This date in history

[Jimbuna]

1990 - Lech Walesa wins presidental election in Poland.

[Jimbuna]

1901 - First Nobel Peace Prizes awarded (to Jean Henri Dunant, Frederic Passy).

[Aktungbby]

1964: Martin Luther King Jr receives the Nobel Prize..which he accepted "with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind...":hmmm: 1520: Martin Luther publicly burned the Papal edict demanding that he recant of his anti-Catholic views or face excommunication...Luther refused to recant his writings... also quoted as saying in response: "Here I stand. I can do no other".:rock: Given the nature and scope of murderous Civil Rights and the equally violent Protestant Reformation, these two men have made countless others brave simply by example of their supreme 'rage against the machine.'

[Jimbuna]

1620 - 103 Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock (12/21 NS).

[Jimbuna]

1946 - UN accepts 6 Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr.

[Sailor Steve]

1792: In Vienna, 22-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven received one of his first lessons in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn.

[Aktungbby]

1792: In Vienna, 22-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven received one of his first lessons in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn.

DA DA DA DUH =V 4 victory! The idea that the BBC presaged its broadcasts into occupied Europe with the German composer's 5th symphony's opening 4 notes is ironic and iconic... In World War II, the anti-German resistance in occupied Belgium needed a simple graffiti symbol. A Belgian came up with the letter "V." It stood equally for victoire — "victory" in French — and Vrijheid, or "freedom," in Flemish. "Once that 'V' idea got back to the BBC and they wanted to start using it in their overseas broadcasts,", "it was at the BBC that they had the idea of combining it with the Morse code for 'V': three short and one long. Somebody at the BBC realized that matches Beethoven's Fifth. So they could start using that as a little tag to symbolize that [something] was going to be a pro-Ally, propaganda broadcast from the BBC.".
The recording, transmitted 150 times a day, echoed the da-da-da-dum phrase that begins Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. To create the signal, famed British percussionist James Blades used a tympani mallet to strike an African membrane drum, essentially a tom-tom, with the sound damped with a handkerchief. ''That was the greatest noise I ever made,'' he said! Apparently Beethoven described the famous opening notes as "Fate knocking on your door". From a deaf composer with a speedy metronome: That door would be Normandie...:hmmm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRgXUFnfKIY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRgXUFnfKIY)

[Jimbuna]

2003 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.

[Sailor Steve]

2014 -

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/12-13-14_zps6df0a71a.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/12-13-14_zps6df0a71a.jpg.html)

[Jimbuna]

1542 - Princess Mary Stuart succeeds her father James V and becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland at 6 days old.

[BossMark]

1982-Spain opens its border with the British territory of Gibraltar after a 13-year blockade.

2000-The Chernobyl atomic power plant, site of the world's worst nuclear accident, is officially closed down.

[Aktungbby]

1896: the U.S. government awards Patent Number 573,174 to Hungarian -born inventor Stephen M. Balzer for a gasoline-powered motor buggy that he built two years earlier. Balzer never mass-produced any of his cars, but his "experimental" vehicle was one of the first functioning automobiles to be built in the U.S. Today, the Balzer car is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC; the first gas-powered car in the museum's collection.
The Balzer car had a three-cylinder, air-cooled rotary motor. http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/img/media/l/1643.jpg (http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/image_1643.html)http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/img/media/xl/1648.jpgHe developed also 5-cylinder rotary engines. When Samuel P. Langley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_P._Langley) learned about these vehicles and their engine in 1898, he contacted Balzer, ordering one for his experimental airplane. Balzer had problems finishing this engine, delivering finally not earlier than 1900. For proper use, Langley's technical assistant, Charles M. Manly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_M._Manly) had to modify it heavily. Thus, it became the Manly–Balzer engine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manly%E2%80%93Balzer_engine), the first purpose-built aero-engine. Cutting edge technology on two fronts: automotive and aeronautical! The 5 cylinder Manly-Balzer used in the Langley 'Aerodrome'http://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max_w=540&id=http://airandspace.si.edu/webimages/collections/full/A19080003000CP03.JPG (http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/multimedia/detail.cfm?id=A19080003000&file=A19080003000CP03.JPG&name=Manly%2DBalzer%20Radial%205%20Engine) The 52 hp engine was a marvel; unfortunately the Aerodrome plane was not...splashing twice into the Potomac with courageous Manly at the controls both times (he survived) leaving the door open shortly for the Wright brothers with a 12 hp engine but a better plane! History turns on the what if's:doh: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Samuel_Pierpont_Langley_-_Potomac_experiment_1903.jpeg

[Jimbuna]

1877 - Thomas Edison patents phonograph.

[Aktungbby]

1811:
''In the Mississippi River Valley near New Madrid, Missouri, the greatest series of (4) earthquakes in U.S. history begins when a quake of an estimated 8.6 magnitude on the Richter scale slams the region. Although the earthquake greatly altered the topography of the region, the area was only sparsely inhabited at the time, and there were no known human fatalities.
The earthquake raised and lowered parts of the Mississippi Valley by as much as 15 feet and changed the course of the Mississippi River. At one point, the Mississippi momentarily reversed its direction, giving rise to Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee. A 30,000-square-mile area was affected, and tremors were felt as far away as the eastern coast of the (then) United States, where the shock was reported to have rung church bells.'' Having been a chief appraiser in the Santa Cruz Mountains where & when the epicenter of Loma Prieta hit in 1989 at 6.9, and 2 very recent Napa Quakes directly under my humble abode at 5.8 & 6.0 on the Richter scale...I pay attention to the numbers. A map (below) showing a lesser quake in New Madrid's 1895 event compared to the similar level Richter scale '94 LA quake's area, shows what we're envisioning here. At the time of the 1811 quakes, there was little habitation settlementwise and no deaths were recorded- likewise no really accurate maps were possible...that is certainly no longer the situation. The New Madrid Fault Zone has recorded upward of 4000 seismic events since 1811 and is overdue for another big one. I Think I'll stick it out in Napa...at least the FEMA office is open here already.:stare: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/NMSZ_Vergleich.jpg http://www.showme.net/~fkeller/quake/maps.htm (http://www.showme.net/~fkeller/quake/maps.htm) FYI: as to TNT force equivalents: 8.6 =120 megatons; 6.0=15 kilotons(Napa/Hiroshima's LittleBoy):huh:; 6.9=349 kilotons (Loma Prieta) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_magnitude_scale (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_magnitude_scale)

[Jimbuna]

1944 - Ardennes campaign ('Battle of the Bulge') begins in Belgium.

[Jimbuna]

1957 - Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania USA, the world's 1st nuclear power plant begins to generate electricity.

[Aktungbby]

1944: The US Supreme Court upheld Korematsu vs United States, 6-3, the right of the government to evacuate people of Japanese descent including U.S. citizens from the West Coast. A true American hero of a half-century's duration was thus created:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Fred_Korematsu_NPS.jpg
On March 27, 1942, General John L. DeWitt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._DeWitt), commander of the Western Defense Area, prohibited Japanese Americans from leaving the limits of Military Area No. 1 in preparation for their eventual evacuation to internment camps. Fred Korematsu underwent plastic surgery on his eyelids in the unsuccessful hope of passing as a Caucasian, changed his name to Clyde Sarah, and claimed to be of Spanish and Hawaiian heritage...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Stalls_at_Tanforan.jpg/260px-Stalls_at_Tanforan.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stalls_at_Tanforan.jpg)
Former horse stalls converted for temporary occupation by Japanese American internees at Tanforan Assembly Center, San Bruno, California, 1942.
When on May 3, 1942, General DeWitt ordered Japanese Americans to report on May 9 to Assembly Centers as a prelude to being removed to the camps Korematsu refused and went into hiding in the Oakland area. He was arrested on a street corner in San Leandro on May 30, 1942, after being recognized as a "Jap". Ernest Besig, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union) in northern California, asked him whether he would be willing to use his case to test the legality of the Japanese American internment. Korematsu agreed, and was assigned civil rights attorney Wayne M Collins. The ACLU in fact argued for Ernest Besig not to fight Korematsu’s case, since many high-ranking members of the ACLU were close to Franklin Roosevelt, and the ACLU didn’t want to be perceived badly in time of war. :timeout: Besig decided to take Korematsu's case in spite of this. Korematsu felt that “people should have a fair trial and a chance to defend their loyalty at court in a democratic way, because in this situation, people were placed in imprisonment without any fair trial.” On June 12, 1942, Korematsu had his trial date and was given $5,000 bail. After arraignment June 18, 1942, Besig posted bail and he and Fred tried to leave. When met by Military Police, Besig told Fred to go with them. The Military Police took Fred to the Presidio, Korematsu was tried and convicted in federal court on September 8, 1942, for a violation of Public Law No. 503, which criminalized the violations of military orders issued under the authority of Executive Order 9066 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_9066), and was placed on five years' probation. He was taken from the courtroom and returned to the Tanforan Assembly Center, and thereafter he and his family were placed in the Central Utah War Relocation Center (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topaz_War_Relocation_Center) situated at Topaz, Utah. As an unskilled laborer, he was eligible to receive only $12 per month for working eight hours per day at the camp. He was placed in a horse stall with one light bulb, and he later remarked that “jail was better than this.” He moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where he continued to fight racism. He still knew there were inequalities amongst the Japanese, as he experienced these inequalities in his everyday life. He found work repairing water tanks in Salt Lake City, but after three months on the job, he discovered he was being paid half of what his white coworkers were being paid. He told his boss that this was unfair and asked to be paid the same amount, but his boss only threatened to call the police and try to get Korematsu arrested for being Japanese, so he left his job. After this incident, Korematsu lost hope, remaining quiet for over thirty years.
In the early 1980s, while researching a book on internment cases, lawyer and professor Peter Irons came across evidence that Charles Fahy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Fahy), the Solicitor General of the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Solicitor_General) who argued Korematsu v. United States before the Supreme Court, had deliberately suppressed reports from the FBI and military intelligence which concluded that Japanese-American citizens posed no security risk. These documents revealed that the military had lied to the Supreme Court, and that government lawyers had willingly made false arguments. Irons concluded that the Supreme Court’s decision was invalid since it was based on unsubstantiated facts, distortions, and misrepresentations. Along with a team of lawyers , Irons petitioned for writs of error coram nobis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coram_nobis) with the federal courts, seeking to overturn Korematsu's conviction.
On November 10, 1983, Judge Marilyn Patel of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco formally vacated the conviction. Korematsu stood in front of Judge Marilyn Patel and said, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color If anyone should do any pardoning, I should be the one pardoning the government for what they did to the Japanese-American people.” Korematsu spoke out after September 11, 2001, on how the United States government should not let the same thing happen to people of Middle-Eastern descent as what happened to Japanese Americans. When prisoners were detained at Guantanamo Bay for too long a period, in Korematsu’s opinion, he filed two amicus curiae briefs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amicus_curiae) with the Supreme Court and warned them not to repeat the mistakes of the Japanese internment. President Clinton awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom), the highest civilian honor in the United States, to Korematsu in 1998, saying, "In the long history of our country's constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls." Move over Rosa Parks! From 2001 until his death in 2005, Korematsu served on the Constitution Project (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Project)'s bipartisan Liberty and Security Committee. Discussing racial profiling in 2004, he warned, "No one should ever be locked away simply because they share the same race, ethnicity, or religion as a spy or terrorist. If that principle was not learned from the internment of Japanese Americans, then these are very dangerous times for our democracy." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korematsu_v._United_States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korematsu_v._United_States)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/PresMedalFreedom.jpg/150px-PresMedalFreedom.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PresMedalFreedom.jpg)

[Catfish]

^ "It goes hard in present times...but he was right! "

Good article ..

Roger that :yep:

[Jimbuna]

1922 - Theresa Vaughn, 24, confessed in court in Sheffield, England, to being married 61 times over 5 years in 50 cities in three countries.

[Jimbuna]

1522 - Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.

[Sailor Steve]

1606 The Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery set sail from London. Their landing at Jamestown, VA, was the start of the first permanent English settlement in America.

1803 The United States purchased the Louisiana Territories from France for $15 million.

1880 New York's Broadway became known as the "Great White Way" when it was lighted by electricity.

1928 Mail delivery by dog sled began in Lewiston, ME.

[Jimbuna]

1898 - Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium.

[Sailor Steve]

1937Walt Disney debuted the first, full-length, animated feature in Hollywood, CA. The movie was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

[Jimbuna]

1990 - Lech Walesa sworn in as Poland's 1st popularly elected president.

[Sailor Steve]

1895 German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen made the first X-ray. It was of his wife's hand.

[Aktungbby]

1944: Having shot their last offensive wad of the second World War and the time-table seriously delayed, the German 'formal' surrender demand is presented at an outpost of Bastogne at B.A.R gunner PFC Palmas's foxhole: "December 22nd 1944:

To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A.
forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong
German armored units. More German armored units have crossed
the river Ourthe near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and
reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet.
Libramont is in German hands.
There is only one possibility to save the encircled
U.S.A troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable
surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over
a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the
presentation of this note.
If this proposal should be rejected one German
Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready
to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The
order for firing will be given immediately after this two
hours' term.
All the serious civilian losses caused by this
artillery fire would not correspond with the well known
American humanity.

The German Commander."
At Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge, the demand is immortally met with a one word response by Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe:"December 22, 1944

To the German Commander,

N U T S !

The American Commander"
"The Germans opened and looked at the reply. They asked, "What does this mean?" They obviously didn't understand the American slang. American outpost officers, Harper and Premetz, face to face with the German truce party awaiting a reply, discussed how to explain it. Harper suggested, "Tell them to take a flying s**t!" Premetz thought about it, then straightened up, faced the Germans and said, "Du kannst zum Teufel gehen." He told Harper it meant "You can go to Hell." Then Harper said, "If you continue to attack, we will kill every goddamn German that tries to break into this city." Henke replied, "We will kill many Americans. This is war." Harper then said, "On your way Bud, and good luck to you." After Henke translated, the major acknowledged. They saluted and the Germans started to walk away. Harper angrily called out to them, "If you don't know what I am talking about, simply go back to your commanding officer and tell him to just plain, 'Go to Hell'." After Henke translated, the major got angry and stormed off. As he passed Palma's position, he threw his blindfold and Palma caught it. Palma wrote that he didn't realize the historical importance of that blindfold. He later used it to clean his B.A.R. and threw it away!" Edit: as recounted by Mcauliffes Nephew http://www.army.mil/article/92856 (http://www.army.mil/article/92856)

[Sailor Steve]

Citation?

[edit] Thank you. :sunny:

[Jimbuna]

1888 - Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh cuts off his left ear with a razor, and sends it to a prostitute for safe keeping.

[Jimbuna]

1943 - FDR appoints Gen Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces

[Aktungbby]

1914:
'On December 7, 1914, Pope Benedict XV suggested a temporary hiatus of the war for the celebration of Christmas. The warring countries refused to create any official cease-fire, but on Christmas the soldiers in the trenches declared their own unofficial truce. something surprising occurred on the front for Christmas in 1914. The men who lay shivering in the trenches embraced the Christmas spirit. In one of the truest acts of goodwill toward men, soldiers from both sides in the southern portion of the Ypres Salient set aside their weapons and hatred, if only temporarily, and met in No Man's Land.
Starting on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops sang Christmas carols across the lines. At certain points, the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.
At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer. As many as 100,000 British and German troops took part!
Some soldiers used this short-lived ceasefire for a more somber task: the retrieval of the bodies of fellow combatants who had fallen within the no-man’s land between the lines. The truce allowed the troops from both sides to collect and bury their dead, which was no small matter. Fewer things were more jarring to a serviceman than knowing that the remains of fallen comrades were still out in the open.
The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare. It was never repeated—future attempts at holiday ceasefires were quashed by officers’ threats of disciplinary action—but it served as heartening proof, however brief, that beneath the brutal clash of weapons, the soldiers’ essential humanity endured.
During WWI, the soldiers on the Western Front did not expect to celebrate on the battlefield, but even a world war could not obliviate the Christmas spirit.
The Christmas Truce of 1914 can be seen as the last gasp of the romantic 19th Century, the final gesture of an era that featured "gentlemanly" soldiering and gallant heroes who could confront their adversaries face-to-face. Professional soldiers in WWI were replaced by recruits with no sense of military tradition. Battlefields, like the factories back home, had turned into industrialized workplaces. In some places, it continued for more than a day. But the generals, when they learned of it, made sure it would never happen again. And despite sporadic attempts in later years, it never really did. The commander of the British Second Corps, General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, closeness of opposing forces posed “the greatest danger” to the morale of soldiers and told Divisional Commanders to explicitly prohibit any “friendly intercourse with the enemy.” In a memo issued on Dec. 5, he had warned that: “troops in trenches in close proximity to the enemy slide very easily, if permitted to do so, into a ‘live and let live’ theory of life.” Adolf Hitler, then a Corporal of the 16th Bavarians, saw it no differently: “Such a thing should not happen in wartime,” he is said to have remarked: “Have you no German sense of honor?” A couple of grinches!' http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Christmas_Truce_1914.png
http://reason.com/archives/2014/12/24/the-christmas-truce-of-world-war-i (http://reason.com/archives/2014/12/24/the-christmas-truce-of-world-war-i) (pic or it didn't happen!):salute:

[Sailor Steve]

1223 St. Francis of Assisi assembled one of the first Nativity scenes, in Greccio, Italy.

1818 "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.

1868 President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War.

[Jimbuna]

1066 - Duke William of Normandy ('William the Conqueror) crowned king of England.

[Aktungbby]

1066 - Duke William of Normandy ('William the Conqueror) crowned king of England.

