Portal:Society

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when gays and lesbians fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted homosexuals, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world. The Stonewall Inn, at the time, was owned by the Mafia. It catered to an assortment of patrons, but it was known to be popular with the most marginalized people in the gay community: transvestites, effeminate young men, hustlers, and homeless youth. Police raids on gay bars were routine in the 1960s, but officers quickly lost control of the situation at the Stonewall Inn, and attracted a crowd that was incited to riot. Tensions between New York City police and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into more protests the next evening, and again several nights later. Within six months, two gay activist organizations were formed in New York, concentrating on confrontational tactics, and three newspapers were established to promote rights for gays and lesbians. Within a few years, gay rights organizations were founded across the U.S. and the world. Today Gay Pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall riots.

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A 1773 engraving showing the Greek legend of the Calydonian Boar, which was sent by Artemis to ravage the region of Calydon in Aetolia because its king failed to honor her in his rites to the gods. Many Olympian heroes took part in hunting the boar, and it was eventually killed by Meleager and Atalanta, as depicted here.

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• ... that among long-term prisoners held at Akershus Fortress (pictured) in the 19th century were Norwegian career criminals Gjest Baardsen and Ole Høiland, and Sami rebel Lars Hætta?
• ... that the 1981 general strike in Bielsko-Biała in Poland forced several officials to lose their jobs?
• ... that members of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors include United Kingdom's most experienced and successful songwriters like Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Elton John?

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• 4 April 1930 - Foundation of the American Rocket Society, originally named the American Interplanetary Society
• 13 April 1564 - Pope Pius IV approved the Society of the Holy Name
• 19 April 1866 - First anti-cruelty law was passed since the founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Brooklyn chapter pictured)
• 22 April 2008 - IEEE Power Engineering Society changed its name to IEEE Power & Energy Society

“ As long as men are men, a poor society cannot be too poor to find a right order of life, nor a rich society too rich to have need to seek it. ” — R. H. Tawney, The Acquisitive Society (1921)

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Galileo Galilei was a Tuscan astronomer, philosopher, and physicist who is closely associated with the scientific revolution. He has been referred to as the "father of modern astronomy," as the "father of modern physics," and as "father of science." His experimental work is widely considered complementary to the writings of Bacon in establishing the modern scientific method. Galileo was born in Pisa and his career coincided with that of Kepler. The work of Galileo is considered to be a significant break from that of Aristotle; in particular, Galileo placed emphasis on quantity, rather than quality. (Full article...)

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