Some Pictures of a Woodpecker

Not sure if I ever actually published previous pictures that I took of the local woodpecker at my job before. Looked for it, but could not find it.

But I am printing these ones now.

This batch is from earlier this morning, maybe around seven or so this morning. The guy I relieve from work in the morning and I were still talking, so it was early in the shift. Maybe a little before seven, or maybe a little after, but around there for sure.

While we were talking, I happened to turn and saw this little guy digging in the topsoil. In years past, I saw either this woodpecker, or another one (probably related). Often times, he comes right up to the window and starts pecking and banging at it. My guess is that he or she thinks it is another bird, seeing it's own reflection and not recognizing it as such.

So I got up and snapped some pictures. Was not sure that any quality ones came out. Yet some of them actually did come out quite nicely, given that he kept moving away from me (probably saw motion from the other side of the window and did not want to take a chance. Despite that, the awkward angling, and the window and frames which sometimes got in the way, I managed a few decent quality shots.

That is good, because I see these guys all of the time, either hiking or walking (particularly at the Delaware Raritan Canal. Yet, it seems almost impossible to actually see them well enough in the wild to get a few good pictures.

Here are a few good pictures, which I am proud of having taken. My personal favorite is one which shows that he is not actually standing on the ground, but gripping onto the side of the revolving door. Looks like what he would likely do with a tree before he starts pecking away at it.

Very cool. So I put that one right at the top. 

Take a look and enjoy. 

Movie Review: Knock at the Cabin

Now, I actually saw this movie, or at least a large part of this movie, probably last year or the year before at some point in time. But somehow, while it seemed entertaining and engaging, it did not quite grab me to the extent that the more recent viewing did.

Here's the scenario: there is a gay couple, Eric, played by Jonathan Groff, and Andrew, played by Ben Aldridge, who are trying to enjoy some time away at a remote cabin in the woods of Pennsylvania. They are there with their adopted daughter, Wen, played by Kristen Cui. Everything seems reasonably peaceful and quiet for the first few minutes.

Of course, that changes. Four strangers approach the cabin and demand entry. They carry these strange weapons and seem threatening. Yet, the situation is not what it might appear at first. In some ways, it is less immediately threatening than first appearances suggest. Yet, there is an eerie feeling that persists throughout the film, and it grows, if anything, once you learn more about the four strangers and what they actually want. 

Before I go on, of course, there should be the standard warning to stop reading if you intend to read this book, because there will be spoilers ahead.

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this movie already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning. 

Alright, so now that you have been warned about spoilers, and there are no excuses, let's get into the part of this review which is filled with spoilers.

The movie opens up with Wen just outside of the cabin in the woods, trying to capture butterflies. Unexpectedly, she is approached by this huge stranger, Leonard, played by Dave Bautista. He starts talking to her, and you get this eerie feeling, knowing that little children are obviously not supposed to talk to strangers. And he is just a huge man, so the situation feels threatening. Yet, he helps her to catch butterflies and does nothing outwardly or immediately threatening. 

Then, three other strangers come out of the woods. Leonard turns to them, and he suddenly seems troubled. Wen, meanwhile, feels alarmed enough to finally run away and go back to the cabin to warn her dads. They do not take her too seriously at first, until it is obvious that there are indeed people there. The phone lines are dead, and there is no cell phone reception, and the strangers clearly want to get inside of the cabin, although they insist that all they want to do is talk. They are all carrying these strange makeshift weapons, although they refer to these things as "tools." Andrew has a gun, but left it in the car, so that hardly seems like a viable option. Clearly an uncomfortable, tense situation.

Eventually, the four strangers gain entry into the cabin. Eric gets injured in the process and suffers a concussion. We see the couple tied up in chairs, and the four strangers standing before them. Wen is not tied up, and she is given free range of motion. Not surprisingly, she remains with her two dads, hugging them and clearly uncomfortable. Yet the four strangers do not seem to mean her any harm. 

At this point, the four strangers begin to introduce themselves. We already met Leonard, but learn that he is a math teacher. Then there is Adriane, played by Abby Quinn. She is a mother of a young boy, and is counting on this family to make the right choice, as she sees it. Sabrina, played by Nikki Amuka-Bird, is a broke nurse from southern California. Even after this, it remains unclear what exactly they want or why they are here. But they all have a sense of urgency about this matter, and this keeps the tension going. Finally, there is Redmond, played by Rory O'Bannon, who seems the least inviting and friendly. He is from Boston, but never has the patience to talk much about himself. Later, this comes to be part of the mystery and intrigue. For now, he seems impatient just to get this whole thing going. The mission of these four still seems mysterious, but we are about to find out what they want. 

Little by little, it is revealed to us. They are there because they kept having visions. Really, it is a message from God, or so they believe. What they say - which the family has an extremely difficult time believing - is that the world will end unless the family makes a sacrifice and kills one of their own. Suicide is not an option.

Now, this is when Redmond, one of the four invaders, becomes questionable. He had a very short fuse, and he becomes the first sacrifice when the family refuses their request for a sacrifice. Redmond is killed, and Andrew suddenly remembers something. He instinctively knew that he recognized Redmon, but could not put his finger on where he knew him from. Then he remembers having been attacked in a hate crime at a bar, and is sure that the man who attacked him is none other than Redmond. This convinces Andrew more than ever that these four are crazy and specifically targeting him and Eric for their lifestyle. 

Then, strange occurrences indeed keep happening. There is a massive tsunami that plunges much of the northwest coast of the United States underwater, creating stunning damage and deaths. After the sacrifice, there is a plague which seems to be catching on. Even after these reports, Andrew remains skeptical, claiming that it all could be a conspiracy. That these four knew of these events beforehand, and are just trying to play it on television for dramatic effect. 

However, these strange events become stranger still when literally hundreds of planes begin falling from the sky all around the globe, all at once. This is the event which finally convinces them that this is not being staged or manipulated. That this is all real. 

Eventually, they realize that there really is no escape. One person in the family needs to be sacrificed. Eric convinces Andrew, right at the end, that there can be no other way. He then gives Andrew the gun and gets him to shoot and kill him.

After the sacrifice, some semblance of normality can be restored. The world as it exists will, more or less, continue. 

This is not a typical horror movie. It builds suspense very slowly. Also, there are no real jump scares, or anything like that. Yet, it gives you a distinctly creepy feeling. There is undeniably something wrong right from the start. And as it is revealed, it feels increasingly engaging. 

The acting in the movie was solid. I was particularly pleasantly surprised by David Bautista, who is believable as a sensitive and scared, albeit huge, math teacher thrown into a very difficult and delicate situation. I only had seen him before in very different roles, and was not sure that he could do any other kinds of roles. But he was excellent in this film.

Generally, people seem to have mixed reactions to M. Night Shyamalan. I have met fans of his, and I know some people who absolutely cannot stand him. Perhaps the best description that I heard of him was from a coworker, who said that his movies are either hit or miss. He seems either to hit it out of the park, or he strikes out embarrassingly. There is no middle ground.

Yet, I rather like M. Night Shyamalan. His body of work tends to be complicated, but it seems to me that he often receives unfair criticism. Some of his movies, like The Village and especially The Happening. While those were not perfect movies, I nevertheless did not have quite as many problems with them as most people seem to have. If you suspend disbelief (which is what you often are supposed to do while watching movies or reading fiction, right?), and just accept the story for what it is, these actually can be quite moving and entertaining. 

Then there are those movies of his which everyone seems to love, including me. Classics like The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Split. Those are some of the movies which, generally speaking, most viewers would tend to agree were among his best movies, the ones when he hits it out of the park. I love all of those movies and have seen each of them multiple times.

In this movie, Shyamalan manages to maintain tension consistently. Like other films, there are some surprises. In fact, it would be a surprise if there were no surprises in one of his movies. But this one works for me. 

Not sure what other people said about this one, although I saw some mixed reviews after briefly doing a Google search about the movie. Still, this one was a solid movie as far as I am concerned.

Highly recommended. 

May 16th: This Day in History

 

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

On this day in 955, Alberich II, the (bastard?) son of Octavianus, was elected pope. In 1165 on this day, Ramjbam & his family reached Acre Palestine. Florence became a republic on this day in 1527. On this day in 1568, Mary Queen of Scotland fled to England. Johannes Kepler, by his own calculations, was conceived on this day in 1571 at 4:37 AM. On this day in 1717, Voltaire was imprisoned in the Bastille, the most famous prison in Paris. In 1770 on this day, Marie Antoinette, at age 14, married the future King Louis XVI of France, who was 15. The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called "The Regulators", was fought on this day in 1771 in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina. In 1804 on this day in Paris, the Senate & Tribune declared Napoleon the leader of France. Mississippi River steamboat service began on this day in 1817. On this day in 1822 during the Greek War of Independence, the Ottomans captured the Greek town of Souli. On this day in 1868, the United States Senate voted in against impeaching President Andrew Johnson of "high crimes and misdemeanors" in the first ballot on one of 11 articles of impeachment. In 1879 on this day, the Treaty of Gandamak established an Afghan state between Russia and the British. On this day in 1911, the Zeppelin "Deutscheland" was wrecked at Dusseldorf, Germany. The Sedition Act of 1918 was passed on this day by the U.S. Congress, effectively making criticism of the government an imprisonable offense. Joan of Arc (Jeanne D'Arc) was canonized as a saint in Rome on this day in 1920. On this day in 1940 during the German blitzkrieg campaign in western Europe of World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill returned to London from Paris. In 1941 on this day during World War II, the Italian army under Aosta surrendered to the British at Amba Alagi in Ethiopia. The Germans made their last major air attack of World War II in Great Britain on this day in 1941 in Birmingham. On this day in 1943 during the Holocaust of World War II, the Jewish resistance known as the Warsaw Ghetto uprising ended in Poland after 30 days of fighting. Nazi soldiers gained control of Warsaw's Jewish ghetto, blowing up the last remaining synagogue and beginning the mass deportation of the ghetto's remaining dwellers to the Treblinka extermination camp. King Baudouin of Belgium visited what was still the Belgian colony in Congo on this day in 1955. The Big 4 summit in Paris collapsed on this day in 1960 as Soviet officials leveled spy charges against the United States due to the American U-2 spy plane incident. The iconic Pet Sounds album by the Beach Boys was released on this day in 1966. On this day in 1968, protests escalated around France. India annexed the Principality of Sikkim on this day in 1975. Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to summit Mount Everest on this day in 1975. Former Buggles members Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn replaced Jon Anderson & Rick Wakeman in Yes on this day in 1980. On this day in 1986 during white minority apartheid rule, South African President P W Botha sent Coetzee to visit the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Soviet President Mikhail S Gorbachev and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping ended a 30-year rift between the two nations when they formally met in Beijing on this day in 1989. Polls released on this day in 1992 showed that the American presidential election between candidates Ross Perot, incumbent Republican President George H.W. Bush and Democratic challenged Bill Clinton could be in a virtual deadlock. President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (since renamed Congo, as it had traditionally been before Mobutu's rule) had his 32 years of autocratic rule forcefully ended when rebel forces led by Laurent Kabila expelled him from the country. In Casablanca, Morocco, on this day in 2003, 33 civilians were killed and more than 100 people were injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks. On this day in 2005, Kuwait permitted women's suffrage by a 35-23 National Assembly vote. Alex Salmond was elected First Minister of Scotland on this day in 2007, becoming the first Scottish National Party leader to be elected as First Minister after winning a historic victory at the Scottish general election on the 3rd May.

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

•   On this day in 955, Alberich II, the (bastard?) son of Octavianus, was elected pope.

•   In 1165 on this day, Ramjbam & his family reached Acre Palestine.

1204 - Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.

1527 -Alberich II, (bastard?) son of Octavianus elected pope

•  Florence became a republic on this day in 1527.

1532 - Sir Thomas More resigns as English Lord Chancellor

1547 - Protestant German monarch surrenders to Karel in Wittenberg

•  On this day in 1568, Mary Queen of Scotland fled to England.

Bust of Astronomer Johann Kepler

•  Johannes Kepler, by his own calculations, was conceived on this day in 1571 at 4:37 AM

1584 - 7 Westfriese towns divide monasteries of Egmond/Blokker/St-Pietersdal

1605 - Camillo Borghese elected to succeed Pope Leo XI becomes Paul V

1606 - 2,000 foreigners murdered in Russia

1648 - Battle at Zolty Wody: Bohdan Chmielricki's cosacks beat John Casimir

 

French Enlightenment Philosopher & Author Voltaire

•  On this day in 1717, Voltaire was imprisoned in the Bastille, the most famous prison in Paris.      Writer Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, is imprisoned in the Bastille on this day in 1717.    The outspoken writer was born to middle-class parents, attended college in Paris, and began to study law. However, he quit law to become a playwright and made a name for himself with classical tragedies. Critics embraced his epic poem, La Henriade, but its satirical attack on politics and religion infuriated the government, and Voltaire was arrested in 1717. He spent nearly a year in the Bastille.    Voltaire's time in prison failed to dry up his satirical pen. In 1726, he was forced to flee to England. He returned several years later and continued to write plays. In 1734, his Lettres Philosophiques criticized established religions and political institutions, and he was forced to flee again. He retreated to the region of Champagne, where he lived with his mistress and patroness, Madame du Chatelet. In 1750, he moved to Berlin on the invitation of Frederick II of Prussia and later settled in Switzerland, where he wrote his best-known work, Candide. He died in Paris in 1778, having returned to supervise the production of one of his plays.  

1747 - Prince Willem V sworn in as admiral-general of Neth

1763 - Samuel Johnson 1st meets his future biographer James Boswell in London

Royal France

•  In 1770 on this day, Marie Antoinette, at age 14, married the future King Louis XVI of France, who was 15.  May 16, 1770: Louis marries Marie Antoinette  At Versailles, Louis, the French dauphin, marries Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Austrian Archduchess Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. France hoped their marriage would strengthen its alliance with Austria, its longtime enemy. In 1774, with the death of King Louis XV, Louis and Marie were crowned king and queen of France.    From the start, Louis was unsuited to deal with the severe financial problems he had inherited from his grandfather, King Louis XV. In addition, his queen fell under criticism for her extravagance, her devotion to the interests of Austria, and her opposition to reform of the monarchy. Marie exerted a growing influence over her husband, and under their reign the monarchy became dangerously alienated from the French people. In a legendary episode, Marie allegedly responded to the news that the impoverished French peasantry had no food to eat by declaring "Let them eat cake."    At the outbreak of the French Revolution, Marie and Louis resisted the advice of constitutional monarchists who sought to reform the monarchy in order to save it, and by 1791 opposition to the royal pair had become so fierce that the two were forced to attempt an escape to Austria. During their trip, Marie and Louis were apprehended by revolutionary forces at Varennes, France, and carried back to Paris. There, Louis was forced to accept the constitution of 1791, which reduced him to a mere figurehead.    In August 1792, the royal couple was arrested by the sansculottes and imprisoned, and in September the monarchy was abolished by the National Convention. In November, evidence of Louis' counterrevolutionary intrigues with Austria and other foreign nations was discovered, and he was put on trial for treason by the National Convention. The following January, Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. On January 21, he walked steadfastly to the guillotine and was executed. Nine months later, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason by a tribunal, and on October 16 she followed her husband to the guillotine.

• The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called "The Regulators", was fought on this day in 1771 in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.

1792 - Denmark abolishes slave trade

1795 - Hedges Treaty: Bataafse Republic becomes French vassel state

1796 - Lombardije Republic forms 1803 - Peace of Amiens ends

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

•  In 1804 on this day in Paris, the Senate & Tribune declared Napoleon the leader of France.

1811 - Peninsular War-Allies defeat French at Albuera

1815 - The Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, officially names the town of Blackheath in the upper Blue Mountains.

• Mississippi River steamboat service began on this day in 1817.

•  On this day in 1822 during the Greek War of Independence, the Ottomans captured the Greek town of Souli.

1860 - -18] Chicago: Republican convention selects Abraham Lincoln candidate

1861 - Twiggs Surrender, San Antonio, Texas during US Civil war

1861 - Confederate government offers war volunteers $10 premium

1861 - Kentucky proclaims its neutrality

1862 - Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir builds first automobile

1863 - Battle of Champion's Hill, MS-bloodiest action of Vicksburg Campaign

1864 - Atlanta Campaign: Battle of Resaca, ends (since May 13)

1864 - Battle of Bermuda Hundred, VA

1864 - Last battles at Drewry's Bluff, Virginia (6,666 casualties)

1866 - Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer

1866 - Congress authorizes the nickel 5 cent piece (replaces silver half-dime)

1868 - Bedrich Smetana's opera "Dalibor," premieres in Prague

1868 - The first ballot on one of 11 articles of impeachment in the U.S. Senate failed to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote.

