Today in History....

Nov. 20th, 1820: American Whaler Essex sunk by sperm whale
Nov. 20th, 1875: Henry James publishes first novel" Roderrik Hudson"
Nov. 20th,1940: Hungary joins Axis powers
Nov. 20th,1941: Germans take Rostov ( and lost it 7 days later)
Nov. 20th, 1944: French troops drive through the " Beffat Gap" and reach the Rhine.
Nov. 20th, 1924: Egyyptian troops withdraw from Sudan under British ultimatum after the assassination of Sir Lee Stack
Nov. 20th,1947: Princess Elizabeth marries Philip Mountbatten

Happy anniversary, Liz!

Btw and fyi, the sinking of the Essex was one of the events which gave Herman Melville inspiration for the novel Moby Dick.

Nov. 20th, 1720: Pirates Mary Reed, Anne Bonny and Captain Jack Calico Rackham tried at Admiralty court in Jammaica.
Nov.20th, 1700: Swedish King Charles XII defeats Russians at Narna
Nov.20th, 1833: Charles Darwin reached Punta Gordo and saw Rio Uruguay.
Nov.20th,1943, U.S Marines and Army attacked Mackin and Tarawa in the south Pacific.
Nov.20th, 2003: In Turkey trucks packed with explosives blew up HSBC London based bank and the British consulate.
Nov. 20th, 1817: 1st Seminole war began in Florida
Nov.20th, 1914: Bulgaria announced it's neutrality in the 1st world war.
Nov.20th,1970 : UN general assembly accepted membership of The People's Republic of China
Nov.20th, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
Nov.20th, 1943, U-538 sank in the Atlantic Ocean.
Nov.20th,1969: Group of 80 Native American college students seized Alcatraz Island in the name of " Indians of All Tribes".

Nov 221981 San Diego Charger Dan Fouts passes for 6 touchdowns vs Oakland (55-21)
1982 Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB, Texas
1985 Columbia moves to the Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 61-C
1986 Mike Tyson KOs Trevor Berbick to win WBC heavyweight title
1986 Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton, became 13th NHLer to score 500 goals
1987 Patriots shutout Indianapolis 24-0
1989 Conjunction of Venus, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn & the Moon
1989 Kirby Pucket signs record $3,000,000 per year Minnesota Twins contract
1989 US 63rd manned space mission STS 33 (Discovery 9) launches into orbit
1989 Eastern Airlines pilots & flight attendants end their strike, but most are not rehired
1990 George Bush visits US troops in Saudi Arabia during Thanksgiving
1990 Margaret Thatcher announces her resignation as British Prime Minister

On JNov. 20, 1720, both Mary Reed and Ann Bonny were about to be sentenced to be hung along with "Calico Jack" Rackham, when they "pleaded their bellies." Their lives were spared because both were found to be pregnant. I believe Rackham was hanged.

Yes, he was, and it is reputed that as he was lead away, Ann Bonny shouted out: If ye'd fought like a man, Calico Jack, ye'd not be goin' to hang like a dog.

I will be back for more of this thread...

November 24
In 1859 Charles Darwin published On The Origin of Species, which helped explain the theory of evolution.
1871 the N.R.A. was incorporated
In 1963 on this day Jack Ruby fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald.
1985 the hijacking of an Egyptian airliner in Malta ended with a final tally of 60 dead.

You have the same diary as me!

Not necessarily. But you both do live on the same planet with the same timeline. Now, in my world . . .

On Nov. 26
1095 - Pope Urban urged the faithful to wrest the Holy Land from the Muslims, heralding start of the Crusades.

1688 - Louis XlV declared war on the Netherlands.

1922 - Archaeologists open King Tut's Tomb.

1941- Japanese task force leaves for Pearl Harbor.

1941- Lebanon gained independence from France.

1941- FDR establishes modern Thanksgiving Day.

1950- China entered the Korean conflict.

November 26, 1922 ~ Charles Schulz, the creator of the popular comic strip Peanuts, was born.

Arguably one of the most successful & influential American cartoonists, a master at gentle parody of society.

Coconut Grove Fire In Boston

I'm old enough remember the newspaper headlines.

Thanx for that bit of nostalgia, awful though it is, neko nomad. I live about two blocks from the site of the old Coconut Grove. Few realize that the reason all doors in public places, e.g. restaurants, open out (PUSH, not PULL) is because of the fire codes that came into being as a direct result of that fire.

3 December

1818 Illinois was admitted to the Union as the 21st state.

1828 Andrew Jackson was elected president

1947 "A Streetcar Names Desire" opened on Broadway

1960 "Camelot" opened on Broadway

1964 Police arrested about 800 students at UC Berkeley, one day after the students had stormed the building and staged a sit-in

1967 The world's first human heart transplant was performed in Cape Town, SA, by a team of surgeons led by Dr. Christian Barnard. The patient, Louis Washkansky, lived 18 days with his new heart

1979 11 people were killed in a crunch of fans at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati where the British rock group, The Who, were performing

1984 Thousands of people died in Bophal, India, after a cloud of methyl isocyanide gas escaped from a Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant there

1992 The Greek Tanker, Aegean Sea, spilled some 21 million gallons of crude oil when it ran aground at LaCoruna, Spain

1995 President Clinton authorized a vanguard of 700 American troops to open a mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina

1995 Fomer South Korean President Chun Doo-Hawn was arrested for his role in a 1979 coup that was followed by the most violent crackdown in that country's history

2000 Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavor attached the world's largest and most powerful solar panels to the international space station

2000 Sara Baldwin was elected the first female president of the US Olympics Committee. She resigned in 2002, after admitting that she had lied about her credentials.

2000 Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for her poetry, died in Chicago at the age of 83

December 4....
1867 The Grange is organized to protect farm interests
1875 William Marcy Tweed (Boss Tweed, of Tammany Hall notoriety) escapes from jail.
1923 Cecil B. DeMille's Ten Commandments premieres
1927 Duke Ellington opens at The Cotton Club
1963 Aldo Moro forms Italian government
1963 Pope Paul VI closes 2nd session of Second Vatican Council
In 1674 Father Marquette built the first dwelling in what is now Chicago
1655 Middleberg Netherlands forbids the building of Synagogues
1110 Syrian harbor city of Saida (Sadon) surrendered to the Crusaders
1908 Haiti's President General Alexis Nord flees from military coup


Today's birthdays include Tyra Banks, Jude St. John, Damien Covington, Jeff Blake, Blagoi Blagoyev, Patricia Wettig and Jeff Bridges.

And as a special note, on this day in 1993, Frank Sturgis, part of the Watergate break-in died at the tender age of 68 (and no, I am not related to him...although I do have a brother named Frank )

Interesting. Of all the people having birthdays today, Jeff Bridges is the only one I've ever heard of. <sigh> I guess I'm just out of the mainstream.

Dec 5
1301 Pope Boniface VIII's degree Ausculta fili (only nominee)
1349 500 Jews are massacred at Nüremberg in Black death riots
1448 Bishop Jona of Moscow chosen as metropolitan of Kiev/Intoxication
1456 Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35,000 die
1492 Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti)
1496 Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I
1590 Niccolò Sfondrati chosen Pope Gregory XIV
1602 Giulio Caccini's "Euridice" premieres in Florence
1757 Battle at Leuthen: Prussian army beats Austrians
1766 London auctioneers Christie's hold their 1st sale
1776 Phi Beta Kappa, 1st American scholastic fraternity (William & Mary College), is founded
1792 George Washington re-elected US President, John Adams Vice-President
1798 Government troops occupy Hasselt
1804 Thomas Jefferson re-elected US President,George Clinton Vice-President
1813 Lübeck surrenders to allied armies
1830 Hector Berlioz' "Symphonique fantastique" premieres in Paris
1831 Former President John Quincy Adams takes his seat as member of House of Representatives
1832 Andrew Jackson re-elected President of US, Martin Van Buren Vice-President
1837 Hector Berlioz' "Requiem" premieres
1837 Uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie in Canada
1846 C F Schoenbein obtains patent for cellulose nitrate explosive
1848 President Polk triggers Gold Rush of '49, confirms California gold discovery
1854 Aaron Allen of Boston patents folding theater chair
1859 Dion Boucicault's "Octaroon" premieres in New York NY
1861 Gatling gun patented
1862 Battle of Coffeeville MS
1868 1st American bicycle college opens (New York)
1876 Daniel Stillson (Massachusetts) patents 1st practical pipe wrench
1876 Fire at Brooklyn Theater kills 295, trampled or burned to death
1879 1st automatic telephone switching system patented
1881 47th Congress (1881-83) convenes
1887 Stanley's expedition reaches plateau at Lake Albert Congo
1890 Berlioz' opera "Les Troyens" premieres in Karlsruhe
1892 Anti-semite Hermann Ahlwardt elected to Germany's Reichstag
1893 1st electric car (built in Toronto) could go 15 miles between charges
1894 Georges Feydeaus' "L'hôtel du libre échange" premieres in Paris
1896 Henrik Ibsen's "Kejsor og Galileer" premieres in Leipzig
1905 Henry Campbell-Bannerman (Liberal) becomes PM of England
1906 British government-Balfour resigns
1908 1st football uniform numerals used (University of Pittsburgh)
1914 6th CFL Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts defeats University of Toronto, 14-2
1918 Oil refinery on Curaçao opens
1920 Pro football playoff game Akron & Buffalo 0-0 tie, title undecided
1924 Hamilton Tiger Red Green scores 5 goals to beat Toronto Maple Leafs 10-5
1925 13th CFL Grey Cup: Ottawa Senators defeats Winnipeg Tammany Tigers, 24-1
1925 German government of Luther falls
1926 Sergei Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin" debuts
1928 England defeats Australia by record 675 runs at Brisbane
1928 MW Miklas elected President of Austria
1929 1st US nudist organization (American League for Physical Culture, New York NY)
1931 CFL Grey Cup: Montréal AAA beats Regina, 22-0 at Montréal
1932 German physicist Albert Einstein granted a visa
1933 21st Amendment ratified, only amendment adopted to repeal an earlier amendment [18th Amendment (Prohibition)] (5:32 PM EST)
1935 1st commercial hydroponics operation established (Montebello CA)
1935 National Council of Negro Women forms by Mary McLeod Bethune (New York NY)
1936 Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSR, Kazakhstan SSR & Kirghiz SSR becomes constituent republics of the Soviet Union
1936 24th CFL Grey Cup: Sarnia Imperials defeats Ottawa Rough Riders, 26-20
1941 Football Writers Association of America organized
1941 Sister Elizabeth Kenny new treatment for infantile paralysis approved
1941 Patrick Hamilton's "Angel Street" premieres in New York NY
1941 Russian anti offensive in Moscow drives out nazi army
1941 US aircraft carrier Lexington/5 heavy cruisers leave Pearl Harbor
1942 CFL Grey Cup: Toronto beats Winnipeg RCAF, 8-5 at Toronto
1942 Seyss-Inquart orders students in Nazi-Germany to go work
1942 West Indies chocolate/coffee drop above Netherlands
1943 NFL Philadelphia Eagle-Pittsburgh Steeler merger dissolves
1944 German troops rob all the silver coin in Utrecht
1945 "Lost Squadron" crashes east of Florida (Bermuda Triangle)
1945 Special Council of Annulment affirms death sentence of Max Blokzijl
1946 President Truman creates Committee on Civil Rights by Executive Order #9808
1947 Joe Louis beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1948 New York Giant Charley Conerly sets NFL record of 36 pass completions
1949 Ezzard Charles defeats Jersey Joe Walcott for heavyweight boxing title
1950 Sikkim becomes a protectorate of India
1950 Ezzard Charles KOs Nick Barone in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1951 "Dragnet" premieres
1952 London smog of 1952 - worst smog in London ever, 4,000+ die
1954 KTEW (now KJRH) TV channel 2 in Tulsa OK (NBC) begins broadcasting
1955 AFL & CIO merge, with George Meany as president
1955 Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery AL by Rosa Parks
1956 Thornton Wilder's "Matchmaker" premieres in New York NY
1957 NYC becomes 1st city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law)
1957 William Inge's "Dark at the Top of the Stairs" premieres in New York NY
1958 Phils drop plans for New York sportcast as Yankees threat to do same in Philadelphia
1958 WTOL TV channel 11 in Toledo OH (CBS) begins broadcasting
1959 Intikhab Alam bowls Colin McDonald with 1st ball in Tests
1960 Ghana drops diplomatic relations with Belgium
1966 "I Do! I Do!" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 561 performances
1967 Beatles clothing store "Apple" on 94 Baker Street, London, opens
1967 Benjamin Spock & Allen Ginsberg arrested protesting Vietnam war
1968 Rolling Stones release "Beggar's Banquet" LP
1969 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1970 Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy & Bill Masterson trophy stolen from NHL hall of fame
1970 Los Angeles Rams Willie Ellison sets NFL record of 247 yards rushing
1971 KCBJ (now KMIZ) TV channel 17 in Columbia MO (ABC) 1st broadcast
1972 38th Heisman Trophy Award: Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska (FL)
1972 Australia Labour party wins parliamentary election
1972 Joseph A Walkers "River Niger" premieres in New York NY
1973 Cubs' Ron Santo became 1st baseball player to veto his trade
1973 Paul McCartney releases "Band on the Run" album
1973 Dodgers trade Willie Davis to Expos for relief pitcher Mike Marshall
1974 1st Washington Capitals penalty shot, Tom Williams unsuccessful vs Buff Sabres
1974 1st World Football League Bowl, Birmingham Americans beat Florida
1974 Airport terminal roof collapses killing 17 (Teheran Iran)
1974 Oliver Tilden Triangle in the Bronx named
1974 Seattle Seahawks formed
1974 "Monty Python's Flying Circus" final episode airs on BBC
1974 NFL's Seattle Seahawks forms
1974 Tom Williams is unsuccessful on Washington Capitals 1st NHL penalty shot
1975 NASA launches space vehicle S-196, it failed
1975 "Me & Bessie" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 453 performances
1976 Buffalo Bill's OJ Simpson rushes 203 yards
1977 Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq & South Yemen
1978 Islanders take 28 shots in 1 period vs Penguins; Penguins' Ross Lonsberry fails on 7th penalty shot against Islanders
1978 Phillies Pete Rose becomes highest paid baseball player
1978 Pioneer Venus 1 begins orbiting Venus
1978 European Union establishes EMS, European Monetary System
1978 Free agent Pete Rose signs 4-year, $32 million contract with Phillies
1978 Sam Shepard's "Buried Child" premieres in New York NY
1979 Ireland premier Jack Lynch resigns
1980 Bank of Canada's Canadian Currency Museum opens
1981 47th Heisman Trophy Award: Marcus Allen, Southern California (RB)
1981 56th Australian Women Tennis: Navratilova beats Chris Evert (67 64 75)
1981 France performs nuclear test
1982 Seattle University Baptist Church declares sanctuary for Central American refugees
1982 Cleveland Browns' Brian Sipe sets club record with 33 pass completions
1982 Ingrid Berghmans (Netherlands) retains judo's world championship
1982 Mel Gray ends NFL streak of 121 consecutive game receptions
1982 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1983 12 killed by a car bomb shattering 9-story building in west Beirut
1983 Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Steve Howe is suspended for 1 year for cocaine use
1984 A's trade Rickey Henderson to Yankees for Jay Howell & Jose Rijo
1984 French colonies killed 10 Kanaken in New Caledonia
1984 Yankees trade catcher Rick Cerone to Braves for pitcher Brian Fisher
1985 Dow Jones Industrial Average rises above the 1,500 level for 1st time
1985 Great Britain performs nuclear test
1985 Sam Shepard's "Lie of the Mind" premieres in New York NY
1987 53rd Heisman Trophy Award: Tim Brown, Notre Dame (WR)
1987 David Boon's 5th Test Cricket century, 143 vs New Zealand at Brisbane
1987 Schönbrunn skates world record 3 km ladies (4 16.76)
1988 Shuttle Atlantis launches world's 1st nuclear-war-fighting satellite
1988 North Carolina federal grand jury indict PTL founder Jim Bakker on fraud & conspiracy
1989 France TGV train reaches world record speed of 482.4 kph
1990 Former Noriega aide Luis del Cid pleads guilty
1990 Salman Rushdie, author (ordered to death by Iran for blasphemy), appears in public for 1st time in 2 years
1990 Toronto Blue Jays trade Fred McGriff & Tony Fernandez to San Diego Padres for Roberto Alomar & Joe Carter
1991 Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings & Loan fraud), found guilty
1991 New York Daily News files for protection under chapter 11
1991 "Catskills on Broadway" opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 452 performances
1993 "Timon of Athens" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 37 performances
1993 82nd Davis Cup: Germany beats Australia in Dusseldorf (4-1)
1993 Astronauts begin repair of Hubble telescope in space
1993 Melissa Mcnamara/Mike Sopringer win LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
1993 Newhart actor William Sanderson (47) weds Sharon Wix (39)
1993 Rafael Caldera elected President of Venezuela
1996 "Dreams & Nightmares" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC
1996 Players union approves new collective bargaining agreement
1996 Portland's Jermaine O'Neal, 18, becomes youngest NBA player
1997 1st Game at Washington Capitals' MCI Center vs Florida Panthers
1997 STS 87 (Columbia 24) lands


*sigh*

963..Leo VIII elected Pope
1196 Northern Dutch coast floods
1527 Pope Clemens VII flees to Orvieto
1534...Quito, Ecuador is founded by the Spanish
1648...Thomas Pride prevents 96 Presbyterians form sitting in the English Parliament in what is known now as Pride's Purge.
1884...The capstone is set at the top of The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
1907...Coal mine explosion kills 361 in Monongah, West Virginia
1923...first Presidential address broadcast on the radio, done by Calvin Coolidge
1929...Turkey introduces female suffrage
1973 Gerald Ford is sworn in as the first unelected Vice President.


Today is Ruler's Ascension Day in Bahrain
Day of Quito in Ecuador
Independence Day in Finland