Tag Archives: 1906

22 April 1906

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The 1906 Intercalated Games open in Athens.

The Intercalated Games were a series of Olympic Games that were intended to be held in between the main Olympic Games, effectively making the Olympics an event that occurred every two years instead of every four. They were first held in 1906 in Athens, Greece.

The idea was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, who believed that such a series could help maintain interest in the Olympics during the four-year gap between the traditional Games. The 1906 Intercalated Games were officially sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and were quite successful, featuring a high level of competition and organization. They were even credited with rejuvenating interest in the main Olympic Games, especially after the relatively poorly organized 1900 and 1904 Games.

Despite the initial success, the Intercalated Games did not continue as a tradition. There were plans to hold them every four years in Athens, to highlight the connection with the ancient Olympics, but the idea was ultimately abandoned. The IOC does not officially recognize the 1906 Games as part of the official Olympic history, and they are not included in the count of the Olympiads.

7 April 1906

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Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.

Mount Vesuvius, located near Naples, Italy, is one of the most famous and dangerous volcanoes in the world due to its history of destructive eruptions.

79 AD Eruption: This is the most famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which buried the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and several other settlements under a thick layer of volcanic ash and pumice. The eruption resulted in the deaths of thousands of people and preserved these ancient cities remarkably well, providing invaluable insight into Roman life.

1631 Eruption: This eruption was one of the most violent in Vesuvius’s recorded history. It began on December 16, 1631, and lasted for six days. The eruption caused extensive damage and loss of life in the surrounding area, including the destruction of several towns and villages.

1794 Eruption: This eruption occurred between August and October 1794. It was characterized by lava flows and ash emissions, causing damage to nearby settlements and farmland.

1906 Eruption: In April 1906, Vesuvius experienced a moderate eruption. While it wasn’t as catastrophic as some previous eruptions, it still caused damage to nearby villages and resulted in the evacuation of thousands of people from the area.

1944 Eruption: This eruption occurred during World War II, from March to July 1944. It was a relatively small eruption compared to some of Vesuvius’s earlier events but still caused significant damage to nearby towns and villages. The eruption coincided with the Allied invasion of Italy and added to the difficulties faced by both civilians and military personnel in the region.

Since 1944, Mount Vesuvius has remained active but has not experienced any major eruptions on the scale of those mentioned above. However, it continues to pose a significant threat to the densely populated surrounding areas, including Naples and its suburbs. Scientists closely monitor its activity to assess the risk and prepare for any future eruptions.

7 April 1906

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Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.

Mount Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure.

Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as several other settlements. The eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ashes and volcanic gases to a height of 33 km, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 6×105 cubic meters per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings. More than 1,000 people died in the eruption, but exact numbers are unknown. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.

Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards violent, explosive eruptions of the Plinian type, making it the most densely populated volcanic region in the world. This eruption on 7 April 1906 resulted in around 100 deaths.

15 March 1906

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Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated.

In 1884, Henry Royce entered a partnership with a friend of his and began a business manufacturing electric fittings. After several iterations, the company became Royce Ltd. in 1899. Ever the entrepreneur, however, Royce realized that the business in electric manufacturing had become too competitive and that a different product was needed to keep his company viable. Royce had always been fascinated by mechanical things, so he settled on the motor car as a potential new avenue for his business.

By 1902, Royce had bought two different cars and found them wanting. After deciding to build his own car, Royce spent the next two years experimenting and building. By 1904 he had built three cars. One of those was sold to a director of the company, a man named Henry Edmunds. Edmunds was friends with Charles Rolls, a businessman who ran a car showroom in London selling imports. Edmunds showed the Royce-built car to Rolls and subsequently arranged for the two to meet, a meeting that occurred in May 1904.

Impressed by the 2-cylinder Royce car, Rolls agreed to take all the cars that Royce could produce. The first Rolls-Royce car, a 10-hp, was shown at the Paris Salon in December 1904. The quality of the early Rolls-Royce automobiles led to a rapid increase in popularity, and on 15 March 1906 the two men formed Rolls-Royce Limited. The company charter contained a presciently forward-looking statement that the company should produce engines for use “on land or water or in the air.”

After raising £100,000 of capital by selling public shares in the new company, Royce began development of an all-new model. After the company moved to a new factory in Derby, all focus was placed on producing and marketing the six-cylinder Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost. Thanks to Royce’s exacting standards, the Silver Ghost quickly established the reputation of Rolls-Royce Limited as a top-class automobile manufacturer.

22 May 1906

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The Wright brothers are granted a patent for their “Flying-Machine”.

May 22, 1906 – The Wright Brothers were Granted a U.S. Patent for a “Flying Machine”
During their experiments of 1902 the Wrights succeeded in controlling their glider in all three axes of flight: pitch, roll and yaw. Their breakthrough discovery was the simultaneous use of roll control with wing-warping and yaw control with a rear rudder. A forward elevator controlled pitch. In March 1903 they applied for a patent on their method of control. The application, which they wrote themselves, was rejected. In early 1904, they hired Ohio patent attorney Henry Toulmin, and on May 22, 1906, they were granted U.S. Patent 821393 for a “Flying Machine”.

The patent’s importance lies in its claim of a new and useful method of controlling a flying machine, powered or not. The technique of wing-warping is described, but the patent explicitly states that other methods instead of wing-warping could be used for adjusting the outer portions of a machine’s wings to different angles on the right and left sides to achieve lateral control.

The concept of lateral control was basic to all aircraft designs; without it they could not be easily or safely controlled in flight.

The broad protection intended by this patent succeeded when the Wrights won patent infringement lawsuits against Glenn Curtiss and other early aviators who devised ailerons to emulate lateral control described in the patent and demonstrated by the Wrights in their 1908 public flights. U.S. courts decided that ailerons were also covered by the patent.

7 April 1906

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Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.

Mount Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure.

Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as several other settlements. The eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ashes and volcanic gases to a height of 33 km, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 6×105 cubic meters per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings. More than 1,000 people died in the eruption, but exact numbers are unknown. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.

Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards violent, explosive eruptions of the Plinian type, making it the most densely populated volcanic region in the world.