This Tweet in History (Archives)

[SFX: CHURCHBELL] Greetings, History Lovers! Welcome to This Tweet in History, the Week In Review, podcasting to you on tape delay from our North American Studios.

Here are your top stories for the week ending April 24, 2010:

[SFX: SOUND827]World: DATELINE Haiti, April 22 1971 - Papa Doc, Haiti's president for life, reaches the end of his term: http://bit.ly/cby3ct [SFX:] Haitian dictator, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, first came to fame as a beloved doctor. He came to power after opposing a military coup, elected president in 1956. Once he was in, he began consolidating power, immediately exiling his enemies, and, ultimately, through voodoo and his private militia, the TonTons Macoute, instilling fear in the populace, dissolving one house of legislature and going outside the country’s constitution by seeking a second term as president, in an election which he, the sole candidate, won with a tally of 1,320,748 to nil. A year later, he had himself declared, with 99.9% of the country’s vote, “President for life.” When that life ended, in 1971, Papa Doc’s son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, succeeded him. [SFX:]

[SFX: SOUND827]Sports: DATELINE Boston, April 21 1980 - Rosie Ruiz's ruse riles runners in Boston's renowned race: http://bit.ly/9vUiXB The Back-Story: [SFX:I Ran All The Way Home; Blues In The Night] To say that Rosie Ruiz came out of nowhere to win the Boston Marathon would be an unforgivably bad play on words. The largely unknown runner qualified for the Boston Marathon with what turned out to be falsified times from the New York Marathon. When she crossed the finish line in Boston, in record time, and three minutes ahead of the next female to cross, she didn’t seem fatigued. Further, no one saw her earlier in the race, nor did she appear on videotaped footage. Some even reported having seen Ruiz insert herself into the race at the last mile. Ultimately, Ruiz was stripped of her title, Canadian Jacqueline Gareau was named the winner, and The Boston and other marathons added video surveillance and electronic monitoring at checkpoints throughout the course. [SFX: I’m a Loser]

[SFX: SOUND827]: In other news: DATELINE Atlanta, April 23 1985 - Some things never change. Coke should've been one of them.: http://bit.ly/b2zwXn
The Back-Story: [SFX:That’s Just The Way It Is; Just the Way You Are;Changes;Don’t Change for You] In the era of the Pepsi challenge, Coke was losing market share. All of a sudden, they discovered a long-lost “original” formula for their soda, and began market-testing it. Sure enough, it was preferred, and, in short order, the new formula was pushed out to the world. The company, however, underestimated its consumer-base’s loyalty, who were outraged at the change. Eventually, Coke re-released the former formula, re-branded as Coca Cola Classic. When all was said and done, the result of the fiasco was what Coke had sought in the first place: A revitalization of the brand.[SFX:Get Right Back to Where We Started From; Do It Again]

[SFX: SOUND827] This week’s birthdays:[SFX: In the Club]

April 18: Conductor Leopold Stokowski
April 19: Tennis star Maria Sharapova
April 20: Jazz pioneer Lionel Hampton http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/hampton/
April 21: Author Charlotte Bronte
April 22: Soviet premier Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
April 23: Conductor Sergei Prokofiev, and
April 24: Designer Jean-Paul Gaultier

[SFX:GENERIC1MOTION]Thank you for joining us for This Tweet in History, the Week in review. Be sure to follow us on Twitter.com/histortweet, and check our archives at histortweet.blogspot.com

++This Tweet in History: April 24, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 04:18:00 +0000

WRLD: 1965 - Coup makes Urena provisional president of Dominican

SPRT: 1996 - Penguins emerge victorious after over 2 hours battling the Capitals

OTHR: 1184 - Troy learns to beware of Greeks bearing gifts

BDAY: Cedric the Entertainer; Jean-Paul Gaultier; Barbara Streisand; Anthony Trollope

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++This Tweet in History: April 23, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:54:00 +0000

WRLD: 1014 - Ireland's King Brian can rest in peace after dealing the Vikings their final defeat, at Clontarf

ENTR: 1988 - After 741 weeks, Dark Side of the Moon drops off the charts

OTHR: 1985 - Some things never change. Coke should've been one of them.