• On this day in 1868, the United States Senate voted in against impeaching President Andrew Johnson of "high crimes and misdemeanors" in the first ballot on one of 11 articles of impeachment. In February 1868, the House of Representatives charged Johnson with 11 articles of impeachment for vague "high crimes and misdemeanors." (For comparison, in 1998, President Bill Clinton was charged with two articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice during an investigation into his inappropriate sexual behavior in the White House Oval Office. In 1974, Nixon faced three charges for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.) The main issue in Johnson's trial was his staunch resistance to implementing Congress' Civil War Reconstruction policies. The War Department was the federal agency responsible for carrying out Reconstruction programs in the war-ravaged southern states and when Johnson fired the agency's head, Edwin Stanton, Congress retaliated with calls for his impeachment.    Of the 11 counts, several went to the core of the conflict between Johnson and Congress. The House charged Johnson with illegally removing the secretary of war from office and for violating several Reconstruction Acts. The House also accused the president of hurling slanderous "inflammatory and scandalous harangues" against Congressional members. On February 24, the House passed all 11 articles of impeachment and the process moved into a Senate trial.    The Senate trial lasted until May 26, 1868. Johnson did not attend any of the proceedings and was not required to do so. After all the arguments had been presented for and against him, Johnson waited for his fate, which hung on one swing vote. By a vote of 35-19, Johnson was acquitted and finished out his term. Presidents Johnson and Clinton are the only presidents for whom the impeachment process went as far as a Senate trial. Nixon resigned before the House of Representatives could vote on impeachment.

1869 - Cincinnati Reds play their first baseball game, win 41-7

1872 - Metropolitan Gas Company lamps lit for first time

1874 - First recorded dam disaster in US (Williamsburg Mass)

1875 - Quake in Venezuela & Colombia kills 16,000

1877 - May 16, 1877 political crisis in France.

1879 - Antonin Dvorák's "Slavic Dancing," premieres

• In 1879 on this day, the Treaty of Gandamak established an Afghan state between Russia and the British.

1881 - In Germany, the world's first electric tram goes into service in Lichterfelder (near Berlin)

1882 - 8th Kentucky Derby: Babe Hurd aboard Apollo wins in 2:40.00

1884 - 10th Kentucky Derby: Isaac Murphy aboard Buchanan wins in 2:40.25

1888 - The first demonstration of recording on a flat disc was demonstrated by Emile Berliner.

1888 - CPR opens Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, BC

1888 - The capitol of Texas was dedicated in Austin.

1891 - George A Hormel and; Co introduce Spam

1894 - Fire in Boston destroys baseball stadium & 170 other buildings

1901 - Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Priory School" (BG)


1903 - First transcontinental motorcycle trip begins at SF (George Wymann)

1903 - George Wyman makes 1st motorcycle trip across the US

1910 - The U.S. Bureau of Mines was authorized by the U.S. Congress.

1911 - Remains of a neanderthal man found in Jersey UK

•  On this day in 1911, the Zeppelin "Deutscheland" was wrecked at Dusseldorf, Germany.

1914 - The American Horseshoe Pitchers Association (AHPA) was formed in Kansas City, Kansas.

1914 - Ewing Field, near Masonic Street, opens

1916 - 41st Preakness: Linus McAtee aboard Damrosch wins in 1:54.8

•  The Sedition Act of 1918 was passed on this day by the U.S. Congress, effectively making criticism of the government an imprisonable offense.

Picture of the Monument Jeanne d'Arc/Joan of Arc Monument (above) in the gardens in Québec City which now bears her name.

Joan of Arc Statue in Philadelphia

•  Joan of Arc (Jeanne D'Arc) was canonized as a saint in Rome on this day in 1920.

1920 - Spanish bullfighter Joselito is fatally gored fighting his last bull

1921 - 47th Preakness: F Coltiletti aboard Broomspun wins in 1:54.2

1922 - White Star Line Majestic completes 5½ day maiden voyage

1924 - 108°F (42°C) in Blitzen Oregon


1927 - Supreme Court ruled bootleggers must pay income tax

1929 - The first Academy Awards were given on this night. The term, Oscars, was not used to describe the statuettes given to actors and actresses until 1931. "Wings," Emil Jennings and Janet Gaynor wins

1929 - In Hollywood, California, the first Academy Awards are handed out.



1936 - First British air hostess (Daphne Kearley) flight to France


1938 - 38 die in Terminal Hotel fire (Atlanta Ga)


1939 - Food stamps are First issued

1940 - Nazi's forbid non-professional auto workers

Statue of soldier, author and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London

•  On this day in 1940 during the German blitzkrieg campaign in western Europe of World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill returned to London from Paris.

1941 - First US/radio performance of Bennett's "Symphony in D for the Dodgers"

•  In 1941 on this day during World War II, the Italian army under Aosta surrendered to the British at Amba Alagi in Ethiopia.

•  The Germans made their last major air attack of World War II in Great Britain on this day in 1941 in Birmingham.

1941 - Nazis forbid Dutch Organization of Actors (NOT)

1942 - First transport of British/Dutch prisoners to South Burma

1943 - -17th] RAF bombs Möhne & Eder (Battle of Ruhr)

• On this day in 1943 during the Holocaust of World War II, the Jewish resistance known as the Warsaw Ghetto uprising ended in Poland after 30 days of fighting. Nazi soldiers gained control of Warsaw's Jewish ghetto, blowing up the last remaining synagogue and beginning the mass deportation of the ghetto's remaining dwellers to the Treblinka extermination camp.    Shortly after the German occupation of Poland began, the Nazis forced the city's Jewish citizens into a "ghetto" surrounded by barbed wire and armed SS guards. The Warsaw Ghetto had an area of only 840 acres but soon held almost 500,000 Jews in deplorable conditions. Disease and starvation killed thousands every month, and beginning in July 1942, 6,000 Jews a day were transferred to the Treblinka concentration camp. Although the Nazis assured the remaining Jews that their relatives and friends were being sent to work camps, word soon reached the ghetto that deportation to the camp meant extermination. An underground resistance group was established in the ghetto--the Jewish Combat Organization (ZOB)--and limited arms were acquired at great cost.    On January 18, 1943, when the Nazis entered the ghetto to prepare a group for transfer, a ZOB unit ambushed them. Fighting lasted for several days, and a number of Germans soldiers were killed before they withdrew. On April 19, Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler announced that the ghetto was to be cleared out in honor of Hitler's birthday the following day, and more than 1,000 SS soldiers entered the confines with tanks and heavy artillery. Although many of the ghetto's remaining 60,000 Jewish dwellers attempted to hide themselves in secret bunkers, more than 1,000 ZOB members met the Germans with gunfire and homemade bombs. Suffering moderate casualties, the Germans initially withdrew but soon returned, and on April 24 they launched an all-out attack against the Warsaw Jews. Thousands were slaughtered as the Germans systematically moved down the ghetto, blowing up buildings one by one. The ZOB took to the sewers to continue the fight, but on May 8 their command bunker fell to the Germans, and their resistant leaders committed suicide. By May 16, the ghetto was firmly under Nazi control, and mass deportation of the last Warsaw Jews to Treblinka began.    During the uprising, some 300 hundred German soldiers were killed to the thousands of Warsaw Jews who perished. Virtually all the former ghetto residents who survived to reach Treblinka were dead by the end of the war.   

1944 - First of 180,000+ Hungarian Jews reach Auschwitz

1944 - Milt police attack gypsies

1945 - Violent battles around Sugar Loaf/Half Moon Okinawa

1946 - The Irving Berlin musical "Annie Get Your Gun," starring Ethel Merman premieres in Broadway, NYC

1946 - Jack Mullin showed the world the first magnetic tape recorder.

1948 - The body of CBS News correspondent George Polk was found in Solonika Bay in Greece. It had been a week after he'd disappeared.

1948 - Botvinnik wins 5-player tournament to determine world chess champion

1948 - Chaim Weizmann elected 1st president of Israel

1948 - Egyptians enter the Gaza

1948 - George Polk, CBS news correspondant, body found

1948 - Israel issues its first postage stamps

1951 - The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.

1952 - "New Faces (of 1952)" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 365 performances

1953 - Phillies Curt Simmons gives up a single, then retires next 27 in a row

1954 - Ted Williams gets 8 hits in 1st game (DH) since breaking collarbone

1954 - WGAN (now WGME) TV channel 13 in Portland, ME (CBS) 1st broadcast

1955 - Heavyweight Rocky Marciano KOs Don Cockell in SF

•  King Baudouin of Belgium visited what was still the Belgian colony in Congo on this day in 1955.

1955 - Rocky Marciano TKOs Don Cockell in 9 for heavyweight boxing title

1956 - Egypt recognizes People's Republic of China

1956 - Great Britain performs nuclear Test at Monte Bello Is Australia

1956 - Kraft Theater presents an act from "Profiles in Courage"



1957 - Maj Irwin, USAAF flies a Lockheed Starfight to a record 1,404.18 MPH

1957 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Invicti Athletae

1957 - US launches its 3rd atomic submarine, USS Skate, at Groton Conn

1957 - Yanks involved in Copacabana Incident, leads to Billy Martin trade

1958 - Eli Beeding experiences 83 g deceleration on a rocket sled, New Mex

1958 - Walter Irwin flies 2,259 KPH in F-104A Starfighter

1959 - 85th Preakness: William Harmatz aboard Royal Orbit wins in 1:57

1959 - WTOM TV channel 4 in Cheboygan, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting

•  The Big 4 summit in Paris collapsed on this day in 1960 as Soviet officials leveled spy charges against the United States due to the American U-2 spy plane incident.

1960 - Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.

1961 - 13rd Emmy Awards: Jack Benny Show, Raymond Burr & Barbara Stanwyck

1963 - "Beast in Me" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 4 performances

1963 - After 22 Earth orbits in Faith 7, Gordon Cooper returned to Earth, ending Project Mercury.

1964 - 90th Preakness: Bill Hartack aboard Northern Dancer wins in 1:56.8

1964 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1964 - Verne Gagne beats Mad Dog Vachon in Omaha, to become NWA champ

1965 - "Roar of the Greasepaint" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 232 perfs

1965 - Balt Oriole Jim Palmer's pitching debut, beats Yankees 7-5 & homers

1965 - Bomb destroys USAF base Bien Hoa South Vietnam

1965 - Spaghetti-O's went on sale.

1965 - WNJU TV channel 47 in NY-Linden, NY (TEL) begins broadcasting

1965 - The Campbell Soup Company introduces SpaghettiOs under its Franco-American brand.

The cover of the landmark "Pet Sounds" album by the Beach Boys

•  The iconic Pet Sounds album by the Beach Boys was released on this day in 1966.

1966 - National Welfare Rights Organization organizes

1966 - Stokely Carmichael named chairman of Student Nonviolent Coordinating

1967 - Phila voters approve a $13 million bond issue to build a new stadium

1968 - Earthquake kills 47 in Japan

Le Drapeau Tricolore (Tricour Flag) which was a product of the French Revolution, and which remains the national flag of France to this day.

