Portal:Philadelphia
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Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is the nation's sixth-most populous city, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census and is the urban core of the larger Delaware Valley (or Philadelphia metropolitan area), the nation's seventh-largest and one of the world's largest metropolitan regions consisting of 6.245 million residents in the metropolitan statistical area and 7.366 million residents in its combined statistical area. Philadelphia is known for its extensive contributions to United States history, especially the American Revolution, and served as the nation's capital until 1800. It maintains contemporary influence in business and industry, culture, sports, and music.
Philadelphia is a national cultural center, hosting more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other city in the nation. Fairmount Park, when combined with adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the same watershed, is 2,052 acres (830 ha), representing one of the nation's largest and the world's 45th-largest urban park. The city is known for its arts, culture, cuisine, and colonial and Revolution-era history; in 2016, it attracted 42 million domestic tourists who spent $6.8 billion, representing $11 billion in economic impact to the city and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties. With five professional sports teams and one of the nation's most loyal fan bases, Philadelphia is often ranked as the nation's best city for professional sports fans. The city has a culturally and philanthropically active LGBTQ+ community. Philadelphia also has played an immensely influential historic and ongoing role in the development and evolution of American music, especially R&B, soul, and rock. (Full article...)
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Rocky is a 1976 film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen. It tells the rags-to-riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but good-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in Philadelphia. Balboa is also a club fighter who gets a shot at the world heavyweight championship when the scheduled contender breaks his hand. Also starring are Talia Shire as Adrian, Burt Young as Adrian's brother Paulie, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey Goldmill, and Carl Weathers as champion Apollo Creed. The film, made for only US$1.2 million and shot in just 28 days, was a sleeper hit; it made over US$117.2 million, won three Oscars, including Best Picture, to good reviews, and launched Stallone's career into the stratosphere. The film spawned five sequels, Rocky II, III, IV, V, and Rocky Balboa.
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Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Many statues of Benjamin Franklin can be found around town, including an elderly Franklin with a walking cane and paper in his hands seated on a bench along the Locust Walk in West Philadelphia, within the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, a university founded by Franklin.
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George B. McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly (November 1861 to March 1862) as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. Although McClellan was meticulous in his planning and preparations, these attributes may have hampered his ability to challenge aggressive opponents in a fast-moving battlefield environment. He chronically overestimated the strength of enemy units and was reluctant to apply principles of mass, frequently leaving large portions of his army unengaged at decisive points. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign in 1862 ended in failure, with retreats from attacks by General Robert E. Lee's smaller army and an unfulfilled plan to seize the Confederate capital of Richmond. His performance at the bloody Battle of Antietam blunted Lee's invasion of Maryland, but allowed Lee to eke out a precarious tactical draw and avoid destruction, despite being outnumbered. As a result, McClellan's leadership skills during battles were questioned by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who eventually removed him from command, first as general-in-chief, then from the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln was famously quoted as saying, "If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time." Despite this, he was the most popular of that army's commanders with its soldiers, who felt that he had their morale and well-being as paramount concerns. McClellan became the unsuccessful Democratic nominee opposing Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election. His party had an anti-war platform, promising to end the war and negotiate with the Confederacy, which McClellan was forced to repudiate, damaging the effectiveness of his campaign. He served as the 24th Governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881.
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that in the 1932 baseball game in which pitcher Eddie Rommel won his last game, he pitched 17 innings in relief, an American League record?
- ... that Leverington Cemetery has the most orbs and apparitions in Philadelphia?
- ... that the 1834 Philadelphia race riot began at a carousel before spreading to other parts of the city?
- ... that episodes of such game shows as Double Dare, Finders Keepers, and You Bet Your Life were filmed at the Philadelphia studios of a public TV station?
- ... that placekicker Lonny Calicchio was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles to the practice squad, promoted to the active roster, named starter, and released all within eight days?
- ... that Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, established in 1784, was the first national parish in the United States?
- ... that William F. Gannon died before reforming the membership of the married men's sodality in Philadelphia?
- ... that judge Robert Bork's leaked list of video rentals included movies such as Citizen Kane, The Philadelphia Story and Sixteen Candles?
Selected anniversaries - May
- May 6, 1844 - An anti-Catholic riot erupts in Kensington, the riots continue for three days.
- May 10, 1876 - the Centennial Exposition opens with a ceremony attended by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro and their wives.
- May 10, 1877 - Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art opens the museum which would eventually become the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- May 12, 1985 - After a gun battle with members of MOVE, Philadelphia police drop a bomb on the MOVE compound starting a fire that destroys 61 houses and kills eleven MOVE members.
- May 16, 1957 - The Walt Whitman Bridge opens between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey.
- May 18, 1778 - The Mischianza, an elaborate fête given in honor of British General Sir William Howe is held.
- May 28, 1755 - Construction of Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the United States, begins.
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"When I read that the British army had landed thirty-two thousand troops - and I had realized, not very long before, that Philadelphia only had thirty thousand people in it - it practically lifted me out of my chair."*
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