PICS or it didn't HAPPEN! with a very interesting conclusion! The original Bayeux Tapestry, already used in previous posts in this thread, is actually MISSING several of the last feet depicting the march to London and William the Bastard's transformation (crowning) to William the Conqueror...Amazingly: "experts now believe that a piece between 8-10 feet, depicting a scene of the coronation of William I, would have been included in the original work. Now an embroidered panel produced in the Channel Island of Alderney has delivered the missing chapter with a plausible conclusion. Alderney's final chapter, embracing its strong and historic Normandy connection, features the coronation of William at Westminster Abbey and concludes with the construction of the White Tower using stone imported from Caen. The project was conceived of by three Alderney ladies who, On 1 Feb 2012, completed their first stitches which were followed by thousands and thousands of stitches added by over 400 individuals from and off the Island of Alderney, who made Alderney’s Bayeux Tapestry Finale one of the biggest community projects of its kind. Among the stitchers were The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall who visited the island.
On 28 February 2013, this unique and ambitious masterpiece, was finally completed. On Friday 5 April 2013, when Alderney's tapestry was officially unveiled on the island by the curator of the Bayeux Tapestry Museum , and the President du Conseil de la Manche, Alderney's Bayeux Tapestry finale instantly received their seal of approval. Alderney’s Finale has created so much interest that a high quality replica of the tapestry will continue to be on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum." If the da....fussy French like it...IT MUST BE GOOD! :|\\ :rock:
I know my thread's a little on 'cut and paste' side; but now, it seems, I'm in good company' after 978 years!':smug:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7395/9014558564_dbfe018886.jpg
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/alderneybayeuxtapestryfinale/9014558564/in/set-72157634060896769)The 'victory' march to London


https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2805/9014559192_5ebebb959c.jpg
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/alderneybayeuxtapestryfinale/9014559192/in/set-72157634060896769)^William is regally crowned-best Christmas he ever had IMHO!:huh:
http://www.alderneybayeuxtapestry.com/ (http://www.alderneybayeuxtapestry.com/)



(https://www.flickr.com/photos/alderneybayeuxtapestryfinale/9014559648/in/set-72157634060896769)

[Jimbuna]

1943 - British sink German battle cruiser Scharnhorst.

[Jimbuna]

1850 - Hawaiian Fire Dept established.

[Jimbuna]

1836 - Spain recognizes independence of Mexico.

[Aktungbby]

1170: Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury is slain in Canterbury Cathedral by three of King Henry II's knights. A humble and penitent martyr, considering his trysts and wenching with former good-buddy, King Henry...(@TANGO:D) he was wearing a hairshirt or celice!:o In penance four years later, during a revolt, Henry II humbled himself with public (flogging) at Becket's tomb as well as at the church of St Dunstans, which became one of the most popular pilgrim sites in England. 1916: Seeking to alleviate his undue influence over the Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra, a group of three Russian nobles murder Gregory Rasputin a less-than-penitent "Mad Monk'. In less than two years :hmmm: the Czar is executed (penance indeed!) along with his entire family...As with the cult of the sainted Becket; after his death the memoirs of those who knew Rasputin became a mini-industry...A proper New Years' toast to two monks and a bad king is possible!https://frtim.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/becket-beer.jpghttp://www.northcoastbrewing.com/images/Rasputin-Brand-Image-2012.jpg https://d1c8v1qci5en44.cloudfront.net/photo/2014_11_16/3d1226ad1f8102deddaa2a500150f0b8_640x640.jpgSan Ramon CA 'barley wine' micro-brewery?!!:up:

[Mr Quatro]

On this date December 29th 2014:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=217566



Most Helpful Member of the Year: Jimbuna
Funniest Post of the Year: Dreadknot
Moderator of the Year: Sailor Steve
Thread of the Year: Aktungbby
Mod/Modder of the Year: vdr1981
Midshipman of the Year : Eichhornchen
Admin's Award: TheGeoff
Admin's Award: THEBERBSTER
Admin's Award: u crank
Admin's Award: CaptBones

[Jimbuna]

1853 - A dinner party is held inside a life-size model of an Iguanodon (ornithopod dinosaur) created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in south London.

[Aktungbby]

1600: Queen Elizabeth I (http://www.history.com/topics/elizabeth-i) of England grants a formal charter to the London merchants trading to the East Indies, hoping to break the Dutch monopoly of the spice trade in what is now Indonesia. The Indian Empire is started and the 'sun still does not set on the British Commonwealth'.:up: 1999: the United States, in accordance with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, officially hands over control of the Panama Canal, putting the strategic waterway to Panamafor the first time. The treaty, narrowly ratified by the U.S. Senate, gave America the ongoing right to defend the canal against any threats to its neutrality.:stare: In October 2006, Panamanian voters approved a $5.25 billion plan to double the canal's size by 2015 to better accommodate modern ships... In May 2006, the Maersk Dellys paid a record toll of $249,165. The smallest-ever toll--36 cents--was paid by Richard Halliburton, who swam the canal in 1928. Lost at sea crosssing the Pacific in a Chinese Junk, the Sea Dragon; Mr Halliburton's writings inspired me as a youngster. In particular, his last travel adventure tome which is still on my bookshelf: Seven League Boots http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Halliburton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Halliburton)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Richard_Halliburton_historical_marker_Brownsville_ TN_2.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1775 - Battle of Quebec in American Revolutionary War; Americans defeated trying to take British stronghold.

[STEED]

THE BRICK HAS LANDED 30 YEARS AGO...IT'S ALIVE!

UK's first mobile phone user remembers his call 30 years on

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30430475

[Jimbuna]

45 BC - The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time.

[Aktungbby]

1890: President Benjamin Harrison welcomes Alice Sanger as the first female White House staffer. The last (brevet) general of the Civil War to attain the presidency, Benjamin Harrison followed his grandfather William Henry Harrison, winning election as the nation’s 23rd president in 1888. There is a practical side to politics; not only was the combined Women's movement, National American Woman Suffrage Association, on the rise in 1890; but Caroline Harrison, the very proactive First Lady, was open-minded about suffrage. She supported the hiring of Alice Sanger as the first woman stenographer at the White House. On February 12, 1880, a wooden crate had arrived at the White House containing a new contrivance which would revolutionize presidential letter writing: a Fairbanks and Company Improved Number Two Typewriter. Neither Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur or Cleveland used the “type-writing” machine for correspondence, but by the time Benjamin Harrison arrived at the White House, the typewriter was important enough to have its own two small rooms – shared with the telephone and telegraph – and its own operator, Miss Alice Sanger. The first typed white house letter-a thankyou note- http://www.shapell.org/Data/Uploads/1818a_item_levels.jpg also spelled the end of presidentially autographed letters...the advent of the typewritten letters would make the presidential autograph letter rarer and rarer – driving it, almost, to the point of extinction. http://www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org/learn/collections/women-s-suffrage (http://www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org/learn/collections/women-s-suffrage)

[Jimbuna]

1833 - Britain seizes control of Falkland Islands in South Atlantic.

[Aktungbby]

1943: Time magazine declares Josef Stalin 1942's Man of the Year! Winston Churchill perhaps put best and pithiest "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil" in the House of Commons.:O: and still later in 1942..."It was an experience of great interest to me to meet Premier Stalin … It is very fortunate for Russia in her agony to have this great rugged war chief at her head. He is a man of massive outstanding personality, suited to the sombre and stormy times in which his life has been cast; a man of inexhaustible courage and will-power and a man direct and even blunt in speech, which, having been brought up in the House of Commons, I do not mind at all, especially when I have something to say of my own. Above all, he is a man with that saving sense of humour which is of high importance to all men and all nations, but particularly to great men and great nations. Stalin also left upon me the impression of a deep, cool wisdom and a complete absence of illusions of any kind. I believe I made him feel that we were good and faithful comrades in this war – but that, after all, is a matter which deeds not words will prove." http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1943/1101430104_400.jpg (http://content.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601430104,00.html) Oddly enough Putin made the cover too in 2014 but not as Man of the Year...no one to 'give the devil his due' it seems:doh:http://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/putin-cover.jpg?w=814

[Jimbuna]

1944 - The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper.

[Aktungbby]

1781: Ricmond Viginia is burned by British troops lead by Bendict Arnold. "Benedict Arnold was personally tasked by Commander-in-Chief (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chief,_North_America)Sir Henry Clinton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clinton_(American_War_of_Independence)) in late December of 1780, to lead a force of 1,600 of his Loyalist troops (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legion_(Loyalist)) to raid and capture Richmond, the capital of Virginia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia), and establish strong defenses at Portsmouth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth,_Virginia). Clinton hoped that sending an American-born commander to Richmond would convince more Loyalists in the area to join the British cause, which would subsequently give the British Army the upper hand in the Southern Theatre of the war. Arnold's fleet with force of 1600 sailed up the James River (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_River), laying waste to plantations and settlements along the way. Arnold's forces marched triumphantly into the city, described by an eyewitness as "undisturbed by even a single shot." From his headquarters at Main Street's City Tavern (he would only stay in Richmond for a day), Arnold wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson who had fled the city, saying that if he could move the city's tobacco stores and military arms to his ships, he would leave Richmond unharmed. Jefferson's response was livid, refusing that a turncoat do anything to Richmond's supplies. receiving the letter the next day on January 6, Arnold was enraged in turn, and ordered Richmond to be set to the torch. British troops then started a rampage across the city, burning government buildings as well as private homes, ransacking the city of its valuables and supplies. A strong wind spread the flames even more, adding to the destruction. After most of Richmond was burned and its valuables sacked, Arnold led his forces outside of Richmond and to the Westham cannon foundry, which held even more armaments, and preceded to burn it down. After its destruction, the British went down to the city of Chesterfield, and began another spree of violence, burning down homes and looting buildings. Arnold was praised by local Loyalists, as well as his superiors, to be a hero.
The destruction of Richmond, one of the most important cities in the United States, outraged the American populace. George Washington (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington) was so angered and humiliated by the destruction of Richmond, that he put a 5,000 guinea bounty on Arnold's head and ordered his aide, the Marquis de Lafayette (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_du_Motier,_Marquis_de_Lafayette), to hang Arnold if he encountered him in battle. Continental marksmen were issued targets painted in Benedict's appearance to practice on, if in the event they saw him.
The British, saw Arnold's victory at Richmond as a turning point, and gave them hopes that Loyalists could rise up with them, and quell the American presence in the South. Many slaves were liberated from the raided plantations, as well as Richmond itself, and many of them promptly joined the British Army afterwards, in exchange for their freedom." Considering his victory at Valcour Island in 1776, delaying the British campaign a year, and the amphibious operation on the James River culminating in the destruction of Richmond, Benedict Arnold, in addition to his brilliant generalship at crucial Saratoga, ranks as one of the better admirals of the American Revolution ...on both sides:hmmm:http://img2.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/229148122/300/400/0_0_1424_1068.jpgthe unamed monument to his leg; wounded at Saratoga. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_of_Richmond (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_of_Richmond)

[Jimbuna]

1681 - 1st recorded boxing match (Duke of Albemarle's butler vs his butcher).

[Aktungbby]

1790: President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address to the assembled Congress in New York City.
Washington began by congratulations on the present "favorable prospects of our public affairs, most notable of which was North Carolina's recent decision to join the federal republic. North Carolina had rejected the Constitution in July 1788 because it lacked a bill of rights. Good deal for Armistead...he depends on The 1st amendment...in the BILGE:D 1918: In an address before a joint meeting of Congress, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson discusses the aims of the United States in WWI and outlines his "14 Points" for achieving a lasting peace in Europe. The peace proposal called for unselfish peace terms from the victorious Allies, the restoration of territories conquered during the war, the right to national self-determination, and the establishment of a postwar world body to resolve future conflict. No one listened...The war resumed in 1939...1940: a message from Benito Mussolini is sent to 'upstart' Adolf Hitler. In the letter, the Duce cautions the Fuhrer against waging war against Britain. asking if it was necessary "to risk all-including the regime-and to sacrifice the flower of German generations." Hitler ignored him and commenced with plans to conquer Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Mussolini, rather than tie Italy's fortune to Germany's-which would mean sharing the spotlight and the spoils of war, invaded Yugoslavia and, in a famously disastrous strategic move, Greece. The expanded, porous underbelly of Europe, with North Africa thrown in, would get very soft indeed! Ultimately, BenitoBBY found himself completely (literally:dead:) 'upside-down' in the relationship...CIAO & thanks DUCE!:salute:

[Jimbuna]

1431 - Judges' investigations for the trial of Joan of Arc begin in Rouen, France, the seat of the English occupation government.

[Rockstar]

1942 - Ukrainian cryptanalyst Jerzy Rozycki died when M/S “Lamoriciere“ he was travelling by, sunk near Balearic Isles

[Aktungbby]

1942 - Ukrainian cryptanalyst Jerzy Rozycki died when M/S “Lamoricière“ he was travelling by, sunk near Balearic Isles

INDEED! "The French passenger ship Lamoricière was crossing the Mediterranean from Algiers to France when she sank near the Balearic Isles. While sailing to Marseille the weather deteriorated severely and the ship altered course to assist a freighter in distress the SS Jumieges. Unfortunately the latter foundered in heavy seas with all hands(20) before the Lamoricière could be of assistance. The captain tried to take shelter behind the island of MENORCA but the ship could not cross the wind. Finally the boilers shut down, all power was lost as water began pouring in through the coal hatches and the ship started to list heavily and began to sink. (The ship had recently been converted from diesel oil to coal owing to wartime shortages) A total of 301 passengers and crew were lost. There were 93 survivors. One of those lost was Jerzy Rozycki, one of the three Polish cryptologists who worked on cracking the German Enigma code in 1932. Rozycki and his team had travelled from France to Algiers in late 1941 to work on the Enigma codes and was returning on the Lamorcière when disaster struck. In 1929, while still a student, Różycki, proficient in German, was one of twenty-odd Poznań University mathematics students who accepted an invitation to attend a secret cryptology course in Warsaw. From September 1932 Różycki served as a civilian cryptologist with the Polish cipher Bureau. After another cryptic member had reconstructed the German military Enigm machine in December 1932, Różycki worked at ongoing development of methods and equipment to exploit Enigma decryption as a source of intelligence. Różycki invented the "clock" method, which sometimes made it possible to determine which of the machine's rotors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotor_machine) was at the far right, that is, in the position where the rotor always revolved at every depression of a key. Two other members of the code breaking team, Jan Gralinski and Piotr Smalenski also perished". For the all-important 'wizard War' of WWII, this was a heavy blow. http://www.wrecksite.eu/img/nav/wreck.gifhttp://www.wrecksite.eu/img/nav/wreck.gifhttp://www.wrecksite.eu/img/nav/wreck.gifhttp://www.wrecksite.eu/img/nav/wreck.gif http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime-1a.html (http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime-1a.html) SS Lamorciére buit by
SWAN. HUNTER & WIGHAM RICHARDSON, LTD. (WALLSEND-ON-TYNE), http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/L-Ships/lamoriciere1921.html (http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/L-Ships/lamoriciere1921.html)http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/L-Ships/Lamoriciere-1921.jpg

[Aktungbby]

1793: Pierre Blanchard conducted the first balloon flight in the Americas. He launched his balloon from Philadelphia, PA and landed in Deptford, New Jersey. (8 miles?) One of the flight's witnesses that day was President George Washington, and the future presidents: John Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe. Also in 1793, aeronautical showman M. Blanchard was- allegedly- the first to escape his ruptured Hydrogen filled balloon using a parachute (unwitnessed)- heretofore used only with dogs to demonstrate the newly invented device; He had developed the first foldable parachute made from silk, up until that point all parachutes were made with rigid frames.:up: If true...necessity can engender a sudden serious case of :salute: GUTS!!! IMHO!http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Jean_Pierre_Blanchard.jpg/640px-Jean_Pierre_Blanchard.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1863 - 1st underground railway opens in London.

[STEED]

THE DEATH TRAP HITS THE UK ROADS!

The battery-powered Sinclair C5 hit the roads of Britain more than two decades ago. It was hoped the one-seater electric tricycle, invented by Sir Clive Sinclair, would revolutionise travel.
But it failed to entice buyers, was ridiculed in the press and even prompted fears about its safety.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/11/05/article-1326823-01FD44E10000044D-596_634x436.jpg
Yes that is Sir Clive Sinclair, what was he drinking the night he came up with that! :/\\!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/january/10/newsid_4111000/4111177.stm

[Jimbuna]

THE DEATH TRAP HITS THE UK ROADS!

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/11/05/article-1326823-01FD44E10000044D-596_634x436.jpg
Yes that is Sir Clive Sinclair, what was he drinking the night he came up with that! :/\\!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/january/10/newsid_4111000/4111177.stm

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/4051/xbur.gif (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/xbur.gif/)

[Jimbuna]

1879 - Zulu war against British colonial rule in South Africa begins.

[Aktungbby]

1815: Sir John A Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada, was born in Glasgow Scotland! He steered Canada on its route to independence...stayed out of American undue influence...and left his 'stamp' on history! :smug: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Canada_1_cent_1927.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Uncle_Sam_kicked_out.pngfrom a 'penny for his thoughts' to a little 'legal tender' !:woot: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/aa/Canadian_%2410_note_specimen_-_face.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1913 - After using other pseudonyms over the years, Josef Dzhugashvili signs himself as Stalin ('man of steel) in a letter to the the paper, Social Democrat.

[Aktungbby]

1915: The silent film drama " A Fool There Was" premieres in New York and propels Theda Bara to stardom with her portrayal of a 'predatory' vamp; the ultimate femme fatale in the flesh... so to speak. This is one of the few Theda Bara films still in existence. Reportedly, her stage name was an anagram for ARAB DEATH in reverse...such a sentiment today? and she was 'born in the shadow of the pyramids'....as a publicity stunt for "Cleopatra" :huh: http://cdn.thehairpin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/theda-bara-gosling-tattoo-640x500.jpghttp://cdn.thehairpin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/NT-640x484.jpgCleo #1! 4 movie buffs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiTRqj6YOYw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiTRqj6YOYw)

[Jimbuna]

1914 - Henry Ford introduces an assembly line for Model T.

[Jimbuna]

1535 - Henry VIII declares himself head of the Church in England.

[Aktungbby]

1559: Queen Elizabeth I is crowned in Westminster Abby: She inherited the title Supreme Head of the Church in England given to Henry by the Pope actually. The first to bear that title (given him by the pope) and Elizabeth therefore became the first female monarch to exist not only without the constraints of a male consort, but also without the all-powerful Pope as the head of the Catholic Church. A unique position of independence. She wasn't dubbed Gloriana fer nuthin'. With no men to constrain her suzerainty and playing the Virgin Queen to the hilt,...the Golden Age of England begins...http://www.elizabethfiles.com/why-didnt-elizabeth-i-marry/4451/

[Jimbuna]

27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.

[Aktungbby]

^And well deserved considering what he accomplished to get there-Roman Civil War-wise; how long he lasted; The great strategic sea battle (top 5?:hmmm:) of Actium; and just managing to die of old age after ruling ably for 41 of his 77 years! No other Roman leader ever did as well! # 6 on the top 100 leaders of history- good and bad http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-important-leaders-in-world-history (http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-important-leaders-in-world-history) an interesting site for any history buffs lurking at :subsim: Alternate points of view always encouraged in this thread:03:. NOTE: with Uncle Julius at #2 it's also the only family dynasty in the top ten...:timeout: In Roman politics, it's not what you know it's who's coattails....er toga hems your riding on that counts!:woot:http://img3.rnkr-static.com/user_node_img/3822/76433437/C250/augustus-caesar-politicians-photo-u1.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Battle_of_Actium-en.svg/716px-Battle_of_Actium-en.svg.pngOne of the five biggest sea battles IMJO http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium) in terms of results and the course of history change: from eastern Greco to western Roman dominance.

[Aktungbby]

1935: Arizona 'MA' Barker, also known as 'Kate' and fugitive gangster Fred Barker, her son, are killed in a shootout with the FBI at Lake Weir, Florida...Ordered to surrender, Fred opened fire; both he and his mother were killed by federal agents after an intense, hours-long shootout. Allegedly, many local people came to watch the events unfolding, even holding picnics during the gunfire. The FBI's J. Edgar Hoover described her as "the most vicious, dangerous and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade". Famous gang members Alvin Karpis and Harvey Bailey described poor Ma Barker as a woman of the Ozarks that "couldn't plan breakfast let alone a criminal enterprise." perhaps ol' J. Edgar was hard pressed for a little good proactive PR... A minor footnote to history just discovered in the extensive:up: research for this post: June 1933—William Hamm of the Hamm's Beer Brewery family kidnapped by Barker-Karpis gang; Hamm released June 19, 1933 after ransom paid. It is believed by some that the gang turned over half of the Hamm ransom money to the Chicago Mob under notorious Frank Nitti; after Nitti discovered that they were hiding Hamm in suburban Chicago and demanded half the ransom as "rent". http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/10/Ma_Barker.jpg/220px-Ma_Barker.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ma_Barker.jpg):Kaleun_Cheers: A toast to a 'sweet lil ol lady'!

[U-15]

For those interested in navel history

1985 - "Playboy" magazine announced its 30-year tradition of stapling centerfold models in the bellybutton and elsewhere would come to an immediate end.

[Jimbuna]

1773 - Capt James Cook becomes 1st to cross Antarctic Circle (66° 33' S).

[U-15]

My dad was born
A great hard-working and principled man, who taught me a lot, not just by what he said, but mainly by what he did and how he did it. :salute::salute:

[Aktungbby]

^A little dynastic success and 'Bankin' it up then?!:D 1963: President Dwight D Eisenhower delivers his farewell address and warns against "the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.":timeout: Too late: 1893: 'Hawaii's monarchy is overthrown as a group of businessmen(Sanford Dole et al) and sugar planters (raisn' a little cane perhaps?) Forced Queen Lili'uokalani to abdicate. An independent nation: On July 6, 1846, US SEC of State on behalf of President Tyler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tyler), had afforded formal recognition of Hawaiian independence under the reign of Kamehameha III (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_III). As a result of the recognition of Hawaiian independence, the Hawaiian Kingdom entered into treaties with the major nations of the world and established over ninety legations and consulates in multiple seaports and cities.' BOTTOM Line: we usurped an independent nation...and acquired Pearl Harbor-deemed necessary to the interests of the nation...When the Queen tried to fight back, she was placed in house-arrest for Treason in her own country???!!!. In "1993, the 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Congress passed a resolution, which President Bill Clinton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton) signed into law, offering an apology to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the United States for its involvement in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. This law is known as the Apology Resolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apology_Resolution)." I'll mutter "so sorry" as I sip my MAI-TAI topped with a little Dole pineapple...on Kauai. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Kingdom_of_Hawaii (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overthrow_of_the_Kingdom_of_Hawaii)

[Jimbuna]

1788 - The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay to set up a penal colony.

[Jimbuna]

1841 - China cedes Hong Kong to the British during the 1st Opium War.

[STEED]

January 21, 1954: USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine, is launched

Powered by nuclear reactors instead of diesel engines, the new wave of submarines could stay submerged for months - adding further intrigue to Cold War espionage.

http://home.bt.com/news/world-news/january-21-1954-uss-nautilus-the-worlds-first-nuclear-submarine-is-launched-11363955605561

[Jimbuna]

1944 - 447 German bombers attack London
1944 - 649 British bombers attack Magdeburg

[Aktungbby]

1793: Louis XVI, condemned for treason = :/\\chop on a new humane device that he had suggested be beveled along its business edge for greater efficiency and humane-ness. This inaugurated a period of French history known as The Terror, JUN/1793-JUL/1794, in which the :/\\chop was referred to as 'the National Razor'.:|\\ Estimates of the death toll range between 16,000 and 40,000. The last person guillotined in France was a Tunisian murderer, Hamida Djandoubi, on 10 SEP 1977-as executions were abolished 1981 by President Mitterand...The way things in France are today, perhaps it should be brought back for the Terror II ?! :hmmm:

[Jimbuna]

1879 - Battle at Rorke's Drift: British garrison of 150 holds off 3,000-4,000 Zulu warriors.

Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders of Rorke's Drift, seven of them to soldiers of the 2nd/24th Foot – the most ever received in a single action by one regiment (although not, as commonly thought, the most awarded in a single action or the most in a day: 16 were awarded at the Battle of Inkerman, on 5 November 1854; 28 were awarded during the Second Relief of Lucknow, 14–22 November 1857)

[Aktungbby]

1908: SMOKEFREE: New York city passes Sullivan Act, forbidding women to smoke in public. Managers of public establishments must not permit females to smoke. An earlier ordinance which would have forbidden men to smoke in the presence of women failed to pass.:hmmm: One Katie Mulcahey is arrested for lighting up. Two weeks after enactment, Mayor George B. McClellan vetoes the ordinance. KATIE MULCAHEY on the subject: "No man shall dictate to me!" MS Mulcahey spent a night in jail after refusing to pay the $5.00 fine. The law, which in fact specified NO fines...was vetoed, to his everlasting credit, by Mayor George B. McClellan Jr.(son of the Union general) two weeks later! Quite liberal for the two-term mayor, who is notable in the history of movie censorship for canceling all moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908, claiming that the new medium degraded the morals of the community and that celluloid film was an unacceptable fire hazard. The women smoking in public issues had serious social and women's equality implications for the 'Victorian era': http://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1167&context=neha (http://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1167&context=neha)s

[BossMark]

1924-James Ramsay MacDonald becomes Britain's first Labour prime minister, leading a minority government.

1960-The USS 'Trieste' bathyscaphe makes the deepest recorded dive of 35,800ft into the Challenger Deep.

[Jimbuna]

1973 - US President Nixon announces an accord has been reached to end Vietnam War.

[BossMark]

1965-British statesman and national hero Winston Churchill (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/churchill_winston.shtml) dies aged 90 and is honoured with a state funeral.

1972-World War Two Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi is found at his post on Guam and told the war is over.

[Jimbuna]

41 - Claudius succeeds his nephew Caligula as Roman Emperor after his assassination by Praetorian Guards.

[Jimbuna]

1858 - Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" first played, at wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, to crown prince of Prussia.

[Jimbuna]

1841 - Hong Kong proclaimed a sovereign territory of Britain.

[Jimbuna]

1671 - Pirate Henry Morgan lands at Panama City.

[Von Tonner]

On this day in 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. By then, an estimated 1.1 million people had been killed at the camp.

[Jimbuna]

1944 - U-271 & U-571 sunk off Ireland.

[Aktungbby]

1964: Stanley Kubrick's black comic masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb opens in theaters to both critical and popular acclaim. Little is needed to grasp Kubrick's satirical attack on the American and Russian policies of nuclear stockpiling and massive retaliation. The film's jabs at some core beliefs of America's defense strategy struck a chord with the American people who had survived the frightening Cuban Missile Crises of 1962--when nuclear annihilation seemed a very real possibility--the American public was willing to question the nation's reliance on nuclear weapons. I'm in some limbo myself. My dad who served in B-29 super-fortresses off Tinian was scheduled for the invasion of Japan in WWII. His astute view of Hiroshima was 'that it was the only reason I (me) was on the planet as he had not expected to survive the war' with it's estimate of casualties for the pre-atomic invasion of the Japanese home islands. Peters Sellers as Dr. Strangelove: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Dr._Strangelove.png Very strangely; the ride we've been on ...all our lives! IMHO!:yep: The 'dooms day clock is recently posted at 5 minutes to KA BOOM BBY:nope:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Dr._Strangelove_-_Riding_the_Bomb.pngSlim Pickens as Major T. J. "King" Kong ridin' the nuke....all the way in....kinda drives the point home...so to speak!:/\\!!

[BossMark]

1856-The Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military decoration for gallantry, is created by royal warrant.

1886-German engineer Karl Benz patents the first practical car powered by a petrol internal combustion engine.

2002-Iraq, North Korea and Iran are branded the 'axis of evil' by US President George W Bush.

[Jimbuna]

1933 - German president Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler as chancellor.

[BossMark]

1649-Charles 1is beheaded for treason, outside the Banqueting Hall in the Palace of Whitehall, London.

1948-Indian nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/gandhi_mohandas.shtml) in assassinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse in Delhi.

1972-British paratroops shoot 13 people dead during a civil rights march in Londonderry (bloody Sunday)

[Jimbuna]

1661 - Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England is ritually executed after having been dead for two years.

[Aktungbby]

^indeed! he was a man of many parts for 301 years! http://talesofcuriosity.com/v/CromwellsHead/i/cromwellhead1.jpg (http://talesofcuriosity.com/v/CromwellsHead/)'...The monarchy was restored and Charles I’s son was invited back and crowned Charles II. One of the first acts of the new monarchy was to round up all those involved in the execution of Charles I. This included the corpse of Oliver Cromwell which was disinterred from Westminster Abbey and put on trial in Westminster Hall. His corpse, being unable to issue a defence, was found guilty of regicide and hanged at Tyburn; and the head placed on a spike outside Parliament.. There the head remained throughout the entirety of Charles II’s reign. Those Scottish Stewarts I tell ya!:stare: In 1685, a terrible gale broke the spike and sent the head tumbling into Parliament square. It came to rest outside the Exchequer’s Office. A guard outside the office came upon the head, and thinking to make some money, hid it under his coat and took it home. Besides being hidden in a chimney for years, used as a curio relic, the head, proven to be the real thing, was finally buried...On the 25th of March 1960, the head was finally interred again by the last owner, Horace Wilkinson, in a secret location near the antechapel of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (Cromwell had been the Member of Parliament for Cambridge before he became Lord Protector). The burial was not announced until October two years later.' Thus Oliver Cromwell’s head was finally laid to rest after a journey lasting 301 years. Finis to the tale...er head! I love happy endings...whichever end that may be!:O: http://thedailybeagle.net/2014/01/10/what-happened-to-oliver-cromwells-head/ (http://thedailybeagle.net/2014/01/10/what-happened-to-oliver-cromwells-head/)

[Jimbuna]

1917 - Germany notifies US that U-boats will attack neutral merchant shipping.

[Jimbuna]

1901 - Queen Victoria's funeral takes place.

[Aktungbby]

1943: The remaining Nazi forces at Stalingrad surrender. "The 6th Army will hold its positions to the last man and the last round." Von Paulus held out until January 31, 1943. Of more than 280,000 men under Paulus' command, half were already dead or dying, about 35,000 had been evacuated from the front, and the remaining 91,000-110,000 were hauled off to Soviet POW camps.
Pockets of German belligerence continued until February 2. Hitler berated Von Paulus for not committing suicide. Von Paulus, captured by the Soviets, repaid Hitler by joining the National Committee for Free Germany, and urging German troops to surrender on other battlegrounds in the USSR. Approx. 5,000 captured Germans survived captivity to return to Germany.For them the battle was only one signpost on a long road of misery.
Strategically, Germany would never recover from the defeat of Stalingrad. Its army was spent and its political will severely disrupted. Still, it would be two more grim years before the Nazis finally surrendered.
Through a great victory for the Soviet Union, the Battle of Stalingrad is, IMHO, one of the saddest chapters in military history-due to the Fuhrer's insistence on eliminating his opponent's 'namesake' city. It's death and ferocity has seldom been matched. Von Paulus after capture. The record is somewhat unclear as to whether Paulus actually surrendered. He insisted he had not; he was waiting in another room when Soviet troops burst into the basement, and one of his adjutants supposedly gave up. Photo: Von Paulus surrendered... http://seanmunger.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/paulus-surrenders.jpg?w=336&h=480 (http://seanmunger.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/paulus-surrenders.jpg)It would also appear that deaths on the battlefield were the least of the German problems... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_Soviet_Union (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_Soviet_Union) Truly a race war to the death... and a one-way ticket to Siberia.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/3c/86/c4/3c86c4ec053c7a5d56a1f464a2bffd19.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1966 - 1st soft landing on Moon (Soviet Luna 9).

[Aktungbby]

1943: During the early morning hours at 12:55 a.m. USAT Dorchester was torpedoed by U-223. The damage was severe, boiler power was lost, there was inadequate steam to sound the full 6-whistle signal to abandon ship, and Dorchester sank by the bow in about 20 minutes. Loss of power prevented the crew from sending a radio distress signal, and no rockets or flares were launched to alert the escorts. A severe list prevented lifeboats, being launched on the portside and some capsized from overcrowding. Survivors became so stiff from cold, they could not grasp the cargo nets on rescue vessels. The crew of the escort Escanaba employed a new "retriever" rescue technique: swimmers clad in wet suits swam to victims in the water and secured a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship. Dorchester is best remembered today for four of the Army officers among the military personnel being transported overseas for duty: the Four Chaplains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_chaplain) who died because they gave up their life jackets to save others. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Immortal_Chaplains-3c.jpg/240px-Immortal_Chaplains-3c.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Immortal_Chaplains-3c.jpg) Of the 900 men aboard only 230 survived. The sinking of the Dorchester was the worst single loss of American personnel(675) of any American convoy during World War II. It was U-223's first patrol and sinking under Karl-Jürg Wächter. U-223http://www.uboataces.com/emblems/223.jpg would be sunk in the Mediterranean with 27 survivors; in a terrific battle with three destroyers, sinking one of them, HMS Laforey. Karl-Jürg Wächter would perish in the Baltic enroute to Norway on 3/5/1945 aboard his XXI U-2503 from a Beaufort rocket which penetrated the control room, killing 12 of the crew near Ömo Island Denmark. The beached, scuttled U-boat was later blown up. War at sea is hard.

[Jimbuna]

1789 - 1st US electoral college chooses Washington & Adams as President and Vice-President.

[Jimbuna]

1885 - News of fall of Khartoum reaches London.

[Aktungbby]

1918: The SS Tuscania is sunk by UB-77. The ship left Hoboken, New Jersey, on her final voyage on 24 January 1918 carrying 2,013 American troops and a crew of 384. She proceeded to cross the Atlantic bound for Le Harve. On 5 February the convoy was sighted seven miles north of the by the German Submarine UB-77 under the command of Lt. Cdr. Wilhelm Meyer. He fired two torpedoes at the Tuscania, the first of which missed, the second scoring a direct hit. By 7:00pm all the ship's lifeboats had been launched, but approximately 1,350 men remained on board. The convoy's escorting destroyers assisted in removing these, but were hampered by the continuing presence of the UB-77 in the area which fired an additional 'eel' at escort HMS Mosquito during the rescue. The Tuscania finally sank four hours after being struck; 230 people were lost. One estimate indicated 201 of these were American troops, the remainder British crew members.

The Tuscania was the first ship carrying American troops to be sunk, and public opinion in the USA regarded its loss as an outrage. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a8/TuscaniaI.jpg/300px-TuscaniaI.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TuscaniaI.jpg)http://www.armin-grewe.com/islay/tuscania-american-plaque.jpg Memorial on the Isle of Islay. One survivor of note: Harry Truman who famously died in the Mt. St. Helens Volcano eruption when he refused to leave his Spirit Lake Lodge he operated for 52 years...Nothing like going out on your own terms! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Sthelensharrytruman.jpg/220px-Sthelensharrytruman.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sthelensharrytruman.jpg) :salute:

[Aktungbby]

1812: the most violent of a series of earthquakes near Missouri causes a so-called fluvial tsunami in the Mississippi River, actually making the river run backward for several hours. The series of tremors, which took place between December 1811 and March 1812, were the most powerful in the history of the US. The one on todays date was estimated at an amazing 8.8-magnitude (1906 San Francisco quake was only 7.8) and was probably one of the strongest quakes in human history. Church bells rang as far away as Boston, thousands of miles away, from the shaking. Brick walls were toppled in Cincinnati. In the Mississippi River, water turned brown and whirlpools developed suddenly from the depressions created in the riverbed. Waterfalls were created in an instant; boats were helplessly thrown over falls, killing the people on board. Many of the small islands in the middle of the river, often used as bases by river pirates, permanently disappeared. Large lakes, such as Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee and Big Lake at the Arkansas-Missouri border, were created by the earthquake as river water poured into new depressions. To misquote the # 1 1959 Johnny Horton hit ballad: if you were "a takin a (flat-boat?) trip down the mighty Mississip' to New Orleans markets...you were considerably delayed AND going northward...and that only if you were lucky!http://steamboattimes.com/images/flatboats/flatboat_on_the_ohio_ar_waud1600x1118.jpg:hmph: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ad/NMSZBig.gif A little more perspective: Not if...WHEN! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/New_Madrid_and_Wabash_seizmic_zones-USGS.png/640px-New_Madrid_and_Wabash_seizmic_zones-USGS.png

[Jimbuna]

1952 - Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

[Jimbuna]

1763 - Treaty of Paris ends French-Indian War, surrendering Canada to Britain.

1906 - British battleship HMS Dreadnought launched after only 100 days, renders all other capital ships obsolete with revolutionary design.

[Aktungbby]

1942:a Japanese submarine launches a brutal attack on Midway, a coral atoll used as a U.S. Navy base. It was the fourth bombing of the atoll by Japanese ships since December 7. Details are a little slim: 2/8/42 Japanese submarine I-69 shelled Sand Island, Midway Atoll, causing minor damage to the radio towers. US Marine Buffalo aircraft of VMF 221 squadron counterattacked and damaged I-69. 2/10/42: A Japanese submarine fired two rounds at American installations at Midway Atoll and then was chased away by aircraft of Marine Fighter Squadron 221. These attacks were preliminary to the climactic Battle of Midway later in June of 1942....

[Jimbuna]

1531 - Henry VIII recognised as supreme head of Church in England following the schism with Rome.

[Jimbuna]

2013 - North Korea confirms it has successfully tested a nuclear device that could be weaponized.

[Jimbuna]

1942 - Hitler's Operation Sealion (invasion of England) cancelled.

[Oberon]

Dresden.

No further words needed.

[Aktungbby]

1861: The first military action to be honored with the Medal of Honor is performed. Colonel Bernard J.D. Irwin, an assistant army surgeon serving in the first major U.S.-Apache conflict. Near Apache Pass, in southeastern Arizona. Irwin, volunteered to go to the rescue of Second Lieutenant George N. Bascom, who was trapped with 60 men of the U.S. Seventh Infantry by the Chiricahua Apaches. Irwin and 14 men, initially without horses, began the 100-mile trek to Bascom's forces riding on mules, arriving a day later and breaking the siege. Irwin's bravery in this conflict was the earliest Medal of Honor action, the award itself was not created until 1862, and it was not until January 21, 1894, that Irwin received the nation's highest military honor. His son and grandson graduated from West Point and served in WWI and WWII as a Major General and Lieutenant General respectively! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Bernard_J_D_Irwin.jpg/200px-Bernard_J_D_Irwin.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bernard_J_D_Irwin.jpg)Bernard J.D. Irwin; Brigadier General(ret) service 1856-1894 WIKI

[Jimbuna]

1797 - The Battle of Cape St Vincent: British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeats larger Spanish fleet under Admiral Don José de Córdoba y Ramos near Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. Captain Horatio Nelson distinguishes himself.

[Jimbuna]

399 - Philosopher Socrates sentenced to death by the city of Athens for corrupting the minds of the youth and of impiety.

[Aktungbby]

399 - Philosopher Socrates sentenced to death by the city of Athens for corrupting the minds of the youth and of impiety.

I'll take a little hemlock with that parrhesia ...and a Hamm's chaser BBY! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrhesia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrhesia) :smug: :know: :shifty: :dead:

[Aktungbby]

1898: The poorly armored, under powered and obsolete cruiser, USS Maine blows up in Havana Harbor killing 260 of 400 aboard. The explosion is assumed to be the work of saboteurs (a mine) and the Spanish-American War is ON! The New York Journal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Journal) and New York World (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_World), owned respectively by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, gave the Maine intense press coverage, but employed tactics that would later be labeled "yellow journalism" Both papers exaggerated and distorted any information they could attain, sometimes even fabricating news; fanning American rage and indignation. We acquired a useless empire (the Philippines) and numerous other headaches to plague us to the present day...including Fidel Castro's Cuba and the Philippines's Ferdinand Marcos. ADM Rickover of nuclear navy fame also conducted an extensive investigation in 1978 of all factors related to the explosion. Conclusion: a spontaneous coal bunker fire probably ignited a thin-walled amunition magazine the Rickover study. Up to the time of the Maine '​s building, he explains, common bulkheads separated coal bunkers from ammunition lockers and American naval ships burned primarily smokeless anthracite coal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthracite). With an increase in the number of steel ships, the U.S. Navy switched to bituminous coal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bituminous_coal), which burned at a hotter temperature than anthracite coal, and allowed ships to steam faster. However, while anthracite coal is not subject to spontaneous combustion, bituminous coal is considerably more volatile. In fact, bituminous coal is known for releasing the largest amounts of firedamp, a dangerous and explosive mixture of gases. Firedamp is explosive at concentrations between 4% and 16%, with most violence at around 10%. A number of bunker fires had, in fact, been reported aboard U.S. warships before the Maine '​s explosion, in several cases nearly sinking the ships. A 1997 heat transfer study which concluded that a coal bunker fire, of the type suggested by Rickover, could have taken place and ignited the ship's ammunition. WIKI http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/USS_Maine_ACR-1_in_Havana_harbor_before_explosion_1898.jpg/220px-USS_Maine_ACR-1_in_Havana_harbor_before_explosion_1898.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Maine_ACR-1_in_Havana_harbor_before_explosion_1898.jpg)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(ACR-1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(ACR-1))

[Jimbuna]

1659 - 1st known cheque (£400) (on display at Westminster Abbey).

[Aktungbby]

1804: The captured frigate USS Philadelphia is boarded and burned at Tripoli in a skillfully conducted operation. 1st Lieutenant Stephan Decatur Jr. and 60 men, predominantly US Marines!:up:, disguised as Maltese or Arab seamen (talk about special ops Here!:rock: boarded and set fires aboard the 38 gun frigate and escaped in the aftermath's confusion. After learning of Decatur's daring capture and destruction of Philadelphia without suffering a single fatality, British Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, at the time, claimed that it was "the most bold and daring act of the Age." (naturally I would never dispute Lord Nelson's opinion!:hmph:) Decatur's daring and successful burning of Philadelphia made him an immediate national hero in the US. Upon hearing the news of their victory in Tripoli, Pope Pius VII publicly declared that "the United States, in their , had done more to humble and humiliate the anti-Christian barbarians on the African coast in one night than all the European states had done for a long period of time." (not a very pious outlook your Holiness! )http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Burning_of_the_uss_philadelphia.jpg/240px-Burning_of_the_uss_philadelphia.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Burning_of_the_uss_philadelphia.jpg)The USS Philadelphia burns as Decatur escapes in a captured Tripoitan ketch. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/KN-2779.jpg/220px-KN-2779.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KN-2779.jpg) Stephan Decatur Jr

[Jimbuna]

1972 - British Parliament votes to join European Common Market.

[Aktungbby]

WIERD: 1546: Martin Luther dies- age 62; The revolt he started as the Protestant Reformation together with the slaughter of the Thirty Years War spelled the doom of Catholic Hegemony in Western civilization. The war from 1615 -1648 killed 8 million people and decimated German state populations by 35-66%.:nope: Having attended a small Lutheran college in the Midwest...the result to me is inestimable!:up: Luther took on the the establishment of his day and was excommunicated and declared a heretic. 1962: J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb," dies in Princeton, NJ also at the age of 62. Without him, there's no me, as daddy was slated for the invasion of Japan and had few illusions about surviving...two bombs later, WWII ended... when he opposed the military use of the atomic weapon he had invented , he too was declared a heretic and lost his security clearance; "he and many of the Manhattan Project staff were very upset about the bombing of Nagasaki, as they did not feel the second bomb was necessary from a military point of view. He traveled to Washington on August 17 to hand-deliver a letter to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_L._Stimson) expressing his revulsion and his wish to see nuclear weapons banned. In October 1945 Oppenheimer was granted an interview with President Truman. The meeting went badly, after Oppenheimer remarked he felt he had "blood on my hands." The remark infuriated Truman and put an end to the meeting. Truman later told his Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Acheson) "I don't want to see that son-of-a-bitch in this office ever again." Wiki Rule 1: IMHO if your going to be an anti-establishment 'son-of-a-bitch' to a Pope or a president...size matters!:smug: :yeah:

[Jimbuna]

1964 - UK flies ½ ton of The Beatles wigs to the US.

[Sailor Steve]

1807 Former U.S. vice president Aaron Burr is arrested in Alabama for treason. Despite later being acquitted, public opinion will force him to live out the remainder of his life in privacy.

[Aktungbby]

1976: Gerald Ford does a little post-Nixon official healing.
By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation
In this Bicentennial Year, we are commemorating the anniversary dates of many great events in American history. An honest reckoning, however, must include a recognition of our national mistakes as well as our national achievements. Learning from our mistakes is not pleasant, but as a great philosopher once admonished, we must do so if we want to avoid repeating them.
February 19th is the anniversary of a sad day in American history. It was on that date in 1942, in the midst of the response to the hostilities that began on December 7, 1941, that Executive Order 9066 was issued, subsequently enforced by the criminal penalties of a statute enacted March 21, 1942, resulting in the uprooting of loyal Americans. Over one hundred thousand persons of Japanese ancestry were removed from their homes, detained in special camps, and eventually relocated.
The tremendous effort by the War Relocation Authority and concerned Americans for the welfare of these Japanese-Americans may add perspective to that story, but it does not erase the setback to fundamental American principles. Fortunately, the Japanese-American community in Hawaii was spared the indignities suffered by those on our mainland.
We now know what we should have known then--not only was that evacuation wrong, but Japanese-Americans were and are loyal Americans. On the battlefield and at home, Japanese-Americans -- names like Hamada, Mitsumori, Marimoto, Noguchi, Yamasaki, Kido, Munemori and Miyamura -- have been and continue to be written in our history for the sacrifices and the contributions they have made to the well-being and security of this, our common Nation.
The Executive order that was issued on February 19, 1942, was for the sole purpose of prosecuting the war with the Axis Powers, and ceased to be effective with the end of those hostilities. Because there was no formal statement of its termination, however, there is concern among many Japanese-Americans that there may yet be some life in that obsolete document. I think it appropriate, in this our Bicentennial Year, to remove all doubts on that matter, and to make clear our commitment in the future.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GERALD R. FORD, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim that all authority conferred by Executive Order 9066 terminated upon the issuance of Proclamation 2714, which formally proclaimed the cessation of hostilities of World War II on December 31, 1946.
I call upon the American people to affirm with me this American Promise -- that we have learned from the tragedy of that long-ago experience forever to treasure liberty and justice for each individual American, and resolve that this kind of action shall never again be repeated.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of February in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundredth.:salute:

[Aktungbby]

1807 Former U.S. vice president Aaron Burr is arrested in Alabama for treason. Despite later being acquitted, public opinion will force him to live out the remainder of his life in privacy.
THANKS for that! Reminds me of one of the cutest ads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1_s0eWbaYI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1_s0eWbaYI) Came across this gem:timeout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfeuU0NB5lg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfeuU0NB5lg) but it's who's on a ten-dollar bill that settles the issue! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/US10dollarbill-Series_2004A.jpg/200px-US10dollarbill-Series_2004A.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US10dollarbill-Series_2004A.jpg) A fortune seeking, womanizing, bastard, genius...:oops: not unlike his political rival Burr in many respects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IWvTSFL_ow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IWvTSFL_ow)

[Sailor Steve]

1913 The first prize is inserted into a Cracker Jack box.

[Jimbuna]

1938 - UK Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigns, says PM Chamberlain appeased Germany.

[Jimbuna]

1922 - Great Britain grants Egypt independence.

[Friscobay]

Feb.21,1836. Republic of Texas Col. James W. Fannin begins fortification of the Goliad presidio after receiving intelligence that three Mexican divisions had crossed the Rio Grande and were moving north.

[Jimbuna]

2006 - At least six men stage Britain's biggest robbery ever, stealing £53m (about $92.5 million or 78€ million) from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent.

[Von Tonner]

On this day in 1945, US marines and a navy corpsman fighting Japanese forces on Iwo Jima raised the American Stars and Stripes atop Mount Suribachi, making one of the single most historical photographs in history.

[Jimbuna]

1904 - US acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million.

[Jimbuna]

2008 - Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years.

[Sailor Steve]

1803 - The historic decision in the Supreme Court case of Marbury v Madison is handed down. In a slick bit of judicial reasoning Chief Justice John Marshall rules against himself and against the Supreme Court, but in doing so sets up the Supreme Court as the sole arbiter of what is Constitutional and what is not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbury_v._Madison

[Aktungbby]

^Indeed!! This was a Decision biggie studied in Constitutional history; WHAT A SETUP! Marshall was the Secretary of State who did not deliver the document to Marbury to begin with. Both shared abode in the same boarding house in the limited housing of the new capital...like two staunch Federalists weren't going to talk about it...oh to be a bug on that wall!:O:Left behind at the very last moment by outgoing president John Adams as Chief Justice, like a Federalist mole in the middle of a Democrat Jeffersonian government, Marshall overturned part of the Judiciary Act: over-ruling an act of Congress and thwarted Jefferson's disliked Democrat Executive branch-as it later turned out- and made the Judiciary the full fledged third branch of American government (for better or worse when you consider Dredd Scott and the Bush re-election count in Florida)...adroit, sneaky, and gifted: I've been trying to read his 5 volume biography, now abridged, of Federalist #1 :rock: for years! His Life of Washington is still worthy required reading IMHO! The work reflected Marshall's Federalist principles.

[Sailor Steve]

You twice call Jefferson a Democrat. While they formed the beginnings of that party it's a term Jefferson himself never used. He considered himself a Republican, in that he believed in the strength of the United States as a Republic. His followers called themselves 'Jeffersonian Republicans'. Even then he didn't consider himself a party member any more than the Federalists did. It was James Madison who started covertly using what amounts to party politics, and Alexander Hamilton who replied in kind, all the while denying anything of the kind. Even the term Democratic-Republican is a more modern one, first used by Andrew Jackson and friends.

[Aktungbby]

You twice call Jefferson a Democrat. While they formed the beginnings of that party it's a term Jefferson himself never used. He considered himself a Republican, in that he believed in the strength of the United States as a Republic. His followers called themselves 'Jeffersonian Republicans'. Even then he didn't consider himself a party member any more than the Federalists did. It was James Madison who started covertly using what amounts to party politics, and Alexander Hamilton who replied in kind, all the while denying anything of the kind. Even the term Democratic-Republican is a more modern one, first used by Andrew Jackson and friends.
Absolutely true enough!:salute: I merely referenced from your own Wiki site:up: "The newly sworn-in Democratic-Republican (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic-Republican_Party)7th Congress (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_United_States_Congress) immediately set about voiding the Judiciary Act of 1801 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary_Act_of_1801) with their own Judiciary Act of 1802 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary_Act_of_1802) which reversed the act of 1801 so that the Judicial branch once again operated under the dictates of the original Judiciary Act of 1789 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary_Act_of_1789)...." Then tightened it up by mistakenly SEEKING TO avoid confusion with later Republican party of Lincoln. It's enough to make ya flip yer WHIG (1833-1852):huh: I tell ya! To Whigs: Harrison, Tyler, Taylor, and Fillmore, Jackson was by then simply a (damned) Democrat! no hyphens needed!!:rotfl2:

[Jimbuna]

1751 - 1st performing monkey exhibited in America, NYC (admission 1 cent).

[Sailor Steve]

1793 - President George Washington held the first cabinet meeting on U.S. record.

The Members:
Thomas Jefferson - Secretary of State
Alexander Hamilton - Secretary of the Treasury
Henry Knox - Secretary of War
Edmund Randolph - Attorney General

[Jimbuna]

1797 - Bank of England issues first £1-note.

1815 - Napoleon & 1,200 leave Elba to start 100-day re-conquest of France.

[Aktungbby]

1815 - Napoleon & 1,200 leave Elba to start 100-day re-conquest of France.
A palindromic moment in history if ever! (Napoleon's return from Elba)!http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Napoleon_returned.jpg/1024px-Napoleon_returned.jpg"Able was I ere I saw Elba"

[Jimbuna]

1991 - Gulf War ends after Iraqi troops retreat and Kuwait is re-taken by the US.

(It would appear someone has forgotten the efforts of the other countries that participated)

[Aktungbby]

1944: Hannah Reitsch, the first female test pilot in the world;http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-B02092%2C_Hanna_Reitsch.jpg/250px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-B02092%2C_Hanna_Reitsch.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-B02092,_Hanna_Reitsch.jpg) and the only woman awarded the Iron Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Cross) First Class and the Luftwaffe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftwaffe)Pilot/Observer Badge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot/Observer_Badge) in Gold with Diamonds http://snyderstreasures.com/images/thumbnails/germanmilitaria/badges/BadgePilotObserverDiamondsFOA_small.jpgduring WWII , suggests the creation of the Nazi equivalent of a kamikaze squad of suicide bombers while visiting Der Fuhrer in Berchtesgaden. Hitler was less than enthusiastic about the idea...maybe he wasn't desperate enough...yet. She presented the idea of Operation Suicide to Hitler which "would require men who were ready to sacrifice themselves in the conviction that only by this means could their country be saved." Hitler "did not consider the war situation sufficiently serious to warrant them...and...this was not the right psychological moment." possibly as suicide was not in the 'German warrior tradition':hmmm:! He did agree to allow development work to proceed. About seventy volunteers declared, "I hereby voluntarily apply to be enrolled in the Suicide Group as pilot of a human glider-bomb. I fully understand that employment in this capacity will entail my own death". They adapted the V-1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieseler_Fi_103R_Reichenberg) into three models, a two-seater, and a single-seater with and without the mechanisms to land. The plan was never implemented operationally, "the decisive moment had been missed." The Fieseler Fi 103R, code-named Reichenberg, was a late-WWII manned version of the V-1 flying bomb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb) (more correctly known as the Fieseler Fi 103) produced for attacks in which the pilot was likely to be killed:dead: http://www.flyingheritage.com/images/Slideshows/plane/FieselerFi103-Reichenberg-1.jpg (http://www.flyingheritage.com/images/Slideshows/plane/FieselerFi103-Reichenberg-1.jpg) It was essentially a suicide mission, as it would have been very difficult to open the canopy against the wind resistance and in the unlikely event that the pilot was able to climb out he would have undoubtedly have been sucked into the intake of the engine. This manned missile killed several pilots during landing in flight tests. All of the Reichenbergs were air-launched from planes, unlike the unmanned V-1s that were mostly fired from ground-based catapult ramps. The war ended before Germany could use the Reichenberg in combat. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F051625-0295%2C_Verleihung_des_EK_an_Hanna_Reitsch_durch_H itler.jpg/267px-Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F051625-0295%2C_Verleihung_des_EK_an_Hanna_Reitsch_durch_H itler.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F051625-0295,_Verleihung_des_EK_an_Hanna_Reitsch_durch_Hit ler.jpg)< A real die-hard to the end: Hannah ran a postwar gliding school in Ghana..:huh:Her view near the end of her life 1979: "And what have we now in Germany? A land of bankers and car-makers. Even our great army has gone soft. Soldiers wear beards and question orders. I am not ashamed to say I believed in National Socialism. I still wear the Iron Cross with diamonds Hitler gave me. But today in all Germany you can't find a single person who voted Adolf Hitler into power... Many Germans feel guilty about the war. But they don't explain the real guilt we share – that we lost." :salute: WIKI

[Jimbuna]

1780 - Pennsylvania becomes 1st US state to abolish slavery (for new-borns only).

[Jimbuna]

1888 - The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.

[Aktungbby]

1962: Philadelphia Warrior's Wilt Chamberlain, 7' 1", scored100 points (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain%27s_100-point_game), shot 36 of 63 from the field, and made 28 of 32 free throws against the New York Knicks. The record still stands! In the '62 season, he averaged 50.4 and grabbed 25.7 rebounds per game. Chamberlain's 4,029 regular-season points made him the only player to break the 4,000-point barrier.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Wilt_Chamberlain_Nate_Thurmond.jpg/220px-Wilt_Chamberlain_Nate_Thurmond.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wilt_Chamberlain_Nate_Thurmond.jpg)

[Jimbuna]

1891 - The Penalty Spot Kick rule in Association Football is conceived, but does not come into effect until the next season.

[Jimbuna]

1801 - 1st US President inaugurated in Washington DC (Thomas Jefferson).
1861 - Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as 16th US President.

[Jimbuna]

1946 - Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech (Fulton Missouri) popularizes the term and draws attention to division of Europe.

[Jimbuna]

1836 - Battle of the Alamo: after 13 days of fighting during Texas Revolution between 1,500 and 3,000 Mexicans overwhelmed the Texians at the Alamo. Between 182 and 257 Texians died, including William Travis, Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett.

[Jimbuna]

1530 - King Henry VIII's divorce request is denied by the Pope. Henry then declares that he, not the Pope, is supreme head of England's church.

[BossMark]

1911 - British Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Gray declared that Britain would not support France in the event of a military conflict.

1917 - Russia's "February Revolution" began with rioting and strikes in St. Petersburg. The revolution was called the "February Revolution" due to Russia's use of the Old Style calendar.

1941 - Martial law was proclaimed in Holland in order to extinguish any anti-Nazi protests.

1942 - During World War II, Japanese forces captured Rangoon, Burma.

1943 - Japanese forces attacked American troops on Hill 700 in Bougainville. The battle lasted five days.

[Jimbuna]

2014 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with 239 people loses contact and disappears, prompting the most expensive search effort in history.

[Sailor Steve]

1790 George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address.

1894 A dog license law is enacted in New York State. It’s the first animal control law in the United States.

1910 Baroness de Laroche of France becomes the first woman to obtain a pilot’s license.

1930 Babe Ruth signs a contract worth $80,000 with the New York Yankees.

1945 Phyllis Mae Daley received a commission in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps. She became the first African-American nurse to serve duty in World War II.

1948 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that religious instruction in public schools is unconstitutional.

1962 The Beatles perform for the first time on the BBC in Great Britain.

[Aktungbby]

1916: It begins in earnest. At about 4:00 am on March 9, 1916, Villa's troops attacked Columbus, New Mexico, and Camp Furlong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_of_Columbus_and_Camp_Furlong), the U.S. Army post there, where four troops of the 13th Cavalry Regiment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_Cavalry_Regiment_(United_States)) had been stationed since September 1912. Ten civilians and eight soldiers were killed in the attack, and two civilians and six soldiers wounded. The raiders burned the town, stole horses and mules, and seized machine guns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_gun), ammunition and merchandise, before fleeing back to Mexico.However, Villa's troops had suffered considerable losses, with at least sixty-seven dead and dozens more wounded. Many of the casualties were inflicted when the machine gun platoon of the 13th Cavalry led by 2nd Lt. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_lieutenant)John P. Lucas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_P._Lucas) set up its guns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotchkiss_M1909_Ben%C3%A9t%E2%80%93Merci%C3%A9_mac hine_gun) under fire on the town square. About thirteen of Villa's wounded later died of their wounds, and five Villistas taken prisoner by the Americans were summarily executed. [WIKI] A clear violation of the rules of war IMHO. When one considers that the Reconquista ie the present day peaceful unremitting flow of Hispanics northward into the United State From the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, has resulted in their legalization: issuance of driver licenses, Consular IDs, social services and general acceptance of the Fait accompli of illegal immigration in California in particular and the Southwest in general ...ol' Pancho just kicked things off with a bang... Viva Villa! I can hardly complain: without 'em, my house wouldn't be clean and the world-famous wine grapes of Napa would rot in the fields. Proof positive; the City of San José, CA... world capitol of Silicon Valley, legally put the accent back on 'José'!:huh: Good thing mom made me study Spanish in school!:up: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Pancho_Villa_bandolier_crop.jpg/640px-Pancho_Villa_bandolier_crop.jpghttp://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2010/05/25/illegal-immigration-and-the-reconquest-of-americas-southwest/ (http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2010/05/25/illegal-immigration-and-the-reconquest-of-americas-southwest/) ...Still valid required reading. "The territory lost in the 19th century by … Mexico … seems to be restoring itself through a humble people who go on settling various zones that once were ours on the old maps. Land, under any concept of possession, ends up in the hands of those who deserve it. …[The result of this migration is to return the land] to the jurisdiction of Mexico without the firing of a single shot." :huh:

[Jimbuna]

1945 - 334 US B-29 Superfortresses attack Tokyo with 120,000 fire bombs.

[Von Tonner]

Come on guys - how did you all miss this one:har:

Today in 1959 the Barbie doll first appeared at the American International Toy Fair. Barbie's debut outfit was a black and white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail. This is still worn by some of the world's more daring male hipsters.

And boy-oh-boy how we have grown from there :oops:

[Jimbuna]

1876 - 1st telephone call made (Alexander Graham Bell to Thomas Watson).

[Jimbuna]

1918 - Moscow becomes capital of revolutionary Russia.

[Jimbuna]

1917 - A German submarine sinks an unamred US merchant ship, the 'Algonquin' on the same day that US President Wilson gives executive order to arm US merchant ships.

[Aktungbby]

1930: "Gandhi raised a lump of salty mud and declared, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." He then boiled it in seawater, producing illegal salt. He implored his thousands of followers to likewise begin making salt along the seashore, "wherever it is convenient" and to instruct villagers in making illegal, but necessary, salt. Mohandas Gandhi begins 200m (300km) march protesting British salt tax...talk about a peaceful march for freedom here! NOT! "You must not use any violence under any circumstances. You will be beaten, but you must not resist: you must not even raise a hand to ward off blows." Soldiers began clubbing the Marchers with steel tipped lathis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathi) in an incident that attracted international attention. This was a brilliantly simple protest, which could involve men, women and children of all ages, castes and creeds. With the aging Gandhi in humble garb, walking with a staff and leading his people to freedom, its symbolism was exquisitely pitched for a Western audience as well as for the Indian masses. To protest a small tax on a substance nature gives for FREE...salt! United Press correspondent Webb Miller reported that: Not one of the marchers even raised an arm to fend off the blows. They went down like ten-pins. From where I stood I heard the sickening whacks of the clubs on unprotected skulls. The waiting crowd of watchers groaned and sucked in their breaths in sympathetic pain at every blow. Those struck down fell sprawling, unconscious or writhing in pain with fractured skulls or broken shoulders. In two or three minutes the ground was quilted with bodies. Great patches of blood widened on their white clothes. The survivors without breaking ranks silently and doggedly marched on until struck down....Finally the police became enraged by the non-resistance....They commenced savagely kicking the seated men in the abdomen and testicles. The injured men writhed and squealed in agony, which seemed to inflame the fury of the police....The police then began dragging the sitting men by the arms or feet, sometimes for a hundred yards, and throwing them into ditches. Vithalbhai Patel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vithalbhai_Patel), former Speaker of the Assembly, watched the beatings and remarked, "All hope of reconciling India with the British Empire is lost forever." Miller's first attempts at telegraphing the story to his publisher in England were censored by the British telegraph operators in India. Only after threatening to expose British censorship was his story allowed to pass. The story appeared in 1,350 newspapers throughout the world and was read into the official record of the United States Senate... " [Wiki] Who knows what leads to what...we had a little 1770's 'unreconciled' Tea Party in Boston...:hmmm:The Salt March to Dandi, and the beating by British police of hundreds of nonviolent protesters in Dharasana, which received worldwide news coverage, demonstrated the effective use of passive civil disobedience as a technique for fighting social and political injustice. "The teachings of Gandhi and the March to Dandi had a significant influence on American activist Martin Luther King Jr. in the Movement that culminated in massive equality legislation and Civil Rights for blacks and other minority groups in the 1960s...Selma and Bloody Sunday... not a lot of police tactical improvement here in 35 years IMHO-3/7/1965>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Bloody_Sunday-officers_await_demonstrators.jpeg/240px-Bloody_Sunday-officers_await_demonstrators.jpeg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bloody_Sunday-officers_await_demonstrators.jpeg) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Bloody_Sunday-Alabama_police_attack.jpeg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bloody_Sunday-Alabama_police_attack.jpeg) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Gandhi_Salt_March.jpgGandhi: the 'March to the Sea' 1930

[Eichhörnchen]

To Mr and Mrs Aktung,

http://i.imgur.com/q1itK8z.jpg?1 a bouncing 'bby boy...

[Jimbuna]

1884 - Siege of Khartoum Sudan begins.

[Jimbuna]

1990 - Mikhail S Gorbachev becomes president of the Soviet Congress.

[Jimbuna]

44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March.

[Jimbuna]

1968 - My Lai massacre occurs (Vietnam War); 450 die.

[Aktungbby]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/My_Lai_massacre_woman_and_children.jpg/220px-My_Lai_massacre_woman_and_children.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:My_Lai_massacre_woman_and_children.jpg)Vietna mese woman and children: according to sworn court testimony they were all killed seconds after the photo was taken...estimates of the slain vary between 347 and 504. Only two persons were ever punished: Lt William Calley, sentenced to life in prison of the 'premeditated murder' of 102 civilians, was paroled Sept 1974; Major General Samuel W. Koster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_W._Koster) – commander of the 23rd Infantry Division (United States) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23rd_Infantry_Division_(United_States)) of the United States Army, known as the Americal Division, was not involved with planning the My Lai search-and-destroy mission. However, during the operation he flew over My Lai and monitored the radio communications. Afterward, Koster did not follow up with the 11th Brigade commander on the initial investigation, and later was caught into cover-up. HE was charged by the Army with failure to obey lawful regulations, dereliction of duty, and alleged cover-up; charges dropped... and later was demoted to brigadier general and stripped of a Distinguished Service medal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Service_Medal_(US_Army)). He died in 2006 and is buried at Arlington. On August 19, 2009, while speaking to the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus, Calley issued an apology for his role in the My Lai massacre. Calley said: "There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai. I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry.... If you are asking why I did not stand up to them when I was given the orders, I will have to say that I was a 2nd Lieutenant getting orders from my commander and I followed them—foolishly, I guess." At least he talks about it....41 years later.:hmmm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre)

[Jimbuna]

1898 - John Philip Holland achieves successful test runs of the first modern submarine off Staten Island.

[Jimbuna]

1965 - Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.

[Jimbuna]

1932 - The Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened.

[Aktungbby]

My favorite war history is American civil war and WWII.

Thinking...do I have to wait until september 2039 before some great member create a thread called "100 Years Ago Today"
:salute: 1863: The Confederate cruiser Georgiana, on its maiden voyage, is scuttled off Charleston South Carolina to prevent it from falling into Union hands..."Georgiana was a brig (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brig)-rigged, iron hulled, propeller steamer of 120 horsepower (89 kW) with a jib and two heavily raked masts, hull and stack painted black. Georgiana was reportedly pierced for fourteen guns and could carry more than four hundred tons of cargo. She was built by the Lawrie shipyard at Glasgow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow)- LOVE those Wegians!-perhaps under subcontract from Lairds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cammell_Laird) of Birkenhead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkenhead) (Liverpool (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool)) - and registered at that port in December 1862 as belonging to N. Matheson's Clyde (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Clyde) service. The U.S. Consul was rightly apprehensive of her as being "evidently a very swift vessel clearly built for speed, firepower and privateering. Due to the secrecy surrounding her construction, loading and sailing, there is considerable question as to whether the Georgiana was simply a swift merchantman or if she was intended as a privateer. A United States consular dispatch dated 6 January 1863 stated: "The steamer Georgiana, just arrived at Liverpool (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool) from the Clyde (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Clyde). She is new and said to be a very superior steamer. ··· Yesterday while lying here she had the Rebel flag flying at her mast." The London American took special note of her in its 28 January 1863 edition as a powerful steamer and remarked that her officers wore gold lace on their caps, considered a sure indication she was being groomed for a man-of-war (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-of-war). [wiki] The Georgiana was sunk after a desperate chase into Charleston Harbor; during which she came so close to the big guns aboard the USS Wissahickon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wissahickon_(1861)) that her crew even heard the orders being given on the U.S. vessel. With solid-shot passing entirely though her hull, her propeller and rudder damaged, and with no hope for escape, Capt. A. B. Davidson flashed a white light in token of surrender, thus gaining time to beach his ship in fourteen feet of water, 1200 m from shore and, after first scuttling her, escaped on the land side with all hands. This was construed as "the most consummate treachery" by the disappointed blockading crew, who would have shared in the proceeds from the prize. Underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, who discovered the wreck in 1965, and identified it as the Georgiana, believes that she was indeed intended as a privateer or cruiser for raiding Union commerce due to the naval guns found aboard, her deep draft hull construction, her heavier than standard iron planking, and the closer than normal, doubled up, Z-beam, framing used throughout the vessel. Oddly enough, the vessel, (photo of replica in San Diego Maritime museum)http://shipwreckology.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/america-yacht.jpg?w=580 (http://shipwreckology.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/america-yacht.jpg) USS America, which wrested the first America's Cup from the British in 1851, had found its way into and been scuttled by the Confederate Navy. She had been seized, refloated, and converted by the Union as part of the blockade of Charleston. Intending to utilize the yacht’s immense speed, the Union armed the ship as a blockader and assigned her to patrol the approaches to Charleston harbor. America was instrumental in directing other vessels onto the chase of the CSS Georgiana...twice proving her worth of Yankee ship-building over (sadly) British shipbuilding! USS America was finally scrapped in 1945! After the Georgiana '​s loss on 19 March 1863, the United States Secretary of Navy wrote: "the destruction of the Georgiana not only touched their (the Confederate's) pockets, but their hopes. She was a splendid craft, peculiarly fitted for the business of privateering."[wiki]

[Jimbuna]

1815 - Napoleon enters Paris after escape from Elba, begins 100-day rule.

[Jimbuna]

1871 - Journalist Henry M Stanley begins his famous expedition to Africa.

[Aktungbby]

1990: A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, finds Captain Hazelwood not guilty in the Valdez oil spill. The defense argued that the blood samples were taken nearly ten hours after the incident and were mishandled. Most states, including Alaska, do not allow samples after three hours and a preservative required to halt fermentation was not added to the sample. As a result of the accident, in 1991 the United States Coast Guard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Coast_Guard) suspended his masters' license for a period of nine months. Hazelwood was acquitted on all felony charges, but was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of negligent discharge of oil, fined $50,000, and sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service...picking up trash on Alaska highways. After his trial Captain Hazelwood became a teacher at a maritime academy. His reinstated license is still valid.:k_confused: Bottom line: the Exxon Valdez hit Bligh Reef because it departed the shipping lanes to avoid ice—a maneuver executed by the Brooklyn and the Arco Juneau just hours before—and failed to turn back into the lanes before striking the reef.
Third mate Gregory Cousins, testifying in the criminal and the civil trials, shouldered much of the blame for failing to execute the turn that Hazelwood, having routinely left the bridge, had ordered. After outlining the maneuver and asking Cousins twice if he was comfortable making the turn, Hazelwood left the bridge at 11:50 p.m. Cousins phoned Hazelwood at 11:55 to say he was beginning the turn but then failed to check that helmsman Robert Kagan followed his commands, spending precious minutes charting the ship's position.:oops: Cousins was on the phone to Hazelwood, saying, "I think we're in serious trouble," when they felt the first jolt a few minutes after midnight.
"There was no reason to do what I did that evening," Cousins testified. "I shouldn't have allowed myself to become inattentive." Hoping to secure testimony against Hazelwood, the state gave Cousins immunity against prosecution; plaintiffs in the civil suit did not press charges against him lest he complicate their case against Exxon and Hazelwood-ie the 'fall guy'; the Coast Guard cited him for negligence and suspended his license for nine months. "To the public and the press, 'third mate' has the ring of 'cabin boy,'" says Hazelwood. "Cousins was a trained, licensed navigational officer, a good man. He's still a good man."
Helmsman Kagan, when ordered to make the turn, did not execute it fully. Employment records showed that Kagan required "constant supervision." "I put a lot of it on Kagan," says Paul Larson, who led the Coast Guard investigation. "He does his job, and we're talking about something else today."
The post-grounding radio transmissions in which Hazelwood said he was trying to "extract the ship from the reef" were misleading. He only called for forward throttle—not reverse, as would have been necessary if he'd wanted to free the vessel. By keeping the ship pressed firmly against the reef, he minimized the spill and the danger to his crew....And achived immortality in the movie Waterworld as the villain's (Dennis Hopper) patron saint.http://www.joeydevilla.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/joe-hazelwood-waterworld.jpg The Exxon Valdez, also portrayed in the movie, was scrapped on the beach at Alang, Gujarat, India-renamed Oriental Nicety...on 30 July 2012.[wiki]. http://www.joeydevilla.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/exxon-valdez.jpgSomehow I can relate to this! :hmph:Having been a lead-driver on semi-sleeper teams for a few years...eventually ya gotta let #2, often an inexperienced co-driver, steer the 80,000 lb truck at two AM in the morning at 60 odd mph. and go into the sleeper-essentially "leave the bridge"...:Kaleun_Sleep:Good help(that doesn't kill ya) is hard to find.:rock: I must have done something right; I survived to post this.:/\\!!

[Jimbuna]

1965 - US confirms its troops used chemical warfare against the Vietcong.

1790 - Thomas Jefferson becomes the 1st US Secretary of State under President Washington.

1888 - English Football League established.

1903 - Niagera Falls runs out of water because of a drought.

1941 - Jimmy Stewart is inducted into the Army, becoming the first major American movie star to wear a military uniform in World War II.

2014 - The US and EU impose sanctions on Russia.

[Jimbuna]

1903 - Wright brothers obtain airplane patent.

[Jimbuna]

1603 - Scottish King James VI son of Mary Queen of Scots, becomes King James I of England in succession to Elizabeth I, thus joining the English and Scottish crowns.

[Jimbuna]

1807 - British Parliament abolishes slave trade throughout the British Empire; a penalty of £120 per slave is introduced for slave ship captains.

1957 - Treaty of Rome establishes European Economic Community (Common Market).

1960 - 1st guided missile launched from nuclear powered sub (Halibut).

[Jimbuna]

1945 - British premier Winston Churchill looks over at the Rhine (near Ginsberg).

[Jimbuna]

1866 - Andrew Rankin patents the urinal.

1941 - Britain leases defense bases in Trinidad to US for 99 years.

1994 - The Eurofighter takes its first flight in Manching, Germany.

[Aktungbby]

1977: The Tenerife airport disaster was a fatal runway (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runway) collision between two Boeing 747s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747) on Sunday, March 27, 1977 at Los Rodeos Airport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_North_Airport) (now Tenerife North Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife), one of the Canary Islands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands). The crash killed 583 people, an inordinate number of them Californians, making it the deadliest aviation accident in history. As a result of the complex interaction of organizational influences, environmental preconditions, and unsafe acts leading up to this aircraft mishap, the disaster at Tenerife has served as a textbook example for reviewing the processes and frameworks used in aviation mishap investigations and accident prevention. [wiki] "
Immediately after lining up, the KLM pilot advanced the throttles and the aircraft started to move forward. The co-pilot advised the captain that ATC clearance had not yet been given, and Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten responded, "I know that. Go ahead, ask." Meurs then radioed the tower that they were "ready for takeoff" and "waiting for our ATC clearance". The KLM crew then received instructions which specified the route that the aircraft was to follow after takeoff. The instructions used the word "takeoff," but did not include an explicit statement that they were cleared for takeoff.
Meurs read the flight clearance back to the controller, completing the readback with the statement: "We are now at takeoff." Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten interrupted the co-pilot's read-back with the comment, "We're going."
The controller, who could not see the runway due to the fog, initially responded with "OK" (terminology which is nonstandard), which reinforced the KLM captain's misinterpretation that they had takeoff clearance. The controller's response of "OK" to the co-pilot's nonstandard statement that they were "now at takeoff" was likely due to his misinterpretation that they were in takeoff position and ready to begin the roll when takeoff clearance was received, but not in the process of taking off. The controller then immediately added "stand by for takeoff, I will call you," indicating that he had not intended the clearance to be interpreted as a takeoff clearance.
A simultaneous radio call from the Pan Am crew caused mutual interference (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference_(communication)) on the radio frequency, which was audible in the KLM cockpit as a three-second-long whistling sound (or heterodyne). This caused the KLM crew to miss the crucial latter portion of the tower's response...It appears KLM's co-pilot was not as certain about take-off clearance as the captain. In those days the hierarchy of the cockpit was complete deference to the left-seat's commands. This mindset has been altered since. The cockpit cultures of years past probably have something to do with it. In the decades prior the advent of “cockpit resource management” and all that, the cockpit hierarchy was very rigid and the captain’s authority went unchallenged. Copilots were expected to be subservient and were seldom treated as equals by imperious captains. This culture has not entirely disappeared in some parts of the world. http://www.businessinsider.com/deadliest-plane-crash-in-history-2014-3 (http://www.businessinsider.com/deadliest-plane-crash-in-history-2014-3) http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/533321c5ecad042e6286ebb1-1200-924/tenerife-plane-crash-wreckage.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1939 - Spanish Civil War ends, Madrid falls to Francisco Franco.

[Jimbuna]

1795 - Beethoven (24) debuts as pianist in Vienna.

1827 - 20,000 attend Ludwig von Beethovens burial in Vienna.

[Aktungbby]

1812: The first White House wedding takes place as Lucy Payne Washington, the sister of First Lady, Dolly Payne Madison, married Supreme court Justice Thomas Todd. I imagine, having 'courted' the widowed lass, he lived in bliss ever after; as long as he never referred to her as a 'Payne in the ...':doh: As for Dolly, she knew how to manage any 'hot time' at the White House...Dolly Madison took responsibility for decorating and furnishing the White House with the enthusiasm and energy she applied to all of her endeavors, entertaining 'in state' graciously and effectively. The enjoyment of the renovations was short-lived. British troops burned the White House on the night of August 24, 1814. Most historical accounts reveal that they took pleasure in setting fire to the structure that represented a former colony and upstart nation. Dolly Madison fled the White House only hours earlier, taking with her state papers, important pieces of silver and the ultimate symbol of the country, the full length portrait of George Washington.:salute: She had expected to serve dinner to 40 military and cabinet officers accompanied by her husband. Instead, the British troops consumed the (hot?:03:) meal. They looted the house and then set fire to it. The site of so many happy occasions was in ruins. All that remained were the scorched sandstone walls. Dolly Madison was distraught when she first returned to view the destruction. Although the Madison's would never live in the White House again, they were committed to the reconstruction of the house and to the resurrection of it as a symbol of the republic. 'Buggin out' in style-and knowing what to grab as "the British are coming! the British are coming!" Leave the food out! that'll slow 'em down!:huh:> http://thumbs.media.smithsonianmag.com//filer/Dolley-Madison-directing-rescue-of-George-Washington-portrait-631.jpg__800x600_q85_crop.jpgthe saved Stewart portrait>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Gilbert_Stuart_-_George_Washington_-_Google_Art_Project_%286966745%29.jpg/640px-Gilbert_Stuart_-_George_Washington_-_Google_Art_Project_%286966745%29.jpg
http://media.al.com/news_impact/photo/15541488-large.jpg<Dolly Madison: portrait painters...I tell ya! they make ya look good! Dolly in 1848>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fb/Daguerreotype_of_Dolley_Madison.jpg/200px-Daguerreotype_of_Dolley_Madison.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Daguerreotype_of_Dolley_Madison.jpg)We owe her one![wiki]

[Jimbuna]

1867 - US buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (2 cents an acre - Seward's Folly)

[Aktungbby]

240 BC: First recorded sighting of Halley's comet. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Chinese_report_of_Halley%27s_Comet_apparition_in_2 40_BC_from_the_Shiji_%28%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98%29.jpg/220px-Chinese_report_of_Halley%27s_Comet_apparition_in_2 40_BC_from_the_Shiji_%28%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98%29.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_report_of_Halley%27s_Comet_apparition _in_240_BC_from_the_Shiji_(%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98).jpg ) Seen and recorded every 75-76 years, the comet is named for the man who recognized it's 'recurring nature', Edmond Halley in 1705. Halley may have been recorded as early as 467 BC, but this is uncertain. A comet was recorded in ancient Greece between 468 and 466 BC; its timing, location, duration, and associated meteor shower all suggest it was Halley. Halley's appearance in 12 BC, only a few years distant from the conventionally assigned date of Christ's birth, has led some theologians and astronomers to suggest that it might explain the biblical story of the Star of Bethlehem [wiki] the 'short-term' comet (with a cycle of less than 200 years) is prominent in English history and depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry in conjunction with the great event in history:The Conquest of William the Conqueror in 1066: depicted upper right as 'fiery star'> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Bayeux_Tapestry_scene32_Halley_comet.jpg/220px-Bayeux_Tapestry_scene32_Halley_comet.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bayeux_Tapestry_scene32_Halley_comet.jpg)Fore telling the deaths of kings (Harold of Wessex and Harold of Norway). The surviving accounts describe it as appearing to be ' four times the size of Venus and shining with a light equal to a quarter of that of the moon; indicating a close approach to earth on that occasion. This appearance of the comet is also noted in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle). Elmer of Malmesbury may have seen Halley previously in 989, as he wrote of it in 1066: "You've come, have you? ... You've come, you source of tears to many mothers, you evil. I hate you! It is long since I saw you; but as I see you now you are much more terrible, for I see you brandishing the downfall of my country. I hate you!" From the Saxon point of view, he wasn't wrong. My view of it all in 1986-I don't think I'll last as long as Elmer-but things have sure gone downhill since then...:/\\!!http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Comet_Halley.jpg/800px-Comet_Halley.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1979 - The last British soldier leaves the Maltese Islands. Malta declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).

[Jimbuna]

1976 - Stephen Wozniak & Steve Jobs found Apple Computer.

[Aktungbby]

1815: Prussian Statesman Otto von Bismarck is born in Schöenhausen. The unifier of the German state, as long as he ran things for 30 years it all worked. After being relieved of duty by the Kaiser ...it did not. His carefully orchestrated policies:"Bismarck's astute, cautious, and pragmatic foreign policies allowed Germany to peacefully retain the powerful position into which he had brought it; maintaining amiable diplomacy with almost all European nations. France, the main exception, was devastated by Bismarck's wars and his harsh subsequent policies towards it; France became one of Germany's most bitter enemies in Europe. Austria, too, was weakened by the creation of a German Empire, though to a much lesser extent than France. Bismarck believed that as long as Britain, Russia and Italy were assured of the peaceful nature of the German Empire, French belligerency could be contained; his diplomatic feats were undone, however, by Kaiser WilhelmII, whose policies unified other European powers against Germany in time for World War I." [wiki] His haunting observation shortly before his death; "One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans". It did. 1924: Adolf Hitler is sentenced to 5 years in Landsberg Prison for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch. He is released by December 20. While in prison he writes his autobiography Mein Kampf a best seller...a worthy tome it seems, it still sells worldwide. The U.S. government seized the copyright during WWII under the Trading with the Enemy Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_with_the_Enemy_Act_1917) and in 1979, Houghton Mifflin, the U.S. publisher of the book, bought the rights from the government. More than 15,000 copies are sold a year in the US.:hmmm: Considering his first career as an artist failed, perhaps he missed his calling.:stare: Thanks for all the misery fellas.

[Jimbuna]

1801 - Napoleonic Wars: naval Battle of Copenhagen - The British led by Horatio Nelson destroy the Danish fleet.

1917 - US President Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany.

1982 - Several thousand Argentine troops seize the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands from Great Britain.

[Aktungbby]

Napoleonic Wars: naval Battle of Copenhagen - The British led by Horatio Nelson destroy the Danish fleet.
1801: It's a great thing to win great battles( Aboukir and Trafalgar) and be accounted the savior of your nation. It's another to have coined an expression of universal usage in the English language. During the battle which initially was not going well bombarding the Danish fortifications, literally 'in a tight strait':O:, Nelson was informed of a recall flag signal from his superior. Several British ships had run aground in the uncharted shallows.
After three and a half hours of firing, the British Admiral, Sir Hyde Parker, offered Nelson an honourable route out of this bloody action. Parker is normally cast as the villain of the piece for foolishly recalling Nelson on the brink of victory, but his motives were good: he feared that Nelson’s attack had stalled and that Nelson would be unable to retreat without an order to do so. He explicitly hoped that his aggressive subordinate, Nelson, would ignore the order if able to do so. The story, if fiction, was related by a third party, Nelson's hatter, with no axe to grind so it rings true: "'He [Nelson] looked at me, and with a broad smile on his face, enquired, 'Shall I tell you about the time I turned a blind eye, Mr Lock?'

I could not resist and he continued thus: 'The incident occurred during the battle of Copenhagen when I was in a strong position and knew I had to continue the attack. My signals officer, Lt Foley, drew my attention to a signal from my Commander in Chief, Sir Hyde Parker, which read, 'discontinue the action.' Well, Lock, would you stop when all the advantages were with you? No, of course not. So I said to my Signal Lieutenant: 'You know, Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes'. So I put the telescope to my right eye and said, to him, 'I really do not see the signal'.

We both laughed. I sensed his Lordship wanted to go on, but I hastened to thank him and remind him that his Commander in Chief, Sir Hyde Parker, was a very old and respected customer of mine. He smiled and nodded.' http://jonathangifford.com/wp-content/uploads/Nelson-turns-a-blind-eye-cropped.png A great hat and a blind eye![wiki]http://f.tqn.com/y/militaryhistory/1/W/U/X/-/-/battle-of-copenhagen-large.jpgBattle of Copenhagen Nelson was made Commander-in-chief Baltic Sea and Viscount as well as Baron for this action and the battle of the Nile!.

[Jimbuna]

1077 - The first Parliament of Friuli is created.

[Jimbuna]

1954 - Elvis Presley records his debut single "That's All Right"

1963 - Beatles receive their 1st silver disc (Please Please Me)

[Jimbuna]

1889 - George Eastman places Kodak Camera on sale for 1st time.

1917 - US declares war on Germany, enters World War I.

1980 - Post It Notes, introduced.

[Betonov]

1941, Germany bombs Belgrade and begins it's invasion and occupation of Yugoslavia. With help from some allies that are to dispicable to mention by name.

[Jimbuna]

1964 - IBM announces the System/360.

[Jimbuna]

1766 - 1st fire escape patented, wicker basket on a pulley & chain.

1879 - Milk was sold in glass bottles for 1st time.

1913 - Opening of China's 1st parliament takes place in Peking (now Beijing).

1992 - After 151 years Britain's "Punch Magazine" final issue.

[Jimbuna]

1865 - US Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee and 26,765 troops surrender at Appomattox Court House to US Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant.

1945 - Battleship Admiral Scheer sunk by RAF bombing in Kiel.

[Aktungbby]

1682: French explorer Robert de la Salle claims the Mississippi River basin for France. Eventually this leads to greatest real estate deal in American history...the Louisiana Purchase!:up:

[Jimbuna]

1912 - RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton for her maiden (and final) voyage.

1930 - Synthetic rubber 1st produced.

1970 - Paul McCartney officially announces the split of The Beatles.

[Aktungbby]

1815: Mt Tambora explodes on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia. one of the most powerful in recorded history and classified as a VEI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_Explosivity_Index)-7 event. The eruption resulted in a brief period of significant climate conditions that consistently led to various cases of extreme weather. The eruption column (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruption_column) lowered global temperatures, and some experts believe this led to global cooling and worldwide harvest failures, sometimes known as the Year Without a Summer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer). It is believed that from the eruption and subsequent starvation 71,000 people were killed as a direct result of the explosion- approx. 4 times the power of Krakatoa's blast. This climate anomaly has been blamed for the severity of typhus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhus) epidemics in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean between 1816 and 1819. The climate changes disrupted the Indian monsoons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon), caused three failed harvests and famine contributing to the spread of a new strain of Cholera originating in Bengal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal) in 1816. Many livestock died in New England during the winter of 1816–1817. Cool temperatures and heavy rains resulted in failed harvests in Britain and Ireland. Families in Wales (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales) travelled long distances as refugees, begging for food. Famine was prevalent in north and southwest Ireland, following the failure of wheat, oat , and potato harvests. The crisis was severe in Germany, where food prices rose sharply and demonstrations in front of grain markets and bakeries, followed by riots, arson, and looting, took place in many European cities. It was the worst famine of the 19th century and genuine 'volcanic winter'.[wiki]http://www.wired.com/2015/04/tambora-1815-just-big-eruption/ Compared to Tambora, Mt St Helens, a VEI 5 (as was Vesuvius)...was a burp...

[Jimbuna]

1814 - Napoleon abdicates unconditionally; he is exiled to Elba.

1868 - The Shogunate is abolished in Japan.

1961 - Adolf Eichmann trial begins in Israel.

[Jimbuna]

1204 - 4th Crusade occupies & plunders Constantinople.

1961 - Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin becomes 1st person to orbit Earth (Vostok 1).

[Aktungbby]

1912: With the growing recognition of the potential for aircraft as a cost-effective method of reconnaissance and artillery observation, the Committee of Imperial Defence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Imperial_Defence) established a sub-committee to examine the question of military aviation in November 1911. On 28 February 1912 the sub-committee reported its findings which recommended that a flying corps be formed and that it consist of a naval wing, a military wing, a central flying school and an aircraft factory. The recommendations of the committee were accepted and on 13 April 1912 King George V signed a royal warrant establishing the Royal Flying Corps. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Royal_Flying_Corps_cap_badge.jpg/220px-Royal_Flying_Corps_cap_badge.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Flying_Corps_cap_badge.jpg)'Through adversity to the stars' :rock:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Royal_Flying_Corps_poster.jpg/640px-Royal_Flying_Corps_poster.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1866 - Butch Cassidy [Robert LeRoy Parker], American desperado (Wild Bunch Passage) was born.

[Jimbuna]

1865 - President Abraham Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater.

1912 - RMS Titanic hits an iceberg at 11.40pm off Newfoundland.

[Aktungbby]

2010: the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano erupts in Iceland! spreading an ash cloud over the North Atlantic and Europe! AktungBBY, visiting his daughter at her studies in Galway, Eire, has a blast. Unable to depart at Shannon Airport for a week-PLAN A- due to the pumice dust affecting jet engines-the hotel across from the Shannon Airport declared all stranded travelers 'ad hoc refugees' and extended our 1-night stay w/o raising the rates and fed us handsomely to boot! Best plan 'B' time I ever had! I and my Kindle closed the bar every night. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull_ash.svg/640px-Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull_ash.svg.pnghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Eyjafjallajokull_volcano_plume_2010_04_18.JPG/1024px-Eyjafjallajokull_volcano_plume_2010_04_18.JPG

[Jimbuna]

1912 - RMS Titanic sinks at 2:27 AM off Newfoundland as band plays on.

2013 - 3 people are killed and 183 are injured after two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

[Aktungbby]

1945: The Norwegian built, German commandeered MV GOYA is torpedoed and sunk by Russian submarine carrying wounded and civilian refugees. Built as a freighter and jammed with 7000 people she sank in seven minutes after a single torpedo strike. The exact number of passengers and fatalities is not known, but over 6100 people were documented and many more were probably aboard, perhaps as many as 8000! Being sunk in the middle of the night probably did not help finding survivors (183) before they died of hypothermia. Oddly, the Liberty sized vessel had been used by the German for torpedo practice.:hmmm: http://www.naval-technology.com/uploads/newsarticle/4149757/images/447714/large/2-image-mv-goya.jpgActually, some historians consider the sinking of the M/V GOYA the greatest marine disaster of all time.-ahead of the Wilhem Gustaf's 5,348 but no accurate count was made of the number of refugees taken aboard and accounts even differ on how many were rescued. All that is known for certain is that in the last weeks of the war, the 5,000 ton German transport hurriedly took several thousand desperate refugees aboard from the port of Hela in what became known as "Germany’s Dunkirk". The GOYA was sunk by two torpedoes from the Soviet sub L-3 and rests today just north of the Gulf of Danzig. the list: http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/wilhelmgustloff.aspx (http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/wilhelmgustloff.aspx)

[Jimbuna]

1961 - 1,400 Cuban exiles land in Bay of Pigs in a doomed attempt to overthrow Castro.

[Aktungbby]

1906: San Francisco earthquake struck the coast of California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18. Devastating fires broke out in the city that lasted for several days. As a result, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed
The earthquake and resulting fire are remembered as one of the biggest natural in US history alongside the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Hurricane_of_1900) and Hurricane Katrina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina) in 2005 The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history. A photo collection now in the care of the SF Legion of Honor Museum is being properly conserved as it was done by a Kodak A3 on cellulose Nitrate film (the high tech of the day- hastily grabbed off the store shelf by Arnold Genthe) and is now literally fading away. $40,000 is being raised to conserve the 158 picture collection of professional photographer Arnold Genthe, whose own shop had been destroyed, considered the best photo series taken of the event as it occurred.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/San_Francisco_Fire_Sacramento_Street_1906-04-18.jpg/1280px-San_Francisco_Fire_Sacramento_Street_1906-04-18.jpgArnold Genthe >1906 and man are you there! Ruth Newman, age 113, and William Del Monte, age 109, :salute:are the last two survivors STILL LIVING. They will not be attending the annual pilgrimage and wreath laying to Lotta's Fountain on Market street which kept flowing during the crises and has been restored...and still flows!:up:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Lotta%27s_fountain.jpg/250px-Lotta%27s_fountain.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lotta%27s_fountain.jpg)1905>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/LottaFountain3.jpg/220px-LottaFountain3.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LottaFountain3.jpg)donated byhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/LottaCrabtree.jpg/220px-LottaCrabtree.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LottaCrabtree.jpg) Immortal entertainer: 'Lotta' Crabtree http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotta_Crabtree (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotta_Crabtree)

[Jimbuna]

1783 - Fighting ceases in the American Revolution, eight years to the day since it began.

[Jimbuna]

1770 - British explorer Captain James Cook 1st sights Australia.

[Aktungbby]

1865: Lincoln in state at the White Househttp://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/education/coffindrawing.jpg...soldiers opened White House gates to receive an immense crowd stretching for blocks in downtown Washington. From 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. the shocked and grieving public filed past President Lincoln's open coffin in the first official mourning event after his assassination. Newspaper reporters estimated the number of visitors at 20,000 to 30,000 or more. So many had to be turned away that officials scheduled another public viewing at the Capitol two days later. In researching this post I came across this story; one that I had never heard before " William H. Johnson was described as a free "colored man" who came with Lincoln from Illinois and became President Lincoln's part-time valet and messenger of the Treasury Department. He worked for Samuel Y. Atlee of the Treasury in the afternoon and tended to Lincoln's wardrobe, shaved him, and did other personal services for the president in the morning.

On November 18, 1863, Lincoln wrote a note explaining that Johnson would travel with him to Gettysburg for the dedication of the soldiers' cemetery. Mrs. Lincoln did not accompany the president because their son Tad was ill with smallpox. Once in Gettysburg, Lincoln must have mentioned Tad's condition to Edward Everett, the featured orator at the dedication, because he later wrote him, "Our sick boy, for whom you kindly enquired, we hope is past the worst." After delivery of his now famous speech, Lincoln also felt ill and on the return train trip to Washington "lay in a relaxed position with a wet towel across his head," placed there by Johnson. Upon arrival at the White House, the president was put to bed and his doctor was called, who remarked, "Mr. Lincoln's case is not fully developed yet. Varioloid." The White House became a virtual smallpox hospital. Out of it came a touch of Lincoln's (wicked) humor. "Now let the office-seekers come, for at last I have something I can give all of them." But he probably gave it to his valet, and Johnson died. Lincoln requested that he be buried in what is now called Arlington National Cemetery, and paid for his burial and tombstone. http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/news/johnsontomb.jpgNote: Contrary to a popular myth though, Lincoln did not purchase the headstone that appears there now. Arlington ordered a new stone and inscribed on it Citizen, which was the label used to distinguish civilian graves from soldiers before Arlington became an exclusively military cemetery. http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/black-history-of-arlington-national-cemetery/ (http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/black-history-of-arlington-national-cemetery/)

[Jimbuna]

1862 - The first pasteurization test completed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard.

[Jimbuna]

1509 - Henry VIII crowned King of England.

1918 - World War I: German fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen, known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France. Canadian pilot Captain Arthur Roy Brown was credited with the kill.

[Aktungbby]

753 BC: According to tradition, Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth originated sometime in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of Rome’s founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in the first century B.C.

[Aktungbby]

1918 - World War I: German fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen, known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France. Canadian pilot Captain Arthur Roy Brown was credited with the kill.

The virtual Achilles of the Great War, Von Richthofen simply does leave the public consciousness even after 100 years. During his brief 25-year lifetime, the German flying ace was never known as the “Red Baron.” That only came about later. As late as 1927, a book by Floyd Gibbons about the baron’s WWI exploits was entitled The Red Knight of Germany, not “The Red Baron.” Gibbons never uses the term “Red Baron” in his 383-page book. The nickname comes from Richthofen’s title of nobility, Freiherr, or baron. His own autobiography, "The Red Battle Flyer" ends in 1917...well before his death in 1918. Oddly, little about the baron was original. The Fokker Dr I was an answer to the highly regarded and superior British Sopwith 'tripe' and France's ace Jean Navarre had painted his Nieuport 11 'bebe' red while the Baron was still a cavalryman.> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Ni-11_Navarre.jpg/220px-Ni-11_Navarre.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ni-11_Navarre.jpg)Some cool footage of a seven plane Fokker DrI flight. http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2308304 (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2308304) The best Jasta 11 pilots flew these...and you didn't want to 'meet these Fokkers'! An avid hunter, the Baron collected trophies from his 80 downed victims until becoming one himself as his famed mostly red plane DrI 425/17 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Fokker_Dr1_on_the_ground.jpg/220px-Fokker_Dr1_on_the_ground.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fokker_Dr1_on_the_ground.jpg) was picked apart in turn by souvenir huntershttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/MvRichthofenWreckage_%282%29.jpg/220px-MvRichthofenWreckage_%282%29.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MvRichthofenWreckage_(2).jpg) Just landing next to the San José Airport's 94th Aero Squdron restaurant replica of a red Fokker DrI was a kitschy thrill in my Cessna 172...http://s3-media4.fl.yelpassets.com/bphoto/0K1tsUMwUVg3rYP0GXJSFQ/l.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1915 - 1st military use of poison gas (chlorine, by Germany) in WW I.

1969 - 1st human eye transplant performed.

[Jimbuna]

1992 - McDonald's opens its 1st fast-food restaurant in China.

[Aktungbby]

Apr 24th 1184 BC (http://www.historyorb.com/events/april/24) - The Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse (or June 24 1184BC: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.):hmmm: your pick; its all Greek to me...:-?from the most ancient to the most modern renditions- the famous horse:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Mykonos_vase.jpg/800px-Mykonos_vase.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Trojan_Horse_in_Stuttgart_2001.jpg/640px-Trojan_Horse_in_Stuttgart_2001.jpgThe expression 'a Trojan horse' has come to mean: 'beware Greeks bearing gifts'...Bottom line: this hollow device 'put paid'- after ten years siege- to history's greatest amphibious operation; Helen of Troy: the face that launched a thousand ships! And we're still talkin' about it after 3200-odd years!:up:
The gods who, according to Homer-but dispensed with by movie director Petersen-allegedly brought about the war, are not to be taken lightly-at all!: Actor Brad Pitt (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000093) who starred as Achilles in the movie Troy (by the director of Das Boot-Wolfgang Petersen:up:) tore his left Achilles tendon during production...:huh: :hmmm:
http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/17/1738/A6Y3D00Z/posters/a-k-macdonald-helen-of-troy.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1967 - Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily."

[Aktungbby]

1915: What is regarded as the Armenian genocide begins with the roundup of Armenian political and cultural leaders in Constantinople. Recently the Turkish government, in a revisionist denial of the current Pope's comments said (again) there was no genocide. Pope Francis this month became the first head of the Roman Catholic church to publicly call the killing of as many as 1.5 million Armenians “genocide”, prompting a row with Turkey, which summoned the Vatican’s envoy and recalled its own. The 100th anniversary on Friday of the WWI massacre by Ottoman Turkish forces has stirred controversy, with Germany set to join France, the European parliament and Francis in using the term “genocide”. German official Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Erwin_von_Scheubner-Richter) wrote that fewer than 100,000 Armenians survived the genocide out of an estimated 2 million, the rest having been exterminated. During WWI, he served in Ottoman Turkey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Turkey) as the German vice consul of Erzerum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erzerum). In addition to holding that post, Scheubner-Richter documented the Turkish massacres of Armenians as part of the Armenian Genocide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide). footnote: During the Beer Hall Putsch, walking arm-in-arm with Hitler, he was shot in the lungs and died instantly as Hitler and others marched toward armed guards on 9 November 1923. He had brought Hitler down and dislocated Hitler's right shoulder when he fell. He was the only first-tier Nazi leader to die during the Putsch. Of all the early party members who died in the Putsch, Adolf Hitler had claimed Scheubner-Richter to be the only "irreplaceable loss". [wiki] IMHO: Supreme commander GEN Eisenhower, in anticipation, marched troops through the death camps of WWII to make sure denial of the Jewish Holocaust could not happen. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Bundesarchiv_Bild_119-1930-01%2C_Max_Erwin_v._Scheubner-Richter.jpg/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_119-1930-01%2C_Max_Erwin_v._Scheubner-Richter.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_119-1930-01,_Max_Erwin_v._Scheubner-Richter.jpg)So the Armenian Holocaust is a grey area of present revisionist history??? Let us simply turn to the master of Götterdämmerung, Hitler, in his own clarifying write: [August 22, 1939]
"My decision to attack Poland was arrived at last spring. Originally, I feared that the political constellation would compel me to strike simultaneously at England, Russia, France, and Poland. Even this risk would have had to be taken.
Ever since the autumn of 1938, and because I realized that Japan would not join us unconditionally and that Mussolini is threatened by that nit-wit of a king and the treasonable scoundrel of a crown prince, I decided to go with Stalin.
In the last analysis, there are only three great statesmen in the world, Stalin, I, and Mussolini.(really Me, Myself and I:doh:) Mussolini is the weakest, for he has been unable to break the power of either the crown or the church. Stalin and I are the only ones who envisage the future and nothing but the future. Accordingly, I shall in a few weeks stretch out my hand to Stalin at the common German-Russian frontier and undertake the redistribution of the world with him.
Our strength consists in our speed and in our brutality. Genghis Khan led millions of women and children to slaughter — with premeditation and a happy heart. History sees in him solely the founder of a state. It's a matter of indifference to me what a weak western European civilization will say about me.
I have issued the command — and I'll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad — that our war aim does not consist in reaching certain lines, but in the physical destruction of the enemy. Accordingly, I have placed my death-head formations in readiness — for the present only in the East — with orders to them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we gain the living space (Lebensraum) which we need. Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians? " Simple enough then; start with a Genocide/annihilation + Zyklon-B http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/hol-pix/zyklon1.jpg= Holocaust...a note from our man in Istanbul>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/AmbassadorMorgenthautelegram.jpghttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-479143/The-forgotten-Holocaust-The-Armenian-massacre-inspired-Hitler.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-479143/The-forgotten-Holocaust-The-Armenian-massacre-inspired-Hitler.html) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide#/media/File:April24Victims.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide#/media/File:April24Victims.jpg) Arrested and executed Armenian Intellectuals on 4/24/1915 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/April24Victims.jpg/220px-April24Victims.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:April24Victims.jpg)

[Jimbuna]

1792 - Guillotine first used in France, executes highwayman Nicolas Pelletier.

[Betonov]

Titos partisans are formed in 1941 and begin guerilla operations against the axis.
Until 1945 those operations included railway bombings, ambushes, assasinations kindapings, espionage, helping shot down ally pilots, enciting further insurection, raids and general unpleasantry to the ocupiers. In the later years that incuded a freed area with it's own government, it's own airforce and a tank battalion (the famed french resistance was a disorganised rabble in comparison). They tied up several German divisions that could have been efectively used in Russia.

27th April is still a national holliday in the former republics even after the Yugoslav dissolution.


http://i.imgur.com/1Lp2A.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1865 - Steamboat "SS Sultana" explodes in the Mississippi River, killing up to 1,800 of the 2,427 passengers in the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. Most were paroled Union POWs on their way home.

[Aktungbby]

1777: The revolutionary battle of Ridgefield Connecticutt takes place. On April 27, 1777, American forces under the command of Major General David Wooster attacked the retreating British troops under Major General William Tryon in Ridgefield. In anticipation of Tryon’s return march to Long Island Sound after the April 25/26 attack on Danbury, a important Rebel depot. Wooster, GEN Benedict Arnold (still on our side:03:) and General Gold S. Silliman deployed their forces of militia and members of the Continental Army farther westward. While Wooster attacked Tryon from the rear, Arnold and his men set up defences at the north end of Ridgefield’s town center. It was here that the fiercest of the fighting occurred. General Wooster was wounded-dying 5 days later; and Arnold, his horse shot from under him, escaped in a hail of musket balls having killed a British soldier trying to bayonet him while pinned under the horse with his pistol. "His hairbreadth escape was a testament to what England's Annual Register of 1777 called his "usual intrepidity." A British officer on the scene conceded only that Arnold, like Wooster before him, had "opposed us with more obstinacy than skill," a statement of begrudging respect." In 1977 the town of Ridgefield did a rather extraordinary thing: It issued silver and bronze medals commemorating General Benedict Arnold and his leadership at the Battle of Ridgefield http://jackfsanders.tripod.com/arnoldmedal.jpg:hmmm:http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/12/72/20/2860084/7/628x471.jpgA British cannon ball is still embedded in the wall of the local tavern. British general Tryon (former provincal governor of North Carolina and New York> http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Tryon1767.jpg/220px-Tryon1767.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tryon1767.jpg)He won the battle: The expedition was a tactical success for the British forces, but their actions in pursuing the raid galvanized Patriot support in Connecticut. While the British again made raids on Connecticut's coastal communities (including a second raid by Tryon in 1779 and a 1781 raid led by Arnold after his defection to the British side), they made no more raids that penetrated far into the countryside. Tryon's policies during the Revolutionary War were described as savagely brutal by persons on both sides of the conflict. Although he has been described as a tactful and competent administrator who improved the colonial postal service, Tryon became unpopular being overly harsh in his conduct of the war in the neutral ground in New York. Tryon's desolation warfare shocked many British officers and outraged Patriots. Joseph Galloway, a leading Tory, charged that marauding and even rape was officially tolerated by the British and the Loyalists. Galloway said that "indiscriminate and excessive plunder" was witnessed by "thousands within the British lines." In a "solemn inquiry," backed by affidavits, he said, "it appears, that no less than twenty-three [rapes] were committed in one neighborhood in New Jersey; some of them on married women, in presence of their helpless husbands, and others on daughters, while the unhappy parents, with unavailing tears and cries, could only deplore the savage brutality." Similarly, in New York City, citizens and officers accused Hessians, Redcoats, and Loyalists of robbing houses, raping women, and murdering civilians.'
The Cherokees had given Tryon the name of "Wolf" for his dealings in setting a boundary dispute for them in the western part of the (Carolina) colony...and they would know best perhaps...[wiki]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/BattleOfRidgefield1.png/220px-BattleOfRidgefield1.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BattleOfRidgefield1.png)

[Von Tonner]

Benito Mussolini. One of the world's most vicious dictators was executed on this day in 1945.

[Jimbuna]

1770 - Capt James Cook aboad Endeavour lands at Botany Bay in Australia.

1789 - Fletcher Christian leads mutiny on HMS Bounty against its captain William Bligh.

[Jimbuna]

1707 - English and Scottish parliaments accept Act of Union; the United Kingdom of Great Britain came into being on 1st May.

[Aktungbby]

1900: Skilled engineer enters legend and immortal song(s). John Luther 'Casey' Jones, 37, a well-regarded engineer, died in a train wreck near Vaughan, Mississippi. He stayed at the controls trying desperately to stop the train, The Cannonball Express!:up: hitting a stalled train on a blind curve. When Jones did see the other train, it was too late to prevent a crash, but with a collision imminent, he acted heroically. Pulling the whistle to warn anyone in the other train, he slammed on the brakes and ordered his fireman to jump from the train. Jones, too, could have jumped, but if he had, he wouldn't have been able to work the brakes and slow his train – in the process, saving every passenger on board. The only person who died in the wreck was Jones himself, standing by his post in order to save lives. :salute:When crews went into the wreckage they found Mr. Jones in pieces, but most notably his hands were still clenched to the brake handle and the whistle. Proof that he did his best to prevent further carnage right up to the end. It is by no means certain that his employers were as fond of Casey as he is in the hearts of those who have heard the legend. Damned by faint praise, the regard in which he was held by the railroad company is evidenced in the company's (CYA) report on the accident...:hmmm: "Engineer Jones ... had a reasonably good record, not having been disciplined for the past three years ... Jones' work upto the the time of the accident had been satisfactory." http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/CaseyJonesStamp.png Casey left his stamp on history and became immortal in verse....and song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yxqidqFPZI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yxqidqFPZI) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/83/Casey_Jones_home.jpg/1024px-Casey_Jones_home.jpgAnd for our virtual rail roaders: http://www.virtualrailroader.com/volume_1/casey.html (http://www.virtualrailroader.com/volume_1/casey.html) http://www.virtualrailroader.com/volume_1/graphics_v1/casey3_560.jpg

[Jimbuna]

1939 - Batman comics hit street.

1944 - Messerschmitt Me 262 Sturmvogel, 1st jet bomber, makes 1st flight.

1961 - Fidel Castro announces there will be no more elections in Cuba.

[Aktungbby]

1898:Commodore Admiral Dewey issues the 2nd most famous (in American Naval history) Command: "You may fire when you are ready Gridley" and America acquires an empire at Manila Bay. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/USS_Olympia_with_Dewey_at_Battle_of_Manila_bay_DSC N4191_at_Vermont_State.jpg/220px-USS_Olympia_with_Dewey_at_Battle_of_Manila_bay_DSC N4191_at_Vermont_State.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Olympia_with_Dewey_at_Battle_of_Manila_ba y_DSCN4191_at_Vermont_State.jpg)Aboard flagship USS Olympiahttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Olympia_%28Cruiser_6%29._Port_bow%2C_02-10-1902_-_NARA_-_513012.tif/lossy-page1-300px-Olympia_%28Cruiser_6%29._Port_bow%2C_02-10-1902_-_NARA_-_513012.tif.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olympia_(Cruiser_6)._Port_bow,_02-10-1902_-_NARA_-_513012.tif) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Adm_dewey_1913.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adm_dewey_1913.png) The only Admiral of the NAVY in full uniform http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/US_Admiral_of_Navy_shoulderboard.svg/100px-US_Admiral_of_Navy_shoulderboard.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Admiral_of_Navy_shoulderboard.svg) wearing only the Manila "Dewey" Award (of all his awards)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/DeweyObverse.jpg/150px-DeweyObverse.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DeweyObverse.jpg) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/USS_Olympia_2.jpg/1920px-USS_Olympia_2.jpgUSS Olympia at Philadelphia, PA today

[Jimbuna]

1892 - The Red Baron [Manfred von Richthofen] was born today.

1945 - WWII: Battle of Berlin ends as Soviet army takes Berlin and General Weidling surrenders.

1982 - Falklands War: Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by British submarine Conqueror, killing more than 350 men.

2011 - Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI's most wanted man is killed by United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

[Jimbuna]

1945 - WWII: German ship "Cap Arcona" laden with prisoners sunk by Royal Air Force in East Sea, 5,800 killed - one of largest maritime losses of life.

[Jimbuna]

1979 - Margaret Thatcher 1st woman to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

[Betonov]

1980- Josip Broz Tito died in Lubljana medical center
He died form a gangrene poisoning after a complication with blood flow to his leg. His leg was amputated days prior but it was too late. He was 3 days short from his 88th birthday.

[Aktungbby]

^HE was a ' man of many parts!':03: As a leader of the Non Aligned Movement during the cold war, he steered his own path and did it very well; too bad his work fell apart in the Balkans after his death.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Josip_Broz_Tito_uniform_portrait.jpg/220px-Josip_Broz_Tito_uniform_portrait.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Josip_Broz_Tito_uniform_portrait.jpg)A revisinist counterpoint perhaps https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/review-essay/1995-07-01/titos-last-secret-how-did-he-keep-yugoslavs-together (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/review-essay/1995-07-01/titos-last-secret-how-did-he-keep-yugoslavs-together)

[Catfish]

^ I even see Tito a bit worse than described in this "revisionist" article :-?

[Aktungbby]

1942: The Battle fleets converge on The Coral Sea
''At 08:16 on 5 May, TF 17 rendezvoused with TF 11 and TF 44 at a predetermined point 320 nmi south of Guadalcanal At about the same time, four F4F Wildcat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F4F_Wildcat) fighter aircraft from Yorktown intercepted a Kawanishi H6K (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawanishi_H6K) reconnaissance aircraft from the Yokohama Air Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama_Air_Group) of the 25th Air Flotilla (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25th_Air_Flotilla) based at the Shortland Islands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortland_Islands) and shot it down 11 nmi from TF 11. The aircraft was unable to send a report before it crashed, but when it failed to return to base the Japanese correctly assumed that it was shot down by carrier aircraft. A message from Pearl Harbor notified Fletcher that radio intelligence deduced the Japanese planned to land their troops at Port Moresby on 10 May and their fleet carriers would likely be operating close to the invasion convoy. Armed with this information, Fletcher directed TF 17 to refuel from Neosho. After the refueling was completed on 6 May, he planned to take his forces north towards the Louisiades and do battle on 7 May. IN the meantime, Takagi's carrier force steamed down the east side of the Solomons throughout the day on 5 May, turned west to pass south of San Cristobal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makira) (Makira), and entered the Coral Sea after transiting between Guadalcanal and Rennell Island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennell_Island) in the early morning hours of 6 May. Takagi commenced refueling his ships 180 nmi (210 mi; 330 km) west of Tulagi in preparation for the carrier battle he expected would take place the next day''....bad weather prevents either force from spotting the other. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Coral_sea.jpg/220px-Coral_sea.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coral_sea.jpg)key mouse to expandhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Large_explosion_aboard_USS_Lexington_%28CV-2%29%2C_8_may_1942.jpg/300px-Large_explosion_aboard_USS_Lexington_%28CV-2%29%2C_8_may_1942.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Large_explosion_aboard_USS_Lexington_(CV-2),_8_may_1942.jpg)The USS 'Lady Lex' Lexington is serous trouble prior to sinking; somewhere in that photo (aboard the nearby Yorktown) is my very influential sixth-grade teacher, a TBD radioman/gunner at the battle. A large part of my love of history and the first person witness account stems from his verbal accounts. [wiki] & Mr. Kenyon:salute:

[Jimbuna]

1260 - Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.

[Jimbuna]

1626 - Dutch colonist Peter Minuit buys Manhattan Island from local Indians for 60 guilders worth of trinkets.

[Aktungbby]

1910:Britain's playboy King Edward VII dies. King since 1901 after Queen Victoria, ‘I never can, or shall, look at him without a shudder’ – Queen Victoria (who had a low opinion of her eldest son Edward) he was 59 when he became king. He restored some vitality to the monarchy. He made several royal visits and helped to prepare the way for international treaties with France and Russia. The king took a particular interest in military matters. He opposed attempts to reduce public spending on the armed forces and was a strong advocate of the Dreadnought building campaign. :hmmm: The prewar political and anti-socialist movement sins of the father would fall on his son George V...in four short years. ’I believe the emperor of Germany hates me’ - King Edward VII (on rising tensions with his nephew Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany).:timeout: 1937: The Zeppelin Hindenburg LZ 129 explodes at Lakehurst, New Jerseyhttp://www.history.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/hindenburg-wide.jpg36 of 97 passengers and crew die. U.S. law prevented the Hindenburg from using helium instead of hydrogen, which is more flammable.
After the crash of the hydrogen-filled British R101, in which most of the crew (48) died in the subsequent fire rather than the impact itself, Hindenburg designer Hugo Eckener sought to use helium, a less flammable lifting gas. However, the United States, which had a monopoly on the world supply of helium and feared that other countries might use the gas for military purposes, banned its export, and the Hindenburg was reengineered. After the Hindenburg disaster, American public opinion favored the export of helium to Germany for its next great zeppelin, the LZ 130, and the law was amended to allow helium export for nonmilitary use. After the German annexation of Austria in 1938, however, Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes refused to ink the final contract. Eckener, no fan of the Third Reich, named the airship for the late German president Paul von Hindenburg and refused Goebbels’ request to name it after Hitler. The Führer, never enthralled by the great airships in the first place, was ultimately glad that the zeppelin that crashed in a fireball didn’t bear his name....http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Hindenburg_burning.jpg/260px-Hindenburg_burning.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hindenburg_burning.jpg)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Hindenburg_disaster%2C_1937.jpg/220px-Hindenburg_disaster%2C_1937.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hindenburg_disaster,_1937.jpg) [wiki's or Ickes?]:dead: P$: The charred mail aboard was delivered and today is a collector item!http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Hindenburg_at_lakehurst.jpg/800px-Hindenburg_at_lakehurst.jpg1936 at Lakehurst on a good day!

[Jimbuna]

1915 - SS Lusitania sunk by German submarine; 1198 lives lost.

[Aktungbby]

1928: the minimum voting age for women in Britain is lowered from 30 to 21, the same as men.
Only 58% of the adult male population was eligible to vote before 1918. An influential consideration, in addition to the suffrage movement and the growth of the Labour Party, was the fact that only men who had been resident in the country for 12 months prior to a general election were entitled to vote.
This effectively disenfranchised a large number of troops who had been serving overseas in the war. With a general election imminent, politicians were persuaded to extend the vote to all men and some women at long last. The Representation of the People Act(1918) was passed which allowed women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification to vote.:hmmm: Although 8.5 million women met this criteria, it only represented 40 per cent of the total population of women in the UK.
The same act abolished property and other restrictions for men, and extended the vote to all men over the age of 21. Additionally, men in the armed forces could vote from the age of 19. The electorate increased from eight to 21 million, but there was still huge inequality between women and men. It was not until the Equal Franchise Act of 1928 that women over 21 were able to vote and women finally achieved the same voting rights as men. This act increased the number of women eligible to vote to 15 million.

[Jimbuna]

1945 - V-E Day; after Germany signs unconditional surrender it is announced WWII has ended in Europe.

[Aktungbby]

1945: A banner year for French Colonialism and a preliminary Arab Spring perhaps?: The Setif Massacre in Algiers begin the same day that Nazi Germany surrendered in WWII. A parade by about 5,000 of the Muslim Algerian population of Sétif to celebrate the victory ended in clashes between the marchers and the local French Gendarmes, when the latter tried to seize banners attacking colonial rule. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Flag_of_the_S%C3%A9tif_revolt_%281945%29.svg/200px-Flag_of_the_S%C3%A9tif_revolt_%281945%29.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_S%C3%A9tif_revolt_(1945).svg)Ther e is uncertainty over who fired first but both protesters and police were shot and armed men amongst the Muslim marchers then killed Europeans caught in the streets. A smaller scale protest in the neighboring town of Guelma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guelma) was dispersed the same evening. Attacks on pieds noirs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieds_noirs) (French settlers) in the neighboring countryside then resulted in the deaths of 103 Europeans, mostly civilians, plus another hundred wounded. The historian Alistair Horne (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_Horne) reports that there were a number of rapes and that many of the corpses were mutilated. In particular:“many of the corpses were appallingly mutilated: women with their breasts slashed off, men with their severed sexual organs stuffed into their mouths." That's hate! These attacks killed anywhere between 1,020 (the official French figure given in the Tubert Report shortly after the killings and 45,000 people (as claimed by Radio Cairo at the time). Alistair Horne notes that 6,000 was the figure finally settled on by moderate historians but acknowledges that this remains only an estimate. In February 2005, Hubert Colin de Verdière (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hubert_Colin_de_Verdi%C3%A8re&action=edit&redlink=1), France's ambassador to Algeria, formally apologized for the massacre, calling it an “inexcusable tragedy”. It was the most explicit comment by the French State on the massacre. Considering the loss of Haiti in 1803 over the lack of rights-Specifically for colonial subjects 'of color' and our acquiring of the Louisiana Purchase as a direct result; and the post WWII French colonial failure in French Indo-China leading to our Vietnam Experience, these matters seldom remain isolated incidents of little importance. The state of the so- called Arab Spring seen to have begun in Algiers and the recent loss of a US ambassador in neighboring Libya reflect this. Liberté, égalité, fraternité, is in fact the national slogan of the Republic Haiti. To bad no one lives up to ze billing.... :|\\:hmmm: [wiki] http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Liberte-egalite-fraternite.png/300px-Liberte-egalite-fraternite.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Liberte-egalite-fraternite.png)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/Hors-la-loi.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hors-la-loi.jpg) A recent movie' Outside the Law and Cannes Film Festival nominee dealing with Setif was controversial and sparked protest in 2010...The director, Bouchareb's other film: the highly acclaimed Days of Glory also a 2006 Cannes Film winner, and aired in the US, deals with mistreated Algerian soldiers in the French army in WWII-good flick IMHO :salute:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Indig-film.jpg/220px-Indig-film.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indig-film.jpg)

[Fubar2Niner]

2015

The Devil walked into 10 Downing Street again.

[Jimbuna]

1386 - Treaty of Windsor between Portugal and England (the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world which is still in force).

[Aktungbby]

1864: General John Sedgwick is killed by a sniper at the battle of Spotsylvania.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/John_Sedgwick.png/220px-John_Sedgwick.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Sedgwick.png) Confederate sharpshooters were about 1,000 yards (900 m) away and their shots caused members of his staff and artillerymen to duck for cover. Sedgwick strode around in the open and was quoted as saying, "What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line?" Although ashamed, his men continued to flinch and he said, "Why are you dodging like this? They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Reports that he never finished the sentence are apocryphal, although the line was among his last words. He was shot moments later under the left eye and fell down dead.
Sedgwick was the highest ranking Union casualty in the Civil War. His demise seriously upset Generals Grant AND Confederate General Lee, both of whom had served in the Mexican War with their fellow West Point classmate. There is no record of the identity or location of the sharpshooter. Five confederate sharpshooters claimed credit. Union troops from the 6th Vermont claim to have shot an unidentified sharpshooter as they crossed the fields seeking revenge. Ben Powell of the 12th South Carolina claimed credit, although his account has been discounted because the general he shot at with a Whitworth hexagonal rifled musket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifled_musket) with harder alloy hexagonal bulletshttp://www.americancivilwarstory.com/images/WhitworthBulletandRifling.png (http://www.americancivilwarstory.com/images/WhitworthBulletandRifling.png) was mounted, probably Brig Gen. William H. Morris (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Morris). Wounded 5/9/1864 on horseback in the knee severely, his field-career was ended.>.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Gen._William_H._Morris_-_NARA_-_528662.jpg/150px-Gen._William_H._Morris_-_NARA_-_528662.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gen._William_H._Morris_-_NARA_-_528662.jpg) Thomas Burgess of the 15th South Carolina has also been cited by some veterans.
"On this 9th of May, Ben(Powell)http://www.sedgwick.org/na/families/robert1613/B/2/9/2/powell-benjaminm1841-165x209.jpg (http://www.sedgwick.org/na/families/robert1613/B/2/9/2/powell-benjaminm1841-399x637.jpg) came in about noon, and walking up to me, he said:
"Sergeant, I got a big Yankee officer this morning."
"How do you know it was an officer?" I asked.
"I could tell by the way they behaved; they were all mounted; it was something over half a mile; I could see them good through the telescope; I could tell by the way they acted which was the head man; so I raised my sights and took the chance; and, sir, he tumbled right off his horse. The others dismounted and carried him away. I could see it all good through the glass." Note: a small number of Whitworth rifles were equipped with a four power telescopic sight (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescopic_sight), designed by Colonel Davidson which, unlike modern rifle scopes, was attached to the left side of the weapon instead of the top. While the telescopic sight was very advanced for its time, it had a reputation for leaving the user with a black eye due to the rifle's fairly substantial recoil. http://www.guns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/a_confederate_whitworth_with_side_mounted_4_power_ Davidson_Scope.jpg
"Oh Ben," I said, "you shot some cavalryman, and you think it was an officer."
"No, sir, he was an officer, and a big one too. I could tell."
That night the enemy's pickets called over to ours:
"Johnny, one of your sharpshooters killed General Sedgwick today."[wiki]
So we knew that Ben did what he said." Except that Gen Sedgwick was clearly on foot when struck.:hmmm:

[Wolferz]

If the Germans hadn't been so keen on adding thermite to the paint used on the Hindenburg's skin...
Ja Horst. It makes ze paint zo shiny. Firefegneugen!:timeout:

[Aktungbby]

If the Germans hadn't been so keen on adding thermite to the paint used on the Hindenburg's skin...
Ja Horst. It makes ze paint zo shiny. Firefegneugen!:timeout:

Yeah I watched Myth-Busters on that one too. " Critics point out that port side witnesses on the field, as well as crew members stationed in the stern, saw a glow inside Cell 4 before any fire broke out of the skin, indicating that the fire began inside the airship or that after the hydrogen ignited, the invisible fire fed on the gas cell material. Newsreel footage clearly show that the fire was burning inside the structure. Proponents of the paint hypothesis claim that the glow can be explained. They claim that what witnesses saw was the fire on the starboard side (another proponent claims that a witness saw the fire start from the starboard side) through the outer skin, looking like a glow. However, photographs of the early stages of the fire show the gas cells of the Hindenburg's entire aft section fully aflame. Burning gas spewing upward from the top of the airship was causing low pressure inside, allowing atmospheric pressure to press the skin inwards. It should also be noted that not all fabric on the Hindenburg burned The fabric on several of the tail structures was not completely consumed. That the fabric not near the hydrogen fire extinguished itself is not consistent with the "explosive" dope hypothesis." My post stayed away from causes. but I think personally it was KISS principle: a big gas leak.." Pictures that show the fire burning along straight lines that coincide with the boundaries of gas cells suggest that the fire was not burning along the skin, which was continuous. Crew members stationed in the stern reported actually seeing the cells burning." In any case the era of airships was over.

[Aktungbby]

1915: The first practical application of moving-coil loudspeakers was established by Danish engineer Peter L. Jensen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_L._Jensen) and Edwin Pridham (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edwin_Pridham&action=edit&redlink=1), in Napa, California (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napa,_California). Jensen was denied patents. Being unsuccessful in selling their product to telephone companies, in 1915 they changed strategy to public address, and named their product Magnavox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnavox). Jensen was, for years after the invention of the loudspeaker, a part owner of The Magnavox Company. NOT A NEW CONCEPT it seems: Alexander Graham Bell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell) patented his first electric loudspeaker (capable of reproducing intelligible speech) as part of his telephone in 1876, which was followed in 1877 by an improved version from Ernst Siemens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Werner_von_Siemens). During this time, Thomas Edison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison) was issued a British patent for a system using compressed air as an amplifying mechanism for his early cylinder phonographs, but he ultimately settled for the familiar metal horn driven by a membrane attached to the stylus. However good enough for Napa CA:sunny: http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/inventors-of-loudspeaker-honored-in-napa/article_d263a8ef-2a83-509d-9bbd-d571e8c4913a.html (http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/inventors-of-loudspeaker-honored-in-napa/article_d263a8ef-2a83-509d-9bbd-d571e8c4913a.html) http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/2d/12d73e29-7c27-5e2a-bbfb-2bc589645370/554ebb2f72f7b.image.jpg?resize=620%2C414 (http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/inventors-of-loudspeaker-honored-in-napa/article_d263a8ef-2a83-509d-9bbd-d571e8c4913a.html)Relatives of the inventers gather to honor the day in downtown Napa CA! Somebody better turn that woofer down below 6.0 on the Richter scale though. Some of these damn lowriders with souped-up Boom boxes in the trunk are ruining our local Asphalt!:huh: http://41.media.tumblr.com/f27c186f3696b2bcd0c21e2f9065a188/tumblr_navcavkAZ71qz82gvo1_1280.jpg