1940

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Today in History 07/10/17

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Two German Luftwaffe bombers return from an attack against the British south coast during the Battle of Britain in 1940 (© AP)(1940) Germany’s Luftwaffe launches air attacks on Britain
Britons begin watching the skies as Hitler unleashes the destructive force of the Luftwaffe’s aerial bombers against Germany’s final unconquered European foe in the ‘Kanalkampf,’ or Channel battles. The Battle of Britain will move inland with raids on cities and civilians just two months later.
The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, when the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against the German Air Force attacks from the end of June 1940. It is described as the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise its duration as from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps with the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, while German historians do not accept this subdivision and regard it as a campaign lasting from July 1940 to June 1941.
Start date: Jul 10, 1940
End date: Oct 31, 1940

wiki/Battle_of_Britain
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Today in History 07/03/17

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The French warship Bretagne is shown partly submerged and enveloped in smoke after being attacked by British warships on July 3, 1940 (© Central Press/Getty Images)(1940) Britain destroys French ships to keep them from Germany
With France in the hands of the Nazi-collaborating Vichy government, Great Britain launches an air-and-sea attack to prevent the Germans from capturing a flotilla of battleships and other French Navy armaments. In the scuttling, 1,200 sailors die and three battleships are destroyed.
The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, part of Operation Catapult and also known as the Battle of Mers-el-Kébir, was a British naval bombardment of the French Navy at its base at Mers El Kébir on the coast of French Algeria on 3 July 1940. The raid resulted in the deaths of 1,297 French servicemen, the sinking of a battleship and the damaging of five other ships.
Date: Jul 03, 1940

wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-K%C3%A9bir
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Today in History 06/10/17

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The Oxford boat on the Thames during the first ever Boat Race between the Oxford and Cambridge university boat clubs, June 10, 1829 (© Edward Gooch/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)(1829) First Oxford-Cambridge boat race plies the Thames
Cambridge student Charles Merivale and his friend, Oxford’s Charles Wordsworth, devise a competition to determine which of the two premier British universities boasts the best rowers. The Boat Race will become immensely popular, attracting 250,000 or more spectators annually.
The Boat Race is an annual rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between men’s open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
wiki/The_Boat_Race
Undated handout photo of Bill Wilson, Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder (© Craig Line/AP)(1935) An addict takes his last drink and a support group is born
Dr. Bob Smith has a beer to calm himself before performing surgery, and thanks to the help of his new friend Bill Wilson, it will be his final drink of alcohol. The fellow alcoholics have come together to kick their addiction, and their collaboration will form Alcoholics Anonymous.
Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith. Subsequently, The history of Alcoholics Anonymous has been documented in books, movies, and AA literature. This history begins with the group’s early struggles and continues through its worldwide growth.
Founded: 1935

wiki/History_of_Alcoholics_Anonymous
Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini reviews Italian troops standing in line beneath massed artillery near the Yugoslav Frontier at Fiume on Nov 4, 1940 (© AP)(1940) Italy enters WWII on the Axis side
Five years after invading Ethiopia and leaving the League of Nations because of it, the Kingdom of Italy, under Benito Mussolini’s rule, declares war on Britain and France. Italy joins Germany and Japan as a WWII Axis power, and will be the first to fall to an Allied offensive.
The participation of Italy in the Second World War was characterized by a complex framework of ideology, politics, and diplomacy, where in its military actions were often heavily influenced by external factors. The imperial ambitions of the Fascist regime, which aspired to restore a “Roman Empire” in the Mediterranean (their Mare Nostrum), were partially met with the annexation of Albania and the Province of Ljubljana, and the occupation of British Somaliland and other territories, but ultimately collapsed after defeats in the East and North African campaigns, and the fall of Italy to the Allies at the end of the Italian campaign. In 1943 Benito Mussolini was ousted and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III, provoking a civil war. The northern half of the country was occupied by Germans and made a collaborationist puppet state (with more than 600,000 soldiers), while the south was governed by monarchist and liberal forces, which fought for the Allied cause in the Italian Co-Belligerent Army (at its height numbering more than 50,000 men), helped by circa 350,000 partisans of disparate political ideologies that operated all over occupied Italy.
wiki/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II
Members of the 'Sopranos' cast (© Kevork Djansezian/AP Photo)(2007) ‘The Sopranos’ ends, not with a bang
HBO’s crime-family drama wraps up its sixth and final season with the closing scene abruptly cutting to black. The ending will leave many of the show’s 12 million viewers puzzled as to whether lead character Tony Soprano is dead or alive—or wondering if their cable got whacked.
An innovative look at the life of fictional Mafia Capo Tony Soprano, this serial is presented largely first person, but additional perspective is conveyed by the intimate conversations Tony has with his psychotherapist. We see Tony at work, at home, and in therapy. Moments of black comedy intersperse this aggressive, adult drama, with adult language, and extreme violence.
First episode: Jan 10, 1999
Theme song: Woke Up This Morning
Episode duration: 75 minutes
Creator: David Chase
Producers: David Chase · Matthew Weiner · Terence Winter · Brad Grey · Robin Green · Mitchell Burgess
Awards: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series · Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

