On This Day January 22nd
OTD
January 22nd is the Twenty-Second day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar; 343 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred
I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing.
1555 – The Ava Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in Myanmar.
1808 – The Portuguese royal family arrives in Brazil after
fleeing the French army's invasion of Portugal two months earlier.
1879 – The Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War resulted
in a British defeat.
1890 – The United Mine Workers of America was founded in
Columbus, Ohio.
1901 – Edward VII was proclaimed King of the United Kingdom
after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
1905 – Bloody Sunday in Saint Petersburg, the beginning of
the 1905 revolution.
1917 – American entry into World War I: President Woodrow
Wilson of the still-neutral United States calls for "peace without
victory" in Europe.
1927 – Teddy Wakelam gives the first live radio commentary
of a football match between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.
1947 – KTLA, the first commercial television station west of
the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood.
1968 – Apollo 5 lifts off, carrying the first Lunar module
into space.
1973 – In a fight for the world heavyweight boxing
championship in Kingston, Jamaica, challenger George Foreman knocks down
champion Joe Frazier six times in the first two rounds before referee Arthur
Mercante stops the fight.
1984 – The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to
popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced
during a Super Bowl XVIII television commercial.
2006 – Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia,
becoming the country's first indigenous president.
Birthdays
1552 – Walter Raleigh, English poet, soldier, courtier, and
explorer (d. 1618)
1561 – Francis Bacon, English philosopher and politician,
Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1626)
1645 – William Kidd, Scottish sailor and pirate hunter
(probable; d. 1701)
1788 – Lord Byron, English poet and playwright (d. 1824)
1865 – Wilbur Scoville, American chemist and pharmacist (d.
1942)
1906 – Robert E. Howard, American author, and poet (d. 1936)
1931 – Sam Cooke, American singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
1949 – Steve Perry, American singer-songwriter and producer
1946 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter and
manager (d. 2010)
1968 – Guy Fieri, American chef, author, and television host
1987 – Ray Rice, American football player
Holiday Spotlight
Dance of the Seven Veils Day
The Dance of the
Seven Veils can be traced to the events leading to the beheading of John the
Baptist. According to Matthew 14, King Herod Antipas imprisoned John the
Baptist for criticizing his marriage to Herodias, who was previously married to
Antipas’s half-brother Herod II. During Antipas’s birthday, his niece danced
before him and his guests, and he was pleased. That made him promise to give
her anything she might ask. Having been persuaded by her mother, Herodias, the
niece asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Even though Antipas was
sorry, he commanded it to be given to her.
The niece was named
Salomé in an account by the Romano-Jewish historian Josephus, but he did not
mention the dance. The dance first appeared in the 1893 English translation of
Wilde’s 1891 French play “Salomé.” The English text included the stage
direction, which goes like this, “Salomé dances the dance of the seven veils.”
Wilde is said to have
been influenced by earlier French writers, including Gustave Flaubert and
Arthur O’Shaughnessy. In his play, Wilde transformed the dance from a
performance before the king and his guests to a personal dance in which the
king is the only audience.
In his 1905 operatic
adaptation of “Salomé,” Richard Strauss included the Dance of the Seven Veils.
While the dance was meant to be thoroughly decent, many productions turned the
dance into an erotic performance. An example was a 1907 production of “Salomé”
in New York.
The Wilde play, and
the Strauss opera paved the way for the dance to be adapted into films. That
includes the 1908 Vitagraph production “Salomé” or the “Dance of the Seven
Veils,” the 1953 “Salomé,” and the 1961 film “King of Kings.”
Since 1907, Dance of
the Seven Veils Day has been celebrated as an unofficial holiday.
Other Include
Better Business Communication Day
Celebration of Life Day
Come in From the Cold Day
Community Manager Appreciation Day
National Answer Your Cat's Question Day
National Blonde Brownie Day
National Hot Sauce Day
National Polka Dot Day
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