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January
1st |
French fashion designer, Gabrielle Chanel, was born in Saumur, France. She is considered as the most influential figure in the world of fashion and a driving force behind the fashion trends which shaped the 20th century. |
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January
8th |
Russian painter, Pavel Filonov, was born in Moscow. His work was banned during the Soviet Era, but re-emerged after the fall of the Soviet regime. |
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January
19th |
The first ever electric lighting system employing overhead wires began servicing the town of Roselle, New Jersey. It had been built by Thomas Edison. |
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February
18th |
Greek writer, Nikos Kazantzakis, was born in Heraklion, Crete. He is considered as one of the most important Greek writers of the 20th century. He is most known around the world for his novel, Zorba the Greek, which was transferred to the big screen by the filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis. |
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March
14th |
German political philosopher, Karl Marx, died at the age of 64. He was one of the most influential political thinkers of the modern age, whose idea's on social structure and political ideology shaped the political stage on a worldwide scale for almost 2 centuries. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were the co-authors of the Communist Manifesto, which had been commissioned by the Communist Leauge. |
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May
13th |
Greek doctor and researcher, George Papanikolaou, was born in Kimi, Evoia. He is known worldwide for his invention his known as the Pap smear (Papanikolaou's test), which is used to detect and prevent cervical cancer and other cytological diseases of the female reproductive system. |
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May
20th |
The eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia began. The eruption would ultimately destroy most of the island, it is said that the explosion that destroyed the island was the loudest noise in recorded history. |
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May
23th |
American actor, Douglas Fairbanks, was born in Denver, Colorado. He is considered to have been the first true action hero of the silver screen. In 1919 he was one of the co-founders of United Artists. He was married to fellow actress Mary Pickford, to become what is known as the first Hollywood celebrity marriage. They were separated in 1933. |
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May
24th |
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge of New York city finished and the bridge opened, 14 years after construction had began. |
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July
3rd |
Czech writer, Franz Kafka, was born in Prague. He is considered as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. |
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July
29th |
Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, was born in Emilia-Romagna. He ruled Italy between 1922 and 1944 under a strict nationalistic fascist regime who later became a close ally of German dictator Adolf Hitler. |
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August
19th |
French clothing designer, Coco Chanel, was born in Saumur. She is widely acknowledged as the most significant figure in the history of 20th century fashion. |
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August
26th |
The Mount Krakatoa volcano erupted in a cataclysmic explosion. The explosion was supposedly heard as far away as Perth in Australia (almost 2000 miles away). More than 35000 people died as a result of the eruption.# 1920 - 19th amendment to U.S. Constitution gives women the right to vote. |
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October
4th |
The first run of the Orient Express began. Its route was from Paris to Giurgiu in Romania via Munich and Vienna. It was in 1889 , with the completion of the railway line to Istanbul, that the Orient Express began traversing the route for which it is most known. |
