Today in History: 19 March
1808 – Charles IV, king of Spain, abdicates after riots and a popular revolt at the winter palace Aranjuez. His son, Ferdinand VII, takes the throne
1822 – Boston, Massachusetts incorporated as a city
1859 – Charles Gounod’s opera “Faust” premieres at the Theatre Lyrique in Paris, France
1882 – 1st stone laid for the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudi
1911 – 1st International Women’s Day sees over 1 million men and women attend rallies in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland
1915 – Pluto photographed for 1st time (although unknown at the time)
1918 – US adopts Standard Time Act of 1918, also known as the Calder Act, a federal law implementing standard time (and daylight saving time) and defining five time zones for the United States
1937 – Astronomer Fritz Zwicky publishes his research on stellar explosion in which he coins the term “supernova” and hypothesizes that they were the origin of cosmic rays
1942 – FDR orders men between 45 & 64 to register for non-military duty
1958 – Britain’s first planetarium at Madame Tussaud’s, London
1965 – The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000, said to have been most powerful Confederate cruiser, discovered by then teenage diver and pioneer of underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence exactly 102 years after its destruction
1991 – NFL owners strip Phoenix of the 1993 Super Bowl game due to Arizona not recognizing federal holiday Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Download Complete! –
1813 – David Livingstone, Scottish explorer who was famously found by Henry Morton Stanley in Africa
1848 – Wyatt Earp, American frontiersman and marshal who participated in the gunfight at the OK Corral
1860 – William Jennings Bryan, American orator and statesman
1900 – Frederic Joliot-Curie, French physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics 1935)
1927 – Allen Newell, American computer scientist
1947 – Glenn Close, American actress
1955 – Bruce Willis, American actor
Unrecoverable Error –
1279 – Emperor Bing of Song China
1950 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author
1978 – Gaston Julia, French mathematician
2008 – Arthur C. Clarke, English sci-fi author
The Funnies:
Quote of the Day
YouTube Song of the Day
I can not say enough good things about Hazbin Hotel. I know it’s not for everyone, but man, is this show wonderful.
Comic of the Day
Mouseover: Astronomers are a little unsure of the applicability of this index, but NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer is all in favor.
Explain XKCD 2908: Moon Armor Index - explain xkcd
Image Credit: XKCD xkcd: Moon Armor Index
Inspirobot Sometimes Controversial Inspirational Quote of the Day:
In case you missed it, you can read yesterday’s out of this world Spark by @Steve6343 over here….
And in case you missed it in the move, the Spice button is down here now ∨
