The Great Toronto Fire

The Great Toronto Fire of 1904 began in a factory in downtown Toronto, the capital city of Ontario, Canada, and spread to more than 100 other buildings before it was extinguished. For nine hours, Toronto’s firefighters—as well as firefighters from Hamilton, Ontario, and Buffalo, New York, that had come to help—braved strong winds and sub-zero temperatures as they fought to bring the blaze under control. What was the total estimated value of the property damaged by the fire? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Philippine Declaration of Independence (1898)

After Spain’s defeat at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War, Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands. However, neither the US nor Spain recognized Philippine independence. Instead, the Spanish government ceded the islands to the US in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, sparking a period of hostilities between US and Filipino forces. When did the US finally recognize the islands’ independence? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Philippines Independence Day

Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) declared the Philippines independent on June 12, 1898. But the U.S. acquired the islands in 1899, and it wasn’t until July 4, 1946, that they were granted full independence. For many years, Filipinos set aside July 4 to celebrate their independence. In 1962, the date was changed to June 12. Independence Day ceremonies in Manila include a military parade and the pealing of church bells. After the ceremonies are over, Filipinos devote the remainder of the day to recreation. There are games and athletic competitions, fireworks displays, and Independence Day balls. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

John Augustus Roebling (1806)

Roebling was a German-American civil engineer and pioneer in suspension bridge design. After demonstrating the practicability of steel cable and establishing a plant for manufacturing it, he built the Allegheny Suspension Bridge, the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge, and a number of other spans. His most ambitious project was the Brooklyn Bridge, but it also led to his death. Early in the construction process, he suffered a foot injury, developed tetanus, and died. Who took over in his place? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Thermopylae

Thermopylae is a narrow coastal passage between Locris and Thessaly in Greece that has been the site of several battles. There in 480 BCE, Leonidas with his Spartans and their allies lost a heroic battle to the Persians under Xerxes. At the pass in 279 BCE, the Greeks held back the Gauls under Brennus, who ultimately broke through, and, in 191 BCE, Antiochus III of Syria was defeated there by the Romans. What does “Thermopylae” mean in Greek? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Thich Quang Duc Commits Self-Immolation (1963)

In the early 1960s, the policies of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, a member of the Catholic minority, generated claims of religious bias against the vast Buddhist majority. In 1963, Duc, a Buddhist monk, protested by dousing himself with gasoline and burning himself to death at a Saigon intersection. Photos of his self-immolation quickly spread around the world, and the event is widely seen as the turning point that led to a regime change. Which of Duc’s organs has been preserved? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

St. Barnabas’s Day

Before England adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, June 11 was the day of the Summer Solstice. In addition to being the longest day of the year, it was also St. Barnabas‘s Day (or Barnaby Day), and this association gave rise to the old English jingle, “Barnaby bright, Barnaby bright, the longest day and the shortest night.” It was customary on this day for the priests and clerks in the Church of England to wear garlands of roses and to decorate the church with them. Other names for this day were Long Barnaby and Barnaby Bright. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

John Constable (1776)

One of the greatest 19th-century British landscape painters, Constable is known primarily for his renditions of the area surrounding his home, which has come to be known as “Constable country.” Constable’s free use of broken color and his direct observations of nature were extraordinary in his day. He received only modest recognition at home, being tardily admitted to the Royal Academy in 1829, but was more readily accepted in France. What French school of landscape painting did he influence? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary