The Trinidad broke off and was no longer seaworthy, leaving only Victoria to continue and return to Seville.
Magellan's 18 surviving companions having sailed 30,700 miles, reached Seville on September 6, 1522, completing the return voyage under Elcano.
Today is the United States federal holiday Labor Day.
Today is the United States federal holiday Labor Day.
 |
| Illustration of the first American Labor parade held in New York City on September 5, 1882 |
Peter J. McGuire, an Irish-American general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, is considered by many to be the Father of the Labor Day holiday. He wanted citizens that “labored” all year long to be acknowledged and have a day to relax. After witnessing the annual labor festival held in Toronto, Canada, he suggested during a Central Labor Union on May 18, 1882: "Let us have, a festive day during which a parade through the streets of the city would permit public tribute to American Industry."
Others believe that a machinist called Matthew Maguire founded the holiday. They contend that Maguire proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.
The first Labor Day happened way back on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. 10,000 workers marched through New York City before a picnic, concert, and speeches at a park. Many of them lost a day's pay in order to participate.
Worker unions chose the first Monday in September because it meant time off between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.
Labor Day received its first official recognition by local governments. Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day an official holiday in 1887.
It wasn't until June 28, 1894 that Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday.
Today is the feast day of Mother Teresa.
Agnes Bojaxhiu (later to be known as Mother Teresa) was born on August 26, 1910 in Skopje (now the capital of the Republic of Macedonia), Ottoman Empire.
At the age of 12 Agnes Bojaxhiu already knew she wanted to be a missionary and her desire increased when local Jesuits, sent on missions of mercy to India, wrote enthusiastic letters back home about happenings in Bengal.
In 1928 the teenage Albanian arrived in India, where she joined the Loretto Convent in Darjiling. On September 10, 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling, she experienced what she later described as "the call within the call", directing her to leave the convent and devote herself to the sick and impoverished.
She began missionary work with the poor in 1948 and two years later on October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity. Over the next decades Mother Teresa's organization established schools and opened centers to treat the blind, aged, lepers, disabled and dying throughout the world.
On March 13, 1997 Mother Teresa resigned as head of the Missionaries of Charity, and she died of a heart attack on September 5, 1997.
Pope Francis canonized Mother Teresa at a ceremony on September 4, 2016 in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. Tens of thousands of people witnessed the ceremony, including 15 government delegations and 1,500 homeless people from across Italy. The anniversary of her death (5 September) is her feast day.
Today is World Beard Day.
Today is the feast day of Mother Teresa.
 |
| Mother Teresa 1995 By Kingkong photo www.celebrity-photos.com |
Agnes Bojaxhiu (later to be known as Mother Teresa) was born on August 26, 1910 in Skopje (now the capital of the Republic of Macedonia), Ottoman Empire.
At the age of 12 Agnes Bojaxhiu already knew she wanted to be a missionary and her desire increased when local Jesuits, sent on missions of mercy to India, wrote enthusiastic letters back home about happenings in Bengal.
In 1928 the teenage Albanian arrived in India, where she joined the Loretto Convent in Darjiling. On September 10, 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling, she experienced what she later described as "the call within the call", directing her to leave the convent and devote herself to the sick and impoverished.
She began missionary work with the poor in 1948 and two years later on October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity. Over the next decades Mother Teresa's organization established schools and opened centers to treat the blind, aged, lepers, disabled and dying throughout the world.
On March 13, 1997 Mother Teresa resigned as head of the Missionaries of Charity, and she died of a heart attack on September 5, 1997.
Pope Francis canonized Mother Teresa at a ceremony on September 4, 2016 in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. Tens of thousands of people witnessed the ceremony, including 15 government delegations and 1,500 homeless people from across Italy. The anniversary of her death (5 September) is her feast day.
Today is World Beard Day.
World Beard Day is celebrated annually on an international level with people from every nation and continent gathering together with their beards. It is held on the first Saturday of September. While World Beard Day customs specific to their own region, shaving on World Beard Day is universally considered to be highly disrespectful.
Tsar Peter I of Russia’s visits to the West impressed upon him the notion that European customs were in several respects superior to Russian traditions. The Tsar imposed on September 5, 1698, a tax on beards. All men except priests and peasants had to pay up to 100 roubles (a small fortune in those years) annually and carry around a copper or bronze token to show they had paid the tax. Peasants were allowed to wear beards in their villages, but were required to shave it off when entering the city or pay a one kopek coin for it.
Beards cane roaring back into fashion in the UK in the mid 19th Century. They had been banned in the army, but the freezing conditions endured by troops during the Crimean War made shaving and impossible, so facial hair flourished in the military. This helped to bring mutton chops and other forms of facial hair back into fashion.
Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the electrical age.
Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the electrical age.
Godalming in southeastern England came to world attention when it became the first town in the world to have a public electricity supply installed, which made electricity available to consumers. It was powered by a waterwheel, located at Westbrook Mill, on the river Wey. The Godmaling streets were first illuminated on October 1, 1881.
In an effort to produce electric light, Thomas Edison studied the entire history of lighting. He filled 200 notebooks containing more than 40,000 pages with his notes on gas illumination alone.
Edison bought electricity to the masses by digging up roads and installing cables. He designed the first hydroelectric plant, the steam-driven Pearl Street Plant, which put electric light in the streets and houses.
AT 3pm on September 4, 1882, Thomas Edison flicked a switch to turn on the world’s first electricity power plant to supply electricity to paying customers in Pearl Street, Manhattan, New York. This is considered by many as the day that began the electrical age.
When Edison declared an interest in supplying electricity to subscribers, the gas suppliers, in fear for their domestic lighting business took him to court. They argued that electricity was too dangerous to be supplied to households. The courts’ ruling was that a maximum 100-volt was safe to supply.
The Vulcan Street Plant, the first hydroelectric central station to serve a system of private and commercial customers in North America, was put into operation four weeks later in Appleton, Wisconsin, US. The first buildings to be lit by the Vulcan Street Plant were the Appleton Paper and Pulp Company building, the Vulcan Paper Mill, and the home of H.J. Rogers, who was the president of the Appleton Paper and Pulp Co at the time.
The consecration took place on this day in 590 of Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great).
The consecration took place on this day in 590 of Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great).
 |
| By Meister des Registrum Gregorii. - Trier, Stadtbibliothek |
Pope Gregory I commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was Pope from 590 to his death in 604.
Gregory's father was Gordianus, a wealthy patrician, probably of the eminent patrician family of the gens Anicia , who owned large estates in Sicily and a mansion on the Caelian Hill in Rome. Of Gregory's early years we know very little, except how he loved to meditate on the Scriptures and to listen attentively to the conversations of his elders, so that he was "devoted to God from his youth up".
Gregory spent five years as an emissary to the imperial court at Constantinople between 579-584. Then he devoted himself to teaching and literary work.
On September 3, 590 Gregory was elected pope by the church leaders but he refused the office and fled from Rome. Gregory hid in the forest until he was found and was hauled back to the city where he reluctantly agreed to take the post. Gregory had no craving for the position and was so upset that he could barely speak.
At the time of Gregory's elevation to the papacy, Rome was in the midst of a plague epidemic to which Gregory's predecessor, Pelagius had been a victim. Gregory's first act as pope was to order a sorrowful procession through the city. The plague subsided. It was said that Pope Gregory originated the usage of the phrase "God Bless You", when someone sneezes, at a time when sneezing was a mortal symptom because of the plague.
Gregory encouraged many doctrines that later became prevalent in the Roman Catholic church such as the belief in the power of saints and relics, purgatory and transubstantiation in communion. He introduced the Catholic custom of placing ashes on the forehead as a sign of penitence from which Ash Wednesday originated.
The Great Fire of London broke out on this day in 1666.
The Great Fire of London broke out on this day in 1666.
 |
| Ludgate in flames, with St Paul's Cathedral in the distance |
The Great Fire of London broke out on September 2, 1666, beginning at the house of Thomas Farynor, the king's baker in Pudding Lane.
It burned for three days and is estimated to have destroyed around 13,200 houses, leaving up to 100,000 people homeless.
Temperatures in Pudding Lane reached 1,700 degrees centigrade during the Great Fire of London. This heat cremated remains of victims leaving no recognizable remains.
Officially, only six deaths were recorded, but it is likely that many more, especially poorer individuals, went uncounted due to the chaotic aftermath and the limitations of contemporary recordkeeping.
Nine days after the Great Fire of London, Christopher Wren prepared a plan for rebuilding the city which he presented King Charles II with. In it he removed the crowded alleyways which were a fire and health hazard. All new streets would have one of three widths - 90,60 or 30 feet.
Today is the first day of the month of September.
Today is the first day of the month of September.
 |
| September, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry |
September mean 'seven' in Latin as it was originally the seventh month in the Julian calendar, created by Julius Caesar.
The Anglo-Saxons called September 'Gerst monath', meaning 'barley month'.
September is the only month with the same number of letters in its name in English as the number of the month. It is the ninth month and has nine letters.
In 1752 September had only 19 days in the UK as the country moved from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar.
On an average September day more babies are born in the US than on a day in any other month.
Today is the anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Today is the anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
On the night of August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed were both tragically killed in a motor accident when the car they were in collided with a beam on the Pont D'Alma near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
In Britain in unprecedented scenes of grieving, millions of mourners flocked to London to lay flowers and toys in her memory. This public outpouring of grief over the tragic death of ‘the people’s princess’ is to many commentators in the media an outbreak of hysteria. However in such tragedy mourners are turning to religious symbols such as offering up a candle and tying to railings written prayers as a way of expressing their emotions.
Her funeral was held a week later. Over a million people lined the streets and the world-wide TV audience for the funeral ceremonies was estimated at approximately 2.5 billion people, which, in 1997, was about 43% of the entire population of Earth.
Elton John sung a new version of his hit single "Candle In The Wind" at Princess Diana's funeral. The new version, which replaced "Goodbye Norma Jean" with "Goodbye England's Rose," became the best-selling single of all time.
Diana was buried on an island at her ancestral home at Althorp.
Today is the anniversary of Hubert Booth patenting the first vacuum cleaner.
Today is the anniversary of Hubert Booth patenting the first vacuum cleaner.
In 1900 Hubert Booth of Glasgow, Scotland demonstrated the principle of extracting dust from carpets by suction. He patented his device on August 30, 1901. Soon after, he coined the phrase “vacuum cleaner”, in calling his business “The Vacuum Cleaner Company Ltd”.
Earlier sucking cleaners had been patented but Booth's was the first not to rely on manual power. His first models used oil but later electricity was used.
Hubert Booth's sucking cleaning device looked nothing like a modern vacuum cleaner. The five horse-power motor and pump were so enormous that they were mounted on a horse-drawn carriage, while long tubes up to 25 yards long reached into the building that was being cleaned.
The making of Hubert Booth's vacuum cleaner was the 1902 coronation of Edward VII of the United Kingdom during which his invention cleaned the blue carpets of Westminster Abbey. The king and queen were sufficiently impressed to order two cleaners- one for Windsor Castle, the other for Buckingham Palace.
As a result of the monarch's purchase of the device, society hostesses threw parties in their homes so guests could watch Booth's vacuum cleaner in action.
Today is the anniversary of Gottlirb Daimler patenting the first internal combustion motorcycle.
Today is the anniversary of Gottlirb Daimler patenting the first internal combustion motorcycle.
Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler and his lifelong business partner Wilhelm Maybach developed in 1885 a high-speed internal combustion engine.They were granted a German patent for their engine design on April 3, 1885.
Daimler and Maybach subsequently fitted their engine to a bicycle to create the first internal combustion motorcycle. The design was patented on August 29, 1885.
The inventors called their invention the Reitwagen ("riding car"). It was designed as an expedient testbed for their new engine, rather than a true prototype vehicle.
Daimler's 17-year-old son, Paul, was the first to ride the Reitwagen taking it 5–12 kilometres (3.1–7.5 mi), from Cannstatt to Untertürkheim in Stuttgart, Germany on November 18, 1885. The seat caught fire during that journey, due to the engine's hot tube ignition being located directly underneath.
The first commercial design for a self-propelled cycle was a three-wheel design called the Butler Petrol Cycle, conceived of Edward Butler in England in 1884. He exhibited his plans for the vehicle at the Stanley Cycle Show in London in 1884. The vehicle was built by the Merryweather Fire Engine company in Greenwich four years later
Today is the anniversary of Caleb B. Bradburn naming his beverage Pepsi Cola.
Today is the anniversary of Caleb B. Bradburn naming his beverage Pepsi Cola.
In 1893 American pharmacist Caleb B. Bradburn developed a sweet, cola-flavored, carbonated beverage, which was known as "Brad's Drink". It was intended to cure stomach pains and was sold for five cents a glass at soda fountains.
Bradburn's original recipe was a concoction of rare oils, carbonated water, cola nuts, vanilla and sugar.
Caleb D. Bradburn renamed his syrup Pepsi Cola on August 28, 1898, partly in imitation of Coca-Cola and partly as he was marketing it as a cure for peptic ulcers.
As the syrup developed in popularity in the early 1900s, Bradham launched the Pepsi-Cola Company in the back room of his pharmacy. The business continued to grow, and he moved the bottling of the drink from his drugstore to a rented warehouse. On June 16, 1903, "Pepsi-Cola" became an official trademark.
Automobile race pioneer Barney Oldfield was the first celebrity to endorse Pepsi-Cola in 1909. He described it as "A bully drink...refreshing, invigorating, a fine bracer before a race".
During the Great Depression, Pepsi gained popularity following the introduction in 1936 of a 12-ounce bottle. Initially priced at 10 cents, sales were slow, but when the price was slashed to five cents, sales increased substantially. Pepsi-Cola's profits doubled between 1936 to 1938.
Today is the anniversary of the first play performed in the British North American colonies.
Today is the anniversary of the first play performed in the British North American colonies.
The oldest play still in existence is The Persians by Aeschylus, written in 472 BC. The Persians is based on experiences in Aeschylus's own life, specifically the Battle of Salamis. It is unique among surviving Greek tragedies in that it describes a recent historical event.
A woman appeared on a public stage in England for the first time in December 1660, playing Desdemona in Othello. Anne Marshal is believed to have been the most likely star, but no one at the Vere Street Theatre, London, thought to record the trailblazing actress’ name.
Ye Bare and Ye Cubb was presented on August 27, 1665 at Fowkes Tavern in Accomack County on the eastern shore of Virginia. It was the earliest known performance of a play in the British North American colonies. The three actors were accused of frivolity, hauled before a local magistrate and charged with "performing a play." The judge demanded that the offending performers re-enact their show and were acquitted after performing much of the play to a delighted court.
In 1922, Britain’s first radio play was broadcast by the BBC. The Truth About Father Christmas by Phyllis M. Twigg was lost to history because the BBC did not have tape recorders for another decade.
Captain James Cook set sail from England for the South Pacific on board HMS Endeavour on this day in 1768.
Captain James Cook set sail from England for the South Pacific on board HMS Endeavour on this day in 1768.
 |
| Cook's landing at Botany Bay in 1770 |
The Royal Survey engaged James Cook to travel to the South Pacific to witness the transit of Venus as it passed between the earth and the sun. Cook, at the age of 39, was promoted to lieutenant and named as commander of the expedition, which sailed from England on August 26, 1768. Two naturalists, including the founder of Kew Gardens, Joseph Banks and three artists came on board The Endeavour with all their equipment. It was the first time a scientific expedition had traveled on a naval ship with official blessing. Despite it being cloudy during the transit of Venus, the successful results set the pattern for subsequent voyages such as Darwin’s journey in the Beagle.
In October 1769 Cook sighted New Zealand on his Pacific voyage and set the way for the colonization of the country.
James Cook, still holding the rank of lieutenant, sighted the south-eastern coast of what is now Australia in April 1770. In doing so his expedition became the first recorded Europeans to have encountered its eastern coastline. Ten days later James Cook and his crew of HMS Endeavour arrived at and named Botany Bay, near present-day Sydney.
To counteract scurvy on board during the long voyage, Cook introduced lime and lemon juice, carrot marmalade, sauerkraut (cabbage reserved in brine, an unpopular food due to its German origins) and brewers malt extract.
Cook returned from his first voyage in 1771 to find two of his children, a baby boy and a small girl had died in his absence. His four surviving sons all died young- two at sea and Cook has no known direct descendants.
Cook recorded his journeys meticulously in his journals (which were published 1773-84), including An Account of a Voyage Round The Worl 1768-71.
Today is the anniversary of Galileo demonstrating his first telescope.
Today is the anniversary of Galileo demonstrating his first telescope.
 |
| Galileo showing the Doge of Venice how to use the telescope (fresco by Giuseppe Bertini) |
While in Venice, Galileo Galilei learned in 1609 of the recent invention of the telescope, commonly known as a "spyglass," which had been developed for military applications. After returning to Padua, he developed an improved version, the first one powerful enough to be used for astronomical observation. He went back to Venice and demonstrated his eight-power telescope to Venetian lawmakers on August 25, 1609.
Galileo first used his telescope to observe Jupiter's in January 1610. His observations over the following six days caused a revolution in astronomy: a planet with smaller planets orbiting it did not conform to the principles of Aristotelian cosmology, which held that all heavenly bodies should circle the Earth.
