Daily Dose of History: 500 years of Michelangelo Masterpiece

On 1 November 1512 Michelangelo's famous fresco covering all 460m² (over 5000 square feet) of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling were unveiled to the public for the first time.

It had taken Michelangelo four years to paint the 343 figures - the two most famous ones being God giving life to Adam, one of the most famous paintings in the world, possibly rivalled only by DaVinci's Mona Lisa... Considering that Michelangelo was foremost a sculptor and not a painter, the result is even more astonishing. It truly is a mindblowing experience to stand beneath that ceiling!

Goethe has been quoted as stating: "Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving." I fully agree. Go and have a look for yourself. If you can't do in person, do it at least at http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

 

Elsewhere in the world, the name Austria was documented for the first time (996), the "All Saints Flood" devastated Dutch cities, killing tens of thousands of people (1570), Shakespeare's "Othello" and "The Tempest" premiered at Whitehall Palace (London, 1604 and 1611, respectively), Lisbon/Portugal got destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami, also killing tens of thousands of people (1755) and a group of convicts escaped from Parramatta, intending to walk to China (1791).

Today's Birthdays include Def Leppard's drummer Rick Allen (Dronfield/UK, 1963), German model Barbara Becker (Munich, 1966), Australian singer Tina Arena (East Keilor/VIC, 1967) and Australian actress Toni Colette of "Muriel's Wedding" fame (Blacktown/NSW, 1972).

In many parts of Europe today is "All Saints Day ", while in Mexico it is "El Dia De Los Muertos" and internationally also "World Vegan Day".