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Today in History 12/30 (Marcos is President)

Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos in 1965 (© AP)(1965) Ferdinand Marcos is inaugurated president of Philippines
The leader of the Philippine Senate is sworn in as president. During his campaign, Marcos touted his decorated war record, which will later be found to be largely untrue. He will impose martial law in 1972 and his 20 years in power will be known for corruption and brutality.
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. was a Filipino politician and kleptocrat who was the tenth President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. A leading member of the far-right New Society Movement, he ruled as a dictator under martial law from 1972 until 1981. His regime was infamous for its corruption, extravagance, and brutality.
Lived: Sep 11, 1917 – Sep 28, 1989 (age 72)
Height: 5′ 7″
Spouse: Imelda Marcos (m. 1954 – 1989)
Children: Bongbong Marcos (Son) · Imee Marcos (Daughter) · Irene Marcos-Araneta (Daughter) · Aimee Marcos (Daughter)
Buried: Ferdinand E. Marcos Presidential Center
Parents: Mariano Marcos (Father) · Josefa Edralin (Mother)
Highlights
  • 1954: Ferdinand Marcos married Imelda Marcos on May 01, 1954.

  • 1965: Marcos won the presidency in 1965.

  • 1972: Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law on September 23, 1972, during which he revamped the constitution, silenced the media, and used violence and oppression against the political opposition, Muslims, communist rebels, and ordinary citizens.

  • 1978: In 1978, the position returned when Ferdinand Marcos became Prime Minister.

  • 1984: By 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan started distancing himself from the Marcos regime that he and previous American presidents had strongly supported even after Marcos declared martial law.

  • 1989: Marcos and his wife, Imelda, were jointly credited in 1989 by Guinness World Records with the largest-ever theft from a government: an estimated 5 to 10 billion dollars.

The second inauguration of President Ferdinand Marcos on December 30, 1969
Ferdinand Marcos takes the Oath of Office for a second term before Chief Justice Roberto Concepcion on December 30, 1969
wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos
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(1965) Ferdinand Marcos is inaugurated president of Philippines.
Also on this day,

1816 | Mary Godwin now Shelley as Percy Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin marry
Two years after poet Percy Shelley and then-17-year-old Godwin eloped to France, the couple marries in England after Shelley’s first wife, whom he never divorced, dies. Later, the couple and their friend Lord Byron will challenge each other to write a ghost story. Only Mary Shelley will finish hers.
1903 | Deadly fire kills 600 at Chicago’s Iroquois Theatre
The “most beautiful” stage in Chicago, the Iroquois Theatre, turns into a death trap for over 600 people when a fire erupts backstage. Most of the victims die on the balcony level, which lacks fire escapes or ladders to safety. The tragedy will lead to new safety standards for public buildings that will be adopted nationwide.
1922 | USSR established as the Soviet Union is founded
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Soviet Union, becomes the first Marxist country in the world, following the October Revolution and the grueling Civil War that ended the Russian Empire. The USSR comprises a federation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation, but will grow larger still.

Today in History 12/30/17

Flag of the Soviet Union (© David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)(1922) The Soviet Union is founded
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Soviet Union, becomes the first Marxist country in the world, following the October Revolution and the grueling Civil War that ended the Russian Empire. The USSR comprises a federation of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation, but will grow larger still.
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, abbreviated as USSR, was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The country was a one-party state, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The Russian nation had constitutionally equal status among the many nations of the union but exerted de facto dominance in various respects. Other major urban centres were Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Alma-Ata and Novosibirsk. The Soviet Union was one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possessed the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. It was a founding permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, as well as a member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the leading member of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the Warsaw Pact.
Dissolved: Dec 26, 1991
Population: 293.05 million (1991)
Official language: Russian
Area: 8.65 million sq miles (22.40 million km²)
Calling code: 7
Capital: Moscow

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (orthographic projection)
Location of the Soviet Union

wiki/Soviet_Union
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Today in History 10/17 (Loma Prieta Earthquake)

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

1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Photograph of a collapsed five-story tower, St. Joseph's Seminary, Los Altos, California. One person, Curtis Lee Currin, working in the tower was killed
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.
Also on this day,

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 criminal record in 1932
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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