wiki/The_Sopranos
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Today in History 04/07/17

Queen Matilda And Her Tapestry.' Matilda, queen consort of the Kingdom of England and the wife of William the Conqueror, is supposed to have worked on the Bayeux Tapestry. (© Print Collector/Getty Images)(1141) England’s first female ruler takes the throne
Empress Matilda begins a seven-month reign during a chaotic period in England and Normandy known as The Anarchy. Although angry crowds stop her from being crowned queen, she will hold the title Lady of the English, and her son will become King Henry II.
Empress Matilda, also known as the Empress Maude, was the claimant to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as a child when she married the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. She travelled with her husband into Italy in 1116, was controversially crowned in St. Peter’s Basilica, and acted as the imperial regent in Italy. Matilda and Henry had no children, and when Henry died in 1125, the crown was claimed by Lothair II, one of his political enemies.
Lived: Feb 07, 1102 – Sep 10, 1167 (age 65)
Spouse: Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou (m. 1128 – 1151) · Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (m. 1114 – 1125)
Children: Henry II of England (Son) · Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (Son) · William FitzEmpress (Son)
Parents: Henry I of England (Father) · Matilda of Scotland (Mother)
Buried: Rouen Cathedral
Siblings: William Adelin (Brother) · Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (Brother)
Highlights
  • 1118: William and Matilda’s mother – Matilda of Scotland – had died in 1118, and so Henry took a new wife, Adeliza of Louvain.

  • 1128: Henry knighted his future son-in-law, and Matilda and Geoffrey were married a week later on 17 June 1128 in Le Mans by the bishops of Le Mans and Séez.

  • 1135: Henry died in 1135 but Matilda and Geoffrey faced opposition from the Norman barons and were unable to pursue their claims.

  • 1137: Stephen returned to the Duchy in 1137, where he met with Louis VI and Theobald to agree to an informal alliance against Geoffrey and Matilda, to counter the growing Angevin power in the region.

  • 1139: In 1139 Matilda crossed to England to take the kingdom by force, supported by her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and her uncle, King David I of Scotland, while Geoffrey focused on conquering Normandy.

  • 1167: She was buried under the high altar at Bec Abbey after her death in 1167.

wiki/Empress_Matilda
Currier & Ives print of the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing (Battle of Shiloh), Tennessee, April 7, 1862 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)(1862) Grant claims major Civil War victory at Shiloh
Casualties numbering 23,000 result from two days of fighting in southwestern Tennessee between Union and Confederate forces, in the bloodiest American conflict to date. Although Gen. Ulysses S. Grant can claim an important Union win, the carnage shocks both sides.
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union force known as the Army of the Tennessee under Major General Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee on the west bank of that river, where the Confederate Army of Mississippi, under General Albert Sidney Johnston and second-in-command Pierre G. T. Beauregard, launched a surprise attack on Grant’s army from its base in Corinth, Mississippi. Johnston was mortally wounded during the fighting; Beauregard, who thus succeeded to command of the army, decided against pressing the attack late in the evening. Overnight Grant was reinforced by one of his own divisions stationed further north and was joined by three divisions from another Union army under Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell. This allowed them to launch an unexpected counterattack the next morning which completely reversed the Confederate gains of the previous day.
Start date: Apr 06, 1862
End date: Apr 07, 1862

wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh
Booker T. Washington 10-cent stamp (© Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum)(1940) US issues first stamp to honor an African American
Educator, public speaker, presidential advisor, and one of the most influential black civil rights leaders in the post-Reconstruction South, Booker T. Washington appears on a commemorative postage stamp issued 25 years after his death.
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and advisor to presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American community.
Lived: Apr 05, 1856 – Nov 14, 1915 (age 59)
Spouse: Olivia A. Davidson (m. 1886 – 1889)
Founded: Tuskegee University · National Negro Business League · Calhoun Colored School
Education: Hampton University · Wayland Seminary (1878 – 1879)
Parents: Jane Ferguson (Mother)
Children: Ernest Davidson Washington (Son) · Portia M. Washington · Booker T. Washington Jr.
Highlights
  • 1878: He also attended Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 1878 and left after 6 months.

  • 1881: In 1881, the Hampton Institute president Samuel C. Armstrong recommended Washington to become the first leader of Tuskegee Institute, the new normal school (teachers’ college) in Alabama.

  • 1886: Booker T. Washington married Olivia A. Davidson in 1886; their marriage lasted 3 years till 1889.

  • 1900: ACHIEVEIn an effort to inspire the “commercial, agricultural, educational, and industrial advancement” of African Americans, Washington founded the National Negro Business League (NNBL) in 1900.MENT

  • 1901: When Washington’s second autobiography, Up From Slavery, was published in 1901, it became a bestseller and had a major effect on the African-American community, its friends and allies.

  • 1915: He led the school until his death in 1915.

wiki/Booker_T._Washington
Tutsi civilians, seeking refuge from Hutu militias, queue for food inside the Sacred Family Church in the government controlled part of Kigali, Rwanda May 20, 1994 (© Corinne Dufka/Reuters)(1994) Rwandan Genocide begins
In the aftermath of the Rwandan Civil War, conflicts in the African nation continue, reaching a flash point when ethnic Hutu forces kill Belgian peacekeepers and launch a genocidal campaign against their neighbors, the Tutsi. Roughly 800,000 will die in the largest genocide since World War II.
The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, was a genocidal mass slaughter of Tutsi in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority government. An estimated more than 800,000 Rwandans were killed during the 100-day period from April 7 to mid-July 1994, constituting as many as 70% to 80% of the Tutsi population. Additionally, 30% of the Pygmy Batwa were killed. The genocide and widespread slaughter of Rwandans ended when the Tutsi-backed and heavily armed Rwandan Patriotic Front led by Paul Kagame took control of the country. An estimated 2,000,000 Rwandans, mostly Hutus, were displaced and became refugees.
Start date: Apr 07, 1994
End date: Jul 15, 1994

wiki/Rwandan_genocide
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Today in History 12/29/16

Today in History
(1170) Archbishop Thomas Becket is murdered after king’s comment
Death of Thomas Beckett. Thomas Becket, 1118 – 29 December 1170. Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)
When four knights hear King Henry II utter something like, “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?,” they take it as a request to kill Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The knights confront and kill Becket at Canterbury Cathedral, shocking Christians, who canonize Becket just three years later.

Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III.

Born: Dec 21, 1118 · London, England
Related movies: Becket
Buried: Canterbury Cathedral
Education: Merton Priory · University of Paris
Parents: Matilda Becket (Mother) · Gilbert Becket (Father)

Highlights

  • 1154: Theobald in 1154 named Becket Archdeacon of Canterbury, and other ecclesiastical offices included a number of benefices, prebends at Lincoln Cathedral and St Paul’s Cathedral, and the office of Provost of Beverley.

  • 1155: His efficiency in those posts led to Theobald recommending him to King Henry II for the vacant post of Lord Chancellor, to which Becket was appointed in January 1155.

