This day in .....

17 April 1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Failed landing operation of Cuba in 1961

"Invasion of Cuba" redirects here. For the War of Jenkins' Ear battles, see Invasion of Cuba (1741). For the United States intervention in Cuba in 1898, see Spanish–American War.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion (Spanish: Invasión de Bahía de Cochinos, sometimes called Invasión de Playa Girón or Batalla de Playa Girón after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front (DRF), consisting of Cuban exiles who opposed Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution, clandestinely financed and directed by the U.S. government. The operation took place at the height of the Cold War, and its failure influenced relations between Cuba, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

In 1952, the American-allied dictator General Fulgencio Batista led a coup against President Carlos Prío and forced Prío into exile in Miami, Florida. Prío's exile inspired Castro's 26th of July Movement against Batista. The movement succeeded in overthrowing Batista during the Cuban Revolution in January 1959. Castro nationalized American businesses, including banks, oil refineries, and sugar and coffee plantations. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began planning the overthrow of Castro, which U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved in March 1960, and the U.S. began its embargo of the island. This led Castro to reach out to its Cold War rival, the Soviet Union, after which the US severed diplomatic relations. Cuban exiles who had moved to the U.S. following Castro's takeover had formed the counter-revolutionary military unit, Brigade 2506, which was the armed wing of the DRF. The CIA funded the brigade, which also included approximately 60 members of the Alabama Air National Guard,^[6] and trained the unit in Guatemala.

Over 1,400 paramilitaries, divided into five infantry battalions and one paratrooper battalion, assembled and launched from Guatemala and Nicaragua by boat on 17 April 1961. Two days earlier, eight CIA-supplied B-26 bombers had attacked Cuban airfields and then returned to the U.S. On the night of 17 April, the main invasion force landed on the beach at Playa Girón in the Bay of Pigs, where it overwhelmed a local revolutionary militia. Initially, José Ramón Fernández led the Cuban Revolutionary Army counter-offensive; later, Castro took personal control. As the invasion force lost the strategic initiative, the international community found out about the invasion, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy decided to withhold further air support.^[7] The plan, devised during Eisenhower's presidency, had required the involvement of U.S. air and naval forces. Without further air support, the invasion was being conducted with fewer forces than the CIA had deemed necessary. The invading force was defeated within three days by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias – FAR) and surrendered on 20 April. Most of the surrendered counter-revolutionary troops were publicly interrogated and put into Cuban prisons.

The invasion was a U.S. foreign policy failure. The Cuban government's victory solidified Castro's role as a national hero and widened the political division between the two formerly allied countries, as well as embolden other Latin American groups to undermine US influence in the region. It also pushed Cuba closer to the Soviet Union, setting the stage for the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

1. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference fernandez was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ ^{a b c} Cite error: The named reference szulc1986 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ ^{a b} FRUS X, documents 19, 24, 35, 245, 271.
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference triay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ ^{a b} Quesada 2009, p. 46.
6. ^ "Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Alabama Air National Guard". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
7. ^ Voss, Michael (14 April 2011). "The 'perfect failure' of Cuba invasion". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Read More

 

18 April 1946 – The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.

International Court of Justice

Primary judicial organ of the United Nations

Not to be confused with the International Criminal Court that is also located in The Hague, which can prosecute individuals under international criminal law.

"World Court" redirects here. For other uses, see World Court (disambiguation).

"ICJ" redirects here. For the human rights organization, see International Commission of Jurists.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ; French: Cour internationale de justice, CIJ) is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. It is one of the six organs of the United Nations (UN),^[1] and is located in The Hague, Netherlands.

The ICJ is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was established in 1920 by the League of Nations. After the Second World War, the League and the PCIJ were replaced by the United Nations and ICJ, respectively. The Statute of the ICJ, which sets forth its purpose and structure, draws heavily from that of its predecessor, whose decisions remain valid. All member states of the UN are party to the ICJ Statute and may initiate contentious legal cases; however, advisory proceedings may be submitted only by certain UN organs and agencies.

The ICJ consists of a panel of 15 judges elected by the UN General Assembly and Security Council for nine-year terms. No more than one judge of each nationality may be represented on court at the same time, and judges collectively must reflect the principal civilizations and legal systems of the world. Seated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICJ is the only principal UN organ not located in New York City.^[2] Its official working languages are English and French.

Since the entry of its first case on 22 May 1947, the ICJ has entertained 191 cases through 13 November 2023.^[3] Pursuant to Article 59 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the court's rulings and opinions are binding on the parties with respect to the particular case ruled on by the court.

1. ^ Koh, Steven Arrigg (27 August 2014). "4 Things You Should Know About The Hague". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
2. ^ "The Court". International Court of Justice. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
3. ^ "Cases". International Court of Justice. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

Read More

 

19 April 1903 – The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.

Kishinev pogrom

Anti-Jewish attack in Kishinev, Russian Empire (19–21 April 1903)

47°02′15″N 28°48′16″E / 47.0376°N 28.8045°E / 47.0376; 28.8045

The Kishinev pogrom or Kishinev massacre was an anti-Jewish riot that took place in Kishinev (modern Chișinău, Moldova), then the capital of the Bessarabia Governorate in the Russian Empire, on 19–21 April [O.S. 6–8 April] 1903.^[1] During the pogrom, which began on Easter Day, 49 Jews were killed, 92 were gravely injured, a number of Jewish women were raped, over 500 were lightly injured and 1,500 homes were damaged.^[2][3] American Jews began large-scale organized financial help, and assisted in emigration.^[4] The incident focused worldwide attention on the persecution of Jews within the Russian empire^[5] and led Theodor Herzl to propose the Uganda Scheme as a temporary refuge for the Jews.^[6]

A second pogrom erupted in the city in October 1905.^[7]

1. ^ Penkower, Monty Noam (October 2004). "The Kishinev Pogrom of 1903: A Turning Point in Jewish History". Modern Judaism. 24 (3). Oxford University Press: 187–225. doi:10.1093/mj/kjh017.
2. ^ "The pogrom that transformed 20th century Jewry". The Harvard Gazette. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
3. ^ Chicago Jewish Cafe (20 September 2018). "Are Jewish men cowards? Conversation with Prof. Steven J. Zipperstein". YouTube. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ Corydon Ireland (9 April 2009). "The pogrom that transformed 20th century Jewry". The Harvard Gazette.
6. ^ Birnbaum, Erwin. In the Shadow of the Struggle. Accessed 27 January 2022.
7. ^ Cite error: The named reference JEncyclo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Read More

 

20 April 1908 – Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League

New South Wales Rugby League

Governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory

This article is about the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales. For the pre-ARL Premierships, see New South Wales Rugby League premiership.

Preview warning: unknown parameter "headquarters"

The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907^[1] and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) until 1984. From 1908 to 1994, the NSWRL ran Sydney's, then New South Wales', and eventually Australia's top-level rugby league club competition. The organisation is responsible for administering the New South Wales rugby league team.

1. ^ ARL (2007). "Australian Rugby Football League Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Australian Rugby League. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.

Read More

 

21 April 1856 – Australian labour movement: Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne march from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day.

Eight-hour day

Social movement to regulate the length of the working day

"40-hour week" redirects here. For other uses, see 40-hour week (disambiguation).

For the holiday in Australia, see Labour Day.

The eight-hour day (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time.

The eight-hour work day originated in 16th century Spain,^[1] but the modern movement originated in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life. At that time, the working day could range from 10 to 16 hours, the work week was typically six days, and child labour was common.^[2][3] In 1593, Spain became the first country to introduce the eight-hour work day by law for factory and fortification workers.^[1] In contemporary era, it was established for non-agricultural workers by Uruguay in 1915,^[4] and for all professions by Soviet Russia in 1917.^[5]

1. ^ ^{a b} Cervera, César (8 May 2019). "La jornada de ocho horas: ¿un invento "sindicalista" del Rey Felipe II?" [The eight-hour day: a "unionist" invention of King Philip II?]. www.abc.es (in Spanish). ABC. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
2. ^ Chase, Eric. "The Brief Origins of May Day". Industrial Workers of the World. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
3. ^ "The Haymarket Martyrs". The Illinois Labor History Society. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
4. ^ "Ley 5.350". legislativo.parlamento.gub.uy. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
5. ^ "Decree on the Hours of Labor". www.marxists.org.

Read More

 

22 April 1970 – The first Earth Day is celebrated.

Earth Day

Annual international event on April 22

For the measurement of time of one rotation, see Day. Not to be confused with Earth Hour.

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG (formerly Earth Day Network)^[1] including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.^[2][1][3] The official theme for 2024 is "Planet vs. Plastics." 2025 will be the 55th anniversary of Earth Day.^[4][5]

In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations. A month later, United States Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. He hired a young activist, Denis Hayes, to be the National Coordinator. Nelson and Hayes renamed the event "Earth Day". Denis and his staff grew the event beyond the original idea for a teach-in to include the entire United States. Key non-environmentally focused partners played major roles. Under the leadership of labor leader Walter Reuther, for example, the United Auto Workers (UAW) was the most instrumental outside financial and operational supporter of the first Earth Day.^[6][7][8] According to Hayes: "Without the UAW, the first Earth Day would have likely flopped!"^[9] Nelson was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom award in recognition of his work.^[10][11] The first Earth Day was focused on the United States. In 1990, Denis Hayes, the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international and organized events in 141 nations.^[12][13][14] On Earth Day 2016, the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and 120 other countries. This signing satisfied a key requirement for the entry into force of the historic draft climate protection treaty adopted by consensus of the 195 nations present at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. Numerous communities engaged in Earth Day Week actions, an entire week of activities focused on the environmental issues that the world faces.^[15] On Earth Day 2020, over 100 million people around the world observed the 50th anniversary in what is being referred to as the largest online mass mobilization in history.^[3] A similar but separate event, World Environment Day, is organized by the United Nations and observed annually on June 5.

1. ^ ^{a b} "Earth Day 2020: What Is It and How Do People Mark It Around the World?". The Independent. April 21, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
2. ^ "1 billion people are taking part in Earth Day - here are some reasons to be hopeful this year". Euronews. April 20, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
3. ^ ^{a b} "The 50th Anniversary Of Earth Day Unites Tens Of Millions Of People Across The World In Action And A Multi-Platform Event". Yahoo. April 24, 2020. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
4. ^ "Earth Day 2022 Invest in Our Planet". earthday.org. March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
5. ^ "Earth Week Naperville celebrates 53rd annual Earth Day with special programs". Daily Herald. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
6. ^ "Labor and environmentalists have been teaming up since the first Earth Day". Grist. April 2, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
7. ^ "Meet 'Mr. Earth Day,' the Man Who Helped Organize the Annual Observance". Time. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
8. ^ "The Rumpus Interview with Earth Day Organizer Denis Hayes". The Rumpus.net. April 2, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
9. ^ "Labor and environmentalists have been teaming up since the first Earth Day". Grist. April 2, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
10. ^ Striepe, Becky (April 21, 2013). "Earth Day Care2 Healthy Living". Care2.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
11. ^ "Planet vs. Plastics Global Theme for Earth Day 2024". earthday.org. n.d. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
12. ^ "Staff – The Buillitt Foundation". Bullitt.org. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
13. ^ "The Rumpus Interview With Earth Day Organizer Denis Hayes". The Rumpus.net. April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
14. ^ "How Earth Day gave birth to the environmental movement". The Harvard Gazette. January 1990. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
15. ^ "Earth Day: Let's pledge to keep our environment clean, says Mamata". The Statesman. April 22, 2018.

Read More

 

23 April 1985 – Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.

New Coke

1985 reformulation of Coca-Cola

New Coke was the unofficial name of a reformulation of the soft drink Coca-Cola, introduced by The Coca-Cola Company in April, 1985. It was renamed Coke II in 1990,^[1] and discontinued in July 2002.

By 1985, Coca-Cola had been losing market share to diet soft drinks and non-cola beverages for several years. Blind taste tests suggested that consumers preferred the sweeter taste of the competing product Pepsi-Cola, and so the Coca-Cola recipe was reformulated. The American public reacted negatively, and New Coke was considered a major failure.

The company reintroduced the original formula within three months, rebranded "Coca-Cola Classic", resulting in a significant sales boost. This led to speculation that the New Coke formula had been a ploy to stimulate sales of the original Coca-Cola, which the company has vehemently denied.^[2] The story of New Coke remains influential as a cautionary tale against tampering with an established successful brand.

1. ^ Jamieson, Sean (April 5, 1990). "Coke II makes its Spokane debut". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. A8.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Snopes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Read More

 

24 April 2011 – WikiLeaks starts publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak.

Guantanamo Bay files leak

2011 disclosure of U.S. government documents

The Guantánamo Bay files leak (also known as The Guantánamo Files, or colloquially, Gitmo Files)^[1] began on 24 April 2011, when WikiLeaks, along with The New York Times, NPR and The Guardian and other independent news organizations, began publishing 779 formerly secret documents relating to detainees at the United States' Guantánamo Bay detention camp established in 2002 after its invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.^[1] The documents consist of classified assessments, interviews, and internal memos about detainees, which were written by the Pentagon's Joint Task Force Guantanamo, headquartered at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. The documents are marked "secret" and NOFORN (information that is not to be shared with representatives of other countries).^[2]

Media reports on the documents note that more than 150 innocent Afghans and Pakistanis, including farmers, chefs, and drivers, were held for years without charges.^[3][4][5] The documents also reveal that some of the prison's youngest and oldest detainees, who include Mohammed Sadiq, an 89-year-old man, and Naqib Ullah, a 14-year-old boy, suffered from fragile mental and physical conditions.^[6] The files contain statements from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the planner of the 9/11 attacks, who said that al-Qaeda possessed nuclear capacity and would use it to retaliate for any attack on Osama bin Laden.^[3]

1. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference guardian1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference npr1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference telegraph1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference independent1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference democracynow1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardian2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Read More

 

25 April 1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson publish "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" describing the double helix structure of DNA.

Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid

1953 scientific paper on the helical structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick

"Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" was the first article published to describe the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, using X-ray diffraction and the mathematics of a helix transform. It was published by Francis Crick and James D. Watson in the scientific journal Nature on pages 737–738 of its 171st volume (dated 25 April 1953).^[1][2]

This article is often termed a "pearl" of science because it is brief and contains the answer to a fundamental mystery about living organisms. This mystery was the question of how it is possible that genetic instructions are held inside organisms and how they are passed from generation to generation. The article presents a simple and elegant solution, which surprised many biologists at the time who believed that DNA transmission was going to be more difficult to deduce and understand. The discovery had a major impact on biology, particularly in the field of genetics, enabling later researchers to understand the genetic code.

1. ^ Watson JD, Crick FH (April 1953). "Molecular structure of nucleic acids; a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid". Nature. 171 (4356): 737–738. Bibcode:1953Natur.171..737W. doi:10.1038/171737a0. PMID 13054692. S2CID 4253007.
2. ^ Cochran W, Crick FHC and Vand V. (1952) "The Structure of Synthetic Polypeptides. I. The Transform of Atoms on a Helix", Acta Crystallogr., 5, 581–586.

Read More

 

26 April 1986 – The Chernobyl disaster occurs in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Chernobyl disaster

1986 nuclear accident in the Soviet Union

The Chernobyl disaster^[a] began on 26 April 1986 with the explosion of the No. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR, close to the border with the Byelorussian SSR, in the Soviet Union.^[1] It is one of only two nuclear energy accidents rated at seven—the maximum severity—on the International Nuclear Event Scale, the other being the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. The initial emergency response and subsequent mitigation efforts involved more than 500,000 personnel and cost an estimated 18 billion roubles—roughly US$68 billion in 2019, adjusted for inflation.^[2] It is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history.^[3][4][5]

The accident occurred during a test of the steam turbine's ability to power the emergency feedwater pumps in the event of a simultaneous loss of external power and coolant pipe rupture. Following an accidental drop in reactor power to near-zero, the operators restarted the reactor in preparation for the turbine test with a prohibited control rod configuration. Upon successful completion of the test, the reactor was then shut down for maintenance. Due to a variety of factors, this action resulted in a power surge at the base of the reactor which brought about the rupture of reactor components and the loss of coolant. This process led to steam explosions and a meltdown, which destroyed the containment building. This was followed by a reactor core fire which lasted until 4 May 1986, during which airborne radioactive contaminants were spread throughout the USSR and Europe.^[6][7] In response to the initial accident, a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) radius exclusion zone was created 36 hours after the accident, from which approximately 49,000 people were evacuated, primarily from Pripyat. The exclusion zone was later increased to a radius of 30 kilometres (19 mi), from which an additional ~68,000 people were evacuated.^[8]

Following the reactor explosion, which killed two engineers and severely burned two more, an emergency operation to put out the fires and stabilize the surviving reactor began, during which 237 workers were hospitalized, of whom 134 exhibited symptoms of acute radiation syndrome (ARS). Among those hospitalized, 28 died within the following three months. In the following 10 years, 14 more workers (9 of whom had been hospitalized with ARS) died of various causes mostly unrelated to radiation exposure.^[9] 15 childhood thyroid cancer deaths were attributed to the disaster as of 2011^[update].^[10][11] A United Nations committee found that to date fewer than 100 deaths have resulted from the fallout.^[12] Model predictions of the eventual total death toll in the coming decades vary. The most widely cited study conducted by the World Health Organization in 2006 predicted 9,000 cancer-related fatalities in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.^[13]

Following the disaster, Pripyat was abandoned and eventually replaced by the new purpose-built city of Slavutych. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant sarcophagus was built by December 1986. It reduced the spread of radioactive contamination from the wreckage and protected it from weathering. The confinement shelter also provided radiological protection for the crews of the undamaged reactors at the site, which were restarted in late 1986 and 1987. However, this containment structure was only intended to last for 30 years, and required considerable reinforcement in the early 2000s. The Shelter was heavily supplemented in 2017 by the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement, which was constructed around the old structure. This larger enclosure aims to enable the removal of both the sarcophagus and the reactor debris while containing the radioactive materials inside. Clean-up is scheduled for completion by 2065.^[14]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ "Accident of 1986". Chornobyl NPP. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
2. ^ "Chernobyl: Assessment of Radiological and Health Impact, 2002 update; Chapter II – The release, dispersion and deposition of radionuclides" (PDF). OECD-NEA. 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
3. ^ "The Chornobyl Accident". United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
4. ^ "A Brief History of Nuclear Accidents Worldwide". www.ucsusa.org. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
5. ^ Lallanilla, Marc; Geggel, Laura (18 April 2023). "Chernobyl: The world's worst nuclear disaster". livescience.com. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
6. ^ McCall, Chris (April 2016). "Chernobyl disaster 30 years on: lessons not learned". The Lancet. 387 (10029): 1707–1708. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30304-x. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 27116266. S2CID 39494685.
7. ^ "Chernobyl-Born Radionuclides in Geological Environment". Groundwater Vulnerability. Special Publications. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2014. pp. 25–38. doi:10.1002/9781118962220.ch2. ISBN 978-1-118-96222-0.
8. ^ Steadman, Philip; Hodgkinson, Simon (1990). Nuclear Disasters & The Built Environment: A Report to the Royal Institute. Butterworth Architecture. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-40850-061-6.
9. ^ Wagemaker, G.; Guskova, A.K.; Bebeshko, V.G.; Griffiths, N.M.; Krishenko, N.A. (1996). "Clinically Observed Effects in Individuals Exposed to Radiation as a Result of the Chernobyl Accident". One Decade After Chernobyl: Summing up the Consequences of the Accident, Proceedings of an International Conference, Vienna.: 173–198.
10. ^ "Chernobyl 25th anniversary – Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). World Health Organization. 23 April 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
11. ^ "Chernobyl: the true scale of the accident". World Health Organization. 5 September 2005. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
12. ^ "UNSCEAR assessments of the Chernobyl accident". www.unscear.org. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
13. ^ "World Health Organization report explains the health impacts of the world's worst-ever civil nuclear accident". World Health Organization. 26 April 2006. Archived from the original on 4 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
14. ^ "Chernobyl nuclear power plant site to be cleared by 2065". Kyiv Post. 3 January 2010. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012.

Read More

 

27 April 2007 – Israeli archaeologists discover the tomb of Herod the Great south of Jerusalem.

Herod the Great

1st century BCE King of Judea

This article is about the Roman-appointed king of Judea. For other uses, see Herod, Herod the Great (film), and Herod the Great (play).

Herod I^[2][3][a] or Herod the Great (c. 72 BCE – c. 4 BCE) was a Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea.^[4][5][6] He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of its base^[7][8][9]—the Western Wall being part of it. Vital details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus.^[10]

Herod also appears in the Christian Gospel of Matthew as the ruler of Judea who orders the Massacre of the Innocents at the time of the birth of Jesus, although most Herod biographers do not believe that this event occurred, primarily because he died four years prior to the birth of Jesus (subsequent references to "Herod" in the New Testament relating to the Roman-appointed Galilean ruler Herod Antipas).^[11] Despite his successes, including single-handedly forging a new aristocracy from practically nothing,^[12] he has still been criticized by various historians. His reign polarizes opinion among historians, some viewing his legacy as evidence of success, and some viewing it as a reminder of his tyrannical rule.^[10]

While Herod the Great is described in the Christian Bible as the author of the Massacre of the Innocents, the remainder of the Biblical references to the "two Herods of the Bible" are all ascribed to Herod Antipas, Herod the Great's son. Upon Herod's death in 4 BCE, the Romans divided his kingdom among three of his sons and his sister: his son Herod Antipas received the tetrarchy of Galilee and Peraea.

Other family members of Herod the Great include Herod's son Herod Archelaus who became ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Herod's son Philip who became tetrarch of territories north and east of the Jordan River; and Herod's sister Salome I, who was given a toparchy including the cities of Jabneh, Ashdod, and Phasaelis.

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Steinmann 2009, pp. 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Judaica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference JE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ Perowne 2003, pp. 92–93.
5. ^ Peters, Francis E. (2005). The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition, Volume II: The Words and Will of God The Words And Will of God. Princeton University Press.
6. ^ Kasher, Aryeh; Witztum, Eliezer (2007). King Herod: a persecuted persecutor : a case study in psychohistory and psychobiography. Translation by Karen Gold. Walter de Gruyter.
7. ^ Antiquities of the Jews, 15.11.6.
8. ^ Cf. Babylonian Talmud (Ta'anit 23a).
   • Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple sanctuary and expanded the Temple Mount at its north side around the older Temple courts, and "enclosed an area double the former size." Formerly, according to the Mishnah (Middot 2:1), the Temple Mount had measured 500 cubits x 500 cubits square, and its expansion was done to accommodate the pilgrims.
9. ^ The Jewish War, 1.21.1.
10. ^ ^{a b} Schwartz, Seth (2014). "Herod to Florus". The Ancient Jews from Alexander to Muhammad. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 59–62. ISBN 978-1-107-04127-1.
11. ^ Maier, Paul L. (1998). "Herod and the Infants of Bethlehem". In Summers, Ray; Vardaman, Jerry (eds.). Chronos, Kairos, Christos II: Chronological, Nativity, and Religious Studies in Memory of Ray Summers. Mercer University Press. pp. 170–171. ISBN 978-0-86554-582-3.
12. ^ Cohen 1999, p. 269.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Read More

 

28 April 1945 – Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot dead by Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement.

Benito Mussolini

Dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943

"Mussolini" redirects here. For other people named Mussolini, see Mussolini family.

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (UK: /ˌmʊsəˈliːni, ˌmʌs-/, US: /ˌmuːs-/, Italian: [beˈniːto aˈmilkare anˈdrɛːa mussoˈliːni]; 29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian dictator who founded and led the National Fascist Party (PNF). He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 1943, as well as Duce of Italian fascism from the establishment of the Italian Fasces of Combat in 1919 until his summary execution in 1945 by Italian partisans. As dictator of Italy and principal founder of fascism, Mussolini inspired and supported the international spread of fascist movements during the inter-war period.

Mussolini was originally a socialist politician and a journalist at the Avanti! newspaper. In 1912, he became a member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), but he was expelled from the PSI for advocating military intervention in World War I, in opposition to the party's stance on neutrality. In 1914, Mussolini founded a newspaper, Il Popolo d'Italia, and served in the Royal Italian Army during the war until he was wounded and discharged in 1917. Mussolini denounced the PSI, his views now centering on Italian nationalism instead of socialism, and later founded the fascist movement which came to oppose egalitarianism and class conflict, instead advocating "revolutionary nationalism" transcending class lines. On 31 October 1922, following the March on Rome (28–30 October), Mussolini was appointed prime minister by King Victor Emmanuel III, becoming the youngest individual to hold the office up to that time. After removing all political opposition through his secret police and outlawing labour strikes, Mussolini and his followers consolidated power through a series of laws that transformed the nation into a one-party dictatorship. Within five years, Mussolini established dictatorial authority by both legal and illegal means and aspired to create a totalitarian state. In 1929, Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty with the Holy See to establish Vatican City.

Mussolini's foreign policy was based on the fascist doctrine of "Spazio vitale" (trans: "living space"); which aimed to expand Italian possessions and the fascist sphere of influence. In 1923, Mussolini ordered the bombing of Corfu over an incident with Greece. That same year, Mussolini launched the Second Italo-Senussi war which lasted until 1932 and culminated in the Libyan genocide. He also annexed the city of Fiume into Italy after the Treaty of Rome in 1924 with Yugoslavia. Through the Tirana treaties, Mussolini turned Albania into an Italian protectorate. In 1936, Ethiopia was conquered following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and merged into Italian East Africa (AOI) with Eritrea and Somalia. In 1939, Italian forces annexed Albania. Between 1936 and 1939, Mussolini ordered an intervention in Spain in favour of Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. At the same time, Mussolini initially tried to retain much of the Versailles status quo by sending troops to the Brenner Pass to delay Hitler's Anschluss, and taking part in the Treaty of Lausanne, the Lytton Report, the Four-Power Pact and the Stresa Front. However, he ultimately alienated the democratic powers as tensions grew in the League of Nations, which he left in 1937. Now hostile to France and Britain, Italy formed the Axis alliance with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.

The wars of the 1930s, although victorious, had cost Italy enormous resources, leaving the country unprepared for the upcoming Second World War. Therefore, when Poland was invaded on 1 September 1939, Mussolini declared Italy's non-belligerence. However, on 10 June 1940, believing that Allied defeat was imminent, he decided to join the war on the side of Germany to share the potential spoils of victory. But after three more years of world war, the tide of the conflict turned in favour of the Allies. Following the invasion of Sicily and a motion of no confidence by the Grand Council of Fascism, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini as head of government and placed him in custody (25 July 1943). After the king agreed to an armistice with the Allies, on 12 September 1943 Mussolini was rescued from captivity in the Gran Sasso raid by German paratroopers and Waffen-SS commandos. After meeting with his fallen ally, Hitler made Mussolini the figurehead of a puppet state in German-occupied northern Italy, the Italian Social Republic (Salò Republic), which served as a collaborationist regime of the Germans in their fight against the Allies, now including the Kingdom of Italy, and the Italian resistance.

In late April 1945, with Allied victory imminent, Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci attempted to flee to Switzerland, but they were captured by Italian communist partisans and summarily executed on 28 April near Lake Como, and their bodies were strung up by the heels outside a service station in Milan.

Read More

 

29 April 1997 – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by its signatories.

Chemical Weapons Convention

Multilateral treaty prohibiting the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), an intergovernmental organization based in The Hague, The Netherlands. The treaty entered into force on 29 April 1997. It prohibits the use of chemical weapons, and also prohibits large-scale development, production, stockpiling, or transfer of chemical weapons or their precursors, except for very limited purposes (research, medical, pharmaceutical or protective). The main obligation of member states under the convention is to effect this prohibition, as well as the destruction of all current chemical weapons. All destruction activities must take place under OPCW verification.

As of August 2022,^[update] 193 states have become parties to the CWC and accept its obligations. Israel has signed but not ratified the agreement, while three other UN member states (Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan) have neither signed nor acceded to the treaty.^[1][5] Most recently, the State of Palestine deposited its instrument of accession to the CWC on 17 May 2018. In September 2013, Syria acceded to the convention as part of an agreement for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons.^[6][7]

As of February 2021, 98.39% of the world's declared chemical weapons stockpiles had been destroyed.^[8] The convention has provisions for systematic evaluation of chemical production facilities, as well as for investigations of allegations of use and production of chemical weapons based on the intelligence of other state parties.

Some chemicals which have been used extensively in warfare but have numerous large-scale industrial uses (such as phosgene) are highly regulated; however, certain notable exceptions exist. Chlorine gas is highly toxic, but being a pure element and widely used for peaceful purposes, is not officially listed as a chemical weapon. Certain state powers (e.g. the Assad regime of Syria) continue to regularly manufacture and implement such chemicals in combat munitions.^[9] Although these chemicals are not specifically listed as controlled by the CWC, the use of any toxic chemical as a weapon (when used to produce fatalities solely or mainly through its toxic action) is in-and-of itself forbidden by the treaty. Other chemicals, such as white phosphorus,^[10] are highly toxic but are legal under the CWC when they are used by military forces for reasons other than their toxicity.^[11]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction". United Nations Treaty Collection. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
2. ^ Chemical Weapons Convention, Article 21.
3. ^ Chemical Weapons Convention, Article 23.
4. ^ Chemical Weapons Convention, Article 24.
5. ^ "Angola Joins the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons". OPCW. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
6. ^ "Resolution 2118 (2013)" (doc). United Nations documents. United Nations. 27 September 2013. p. 1. Retrieved 28 April 2017. Noting that on 14 September 2013, the Syrian Arab Republic deposited with the Secretary-General its instrument of accession to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Convention) and declared that it shall comply with its stipulations and observe them faithfully and sincerely, applying the Convention provisionally pending its entry into force for the Syrian Arab Republic
7. ^ "U.S. sanctions Syrian officials for chemical weapons attacks". Reuters. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
8. ^ "OPCW by the Numbers". Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
9. ^ "Third report of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism". 24 August 2016.
10. ^ "'White phosphorus not used as chemical weapon in Syria'". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
11. ^ Paul Reynolds (16 November 2005). "White phosphorus: weapon on the edge". BBC News. Retrieved 4 April 2007.

Read More

 

30 April 1905 – Albert Einstein completes his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich.

Albert Einstein

German-born physicist (1879–1955)

"Einstein" redirects here. For other uses, see Einstein (disambiguation) and Albert Einstein (disambiguation).

Albert Einstein (/ˈaɪnstaɪn/ EYEN-styne;^[4] German: [ˈalbɛɐt ˈʔaɪnʃtaɪn] ^ⓘ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is widely held to be one of the greatest and most influential scientists of all time. Best known for developing the theory of relativity, Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics, and was thus a central figure in the revolutionary reshaping of the scientific understanding of nature that modern physics accomplished in the first decades of the twentieth century.^[1][5] His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc², which arises from relativity theory, has been called "the world's most famous equation".^[6] He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect",^[7] a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science.^[8][9] In a 1999 poll of 130 leading physicists worldwide by the British journal Physics World, Einstein was ranked the greatest physicist of all time.^[10] His intellectual achievements and originality have made the word Einstein broadly synonymous with genius.^[11]

Born in the German Empire, Einstein moved to Switzerland in 1895, forsaking his German citizenship (as a subject of the Kingdom of Württemberg)^{[note 1]} the following year. In 1897, at the age of seventeen, he enrolled in the mathematics and physics teaching diploma program at the Swiss federal polytechnic school in Zürich, graduating in 1900. In 1901, he acquired Swiss citizenship, which he kept for the rest of his life. In 1903, he secured a permanent position at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. In 1905, he submitted a successful PhD dissertation to the University of Zurich. In 1914, he moved to Berlin in order to join the Prussian Academy of Sciences and the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1917, he became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics; he also became a German citizen again, this time as a subject of the Kingdom of Prussia.^{[note 1]}

In 1933, while he was visiting the United States, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. Horrified by the Nazi "war of extermination" against his fellow Jews,^[12] Einstein decided to remain in the US, and was granted American citizenship in 1940.^[13] On the eve of World War II, he endorsed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt alerting him to the potential German nuclear weapons program and recommending that the US begin similar research. Einstein supported the Allies but generally viewed the idea of nuclear weapons with great dismay.^[14]

In 1905, sometimes described as his annus mirabilis (miracle year), Einstein published four groundbreaking papers.^[15] These outlined a theory of the photoelectric effect, explained Brownian motion, introduced his special theory of relativity—a theory which addressed the inability of classical mechanics to account satisfactorily for the behavior of the electromagnetic field—and demonstrated that if the special theory is correct, mass and energy are equivalent to each other. In 1915, he proposed a general theory of relativity that extended his system of mechanics to incorporate gravitation. A cosmological paper that he published the following year laid out the implications of general relativity for the modeling of the structure and evolution of the universe as a whole.^[16][17] The middle part of his career also saw him making important contributions to statistical mechanics and quantum theory. Especially notable was his work on the quantum physics of radiation, in which light consists of particles, subsequently called photons. For much of the last phase of his academic life, Einstein worked on two endeavors that proved ultimately unsuccessful. Firstly, he advocated against quantum theory's introduction of fundamental randomness into science's picture of the world, objecting that "God does not play dice".^[18] Secondly, he attempted to devise a unified field theory by generalizing his geometric theory of gravitation to include electromagnetism too. As a result, he became increasingly isolated from the mainstream of modern physics.

1. ^ ^{a b c} Cite error: The named reference frs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ "The Gold Medal" (PDF). Royal Astronomical Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
3. ^ "Membership directory". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference NDxay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference YangHamilton2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. ^ Cite error: The named reference LnLVo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nobel Prize was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ Cite error: The named reference xZQWt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
9. ^ Cite error: The named reference 3UiiT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. ^ "Physics: past, present, future". Physics World. 6 December 1999. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
11. ^ Cite error: The named reference wordnetweb.princeton.edu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
12. ^ Cite error: The named reference zE9Bz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
13. ^ Cite error: The named reference BoyerDubofsky2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
14. ^ "Albert Einstein on nuclear weapons | Wise International". wiseinternational.org. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
15. ^ Galison (2000), p. 377.
16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nobel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
17. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT-20151124 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
18. ^ Robinson, Andrew (30 April 2018). "Did Einstein really say that?". Nature. 557 (30): 30. Bibcode:2018Natur.557...30R. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-05004-4. S2CID 14013938. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2021.

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

Read More

 

1 May 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended".

Mission Accomplished speech

2003 speech by U.S. President George W. Bush

"Mission Accomplished" redirects here. For other uses, see Mission Accomplished (disambiguation).

On May 1, 2003, United States President George W. Bush gave a televised speech on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Bush, who had launched the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq six weeks earlier, mounted a podium before a White House-produced banner that read "Mission Accomplished". Reading from a prepared text, he said, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed" because "the regime [the Iraqi dictatorship of Saddam Hussein] is no more".^[1] Although Bush went on to say that "Our mission continues" and "We have difficult work to do in Iraq,"^[1] his words implied that the Iraq War was over and America had won.

Bush's assertions—and the sign itself—became controversial as the Iraqi insurgency gained pace and developed into a full-on sectarian war. The vast majority of casualties, U.S. and Iraqi, military and civilian, occurred after the speech.^[2] U.S. troops fought in Iraq for eight more years.

In modern cultural relevance, the phrase "Mission Accomplished" is frequently used to refer to the perils of declaring victory too early in crises.^[3]

1. ^ ^{a b} "President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
2. ^ Pike, John. "U.S. Casualties in Iraq". www.globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
3. ^ Temin, Davia. "It's Not Over Until It's Over: The Perils Of Declaring Victory In Crisis Too Soon". Forbes. Retrieved August 31, 2023.

Read More

 

2 May 1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.

King James Version

1611 English translation of the Bible

"KJB" redirects here. For other uses, see KJB (disambiguation) and King James Version (disambiguation).

The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of King James VI and I.^[d][e] The 80 books of the King James Version include 39 books of the Old Testament, 14 books of Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament.

Noted for its "majesty of style", the King James Version has been described as one of the most important books in English culture and a driving force in the shaping of the English-speaking world.^[3][4] The King James Version remains the preferred translation of many Christian fundamentalists and religious movements, and it is considered one of the important literary accomplishments of early modern England.

The KJV was the third translation into English approved by the English Church authorities: The first had been the Great Bible (1535), and the second had been the Bishops' Bible (1568).^[5] In Switzerland the first generation of Protestant Reformers had produced the Geneva Bible^[6] which was published in 1560^[7] having referred to the original Hebrew and Greek scriptures, which was influential in the writing of the Authorized King James Version.

The English Church initially used the officially sanctioned "Bishops' Bible", which was hardly used by the population. More popular was the named "Geneva Bible", which was created on the basis of the Tyndale translation in Geneva under the direct successor of the reformer John Calvin for his English followers. However, their footnotes represented a Calvinistic Puritanism that was too radical for James. The translators of the Geneva Bible had translated the word king as tyrant about four hundred times—the word tyrant does not appear once in the KJV. Because of this, it has been assumed King James purposely had the translators of the KJV translate the word tyrant as either "troubling", "oppressor", or some other word to avoid people being critical of his monarchy, though there is no evidence to back up that claim.^[8] Arguably this more accurately reflects the difference in meaning between "tyrant" in ancient Greek and modern English.

James convened the Hampton Court Conference in January 1604, where a new English version was conceived in response to the problems of the earlier translations perceived by the Puritans,^[9] a faction of the Church of England.^[10] James gave translators instructions intended to ensure the new version would conform to the ecclesiology, and reflect the episcopal structure, of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy.^[11][12] In common with most other translations of the period, the New Testament was translated from Greek, the Old Testament from Hebrew and Aramaic, and the Apocrypha from Greek and Latin. In the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the text of the Authorized Version replaced the text of the Great Bible for Epistle and Gospel readings, and as such was authorized by Act of Parliament.^[13]

By the first half of the 18th century, the Authorized Version had become effectively unchallenged as the only English translation used in Anglican and other English Protestant churches, except for the Psalms and some short passages in the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. Over the 18th century, the Authorized Version supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the standard version of scripture for English-speaking scholars. With the development of stereotype printing at the beginning of the 19th century, this version of the Bible had become the most widely printed book in history, almost all such printings presenting the standard text of 1769, and nearly always omitting the books of the Apocrypha. Today the unqualified title "King James Version" usually indicates this Oxford standard text.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ ^{a b} "Bible Translation Spectrum". Logos Bible Software Wiki. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
2. ^ KJV Dedicatorie 1611.
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference hunt20110209 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ "The King James Bible: The Book That Changed the World – BBC Two". BBC.
5. ^ Daniell 2003, p. 204.
6. ^ The Sixth Point of Calvinism, The Historicism Research Foundation, Inc., 2003, ISBN 09620681-4-4
7. ^ The Holy Bible ... With a General Introduction and Short Explanatory Notes, by B. Boothroyd. James Duncan. 1836.
8. ^ "Is "Tyrant" Missing From The KJV? – BaptistBasics.org". 19 May 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
9. ^ Daniell 2003, p. 435.
10. ^ Hill 1997, pp. 4–5.
11. ^ Daniell 2003, p. 439.
12. ^ Daniell 2003, p. 436.
13. ^ Daniell 2003, p. 488.

Read More

 

3 May 1952 – The Kentucky Derby is televised nationally for the first time, on the CBS network.

Kentucky Derby

For the 2023 race, see 2023 Kentucky Derby. For the season point system, see Road to the Kentucky Derby.

American stakes race for Thoroughbreds, part of the Triple Crown

Horse race

The Kentucky Derby (/ˈdɜːrbi/) is an American Grade I stakes race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles (10 furlongs; 2,012 metres), the first time horses in the field race that distance. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57 kilograms) and fillies 121 pounds (55 kilograms).^[3]

Held annually on the first Saturday in May, the race is the first leg of the Triple Crown. The Derby is known as "The Run for the Roses", as the winning horse is draped in a blanket of roses. Lasting approximately two minutes, the race has also been called "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" or "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports". It is preceded by the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival.^[4]

The race was first run in 1875. Unlike the other races of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the Kentucky Derby, along with its sibling race, the Kentucky Oaks, has been run annually since its first edition. They were twice rescheduled within the same year, the first time due to World War II in 1945, and the second time due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.^[5] Further, the Derby and the Oaks are the oldest continuously held major sporting events in the US, as well as the oldest thoroughbred stakes races held in the same location since their beginning.^[6]

The Derby is the most-watched and most-attended horse race in the United States. The 2024 Kentucky Derby marks the 150th running of the race.

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Woodford was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Frakes, Jason (January 10, 2024). "2024 Kentucky Derby to feature record $5 million purse. Here are payouts for 150th running". Courier Journal. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
3. ^ "Tenth Race Churchill May 1, 2004". May 1, 2004. Daily Racing Forum. Accessed on May 9, 2006.
4. ^ "What is the Derby Festival®? – Our Story". Kentucky Derby Festival. Retrieved January 31, 2024. The Festival blasts off each year with the Opening Ceremonies – Thunder Over Louisville, one of the nation's largest annual fireworks extravaganzas! The ensuing two weeks of excitement and entertainment promise something for everyone.
5. ^ https://www.tvg.com/promos/kentucky-derby/kentucky-derby-history.html Archived January 27, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Kentucky Derby History
6. ^ Renau, Lynn S. (2001). "Kentucky Derby". In Kleber, John E. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 467. ISBN 0-8131-2100-0. OCLC 247857447. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

Read More

 

4 May 1869 – The Naval Battle of Hakodate is fought in Japan.

Naval Battle of Hakodate

1869 naval battle of the Boshin War

The Naval Battle of Hakodate (函館湾海戦, Hakodatewan Kaisen) was fought from 4 to 10 May 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy. It was one of the last stages of Battle of Hakodate during the Boshin War, and occurred near Hakodate in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō.

Read More

 

5 May 1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.

Magna Carta

English charter of freedoms, 1215

This article is about the English charter of 1215. For other uses, see Magna Carta (disambiguation).

Magna Carta Libertatum (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called Magna Carta or sometimes Magna Charta ("Great Charter"),^[a] is a royal charter^[4][5] of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215.^[b] First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift and impartial justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. Neither side stood by their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons' War.

After John's death, the regency government of his young son, Henry III, reissued the document in 1216, stripped of some of its more radical content, in an unsuccessful bid to build political support for their cause. At the end of the war in 1217, it formed part of the peace treaty agreed at Lambeth, where the document acquired the name "Magna Carta", to distinguish it from the smaller Charter of the Forest, which was issued at the same time.^[6][7][8] Short of funds, Henry reissued the charter again in 1225 in exchange for a grant of new taxes.^[9] His son, Edward I, repeated the exercise in 1297, this time confirming it as part of England's statute law. The charter became part of English political life and was typically renewed by each monarch in turn, although as time went by and the fledgling Parliament of England passed new laws, it lost some of its practical significance.

A common belief is that Magna Carta was a unique and early charter of human rights. However, historian J. C. Holt and others claim that "Magna Carta was far from unique, either in content or in form".^[10][11] At the end of the 16th century, there was an upsurge in interest in Magna Carta. Lawyers and historians at the time believed that there was an ancient English constitution, going back to the days of the Anglo-Saxons, that protected individual English freedoms. They argued that the Norman invasion of 1066 had overthrown these rights and that Magna Carta had been a popular attempt to restore them,^[12][13][14] making the charter an essential foundation for the contemporary powers of Parliament and legal principles such as habeas corpus. Although this historical account was badly flawed, jurists such as Sir Edward Coke used Magna Carta extensively in the early 17th century, arguing against the divine right of kings.^[14][15] Both James I and his son Charles I attempted to suppress the discussion of Magna Carta.^[16][17] The political myth of Magna Carta and its protection of ancient personal liberties persisted after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 until well into the 19th century. It influenced the early American colonists in the Thirteen Colonies and the formation of the United States Constitution, which became the supreme law of the land in the new republic of the United States.^[18][19]

Research by Victorian historians showed that the original 1215 charter had concerned the medieval relationship between the monarch and the barons, rather than the rights of ordinary people,^[20] but the charter remained a powerful, iconic document, even after almost all of its content was repealed from the statute books in the 19th and 20th centuries.^[21][22] None of the original 1215 Magna Carta is currently in force since it was repealed; however, four clauses of the original charter (1 (part), 13, 39, and 40) are enshrined in the 1297 reissued Magna Carta and do still remain in force in England and Wales (as clauses 1, 9, and 29 of the 1297 statute).^[23][24]

In the 21st century, four exemplifications of the original 1215 charter remain in existence, two at the British Library, one at Lincoln Castle and one at Salisbury Cathedral. There are also a handful of the subsequent charters in public and private ownership, including copies of the 1297 charter in both the United States and Australia. Although scholars refer to the 63 numbered "clauses" of Magna Carta, this is a modern system of numbering, introduced by Sir William Blackstone in 1759; the original charter formed a single, long unbroken text.

1. ^ "Magna Carta". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) "Usually without article."
2. ^ Du Cange s.v. 1 carta
3. ^ Garner, Bryan A. (1995). A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage. Oxford University Press. p. 541. ISBN 978-0195142365. "The usual—and the better—form is Magna Carta. [...] Magna Carta does not take a definite article".
   Magna Charta is the recommended spelling in German-language literature. (Duden online)
4. ^ "Magna Carta 1215". British Library. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
5. ^ Peter Crooks (July 2015). "Exporting Magna Carta: exclusionary liberties in Ireland and the world". History Ireland. 23 (4).
6. ^ Carpenter 1990, pp. 60–61.
7. ^ White 1915, pp. 472–475.
8. ^ White 1917, pp. 545–555.
9. ^ Carpenter 1990, p. 379.
10. ^ Holt 2015, pp. 50–51.
11. ^ Blick 2015, p. 39: "It was one of a number of such sets of concessions issued by kings, setting out limits on their powers, around this time, though it had its own special character, and subsequently it has become the most celebrated and influential of them all."
12. ^ Hindley 1990, p. 188.
13. ^ Turner 2003b, p. 140.
14. ^ ^{a b} Danziger & Gillingham 2004, p. 280.
15. ^ Breay 2010, p. 46.
16. ^ Hindley 1990, p. 189.
17. ^ Danziger & Gillingham 2004, pp. 280–281.
18. ^ Cite error: The named reference NARA-legacy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
19. ^ Cite error: The named reference NARA-Magna Carta was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
20. ^ Pollard 1912, pp. 31–32.
21. ^ Danziger & Gillingham 2004, p. 278.
22. ^ Breay 2010, p. 48.
23. ^ "The contents of Magna Carta". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
24. ^ "Magna Carta 1297 at Legislation.gov.uk". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2022.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Read More

 

6 May 1682 – Louis XIV of France moves his court to the Palace of Versailles.

Palace of Versailles

Former royal residence in Versailles, France

"Versailles" redirects here. For the commune, see Versailles, Yvelines. For other uses, see Versailles (disambiguation).

