The Hanford Engineer Works (HEW) was a nuclear production complex in Benton County in the US state of Washington, established in early 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II. Plutonium manufactured at the HEW was used in the atomic bomb detonated in the Trinity test on 16 July 1945, and the Fat Man bomb used in the bombing of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. DuPont was the prime contractor for its design, construction and operation. The land acquisition was one of the largest in US history. The construction workforce reached a peak of nearly 45,000 in June 1944. B Reactor, the world's first full-scale plutonium production nuclear reactor, went critical in September 1944, followed by D and F Reactors in December 1944 and February 1945, respectively. The HEW suffered an outage on 10 March 1945 due to a Japanese balloon bomb. The total cost of the HEW up to December 1946 was more than $348 million (equivalent to $4.1 billion in 2023). (Full article...)
1994 – Fragments of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 began colliding with the planet Jupiter(impact site pictured), with the first impact causing a fireball that reached a peak temperature of 24,000 kelvin.
Cora Agnes Benneson (1851–1919) was an American attorney, lecturer, and writer. She graduated from the University of Michigan, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1878, a Bachelor of Laws in 1880, and a Master of Arts in 1883, and was licensed to practice law in Illinois and Michigan. From 1883 to 1885, she traveled the world to learn about legal cultures and how they affected women. When she returned to the United States, she undertook a nationwide lecture tour to speak about her travels and observations. In 1886 Benneson briefly worked as an editor of West Publishing's law reports before taking up a history fellowship at Bryn Mawr College under then-professor Woodrow Wilson. In 1888 she moved to Boston, where she continued to write and lecture. She was licensed in Massachusetts in 1894 and opened a law practice. She was made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1899 and elected secretary of its Social and Economic Science Section in 1900. (Full article...)
The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex), also known as the steinbock, is a species of goat that lives in the Alps of Europe. Its closest living relative is the Iberian ibex. They have brownish-grey coats and sharp hooves adapted to steep, rough terrain. Found at elevations as high as 3,300 m (10,800 ft), they are active throughout the year, primarily feeding on grass in open alpine meadows. Adult males, which are larger than the females, segregate from them for most of the year, coming together only during the breeding season, when they fight for access to the females using their long horns. The Alpine ibex has been successfully reintroduced to parts of its historical range, but all individuals living today descend from a population bottleneck of fewer than 100 individuals from Gran Paradiso National Park in Italy. The species has few predators and is not threatened, but it has very low genetic diversity. (Full article...)
Ernest Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s; these included seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926. His wartime experiences as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms, and he drew on his experience as a journalist in the Spanish Civil War for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Hemingway was with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature. (Full article...)
Thekla (820s or 830s – after 870) was a princess of the Amorian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. The daughter and eldest of seven children of the emperor Theophilos and empress Theodora, she was proclaimed augusta (an imperial title) in the late 830s. After her father's death in 842, her mother became regent for her younger brother Michael III, and Thekla was associated with the regime as a co-empress alongside Theodora and Michael. Thekla was deposed by Michael, possibly alongside her mother, in 856 and consigned to a convent in Constantinople. In one narrative, accepted by some Byzantinists and rejected by others, she became the mistress of Michael's friend and co-emperor Basil I, but was neglected after Basil murdered Michael in 867 and took power as the sole emperor. In this narrative, she took another lover, was discovered, and fell out of favor, then was beaten and had her property confiscated. (Full article...)
Empire of the Sultans was a 1995–2004 touring exhibition displaying objects from the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. Around two hundred exhibits, including calligraphy, textiles, pottery, weapons, and metalwork, illustrated the art and daily life of six centuries of the Ottoman Empire. Many of the objects had been created for the leaders of the empire, the sultans. Two of the calligraphic pieces were the work of sultans themselves. In the 1990s, the exhibition was hosted by institutions in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Israel, and its first catalogue was published by J. M. Rogers. The exhibits visited thirteen cities in the United States from 2000 to 2004, despite controversies in the wake of the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War. Critics described the exhibition as wide-ranging and informative. They praised it for showing beautiful art works – naming the calligraphy in particular – and for presenting a fresh view of Islam. (Full article...)
Ty Cobb was suspended for ten days during the 1912 baseball season. Cobb was disciplined for beating Claude Lucker, a fan who had been heckling him during the four-game series between Cobb's Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees. Cobb was ejected from the game on May 15, 1912, and American League president Ban Johnson suspended him indefinitely. Cobb's teammates took his side, and after defeating the Philadelphia Athletics on May 17, told Johnson that they would not play again until Cobb was reinstated. Johnson refused to do so. Seeking to avoid a $5,000 fine, owner Frank Navin told manager Hughie Jennings to recruit a team; he did so. Facing the Athletics, baseball's World Champions, the replacement players, joined by Jennings and his coaches, lost 24–2, after which Cobb persuaded his teammates to return. They and Cobb were fined, but Navin paid. The walkout was baseball's first major league strike; it had little effect, but teams put additional security into stadiums. (Full article...)
2014 – Air Algérie Flight 5017 disappeared from radar shortly after take-off from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; its wreckage was found the following day in Mali with no survivors.
The great cuckoo-dove (Reinwardtoena reinwardti) is a species of bird in the pigeon family. First described by zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824, it is found on islands from New Guinea to Wallacea in primary forest and the forest edge. It is a large pigeon, and in adults the head, neck, and breast are whitish or blue-grey, the underparts are bluish-grey, the upperparts are chestnut-brown, and the outer wings are black. Females differ from males in having yellower irises and duller orbital skin. Juveniles are mainly dull grey-brown, with dirty-white throats and bellies. This dove feeds on fruit and seeds, usually alone or in pairs, but forms mixed flocks at fruit trees. It will defend fruiting shrubs, an uncommon foraging behaviour among birds. Breeding occurs throughout the year, although timing varies over its range. Nests are platforms made of plant material and the clutch is one white egg. This species is classified as least concern due to its large range and stable population. (Full article...)
The cover of the official report of the 1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. The International Olympic Committee was established in 1894 by a congress organized by Pierre de Coubertin in Paris. The committee appointed the Greek capital Athens as the host city, and the games took place from 6 to 15 April 1896. According to the committee, 14 nations took part, and 241 male athletes competed. Participants were all European, or living in Europe, with the exception of the United States team. Over 65 per cent of the competing athletes were Greek, and Greece won the most medals overall, 47. The athletic highlight for the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spyridon Louis. The most successful competitor was the German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann with four victories.The 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success, with the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. (Full article...)
The Aston Martin DB9 is a two-door, two- or four-seater grand touring car produced by the British automaker Aston Martin from 2004 until it was discontinued on 27 July 2016. It debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003. The official series manufacture began in January 2004 for the coupe version and February 2005 for the DB9 Volante convertible. Designed by Ian Callum and Henrik Fisker, the DB9 is the successor to the DB7, which Aston Martin produced from 1994 to 2004. The DB9's chassis is composed of aluminium and composite materials. In 2008 and 2010, minor alterations were implemented to the DB9's exterior and engine, and in 2012 prominent adjustments were made to its front fascia, interior and engine. The DB9 was adapted for racing by Aston Martin's racing division in the form of the DBR9 and the DBRS9, both introduced in 2005. To commemorate the discontinuation of the DB9, Aston Martin released the DB9 GT in 2015. (Full article...)
Darkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 2, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album was recorded during sessions in New York City with the E Street Band from June 1977 to March 1978, after a series of legal disputes between Springsteen and his former manager Mike Appel. Darkness musically strips the Wall of Sound production of its predecessor, Born to Run, for a rawer hard rock sound emphasizing the band as a whole. The lyrics focus on ill-fortuned characters who fight back against overwhelming odds. Released three years after Born to Run, Darkness did not sell as well as its predecessor but reached number five in the U.S. Critics initially praised the album's music and performances but were divided on the lyrical content. In recent decades, Darkness has attracted acclaim as one of Springsteen's best works and has appeared on lists of the greatest albums of all time. (Full article...)
1866 – At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream became the youngest artist and first woman to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue—that of Abraham Lincoln currently in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.
Sava was a river monitor, originally built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as SMS Bodrog. She and two other monitors fired the first shots of World War I in the early hours of 29 July 1914, when they shelled Serbian defences near Belgrade. During the war, she fought the Serbian and Romanian armies, and was captured in its closing stages. She was transferred to the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), and renamed Sava. During the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, she fought off several air attacks, but was scuttled on 11 April. Sava was later raised by the Axis puppet state, the Independent State of Croatia, and continued to serve under that name until 1944 when she was again scuttled. Following World War II, Sava was raised again, and was refurbished to serve in the Yugoslav Navy from 1952 to 1962. She became a gravel barge after that, but was restored and opened as a floating museum in November 2021. (Full article...)
A near-contemporary image of the English assault on Caen
In 1345–1347, the Hundred Years' War between the English and the French flared up. Determined to renew the conflict, the English king, Edward III, despatched a small force to south-west France where they won victories at Bergerac and Auberoche. In 1346 an English army of 10,000 men landed in northern Normandy, devastated the region, and stormed and sacked Caen. They then cut a swath to within 20 miles (32 km) of Paris, turned north, and inflicted a heavy defeat on the French army at the Battle of Crécy. They exploited this by laying siege to Calais. The period from the English victory outside Bergerac to the start of the siege of Calais is known as Edward III's annus mirabilis (year of marvels). After an eleven-month siege, which stretched both countries' financial and military resources to the limit, the town fell, and for more than two hundred years it served as an English entrepôt into northern France. (This article is part of a featured topic: Hundred Years' War, 1345–1347.)
1865 – Off the coast of Crescent City, California, the steamer Brother Jonathan(depicted) struck an uncharted rock and sank, killing 225 people; its cargo of gold coins was not retrieved until 1996.
Nil Battey Sannata (Hindi slang for "Good For Nothing") is a 2015 Indian comedy-drama film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in her feature debut. Produced by Aanand L. Rai, Ajay Rai, and Alan McAlex, the film was co-written by Iyer, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Choudhary, and Nitesh Tiwari. Swara Bhaskar starred as Chanda Sahay, a high-school drop-out household maid and the single mother of a sullen young girl named Apeksha, played by Ria Shukla. The film's theme is a person's right to change their life, irrespective of social status. The film garnered critical acclaim for its realistic narrative and its cast, especially Bhaskar. In 2017 Iyer won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director; Screen Awards went to Bhaskar for Best Actress (Critics) and to Shukla for Best Child Artist. The film totalled around ₹69 million (US$830,000) at the box office. It was remade in Tamil as Amma Kanakku and in Malayalam as Udaharanam Sujatha. (Full article...)
The Dionysus Cup, painted by the Athenian Exekias around 530 BCE, possibly showing the narrative of the seventh Homeric Hymn
The Homeric Hymns are a collection of thirty-three ancient Greek hymns and one epigram praising deities of the Greek pantheon and retelling mythological stories, such as the Abduction of Persephone and the seduction of Anchises by Aphrodite. In antiquity, the hymns were generally attributed to the poet Homer: modern scholarship has established that they vary widely in date. Performances of the hymns may have taken place at sympotic banquets, religious festivals and royal courts. They may originally have been performed by singers accompanying themselves on a lyre. The hymns influenced Alexandrian and Roman poets, and both pagan and early Christian literature. They were first published in print by Demetrios Chalkokondyles in 1488–1489, while George Chapman made the first English translation of them in 1642. They have since influenced, among others, Handel, Goethe, Shelley, Tennyson and Cavafy. Their influence has also been traced in the novels of James Joyce and Neil Gaiman, and in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. (Full article...)
Charles Edward (1884–1954) was at various times a British prince, the last ruling duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in Germany, and a Nazi politician. Brought up in the United Kingdom, the Prince was selected to succeed to the throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1899 because he was deemed young enough to be re-educated as a German. He married Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein and the couple had five children. The Duke was a conservative ruler with an interest in art and technology. During the First World War he supported the German Empire but was deposed during the German Revolution. During the 1920s, the former duke became a moral and financial supporter of violent far-right paramilitary groups, joining the Nazi Party in 1933. He was given multiple positions, including leader of the German Red Cross, and acted as an unofficial diplomat. After the war, he was interned for a period and given a minor conviction by a denazification court, dying of cancer in 1954. (Full article...)
Free and Candid Disquisitions is an anonymously published 1749 pamphlet written and compiled by John Jones, a Welsh Church of England clergyman. The work promoted a series of reforms to the church and the Book of Common Prayer that Jones hoped would allow the more Protestant and independent Dissenters to be reintegrated into the church. Jones's proposals included shortening the Sunday liturgies, removing Catholic ritual influences, and providing improved hymns and psalms. Several responding texts were written, both lauding and criticizing Jone's work. While the proposals were not accepted by the Church of England, Jones's suggested alterations to the prayer book and advocacy of privately published liturgies influenced several Dissenter liturgical texts and early editions of the American Episcopal Church's prayer book. The pamphlet remained a major influence on proposed liturgical changes in the Church of England until the 19th-century Tractarian movement. (Full article...)
The Aston Martin Rapide is an executivesalooncar that was produced by the British carmaker Aston Martin between 2010 and 2020. Development of the car commenced in 2005, and after about two months, a prototype, called the Rapide, was completed and displayed at the North American International Auto Show in 2006. Three years later, in 2009, the production version debuted at the International Motor Show Germany. Official manufacture of the car began on 7 May 2010, at Magna Steyr's facility in Graz, Austria, but production was shifted to Gaydon, Warwickshire, in 2012 after Aston Martin received a funding from the British government. Over its production run, the Rapide received two major updates, with the introduction of the Rapide S (pictured) in 2014 and the Rapide AMR in 2018. A battery electric version of the Rapide, called the Rapide E, was introduced in 2018 but in 2020 Aston Martin announced that it would not be series produced. (Full article...)
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