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A day that will live in infamy... in Halifax

1917: At 9:05 a.m., in the harbor of Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, the most devastating manmade explosion in the pre-atomic age occurs when the Mont Blanc, a French munitions ship,http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/h...mont_blanc.jpg explodes 20 minutes after colliding with another vessel, the Norwegian vessel Imo. Its cargo hold packed with highly explosive munitions-2,300 tons of picric acid, a nitrate compound used in munitions, 200 tons of TNT, 35 tons of high-octane gasoline, and 10 tons of gun-cotton; People gathered along the waterfront to witness the spectacle of the blazing ship, hastily abandoned by the crew, as minutes later, it brushed by a harbor pier, setting it ablaze. The Halifax Fire Department responded quickly and was positioning its engine next to the nearest hydrant when the Mont Blanc exploded at 9:05 a.m. in a blinding white flash...which killed the fire chief and 10 of the department members.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...on%2C_1917.jpg
The massive explosion killed more than 1,800 people, injured another 9,000-many maimed for life-including blinding 200--and destroyed almost the entire north end of the city of Halifax, including more than 1,600 homes. The resulting shock wave shattered windows 50 miles away, the sound of the explosion could be heard hundreds of miles away. "All that could be seen for a great circumference were burning buildings, great mounds of iron and brick in the streets and dead bodies." A 2.5- mile radius was completely demolished and the explosion could be felt 125 miles away. The 60' tsunami wave of water hit a Navy ammunition plant located near the shores, possibly saving it from the fire. Possibly the only break of the day?!
Most other places nearby were not so lucky: The railway station collapsed from the blast and crushed scores of people inside. About 100 more were killed in a 9-story brick sugar plant located near the water. Of the 500 students located in schools nearby, less than 10 survived. Much of the city was completely obliterated. Many more might have died except for a snowstorm later that day that helped put out the flames; 25,000 people were left homeless...http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...80992_de36.jpg http://www.halifaxexplosion.org/explosion5.html#

1865 - 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery.

43BC-Roman orator and advocate Cicero is executed on the orders of the warlord Mark Antony.

909-Sa'id ibn Hussein, the 'divinely guided one', establishes a Shiite caliphate in Tunis, rival to Baghdad.

1941-Japan launches a surprise attack with 350 aircraft on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

1783 - William Pitt the Younger (24) becomes the youngest ever British Prime Minister.

He who hestitates es perdido

1835: Benjamin Rush Milam http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi.../Ben_milam.jpg inspires the Army of the Republic of Texas to take the city of San Antonio. Born in 1788 in Frankfort, Kentucky and a Lt. in the War of 1812, Milam became a citizen and soldier of Mexico in 1824, participating in the revolution against Spain, when newly independent Mexico became a republic under a constitution. When Milam heard in 1835 that Santa Ana had overthrown the Mexican republic and established himself as dictator, Milam renounced his Mexican citizenship and joined the rag-tag army of the newly proclaimed independent Republic of Texas.
After helping the Texas Army capture the city of Goliad, Colonel Milam went on a reconnaissance the southwest but returned to join the army for its planned attack on San Antonio-only to learn that the generals were postponing the attack on San Antonio for the winter. Aware that Santa Ana's forces were swiftly enroute toward Texas to suppress the rebellion, Milam worried that any hesitation would spell doom for the new State of Texas. Milam made an impassioned call for volunteers, asking: "Who will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?" Three hundred men did volunteer, and the Texas Army began its attack on San Antonio, December 5. By December 9, the defending forces of the Mexican army were badly beaten, suffering 400 casualties to the Texan 30 and the commanding General Cos surrendered the city under honorable terms. Milam, however, was not there to witness the results of his leadership--commanding one brigade, he had been killed instantly by a British Baker rifle bullet on December 7 while reconnoitering; He had been trying to observe the San Fernando church tower with a field telescope given to him by Stephen Austin.. The rest- the following March- is American Thermopylae history...Remember the Alamo...and Old Ben Milam! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...m_Monument.jpgHis statue at his rediscovered gravesite in San Antonio. http://www.texasescapes.com/C****hardt/Ben-Milam.htm

1990 - Lech Walesa wins presidental election in Poland.

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

On the nature of abiding faith

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.'

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

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

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

Music lessons pay off in the Fifth!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve (Post 2268132)

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

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

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