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Today in History 04/16/17

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Storerooms in the Jewish fort of Masada, scene of a siege and mass-suicide during the first Jewish revolt against the Romans, 1st century CE (© CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)(73 CE) Roman troops end siege of Jewish rebel stronghold Masada
Having spent months building a giant ramp to reach Masada, a mountaintop fortress defended by just 967 Jewish rebels, a massive Roman force uses a battering ram to breach the walls. Inside, according to a Jewish chronicler of the events, the Romans find the rebels dead, having committed mass suicide.
The siege of Masada was one of the final events in the First Jewish–Roman War, occurring from 73 to 74 CE on a large hilltop in current-day Israel. The siege was chronicled by Flavius Josephus, a Jewish rebel leader captured by the Romans, in whose service he became a historian. According to Josephus the long siege by the troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels and resident Jewish families of the Masada fortress. Masada has become a controversial event in Jewish history, with some regarding it as a place of reverence, commemorating fallen ancestors and their heroic struggle against oppression, and others regarding it as a warning against extremism and the refusal to compromise.
Israel 2013 - Masada Aerial

wiki/Siege_of_Masada
Painting depicting the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746 (© Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)(1746) The Battle of Culloden is Scottish Jacobites’ last stand
A pitched battle near Inverness between Scottish Highlanders and British Loyalists results in thousands of casualties for the Scots, and a victory for the Brits that will lead to a cracking down on the Scottish clan system and a depopulating of the Highlands.
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745 and part of a religious civil war in Britain. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart were decisively defeated by loyalist troops commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands.
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Date: Apr 16, 1746

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Undated file photo of Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, discoverer of the mind-altering drug LSD and former head of the research department of Swiss chemical company Sandoz, at his home in Burg, Switzerland (© Reto Gisin/Keystone/AP)(1943) Scientist Albert Hofmann takes history’s first LSD trip
During research into compounds synthesized in part from a grain fungus, Swiss scientist Dr. Albert Hofmann accidentally touches and absorbs a small amount of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and experiences a 2-hour-long hallucinogenic journey.
Albert Hofmann was a Swiss scientist known best for being the first person to synthesize, ingest, and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide. Hofmann was also the first person to isolate, synthesize, and name the principal psychedelic mushroom compounds psilocybin and psilocin. He authored more than 100 scientific articles and numerous books, including LSD: Mein Sorgenkind. In 2007, he shared first place, alongside Tim Berners-Lee, in a list of the 100 greatest living geniuses, published by The Telegraph newspaper.
Born: Jan 11, 1906 · Baden, Switzerland
Died: Apr 29, 2008 · Burg im Leimental, Switzerland
Inventions: Lysergic acid diethylamide
Education: University of Zurich
Parents: Adolf Hofmann
Highlights
  • 1938: While researching lysergic acid derivatives, Hofmann first synthesized LSD on 16 November 1938.

  • 1958: He first synthesized 4-AcO-DET in 1958 in the Sandoz lab.

  • 1969: The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) honored him with the title D.Sc. (honoris causa) in 1969 together with Gustav Guanella, his brother-in-law.

  • 1971: After retiring from Sandoz in 1971, Hofmann was allowed to take his papers and research home.

  • 1971: In 1971 the Swedish Pharmaceutical Association (Sveriges Farmacevtförbund) granted him the Scheele Award, which commemorates the skills and achievements of the Swedish Pomeranian chemist and pharmacist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.

  • 2008: Hofmann died of a heart attack on 29 April 2008, surrounded by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

wiki/Albert_Hofmann
In this April 16, 1947 photo, refineries and oil storage tanks at the Monsanto Chemical Company burn in the waterfront area in Texas City, Texas (© AP)(1947) A freighter’s payload explodes and wipes out Texas City
Ammonium nitrate fertilizer catches fire on a vessel in Galveston Bay and explodes, flattening much of the town of Texas City, Texas. The disaster will kill nearly 600 and wound over 3,000, becoming the worst industrial accident in US history.
The Texas City disaster was an industrial accident that occurred April 16, 1947, in the Port of Texas City. It was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history, and one of the largest non-nuclear explosions. Originating with a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp, her cargo of approximately 2,200 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated, with the initial blast and subsequent chain-reaction of further fires and explosions in other ships and nearby oil-storage facilities. It killed at least 581 people, including all but one member of the Texas City fire department. The disaster triggered the first ever class action lawsuit against the United States government, under the then-recently enacted Federal Tort Claims Act, on behalf of 8,485 victims.
Date: Apr 16, 1947

wiki/Texas_City_disaster
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A Historical Day

(73 CE) Roman troops end siege of Jewish rebel stronghold Masada
73 CE Having spent months building a giant ramp to reach Masada, a mountaintop fortress defended by just 967 Jewish rebels, a massive Roman force uses a battering ram to breach the walls. Inside, according to a Jewish chronicler of the events, the Romans find the rebels dead, having committed mass suicide..
(1746) The Battle of Culloden is Scottish Jacobites’ last stand
A pitched battle near Inverness between Scottish Highlanders and British Loyalists results in thousands of casualties for the Scots, and a victory for the Brits that will lead to a cracking down on the Scottish clan system and a depopulating of the Highlands.. 1746
(1943) Scientist Albert Hofmann takes history’s first LSD trip
1943 During research into compounds synthesized in part from a grain fungus, Swiss scientist Dr. Albert Hofmann accidentally touches and absorbs a small amount of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and experiences a 2-hour-long hallucinogenic journey. .
(1947) A freighter’s payload explodes and wipes out Texas City
Ammonium nitrate fertilizer catches fire on a vessel in Galveston Bay and explodes, flattening much of the town of Texas City, Texas. The disaster will kill nearly 600 and wound over 3,000, becoming the worst industrial accident in US history.. 1947