seths+history+page

= Hey It's Seth I will Post My Today In History Here =

apr 14 11 At Ford's Theater in [|Washington, D.C.], [|John Wilkes Booth], an actor and Confederate sympathizer, fatally wounds President [|Abraham Lincoln]. The attack came only five days after Confederate General [|Robert E. Lee] surrendered his massive army at Appomattox, effectively ending the [|American Civil War]. Booth, who remained in the North during the war despite his Confederate sympathies, initially plotted to capture President Lincoln and take him to Richmond, the Confederate capital. However, on March 20, 1865, the day of the planned kidnapping, the president failed to appear at the spot where Booth and his six fellow conspirators lay in wait. Two weeks later, Richmond fell to Union forces. In April, with Confederate armies near collapse across the South, Booth hatched a desperate plan to save the Confederacy. Learning that Lincoln was to attend Laura Keene's acclaimed performance in Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater on April 14, Booth plotted the simultaneous assassination of Lincoln, Vice President [|Andrew Johnson], and Secretary of State William H. Seward. By murdering the president and two of his possible successors, Booth and his conspirators hoped to throw the U.S. government into a paralyzing disarray. On the evening of April 14, conspirator Lewis T. Powell burst into Secretary of State Seward's home, seriously wounding him and three others, while George A. Atzerodt, assigned to Vice President Johnson, lost his nerve and fled. Meanwhile, just after 10 p.m., Booth entered Lincoln's private theater box unnoticed, and shot the president with a single bullet in the back of his head. Slashing an army officer who rushed at him, Booth jumped to the stage and shouted "Sic semper tyrannis! [Thus always to tyrants]--the South is avenged!" Although Booth had broken his left leg jumping from Lincoln's box, he succeeded in escaping Washington. The president, mortally wounded, was carried to a cheap lodging house opposite Ford's Theater. About 7:22 a.m. the next morning, he died--the first U.S. president to be assassinated. Booth, pursued by the army and secret service forces, was finally cornered in a barn near Bowling Green, [|Virginia], and died from a possibly self-inflicted bullet wound as the barn was burned to the ground. Of the eight other persons eventually charged with the conspiracy, four were hanged and four were jailed. and Just before midnight in the North Atlantic, the RMS //Titanic// fails to divert its course from an iceberg, ruptures its hull, and begins to sink. Four days earlier, the //Titanic,// one of the largest and most luxurious ocean liners ever built, departed Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. While leaving port, the massive ship came within a couple of feet of the steamer //New York// but passed safely by, causing a general sigh of relief from the passengers massed on the ship's decks. The //Titanic// was designed by the Irish shipbuilder William Pirrie and spanned 883 feet from stern to bow. Its hull was divided into 16 compartments that were presumed to be watertight. Because four of these compartments could be flooded without causing a critical loss of buoyancy, the //Titanic// was considered unsinkable. On its first journey across the highly competitive Atlantic ferry route, the ship carried some 2,200 passengers and crew. After stopping at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, to pick up some final passengers, the massive vessel set out at full speed for [|New York City]. However, just before midnight on April 14, the ship hit an iceberg, and five of the //Titanic//'s compartments were ruptured along its starboard side. At about 2:20 a.m. on the morning of April 15, the massive vessel sank into the North Atlantic. Because of a shortage of lifeboats and the lack of satisfactory emergency procedures, more than 1,500 people went down in the sinking ship or froze to death in the icy North Atlantic waters. Most of the approximately 700 survivors were women and children. A number of notable American and British citizens died in the tragedy, including the noted British journalist William Thomas Stead and heirs to the Straus, Astor, and Guggenheim fortunes. The announcement of details of the disaster led to outrage on both sides of the Atlantic. The sinking of the //Titanic// did have some positive effects, however, as more stringent safety regulations were adopted on public ships, and regular patrols were initiated to trace the locations of deadly Atlantic icebergs.

apr 13 11 Future President [|Thomas Jefferson], drafter of the [|Declaration of Independence] and the nation's preeminent political theorist, is born on this day in 1743. Historian and biographer Joseph Ellis has called Jefferson, who had a monumental role in shaping American politics, the American sphinx for his enigmatic character. Since his terms in office, presidents and politicians from both ends of the political spectrum have borrowed from Jefferson's political philosophy in an attempt to link their own leadership with this most influential and admired founding father. Jefferson's character--as a man or a president--defies definition in black and white. He was at once an intellectual, architect, philosopher, musician and essayist. His fascination with science prompted his study and collection of fossils. He projected a down-to-earth, relaxed and unconventional attitude and his desire to be seen as a common man was reflected in his penchant for receiving [|White House] visitors in a robe and slippers. Jefferson denounced oppressive government and was a fierce proponent of freedom of speech and religion. He worried that fellow founding fathers [|George Washington], [|John Adams] and [|Alexander Hamilton] had designs to fashion the American presidency after a monarchy. When Washington and Hamilton proposed a national bank and state assumption of national debt, Jefferson resigned from Washington's cabinet in protest. He adamantly rejected Hamilton's plan to build a strong federal military, fearing it might be used by a tyrannical leader against American citizens. Though Jefferson was highly principled, he was not above using smear tactics against political opponents. He anonymously assailed his victims in print under a pseudonym and helped to fund the anti-Federalist press. Although in theory Jefferson desired the abolition of slavery, it is a fact that Jefferson owned other human beings who worked his plantation. Historical accounts indicate Jefferson treated his slaves well within the context of the times. It has long been rumored--and debated by historians--that one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, was Jefferson's lover. She bore a son, named Eston, in 1808. For 200 years, the Hemings affair and Eston's paternity were the focus of intense scholarly analysis. In 1998, DNA testing proved that a Jefferson was Eston's biological father, which many took to mean that he was indeed [|Thomas Jefferson]'s son, a fact backed up by the oral tradition of the Hemings family. However, other scholars have disagreed with this conclusion and it remains a topic of fervent debate. Jefferson, a widower since the death of his wife Martha in 1782, is also thought to have had a relationship with Maria Cosway, a beautiful (and married) British painter and musician whom he met while serving as minister to France. Jefferson's relationship with Cosway inspired him to write the romantic essay A Dialogue Between the Head and Heart in October 1786. One historical account of their affair paints Jefferson as a lovesick schoolboy--as he and Cosway shared a romantic walk in the countryside near Paris, Jefferson attempted to leap over a fence, fell and broke his wrist. Jefferson's anti-federalist policies and personal attacks on [|John Adams] caused a huge falling-out between the two former friends. After retirement, though, Adams and Jefferson rekindled their personal connection. The last two original revolutionaries living, Jefferson and Adams, died on the same day: July 4, 1826.

apr 12 11

in **// 1861  //**The bloodiest four years in American history begin when Confederate shore batteries under General [|P.G.T. Beauregard] open fire on Union-held [|Fort Sumter] in [|South Carolina]'s Charleston Bay. During the next 34 hours, 50 Confederate guns and mortars launched more than 4,000 rounds at the poorly supplied fort. On April 13, U.S. Major Robert Anderson surrendered the fort. Two days later, U.S. President [|Abraham Lincoln] issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to quell the Southern "insurrection." As early as 1858, the ongoing conflict between North and South over the issue of slavery had led Southern leadership to discuss a unified separation from the [|United States]. By 1860, the majority of the slave states were publicly threatening [|secession] if the Republicans, the anti-slavery party, won the presidency. Following Republican [|Abraham Lincoln]'s victory over the divided Democratic Party in November 1860, [|South Carolina] immediately initiated [|secession] proceedings. On December 20, the [|South Carolina] legislature passed the "Ordinance of [|Secession]," which declared that "the Union now subsisting between [|South Carolina] and other states, under the name of the [|United States] of America, is hereby dissolved." After the declaration, [|South Carolina] set about seizing forts, arsenals, and other strategic locations within the state. Within six weeks, five more Southern states--[|Mississippi], [|Florida], [|Alabama], [|Georgia], and [|Louisiana]--had followed [|South Carolina]'s lead. In February 1861, delegates from those states convened to establish a unified government. [|Jefferson Davis] of [|Mississippi] was subsequently elected the first president of the [|Confederate States of America]. When [|Abraham Lincoln] was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, a total of seven states ([|Texas] had joined the pack) had seceded from the Union, and federal troops held only [|Fort Sumter] in South Carolina. Fort Pickens off the [|Florida] coast, and a handful of minor outposts in the South. Four years after the Confederate attack on [|Fort Sumter], the Confederacy was defeated at the total cost of 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers dead.

apr 1 11

On this day in 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other. Although the day, also called All Fools' Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as "poisson d'avril" (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person. Historians have also linked April Fools' Day to ancient festivals such as Hilaria, which was celebrated in Rome at the end of March and involved people dressing up in disguises. There's also speculation that April Fools' Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather. April Fools' Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with "hunting the gowk," in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people's derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or "kick me" signs on them. In modern times, people have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April Fools' Day hoaxes. Newspapers, radio and TV stations and Web sites have participated in the April 1 tradition of reporting outrageous fictional claims that have fooled their audiences. In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees; numerous viewers were fooled. In 1985, //Sports Illustrated// tricked many of its readers when it ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour. In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In 1998, after Burger King advertised a "Left-Handed Whopper," scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich.



MAR 3 11  On this day in 1887, Anne Sullivan begins teaching six-year-old Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing after a severe illness at the age of 19 months. Under Sullivan's tutelage, including her pioneering "touch teaching" techniques, the previously uncontrollable Keller flourished, eventually graduating from college and becoming an international lecturer and activist. Sullivan, later dubbed "the miracle worker," remained Keller's interpreter and constant companion until the older woman's death in 1936. Sullivan, born in Massachusetts in 1866, had firsthand experience with being handicapped: As a child, an infection impaired her vision. She then attended the Perkins Institution for the Blind where she learned the manual alphabet in order to communicate with a classmate who was deaf and blind. Eventually, Sullivan had several operations that improved her weakened eyesight. Helen Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880, to Arthur Keller, a former Confederate army officer and newspaper publisher, and his wife Kate, of Tuscumbia, Alabama. As a baby, a brief illness, possibly scarlet fever, left Helen unable to see, hear or speak. She was considered a bright but spoiled and strong-willed child. Her parents eventually sought the advice of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone and an authority on the deaf. He suggested the Kellers contact the Perkins Institution, which in turn recommended Anne Sullivan as a teacher. Sullivan, age 20, arrived at Ivy Green, the Keller family estate, in 1887 and began working to socialize her wild, stubborn student and teach her by spelling out words in Keller's hand. Initially, the finger spelling meant nothing to Keller. However, a breakthrough occurred one day when Sullivan held one of Keller's hands under water from a pump and spelled out "w-a-t-e-r" in Keller's palm. Keller went on to learn how to read, write and speak. With Sullivan's assistance, Keller attended Radcliffe College and graduated with honors in 1904. Helen Keller became a public speaker and author; her first book, "The Story of My Life" was published in 1902. She was also a fundraiser for the American Foundation for the Blind and an advocate for racial and sexual equality, as well as socialism. From 1920 to 1924, Sullivan and Keller even formed a vaudeville act to educate the public and earn money. Helen Keller died on June 1, 1968, at her home in Westport, Connecticut, at age 87, leaving her mark on the world by helping to alter perceptions about the disabled. ﻿ AND  President Herbert Hoover signs a congressional act making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official national anthem of the United States. On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key composed the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing the massive overnight British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. Key, an American lawyer, watched the siege while under detainment on a British ship and penned the famous words after observing with awe that Fort McHenry's flag survived the 1,800-bomb assault. After circulating as a handbill, the patriotic lyrics were published in a Baltimore newspaper on September 20, 1814. Key's words were later set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven," a popular English song. Throughout the 19th century, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was regarded as the national anthem by most branches of the U.S. armed forces and other groups, but it was not until 1916, and the signing of an executive order by President Woodrow Wilson, that it was formally designated as such. In March 1931, Congress passed an act confirming Wilson's presidential order, and on March 3 President Hoover signed it into law.

mar 2 11 On this day in 1904, Theodor Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Seuss, the author and illustrator of such beloved children's books as "The Cat in the Hat" and "Green Eggs and Ham," is born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Geisel, who used his middle name (which was also his mother's maiden name) as his pen name, wrote 48 books--including some for adults--that have sold well over 200 million copies and been translated into multiple languages. Dr. Seuss books are known for their whimsical rhymes and quirky characters, which have names like the Lorax and the Sneetches and live in places like Hooterville. Geisel, who was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts, graduated from Dartmouth College, where he was editor of the school's humor magazine, and studied at Oxford University. There he met Helen Palmer, his first wife and the person who encouraged him to become a professional illustrator. Back in America, Geisel worked as a cartoonist for a variety of magazines and in advertising. The first children's book that Geisel wrote and illustrated, "And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street," was rejected by over two dozen publishers before making it into print in 1937. Geisel's first bestseller, "The Cat in the Hat," was published in 1957. The story of a mischievous cat in a tall striped hat came about after his publisher asked him to produce a book using 220 new-reader vocabulary words that could serve as an entertaining alternative to the school reading primers children found boring. Other Dr. Seuss classics include "Yertle the Turtle," "If I Ran the Circus," "Fox in Socks" and "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." Some Dr. Seuss books tackled serious themes. "The Butter Battle Book" (1984) was about the arms buildup and nuclear war threat during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. "Lorax" (1971) dealt with the environment. Many Dr. Seuss books have been adapted for television and film, including "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" and "Horton Hears a Who!" In 1990, Geisel published a book for adults titled "Oh, the Places You'll Go" that became a hugely popular graduation gift for high school and college students. Geisel, who lived and worked in an old observatory in La Jolla, California, known as "The Tower," died September 24, 1991, at age 87 mar 1 11 //Venera 3,// a Soviet probe launched from Kazakhstan on November 15, 1965, collides with Venus, the second planet from the sun. Although //Venera 3// failed in its mission to measure the Venusian atmosphere, it was the first unmanned spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet. Four years earlier, the U.S. probe //Mariner 2// was the first spacecraft to pass close enough to Venus to take scientific measurements of the planet, discovering surface temperatures in excess of 800 degrees Fahrenheit on its surface. In 1967, //Venera 4// succeeded where //Venera 3// failed, successfully ejecting several scientific instruments, including a thermometer, a barometer, an atmospheric density gauge, and gas analyzers, into Venus' atmosphere. Then, in 1970, //Venera 7// became the first spacecraft created by humans to soft-land on Venus, successfully sending back images and data for 23 minutes before succumbing to the extremely high temperature and atmospheric pressure found on the planet's surface. from [|this]

feb 4 11feb 1 11
 * **1958** || The United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I. ||

