FOOTPRINTS

Every year, Halloween is celebrated on 31 October, and this year, the festival falls on a Sunday. People celebrate Halloween by going to church, lighting a candle, and praying. It is also celebrated by carving pumpkins, wearing scary costumes, and watching horror movies.  Halloween means holy evening or All Saints Day. In the eighth century, All Saints Day was celebrated to honor saints. The eve of All Saints Day was called All Hallows Eve, which then came to be known as Halloween.  It is also believed that, Halloween originates from an ancient Celtic festival, called Samhain. The festival was celebrated by people wearing spooky costumes, and lighting bonfires at night. The tradition of donning a spooky attire was followed, to keep ghosts away on 31 October. The night of 31 October was believed to be the night, when spirits from the other world visited the living world every year.  The Celtic people who lived around two thousand years ago, also shared the same belief...

Turkey National Day 2021 Google Doodle celebrates the 98th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, with a depiction of the nation’s First Grand National Assembly of Turkey Building. It was here that the Turkish parliament, also known as the Grand National Assembly, declared independence on 29 October, 1923.   Today, the building stands in the Turkish capital of Ankara, as the War of Independence and Republic Museum. Many original artifacts from the early days of the Turkish Republic are preserved in the museum. The parliament moved to its current building in 1961.  Happy National Day, Turkey! 

The name Judo means “the gentle way”, and the sport is built on principles, such as, justice, courtesy, safety, and modesty. Kanō saw the martial art as a way to bring people together, even while throwing opponents to the mat.  Kanō Jigorō was born on 28, October, 1860, in Mikage (now part of Kobe). Kanō moved to Tokyo with his father at age 11. Though he was known as a child prodigy in school, he often faced adversity.  To build strength, he became determined to study the martial art of Jujutsu. During his time as a student at Tokyo University, he finally found someone who would teach him, Jujutsu master and former samurai, Fukuda Hachinosuke.   Judo was first born during a Jujutsu sparring match, when Kanō incorporated a western wrestling move, to bring his much larger opponent to the mat. By removing the most dangerous techniques used in Jujutsu, he created “Judo,” a safe and cooperative sport based on Kanō’s personal philosophy of Seiryoku-Zenyo (maximum efficien...

Otto Wichterle: Czech chemist who invented the first soft contact lenses. Otto Wichterle was born on 27 October, 1913, in Prostĕjov, the Czech Republic (then, Austria-Hungary).  As a lover of science from his youth, Wichterle went on to earn his doctorate in organic chemistry, in 1936, from the Prague Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT).  He taught as a professor at his alma mater during the 1950s, while developing an absorbent and transparent gel for eye implants.   In 1961, Wichterle (a glasses wearer himself), produced the first soft contact lenses, with a DIY apparatus.  As the inventor of countless patents and a lifelong researcher, Wichterle was elected the first President, of the Academy of the Czech Republic, following the country’s establishment in 1993.  Happy birthday, Otto Wichterle!

Galina Vishnevskaya is one of the greatest Russian opera singers of the 20th century.   Galina Pavlovna Ivanova, was born on 25 October, 1926, in Leningrad, Russia, (modern-day St. Petersburg), and became enthralled with opera at 10 years old, after hearing Tchaikovsky’s epic, “Eugene Onegin.” While walking the streets of Leningrad in the early 1950s, Vishnevskaya stumbled upon an invitation, to audition for the Bolshoi Theater - Russia’s most prestigious opera hall.  She blew the judges away with her audition, earning a spot as the year’s only auditioner accepted into the Bolshoi troupe.  In 1953, she portrayed the lead character Tatyana, in “Eugene Onegin”, with a fresh interpretation of a classic character, that became her signature role.  This marked the genesis of a virtuosic opera career, that took Vishnevskaya to venues around the world, from New York’s Metropolitan Opera, to Helsinki’s Finnish National Opera.  It was at the latter venue, that she g...

Today, (25-10-2021), is the 127th birthday, of French author, and surrealist photographer, Claude Cahun .  Claude Cahun, was born on 25 October, 1894, in Nantes, France, into a Jewish family.  At 14, they met Marcel Moore, their lifelong partner and artistic collaborator. After moving to Paris to study literature, in 1919, Cahun shaved their head, and adopted their famed gender-neutral name, in revolt against societal convention.    Cahun explored gender-fluidity, through literature, and melancholic self-portraiture, such as the 1927 series, “I am in training, don’t kiss me.” This work depicted the artist costumed as a feminized weightlifter, blurring the line between masculine and feminine stereotypes.  The French government awarded their efforts, with the Medal of French Gratitude, in 1951.  Happy birthday, Claude Cahun! 

Helena Modrzejewska , (also known professionally as Helena Modjeska). She has portrayed nearly 300 different roles in over 6,000 plays, both in Polish and English.  Helena Modrzejewska, was born as Jadwiga Benda, on 12 October, 1840, in Krakow, Poland, and was soon renamed, Helena Opid. She made her theatrical debut in 1861, in a one-act comedy, “The White Camellia,” performing under the stage name, Modrzejewska.  In 1877, she debuted in America. Renowned for Shakespearean roles, she livened up theater productions across America, sometimes touring for up to 30 weeks while performing 8 to 9 productions each week.  She toured not just as a lead actor but also as a director, producer, costume designer, and publicist!     Modrzejewska’s longest-lasting role was Lady Macbeth, which she played 520 times.  Happy birthday, Helena Modrzejewska! 

Margaret Fulton, was born on 5 October, 1924, in Nairn, Scotland. Margaret Fulton, emigrated to New South Wales, at three years old.  At 18, Fulton moved to Sydney in the hope of becoming a dress designer, but after hearing a prediction, that the food industry would boom in post-war Australia, she instead pursued a career in cookery.  In 1947, Fulton took a position as a cooking teacher for a utility company, where she found her passion for developing easy-to-follow recipes, while teaching a class for visually impaired home cooks.   Fulton refined her recipes in the decades that followed, while working as a pressure cooker salesperson, advertising executive, and food journalist. In 1968, she published the first of 25 cookbooks, titled, “The Margaret Fulton Cookbook”, which has sold over 1.5 million copies.     Happy birthday, Margaret Fulton!  

Ángeles Alvariño Today, (October 3, 2021), is the 105th birthday, of Spanish-American professor, and marine research biologist, Dr. María de los Ángeles Alvariño González, who is widely regarded, as one of the most important Spanish scientists of all time.   María de los Ángeles Alvariño González, was born on October 3, 1916, in Serantes, a small coastal town, in northern Spain’s Galician coast. Ángeles Alvariño’s love of natural history, began with her father’s library, and deepened, as she pursued coastline oceanography research. Although the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), only accepted men at the time, Ángeles Alvariño’s university work, impressed the organization, that they appointed her as a marine biologist, in 1952.  At IEO’s Vigo Oceanographic Center, she began her pioneering research on zooplankton, tiny organisms, that serve as the foundation of the oceanic food chain, and identified some species to be the best indicators of ocean health. In 1953, the...