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Post by auntym on Nov 5, 2011 20:55:31 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORY:Nov 5, 1994: George Foreman becomes oldest heavyweight champOn this day in 1994, George Foreman, age 45, becomes boxing's oldest heavyweight champion when he defeats 26-year-old Michael Moorer in the 10th round of their WBA fight in Las Vegas. More than 12,000 spectators at the MGM Grand Hotel watched Foreman dethrone Moorer, who went into the fight with a 35-0 record. Foreman dedicated his upset win to "all my buddies in the nursing home and all the guys in jail." CLICK TO SEE VIDEO & CONTINUE READING www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-foreman-becomes-oldest-heavyweight-champ?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11052011_1
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Post by skywalker on Nov 5, 2011 22:02:10 GMT -6
I watched that fight. I was rooting for George because he lives in Texas.
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Post by auntym on Nov 6, 2011 14:42:25 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORY: Nov 6, 1962:U.N. condemns apartheid CLICK TO SEE VIDEOwww.history.com/this-day-in-history/un-condemns-apartheid?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11062011_1On this day in 1962, the United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution condemning South Africa's racist apartheid policies and calling on all its members to end economic and military relations with the country. In effect from 1948 to 1993, apartheid, which comes from the Afrikaans word for "apartness," was government-sanctioned racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against South Africa's non-white majority. Among many injustices, blacks were forced to live in segregated areas and couldn’t enter whites-only neighborhoods unless they had a special pass. Although whites represented only a small fraction of the population, they held the vast majority of the country's land and wealth. TO SEE VIDEO & CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/un-condemns-apartheid?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11062011_1
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Post by satansrini on Nov 6, 2011 23:02:40 GMT -6
Other notable events on 6th Nov:
1528 - Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca becomes the first known European to set foot in Texas
1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America
1913 –Mohandas Gandhi is arrested while leading a march of Indian miners in South Africa
1939 – World War II: Sonderaktion Krakau takes place.
1941 – World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin addresses the Soviet Union for only the second time during his three-decade rule. He states that even though 350,000 troops were killed in German attacks so far, the Germans had lost 4.5 million soldiers and that Soviet victory was near.
1944 – Plutonium is first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility and subsequently used in the Fat Man atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
2005 – The Evansville Tornado of November 2005 kills 25 in Northwestern Kentucky and Southwestern Indiana.
regards, Srinivas
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Post by satansrini on Nov 7, 2011 0:36:15 GMT -6
7th Nov 2011::
1492 – The Ensisheim Meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the earth around noon in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France.
1619 – Elizabeth of Scotland and England is crowned Queen of Bohemia.
1867 – Maria Sklodowska-Curie (Marie Curie), Polish chemist and physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics and in chemistry was born.
1665 – The London Gazette, the oldest surviving English-language newspaper, was first published as the Oxford Gazette.
1888 – Sir C. V. Raman, Indian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate - was born.
1893 – Women in the U.S. state of Colorado are granted the right to vote.
1917 – Vladimir Lenin led a Bolshevik insurrection against the Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky, starting the Bolshevik Revolution.
1917 – World War I: Third Battle of Gaza ends: British forces capture Gaza from the Ottoman Empire.
1929 – In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opens to the public.
1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt elected for a record fourth term as President of the United States of America.
1956 – Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to immediately withdraw their troops from Egypt.
1962 – Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady of the United States dies.
1973 – The U.S. Congress overrides President Richard M. Nixon's veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval.
1991 – Professional basketball player Magic Johnson announced his retirement from the game because of his infection with HIV.
1996 – NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor.
2000 – Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first former First Lady to win public office in the United States, although actually she still was the First Lady.
2001 – SABENA, the national airline of Belgium, goes bankrupt
2002 – Iran bans advertising of United States products.
2004 – War in Iraq: The interim government of Iraq calls for a 60-day "state of emergency" as U.S. forces storm the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.
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Post by auntym on Nov 8, 2011 12:43:39 GMT -6
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/german-scientist-discovers-x-rays?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11082011_1 THIS DAY IN HISTORY: Nov 8, 1895:[/color] German scientist discovers X-rays VIDEO On this day in 1895, physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen (1845-1923) becomes the first person to observe X-rays, a significant scientific advancement that would ultimately benefit a variety of fields, most of all medicine, by making the invisible visible. Rontgen's discovery occurred accidentally in his Wurzburg, Germany, lab, where he was testing whether cathode rays could pass through glass when he noticed a glow coming from a nearby chemically coated screen. He dubbed the rays that caused this glow X-rays because of their unknown nature. X-rays are electromagnetic energy waves that act similarly to light rays, but at wavelengths approximately 1,000 times shorter than those of light. Rontgen holed up in his lab and conducted a series of experiments to better understand his discovery. He learned that X-rays penetrate human flesh but not higher-density substances such as bone or lead and that they can be photographed. Rontgen's discovery was labeled a medical miracle and X-rays soon became an important diagnostic tool in medicine, allowing doctors to see inside the human body for the first time without surgery. In 1897, X-rays were first used on a military battlefield, during the Balkan War, to find bullets and broken bones inside patients. TO SEE VIDEO & CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/german-scientist-discovers-x-rays?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11082011_1
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Post by auntym on Nov 10, 2011 14:33:06 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORY[/color] Nov 10, 1969:[/color] Sesame Street debutsCLICK TO SEE VIDEO: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sesame-street-debuts?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11102011_1On this day in 1969, "Sesame Street," a pioneering TV show that would teach generations of young children the alphabet and how to count, makes its broadcast debut. "Sesame Street," with its memorable theme song ("Can you tell me how to get/How to get to Sesame Street"), went on to become the most widely viewed children's program in the world. It has aired in more than 120 countries. The show was the brainchild of Joan Ganz Cooney, a former documentary producer for public television. Cooney's goal was to create programming for preschoolers that was both entertaining and educational. She also wanted to use TV as a way to help underprivileged 3- to 5- year-olds prepare for kindergarten. "Sesame Street" was set in a fictional New York neighborhood and included ethnically diverse characters and positive social messages. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sesame-street-debuts?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11102011_1
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Post by auntym on Nov 11, 2011 15:15:36 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNELTHIS DAY IN HISTORYNOVEMBER 11Nov 11, 1918: World War I endsCLICK TO SEE VIDEO www.history.com/this-day-in-history/world-war-i-ends?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11112011_1At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/world-war-i-ends?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11112011_1
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Post by auntym on Nov 12, 2011 12:30:58 GMT -6
THIS DAY IN HISTORYNOVEMBER 12Nov 12, 1954: Ellis Island closesCLICK TO WATCH VIDEO www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ellis-island-closes?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11122011_1On this day in 1954, Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shuts it doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892. Today, an estimated 40 percent of all Americans can trace their roots through Ellis Island, located in New York Harbor off the New Jersey coast and named for merchant Samuel Ellis, who owned the land in the 1770s. On January 2, 1892, 15-year-old Annie Moore, from Ireland, became the first person to pass through the newly opened Ellis Island, which President Benjamin Harrison designated as America's first federal immigration center in 1890. Before that time, the processing of immigrants had been handled by individual states. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ellis-island-closes?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_11122011_1
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Post by auntym on Nov 13, 2011 13:03:33 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORY[/color] Nov 13, 1982: Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated CLICK TO SEE VIDEOwww.history.com/this-day-in-history/vietnam-veterans-memorial-dedicated?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11132011_1Near the end of a weeklong national salute to Americans who served in the Vietnam War, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington after a march to its site by thousands of veterans of the conflict. The long-awaited memorial was a simple V-shaped black-granite wall inscribed with the names of the 57,939 Americans who died in the conflict, arranged in order of death, not rank, as was common in other memorials. The designer of the memorial was Maya Lin, a Yale University architecture student who entered a nationwide competition to create a design for the monument. Lin, born in Ohio in 1959, was the daughter of Chinese immigrants. Many veterans' groups were opposed to Lin's winning design, which lacked a standard memorial's heroic statues and stirring words. However, a remarkable shift in public opinion occurred in the months after the memorial's dedication. Veterans and families of the dead walked the black reflective wall, seeking the names of their loved ones killed in the conflict. Once the name was located, visitors often made an etching or left a private offering, from notes and flowers to dog tags and cans of beer. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vietnam-veterans-memorial-dedicated?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11132011_1
