Today in History ^03/06/17

March 6, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ

Dred Scott, circa 1830 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(1857) US Supreme Court decides on Dred Scott case

Slave Dred Scott’s appeal that he be considered free if his owner takes him to a non-slave-holding state falls in his owner’s favor. The Court holds that slaves are property, not persons, a decision that will be strongly opposed by antislavery Northerners and serve as a catalyst for the Civil War.

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393, also known simply as the Dred Scott case, was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on US labor law and constitutional law. It held that “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into, and sold as slaves”, whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court, and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. Dred Scott, an enslaved man of “the negro African race” who had been taken by his owners to free states and territories, attempted to sue for his freedom. In a 7–2 decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the court denied Scott’s request. The decision was only the second time that the Supreme Court had ruled an Act of Congress to be unconstitutional.

Start date: 1856
End date: 1857

wiki/Dred_Scott_v._Sandford

Spanish club Real Madrid's football team of 1905-06 (Public domain)

(1902) Madrid Football Club founded

The Madrid Football Club is officially founded in the Spanish capital. It will be renamed Real Madrid, and go on to be the top professional football (soccer) club of the 20th century and the most valuable sports team in the world.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply as Real outside Spain frontiers, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain.

Founded: Mar 06, 1902
Coach: Zinedine Zidane
Location: Madrid
Venue: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
League: La Liga
Founders: Adolfo Meléndez · Juan Padrós · Carlos Padrós

wiki/Real_Madrid_C.F.

Ethel Rosenberg and her husband Julius seen separated by a wire screen as they ride to separate jails in New York City on March 29, 1951 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

(1951) Julius and Ethel Rosenberg go on trial for espionage

Julius Rosenberg and his wife Ethel stand trial on the charge of spying for the Soviet Union. The couple will eventually be executed, their fate resting mainly on the testimony of Julius’ brother-in-law.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were United States citizens who were executed for conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. They were instrumental in the transmission of information about top-secret military technology and prototypes of mechanisms related to the atomic bomb, which were of value to the Soviet nuclear weapons program and also provided top-secret radar, sonar, and jet propulsion engines to the Soviet Union.

Other co-conspirators were imprisoned, including Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass, who supplied documents from Los Alamos to Julius and who served 10 years of his 15-year sentence; Harry Gold, who identified Greenglass and served 15 years in Federal prison as the courier for Greenglass; and a German scientist, Klaus Fuchs, who served nine years and four months.

For decades, many defenders of the Rosenbergs, including their sons Michael and Robert Meeropol, maintained that Julius and Ethel were innocent and victims of Cold war paranoia. After the fall of the USSR, much information concerning them was declassified, including a trove of decoded Soviet cables, code-named VENONA, which detailed Julius’s role as a courier and recruiter for the Soviets and Ethel’s role as an accessory. Their sons’ current position is that Julius was legally guilty of the conspiracy charge, though not of atomic spying, while Ethel was only generally aware of his activities. They believe that he did not deserve the death penalty and that she was wrongly convicted. They continue to campaign for Ethel to be legally exonerated.

In 2014, five historians who had published on the Rosenberg case wrote that Soviet documents show that “Ethel Rosenberg hid money and espionage paraphernalia for Julius, served as an intermediary for communications with his Soviet intelligence contacts, provided her personal evaluation of individuals Julius considered recruiting, and was present at meetings with his sources. They also demonstrate that Julius reported to the KGB that Ethel persuaded Ruth Greenglass to travel to New Mexico to recruit David as a spy.”

There is a consensus among historians that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were guilty, but their trial was marred by clear judicial and legal improprieties and they should not have been executed. Distilling this consensus, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz wrote that the Rosenbergs were “guilty – and framed”.

wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg

SR-71 Blackbird aerial reconnaissance aircraft, 1995 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(1990) The SR-71 ‘Blackbird’ flies into the history books

Pilots Ed Yielding and Joseph Vida make a transcontinental flight from Los Angeles, California, to Washington, DC, in a blistering 64 minutes and with an average speed of 2,144.8 mph, a record. Their plane is the Lockheed SR-71 ‘Blackbird,’ a long-range reconnaissance aircraft.

The Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” was a long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft that was operated by the United States Air Force. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by Lockheed and its Skunk Works division. American aerospace engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson was responsible for many of the design’s innovative concepts. During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile. The SR-71 was designed with a reduced radar cross-section.

Maximum speed: 2,193 mph (3,530 km/h)
Length: 107 feet (32.74 m)
Wingspan: 55′ 7″ (16.94 m)
Passengers: 2
Retired: 1998
Introduced: 1966

wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird

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Today in History ^12/31/16

December 31, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1857) Britain’s Queen Victoria makes Ottawa the capital of Canada

Queen Victoria follows the advice of her advisors and selects a lumber town, called Bytown, to be Canada’s capital. She chooses the outpost that will become Ottawa because its backcountry location will make it easier to defend against an American invasion and because it stands midway between Toronto and Quebec.
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It stands on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec; the two form the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area and the National Capital Region. The 2011 census reported a population of 883,391, making it the fourth-largest city in Canada; and 1,236,324 within the CMA, making it the fourth-largest CMA in Canada. The City of Ottawa reported that the city had an estimated population of 960,754 as of December 2015. Website: www.ottawa.ca Population: 883,391 (2011) Area: 1,073 sq miles (2,778 km²) Travel tip: Ottawa is a compact, clean, cleverly planned centre of culture and politics. And it’s an ideal choice for a weekend getaway. Start downtown at the architecturally stunning National … @tripadvisor Colleges and universities: University of Ottawa · Carleton University · Algonquin College · La Cité collégiale · Saint Paul University · Dominican University College · Augustine College — Source: wiki/Ottawa
(1879) Thomas Edison lights a street with his incandescent bulbs

On New Year’s Eve, American inventor Thomas Edison demonstrates his incandescent light bulbs in Menlo Park, New Jersey, by lighting a street in front of about 3,000 spectators. Edison isn’t the first to design such a light bulb, though his is the first to burn steadily for hours.
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman, who has been described as America’s greatest inventor. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Dubbed “The Wizard of Menlo Park”, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large-scale teamwork to the process of invention, and because of that, he is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory. Lived: Feb 11, 1847 – Oct 18, 1931 (age 84) Height: 5′ 10″ (1.78 m) Spouse: Mina Miller (m. 1886 – 1931) · Mary Stilwell (m. 1871 – 1884) Founded: General Electric · Edison Illuminating Company · Motion Picture Patents Company · Edison Studios · Edison Records · Edison Portland Cement Company · Edison Ore-Milling Company Inventions: Incandescent light bulb · Phonograph · Movie camera · Carbon microphone · Quadruplex telegraph · Electric power distribution · Phonograph cylinder · Mimeograph Education: Cooper Union (1875 – 1879) Highlights 1878: In 1878, Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City with several financiers, including J. P. Morgan, Spencer Trask, and the members of the Vanderbilt family. 1884: Lewis Latimer joined the Edison Electric Light Company in 1884. 1884: Nikola Tesla – electrical engineer and inventor, worked at the Edison Machine Works in 1884 1886: On February 24, 1886, at the age of thirty-nine, Edison married the 20-year-old Mina Miller (1865–1947) in Akron, Ohio. 1887: Kunihiko Iwadare – joined Edison Machine Works in 1887 1892: After protracted patent litigation, in 1892 a federal court ruled that Edison and not Emile Berliner was the inventor of the carbon microphone. — Source: wiki/Thomas_Edison
(1946) US President Truman officially ends hostilities in World War II

Truman signs the Presidential Proclamation 2714 to officially cease all hostilities in World War II, more than a year after combat ended in Europe and the Pacific. But the state of war against Germany and Japan will continue until 1951 so that Allies can keep troops in these countries.
Presidential Proclamation 2714 was signed by President Harry S. Truman on December 31, 1946, to officially declare the cessation of all hostilities in World War II. Even though the actual combat of the war ended May 8, 1945, in Europe and September 2, 1945, in the Pacific, the state of war was not lifted off of Japan and Germany in order to give a reason for the necessity of occupation troops in these countries. Once the War Crimes Trials were over, the hostilities were seen as over. The signing of Proclamation 2714 is the reason why the U.S. recognizes its World War II veterans as anyone who has served between the dates of December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946. — Source: wiki/Proclamation_2714
(1985) Singer Ricky Nelson dies in plane crash

Traveling to Dallas, Texas, to perform in New Year’s Eve concert, the 45-year-old singer, actor, ex-teen idol, and son of Ozzie and Harriet, is on a chartered DC-3 when the cockpit fills with smoke. All seven passengers will die in the emergency landing, though the pilots will survive.
Ricky Nelson was an American actor, musician and singer-songwriter. He starred alongside his family in the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as well as co-starring alongside John Wayne and Dean Martin in Howard Hawks’s western feature film Rio Bravo. He placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973 including “Poor Little Fool”, which holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on Billboard magazine’s then-newly created Hot 100 chart. He recorded 19 additional Top 10 hits and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987. In 1996, he was ranked #49 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. Lived: May 08, 1940 – Dec 31, 1985 (age 45) Height: 5′ 11″ (1.80 m) Spouse: Kristin Nelson (m. 1963 – 1982) Partner: Helen Blair (1982 – 1985) Children: Tracy Nelson (Daughter) · Gunnar Nelson (Son) · Matthew Nelson (Son) · Sam Nelson (Son) · Eric Jude Crewe (Son) Siblings: David Nelson (Brother) — Source: wiki/Ricky_Nelson — IMDB: www.imdb.com/name/nm0625699/
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Today in History ^10/24/16

October 24, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1260) French Gothic architecture soars heavenward in Chartres

	Workers broke ground 115 years before, and now the Chartres Cathedral is finally consecrated. The Gothic church will stand through the ages as a magnificent achievement, despite lightning damage, having its roof melted down for bullets, and being slated for destruction by Allied forces in WWII. .
Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, is a Gothic Catholic cathedral of the Latin Church located in Chartres, France, about 80 kilometres southwest of Paris. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1250, is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century. Address: 16 cloitre Notre-Dame, 28000 Chartres Phone: 33 2 37 21 75 02 Opened: 1220 Architectural styles: Gothic architecture · French Gothic architecture Height: 371 feet (113 m) (Architectural) — Source: wiki/Chartres_Cathedral
(1648) A balance of power arrives to calm a war-torn Europe

Stretching for three brutal decades and encompassing almost the entirety of Europe, what began as a struggle between Catholics and Protestants metastasized into an all-out territorial power grab, and now the conflict finally finds resolution as the Peace of Westphalia treaties are signed. .
The Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) began when Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Bohemia attempted to curtail the religious activities of his subjects, sparking rebellion among Protestants. The war came to involve the major powers of Europe, with Sweden, France, Spain and Austria all waging campaigns primarily on German soil. Known in part for the atrocities committed by mercenary soldiers, the war ended with a series of treaties that made up the Peace of Westphalia. The fallout reshaped the religious and political map of central Europe, setting the stage for the old centralized Roman Catholic empire to give way to a community of sovereign states. Start date: May 23, 1618 End date: May 15, 1648 — Source: www.history.com/topics/thirty-years-war
(1857) The world’s most popular sport kicks off in Sheffield

	Sheffield is a goliath of steel manufacturing in South Yorkshire, England, and now claims the world’s first football team, as Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest meet to form the Sheffield Football Club. The sport will kick around Britain awhile before scoring worldwide popularity..
Sheffield F.C. is an English football club from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. They play in the Northern Premier League Division One South, at level 8 of the English football league system. Founded in 1857, the club is the oldest club now playing association football. Sheffield F.C. initially played games under the Sheffield rules and did not officially adopt the FA rules until 1878. The club competes in the Rules derby with near neighbours Hallam. In 2004 they were given the FIFA Order of Merit – an award given to only one other club: Real Madrid – and in 2007 they were inducted into the English football hall of fame, to commemorate their 150th anniversary. On the pitch, the club’s finest hour came in 1904 when they won the FA Amateur Cup, a competition conceived after a suggestion by Sheffield. They also finished as runners up of the FA Vase in 1977. Founded: 24 October 1857 — Source: wiki/Sheffield_F.C.
(1962) The Godfather of Soul captures lightning in a bottle

His studio cuts can be mind-blowing, but James Brown and his fans know there’s nothing like seeing the R&B dynamo live, fronting his Famous Flames. When a recording of tonight’s session at the Apollo Theater in Harlem is released as an album, it will rocket up the charts..
Live at the Apollo is a live album by James Brown and the Famous Flames, recorded at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and released in 1963. In 2003, the album was ranked number 25 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2004, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. Release year: 1963 Genre: R&B / Soul, R&B Label: Universal Motown Records Group Artist: James Brown — Source: wiki/Live_at_the_Apollo_(1963_album)
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A Historical Day

May 11, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(868) Book printed in China
	Pre-dating the Gutenberg Bible by almost six centuries, a copy of the Buddhist ‘Diamond Sutra’ is created by woodblock printing on a 16-foot-long scroll and affixed with an exact date. The work will survive to become the oldest known printed and dated text in existence..
(1647) Stuyvesant arrives to run North American Dutch settlement
Peter Stuyvesant, of The Dutch West India Company, arrives in the New Netherland colony to take up his position as Director-General. He will head projects that include precursors to Wall Street and Broadway before turning over the colony to the English in 1664, who then rename the colony ‘New York.’ .
(1812) British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval assassinated
	Spencer Perceval’s meteoric rise in politics ends as a lone gunman, angry over perceived governmental injustices, enters the British House of Commons lobby and kills the prime minister with a single shot to the chest. The assassin, John Bellingham, will be hanged a week later. .
(1857) Delhi is captured during India’s First War of Independence
What began just the day before as a mutiny of native sepoys (Indian soldiers) in the British East India Company spreads to Delhi where rebels gain control of the city from the British. The Indian Rebellion will ultimately be put down, but foreshadows the British Empire’s demise on the subcontinent..