jan 31 11 On this day in 1953, flooding in the North Sea kills more than 1,500 people in the Netherlands and destroys 1 million acres of farmland. The storm also caused death and destruction in Great Britain and Belgium. The storm began in the North Atlantic and moved slowly toward the British Isles and the Netherlands. By the morning of January 31, winds were reaching more than 100 miles per hour. That evening, a 200-mile area of England was experiencing flooding, particularly the Ouse and Orwell river regions. Sea walls were breached all along the coast and the Margate lighthouse was destroyed. By the time the water subsided in England on February 2, 307 people were dead and thousands were homeless. Winston Churchill declared it a national disaster and established a relief fund for the victims. In Belgium, the Schelde River flooded and a dike near the city of Antwerp broke. Despite the impending disaster, the country's King Baudouin made a trip to French Riviera. He returned under heavy criticism. The worst of the storm, however, hit the Netherlands, where 50,000 buildings were wiped out by the flood and 300,000 people were left homeless. The islands of Schouwen, Duiveland and Walcheren were completely inundated and the centers of large cities like Rotterdam and Dordrecht were severely damaged. Thousands of people were stranded on their rooftops for days awaiting rescue. An extension of the United States' post-war Marshall Plan relief was set in motion on February 6 in order to assist the Netherlands with the immense relief effort. On February 8, Queen Juliana proclaimed an official day of mourning. The state of emergency put in effect was not lifted for another week. By the time the flood receded, 1,524 lives were lost in the Netherlands alone. and U.S. President Harry S. Truman publicly announces his decision to support the development of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. Five months earlier, the United States had lost its nuclear supremacy when the Soviet Union successfully detonated an atomic bomb at their test site in Kazakhstan. Then, several weeks after that, British and U.S. intelligence came to the staggering conclusion that German-born Klaus Fuchs, a top-ranking scientist in the U.S. nuclear program, was a spy for the Soviet Union. These two events, and the fact that the Soviets now knew everything that the Americans did about how to build a hydrogen bomb, led Truman to approve massive funding for the superpower race to complete the world's first "superbomb," as he described it in his public announcement on January 31. On November 1, 1952, the United States successfully detonated "Mike," the world's first hydrogen bomb, on the Elugelab Atoll in the Pacific Marshall Islands. The 10.4-megaton thermonuclear device, built upon the Teller-Ulam principles of staged radiation implosion, instantly vaporized an entire island and left behind a crater more than a mile wide. The incredible explosive force of Mike was also apparent from the sheer magnitude of its mushroom cloud--within 90 seconds the mushroom cloud climbed to 57,000 feet and entered the stratosphere. One minute later, it reached 108,000 feet, eventually stabilizing at a ceiling of 120,000 feet. Half an hour after the test, the mushroom stretched 60 miles across, with the base of the head joining the stem at 45,000 feet. Three years later, on November 22, 1955, the Soviet Union detonated its first hydrogen bomb on the same principle of radiation implosion. Both superpowers were now in possession of the "hell bomb," as it was known by many Americans, and the world lived under the threat of thermonuclear war for the first time in history.

jan 30 11

A Kenya Airways Airbus A-310 crashes after takeoff into the Atlantic Ocean off the Ivory Coast on this day in 2000. Because the passengers did not have enough time to put on life jackets, only 10 people out of the 179 on board survived. Kenya Airways Flight 431 left Nairobi, Kenya, and was supposed to stop in Lagos, Nigeria, but was forced to land in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, because of strong Saharan winds. After waiting three hours, the flight took off from Abidjan at 9:08 p.m. As the plane left the ground, a stall warning signal sounded in the pilot's cabin. Apparently, the signal was faulty. However, it caused the pilot to descend and ignore ground proximity warning signals. Within a minute, the Airbus jet crashed into the ocean. The dark of night made rescue efforts virtually impossible. Ambulances, firefighters, police officers, soldiers and divers waited at the beach near the crash site until the early morning hours when there was enough sunlight to see. However, by the time they could begin searching, there was little to be done other than collect the bodies that were washing ashore. Eventually, 146 bodies were recovered out of the 169 fatalities. Many of the victims appeared to have survived the initial crash, but subsequently drowned. The plane had been scheduled to be replaced in the coming year.

jan 27 11 On January 27, 1888, the National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., for "the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge." The 33 men who originally met and formed the National Geographic Society were a diverse group of geographers, explorers, teachers, lawyers, cartographers, military officers and financiers. All shared an interest in scientific and geographical knowledge, as well as an opinion that in a time of discovery, invention, change and mass communication, Americans were becoming more curious about the world around them. With this in mind, the men drafted a constitution and elected as the Society's president a lawyer and philanthropist named Gardiner Greene Hubbard. Neither a scientist nor a geographer, Hubbard represented the Society's desire to reach out to the layman. Nine months after its inception, the Society published its first issue of National Geographic magazine. Readership did not grow, however, until Gilbert H. Grosvenor took over as editor in 1899. In only a few years, Grosvenor boosted circulation from 1,000 to 2 million by discarding the magazine's format of short, overly technical articles for articles of general interest accompanied by photographs. National Geographic quickly became known for its stunning and pioneering photography, being the first to print natural-color photos of sky, sea and the North and South Poles. The Society used its revenues from the magazine to sponsor expeditions and research projects that furthered humanity's understanding of natural phenomena. In this role, the National Geographic Society has been instrumental in making possible some of the great achievements in exploration and science. To date, it has given out more than 1,400 grants, funding that helped Robert Peary journey to the North Pole, Richard Byrd fly over the South Pole, Jacques Cousteau delve into the sea and Jane Goodall observe wild chimpanzees, among many other projects. Today, the National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions. National Geographic continues to sell as a glossy monthly, with a circulation of around 9 million. The Society also sees itself as a guardian of the planet's natural resources, and in this capacity, focuses on ways to broaden its reach and educate its readers about the unique relationship that humans have with the earth.

jan 26 11 Spanish explorer Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who had commanded the //Nina// during Christopher Columbus' first expedition to the New World, reaches the northeastern coast of Brazil during a voyage under his command. Pinzon's journey produced the first recorded account of a European explorer sighting the Brazilian coast; though whether or not Brazil was previously known to Portuguese navigators is still in dispute. Pinzon subsequently sailed down the Brazilian coast to the equator, where he briefly explored the mouth of the Amazon River. In the same year, Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal, arguing that the territory fell into the Portuguese sphere of exploration as defined by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. However, little was done to support the claim until the 1530s, when the first permanent European settlements in Brazil were established at Sao Vicente in Sao Paulo by Portuguese colonists.
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On this day in 1974, the last remnants of Cyclone Wanda cause severe flooding in Queensland, Australia, that results in the deaths of 16 people and leaves thousands homeless. The year 1973 had been an exceptionally wet one in Australia, and the beginning of the new year brought much of the same. Heavy rains in Victoria and Queensland and caused widespread flooding. By mid-January, the flooding had even extended to the inland desert regions of Australia. Hundreds of livestock drowned when they were stranded due to dry riverbeds suddenly becoming inundated with water. On January 23, Cyclone Wanda came ashore on the east coast of Australia near Fraser Island. Although it didn't hit with powerful winds, Wanda brought even more rain. In particular, the Brisbane River reached its highest level since 1893 on January 26. That Australia Day weekend saw significant portions of Brisbane covered by two feet of water. Fourteen of the total 16 people killed in the flooding following Cyclone Wanda were killed in Brisbane. Additionally, more than 300 people suffered serious injuries and several thousand homes were destroyed. An estimated $200 million in damages was caused. In the aftermath, flood prevention efforts were undertaken in Brisbane that have been largely successful. Later that year, Cyclone Tracy killed 71 people in Australia. These two cyclones in a single year were two of the three most deadly storms in Australia in the 20th century

jan 25 11

On January 25, 1924, the first Winter Olympics take off in style at Chamonix in the French Alps. Spectators were thrilled by the ski jump and bobsled as well as 12 other events involving a total of six sports. The "International Winter Sports Week," as it was known, was a great success, and in 1928 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially designated the Winter Games, staged in St. Moritz, Switzerland, as the second Winter Olympics. Five years after the birth of the modern Olympics in 1896, the first organized international competition involving winter sports was staged in Sweden. Called the Nordic Games, only Scandinavian countries competed. Like the Olympics, it was staged thereon every four years but always in Sweden. In 1908, figure skating made its way into the Summer Olympics in London, though it was not actually held until October, some three months after the other events were over. In 1911, the IOC proposed the staging of a separate winter competition for the 1912 Stockholm Games, but Sweden, wanting to protect the popularity of the Nordic Games, declined. Germany planned a Winter Olympics to precede the 1916 Berlin Summer Games, but World War I forced the cancellation of both. At the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, ice hockey joined figure skating as an official Olympic event, and Canada took home the first of many hockey gold medals. Soon after, an agreement was reached with Scandinavians to stage the IOC-sanctioned International Winter Sports Week. It was so popular among the 16 participating nations that, in 1925, the IOC formally created the Winter Olympics, retroactively making Chamonix the first. In Chamonix, Scandinavians dominated the speed rinks and slopes, and Norway won the unofficial team competition with 17 medals. The United States came in third, winning its only gold medal with Charles Jewtraw's victory in the 500-meter speed-skating event. Canada won another hockey gold, scoring 110 goals and allowing just three goals in five games. Of the nearly 300 athletes, only 13 were women, and they only competed in the figure-skating events. Austrian Helene Engelmann won the pairs competition with Alfred Berger, and Austrian Herma Planck Szabo won the women's singles. The Olympics offered a particular boost to skiing, a sport that would make enormous strides within the next decade. At Chamonix, Norway won all but one of the nine skiing medals. and

On January 25, 1905, at the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa, a 3,106-carat diamond is discovered during a routine inspection by the mine's superintendent. Weighing 1.33 pounds, and christened the "Cullinan," it was the largest diamond ever found. Frederick Wells was 18 feet below the earth's surface when he spotted a flash of starlight embedded in the wall just above him. His discovery was presented that same afternoon to Sir Thomas Cullinan, who owned the mine. Cullinan then sold the diamond to the Transvaal provincial government, which presented the stone to Britain's King Edward VII as a birthday gift. Worried that the diamond might be stolen in transit from Africa to London, Edward arranged to send a phony diamond aboard a steamer ship loaded with detectives as a diversionary tactic. While the decoy slowly made its way from Africa on the ship, the Cullinan was sent to England in a plain box. Edward entrusted the cutting of the Cullinan to Joseph Asscher, head of the Asscher Diamond Company of Amsterdam. Asscher, who had cut the famous Excelsior Diamond, a 971-carat diamond found in 1893, studied the stone for six months before attempting the cut. On his first attempt, the steel blade broke, with no effect on the diamond. On the second attempt, the diamond shattered exactly as planned; Asscher then fainted from nervous exhaustion. The Cullinan was later cut into nine large stones and about 100 smaller ones, valued at millions of dollars all told. The largest stone is called the "Star of Africa I," or "Cullinan I," and at 530 carats, it is the largest-cut fine-quality colorless diamond in the world. The second largest stone, the "Star of Africa II" or "Cullinan II," is 317 carats. Both of these stones, as well as the "Cullinan III," are on display in the Tower of London with Britain's other crown jewels; the Cullinan I is mounted in the British Sovereign's Royal Scepter, while the Cullinan II sits in the Imperial State Crown.

jan 24 11

After 28 years of hiding in the jungles of Guam, local farmers discover Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant who was unaware that World War II had ended. Guam, a 200-square-mile island in the western Pacific, became a U.S. possession in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. In 1941, the Japanese attacked and captured it, and in 1944, after three years of Japanese occupation, U.S. forces retook Guam. It was at this time that Yokoi, left behind by the retreating Japanese forces, went into hiding rather than surrender to the Americans. In the jungles of Guam, he carved survival tools and for the next three decades waited for the return of the Japanese and his next orders. After he was discovered in 1972, he was finally discharged and sent home to Japan, where he was hailed as a national hero. He subsequently married and returned to Guam for his honeymoon. His handcrafted survival tools and threadbare uniform are on display in the Guam Museum in Agana. 24 & 25 from [|this]

jan 18 11

On this day in 1969, a spate of heavy rain begins in Southern California that results in a tragic series of landslides and floods that kills nearly 100 people. This was the worst weather-related disaster in California in the 20th century.



jan 19 11 Heavy fog in the North Sea causes the collision of two steamers and the death of 357 people on this day in 1883.



jan 12 11 An explosion aboard the aircraft carrier USS //Enterprise// kills 27 people in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on this day in 1969. A rocket accidentally detonated, destroying 15 planes and injuring more than 300 people. The //Enterprise// was the first-ever nuclear-powered aircraft carrier when it was launched in 1960. It has eight nuclear reactors, six more than all subsequent nuclear carriers. The massive ship is over 1,100 feet long and carries 4,600 crew members. At 8:19 a.m. on January 14, a MK-32 Zuni rocket that was loaded on an F-4 Phantom jet overheated due to the exhaust from another vehicle. The rocket blew up, setting off a chain reaction of explosions. Fires broke out across the deck of the ship, and when jet fuel flowed into the carrier's interior, other fires were sparked. Many of the //Enterprise's// fire-protection features failed to work properly, but the crew worked heroically and tirelessly to extinguish the fire. In all, 27 sailors lost their lives and another 314 were seriously injured. Although 15 aircraft (out of the 32 stationed on the //Enterprise// at the time) were destroyed by the explosions and fire, the //Enterprise// itself was never threatened. The USS //Enterprise// was repaired over several months at Pearl Harbor and returned to action later in the year.



jan 11 11 On this day in 1888, the so-called "Schoolchildren's Blizzard" kills 235 people, many of whom were children on their way home from school, across the Northwest Plains region of the United States. The storm came with no warning, and some accounts say that the temperature fell nearly 100 degrees in just 24 hours. It was a Thursday afternoon and there had been unseasonably warm weather the previous day from Montana east to the Dakotas and south to Texas. Suddenly, within a matter of hours, Arctic air from Canada rapidly pushed south. Temperatures plunged to 40 below zero in much of North Dakota. Along with the cool air, the storm brought high winds and heavy snows. The combination created blinding conditions. Most victims of the blizzard were children making their way home from school in rural areas and adults working on large farms. Both had difficulty reaching their destinations in the awful conditions. In some places, though, caution prevailed. Schoolteacher Seymour Dopp in Pawnee City, Nebraska, kept his 17 students at school when the storm began at 2 p.m. They stayed overnight, burning stockpiled wood to keep warm. The next day, parents made their way over five-foot snow drifts to rescue their children. In Great Plains, South Dakota, two men rescued the children in a schoolhouse by tying a rope from the school to the nearest shelter to lead them to safety. Minnie Freeman, a teacher in Nebraska, successfully led her children to shelter after the storm tore the roof off of her one-room schoolhouse. In other cases, though, people were less lucky. Teacher Loie Royce tried to lead three children to the safety of her home, less than 90 yards from their school in Plainfield, Nebraska. They became lost, and the children died of hypothermia. Royce lost her feet to frostbite. In total, an estimated 235 people across the plains died on January 12. The storm is still considered one of the worst blizzards in the history of the area.

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The British-Zulu War begins as British troops under Lieutenant General Frederic Augustus invade Zululand from the southern African republic of Natal. In 1843, Britain succeeded the Boers as the rulers of Natal, which controlled Zululand, the neighboring kingdom of the Zulu people. Boers, also known as Afrikaners, were the descendants of the original Dutch settlers who came to South Africa in the 17th century. Zulus, a migrant people from the north, also came to southern Africa during the 17th century, settling around the Tugela River region. In 1838, the Boers, migrating north to elude the new British dominions in the south, first came into armed conflict with the Zulus, who were under the rule of King Dingane at the time. The European migrants succeeded in overthrowing Dingane in 1840, replacing him with his son Mpande, who became a vassal of the new Boer republic of Natal. In 1843, the British took over Natal and Zululand. In 1872, King Mpande died and was succeeded by his son Cetshwayo, who was determined to resist European domination in his territory. In December 1878, Cetshwayo rejected the British demand that he disband his troops, and in January British forces invaded Zululand to suppress Cetshwayo. The British suffered grave defeats at Isandlwana, where 1,300 British soldiers were killed or wounded, and at Hlobane Mountain, but on March 29 the tide turned in favor of the British at the Battle of Khambula. At Ulundi in July, Cetshwayo's forces were utterly routed, and the Zulus were forced to surrender to the British. In 1887, faced with continuing Zulu rebellions, the British formally annexed Zululand, and in 1897 it became a part of Natal, which joined the Union of South Africa in 1910.

On January 11, 1908, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt declares the massive Grand Canyon in northwestern Arizona a national monument. Though Native Americans lived in the area as early as the 13th century, the first European sighting of the canyon wasn't until 1540, by members of an expedition headed by the Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Because of its remote and inaccessible location, several centuries passed before North American settlers really explored the canyon. In 1869, geologist John Wesley Powell led a group of 10 men in the first difficult journey down the rapids of the Colorado River and along the length of the 277-mile gorge in four rowboats. By the end of the 19th century, the Grand Canyon was attracting thousands of tourists each year. One famous visitor was President Theodore Roosevelt, a New Yorker with a particular affection for the American West. After becoming president in 1901 after the assassination of President William McKinley, Roosevelt made environmental conservation a major part of his presidency. After establishing the National Wildlife Refuge to protect the country's animals, fish and birds, Roosevelt turned his attention to federal regulation of public lands. Though a region could be given national park status--indicating that all private development on that land was illegal--only by an act of Congress, Roosevelt cut down on red tape by beginning a new presidential practice of granting a similar "national monument" designation to some of the West's greatest treasures. In January 1908, Roosevelt exercised this right to make more than 800,000 acres of the Grand Canyon area into a national monument. "Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is," he declared. "You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is keep it for your children, your children’s children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see." Congress did not officially outlaw private development in the Grand Canyon until 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Grand Canyon National Park Act. Today, more than 5 million people visit the canyon each year. The canyon floor is accessible by foot, mule or boat, and whitewater rafting, hiking and running in the area are especially popular. Many choose to conserve their energies and simply take in the breathtaking view from the canyon's South Rim--some 7,000 feet above sea level--and marvel at a vista virtually unchanged for over 400 years.

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In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, more than 10 inches of rain falls in 12 hours on this day in 1966, causing a flash flood. Four hundred people were killed and 50,000 needed to be evacuated due to the sudden influx of water The rains, which were the heaviest to hit the area in more than 80 years, took a severe toll on the city's Copacabana and Ipanema districts. Much of the population of these communities lived in shacks and shantytowns that were constructed on steep hillsides. At the foot of the hills lied more expensive high-rise apartment buildings. The first to suffer from the flash flood were the hillside shack dwellers. The water caused several mudslides that collapsed many homes. Scores of victims were buried and crushed by mud and debris. Within a day, however, nearly the entire city of Rio was feeling the effects of the flood. The Marcano River rose seven feet above flood level and nearly half the city lost power and water. The high-rise buildings were flooded and some lost their access completely, as mud and debris blocked the entrances. The official death toll was an estimated 400 people, making this one of the worst flood disasters in Brazil's history.

from [|this]



JAN 8 On this day in 1996, a cargo plane crashes in Kishasa, Zaire, (modern day Democratic Republic of the Congo) killing somewhere between 225 and 350 people and injuring another 500. Africa Air was a private freight company that operated on the margins of legality. They were well-known for sometimes ignoring safety regulations, and enforcement of the rules was lax in Zaire. On January 8, the company went even further, sending its Russian Antonov AN-32B into the sky from N'Dolo Airport in Kishasa even though its certification for flying had been revoked. Making matters worse, the Russian crew members had loaded the plane with freight beyond its capacity. The plane was allegedly on its way to bring supplies to Jonas Savimbi's notorious rebels in Angola. As the plane barreled down a runway on the sunny afternoon, the its engines smoked and then burst into flames. The plane could not attain any altitude and simply ran off the end of the runway, toward a marketplace filled with wooden and iron shacks. The plane crashed into the crowded market and exploded. Fires broke out everywhere and would-be rescuers were driven back by the intense heat and smoke. In all, estimates of the death toll ranged from 225 to 350 people killed and approximately 500 seriously injured. Of the six crew members on board, four survived. The angry marketplace crowd attempted to lynch them but was thwarted by authorities. There was a second attempt while the crew was at a local hospital but it also failed. The crew members were extradited to Russia for prosecution and sentenced to two years in prison. Pilot Nicolai Kazarin stated during the trial "the market shouldn't have been there, so why should they be entitled to compensation?" Africa Air subsequently went out of business. from [|this]

jan 7

A massive mine explosion leaves nearly 100 dead in Krebs, Oklahoma, on this day in 1892. The disaster, the worst mining catastrophe in Oklahoma's history, was mainly due to the mine owner's emphasis on profits over safety. Southeastern Oklahoma was a prime location for mining at the turn of the 19th century. Much of the land belonged to Native Americans and thus was exempt from U.S. federal government laws and regulations. Although the mining company's indifferent attitude toward safety was well-known, there were more than enough immigrants in the area willing to work in the dangerous conditions at the Krebs mine, where most miners were of Italian and Russian descent. The Osage Coal & Mining Company's No. 11 mine was notorious for its poor conditions. This led to a high turnover of workers, and the company routinely hired unskilled labor, providing little in the way of training to get them up to speed. This was true for even the most dangerous jobs, like handling explosives and munitions. In the early evening of January 7, several hundred workers were mining the No. 11 mine when an inexperienced worker accidentally set off a stash of explosives. Approximately 100 miners were burned or buried in the explosion. Another 150 workers suffered serious injuries. Nearly every household in Krebs was directly affected by the tragedy. It wasn't until 2002 that the victims of the Krebs mining disaster were honored by a memorial built at the site of the old mine. And

On this day in 1789, America's first presidential election is held. Voters cast ballots to choose state electors; only white men who owned property were allowed to vote. As expected, George Washington won the election and was sworn into office on April 30, 1789. As it did in 1789, the United States still uses the Electoral College system, established by the U.S. Constitution, which today gives all American citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote for electors, who in turn vote for the president. The president and vice president are the only elected federal officials chosen by the Electoral College instead of by direct popular vote. Today political parties usually nominate their slate of electors at their state conventions or by a vote of the party's central state committee, with party loyalists often being picked for the job. Members of the U.S. Congress, though, can�t be electors. Each state is allowed to choose as many electors as it has senators and representatives in Congress. The District of Columbia has 3 electors. During a presidential election year, on Election Day (the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November), the electors from the party that gets the most popular votes are elected in a winner-take-all-system, with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, which allocate electors proportionally. In order to win the presidency, a candidate needs a majority of 270 electoral votes out of a possible 538. On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December of a presidential election year, each state's electors meet, usually in their state capitol, and simultaneously cast their ballots nationwide. This is largely ceremonial: Because electors nearly always vote with their party, presidential elections are essentially decided on Election Day. Although electors aren't constitutionally mandated to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, it is demanded by tradition and required by law in 26 states and the District of Columbia (in some states, violating this rule is punishable by $1,000 fine). Historically, over 99 percent of all electors have cast their ballots in line with the voters. On January 6, as a formality, the electoral votes are counted before Congress and on January 20, the commander in chief is sworn into office. Critics of the Electoral College argue that the winner-take-all system makes it possible for a candidate to be elected president even if he gets fewer popular votes than his opponent. This happened in the elections of 1876, 1888 and 2000. However, supporters contend that if the Electoral College were done away with, heavily populated states such as California and Texas might decide every election and issues important to voters in smaller states would be ignored.

