On this day 41 years ago, and in a charming little stint of political theater, the mayor of Rome, Ugo Vettere, and his counterpart Mr. Chedli Klibi in Carthage, Tunisia, met on a mission of goodwill to officially end the Third Punic War, which concluded with the destruction of Carthage 2,132 years ago. The agreement was signed on the anniversary of Carthage’s defeat in the war by the Romans. (1985)
The Byrsa Hill of Ancient Carthage – CC Eirik Newth 2.0. SA
At the time of the Roman Republic, the Second Punic War had been incredibly draining and destructive to the Italian Peninsula. Ravaged by Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca, it concluded with terms of tribute—that which Barca had sought all along.
What he and the Carthaginian elite didn’t realize was that the opinion of the war in Rome was one of ultimate supremacy or extinction, and the terms were settled merely to give the Roman army and navy time to recuperate.
The Third Punic War never ended because the Roman Senate ordered the complete demolition of the city, the repopulation of the country, the construction of a Roman city directly on top of it, and to lay an eternal curse on anyone of Carthaginian heritage who attempted to resettle it. Today, Italy and Tunisia maintain highly cooperative relations.
MORE Good News on this Date:
- Finland celebrates every year the birth of its national poet, Johan Ludvig Runeberg on this day (1804)
- Mexico adopted its current constitution establishing a federal republic with 3 branches of government and ushered in profound changes by restricting the power of the Catholic Church and establishing the basis for a free, mandatory, and secular education (1917)
- The Royal Greenwich Observatory began broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal (1924)
- Bob Douglas became the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame (1972)
- The ‘Big Three’ banks in Switzerland created a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families (1997)
- The new START nuclear arms control treaty between US and Russia went into effect, raising hopes among officials on both sides that it will provide the impetus for Moscow and Washington to negotiate further reductions (2011)
8 years ago today at Super Bowl LI, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots completed the largest comeback in Super Bowl history to clinch the franchise and Brady’s fifth Super Bowl title. Due to the comeback, some have nicknamed the game the “28–3”. The game was also the first (and so far only) Super Bowl to be decided in overtime. It was a game in which either result would have been good news, with one side being a great sports dynasty reaching its zenith and the other being the first Super Bowl title for Atlanta.
Atlanta scored three consecutive touchdowns to take a 21–3 halftime lead, which they increased to 28–3 midway through the third quarter. However, the Patriots scored 25 unanswered points to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation. In overtime, New England received the kickoff after winning the coin toss and drove down the field to score a touchdown to claim the Super Bowl title.
More than 30 team and individual Super Bowl records were broken or matched, including Patriots running back James White’s 14 receptions and 20 points scored and Brady’s 43 completed passes, 62 pass attempts, and 466 passing yards. Brady was named Super Bowl MVP for a record fourth time and was the oldest player to receive the honor at 39; he would surpass both records in Super Bowl LV. (2018)
174 years ago today, the new Hermitage Museum opened to the entire viewing public in the old Winter Palace of the Russian Tsar. Today, it’s the largest museum space in the world, and contains 3 million works counting numismatic items.
Originally opened during the reign of Catherine the Great some 100 years before, it was a museum largely for personal perusal or for that of the aristocrats. Called the Hermitage after the word “hermit,” based on the Greek word for both “desert” and “a place where people live alone,” it acquired this name on account of how people were able to enter its white, gold, and turquoise walls.
The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg CC 4.0
Catherine the Great started the collection with mostly the Dutch, Belgian, and Flemish masters, including 13 by Rembrandt, acquired by a Berlin art merchant on behalf of Frederick the II of Prussia, who later decided against purchasing them. For this purpose, Catherine commissioned a new wing of the Winter Palace to house them.
Notable among their galleries today are the peacock clock, the eggs and other works by the Fabergé jewelry company, the archaeological collection of the pre-Russian steppe societies such as the Scythians the Sarmatian, collections of European masters Titian and Caravaggio, lowland masters like Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Breughel, as well as Picasso and a mass of impressionist paintings.
Also notable among their galleries is the presence of the ‘royal cats’. Cats are housed and cared for in the basement areas for the purpose of rat catching, and they are a common sight, especially in the outdoor areas of the museum. (1852)
Also on the day in 1988, the British charity Comic Relief held its first Red Nose Day and raised £15 million for anti-poverty programs. Since then, the charity, which gives 100% of its donations directly to programs, has raised an amazing £1 billion for charity.
92 years ago today, Hank Aaron, one of baseball’s greatest players, and the only MLB batter to hit 30 or more home runs in 15 seasons. Aaron also conquered one of the sport’s most cherished records—Babe Ruth’s 714 career home runs. For the next 30 years ‘Hammerin’ Hank’ reigned as the all-time home run king with his total of 755 (until it was passed by a steroid-enhanced performer in 2007).
2010 Hank Aaron photo by John Mathew Smith, CC license
The legendary right-fielder who played 21 seasons for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves—and two more for the Milwaukee Brewers—is often called the most underrated player in history, but he was always a model of humility, dignity, and competence. (1934)
And on this day, in 1936, Charlie Chaplin released the last ever “silent” movie, Modern Times. Written and directed by Chaplin, the film portrays his iconic character, Little Tramp, struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world.
As a factory worker employed on an assembly line, Chaplin endures the dreary conditions many people faced during the Great Depression. Expected to keep pace on an accelerating assembly line, he tries to screw nuts onto pieces of machinery, whizzing past, but ends up suffering a nervous breakdown. He runs amok, throws the factory into chaos, and lands in jail where he gets into more mischief.
WATCH the famous scene on the assembly line below, or watch the film in its entirety on YouTube here.
126 years ago today, the admired politician, soldier, and diplomat Adlai Stevenson was born. A one-time governor of Illinois, the Democrat was his party’s nominee for president in both the 1952 and 1956 elections—and though soundly defeated by Republican Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower both times, he inspired a new generation of activists.
President John Kennedy later appointed Adlai Stevenson to be the nation’s ambassador to the UN, a role he enjoyed until his death four years later. The historian Arthur Schlesinger, who served as one of his speechwriters, described Stevenson as a “great creative figure in American politics. He turned the Democratic Party around in the fifties and made JFK possible… To the United States and the world he was the voice of a reasonable, civilized, and elevated America. He brought a new generation into politics, and moved millions of people in the United States and around the world.” WATCH a newsreel from the day… (1900)
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