Night of January 16th is a play by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, inspired by the death of Ivar Kreuger, an industrialist and accused swindler known as the Match King. The play is set in a courtroom during a murder trial, and members of the audience are chosen to play the jury. The court hears the case of Karen Andre, a former secretary and lover of businessman Bjorn Faulkner, of whose murder she is accused. The jury must rely on character testimony to decide whether Andre is guilty; the play's ending depends on their verdict. Rand wanted to dramatize a conflict between individualism and conformity. The play was first produced in 1934 in Los Angeles under the title Woman on Trial. Producer Al Woods took it to Broadway for the 1935–36 season and re-titled it Night of January 16th. It became a hit and ran for seven months. The play has been adapted as a movie, as well as for television and radio. Rand had many disputes with Woods over the play, and in 1968 re-edited it for publication as her "definitive" version.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_January_16th
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1362:
The Danish settlement of Rungholt was reportedly sunk into the North Sea by a massive windstorm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rungholt
1780:
Anglo-Spanish War: The British Royal Navy gained their first major naval victory over their European enemies in the war when they defeated a Spanish squadron in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_St._Vincent_(1780)
1920:
The League of Nations, the first intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace, held its first council meeting in Paris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations
1942:
TWA Flight 3 crashed into Potosi Mountain in Nevada, killing actress Carole Lombard and all of the other 21 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_3
1964:
The musical Hello, Dolly! opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway, and went on to win ten Tony Awards, a record that stood for 37 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello,_Dolly!_(musical)
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
cereology: The investigation, or practice, of creating crop circles. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cereology
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Real art has the capacity to make us nervous. By reducing the work of art to its content and then interpreting that, one tames the work of art. Interpretation makes art manageable, comformable. --Susan Sontag https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Susan_Sontag
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