jan 6 2011 On this day in 1838, Samuel Morse's telegraph system is demonstrated for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey. The telegraph, a device which used electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire, would eventually revolutionize long-distance communication, reaching the height of its popularity in the 1920s and 1930s. Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He attended Yale University, where he was interested in art, as well as electricity, still in its infancy at the time. After college, Morse became a painter. In 1832, while sailing home from Europe, he heard about the newly discovered electromagnet and came up with an idea for an electric telegraph. He had no idea that other inventors were already at work on the concept. Morse spent the next several years developing a prototype and took on two partners, Leonard Gale and Alfred Vail, to help him. In 1838, he demonstrated his invention using Morse code, in which dots and dashes represented letters and numbers. In 1843, Morse finally convinced a skeptical Congress to fund the construction of the first telegraph line in the United States, from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. In May 1844, Morse sent the first official telegram over the line, with the message: "What hath God wrought!" Over the next few years, private companies, using Morse's patent, set up telegraph lines around the Northeast. In 1851, the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company was founded; it would later change its name to Western Union. In 1861, Western Union finished the first transcontinental line across the United States. Five years later, the first successful permanent line across the Atlantic Ocean was constructed and by the end of the century telegraph systems were in place in Africa, Asia and Australia. Because telegraph companies typically charged by the word, telegrams became known for their succinct prose--whether they contained happy or sad news. The word "stop," which was free, was used in place of a period, for which there was a charge. In 1933, Western Union introduced singing telegrams. During World War II, Americans came to dread the sight of Western Union couriers because the military used telegrams to inform families about soldiers' deaths. Over the course of the 20th century, telegraph messages were largely replaced by cheap long-distance phone service, faxes and email. Western Union delivered its final telegram in January 2006. Samuel Morse died wealthy and famous in New York City on April 2, 1872, at age 80 And

On this day in 1996, snow begins falling in Washington, D.C., and up the Eastern seaboard, beginning a blizzard that kills 154 people and causes over $1 billion in damages before it ends. The Blizzard of 1996 began in typical fashion, as cold air from Canada pushed down and collided with relatively warm winds from the Gulf of Mexico. The clashing weather fronts caused a terrible combination of snow and wind. Snow began to fall in the District of Columbia about 9 p.m.; 12 inches fell over the course of the next 24 hours. In Lynchburg, Virginia, it was worse: A record 20 inches of snow fell in a single day. Since wind gusts were reaching up to 50 miles per hour, snow drifts piled up in many areas and travel was nearly impossible. As the storm moved northeast, it continued to break records. Newark, New Jersey, received a total of 28 inches over several days. Providence, Rhode Island, received 32 inches and Philadelphia was inundated with 30 inches. The Philadelphia schools were closed until January 16 due to the city's inability to clear the heavy snow promptly from the streets.

Overall, the blizzard took a serious toll on both people and property. A church roof in Harlem collapsed, injuring several people in New York City. Barns all over Pennsylvania collapsed under the weight of so much snow. As a precaution, many supermarkets, which often feature large flat roofs, closed across the region. Two buses collided in Pittsburgh and 52 were seriously injured. The storm deaths were mainly the result of traffic accidents, collapsed trees and homeless people dying from hypothermia. In a few instances, people who were trapped in their cars died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Pennsylvania suffered the most deaths, with approximately 80. President Bill Clinton was forced to shut down the federal government for nearly a week because of the storm. He declared D.C. and nine states to be disaster areas. Estimates of the total property damage suffered ranged from $600 million to $3 billion.

from [|this]



On January 5, 1933, construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the structure�s huge anchorages. Following the Gold Rush boom that began in 1849, speculators realized the land north of San Francisco Bay would increase in value in direct proportion to its accessibility to the city. Soon, a plan was hatched to build a bridge that would span the Golden Gate, a narrow, 400-foot deep strait that serves as the mouth of the San Francisco Bay, connecting the San Francisco Peninsula with the southern end of Marin County. Although the idea went back as far as 1869, the proposal took root in 1916. A former engineering student, James Wilkins, working as a journalist with the //San Francisco Bulletin,// called for a suspension bridge with a center span of 3,000 feet, nearly twice the length of any in existence. Wilkins� idea was estimated to cost an astounding $100 million. So, San Francisco's city engineer, Michael M. O'Shaughnessy (he�s also credited with coming up with the name Golden Gate Bridge), began asking bridge engineers whether they could do it for less. Engineer and poet Joseph Strauss, a 5-foot tall Cincinnati-born Chicagoan, said he could. Eventually, O'Shaughnessy and Strauss concluded they could build a pure suspension bridge within a practical range of $25-30 million with a main span at least 4,000 feet. The construction plan still faced opposition, including litigation, from many sources. By the time most of the obstacles were cleared, the Great Depression of 1929 had begun, limiting financing options, so officials convinced voters to support $35 million in bonded indebtedness, citing the jobs that would be created for the project. However, the bonds couldn�t be sold until 1932, when San-Francisco based Bank of America agreed to buy the entire project in order to help the local economy. The Golden Gate Bridge officially opened on May 27, 1937, the longest bridge span in the world at the time. The first public crossing had taken place the day before, when 200,000 people walked, ran and even roller skated over the new bridge. With its tall towers and famous red paint job, the bridge quickly became a famous American landmark, and a symbol of San Francisco. from [|this]



jan 4 The train Zakaria Bahauddin (named after a holy man according to Pakistani tradition) had a capacity of 1,400 passengers and often traveled the 500 miles between Multan and Karachi. On January 4, the Zakaria, with 16 cars, was making this journey overnight. The train, with 2,000 passengers, was overloaded, a quite common occurrence in Pakistan at the time. As the train approached the village of Sangi in Sindh province, it suddenly was sent onto a side track. Unbeknownst to the Zakaria, a 67-car freight train was parked overnight on this new track, and the Zakaria plowed straight into the back of it at 35 miles per hour. The locomotive was knocked right off the rails and took the first three passenger cars with it. Virtually everyone on these first three cars was seriously injured or killed. An estimated 200 to 300 people were killed and approximately 700 others were treated at area hospitals. Some victims had to be airlifted to Karachi for immediate treatment. The train's engineer survived the crash and revealed later that the train had been sent onto the side track by an inattentive signalman, who was subsequently jailed for manslaughter. Pakistan's rail system serves more than 65 million passengers annually. Unfortunately, the crash in Sangi was not unique. Less than 18 months later, a similar crash in Ghotki killed more than 100 people.

