Month: April 2016

Construction of St. Peter’s Basilica Begins (1506)

With a capacity of over 60,000 people, St. Peter’s Basilica is the one of the world’s largest churches as well as one of the world’s holiest Catholic sites. Begun by Pope Julius II in 1506 and completed more than a century later, it was built to replace Old St. Peter’s, erected by Constantine over Peter’s traditional burial site. Michelangelo and Bernini were among its many architects, and a number of their masterpieces adorn its interior. Why is St. Peter’s not considered a cathedral? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Patriots’ Day

The Battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, marked the beginning of the American Revolution on April 19, 1775. Residents of Maine and Massachusetts have observed Patriots’ Day since the 18th century with costume parades, flag-raising ceremonies, and reenactments of the battles and the famous rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes, who were sent to warn their comrades in Concord of the British troops’ approach. Sometimes, this day is referred to as Lexington Day or Battles of Lexington and Concord Day. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Clarence Darrow (1857)

Darrow was an American lawyer and a leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union. He worked to free anarchists charged with murder in the Haymarket Riot, and his defense of Eugene V. Debs established his reputation as a union lawyer. Later came sensational criminal cases that displayed his eminence as a defense lawyer, especially the Loeb-Leopold murder case. Perhaps his most famous case was the Scopes trial, in which he defended a high school teacher who was charged with what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ziggurats

A ziggurat is a pyramidal structure built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform with a shrine at its summit. Access to the shrine is provided by a series of ramps located on one side of the temple or by a continuous spiral ramp. These temples—the earliest examples of which date to the end of the third millennium BCE—were commonly erected by the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. What is the significance of the multicolored brick facings found on many ziggurats? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ill-Fated Apollo 13 Spacecraft Returns to Earth Safely (1970)

Less than a year after the first lunar landing, Apollo 13 departed for the moon. Two days into the mission, an oxygen tank exploded, severely damaging the spacecraft’s electrical system, and the landing had to be aborted. Despite limited power, loss of cabin heat, a shortage of potable water, and the need to improvise a carbon dioxide removal system, the craft returned safely to Earth. The immortal line from the mission—”Houston, we have a problem”—is a misquote. What was actually said? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary