Category: This day in History

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish armed resistance that took place in the Warsaw Ghetto of Nazi-occupied Poland during WWII. By July 1942, the Nazis had forced 500,000 Jews into the Warsaw Ghetto. Starvation killed thousands each month and thousands more were transferred to “labor” camps every day. When word reached the ghetto that the destination was actually the gas chambers at Treblinka, the newly formed Jewish insurgency attacked the Nazis. How long did the insurgency last? Discuss

Popeye, the popular cartoon character who turns from sailor to strongman with a few swallows of spinach, started out as a minor character in the Thimble Theater comic strip. In its early days, the strip starred Olive Oyl and her boyfriend, Ham Gravy. However, after cartoonist E.C. Segar introduced Popeye, he became so popular that his role was expanded, and he soon replaced Ham as Olive’s love interest, going on adventures with her brother, Castor Oyl, and facing what nemesis? Discuss

A founding work of modern Western literature, Cervantes’s Don Quixote presents a profound picture of the divide between idealistic and realistic world views. A burlesque of chivalric romances, it was an immediate success. In 1614, a spurious Part II was published by an unidentified author who insulted Cervantes in his prologue. Offended, Cervantes responded by publishing his own Part II, which some literary critics consider superior to Part I. What is Don Quixote’s real name in the book? Discuss

During WWI, Luxemburg and Liebknecht formed a revolutionary, antiwar socialist group in Germany that became the Spartacus League. After the proclamation of the German republic in 1918, they opposed the moderate government formed by the Social Democrats and advocated its violent overthrow, to be replaced by a dictatorship of the proletariat. They transformed their league into the German Communist Party and led an uprising, which was crushed. Arrested, they were murdered by whom while in custody? Discuss

Orsini was an Italian revolutionary in the movement for Italian unification. In 1858, he made an attempt on the life of Napoleon III, whom he held responsible for the failure of the Italian revolutions of 1848 to 1849. Although ably defended by French statesman Jules Favre, Orsini was executed. His act, designed to arouse world interest in the Italian cause, paradoxically influenced Napoleon’s own decision to intervene in favor of Italian unification. How did Orsini try to kill Napoleon? Discuss

Ejection seats are used in aircraft to quickly propel occupants out in an emergency. Today, they are fired by an explosive charge, but the first ejection seats were powered by compressed air. One of the first aircrafts to be fitted with such a system was the German Heinkel He 280 prototype jet fighter. While testing the He 280 during WWII, pilot Helmut Schenk became the first person to use an ejection seat to make an emergency escape from an aircraft. What went wrong during his test flight? Discuss

The field of cryonics involves techniques in which cold is applied for a variety of therapeutic goals, including brief local anesthesia, destruction of superficial skin lesions, and preservation of cells, tissue, and organs—or the entire body—in the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. In 1967, Bedford became the first person to have his entire body frozen in perpetuity. Since then, hundreds have undergone the procedure. What celebrities have been frozen? Discuss

The Anglo-Zulu War was fought between the British Empire and the Zulu nation. It began when Zulu king Cetshwayo, determined to resist European advances, rejected British demands to disband his troops. The British attacked, and Cetshwayo routed them at Isandlwana with a disciplined army of 40,000. However, his forces were utterly defeated at Ulundi, with 1,500 Zulus, compared to 13 Britons, killed in the final battle. The British then burned the town. What became of Cetshwayo? Discuss

The world’s first subway line opened in London in 1863. It was 3.75 mi (6 km) long and soon carried tens of thousands of passengers each day—transporting 9.5 million in its first year. Initially steam-powered, the system first electrified some of its lines in 1890. By 1896, it was fully electrified. Today, the London Underground system is one of the largest in the world, with 256 miles (410 km) of track and 270 stations. How many passengers did it carry on January 10, 1863? Discuss

The Davy lamp was an early safety lamp used in the mining and quarrying industries. It was designed by English chemist and physicist Sir Humphrey Davy to prevent the accidental ignition of flammable gases. This was achieved by enclosing the flame of the oil-burning lamp in wire gauze that distributed heat over a large area and brought its temperature below the ignition temperature of methane. Why did the introduction of the Davy lamp initially lead to an increase in the rate of mining accidents? Discuss