January 3, 2011 On January 3, 1959, President Eisenhower signs a special proclamation admitting the territory of Alaska into the Union as the 49th and largest state.The European discovery of Alaska came in 1741, when a Russian expedition led by Danish navigator Vitus Bering sighted the Alaskan mainland. Russian hunters were soon making incursions into Alaska, and the native Aleut population suffered greatly after being exposed to foreign diseases. In 1784, Grigory Shelikhov established the first permanent Russian colony in Alaska on Kodiak Island. In the early 19th century, Russian settlements spread down the west coast of North America, with the southernmost fort located near Bodega Bay in California.Russian activity in the New World declined in the 1820s, and the British and Americans were granted trading rights in Alaska after a few minor diplomatic conflicts. In the 1860s, a nearly bankrupt Russia decided to offer Alaska for sale to the United States, which earlier had expressed interest in such a purchase. On March 30, 1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million. Despite the bargain price of roughly two cents an acre, the Alaskan purchase was ridiculed in Congress and in the press as "Seward's folly," "Seward's icebox," and President Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden." Nevertheless, the Senate ratified purchase of the tremendous landmass, one-fifth the size of the rest of the United States



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NEW YEARS

The celebration of the new year on January 1st is a relatively new phenomenon. The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and was celebrated around the time of the [|vernal equinox], in mid-March. A variety of other dates tied to the seasons were also used by various ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on the [|winter solstice]. from this 

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dec 25 2010 christmas Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in World War I cease firing their guns and artillery and commence to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the eastern and western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing. . **1776 ** George Washington crossed the [|Delaware River]  and surprised the Hessians. **1868 ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">President <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">[|Andrew Johnson] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"> granted an unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">[|Civil War] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">. **<span style="color: #333399; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS','sans-serif';">1926 ** <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">[|Hirohito] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"> became emperor of <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">[|Japan] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">.

0800 - Charlemagne was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III.

1066 - William the Conqueror was crowned king of England.

1223 - St. Francis of Assisi assembled one of the first Nativity scenes, in Greccio, Italy.

1776 - Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ.

1818 - "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.

** 0001 1st Christmas, according to calendar-maker Dionysus Exiguus ** ** 0337 Earliest possible date that Christmas was celebrated on Dec 25th ** ** 0352 1st definite date Christmas was celebrated on Dec 25th ** ** 0390 Roman emperor Theodosius admits debt on mass murder in Thessalonica ** ** 0498 French king Clovis baptises himself ** ** 0597 England adopts Julian calendar ** ** 0604 Battle at Etampes (Stampae): Burgundy beat Neustriers ** ** 0795 Adrian I ends his reign as Catholic Pope ** ** 0800 Pope Leo III crowns Charles the Great (Charlemagne), Roman emperor ** ** 0875 Charles, the Bare, crowned emperor of Rome ** ** 0967 John XIII crowned Otto II the Red German compassionate emperor ** ** 0969 Johannes I Tzimisces, crowned emperor of Byzantium ** ** 0979 Rotardus appointed as bishop of the kingdom ** ** 0999 Heribertus becomes bishop of Cologne ** ** 1000 Monarch Istv�n crowned king of Hungary ** ** 1046 Pope Clemens VI crowns Henry III Roman Catholic-German emperor ** ** 1048 Parliament of Worms: Emperor Henry III names his cousin count Bruno van Egisheim/Dagsburg as Pope Leo IX ** ** 1066 William the Conqueror, crowned king of England ** ** 1100 Boudouin I of Boulogne crowned king of Jerusalem ** ** 1101 Henry I of Limburg becomes duke of Netherlands-Lutherans ** ** 1121 Norbertus van Xanten finds order of the Norbertijnen ** ** 1130 Anti-pope Anacletus II crowns Roger II the Norman, king of Sicily ** ** 1223 St Francis of Assisi assembles 1st Nativity scene (Greccio, Italy) ** ** 1492 Columbus' ship Santa Maria docks at Dominican Republic ** ** 1522 Turkish troops occupy Rhodos ** ** 1582 Zealand/Brabant adopts Gregorian calendar, yesterday was Dec 14th ** ** 1613 Johan Sigismund of Brandenburg becomes protestant ** ** 1621 Governor William Bradford of Plymouth forbids game playing on Christmas day ** ** 1640 Pierre de Fermat writes to Marin Mersenne about Fermat's church thesis ** ** 1641 Emperor Ferdinand III makes appointments with Sweden & France ** ** 1651 Massachusetts General Court ordered a fine (five shillings) for "observing any such day as Christmas" ** ** 1683 English Whig-leader duke of Monmouth flees to Holland ** ** 1688 English king James II lands in Ambleteuse, France ** ** 1688 Lord Delamere sides with King James II ** ** 1717 Floods ravage Dutch coast provinces, 1000s killed ** ** 1741 Astronomer Anders Celcius introduces Centigrade temperature scale ** ** 1745 Prussia/Austria signs Treaty of Dresden; gives much of Silesia to the Prussians ** ** 1758 Halley's comet 1st sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch during return ** ** 1760 Jupter Hammon, New York slave, publishes poetry in "An Evening Thought" ** ** 1775 Pope Pius VI encyclical on the problems of the pontificate ** ** 1776 Washington crosses Delaware & surprises & defeats 1,400 Hessians ** ** 1818 1st US performance of H�ndel's Messiah, Boston ** ** 1818 1st known Christmas carol ("Silent Night, Holy Night" by Franz Joseph Gruber & Joseph Mohr) sung (Austria) ** ** 1830 Hector Berlioz's "Symphony Fantastic" premieres ** ** 1831 Louisiana & Arkansas are 1st states to observe Christmas as holiday ** ** 1832 Charles Darwin celebrates Christmas in St Martin at Cape Receiver ** ** 1833 Charles Darwin celebrates Christmas in Port Desire, Patagonia ** ** 1834 Charles Darwin celebrates Christmas on Beagle at Tres Montes, Chile ** ** 1835 Charles Darwin company celebrates Christmas in Pahia, New Zealand ** ** 1837 Battle of Okeechobee-US forces defeat Seminole Indians ** ** 1843 1st theatre matinee (Olympic Theatre, New York NY) ** ** 1848 New Haven Railroad opens ** ** 1862 40,000 watch the Union army men play baseball at Hilton Head SC ** ** 1868 Despite bitter opposition, President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion (the Civil War) ** ** 1875 The Lambs Club in New York is founded ** ** 1888 1st indoor baseball game played at fairgrounds in Philadelphia ** ** 1894 1st midwestern football team to play on west coast, University of Chicago defeats Stanford 24-4 at Palo Alto CA ** ** 1896 "Stars & Stripes Forever" written by John Philip Sousa ** ** 1900 Arthur Schnitzlers "Leutnant Gustl" forbidden in Germany ** ** 1901 Battle at Tweefontein Orange-Free state: Boers surprise attack British ** ** 1902 Clyde Fitch' "Girl with Green Eyes" premieres in New York NY ** ** 1905 V Herbert/H Blossoms musical "Mlle Modiste" premieres in New York NY ** ** 1908 Jack Johnson KO Tommy Burns & becomes 1st black heavyweight champion ** ** 1911 Edward Knoblock's "Kismet" premieres in New York NY ** ** 1914 Legendary/unofficial "Christmas Truce" takes place (British & Germans) ** ** 1917 "Why Marry", 1st drama to win Pulitzer Prize, premieres in New York NY ** ** 1917 Hirsch/Harbach's musical "Going Up" premieres in New York NY ** ** 1922 Lenin dictates his "Political testament" ** ** 1923 Imperial Theater opens at 249 W 45th St NYC ** ** 1926 Hirohito becomes emperor of Japan (1926-1989) ** ** 1928 Christmas Day attendance at cricket MCG (Victoria vs New South Wales) 14,887 ** ** 1928 New South Wales (v Victoria) go from 8-74 to 9-113 to be 9-367 at stumps ** ** 1929 Grimmett takes 6-146 for South Africa, Queensland all out 380 Crowd 5,390 ** ** 1930 1st US bobsled run open to the public (Mount Van Hoevenberg bobsled run at Lake Placid NY) ** ** 1930 Slinger Nitschke scores 142 South Africa vs Queensland at Adelaide before 5,422 ** ** 1930 Tasmania all out 280, West Indies 2-139 at Hobart Crowd 2,500 ** ** 1931 New York's Metropolitan Opera broadcasts an entire opera over radio ** ** 1931 Albert Lonergan scores 137 South Africa vs Queensland at Adelaide before 5,697 ** ** 1931 Fleetwood-Smith takes 5-69 Victoria vs Tas at Hobart ** ** 1932 During King George V Christmas dinner speech, his chair collapes ** ** 1933 Another Christmas Day five-wicket haul by Clarrie Grimmett ** ** 1933 Belgian Working people's party accept Henry de Mans Plan of Labor ** ** 1933 Stan Smith takes 8-33 for Victoria vs Tasmania at Hobart ** ** 1934 Four centuries for South Africa as they make 7-644 vs Queensland before 6,180 ** ** 1934 Samson Raphaelson's "Accent on Youth" premieres in New York NY ** ** 1936 Belgian bishops condemn fascism & communism ** ** 1936 Ron Hamence scores 104 for South Africa vs Queensland before 4,865 ** ** 1937 Arturo Toscanini conducts 1st Symphony of the Air over NBC Radio ** ** 1937 Queensland all out for 93 vs South Africa in front of 10,436 ** ** 1938 George Cukor announces Vivien Leigh will play Scarlett O'Hara ** ** 1939 Montgomery Ward introduces Rudolph the 9th reindeer ** ** 1939 Grimmett & Ward rip through Queensland except Bill Brown (156) ** ** 1940 Bradman out 1st ball for South Africa vs Victoria before 6213 ** ** 1940 Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart's "Pal Joey" premieres in New York NY ** ** 1941 Japan announces surrender of British-Canadian garrison at Hong Kong ** ** 1941 Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi/Kagu back in Kure, Japan ** ** 1942 Admiral Dalans, murderer of Bosinier de la Chapelle, sentenced to death ** ** 1942 British Colonel S W Bailey reaches Mihailovics headquarters ** ** 1942 Russian artillery/tank battle on German armies at Stalingrad ** ** 1946 Constitution accepted in Taiwan ** ** 1947 Taiwan passes Human Rights laws (Day of Earth Law) ** ** 1950 Cleveland Browns beat Los Angeles Rams 30-28 in NFL championship game ** ** 1950 Coronation Stone, taken from Scone in Scotland by Edward I in 1296, stolen from Westminster Abbey & smuggled back to Scotland ** ** 1950 Dick Tracy marries Tess Truehart ** ** 1951 West Indies defeat Australia by 6 wickets on 3rd day of 3rd Test Cricket ** ** 1953 Avalanche of lava kills 150 (Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand) ** ** 1954 WSFA TV channel 12 in Montgomery AL (NBC) begins broadcasting ** ** 1955 Cleveland Browns win NFL championship ** ** 1955 Pope Pius XII encyclical on sacred music & popular music ** ** 1957 Ed Gein judged insane and committed to Waupan State Hospital for a life sentence for the murders of Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden ** ** 1958 Alan Freed's Christmas Rock & Roll Spectacular opens ** ** 1959 A synagogue in Cologne Germany desecrated with swastikas ** ** 1959 Richard Starkey [Ringo Starr] receives his 1st drum set ** ** 1959 Sony brings transistor TV 8-301 to the market ** ** 1962 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR ** ** 1963 Walt Disney's "The Sword In The Stone" is released ** ** 1964 "Goldfinger" premieres in US ** ** 1964 George Harrison's girlfriend Patti Boyd attacked by female Beatle fans ** ** 1967 Paul McCartney & Jane Asher get engaged ** ** 1969 5 Israeli gunboats escape from Cherbourg harbor ** ** 1969 India all out for 163 at Madras vs Australia, Ashley Mallett 5-91 ** ** 1971 Longest NFL game (82 minutes 40 seconds) as Dolphins beat Chiefs 27-24 ** ** 1971 Worst hotel fire in history kills 163 at Taeyokale Hotel in Seoul ** ** 1971 Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) form Jesse Jackson ** ** 1972 England beats India by six wickets in the 1st Test Cricket at Delhi ** ** 1973 Tommy Chambers (Scotland) finishes 51 year cycle tour (799,405 miles) ** ** 1974 Cyclone Tracy virtually destroys Darwin Australia ** ** 1976 Egyptian SS Patria sinks in Red Sea, about 100 killed ** ** 1976 Takeo Fukuda becomes Japanese premier ** ** 1977 Israeli PM Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with Egyptian President Sadat ** ** 1979 Opening day of 4th Test Cricket, India 8-112 vs Pakistan at Kanpur ** ** 1979 USSR airlifts invasionary army to Afgh�nist�n ** ** 1982 Mudassar Nazar scores century, then Imran rips through Indians ** ** 1983 1st live telecast of Christmas Parade ** ** 1984 NBA's Bernard King scores 60 points ** ** 1987 Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, who escaped 2 days earlier, recaptured ** ** 1989 Japanese scientist achieves -271.8�C, coldest temp ever recorded ** ** 1990 "Godfather III" premieres ** ** 1991 Last day of a washout Pakistan vs Sri Lanka at Gujranwala ** ** 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev formally resigned as President of USSR ** ** 1994 "Comedy Tonight" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC after 8 performances ** ** 1997 For 1st time US movie box office receipts pass $6 billion ** ** 1997 Jerry Seinfeld says this is the final season of his TV show **