Galileo Galilei became the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune in December 1612. It appears Galileo mistook Neptune for a fixed star when it appeared close—in conjunction—to Jupiter in the night sky.
Galileo's Dialogue On Two Chief World Systems was dedicated to his patron, Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who received the first printed copy on February 22, 1632. The book updated Copernicus' theories about the Earth going around the Sun.
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."
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”)
Today is the anniversary of the invention of potato chips (crisps in British and Irish English).
Today is the anniversary of the invention of potato chips (crisps in British and Irish English).
A part Native Indian chef George Crum invented potato crisps (potato chips) by accident on August 24, 1853 thanks to a fussy customer. Industrialist Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt came to the Moon Lake House Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York, and ordered “thinner than normal French fried potatoes.” He kept sending them back to Crum, protesting that they were too thick. Finally, out of spite the chef sliced the potatoes paper-thin, so that he wouldn’t be able to eat them with a fork then, fried them to a crisp in oil, and splashed salt on them. Vanderbilt loved them. These "potato crunches” as Crum called them became a regular feature of the hotel’s menu.
Crum called his crisps “potato crunches” but they became known as “Saratoga chips”.
The Brits have a claim to have got there first. William Kitchiner’s 1817 book, The Cook’s Oracle, contains a recipe for “potatoes fried in slices”.
New England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, originally established in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company, in Leominster, Massachusetts, claims to be America’s first potato chip manufacturer.
Potato crisps were introduced to England in 1913. A Mr. Carter discovered them in France and he set up a company, Carter’s Crisps to manufacture the snack.
August 23 is celebrated as the Day of the National Flag in Ukraine.
August 23 is celebrated as the Day of the National Flag in Ukraine.
The flag of Ukraine is made up of two equally sized horizontal stripes, a blue one and a yellow one. The combination of blue and yellow as a symbol of Ukrainian lands comes from the flag of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia used in 12th century. It was officially adopted as a state flag for the first time in 1918 by the short-lived West Ukrainian People's Republic, and subsequently used by the Ukrainian People's Republic the following year. Ukraine has celebrated Flag Day each year on August 23 since 2005.
Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991. Over 92% of Ukrainian voters approved their country's independence as declared by the Ukrainian parliament. On the same day, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.
Independence Day of Ukraine, the main state holiday in modern Ukraine, is celebrated on August 24 in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence of 1991.
King Charles I raised his standard in Nottingham on August 22, 1642, marking the beginning of the English Civil War.
King Charles I raised his standard in Nottingham on August 22, 1642, marking the beginning of the English Civil War.
Battle of Marston Moor
After the English Parliament declared extra parliamentary taxation, King Charles I attempted to arrest five parliamentary leaders on January 4, 1642. When this failed he withdrew from London and declared war on Parliament from Nottingham on August 22, 1642. In this civil war Charles's army were called "Cavaliers" and the Parliament's soldiers, "Roundheads".
Cromwell’s Parliamentarian troops defeated the King’s soldiers at Marston Moor in July 1644. The victory secured the North of England for Parliament and marked the decisive turning point in the English Civil War.
Parliament won the first war, and Charles 1 was put in prison, but he escaped. Charles gained support from the Scots, in return for a promise to introduce Presbyterianism into England thus provoking part two of the Civil War in 1647.
In January 1648 England's Long Parliament passed the "Vote of No Addresses", breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War. The vote was in response to the news that Charles I was entering into an engagement with the Scots.
Parliament won the second war also King Charles was put on trial, found guilty of treason and executed.
King Charles I's eldest son, the Prince of Wales, fled Britain and set up his own royal court in Holland, calling himself King Charles II of England. He returned to fight another battle against the army of Parliament. The Third Civil War (1649 - 1651) was fought between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament.
The English Civil War ended when Parliament won the Battle of Worcester in September 1651. It saw 28,000 men from Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army defeat 14,000 royalist soldiers.
On this day in 1921, AA Milne bought his son a teddy bear, which gave rise to his Winnie-the-Pooh stories.
On this day in 1921, AA Milne bought his son a teddy bear, which gave rise to his Winnie-the-Pooh stories.
 |
| Christopher Robin and Winnie-The-Pooh |
Theodore Roosevelt started the fashion for Teddy bears when during a hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902, he refused to shoot a defenseless black bear that had been tied to a willow tree. Political cartoonist Clifford Berryman picked up on the story, drawing a cartoon showing President Roosevelt with a bear, which ran in the Washington Post two days later.
