This Week in Groundhog Day - The First Groundhog Day

This Week's Historical Theme: Groundhog Day

 

2 February 1887

 

A significant event throughout the history of Groundhog Day that occurred in February was the first ever celebrated Groundhog Day. It featured a rodent meteorologist and took place at Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania. Tradition stated that if a groundhog came out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs back into its burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter weather. If there was no shadow, it means an early spring. The day also has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for the winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be.

 

In 1887, a newspaper editor belonging to a group of groundhog hunters from Pennsylvania declared that Phil, the local groundhog, was America's only true weather-forecasting groundhog. The line of groundhogs that have since been known as Phil are America's most famous groundhogs, but other towns across North America have other weather-predicting rodents, like Staten Island Chuck and Birmingham Bill. In 1993, the film 'Groundhog Day' popularised the usage of 'groundhog day' to mean something that is repeated over and over. Today, tens of thousands of people visit Gobbler's Knob to witness Phil's prediction.

 

Want to find out more about the history of the Groundhog Day? Click here for more information, or here for more information about Groundhog Day 2021.

This Week in Ukraine - The Declaration of Independence

This Week's Historical Theme: The Ukraine

 

26 January 1918

 

A significant event throughout the history of the Ukraine that occurred in January was their declaration of independence. The majority of the country had been incorporated into the Russian empire after the second partition of Poland in 1793, while the remaining section remained part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and was a key battleground of World War I's Eastern Front. Following the overthrow of the Tsar in February 1917, Ukraine set up a provisional government and proclaimed itself a republic within the structure of a federated Russia. After Lenin and his Bolsheviks rose to power in November, Ukraine declared its complete independence.

 

However, Ukraine's Rada government, that had formed after the secession, had difficulty imposing its rule onto the people in the face of Bolshevik opposition and counter-revolutionary activity. As Ukraine was seen as an ideal to Germany and Austria, they brought in troops to preserve order, forcing Russian troops that were occupying the country to leave under the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The defeat of the Central Powers in November 1918 forced Germany and Austria to finally withdraw from Ukraine. Despite this, the Ukraine government later allied themselves with Poland, and in 1922, Ukraine became one of the original constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and would not regain its independence until the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.

 

Want to find out more about the independence of Ukraine? Click here for more information, or here for more about their independence day.

This Week in Cinema - The Production of 'Toy Story' Begins

This Week's Historical Theme: Cinema

 

19 January 1993

 

A significant event throughout the history of cinema that occurred in January was the start of production on 'Toy Story'. This was to be the first full-length feature film created by the pioneering Pixar Animation Studios. Initially functioning as a branch of George Lucas' visual effects company, Pixar first put itself onto Disney's radar with special effects produced for films such as 'Young Sherlock Holmes', that featured the first computer generated images, also known as CGI. After Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, purchased Pixar in 1986, it became an independent company.

 

In 1991, the company signed a $26 million deal with the Walt Disney Company to develop, produce and distribute up to three animated films. 'Toy Story' thus became the first feature-length animated film that was completely computer generated. Even though the long development process included drawings, paintings and sculptures, the final work was done entirely on computers. When released in November 1995, the film received universally positive reviews, and became the first animated feature to ever earn an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. There has subsequently been three sequels, all of which were also critically acclaimed. 'Toy Story 2' was released in 1999, 'Toy Story 3' in 2010, and 'Toy Story 4' in 2019.

 

Want to find out more about the production behind 'Toy Story'? Click here for more information, or here for more about the history between Pixar and Disney.

This Week in World War II - The Liberation of Warsaw

This Week's Historical Theme: World War II

 

17 January 1945

 

A significant event throughout the history of World War II that occurred in January was the liberation of Warsaw from German occupation. Warsaw had served as a battleground since the opening day of fighting in Europe. Germany had declared war by launching an air raid in September 1939, which was followed up with a siege that killed tens of thousands of Polish civilians. Warsaw was forced to surrender to the Germans soon after, as they were deprived of electricity, water, and food, with also 25% of the city's homes being destroyed.

 

Since the Soviets had snatched a part of Poland in the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, they soon found themselves at war with their 'ally'. In August 1944, the Soviets attempted to push the Germans west, and advance on Warsaw. An uprising was led against the German occupiers by the Polish Home Army, hoping to defeat the Germans themselves and not have the Soviets set up a post-war communist government. The Soviets, rather than aiding the Polish uprising, stood by and watched as the Germans slaughtered the Poles, thus destroying any Polish resistance to a pro-Soviet government. The city was finally later liberated from the Germans by Georgy Zhukov's troops.

 

Want to find out more about the liberation of Warsaw? Click here for more information, or here for more about communist Warsaw during the Cold War.

This Week in Technology - The Debut of the iPhone

This Week's Historical Theme: Technology

 

9 January 2007

 

A significant event throughout the history of technology that occurred in January was the debut of the iPhone by Steve Jobs. This occurred at the Macworld convention in San Francisco, where Jobs called the new invention a "revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone." Six months later, when it went on sale in the United States, thousands of customers lined up at Apple shops across the country in order to be among the first to ever purchase an iPhone. By November, more than 1.4 million had been sold, and it was named by Time magazine as the invention of the year.

 

With its launch, the iPhone joined a list of other innovative Apple products, such as the Macintosh and the iPod portable music player, that became part of everyday modern life. The App Store was later launched in 2008, which allowed people to download software applications that included games, social media, travel planning, and many other activities. The launch of the iPhone helped Apple transform into one of the planet's most valuable corporations, even after Jobs' death in 2011. In 2012, more than 200 million iPhones had been sold.

 

Want to find out more about the debut of the iPhone? Click here for more information, or here for more about Jobs' original plan for the iPhone.