It's always a red letter day!

[Levin]

Brittany being annexed after the conquest of Tenochtitlan feels wrong.

[Discordant Resonance]

Brittany being annexed after the conquest of Tenochtitlan feels wrong.

You'd be surprised at how long it took the modern French boundaries to take shape - even before the Franco-Prussian War, Lorraine had been an independent duchy as recently as the 1760s.

[Discordant Resonance]

And of course, the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's construction.

[Discordant Resonance]

Today is the National Day of Pakistan, and also the day of the Paraguayan flag (famously, the only one where the reverse and obverse sides differ), it's also the feast day of St Maximilien Kolbe, who died at Auschwitz. The Earl of Tyrone led an Irish army to victory at the Battle of the Yellow Ford, in 1598, Ecuador and Bahrain also gained independence today (1825 and 1971), and the Atlantic Charter was agreed 80 years ago today. John Galsworthy (1867), Steve Martin (1945), Danielle Steele (1947), Magic Johnson (1959), Halle Berry (1966) and Mila Kunis (1983) were all born today, while deaths include Duncan (1040 - of Macbeth infamy), Berthold Brecht (1956), and Ted Kennedy (2009).

[Discordant Resonance]

The feast of the Assumption, of course, as well as the national day of Cajuns, Congo-Brazzaville, South Korea, India and Liechtenstein. Panama City was founded today in 1519, France conquered Corsica in 1768, the Panama Canal was inaugurated in 1914, VJ occurred in 1945, Woodstock began in 1969, and it is the 23rd anniversary of the Omagh bombing. Napoleon and Walter Scott were born in 1769 and 1771 respectively, as were Julia Child (1912), Oscar Romero (1917), Princess Anne (1950) , Ben Affleck (1972) and Jennifer Lawrence (1990). Appropriately, Duncan yesterday is followed by Macbeth (1057) today, René Magritte (1967) and Dalian Atkinson (2016).

[ursus arctos]

Acadians, rather than Cajuns, especially as it is observed in Canada rather than Louisiana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Acadian_Day

[Discordant Resonance]

No national holidays today, though Cyprus did gain independence from Britain in 1960, and Elvis left the building in 1977. The Peterloo massacre occurred in 1819, and the Ramones held their first concert in CBGB, in 1974. Births include Lawrence of Arabia (1888), Menachem Begin, while amusingly Madonna and Diane Dodds are the same age (born 1958). Other deaths include Andrew Marvell (1678), Margaret Mitchell (1949), Bela Lugosi (1956), Idi Amin (2003), Ronnie Drew (2008) and Aretha Franklin (2018).

[Discordant Resonance]

The 17th of August is the final day of Thermidor in the French republican calendar (in the 229th year), the independence days of Indonesia (1945) and Gabon (1960) and the Rastafarian celebration of Marcus Garvey's birthday (1887), also Black Cat Day, depending on which side of the luck divide you fall on. The Battle of Smolensk began in 1812, the Quebec Conference occurred in 1943, and Imran Khan became Pakistani PM 4 years ago today. Births include Pierre de Fermat (1601), Davy Crockett (1786), Mae West (1893), Maureen O'Hara (1920), Robert de Niro (1943), Belinda Carlisle (1958) and Thierry Henry (1977). Frederick the Great (1786), Irene Nemirovsky (who wrote Suite Francaise - 1942), Ira Gershwin (1983) and Rudolf Hess (1987) are today's most noteworthy deaths.

[Antepli Ejderha]

It's also the anniversary of the Marmara Earthquake that killed thousands in 1999.

[Guy Profumo]

(Yesterday was the anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre)

[Discordant Resonance]

(Yesterday was the anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre)

See post #32.

[Guy Profumo]

See post #32.

Balls

I can't be blamed if my valet merely skim read the post and didn't notice information buried inside a thick block of text


Or for that matter, read it myself

[Discordant Resonance]

Following on from yesterday, it's the start of Fructidor in the French revolutionary calendar, and the feast of St Helen, whose influence on son Constantine saw Christianity adopted as the religion of the Roman Empire. Women got the right to vote in the USA today in 1920, and Sukarno became the first Indonesian president in 1945. Virginia Dare was the first colonial child born in the American colonies in 1587, while John Russell (1792), Franz-Josef I (1830), Rosalynn Carter (1927), Robert Redford (1936) and Christian Slater (1969) were also born today. Deaths include Genghis [Temujin] Khan (1227), Honoré de Balzac (1850), Elmer Bernstein (2004) and Kofi Annan (2018).

[Discordant Resonance]

Topically, today is Independence Day in Afghanistan, the UN Day of Humanitarian Aid, and National Aviation Day in the US. The Dieppe raids occurred in 1942, the first non-communist Polish PM since WWII was elected in 1989, and the coup against Gorbachev began 30 years ago. John Dryden was born today in 1631, as were Orville Wright (1871), Coco Chanel (1883), Gene Roddenberry (1921), Jill St John (1940), Bill Clinton (1946) and Jonathan Frakes (1952). Augustus died today in 14 AD, as did Blaise Pascal (1662), James Watt (1819), Federico Garcia Lorca (1936), Groucho Marx (1977) and Mo Mowlam (2005).

[Levin]

I feel I should know this but are the Polish election and the Soviet coup directly related? Or more parallel?

[Discordant Resonance]

The Soviet coup was much further down the line - not only had the Iron Curtain states become fully democratic, but the Baltic States were already virtually independent, and Yeltsin had begun as parallel Russian president even while Gorbachev was still Soviet leader, so by this stage the generals were like Canute trying to hold back the tide of democratisation and dissolution, but merely accelerated the process instead.

[Discordant Resonance]

Estonia regained independence 30 years ago today (most Western countries never recognised the Soviet annexation), while it's also the national day of Hungary, and the micronation of Seborga. Charles Darwin published the Origin of Species in 1859, the 1812 Overture premiered in 1882, while the NASA probes Viking 1 and Voyager 2 were launched in 1975 and 1977 respectively. Births include Benjamin Harrison (1833), HP Lovecraft (1890), Robert Plant (1948), Amy Adams (1974) and Demi Lovato (1992). Not too many deaths of note, with William Booth (1912), Elmore Leonard (2013) and Jerry Lewis (2017) the pick of the bunch.

[Discordant Resonance]

The 21st of August is the UN Day for Victims of Terrorism, and Benigno Aquino Day in the Philippines. The first shogunate (Kamakura) was inaugurated in Japan in 1192, Nat Turner's Rebellion began in 1831, and the first Marian vision at Knock occurred in 1879. Hawaii became the last US state in 1959, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia began in 1968, and Latvia regained independence in 1991. William IV was born in 1765, as were Bugs Moran (1893), Count Basie (1904), Princess Margaret (1930), Kim Cattrall (1956) and Robert Lewandowski (1988). Sadly, Trotsky (1940), Robert Moog (2005) and Albert Reynolds (2014) are no longer with us.

[ad hoc]

it's also the national day of Hungary,

I learned yesterday for the first time that it's also called "New Bread Day", and it's a tradition in Hungary to make bread from the newly harvested wheat. We had guests last night who brought a loaf with them (hence me learning this). This apparently stems from Communist times as August 20th is the national day because it is the saint's day of St. Istvan (a different one from the one that's on Boxing Day, this one is sort of the founder of the Hungarian nation). Anyway, because it wasn't really fitting with the ethos of the political system to celebrate a saint's day, they made this new bread thing to be a symbol of the day.

[Discordant Resonance]

Today is the day of the Ukrainian flag, and the UN day commemorating the slave trade. It was a significant day in Roman history, with Augustus executing Mark Anthony in 30 BC, and Odoacer proclaimed King of Italy in 476 AD, marking the fall of the Empire. William Wallace was executed in 1305, Tokugawa Ieyasu gained dominance in Japan in 1600, and the Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed in 1939. Louis XVI was born in 1754, as were Gene Kelly (1912), Keith Moon (1946), Shelley Long (1949), River Phoenix (1970) and Kobe Bryant (1978). Abu Bakr, the first caliph, died in 634, as did Rudolph Valentino (1912) and Oscar Hammerstein (1960).

[Discordant Resonance]

August 22nd was Russian Flag Day, Firepersons' Day in Mexico and Human Rights Day in Uruguay. The Battle of Bosworth occurred in 1485, while the English Civil War (as opposed to the Wars of the Three Kingdoms) began in 1642, and Hoche's French fleet in support of the 1798 rebellion set sail. The Red Cross was founded in 1864, Japan annexed Korea in 1910, and Henry Kissinger became Secretary of State in 1973. Births included Claude Debussy (1862), Dorothy Parker (1893), Deng Xiaoping (1904), Honor Blackman (1925), Tori Amos (1963) and Dua Lipa (1995). Among those dead were Warren Hastings (1818), Michael Collins (1922) and Jomo Kenyatta (1978).

[Discordant Resonance]

August 24 is the 30th anniversary of Ukrainian Independence Day, and the national holiday of the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy, while Virgo begins today. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, Alaric sacked Rome in 410, while Pope Innocent III invalidated the Magna Carta in 1215. The Bartholomew's Day Massacre of the Huguenots occurred in 1572, the Declaration of the Rights of Man was adopted in 1789, NATO began operations in 1949, and Pluto was downgraded in 2006. Those celebrating today include Jorge Luis Borges (1899), Yasser Arafat (1929), Paulo Coelho (1948) and Stephen Fry (1957). We mourn Pliny the Elder (who died in that Vesuvian eruption), Napper Tandy (1803), Louis Prima (1978) and Richard Attenborough (2014).

[Discordant Resonance]

Continuing the weekly theme, Belarus declared independence on August 25, 1991, while it's also the National Day of Uruguay, and the micronation of Parva Domus. Gibraltar was conquered by England in 1704, the Kuomintang was founded in 1912, the liberation of Paris occurred in 1944, and the Linux OS was launched 30 years ago today. Births include Ivan the Terrible (1534), Irish Olympian Tom Kiely (1869), Sean Connery (1930), Elvis Costello (1954) and Tim Burton (1958). A particularly scientific death day for James Watt (1819), William Herschel (1822) and Michael Faraday (1867), along with Ted Kennedy (2009), Neil Armstrong (2012) and John McCain (2018).

[Discordant Resonance]

Today is World Dog Day, and the 101th anniversary of American female suffrage. The Battle of Crécy was fought in 1346, Captain Cook began his first circumnavigation in 1768, and Albino Luciani was elected John Paul I in 1978. Joseph Montgolfier was born today in 1740, as were Antoine Lavoisier (1743), Peggy Guggenheim (1898), Christopher Isherwood (1904), Mother Teresa (1910), Melissa McCarthy (1970) and Macaulay Culkin (1980). Those who left us include Ralph Vaughan Williams (1958), Charles Lindbergh (1974) and Neil Simon (2018).

[Discordant Resonance]

Incidentally, Culkin is the exact same age as Chris Pine.