Day Tripping: June 17
Monuments and Monumental Meetings
Built for Love
Mumtaz Mahal died of postpartum hemorrhage during the childbirth of her 14th offspring after 30 hours of labour in 1631. Her distraught and grief-stricken husband, emperor Shah Jahan went into a year of mourning for the loss of his bride. Jahan’s eldest daughter Jahanara Begum gradually brought his bent and aged figure back among the living and he set to work on erecting the Taj Mahal as a monument to his wife.
The emperor’s plan was to design a single testament to love and marital devotion where only Mumtaz would be laid to rest, but when Juhan died his son Aurangzeb had his father buried next to Mumtaz instead of building a separate tomb. The Taj Mahal is considered a structure that transcends architecture in the conventional sense, representing the beauty of the woman it was built for.
Built For Freedom
The French frigate Isere arrived in Ne York Harbour in 1885 carrying 214 crates. Inside each crate were the 350 pieces of the Statue of Liberty which came as a gift from France to the American people in honour of their 100 year centennial. A quarter of a million people gatherd in Battery Park to watch the ship roll in while hundreds of boats surrounded the harbour.
Construction of the monument began in 1870 and is made from sheets of aluminum each of which were hand-fashioned. The entire project from construction to delivery was supervised by Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. The base of Liberty was built in the US from a national funding campaign headed by publisher Joseph Pulitzer.
Built To Rock
A British magazine called New Musical Express featured an advertisement in 1967 that read ‘Liberty wants talent’. The ad was taken out by Liberty Records in search of new artists to form bands. Thousands of artists, composers, singers, and musicians were welcomed to apply for the chance to become the next British recording sensation. Among thousands of entries were those of Reginald Dwight from Pinner, and Bernie Taupin of Lincolnshire.
Eventually changing his name to Elton John, Dwight met Taupin at first through the mail as he put Bernie’s words to music. About fifty years and four hundred songs later, the duo have collaborated as one of the most celebrated rock music partnerships in history.
Musical Milestones
Ringo Starr announced the lineup for his second annual All-Starr band in 1989. The roster of powerhouse musicians to tour with the former Beatle were Billy Preston, Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren, Dr John, and saxophone great Clarence Clemons. Also joining in were The Band former members Levon Helm and Rick Danko.
Narratives
Things Fall Apart by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, a fictional novel that tracks the introduction of Imperialism to Africa and widely considered the most read piece of African literature was published by Heinemann in 1958.
Remembrance
After being beaten by Los Angeles police officers while being arrested in 1991, Rodney King became a lightning rod for social unrest and rioting in the streets of America. Though the officers were acquitted on charges of using excessive force, King successfully sued the city for $3.8 million. The man who famously said “Can’t we all just get along?” died in 2012 by drowning in his own swimming pool. He had a lifelong struggle with alcohol abuse.
Notable Births
1943 — He wrote the songs, and jingles too, Barry Manilow
1980 — Along with her sister Serana, Venus Williams is considered one of the greatest tennis athletes of all time.
K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca
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