Lebanon

Today in History 11/18 (Jim Jones)

Jim Jones in 1976 (© AP)(1978) Over 900 die in mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana
Following the murder of a visiting US congressman, American cult leader Jim Jones leads his followers in a mass murder-suicide that claims over 900 victims, a third of whom are children. Some are forced to drink cyanide-laced punch; others do so willingly. Jones shoots himself.
James Warren Jones was an American religious cult leader who, along with his inner circle, initiated and was responsible for a mass suicide and mass murder in Jonestown, Guyana. Jones achieved notoriety as the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple cult.
Lived: May 13, 1931 – Nov 18, 1978 (age 47)
Height: 5′ 8″
Spouse: Marceline Jones (m. 1949 – 1978)
Children: Stephan Jones (Son) · Suzanne O. Jones (Daughter) · Jim Jon Prokes (Son) · Agnes Pauline Jones (Daughter) · Stephanie Jones (Daughter) · Lew Eric Jones (Son) · Timothy Glen Jones (Son) · Jim W. Jones Jr. (Son) · John Moss Jones (Son)
Parents: Lynetta Putnam (Mother) · James Thurman Jones (Father)
Education: Butler University · Richmond High School
Highlights
  • 1949: Jim Jones married Marceline Jones on June 12, 1949.

  • 1971: The Temple repeatedly claimed that Jones fathered the child when, in 1971, Stoen had requested that Jones have sex with Grace to keep her from defecting.

  • 1977: In order to avoid potentially giving up the boy in a custody dispute with Grace, Jones ordered Tim to take John to Guyana in February 1977.

  • 1977: In September 1977, California assemblyman Willie Brown served as master of ceremonies at a large testimonial dinner for Jones attended by Governor Jerry Brown and Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally.

  • 1978: Stoen traveled to Washington, D.C. in January 1978 to visit with State Department officials and members of Congress, and wrote a white paper detailing his grievances against Jones and the Temple.

  • 1978: Jim Jones died on November 18, 1978 in Port Kaituma, Guyana.

Rev. Jim Jones at an anti-eviction rally Sunday, January 16, 1977 in front of the International Hotel, Kearny and Jackson Streets, San Francisco Photo by Nancy Wong
Rev. Jim Jones at an anti-eviction rally Sunday, January 16, 1977 in front of the International Hotel, Kearny and Jackson Streets, San Francisco Photo by Nancy Wong
wiki/Jim_Jones
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(1978) Over 900 die in mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana.
Also on this day,

1966 | Sandy Koufax, pitcher for Dodgers, retires at 30
After a World Series loss, Dodgers ace Koufax announces his retirement due to a bad elbow. Koufax posted impressive stats in his 12 seasons, including three Cy Young Awards. But he may be best remembered for refusing to pitch in a Series game that fell on Yom Kippur.
1976 | Democracy comes to Spain as Spain’s parliament approves bill to establish a democracy
A year after the death of Fascist dictator Francisco Franco, Spain’s parliament members essentially vote themselves out of office, approving a bill to transition to democracy by allowing elections and the creation of a two-chamber parliament. The bill will later be approved by public referendum.
1991 | After four years, British hostage is released in Lebanon as Terry Waite freed
It’s over, thinks religious envoy Waite after being freed by his Shi’ite Muslim captors. Waite had been kidnapped four years earlier on a trip to secure the release of others held in Lebanon and Iran. He suffered beatings, mock executions, and languished in solitary confinement before his release.

Today in History 11/18/17

Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez and his wife, Ambaro, cast their votes in 1977 in the first free elections in Spain (© Saris/AP)(1976) Spain's parliament approves bill to establish a democracy
A year after the death of Fascist dictator Francisco Franco, Spain's parliament members essentially vote themselves out of office, approving a bill to transition to democracy by allowing elections and the creation of a two-chamber parliament. The bill will later be approved by public referendum.
The Spanish transition to democracy (Spanish: Transición española a la democracia), or simply the Transition (Spanish: La Transición) was the restoration of democracy in Spain after the death of Francisco Franco in 1975. The transition began shortly after Franco's death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish Constitution of 1978, the failure of an attempted coup on 23 February 1981, or the electoral victory of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) on 28 October 1982. Though faced with political and economic crises at the time, the transition to democracy was one of the factors that allowed Spain to join the European Economic Community and NATO.
Political posters from the 1970s on a simulated street wall in an exhibition celebrating 20 years of the Spanish Constitution of 1978.
Political posters in an exhibition celebrating 20 years of the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

wiki/Spanish_transition_to_democracy
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Today in History 10/23 (Beirut Barracks Bombings)

A US marine searches for corpses after the attack on the headquarters of US troops Beirut, October 1983 (©Philipe Bouchon/AFP/Getty Images)(1983) Terrorists strike US and French military posts in Beirut
Suicide bombers detonate two truck bombs outside the barracks housing the US 1st Battalion 8th Marines in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 servicemen and injuring more than 100. Almost simultaneously, another suicide attack on France’s military barracks takes the lives of 58 paratroopers.
The 1983 Beirut barracks bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on October 23, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Lebanese Civil War. Two truck bombs struck buildings housing Multinational Force in Lebanon peacekeepers, specifically against United States and French service members, killing 241 U.S. and 58 French peacekeepers, 6 civilians and the 2 suicide attackers. A group called Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombings and said that the attacks were to get the MNF out of Lebanon.
Date: Oct 23, 1983
Fatalities: 307
Attack type: Suicide attack, Truck bombs, Mass murder, Terrorism
Deaths: Total: 307 (305 victims (241 U.S. peacekeepers, 58 French peacekeepers and 6 civilians) + 2 suicide bombers)
Non-fatal injuries: 75

Diagram showing Hezbollah SVBIED terror attack on USMC barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983
Diagram showing Hezbollah SVBIED terror attack on USMC barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983.
wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombings
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(1983) Terrorists strike US and French military posts in Beirut.
Also on this day,

42 BCE | Antony vs. Brutus as Caesar’s compatriots fight it out with his assassin
Julius Caesar has been dead more than two years when the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian catch up with those of one of Caesar’s killers, Brutus, in Philippi, Macedonia. Brutus has lost his compatriot Cassius to suicide, and now his forces, and his spirit, are soundly defeated, as he too takes his own life.
1947 | American husband and wife win Nobel Prize
Carl F. Cori and Gerty Cori are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ‘for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen.’ Gerty Cori becomes the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize in science and the first woman to win this specific award.
1956 | Revolution in Hungary as Hungarians stage popular uprising against USSR
Seven years of Soviet domination is more than enough for 20,000 Hungarians who gather in Budapest calling for their country’s independence. Some 180,000 more join them, but state police fire on the crowd, marking the start of a crackdown that will eventually crush the nascent revolution.

Today in History 10/23/17

Hungarian rebels wave their national flag from a tank captured in the main square of Budapest, Hungary, in 1956 (© AP)(1956) Hungarians stage popular uprising against USSR
Seven years of Soviet domination is more than enough for 20,000 Hungarians who gather in Budapest calling for their country's independence. Some 180,000 more join them, but state police fire on the crowd, marking the start of a crackdown that will eventually crush the nascent revolution.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 or the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 was a nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956. Though leaderless when it first began, it was the first major threat to Soviet control since the USSR's forces drove Nazi Germany from its territory at the end of World War II.
Start date: Oct 23, 1956
End date: Nov 10, 1956
Hole in flag - Budapest 1956
Hole in flag - Budapest 1956

wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956
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