Month: August 2023

Tivoli Gardens Opens in Copenhagen (1843)

One of the oldest amusement parks still in operation, Denmark’s Tivoli Gardens opened in 1843 with a variety of attractions, including a theatre, bandstands, amusement rides, and, of course, flower gardens. Tivoli is said to have inspired Walt Disney’s plans for his own park. Today, the park is best known for its wooden roller coaster, built in 1914. What did Tivoli founder Georg Carstensen reportedly tell King Christian VIII about the park to obtain a five-year charter for the site? Discuss

Assumption of Our Lady (Santa Marija)

On this day, Malta celebrates the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, a national holiday that commemorates the success of Operation Pedestal. Many believe that it was through the intervention of Our Lady that Operation Pedestal was able to succeed. Church services across the country start with a prayer of thanksgiving, and the names of the five surviving merchant ships are read. The holiday is celebrated festa style—with fireworks, decorated streets, and carts throughout the villages selling many different foods, including traditional sweets and delicacies. Discuss

Blind Jack Metcalf (1717)

John Metcalf, popularly known as Blind Jack, was a civil engineer and the first professional road builder of the Industrial Revolution. He lost his sight to a smallpox infection at age six and earned a living in early adulthood as a fiddle player. Though he was unable to see, he swam, played cards, rode horses, and even hunted. In 1765, Parliament passed an act authorizing turnpike building, and he won a contract to build a new road. How many miles of roadway is Metcalf said to have built? Discuss

The Highland Games

The modern Highland Games began in the 1780s as an organized effort to revive Scottish Highland traditions. These celebrations of Scottish and Celtic heritage center around competitions in piping, drumming, dancing, and Scottish heavy athletics. The caber toss, in which a competitor balances a long, heavy wooden pole vertically and then tosses it, has become a recognized symbol of the Highland Games. What other feats of strength are often included in the Games’ athletic competitions? Discuss

US Social Security Act Becomes Law (1935)

During the Great Depression, millions of people dissatisfied with the government response to the poor economy supported a plan to demand a $200 monthly pension for everyone over the age of 60. President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded by establishing a committee on economic security, which recommended legislative action to the US Congress. The resulting act established a national old-age pension system financed by a payroll tax on employers and employees. Who is eligible for Social Security? Discuss

Great Battle of Hansan Festival

The Great Battle of Hansan Festival is held annually in Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, for four days in August. This colorful and eventful celebration marks the stunning victory of Admiral Yi Sun-sin over the Japanese navy at the Battle of Hansan during the Imjin War (1592-1598). A re-enactment of the battle in the waters off Tongyeong is the undisputed highlight of the event, but dozens of associated activities are also held, including a commemorative parade; performances of music, dance, and drama; art exhibitions; and lectures. Discuss

John Galsworthy (1867)

Galsworthy was an English novelist and dramatist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932. Though once popular for his socially conscious plays, he is best remembered today for his series of novels tracing the history of a fictional family from the 1880s to the 1920s. Spanning three trilogies, the series sympathetically examines the lives of the many memorable members of the wealthy, snobbish, and complacent Forsyte family. Galsworthy gave up a career in what field to be a writer? Discuss