BDAY: Vladimir Nabokov; Sergei Prokofiev; Max Planck; William Shakespeare

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++This Tweet in History: April 22, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 05:08:00 +0000

WRLD: 1971 - Papa Doc, Haiti's president for life, reaches the end of his term

SPRT: 1969 - Yachtsman Knox-Johnston sails solo, non-stop, around the world, landing in the record books

OTHR: 1912 - Communist Party's voice of "Truth" begins publication in St. Pete

BDAY: John Waters; Jack Nicholson; Yehudi Menuhin; Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

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++This Tweet in History: April 21, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:50:00 +0000

WRLD: 753 BC - Traditional date for the three Rs

SPRT: 1980 - Rosie Ruiz's ruse riles runners in Boston's renowned race

RLGN: 1966 - Ethiopian emperor lands in Jamaica on first Grounation Day

BDAY: Jim Morrison; Queen Elizabeth II; Charlotte Bronte; Catherine the Great

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++This Tweet in History: April 20, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:40:00 +0000

WRLD: 1689 - Deposed King James' siege befouls the Londonderry air

SPRT: 1984 - Nordiques, Canadiens brawl their way through the Good Friday Massacre

OTHR: 1918 - Red Baron notches #s 79, 80 day before becoming Wifrid May's #1

BDAY: Ryan O'Neal; George Takei; Lionel Hampton; Joan Miro

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++This Tweet in History: April 19, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:51:00 +0000

WRLD: 1999 - Bundestag bids Bonn bye bye, beats it back to Berlin

SPRT: 1897 - Manly art of marathons migrates from Athens to Boston

OTHR: 1824 - Lord Byron catches death of cold, ending his Greek adventure

BDAY: Maria Sharapova; Al Unser, Jr.; Paloma Picasso; Dudley Moore

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++This Tweet in History: April 18, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 05:34:00 +0000

WRLD: 1906 - SF shakes and bakes under weight of Great Earthquake and Fire

SPRT: 1994 - Brian Lara bats then-record 375 runs in one day

OTHR: 1930 - For BBC3, No News is Good Friday news

BDAY: Conan O'Brien; James Woods; Leopold Stokowski; Clarence Darrow

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HistorTweet Week in Review - W/E April 17, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:53:00 +0000

[SFX: CHURCHBELL] Greetings, History Lovers! Welcome to This Tweet in History, the Week In Review, podcasting to you on tape delay from our North American Studios.

Here are your top stories for the week ending April 17, 2010:

[SFX: SOUND827]World: DATELINE Space April 13, 1970 - Houston, we've had a problem: Apollo 13's oxygen tank explodes en route to the moon: http://bit.ly/aktBom The Back-Story: [SFX: Ashes to Ashes; Space Oddity; ] The drama that unfolded in space that fatedul day began on earth, some five years earlier. Apollo's designers realized the 28 volts weren't sufficient, and made the change to 65 volts. A thermostat supplier didn't get the change. The change had gone unnoticed through all previous Apollo missions, but lucky #13 was using a tank that had been dropped two years earlier. This combination of events led to the thermostat's failure and the gas leak that put the crew's lives in jeopardy[SFX: Jeopardy]. Through the efforts of the highly skilled ground suppport team and the astronaut crew, the accident wasn't fatal, but Apollo 13 never made it to the moon. [SFX: I'm Lucky; Everyone's Gone to the Moon; Dark Side of the Moon]

[SFX: SOUND827]Sports: DATELINE Canada April 12, 1980 - Canadian athlete, amputee, Terry Fox begins trans-Canadian Marathon of Hope against cancer: http://bit.ly/chddXX
The Back-Story: [SFX: One Step at a Time; Step by Step; Running on Empty] When Terry Fox, a college basketball player, learned that he would lose his leg to cancer, he came up with an audacious plan: He would run across Canada, a marathon a day, to raise both cancer awareness and funds to fight the disease. Two years after his operation, he began over 3000 miles of training, and lined up sponsors. He began his run by dipping his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean off Newfoundland and covered 6 provinces before, over 3,300 miles and 143 days into his Marathon of Hope, he collapsed, the cancer having spread to his lungs. He was taken home and was able to watch as his nation adopted his cause and pulled together to raise over $10 million for the cure. [SFX: It Keeps You Running]

[SFX: SOUND827]: Things that make you go Huh?: DATELINE Europe April 17, 1986 - Finally! Treaty ends 335-year war between Netherlands and Scilly: http://bit.ly/aYP23D
The Back-Story: [SFX:War; Lay Down My Sword and Shield; Zor and Zam] During the British Civil War, when Oliver Cromwell and his Parliamentarians were storming the nation, the Isles of Scilly was the last Royalist stronghold. Weighing in on the Parliamentarian side, the Netherlands dispatched their navy to the Isles, where they met such great resistance, with ships and goods seized by the Royalists. In 1651, after the Dutch demand for reparations was met with an unsatisfactory response, Admiral Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp they declared war on the Royalist Isles. Shortly thereafter, the Parliamentarians overtook the Isles, and, before a shot was fired, the war was forgotten - by the Dutch, that is. With no peace treaty in place, the state of war persisted in rumor and local jokes on the Isles until, in 1985, Council Chair Roy Duncan inquired of the Dutch embassy in London, who confirmed the rumor and agreed to send Ambassador Jonkheer Huydecoper to Scilly to sign the treaty that would put 335 years of war behind them. [SFX:It’s Been a Long Long Time; I Don't Really Want to Fight]

[SFX: SOUND827] This week’s birthdays:[SFX: In the Club]

April 11: Designer Oleg Cassini
April 12: Jazz Musician Herbie Hancock
April 13: Author Eudora Welty
April 14: Baseball great Pete Rose
April 15: Artist Leonardo da Vinci
April 16: Pope Benedict XVI, and
April 17: Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev

[SFX:GENERIC1MOTION]Thank you for joining us for This Tweet in History, the Week in review. Be sure to follow us on Twitter.com/histortweet, and check our archives at histortweet.blogspot.com

++This Tweet in History: April 17, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:06:00 +0000

WRLD: 1961 - Invasion force of Cuban exiles lands at Bay of Pigs

SPRT: 1976 - Schmidt contributes 4 of the 9 homers in 36-run slugfest

HUH?: 1986 - Finally! Treaty ends 335-year war between Netherlands and Scilly

BDAY: Liz Phair; Harry Reasoner; William Holden; Nikita Khrushchev

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++This Tweet in History: April 16, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:49:00 +0000

WRLD: 1947 - Syria gains independence from France

SPRT: 1940 - Feller's first no-hitter is MLB's only opening-day no-hitter

OTHR: 1943 - Whoops! Hofman's discovery of LSD is no accident

BDAY: Selena Quintanilla; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Pope Benedict XVI; Charlie Chaplin

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++This Tweet in History: April 15, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:50:00 +0000

WRLD: 1912 - Titanic fail as the unsinkable happens in North Atlantic waters

SPRT: 1947 - Robinson smashes through Major League Baseball's color barrier

OTHR: 1994 - 124 countries sign to board the Marrakech Express, direct to WTO

BDAY: Emma Thompson; Roy Clark; Henry James; Leonardo da Vinci

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++This Tweet in History: April 14, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:57:00 +0000

WRLD: 1865 - Surprise ending to "My American Cousin" at the Ford Theater

SPRT: 1960 - Dynasty! Canadiens bring home 5th straight cup.

OTHR: 1881 - Gunfight in El Paso leaves four dead in five seconds

BDAY: Julie Christie; Pete Rose; Rod Steiger; Sir John Gielgud

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++This Tweet in History: April 13, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:15:00 +0000

WRLD: 1970 - Houston, we've had a problem

SPRT: 1997 - Masters Tournament's youngest champ ever notches record low score in becoming first non-white to win

ENTR: 1742 - Hallelujah! Dublin hosts premiere of Handel's oratorio, "Messiah"

BDAY: Garry Kasparov; Eudora Welty; Samuel Beckett; Thomas Jefferson

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++This Tweet in History: April 12, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:26:00 +0000

WRLD: 1927 - Chiang Kai-shek launches major anti-Communist purge in Kuonmintang

SPRT: 1980 - Canadian athlete, amputee, Terry Fox begins trans-Canadian Marathon of Hope against cancer

OTHR: 1994 - Lawyers open the floodgates to internet spam

BDAY: Claire Danes; David Cassidy; David Letterman; Herbie Hancock

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++This Tweet in History: April 11, 2010++

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:16:00 +0000

WRLD: 1987 - Peres, Hussein sign secret London Agreement

TECH: 1976 - Handcrafted Apple 1 debuts for $666.66

OTHR: 1951 - Truman reins in loose cannon in Korea

BDAY: Meshach Taylor; Joel Grey; Ethel Kennedy; Oleg Cassini

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HistorTweet Week in Review - W/E April 10, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (HistorTweet) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:37:00 +0000

[SFX: CHURCHBELL] Greetings, History Lovers! Welcome to This Tweet in History, the Week In Review, podcasting to you on tape delay from our North American Studios.

Here are your top stories for the week ending April 10, 2010:

[SFX: SOUND827]World: DATELINE London, April 8, 1968 - Heroic Barbara Jane Harrison perishes after guiding her passengers to safety following crash: http://bit.ly/a2okLO
The Back-Story: [SFX: Wind Beneath My Wings] Shortly after takeoff, BOAC’s flight 712 out of Heathrow ran into problems when an engine caught fire and dropped off of the wing. Although the pilots got the plane safely to the ground, fire from the wing spread to the fuselage. When one flight attendant had to leave the plane to untangle the evacuation slide, the task of getting passengers out of the rear exit fell to young Barbara Jane Harrison alone. As the fire spread, she encouraged, and sometimes pushed, passengers onto the slide, until the fire made the rear exit impassable. Harrison then led the remaining passengers to another exit, but refused to leave herself, perishing rather than abandoning an elderly, disabled passenger who had been seated in one of the last rows. For her valor, she was awarded the George Cross for heroism, one of only four female awardees, all of the rest of whom received it for service in World War II. [SFX:I’m Not Moving]

[SFX: SOUND827]Sports: DATELINE Athens, April 6, 1896 - De Coubertin's dreams come true with revival of Olympic competition in Athens: http://bit.ly/SKQty
The Back-Story: [SFX: Fanfare for the Common Man] Duke Pierre de Coubertin was a man on a mission. Convinced that his native France had lost the Franco-Prussian war because of poor physical education, he set about to add a physical component to the too-intellectual French education system. Failing at that, de Coubertin stumbled upon a grander dream: a modern revival of the ancient Olympic games. In 1896, his dreams materialized over 10 days in Athens, with the King of Greece handing olive laurels, certificates, and medals to the first and second place winners in a variety of sports. De Coubertin’s dream of a venue that instilled national pride, inter-national cooperation, and world peace,
has been played out for more than a century, with breaks only for wold wars, in 1916, 1940, and 1944. [SFX:]

[SFX: SOUND827]: Entertainment: DATELINE Brighton, April 6, 1974 - Twice-incumbent Luxembourg meets its Waterloo at Brighton as Swedish quartet grabs Eurovision laurels: http://bit.ly/baeAUD
The Back-Story: [SFX:Waterloo; I Write the Songs] Luxembourg was on a roll, having won the Eurovision Song contest twice in a row when, in 1974, a new band from Sweden made its television debut with an upbeat, pop song, Waterloo, that captured the hearts of the world, and launched ABBA on the international stage. The song, which meets all of Bristol University physiologist Dr. Harry Witchel’s 7 crucial elements for sucecss at Eurovision:: pace and rhythm, an easily memorable song, a perfect chorus, key change, a clearly defined finish, dance routine and finish, was enshrined in 2007 as the best song in the 50-year history of the contest. [SFX:]

[SFX: SOUND827] This week’s birthdays:[SFX: In the Club]

April 4: Musician Muddy Waters
April 5: Slave turned statesman Booker T. Washington
April 6: Outlaw Butch Cassidy
April 7: Sitarist Ravi Shankar
April 8: UN General Secretary Kofi Annan
April 9: Singer Paul Robeson, and
April 10: Actor Omar Sharif

[SFX:GENERIC1MOTION]Thank you for joining us for This Tweet in History, the Week in review. Be sure to follow us on Twitter.com/histortweet, and check our archives at histortweet.blogspot.com