Stamata Revithi was a Greek woman who ran the 40-kilometre marathon during the 1896 Summer Olympics. The Games excluded women from competition, but Revithi insisted that she be allowed to run. Revithi ran one day after the men had completed the official race, and although she finished the marathon in approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes and found witnesses to sign their names and verify the running time, she was not allowed to enter the Panathinaiko Stadium at the end of the race. She intended to present her documentation to the Hellenic Olympic Committee in the hopes that they would recognize her achievement, but it is not known whether or not she did so. No known record survives of Revithi's life after her run. According to contemporary sources, a second woman, Melpomene, also ran the 1896 marathon race. There is debate among Olympic historians as to whether or not Revithi and Melpomene are the same person.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamata_Revithi
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
641 or 642:
King Penda of Mercia defeated and killed King Oswald of Northumbria at the Battle of Maserfield, traditionally believed to have been fought in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Maserfield
1888:
Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip, going 106 km (66 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, in a Benz Patent- Motorwagen (pictured), returning the next day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Benz
1916:
First World War: The British Empire's Sinai and Palestine campaign began with a victory in the Battle of Romani. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Romani
1949:
A magnitude 6.8 ML earthquake struck near Ambato, Ecuador, killing 5,050 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Ambato_earthquake
1962:
Actress and model Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, an event that has become the center of one of the most debated conspiracy theories. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
dog days: 1. The days between early July and early September when Sirius (the Dog Star) rises and sets with the Sun. 2. Hot, lazy days 3. A period of inactivity, laziness, or stagnation. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dog_days
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am speaking of the life of a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children; who has undertaken to cherish it and do it no damage, not because he is duty-bound, but because he loves the world and loves his children; whose work serves the earth he lives on and from and with, and is therefore pleasurable and meaningful and unending; whose rewards are not deferred until "retirement," but arrive daily and seasonally out of the details of the life of their place; whose goal is the continuance of the life of the world, which for a while animates and contains them, and which they know they can never compass with their understanding or desire. --Wendell Berry https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wendell_Berry