• On this day in 1968, protests escalated around France.  In France, the May 1968 crisis grew as a general strike spreads to factories and industries across the country, shutting down newspaper distribution, air transport, and two major railroads. By the end of the month, millions of workers were on strike, and France seemed to be on the brink of radical leftist revolution.    After the Algerian crisis of the l950s, France entered a period of stability in the 1960s. The French empire was abolished, the economy improved, and President Charles de Gaulle was a popular ruler. Discontent lay just beneath the surface, however, especially among young students, who were critical of France's outdated university system and the scarcity of employment opportunity for university graduates. Sporadic student demonstrations for education reform began in 1968, and on May 3 a protest at the Sorbonne (the most celebrated college of the University of Paris) was broken up by police. Several hundred students were arrested and dozens were injured.    In the aftermath of the incident, courses at the Sorbonne were suspended, and students took to the streets of the Latin Quarter (the university district of Paris) to continue their protests. On May 6, battles between the police and students in the Latin Quarter led to hundreds of injuries. On the night of May 10, students set up barricades and rioted in the Latin Quarter. Nearly 400 people were hospitalized, more than half of them police. Leftist students began calling for radical economic and political change in France, and union leaders planned strikes in support of the students. In an effort to defuse the crisis by returning the students to school, Prime Minister Georges Pompidou announced that the Sorbonne would be reopened on May 13.    On that day, students occupied the Sorbonne buildings, converting it into a commune, and striking workers and students protested in the Paris streets. During the next few days, the unrest spread to other French universities, and labor strikes rolled across the country, eventually involving several million workers and paralyzing France. On the evening of May 24, the worst fighting of the May crisis occurred in Paris. Revolutionary students temporarily seized the Bourse (Paris Stock Exchange), raised a communist red flag over the building, and then tried to set it on fire. One policeman was killed in the night's violence.    During the next few days, Prime Minister Pompidou negotiated with union leaders, making a number of concessions, but failed to end the strike. Radical students openly called for revolution but lost the support of mainstream communist and trade union leaders, who feared that they, like the Gaullist establishment, would be swept away in a revolution led by anarchists and Trotskyites. On May 30, President de Gaulle went on the radio and announced that he was dissolving the National Assembly and calling national elections. He appealed for law and order and implied that he would use military force to return order to France if necessary. Loyal Gaullists and middle-class citizens rallied around him, and the labor strikes were gradually abandoned. Student protests continued until June 12, when they were banned. Two days later, the students were evicted from the Sorbonne.    In the two rounds of voting on June 23 and 30, the Gaullists won a commanding majority in the National Assembly. In the aftermath of the May events, de Gaulle's government made a series of concessions to the protesting groups, including higher wages and improved working conditions for workers, and passed a major education reform bill intended to modernize higher education. After 11 years of rule, Charles de Gaulle resigned the presidency in 1969 and was succeeded by Pompidou. He died the next year just before his 80th birthday. 

1969 - Barbra Streisand appears at a Friars Club Tribute

1969 - •  Students occupies Magden House Amsterdam

1969 - US nuclear sub Guitarro sinks off SF

1969 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1969 - Venera 5, a Russian spacecraft, landed on the planet Venus, and returns data on the atmosphere.

1969 - Who's Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey charged with assault

1970 - 96th Preakness: Eddie Belmonte aboard Personality wins in 1:56.2

1970 - Grover Henson Feels Forgotten by Bill Cosby hits #70

1971 - U.S. postage for a one-ounce first class stamp was increased from 6 to 8 cents.

1971 - Benjamin Britten's opera "Owen Wingrave," premieres in Aldwych

1971 - Bulgaria adopts it's constitution

1972 - "Don't Play Us Cheap" opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 164 perfs

1972 - Greg Luzinski's 500' HR hits Liberty Bell monument in Phila Vet

1973 - ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Dave Soutar

1973 - AC Milan wins 13th Europe Cup II in Saloniki

1974 - Helmut Schmidt becomes West German chancellor

1974 - USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

•  India annexed the Principality of Sikkim on this day in 1975.

• Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to summit Mount Everest on this day in 1975.    Via the southeast ridge route, Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world.    Located in the central Himalayas on the border of China and Nepal, Everest stands 29,035 feet above sea level. Called Chomo-Lungma, or "Mother Goddess of the Land," by the Tibetans, the English named the mountain after Sir George Everest, an early 19th-century British surveyor of the Himalayas. In May 1953, climber and explorer Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal made the first successful climb of the peak. Hillary was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for the achievement. Ten years later, American James Whittaker reached Everest's summit with his Sherpa climbing partner, Nawang Gombu. In 1975, Junko Tabei conquered the mountain, and in 1988 Stacy Allison became the first American woman to successfully climb Everest.

1975 - Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title

1975 - Wings release "Listen to What the Man Said" in UK

1976 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens sweep Phila Flyers in 4 games

1977 - Five people were killed when a New York Airways helicopter, idling on top of the Pan Am Building in Manhattan, toppled over, sending a huge rotor blade flying.

1977 - Muhammad Ali beats Alfredo Evangelist in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

1979 - FC Barcelona wins 19th Europe Cup II in Basel

1979 - NL approves Astros sales from Ford Motors to John J McMullen for $19M

1980 - 34th NBA Championship: LA Lakers beat Phila 76ers, 4 games to 2

1980 - Brian May of rock group Queen collapses on stage with hepatitis

1980 - Paul McCartney releases "McCartney II" album

• Former Buggles members Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn replaced Jon Anderson & Rick Wakeman in Yes on this day in 1980.

