History – Opus

Gertrude Jeannett

Gertrude Jeannette was an American playwright and film and stage actress. In 1935 she became the first woman to get a license to drive a motorcycle in New York City, and she joined her husband's motorcycle club in the early 1940s. In 1942, she took and passed the cab driver's test and became the first female cab driver in New York City. In 1949, she was present at the Peekskill Riots, when the Ku Klux Klan attempted to lynch Paul Robeson. Her husband worked as a bodyguard for Robeson, and during the riot, she and her husband rushed to the motorcycles to help get Robeson out. Using money she earned as a taxi driver, she enrolled in a speech class to help manage her stammer. The one class she could find was at the American Negro Theater in Harlem. Acting was part of the curriculum, and because of that, she studied along with notable actors such as Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. She began writing plays in 1950, writing about strong women that "no one would be ashamed to play."

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an annual automotive event held on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. It is widely considered the most prestigious car show in the world and it is the pinnacle Concours d'Elegance competition worldwide. The event open to both prewar and postwar collector cars in which they are judged for authenticity, function, history, and style.

François Vatel

François Vatel was the majordomo of Nicolas Fouquet and prince Louis, Grand Condé. He was responsible for an extravagant banquet for 2,000 people hosted in honour of Louis XIV by the Grand Condé in April 1671 at the Château de Chantilly, where he died. According to a letter by Madame de Sévigné, Vatel was so distraught about the lateness of the seafood delivery and about other mishaps that he committed suicide by running himself through with his sword, and his body was discovered when someone came to tell him of the arrival of the fish.

Frederik IX of Denmark

Frederik IX of Denmark was the King of Denmark from 1947 until his death in 1972. As king, Frederik IX was known for his informal and approachable demeanor, earning him the nickname "the people's king." He was beloved by the Danish public for his down-to-earth personality and willingness to engage with ordinary citizens. In addition to his role as monarch, Frederik IX was an accomplished musician and conductor, known for his love of jazz and classical music. He often performed as a jazz pianist and was a patron of the arts, supporting Danish musicians and composers throughout his reign.

Köçek

The köçek was typically a very handsome young male slave effeminate dancer, who usually cross-dressed in feminine attire, and was employed as an entertainer.

Christine Chubbuck

Christine Chubbuck was an American television news reporter who worked for stations WTOG and WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida. On the morning of July 15, 1974, Christine Chubbuck made headlines around the world when she committed suicide during a live broadcast of her news program. In a shocking and unprecedented act, Chubbuck drew a revolver and shot herself in the head, shocking viewers and leaving her colleagues and loved ones reeling with grief and disbelief.

Devil’s Island

Devil's Island was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islands of French Guiana. Opened in 1852, the Devil's Island system received convicts from the Prison of St-Laurent-du-Maroni, who had been deported from all parts of the Second French Empire. It was notorious both for the staff's harsh treatment of detainees and the tropical climate and diseases that contributed to high mortality. The prison system had a death rate of 75 percent at its worst and was finally closed down in 1953. Devil's Island was also notorious for being used for the exile of French political prisoners, with the most famous being Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who had been accused of spying for Germany.

Desert kites

Desert kites are dry stone wall structures found in Southwest Asia, which were first discovered from the air during the 1920s. There are over 6,000 known desert kites, with sizes ranging from less than a hundred metres to several kilometres. They typically have a kite shape formed by two convergent "antennae" that run towards an enclosure, all formed by walls of dry stone less than one metre high, but variations exist. Little is known about their ages, but the few dated examples appear to span the entire Holocene. The majority view on their purpose is that they were used as traps for hunting game animals such as gazelles, which were driven into the kites and hunted there.

Tomb of Suleyman Shah

The Tomb of Suleyman Shah, located in northern Syria near the town of Eshme, holds a profound significance in Turkish history and identity. Situated along the banks of the Euphrates River, this sacred site is revered as the final resting place of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. The story of Suleyman Shah dates back to the early 13th century when he led his tribe, the Kayi, on a journey from Central Asia to Anatolia in search of new lands. Legend has it that Suleyman Shah drowned in the Euphrates River while crossing the frontier, and his burial site became a symbol of Turkish sovereignty and territorial integrity. Over the centuries, the Tomb of Suleyman Shah has remained a focal point of Turkish national identity, revered as a sacred symbol of the nation's origins and heritage. Despite its remote location in northern Syria, the Turkish government has maintained a symbolic presence at the site, ensuring its protection and preservation. In 2015, the Turkish military undertook a daring operation to relocate the tomb to a safer location amid the turmoil of the Syrian Civil War. Turkish soldiers crossed into Syrian territory, escorted by tanks and special forces, to retrieve the tomb and transport it to a new site within Turkish territory, near the border with Syria.

Inini

Inini, once a remote and sparsely inhabited territory in South America, holds a place of historical intrigue and mystery. Located in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, Inini was a territory shrouded in dense jungle, inhabited by indigenous peoples and elusive wildlife, and largely untouched by outside influence for much of its history. The history of Inini is deeply intertwined with the exploration and colonization of South America. In the early 20th century, French explorers ventured into the uncharted depths of the Amazon basin in search of new territories to claim for their empire. Inini, named after the Inini River that flows through the region, became one such territory, annexed by France in 1930. Despite its remote location and challenging terrain, Inini captured the imagination of adventurers and explorers from around the world. Its vast expanse of pristine rainforest, teeming with exotic flora and fauna, beckoned to those with a spirit of adventure and a thirst for discovery. Inini's population was sparse and consisted primarily of indigenous tribes, who had long inhabited the region and subsisted through hunting, fishing, and gathering. French colonial authorities established a small administrative center in the town of Saint-Élie to govern the territory and oversee economic activities such as logging and rubber extraction. However, Inini's status as a French territory was short-lived, and its existence faded into obscurity in the decades that followed. With the decline of the rubber industry and the challenges posed by the inhospitable environment, Inini gradually lost its significance as a colonial outpost, and its population dwindled. Today, the territory of Inini is largely forgotten, its name relegated to the annals of history. The once-thriving colonial settlements have succumbed to the encroaching jungle, reclaimed by nature and obscured by foliage.