On this day in
497 BC, the first
Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome
***
On this day in
942,
William I of Normandy is assassinated.
***
On this day in
1538,
Pope Paul III excommunicates
Henry VIII of England, thus setting in motion the sequence of events that would eventually lead to the creation of the Anglican Church.
***
On this day in
1577, adventurer
Francis Drake sets sail from Plymouth, England, on a secret mission to explore the Pacific coast of the Americas for
Queen Elizabeth I of England.
***
On this day in
1777, France formally recognizes the United States.
***
On this day in
1790, the Aztec calendar stone is discovered.
***
On this day in
1843,
A Christmas Carol, a novel by English author
Charles Dickens, is first published by Chapman & Hall.
***
On this day in
1892, the first issue of
Vogue Magazine is published
***
Also on this day, in
1903, at 10:35 AM, aviation pioneer
Orville Wright pilots a ramshackle contraption across a field, puttering along at about 5 to 10 feet off the ground. Meanwhile, Orville's brother
Wilbur - a complete and utter chickenshit - stays on the ground and holds Orville's jacket.
***
On this day in
1938,
Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.
***
On this day in
1944, Japanese-Americans are released from prison camps throughout the western states, where the army had detained them as a safety precaution while the United States was at war with Japan. After suffering what many considered to be humiliating and unjustly harsh treatment at the hands of the leaders of their adopted nation, many Japanese-Americans agonized over a single question: "Why? Why oh why didn't
Gamera save us?!" Friend to all children, my ass!
***
On this day in
1957, the United States successfully launches the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) - the Atlas - from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
***
On this day in
1967, Australia's Prime Minister
Harold Holt disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria. His body is never found.
***
On this day in 1977, post-punk rocker Elvis Costello fills in for no-show "punk" novelty act The Sex Pistols when the latter fail to show up for their slated gig on Saturday Night Live because they're too busy "accidentally" murdering junkie whores or being amusingly vile to pathetic, fawning, "rock journalists" or something. Anyway, Costello rocks the house down and the Sex Pistols comet burns out soon thereafter.
***
On this day in
1989, the first episode of television series
The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", airs in the United States.
***
On this day in
2010,
Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire, thus kicking off the Tunisian revolution and the wider Arab Spring.
No comments:
Post a Comment