An alert Brooklyn shop owner Morris Michtom saw the cartoon and created a tiny plush toy bear cub with his wife Rose's help. After receiving permission to use Roosevelt's name, Michtom put a plush bear in the shop window with a sign "Teddy's bear". The sale of the bears was so brisk that Michtom created the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, which began making dolls in 1907 to complement its line of teddy bears.
One of the most famous teddy bears was an 18-inch-high one the writer A. A. Milne and his wife brought from Harrods in London. It was a present for their son, Christopher Robin Milne, in honor of his first birthday on August 21, 1921.
Milne called the toy bear "Winnie" after a Canadian black bear he often saw at London Zoo. The animal had been born in Canada but brought to London in 1914 as the mascot of a Canadian regiment. A Canadian soldier, Harry Colebourn, named him Winnie after his hometown Winnipeg.
The other part of the name, "Pooh," was based on a swan Milne and his family met on holiday.
The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne, was first in October 1926. Other stuffed animal toys owned by Milne's son were also incorporated into the story, including Tigger, Kanga, Eeyore, and Piglet.
Today is Bernard of Clairvaux's feast day.
Today is Bernard of Clairvaux's feast day.
 |
| Bernard of Clairvaux, by Georg Andreas Wasshuber (1650–1732) |
Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was born in Fontaine-lès-Dijon parents to Lord of Fontaines, and Aleth of Montbard, who both belonged to the highest nobility of Burgundy. Bernard was the third of a family of seven children.
During his youth, Bernard did not escape trying temptations and he thought of retiring from the world and living a life of solitude and prayer. When at the age of 19, his mother died, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. He withdrew from riches to live a life of poverty and a diet of cooked beech and herbs.
Three years later, Bernard was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val d'Absinthe, about 15 kilometers southeast of Bar-Sur-Aube. He founded the monastery on June 25, 1115, naming it Claire Vallée, which evolved into Clairvaux. Bernard was joined by 27 of his friends and relations including four of his brothers.
By the late 1120s, the monastery had become under Bernard of Clairvaux’s rule the most prominent of the Cistercian order. Bernard’s eloquent preaching and the miracles witnessed there attracted numerous pilgrims.
Bernard of Clairvaux died at the age of sixty-three on August 20, 1153, after forty years spent in the cloister. He was buried at the Clairvaux Abbey, but after its dissolution in 1792 by the French revolutionary government, his remains were transferred to the Troyes Cathedral.
Bernard was canonized just 21 years after his death by Pope Alexander III. His feast day (observed in several denominations) is August 20.
National Aviation Day is celebrated each year on August 19 in the United States. The holiday was established in 1939 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who issued a presidential proclamation which designated the anniversary of Orville Wright's birthday to be a national observation that celebrates the development of aviation.
National Aviation Day is celebrated each year on August 19 in the United States. The holiday was established in 1939 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who issued a presidential proclamation which designated the anniversary of Orville Wright's birthday to be a national observation that celebrates the development of aviation.
Orville Wright along with his brother, Wilbur Wright flew the first successful, albeit brief, "flying machine" in 1903.
Orville Wright's first flight in his Wright Flyer One at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was on December 17, 1903. It flew for 12 seconds at a height of 500 feet and covered 37,120 feet. The flight was witnessed by four men and a boy.
In May 1896, Smithsonian Institution Secretary Samuel Langley had successfully flown an unmanned steam-powered fixed-wing model aircraft. For years, Orville argued with officials of the Smithsonian Institute over whether the Wrights or Langley had built the first plane. In 1942 the Smithsonian officials made a public apology to Orville.
Orville Wright was still alive when the sound barrier was broken in 1947 by Chuck Yeager in his Bell X-1 airplane.
Neil Armstrong took the wood from the propeller of the Wright Brothers' first plane to the moon.
Today is the anniversary of the founding of the German multinational corporation Adidas.
 |
| An Adidas Store in Vaughan Mills |
Trained as a cobbler, Adolf Dassler started to produce his own sports shoes in his mother's laundry after his return from World War I. On July 1, 1924, his older brother Rudolf Dassler joined the business, which became the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).
The Dasslers equipped many athletes at the 1928 Olympics, laying the foundation for the international expansion of the company.
