Welcome to another bright day in May. There’s always something or the other happening around the world. The world, being so large, has witnessed infinite inventions, innovations, achievements, and other milestones in the past. You can do something amazing today, and maybe it is something that we write about in the Today column in the coming years. We, at Brag Social, try to keep you updated with all the happenings of the past and present. Let’s read about the historical milestones of May 23.
1618: The Thirty Years War begins
The Thirty Years’ War was fought primarily in central Europe between 1618 and 1648. The battle was between the Catholic and Protestant states. They formed the Holy Roman Empire. However, as the Thirty Years’ War evolved, it became less about religion and more about which group would ultimately govern Europe. The war resulted in the death of 8 million people, including 20%of the German population, which made it one of the most destructive conflicts in human history.
1785: Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals
This event dates back to 1784 when the eyesight of sir Benjamin Franklin deteriorated. Franklin suffered from presbyopia. Switching between lenses for far and nearsightedness was tiresome. In the beginning, they combined two lenses directly resulting in a sharp switch between upper and lower lenses. At the end of the 19th century, Louis de Wecker resolved this problem by fusing the sections of lenses together. Peter Williams, who invented trifocal lenses, coined the term bifocals and credited Benjamin Franklin in 1824.
1915: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary
This event on May 23 of 1915 marked the entry of Italy in World War I on the side of Allies- Britain, France, and Russia. Italy was certainly not prepared for large-scale warfare. However, they mobilized 1.2 million men were in the spring of 1915. While it was equipped for just 732,000.
1949: Proclamation of The Federal Republic of West Germany
In 1949, on May 23, the West German Parliamentary Council met and formally declared the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany. It existed between 1949 and 1990 when the German reunification took place. The Federal Republic of West Germany came during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II.
1958: Mao Zedong starts the “Great Leap Forward” movement in China
This movement was a part of China’s Second Five Year Plan. The Great Leap Forward was an economic and social campaign. It was to reconstruct the country. The aim was to change from an agrarian economy into a communist society through the formation of people’s communes. The aim of the campaign was to initiate large-scale industrialization in the country concentrating not only in the urban areas but also in the rural ones.
Check our Today column for everyday updates.
