History, anything goes, including pictures

February 27

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John Steinbeck born on this day
Why Famous:
Steinbeck's work sought to detail the rural working class in America and their economic and social conditions.

His most famous work "The Grapes of Wrath", published in 1939, followed a family of Oklahoma tenant farmers escaping the dust bowl for California and won the Pulitzer prize in 1940.

His other works included "Of Mice and Men" (1937) and "East of Eden" (1952). Many of his works were filmed in his own lifetime, with James Dean making his starring debut in "East of Eden".
 
February 27

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John Steinbeck born on this day
Why Famous:
Steinbeck's work sought to detail the rural working class in America and their economic and social conditions.

His most famous work "The Grapes of Wrath", published in 1939, followed a family of Oklahoma tenant farmers escaping the dust bowl for California and won the Pulitzer prize in 1940.

His other works included "Of Mice and Men" (1937) and "East of Eden" (1952). Many of his works were filmed in his own lifetime, with James Dean making his starring debut in "East of Eden".
Spent many happy hours reading stories by this master of the word.
 

27 February 1788 – A seventeen-year-old convict, Thomas Barrett, receives the first death sentence in the colony of NSW.

Barrett was an accomplished engraver, however, on 27 February 1788, Thomas Barrett became the first person legally executed in Great Britain’s Australian colonies when he was hanged at Sydney Cove for stealing from government stores. It was barely a month after the First Fleet had arrived from England to found the penal colony.

This Charlotte Medal engraved by Barrett is one of the most celebrated artefacts of Australian colonisation; it depicts the HMAS Charlotte at anchor in Botany Bay with a narration on the reverse of its long journey from home.

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27 February 1997 – The Gang-gang cockatoo is adopted as the faunal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory.

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During winter in Canberra small flocks of Gang-gang cockatoos are common in gardens around the city where they feed on pine cones, firethorn and hawthorn berries. They are often so busy feeding that observers can get close enough to admire their beautiful plumage. In summer most of the flocks return to the mountain forests. Their distinctive call resembles the sound of a squeaking gate.
 
Pompeii archaeologists find an intact ceremonial chariot.

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The chariot, with its iron elements, bronze decorations and mineralised wooden remains, was found in the ruins of a settlement north of Pompeii, beyond the walls of the ancient city, parked in the portico of a stable where the remains of three horses were previously discovered. The chariot was spared when the walls and roof of the structure it was in collapsed.

Details like these were carved into the side of the chariot.


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Experts believe it was likely used in festivities and parades, with the find described as "exceptional" and "in an excellent state of preservation".
 
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March 1
1872 Yellowstone becomes the world's 1st national park
On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the law creating Yellowstone as the world's first National Park.


Thank you Mr Grant, you started something wonderful.

When we visited Yellowstone, there were hardly any bison around but I managed to get a pic.
Pic won't load, says it's too big, however, resizing it didn't work either.
 
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1 March 1565 – The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded in Brazil.

Portugese explorers first encountered Guanabara Bay on 1 January 1502, hence the name Rio de Janeiro, “January River”. The city of Rio de Janeiro proper was founded by the Portuguese on 1 March 1565 and was named Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, in honour of St. Sebastian, the saint who was the namesake and patron of the then Portuguese monarch Sebastiao; Rio de Janeiro was the Portugese name of Guanabara Bay.

Founding of Rio de Janeiro on 1 March 1565.

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Rio de Janeiro today.

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2 March 1484 – The College of Arms is formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.

The College of Arms, sometimes referred to as the College of Heralds, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and much of the Commonwealth including Australia and New Zealand. The College was founded by royal charter on 2 March 1484 by King Richard III.

The coat of arms of the College of Arms. Portrait of Richard III of England, Society of Antiquaries, London. Commemorative stamps. Heralds in procession to St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle for the annual service of the Order of the Garter.

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The heralds are appointed by the British Sovereign and are delegated authority to act on behalf of the Crown in all matters of heraldry, the granting of new coats of arms, genealogical research and the recording of pedigrees. The College is also the official body responsible for matters relating to the flying of flags on land, and it maintains the official registers of flags and other national symbols.
 
2 March 1657 – In Japan, the three-day Great Fire of Meireki occurs in Edo (now Tokyo) causing more than 100,000 deaths.

The fire was said to have been started accidentally by a priest who was cremating an allegedly cursed kimono. The kimono had been owned in succession by three teenage girls who all died before ever being able to wear it. When the garment was being burned, a large gust of wind fanned the flames causing the wooden temple to ignite.

The Great fire of Meireki destroyed 60–70% of Edo and is estimated to have claimed over 100,000 lives. Handscroll depicting scenes from the Great Fire of Meireki. Edo-Tokyo Museum.

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The fire spread quickly through the city, due to hurricane-force winds which were blowing from the northwest. Edo, like most Japanese cities and towns at the time, and like most of those in mainland East Asia, was built primarily from wood and paper. The buildings were especially dry due to a drought the previous year, and the roads and other open spaces between buildings were small and narrow, allowing the fire to spread and grow particularly quickly.
 
RnR, did you se in the news around 2016 where they found his skeleton after 500 years buried under a construction site?
 
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2 March 1971 – Leadbeater’s Possum is proclaimed the official faunal emblem of Victoria, Australia.

As far as is known, Leadbeater’s possum, Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, lives only in Victoria. It is confined to the mountain ash forests of the central highlands, from Healesville and Marysville to Mt Baw Baw.

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Somayeh Mehri from this viral photo has died from complications due to acid attack.

A woman whose husband threw acid in her face in 2011 died after pulmonary complications. Somayeh Mehri died on 13 April 2015 in a Tehran hospital four years after the attack that left her disfigured and with severe breathing problems.

According to the Kerman division of the Iranian Students’ NewsAgency, Mehri’s husband, a drug addict, attacked Mehri and her youngest daughter, Rana, in ther home in Bam county, Kerman province.

Mehri’s condition deteriorated and she was taken to the hospital and placed under an oxygen tent on Sunday, April 12 after her breathing problems intensified. She is survived by Rana, and her other daughter, Nazanin.
 
March 3
1887 Anne Sullivan begins teaching 6 year old blind-deaf Helen Keller

Anne Sullivan
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Anne Sullivan was a gifted teacher best known for her work with Helen Keller, a blind and deaf child she taught to communicate. At only 20 years of age, Sullivan showed great maturity and ingenuity in teaching Keller and worked hard with her pupil, bringing both women much acclaim. Sullivan even helped Keller write her autobiography.

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Helen Keller
Why Famous: First deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.

Born: 27 June 1880,
Birthplace: Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA
Star Sign: Cancer
Died: 1 June 1968 (aged 87)
 
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Girls show up at Abraham Lincoln High School, Brooklyn, NY in protest because a classmate, Beverly Bernstein, was suspended the day before for wearing slacks. 1942
 

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