1981 - "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes hits #1 for next 9 weeks

1981 - 107th Preakness: Jorge Velasquez aboard Pleasant Colony wins in 1:54.6

1981 - Houston Astro Craig Reynolds hits 3 triples beating Cubs 6-1

1982 - "Barnum" closes at St James Theater NYC after 854 performances

1982 - "Is There Life after High School?" closes at Barrymore after 12 perfs

1982 - Columbia moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating in preparation for STS-4

1982 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Lady Michelob Golf Tournament

1982 - Salvador Jorge Blanco wins presidential election in Dominican Rep

1982 - Stanley Cup: NY Islanders sweep Vancouver Canucks in 4 games

1983 - Lebanese parliament accept peace accord with Israel

1983 - Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement rebels against the Sudanese government.

1984 - Guinea-Bissau adopts constitution

1984 - Juventus wins 24th Europe Cup II in Basel

1984 - Phillie pitcher Steve Carlton hits a grand slam homer

1984 - US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site

1984 - Mackay pays $218,718 for 44,166 tickets to keep Twins in Minnesota Twins sell 51,863 tickets but only 6,346 fans show up for the game

1985 - Michael Jordan named NBA Rookie of Year

1985 - Pope John Paul II arrives in Belgium

1986 - "Top Gun," premieres

1986 - Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) comes back from dead on Dallas

1986 - Joaquín Balaguers PRSC wins Dominican Rep parliamentary election

Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era

•  On this day in 1986 during white minority apartheid rule, South African President P W Botha sent Coetzee to visit the imprisoned Nelson Mandela.

1986 - The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain.

1987 - "Mystery of Edwin Drood" closes at Imperial NYC after 608 perfs

1987 - 113th Preakness: Chris McCarron aboard Alysheba wins in 1:55.8

1987 - Weird Al Yankovic performs live at 72nd National Orange Show

1987 - The Bobro 400 set sail from New York Harbor with 3,200 tons of garbage. The barge travelled 6,000 miles in search of a place to dump its load. It returned to New York Harbor after 8 weeks with the same load.

1988 - A report released by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop declared that nicotine was addictive in similar was as heroin and cocaine.

1988 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police do not have to have a search warrant to search discarded garbage.  

•  Soviet President Mikhail S Gorbachev and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping ended a 30-year rift between the two nations when they formally met in Beijing on this day in 1989.

1990 - Dominican Republic President Joaquín Ricardo Balaguer re-elected

1990 - Juventus wins 19th UEFA Cup in Avellino

1991 - Daily Planet fires cub reporter Jimmy Olson (Superman character)

1991 - Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to address the United States Congress.

1992 - "Smells Like Nirvana," by Weird Al Yankovic hits #35

1992 - 118th Preakness: Chris McCarron aboard Pine Bluff wins in 1:55.6

•  Polls released on this day in 1992 showed that the American presidential election between candidates Ross Perot, incumbent Republican President George H.W. Bush and Democratic challenged Bill Clinton could be in a virtual deadlock.

1992 - US space shuttle STS-49 landed safely (maiden voyage of Endeavour)

1993 - "3 Men on a Horse" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 40 performances

1993 - "Wilder, Wilder, Wilder" closes at Circle in Sq NYC after 30 perfs

1993 - Farmer Sugeng finds 1.2 million year old Pithecanthropus IX skull

1993 - Judd Nelson pleads no contest to kicking Kim Evans in the head

1993 - Suleyman Demirel elected president of Turkey

1994 - Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Orlando FL on WTKS 104.1 FM

1994 - Jacqueline Onassis admitted to the hospital for cancer treatment

1994 - Joaquín Balaguer (86) elected president of Dominican Republic

1994 - Tennis star Jennifer Capriati arrested on possession of marijuana

1996 - Admiral Jeremy "Mike" Boorda, the nation's top Navy officer, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after some of his military awards were called into question.

1995 - Japanese police arrest cult leader Shoko Asahara and charged him with Nerve-gas attack on Tokyo's subways two months earlier

1996 - Sammy Sosa is 1st Chic Cub to hit 2 HRS in 1 inning

• President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (since renamed Congo, as it had traditionally been before Mobutu's rule) had his 32 years of autocratic rule forcefully ended when rebel forces led by Laurent Kabila expelled him from the country.

1997 - Atlanta Braves beat St Louis Cardinals, 1-0 in 13 innings

1997 - Brandi Sherwood, (Idaho) replaces Brook Lee (Miss Univ) as Miss USA

1997 - Brook Mehealani Lee, 26, of US crowned 46th Miss Universe

1997 - Expos trailing SF Giants by 9 runs comeback to win 14-13

1997 - St Louis Cards Gary Gaetti records his 2,000th hits 1998 - 124th Preakness

2000 - U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was nominated to run for U.S. Senator in New York. She was the first U.S. first lady to run for public office.

•  In Casablanca, Morocco, on this day in 2003, 33 civilians were killed and more than 100 people were injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.

2003 - Adam Rich was placed on three years probation after he pled no contest to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and being under the influence of a controlled substance. He was also ordered to take part ina 60-day treatment program and pay about $1,200 in fines.

2004 - The Day of Mourning at Bykivnia forest, just outside of Kiev, Ukraine. Here during 1930s and early 1940s communist bolsheviks executed over 100,000 Ukrainian civilians.

•  On this day in 2005, Kuwait permitted women's suffrage by a 35-23 National Assembly vote.

2005 - Sony Corp. unveiled three styles of its new PlayStation 3 video game machine.

2006 - A large earthquake (7.4 on the Richter scale) occurs near New Zealand.

•  Alex Salmond was elected First Minister of Scotland on this day in 2007, becoming the first Scottish National Party leader to be elected as First Minister after winning a historic victory at the Scottish general election on the 3rd May.