The Palace of Versailles (/vɛərˈsaɪ, vɜːrˈsaɪ/ vair-SY, vur-SY;^[1] French: château de Versailles [ʃɑto d(ə) vɛʁsɑj] ^ⓘ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about 19 kilometers (12 mi) west of Paris, France.

The palace is owned by the government of France and since 1995 has been managed, under the direction of the French Ministry of Culture, by the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles.^[2] About 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park, or gardens of Versailles every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.^[3]

Louis XIII built a simple hunting lodge on the site of the Palace of Versailles in 1623. With his death came Louis XIV who expanded the château into the beginnings of a palace that went through several changes and phases from 1661 to 1715. It was a favorite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the de facto capital of France. This state of affairs was continued by Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, who primarily made interior alterations to the palace, but in 1789 the royal family and capital of France returned to Paris. For the rest of the French Revolution, the Palace of Versailles was largely abandoned and emptied of its contents, and the population of the surrounding city plummeted.

Napoleon, following his coronation as Emperor, used Versailles as a summer residence from 1810 to 1814, but did not restore it. Following the Bourbon Restoration, when the king was returned to the throne, he resided in Paris and it was not until the 1830s that meaningful repairs were made to the palace. A museum of French history was installed within it, replacing the apartments of the southern wing.

The palace and park were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979 for its importance as the center of power, art, and science in France during the 17th and 18th centuries.^[4] The French Ministry of Culture has placed the palace, its gardens, and some of its subsidiary structures on its list of culturally significant monuments.

1. ^ "Versailles". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
2. ^ "The Public Establishment". Palace of Versailles. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
3. ^ "Palace of Versailles (Château de Versailles)". Explore France. Government of France. 18 June 2021.
4. ^ "Palace and Park of Versailles". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 9 October 2021.

Read More

 

7 May 1994 – Edvard Munch's painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.

The Scream

1893 painting by Edvard Munch

For other uses, see The Scream (disambiguation).

The Scream is a composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The Norwegian name of the piece is Skrik (Scream), and the German title under which it was first exhibited is Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature). The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images in art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch's work, including The Scream, had a formative influence on the Expressionist movement.^[1]

Munch recalled that he had been out for a walk at sunset when suddenly the setting sun's light turned the clouds "a blood red". He sensed an "infinite scream passing through nature". Scholars have located the spot to a fjord overlooking Oslo^[2] and have suggested other explanations for the unnaturally orange sky, ranging from the effects of a volcanic eruption to a psychological reaction by Munch to his sister's commitment at a nearby lunatic asylum.

Munch created two versions in paint and two in pastels, as well as a lithograph stone from which several prints survive. Both painted versions have been stolen, but since recovered. In 2012, one of the pastel versions commanded the at-the-time highest nominal price paid for an artwork at a public auction.

1. ^ Eggum, Arne (1984). Munch, Edvard (ed.). Edvard Munch: Paintings, Sketches, and Studies. New York, NY: C.N. Potter. p. 10. ISBN 0-517-55617-0. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
2. ^ (59°54′02.4″N 10°46′12.9″E / 59.900667°N 10.770250°E / 59.900667; 10.770250)

Read More

 

8 May 1821 – Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn.

Battle of Gravia Inn

1821 battle of the Greek War of Independence

The Battle of Gravia Inn (Greek: Μάχη στο Χάνι της Γραβιάς) was fought between Greek revolutionaries and the Ottoman Empire during the Greek War of Independence. The Greek leaders Odysseas Androutsos, Yannis Gouras and Angelis Govios, with a group of c. 120 men, repulsed an Ottoman army numbering 8,000 to 9,000 men and artillery under the command of Omer Vrioni and Köse Mehmed. The battle ended with heavy losses for the Ottomans and minimal casualties on the Greek side.

The Ottoman army under the command of Omer Vrioni, following his defeat of the Greeks at the Battle of Alamana and the execution of their leader Athanasios Diakos, planned to attack the Peloponnese with an army of 11,000 men.^[8] However, his army was met by a Greek group numbering 120 men, under the command of Odysseas Androutsos, who had barricaded themselves inside an old inn. The Ottoman army surrounded the area and attacked the inn but was driven back with heavy losses. At night, while the Ottoman army paused their attacks to bring up some cannons in order to bombard the inn, the Greeks escaped the inn and found safety in the mountains before the cannons arrived.^[2]

This battle is considered important to the outcome of the Greek revolution because it forced Omer Vrioni to retreat to Euboea, leaving the Greeks to consolidate their gains in the Peloponnese and capture the Ottoman capital of the Peloponnese, Tripoli.

1. ^ Deligiannis 2009.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Deligiannis 2009, p. 21.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Argeiti 2021, pp. 27–29.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Argeiti 2021, p. 27.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} Paroulakis, p. 71.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Deligiannis 2009, pp. 17–22.
7. ^ Argeiti 2021, pp. 28–29.
8. ^ Deligiannis 2009, p. 19.

Read More

 

9 May 1955 – Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.

NATO

Intergovernmental military alliance

For other uses, see NATO (disambiguation).

"OTAN" redirects here. For other uses, see OTAN (disambiguation).

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO /ˈneɪtoʊ/ NAY-toh; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949.^[4][5] NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber (Latin for 'a mind unfettered in deliberation').^[6] The organization's strategic concepts include deterrence.^[7]

NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium, while NATO's military headquarters are near Mons, Belgium. The alliance has increased its NATO Response Force deployments in Eastern Europe,^[8] and the combined militaries of all NATO members include around 3.5 million soldiers and personnel.^[9] All member states together cover an area of 25.07 million km² and about 966.88 million people.^[10] Their combined military spending as of 2022^[update] constituted around 55 percent of the global nominal total.^[11] Moreover, members have agreed to reach or maintain the target defence spending of at least two percent of their GDP by 2024.^[12][13]

NATO formed with twelve founding members and has added new members ten times, most recently when Sweden joined the alliance on 7 March 2024.^[14] In addition, NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members.^[4] Enlargement has led to tensions with non-member Russia, one of the 18 additional countries participating in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme. Another nineteen countries are involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes with NATO.

1. ^ "Final Communiqué". www.nato.int. 17 September 1949. Archived from the original on 6 December 2006. Retrieved 2 March 2024. English and French shall be the official languages for the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
2. ^ NATO (4 April 1949). "The North Atlantic Treaty". NATO. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2024. This Treaty, of which the English and French texts are equally authentic.
3. ^ "Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014–2023)" (PDF). NATO. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
4. ^ ^{a b} "What is NATO?". NATO – Homepage. n.d. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
5. ^ Cook, Lorne (25 May 2017). "NATO, the world's biggest military alliance, explained". Military Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
6. ^ "Animus in consulendo liber". NATO. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
7. ^ "Szenes, Zoltan. "Reinforcing deterrence: assessing NATO's 2022 Strategic Concept." Defense & Security Analysis 39.4 (2023): 539–560". doi:10.1080/14751798.2023.2270230. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
8. ^ "NATO to accelerate deployment of up to 300,000 soldiers on eastern border". Ukrainska Pravda. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
9. ^ Batchelor, Tom (9 March 2022). "Where are Nato troops stationed and how many are deployed across Europe?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
10. ^ "[1] Archived 9 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine." worlddata.info. Retrieved on March 9, 2024. "Members of the NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization."
11. ^ "World military expenditure reaches new record high as European spending surges". SIPRI. 24 April 2023. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
12. ^ NATO. "The Wales Declaration on the Transatlantic Bond". NATO. Archived from the original on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
13. ^ Erlanger, Steven (26 March 2014). "Europe Begins to Rethink Cuts to Military Spending". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014. Last year, only a handful of NATO countries met the target, according to NATO figures, including the United States, at 4.1 percent, and Britain, at 2.4 percent.
14. ^ "Notification Reference No. 2024-008" (PDF). United States Department of State. 7 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.

Read More

 

10 May 1908 – Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.

Mother's Day

Celebration honouring mothers

For other uses, see Mother's Day (disambiguation).

Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. It complements similar celebrations, honoring family members, such as Father's Day, Siblings Day, and Grandparents' Day.

While some countries have a multi-century history of a day to celebrate mothers, the modern American version of the holiday began in the United States in the early 20th century at the initiative of Anna Jarvis, who organized the first Mother's Day service of worship and celebration at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, which serves as the International Mother's Day Shrine today.^[1] It is not directly related to the many traditional celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have existed throughout the world over thousands of years, such as the Greek cult to Cybele, the mother deity Rhea, the Roman festival of Hilaria, or the other Christian ecclesiastical Mothering Sunday celebration (associated with the image of Mother Church).^[2][3][4][5] However, in some countries, Mother's Day is still synonymous with these older traditions.^[6][7][8]

The American version of Mother's Day has been criticized for having become too commercialized.^[9][10] Jarvis herself, who began the celebration as a liturgical observance, regretted this commercialism and expressed that this was never her intention.^[1][11] In response, Constance Adelaide Smith successfully advocated for Mothering Sunday as a commemoration of a broader definition of motherhood in many other parts of the English-speaking world.^[12]

1. ^ ^{a b} O'Reilly, Andrea (6 April 2010). Encyclopedia of Motherhood. Sage Publications (CA). p. 602. ISBN 978-1-4522-6629-9. She organized the first official Mother's Day service at Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, on the morning of May 10, 1908. That same afternoon, 15,000 people attended a Mother's Day service at the Wanamaker Store Auditorium in Philadelphia, which she also organized. Jarvis chose the second Sunday in May for Mother's Day to mark the anniversary of her mother's death and selected her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation, as the day's official emblem.
2. ^ L. James Grold (April 1968), "Mother's Day", American Journal of Psychiatry, 124 (10): 1456–1458, doi:10.1176/ajp.124.10.1456, PMID 5643668, Mother's Day, conceived by Anna Jarvis to honor unselfish mothers (...) Although there is no direct lineal descent to our modern Mother's Day custom, secular and religious motherhood have existed for thousands of years before 10 May 1908: the first church – St. Andrew's in Grafton, West Virginia – responded to her request for a Sunday service honoring mothers . Cybele (...)
3. ^ Tuleja, Tad (1999), Curious Customs: The Stories Behind 296 Popular American Rituals, Galahad Books, p. 167, ISBN 978-1578660704, Although attempts have been made to link Mother's Day to ancient cults of the mother goddess, especially the worship of Cybele, the association is more conceptual than historic. Mother's Day is a modern, American invention.
4. ^ Robert J. Myers, Hallmark Cards (1972), Celebrations; the complete book of American holidays, Doubleday, p. 143, ISBN 9780385076777, Our observance of Mother's Day is little more than half a century old [this was written in 1972], yet the nature of the holiday makes it seem as if it had its roots in prehistoric times. Many antiquarians, holiday enthusiasts, and students of folklore have claimed to find the source of Mother's Day in the ancient spring festivals dedicated to the mother goddess, particularly the worship of Cybele.
5. ^ Helsloot 2007, p. 208 "The American origin of the Day, however, was duly acknowledged. 'The idea is imported,. America led the way.'"
6. ^ Mothering Sunday, BBC, 5 July 2011, retrieved 8 May 2023
7. ^ Mother's Day: When is it celebrated and where did it come from?, BBC, 19 March 2023, retrieved 8 May 2023
8. ^ Mothering Sunday, what are its origins in the Church?, Church of England, 26 March 2019, retrieved 8 May 2023
9. ^ Cite error: The named reference why was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. ^ Mother's Day 2017, The Daily Telegraph
11. ^ Trammell, Kendall. "Mother's Day founder later came to regret it". CNN. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
12. ^ Dunning, Andrew (26 March 2017). "The medieval origins of Mothering Sunday". Medieval manuscripts blog. The British Library.

Read More

 

11 May 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British

Indian Rebellion of 1857

Uprising against British Company rule

"Sepoy Mutiny" redirects here. For other uses, see Sepoy Mutiny (disambiguation).

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown.^[4][5] The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the company's army in the garrison town of Meerut, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India,^[b][6][c][7] though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east.^[d][8] The rebellion posed a military threat to British power in that region,^[e][9] and was contained only with the rebels' defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858.^[10] On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities to have formally ended until 8 July 1859.

The name of the revolt is contested, and it is variously described as the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection, and the First War of Independence.^[f][11]

The Indian rebellion was fed by resentments born of diverse perceptions, including invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes,^[12][13] as well as scepticism about the improvements brought about by British rule.^[g][14] Many Indians rose against the British; however, many also fought for the British, and the majority remained seemingly compliant to British rule.^[h][14] Violence, which sometimes betrayed exceptional cruelty, was inflicted on both sides, on British officers, and civilians, including women and children, by the rebels, and on the rebels, and their supporters, including sometimes entire villages, by British reprisals; the cities of Delhi and Lucknow were laid waste in the fighting and the British retaliation.^[i][14]

After the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the rebels quickly reached Delhi, whose 81-year-old Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was declared the Emperor of Hindustan. Soon, the rebels had captured large tracts of the North-Western Provinces and Awadh (Oudh). The East India Company's response came rapidly as well. With help from reinforcements, Kanpur was retaken by mid-July 1857, and Delhi by the end of September.^[10] However, it then took the remainder of 1857 and the better part of 1858 for the rebellion to be suppressed in Jhansi, Lucknow, and especially the Awadh countryside.^[10] Other regions of Company-controlled India—Bengal province, the Bombay Presidency, and the Madras Presidency—remained largely calm.^[j][7][10] In the Punjab, the Sikh princes crucially helped the British by providing both soldiers and support.^[k][7][10] The large princely states, Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir, as well as the smaller ones of Rajputana, did not join the rebellion, serving the British, in the Governor-General Lord Canning's words, as "breakwaters in a storm".^[15]

In some regions, most notably in Awadh, the rebellion took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against British oppression.^[16] However, the rebel leaders proclaimed no articles of faith that presaged a new political system.^[l][17] Even so, the rebellion proved to be an important watershed in Indian and British Empire history.^[m][11][18] It led to the dissolution of the East India Company, and forced the British to reorganize the army, the financial system, and the administration in India, through passage of the Government of India Act 1858.^[19] India was thereafter administered directly by the British government in the new British Raj.^[15] On 1 November 1858, Queen Victoria issued a proclamation to Indians, which while lacking the authority of a constitutional provision,^[n][20] promised rights similar to those of other British subjects.^[o][p][21] In the following decades, when admission to these rights was not always forthcoming, Indians were to pointedly refer to the Queen's proclamation in growing avowals of a new nationalism.^[q][r][23]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tyagi1974 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ ^{a b c} Peers 2013, p. 64.
3. ^ Buettner, Elizabeth (2000), "Problematic spaces, problematic races: defining 'Europeans' in late colonial India", Women's History Review, 9 (2): 277–298, 278, doi:10.1080/09612020000200242, S2CID 145297044, Colonial-era sources most commonly referred to individuals whom scholars today often describe as 'white' or 'British' as 'European' or 'English'.
4. ^ Marshall 2007, p. 197
5. ^ David 2003, p. 9
6. ^ ^{a b} Bose & Jalal 2004, pp. 72–73
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Marriott, John (2013), The other empire: Metropolis, India and progress in the colonial imagination, Manchester University Press, p. 195, ISBN 978-1-84779-061-3
8. ^ ^{a b} Bender, Jill C. (2016), The 1857 Indian Uprising and the British Empire, Cambridge University Press, p. 3, ISBN 978-1-316-48345-9
9. ^ ^{a b} Bayly 1987, p. 170
10. ^ ^{a b c d e} Bandyopadhyay 2004, pp. 169–172, Brown 1994, pp. 85–87, and Metcalf & Metcalf 2006, pp. 100–106
11. ^ ^{a b c d} Peers, Douglas M. (2006), "Britain and Empire", in Williams, Chris (ed.), A Companion to 19th-Century Britain, John Wiley & Sons, p. 63, ISBN 978-1-4051-5679-0
12. ^ Metcalf & Metcalf 2006, pp. 100–103.
13. ^ Brown 1994, pp. 85–86.
14. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Marshall, P. J. (2001), "1783–1870: An expanding empire", in P. J. Marshall (ed.), The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire, Cambridge University Press, p. 50, ISBN 978-0-521-00254-7
15. ^ ^{a b} Spear 1990, pp. 147–148
16. ^ Bandyopadhyay 2004, p. 177, Bayly 2000, p. 357
17. ^ ^{a b} Brown 1994, p. 94
18. ^ Bandyopadhyay 2004, p. 179
19. ^ Bayly 1987, pp. 194–197
20. ^ ^{a b} Adcock, C.S. (2013), The Limits of Tolerance: Indian Secularism and the Politics of Religious Freedom, Oxford University Press, pp. 23–25, ISBN 978-0-19-999543-1
21. ^ ^{a b} Taylor, Miles (2016), "The British royal family and the colonial empire from the Georgians to Prince George", in Aldrish, Robert; McCreery, Cindy (eds.), Crowns and Colonies: European Monarchies and Overseas Empires, Manchester University Press, pp. 38–39, ISBN 978-1-5261-0088-7, archived from the original on 19 September 2023, retrieved 30 March 2017
22. ^ Peers 2013, p. 76.
23. ^ ^{a b} Embree, Ainslie Thomas; Hay, Stephen N.; Bary, William Theodore De (1988), "Nationalism Takes Root: The Moderates", Sources of Indian Tradition: Modern India and Pakistan, Columbia University Press, p. 85, ISBN 978-0-231-06414-9, archived from the original on 19 September 2023, retrieved 19 September 2023

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Read More

 

12 May 1870 – The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15.

Manitoba Act, 1870

Part of the Constitution of Canada establishing Manitoba

The Manitoba Act, 1870 (French: Loi de 1870 sur le Manitoba)^[1] is an act of the Parliament of Canada, and part of the Constitution of Canada,^[2] that provided for the admission of Manitoba as the fifth province of Canada.^[3][4]

Receiving royal assent on May 12, 1870, the act also continued to enforce An Act for the Temporary Government of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territories when united with Canada^[4] upon the absorption of the British territories of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into Canada on July 15, 1870.

Hoping to decrease tension, the act marked the legal resolution of the fight for self-determination between the federal government and the people (particularly the Métis) of the Red River Colony, which began in 1870 with Canada's purchase of Rupert's Land.^[3]

Many negotiations and uprisings came with this act, some of which are still not settled today. One area of contention was that the Métis people were not familiar with the enforcement of laws, and the concept of deeds and money - this resulted in many Métis people being cheated out of the land that was supposed to be theirs. While the act included protections for the region's Métis, these protections were not fully realized and resulted in many Métis leaving the province for the North-West Territories.^[3]

1. ^ Originally entitled (until renamed in 1982) An Act to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Victoria, chapter 3; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba.
2. ^ Constitution Act, 1871, 34–35 Vict., c. 28 (U.K.), ss. 5–6. See also Sections 52–53 of and Item 2 of the Schedule to The Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (U.K.), 1982, c. 11.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Rea, J.E., Jeff Scott, and Andrew McIntosh. February 7, 2006. "Manitoba Act." Canadian Encyclopedia (last updated January 7, 2021).
4. ^ ^{a b} An Act for the Temporary Government of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territories when united with Canada, S.C. 1869, c. 3

Read More

 

13 May 1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt

Dutch statesman and revolutionary (1547–1619)

For the Dutch ocean liner, see MS Johan van Oldenbarnevelt.

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjoːɦɑɱ vɑn ɔldə(m)ˈbɑrnəvɛlt]), Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613) (14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619) was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch struggle for independence from the Habsburg Castilian empire.

Van Oldenbarnevelt was born in Amersfoort. He studied law at the universities of Leuven, Bourges, Heidelberg, and Padua, and traveled in France and Italy before settling permanently in The Hague. He favored William the Silent in his revolt against Philip II of Spain, and fought in William's army. In his later years he was a supporter of the Arminians, during the religious-political controversy which split the young Dutch Republic. He was the founder of the Dutch East India Company.

Read More

 

14 May 1804 – William Clark and 42 men depart from Camp Dubois to join Meriwether Lewis at St Charles, Missouri, marking the beginning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's historic journey up the Missouri River.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

1804–1806 American overland expedition to the Pacific coast

"Lewis and Clark" redirects here. For the leaders of the expedition, see Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

For other uses, see Lewis and Clark (disambiguation).

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select group of U.S. Army and civilian volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. Clark, along with 30 others, set-out from Camp Dubois (Camp Wood), Illinois, on May 14, 1804, met Lewis and ten other members of the group in St. Charles, Missouri, then went up the Missouri River. The expedition crossed the Continental Divide of the Americas near the Lemhi Pass, eventually coming to the Columbia River, and the Pacific Ocean in 1805. The return voyage began on March 23, 1806, at Fort Clatsop, Oregon, ending six months later on September 23 of that year.

President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the expedition, shortly after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, to explore and detail as much of the new territory as possible. Furthermore, he wished to find a practical travel route across the western half of the continent—directly avoiding the hot and desolate desert southwest—and to establish an American presence in the new lands before European powers attempted to establish claims of their own. The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific, economical and humanitarian, i.e., to document the West's biodiversity, topography and geography and to establish positive trade relations with (potentially unknown) Native American tribes. The expedition returned to St. Louis to report their findings to President Jefferson via maps, sketches, and various journals.^[1][2]

1. ^ Woodger, Toropov, 2009 p. 150
2. ^ Ambrose, 1996, Chap. VI

Read More

 

15 May 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.

Liu Bei

Chinese warlord and founding Emperor of Shu Han (161–223)

In this Chinese name, the family name is Liu.

Liu Bei (Chinese: 劉備, pronunciation^ⓘ; Mandarin pronunciation: [ljǒʊ pêɪ]; 161 – 10 June 223),^[3] courtesy name Xuande (玄德), was a Chinese warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of China.

Despite early failings and lacking both the material resources and social status his rivals commanded, he gathered support among disheartened Han loyalists who opposed Cao Cao, the warlord who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian and led a popular movement to restore the Han dynasty. Liu Bei overcame a number of setbacks to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, and parts of Hubei and Gansu.

