This Week in History

Hello, dear Green Forest students!

Want some history in studying English? We can help you :)

9 March 1959: Barbie makes her debut
On this day in 1959, the first Barbie doll goes on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City. Eleven inches tall, with a waterfall of blonde hair, Barbie was the first mass-produced toy doll in the United States with adult features. The woman behind Barbie was Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel, Inc. with her husband in 1945. After seeing her young daughter ignore her baby dolls to play make-believe with paper dolls of adult women, Handler realized there was an important niche in the market for a toy that allowed little girls to imagine the future.

Sometimes toys are just the best way to study English. For example, Arina Sidorkina in her podcast for Elementary Level invented a magic glove, Polly's favorite toy. Find out more about adventures of Polly and her Magic Globe here: http://greenforest.com.ua/audio/post/5

13 March 1881: Tsar Alexander II assassinated
On this day in 1881, Tsar Alexander II, the ruler of Russia since 1855, is killed in the streets of St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by a member of the revolutionary People's Will group.
The People's Will, organised in 1879, employed terrorism and assassination in their attempt to overthrow Russia's Tsarist autocracy. They murdered officials and made several attempts on the Tsar's life before finally assassinating him on 13 March, 1881. As Tsar, Alexander did much to liberalize and modernize Russia, including the abolishment of serfdom in 1861.

Interested in more criminal dramas? Listen to Elena Vynograd's Pre-Intermediate Level podcasts. You will find all kind of crimes and suspence here: http://greenforest.com.ua/audio/level/2

14 March 1879: Albert Einstein is born
On 14 March 1879, Albert Einstein is born, the son of a Jewish electrical engineer in Ulm, Germany. Einstein's theories of special and general relativity drastically altered Man's view of the universe, and his work in particle and energy theory helped make possible quantum mechanics and, ultimately, the atomic bomb.
After a childhood in Germany and Italy, Einstein studied physics and mathematics at the Federal Polytechnic Academy in Zurich, Switzerland. He became a Swiss citizen and in 1905 was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich while working at the Swiss patent office in Bern. That year, which historians of Einstein's career call the annus mirabilis – the "miracle year" – he published five theoretical papers that were to have a profound effect on the development of modern physics.

And we are going back to Arina Sidorkina, but this time Upper-Intermediate level podcasts. Find out more about Einstein's life here: http://greenforest.com.ua/audio/post/9

This week were born:

	Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin ( 9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) - hero of the Soviet Union, was a Soviet cosmonaut. On 12 April 1961, he became the first human in outer space and the first to orbit the Earth. He received medals from around the world for his pioneering tour in space.
	Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) - is an American martial artist, actor and media personality. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do.
	Pavel Volya (born March 14, 1979 in Penza) - is a Russian TV host, actor and singer. A former KVN player, he first came to prominence as the "resident" of the Russian Comedy Club show, co-produced by Garik Martirosyan and aired on TNT channel. In 2007, Volya released his first studio album. As of 2008, hosts a TV Show on TNT.
	Johann Strauss I (March 14, 1804 – September 25, 1849) - born in Vienna, was an Austrian Romantic composer famous for his waltzes, and for popularizing them alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty. His most famous piece is probably the Radetzky March (named after Joseph Radetzky von Radetz), while his most famous waltz is probably the Lorelei Rheinklänge op. 154.