Good News in History, June 23

136 years ago today, The Rocky Mountains Park Act passed Canadian parliament, establishing Banff National Park, the nation’s largest and most famous park. It was modeled on the law that created Yellowstone National Park south of the border just a few years before. Before, there had been a small preserve of 26 square miles that included hot springs. The park was expanded under the law to 674 km2 (260 sq mi) and named Rocky Mountains Park. READ more about its history… (1887)

In 1902, the park was expanded to cover 11,400 km2 (4,400 sq mi), encompassing areas around Lake Louise, and the Bow, Red Deer, Kananaskis, and Spray rivers, before being reduced under pressure from logging companies to its current area of 6,641 km2 (2,564 sq mi)

Before being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the collection of glacier-carved valleys and granite peaks hosted various strange assemblies like internment camps for consciousness objectors in World War II, and work camps during the Great Depression. It was developed as a winter sports attraction.

The annual Banff Winter Carnival became the centerpiece of local efforts to boost tourism. Carnival events included cross-country skiing, ski jumping, curling, snowshoeing, and skijoring.

Banff National Park is the most visited Alberta tourist destination and one of the most visited national parks in North America, with more than three million tourists annually. Tourism in Banff contributes an estimated CA$6 billion annually to the economy.

MORE Good News From this Day:

• Jews were given permission to settle in Kyiv by Empress Catherine II (1794)
• Frederick Douglass became the first African-American nominated for US president (1888)
• Women ministers were accepted by the Dutch Reformed Church (1958)
• The FDA approved birth control pills for contraceptive use in the general public (1960)
• Pope John Paul II met with banned union leader Lech Walesa, the founder and leader of Solidarity, Poland’s independent trade union movement (1983)
• Hearst Castle became the first California state park to operate with 100% natural-gas-powered buses— clean-fuel transportation that began moving one million visitors up the mountain every year, while reducing harmful air emissions by up to 75 percent over the old noisy diesel buses (2001)
• Nik Wallenda became the first person to successfully walk across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope. (2013)

Happy 51st birthday to Zinedine Zidane, one of the most influential players in modern football. For the French National Team, Real Madrid, and Juventus, his midfield dominance left most of the top coaches in Europe feeling he was the best midfielder in the world, with Italian manager Cesare Maldini simply stating “I would give up five players to have Zidane in my squad.” After hanging up his boots, he eventually took over managing his former club Real Madrid, and led them to become the only team to win 3 UEFA Champions Leagues in a row.

At the relatively minor French club of Bordeaux, his excellence in 1996 helped lead them to the runners-up for the UEFA Cup, after which he moved to Juventus, where he won two titles, the supercoppa Italia, and two runners-up for the Champions League while making 214 apps and scoring 31 goals. In 2002 he transferred to Real Madrid, where he made 230 apps and scored 49 goals to help Los Blancos to a title and UEFA Champions League title over 5 seasons.

As a French citizen of Algerian parentage, he won 108 caps for the French National Team, with whom he won the 2000 Euros, and the FIFA 1998 World Cup, during which he scored twice in the final.

As a manager, he came on to replace Rafa Benitez as manager of Real Madrid in 2016, and went on to win 3 Champions League titles in a row, which is simply extraordinary. WATCH his best goals… (1972)

111 years ago today, Alan Turing, the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, was born in England. The mathematician, computer scientist, biologist, and code breaker was highly influential, especially after formalizing the concepts of algorithm and computation with the Turing machine, which can be considered a model of a general-purpose computer.

Turing famously played a crucial role in cracking the Enigma code used by the Nazis to send secret messages during World War II, which enabled the Allies to win many crucial battles. Professor Jack Copeland has estimated that Turing’s work shortened the war in Europe by more than two years and saved over 14 million lives.

Despite his accomplishments, he was never fully recognized in England before he died of poisoning at age 41, because his work was under the Official Secrets Act. He also was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts, a criminal offense at the time, and stripped of his security clearance. His life was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the 2014 film The Imitation Game, which earned 8 Oscar nominations. England has officially apologized for its terrible treatment of Turing whose portrait is being unveiled today on the new £50 English note. WATCH a Cambridge 2012 bio… (1912)

And, 83 years ago today, the American athlete Wilma Rudolph was born prematurely at 4.5 pounds (2.0 kg). Despite a polio virus, infantile paralysis, and wearing a metal brace that twisted her leg for years, the Tennessee sprinter became the fastest woman in the world.

She won an Olympic bronze medal at age 16, and four years later 3 gold medals in the 1960 Rome Olympics. Her international fame raised the status of women in sports, and she also campaigned for civil rights, as well as women’s rights, across America. (1940)

Also, Happy Birthday to singer-songwriter Jason Mraz who turns 46 today. After growing up in Virginia, he released his debut studio album in 2002, which contained the hit single The Remedy (I Won’t Worry).

Mraz has won two Grammy Awards and his second hit, I’m Yours, was nominated for two others. His style evokes the influence of Brazilian music, from its swaying and jaunty rhythms to the use of nylon string guitars. The eternally sunny Mraz also runs his own sustainable, certified organic farm with his wife on their ranch outside San Diego, growing thousands of coffee bushes and selling the fruits from 40 varieties of avocado trees. WATCH an upbeat Mraz music video… (1977)

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