Life This Day in History - Page 26

Amnorix · 01-01-2009, 10:36 PM

Today...

**Donger** · 05-07-2010, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amnorix

May 7

1915. A German U-Boat fires on and sinks the USS Lusitania. Over 1,000 are killed, including over 100 Americans. The incident causes many Americans to reconsider their positions regarding American involvement in World War I.

1945. General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending German involvement in World War I. The terms go into effect the next day.

1952. Geoffrey Dummer publishes the concept of the integrated circuit.

1954. the Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends (it started in March), with the French suffering a total defeat.

1999. Pope John Paul II visits Romania. This is notable primarily becuase he becomes the first Pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox Country since the Great Schism of 1054.

(a day or two ago I posted about PJPII being the first Pope to enter a mosque. Who knew he was such a wild and crazy guy?!?}

Honestly, the French should have just given up after that.

Amnorix · 05-07-2010, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Honestly, the French should have just given up after that.

I just read a really interesting factoid. The US sent its first planeload of supplies to the French, and started providing active material and monetary support to the French for their efforts in Vietnam precisely four days after the North Koreans invaded South Korea.

Prior ot that, the US steadfastly told the French they were on their own, and it seemed the support of the French citizenry for their efforts there, after four years of conflict (at that point) were starting to wane.

Regrettably, there was alot, a whole lot, of Western stupidity around decisions regarding Vietnam.

**Donger** · 05-07-2010, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amnorix

I just read a really interesting factoid. The US sent its first planeload of supplies to the French, and started providing active material and monetary support to the French for their efforts in Vietnam precisely four days after the North Koreans invaded South Korea.

Prior ot that, the US steadfastly told the French they were on their own, and it seemed the support of the French citizenry for their efforts there, after four years of conflict (at that point) were starting to wane.

Regrettably, there was alot, a whole lot, of Western stupidity around decisions regarding Vietnam.

Don't forget that we helped the Viet Minh during WWII. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Amnorix · 05-07-2010, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Don't forget that we helped the Viet Minh during WWII. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Did we? For all that I know about World War II, and it is alot, I admit I have paid very little attention to the mainland Southeast Asia theater. I know about Singapore falling and the loss of the one or two British battleships in '40, I believe, and know vaguely about Joe Stillwell and Lord Mountbatten, but I can give very few details.

I was also vaguely aware that Ho Chi Minh was involved in activities against both the French and Japanese during the war, but know nothng of US support of those efforts.

Amnorix · 05-07-2010, 01:31 PM

Anyone interested in the Korean War is well advised to read "The Coldest Winter", by David Halberstam. I'm only on page 50 or so, but it is already proving excellent.

He notes in his introduction that the Korean War is in many ways the forgotten war of the 20th century, mentioning that he entered a library in Florida once and counted 88 books on Vietnam, and only four on the Korean War.

**Donger** · 05-07-2010, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Did we? For all that I know about World War II, and it is alot, I admit I have paid very little attention to the mainland Southeast Asia theater. I know about Singapore falling and the loss of the one or two British battleships in '40, I believe, and know vaguely about Joe Stillwell and Lord Mountbatten, but I can give very few details.

I was also vaguely aware that Ho Chi Minh was involved in activities against both the French and Japanese during the war, but know nothng of US support of those efforts.

Yep, OSS.

Jenson71 · 05-07-2010, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amnorix

(a day or two ago I posted about PJPII being the first Pope to enter a mosque. Who knew he was such a wild and crazy guy?!?}

In 1999, he was visited by a Muslim cleric, and the cleric gave him a gift. The Koran. And then the Pope kissed the gift.

That ruffled some traditionalists feathers.

Amnorix · 05-07-2010, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenson71

In 1999, he was visited by a Muslim cleric, and the cleric gave him a gift. The Koran. And then the Pope kissed the gift.

That ruffled some traditionalists feathers.

Seems a rather inappropriate gift, and an inappropriate response, given their positions. Odd...

Amnorix · 05-07-2010, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Yep, OSS.

That Wild Bill Donovan!

BigOlChiefsfan · 05-07-2010, 08:48 PM

Not about the Viet Minh vs. Japanese, but just up the river...Quartered Safe Out Here is a good memoir of the WWII Burma campaign by George MacDonald Fraser, highly recommended. He wrote all the 'Flashman' books for fans of that rascal.

Amnorix · 05-07-2010, 09:36 PM

May 8 -- definitely a good day to do something dramatic to affect world history because few have previously bothered to do so on this date.

1846. The first major battle of the Mexican-American War, the Battle of Palo Alto, results in a victory for US forces.

1886. Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that the world will come to know as Coca-Cola.

1942. The Battle of the Coral Sea ends with the sinking of the USS Lexington.

1945. Victory in Europe Day, as the Germans surrender.

Amnorix · 05-08-2010, 09:20 PM

May 9

1873. The stock market in Vienna crashes, ushering in the "Long Depression", which was sometimes called the Great Depression until the 1929 Depression seized that title. No word yet from BEP as to how this was the fault of the Federal Reserve (formed in 1913/14) or John Maynard Keynes (born 1883).

1941. The British Navy captures German U-Boat 110, thereby recovering an Enigma cryptography machine. This key development helps turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic.

1950. L. Ron Hubbard's book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is released. So called "Book One" of the pseudo-Church of Scientology, the Scientology calendar counts from this date (we're currently in Year 60 AD, for example (AD being "After Dianetics"). This concotion of unadulterated bullshit is released two years after Hubbard states at a SciFi convention that if you want to make a million, you should invent a new religion. He did considerably better than that, leaving an estate with a value of approximately $600 million when he died in 1986.

1955. Sam and Friends makes its first appearance on television. While that name probably doesn't ring any bells, the stars making their first appearance probably do -- Jim Henson, Kermit the Frog, and the Muppets.

1974. The House Judiciary Committee opens impeachment proceedings against President Nixon was a result of the Watergate scandal.

**Rain Man** · 05-08-2010, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amnorix

May 8 -- definitely a good day to do something dramatic to affect world history because few have previously bothered to do so on this date.

1846. The first major battle of the Mexican-American War, the Battle of Palo Alto, results in a victory for US forces.

1886. Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that the world will come to know as Coca-Cola.

1942. The Battle of the Coral Sea ends with the sinking of the USS Lexington.

1945. Victory in Europe Day, as the Germans surrender.

It might be hard to claim the #1 spot, though.

Amnorix · 05-10-2010, 06:51 AM

May 10 (a busy day)

70. The Roman emperor Titus who had been besieging Jerusalem in the First Roman-Jewish War, begins full scale assaults. Three Legions surround the city. The assaults will eventually succeed, leading to the sacking of the city and widespread fires. Reportedly, 1.1 million people are killed (though numbers are notoriously unreliable for history of this era. The Second Temple of Jerusalem, now over 500 years old and which had survived prior conquests, is destroyed.

1497. Americo Vespucci leaves Cadiz, Spain, on his first voyage to the New World.

1774. Louis XVI is crowned King of France. His reign is very beneficial to America, which receives substantial French assistance in the American Revolution. Unfortunately for him, however, longstanding pressures on the monarchy spill over into the French Revolution, costing him his head when he is executed in 1793.

1775. Fort Ticonderoga (in New York) is captured by the Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold. The small force captures a number of cannon, which are eventually transported to Boston and help lift the occupation of that city in 1776.

1837. The Panic of 1837 begins when all the banks in New York City stop making payments in specie (gold and silver). A five year Depression ensues, which results in the failure of 40% of the banks in the United States. No word yet from BEP as to how this was the fault of the Federal Reserve (formed in 1913/14) or John Maynard Keynes (born 1883).

1863. Confederate General Stonewall Jackson dies of complications from pneumonia eight days after being shot by friendly fire returning to his lines after the first day of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Jackson steadily declined during his last couple of days, wavering between lucidity and returns to an imaginary battlefield. At the end he cried out "Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infrantry to the front rapidly! Tell Major Hawks...." then stopped suddenly. Then he smiled pleasantly and said in a quiet voice "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees", and died.

1865. Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured near Irwinville, Georgia, reportedly trying to escape to Mexico. The widespread reports that he was disguised wearing women's clothing are not true. After his capture, he is held for two years as a prisoner, without trial, and for a long period he was held in solitary confinement with a light that was always on, and not permitted to leave his cell. Eventually, doctors intervene on his behalf, as he was failing rapidly. He is released after two years, on bail of $100,000 paid by some of the wealthiest men in America, North and South, including Cornelius Vanderbilt and the fiery Horace Greeley.

1865. Union troops ambush and shoot William Quantrill, who lingers for a while but eventually dies on June 6.

1869. The Golden Spike is driven, connecting the First Transcontinental Railroad linking the Eastern and Western United States, at Promontory Summit, Utah.

1924. J. Edgar Hoover is appinted director of what will eventually become known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He remains so until his death in 1972. Amusingly, he officially never takes a single vacation.

1940. Germany invades Belgium, the NEtherlands and Luxembourg. Winston Churchill is appionted Prime Minister of England. England invades Iceland (yes you read that right).

1941. Deputy to the Fuehrer Rudolf Hess parachutes into England to try to end the war. He was second in line to the leadership of Germany, behind only Hermann Goring.

1960. USS Triton completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the globe.

1994. Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as the first black President of South Africa.

Amnorix · 05-11-2010, 06:54 AM

May 11

1310. 54 members of the Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, better known as the Order of the Temple, or the Knights Templar, are burned at the stake in Paris, France as heretics. The executions are done at the behest of King Louis IV, primarily to relieve himself of his heavy debt burden to the Knights. Within two years, under heavy pressure from the French King, Pope Clement V (who was based in France, not Rome), issues a Papal Bull dissolving the Order.

1647. Peter Stuyvesant arrives to take over as Director-General of New Netherland, the Dutch colonial settlement that will eventually become New York. Stuyvesant becomes a critical figure in early New York history, building the wall that marked the northern boundary of the settlement (to protect against Indians) that will ultimately lend its name to Wall Street, and the wide road that is the oldest North-South axis road in the city -- Broadway.

1924. Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merge their two companies, forming Mercedes-Benz.

1960. Four Israeli Mossad agents capture Adolf (not Adolph) Eichmann in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

01-01-2009, 10:36 PM
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	This Day in History Today...
Posts: 43,125

05-07-2010, 01:31 PM	#380
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	Anyone interested in the Korean War is well advised to read "The Coldest Winter", by David Halberstam. I'm only on page 50 or so, but it is already proving excellent. He notes in his introduction that the Korean War is in many ways the forgotten war of the 20th century, mentioning that he entered a library in Florida once and counted 88 books on Vietnam, and only four on the Korean War.
Posts: 43,125

05-07-2010, 08:48 PM	#385
BigOlChiefsfan Certified Bourbon taster Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Shawnee KS Casino cash: $7240157	Not about the Viet Minh vs. Japanese, but just up the river...Quartered Safe Out Here is a good memoir of the WWII Burma campaign by George MacDonald Fraser, highly recommended. He wrote all the 'Flashman' books for fans of that rascal. __________________ A man can never own too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition. -- R. Kipling
Posts: 5,033

05-07-2010, 09:36 PM	#386
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	May 8 -- definitely a good day to do something dramatic to affect world history because few have previously bothered to do so on this date. 1846. The first major battle of the Mexican-American War, the Battle of Palo Alto, results in a victory for US forces. 1886. Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that the world will come to know as Coca-Cola. 1942. The Battle of the Coral Sea ends with the sinking of the USS Lexington. 1945. Victory in Europe Day, as the Germans surrender.
Posts: 43,125

05-08-2010, 09:20 PM	#387
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	May 9 1873. The stock market in Vienna crashes, ushering in the "Long Depression", which was sometimes called the Great Depression until the 1929 Depression seized that title. No word yet from BEP as to how this was the fault of the Federal Reserve (formed in 1913/14) or John Maynard Keynes (born 1883). 1941. The British Navy captures German U-Boat 110, thereby recovering an Enigma cryptography machine. This key development helps turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic. 1950. L. Ron Hubbard's book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is released. So called "Book One" of the pseudo-Church of Scientology, the Scientology calendar counts from this date (we're currently in Year 60 AD, for example (AD being "After Dianetics"). This concotion of unadulterated bullshit is released two years after Hubbard states at a SciFi convention that if you want to make a million, you should invent a new religion. He did considerably better than that, leaving an estate with a value of approximately $600 million when he died in 1986. 1955. Sam and Friends makes its first appearance on television. While that name probably doesn't ring any bells, the stars making their first appearance probably do -- Jim Henson, Kermit the Frog, and the Muppets. 1974. The House Judiciary Committee opens impeachment proceedings against President Nixon was a result of the Watergate scandal.
Posts: 43,125

05-10-2010, 06:51 AM	#389
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	May 10 (a busy day) 70. The Roman emperor Titus who had been besieging Jerusalem in the First Roman-Jewish War, begins full scale assaults. Three Legions surround the city. The assaults will eventually succeed, leading to the sacking of the city and widespread fires. Reportedly, 1.1 million people are killed (though numbers are notoriously unreliable for history of this era. The Second Temple of Jerusalem, now over 500 years old and which had survived prior conquests, is destroyed. 1497. Americo Vespucci leaves Cadiz, Spain, on his first voyage to the New World. 1774. Louis XVI is crowned King of France. His reign is very beneficial to America, which receives substantial French assistance in the American Revolution. Unfortunately for him, however, longstanding pressures on the monarchy spill over into the French Revolution, costing him his head when he is executed in 1793. 1775. Fort Ticonderoga (in New York) is captured by the Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold. The small force captures a number of cannon, which are eventually transported to Boston and help lift the occupation of that city in 1776. 1837. The Panic of 1837 begins when all the banks in New York City stop making payments in specie (gold and silver). A five year Depression ensues, which results in the failure of 40% of the banks in the United States. No word yet from BEP as to how this was the fault of the Federal Reserve (formed in 1913/14) or John Maynard Keynes (born 1883). 1863. Confederate General Stonewall Jackson dies of complications from pneumonia eight days after being shot by friendly fire returning to his lines after the first day of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Jackson steadily declined during his last couple of days, wavering between lucidity and returns to an imaginary battlefield. At the end he cried out "Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infrantry to the front rapidly! Tell Major Hawks...." then stopped suddenly. Then he smiled pleasantly and said in a quiet voice "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees", and died. 1865. Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured near Irwinville, Georgia, reportedly trying to escape to Mexico. The widespread reports that he was disguised wearing women's clothing are not true. After his capture, he is held for two years as a prisoner, without trial, and for a long period he was held in solitary confinement with a light that was always on, and not permitted to leave his cell. Eventually, doctors intervene on his behalf, as he was failing rapidly. He is released after two years, on bail of $100,000 paid by some of the wealthiest men in America, North and South, including Cornelius Vanderbilt and the fiery Horace Greeley. 1865. Union troops ambush and shoot William Quantrill, who lingers for a while but eventually dies on June 6. 1869. The Golden Spike is driven, connecting the First Transcontinental Railroad linking the Eastern and Western United States, at Promontory Summit, Utah. 1924. J. Edgar Hoover is appinted director of what will eventually become known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He remains so until his death in 1972. Amusingly, he officially never takes a single vacation. 1940. Germany invades Belgium, the NEtherlands and Luxembourg. Winston Churchill is appionted Prime Minister of England. England invades Iceland (yes you read that right). 1941. Deputy to the Fuehrer Rudolf Hess parachutes into England to try to end the war. He was second in line to the leadership of Germany, behind only Hermann Goring. 1960. USS Triton completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the globe. 1994. Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as the first black President of South Africa.
Posts: 43,125

05-11-2010, 06:54 AM	#390
Amnorix In BB I trust Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston, Mass. Casino cash: $10029808	May 11 1310. 54 members of the Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, better known as the Order of the Temple, or the Knights Templar, are burned at the stake in Paris, France as heretics. The executions are done at the behest of King Louis IV, primarily to relieve himself of his heavy debt burden to the Knights. Within two years, under heavy pressure from the French King, Pope Clement V (who was based in France, not Rome), issues a Papal Bull dissolving the Order. 1647. Peter Stuyvesant arrives to take over as Director-General of New Netherland, the Dutch colonial settlement that will eventually become New York. Stuyvesant becomes a critical figure in early New York history, building the wall that marked the northern boundary of the settlement (to protect against Indians) that will ultimately lend its name to Wall Street, and the wide road that is the oldest North-South axis road in the city -- Broadway. 1924. Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merge their two companies, forming Mercedes-Benz. 1960. Four Israeli Mossad agents capture Adolf (not Adolph) Eichmann in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Posts: 43,125