King Henry VIII of England Marries Sixth and Last Wife, Catherine Parr (1543)

By 1543, Henry VIII had had five marriages, which respectively ended in one divorce, one annulment, and three deaths—two by beheading. He then married Parr, his sixth and final wife. She had a good influence on the increasingly paranoid king—her third husband—and developed close friendships with his children, even acting as guardian of one of Henry’s daughters after his death in 1547. Why, then, did Parr send her beloved stepdaughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I, away the next year? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Oscar Hammerstein II (1895)

The grandson of an opera impresario of the same name, Hammerstein studied law before beginning the theater career that made him one of the foremost songwriters in the US. In the early 1940s, he began a prolific and successful collaboration with Richard Rodgers that resulted in plays like The King and I, The Sound of Music, and the Pulitzer Prize winners Oklahoma! and South Pacific. How did New York City honor Hammerstein following his death in August 1960? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Atenism

One of the earliest monotheistic religions, Atenism was introduced during the 14th century BCE by Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, later known by his adopted name, Akhenaten. After raising the obscure sun god known as Aten to the status of supreme god, Akhenaten declared the solar deity the only god and forbade the worship of all others. Atenism remained Egypt’s state religion for approximately 20 years before falling out of favor. What events may have motivated the adoption of Atenism? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Skylab Returns to Earth (1979)

Five years after it was abandoned in orbit, the US space laboratory Skylab began to fall back toward Earth. The impending re-entry and breakup became an international media event, as it was unclear exactly when or where the debris would land. News organizations went so far as to offer rewards for surviving pieces of the spacecraft. The debris finally crashed to Earth in Western Australia, earning NASA a $400 fine for littering from the Shire of Esperance. When was the fine paid? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Fast of the 17th of Tammuz

The Fast of Tammuz commemorates the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, when the Babylonians conquered Judah and destroyed the Temple. After 70 years the people returned and rebuilt the Temple. The Roman army breached the walls of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE, dooming both the city and its Temple for the second time. This time the destruction and the scattering of the people had a far more tragic finality. Another event associated with this day is the shattering of the first Tablets of the Law by Moses. The Fast begins Three Weeks of mourning lasting until Tisha be-Av. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Plant Reproduction

Unlike animals, plants are immobile and cannot actively seek out partners for reproduction. The first plants were aquatic and used abiotic factors, like water and wind, to carry male gametes to female reproductive structures. As plants moved from water onto land, they developed motile sperm cells that could travel via a thin film of water. Eventually, many plants evolved the pollen and seed structures common today. How do some plants attract the insect pollinators vital to their reproduction? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary