Today in History!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[n11pilot]

1373 - Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Alliance (world's oldest extant) signed in London. This treaty was temporarily void during the period of Iberian Union from 1580 till 1640 but was resumed after Portuguese independence.

1415 - Henry the Navigator, the prince of Portugal, embarked on an expedition to Africa.

1777 - The Marquis de Lafayette arrived in the American colonies to help with their rebellion against the British. Though very young Lafayette proved a very good military leader and consultant and even ran an agent net to gather intelligence on the British foe. One of these agents James Armistead provided intelligence of extreme value in the Battle of Yorktown.

1825 - Walter Hunt patented the safety pin. Hunt then then sold the rights for $400. Ahem, congratulations MR Hunt you invented the ancient Roman fibula or toga pin.

1866 - The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress. It was ratified on July 9, 1868. The amendment was designed to grant citizenship to and protect the civil liberties of recently freed slaves. It did this by prohibiting states from denying or abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, depriving any person of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

1878 - Congress of Berlin begins, determines the territories of the states in the Balkan peninsula following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78.

1888 - The U.S. Congress created the Department of Labor.

1900 - China's Boxer Rebellion against foreigners and Chinese Christians erupted into violence. This action eventually turned against the diplomatic legations in the Chinese capital Peking and with the backing of the Dowager Empress resulted in a siege against the diplomatic compound.

1920 - The U.S. Post Office Department ruled that children may not be sent by parcel post. This makes me think that there may have been an attempt to do so.

1923 - The French set a trade barrier between the occupied Ruhr and the rest of Germany.

1940 - Paris was evacuated before the German advance on the city.

1943 - German spies landed on Long Island, New York. They were soon captured. This was the German Operation "Pastorius" and was more of a sabotage mission than a straight intelligence gathering operation. Two things went wrong with this Abwehr operation. One is that the senior leader of the operation had no desire to see it through and ultimately turned himself in to US authorities before any actual action had been taken. 2 the German team was discovered by a US Coast Guardsman on beach patrol. The young guardsman was smart enough to pretend to take a bribe for silence from the Germans, knowing that he couldn't outfight all of them and immediately left the area to report his discovery.

1944 - Germany launched 10 of its new V1 rockets against Britain from a position near the Channel coast. Of the 10 rockets only 5 landed in Britain and only one managed to kill (6 people in London).

1949 - Bao Dai entered Saigon to rule Vietnam. He had been installed by the French.

1951 - U.N. troops seized Pyongyang, North Korea.

1956 - The last British troops leave the Suez Canal Zone in Egypt.

1966 - The landmark "Miranda v. Arizona" decision was issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision ruled that criminal suspects had to be informed of their constitutional rights before being questioned by police.

1967 - Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to become the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

1979 - Sioux Indians were awarded $105 million in compensation for the U.S. seizure in 1877 of their Black Hills in South Dakota.

1983 - The unmanned U.S. space probe Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to leave the solar system. It was launched in March 1972. The first up-close images of the planet Jupiter were provided by Pioneer 10.

[Cousi]

1373 - Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Alliance (world's oldest extant) signed in London. This treaty was temporarily void during the period of Iberian Union from 1580 till 1640 but was resumed after Portuguese independence.

So the oldest treaty that we're aware of has been continuous since 1640? That's a treaty that's been in continuous use for 379 years. And it is fully 646 years old, just with a 60 year gap.

Damn

1777 - The Marquis de Lafayette arrived in the American colonies to help with their rebellion against the British. Though very young Lafayette proved a very good military leader and consultant and even ran an agent net to gather intelligence on the British foe. One of these agents James Armistead provided intelligence of extreme value in the Battle of Yorktown.

I gotta look up Mr Armistead now ...

1866 - The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress. It was ratified on July 9, 1868. The amendment was designed to grant citizenship to and protect the civil liberties of recently freed slaves. It did this by prohibiting states from denying or abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, depriving any person of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

It seems to me that this could be seen as a power grab by the federal government and a removing of state's rights. A great cause, don't get me wrong but it's sad that such a step was necessary.

1920 - The U.S. Post Office Department ruled that children may not be sent by parcel post. This makes me think that there may have been an attempt to do so.

sigh You're probably right.

1943 - German spies landed on Long Island, New York. They were soon captured. This was the German Operation "Pastorius" and was more of a sabotage mission than a straight intelligence gathering operation. Two things went wrong with this Abwehr operation. One is that the senior leader of the operation had no desire to see it through and ultimately turned himself in to US authorities before any actual action had been taken. 2 the German team was discovered by a US Coast Guardsman on beach patrol. The young guardsman was smart enough to pretend to take a bribe for silence from the Germans, knowing that he couldn't outfight all of them and immediately left the area to report his discovery.

I bet the Coastie kept the money, too.

[n11pilot]

1373 - Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Alliance (world's oldest extant) signed in London. This treaty was temporarily void during the period of Iberian Union from 1580 till 1640 but was resumed after Portuguese independence.

So the oldest treaty that we're aware of has been continuous since 1640? That's a treaty that's been in continuous use for 379 years. And it is fully 646 years old, just with a 60 year gap.

Damn

1777 - The Marquis de Lafayette arrived in the American colonies to help with their rebellion against the British. Though very young Lafayette proved a very good military leader and consultant and even ran an agent net to gather intelligence on the British foe. One of these agents James Armistead provided intelligence of extreme value in the Battle of Yorktown.

I gotta look up Mr Armistead now ...

1866 - The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress. It was ratified on July 9, 1868. The amendment was designed to grant citizenship to and protect the civil liberties of recently freed slaves. It did this by prohibiting states from denying or abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, depriving any person of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

It seems to me that this could be seen as a power grab by the federal government and a removing of state's rights. A great cause, don't get me wrong but it's sad that such a step was necessary.

1920 - The U.S. Post Office Department ruled that children may not be sent by parcel post. This makes me think that there may have been an attempt to do so.

sigh You're probably right.

1943 - German spies landed on Long Island, New York. They were soon captured. This was the German Operation "Pastorius" and was more of a sabotage mission than a straight intelligence gathering operation. Two things went wrong with this Abwehr operation. One is that the senior leader of the operation had no desire to see it through and ultimately turned himself in to US authorities before any actual action had been taken. 2 the German team was discovered by a US Coast Guardsman on beach patrol. The young guardsman was smart enough to pretend to take a bribe for silence from the Germans, knowing that he couldn't outfight all of them and immediately left the area to report his discovery.

I bet the Coastie kept the money, too.

In order:

1. Indeed the longevity of the Anglo/Portuguese treaty is phenomenal and is celebrated every year in the respective countries.

2. When you look into the name James Armistead you can add the name Lafayette to the end. MR Armistead was a slave and risked his life for a freedom he had no guarantee of ever enjoying. When he was ultimately freed he adopted the last name of his agent handler and friend.

3. Yes, sadly such federal intrusion into states rights was necessary. There was almost no way around it at the time.

4. There is actually a tradition of stupid parents "Shipping" their kids around. Even the firm of Wells Fargo had to deal with it.

5. I don't know if the Coastie was allowed to keep the money but in view of the fact that much of the cash provided to the German agents was counterfeit he may have been better off turning it in. Operation Pastorius was not he Abwehr's best effort.

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1381 - Richard II in England meets leaders of Peasants' Revolt on Blackheath. The Tower of London is stormed by rebels who enter without resistance.

1645 - The Battle of Naseby, Leicestershire saw the "New Model Army" under Oliver Cromwell & Thomas Fairfax beat royalists forces of English King
Charles I.

1775 - The Continental Army was founded by the Second Continental Congress for purposes of common defense. This event is considered to be the birth of the United States Army. On June 15, George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief. Hooah!

1777 - The Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the "Stars and Stripes" as the national flag of the United States. The Flag Resolution stated "Resolved: that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." On May 20, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed June 14 "Flag Day" as a commemoration of the "Stars and Stripes."

1789 - Captain William Bligh of the HMS Bounty arrived in Timor in a small boat.

1821 - Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Ismail Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, bringing the 300 year old Sudanese kingdom to an end.

1834 - Isaac Fischer Jr. patented sandpaper. An abrasive bit of history.

1846 - A group of U.S. settlers in Sonoma proclaimed the Republic of California.

1900 - Hawaii became a U.S. territory.

1907 - Women in Norway won the right to vote.

1917 - General John Pershing arrived in Paris during World War I. "Lafayette, we are here!"

1919 - The first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight began. Captain John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Brown flew from Newfoundland to Ireland.

1922 - Warren G. Harding became the first U.S. president to be heard on radio. The event was the dedication of the Francis Scott Key memorial at Fort McHenry.

1940 - Auschwitz concentration camp opens in Nazi controlled Poland with Polish POWs. Millions of innocent people would die within the wire of this camp.

1940 - German troops entered Paris. As Paris became occupied loud speakers announced the implementation of a curfew being imposed for 8 p.m.

1945 - Burma was liberated by Britain.

1951 - "Univac I" was unveiled. It was a computer designed for the U.S. Census Bureau and billed as the world's first commercial computer.

1952 - The Nautilus was dedicated. It was the first nuclear powered submarine.

1954 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an order adding the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance.

1954 - Americans took part in the first nation-wide civil defense test against atomic attack.

1965 - A military triumvirate took control in Saigon, South Vietnam.

1982 - Argentine forces surrendered to British troops on the Falkland Islands.

1989 - Former U.S. President Reagan received an honorary knighthood from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

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763 BC - Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.

1215 - King John of England put his seal on the Magna Carta at Runnymede near Windsor, England. This "Acceptance" of the demands set for in the great charter was forced upon King John by the barons of England. King John AKA John "Softsword" and John "Lacklands" was a bit of a personally impoverished asshat and flaunted both English law and the rights of the peerage or Baronial class. While the Magna Carta did not make all men equal it did make all barons equal and placed the King firmly under English law. These are the two most important provisions of the Great Charter.

1381 - The English peasant revolt was crushed in London.

1389 - Ottoman Turks defeated Serbia in the Battle of Kosovo. This conflict has been played out through history as recently as the 1990s.

1607 - Colonists in North America completed James Fort in Jamestown, VA.

1667 - Jean-Baptiste Denys administered the first fully-documented human blood transfusion. He successfully transfused the blood of a sheep to a 15-year old boy. OK, this proof of concept transfusion was as much a matter of luck than it was of science. Later sheep-human transfusions were less than successful and were ultimately banned by the powers that be. Physicians of the era were totally unaware of things such as blood type or the dangers of animal-human blood transfer.

1775 - George Washington appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, the day after Congress establishes the force.

1844 - Charles Goodyear was granted a patent for the process that strengthens rubber.

1846 - The United States and Britain settled a boundary dispute concerning the boundary between the U.S. and Canada, by signing a treaty. This treaty made most Oregonians below the 49TH parallel citizens of the US. Lucky SOBs.

1864 - An order to establish a military burial ground was signed by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The location later became known as Arlington National Cemetery. This was on the grounds of the Custis-Lee mansion then the property of Confederate General Robert E Lee who was in revolt against the US.

1877 - Henry O. Flipper became the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

1898 - The U.S. House of representatives approved the annexation of Hawaii.

1911 - The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. was incorporated in the state of New York. The company was later renamed International Business Machines (IBM) Corp.

1916 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America.

1917 - Great Britain pledged the release of all the Irish captured during the Easter Rebellion of 1916.

1919 - Captain John Alcock and Lt. Arthur W. Brown won $50,000 for successfully completing the first, non-stop trans-Atlantic plane flight.

1940 - The French fortress of Verdun was captured by Germans.

1944 - American forces began their successful invasion of Saipan during World War II.

1948 - Soviet authorities announced that the Helmstedt Autobahn would be closed indefinitely "for repairs." This of course was the only authorized land route through East Germany to the "Island" of West Berlin.

1964 - The last French troops left Algeria.

1981 - The U.S. agreed to provide Pakistan with $3 billion in military and economic aid from October 1982 to October 1987.

1986 - Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper, reported that the chief engineer of the Chernobyl nuclear plant was dismissed for mishandling the incident at the plant.

1994 - Israel and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations.

[Cousi]

1215 - King John of England put his seal on the Magna Carta at Runnymede near Windsor, England. This "Acceptance" of the demands set for in the great charter was forced upon King John by the barons of England. King John AKA John "Softsword" and John "Lacklands" was a bit of a personally impoverished asshat and flaunted both English law and the rights of the peerage or Baronial class. While the Magna Carta did not make all men equal it did make all barons equal and placed the King firmly under English law. These are the two most important provisions of the Great Charter.

I've not heard many speaking positively of King John. I think "personality impoverished asshat" is probably the best descriptor yet though.

1667 - Jean-Baptiste Denys administered the first fully-documented human blood transfusion. He successfully transfused the blood of a sheep to a 15-year old boy. OK, this proof of concept transfusion was as much a matter of luck than it was of science. Later sheep-human transfusions were less than successful and were ultimately banned by the powers that be. Physicians of the era were totally unaware of things such as blood type or the dangers of animal-human blood transfer.

I think I've met some of the descendants of the transfusion recipient. I think others are serving in Congress...

1986 - Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper, reported that the chief engineer of the Chernobyl nuclear plant was dismissed for mishandling the incident at the plant.

YA THINK!?

[n11pilot]

1215 - King John of England put his seal on the Magna Carta at Runnymede near Windsor, England. This "Acceptance" of the demands set for in the great charter was forced upon King John by the barons of England. King John AKA John "Softsword" and John "Lacklands" was a bit of a personally impoverished asshat and flaunted both English law and the rights of the peerage or Baronial class. While the Magna Carta did not make all men equal it did make all barons equal and placed the King firmly under English law. These are the two most important provisions of the Great Charter.

I've not heard many speaking positively of King John. I think "personality impoverished asshat" is probably the best descriptor yet though.

1667 - Jean-Baptiste Denys administered the first fully-documented human blood transfusion. He successfully transfused the blood of a sheep to a 15-year old boy. OK, this proof of concept transfusion was as much a matter of luck than it was of science. Later sheep-human transfusions were less than successful and were ultimately banned by the powers that be. Physicians of the era were totally unaware of things such as blood type or the dangers of animal-human blood transfer.

I think I've met some of the descendants of the transfusion recipient. I think others are serving in Congress...

1986 - Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper, reported that the chief engineer of the Chernobyl nuclear plant was dismissed for mishandling the incident at the plant.

YA THINK!?

King John was what some historians like to call,"A piece of work". In addition to all of his faults physically, emotionally, and morally he is also the king who lost the Crown Jewels.

Watching our Congress in action I suspect that other things besides sheep are in the family trees.

That is probably the most understated headline ever in the history of "Pravda".

[n11pilot]

1487 - The War of the Roses ended with the Battle of Stoke. At the end of the day the red rose of the Lancastrians (Tudors) was victorious.

1567 - Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in Scotland.

1815 - Napoleon defeated the Prussians at the Battle of Ligny, Netherlands. This is considered by sone to be the start of the long running animus between the French and Germans.

1858 - In a speech in Springfield, IL, U.S. Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved. He declared, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

1884 - At Coney Island, in Brooklyn, NY, the first roller coaster in America opened. I suspect that the first barf bag was hurriedly developed close to this date but I have no primary sourced material on the subject.

1897 - The U.S. government signed a treaty of annexation with Hawaii. If you've noticed all of these Hawaii based notes take place about one year apart.

1903 - Ford Motor Company was incorporated.

1907 - The Russian czar dissolved the Duma in St. Petersburg.

1909 - Glenn Hammond Curtiss sold his first airplane, the "Gold Bug" to the New York Aeronautical Society for $5,000.

1922 - Henry Berliner accomplished the first helicopter flight at College Park, MD. Interestingly College Park Airport is the oldest, continuously operated airport in the US formally established in 1909.

1932 - The ban on Nazi storm troopers was lifted by the von Papen government in Germany.

1940 - Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain became the prime minister of the Vichy government of occupied France.

1941 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the closure of all German consulates in the United States. The deadline was set as July 10.

1955 - The U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend Selective Service until 1959.

1955 - Argentine naval officers launched an attack on President Juan Peron's headquarters. The revolt was suppressed by the army.

1961 - Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Soviet Union while in Paris, traveling with the Leningrad Kirov Ballet.

1963 - 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova went into orbit aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft for three days. She was the first female space traveler.

1972 - Ulrike Meinhof was captured by West German police in Hanover. She was co-founder of the Baader-Meinhof terrorist group and the Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion).

1977 - Leonid Brezhnev was named the first Soviet president of the USSR. He was the first person to hold the post of president and Communist Party General Secretary. He replaced Nikolai Podgorny.

1978 - U.S. President Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos ratified the Panama Canal treaties.

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362 - Emperor Julian issued an edict banning Christians from teaching in Syria.

656 - Ali ibn Abu Talib elected the 4th Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.

1579 - Sir Francis Drake lands on coast of California at Drakes Bay, names it "New Albion".

1775 - The British took Bunker Hill outside of Boston. However we didn't sell the ground cheaply and while it was technically a British victory it was one which cost them heavily. British General Clinton in speaking of the battle echoed Pyrrhus of Epirus saying,"A few more such victories would have shortly put an end to British dominion in America."

1789 - The Third Estate in France declared itself a national assembly, and began to frame a constitution.

1799 - Napoleon Bonaparte incorporated Italy into his empire.

1854 - The Red Turban revolt broke out in Guangdong, China.

1856 - The Republican Party opened its first national convention in Philadelphia.

1861 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln witnessed DR Thaddeus Lowe demonstrate the use of a hydrogen balloon. DR Lowe became important in the Civil War by using his balloon to provide aerial observation of Confederate troop movements to the US Army.

1876 - General George Crook’s command was attacked and defeated on the Rosebud River by 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne under the leadership of Crazy Horse.

1885 - The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere.

1913 - U.S. Marines set sail from San Diego to protect American interests in Mexico.

1917 - The Russian Duma met in a secret session in Petrograd and voted for an immediate Russian offensive against the German Army. (World War I)

1924 - The Fascist militia marched into Rome.

1930 - The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Bill became law. It placed the highest tariff on imports to the U.S.

1932 - The U.S. Senate defeated the bonus bill as 10,000 veterans massed around the Capitol. Veterans were hosed by politicians....cue Captain Renault.

1940 - The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

1940 - France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II.

1942 - Yank, a weekly magazine for the U.S. armed services, began publication. The term "G.I. Joe" was first used in a comic strip by Dave Breger.

1950 - Dr. Richard H. Lawler performed the first kidney transplant in a 45-minute operation in Chicago, IL.

1953 - Soviet tanks fought thousands of Berlin workers that were rioting against the East German government.

1963 - The U.S. Supreme Court banned the required reading of the Lord's prayer and Bible in public schools.

1965 - Twenty-seven B-52’s hit Viet Cong outposts but lost two planes in South Vietnam.

[Cousi]

1858 - In a speech in Springfield, IL, U.S. Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved. He declared, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

I have heard - and argued against - many people who honestly think Lincoln was both a slave owner and not opposed to slavery. My understanding of Lincoln's history is that he had long been opposed to it as an institution. It frustrates the hell out of me.