First Arbor Day Celebrated (1872)

Generally observed on the last Friday in April, Arbor Day is an unofficial US holiday designated as a day for planting trees. The holiday was founded by agriculturist Julius Sterling Morton, a Nebraska resident who believed that the prairies were in need of more trees to serve as windbreaks, hold moisture in the soil, and provide lumber for housing. To this end, he proposed that a specific day be set aside for the planting of trees. About how many trees were planted on the first Arbor Day? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Joseph Pulitzer (1847)

Born in Hungary, Pulitzer immigrated to the US during the Civil War and served in the Union Army. He later became a reporter and purchased and founded several newspapers, establishing the pattern of the modern newspaper by combining investigative reporting with publicity stunts, self-advertising, and sensationalism. In his will, he established the Pulitzer Prizes, annual awards for achievements in American journalism, letters, and music. What famous saying about journalism is attributed to him? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Flu

Influenza, commonly known as “flu,” is a highly contagious viral disease that is characterized by fever, respiratory symptoms, fatigue, and muscle pain. The word influenza stems from the Latin root influentia, meaning “influence of the stars,” because before people knew that organisms cause disease, they thought that the stars influenced the spread of influenza. Between 1918 and 1919, how many people were killed in a worldwide lethal flu pandemic? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

4-Year-Old Credited With Saving Mom’s Life by Unlocking Her Phone and Calling for Help

A 4-year-old boy may have saved his mother’s life when he managed to unlock her iPhone and call his father for help after he found her unconscious on Sunday night.
Dr. Jeremy Vaughan was at his office when he received the frightening call from his …”
Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

NASA Announces the “Mercury Seven” (1959)

Project Mercury was the first successful manned spaceflight program of the US. It ran from 1959 through 1963 with the goal of putting a man in orbit around the Earth. The first Americans to venture into space were drawn from a group of 110 military pilots chosen for their flight test experience and their satisfaction of certain physical requirements; seven were selected to be astronauts in April 1959 and were quickly dubbed the “Mercury Seven.” How many of them went on to fly Mercury missions? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Bataan Day

This is a national legal holiday in the Philippines, in commemoration of the disastrous World War II Battle of Bataan in 1942, in which the Philippines fell to the Japanese. It is also known as Araw ng Kagitingan, or Heroes Day. Also remembered on this date are the 37,000 US and Filipino soldiers who were captured, and the thousands who died during the infamous 70-mile “death march” from Mariveles to a Japanese concentration camp inland at San Fernando. Ceremonies are held at Mt. Samat Shrine, the site of side-by-side fighting by Filipino and American troops. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Jørn Utzon (1918)

Utzon was a Danish architect who, in 1957, won a competition to design Australia’s Sydney Opera House, which was completed in 1973 and was declared a World Heritage Site in 2007. Utzon is only the second architect in history to see his work assigned this status during his lifetime. In 1966, after designing the opera house’s distinctive roof—a series of glittering white shell-shaped vaults—and spending nearly a decade on the project, Utzon was forced to resign mid-project. Why? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary