Movie Review: Eiffel

Some pictures of the Eiffel Tower taken during trips in fairly recent years:

Today marks the anniversary of the official opening of the Eiffel Tower. So it seemed appropriate to finally publish this review of the movie, which I have been meaning to publish now for a long, long time. Here it is:

This was a movie that I had wanted to see ever since first hearing about it. Having always had a fascination with the Eiffel Tower since my first visit there back when I was just 7 years old, and still loving the monument, this movie felt like a must see.

Romain Duris plays the title character of Gustave Eiffel, the man who designed and built the Eiffel Tower. Emma Mackey plays his love interest, Adrienne Bourgès. Both are strong in their roles, and portrayed believable characters who provoked strong yet subtle emotional reactions from one another. 

Now, it should be noted that there are serious questions regarding the historical accuracy of this romance. In short, it never happened. Yes, the romance is entirely fictional, created for dramatic effect. When I was younger, this likely would have bothered me tremendously, and perhaps prevented me from really being able to enjoy the movie. In the older version of myself, I now allow artists to take poetic license to create a story like this, even though it is based in history. It does make the movie more entertaining and accessible than perhaps it otherwise would be for many people. So it seemed like a decent move, even if it feels a little melodramatic at times.

So be it.

Nevertheless, there is an awkward tension between the two which felt convincing. Of course, you do not know the full back story of their past relationship. And in fact, as I understand it, this is not historically accurate. However, as far as the film is concerned, for drama purposes, the romance/not quite romance between them is done very well. 

Personally, I rather enjoyed this movie. Again, it is not meant to be taken strictly as a historical account, since there are inaccuracies. However, it nevertheless does give a feel for what the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris back in the 1880's might have looked and felt like. Also, even if it did not happen, the romance between Eiffel and his love interest was quite compelling.

So I recommend this movie, of course with the understanding that people are not meant to take it overly seriously or literally. 

March 31st: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 1889, one of my personal favorite structures, the Eiffel Tower, opened to the public. 

It seemed fitting to share some of my own pictures of this iconic landmark for his historical marker. Those pictures will be posted below, in the more detailed section of the history.

Here are some other major things which happened on this day in history:

On this day in 1084, Anti-pope Clemens was crowned German Emperor Hendrik IV. In 1146 on this day, Bernard of Clairvaux preached his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII was present, and joined the Crusade. Queen Isabella of Castilia & Ferdinand of Aragon expelled all Jews from Spain on this day in 1492 via a royal edict. The nation's Catholic rulers declared that all Jews who refuse to convert to Christianity would be expelled from the country. Henry II succeeded Francois I as King of France on this day in 1547. In 1683 on this day, Emperor Leopold I/Poland signed a covenant against the Ottoman Empire. On this day in 1796, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Egmont," premiered in Weimar. In 1822 on this day, there was a massacre of the population of the Greek island of Chios by soldiers of the Ottoman Empire following a rebellion attempt, depicted by the French artist Eugène Delacroix. On this day in 1831, the city of Montréal, in the present day province of Québec, became a distinct political entity after it was officially incorporated. It obtained its first charter, and the city was divided into eight districts for council representation.  In 1854 on this day, the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed with Japan after Commodore Perry forced Japan to open its ports to the United States. Great Britain declared Bechuanaland (modern day Botswana) a protectorate on this day in 1885. On this day in 1889, the 300 meter tall Eiffel Tower - which would hold the distinction as the tallest manmade structure in the world for over four decades - was dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower's designer, and attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard, a handful of other dignitaries, and 200 construction workers. The tower was to serve as the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris World's Fair (Exposition Universelle), which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. On this day in 1920, the British parliament accepted Irish "Home Rule" law. Hungary ordered all Jews to wear the distinctive yellow stars (Star of David) during the occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II on this day in 1944. The first election in Greece after the end of World War II took place on this day in 1946. On this day in 1948, the U.S. Congress passed the Marshall Aid Act to rehabilitate war-torn Europe after the end of World War II. Newfoundland (with Labrador, which was part of Newfoundland) officially became Canada's 10th province on this day in 1949. In 1954 on this day, the USSR (Soviet Union) offered to join NATO. On this day in 1959, the Dalai Lama, fleeing the Chinese suppression of a national uprising in Tibet, crossed the border into India, where he was granted political asylum. He has been in exile ever since. The last British soldier left the Maltese Islands on this day in 1979. Malta then declared its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien). On this day in 1991, the Warsaw Pact - the military alliance on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain which was the Communist Bloc's answer to NATO - dissolved after 36 years.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 1084, Anti-pope Clemens was crowned German Emperor Hendrik IV.

• In 1146 on this day, Bernard of Clairvaux preached his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII was present, and joined the Crusade.

• Queen Isabella of Castilia & Ferdinand of Aragon expelled all Jews from Spain on this day in 1492 via a royal edict. The nation's Catholic rulers declared that all Jews who refuse to convert to Christianity would be expelled from the country. Most Spanish Jews chose exile rather than the renunciation of their religion and culture, and the Spanish economy suffered with the loss of an important portion of its workforce. Many Spanish Jews went to North Africa, the Netherlands, and the Americas, where their skills, capital, and commercial connections were put to good use. Among those who chose conversion, some risked their lives by secretly practicing Judaism, while many sincere converts were nonetheless persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish Muslims, or Moors, were ordered to convert to Christianity in 1502

1504 - France & Spain signs ceasefire

1521 - Magelhaes takes possession of Homohon, Archipelago of St Lazarus

Royal France

• Henry II succeeded Francois I as King of France on this day in 1547.

1644 - Pope Urbanus VIII & duke of Parma signs Peace of Ferrara

1651 - Great earthquake at Cuzco Peru

1657 - English Humble Petition offers Lord Protector Cromwell the crown

1667 - France/England signs anti-Dutch military accord

• In 1683 on this day, Emperor Leopold I/Poland signed a covenant against the Ottoman Empire.

1717 - A sermon on "The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ" by Benjamin Hoadly, the Bishop of Bangor, provoked the Bangorian Controversy.

1745 - Jews are expelled from Prague

Bust of Social Philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

• On this day in 1796, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Egmont," premiered in Weimar.

1808 - French created Kingdom of Westphalia orders Jews to adopt family names

1814 - Forces allied against Napoleon capture Paris

• In 1822 on this day, there was a massacre of the population of the Greek island of Chios by soldiers of the Ottoman Empire following a rebellion attempt, depicted by the French artist Eugène Delacroix.

1831 - Mainzer Rijnvaart Convention ends

Some pictures of Montréal from past visits:

• On this day in 1831, the city of Montréal, in the present day province of Québec, became a distinct political entity after it was officially incorporated. It obtained its first charter, and the city was divided into eight districts for council representation. 

1841 - 1st performance of Robert Schumann's 1st Symphony in B

1849 - Col John W Geary arrives as 1st postmaster of SF

1850 - US population hits 23,191,876 (Black population: 3,638,808 (15.7%))

1854 - Treaty of Kanagawa: Commodore Perry forces Japan to opens ports to US

• In 1854 on this day, the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed with Japan after Commodore Perry forced Japan to open its ports to the United States.  In Tokyo, Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, representing the U.S. government, signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade and permitting the establishment of a U.S. consulate in Japan.  In July 1853, Commodore Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay with a squadron of four U.S. vessels. For a time, Japanese officials refused to speak with Perry, but eventually they accepted letters from U.S. President Millard Fillmore, making the United States the first Western nation to establish relations with Japan since it was declared closed to foreigners in 1683.  After giving Japan time to consider the establishment of external relations, Perry returned to Tokyo in March 1854, and on March 31 signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, which opened Japan to trade with the United States, and thus the West. In April 1860, the first Japanese diplomats to visit a foreign power reached Washington, D.C., and remained in the U.S. capital for several weeks discussing expansion of trade with the United States.

1861 - Confederacy takes over mint at New Orleans

1862 - Civil War action at Island #10 on Mississippi River

1863 - Battle of Grand Gulf MS & Dinwiddie Court House VA

1865 - Battle of Boydton, VA (White Oaks Roads, Dinwiddie C H)

1865 - Gen Pickette moves to 5 Forks, abandoning the defense of Peterburg

1866 - The Spanish Navy bombs the harbor of Valparaíso, Chile.

1868 - Chinese Embassy arrives aboard steamship China

1870 - 1st black to vote in US (Thomas P Mundy of Perth Amboy NJ)

1877 - British high director/governor sir Bartle Frere arrives in Capetown

1877 - Test Cricket debut of Fred "Demon" Spofforth, Aust v Eng MCG

1877 - The family with samurai antecedents who responded to the Saigo army in Ōita Nakatsu rebels.

1880 - 1st town completely illuminated by electric lighting (Wabash, IN)

1883 - 1st performance of Caesar Franck's "Le Chasseur Maudit"

1883 - Utrecht begins water pipe system

• Great Britain declared Bechuanaland (modern day Botswana) a protectorate on this day in 1885.

Some pictures of the Eiffel Tower taken during trips in fairly recent years:

• On this day in 1889, the 300 meter tall Eiffel Tower - which would hold the distinction as the tallest manmade structure in the world for over four decades - was dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower's designer, and attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard, a handful of other dignitaries, and 200 construction workers. The tower was to serve as the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris World's Fair (Exposition Universelle), which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.  In 1889, to honor of the centenary of the French Revolution, the French government planned an international exposition and announced a design competition for a monument to be built on the Champ-de-Mars in central Paris. Out of more than 100 designs submitted, the Centennial Committee chose Eiffel's plan of an open-lattice wrought-iron tower that would reach almost 1,000 feet above Paris and be the world's tallest man-made structure. Eiffel, a noted bridge builder, was a master of metal construction and designed the framework of the Statue of Liberty that had recently been erected in New York Harbor.  Eiffel's tower was greeted with skepticism from critics who argued that it would be structurally unsound, and indignation from others who thought it would be an eyesore in the heart of Paris. Unperturbed, Eiffel completed his great tower under budget in just two years. Only one worker lost his life during construction, which at the time was a remarkably low casualty number for a project of that magnitude. The light, airy structure was by all accounts a technological wonder and within a few decades came to be regarded as an architectural masterpiece.  The Eiffel Tower is 984 feet tall and consists of an iron framework supported on four masonry piers, from which rise four columns that unite to form a single vertical tower. Platforms, each with an observation deck, are at three levels. Elevators ascend the piers on a curve, and Eiffel contracted the Otis Elevator Company of the United States to design the tower's famous glass-cage elevators.  The elevators were not completed by March 31, 1889, however, so Gustave Eiffel ascended the tower's stairs with a few hardy companions and raised an enormous French tricolor on the structure's flagpole. Fireworks were then set off from the second platform. Eiffel and his party descended, and the architect addressed the guests and about 200 workers. In early May, the Paris International Exposition opened, and the tower served as the entrance gateway to the giant fair.  The Eiffel Tower remained the world's tallest man-made structure until the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930. Incredibly, the Eiffel Tower was almost demolished when the International Exposition's 20-year lease on the land expired in 1909, but its value as an antenna for radio transmission saved it. It remains largely unchanged today and is one of the world's premier tourist attractions.

1900 - Brig-General Broadwoods troops fall into guerrilla hands

1903 - Richard Pearse flies monoplane several hundred yards (NZ)

1905 - German emperor Wilhelm II visits Tanger

1906 - GB Shaws German version of "Caesar & Cleopatra," premieres in Berlin"

1907 - Romanian Army puts down Moldavian farmers' revolt

1909 - Baseball rules players who jump contracts are suspended for 5 years

1909 - Gustav Mahler conducts NY Philharmonic for his 1st time

1916 - Dutch government ends all milt engagements

1917 - US purchases Danish West Indies for $25M & renames them Virgin Islands

1918 - 1st daylight savings time in US goes into effect

1919 - Strike against Ruhrgebied government of Scheidemann

• On this day in 1920, the British parliament accepted Irish "Home Rule" law.

1921 - British coal miners goes on strike

1922 - KFI-AM in Los Angeles CA begins radio transmissions

1922 - Prince Hendrik opens trade fair building in Amsterdam

1923 - 1st dance marathon-NYC-Alma Cummings sets record of 27 hrs

1923 - French soldiers fire on workers at Krupp factory in Essen; 13 die

1923 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Senators (NHL) sweep Edm Eskimos (WCHL) in 2 games

1924 - Croydon Airport: 1st British mig aircraft Imperial established

1924 - London public transport strike ends

1925 - WOWO-AM, Ft Wayne Indiana begins radio transmission (500 watts)

1926 - German Special Court of Justice for state security disbands

1930 - The Motion Pictures Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film for the next thirty eight years.

1932 - 150 wild swans die in Niagara waterfall

1932 - Ford publicly unveils its V-8 engine

1933 - 1st newspaper published on pine pulp paper, "Soperton News" (Ga)

1933 - Congress authorizes Civilian Conservation Corps

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1933 - German Republic gives power to Hitler

1934 - Netherlands Indies BC Ltd begins radio transmission (Indonesia)

1935 - Fusahige Suzuki runs world record marathon (2:27:49)

1939 - Britain & France agree to support Poland if invaded by Germany

1940 - Karelo-Finnish SSR becomes 12th Soviet republic (until 1956)

1941 - Ground broken for Union Square Garage, SF

1943 - US errantly bombs Rotterdam, kills 326

• Hungary ordered all Jews to wear the distinctive yellow stars (Star of David) during the occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II on this day in 1944.

1945 - 3rd Algerian division crosses the Rhine

1945 - Sicherheitsdienst murders 10 political prisoners in Zutphen

1945 - Tennessee Williams' "Glass Menagerie," premieres in NYC

1945 - US artillery lands on Keise Shima/begins firing on Okinawa

1946 - Belgian government of Acker, forms

• The first election in Greece after the end of World War II took place on this day in 1946.

• On this day in 1948, the U.S. Congress passed the Marshall Aid Act to rehabilitate war-torn Europe after the end of World War II.

The flag of Newfoundland.

• Newfoundland (with Labrador, which was part of Newfoundland) officially became Canada's 10th province on this day in 1949.

1951 - US tanks exceed 38° of latitude in Korea

1953 - Department of Health, Education & Welfare established

1953 - UN Security Council nominates Dag Hammarskjoeld secretary-general

1954 - US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Colo, established

• In 1954 on this day, the USSR (Soviet Union) offered to join NATO.

1955 - Collie Smith scores 104 on cricket debut WI v Aust, Kingston

1955 - US Assay Office in Seattle, Washington closes Chase National (3rd largest bank) & Bank of the Manhattan Company (15th largest bank) merge to form Chase Manhattan

1958 - US Navy forms atomic sub division

1958 - USSR suspends nuclear weapons tests, & urges US & Britain to do same

• On this day in 1959, the Dalai Lama, fleeing the Chinese suppression of a national uprising in Tibet, crossed the border into India, where he was granted political asylum. He has been in exile ever since. Born in Taktser, China, as Tensin Gyatso, he was designated the 14th Dalai Lama in 1940, a position that eventually made him the religious and political leader of Tibet. At the beginning of the 20th century, Tibet increasingly came under Chinese control, and in 1950 communist China invaded the country. One year later, a Tibetan-Chinese agreement was signed in which the nation became a "national autonomous region" of China, supposedly under the traditional rule of the Dalai Lama but actually under the control of a Chinese communist commission. The highly religious people of Tibet, who practice a unique form of Buddhism, suffered under communist China's anti-religious legislation.  After years of scattered protests, a full-scale revolt broke out in March 1959, and the Dalai Lama was forced to flee as the uprising was crushed by Chinese troops. On March 31, 1959, he began a permanent exile in India, settling at Dharamsala in Punjab, where he established a democratically based shadow Tibetan government. Back in Tibet, the Chinese adopted brutal repressive measures against the Tibetans, provoking charges from the Dalai Lama of genocide. With the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in China, the Chinese suppression of Tibetan Buddhism escalated, and practice of the religion was banned and thousands of monasteries were destroyed.  Although the ban was lifted in 1976, protests in Tibet continued, and the exiled Dalai Lama won widespread international support for the Tibetan independence movement. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in recognition of his nonviolent campaign to end the Chinese domination of Tibet.

1960 - Gore Vidal's "Best Man," premieres in NYC

1961 - Aklilou Habtewold becomes 1st premier of Ethiopia

1963 - LA ends streetcar service after 90 years

1964 - Pres Jango Goulart of Brazil chased out of office by military

1965 - US ordered the 1st combat troops to Vietnam

1965 - Iberia Airlines Convair 440, crashed into the sea on approach to Tangier killing 47 of 51 occupants.

1966 - 25,000 anti war demonstrators march in NYC

1966 - Labour Party wins British parliamentary election

1966 - USSR launches Luna 10, 1st lunar orbiter

Rock Guitarist Jimi HendrixRock Guitarist Jimi Hendrix 1967 - 1st time Jimi Hendrix burns his guitar (London)

1968 - LBJ announces he will not seek re-election

1968 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Palm Beach County Golf Open

1968 - Pirate Radio Station Pegaus (NZ) begins transmitting

1968 - Seattle's AL club is named Pilots

1969 - George Harrison & Patti Boyd are fined £250 each for illegal drugs

1970 - Federal bankruptcy court allows Seattle Pilots to be sold to Milwaukee

1970 - Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere (after 12 years in orbit).

1971 - South Africa national debt hits 5.45 billion

1971 - William Calley sentenced to life for Mi Lai Massacre

1972 - Official Beatles Fan Club, closes down

1973 - Flyers score 8 goals in 1 period vs Islanders, on 60 shots

1973 - Ken Norton defeats Muhammad Ali in a 12 round split decision

1975 - 37th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Kentucky 92-55

1975 - John Wooden's final game, UCLA, wins 10th NCAA championship in 12 yrs

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad AliHeavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali 1976 - Cleveland Cavaliers clinch their 1st ever NBA playoff bearth

1976 - NJ Court rules Karen Anne Quinlan may be disconnected from respirator

1977 - Michael Cristofer's "Shadow Box," premieres in NYC

1978 - Red Rum wins 3rd consecutive Grand National & retires

1978 - USSR launches Kosmos 1000 navigational satellite

1978 - Wings release "London Town" album

The flag of Malta

• The last British soldier left the Maltese Islands on this day in 1979. Malta then declared its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).

1980 - Larry Holmes TKOs Leroy Jones in 8 for heavyweight boxing title

1980 - Mike Weaver KOs John Tate in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

1980 - President Jimmy Carter deregulates banking industry

1980 - The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets due to bankruptcy and debt owed to creditors.

1981 - 1st Golden Raspberry Awards: Can't Stop the Music wins

1981 - 53rd Academy Awards - "Ordinary People," R De Niro & Sissy Spacek win

1982 - Arkas tanker at Montz La, spills 1.47 million gallons of oil

1982 - Rock group Doobie Brothers split up

1983 - Earthquake in Colombia kills some 5,000 people

1983 - Marsha Norman's "'night, Mother," premieres in NYC

1984 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1985 - 15th Easter Seal Telethon raises $27,400,000

1985 - 4th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Old Dominion beats Ga 70-65

1985 - El Salvador's Pres Duartes Christian-Democrats win election

1985 - Wrestlemania I at Madison Square Garden NY, Hogan & Mr T beat Piper & Orndorf

1986 - 167 die when Mexicana Airlines Boeing 727 crashes

1986 - 48th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Louisville beats Duke 72-69

1986 - English Hampton Court palace destroyed by fire, 1 dead

1986 - Six metropolitan county councils are abolished in England.

1987 - 49th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana beats Syracuse 74-73

1988 - Last East Limburg coal mine closes in Gent Belgium

1988 - NY Islanders celebrate Denis Potvin night

1988 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Toni Morrison for "Beloved"

Businessman & T.V. Personality Donald TrumpBusinessman & T.V. Personality Donald Trump 1989 - Donald Trump purchases Eastern's Northeast Shuttle

1990 - "Carol & Company" starring Carol Burnette premieres on NBC-TV

1990 - Dionisio Castro cycles world record 20km (57:18.4)

1990 - Riots began in London over the new poll tax laws

1991 - 10th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Tennessee beats Virginia 70-67

1991 - 20th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Amy Alcott

1991 - Albania offers 1st multi-party election in 50 years

1991 - Danny Bonaduce attacks a transvestite prostitute in Phoenix Az

1991 - Georgian SSR votes on whether to remain in the Soviet Union

1991 - Musical "Will Rogers Follies," premieres in NYC

1991 - Soviet Rep of Georgia endorsed independence; Warsaw Pact dissolves

• On this day in 1991, the Warsaw Pact - the military alliance on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain which was the Communist Bloc's answer to NATO - dissolved after 36 years. The Warsaw Pact—the military alliance between the Soviet Union and its eastern European satellites—comes to an end. The action was yet another sign that the Soviet Union was losing control over its former allies and that the Cold War was falling apart.  The Warsaw Pact was formed in 1955, primarily as a response to the decision by the United States and its western European allies to include a rearmed West Germany in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO had begun in 1949 as a defensive military alliance between the United States, Canada, and several European nations to thwart possible Soviet expansion into Western Europe. In 1954, NATO nations voted to allow a rearmed West Germany into the organization. The Soviets responded with the establishment of the Warsaw Pact. The original members included the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Albania. Although the Soviets claimed that the organization was a defensive alliance, it soon became clear that the primary purpose of the pact was to reinforce communist dominance in Eastern Europe. In Hungary in 1956, and then again in Czechoslovakia in 1968, the Soviets invoked the pact to legitimize its interventions in squelching anticommunist revolutions.  By the late-1980s, however, anti-Soviet and anticommunist movements throughout Eastern Europe began to crack the Warsaw Pact. In 1990, East Germany left the Warsaw Pact in preparation for its reunification with West Germany. Poland and Czechoslovakia also indicated their strong desire to withdraw. Faced with these protests—and suffering from a faltering economy and unstable political situation—the Soviet Union bowed to the inevitable. In March 1991, Soviet military commanders relinquished their control of Warsaw Pact forces. A few months later, the pact's Political Consultative Committee met for one final time and formally recognized what had already effectively occurred—the Warsaw Pact was no more.

1991 - St Louis Blues Brett Hull scores his 86th goal

1991 - The Establishment of Islamic Constitutional Movement - Hadas in Kuwait.

1992 - Delhi beat Tamil Nadu on 1st innings to win cricket Ranji Trophy

1992 - UN Security Council voted to ban flights & arms sales to Libya

1994 - James Farentino pleads no contest to stalking ex-girl Tina Sinatra

1994 - Walkway from Cleveland's Tower City to Jacobs Field officially opens

1994 - Human evolution: The journal Nature reports the finding in Ethiopia of the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull.

1995 - 1st game at Coors Stadium Colo (replacement Rockies beat Yanks 4-1)

1995 - Bombay beat Punjab on 1st innings to win cricket Ranji Trophy

1995 - Federal judge orders injunction to end baseball strike

1996 - "Getting Away With Murder" closes at Broadhurst NYC after 17 perfs

1996 - "Midsummer Night's Dream" opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 66 perfs

1996 - 15th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Tenn beats Georgia 83-65

1996 - 1st Opening Day in history in March takes place in Seattle

1996 - 25th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Patty Sheehan

1996 - Karnataka defeat Tamil Nadu on 1st innings to win Ranji Trophy

1996 - Radio Canada International's final shortwave broadcast

1996 - Space Shuttle STS 76 (Atlantis 16), lands

1996 - Wrestlemania XII - Shawn Michaels beats Brett Hart for WWF title

1997 - "Daytime to Remember" a series showing old soaps premieres on ABC-TV

1997 - 59th NCAA Mens Basketball Championship: Ariz beats Kentucky 84-79 (OT)

1997 - Pioneer 10, ends its mission

1998 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1st game they host Detroit Tigers

2002 - 21st NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: at San Antonio

2004 - In Fallujah, Iraq, 4 American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed.

2007 - In Sydney, Australia, 2.2 million people take part in the first Earth Hour.

2008 - Aloha Airlines, a bankrupt airline, permanently ends passenger service

2012 - Fiji Floods kill 2 people and force thousands to be evacuated

2013 - 14 Boko Haram suspects are killed in a Nigerian Army raid

2013 - 11 people are killed in flooding at Port Louis, Mauritius

2013 - 2 people die from bird flu (type H7N9) in China




1492 - King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain issued the Alhambra edict expelling Jews who were unwilling to convert to Christianity.   1776 - Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John that women were "determined to foment a rebellion" if the new Declaration of Independence failed to guarantee their rights.   1779 - Russia and Turkey signed a treaty concerning military action in Crimea.   1831 - Quebec and Montreal were incorporated as cities.   1854 - The U.S. government signed the Treaty of Kanagawa with Japan. The act opened the ports of Shimoda and Hakotade to American trade.   1862 - Skirmishing between Rebels and Union forces took place at Island 10 on the Mississippi River.   1870 - In Perth Amboy, NJ, Thomas Munday Peterson became the first black to vote in the U.S.   1880 - Wabash, IN, became the first town to be completely illuminated with electric light.   1889 - In Paris, the Eiffel Tower officially opened.   1900 - The W.E. Roach Company was the first automobile company to put an advertisement in a national magazine. The magazine was the "Saturday Evening Post".   1900 - In France, the National Assembly passed a law reducing the workday for women and children to 11 hours.   1901 - In Russia, the Czar lashed out at Socialist-Revolutionaries with the arrests of 72 people and the seizing of two printing presses.   1902 - In Tennessee, 22 coal miners were killed by an explosion.   1904 - In India, hundreds of Tibetans were slaughtered by the British.   1905 - Kaiser Wilhelm arrived in Tangier proclaiming to support for an independent state of Morocco.   1906 - The Conference on Moroccan Reforms in Algerciras ended after two months with France and Germany in agreement.   1906 - The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States was founded to set rules in amateur sports. The organization became the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1910.   1908 - 250,000 coal miners in Indianapolis, IN, went on strike to await a wage adjustment.   1909 - Serbia accepted Austrian control over Bosnia-Herzegovina.   1917 - The U.S. purchased and took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.   1918 - For the first time in the U.S., Daylight Saving Time went into effect.   1921 - Great Britain declared a state of emergency because of the thousands of coal miners on strike.   1923 - In New York City, the first U.S. dance marathon was held. Alma Cummings set a new world record of 27 hours.   1932 - The Ford Motor Co. debuted its V-8 engine.   1933 - The U.S. Congress authorized the Civilian Conservation Corps to relieve rampant unemployment.   1933 - The "Soperton News" in Georgia became the first newspaper to publish using a pine pulp paper.   1939 - Britain and France agreed to support Poland if Germany threatened invasion.   1940 - La Guardia airport in New York officially opened to the public.   1941 - Germany began a counter offensive in North Africa.   1945 - "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway.   1946 - Monarchists won the elections in Greece.   1947 - John L. Lewis called a strike in sympathy for the miners killed in an explosion in Centralia, IL, on March 25, 1947.   1948 - The Soviets in Germany began controlling the Western trains headed toward Berlin.   1949 - Winston Churchill declared that the A-bomb was the only thing that kept the U.S.S.R. from taking over Europe.   1949 - Newfoundland entered the Canadian confederation as its 10th province.   1958 - The U.S. Navy formed the atomic submarine division.   1959 - The Dalai Lama (Lhama Dhondrub, Tenzin Gyatso) began exile by crossing the border into India where he was granted political asylum. Gyatso was the 14th Daila Lama.   1960 - The South African government declared a state of emergency after demonstrations lead to the death of more than 50 Africans.   1966 - An estimated 200,000 anti-war demonstrators march in New York City. (New York)   1966 - The Soviet Union launched Luna 10, which became the first spacecraft to enter a lunar orbit.   1967 - U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Consular Treaty, the first bi-lateral pact with the Soviet Union since the Bolshevik Revolution.   1970 - The U.S. forces in Vietnam down a MIG-21, it was the first since September 1968.   1976 - The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Karen Anne Quinlan could be disconnected from a respirator. Quinlan remained comatose until 1985 when she died.   1980 - U.S. President Carter deregulated the banking industry.   1981 - In Bangkok, Thailand, four of five Indonesian terrorists were killed after hijacking an airplane on March 28.   1985 - ABC-TV aired the 200th episode of "The Love Boat."   1986 - 167 people died when a Mexicana Airlines Boeing 727 crashed in Los Angeles.   1987 - HBO (Home Box Office) earned its first Oscar for "Down and Out in America".   1989 - Canada and France signed a fishing rights pact.   1991 - Albania offered a multi-party election for the first time in 50 years. Incumbent President Ramiz Alia won.   1991 - Iraqi forces recaptured the northern city of Kirkuk from Kurdish guerillas.   1993 - Brandon Lee was killed accidentally while filming a movie.   1994 - "Nature" magazine announced that a complete skull of Australppithecus afarensis had been found in Ethiopia. The finding is of humankind's earliest ancestor.   1998 - U.N. Security Council imposed arms embargo on Yugoslavia.   1998 - Buddy Hackett received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.   1998 - For the first time in U.S. history the federal government's detailed financial statement was released. This occurred under the Clinton administration.   1999 - Three U.S. soldiers were captured by Yugoslav soldiers three miles from the Yugoslav border in Macedonia.   1999 - Fabio was hit in the face by a bird during a promotional ride of a new roller coaster at the Busch Gardens theme park in Williamsburg, VA. Fabio received a one-inch cut across his nose.   2000 - In Uganda, officials set the number of deaths linked to a doomsday religious cult, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments, at more than 900. In Kanungu, a March 17 fire at the cult's church killed more than 530 and authorities subsequently found mass graves at various sites linked to the cult.   2004 - Air America Radio launched five stations around the U.S.   2004 - Google Inc. announced that it would be introducing a free e-mail service called Gmail.




1492 Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain expelled Jews who would not accept Christianity. 1889 The Eiffel Tower in Paris officially opened. 1917 The United States took possession of the Virgin Islands. 1918 Daylight Saving Time went into effect in the United States. 1949 Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province. 1959 The Dalai Lama, fleeing Chinese repression of an uprising in Tibet, arrived at the Indian border and was granted political asylum. 1968 President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not run for re-election. 1995 Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez, 23, is shot by the president of her fan club in Corpus Christi, Texas. 1995 Major League Baseball players agreed to end the sport’s longest strike in history after a judge ordered a preliminary injunction against team owners. 2005 Terry Schiavo died 13 days after her feeding tube was removed.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar31.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

French Far Right Leader Marine Le Pen's Political Future Seriously in Doubt After Court Ruled Her Guilty of Embezzlement

Earlier today, a court in France ruled that Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right Rassemblement Nationale (National Rally) was guilty of embezzlement. With that, the chances of her running for the presidency in 2027 are in serious jeopardy.

She obviously thought that the decision was ridiculous and suggested that it was politically motivated (much like Trump, who expressed indignation about the decision as well) in the United States.

As of right now, it seems like her political ambitions are dead. That remains to be seen, although that appears to be the case at the moment. 

Below is the link to a BBC article on this story:

Shock Le Pen verdict rocks French far right by Hugh Schofield BBC's Paris correspondent, 31 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0ylgjew1xo

Book Review: The Empire Strikes Back Storybook

  

Before I ever got to see the iconic second installment of the original Star Wars trilogy, this was the book which familiarized me with the story. It's actually a bit funny, actually. My neighbor had helped me really get into Star Wars. We did not have cable, but they did. And so I was able to see the original movie (back then, that was the movie known as "Star Wars") for the very first time at their house. They told me that they would let me know when "The Empire Strikes Back" would play, but relations between our family and these neighbors deteriorated before that ever happened. Then, "Return of the Jedi," the final installment of the original trilogy, which I sometimes still almost feel as the "new" Star Wars movie, was the first (and only) one of the original movies which we as a family saw in the movie theaters. True, I saw each of the original trilogy in the theaters when they were rereleased in 1997, but that doesn't count. By then, I was (at least officially) a grown man, even if it really did not feel like it just yet (and frankly, sometimes still doesn't, truth be told).

So this book was my access to the second movie for the first few years. Hell, I cannot even remember the first time that I actually got to see ESB, but I do remember reading this book, and feeling a bit of the same excitement. Somehow, I still think of this movie whenever I hear someone mention HBO. It was one of the seemingly elite movies which those privileged with cable could view, and which I could not, since we never had cable, let alone HBO. Thus, my first real taste of the second installment of the original trilogy was this storybook, by Scholastic Books. Remember those? If you are my age, you probably do. It was always a little thrill when there was a mini book fair at the school library, and our class got the chance to look at the books.

Recently, I reread the book for the first time since I was a kid. And it seemed worth reviewing here, although there is something worth noting. By now, almost everyone out there is familiar with ESB, right? I mean, what would be the point of reviewing the story itself, which almost everyone is familiar with to begin with? Most people are familiar with Star Wars, and especially the first trilogy - and especially this particular chapter of it. 

What I will say is this: there are differences between the storybook and the actual original movie. In fact, that is true likely of all three. I eventually somehow got the storybook for the original Star Wars movie (now commonly referred to as "A New Hope"), and there are differences there, too. In fact, there is at least one deleted scene in that one.

There are some scenes here which were not a part of the original "Empire Strikes Back" movie, as well. In particular, the Rebel base is breached by ice creatures, the Hoth Wampas. That "ice creature" was among my favorite of the original Kenner toys, and which fascinated me to no end back then. The attack does not really amount to all that much, and hardly alters the story greatly. Still, it is there in this book, and it is not in the original movie (although I remember seeing some deleted scenes where it was at least implied). So there is that difference.

Also, some lines are different. I remember during the recent reading thinking how this or that part felt considerably different. For example, there is less humorous banter between Leia and Han. How much of that is to keep the book short (you can probably read it from cover to cover in one sitting). The most glaring example, however, was Han Solo's final line before being frozen in carbonite. He responds to Leia saying she loves him by telling her he loves her, too, whereas his unconventional response (which was Harrison Ford's improv, as I understand it) was not only very different, but became one of the seminal, defining moments of that movie, and of the character of Han Solo. So it is different.

Ultimately, these movies came out over forty years ago. Hard to believe, but true. That means that for most fans, none of this will be anything new. However, it was all new when I first read this particular book all of those years ago. And I felt a wave of nostalgia for that, and those times, while reading it. I still remember getting an oversized impression of some of the characters (like Dengar and Boskk, the bounty hunters, who actually were in the movie for only a few seconds, really) because of the picture in this book. 

Finally, there is something to be said of reading before seeing the actual movie. As it turns out, I first read the book versions of the two installments of both the original trilogy and the prequels (this storybook of ESB for the original trilogy, and the full book version of "Revenge of the Sith" for the prequels). While I felt in reading this that the differences probably favored the movie, for the most part, the same could not be said of "Revenge of the Sith." There, it seemed to me then, and still seems to me now, that the book was actually better than the movie. And I remember some differences between the book and movie there, as well. I have read that one twice, although for some reason, I never did get around to reviewing it on this blog. Maybe that will change in the not too distant future. We shall see.

Still, if you remember these Scholastic storybooks, this particular one is worth taking a look at. I had the storybooks for a few movies back then (the first two Star Wars, sure, but also E.T. and at least one of the Indiana Jones movies, if memory serves correctly). So take a look at it if you can, and feel the wave of pleasant nostalgia that I benefited from.

Recommended. 

Spring 2025 Is Here

 

Weekend Funny: The Trump White House & the Massive Military Leak

Much like with the first Trump presidency, this second presidency has been filled with chaos and mind-bendingly idiotic headlines to make your head spin. I have been meaning to get around to Trump's recent declaration that news outlets criticizing him should be illegal. Yet just like during Trump's first term, you barely have time to wrap your head around one jaw-dropping story before it seems like yet another staggeringly moronic piece of evidence of unbelievable incompetency at the highest levels derails your focus, as well as faith in this country.

The headlines dominating in recent days has been the military leak, of course. War plans were accidentally leaked to a reporter from The Atlantic on an otherwise private chat. 

Of course, Trump blamed the reporter, and not members of his administration, or of course himself, for choosing those idiots to begin with. Quite typical and predictable.

It seems clear that it obviously was something ridiculous. Another major and glaring mistake and breach of national security by Trump or his White House. Remember all of those leaks during his first four years? Or when he invited Russia to spy and release files on Hillary Clinton? Or when he invited Putin and Russia to invade a NATO country? Or how on January 6th he encouraged his supporters to go the Capitol building in Washington and urged them to not show weakness and take the country back by interfering with a democratic process finalizing the 2020 election? Or how he took classified documents and stored them in a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago?

Now, here is yet another massive security breach. Another ignominious moment - obviously one of many - for Trump and his time in the White House. Yeah, this feels at like still another low point regarding America's reputation, as well as national security. 

Here's the thing: Trump and his cult following were screaming about locking Hillary up when it came to her emails. Meanwhile, they are calm and urge us to stop blowing everything way out of proportion when Trump himself brings boxes of classified documents to his private home in Mar-a-Lago, where he has important people from foreign nations come to visit. Now, war plans by the United States were leaked in advance, as were the frankly idiotic reactions by some of the highest profile and highest ranking "leaders" in the marbled halls in Washington. 

This is Trump's America. 

Admittedly, this might be poorly placed as a "Weekend Funny." After all, there really is nothing funny about this story. In fact, there has been precious little to really smile, much less laugh, about regarding the state of the country, particularly since the November election. Trump supporters got exactly what they wanted, right? Yet, they are as angry as ever. Like the Dear Leader, they feel entitled to be pissed off and feel victimized, all while they go out of their way to treat everyone else like absolute garbage. It really is ridiculous. Surely I have said this before, but it bears repeating: all of this would seem comical, if it were not real and the consequences so damn tragic. 

Remember, the whole world is watching. 

Liberal Redneck - An All-Time Great Military Blunder from Team Trump

March 30th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 240 BCE was the first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. In 804 on this day, Liudger became the first Bishop of Munster. Boudouin IV with the Beard became the Earl of Flanders on this day in 988. The Battle at Mellifont was fought on this day in 1603, as the English army under Lord Mountjoy defeated the Irish. On this day in 1775 in the leadup to the American Revolutionary War of Independence, King George III formally endorsed the New England Restraining Act in hopes of keeping the New England colonies dependent on the British. A bust of playwright Voltaire was crowned with a triumphant laurel wreath by actors on stage on this day in 1778 following the sixth performance of Voltaire's "Irène" at the Comédie-Française. This event was depicted in an engraving by Jean-Michel Moreau and Charles-Étienne Gaucher. On this day in 1814 during the Napoleonic Wars, the Allied nations fighting France managed to capture Paris. Murat issued the Rimini Declaration on this day in 1814. It would later inspire Italian Unification. U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7 million (2 cents an acre) in what came to be known as Seward's Folly on this day in 1867. The 15th Amendment to the American Constitution passed on this day in 1870, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race. In 1870 following the end of the American Civil War, Texas became the last of the Confederate States to be readmitted to Union. The Pandjeh Incident during the Battle for Kushka was fought on this day in 1885 in Afghanistan, and nearly sparked a war between the British Empire and Russian Empire. In 1903 on this day, American troops entered Santo Domingo to protect American interests after receiving word of revolutionary activity in the Dominican Republic. On this day in 1905, American President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to mediate peace talks to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War. The French protectorate in Morocco was established on this day in 1912. In 1940 on this day, the Japanese set up a puppet regime at Nanking, the former capital of Nationalist China. There was a German counter-offensive in North-Africa on this day in 1941 during World War II. On this day in 1945 during the waning days of World War II in Europe, the Soviet Read Army crossed the border into Austria. In 1953 on this day, Theoretical Physicist Albert Einstein announced a revised unified field theory. The iconic cover photo of the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's" was taken on this day in 1967. North Vietnamese forces launched the "Easter Offensive" and entered South Vietnam on this day in 1972. On this day in 1981, American President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by a crazed drifter named John Hinckley Jr. In 2013 on this day, North Korea declared that it is in a state of war with South Korea. On this day in 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the rightful winner of the Kenyan presidential election by the Supreme Court.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 240 BCE was the first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.

• In 804 on this day, Liudger became the first Bishop of Munster

• Boudouin IV with the Beard became the Earl of Flanders on this day in 988.

1282 - The people of Sicily rebel against the Angevin king Charles I, in what becomes known as the Sicilian Vespers.

1296 - Edward I sacks Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.

1422 - Ketsugan, Zen teacher, performs exorcisms to free aizoji temple

1456 - Prince Louis of Bourbon elected bishop of Liege

1474 - Duke Sigismund van Tirol ends contacts with Switzerland

1492 - King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella sign decree expelling Jews from Spain

1533 - Thomas Cranmer becomes archbishop of Canterbury

•  The Battle at Mellifont was fought on this day in 1603, as the English army under Lord Mountjoy defeated the Irish.

• On this day in 1775 in the leadup to the American Revolutionary War of Independence, King George III formally endorsed the New England Restraining Act in hopes of keeping the New England colonies dependent on the British. The New England Restraining Act required New England colonies to trade exclusively with Great Britain as of July 1. An additional rule would come into effect on July 20, banning colonists from fishing in the North Atlantic.    The British prime minister, Frederick, Lord North, introduced the Restraining Act and the Conciliatory Proposition to Parliament on the same day. The Conciliatory Proposition promised that no colony that met its share of imperial defenses and paid royal officials' salaries of their own accord would be taxed. The act conceded to the colonists' demand that they be allowed to provide the crown with needed funds on a voluntary basis. In other words, Parliament would ask for money through requisitions, not demand it through taxes. The Restraining Act was meant to appease Parliamentary hardliners, who would otherwise have impeded passage of the pacifying proposition.    Unfortunately for North and prospects for peace, he had already sent General Thomas Gage orders to march on Concord, Massachusetts, to destroy the armaments stockpiled in the town, and take Patriot leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams into custody. The orders were given in January 1775 and arrived in Boston before the Conciliatory Proposition. Thus, on April 18, 700 Redcoats marched towards Concord Bridge. The military action led to the Revolutionary War, the birth of the United States as a new nation, the temporary downfall of Lord North and the near abdication of King George III. The Treaty of Paris marking the conflict's end guaranteed New Englanders the right to fish off Newfoundland--the right denied them by the New England Restraining Act.

 

French Enlightenment Philosopher & Author Voltaire

• A bust of playwright Voltaire was crowned with a triumphant laurel wreath by actors on stage on this day in 1778 following the sixth performance of Voltaire's "Irène" at the Comédie-Française. This event was depicted in an engraving by Jean-Michel Moreau and Charles-Étienne Gaucher. 

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

• On this day in 1814 during the Napoleonic Wars, the Allied nations fighting France managed to capture Paris.    European forces allied against Napoleonic France march triumphantly into Paris, formally ending a decade of French domination on the Continent.    Napoleon, one of the greatest military strategists in history, seized control of the French state in 1800, and in 1804 was crowned emperor. By 1807, he controlled an empire that stretched across Europe. In 1812, however, he began to encounter the first significant defeats of his military career, suffering through a disastrous invasion of Russia, losing Spain to the Duke of Wellington, and enduring total defeat against an allied force in 1814. Exiled to the island of Elba, he escaped to France in early 1815 and raised a new Grand Army that enjoyed temporary success before its crushing defeat at Waterloo. He was then exiled to the island of St. Helena, where he died six years later.

•  Murat issued the Rimini Declaration on this day in 1814. It would later inspire Italian Unification.

1822 - Congress combined East & West Florida into Florida Territory

1842 - Ether used as an anaesthetic for 1st time by Dr Crawford Long (Ga)

• 1856 - Russia signs Peace of Paris, ending the Crimean War

1858 - Pencil with attached eraser patented (Hyman L Lipman of Phila)

1863 - Danish prince Wilhelm Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg chosen as king George of Greece

French Enlightenment Philosopher VoltaireFrench Enlightenment Philosopher Voltaire 1864 - Skirmish at Mount Elba, Arkansas

1865 - -4] Battle at 5 Forks Virginia

1866 - Bedrich Smetana's "Verkaufte Braut" (Sold Bride), premieres

• U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7 million (2 cents an acre) in what came to be known as Seward's Folly on this day in 1867. Despite the bargain price of roughly two cents an acre, the Alaskan purchase was ridiculed in Congress and in the press as "Seward's folly," "Seward's icebox," and President Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden."    The czarist government of Russia, which had established a presence in Alaska in the mid-18th century, first approached the United States about selling the territory during the administration of President James Buchanan, but negotiations were stalled by the outbreak of the Civil War. After 1865, Seward, a supporter of territorial expansion, was eager to acquire the tremendous landmass of Alaska, an area roughly one-fifth the size of the rest of the United States. He had some difficulty, however, making the case for the purchase of Alaska before the Senate, which ratified the treaty by a margin of just one vote on April 9, 1867. Six months later, Alaska was formally handed over from Russia to the United States. Despite a slow start in U.S. settlement, the discovery of gold in 1898 brought a rapid influx of people to the territory, and Alaska, rich in natural resources, has contributed to American prosperity ever since.

US buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (2 cents an acre - Seward's Folly)

•  The 15th Amendment to the American Constitution passed on this day in 1870, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race.

• In 1870 following the end of the American Civil War, Texas became the last of the Confederate States to be readmitted to Union. 

1870 - Florida territorial government established.

• The Pandjeh Incident during the Battle for Kushka was fought on this day in 1885 in Afghanistan, and nearly sparked a war between the British Empire and Russian Empire.

1893 - Thomas F Bayard becomes 1st US ambassador in Great Britain

1895 - British inventor Birt Acres films Oxford and Cambridge boat race

1900 - Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts Compulsory education law

• In 1903 on this day, American troops entered Santo Domingo to protect American interests after receiving word of revolutionary activity in the Dominican Republic.

• On this day in 1905, American President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to mediate peace talks to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War.

1909 - Queensboro Bridge opens, linking Manhattan & Queens

1910 - Mississippi Legislature founded The University of Southern Mississippi.

1911 - Lötschberg tunnel in Switzerland (13,735 m) completed

• The French protectorate in Morocco was established on this day in 1912.

1916 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens (NHA) beat Portland Rosebuds (PCHA), 3 games to 2

1918 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Arenas (NHL) beat Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA), 3 games to 2

1919 - Belgian Army occupies Dusseldorf

Pacifist and Spiritual Leader Mahatma GandhiPacifist and Spiritual Leader Mahatma Gandhi 1919 - Gandhi announces resistance against Rowlatt Act

1919 - Paul Claudel's "Tête d'Or," premieres in Paris

1922 - KGY-AM in Olympia WA begins radio transmissions

1922 - WWL-AM in New Orleans LA begins radio transmissions

1923 - Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, formed at Howard U in 1920, incorporates

1925 - Stalin supports rights of non-Serbian Yugoslavians

1925 - Stanley Cup: Vict Cougars (WCHL) beat Canadiens (NHL), 3 games to 1

1930 - Babberich-H soccer team forms

1935 - Newfoundland changes time to 3½ hrs W of Greenwich, repeats 44 sec

1939 - The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets the world airspeed record of 463 mph.

1939 - First flight of the Australian C.A.C. CA-16 Wirraway.

1940 - 2nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana U beats Kansas 60-42

• In 1940 on this day, the Japanese set up a puppet regime at Nanking, the former capital of Nationalist China.    In 1937, Japan drummed up a rationale for war against Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist China (claiming Chinese troops attacked Japanese troops on maneuvers in a so-called "autonomous" region of China) and invaded northeastern China, bombing Shanghai and carving out a new state, Manchukuo.    Money and supplies poured into Free China from the United States, Britain, and France, until the Burma Road, which permitted free passage of goods into China from the West, was closed after a Japanese invasion of Indochina. Making matters more difficult, Chiang was forced to fight on two fronts: one against the Japanese (with U.S. help in the person of Gen. Joseph Stillwell, Chiang's chief of staff), and another against his ongoing political nemesis, the Chinese Communists, led by Mao Tse-tung. (Although the United States advised concentrating on the Japanese first as the pre-eminent threat, Chiang was slow to listen.)    The Japanese proceeded to prosecute a war of terror in Manchukuo. With the capture of Nanking (formerly the Nationalist Chinese capital, which was now relocated to Chungking) by the Central China Front Army in December 1937, atrocities virtually unparalleled commenced. The army, under orders of its commander, Gen. Matsui Iwane, carried out the mass execution of more than 50,000 civilians, as well as tens of thousands of rapes. Nanking and surrounding areas were burned and looted, with one-third of its buildings utterly destroyed. The "Rape of Nanking" galvanized Western animus against the Japanese.    On March 30, 1940, Nanking was declared by the Japanese to be the center of a new Chinese government, a regime controlled by Wang Ching-wei, a defector from the Nationalist cause and now a Japanese puppet.

• There was a German counter-offensive in North-Africa on this day in 1941 during World War II.

1942 - 1st RSHA-transport from France arrives in camp Birkenau

1942 - SS murders 200 inmates of Trawniki labor camp

Soviet Union Premier Joseph StalinSoviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin 1943 - 5th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: U of Wyoming beat Georgetown 46-34

1943 - British 1st army recaptures Sejenane

1943 - Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!," premieres in NYC

1944 - 781 British bombers attack Neurenberg

1945 - 289 anti-fascists murdered by nazis in Rombergpark Dortmund

The flag of the USSR (Soviet Union)

• On this day in 1945 during the waning days of World War II in Europe, the Soviet Read Army crossed the border into Austria.

1945 - World War II: a defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 to Americans.

1946 - "St Louis Woman" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 113 performances

1946 - Australia beats NZ in cricket at 3 30pm on 2nd day

1946 - Last Test Cricket appearance of Bill O'Reilly (5-14 & 3-19)

1949 - Riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joined NATO.

1950 - Phototransistor invention announced, Murray Hill, NJ

Bust of Albert Einstein in Princeton, New Jersey, where he lived his final years.

• In 1953 on this day, Theoretical Physicist Albert Einstein announced a revised unified field theory.

1956 - USSR performs nuclear test

1957 - 1st performance of Walter Piston's 4th Symphony

1961 - NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 169,600' (51,690 m)

1961 - The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed at New York.

1963 - France performs underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria

1964 - Astronaut John Glenn withdraws from Ohio senate race

1965 - Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.

• The iconic cover photo of the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's" was taken on this day in 1967.

1968 - General Ludvik Svoboda elected president of Czechoslovakia

1972 - "Funny Thing Happened..." opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 156 perfs

• North Vietnamese forces launched the "Easter Offensive" and entered South Vietnam on this day in 1972.

1972 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1973 - Ellsworth Bunker resigns as US ambassador to South Vietnam

1975 - Ron Lalonde scores the 1st hat trick by a Washington Capital

1976 - Israel kills 6 Palestinians protesting land confiscation

1978 - "History of the American Film" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 21 perfs

1979 - Airey Neave, a British politician, is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.

1980 - Mark Medoff's "Children of a Lesser God," premieres in NYC

Statue of American President Ronald Reagan in Budapest

• On this day in 1981, American President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by a crazed drifter named John Hinckley Jr.    The president had just finished addressing a labor meeting at the Washington Hilton Hotel and was walking with his entourage to his limousine when Hinckley, standing among a group of reporters, fired six shots at the president, hitting Reagan and three of his attendants. White House Press Secretary James Brady was shot in the head and critically wounded, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy was shot in the side, and District of Columbia policeman Thomas Delahaney was shot in the neck. After firing the shots, Hinckley was overpowered and pinned against a wall, and President Reagan, apparently unaware that he'd been shot, was shoved into his limousine by a Secret Service agent and rushed to the hospital.    The president was shot in the left lung, and the .22 caliber bullet just missed his heart. In an impressive feat for a 70-year-old man with a collapsed lung, he walked into George Washington University Hospital under his own power. As he was treated and prepared for surgery, he was in good spirits and quipped to his wife, Nancy, ''Honey, I forgot to duck,'' and to his surgeons, "Please tell me you're Republicans." Reagan's surgery lasted two hours, and he was listed in stable and good condition afterward.    The next day, the president resumed some of his executive duties and signed a piece of legislation from his hospital bed. On April 11, he returned to the White House. Reagan's popularity soared after the assassination attempt, and at the end of April he was given a hero's welcome by Congress. In August, this same Congress passed his controversial economic program, with several Democrats breaking ranks to back Reagan's plan. By this time, Reagan claimed to be fully recovered from the assassination attempt. In private, however, he would continue to feel the effects of the nearly fatal gunshot wound for years.    Of the victims of the assassination attempt, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and D.C. policeman Thomas Delahaney eventually recovered. James Brady, who nearly died after being shot in the eye, suffered permanent brain damage. He later became an advocate of gun control, and in 1993 Congress passed the "Brady Bill," which established a five-day waiting period and background checks for prospective gun buyers. President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law.    After being arrested on March 30, 1981, 25-year-old John Hinckley was booked on federal charges of attempting to assassinate the president. He had previously been arrested in Tennessee on weapons charges. In June 1982, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. In the trial, Hinckley's defense attorneys argued that their client was ill with narcissistic personality disorder, citing medical evidence, and had a pathological obsession with the 1976 film Taxi Driver, in which the main character attempts to assassinate a fictional senator. His lawyers claimed that Hinckley saw the movie more than a dozen times, was obsessed with the lead actress, Jodie Foster, and had attempted to reenact the events of the film in his own life. Thus the movie, not Hinckley, they argued, was the actual planning force behind the events that occurred on March 30, 1981.    The verdict of "not guilty by reason of insanity" aroused widespread public criticism, and many were shocked that a would-be presidential assassin could avoid been held accountable for his crime. However, because of his obvious threat to society, he was placed in St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a mental institution. In the late 1990s, Hinckley's attorney began arguing that his mental illness was in remission and thus had a right to return to a normal life. Beginning in August 1999, he was allowed supervised day trips off the hospital grounds and later was allowed to visit his parents once a week unsupervised. The Secret Service voluntarily monitors him during these outings. If his mental illness remains in remission, he may one day be released.

1982 - 3rd space shuttle mission-Columbia 3 lands at White Sands, NM

1982 - John Pielmeier's "Agnes of God," premieres in NYC

1983 - Ray Cooney's "Run for your Wives," premieres in London

1983 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1984 - US ends participation in multinational Lebanon peace force

1987 - Vincent van Goghs "Sunflowers" sells for record 22.5M pounds ($39.7 million)

1991 - Northern Michigan wins its 1st NCAA hockey title

1991 - PBA National Championship Won by Mike Miller

1991 - William Kennedy Smith allegedly rapes a woman (found not guilty)

1992 - P J Patterson, resigns as 6th PM of Jamaica

1993 - French government of Balladur forms

1993 - Jamaican premier Percival Patterson wins parliamentary election

Earl of Wessex Prince EdwardEarl of Wessex Prince Edward 1996 - Prince Edward & girl-friend Sophie visited Graystoke Castle

2006 - Marcos Pontes is the first Brazilian astronaut in space.

2006 - UK Terrorism Act 2006 becomes law.

2012 - Spanish Government cuts 27 Billion Euros from its budget in one of its toughest austerity driver in history

2012 - Mastercard and Visa announce a massive breach in security with over ten million compromised credit card numbers

2012 - American Mega Millions lottery hits a world record lottery amount of 640 million dollars

• In 2013 on this day, North Korea declared that it is in a state of war with South Korea

• On this day in 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the rightful winner of the Kenyan presidential election by the Supreme Court.

1533 - Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.   1814 - The allied European nations against Napoleon marched into Paris.   1822 - Florida became a U.S. territory.   1842 - Dr. Crawford W. Long performed the first operation while his patient was anesthetized by ether.   1855 - About 5,000 "Border Ruffians" from western Missouri invaded the territory of Kansas and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature. It was the first election in Kansas.   1858 - Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patented the pencil.   1867 - The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars.   1870 - The 15th amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race, was passed by the U.S. Congress.   1870 - Texas was readmitted to the Union.   1903 - Revolutionary activity in the Dominican Republic brought U.S. troops to Santo Domingo to protect American interests.   1905 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to mediate in the Russo-Japanese peace talks.   1909 - The Queensboro bridge in New York opened linking Manhattan and Queens. It was the first double decker bridge.   1909 - In Oklahoma, Seminole Indians revolted against meager pay for government jobs.   1916 - Pancho Villa killed 172 at the Guerrero garrison in Mexico.   1936 - Britain announced a naval construction program of 38 warships.   1940 - The Japanese set up a puppet government called Manchuko in Nanking, China.   1941 - The German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel began its first offensive against British forces in Libya.   1944 - The U.S. fleet attacked Palau, near the Philippines.   1945 - The U.S.S.R. invaded Austria during World War II.   1946 - The Allies seized 1,000 Nazis attempting to revive the Nazi party in Frankfurt.   1947 - Lord Mountbatten arrived in India as the new Viceroy.   1950 - The invention of the phototransistor was announced.   1950 - U.S. President Truman denounced Senator Joe McCarthy as a saboteur of U.S. foreign policy.   1957 - Tunisia and Morocco signed a friendship treaty in Rabat.   1958 - The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gave its initial performance.   1964 - "Jeopardy" debuted on NBC-TV.   1964 - John Glenn withdrew from the Ohio race for U.S. Senate because of injuries suffered in a fall.   1970 - "Applause" opened on Broadway.   1970 - "Another World - Somerset" debuted on NBC-TV.   1972 - The British government assumed direct rule over Northern Ireland.   1972 - The Eastertide Offensive began when North Vietnamese troops crossed into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the northern portion of South Vietnam.   1975 - As the North Vietnamese forces moved toward Saigon South Vietnamese soldiers mob rescue jets in desperation.   1981 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington, DC, by John W. Hinckley Jr. Two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady were also wounded.   1982 - The space shuttle Columbia completed its third and its longest test flight after 8 days in space.   1984 - The U.S. ended its participation in the multinational peace force in Lebanon.   1987 - Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" was bought for $39.85 million.   1993 - In Sarajevo, two Serb militiamen were sentenced to death for war crimes committed in Bosnia.   1993 - In the Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown hit his first home run.   1994 - Serbs and Croats signed a cease-fire to end their war in Croatia while Bosnian Muslims and Serbs continued to fight each other.   1998 - Rolls-Royce was purchased by BMW in a $570 million deal.   2002 - An unmanned U.S. spy plane crashed at sea in the Southern Philippines.   2002 - Suspected Islamic militants set off several grenades at a temple in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Four civilians, four policemen and two attackers were killed and 20 people were injured.




1842 Anesthesia was used for the first time in an operation. 1856 The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Crimean War. 1867 A treaty for the purchase of Alaska from Russia for the sum of 7.2 million, approximately two cents an acre, was submitted to the U.S. Senate. 1870 The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race. 1964 The game show Jeopardy debuted on television. 1981 President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by John Hinckley as he left a Washington hotel. 2002 The Queen Mother Elizabeth of England died at the age of 101.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar30.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory