Today in History 12/24/16

Today in History
(1851) Massive fire devastates Library of Congress
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ds.07072 Photograph shows bird's-eye view of Library of Congress Jefferson building, the Cannon House Office building, and adjoining neighborhoods, probably shot from the Capitol dome. ca. 1915
A large fire ravages the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, destroying about two-thirds of the collection, including books from Thomas Jefferson’s personal library. Congress will open its wallets to replace the lost volumes over the next several years.

The Library of Congress is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. The Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, which houses the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.

Address: 101 Independence Ave, Washington, D.C. 20540
Phone: (202) 707-9779
Founded: Apr 24, 1800 · District of Columbia, United States
Founder: John Adams
Architects: Paul J. Pelz · John L. Smithmeyer · Edward Pearce Casey . Alfred Easton Poor

— Source: wiki/Library_of_Congress
(1865) Ku Klux Klan is founded in Tennessee
Photograph shows ten men posed seated and standing, wearing hats with "KKK" in large letters, and with a skull and bones arranged on the floor in front of them. Circa 1870
In the aftermath of the Civil War, several Confederate veterans establish the secret vigilante group to threaten and murder freed blacks and their supporters and to restore white supremacy. The name reportedly is derived from the Greek word for circle, “kyklos.” Soon the KKK will spread to every state in the American South.

The Ku Klux Klan, or simply “the Klan”, is the name of three distinct movements in the United States that have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration, and, especially in later iterations, Nordicism, anti-Catholicism, and antisemitism, historically expressed through terrorism aimed at groups or individuals whom they opposed. All three movements have called for the “purification” of American society, and all are considered right wing extremist organizations.

Founded: 1915
Founders: Frank O. McCord · John C. Lester · J. Calvin Jones · Richard R. Reed · James R. Crowe · John B. Kennedy

— Source: wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan
(1955) NORAD’s newest mission: Tracking Santa
FILE - In this Dec. 24, 2010 file photo, Air Force Lt. Col. David Hanson, of Chicago, takes a phone call from a child in Florida at the Santa Tracking Operations Center at Peterson Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colo. Santa is already piling up monster numbers on social networking sites this season, so the volunteer Santa-trackers at NORAD are bracing for tens of thousands of calls and emails when their operations center goes live on Christmas Eve. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
An ad in a Colorado newspaper gives children Santa’s phone number, but a misprint routes calls to a red phone at the NORAD air defense command center. Strait-laced Col. Harry Shoup adjusts on the fly and tells staff to give the kids Santa’s “current location.” A tradition is born.

NORAD Tracks Santa is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program, which has existed since 1955, produced under the auspices of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Every year on Christmas Eve, “NORAD Tracks Santa” purports to track Santa Claus as he leaves the North Pole and delivers presents to children around the world.

First occurred: 1955

— Source: wiki/NORAD_Tracks_Santa
(1979) Soviet Union invades Afghanistan
1979, Three armed Soviet Army soldiers serving in the Afghan Civil War. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)
Soviet forces enter the country under the guise of enforcing the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty. Soon the Soviets will control Kabul and other cities, though guerilla fighters, the mujahidin, will hold onto the countryside. After nine years, the Soviets will withdraw, defeated.

The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups fought against the Soviet Army and allied Afghan forces. Between 850,000–2 million civilians were killed and millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees, mostly to Pakistan and Iran. The war is considered part of the Cold War.

Start date: Dec 24, 1979
End date: Feb 15, 1989

— Source: wiki/Soviet–Afghan_War
DIH v2.11.d16

FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail