“Welcome to a kingdom of animals… real, ancient and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn”
With those words spoken on this day in 1998, Michael Eisner opened the Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It is the largest animal park in the world, with 1,700 animals from 250 species located on over 500 acres. The Animal Kingdom is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, tho they are much more than just a zoo.
The earliest event listed by Wiki for this day is “238 – Year of the Six Emperors: The Roman Senate outlaws emperor Maximinus Thrax for his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Rome and nominates two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne” and the most recent is “2010 – Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig owned by BP and Transocean, sinks to the bottom of the Gulf Of Mexico after having a blowout two days earlier. The well then created the largest oil spill in U.S. history by constantly gushing oil through the damaged wellhead.”
A few other events that happened on this day include:
1864 – Congress mandates “In God We Trust” be placed on all coins.
1911 – Pravda debuts.
1970 – Earth Day celebrated for first time.
2000 – Elián González seized from a relative’s home by federal agents.
Birthday wishes go out to Tom Griswold, Paul Carrack, Jack Nicholson, Glen Campbell, Peter Frampton, and Charlotte Rae.