Today in History ^11/04 (Iran Hostage Crisis)

November 4, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

One of the hostages seized when radicals stormed the US embassy in Tehran with hostage takers on November 9, 1979 (© AP)

(1979) Militants storm US Embassy in Tehran, take US hostages

The militants demand the US return the Shah of Iran, who’d fled after being overthrown in the Islamic Revolution. US President Carter refuses to “yield to blackmail” and imposes an Iran oil embargo. The hostages will remain in captivity for 444 days.

The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic standoff between Iran and the United States of America. Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, after a group of Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. It stands as the longest hostage crisis in recorded history.

Start date: Nov 04, 1979
End date: Jan 20, 1981

Iran hostage crisis – Iraninan students comes up U.S. embassy in Tehran
wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis

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(1979) Militants storm US Embassy in Tehran, take US hostages.
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1922 | Tut’s tomb discovered as British archeologist finds the entrance to King Tut’s tomb

After years of scouring the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, archeologist Howard Carter unearths hidden steps down to the sealed tomb of King Tutankhamun, the boy king. When he unseals the tomb in a few months, it will turn out to be remarkably intact, its riches hidden for over 3,000 years.

1928 | Fatal shooting in NYC as NY gambler, racketeer Arnold ‘the brain’ Rothstein shot

Arnold ‘the Brain’ Rothstein, a businessman and gambler known as a leader of the Jewish mob and tied to fixing sporting events, is shot at a Manhattan hotel. The shooting is reportedly related to debts from a poker game. He will die from his wounds two days later.

2008 | Barack Obama elected first black president in US

After a tough primary race against Hillary Clinton, Obama beats John McCain in the general election and makes history as the first African-American president. Obama’s promise of hope and his slogan “Change We Can Believe In” seem to register with voters, who give him a decisive victory.

Today in History ^11/04/17

President-elect Barack Obama gives his victory speech to supporters during an election night gathering in Grant Park on November 4, 2008, in Chicago (© Scott Olson/Getty Images)

(2008) Barack Obama elected first black president in US

After a tough primary race against Hillary Clinton, Obama beats John McCain in the general election and makes history as the first African-American president. Obama's promise of hope and his slogan "Change We Can Believe In" seem to register with voters, who give him a decisive victory.

The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Democratic Party nominees Barack Obama, a U.S. Senator from Illinois, and his running mate Joe Biden, a long-time U.S. Senator from Delaware, defeated Republican Party nominees John McCain, a long-time and current U.S. Senator from Arizona, and his running mate Sarah Palin, a Governor of Alaska. Obama became the first African American ever to be elected president of the United States, and Joe Biden became the first Roman Catholic ever elected vice president.

Election year: Nov 04, 2008

Presidential election results map. Blue denotes those won by Obama/Biden, red denotes states won by McCain/Palin. Numbers indicate electoral votes allotted to the winner of each state.

wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2008

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Today in History ^10/17 (Loma Prieta Earthquake)

October 17, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Workers check the damage to Interstate 880 in Oakland, California on October 19, 1989, after it collapsed during the Loma Prieta earthquake two days earlier (© Paul Sakuma/AP)

(1989) San Francisco Bay Area rocked by major quake

Just minutes before Game 3 of the World Series is scheduled to start in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, a violent earthquake hits Northern California, severely pounding the San Francisco Bay Area. The quake collapses bridges and freeways, causes $7 billion in damage, nearly 4,000 injuries, and 67 deaths.

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred in Northern California on October 17 at 5:04 p.m. local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park approximately 10 mi northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of the San Andreas Fault System and was named for the nearby Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. With a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX, the shock was responsible for 63 deaths and 3,757 injuries. The Loma Prieta segment of the San Andreas Fault System had been relatively inactive since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake until two moderate foreshocks occurred in June 1988 and again in August 1989.

Date: Oct 17, 1989
Areas affected: Central Coast (California), San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Depth: 12 mi (19 km)
Max. intensity: IX (Violent)
Total damage: $5.6–6 billion

One person died when a five-story tower collapsed at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Santa Clara County.
wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake

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(1989) San Francisco Bay Area rocked by major quake.
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1860 | 1st Open Championship as golfers play a new tournament near Glasgow

A single-day championship is held near Glasgow, Scotland at Prestwick Golf Club, a 12-hole course hosting eight professional golfers for a three-round game to determine the winner of The Open. The tournament will become the oldest in golfing and be known in the US as the British Open.

1931 | A Chicago mobster’s criminal career ends with taxes due as Al Capone convicted

Brooklyn native Al Capone is brought to justice after a violent criminal career, but it’s not a rival’s bullets or a murder conviction that finally does him in. The 32-year-old known as ‘Scarface’ is convicted on tax evasion charges and sentenced to a prison term of 11 years.

1979 | Spreadsheets come to personal computers as VisiCalc released

Personal computers get down to business as VisiCalc is released for the Apple II. It will go on to sell about a million copies, with versions for the IBM PC and other platforms added in the coming years. The day will later be known as National Spreadsheet Day.

Today in History ^10/17/17

Chicago crime boss Al Capone, left, wearing white hat, as he leaves the courtroom in Chicago on October 12, 1931 (© AP)

(1931) A Chicago mobster's criminal career ends with taxes due

Brooklyn native Al Capone is brought to justice after a violent criminal career, but it's not a rival's bullets or a murder conviction that finally does him in. The 32-year-old known as 'Scarface' is convicted on tax evasion charges and sentenced to a prison term of 11 years.

Alphonse Gabriel Capone, sometimes known by the nickname Scarface, was an American mobster, crime boss, and businessman who attained fame during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit. His seven-year reign as crime boss ended when he was 33 years old.

Lived: Jan 17, 1899 - Jan 25, 1947 (age 48)
Height: 5' 10" (1.79 m)
Spouse: Mae Capone (m. 1918 - 1947)
TV shows: The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults
Children: Albert Francis Capone (Son)
Buried: Mount Carmel Cemetery

Capone's FBI criminal record in 1932, showing most of his criminal charges were discharged/dismissed
Highlights
1918: Capone married Mae Josephine Coughlin at age 19 on December 30, 1918.

1920: Torrio took over Colosimo's crime empire after Colosimo's murder on May 11, 1920, in which Capone was suspected of being involved.

1926: On September 20, 1926, the North Side Gang used a ploy outside the Capone headquarters at the Hawthorne Inn, aimed at drawing him to the windows.

1927: In January 1927, the Hawthorne's restaurant owner, a friend of Capone's, was kidnapped and killed by Moran and Drucci.

1931: An indication of the attitude of local law enforcement to Capone's organization came in 1931 when Belcastro was wounded in a shooting; police suggested to skeptical journalists that Belcastro was an independent operator.

1947: On January 25, 1947, Capone died of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.

wiki/Al_Capone

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Today in History ^10/12 (Christopher Columbus)

October 12, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Engraving from 1876 depicting Christopher Columbus approaching San Salvador in 1492 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

(1492) Columbus, having sailed the ocean blue, arrives in North America

Rodrigo de Triana shouts from his lookout atop his ship the ‘Pinta’ that he’s spotted land after five weeks of an open-ocean crossing. The Italian leader of this Spanish-funded voyage, Christopher Columbus, will name the area of their first North American landfall ‘San Salvador.’

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonist who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. He led the first European expeditions to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, initiating the permanent European colonization of the Americas.

Lived: Oct 31, 1451 – May 20, 1506 (age 54)
Height: 6′ 0″
Spouse: Filipa Moniz Perestrelo (m. 1479)
Partner: Beatriz Enríquez de Arana (1487 – 1506)
Children: Ferdinand Columbus (Son) · Diego Columbus (Son)
Buried: Seville Cathedral
Highlights
1479: Christopher Columbus married Filipa Moniz Perestrelo in 1479.

1492: During his first voyage in 1492, the brisk trade winds from the east, commonly called “easterlies”, propelled Columbus’s fleet for five weeks, from the Canary Islands to The Bahamas.

1493: On 13 January 1493, Columbus made his last stop of this voyage in the New World, in the Bay of Rincón at the eastern end of the Samaná Peninsula in northeast Hispaniola.

1500: Columbus’s strained relationship with the Spanish crown and its appointed colonial administrators in America led to his arrest and removal from Hispaniola in 1500, and later to protracted litigation over the benefits that he and his heirs claimed were owed to them by the crown.

1502: Accompanied by his brother Bartolomeo and his 13-year-old son Fernando, he left Cádiz on 11 May 1502, with his flagship Santa María and the vessels Gallega, Vizcaína, and Santiago de Palos.

1506: On 20 May 1506, aged probably 54, Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain.

Christopher Colombus map. Lisbon, workshop of Bartolomeo and Christopher Colombus, c.1490

“Columbus map”, drawn c. 1490 in the Lisbon workshop of Bartolomeo and Christopher Columbus
wiki/Christopher_Columbus

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(1492) Columbus, having sailed the ocean blue, arrives in North America.
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1810 | 1st Oktoberfest as wedding party in Munich launches a Bavarian beer fest

Crown Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen throw a wedding party, and all of Munich, Germany is invited. The party is a hit, and festivities will be repeated a year later, starting an annual tradition of suds, song, and sauerkraut called Oktoberfest.

1979 | ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide’ answers the ultimate question…

Douglas Adams’ novel based on his radio show spoofs the sci-fi genre with a humorous, surreal travelogue. Adams will publish four more books in the ‘increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker’s Trilogy.’ The franchise will also include stage shows , comic books, a TV series, computer game, and movie.

2000 | Terrorists attack an American navy ship, USS Cole, docked in Yemen

Upwards of 700 pounds of explosives blast a 40-by-60-foot hole into the port side of the USS Cole as it’s docked in Aden, Yemen. Seventeen sailors will die and 40 are wounded in the bombing of the US Navy vessel, and authorities will suspect the terrorist group al-Qaeda is behind the attack.

Today in History ^10/12/17

Experts examine the USS Cole on October 13, 2000, after a powerful explosion ripped a hole in the US Navy destroyer (© Dimitri Messinis/AP)

(2000) Terrorists attack an American navy ship docked in Yemen

Upwards of 700 pounds of explosives blast a 40-by-60-foot hole into the port side of the USS Cole as it's docked in Aden, Yemen. Seventeen sailors will die and 40 are wounded in the bombing of the US Navy vessel, and authorities will suspect the terrorist group al-Qaeda is behind the attack.

The USS Cole bombing was a terrorist attack against the United States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole on 12 October 2000, while it was being refueled in Yemen's Aden harbor. Seventeen American sailors were killed and 39 injured in the deadliest attack against a United States naval vessel since 1987.

Date: Oct 12, 2000

USS Cole after the attack

wiki/USS_Cole_bombing

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Today in History ^09/07 (Brazil Independence)

September 7, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

The announcement of Brazilian Independence from Portugal (© Revista de Historia da Biblioteca National)

(1822) Brazil declares independence from Portugal

Prince Dom Pedro declares Brazil’s independence from Portugal in a dramatic fashion, unsheathing his sword and announcing, ‘For my blood, my honor, my God, I swear to give Brazil freedom.’ A few weeks later, he will be crowned Pedro I, though a formal treaty won’t come for three years.

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers and with over 208 million people, Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest country by area and the sixth most populous. The capital is Brasília, and the most populated city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, and the 5,570 municipalities. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas, besides being one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to the strong immigration from various places in the world.

Founded: Sep 07, 1822
GDP: $2.14 trillion USD (2018)
Population: 209.29 million (2017)
Calling code: 55
Area: 3.29 million sq miles
Travel tip: The wealth of flora and fauna and opportunities to observe them are unparalleled in the Amazon. Riverboats ply the waters of this fascinating wilderness, home to pink river dolphins, clamorous howler monkeys and raucous toucans. Photograph your adventure, run the rapids or stalk elusive jaguars by night. @tripadvisor

Prince Pedro is surrounded by a cheering crowd in São Paulo after giving the news of the Brazilian independence on 7 September 1822
wiki/Brazil

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(1822) Brazil declares independence from Portugal.
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1940 | Nazi Germany unleashes a blitzkrieg on London

Bombs rain down on the British capital in a ‘lightning war,’ or ‘blitzkrieg,’ a favored tactic for the intimidation of Germany’s enemies. And while Hitler’s Luftwaffe will keep up the relentless attack for more than eight months, London’s populace will rise to the challenge of the Blitz.

1963 | Football gets into the fame game

Canton, Ohio, birthplace of the National Football League, opens the Pro Football Hall of Fame in homage to a sport that’s really catching on with the American public. Seventeen of the best players are inducted in the first ceremony, including Red Grange, Curly Lambeau, and Jim Thorpe.

