Friday, March 28, 2008

 

Spotlight: Why did Constantinople become Istanbul on this date in 1930? The city was founded as Byzantium by the Greeks around the 8th century BCE; in 330 CE, the emperor Constantine I made it the capital of the Byzantine Empire and renamed it Constantinople after himself. The city was conquered repeatedly over the centuries, until it was finally taken over by the Ottoman Empire. With the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the capital was moved to Angora and both towns were renamed (Angora became Ankara) seven years later. Istanbul's most ancient section is the historic, walled quarter of Stambul. The name Istanbul comes from the Greek stimboli, meaning "to the city."

Quote: "Why did they change it? I can't say. People just liked it better that way." — "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon

Question of the Day: Who are the Duke's Men of Yale and what do they have to do with Istanbul Not Constantinople?
The Duke's Men of Yale started out as a quartet composed of Yale freshmen in 1952; Basil Duke Henning started the group. Today, the choir is made up of between 15 and 20 Yale freshmen and their repertoire comprises jazz, pop, soul, show tunes, classical arrangements and off-beat songs, all sung a cappella. More

Word of the day: cultivate
v. – Adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment; Prepare for crops; Foster the growth of; Train to be discriminative in taste or judgment. (© eSpindle Learning)

Today's History:

An Early Washing Machine

• washing machine: the first US patent titled "Clothes Washing" was granted to Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire (1797)
• Virginia Woolf: distinguished novelist, critic and essayist (A Room Of One's Own) committed suicide; she had been suffering from depression and bouts of mental illness for many years (1941)
• Three Mile Island: partial meltdown released radioactive material at a nuclear plant near Harrisburg, PA, forcing evacuation (1979)

Today's Birthdays:

Reba McEntire

• Aristide Briand (1862-1932): French PM who served 11 times as premier and held 26 ministerial posts; he proposed the Kellogg-Briand Pact
• August Busch (1899-1989): businessman who built Anheuser-Busch into world's largest brewery
• Mario Vargas Llosa (72): writer who made an unsuccessful bid for president of Peru; novelist Russell Banks (68) was also born on this date
• Reba McEntire (53): four-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year
• Vince Vaughn (38): comic actor, Wedding Crashers, The Break-Up; actors Ken Howard (64), Dianne Wiest (60) and Julia Stiles (27) also celebrate a birthday today