A DAY IN HISTORY

The last 3 days have produced 3 very diverse moments in history and I thought that I would post them together, if for no other reason thatn the novelty factor. Enjoy..........PEACE..........Scott

CHAPLIN RECEIVES OSCAR:
April 10, 1972

As part of his first visit to the United States in 20 years, British film
pioneer Charlie Chaplin accepts an honorary Academy Award for his "incalculable"
contribution to the art of filmmaking. Chaplin, once America's most successful
movie star and director, had left the country under a storm of controversy in
1952.Born in London, England, in 1889, Chaplin was the son of music-hall
performers, and he appeared onstage from a young age. His father later died, and
his mother was put in a mental institution, leading to a rough childhood that
ended when Chaplin joined his half-brother's vaudeville troupe at the age of 17.
Mack Sennett, the innovator of U.S. slapstick movie comedy, discovered Chaplin
during a U.S. appearance by the vaudeville troupe. In 1913, he was signed to
appear in movies produced by Sennett's Keystone Company.In his second picture,
Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914), Chaplin originated the character that would
make him famous--the "Little Tramp." The tramp wore a derby hat, neatly kept
moustache, baggy trousers, and cane, and affected a bowlegged walk in his
oversize shoes. He was an underdog hero, beloved by moviegoers, and Chaplin
would play him in more than 70 films. In the era of silent film, slapstick was
king, and Chaplin was a master of physical comedy. He became one of the most
recognized U.S. personalities and commanded increasingly high salaries. He soon
took to directing his own movies and, with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and
D.W. Griffith, founded United Artists in 1919 so he could have greater control
over his projects.Chaplin directed, starred in, wrote, produced, and composed
the music for his feature-length comedies, including The Kid (1921), The Gold
Rush (1925), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), and The Great Dictator
(1940). These films addressed social and political issues of the day, which,
seen through the eyes of the Little Tramp, appeared a little sharper. After the
advent of sound in the late 1920s, Chaplin appeared less often in movies, but
his fame continued to grow as his films won new audiences and became recognized
as motion picture classics.Away from the camera, Chaplin's personal life often
drew sensational headlines. He was married four times, three times to his
leading ladies, and in 1943 was accused by another woman of fathering her child.
That year, in another controversial move, he Oona O'Neill, the 18-year-old
daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Chaplin was 54. Chaplin's political views
were also criticized, as was his failure to apply for U.S. citizenship. Pressed
for back taxes and accused of supporting subversive causes by McCarthy-era
America, Chaplin left the United States in 1952. Informed that he would not
necessarily be welcomed back, he retorted, "I wouldn't go back there if Jesus
Christ were president," and surrendered his re-entry permit in Switzerland. He
lived with his family at Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, and made several more
films.In April 1972, he did return to the United States for a visit and accepted
an honorary Oscar. He had previously won an honorary Academy Award, in 1929 for
The Circus (1928). In 1975, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him. He died on December
25, 1977.


FIRST ASTRONAUTS INTRODUCED:
April 9, 1959

On April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
introduces America's first astronauts to the press: Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon
Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan
Shepard Jr., and Donald Slayton. The seven men, all military test pilots, were
carefully selected from a group of 32 candidates to take part in Project
Mercury, America's first manned space program. NASA planned to begin manned
orbital flights in 1961.On October 4, 1957, the USSR scored the first victory of
the "space race" when it successfully launched the world's first artificial
satellite, Sputnik, into Earth's orbit. In response, the United States
consolidated its various military and civilian space efforts into NASA, which
dedicated itself to beating the Soviets to manned space flight. In January 1959,
NASA began the astronaut selection procedure, screening the records of 508
military test pilots and choosing 110 candidates. This number was arbitrarily
divided into three groups, and the first two groups reported to Washington.
Because of the high rate of volunteering, the third group was eliminated. Of the
62 pilots who volunteered, six were found to have grown too tall since their
last medical examination. An initial battery of written tests, interviews, and
medical history reviews further reduced the number of candidates to 36. After
learning of the extreme physical and mental tests planned for them, four of
these men dropped out.The final 32 candidates traveled to the Lovelace Clinic in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they underwent exhaustive medical and
psychological examinations. The men proved so healthy, however, that only one
candidate was eliminated. The remaining 31 candidates then traveled to the
Wright Aeromedical Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, where they underwent the most
grueling part of the selection process. For six days and three nights, the men
were subjected to various tortures that tested their tolerance of physical and
psychological stress. Among other tests, the candidates were forced to spend an
hour in a pressure chamber that simulated an altitude of 65,000 feet, and two
hours in a chamber that was heated to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. At the end of one
week, 18 candidates remained. From among these men, the selection committee was
to choose six based on interviews, but seven candidates were so strong they
ended up settling on that number.After they were announced, the "Mercury Seven"
became overnight celebrities. The Mercury Project suffered some early setbacks,
however, and on April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth in
the world's first manned space flight. Less than one month later, on May 5,
astronaut Alan Shepard was successfully launched into space on a suborbital
flight. On February 20, 1962, in a major step for the U.S. space program, John
Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. NASA continued to trail the
Soviets in space achievements until the late 1960s, when NASA's Apollo program
put the first men on the moon and safely returned them to Earth.
In 1998, 36
years after his first space flight, John Glenn traveled into space again.
Glenn, then 77 years old, was part of the Space Shuttle Discovery crew, whose
9-day research mission launched on October 29, 1998. Among the crew's
investigations was a study of space flight and the aging process.


B.C. GAUTAMA BUDDHA IS BORN:
April 8, 563

On this day, Buddhists celebrate the commemoration of the birth of Gautama
Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, thought to have lived in India from 563 B.C. to
483 B.C. Actually, the Buddhist tradition that celebrates his birthday on April
8 originally placed his birth in the 11th century B.C., and it was not until the
modern era that scholars determined that he was more likely born in the sixth
century B.C., and possibly in May rather than April.According to the Tripitaka,
which is recognized by scholars as the earliest existing record of the Buddha's
life and discourses, Gautama Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha, the son of
the king of the Sakya people. The kingdom of the Sakyas was situated on the
borders of present-day Nepal and India. Siddhartha's family was of the Gautama
clan. His mother, Queen Mahamaya, gave birth to him in the park of Lumbini, in
what is now southern Nepal. A pillar placed there in commemoration of the event
by an Indian emperor in the third century B.C. still stands.At his birth, it was
predicted that the prince would either become a great world monarch or a
Buddha--a supremely enlightened teacher. The Brahmans told his father, King
Suddhodana, that Siddhartha would become a ruler if he were kept isolated from
the outside world. The king took pains to shelter his son from misery and
anything else that might influence him toward the religious life. Siddhartha was
brought up in great luxury, and he married and fathered a son. At age 29, he
decided to see more of the world and began excursions off the palace grounds in
his chariot. In successive trips, he saw an old man, a sick man, and a corpse,
and since he had been protected from the miseries of aging, sickness, and death,
his charioteer had to explain what they were. Finally, Siddhartha saw a monk,
and, impressed with the man's peaceful demeanor, he decided to go into the world
to discover how the man could be so serene in the midst of such
suffering.Siddhartha secretly left the palace and became a wandering ascetic. He
traveled south, where the centers of learning were, and studied meditation under
the teachers Alara Kalama and Udraka Ramaputra. He soon mastered their systems,
reaching high states of mystical realization, but was unsatisfied and went out
again in search of nirvana, the highest level of enlightenment. For nearly six
years, he undertook fasting and other austerities, but these techniques proved
ineffectual and he abandoned them. After regaining his strength, he seated
himself under a pipal tree at what is now Bodh Gaya in west-central India and
promised not to rise until he had attained the supreme enlightenment. After
fighting off Mara, an evil spirit who tempted him with worldly comforts and
desires, Siddhartha reached enlightenment, becoming a Buddha at the age of
35.The Gautama Buddha then traveled to the deer park near Benares, India, where
he gave his first sermon and outlined the basic doctrines of Buddhism. According
to Buddhism, there are "four noble truths": (1) existence is suffering; (2)
this suffering is caused by human craving; (3) there is a cessation of the
suffering, which is nirvana; and (4) nirvana can be achieved, in this or future
lives, though the "eightfold path" of right views, right resolve, right speech,
right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right
concentration.For the rest of his life, the Buddha taught and gathered disciples
to his sangha, or community of monks. He died at age 80, telling his monks to
continue working for their spiritual liberation by following his teachings.
Buddhism eventually spread from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China,
Korea, Japan, and, in the 20th century, to the West. Today, there are an
estimated 350 million people in 100 nations who adhere to Buddhist beliefs and
practices.