1979 | Cable viewers get an all-sports network as ESPN launches

‘If you love sports…if you really love sports, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to sports heaven.’ With those words, anchor Lee Leonard introduces the small cable TV audience to the ESPN network and its highlights show, ‘SportsCenter,’ followed by a slow-pitch softball game.

Today in History ^09/07/17

The effects of the first big concerted attack of the German air force in London, Sept 7, 1940 (© AP)

(1940) Nazi Germany unleashes a blitzkrieg on London

Bombs rain down on the British capital in a 'lightning war,' or 'blitzkrieg,' a favored tactic for the intimidation of Germany's enemies. And while Hitler's Luftwaffe will keep up the relentless attack for more than eight months, London's populace will rise to the challenge of the Blitz.

The Blitz refers to bombing by the Luftwaffe over Britain in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press as an abbreviation of Blitzkrieg. The Germans conducted a mass air offensive against industrial targets, towns and cities, which began with raids on London towards the end of the Battle of Britain, a battle for air superiority over the United Kingdom. By September 1940 the Luftwaffe had failed to gain air superiority and the German air fleets were ordered to attack London, to draw RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation. Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, ordered the new policy on 6 September 1940. From 7 September 1940, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 out of the following 57 days and nights. In a large daylight attack against London on 15 September, many German aircraft were shot down.

Start date: Sep 07, 1940
End date: May 10, 1941

Air Raid Damage in Britain during the Second World War St Paul's Cathedral, rising above the bombed London skyline, is shrouded in smoke during the Blitz. The photograph was taken from the roof of the Daily Mail offices in Fleet Street

wiki/The_Blitz

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Today in History ^07/17 (Battle of Castillon)

July 17, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ

Painting depicting the Battle of Castillon (1453) by the French painter Charles-Philippe Larivière (© Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

(1453) France bests England in last battle of Hundred Years’ War

Famous and feared, Commander John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, falls in battle at a Frenchman’s axe, and with his death ends England’s hold on their neighbor across the Channel. The rout of English forces near Gascony, France, will begin the closing of the epic Hundred Years’ War.

The Battle of Castillon was a battle fought on 17 July 1453 in Gascony near the town of Castillon-sur-Dordogne. A decisive French victory, it is considered to mark the end of the Hundred Years’ War. As a result of the battle, the English lost all landholdings in France, except Calais.

Date: Jul 17, 1453

The death of John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury at the battle of Castillon from Vigilles de Charles VII by Martial d’Auvergne
wiki/Battle_of_Castillon

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(1453) France bests England in last battle of Hundred Years’ War.
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1945 | New global superpowers plot post-war strategy at Potsdam

More than two weeks of diplomatic talks begin outside Berlin, Germany, as WWII’s victors decide what to do about the losing side, the devastation wreaked on Europe, and the continuing war with Japan. The Potsdam Conference will be the last time the ‘Big Three’ Allied leaders meet.

1955 | Walt Disney opens a new theme park in Anaheim, California

Animation mogul Walt Disney introduces Disneyland, his new theme park, to a live TV audience and 28,000 people in attendance. Employees will later refer to this day as ‘Black Sunday’ due to technical glitches. Disneyland would open to the public the following day.

1979 | Nicaraguan Sandinistas force a dictator to flee the country

Leftist Sandinista revolutionaries are one step closer to controlling Nicaragua after General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees the country, ending his family’s dictatorial control after 43 years. The Sandinistas will take full power two days later.

Today in History ^07/17/17

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Harry S. Truman, and Soviet Premier and Supreme Commander Josef Stalin pose at the entrance of Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam, Germany, on July 23, 1945 (© AP)

(1945) New global superpowers plot post-war strategy at Potsdam

More than two weeks of diplomatic talks begin outside Berlin, Germany, as WWII's victors decide what to do about the losing side, the devastation wreaked on Europe, and the continuing war with Japan. The Potsdam Conference will be the last time the 'Big Three' Allied leaders meet.

The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 17 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The three powers were represented by Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and, later, Clement Attlee, and President Harry S. Truman.

End date: 1945
Start date: Jul 17, 1945

wiki/Potsdam_Conference

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