Historical Drops # 45: Your weekly dose of History here at Mega

Almost 1 decade ago, when you created your first Facebook account, taking the first step in leaving Orkut behind, you didn't know, but you were making history. Now this social network that has made us feel young for years turns 15 years since its inception. And you there, thinking that time passes slowly!

Now, if that makes you feel like an old man, imagine the situation of Queen Elizabeth II, who has lived more than 6 decades since the day King George's death made her the Queen of England! Yeah, time really does fly by!

Read on with us to check out these and other past facts this week, in the # 45 column of the Historical Drops!

February 4th

2004: Facebook Foundation

Yes, it's history! In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook when he was still a student at Harvard University at the age of 19.

Photo: Reproduction / Brian Solis

There is a whole story behind how the social network was actually founded - including various lawsuits - but the official story is that three university veterans, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra, created between 2002 and 2003 a site called HarvardConnections.com, with the purpose of connecting students and allowing students from across the university to get to know each other.

Zuckerberg was supposed to be the person who programmed the site, but he would have appropriated the concept and made Facebook instead. However nebulous the idea may be, what he undoubtedly created surpassed the students' most distant expectations - and his own!

February 5th

1852: Inauguration of the New Hermitage Museum

Photo: Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

On the banks of the Neva River in the Russian city of St. Petersburg is one of the largest and most important art museums in the world. With a collection of envy, made up of works that span centuries and styles, the Hermitage was officially inaugurated on February 5, 1852. However, its collection began to be gathered almost 1 century earlier, when Queen Catherine made her acquisition of a small set of works, kicking off what would later be a collection of over 3 million pieces.

In the early 1842s, Emperor Nicholas I invited an architect named Leon von Klenze to create a new public entrance and extension to the Hermitage Museum. Thus began to be built the New Hermitage, which today has ten buildings!

February 6th

1952: Elizabeth II becomes Queen of England

Photo: Reproduction / Press Association

With you, your royal highness, Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British Crown history. Despite carrying this title for over 75 years, not even the lady herself today with her almost 93 years old believed when she needed to assume this position in 1952.

On February 6 of that year, the then-26-year-old was forced to hold the position of reigning queen of the United Kingdom and other kingdoms of the Commonwealth of Nations after the death of her father, George VI. The whole story is told in the series "The Crown".

February 7th

1992: The European Union is created

On that day, the Maastricht Treaty was officially signed, a document that made the creation of an economic bloc between European countries official, guaranteeing a series of benefits to the residents of the nations involved - ranging from economic integration, through the adoption of a common currency., the euro, the free movement of persons across its borders.

Today with 28 countries, the European Union had only 6 on the day the treaty was signed: Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In the midst of the Cold War, the continent sought unity for collective evolution, and the agreement served as an example for other economic blocs of its kind, such as South America's own Mercosur.

February 8th

1969: Fall of the Allende Meteorite in Mexico

It was in a state called Chihuahua that, 50 years ago, a meteorite was considered to be the largest of all that ever fell on the earth of the chondrite type, as the early meteorite is known. Witnessed by thousands of people and arriving like a fireball, the Allende meteorite, as it was christened, helped Mexican scientists identify a new variant of titanium oxide, which became known as Panguita.

With an estimated mass of 2 tonnes, Allende left a 50 km² crater at the fall site in northern Mexico.

February 9th

1895: Creation of Volleyball

In the late 19th century, William G. Morgan aimed at mintonette, but hit volleyball. The head of YMCA University's physical education department wanted to create a sport that was similar to Badminton but had a few different characteristics, bringing references from handball, tennis and basketball, but not as tiring as the three.

And so was born a game called mintonette - deriving from the name badminton itself - which soon became called volleyball.

February, 10th

1994: Creation of the Brazilian Space Agency

Photo: Reproduction / AEB

Although the Brazilian space program was inaugurated in the 1940s with the creation of the Ministry of Aeronautics, the Brazilian Space Agency, in turn, is a young woman only 25 years old. It was created in 1994 to establish guidelines for Brazilian space projects under the guidance of the Presidency of the Republic, since the activities carried out so far with respect to aeronautics and space exploration efforts were subordinate to the Army and Armed Forces.