What happened on April 20 & which fun facts do we celebrate?

What happened on April 20?

Spanish painter and sculptor Joan Miró was born in Barcelona on this artistic day in 1893.

And he celebrates with a fellow master of the sculpting chisel, Daniel Chester French (*1850). He is the mastermind behind the Lincoln statue in Washington D.C.

Hard to catch in a sculpture, but nicely visible in pictures is the ‘Sun Dog phenomenon‘. A fascinating name used to describe an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Sun. It was first observed over Stockholm in 1535, as later depicted in the famous painting Vädersolstavlan. Tada, your useful fact for the day!

Also very useful to know is that we celebrate the birthdays of two extreme sportsmen today. Austrian Felix Baumgartner (*1969) is well-known for his incredible jump from the Earth’s stratosphere. And Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld (*1967) is a master of the extreme sport of darts. Though we reckon it’s not quite extreme until you get a dart thrown into your hand or beer glass.