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June 1
Steve Dodd (born 1928) is an Indigenous Australian actor, notable for playing indigenous characters across seven decades of Australian film. After beginning his working life as a stockman and rodeo rider, Dodd was given his first film roles by prominent Australian actor Chips Rafferty. His career was interrupted by six years in the Australian Army during the Korean War, and limited by discrimination and typecasting. Despite this, by 1985 he had appeared in 55 movies or television features. Dodd has performed in some of Australia's most prominent movies, including Gallipoli and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, in which he played Tabidgi, the murdering uncle of the lead character. He has also held minor parts in Australia-based international film productions including The Coca-Cola Kid, Quigley Down Under and The Matrix. He has appeared in minor roles in early Australian television series, such as Homicide and Rush, as well as more recent series including The Flying Doctors. (more...)
Recently featured: Chadderton – Louis Slotin – Timor Leste Defence Force
June 2
Elizabeth II (born 1926) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations, and head of state of the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. Her father, George VI, acceded to the throne in 1936 on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. She began public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. On George VI's death in 1952, she became Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised. Since her accession, the number of her realms has varied as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. In 1947 she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. Her reign of 72 years is the second-longest for a British monarch; only Queen Victoria has reigned longer. Elizabeth's Silver and Golden Jubilees were celebrated in 1977 and 2002; her Diamond Jubilee is being celebrated during 2012. (more...)
Recently featured: Steve Dodd – Chadderton – Louis Slotin
June 3
The Sweet Track is an ancient causeway in the Somerset Levels, England. It was built in 3807 or 3806 BC and has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world. It is now known that the Sweet Track was largely built over the course of an earlier structure, the Post Track. The track extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, although much of the marsh has now been drained, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). The track is one of a network that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Construction was of crossed wooden poles which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that consisted mainly of planks of oak, laid end-to-end. The track was only used for a period of around 10 years and was then abandoned, probably due to rising water levels. Following its discovery in 1970, most of the track has been left in its original location, with active conservation measures taken, including a water pumping and distribution system to maintain the wood in its damp condition. Some of the track is stored at the British Museum and a reconstruction of a section was built at the Peat Moors Centre near Glastonbury. (more...)
Recently featured: Elizabeth II – Steve Dodd – Chadderton
June 4
Kaga was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Originally intended to be one of two Tosa-class battleships, Kaga was converted under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty into an aircraft carrier as the replacement for the battlecruiser Amagi, which had been damaged during the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake. Kaga's aircraft first supported Japanese troops in China during the Shanghai Incident of 1932 and participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s. With other carriers, she took part in the Pearl Harbor raid in December 1941 and the invasion of Rabaul in the Southwest Pacific in January 1942. The following month her aircraft participated in a combined carrier airstrike on Darwin, Australia, helping secure the conquest of the Dutch East Indies by Japanese forces. During the Battle of Midway in June, Kaga and the other carriers were attacked by American aircraft from Midway Atoll and the carriers Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown. Dive bombers from Enterprise severely damaged Kaga; when it became obvious she could not be saved, she was scuttled by Japanese destroyers to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. In 1999, debris from Kaga was located on the ocean floor; the main body of the carrier has not yet been found. (more...)
Recently featured: Sweet Track – Elizabeth II – Steve Dodd
June 5
A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving slowly across the face of the Sun. A transit is similar to a solar eclipse by the Moon, but while the diameter of Venus is more than three times that of the Moon it is much further from Earth and so appears smaller and generally takes longer (up to eight hours) to travel across the solar disk. Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena—they occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years. The next transit of Venus occurs on 5 and 6 June 2012, and will be the last Venus transit this century. Historically, Venus transits were of great scientific importance as they were used to gain the first realistic estimates of the size of the Solar System. A transit of Venus can be safely observed by taking the same precautions used when observing the partial phases of a solar eclipse. (more...)
Recently featured: Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga – Sweet Track – Elizabeth II
June 6
Peter Heywood (1772–1831) was a British naval officer who was aboard HMS Bounty during the mutiny of 28 April 1789. Bounty had left England in 1787 on a mission to collect breadfruit from the Pacific. Shortly after the ship began its homeward voyage, discontented crew members led by Fletcher Christian seized its captain, William Bligh, and took control of the vessel. Bligh and 19 loyalists were set adrift in an open boat; Heywood remained aboard Bounty. He and 15 others settled in Tahiti, while Bounty sailed on to Pitcairn Island. Bligh eventually reached England, where he implicated Heywood in the mutiny. In 1791 Heywood and his companions were captured and brought back to England. Heywood was court-martialed and sentenced to hang, but was subsequently pardoned by King George III. During his trial powerful family connections worked on his behalf, and the extent of his guilt was clouded by contradictory statements and possible false testimony. Heywood's career subsequently prospered; he was given his first command at the age of 27, and made a post-captain at 31. After leaving the navy in 1816 he enjoyed a long and peaceful retirement. (more...)
Recently featured: Transit of Venus – Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga – Sweet Track
June 7
The Red-billed Chough is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. It lives and breeds on mountains and coastal cliffs, from Ireland and Great Britain east through southern Europe and North Africa, and farther east to Central Asia, India, and China. It has a glossy black plumage, a long curved red bill, red legs, and a loud, ringing call. It has a buoyant, acrobatic flight with widely spread primaries. The Red-billed Chough pairs for life and displays fidelity to its breeding site, which is usually a cave or crevice in a cliff face. It builds a wool-lined stick nest and typically lays three eggs. It feeds, often in flocks, on short grazed grassland, consuming mainly invertebrate prey. The main threat to this species is changes in agricultural practices, which have led to population decline, some local extirpation, and range fragmentation in Europe; however, it is not threatened globally. The bird has also been depicted on postage stamps in a few countries, including the Isle of Man, with four different stamps, and The Gambia, where this species does not occur. (more...)
Recently featured: Peter Heywood – Transit of Venus – Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga
June 8
Resident Evil 2 is a survival horror video game originally released for the PlayStation in 1998. Developed by Capcom as the second installment in the Resident Evil series, its story takes place two months after the events of the first game, Resident Evil. It is set in Raccoon City, a Midwestern American mountain community whose residents have been transformed into zombies by the T-virus, a biological weapon developed by the pharmaceutical company Umbrella. In their escape from the city, the two protagonists, Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, encounter other survivors, and are confronted by William Birkin, the mutated creator of the G-virus, a more powerful variation of the T-virus. The gameplay of Resident Evil 2 focuses on exploration, puzzle solving and combat, and features typical survival horror elements such as limited saves and ammunition. The game's main difference from its predecessor is the "Zapping System", which provides each playable character with unique storylines and obstacles. Resident Evil 2 was well received by critics, who praised its atmosphere, setting, graphics and audio. Its controls, voice acting and inventory system were criticized, however, and certain reviewers disliked its puzzles. The game has become a million-seller, and is the franchise's most successful title on a single platform. Years after its first release, Resident Evil 2 was included in several lists of the 100 best games. (more...)
Recently featured: Red-billed Chough – Peter Heywood – Transit of Venus
June 9
Cyclone Waka was one of the most destructive tropical cyclones ever to impact the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga. Waka originated within the near-equatorial trough in mid-December 2001. The storm gradually matured and attained tropical cyclone status on December 29. Subsequently, Waka underwent rapid intensification in which it attained its peak intensity as a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone on December 31, with winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). Shortly thereafter, it passed directly over Vava'u, Tonga, resulting in widespread damage. By January 1, 2002, the cyclone began to weaken as it underwent an extratropical transition. The remnants of Waka persisted for several more days and were last observed near the Southern Ocean on January 6. Although the storm affected several countries along its path, Waka left the most significant losses in Tonga, where it killed one person and wrought 104.2 million paʻanga ($51.3 million USD) in damage. Hundreds of structures, including 200 in the island's largest city, and much of the nation's agriculture were destroyed. Due to the severity of damage, the name Waka was later retired and replaced with Wiki. (more...)
Recently featured: Resident Evil 2 – Red-billed Chough – Peter Heywood
June 10
Joey Santiago (born 1965) is a Filipino-American guitarist and composer. Active since 1986, Santiago is best known as the lead guitarist for the American alternative rock band Pixies. After the band's breakup in 1993, Santiago produced musical scores for film and television documentaries, and he formed The Martinis with his wife, Linda Mallari. He also contributed to albums by Charles Douglas and former Pixies fellow bandsman Frank Black. Santiago resumed his role as the Pixies' lead guitarist when they reunited in 2004. Santiago has described his guitar technique as "angular and bent" and he cites Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Joe Pass and Jimi Hendrix as major influences on his style. His guitar playing, as part of the Pixies' sound, was held in high regard by critics: MTV's Laurel Bowman commented that Santiago's "sonic plow was the key element in the Pixies' monstrous presence". (more...)
Recently featured: Cyclone Waka – Resident Evil 2 – Red-billed Chough
June 11
The Yorkshire captaincy affair of 1927 arose from a disagreement among members of Yorkshire County Cricket Club over whether a professional cricketer should be appointed as the team captain. It was a tradition throughout English county cricket that captains should be amateurs. At Yorkshire, a succession of amateur captains held office in the 1920s, on the grounds of their supposed leadership qualities, although none were worth their place in the team as cricketers. The Yorkshire committee, prompted by the influential county president, Lord Hawke, approached Herbert Sutcliffe, one of the side's leading professionals. After Sutcliffe's provisional acceptance of the captaincy, controversy arose. Some Yorkshire members objected to the appointment because Sutcliffe was not an amateur; others felt that Wilfred Rhodes, the team's senior professional, should have been asked. When Sutcliffe became aware of the furore, he withdrew his acceptance. No offer was made to Rhodes, and the county subsequently appointed amateur William Worsley as captain; he had little personal success and lasted just two seasons. (more...)
Recently featured: Joey Santiago – Cyclone Waka – Resident Evil 2
June 12
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from 5,235 to 9,380 nautical miles (9,695 to 17,372 km), depending on model. Its distinguishing features include the largest-diameter turbofan engines of any aircraft, six wheels on each main landing gear, a circular fuselage cross-section, and blade-shaped tail cone. Developed in consultation with eight major airlines, the 777 was designed to replace older wide-body airliners and bridge the capacity difference between the 767 and 747. As Boeing's first fly-by-wire airliner, it has computer mediated controls; it is also the first entirely computer-designed commercial aircraft. (more...)
Recently featured: Yorkshire captaincy affair of 1927 – Joey Santiago – Cyclone Waka
June 13
The Ediacara biota consisted of enigmatic tubular and frond-shaped, mostly sessile organisms which lived during the Ediacaran Period (c. 635–542 Ma). Trace fossils of these organisms have been found worldwide, and represent the earliest known complex multicellular organisms. The Ediacara biota radiated in an event called the Avalon Explosion, 575 million years ago, after the Earth had thawed from the Cryogenian period's extensive glaciation, and largely disappeared contemporaneous with the rapid appearance of biodiversity known as the Cambrian explosion. Most currently existing body-plans of animals first appeared only in the fossil record of the Cambrian rather than the Ediacaran. For macroorganisms, the Cambrian biota completely replaced the organisms that populated the Ediacaran fossil record. (more...)
Recently featured: Boeing 777 – Yorkshire captaincy affair of 1927 – Joey Santiago
June 14
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature film of the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the center of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and concludes with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. After the death of Spock (Leonard Nimoy, pictured), the crew of the USS Enterprise returns to Earth. When James T. Kirk (William Shatner) learns that Spock's spirit is held in the mind of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Kirk and company steal the Enterprise to return Spock's body to his home planet. The crew must also contend with hostile Klingons, led by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), bent on stealing the secrets of a powerful terraforming device. Paramount commissioned the film after positive critical and commercial reaction to The Wrath of Khan. Nimoy directed, the first Star Trek cast member to do so. Producer Harve Bennett wrote the script starting from the end and working back, and intended the destruction of the Enterprise to be a shocking development. The film grossed $76 million at the domestic box office and a total of $87 million worldwide. Critical reaction to The Search for Spock was mixed to positive. Reviewers generally praised the cast and characters, while criticism tended to focus on the plot; the special effects were conflictingly received. Roger Ebert called the film a compromise between the tones of the first and second Star Trek films. (more...)
Recently featured: Ediacara biota – Boeing 777 – Yorkshire captaincy affair of 1927
June 15
Caroline of Ansbach (1683–1737) was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain. Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state. As a young woman, Caroline was much sought-after as a bride. After rejecting the suit of the nominal King of Spain, Archduke Charles of Austria, she married George Augustus, the third-in-line to the British throne and heir apparent to the Electorate of Hanover. Caroline moved permanently to Britain in 1714 when her husband became Prince of Wales. Caroline succeeded as queen and electress consort in 1727, when her husband became King George II. Her eldest son, Frederick, became Prince of Wales. He was a focus for the opposition, like his father before him, and Caroline's relationship with him was strained. As princess and as queen, Caroline was known for her political influence. Her tenure included four regencies during her husband's stays in Hanover, and she is credited with strengthening the Hanoverian dynasty's place in Britain during a period of political instability. Her death in 1737 left Caroline widely mourned not only by the public, but also by the King, who refused to remarry. (more...)
Recently featured: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – Ediacara biota – Boeing 777
June 16
The Nashville Sounds are a minor league baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music industry. The team plays its home games at Herschel Greer Stadium, which opened in 1978 and holds 10,300 fans. Established as a Double-A team in 1978, the Sounds moved up to the Triple-A level in 1985. The team has served as a farm club for six major league franchises. A total of 22 managers have led the club and its more than 950 players. As of the completion of the 2011 season, the team had played in 4,869 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 2,527–2,342. The team fielded in 1980 was recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. The Sounds won the PCL Championship in 2005, sweeping the Tacoma Rainiers in three games in the final series. Previous league titles won by the team are the Southern League title in 1979, as the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, and again in 1982 as the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. (more...)
Recently featured: Caroline of Ansbach – Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – Ediacara biota
June 17
Vidkun Quisling (1887–1945) was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying forces. His collaborationist government, known as the Quisling regime, was dominated by ministers from Nasjonal Samling, the party he had founded in 1933. Among other things, it participated – wittingly or unwittingly – in Germany's Final Solution. Quisling was put on trial during the post-war legal purge in Norway and found guilty of charges including embezzlement, murder and high treason. He was executed by firing squad at Akershus Fortress, Oslo, on 24 October 1945. During World War II, quisling became a synonym for traitor. (more...)
Recently featured: Nashville Sounds – Caroline of Ansbach – Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
June 18
The Washington quarter is the present quarter dollar or 25-cent piece issued by the United States Mint. The coin was first struck in 1932; the original version was designed by sculptor John Flanagan. The new silver quarters entered circulation on August 1, 1932; they were struck in that metal until the Mint transitioned to copper-nickel clad coinage in 1965. A special reverse commemorating the United States Bicentennial was used in 1975 and 1976, with all pieces bearing the double date 1776–1976; there are no 1975-dated quarters. Since 1999, the original eagle reverse has not been used; instead that side of the quarter has commemorated the 50 states, the nation's other jurisdictions, and National Park Service sites—the last as part of the ongoing America the Beautiful Quarters series, which will continue until 2021. The bust of Washington was made smaller beginning in 1999; in 2010 it was restored to bring out greater detail. (more...)
Recently featured: Vidkun Quisling – Nashville Sounds – Caroline of Ansbach
June 19
Amador Valley High School is a public high school in Pleasanton, California, a city east of San Francisco. Amador Valley is one of four high schools in the Pleasanton Unified School District, which includes Foothill High School, Village High School, and Horizon High School. The school was founded as Amador Valley Joint Union High School, from which its first class graduated in 1923. The school has been named a California Distinguished School, a National School of Character, and a National Blue Ribbon School. As of 2009, Amador Valley offers its 2,500 students 23 varsity sports, 20 Advanced Placement courses, a program to study local aquatic wildlife, and vocational training. A monthly school publication, the Amadon, reports on athletics, academic and extracurricular issues, and news of the school and community. Student groups, including the Marching Band and Math Team, have toured out-of-state after achieving high rankings in Californian competitions. (more...)
Recently featured: Washington quarter – Vidkun Quisling – Nashville Sounds
June 20
The Javan rhinoceros is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. Its horn is usually less than 25 cm (10 inches), smaller than those of the other rhino species. Once the most widespread of Asian rhinoceroses, the Javan rhinoceros ranged from the islands of Java and Sumatra, throughout Southeast Asia, and into India and China. The species is critically endangered, with only one known population in the wild, and no individuals in captivity. It is possibly the rarest large mammal on earth, with a population of as few as 40 in Ujung Kulon National Park on Java in Indonesia. The decline of the Javan rhinoceros is attributed to poaching, primarily for their horns, which are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine. The Javan rhino can live approximately 30–45 years in the wild. It historically inhabited lowland rain forest, wet grasslands and large floodplains. The Javan rhino is mostly solitary, except for courtship and offspring-rearing, though groups may occasionally congregate near wallows and salt licks. Aside from humans, adults have no predators in their range. Scientists and conservationists rarely study the animals directly due to their extreme rarity and the danger of interfering with such an endangered species. Researchers rely on camera traps and fecal samples to gauge health and behavior. Consequently, the Javan rhino is the least studied of all rhino species. (more...)
Recently featured: Amador Valley High School – Washington quarter – Vidkun Quisling
June 21
Dan Leno (1860–1904) was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era. He was perhaps best known, aside from his music hall act, for his dame roles in the annual pantomimes that were popular at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from 1888 to 1904. As a youth, he was famous for his clog dancing, and in his teen years, he became the star of his family's act. As a solo artist, he became increasingly popular during the late 1880s and 1890s, when he was one of the highest-paid comedians in the world. He developed a music hall act of talking about life's mundane subjects, mixed with comic songs and surreal observations, and created a host of mostly working-class characters to illustrate his stories. In 1901, still at the peak of his career, he performed his "Huntsman" sketch for Edward VII at Sandringham. The monarch was so impressed that Leno became publicly known as "the king's jester". Leno continued to appear in musical comedies and his own music hall routines until 1902, although he suffered increasingly from alcoholism. This, together with his long association with dame and low comedy roles, prevented him from being taken seriously as a dramatic actor. He suffered a mental breakdown in early 1903 and was committed to a mental asylum, but was discharged later that year. After one more show, his health declined, and he died aged 43. (more...)
Recently featured: Javan rhinoceros – Amador Valley High School – Washington quarter
June 22
Petrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. The park's headquarters are about 26 miles (42 km) east of Holbrook along Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels a railroad line, the Puerco River, and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about 146 square miles (380 km2), encompassing semi-desert shrub steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful badlands. The site, the northern part of which extends into the Painted Desert, was declared a National Monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. About 600,000 people visit the park each year and take part in activities including sightseeing, photography, hiking, and backpacking. The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago. The sediments containing the fossil logs are part of the widespread and colorful Chinle Formation, from which the Painted Desert gets its name. (more...)
Recently featured: Dan Leno – Javan rhinoceros – Amador Valley High School
June 23
Nansen's Fram expedition was an 1893–1896 attempt by the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen to reach the geographical North Pole by harnessing the natural east–west current of the Arctic Ocean. In the face of much discouragement from other polar explorers Nansen took his ship Fram to the New Siberian Islands in the eastern Arctic Ocean, froze her into the pack ice, and waited for the drift to carry her towards the pole. Impatient with the slow speed and erratic character of the drift, after 18 months Nansen and a chosen companion, Hjalmar Johansen, left the ship with a team of dogs and sledges and made for the pole. They did not reach it, but they achieved a record Farthest North latitude before a long retreat to Franz Josef Land. Meanwhile Fram continued to drift westward, finally emerging in the North Atlantic Ocean. The ship was rarely threatened during her long imprisonment, and emerged unscathed after three years. The scientific observations carried out during this period contributed significantly to the new discipline of oceanography, which subsequently became the main focus of Nansen's scientific work. Fram's drift and Nansen's sledge journey proved conclusively that there were no significant land masses between the Eurasian continents and the North Pole, and confirmed the general character of the north polar region as a deep, ice-covered sea. (more...)
Recently featured: Petrified Forest National Park – Dan Leno – Javan rhinoceros
June 24
Francis Walsingham (c.1532–1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". A committed Protestant, during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I of England he joined other expatriates in exile in Switzerland and northern Italy until Mary's death and the accession of her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth. Walsingham rose from relative obscurity to become one of the small coterie who directed the Elizabethan state, overseeing foreign, domestic and religious policy. He served as English ambassador to France in the early 1570s, and witnessed the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. As principal secretary, he was a supporter of exploration, colonization, the use of England's maritime power, and the plantation of Ireland. He worked to bring Scotland and England together. Overall, his foreign policy demonstrated a new understanding of the role of England as a maritime, Protestant power in an increasingly global economy. He oversaw operations that penetrated the heart of Spanish military preparation, gathered intelligence from across Europe, disrupted a range of plots against Elizabeth, and secured the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. (more...)
Recently featured: Nansen's Fram expedition – Petrified Forest National Park – Dan Leno
June 25
The first season of Homicide: Life on the Street, an American police procedural drama television series, originally aired in the United States on NBC between January 31 and March 31, 1993. Created by Paul Attanasio and adapted from the 1991 non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon (pictured), Homicide: Life on the Street followed the fictional detectives of the Baltimore Police Department homicide unit and the murder cases they investigate. The first season was broadcast Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST, with the exception of the series premiere, which aired immediately after Super Bowl XXVII. The season introduced regular cast members Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, Wendy Hughes, Clark Johnson, Yaphet Kotto, Melissa Leo, Jon Polito and Kyle Secor. Most of the primary characters were based on real-life Baltimore detectives from Simon's book, including Gary D'Addario, Terrence McLarney, Harry Edgerton, Donald Worden and Jay Landsman. Many of the season story arcs were also adapted from the book, most notably the 1988 Baltimore slaying of 11-year-old Latonya Kim Wallace, which was the basis for the murder case of Adena Watson in Homicide. The first season received consistently positive reviews, with several commentators declaring it one of the best shows on television at the time. However, the Nielsen ratings declined throughout the season, which Homicide producers attributed to a poor time-slot and heavy competition from the ABC comedies Home Improvement and Coach. The ratings led NBC executives to demand changes to the show before renewing Homicide for a second season. (more...)
Recently featured: Francis Walsingham – Nansen's Fram expedition – Petrified Forest National Park
June 26
The 1907 Tiflis bank robbery occurred on the morning of 26 June in the Georgian city of Tiflis (now Georgia's capital, Tbilisi). Wanting money to fund their revolutionary activities, Bolsheviks attacked a cash-filled bank stagecoach in the crowded Yerevan Square. The attack killed forty people and injured fifty others. The robbers escaped with 341,000 rubles (equivalent to around US $3.4 million today). The robbery was organized by a number of high-level Bolsheviks, including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Maxim Litvinov, Leonid Krasin, and Alexander Bogdanov, and executed by a gang led by Kamo. The Bolsheviks could not use most of the large bank notes obtained from the robbery because their serial numbers were known to the police. Kamo was the only major participant or organizer to ever be caught and tried for the robbery, and he was released from prison after the 1917 Revolution. Using robberies to fund revolutionary activities was explicitly prohibited by the 5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, and the robbery and the killings caused outrage within the party against its Bolshevik faction contributing to a split in the Bolshevik leadership. (more...)
Recently featured: Homicide: Life on the Street (season 1) – Francis Walsingham – Nansen's Fram expedition
June 27
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Located along the River Medway and Watling Street, Rochester was a strategically important royal castle. The first castle at Rochester was founded in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest. During the Rebellion of 1088, the castle first saw military action; the city and castle were besieged after Bishop Odo made Rochester a headquarters for the rebellion. After the garrison capitulated, this first castle was abandoned. It saw further action during the First Barons' War (1215–1217), the Second Barons' War (1264–1267), and the Peasants' Revolt (1381). The castle was opened to the public in the 1870s as a park. At various points during the 19th and 20th centuries repairs were carried out. The castle is protected as a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Monument. Today the ruins are in the guardianship of English Heritage and open to the public. (more...)
Recently featured: 1907 Tiflis bank robbery – Homicide: Life on the Street (season 1) – Francis Walsingham
June 28
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's relations with the Belyayev circle, which lasted from 1887 until Tchaikovsky's death, influenced all of their music and briefly helped shape the next generation of Russian composers. This group was named after timber merchant Mitrofan Belyayev, an influential music patron and publisher. By 1887, Tchaikovsky was firmly established as one of the leading composers in Russia. A favorite of Tsar Alexander III, he was widely regarded as a national treasure. As a result of the time Tchaikovsky spent with the Belyayev circle's leading composers—Alexander Glazunov, Anatoly Lyadov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov—the somewhat fraught relationship he had previously endured with The Five would eventually meld into something more harmonious. Over the long term, though, Tchaikovsky's influence over the Belyayev composers was not as great as his influence on The Five. They continued writing overall in a style more akin to Rimsky-Korsakov than to Tchaikovsky. Even Glazunov backed away from echoing Tchaikovsky strongly in his mature work, instead amalgamating nationalistic and cosmopolitan styles in an eclectic approach. The Belyayev composers also spread the nationalist musical aesthetic to Russia as a whole and were themselves an influence on composers well into the Soviet era. (more...)
Recently featured: Rochester Castle – 1907 Tiflis bank robbery – Homicide: Life on the Street (season 1)
June 29
Olivia Shakespear (1863–1938) was a British novelist, playwright, and patron of the arts. She wrote six books that are described as "marriage problem" novels. Her works sold poorly, sometimes only a few hundred copies. Her last novel, Uncle Hilary, is considered her best. She wrote two plays in collaboration with Florence Farr. In 1894 her literary interests led to a friendship with William Butler Yeats that became physically intimate in 1896. Following their consummation he declared that they "had many days of happiness" to come, but the affair ended in 1897. They nevertheless remained lifelong friends and corresponded frequently. Yeats went on to marry Georgie Hyde-Lees, Olivia's step-niece and her daughter Dorothy's best friend. Olivia began hosting a weekly salon frequented by Ezra Pound and other modernist writers and artists in 1909, and became influential in London literary society. Dorothy Shakespear married Pound in 1914, despite the less-than-enthusiastic blessing of her parents. After their marriage, Pound would use funds received from Olivia to support T. S. Eliot and James Joyce. When Dorothy gave birth to a son, Omar Pound, in France in 1926, Olivia assumed guardianship of the boy. He lived with Olivia until her death on 3 October 1938. (more...)
Recently featured: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the Belyayev circle – Rochester Castle – 1907 Tiflis bank robbery
June 30
Yogo sapphires are a variety of corundum found only in Yogo Gulch, Montana, part of the Little Belt Mountains in Judith Basin County, on land once inhabited by the Piegan Blackfeet people. Yogos are typically cornflower blue in color, a result of their containing trace amounts of iron and titanium. Many gemologists consider them among the finest sapphires in the world. They have high uniform clarity and maintain their brilliance under artificial light. Because Yogo sapphires occur within a vertically dipping resistive igneous dike, mining efforts have been sporadic and rarely profitable. It is estimated that at least 28 million carats (5.6 t) of Yogos are still in the ground. The Smithsonian Institution first reported on Yogos in the museum's annual report on June 30, 1899. Jewelry containing Yogos was given to First Ladies Florence Harding and Bess Truman; in addition, many gems were sold in Europe. Today, several Yogo sapphires are part of the Smithsonian Institution's gem collection. In 1969, the sapphire was co-designated along with the agate as Montana's state gemstones. (more...)
Recently featured: Olivia Shakespear – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the Belyayev circle – Rochester Castle