On This Day February 26th

 OTD

February 26th is the Fifty-seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 308 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

747 BC – According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern B.C. chronology for dating historical events.

1365 – King Thado Minbya founded the Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa).

1606 – The Janszoon voyage of 1605–06 became the first European expedition to set foot on Australia, although it is mistaken as a part of New Guinea.

1616 – The Roman Catholic Church formally bans Galilei from teaching or defending the view that the Earth orbits the sun.

1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the island of Elba.

1870 – The Beach Pneumatic Transit in New York City, intended as a demonstration for a subway line, opens.

1909 – Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.

1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signs legislation establishing the 96,000 acres (390 km2) Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

1935 – Robert Watson-Watt carried out a demonstration near Daventry, which led directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.

1960 – A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.

1966 – Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn I.B. rocket.

2008 – The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this is the first event in North Korea.

 

Birthdays

1564 – Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet, and translator (d. 1593)

1802 – Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1885)

1829 – Levi Strauss, the German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (d. 1902)

1846 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (d. 1917)

1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player and coach (d. 1950)

1908 – Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor (d. 1980)

1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (d. 1987)

1928 – Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2017)[

1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2003)

 

Holiday Spotlight

We love that the actual officiation of Carnival Day remains a mystery because it goes well with the idea of what the carnival is and what it represents. The carnival has always had an air of mystery and allure for ages, probably because it provided particular thrills that could not be experienced elsewhere. Even in cultural studies, the term ‘carnivalesque’ developed from the word carnival due to its disruptive and subversive connotations. This idea was first introduced in the mid-1900s in the writings of Russian linguist and literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin. According to Bakhtin, the carnival is a space where societal norms can be subverted through humor and a touch of chaos (sounds like a party!).

To trace the roots of Carnival Day, we must go back to the history of the traveling carnival itself. As early as 98 A.D., the first written account by the Roman historian Tacitus is about carnivals taking place among Germanic tribes to celebrate the end of winter. We’re sure there may have been other groups worldwide that had similar festivities. During the Middle Ages in Europe, agricultural shows and trade fairs began to emerge as commerce burgeoned and shaped the economic landscape. It is fair to say that these were the seeds for the traveling carnival. By 1861, powered by steam, children's rides had been invented but were not yet used at carnivals.

It was in the 1890s that the traveling carnival, as we know it today, really came into being in the U.S. The pivotal event was the World’s Columbian Exposition Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate 400 years since Columbus arrived in the Americas. It featured the world’s first Ferris Wheel and a Midway Plaisance — a strip of ground about a mile long that featured sideshows like vaudeville and burlesque, mechanical rides, games of luck or chance, and curiosity displays. By 1937, the number of carnival companies grew to 300. In some cases, circuses may also be a part of the traveling carnival. However, the appeal of the carnival was mainly due to the sideshows, which often offered the layman a chance to glimpse dangerous or societally ‘forbidden’ spectacles. Hence, the timeless appeal of the carnival, even though society keeps evolving.

 

Others Include.

Carnival Day

Carpe Diem Day

For Pete's Sake Day

Levi Strauss Day

National Bacon Day

National Cupcake Day (Canada)

National Customized Wheel and Tire Day

National Personal Chef's Day

National Pistachio Day

Play More Cards Day

Tell a Fairy Tale Day

Thermos Bottle Day

World Pistachio Day