Sunday, November 24, 2013

On This Day in History - November 24 Origin of Species Published

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history


Nov 24, 1859: Origin of Species is published

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, a groundbreaking scientific work by British naturalist Charles Darwin, is published in England. Darwin's theory argued that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called "natural selection." In natural selection, organisms with genetic variations that suit their environment tend to propagate more descendants than organisms of the same species that lack the variation, thus influencing the overall genetic makeup of the species.  

Darwin, who was influenced by the work of French naturalist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck and the English economist Thomas Mathus, acquired most of the evidence for his theory during a five-year surveying expedition aboard the HMS Beagle in the 1830s. Visiting such diverse places as the Galapagos Islands and New Zealand, Darwin acquired an intimate knowledge of the flora, fauna, and geology of many lands. This information, along with his studies in variation and interbreeding after returning to England, proved invaluable in the development of his theory of organic evolution.  

The idea of organic evolution was not new. It had been suggested earlier by, among others, Darwin's grandfather Erasmus Darwin, a distinguished English scientist, and Lamarck, who in the early 19th century drew the first evolutionary diagram—a ladder leading from one-celled organisms to man. However, it was not until Darwin that science presented a practical explanation for the phenomenon of evolution.  

Darwin had formulated his theory of natural selection by 1844, but he was wary to reveal his thesis to the public because it so obviously contradicted the biblical account of creation. In 1858, with Darwin still remaining silent about his findings, the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace independently published a paper that essentially summarized his theory. Darwin and Wallace gave a joint lecture on evolution before the Linnean Society of London in July 1858, and Darwin prepared On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection for publication.  

Published on November 24, 1859, Origin of Species sold out immediately. Most scientists quickly embraced the theory that solved so many puzzles of biological science, but orthodox Christians condemned the work as heresy. Controversy over Darwin's ideas deepened with the publication of The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871), in which he presented evidence of man's evolution from apes.  

By the time of Darwin's death in 1882, his theory of evolution was generally accepted. In honor of his scientific work, he was buried in Westminster Abbey beside kings, queens, and other illustrious figures from British history. Subsequent developments in genetics and molecular biology led to modifications in accepted evolutionary theory, but Darwin's ideas remain central to the field.  








Nov 24, 1807: Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant dies

On this day in 1807, Mohawk Chief Thayendanegea, also known by his English name, Joseph Brant, dies at his home in Burlington, Ontario. Before dying, he reportedly said, "Have pity on the poor Indians. If you have any influence with the great, endeavour to use it for their good."  

Brant ranked among Britain's best commanders during the American War for Independence. He was an educated Christian and Freemason who studied directly with Eleazer Wheelock at Moor's Indian Charity School, the parent institution of Dartmouth College. His older sister Mary was founding father Sir William Johnson's common-law wife and also played a significant role in colonial and revolutionary Indian affairs.  

The Iroquois, an alliance of Native Americans including the Mohawk, attempted to maintain neutrality at the beginning of War for Independence, but by 1777, Joseph Brant had led the Iroquois into an alliance with Britain. He, like most Native Americans, saw Great Britain as their last defense against the land-hungry colonial settlers who were encroaching into their ancestral territory.  

Following the alliance with Britain, Brant led successful raids in the civil war for upstate New York. On August 6, 1777, with the Patriots en route to relieve British-occupied Fort Stanwix, a mixed party of British regulars and Brant's Mohawk Indians launched the ambush known as the Battle of Oriskany, during which Patriot General Nicholas Herkimer was wounded and his horse was shot.  

One year later, on September 17, 1778, Brant launched a successful attack on German Flats, now known as Herkimer, New York. Brant led a force of 150 Iroquois and 300 British Loyalists under the command of Captain William Caldwell against the small community, which had been left virtually undefended by Patriot troops.  

The following summer, on July 20, 1779, Brant's party of 90 Tories and Loyalist Iroquois executed a successful raid in the Neversink Valley of New York, during which they destroyed a school and a church, as well as farms in Peenpack and Mahackamack. When the Patriot militia responded by attempting to ambush Brant as he traveled up the Delaware River on July 22, Brandt again defeated them, killing between 45 and 50 Patriots at what is known as the Battle of Minisink.  

A little over a month later, on August 29, in southwestern New York near present-day Elmira, Continental forces led by Major General John Sullivan and Brigadier General James Clinton defeated a combined force of Loyalists and Indians commanded by Captain Walter Butler and Brant in what is known as The Battle of Chemung. Sullivan subsequently embarked on a scorched-earth campaign against the Iroquois in retaliation for their raids against frontier settlements. At least 40 of the tribe's villages were destroyed along with valuable supplies. As a result, the winter of 1779 was particularly brutal for the Iroquois. Nonetheless, they managed to increase their pressure on frontier settlements in 1780.  

Despite the best efforts of the Iroquois, however, the Chemung Valley fell into the hands of American settlers following the war. As a result, Iroquois attached to Chief Joseph Brant followed him in a resettlement to Canada, where they found land and safety with their British allies. 









Nov 24, 1963: LBJ to continue Kennedy policy in Vietnam

Two days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson confirms the U.S. intention to continue military and economic support to South Vietnam. He instructed Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, in Washington for consultations following South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem's assassination, to communicate his intention to the new South Vietnamese leadership. Johnson's first decision about Vietnam was effectively to continue Kennedy's policy.  

Also on this day: Jack Ruby murders accused Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald at the Dallas jail where Oswald is being held.








Nov 24, 1922: Irish author and nationalist executed

Robert Erskine Childers, a popular Irish author and member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), is shot to death by an Irish Free State firing squad after being convicted of carrying a revolver. He had been one of the leaders, along with Eamon de Valera, of the Republican forces in the Irish Civil War that followed the partition of Ireland in 1921.  

Childers, born in London in 1870, fought for Britain in the Boer War in South Africa before writing The Riddle of the Sands (1903), a popular novel that is considered one of literature's first spy stories. He later resigned from the British army to devote himself to the struggle for Irish Home Rule and in 1914 secretly used his yacht to smuggle arms to the Irish rebels. During World War I, Childers served England as an intelligence and aerial-reconnaissance officer and received a Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery.  

After the war, he traveled to Ireland, where he was elected to the Dáil Éireann (Irish Assembly). After the partition of Ireland, he joined the IRA to continue the struggle for complete Irish independence. Caught by Free French Forces, he was court-martialed and executed in Dublin on charges of illegally possessing a handgun.  

His son, Erskine Hamilton Childers, was elected president of Ireland in 1973.



Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal entry, into Constantinople.
496 - Anastasius II succeeds Gelasius I as Catholic Pope
642 - Theodore I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1105 - Rabbi Nathan ben Yehiel of Rome completes Talmudic dictionary
1434 - River Thames freezes
1542 - Battle of Solway Moss: English beat Scottish King James V
1587 - Battle at Auneau: Henri de Guise wins
1601 - Earl Mauritius ceases siege of De Bosch due to strict monarchy
1628 - John Ford's "Lover's Melancholy," premieres in London
1639 - 1st observation of transit of Venus occured (only 2, record event)
1642 - Abel Janzoon Tasman discovers Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania)
1643 - Battle of Tuttlingen: Beiers army under Gen Mercy beats France
1655 - English Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell bans Anglicans
1688 - General strategist John Churchill meets Willem III
1703 - 1st Lutheran pastor ordained in America, Justus Falckner at Phila
1715 - River Thames freezes
1759 - Destructive eruption of Vesuvius
1800 - Weber's opera "Das Waldmadchen" premieres in Freiburg
1832 - South Carolina passes Ordinance of Nullification
1835 - Texas Rangers, mounted police force authorized by Texas Provisional Government
Naturalist Charles DarwinNaturalist Charles Darwin 1859 - Charles Darwin publishes "On the Origin of Species"
1861 - Luik-Visé-Maastricht railway opens
1862 - M Levy publishes Gustave Flauberts "Salammbo"
1863 - Battle of Chattanooga, Columbia & Lookout Mt begins in Tennessee
1869 - American Woman's Suffrage Association forms (Cleveland)
1871 - National Rifle Association organized (NYC)
1874 - Joseph F Glidden patents barbed wire
1880 - Southern University forms
1887 - Victorien Sardou's "La Tosca" premieres in Paris
1896 - 1st US absentee voting law enacted by Vermont
1897 - Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union forms in Kingston
1898 - The International Conference of Rome for the Social Defense Against Anarchists opens.
1903 - Clyde Coleman of NYC patents automobile electric starter
1903 - George Ade's "County Chairman," premieres in NYC
1905 - Moshav Hertzlia forms in Israel
Italian Dictator Benito MussoliniItalian Dictator Benito Mussolini 1914 - Benito Mussolini leaves Italy's socialist party
1914 - Dutch Overseas Trustmaatschappij (NOT) forms
1915 - Serbian leader flees to Albania
1917 - Nine police officers and one civilian are killed when a bomb explodes at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin police headquarters building.
1918 - Béla Can forms Hungarian Communist Party
1922 - Italian parliament gives Benito Mussolini dictatorial powers "for 1 year"
1923 - Radio Belgium's 1st transmission
1924 - 1st Dutch airplane (Fokker's F-7) reaches Batavia (Java)
1925 - 1st radio-broadcast of Dutch KRO (Catholic Radio Broadcast)
1925 - Eugene O'Neill Theater (Coronet, Forrest) opens at 230 W 49th St NYC
1926 - KVI-AM in Seattle WA begins radio transmissions
1930 - 1st woman pilot on a transcontinental air flight Miss Ruth Nichols (Mineola, NY to California), in a Lockheed-Vega, took 7 days
1932 - In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (better known as the FBI Crime Lab) officially opens.
1934 - CFL Grey Cup: Sarnia beats Regina, 20-12 at Toronto
1934 - SN Behrman's "Rain from Heaven" premieres in NYC
1935 - King George II returns to Greece after 12 years
1935 - The Senegalese Socialist Party holds its second congress.
1936 - Noel Coward's "Tonight at 8:30" premieres in NYC
1936 - Pacifist/anti fascist writer Carl Von Ossietzky sent to concentration camp, award Nobel Peace Prize
1938 - Clifford Odets' "Rocket to the Moon" premieres in NYC
1938 - National Semi-Pro Basketball Congress authorizes yellow basketball
1941 - "Life Certificates" issued to some Jews of Vilna, rest exterminated
1941 - Indian infantry attacks German tanks at Sidi Omar
1941 - US troops land on Suriname to protect bauxite mine
1942 - Fieldmarshal Erich von Manstein arrives in Starobelsk
1942 - French collaborator earl De Brinon establishes "African Falanx"
1944 - US bombers based on Saipan, begin 1st attack on Tokyo
Author John SteinbeckAuthor John Steinbeck 1947 - John Steinbeck's novel "Pearl" published
1947 - Un-American Activities Committee finds "Hollywood 10" in contempt because of their refusal to reveal whether they were communists
1948 - Ireland votes for independence from UK
1948 - WAVE TV channel 3 in Louisville, KY (NBC) begins broadcasting
1949 - Britain nationalizes its steel & iron industry
1949 - Syracuse Nationals beat Anderson Packers, 125-123 in 5 OTs
1950 - "Guys & Dolls" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 1200 performances
1950 - UN troops begin an assault intending to end Korean War by Christmas
1950 - US infantry division conquerors Chonju Korea
1951 - "17" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 180 performances
1951 - "Music in the Air" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 56 perfs
1951 - 39th CFL Grey Cup: Ottawa Rough Riders defeats Saskatchewan, 21-14
1951 - British auto manufacturers Austin/Moris Motors merge
1953 - Dodgers sign Walter Alston to a 1-year pact as manager for 1954
1954 - Air Force One, 1st US Presidential airplane, christened
1954 - France sends 20,000 soldiers to Algeria
1955 - 1st test flight of Fokker's F-27 Friendship
1956 - "Pajama Game" closes at St James Theater NYC after 1063 performances
1956 - 44th CFL Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos defeats Montreal Alouettes, 50-27
1957 - Cleveland Browns' fullback Jim Brown sets club record of 237 yds rushing
1958 - Mali becomes an autonomous state within French Community
1960 - Wilt Chamberlain pulls down 55 rebounds in a game (NBA record)
1962 - Last of Dutch militia leave New-Guinea
Night club operator Jack RubyNight club operator Jack Ruby 1963 - 1st live murder on TV-Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald
1964 - 30th Heisman Trophy Award: John Huarte, Notre Dame (QB)
1964 - Cards' 3rd baseman Ken Boyer is voted NL MVP
1964 - For 1st time since 1800, residents of Wash DC permitted to vote
1964 - Rebellion ends in Zaire
1965 - Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu becomes President of Zaire
1966 - 1st TV station in Congo, Kinshasa (Zaire)
1966 - 400 die of respiratory failure & heart attack in killer NYC smog
1966 - The Beatles began recording sessions for "Sgt Pepper"
1966 - A Bulgarian plane with 82 people on board crashes near Bratislava, Slovakia.
1966 - New York City experiences the smoggiest day in the city's history.
1968 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Louise Suggs Golf Invitational
1969 - Apollo 12 returns to Earth
1969 - West German pres Heinemann visits Netherlands
1969 - Lt William L Calley charged with massacre of over 100 civilians in My Lai Vietnam in March 1968, ordered to stand trial by court martial
President of Zaire Mobutu Sese SekoPresident of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko 1970 - 36th Heisman Trophy Award: Jim Plunkett, Stanford (QB)
1971 - Braves catcher-infielder Earl Williams, wins NL Rookie of Year
1971 - Dan "DB" Cooper parachutes from a Northwest AL 727 with $200,000
1971 - Prison rebellion at Rahway State Prison NJ
1972 - USSR performs underground nuclear test
1973 - Miss Teenage America Pageant
1974 - 2 truck hijackers freed (3/3/1974)
1974 - 62nd CFL Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes defeats Edmonton Eskimos, 20-7
1974 - Gerald Ford & Leonid Brezhnev signs SALT-2-treaty
1974 - Jane Blalock wins LPGA Lady Errol Golf Classic
1975 - "Boccaccio" opens at Edison Theater NYC for 7 performances
1976 - NBA Atlanta Hawks end a 28 game road losing streak
1976 - Reds Joe Morgan wins his 2nd straight NL MVP Award
1977 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1977 - Miami Bob Greise passes for 6 touchdowns vs St Louis (55-14)
38th US President Gerald Ford38th US President Gerald Ford 1979 - Kings' Charley Simmer fails on 8th penalty shot against Islanders
1979 - US admits troops in Vietnam were exposed to the toxic Agent Orange
1981 - 1st air-launched cruise missile tested
1982 - Orioles Cal Ripken is named AL Rookie of Year
1982 - Yasuhiro Nakasone succeeds Zenko Suzuki as premier of Japan
1983 - PLO exchanges 6 Israeli prisoners for 4,500 Palestinians & Lebanese
1983 - Test Cricket debut of Richie Richardson, WI v India Bombay
1985 - 73rd CFL Grey Cup: BC Lions defeats Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 37-24
1985 - Egyptian commandos storm captured Boeing in Malta, 60 killed
1986 - "Smile" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC for 48 performances
1986 - Cards reliever Todd Worrell wins NL Rookie of Year
1986 - Wrestler John Tatum charged with possession of marijuana
1987 - Li Peng succeeds premier Zhao Ziyang in China PR
1989 - Communist Party resigns in Czechoslovakia
1989 - Elias Hrawi elected president of Lebanon
1989 - Tendulkar scores a Test Cricket fifty age 16 years 214 days, a record
1991 - 1st intl flight from Long Island's MacArthur Airport (to Mexico)
1991 - 79th CFL Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts defeats Calgary Stampeders, 36-21
1991 - After going 12-0, Washington Redskins lose to Dallas 24-21
1991 - Monica Seles, sets female tennis record winning $2,457,758 in a year
1991 - Rachmon Nabijev elected pres of Tadzjikistan
1991 - US 75th manned space mission "STS 44" Atlantis 10 launched
1992 - Boeing 734 crashes into mountain in China, kills 141
1993 - Brady bill passes establishing 5-day waiting period for handgun sales
1993 - End of world, according to Ukrainian sect White Brotherhood
1993 - In Liverpool, 11-year-olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables are convicted of the murder of 2-year-old James Bulger.
1995 - Ireland votes to end 70-year-old ban on divorce (50.28% to 49.72%)
1996 - "Juan Darien - A Carnival Mass," opens at Vivian Beaumont Theater NYC
1996 - CFL Grey Cup: Toronto beats Edmonton, 43-37 at Hamilton
1996 - Karrie Webb wins ITT LPGA Tour Championship
1996 - Mashonaland defeat Matabeleland to win the Logan Cricket Cup
1996 - Mohammad Wasim scores 109 on Test Cricket debut, Pakistan v NZ Lahore
1996 - Rookie Karrie Webb wins LPGA Tour Championship
1997 - "Street Corner Symphony," opens at Brooks Atkinson NYC for 79 perfs
2005 - Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Parliament Stephen Harper, introduces a motion of no confidence. The motion is passed on November 28 leading to the dissolution of the 38th Canadian Parliament.
2006 - Israeli rapist Benny Sela escapes from police custody while being transferred to a court hearing.
2007 - Australians elect the Kevin Rudd-led centre-left Australian Labor Party at the federal election, ending the eleven-year tenure of the John Howard-led centre-right Liberal/National coalition government.
2012 - Gangnam Style becomes the most viewed youtube video surpassing 808 million views
2012 - Ernest Bai Koroma is re-elected President of Sierra Leone

2012 - The continued NHL lockout results in all games to December 14 being cancelled





1615 - French King Louis XIII married Ann of Austria. They were both 14 years old.   1859 - Charles Darwin, a British naturalist, published "On the Origin of Species." It was the paper in which he explained his theory of evolution through the process of natural selection.   1863 - During the Civil War, the battle for Lookout Mountain began in Tennessee.   1871 - The National Rifle Association was incorporated in the U.S.   1874 - Joseph F. Glidden was granted a patent for a barbed fencing material.   1903 - Clyde J. Coleman received the patent for an electric self-starter for an automobile.   1940 - Nazis closed off the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland. Over the next three years the population dropped from 350,000 to 70,000 due to starvation, disease and deportations to concentration camps.   1944 - During World War II, the first raid against the Japanese capital of Tokyo was made by land-based U.S. bombers.   1947 - The "Hollywood 10," were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about alleged Communist influence in their industry.   1947 - John Steinbeck's novel "The Pearl" was published for the first time.   1963 - Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald live on national television.   1969 - Apollo 12 landed safely in the Pacific Ocean bringing an end to the second manned mission to the moon.   1971 - Hijacker Dan Cooper, known as D.B. Cooper, parachuted from a Northwest Airlines 727 over Washington state with $200,000 in ransom.   1983 - The Palestine Liberation Organization released six Israeli prisoners in exchange for the release of 4,500 Palestinians and Lebanese held by the Israelis.   1985 - In Malta, Egyptian commandos stormed an Egyptian jetliner. 60 people died in the raid.   1987 - The U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to scrap short- and medium-range missiles. It was the first superpower treaty to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons.   1989 - Czechoslovakia's hard-line party leadership resigned after more than a week of protests against its policies.   1992 - In China, a domestic jetliner crashed, killing 141 people.   1993 - The U.S. Congress gave its final approval to the Brady handgun control bill.   1993 - Robert Thompson and Jon Venables (both 11 years old) were convicted of murdering 2-year-old James Bulger of Liverpool, England. They were both sentenced to "indefinite detention."   1995 - In Ireland, the voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment legalizing divorce.   1996 - Rusty Wallace won the first NASCAR event to be held in Japan.   1996 - Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions) set an NFL record when he recorded his eighth straight 1,000-yard season.   1998 - AOL (America Online) announced a deal for their purchase of Netscape for $4.21 billion.  



1642 Abel Tasman discovered Van Diemen's land, later renamed Tasmania. 1859 Darwin's Origin of Species was published. 1871 The National Rifle Association was incorporated. 1963 Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK's accused assassin, in the garage of Dallas police headquarters. 1971 D. B. Cooper parachuted from a Northwest Airlines flight with $200,000.



The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/nov24.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

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