1926

Today in History 08/05 (Cowra Breakout)

Cowra Prisoner of War Compound site in New South Wales, Australia (© Claver Carroll/Getty Images)(1944) More than 1,000 POWs attempt largest WWII escape
A prisoner of war camp near Cowra, Australia, is plunged into chaos as 1,100 Japanese POWs storm barbed wire fences, set fires, and attack guards. Four Australian soldiers and 231 Japanese will be killed, while some 359 POWs manage to flee before later being caught.
The Cowra breakout occurred on 5 August 1944, when at least 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war attempted to escape from a prisoner of war camp near Cowra, in New South Wales, Australia. It was the largest prison escape of World War II, as well as one of the bloodiest. During the escape and ensuing manhunt, four Australian soldiers and 231 Japanese soldiers were killed. The remaining escapees were captured and imprisoned.
Date: Aug 05, 1944

Cowra POW camp
Sourced from: http://www.awm.gov.au/database/collection.asp Copyright: The AWM record for this photo states that the copyright status is ‘clear’. The photo was taken on 1944-07-01. The AWM requests that you assist their record keeping by keeping the image number and watermark intact. Given that this image is in the public domain, it is not clear that the AWM has any legal basis to enforce their request. AWM Caption: Cowra, NSW. 1944-07-01. Japanese prisoners of war practising baseball on their sports ground near their quarters, at the 12th prisoner of war camp. These photographs were taken for the far east liaison office as a basis for propaganda leaflets to be dropped over Japnanese held islands and the Japanese mainland. No. 12 Prisoner of War Camp, Cowra, Australia. 1 July, 1944. Japanese prisoners of war practice baseball on the sportsground near their quarters, several weeks before the Cowra breakout. This photograph was taken for the Allied Far Eastern Liaison Office, with the intention of using it in propaganda leaflets, to be dropped over Japanese held islands and Japan itself. (The copyright was owned by the Australian War Memorial.
wiki/Cowra_breakout
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(1944) More than 1,000 POWs attempt largest WWII escape.
Also on this day,

1926 | A master magician, Houdini, defies death and debunks fraud
Magician Harry Houdini beats rival Rahman Bey today by remaining in a sealed casket at the bottom of a swimming pool for 91 minutes, with honest Houdini admitting the amazing feat was not accomplished with magical powers but instead his own concentration and controlled breathing.
1957 | Philadelphia’s dance show, American Bandstand, debuts on nationwide TV
A low-budget show featuring dancing teens and lip-syncing musical acts is a hit on local Philadelphia stations, and now ‘American Bandstand’ makes its US network debut on ABC. The show, with its host Dick Clark, will prove popular and enduring, lasting another 32 years.
1984 | Women’s marathon makes dramatic Olympic debut
Female runners get their ultimate test of endurance at the first Olympic women’s marathon in Los Angeles. The field includes Joan Benoit of the US, who wins the gold medal with a time of 2:24:52, and Switzerland’s Gabriela Andersen-Schiess, who completes the course despite suffering from heat stroke.

Today in History 08/05/17

Joan Benoit breaks away from the pack of women marathoners during the summer Olympics in Los Angeles on Aug 5, 1984 (© Ron Heflin/International Olympic Photography Pool/AP)(1984) Women's marathon makes dramatic Olympic debut
Female runners get their ultimate test of endurance at the first Olympic women's marathon in Los Angeles. The field includes Joan Benoit of the US, who wins the gold medal with a time of 2:24:52, and Switzerland's Gabriela Andersen-Schiess, who completes the course despite suffering from heat stroke.
The Women's Marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California was held on August 5, 1984. It was the first time a women's marathon had been held at the Olympic Games. The 50 competitors came from 28 countries. 44 finished the race. The world record holder Joan Benoit of the United States won the gold medal, with the silver medal going to the 1983 World champion Grete Waitz of Norway, and bronze to Rosa Mota of Portugal.
Date: Aug 05, 1984
Olympic Athletics

wiki/Athletics_at_the_1984_Summer_Olympics_–_Women's_marathon
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Today in History 03/16/17

Undated photo of American novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)(1850) Nathaniel Hawthorne’s morality tale arrives
Massachusetts native Nathaniel Hawthorne, having quit his job at the local customs house, sees his second novel published. The tale of adultery and redemption in Puritan America becomes an immediate bestseller.
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is an 1850 work of fiction in a historical setting, written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book is considered to be his “masterwork”. Set in 17th-century Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.
Authors: Nathaniel Hawthorne · James F. DeMaiolo
First published: 1850
ATOS reading level: 3.60
Characters: Hester Prynne · Roger Chillingworth · Arthur Dimmesdale · Pearl · Gov. Bellingham
Genres: Romanticism · Historical fiction
Adaptations: The Scarlet Letter (1995) · Easy A (2010) · The Scarlet Letter (1973) · The Scarlet Letter (1934) · The Scarlet Letter (1911) · The Scarlet Letter (1913)

wiki/The_Scarlet_Letter
American physicist Robert H. Goddard stands next to the first liquid-propelled rocket prior to its launch in Auburn, MA, March 16, 1926 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1926) First successful liquid-fueled rocket test
The Space Age edges closer when scientist Robert Goddard sends a rocket propelled by gasoline and liquid oxygen 41 feet in the air for 2.5 seconds at his Aunt Effie’s farm in Auburn, Massachusetts.
A liquid-propellant rocket or liquid rocket is a rocket engine that uses liquid propellants. Liquids are desirable because their reasonably high density allows the volume of the propellant tanks to be relatively low, and it is possible to use lightweight centrifugal turbopumps to pump the propellant from the tanks into the combustion chamber, which means that the propellants can be kept under low pressure. This permits the use of low-mass propellant tanks, resulting in a high mass ratio for the rocket.
Liquid Fuel Rocket Schematic
Inventor: Robert H. Goddard

wiki/Liquid-propellant_rocket
Women and children in My Lai, Vietnam, shortly before US soldiers shot and killed them, March 16, 1968 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)(1968) My Lai village massacre in Vietnam
US Army soldiers use machine guns and grenade launchers to kill between 347 and 504 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians, perpetrating what many will deem the worst atrocity by American forces in the war.
The Mỹ Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass killing of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968. It was committed by U.S. Army soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division. Victims included men, women, children, and infants. Some of the women were gang-raped and their bodies mutilated. Twenty-six soldiers were charged with criminal offenses, but only Lieutenant William Calley Jr., a platoon leader in C Company, was convicted. Found guilty of killing 22 villagers, he was originally given a life sentence, but served only three and a half years under house arrest.
Photo taken by United States Army photographer Ronald L. Haeberle on March 16, 1968 in the aftermath of the My Lai massacre showing mostly women and children dead on a road.
Date: Mar 16, 1968
*** NOTICE:
There are far more graphic images that were excluded for sake of sensitive audiences,
you can view them at the source – if you are so inclined.
***

wiki/My_Lai_Massacre
Terry Anderson, AP's chief correspondent, in a picture released in Beirut, May 16, 1985. Anderson was kidnapped March 16, 1985 in West Beirut. (© AP)(1985) Journalist Terry Anderson taken hostage in Beirut
The chief Mideast correspondent for the Associated Press, Terry Anderson, is kidnapped off the streets of Beirut, Lebanon, and rushed away in the trunk of a car. He will remain a hostage of Hezbollah for nearly seven years.
Terry A. Anderson is an American journalist. He reported for the Associated Press. In 1985, he was taken hostage by Shiite Hezbollah militants and held until 1991. In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio State Senate.
Born: Oct 27, 1947 (age 69) · Lorain, OH
Spouse: Madeleine Bassil
Founded: Vietnam Children’s Fund
Children: Gabrielle Anderson · Sulome Anderson
Education: Iowa State University
Highlights
  • 1965: He graduated from Batavia High School in 1965.

  • 1983: He then joined the Associated Press, serving in Asia and Africa before being assigned to Lebanon as chief Mideast correspondent in 1983.

  • 1996: His friend, Father Jenco, who died in 1996, also wrote his memoirs, Bound to Forgive, to which Anderson wrote the preface.

  • 2009: In 2009, Anderson joined the faculty of the School of Journalism at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

  • 2013: In 2013, he acted as Honorary Chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit that supports press freedom around the globe.

  • 2014: In 2014, he moved to Gainesville, Florida, to teach a course in International Journalism at the University of Florida.

wiki/Terry_A._Anderson
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