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Post by dreamer on Nov 26, 2011 13:49:00 GMT -5
Nov. 26thAmerican Revolution Peyton Randolph laid to rest at William and Mary, 1776 Automotive First U.S. "cloverleaf" appears on the cover of the Engineering News-Record, 1931 Civil War Mine Run campaign begins in Virginia, 1863 Cold War Chinese counterattacks in Korea change nature of war, 1950 Crime Vigilantes in California lynch two suspected murderers, 1933 Disaster Winter storm paralyzes southern New England, 1898 General Interest Archaeologists enter tomb of King Tut, 1922 FDR establishes modern Thanksgiving holiday, 1941 Hollywood Casablanca premieres in NYC, 1942 Literary Alice in Wonderland manuscript is sent as a Christmas present, 1862 Music MTV Unplugged premieres, 1989 Old West The Great Diamond Hoax is exposed, 1872 Presidential George W. Bush pardons a turkey, 2002 Sports Football trailblazer Art Shell is born, 1946 Vietnam War Air Force helicopter pilot rescues Special Forces team, 1968 World War I T.E. Lawrence reports on Arab affairs, 1916 World War II Japanese task force leaves for Pearl Harbor, 1941 ************************* 1941: FDR establishes modern Thanksgiving holidayPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill officially establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. The tradition of celebrating the holiday on Thursday dates back to the early history of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, when post-harvest holidays were celebrated on the weekday regularly set aside as "Lecture Day," a midweek church meeting where topical sermons were presented. A famous Thanksgiving observance occurred in the autumn of 1621, when Plymouth governor William Bradford invited local Indians to join the Pilgrims in a three-day festival held in gratitude for the bounty of the season. Thanksgiving became an annual custom throughout New England in the 17th century, and in 1777 the Continental Congress declared the first national American Thanksgiving following the Patriot victory at Saratoga. In 1789, President George Washington became the first president to proclaim a Thanksgiving holiday, when, at the request of Congress, he proclaimed November 26, a Tuesday, as a day of national thanksgiving for the U.S. Constitution. However, it was not until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to fall on the last Thursday of November, that the modern holiday was celebrated nationally. With a few deviations, Lincoln's precedent was followed annually by every subsequent president--until 1939. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to last Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving Day. Considerable controversy surrounded this deviation, and some Americans refused to honor Roosevelt's declaration. For the next two years, Roosevelt repeated the unpopular proclamation, but on November 26, 1941, he admitted his mistake and signed a bill into law officially making the fourth Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day. www.history.com/this-day-in-history
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Post by dreamer on Nov 27, 2011 5:00:16 GMT -5
Nov. 27thAmerican Revolution "The Chancellor" is born, 1746 Automotive Indy 500 champ Hélio Castroneves wins "Dancing with the Stars", 2007 Civil War John Hunt Morgan escapes from the Ohio Penitentiary, 1863 Cold War Alger Hiss released from prison, 1954 Crime San Francisco leaders George Moscone and Harvey Milk are murdered, 1978 Disaster Freak storm dissipates over England, 1703 General Interest Pope Urban II orders first Crusade, 1095 Iron Guard massacres former Romanian government, 1940 Nehru appeals for disarmament, 1957 Hollywood Bruce Lee born, 1940 Literary Robert Burns postpones emigration to Jamaica, 1786 Music Jimi Hendrix born, 1942 Aerosmith and 50 Cent headline a $10 million bar mitzvah, 2005 Old West Custer massacres Cheyenne on Washita River, 1868 Presidential White House housekeeper frets over presidential waistline, 1911 Sports Gordie Howe scores his 600th goal, 1965 Vietnam War Pentagon calls for troop increase, 1965 South Vietnamese forces attacked near Cambodian border, 1970 World War I Hindenburg celebrates Warsaw campaign, 1914 World War II French scuttle their fleet, 1942 ******************** 1095: Pope Urban II orders first CrusadeOn November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II makes perhaps the most influential speech of the Middle Ages, giving rise to the Crusades by calling all Christians in Europe to war against Muslims in order to reclaim the Holy Land, with a cry of "Deus vult!" or "God wills it!" Born Odo of Lagery in 1042, Urban was a protege of the great reformer Pope Gregory VII. Like Gregory, he made internal