Adidas was founded on August 18, 1949 by Adolf Dassler, following a family feud at the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik company between him and Rudolf. His older brother had established Puma the previous year, which quickly became the business rival of Adidas.
Adidas made the leap from shoe company to sports-apparel brand when they introduced the Franz Beckenbauer tracksuit in 1967.
Today Adidas is the world's second-largest sporting-goods company after Nike, employing more than 50,000 people in more than 160 nations.
Today is the anniversary of the first steamboat service being inaugurated.
Today is the anniversary of the first steamboat service being inaugurated.
 |
| Illustration from an 1870 book |
The first steam-powered ship was a paddle steamer named Pyroscaphe built in France in 1783 by Marquis Claude de Jouffroy. It was powered by a Newcomen steam engine. At its first demonstration, Pyroscaphe traveled upstream on the River Saône for some fifteen minutes before the engine failed.
The first reliably-working steamboat was a paddle steamer built by John Fitch in 1787. A successful trial run of his steamboat. Perseverance, was made on the Delaware River.
Fitch began operating a regular commercial service the following year along the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey, carrying as many as 30 passengers. The Perseverance was not a commercial success, as this travel route was adequately covered by relatively good wagon roads.
Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat left New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River on August 17, 1807, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world. Fulton's steamboat could travel from New York City to Albany in 32 hours and was the first steam-powered passenger marine vehicle that could make money.
The first passenger-carrying steamboat in Europe was the Comet, designed by the Scottish engineer Henry Bell, which was launched in 1812 on the River Clyde. The steamboat, named after a celebrated comet of that time, was of 30 tons burthen, with an engine of three horsepower. Bell initially advertised a three times a week passenger service travelling between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh. Soon afterwards the journey was extended to Oban and Fort-William, the entire voyage taking four days.
Today is the anniversary of the discovery of gold in the Yukon, an event that triggered the Klondike Gold Rush.
In the early 1900s, millions of people peacefully started to protest against British control. In 1915 the lawyer Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa to his country of origin, India, a hero, and begun the struggle for Indian independence by non-violent co-operation.
The national anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana," was first sung on December 27, 1911 during the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress.
On August 15, 1947, India peacefully became free and independent from the British Empire
Today is the anniversary of Pakistan gaining independence from the British Empire.
Today is the anniversary of the discovery of gold in the Yukon, an event that triggered the Klondike Gold Rush.
Gold had been discovered elsewhere in the Yukon before, but on August 16, 1896, a particularly rich deposit was found on Rabbit Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River. The discovery was made by a party consisting of the American prospector George Carmack, his Tagish wife Kate Carmack, her brother Skookum Jim Mason and their nephew Dawson Charlie. There is some disagreement over who actually spotted the gold first, with Skookum Jim often credited with the discovery.
The following day, the party staked four claims on the creek, which was subsequently renamed Bonanza Creek. Within days, other miners had staked much of the surrounding territory. The news eventually travelled south, and when reports of the enormous gold strike reached the outside world in 1897, they triggered one of the great gold rushes in history.
An estimated 100,000 people headed for the Klondike hoping to make their fortunes. The journey was arduous, with prospectors crossing mountain passes carrying huge quantities of food and equipment. Most failed to find significant amounts of gold, while others arrived to discover that the best claims had already been taken.
 |
| Prospectors with supplies at the Chilkoot Pass c March 1898 |
The gold rush nevertheless transformed the region. Dawson City grew rapidly, and the Yukon developed as a result of the influx of prospectors, traders and entrepreneurs. The discovery is recognised as the event that began the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897–98.
The discovery also had a literary legacy. Among those who travelled to the Klondike was the young Jack London, whose experiences in the region provided material for several of his stories, including The Call of the Wild. Gold, it turned out, was not the only thing people brought back from the Yukon.
Today is a national holiday in India. August 15 is Independence Day commemorating the nation's independence from the United Kingdom.
In the early 1900s, millions of people peacefully started to protest against British control. In 1915 the lawyer Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa to his country of origin, India, a hero, and begun the struggle for Indian independence by non-violent co-operation.
The national anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana," was first sung on December 27, 1911 during the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress.
New Delhi became the capital of India in 1931. The new capital was inaugurated on February 13, 1931 by India's Viceroy Lord Irwin.
On August 15, 1947, India peacefully became free and independent from the British Empire
Today is the anniversary of Pakistan gaining independence from the British Empire.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
.JPG) |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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,
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.”
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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).
 |
| 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
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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.
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.