from [|all kinds of sites] and THE LEARNING CALENDER

. In a highly unusual chain of events, a volcanic eruption in New Zealand causes a flood that sweeps away a train filled with passengers on this day in 1953. More than 150 people lost their lives in this improbable disaster. At the top of a 9,000-foot volcano, Mount Ruapehu, on New Zealand's North Island laid a lake and a glacier. On December 24, a minor eruption of the volcano released the lake waters down a glacial valley and gorge. The surging water thundered down the mountain toward the town of Waiouri. Before it reached the community, it slammed into a bridge just before a train crossed it. The Wellington to Auckland express train had nine cars filled with people traveling on Christmas Eve. Many were on their way to see Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who was making a rare visit to New Zealand. The charging lake water slammed into the Tangiwai Railroad Bridge and weakened it so much that when the train came to the bridge, it gave way, sending six cars of the train plunging into the flood water. They sank almost immediately. Out of the 285 passengers on board, 151 died, and many of the bodies were never recovered. Some of the train cars were later found many miles downstream from the bridge. It is estimated that millions of gallons of water had been released from the lake due to the eruption. However, other than that done to the railroad bridge, there was no other damage. The water simply flowed into the Whangaehu River and out to sea.
 * 24 fri 2010**



from [|history]

dec 17 2010 Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight.on [|hisorychannle.com] AND christmas eve history crew members of Apollo 8 were the first HUMANS tofly to earth and back in 1968. tune in on december 25 for a christmas suprize ï»¿from learning calender.

this day in 1832.
 * Gustave Eiffel was born on this day and was the civil engineer for building the Eiffel tower.**
 * [learning calender]**

dec mon 2010 1 this day in 1642 **New** **Zealand** was discovered by Abel Tasman 2 also the star beetleguice was discovered 1 from info please.com. 2 from the learning calender[|bing]


 * William Gilbert** was totally interested in magnetic phenomena, which was a mystery when he was alive in the 16th century. He mounted magnetized needles vertically and horizontally and discovered that magnetic forces came from the earth and **not** electric in the sky.[from the learning calender]