Compiled by Maria Verbitskaya, Olga Oralova and Tatyana Belyaeva, Moscow State University
1) 855 years ago
The monument to...
The third Rome
Seven hills
Moscow is considered to have been founded 855 years ago, in 1147, because it is first mentioned in the 1147 chronicles as Prince Yuriy Dolgorukiy's estate. After Constantinople, the centre of the Greek Orthodox Church, was taken by the Turks in 1453, the Metropolitan (the head of the Russian Orthodox Church) declared Moscow to be the 'third Rome', the true heir of Christianity. There is historical evidence that a monk from Pskov wrote to Vassily III, 'two Romes have already fallen but the third remains standing and a fourth there will not be'. Moscow is traditionally believed to lie on seven hills: Borovitzkiy, Sretenskiy, Tverskoy, Treohgorniy, Lefortovskiy, Taganskiy and Vorobyovy Gory.
2) 550 years ago
15 April, 1452
Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile ('La Gioconda')
Engineering projects and inventions, such as a flying apparatus, a submarine, a tank
550 years ago, on April 15 1452, Leonardo da Vinci, a great Florentine painter, sculptor and engineer was born.
3) 510 years ago
12 October, 1492
Pinta, Niña, Santa Maria
August 1492
510 years ago, in August 1492 Christopher Columbus set out with his tiny fleet of three ships, Pinta, Niña, Santa Maria, from Spain westward. He believed that by sailing around the globe he would reach the fabulous Indies. On October 12,1492 Columbus reached San Salvador, in the Bahamas, mistakenly believing that he had found the Indies, and began his fruitless search for gold.
4) 240 years ago
1762, Great Britain
Playing cards
John Montague, the 4thEarl of Sandwich
They say it was John Montague, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who invented the sandwich in 1762. The Earl loved to gamble and, so as not to interrupt his card game, a servant was ordered to bring him a piece of meat between two slices of buttered bread. That is how the Earl gave his name to sandwiches.
5) 215 years ago
17 September,1787
The Founding Fathers
'We the people of the United States …'
215 years ago, on 17 September,1787 the Constitution of the United States was signed by 39 delegates representing 12 of the original 13 states in the union (the exception was the state of Rhode Island). Those who signed the Constitution are known as the Founding Fathers and they include George Washington (1732-1799) who was the USA's first president from 1789 to 1797 and Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), the famous statesman who also invented the lightning conductor. The broad goals of the Constitution are stated in its preamble: 'We the people of the United States , in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
6) 155 years ago, 125 years ago
11 February, 1847
Early fall of 1877, Menlo Park, New Jersey
Mary had a little lamb.
Its fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go
155 years ago, on 11 February 1847 Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), a great American inventor most famous for his invention of electric bulb, early microphone, record player and equipment for the cinema, telegraph and telephone was born. 125 years ago, in the early fall of 1877, Edison tested the first phonograph in the world which was made under his direction at his laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey. The well-known verse was the first ever recorded and reproduced on the phonograph.
7) 155 years ago, 145 years ago, 40 years ago
17 January, 1847
17 September, 1857
On 20 February,1962 the first American astronaut orbited the Earth
On 17 January, 1847 Nikolay Zhukovsky, the founder of aerodynamics was born. On 17 September, 1857 Konstantin Tziolkovsky, the father of space flights, was born. On 20 February,1962 the first American astronaut John Glenn orbited the Earth. Without the discoveries of Nikolay Zhukovsky and Konstantin Tziolkovsky spaceflights were hardly possible.
8) 135 years ago
The largest state in the US
$7.2 million
The state holds a festival to celebrate the arrival of approximately 3,000 bald eagles that converge upon the nearby Chilcat River. The river quickly becomes the largest bald eagle gathering spot in the world.
135 years ago, in 1867, Alaska, which is at present the largest state in the US, was sold by Russia to the US for $7.2 million. The Alaska Bald Eagle Festival is held in Haines annually.
9) 80 years ago, 40 years ago
30 May, 1922, Washington, the building in the style of a Doric temple with a huge statue of the seated president
20 February, 1962, New York, Amsterdam Avenue, Metropolitan Opera and Performing Arts Museum and Library
'That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.'
80 years ago on 30 May, 1922, in Washington, the Lincoln Memorial, a shrine to the memory of Abraham Lincoln, was opened. In 1962 in New York on Amsterdam Avenue, the Lincoln Center housing the Metropolitan Opera and the Performing Arts Museum and Library was opened. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is one of the most popular American presidents. The quotation comes from his speech of 19 November, 1863.
10) 80 years ago
C.K.Nelson
The first choco-ice in America
The people living in the Far North
Eskimo-pie was the name given by C.K.Nelson to the first choco-ice in America that he produced 80 years ago. An Eskimo is a member of a race of people living in the icy far north of North America, Siberia and the surrounding islands. People from this race consider the word Eskimo offensive and prefer to be called Inuits.
11) 60 years ago
18 June,1942
One of the Liverpool Four
'Headway' Intermediate, Unit 1: 'One day in the life of Linda …'
60 years ago, on 18 June,1942 Paul Mc Cartney, one of the Liverpool Four, the Beatles, was born. This British popular music group made their first record in 1962 (40 years ago!) and in 10 years became the classic of this genre. When they split up in 1970, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr continued their separate careers.
12) 50 years ago
10 January, 1946, London
John D.Rockerfeller
1952, New York
On 10 January 1946, the first session of the United Nations General Assembly opened in London. In 1952 the UN headquarters opened in New York, built on land given by John D.Rockerfeller.
13) 45 years ago
4 October, 1957
One of the few Russian words borrowed by English
'Catch a falling star
and put it in a matchbox.
Send it to the USA.'
45 years ago, on 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first spacecraft. Sputnik I went round the earth every 96 minutes and emitted a radio signal that could be picked up by scientists all over the world. It had an immediate impact on science and also politics. The Soviet advantage over the Americans was a source of some satire. In 1958 a popular song at the top of the charts was 'Catch a Falling Star' which gave rise to an ironical version quoted here.
14) 20 years ago
21 June, 1982
Welsh-speaking
At the top of European Eligible Young Men List
Prince William Arthur Philip Louis was born on 21 June, 1982. He is said to have film-star looks, taking after his mother, the late Princess Diana. If his father, Prince Charles, ascends the throne, William will become the Prince of Wales. It was at his father's instigation that he decided to learn Welsh.
15) 5 years ago
30 August, 1997
Paris
'Candle in the Wind' by Elton John
5 years ago, on the night of 30 August 1997, Princess Diana was killed in Paris when a chauffeur crashed the Mercedes in which she was a passenger. 'Candle in the Wind' is a song originally written in 1973, but recorded again with different words in 1997 by Elton John in memory of Diana. It sold more copies than any other record ever made. The proceeds went to charity.
