| (1703) Writer Daniel Defoe pelted with flowers for libel crime
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A pamphlet satirizing England’s High Church has gotten its author, Daniel Defoe, into trouble and leads to his arrest for seditious libel. Legend has it that his popularity provokes folks to toss blooms instead of brickbats as he’s locked in a London pillory for three days.. |
| (1715) Spanish fleet packed with treasures founders off Florida
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| Gold and silver coins worth 14 million pesos, miles of gold chains, precious jewels, and other priceless treasures bound for Europe are sent to the bottom of the briny sea when a hurricane hits off the Florida coast, sinking 11 of the dozen ships in the Spanish Treasure fleet. . |
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| (1930) Evil lurking in the hearts of men no longer unknowable
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A pulp novel vigilante armed with an ability to cloud men’s minds, ‘The Shadow debuts on the ‘Detective Story Hour,’ a popular radio program. His appeal will grow until he gets his own radio serial, which will run for 24 years, spawning one of the most well-known catchphrases in American radio history. . |
| (1970) Britain’s Royal Navy bids farewell to beloved rum rations
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| The British Royal Navy’s rum rations, or ‘daily tots,’ are poured for the last time. A popular tradition since 1655, each era saw a little less liquor poured, and although sailors are now losing but an eighth of a pint, spirited funerary processions on Black Tot Day bid goodbye to the booze. . |
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