  • 1162: Becket was nominated as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, several months after the death of Theobald.

  • 1162: His election was confirmed on 23 May 1162 by a royal council of bishops and noblemen.

  • 1163: Attempts by Henry to influence the other bishops against Becket began in Westminster in October 1163, where the King sought approval of the traditional rights of the royal government in regard to the church.

  • 1164: Henry summoned Becket to appear before a great council at Northampton Castle on 8 October 1164, to answer allegations of contempt of royal authority and malfeasance in the Chancellor’s office.

— Source: wiki/Thomas_Becket
(1890) US troops massacre Indians at Wounded Knee
November 1940: A sign at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre, South Dakota, where 250 American Indians were killed in 1890. (Photo by John Vachon/Library Of Congress/Getty Images)
When a detachment of the US 7th Cavalry tries to disarm a band of Lakota Sioux, led by peace-seeking Spotted Elk, near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, a gun goes off in a scuffle and the cavalry opens fire. More than 200 Lakota men, women, and children will be killed.

The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The previous day, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M. Whitside intercepted Spotted Elk’s band of Miniconjou Lakota and 38 Hunkpapa Lakota near Porcupine Butte and escorted them 5 miles westward to Wounded Knee Creek, where they made camp. The remainder of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, led by Colonel James W. Forsyth, arrived and surrounded the encampment. The regiment was supported by a battery of four Hotchkiss mountain guns.

Date: Dec 28, 1890

— Source: wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre
(1940) The Blitz delivers the Second Great Fire of London
(GERMANY OUT) 2.WW, Air War: Battle of Britain (07.40-05.41) Burning inner city of London after german air raid of dec.12.1940 - center: St. paul's cathedral. / Blitz (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Germany firebombs London with more than 24,000 high explosive bombs and 100,000 incendiary bombs in one of its most aggressive attacks on the city, setting London afire. Firefighters work amid the dropping bombs and are able to save some of the city’s landmarks, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, from total destruction.

The “Second Great Fire of London” is a name used at the time to refer to one of the most destructive air raids of the London Blitz, over the night of 29/30 December 1940. Between 6 pm and the early hours of the morning, more than 24,000 high explosive bombs and 100,000 incendiary bombs were dropped. The raid and the subsequent fire destroyed many Livery Halls and City churches and gutted the medieval Great Hall of the City’s Guildhall.

Date: Dec 29, 1940

— Source: wiki/Second_Great_Fire_of_London
(1998) Khmer Rouge leaders apologize for Cambodia genocide
Former Khmer Rouge leaders Khieu Samphan, gestures while saying he is very sorry to Cambodians, as Nuon Chea listens in the background, during a news conference in Phnom Penh on Tuesday Dec. 29, 1998. The two top Khmer Rouge leaders long wanted for genocide arrived by military helicopter at a base outside the capital to meet Hun Sen, who has ruled out putting them on trial. (AP Photo/Ou Neakiry)
At a news conference, a Khmer Rouge leader whispers he is “sorry, very sorry” for the group’s murderous campaign to cleanse Cambodia of undesirables, including intellectuals and capitalists. The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, ruled Cambodia from 1975-’79 and sought to create an agrarian society.

Khmers rouges, more commonly known in English as Khmer Rouge was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in Cambodia. It was formed in 1968 as an offshoot of the Vietnam People’s Army from North Vietnam, and allied with North Vietnam, the Viet Cong, and Pathet Lao during the Vietnam War against the anti-communist forces from 1968 to 1975. Khmer Rouge emerged victorious in the Cambodian Civil War, overthrew the military dictatorship of the Khmer Republic and installed their own government Democratic Kampuchea in 1975, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, and Khieu Samphan. This was followed by the Cambodian genocide from 1975 until 1979, when Khmer Rouge was finally removed from power by Vietnam in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. The military power of the Khmer Rouge organization was not broken however, and a long era of guerilla warfare involving large swaths of the Cambodian countryside began. Many different military factions were involved in the guerilla war era and it ended around 1994.

Founded: 1968

— Source: wiki/Khmer_Rouge
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