Browsing: June 24

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on June 24th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On June 24, 109 AD, Roman Emperor Trajan opened the aqueduct known as Aqua Traiana, bringing water to Rome from Lake Bracciano 25 miles away. On June 24, 1374, the German city of Aachen experienced a sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance, a bizarre condition where masses of people experience hallucinations, jump and twitch (dance) until they fell from exhaustion! On June 24,…

A Brief History On June 24, 1949, NBC premiered the first Western themed TV show, an adaptation of a character created by Clarence E. Mulford in 1904, Hopalong Cassidy. Digging Deeper The character, played by William Boyd on television, was a tough cowboy who had a funny walk due to an old injury from being shot in the leg.  Prior to the TV show, Boyd appeared in 66 films between 1935 and 1948 as Cassidy. The TV show started out showing edited versions of the films before transitioning to fresh material.  Airing until 1952, Hopalong Cassidy broke major TV ground…

A Brief History On June 24, 1947, veteran pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing what he described as a line of shiny UFO’s flying past Mount Rainier (Washington) at a rate of “at least 1200 miles per hour.” The incident, known later as the Kenneth Arnold UFO Sighting, was widely reported and became the first post-World War II UFO incident, becoming the first in what is considered the “modern era” of UFO sightings. Arnold’s description of the flat, metallic shiny objects led to the term “flying saucer” that became so familiar with UFO sightings. The incident and worldwide reporting spawned many other…

A Brief History On June 24, 1916, Canadian born Gladys Louise Smith, age 24, became the first Hollywood actor or actress to sign a contract worth at least $1 million when she signed with Adolph Zukor, founder of what would become Paramount Pictures. Digging Deeper Better known as Mary Pickford, the actress was by 1916 the most popular actress in the world of film, only barely surpassed by Charlie Chaplin as most popular overall.  (Chaplin got a million dollar contract in 1918 and is sometimes erroneously listed as the first actor to get such a contract.)  Pickford’s contract included $10,000…

A Brief History On June 24, 109 AD, Roman Emperor Trajan opened the aqueduct known as Aqua Traiana, bringing water to Rome from Lake Bracciano 25 miles away.  The ancient Romans are known for their architectural achievements, but other societies also built some pretty impressive projects as well.  Here we list 10 impressive examples of ancient architecture, not necessarily the most famous, but ones we hope you will like.   Digging Deeper 10.  The Mound Builders, 3400 BC to 1500 AD. Along the Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley, Native American civilizations built a series of earthen mounds of large proportions…