reform his main focus, railing against simony (the selling of church offices) and other clerical abuses prevalent during the Middle Ages. Urban showed himself to be an adept and powerful cleric, and when he was elected pope in 1088, he applied his statecraft to weakening support for his rivals, notably Clement III. By the end of the 11th century, the Holy Land—the area now commonly referred to as the Middle East—had become a point of conflict for European Christians. Since the 6th century, Christians frequently made pilgrimages to the birthplace of their religion, but when the Seljuk Turks took control of Jerusalem, Christians were barred from the Holy City. When the Turks then threatened to invade the Byzantine Empire and take Constantinople, Byzantine Emperor Alexius I made a special appeal to Urban for help. This was not the first appeal of its kind, but it came at an important time for Urban. Wanting to reinforce the power of the papacy, Urban seized the opportunity to unite Christian Europe under him as he fought to take back the Holy Land from the Turks. At the Council of Clermont, in France, at which several hundred clerics and noblemen gathered, Urban delivered a rousing speech summoning rich and poor alike to stop their in-fighting and embark on a righteous war to help their fellow Christians in the East and take back Jerusalem. Urban denigrated the Muslims, exaggerating stories of their anti-Christian acts, and promised absolution and remission of sins for all who died in the service of Christ. Urban's war cry caught fire, mobilizing clerics to drum up support throughout Europe for the crusade against the Muslims. All told, between 60,000 and 100,000 people responded to Urban's call to march on Jerusalem. Not all who responded did so out of piety: European nobles were tempted by the prospect of increased land holdings and riches to be gained from the conquest. These nobles were responsible for the death of a great many innocents both on the way to and in the Holy Land, absorbing the riches and estates of those they conveniently deemed opponents to their cause. Adding to the death toll was the inexperience and lack of discipline of the Christian peasants against the trained, professional armies of the Muslims. As a result, the Christians were initially beaten back, and only through sheer force of numbers were they eventually able to triumph. Urban died in 1099, two weeks after the fall of Jerusalem but before news of the Christian victory made it back to Europe. His was the first of seven major military campaigns fought over the next two centuries known as the Crusades, the bloody repercussions of which are still felt today. Urban was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 1881. www.history.com/this-day-in-history
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Post by dreamer on Nov 28, 2011 2:42:11 GMT -5
Nov. 28thAmerican Revolution John Adams replaces Silas Deane, 1777 Automotive Duryea Motor Wagon wins first car race in U.S., 1895 Civil War North and South skirmish at the Battle of Cane Hill, 1862 Cold War Czechoslovakian Communist Party gives up monopoly on political power, 1989 Crime A media controversy ignites over the case of Tawana Brawley, 1987 Disaster Plane crashes over Antarctica, 1979 General Interest Magellan reaches the Pacific, 1520 Lady Astor becomes MP, 1919 Jeffrey Dahmer murdered in prison, 1994 Hollywood Talk-show host and comedian Jon Stewart born, 1962 Literary William Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway, 1582 Music The Shangri-Las score a #1 hit with "Leader Of The Pack", 1964 Old West The Grand Ole Opry begins broadcasting, 1925 Presidential FDR attends Tehran Conference, 1943 Sports Frank Duryea wins first U.S. horseless-carriage race, 1895 Vietnam War Johnson advised to bomb North Vietnam, 1964 The Philippines agrees to send troops to South Vietnam, 1965 World War I New York Stock Exchange resumes bond trading , 1914 World War II Enrico Fermi, architect of the nuclear age, dies, 1954 ******************** 1520: Magellan reaches the PacificAfter sailing through the dangerous straits below South America that now bear his name, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan enters the Pacific Ocean with three ships, becoming the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic. On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain in an effort to find a western sea route to the rich Spice Islands of Indonesia. In command of five ships and 270 men, Magellan sailed to West Africa and then to Brazil, where he searched the South American coast for a strait that would take him to the Pacific. He searched the Rio de la Plata, a large estuary south of Brazil, for a way through; failing, he continued south along the