THE ULTIMATE
On this day, April 30th 1789, George Washington the first President of the United States of America was sworn into office, to begin his Presidency.
He had previously led the American Continental Army against the British in the American War of Independence or American Revolution, and presided at the Philadelphia Convention that created the US Constitution and the US federal Governmet in 1787. He served as President until 1797. He is seen by Americans as the 'Father of His Country', and 'First in War, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen'. He, like many others among the 'Founding Fathers' ot the USA, owned slaves, but steadily moved towards an abolitionist viewpoint, and unlike many of his contemporaries asked that the slaves on his estate at Mount Vernon to be freed after his death - which Martha Washington carried out a year after his death. You may see a statue of George Washington in Trafalgar Square, standing by the National Gallery, only a couple of streets away from Benjamin Franklin's house, which served as the first unofficial embassy of America. Washington was born British, and is descended from Britain, in the American Colonies, and served in the British forces in Virginia. He decided to join the fight to preserve his rights, against what he saw as the tyrannical British King, George III. Saying that he wouldn't set foot on British soil again, and so the statue in Trafalgar square stands not on British soil, but soil brought over from the USA!
0 Comments
On this day, April 26th 1918, Olympic athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen was born in the Netherlands.
Fanny became the first female athlete to win 4 Olympic Gold medals in a single Olympic Games at the 1948 Olympics in London - being the most successful athlete at the event. Gold - 100m Gold - 200m Gold - 80m Hurdles Gold - 4 X 100m relay Twice she almost failed to start, prior to the 200m final she broke down, homesickness, pressure of competing, and attacks that as a woman and mother that she shouldn't be competing. Whilst, before the relay she had gone to buy a raincoat, only just making the start. At the time she was 30 years old, mother of two, and it was revealed after the event she was also pregnant. She had also participated in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Although, Fanny specialised in track events at the Olympics due to restrictions as to how many events she could enter, she also particpated in the long jump and high jump, setting world records in these as well! The media nicknamed her 'The Flying Housewife', 'The Flying Dutchmam' and 'Amazing Fanny'. In 1999 the IAAF voted her the 'Female Athlete of the Century'. |
Archives
January 2021
Categories
All
|