226 years ago, eight mutineers aboard The Bounty tossed their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and 18 loyal crewmen into a lifeboat and set them adrift. As they made off with the ship, the mutineers, led by Fletcher Christian, dumped boxes of food into the water for the abandoned crew. No one is completely sure why […]
Fletcher Christian’s Heritage Read More »
The Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in 1986 was part of the Soviet Union, but is now in the Ukraine. On April 26, 1986 the power plant suffered a catastrophic nuclear accident, when a reactor exploded and spilled radiation across most of western Russia and into Europe. Wikipedia says this much better than I can, because I
The Worst Nuclear Accident, Ever. Read More »
The bombing of the Boston Marathon was two years ago. I’m assure this year’s event will go without a hitch, but wanted to pause and remember the injured and killed who only wanted to attend a peaceful, health-oriented and time-honored annual event.
119th Boston Marathon Read More »
This is the 102nd anniversary of the day the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank. For seventy years they couldn’t find the wreckage, but it was discovered off the coast of Newfoundland in 1985. Thanks to movies like Titanic, the Titanic is the most famous ship in history. I suspect that is because the events
Women and Children First. Read More »
This is the 401st anniversary of the wedding of Pocohontas and John Rolfe — not John Smith. Unlike the Disney version of the story, Smith was quite a bit older than Pocohontas, although she had a serious crush on him. But when she was captured by the English, John Rolfe told her Smith was dead,
Pocohontas and John Rolfe Read More »
Today, 412 years ago, the Tudor dynasty of England ended, when Elizabeth I (“the Virgin Queen”) died, leaving no heir. A distant cousin, who just happened to be the King of Scotland, stepped into the void, and James VI of Scotland became James I of England. The Tudor dynasty lasted for 118 years. The first
Long Live King James Read More »
Demonstrations in protest against the Vietnam War ranged from 1962 all the way through to the end of the war in 1975. There were protests all around the world over western involvement in the war, but the bulk of protests were held in the United States, particularly from the mid to late 1960s. Hippies originated
Where Are All The Hippies Now? Read More »
On this day in 1531, Henry VIII of England was recognized as the supreme head of the Church of England. That doesn’t sound like much, but behind that bland fact was years of negotiations with the Roman Catholic Church, political strategizing, bribes, and more, all to secure a divorce from Henry’s first wife, Catherine, so
And a Divorce is Arranged… Read More »
Today in 1974, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a US-based radical terrorist group. They held her for nearly two years and in that time, through the use of isolation, sexual assault and more, they brainwashed her into siding with their organization. When she was captured in 1976, her lawyers could not
A Classic Stockholm Syndrome Girl Read More »
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police very nearly didn’t exist. They began life in the 19th century as the North West Mounted Police, but in 1896, the new Prime Minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, decided that the NWMP should be disbanded. However, over in the west, the NWMP were becoming incredibly useful containing the excesses of the
The Mounties are 95 Years Old Read More »