Estonia Celebrates Independence Day

 Events
Feb 242024
 
Estonia

Flag of Estonia

Estonia celebrates Independence Day. Located along the Gulf of Finland, Estonia has had a complicated history. In 1918 it became free of Soviet rule, but then it was conquered again. It became free of Soviet rule for the second time in 1991. According to the CIA World Factbook, Estonia is about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. Bordering the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, Estonia is home to 1.2 million people. Tallinn is the capital. Children could learn more at: Estonia.

Gregorian Calendar 1582

 Events
Feb 242024
 

Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 issued a ruling stating the Julian calendar would be corrected in October 4 of the same year. The Julian calendar, the then-existing calendar, was erring by ten days. The new calendar, called the Gregorian calendar, did the following:
• Ten days were not included in October
• New standards were set to determine Easter
• New rules were established regarding Leap Day
Not everyone adopted the Gregorian calendar right away. Even those who adopted the calendar were not happy because they thought they had lost ten days of pay. Great Britain and colonial America did not change until September 1752. We still use the Gregorian calendar today.

Birthdays

 Birthdays
Feb 242024
 

Wilhelm Karl Grimm (born Hanau, Germany, 1786; died Berlin, Germany, December 16, 1859) and his brother, Jacob, wrote Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Children could read portions of Grimm’s Fairy Tales at: Project Gutenberg. They could learn more at: Wilhelm Karl Grimm.

Winslow Homer (born Boston, Massachusetts, 1836; died Prout’s Neck, Maine, September 29, 1910) was an artist known for his outdoor scenes. Children could learn more about him at the National Gallery of Art site: Winslow Homer.

Steven Jobs (born Los Altos, California, 1955; died Palo Alto, California, October 5, 2011) co-founded Apple, Inc.

Uri Orlev (born Jerzy Henryk Orlowski in Warsaw, Poland, 1931; died Jerusalem, Israel, July 25, 2022) published over 30 books for children. He grew up in the Warsaw Ghetto. His mother was killed by Nazis, and he was placed in the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. He received the 1996 Hans Christian Andersen Award. His books include The Lady with the Hat and Hairy Tuesday.

Honus Wagner

Honus Wagner

Honus Wagner (born John Peter Wagner in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, 1874; died Carnegie, Pennsylvania, December 6, 1955) was a famous baseball player. He was nicknamed the “Flying Dutchman.” Children could read Dan Gutman’s Honus and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure. They could also learn more at: Honus Wagner.