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August 1961
The following events happened in August 1961: August 1, 1961 (Tuesday) *U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara issued DOD Directive 5105.21, ordering the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency. *Three days of testing of the seaworthiness characteristics of the operational Mercury capsule began. *Born: ** Peter Evans, Australian Olympic swimming champion; in Perth **Danny Blind, Dutch footballer and coach; in Oost-Souburg August 2, 1961 (Wednesday) *Sixteen foreign tourists drowned in Switzerland's Lake Lucerne after their tour bus was sideswiped by a truck, then plunged down an embankment into the lake, near Hergiswil. There were 22 survivors, including the driver, the tour conductor, and his wife. All of the dead were Americans, and all but two were women. Most were schoolteachers who had been on a European trip organized by Gateway Holiday Tours of New York. *Cyrille Adoula became the new Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after his nomination ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin Wall 1961-11-20
Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of Germany, being the third smallest state in the country by area. Berlin is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and Brandenburg's capital Potsdam is nearby. The urban area of Berlin has a population of over 4.6 million and is therefore the most populous urban area in Germany. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr region, as well as the fifth-biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union. Berlin was built along the banks of the Spree river, which flows into the Havel in the western borough of Spandau. The city includes lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs, the largest of which is Müggelsee. About one-third ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hergiswil
Hergiswil is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland. History Hergiswil is first mentioned around 1303-09 as ''ze Hergenswile''. Geography Hergiswil has an area, , of . Of this area, 29.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 44.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (16.6%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The municipality is located between the foot of Mount Pilatus (mountain), Pilatus and Lake Lucerne. Demographics Hergiswil has a population (as of ) of . , 14.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.Nidwalden Statistical Office-Population accessed 4 September 2009 Over the last 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It shares Anglo-Scottish border, a land border with Scotland to the north and England–Wales border, another land border with Wales to the west, and is otherwise surrounded by the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south, the Celtic Sea to the south-west, and the Irish Sea to the west. Continental Europe lies to the south-east, and Ireland to the west. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population was 56,490,048. London is both List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, the largest city and the Capital city, capital. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic. It takes its name from the Angles (tribe), Angles, a Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe who settled du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in others that is a separate step. Under a modern constitutional monarchy, royal assent is considered little more than a formality. Even in nations such as the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein and Monaco which still, in theory, permit their monarch to withhold assent to laws, the monarch almost never does so, except in a dire political emergency or on advice of government. While the power to veto by withholding royal assent was once exercised often by European monarchs, such an occurrence has been very rare since the eighteenth century. Royal assent is typically associated with elaborate ceremony. In the United Kingdom the Sovereign may appear personally in the House of Lords or may appoint Lords Commissioners, who anno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suicide Act 1961
The Suicide Act 1961 ( 9 & 10 Eliz. 2. c. 60) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It decriminalised the act of suicide in England and Wales so that those who survived a suicide attempt would no longer be prosecuted. The text of sections 1 and 2 of this Act was enacted verbatim for Northern Ireland by sections 12 and 13 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1966. Analysis Suicide is defined as the act of intentionally ending one's own life. Before the Suicide Act 1961, it was a crime to die by suicide and anyone who attempted and survived could be prosecuted and imprisoned, while the families of those who died could also potentially be prosecuted. In part, that criminalisation reflected religious and moral objections to suicide as self-murder. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas had formulated the view that whoever deliberately took away the life given to them by their Creator showed the utmost disregard for the will and authority of God and jeopardised their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of List of islands of the United Kingdom, the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering . Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. It maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London. The cities o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
August 3
Events Pre-1600 * 8 – Roman Empire general Tiberius defeats the Dalmatae on the river Bosna. * 435 – Deposed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius, considered the originator of Nestorianism, is exiled by Roman Emperor Theodosius II to a monastery in Egypt. * 881 – Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu: Louis III of France defeats the Vikings, an event celebrated in the poem '' Ludwigslied''. * 908 – Battle of Eisenach: An invading Hungarian force defeats an East Frankish army under Duke Burchard of Thuringia. * 1031 – Olaf II of Norway is canonized as Saint Olaf by Grimketel, the English Bishop of Selsey. * 1057 – Frederick of Lorraine elected as Pope Stephen IX. * 1342 – The Siege of Algeciras commences during the Spanish Reconquista. * 1492 – Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain. * 1527 – The first known letter from North America is sent by John Rut while at St. John's, Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to service personnel in the broader British Empire (later Commonwealth of Nations), with most successor independent nations now having established their own honours systems and no longer recommending British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command. No civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael John O'Leary
Major Michael John O'Leary VC (29 September 1890 – 2 August 1961) was an Irish soldier and police officer who was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth military personnel. O'Leary achieved his award for single-handedly charging and destroying two Imperial German Army barricades defended by machine gun positions near the French village of Cuinchy, in a localised operation on the Western Front during World War I. At the time of his action, O'Leary was a nine-year veteran of the British Armed Forces and by the time he retired from the British Army in 1921, he had reached the rank of lieutenant. He served in the army again during World War II, although his later service was blighted by periods of ill-health. At his final retirement from the military in 1945, O'Leary was in command of a prisoner-of-war camp at the rank of Major. Before WWI and between the wars, O' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as China's List of cities in China by population, second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is located in North China, Northern China, and is governed as a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality under the direct administration of the Government of the People's Republic of China, State Council with List of administrative divisions of Beijing, 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts.Figures based on 2006 statistics published in 2007 National Statistical Yearbook of China and available online at archive. Retrieved 21 April 2009. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province and neighbors Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jing-Jin-Ji, Jing-Jin-Ji cluster. Beijing is a global city and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cui Jian
Cui Jian or Choi Geon ( zh, c=崔健; ; born 2 August 1961) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and musician. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Chinese Rock", Cui is often deemed the most influential rock musician in China. His music draws influences from Chinese traditional music, hip-hop, jazz, Electronic music, electronic, and Avant-garde music, avant-garde, while his lyrics often delve into political, social, and philosophical themes. Recognized for his Counterculture, countercultural importance, Cui is seen as a cultural icon whose works have significantly shaped rock music both domestically and across Asia. Born into an Koreans in China, ethnic Korean family with parents who were both artists, Cui began his musical career in 1981. In 1986, Cui performed his song "Nothing to My Name" at Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium, which is considered a seminal moment in the history of Chinese rock. Standing out in the Chinese music scene when Patriotism, patriotic bal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing Megacity, megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million in 2024. It is the List of cities and towns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most densely populated city in the DRC, the List of cities in Africa by population, most populous city and List of urban areas in Africa by population, third-largest metropolitan area in Africa, and the world's List of largest cities, twenty-second most populous city and List of national capitals by population, fourth-most populous capital city. It is the leading Economy, economic, Politics, political, and cultural center of the DRC, housing several industries including manufacturing, telecommunications, List of banks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, banking, and entertainment. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