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2011 11:03:44 GMT -6
Considering how the Viet Nam vets were treated when they came home..a memorial is very long over due
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Post by auntym on Nov 14, 2011 13:02:05 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORY[/color] Nov 14, 1851: Moby-Dick publishedCLICK TO WATCH VIDEO www.history.com/this-day-in-history/moby-dick-published?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11142011_1On this day in 1851, Moby-Dick, a novel by Herman Melville about the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod, is published by Harper & Brothers in New York. Moby-Dick is now considered a great classic of American literature and contains one of the most famous opening lines in fiction: "Call me Ishmael." Initially, though, the book about Captain Ahab and his quest for a giant white whale was a flop. Herman Melville was born in New York City in 1819 and as a young man spent time in the merchant marines, the U.S. Navy and on a whaling ship in the South Seas. In 1846, he published his first novel, Typee, a romantic adventure based on his experiences in Polynesia. The book was a success and a sequel, Omoo, was published in 1847. Three more novels followed, with mixed critical and commercial results. Melville's sixth book, Moby-Dick, was first published in October 1851 in London, in three volumes titled The Whale, and then in the U.S. a month later. Melville had promised his publisher an adventure story similar to his popular earlier works, but instead, Moby-Dick was a tragic epic, influenced in part by Melville's friend and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, neighbor, Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose novels include The Scarlet Letter. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/moby-dick-published?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11142011_1
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Post by auntym on Nov 15, 2011 13:35:41 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNELTHIS DAY IN HISTORYNov 15, 1867: First stock ticker debutsCLICK TO HEAR MORE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THIS DAY IN HISTORY:www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-stock-ticker-debuts?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11152011_1On this day in 1867, the first stock ticker is unveiled in New York City. The advent of the ticker ultimately revolutionized the stock market by making up-to-the-minute prices available to investors around the country. Prior to this development, information from the New York Stock Exchange, which has been around since 1792, traveled by mail or messenger. The ticker was the brainchild of Edward Calahan, who configured a telegraph machine to print stock quotes on streams of paper tape (the same paper tape later used in ticker-tape parades). The ticker, which caught on quickly with investors, got its name from the sound its type wheel made. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-stock-ticker-debuts?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11152011_1
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Post by auntym on Nov 16, 2011 14:45:11 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORY[/color] Nov 16, 1532: Pizarro traps Incan emperor Atahualpa[/color] CLICK TO HEAR MORE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THIS DAY IN HISTORY:www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pizarro-traps-incan-emperor-atahualpa?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11162011_1On November 16, 1532, Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish explorer and conquistador, springs a trap on the Incan emperor, Atahualpa. With fewer than 200 men against several thousand, Pizarro lures Atahualpa to a feast in the emperor's honor and then opens fire on the unarmed Incans. Pizarro's men massacre the Incans and capture Atahualpa, forcing him to convert to Christianity before eventually killing him. Pizarro's timing for conquest was perfect. By 1532, the Inca Empire was embroiled in a civil war that had decimated the population and divided the people's loyalties. Atahualpa, the younger son of former Incan ruler Huayna Capac, had just deposed his half-brother Huascar and was in the midst of reuniting his kingdom when Pizarro arrived in 1531, with the endorsement of Spain's King Charles V. On his way to the Incan capital, Pizarro learned of the war and began recruiting soldiers still loyal to Huascar. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pizarro-traps-incan-emperor-atahualpa?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11162011_1
