Today is...

[IceWizard]

18 Apr 2017


World Heritage Day



Everyday people all over the world celebrate their cultural heritage, simply by living their lives in a way that embodies who they are and where they came from. But one day a year is set aside to celebrate the joint history and heritage of the human race. World Heritage Day encourages us to celebrate all the worlds cultures, and to bring awareness to important cultural monuments and sites, and to espouse the importance of preserving the world’s cultures.

The History Of World Heritage Day

So the first (and possibly most confusing?) part of World Heritage Day is that that actually isn’t it’s formal name. What is popularly known as World Heritage Day is actually called The International Day for Monument and Sites and was established in 1982 by the International Council for Monuments and Sites, or ICOMOS. This organization was established on the principles set forth in the Venice Charter, otherwise known as the 1964 International Charter on the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites.

The organization was founded after a need was identified to protect these valued locations, and it saw the coming together of experts from hundreds of related fields. These include architects, engineers, geographers, civil engineers, and artists and archaeologists. Each year they work to help ensure that some of the world’s most beautiful sites and important cultural monuments remain preserved for future generations.

Since it’s inception it has grown to include almost 10,000 members in over 150 countries all over the world. Of these 10,000 members over 400 are members from institutions, national committees, and international scientific committees, all working together to save important sites and identify new ones that need to be added to the watch list.

2016 saw the addition of Gorham’s Cave Complex in the UK, the Khangchendzonga National Park in India, and the Persian Qanat in the Islam Republic of Iran. It’s through the tireless efforts of its members and leadership that these places will be preserved for future generations.



And




World Amateur Radio Day



Long before the invention of the World Wide Web, when instant communication was a dream and a letter was actually considered a pretty speedy way to communicate (outside of the phone), there were a group of pioneers who had already discovered the glories of a word-wide communication and the joy of communicating with people all over the world instantly. What could this amazing form of communication be? Why, Amateur Radio! Amateur Radio Day reminds us of these great pioneers, their modern descendants, and how radio has been serving a worldwide community for well over 100 years.

History of Amateur Radio Day

Back in April of 1925, the International Amateur Radio Union came into existence in the incredibly cosmopolitan city of Paris. These intrepid adventurers had discovered that the short wave spectrum that amateur radio used to transmit and receive was able to unite people the world over, something that had formerly been speculated as being impossible. This group of experimental radionauts proved this theory wrong, and banded together to campaign for and protect those bandwidths that would come to serve the community of radio enthusiasts.
Since then the IARU has worked tirelessly to broaden the range of bandwidths available to radio fans, and has expanded to include members all over the world, from 25 countries at last count.

Interest in Amateur Radio has only grown since those early days, with over 3,000,000 licensed operators spreading their voices across the globe today. It’s through this medium that people from different nations and cultures were able to spread ideas with great speed, long before the ability to shoot off an email or video chat was ever possible.

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April 18 Birthdays



Kourtney Kardashian - 38




Conan O'Brien - 54




Jeff Dunham - 55




Melissa Joan Hart - 41




James Woods - 69




Hayley Mills - 70




Eric Roberts - 61




Melody Thomas Scott - 61





April 18th

2004: Guns N’ Roses reached number one on the U.K. Album Chart with their Greatest Hits album. The album peaked at number three in the U.S.

2003: Aerosmith and Kiss announced that they would be touring together on a co-headlining tour named Rocksimus Maximus which would start in August and go on through the end of the year and gross over $64 million.

1992: Def Leppard entered the Billboard 200 Album Chart at number one with their fifth album Adrenalize, which began a five week run on top, beating out Human Touch and Lucky Town released simultaneously by Bruce Springsteen.

1987: Foreigner singer Lou Gramm peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with his debut single as a solo artist, “Midnight Blue”.

1981: Yes announced that they were breaking up. Bassist Chris Squire & drummer Alan White began rehearsals with Jimmy Page for a project to be called XYZ which never materialized. Yes later reunited the following year.

1975: Alice Cooper’s first television special Welcome to my Nightmare: The Making of a Record Album aired on North American television.

1970: Norman Greenbaum peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “Spirit in the Sky” which was Greenbaum’s first and only top ten single in the U.S.

1970: Badfinger peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “Come and Get It” which was their first top ten single in the U.S.

1970: Led Zeppelin cut their concert short at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix due to Robert Plant collapsing onstage due to illness. Their concert scheduled the following day in Las Vegas was also cancelled.



Birthdays:

Mike Vickers - Guitarist and Saxophonist for Manfred Mann born in 1940

Skip Spence - Guitarist for Moby Grape born in 1946