The British Museum opens to the public

The British Museum is one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive museums, dedicated to human history, art, and culture. It is located in London, United Kingdom, and was established in 1753. The museum’s founding collections were largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane.

Collections: The museum houses a vast and diverse collection of over 8 million works, spanning over two million years of human history. The collections cover various cultures and civilizations from different parts of the world, including ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and more.

Great Court: The Great Court is the largest covered public square in Europe and serves as the main entrance to the museum. It was redesigned and opened in 2000, featuring a stunning glass roof designed by architect Sir Norman Foster.

Rosetta Stone: One of the most famous artifacts in the museum is the Rosetta Stone, a key linguistic tool that played a crucial role in deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was discovered in 1799 and has been on display at the British Museum since 1802.

Elgin Marbles: The museum is also home to the Elgin Marbles, a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis in Athens. The controversy surrounding their acquisition and ownership remains a subject of debate.

Special Exhibitions: In addition to its permanent collection, the British Museum hosts temporary exhibitions that focus on specific themes, time periods, or regions.

Educational Programs: The museum is committed to education and offers a range of educational programs and resources for schools, families, and adults. It also provides extensive online resources for remote learning.

Research and Conservation: The British Museum is actively involved in research and conservation efforts. Its staff works to study and preserve the artifacts in its care.

Accessibility: The museum is free to enter, making its collections accessible to a wide audience. It relies on donations, grants, and sponsorships for funding.

James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.

Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.

15 January 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.

Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.

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The British Museum opens.

In 1753 Sir Hans Sloane, an Irish-born physician and naturalist, left his collection of 71,000 books, manuscripts, natural specimens and other objects to the nation in his will, in return for a payment of £20,000 to his heirs. The collection was used as the basis for the British Museum, the world’s first national public museum, which was established by an Act of Parliament on 7 June 1753. It opened on 15 January 1759, offering free admission to all “studious and curious persons”.

The museum was first located in Montagu House in Bloomsbury. During the 18th century it attracted around 5,000 people per year, but its popularity increased greatly in the 1800s. In 1823 George IV donated the King’s Library to the collection and this led to the construction of the main quadrangular building and the circular Reading Room that are the centre of the museum today.

These were completed in 1857. To allow room for expansion, the museum’s natural history collection was relocated to a new building in South Kensington during the 1880s, which is now called the Natural History Museum.

The book collection, which had been housed in the Great Court around the Reading Room, moved to the new British Library building in St Pancras in 1997. The Great Court, which had effectively been closed to the public since 1857, was then refurbished at a cost of £100m, including the construction of a new glass and steel roof that made it the largest public square in Europe. Today, the British Museum has over 3.5 million objects on display and attracts more than six million people every year.

The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.

The world’s largest office building, construction began on the Pentagon on September 11, 1941. Designed by architect George Bergstrom, approved construction contracts totaled $3.1 million. The original site for this government facility was Arlington Farms, which was shaped like a pentagon. This is why the building is shaped as such. However, concerns that the building might obstruct the view of Washington, D.C. from Arlington Cemetery, President Roosevelt opted for the Hoover Airport site.The Pentagon took less than two years to complete and was dedicated on January 15, 1943.

Some interesting facts about this historical building:

Design work for the building proceeded during actual construction. Sometimes construction would get ahead of design and different materials were used than specified in the final plans.

Due to racial segregation, the Pentagon was constructed with separate dining and toilet facilities. In June 1941, President Roosevelt ordered the end to discrimination and to remove the “Whites Only” signage. At the time, and for many years after completion, the Pentagon was the only building in Virginia where segregation was not allowed.

Construction contracts were approved on September 11, 1941 and construction began that same day.

Due to steel shortage the building’s height was capped at just over 77 feet and was built as a reinforced concrete structure. This explains its vast “sprawl” across nearly 29 acres.

Rather than elevators, concrete ramps were built.

Engineers used 680,000 tons of sand from the Potomac River. Indiana limestone was used for the facade.

The Pentagon uses six zip codes and it’s registered postal address is Washington, D.C., even though it is located in the state of Virginia.

The square footage of the Pentagon is 6,636,360 square feet. The parking lot is 67 acres.

During the Cold Ware, the central plaza was referred to as “ground zero” based on concerns the Soviet Union would target nuclear missiles to that location.

While the Pentagon has undergone many improvements over the years, the core design of this unique structure remains intact. Today, nearly 3,700,000 square feet are used as offices, and the building houses about 28,000 military and civilian personnel.

The Soviet Union launches the Soyuz 5 spacecraft.

The Coca-Cola Company is first incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.