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Post by auntym on Nov 19, 2011 22:35:32 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORYNov 19, 1863: Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address CLICK TO FIND OUT MORE FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT THIS DAYwww.history.com/this-day-in-history/lincoln-delivers-gettysburg-address?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11192011_1On November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most memorable speeches in American history. In just 272 words, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly reminded a war-weary public why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, fought some four months earlier, was the single bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Over the course of three days, more than 45,000 men were killed, injured, captured or went missing. The battle also proved to be the turning point of the war: General Robert E. Lee's defeat and retreat from Gettysburg marked the last Confederate invasion of Northern territory and the beginning of the Southern army's ultimate decline. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lincoln-delivers-gettysburg-address?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11192011_1
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Post by auntym on Nov 22, 2011 15:05:23 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL[/size] THIS DAY IN HISTORYNov 22, 1963: John F. Kennedy assassinated CLICK TO FIND OUT MORE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THIS DAY IN HISTORYwww.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-f-kennedy-assassinated?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_11222011_1John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, is assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in an open-top convertible. First lady Jacqueline Kennedy rarely accompanied her husband on political outings, but she was beside him, along with Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, for a 10-mile motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas on November 22. Sitting in a Lincoln convertible, the Kennedys and Connallys waved at the large and enthusiastic crowds gathered along the parade route. As their vehicle passed the Texas School Book Depository Building at 12:30 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally. Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Dallas' Parkland Hospital. He was 46. Vice President Lyndon Johnson, who was three cars behind President Kennedy in the motorcade, was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States at 2:39 p.m. He took the presidential oath of office aboard Air Force One as it sat on the runway at Dallas Love Field airport. The swearing in was witnessed by some 30 people, including Jacqueline Kennedy, who was still wearing clothes stained with her husband's blood. Seven minutes later, the presidential jet took off for Washington.
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Post by auntym on Dec 7, 2011 15:07:02 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORY:Dec 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor bombed CLICK TO SEE VIDEO OF WHAT ELSE HAPPENED ON THIS DAY IN HISTORYwww.history.com/this-day-in-history/pearl-harbor-bombed?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_12072011_1At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States irrevocably into World War II. With diplomatic negotiations with Japan breaking down, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his advisers knew that an imminent Japanese attack was probable, but nothing had been done to increase security at the important naval base at Pearl Harbor. It was Sunday morning, and many military personnel had been given passes to attend religious services off base. At 7:02 a.m., two radar operators spotted large groups of aircraft in flight toward the island from the north, but, with a flight of B-17s expected from the United States at the time, they were told to sound no alarm. Thus, the Japanese air assault came as a devastating surprise to the naval base. Much of the Pacific fleet was rendered useless: Five of eight battleships, three destroyers, and seven other ships were sunk or severely damaged, and more than 200 aircraft were destroyed. A total of 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,200 were wounded, many while valiantly attempting to repulse the attack. Japan's losses were some 30 planes, five midget submarines, and fewer than 100 men. Fortunately for the United States, all three Pacific fleet carriers were out at sea on training maneuvers. These giant aircraft carriers would have their revenge against Japan six months later at the Battle of Midway, reversing the tide against the previously invincible Japanese navy in a spectacular victory. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pearl-harbor-bombed?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_12072011_1
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Post by auntym on Dec 8, 2011 17:55:14 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORY:Dec 8, 1980: John Lennon shotCLICK TO READ OTHER STORIES THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY IN HISTORYwww.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-lennon-shot?