Culturally, due to the popularity of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei is widely regarded as the ideal benevolent and humane ruler who cared for his people and selected good advisers for his government. His fictional counterpart in the novel was a salutary example of a ruler who adhered to the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty and compassion. Historically, Liu Bei, like many Han rulers, was greatly influenced by Laozi. He was a brilliant politician and leader whose skill was a remarkable demonstration of "Confucian in appearance but Legalist in substance".^[b][4]

1. ^ Volume 69 of Zizhi Tongjian indicated that Liu Bei crowned himself on the bingwu day of the 4th month of the 2nd year of Cao Pi's reign. ([魏文帝二年]夏，四月，丙午，汉中王即皇帝位于武担之南，大赦，改元章武.) The date corresponds to 15 May 221 in the Julian calendar.
2. ^ According to Liu Xie's biography in Book of the Later Han, Liu Bei proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong on the gengzi day of the 7th month of the 24th year of the Jian'an era. However, there is no gengzi day in the month; the month corresponds to 30 Jul to 27 Aug 219 on the Julian calendar. [(建安二十四年)秋七月庚子，刘备自称汉中王] Houhanshu, vol.09
3. ^ de Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A biographical dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). Brill. pp. 478–483. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0.
4. ^ Throughout Chinese history, no successful emperor had ruled purely based on Confucianism (though some did purely use Legalism). Numerous studies such as Political Reality of Transforming Legalism by Confucianism in the Western Han Dynasty as Seen from Selection System by Wang Baoding, or Aspects of Legalist Philosophy and the Law in Ancient China: The Chi'an and Han Dynasties and Rediscovered Manuscript of Mawangdui and Shuihudi by Matthew August LeFande, have pointed out most ancient Chinese dynasties after Qin had ruled by a mix of Legalism and Confucianism.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Read More

 

16 May 1739 – The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army.

Battle of Vasai

1739 conflict between the Portuguese and Maratha Empires in India

The Battle of Vasai or the Battle of Bassein was fought between the Marathas and the Portuguese rulers of Vasai (Portuguese, Baçaim; English, Bassein), a town near Mumbai (Bombay) in the Konkan region of the present-day state of Maharashtra, India. The Marathas were led by Chimaji Appa, a brother of Peshwa Baji Rao I. ^[4]

1. ^ "[FortsMaharashtra] Vasai Fort – Fort Bassein". Fortsmaharashtra.com. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
2. ^ "[Lokmat] Vasai Fort illuminated by 21000 lamps". Lokmat.com. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
3. ^ "Chapter2 : Maratha-Portuguese". Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2017. The Portuguese losses amounted to eight hundred officers and men killed and unknown number wounded.
4. ^ Jaques, Tony (2017). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A–E. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313335372. Retrieved 12 November 2017 – via Google Books.

Read More

 

16 May 1739 – The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army.

Battle of Vasai

1739 conflict between the Portuguese and Maratha Empires in India

The Battle of Vasai or the Battle of Bassein was fought between the Marathas and the Portuguese rulers of Vasai (Portuguese, Baçaim; English, Bassein), a town near Mumbai (Bombay) in the Konkan region of the present-day state of Maharashtra, India. The Marathas were led by Chimaji Appa, a brother of Peshwa Baji Rao I. ^[4]

1. ^ "[FortsMaharashtra] Vasai Fort – Fort Bassein". Fortsmaharashtra.com. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
2. ^ "[Lokmat] Vasai Fort illuminated by 21000 lamps". Lokmat.com. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
3. ^ "Chapter2 : Maratha-Portuguese". Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2017. The Portuguese losses amounted to eight hundred officers and men killed and unknown number wounded.
4. ^ Jaques, Tony (2017). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A–E. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313335372. Retrieved 12 November 2017 – via Google Books.

Read More

 

17 May 1859 – Members of the Melbourne Football Club codified the first rules of Australian rules football.

Laws of Australian rules football

The laws of Australian rules football were first defined by the Melbourne Football Club in 1859 and have been amended over the years as Australian rules football evolved into its modern form. The Australian Football Council (AFC), was formed in 1905 and became responsible for the laws, although individual leagues retained a wide discretion to vary them.^[1] Following the restructure of the Victorian Football League's competition as a national competition and the League's renaming to be the Australian Football League (AFL), since 1994, the rules for the game have been maintained by the AFL through its Commission and its Competition Committee.

Australian rules football is a contact sport played between two teams of eighteen players on an oval-shaped field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking the oval-shaped ball between goal posts (worth six points) or between behind posts (worth one point).

During general play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. If a player marks the ball (catches it from a long enough kick), they are awarded possession and allowed a free kick. There are rules on how the ball can be handled, including rules against running too far with the ball, throwing the ball and holding the ball. Players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstruct opponents. Dangerous physical contact (such as pushing an opponent in the back), interference when marking, and deliberately slowing the play are discouraged with free kicks, distance penalties or suspension for a certain number of matches, depending on the seriousness of the infringement.

1. ^ Ross, John, ed. (1996). 100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996. Ringwood, Victoria, Australia: Penguin Books Australia Ltd. ISBN 978-1854714343.

Read More

 

18 May 2005 – A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.

Hubble Space Telescope

NASA/ESA space telescope launched in 1990

"Hubble" redirects here. For the astronomer, see Edwin Hubble. For other uses, see Hubble (disambiguation).

The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versatile, renowned as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy. The Hubble telescope is named after astronomer Edwin Hubble and is one of NASA's Great Observatories. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) selects Hubble's targets and processes the resulting data, while the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) controls the spacecraft.^[8]

Hubble features a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) mirror, and its five main instruments observe in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Hubble's orbit outside the distortion of Earth's atmosphere allows it to capture extremely high-resolution images with substantially lower background light than ground-based telescopes. It has recorded some of the most detailed visible light images, allowing a deep view into space. Many Hubble observations have led to breakthroughs in astrophysics, such as determining the rate of expansion of the universe.

Space telescopes were proposed as early as 1923, and the Hubble telescope was funded and built in the 1970s by the United States space agency NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency. Its intended launch was in 1983, but the project was beset by technical delays, budget problems, and the 1986 Challenger disaster. Hubble was finally launched in 1990, but its main mirror had been ground incorrectly, resulting in spherical aberration that compromised the telescope's capabilities. The optics were corrected to their intended quality by a servicing mission in 1993.

Hubble is the only telescope designed to be maintained in space by astronauts. Five Space Shuttle missions have repaired, upgraded, and replaced systems on the telescope, including all five of the main instruments. The fifth mission was initially canceled on safety grounds following the Columbia disaster (2003), but after NASA administrator Michael D. Griffin approved it, the servicing mission was completed in 2009. Hubble completed 30 years of operation in April 2020^[1] and is predicted to last until 2030–2040.^[4]

Hubble is the visible light telescope in NASA's Great Observatories program; other parts of the spectrum are covered by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope (which covers the infrared bands).^[9] The mid-IR-to-visible band successor to the Hubble telescope is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which was launched on December 25, 2021, with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope due to follow in 2027.^[10][11][12]

1. ^ ^{a b} "Hubble Marks 30 Years in Space with Tapestry of Blazing Starbirth". HubbleSite.org. Space Telescope Science Institute. April 24, 2020. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Hubble Essentials: Quick Facts". HubbleSite.org. Space Telescope Science Institute. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016.
3. ^ Ryba, Jeanne. "STS-31". NASA. Archived from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference cbsnews20130530 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ "Hubble Space Telescope—Orbit". Heavens Above. August 15, 2018. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
6. ^ ^{a b} Nelson, Buddy (2009). "Hubble Space Telescope: Servicing Mission 4 Media Reference Guide" (PDF). NASA/Lockheed Martin. pp. 1–5. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 27, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
7. ^ NASA. "FAQ for Scientists Webb Telescope". Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
8. ^ "Hubble Essentials". HubbleSite.org. Space Telescope Science Institute. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
9. ^ Canright, Shelley. "NASA's Great Observatories". NASA. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2008. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
10. ^ "NASA Announces New James Webb Space Telescope Target Launch Date". NASA. July 16, 2020. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
11. ^ Overbye, Dennis (July 16, 2020). "NASA Delays James Webb Telescope Launch Date, Again – The universe will have to wait a little longer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
12. ^ "Hubble successor given mid-December launch date". BBC News. September 9, 2021. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.

Read More

 

19 May 1900 – Great Britain annexes Tonga Island.

Tonga Island

Island in New Zealand

This article is about an island in New Zealand. For the Polynesian country, see Tonga.

Tonga Island is a small (0.15 km²) island in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, off the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand.^[1] It lies within the Abel Tasman National Park, about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) off Onetahuti Beach.^[2] The island has a flourishing fur seal colony,^[3][4] and is surrounded by the Tonga Island Marine Reserve, which was inaugurated in 1993.

The island is accessible by water taxi or kayak and visible from the Abel Tasman Coast Track.^[5]

The first peoples named the place after a small island in their east Polynesian homeland.^[6]

1. ^ "Tonga Island, Tasman - NZ Topo Map". NZ Topo Map. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
2. ^ Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abel Tasman National Park". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. pp. 25. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
3. ^ "Tonga Island Marine Reserve". Department of Conservation NZ. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
4. ^ Nelson Marlborough Conservancy (2012). "Abel Tasman National Park" (PDF). New Zealand Department of Conservation. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
5. ^ "Tonga Island Marine Reserve" (PDF). Department of Conservation NZ. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
6. ^ Simpson, Philip (2018). Down the Bay: a natural and cultural history of Abel Tasman National Park. Nelson: Potton & Burton. p. 18. ISBN 9780947503932.

Read More

 

20 May 1521 – Ignatius of Loyola is seriously wounded in the Battle of Pampeluna.

Ignatius of Loyola

Spanish Catholic priest and theologian (1491–1556)

Ignatius of Loyola SJ (/ɪɡˈneɪʃəs/ ig-NAY-shəss; Basque: Ignazio Loiolakoa; Spanish: Ignacio de Loyola; Latin: Ignatius de Loyola; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola^[a]; c. 23 October 1491^[3] – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and became its first Superior General, in Paris in 1541.^[4]

Ignatius envisioned the purpose of the Society of Jesus to be missionary work and teaching. In addition to the vows of chastity, obedience and poverty of other religious orders in the church, Loyola instituted a fourth vow for Jesuits of obedience to the Pope, to engage in projects ordained by the pontiff.^[5] Jesuits were instrumental in leading the Counter-Reformation.^[6]

As a former soldier, Ignatius paid particular attention to the spiritual formation of his recruits and recorded his method in the Spiritual Exercises (1548). In time, the method has become known as Ignatian spirituality. He was beatified in 1609 and was canonized as a saint on 12 March 1622. His feast day is celebrated on 31 July. He is the patron saint of the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Biscay as well as of the Society of Jesus. He was declared the patron saint of all spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI in 1922.

1. ^ Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018. Church Publishing, Inc. 2019. ISBN 978-1-64065-235-4.
2. ^ "Patron Saint".
3. ^ García Villoslada, Ricardo (1986). San Ignacio de Loyola: Nueva biografía (in Spanish). La Editorial Católica. ISBN 84-220-1267-7. We deduce that, (...), Iñigo de Loyola should have been born before 23 October 1491.
4. ^ Idígoras Tellechea, José Ignacio (1994). "When was he born? His nurse's account". Ignatius of Loyola: The Pilgrim Saint. Chicago: Loyola University Press. p. 45. ISBN 0-8294-0779-0.
5. ^ Ignatius of Loyola (1970). The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. Translated by Ganss, George E. Institute of Jesuit Sources. p. 249 [No. 529]. ISBN 9780912422206. The entire meaning of this fourth vow of obedience to the pope was and is in regard to the missions ... this obedience is treated: in everything which the sovereign pontiff commands.
6. ^ Nugent, Donald (1974). Ecumenism in the Age of the Reformation: The Colloquy of Poissy. Harvard University Press. p. 189. ISBN 0-674-23725-0.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Read More

 

21 May 1904 – The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is founded in Paris.

FIFA

International governing body of association football

This article is about the association football body. For the video game franchise, see FIFA (video game series). For other uses, see Fifa (disambiguation). For the international governing body that oversees basketball, see FIBA.

The Fédération internationale de football association (French for 'International Association Football Federation';^[3] abbreviated as FIFA and pronounced in English as /ˈfiːfə/ FEE-fə) is an international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded in 1904^[4] to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by the Madrid Football Club), Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations. These national associations must also be members of one of the six regional confederations into which the world is divided: CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia and Australia), UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean), OFC (Oceania), and CONMEBOL (South America).

FIFA outlines several objectives in its organizational statutes, including growing association football internationally, providing efforts to ensure it is accessible to everyone, and advocating for integrity and fair play.^[5] It is responsible for the organization and promotion of association football's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930, and the Women's World Cup which began in 1991. Although FIFA does not solely set the laws of the game, that being the responsibility of the International Football Association Board of which FIFA is a member, it applies and enforces the rules across all FIFA competitions.^[6] All FIFA tournaments generate revenue from sponsorships; in 2022, FIFA had revenues of over US $5.8 billion, ending the 2019–2022 cycle with a net positive of US$1.2 billion, and cash reserves of over US$3.9 billion.^[7]

Reports by investigative journalists have linked FIFA leadership with corruption, bribery, and vote-rigging related to the election of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the organization's decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively. These allegations led to the indictments of nine high-ranking FIFA officials and five corporate executives by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges including racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering. On 27 May 2015, several of these officials were arrested by Swiss authorities, who launched a simultaneous but separate criminal investigation into how the organization awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Those among these officials who were also indicted in the U.S. are expected to be extradited to face charges there as well.^[8][9][10]

Many officials were suspended by FIFA's ethics committee including Sepp Blatter^[11] and Michel Platini.^[12] In early 2017, reports became public about FIFA president Gianni Infantino attempting to prevent the re-elections^[13] of both chairmen of the ethics committee, Cornel Borbély and Hans-Joachim Eckert, during the FIFA congress in May 2017.^[14][15] On 9 May 2017, following Infantino's proposal,^[16] FIFA Council decided not to renew the mandates of Borbély and Eckert.^[16] Together with the chairmen, 11 of 13 committee members were removed. FIFA has been suspected of corruption regarding the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[17]

1. ^ "Fédération Internationale de Football Association". Filmcircle.com. 11 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
2. ^ "FIFA Committees – FIFA Council". FIFA. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
3. ^ "International Association Football Federation". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
4. ^ "History of FIFA - Foundation". FIFA. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
5. ^ "FIFA Statutes". FIFA. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
6. ^ "About FIFA: Organisation". FIFA. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
7. ^ "2022 Financial Highlights". FIFA. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
8. ^ Clifford, Stephanie; Apuzzo, Matt (27 May 2015). "FIFA officials arrested on corruption charges; Sepp Blatter isn't among them". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
9. ^ "Nine FIFA Officials and Five Corporate Executives Indicted for Racketeering Conspiracy and Corruption". U.S. DOJ Office of Public Affairs. 27 May 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
10. ^ Collett, Mike; Homewood, Brian (27 May 2015). "World soccer rocked as top officials held in U.S., Swiss graft cases". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
11. ^ "Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini banned for eight years by Fifa". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
12. ^ "Rise and fall of Michel Platini – the self-proclaimed 'football man' who forgot the meaning of integrity". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
13. ^ Conn, David (2 March 2017). "Trust in Fifa has improved only slightly under Gianni Infantino, survey finds". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
14. ^ "FIFA Ethics Chiefs Facing Uncertain Future". The New York Times. Reuters. 15 March 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
15. ^ "Infantino at 1. Are the Ethics bigwigs the next stop on his personal 'reform' agenda?". Inside World Football. 27 February 2017. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
16. ^ ^{a b} "FIFA Ethics Committee still investigating 'hundreds' of cases: Borbely". Reuters. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
17. ^ Ellis, Sam (9 December 2022). "How FIFA corrupted the World Cup". Vox. Retrieved 10 January 2023.

Read More

 

22 May 1846 – The Associated Press is formed in New York City as a non-profit news cooperative.

Associated Press

American not-for-profit news agency

This article is about the American news agency. It is not to be confused with the Australian Associated Press or the Associated Press of Pakistan.

The Associated Press (AP)^[4] is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major U.S. daily newspapers and radio and television broadcasters. Since the award was established in 1917, the AP has earned 58 Pulitzer Prizes, including 35 for photography. The AP is also known for its widely used AP Stylebook, its AP polls tracking NCAA sports, and its election polls and results during US elections.

By 2016, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters.^[5] The AP operates 235 news bureaus in 94 countries, and publishes in English, Spanish, and Arabic.^[6] It also operates the AP Radio Network, which provides twice hourly newscasts and daily sportscasts for broadcast and satellite radio and television stations. Many newspapers and broadcasters outside the United States are AP subscribers, paying a fee to use AP material without being contributing members of the cooperative. As part of their cooperative agreement with the AP, most member news organizations grant automatic permission for the AP to distribute their local news reports.

1. ^ "Leadership Team". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
2. ^ "Documents Shed New Light on Birth of AP; Wire Older Than Originally Thought". Editor & Publisher. January 31, 2006. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Consolidated Financial Statements" (PDF). Associated Press. April 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
4. ^ "Associated Press, The". AP Stylebook. The Associated Press. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
5. ^ "2016 Consolidated Financial Statements" (PDF). Associated Press. April 5, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
6. ^ "AP by the Numbers". Associated Press. Retrieved March 21, 2024.

Read More

 

23 May 1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.

Java (programming language)

Object-oriented programming language

Not to be confused with Java (software platform), JavaScript, Java, or Javanese language.

"Openframe" redirects here. For the ten-pin bowling term, see Open frame.

Java is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. It is a general-purpose programming language intended to let programmers write once, run anywhere (WORA),^[16] meaning that compiled Java code can run on all platforms that support Java without the need to recompile.^[17] Java applications are typically compiled to bytecode that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM) regardless of the underlying computer architecture. The syntax of Java is similar to C and C++, but has fewer low-level facilities than either of them. The Java runtime provides dynamic capabilities (such as reflection and runtime code modification) that are typically not available in traditional compiled languages.

Java gained popularity shortly after its release, and has been a very popular programming language since then.^[18] Java was the third most popular programming language in 2022^[update] according to GitHub.^[19] Although still widely popular, there has been a gradual decline in use of Java in recent years with other languages using JVM gaining popularity.^[20]

Java was originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems. It was released in May 1995 as a core component of Sun's Java platform. The original and reference implementation Java compilers, virtual machines, and class libraries were originally released by Sun under proprietary licenses. As of May 2007, in compliance with the specifications of the Java Community Process, Sun had relicensed most of its Java technologies under the GPL-2.0-only license. Oracle offers its own HotSpot Java Virtual Machine, however the official reference implementation is the OpenJDK JVM which is free open-source software and used by most developers and is the default JVM for almost all Linux distributions.

As of March 2024^[update], Java 22 is the latest version. Java 8, 11, 17, and 21 are previous LTS versions still officially supported.

1. ^ Binstock, Andrew (May 20, 2015). "Java's 20 Years of Innovation". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Barbara Liskov with John Guttag (2000). Program Development in Java - Abstraction, Specification, and Object-Oriented Design. USA, Addison Wesley. ISBN 9780201657685.
3. ^ Chaudhary, Harry H. (July 28, 2014). "Cracking The Java Programming Interview :: 2000+ Java Interview Que/Ans". Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
4. ^ Java 5.0 added several new language features (the enhanced for loop, autoboxing, varargs and annotations), after they were introduced in the similar (and competing) C# language. [1] Archived March 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine [2] Archived January 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ Gosling, James; McGilton, Henry (May 1996). "The Java Language Environment". Archived from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
6. ^ Gosling, James; Joy, Bill; Steele, Guy; Bracha, Gilad. "The Java Language Specification, 2nd Edition". Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
7. ^ "The A-Z of Programming Languages: Modula-3". Computerworld. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
8. ^ Niklaus Wirth stated on a number of public occasions, e.g. in a lecture at the Polytechnic Museum, Moscow in September 2005 (several independent first-hand accounts in Russian exist, e.g. one with an audio recording: Filippova, Elena (September 22, 2005). "Niklaus Wirth's lecture at the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow". Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2011.), that the Sun Java design team licensed the Oberon compiler sources a number of years prior to the release of Java and examined it: a (relative) compactness, type safety, garbage collection, no multiple inheritance for classes – all these key overall design features are shared by Java and Oberon.
9. ^ Patrick Naughton cites Objective-C as a strong influence on the design of the Java programming language, stating that notable direct derivatives include Java interfaces (derived from Objective-C's protocol) and primitive wrapper classes. [3] Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
10. ^ TechMetrix Research (1999). "History of Java" (PDF). Java Application Servers Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2010. The project went ahead under the name green and the language was based on an old model of UCSD Pascal, which makes it possible to generate interpretive code.
11. ^ "A Conversation with James Gosling – ACM Queue". Queue.acm.org. August 31, 2004. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
12. ^ The Java Language Team. About Microsoft's "Delegates" (White Paper). JavaSoft, Sun Microsystems, Inc. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. In the summer of 1996, Sun was designing the precursor to what is now the event model of the AWT and the JavaBeans component architecture. Borland contributed greatly to this process. We looked very carefully at Delphi Object Pascal and built a working prototype of bound method references in order to understand their interaction with the Java programming language and its APIs.
13. ^ "Chapel spec (Acknowledgements)" (PDF). Cray Inc. October 1, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
14. ^ "Gambas Documentation Introduction". Gambas Website. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
15. ^ "Facebook Q&A: Hack brings static typing to PHP world". InfoWorld. March 26, 2014. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
16. ^ "Write once, run anywhere?". Computer Weekly. May 2, 2002. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
17. ^ "1.2 Design Goals of the Java Programming Language". Oracle. January 1, 1999. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
18. ^ Melanson, Mike (August 9, 2022). "Don't call it a comeback: Why Java is still champ". GitHub. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
19. ^ "The top programming languages". The State of the Octoverse. GitHub. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
20. ^ McMillan, Robert (August 1, 2013). "Is Java Losing Its Mojo?". Wired. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2023.

Read More

 

24 May 1689 – The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting dissenting Protestants but excluding Roman Catholics.

Toleration Act 1688

United Kingdom legislation

The Toleration Act 1689 (1 Will. & Mar. c. 18), also referred to as the Act of Toleration,^[3] was an Act of the Parliament of England. Passed in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, it received royal assent on 24 May 1689.^[4]

The Act allowed for freedom of worship to nonconformists who had pledged to the oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy and rejected transubstantiation, i.e., to Protestants who dissented from the Church of England such as Baptists, Congregationalists or English Presbyterians, but not to Roman Catholics. Nonconformists were allowed their own places of worship and their own schoolteachers, so long as they accepted certain oaths of allegiance.

The Act intentionally did not apply to Roman Catholics, Jews, nontrinitarians,^[5] and atheists.^[6] Further, it continued the existing social and political disabilities for dissenters, including their exclusion from holding political offices and also from the universities. Dissenters were required to register their meeting houses and were forbidden from meeting in private homes. Any preachers who dissented had to be licensed.

Between 1772 and 1774, Edward Pickard gathered together dissenting ministers, to campaign for the terms of the Toleration Act for dissenting clergy to be modified. Under his leadership, Parliament twice considered bills to modify the law, but both were unsuccessful and it was not until Pickard and many others had ended their efforts that a new attempt was made in 1779.^[7] The Act was amended in 1779 by substituting belief in Scripture for belief in the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Anglican churches, but some penalties on holding property remained. Penalties against Unitarians were finally removed in the Doctrine of the Trinity Act 1813.

1. ^ The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by section 5 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948. Due to the repeal of those provisions, it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
2. ^ These words are printed against this Act in the second column of Schedule 2 to the Statute Law Revision Act 1948, which is headed "Title".
3. ^ Mews, John. The Digest of English Case Law Containing the Reported Decisions of the Superior Courts: And a Selection from Those of the Irish Courts [from 1557] to the End of 1897. Sweet and Maxwell. 1898. vol. 12. p. 101.
4. ^ House of Lords Journal: 24 May 1689: record of royal assent British History Online; Text of the Act British History Online
5. ^ Bromley, John Selwyn (1970). The new Cambridge modern history. Cambridge University Press. p. 210. ISBN 0-521-07524-6. OCLC 58643836.
6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Patrick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
7. ^ John Stephens, ‘Pickard, Edward (1714–1778)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 18 February 2010

Read More

 

25 May 1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching human evolution in Tennessee.

John T. Scopes

American schoolteacher and Scopes Trial figure (1900–1970)

John Thomas Scopes (August 3, 1900 – October 21, 1970) was a teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, who was charged on May 5, 1925, with violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee schools. He was tried in a case known as the Scopes Trial, and was found guilty and fined $100 (equivalent to $1,737 in 2023).

Read More