History is something that illuminates the culture and its origin. It also forecasts the awareness and how and when everything evolved and fell into place. It not only helps us trace the origins of the past but also helps us understand it better which leads to an understanding of the present in a more desirable way. We, at Brag Social, try to keep you updated with the happening of past and present through our today column. Let us now read the historical milestones of August 20.
1960 – USSR recovers 2 dogs, Belka and Strelka, the first, animals to be launched into orbit and returned alive (Sputnik 5).
Belka and Strelka are a couple of stray mongrels that were impressed by the Soviet space program and were acknowledged to become a part of the Soviet space program. They became the first living creatures to be launched into the orbit and return alive from an orbital flight.
The Soviet’s researchers have been using animals for long before Beka was lifted off from Baikonur, a 16-orbital flight. There was no certainty in the couple’s safe return. But the experiment proved to be a success. Two other dogs were lost, less than earlier a month before the success of Belka and Strekla, when the booster rocket carrying their Vostok spacecraft into orbit exploded on its launch.
1667 – John Milton publishes Paradise Lost, an epic poem about the fall of Adam and Eve
Paradise Lost is one of the late works by John Milta on which was originally issued in 10 books in 1667. Books 7 and 10 were each split into two parts, which were then published in 12 books in the year 1674 having its second edition. Paradise Lost is considered to be one of the eminent poems in the English language, as per the intellectual say. The poem paints a biblical picture of Adam and Eve, a fall from grace in short how humanity extended through rhythm and sound that resonates well with the English language. It is inspired by the use of epic questioning and calling on a muse, while its emergence from the middle of the story and the 12-book structure have a classical impact as well.
The main protagonists of the poem are God, Lucifer (Satan), Adam, and Eve. A lot has been written about Milton’s powerful yet empathetic characterization for Satan. The Romantic poets like William Blake and Percy Bysshe Shelley saw Satan as a heroic figure in the poem and appreciated his insurgence against the autocracy of Heaven.
1964 – US President Lyndon Baines Johnson signs the Economic Opportunity Act, an anti-poverty measure totaling nearly $1 billion, as part of his War on Poverty.
President Lyndon Johnson declared a war on poverty that was unconditional, some fifty years from today. The succeeding effort was either Heritage’s Robert Rector or the White House’s news release on the anniversary. Johnson’s administration was passed by Congress, and implemented by his Cabinet agencies, as he put it in his 1964 State of the Union address announcing the effort for the term ‘War on Poverty’. The amendments of Social Security of 1965, were created for medicare and financed by an increase in the payroll tax cap and rates. Along with the Social Security Act, the Food Stamp Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 were all signed into law, benefitting the underprivileged retirees, widows, the disabled and college-aged students. These acts were known as the four important pieces of legislation.
1913 – 700 feet above Buc, France, parachutist Adolphe Pegoud becomes the first person to jump from an airplane and land safely.
Air racing was much of a popular genre and the art of aerobatics had not developed much beyond swooping and diving. It was in the year 1913 when a young French pilot, Adolphe Pégoud (1889-1915) brought aerobatics to the world’s attention. His pilot’s license was renewed on 8 February and before anyone knew, on 19 August 1913 Pégoud made a parachute jump from an airplane that was considered second in the world’s leading record after Berry, an American who was the first in March 1912. Pégoud chose to jump from a single-seater Blériot XI piloted by himself. He had the rudimentary parachute that was packed on the fuselage behind him and climbed about 2,000 feet over Buc, near Versailles in France, and then jumped from the airplane. Pégoud landed safely near a tree but his plane Blériot was unimpressively reared and somersaulted its way down to the earth.
1900 – Cricket was played for the first and only time at the Olympics
On August 20, the Paris Olympics saw cricket as a game played for the first time. It was a two-day game faced off between England and France on one of the biggest stages. Had there been no scorecard for this match, the match wouldn’t have been significantly remembered and would be long lost in history. Since there were only two teams taking part in the game, there was no bronze, while England bagged the gold with 158 runs and France took the silver. Had France held a little longer, the match would have been a draw between both the teams.
1977 – Voyager 2 – NASA solar system exploration spacecraft was launched.
The second spacecraft to enter interstellar space was NASA’s Voyager 2. The spacecraft joined its twin—Voyager 1 on Dec 10, 2018. It was the only man-made object to enter the space between the stars. To study the outer solar system up close, Voyager 1 and 2 were designed to take advantage of a rare planetary. Planets like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune were targeted by Voyager 2. To study and find the edge of the solar system, Voyager 2 was designed like it’s sister, Voyager 1.
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