Olympia
- The Ancient Games
The origins of the
Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 B.C. Athletes in those days competed
every Olympiad (a unit of time measuring four years) on the ancient plains
of Olympia as their way of paying tribute to the gods, particularly Zeus.
 It
was believed that the heroes and gods were the first to compete and considered
competition a noble endeavor that combined a positive balance of the body,
mind and soul. Some myths attribute the first Olympic Games to the mighty
Hercules, who organized foot races and rewarded the victors with a wreath
of wild olive leaves. The root of the word "athlete" comes from
the Greek word "athlos," which means "contest," and
has been linked to Hercules because it suggests the highest level of physical
achievement and moral virtues.
The Olympics continued
for roughly 12 centuries before Emperor Theodosius banned them in 393
A.D., comparing its supporters to a "pagan cult" that burned
needless attention on the spirtual and athletic aspects of the Games.
Athens
1896 - Games of the I Olympiad
 The
modern Olympics were officially and athletically unveiled on April 6,
1896, when South Boston's James Connolly won the hop, step and jump (triple
jump) and became the first Olympic champion in more than 1,500 years.
Winners were awarded a silver medal and an olive branch.
In all, 245 athletes
from 14 nations competed in nine sports. The host country, Greece, won
the most medals with 51, but the Americans scored the most victories.
Other highlights included:
- A Greek shepherd,
Spiridon Louis, won the marathon, the highlight of the Games.
- In a prelude to
future Olympic Games, the Americans dominated track and field, winning
nine of 12 events.
- Forty thousand
people packed the shore to watch the swimming competition that was held
in 55-degree water.
- This was one of
only three Olympics in which the U.S. did not win a swimming medal.
- Many of the events,
including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, were held in a reconstructed
Panathinaiko Stadium, which was originally built in 330 B.C.
- The Games lasted
10 days, the shortest Olympics of the modern era.
Other events in 1896:
- French physicist
Antoine Henri Becquerel discovered the natural radioactivity emitted
by uranium ore.
- Franz Xavier Wagner
unveiled his latest Underwood model typewriter, allowing typists to
see what they were typing.
- For the first time,
electric power was used to run a paper mill.
- Alfred Nobel established
the Nobel Prize.
- John Philip Sousa
penned "Stars and Stripes Forever."
- The first comic
strip, The Yellow Kid, appeared in the New York American.
- Amos Alonzo Stagg
of the University of Chicago developed the "huddle" in American
football.
- Bob Fitzsimmons
knocked out the much larger Jim Corbett to win the world heavyweight
boxing championship and coined the phrase: "The bigger they are,
the harder they fall."
- Charilaos Vasilakos
of Greece won the first marathon in 3 hours and 18 minutes, just weeks
before the Olympics were set to begin in Athens.
- The dial telephone
was patented.
- The Dow Jones industrial
average was introduced.
- Utah was admitted
as the 45th U.S. state after the Mormons abandoned the practice of polygamy.
- Henry Ford took
his first motor car for a spin through the streets of Detroit.
- Nicholas II, the
last Czar of Russia, was crowned.
- The first movie,
Kalverstr 220, was shown in the Netherlands.
- The first recorded
U.S. car accident occurred when Henry Wells hit a bicyclist in New York
City.
- American Dr. Henry
Smith of Davidson, N.C. took the first x-ray to examine bone fractures.
- Leo Hirshfield
introduced the Tootsie Roll.
- The United States
Supreme Court upheld Plessy v. Ferguson and, for the time being, "separate-but-equal"
policies and procedures.
- Zanzibar lost to
England in a 38-minute war (9:02 to 9:40 a.m.).
<< Back to mainpage
|