coast of Patagonia. At the end of March 1520, the expedition set up winter quarters at Port St. Julian. On Easter day at midnight, the Spanish captains mutinied against their Portuguese captain, but Magellan crushed the revolt, executing one of the captains and leaving another ashore when his ship left St. Julian in August. On October 21, he finally discovered the strait he had been seeking. The Strait of Magellan, as it became known, is located near the tip of South America, separating Tierra del Fuego and the continental mainland. Only three ships entered the passage; one had been wrecked and another deserted. It took 38 days to navigate the treacherous strait, and when ocean was sighted at the other end Magellan wept with joy. His fleet accomplished the westward crossing of the ocean in 99 days, crossing waters so strangely calm that the ocean was named "Pacific," from the Latin word pacificus, meaning "tranquil." By the end, the men were out of food and chewed the leather parts of their gear to keep themselves alive. On March 6, 1521, the expedition landed at the island of Guam. Ten days later, they dropped anchor at the Philippine island of Cebu—they were only about 400 miles from the Spice Islands. Magellan met with the chief of Cebu, who after converting to Christianity persuaded the Europeans to assist him in conquering a rival tribe on the neighboring island of Mactan. In fighting on April 27, Magellan was hit by a poisoned arrow and left to die by his retreating comrades. After Magellan's death, the survivors, in two ships, sailed on to the Moluccas and loaded the hulls with spice. One ship attempted, unsuccessfully, to return across the Pacific. The other ship, the Vittoria, continued west under the command of Basque navigator Juan Sebastian de Elcano. The vessel sailed across the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at the Spanish port of Sanlucar de Barrameda on September 6, 1522, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. www.history.com/this-day-in-history
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Post by dreamer on Nov 29, 2011 2:44:26 GMT -5
Nov. 29th American Revolution Congress creates Committee of Secret Correspondence, 1775 Automotive Last day at VW for Jose Ignacio Lopez, 1996 Civil War Native Americans are massacred at Sand Creek, Colorado, 1864 Cold War Eisenhower goes to Korea, 1952 Crime A Florida man is allegedly assaulted by police, 1998 Disaster Dust storm causes massive pileup in California, 1991 General Interest Byrd flies over South Pole, 1929 U.N. votes for partition of Palestine, 1947 Chinese overwhelm Allies in North Korea, 1950 Johnson establishes Warren Commission, 1963 Hollywood Actress Natalie Wood drowns, 1981 Literary Sue Miller is born, 1943 Music Silver Convention "earn" a #1 pop hit with "Fly, Robin, Fly", 1975 Old West Colorado militia massacre Cheyenne at Sand Creek, 1864 Presidential LBJ forms commission to investigate Kennedy assassination, 1963 Sports The legendary Eddie Robinson coaches his last game, 1997 Vietnam War McNamara resigns as Secretary of Defense, 1967 Communists vow to smash Phoenix program, 1968 Americal Division stands down and departs, 1971 World War I American nurse Maude Fisher writes to mother of war casualty, 1918 World War II Coffee rationing begins, 1942 ******************** 1947: U.N. votes for partition of PalestineDespite strong Arab opposition, the United Nations votes for the partition of Palestine and the creation of an independent Jewish state. The modern conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine dates back to the 1910s, when both groups laid claim to the British-controlled territory. The Jews were Zionists, recent emigrants from Europe and Russia who came to the ancient homeland of the Jews to establish a Jewish national state. The native Palestinian Arabs sought to stem Jewish immigration and set up a secular Palestinian state. Beginning in 1929, Arabs and Jews openly fought in Palestine, and Britain attempted to limit Jewish immigration as a means of appeasing the Arabs. As a result of the Holocaust in Europe, many Jews illegally entered Palestine during World War II. Radical Jewish groups employed terrorism against British forces in Palestine, which they thought had betrayed the Zionist cause. At the end of World War II, in 1945, the United States took up the Zionist cause. Britain, unable to find a practical solution, referred the problem to the United Nations, which on November 29, 1947, voted to partition Palestine. The Jews were to possess more than half of Palestine, though they made up less than half of Palestine's population. The Palestinian Arabs, aided by volunteers from other countries, fought the Zionist forces, but the Jews secured full control of their U.N.