THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 25: 

 1881: Pablo Picasso born

Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, is born in Malaga, Spain.

Picasso's father was a professor of drawing, and he bred his son for a career in academic art. Picasso had his first exhibit at age 13 and later quit art school so he could experiment full-time with modern art styles. He went to Paris for the first time in 1900, and in 1901 was given an exhibition at a gallery on Paris' rue Lafitte, a street known for its prestigious art galleries. The precocious 19-year-old Spaniard was at the time a relative unknown outside Barcelona, but he had already produced hundreds of paintings. Winning favorable reviews, he stayed in Paris for the rest of the year and later returned to the city to settle permanently.

The work of Picasso, which comprises more than 50,000 paintings, drawings, engravings, sculptures, and ceramics produced over 80 years, is described in a series of overlapping periods. His first notable period--the "blue period"-began shortly after his first Paris exhibit. In works such as The Old Guitarist (1903), Picasso painted in blue tones to evoke the melancholy world of the poor. The blue period was followed by the "rose period," in which he often depicted circus scenes, and then by Picasso's early work in sculpture. In 1907, Picasso painted the groundbreaking work Les Demoiselles d'Avignon , which, with its fragmented and distorted representation of the human form, broke from previous European art. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon demonstrated the influence on Picasso of both African mask art and Paul Cezanne and is seen as a forerunner of the Cubist movement, founded by Picasso and the French painter Georges Braque in 1909.

In Cubism, which is divided into two phases, analytical and synthetic, Picasso and Braque established the modern principle that artwork need not represent reality to have artistic value. Major Cubist works by Picasso included his costumes and sets for Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (1917) and The Three Musicians (1921). Picasso and Braque's Cubist experiments also resulted in the invention of several new artistic techniques, including collage.

After Cubism, Picasso explored classical and Mediterranean themes, and images of violence and anguish increasingly appeared in his work. In 1937, this trend culminated in the masterpiece Guernica, a monumental work that evoked the horror and suffering endured by the Basque town of Guernica when it was destroyed by German war planes during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso remained in Paris during the Nazi occupation but was fervently opposed to fascism and after the war joined the French Communist Party.

Picasso's work after World War II is less studied than his earlier creations, but he continued to work feverishly and enjoyed commercial and critical success. He produced fantastical works, experimented with ceramics, and painted variations on the works of other masters in the history of art. Known for his intense gaze and domineering personality, he had a series of intense and overlapping love affairs in his lifetime. He continued to produce art with undiminished force until his death in 1973 at the age of 91.

American Revolution
1774 : Congress petitions English king to address grievances
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/congress-petitions-english-king-to-address-grievances

Automotive
1910 : Barney Oldfield defeats boxer Jack Johnson in Brooklyn auto race
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/barney-oldfield-defeats-boxer-jack-johnson-in-brooklyn-auto-race

Civil War
1861 : Keel of the USS Monitor is laid
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/keel-of-the-monitor-laid

Cold War
1971 : The U.N. seats the People's Republic of China and expels Taiwan
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-un-seats-the-peoples-republic-of-china-and-expels-taiwan
1983 : United States invades Grenada
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-invades-grenada

Crime
1994 : Susan Smith reports a false carjacking to cover her murder
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/susan-smith-reports-a-false-carjacking-to-cover-her-murder

Disaster
2000 : Russian military plane crashes into mountain
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/russian-military-plane-crashes-into-mountain

General Interest
1415 : Battle of Agincourt
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-agincourt
1854 : Charge of the Light Brigade
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/charge-of-the-light-brigade
1929 : Cabinet member guilty in Teapot Dome scandal
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cabinet-member-guilty-in-teapot-dome-scandal

Hollywood
2002 : "Camelot," "Harry Potter" star Richard Harris dies
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/camelot-harry-potter-star-richard-harris-dies

Literary
1748 : Henry Fielding becomes justice of the peace
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/henry-fielding-becomes-justice-of-the-peace

Music
1980 : Australian rock gods AC/DC earn their first Top 40 hit with "You Shook Me All Night Long"
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/australian-rock-gods-acdc-earn-their-first-top-40-hit-with-quotyou-shook-me-all-night-longquot

Old West
1853 : Indians attack transcontinental railroad survey crew in Utah
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/indians-attack-transcontinental-railroad-survey-crew-in-utah

Presidential
1764 : John Adams marries Abigail Smith
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-adams-marries-abigail-smith

Sports
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-adams-marries-abigail-smith
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wrestling-legend-dan-gable-is-born

Vietnam War
1972 : Nixon suspends bombing of North Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-suspends-bombing-of-north-vietnam
1973 : Nixon vetoes War Powers Resolution
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-vetoes-war-powers-resolution

World War I
1916 : French troops celebrate recapture of Fort Douaumont at Verdun
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/french-troops-celebrate-recapture-of-fort-douaumont-at-verdun

World War II
1944 : First kamikaze attack of the war begins
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-kamikaze-attack-of-the-war-begins

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 24: 
1901: First barrel ride down Niagara Falls

On this day in 1901, a 63-year-old schoolteacher named Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to take the plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

After her husband died in the Civil War, the New York-born Taylor moved all over the U. S. before settling in Bay City, Michigan, around 1898. In July 1901, while reading an article about the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, she learned of the growing popularity of two enormous waterfalls located on the border of upstate New York and Canada. Strapped for cash and seeking fame, Taylor came up with the perfect attention-getting stunt: She would go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

Taylor was not the first person to attempt the plunge over the famous falls. In October 1829, Sam Patch, known as the Yankee Leaper, survived jumping down the 175-foot Horseshoe Falls of the Niagara River, on the Canadian side of the border. More than 70 years later, Taylor chose to take the ride on her birthday, October 24. (She claimed she was in her 40s, but genealogical records later showed she was 63.) With the help of two assistants, Taylor strapped herself into a leather harness inside an old wooden pickle barrel five feet high and three feet in diameter. With cushions lining the barrel to break her fall, Taylor was towed by a small boat into the middle of the fast-flowing Niagara River and cut loose.

Knocked violently from side to side by the rapids and then propelled over the edge of Horseshoe Falls, Taylor reached the shore alive, if a bit battered, around 20 minutes after her journey began. After a brief flurry of photo-ops and speaking engagements, Taylor's fame cooled, and she was unable to make the fortune for which she had hoped. She did, however, inspire a number of copy-cat daredevils. Between 1901 and 1995, 15 people went over the falls; 10 of them survived. Among those who died were Jesse Sharp, who took the plunge in a kayak in 1990, and Robert Overcracker, who used a jet ski in 1995. No matter the method, going over Niagara Falls is illegal, and survivors face charges and stiff fines on either side of the border.

American Revolution
1775 : British naval fleet attacks Norfolk, Virginia
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-naval-fleet-attacks-norfolk-virginia

Automotive
1931 : George Washington Bridge is dedicated
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-washington-bridge-is-dedicated

Civil War
1862 : Union General Don Carlos Buell is replaced
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rosecrans-replaces-buell

Cold War
1970 : Leftist Salvador Allende elected president of Chile
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/leftist-salvador-allende-elected-president-of-chile

Crime
1997 : Marv Albert faces sentencing in sexual assault case
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/marv-albert-faces-sentencing-in-sexual-assault-case

Disaster
1947 : Commuter trains collide in England
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/commuter-trains-collide-in-england

General Interest
1648 : Thirty Years War ends
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thirty-years-war-ends
1945 : U.N. formally established
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/un-formally-established
1969 : Burton buys Liz a diamond
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/burton-buys-liz-a-diamond
2003 : The Concorde makes its final flight
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-concorde-makes-its-final-flight

Hollywood
1969 : Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid opens
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid-opens

Literary
1958 : Raymond Chandler starts his last novel
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/raymond-chandler-starts-his-last-novel

Music
1962 : James Brown records breakthrough Live at the Apollo album
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/james-brown-records-breakthrough-live-at-the-apollo-album

Old West
1861 : Western Union completes the first transcontinental telegraph line
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/western-union-completes-the-first-transcontinental-telegraph-line

Presidential
1951 : Truman declares war with Germany officially over
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/truman-declares-war-with-germany-officially-over

Sports
1992 : Toronto Blue Jays finally win a World Series for Canada
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/toronto-blue-jays-finally-win-a-world-series-for-canada

Vietnam War
1954 : U.S. president pledges support to South Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-president-pledges-support-to-south-vietnam
1966 : Manila Conference attendees issue "Declaration of Peace"
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/manila-conference-attendees-issue-declaration-of-peace

World War I
1917 : Battle of Caporetto
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-caporetto

World War II
1945 : The United Nations is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-united-nations-is-born

Marco Simoncelli (20 January 1987 – 23 October 2011)

Marco Simoncelli (20 January 1987 – 23 October 2011) was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

A top rider of the Italian Minimoto Championship from 1996 to 2000, Marco Simoncelli moved to 125cc bikes after taking two consecutive titles in the aforementioned discipline. After a promising first season in the 125 Honda Trophy, Simoncelli took the European 125cc title in 2002 and had a first taste of Grand Prix racing the same year.

In 2003 he undertook his first full season in the World Championship with the Matteoni Racing team. A consistent point-scorer in his rookie season, he moved to the Rauch Bravo team in 2004 and scored his first Grand Prix win at a rain-soaked Jerez, but could only manage an eleventh placed finish overall.

Another 125cc campaign in 2005, with the Nocable.it Race team, was completed with an improvement in the final standings in fifth place, giving Simoncelli the opportunity to leap into the quarter-litre category. A steady season saw the Italian achieve 10th position in the championship representing Metis Gilera, with whom he continued in 2007 and 2008.
In 2008 Simoncelli achieved his first race victories in the 250cc class, his maiden triumph coming at his home race in Mugello, and was involved in some breathtaking battles with his rivals over the course of the year. Emerging as the standout rider in the class, Gilera provided their newest star with a top-of-the-range RSA machine for the final races of the season.

The Italian secured his fifth win of the year at Phillip Island early in October and clinched the title with third place at Malaysia at the penultimate round of the year. He previously rode a Gilera in the 250cc World Championship, and has previously in the 125cc class. He has five race wins in the 250cc class, and two in the 125cc class.
He made a one-off appearance for Aprilia in the World Superbike round at Imola. He qualified on the second row and was one of three riders to crash out of race one at Tosa while running fifth, before fighting through to third in race two, making a forceful move to overtake team-mate Max Biaggi to get onto the podium.

On 25 June 2009, it was confirmed that Simoncelli would move up to premier class racing for 2010 MotoGP championship after agreeing to ride with the San Carlo Gresini Honda team.


Simoncelli died after an accident during the 2011 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix on 23 October 2011.

Thank you http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Simoncelli for above.