This day in history...

I read this somewhere before.

 

On February 11, 1858, 14-year old Marie-Bernarde Soubirous first claims to have seen the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ in a rock grotto near the southern French town of Lourdes. Over the next year Marie will claim to have received 18 visits from the Virgin Mary, who asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision, and told the girl to drink from a fountain in the grotto, which Marie subsequently discovered by digging into the earth. Skeptical church authorities subjected her to severe examinations and refused to accept her visions. After years of mistreatment at the hands of the authorities and the curious public, she was finally allowed to enter the convent of Notre-Dame de Nevers, where she spent her remaining years in prayer and seclusion. She died of ill heath at the age of 35. She was canonized as St. Bernadette by the Roman Catholic Church in 1933. Today, millions travel to Lourdes every year to visit St. Bernadette’s grotto, whose waters supposedly have curative powers.


On February 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end apartheid in South Africa, is released from prison after 27 years. Mandela, a lawyer and deputy president of the African National Congress since 1952, was charged with treason in 1961 after organizing a para-military wing of the ANC. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1964. For the next 18 years, he lived in a small cell without a bed or plumbing, and was forced to do hard labor in a quarry. He could write and receive a letter once every six months, and once a year he was allowed to meet with a visitor for 30 minutes. In 1982 his restrictions were reduced. In 1989, F.W. de Klerk became South African president and set about dismantling apartheid. De Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC, suspended executions, and in February 1990 ordered Mandela's release. In 1993, Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. One year later, the ANC won an electoral majority in the country’s first free elections, and Mandela was elected South Africa’s president. Mandela retired from politics in 1999, but remained a global advocate for peace and social justice until his death in December 2013.


On February 11, 1960, President Dwight Eisenhower proposes a new law criminalizing Payola, calling it an issue of public morality. In general, Payola refers to any corrupt practices in the radio and recording industries, but in this specific case, the issue is recording companies "manufacturing" hit songs by paying radio stations to play them. Among those implicated were Dick Clark, recording industry exec and creator of the highly popular American Bandstand TV show, and Alan Freed, the DJ who coined the phrase "rock and roll". One Cleveland DJ told the Subcommittee on Professional Oversight that he received $12,000 in "listening fees" over the course of 1958 and 1959. Other DJ's told similar stories, but there were differing opinions on the ethics of the matter. When a Boston DJ said it was all part of the American Way of Life, President Eisenhower decided it was time to weigh in. Eventually, the subcommittee found Payola to be a violation of the public trust and banned it, though it has frequently reappeared in different forms.

 

On February 12, 1909, civil rights activists including W.E.B. DuBois and Ida B. Wells-Barnett announce the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The announcement is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The NAACP remains the largest and oldest active civil rights group in the nation, and its emphasis on voter registration, legal defense and activism have set an example for subsequent groups to follow.

On February 12, 1999, the Senate ends its five-week impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton with votes to acquit on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Independent counsel Ken Starr originally brought 11 charges before the House related to his investigation into a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by Paula Jones against Clinton and his alleged affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The House Judiciary Committee approved 3 of the charges, and the House narrowed it down to 2, making Clinton only the 2nd American President to be impeached.

On February 12, 1924, the Aeolian Hall in NYC is packed for the Palais Royal Orchestra's "Experiment in Modern Music." Its organized by the Orchestra's leader Paul Whiteman as a showcase of the relatively new form of music called jazz. Whiteman wants it to be seen as a serious modern art form, but for most of the concert, the audience is unimpressed. Then Broadway composer George Gershwin seats himself at the piano and joins the orchestra for the debut of his newest composition, Rhapsody in Blue. It took Gershwin only 5 weeks to write, but Rhapsody in Blue's impact on American music cannot be understated. Critics consider its opening clarinet glissando to be as recognizable as the opening of Beethoven's 5th, and Rhapsody in Blue as a whole to be one of the most important works in 20th century music.

 

Can't answer that, but what do you think it should be?