-allocated share of Palestine and also some Arab territory. On May 14, 1948, Britain withdrew with the expiration of its mandate, and the State of Israel was proclaimed by Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion. The next day, forces from Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded. The Israelis, though less well equipped, managed to fight off the Arabs and then seize key territories, such as Galilee, the Palestinian coast, and a strip of territory connecting the coastal region to the western section of Jerusalem. In 1949, U.N.-brokered cease-fires left the State of Israel in permanent control of those conquered areas. The departure of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs from Israel during the war left the country with a substantial Jewish majority. www.history.com/this-day-in-history
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Post by dreamer on Nov 30, 2011 5:30:51 GMT -5
Nov. 30thAmerican Revolution Howe brothers offer amnesty, 1776 Automotive Unsafe at Any Speed hits bookstores, 1965 Civil War Rebels are defeated at the Battle of Franklin, 1864 Cold War The United States and U.S.S.R. open talks to reduce intermediate-range nuclear forces, 1981 Crime "America's First Female Serial Killer" strikes, 1989 Disaster Achille Lauro sinks near Somalia, 1994 General Interest Folies Bergere stage first revue, 1886 Winston Churchill born, 1874 Meteorite strikes Alabama woman, 1954 Brady Bill signed into law, 1993 Hollywood Jeopardy! contestant's record winning streak ends, 2004 Literary Mark Twain is born, 1835 Music Elton John's Greatest Hits hits #1, 1974 Old West Harvey "Kid Curry" Logan sentenced, 1902 Presidential Truman refuses to rule out atomic weapons, 1950 Sports Football coach Bill Walsh is born, 1931 Vietnam War McNamara warns Johnson that communists are gaining strength in South Vietnam, 1965 South Vietnamese draft articles for new constitution, 1966 McCarthy to enter Democratic presidential primary, 1967 White House announces no full withdrawal until final truce agreement signed, 1972 World War I German foreign minister celebrates revolution in Russia, 1917 World War II USSR attacks Finland, 1939
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1886: Folies Bergere stage first revueOnce a hall for operettas, pantomime, political meetings, and vaudeville, the Folies Bergère in Paris introduces an elaborate revue featuring women in sensational costumes. The highly popular "Place aux Jeunes" established the Folies as the premier nightspot in Paris. In the 1890s, the Folies followed the Parisian taste for striptease and quickly gained a reputation for its spectacular nude shows. The theater spared no expense, staging revues that featured as many as 40 sets, 1,000 costumes, and an off-stage crew of some 200 people. The Folies Bergère dates back to 1869, when it opened as one of the first major music halls in Paris. It produced light opera and pantomimes with unknown singers and proved a resounding failure. Greater success came in the 1870s, when the Folies Bergère staged vaudeville. Among other performers, the early vaudeville shows featured acrobats, a snake charmer, a boxing kangaroo, trained elephants, the world's tallest man, and a Greek prince who was covered in tattoos allegedly as punishment for trying to seduce the Shah of Persia's daughter. The public was allowed to drink and socialize in the theater's indoor garden and promenade area, and the Folies Bergère became synonymous with the carnal temptations of the French capital. Famous paintings by Édouard Manet and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec were set in the Folies. In 1886, the Folies Bergère went under new management, which, on November 30, staged the first revue-style music hall show. The "Place aux Jeunes," featuring scantily clad chorus girls, was a tremendous success. The Folies women gradually wore less and less as the 20th century approached, and the show's costumes and sets became more and more outrageous. Among the performers who got their start at the Folies Bergère were Yvette Guilbert, Maurice Chevalier, and Mistinguett. The African American dancer and singer Josephine Baker made her Folies debut in 1926, lowered from the ceiling in a flower-covered sphere that opened onstage to reveal her wearing a G-string ornamented with bananas. The Folies Bergère remained a success throughout the 20th century and still can be seen in Paris today, although the theater now features many mainstream concerts and performances. Among other traditions that date back more than a century, the show's title always contains 13 letters and includes the word "Folie." www.history.com/this-day-in-history
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