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_12082011_1John Lennon, a former member of the Beatles, the rock group that transformed popular music in the 1960s, is shot and killed by an obsessed fan in New York City. The 40-year-old artist was entering his luxury Manhattan apartment building when Mark David Chapman shot him four times at close range with a .38-caliber revolver. Lennon, bleeding profusely, was rushed to the hospital but died en route. Chapman had received an autograph from Lennon earlier in the day and voluntarily remained at the scene of the shooting until he was arrested by police. For a week, hundreds of bereaved fans kept a vigil outside the Dakota--Lennon's apartment building--and demonstrations of mourning were held around the world. John Lennon was one half of the singing-songwriting team that made the Beatles the most popular musical group of the 20th century. The other band leader was Paul McCartney, but the rest of the quartet--George Harrison and Ringo Starr--sometimes penned and sang their own songs as well. Hailing from Liverpool, England, and influenced by early American rock and roll, the Beatles took Britain by storm in 1963 with the single "Please Please Me." "Beatlemania" spread to the United States in 1964 with the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," followed by a sensational U.S. tour. With youth poised to break away from the culturally rigid landscape of the 1950s, the "Fab Four," with their exuberant music and good-natured rebellion, were the perfect catalyst for the shift. The Beatles sold millions of records and starred in hit movies such as A Hard Day's Night (1964). Their live performances were near riots, with teenage girls screaming and fainting as their boyfriends nodded along to the catchy pop songs. In 1966, the Beatles gave up touring to concentrate on their innovative studio recordings, such as 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, a psychedelic concept album that is regarded as a masterpiece of popular music. The Beatles' music remained relevant to youth throughout the great cultural shifts of the 1960s, and critics of all ages acknowledged the songwriting genius of the Lennon-McCartney team. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-lennon-shot?cmpid=Social_twitter_Tdih_12082011_1
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Post by skywalker on Dec 8, 2011 19:58:08 GMT -6
John Lennon also claimed to have seen UFOs on several occasions.
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Post by auntym on Dec 23, 2011 15:36:20 GMT -6
THE HISTORY CHANNEL THIS DAY IN HISTORY Dec 23, 1888:[/color] Van Gogh chops off earCLICK TO SEE VIDEO ON MORE EXCITING EVENTS ON 'THIS DAY IN HISTORY' www.history.com/this-day-in-history/van-gogh-chops-off-ear?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_12232011_1On this day in 1888, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, suffering from severe depression, cuts off the lower part of his left ear with a razor while staying in Arles, France. He later documented the event in a painting titled Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. Today, Van Gogh is regarded as an artistic genius and his masterpieces sell for record-breaking prices; however, during his lifetime, he was a poster boy for tortured starving artists and sold only one painting. Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in the Netherlands. He had a difficult, nervous personality and worked unsuccessfully at an art gallery and then as a preacher among poor miners in Belgium. In 1880, he decided to become an artist. His work from this period--the most famous of which is The Potato Eaters (1885)--is dark and somber and reflective of the experiences he had among peasants and impoverished miners. In 1886, Van Gogh moved to Paris where his younger brother Theo, with whom he was close, lived. Theo, an art dealer, supported his brother financially and introduced him to a number of artists, including Paul Gauguin, Camille Pisarro and Georges Seurat. Influenced by these and other painters, Van Gogh's own artistic style lightened up and he began using more color. CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/van-gogh-chops-off-ear?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_12232011_1
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Post by skywalker on Dec 23, 2011 18:51:16 GMT -6
Van Gogh's mental instability was probably influenced by the fumes from the paints that he used. Many of them are toxic and can produce haullicinations...kind of like sniffing glue.
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Post by auntym on Jan 16, 2012 12:30:13 GMT -6
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/prohibition-takes-effect?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_01162012_1 THE HISTORY CHANNEL[/color] THIS DAY IN HISTORY[/color] Jan 16, 1919:[/color] Prohibition takes effect[/size] The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," is ratified on this day in 1919 and becomes the law of the land. The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when Americans concerned about the adverse effects of drinking began forming temperance societies. By the late 19th century, these groups had become a powerful political force, campaigning on the state level and calling for total national abstinence. In December 1917, the 18th Amendment, also known as the Prohibition Amendment, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Prohibition took effect in January 1919. Nine months later, Congress passed the Volstead Act, or National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of prohibition, including the creation of a special unit of the Treasury Department. Despite a vigorous effort by law-enforcement agencies, the Volstead Act failed to prevent the large-scale distribution of alcoholic beverages, and organized crime flourished in America. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified, repealing prohibition. TO SEE VIDEO & CONTINUE READING: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/prohibition-takes-effect?cmpid=Social_twitter_TDIH_01162012_1
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