February 5 Through History

Explanation: Otello is considered one of the peaks of the operatic repertoire. Verdi had waited sixteen years after Aida before composing this opera, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito adapted from Shakespeare. The premiere was an absolute triumph, and the composer had to take a bow more than twenty times.

Explanation: The title of "Pater Patriae" (Father of the Fatherland) was a supreme distinction in ancient Rome. Augustus received it late in his reign, symbolically consolidating his authority over the empire he had founded after the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

Explanation: Chanel had closed her house in 1939 at the start of World War II. Her comeback in 1954, at 71, was initially met coldly by the French press but with enthusiasm by the Americans. Her tweed jacket and the famous Chanel suit became icons of global fashion.

Explanation: Alan Shepard was the first American to travel to space in 1961. He was also the only astronaut from the first generation to set foot on the lunar surface. During the mission, he famously hit two golf balls on the Moon with an improvised club.

Explanation: The Treaty of Nijmegen ended the Franco-Dutch War. In addition to Franche-Comté and several Flemish towns, France consolidated its positions in Alsace. Louis XIV then reached the height of his European power, to the point of being nicknamed the "Sun King" throughout Europe.

Explanation: Yasser Arafat led the PLO for more than thirty years. In 1993, he signed the Oslo Accords with Yitzhak Rabin, which earned him, along with Rabin and Shimon Peres, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. He remained a central figure in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict until his death in 2004.

Explanation: United Artists was created by Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and director D.W. Griffith to control the distribution of their own films, without depending on the major studios. Buster Keaton, though a contemporary of Chaplin, was not part of it.

Explanation: By surpassing Gennady Padalka's 878 and a half days, Kononenko became the human who has spent the most cumulative time in space. These long missions serve in particular to study the effects of weightlessness on the human body in preparation for future missions to Mars.

Explanation: The Mexican Constitution of 1917, adopted in Querétaro, is one of the most progressive of its era: it introduced social rights, agrarian reform, and placed limits on the power of the Catholic Church. It is still in force today, though amended many times.

Explanation: The character of the Tramp, with his cane, bowler hat, tight jacket and baggy trousers, appears for the first time in the short film "Kid Auto Races at Venice". This touching and clumsy vagabond would become one of the most famous fictional characters of the 20th century.