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It's always a red letter day!

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    It's always a red letter day!

    The 4th of August is the National Day of the Cook Islands, as well as the 38th anniversary of the Sankara Revolution in what was renamed Burkina Faso exactly one year later. It is the feast day of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, also commemorated in a noted Koranic surah, and the 61st anniversary of the independence of DR Congo. Anne Frank was arrested today in 1944, while more pleasant anniversaries include the marriage of Mozart and the start of the Billboard 100.

    #2
    The 5th of August is the fifth annual World Breastfeeding Day, and continuing the Burkina theme, Upper Volta gained independence today in 1960 (appropriate that the nation won its first Olympic medal today in the triple jump). On a more sombre note, Croatia launched the Krajina offensive on this day in 1995, while King Oswald of Northumbria, died today in 642. Carmen Miranda, Marilyn Monroe, Richard Burton and Tony Morrison all breathed their last today, while entering the world were Joan Hickson, John Huston, Neil Armstrong and Marine Le Pen. Finally, it's the 163rd anniversary of the transatlantic telegraph and the 54th of Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

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      #3
      Not sure if we have any posters of Jamaican heritage here, but the 6th of August marks the island's Independence Day in 1962, while it's also the National Day of Bolivia, and the 76th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. The Holy Roman Empire came to an end today in 1806, and the Tottenham unrest began in 2011. Tim Berners-Lee unveiled an invention called the World Wide Web (sic) exactly 30 years ago, and Rosetta landed on a comet in 2014. Notable births include Daniel O'Connell, Lord Tennyson, Alexander Fleming, Robert Mitchum and Andy Warhol, while celebs who passed away encompass Velasquez, Batista, Paul VI, Robin Cook and John Hughes.

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        #4
        Apparently there was a request for a coordinated minute's silence in today's events to mark the Hiroshima anniversary but the IOC refused, and mumbled something about mentioning it in the closing ceremony.

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          #5
          Today is the national day of Côte d'Ivoire, which gained independence from France on the 7th of August, 1960, while the decisive 1819 Battle of Boyaca guaranteed the independence of Gran Colombia, which also included Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela. The US Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution today in 1964, facilitating participation in the Vietnam War, Viking 2 entered Martian orbit in 1976, while the South Ossetian War began in 2008. The infamous Transylvanian murderer, Countess Bathory, was born today in 1560, alongside Bruce Dickinson (1958), David Duchovny (1960) and Jimmy Wales (Mr Wikipedia) in 1966. Slim pickings in terms of deaths, with Rabindranath Tagore (1941), Oliver Hardy (1957), Mary McLeod Trump (2000) and Larry Adler (2001) most prominent.

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            #6
            I wouldn't call the death of the great Oliver Hardy "slim pickings" in any sense of the phrase.

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              #7
              The 8th of August sees some more quirky national celebrations, from National Chocolate Day in Chile, to Farmers' Day in Tanzania and more globally, International Cat Day. Mary MacKillop, the first Australian saint, is commemorated today, as is Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order. The Abbey Road cover photo was shot today in 1969, Edison invented the fax machine in 1876, and it's the 58th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery. Matthew Henson, the Arctic explorer was born in 1866, as were Emilio Zapata (1879), Paul Dirac (1902), Dustin Hoffman (1937), Louis van Gaal (1951), The Edge (1961) and Beatrice (1988). Deaths include Trajan (117), Canning (1827), Fay Wray (2001) and Glen Campbell (2017).

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                #8
                The anniversary of this too
                https://www.npr.org/2013/08/08/20991...-1988-uprising

                Also EIM's birthday

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                  #9
                  I misread Trajan as Tarzan. Momentarily.

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                    #10
                    Today is the national day of Singapore, which was actually expelled from Malaysia on this date in 1965, along with National Womens' Day in South Africa, the beginning of AH 1443 in the Islamic calendar, and International Indigenous Peoples' Day. Edward VII was crowned today in 1902, the bombing of Nagasaki occurred in 1945, internment was introduced in NI exactly 50 years ago, Nixon resigned as US President in 1974, and a little-known KGB agent called Vladimir Putin became Russian PM in 1999. Izaak Walton was born in 1593, along with Philip Larkin (1929), Rod Laver (1938) and Whitney Houston (1963). Breathing their last were Hieronymus Bosch (1516), Hermann Hesse (1962), Sharon Tate (1969), Shostakovich (1975) and Jerry Garcia (1995).

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                      #11
                      So when it's the anniversary of something before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. That's just saying it's x years since it was the yth of zember? People don't do the adjustment do they?

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                        #12
                        See March, the Ides of

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Levin View Post
                          So when it's the anniversary of something before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. That's just saying it's x years since it was the yth of zember? People don't do the adjustment do they?
                          With George Washington's birthday, for example, it will generally be given by historians in the New Style form of February 22, rather than the Old Style of February 11. Even more complicating in his case is that he was born before the calendar switchover, when the Julian year began on March 25 - nevertheless, his year has been corrected to 1732.

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by Discordant Resonance View Post
                            International Indigenous Peoples' Day.
                            Is that an oxymoron?

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                              #15
                              A UN event, so pretty much a global celebration of native communities.

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                                #16
                                Originally posted by Discordant Resonance View Post

                                With George Washington's birthday, for example, it will generally be given by historians in the New Style form of February 22, rather than the Old Style of February 11. Even more complicating in his case is that he was born before the calendar switchover, when the Julian year began on March 25 - nevertheless, his year has been corrected to 1732.
                                It never ceases to amaze me that (in England at any rate) the year number only changed at Lady Day (25 March) until 1752. So, 31 December 1750 was followed by 1 January 1750, then 24 March 1750 was followed by 25 March 1751. The Scots seemed to have made this change in 1600 - once again proving that they are more up-to-date (or possibly less anti-Catholic....oh....hang on). Presumably the US* followed England in this system, then? Must have made things interesting for James VI/I (and following monarchs, of course) who would therefore have been in different years from January to March depending on which part of his kingdom he was in....
                                *EDIT - I realise, of course, that the US didn't come into existence until several years later
                                Last edited by jdsx; 09-08-2021, 13:04.

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                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by jdsx View Post

                                  It never ceases to amaze me that (in England at any rate) the year number only changed at Lady Day (25 March) until 1752. So, 31 December 1750 was followed by 1 January 1750, then 24 March 1750 was followed by 25 March 1751. The Scots seemed to have made this change in 1600 - once again proving that they are more up-to-date (or possibly less anti-Catholic....oh....hang on). Presumably the US* followed England in this system, then? Must have made things interesting for James VI/I (and following monarchs, of course) who would therefore have been in different years from January to March depending on which part of his kingdom he was in....
                                  *EDIT - I realise, of course, that the US didn't come into existence until several years later
                                  And it seems Irish Catholics occasionally did or did not adopt the new calendar over the subsequent 170 yeats.

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                                    #18
                                    And A-level results day as it's always known in England and Wales as "Clarkson Day"

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                                      #19
                                      Congrats to all Ecuadorians, as the 10th of August is their Independence Day, also it's the feast day of St Lawrence, who was famously roasted to death. Magellan began his circumnavigatory voyage today in 1519, the French monarchy was abolished in 1792, the Louvre was opened as a museum today in 1793, work on Mount Rushmore began in 1927, and Antarctica was declared an international territory in 1960, with all claims ostensibly frozen. Henri Nestlé was born on this day in 1814, along with Herbert Hoover (1874), Eddie Fisher (1928), Anita Lonsborough (1941) and Kendall Jenner (1997). Only two deaths of note - Tony Wilson in 2007, and Isaac Hayes in 2008.

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                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by Guy Profumo View Post
                                        And A-level results day as it's always known in England and Wales as "Clarkson Day"
                                        Because Jeremy always tut-tuts about grand inflation?

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                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by Discordant Resonance View Post
                                          Antarctica was declared an international territory in 1960, with all claims ostensibly frozen.
                                          Very well done

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                                            #22
                                            Originally posted by Discordant Resonance View Post
                                            Breathing their last were ... Sharon Tate (1969),
                                            Wasn't she brutally murdered? Feels slightly awkward that.

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                                              #23
                                              The 11th of August is Chadian Independence Day, which as in most French colonies, happened in 1960. The Mayan calendar began its first cycle in 3114 BC, the battle of Thermopylae occurred in 480 BC, Simón Bolivar became president of his eponymous country in 1825, the Weimar Republic was inaugurated in 1919, while 80 years later, a total solar eclipse was visible across Europe and Asia. Enid Blyton was born today in 1897, as were Alex Haley (1921), Boris Karloff (1925), Steve Wozniak (1950) and Hulk Hogan (1953). Dying today were Hamnet Shakespeare (1596), Jackson Pollock (1956), Peter Cushing (1994) and Robin Williams (2014).

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                                                #24
                                                Traditionally the Glorious Twelfth, today now more palatably marks International Youth Day. The Battle of Mohacs, which saw large areas of Hungary conquered by Austria, occurred in 1687, PSG were founded today in 1970, and the IBM PC was launched in 1981. George IV (1762), Robert Southey (1774), Erwin Schrödinger (1887), the other George Hamilton (1939), Mark Knopfler (1949), Francois Hollande (1954), Pete Sampras (1971) and Mario Balotelli (1990) were all born today, while Cleopatra (30 BC), William Blake (1827), Thomas Mann (1955), Ian Fleming (1964), Henry Fonda (1982), John Cage (1992) and Lauren Bacall (2014) all left the stage.

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                                                  #25
                                                  It's Central African Republic Independence Day (again, 1960), the beginning of Bon in Japan, and the International Day of Lefthanders (ciotógs, as we say here). Cortes captured Tenochtitlan today in 1521, France annexed Brittany in 1532, Cardinal Richelieu became chief advisor to Louis XIII in 1624, and Maryam Mirzakhani became the first female Fields Medallist in 2014. Births today include Giovanni Agnelli (Fiat founder) in 1866, John Logie Baird (1888), Alfred Hitchcock (1899), Fidel Castro (1926), and Alan Shearer (1970). Meanwhile, Eugčne Delacroix (1863), Florence Nightingale (1910), HG Wells (1946) and Julia Child (2012) died today.

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