Today in History 04/13/17
(1742) Handel's oratorio masterpiece, 'Messiah,' premieres
An audience of 700 gather in Dublin's Great Music Hall for a charity concert featuring composer George Frideric Handel's new choral work, 'Messiah.' An immediate sensation in Ireland, its London debut will get a cooler reception.
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible, and from the version of the Psalms included with the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.
Composer: George Frideric Handel
wiki/Messiah_(Handel)
(1943) Thomas Jefferson receives a 200th birthday gift
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates a memorial on the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River on Thomas Jefferson's birthday. Because of wartime metal shortages, the bronze statue of America's third president won't be added until 1947.
The Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C., dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, one of the most important of the American Founding Fathers as the main drafter and writer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress, governor of the newly independent Commonwealth of Virginia, American minister to King Louis XVI and the Kingdom of France, first U.S. Secretary of State under the first President George Washington, the second Vice President of the United States under second President John Adams, and also the third President, as well as being the founder of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Virginia.
Website: www.nps.gov/thje
Address: 900 Ohio Dr SW, Washington, DC 20024
Established: Oct 15, 1966
Annual visitors: 3.10 million (2015)
Architects: John Russell Pope · Eggers & Higgins · Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
wiki/Jefferson_Memorial
(1964) Sidney Poitier makes Oscar history
In a year packed with landmark civil rights activism, another barrier is broken at the 36th Academy Awards as Sidney Poitier becomes the first African American to receive the Oscar for Best Actor, for his role in 'Lillies of the Field.'
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE, is a Bahamian-American actor, film director, author and diplomat. In 1964, Poitier became the first Bahamian and first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, for his role in Lilies of the Field. The significance of these achievements was bolstered in 1967, when he starred in three successful films, all of which dealt with issues involving race and race relations: To Sir, with Love; In the Heat of the Night; and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, making him the top box-office star of that year. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Poitier among the Greatest Male Stars of classic Hollywood cinema, ranking 22nd on the list of 25.
Born: Feb 20, 1927 (age 90) · Miami, FL
Height: 6′ 2″ (1.89 m)
Net worth: $25 million USD (2017)
Spouse: Joanna Shimkus (m. 1976) · Juanita Hardy (m. 1950 – 1965)
Awards: Academy Award for Best Actor (1964) · Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award (1982) · Academy Honorary Award (2002) · Kennedy Center Honors (1995) · AFI Life Achievement Award (1992) · Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album
Children: Sydney Tamiia Poitier (Daughter) · Anika Poitier (Daughter) · Pamela Poitier (Daughter) · Sherri Poitier (Daughter) · Beverly Poitier-Henderson (Daughter) · Gina Poitier (Daughter)
wiki/Sidney_Poitier
(1970) Apollo 13 faces catastrophe 200,000 miles from Earth
Two days after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a warning light, a loud bang, and the message "Houston, we've had a problem here," puts an end to Apollo 13's mission to the moon. An exploded oxygen tank on the spacecraft makes returning to Earth alive the new goal.
Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, but the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the Service Module upon which the Command Module had depended. Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of potable water, and the critical need to make makeshift repairs to the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew returned safely to Earth on April 17.
Mission start: Apr 11, 1970
Mission end: Apr 17, 1970
Astronauts: Jim Lovell · Jack Swigert · Fred Haise
Space program: Apollo program
wiki/Apollo_13
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Posted in: History	Tagged: 1742, 1943, 1964, 1970, history
A Historical Day
An audience of 700 gather in Dublin's Great Music Hall for a charity concert featuring composer George Frideric Handel's new choral work, 'Messiah.' An immediate sensation in Ireland, its London debut will get a cooler reception. .
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates a memorial on the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River on Thomas Jefferson's birthday. Because of wartime metal shortages, the bronze statue of America's third president won't be added until 1947. .
In a year packed with landmark civil rights activism, another barrier is broken at the 36th Academy Awards as Sidney Poitier becomes the first African American to receive the Oscar for Best Actor, for his role in 'Lillies of the Field.' .
Two days after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a warning light, a loud bang, and the message "Houston, we've had a problem here," puts an end to Apollo 13's mission to the moon. An exploded oxygen tank on the spacecraft makes returning to Earth alive the new goal..
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