Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, April 6.
In 1896, the Olympic Games are revived after a near 1,500-year absence with an opening ceremony in Athens. Initially organized in Ancient Greece, its roots can be dated back to 776 BC when the games served as a test of might in honor of the Greek god Zeus. It was allegedly banned under the Roman emperor Theodosius I in 393 AD due to his belief that it celebrated pagan cults. The ancient site of Olympia was later abandoned to nature, with some sporadic Olympic-style events being held decades apart. It wasn’t until the organization of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Paris when the Games would not only be brought back, but invite the world’s best athletes to compete against each other. The first events included swimming; fencing; wrestling; shooting; and cycling, among others. The tradition continues today, along with the addition of the Winter Olympics a few decades later in 1924.
In 1917, Congress votes to declare war on Germany following the British interception of the Zimmerman Telegram: a German proposal to Mexico offering assistance to reclaim land lost in the Mexican-American War. This was during a critical moment when the Entente was suffering heavy losses from the German Empire. World War I had started around three years prior in 1914 upon the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was reluctant to send American troops to a European conflict; in fact, his entire presidential campaign revolved around keeping the United States out of foreign affairs. The telegram, combined with the intentional sinking of commercial ships containing U.S. citizens, changed this sentiment. The American public demanded retribution, and the Doughboys (a nickname used for American troops) were on their way to “the war to end all wars”.
In 1924, eight members of the U.S. Army Air Service embark on a flight around the world. This wasn’t the first time an attempt was made; in Europe several years prior, aviators tried unsuccessfully to circumvent the world, only to be hampered by elements such as freezing cold temperatures and blistering desert heat. This time was going to be a little different, however. Piloting four planes named after Chicago, Seattle, Boston, and New Orleans, the flight was divided into six different voyages. The first was from Washington state to Alaska, in which unyielding cold caused the Seattle to crash into a mountain. Both the pilot and mechanic ultimately survived the brutal Alaskan wilderness and sought shelter. The other three planes successfully made the journey. The following five included a flight from Japan to China; French Indochina (present day Vietnam) to India; Persia (present day Iran) to Turkey; France to the United Kingdom; and Iceland to Greenland, and then back to the United States. Combined, they made it around the world in 175 days.