This Day in History

A Year Ago Today: World's Tallest Roller Coaster Opens in New Jersey (2005)

Reaching a height of 456 feet (139 m) and with a top speed of 128 mph (206 km/h), the Kingda Ka roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure theme park in Jackson, New Jersey, became the tallest and the fastest roller coaster in the world when it opened in 2005. It took both titles from Cedar Point park's Top Thrill Dragster, which was designed by the same company and is nearly identical. Kingda Ka lost its title as the world's fastest roller coaster in 2010 to what attraction?

Today's Birthday: Henri Rousseau (1844)

Rousseau was an entirely self-taught French painter. He held a minor post as a tax collector in Paris for more than 20 years before retiring to paint at the age of 49. His work remained consistently naive and imaginative and was often ridiculed. It was only after his death that Rousseau gained recognition as an artistic genius. Though he never left France or saw a jungle, he is best known for his paintings of lush, tropical scenes and wild animals. What was his inspiration for the exotic scenes?

Quote of the Day by: Alexander Hamilton

Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.

FYI: The Bengal Famine of 1943

The Bengal Famine took place in the midst of WWII in British-occupied Bengal, now Bangladesh, and parts of eastern India. What distinguished the year of 1943 was not that rice production fell dramatically, but rather that food prices soared while wages stagnated. It has been called a "man-made famine" because, according to some, the occupying British both exacerbated it with their actions and failed to provide relief. How many people are estimated to have died from starvation due to the famine?