2011 - •  Space shuttle Endeavour launches for its final commission in space

 

These are the web pages that I used to complete this blog:

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/may16.htm

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

After Promising No New Wars During 2024 Campaign, Trump Has Instead Become a War Pig Thirsting For More Power & More Blood

In 2024, MAGA applauded when Trump promised no new wars.  

Not even four full months in 2026, Trump has threatened and/or attacked numerous countries. It appears that we did not learn the simple lesson of the perils of fighting multiple wars at once, as we did not long ago simultaneously in Afghanistan and Iraq.

From the candidate for peace, as Stephen Miller suggested, to now being an aggressive war pig. He attacked Venezuela, then threatened that Colombia and Cuba might be next. Then he seemed ready to take over Greenland militarily before backing off. Then he attacked Iran, without bothering to justify his actions to the American people or the world community. He had that ridiculous, frankly blasphemous Easter Sunday post, promising to end a civilization that night and ending the message with 'Praise be to Allah!", seemingly mocking two major religions in this one post. Then he posted images depicting himself as Jesus the Healer. Recently he started up again with talk of taking over Greenland. And now, once again, he seems to be ready to attack Cuba. Let's not forget that he just set into motion a measure that young men will be automatically registered for the draft, although this could be challenged by the Supreme Court. This man is completely and dangerously out of control. So many broken promises. We didn't get lower gas prices or lower grocery prices. Inflation is higher than ever. The United States was recently declared insolvent by Trump's own Treasury Department. He never released the Epstein Files. He never stopped the war in Ukraine, let alone within 24 hours. Now, after launching economic warfare against almost the entire world, all at once, we apparently are waging war around the world with multiple wars, all at once. And you wonder why so much of the world hates and distrusts the United States now?  Is this the "winning" that he promised? 

Thank you, Trump supporters. He was always dangerously unpredictable. But you guys trusted him with all of this power, and he clearly and obviously is abusing it. To put it another way, you imposed a dangerously unstable, ridiculous narcissist on the rest of the country, and indeed, on the rest of the world. This country has become a laughing stock, as well as a source of distrust, because of this one man, and the movement he leads and represents. The rest of the world is working together more and more specifically to not to have to deal with Trump's United States. As a modern nation, we are more isolated than ever before. This is ALL on you, and this will not be forgotten anytime soon.    

Trump says a ‘New Dawn for Cuba' is coming ‘very soon' "And very soon, this great strength will also bring about a day 70 years in waiting," he said. By NBC6 • Published 44 minutes ago • Updated 44 minutes ago

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/cuba/trump-says-a-new-dawn-for-cuba-is-coming-very-soon/3797577/

Trump says a new dawn for Cuba is coming very soon – NBC 6 South Florida

May 15th: This Day in History

 

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

On this day in 756, Abd-al-Rahman I became the Emir of Cordova, Spain. In 884 on this day, Marinus I ended his reign as Catholic Pope. Henry II the Saint crowned King of Italy on this day in 1004. Archbishop Konrad v Hochstaden laid the cornerstone for Koln Cathedral on this day in 1248. In 1252 on this day, Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull ad exstirpanda, which authorized, but also limited, the torture of heretics during the Medieval Inquisition. On this day in 1492 during the Bread and Cheese Revolt in North Holland,  German mercenaries killed 232 Alkmaarse. The battle of Frankenhausen ends the Peasants' War on this day in 1525. Louis van Nassau & the Huguenots occupied Valenciennes on this day in 1572. The Parliament of Paris appointed Louis XIII (who was just 8 years old) as the French king on this day in 1610. An aristocratic uprising in France ended on this day in 1614 with the Treaty of St. Menehould. In 1618 on this day, Johannes Kepler discovered the Harmonic's Law, also known as Kepler's Third Law, which posited that the square of a planet's orbital period is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. For all intents and purposes, that translates to the farther a planet is from the Sun, the longer it will take for that to complete a single orbit. The War of Spanish Succession began on this day in 1701. It was the first New World conflict between England and France. On this day in 1756, the Seven Years War, a global conflict often called the "French and Indian War" in North America, officially started after England declared war on France. On this day in 1791 during the French Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre proposed the Self-Denying Ordinance. The idea was that members of l'Assemblee nationale would disqualify themselves from election to the Legislature Assembly provided for in the Constitution of 1791. Napoleon entered the Lombardian capital of Milan on this day in 1795. In 1800 on this day, American President John Adams ordered the federal government to move to Washington, D.C. Canadian founder of Manitoba, and Métis insurgent, Louis Reil was captured in Saskatchewan on this day in 1885. The Finnish Civil War ended on this day in 1918. On this day in 1940 during World War II, German troops occupied Amsterdam, as General Winkelman surrendered. Nazi occupiers in Netherlands outlawed Jewish music on this day in 1941. In 1988 on this day, the Soviet Union began the withdrawal of their 115,000 troops from Afghanistan, where they had been fighting for more than eight years.

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


•  On this day in 756, Abd-al-Rahman I became the Emir of Cordova, Spain.

•  In 884 on this day, Marinus I ended his reign as Catholic Pope

•  Henry II the Saint crowned King of Italy on this day in 1004.

1213 - English king John names Stephen Langton Archbishop of Canterbury

•  Archbishop Konrad v Hochstaden laid the cornerstone for Koln Cathedral on this day in 1248.

•  In 1252 on this day, Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull ad exstirpanda, which authorized, but also limited, the torture of heretics during the Medieval Inquisition.

•  On this day in 1492 during the Bread and Cheese Revolt in North Holland,  German mercenaries killed 232 Alkmaarse.

1514 - Jodocus Badius Ascensius publishes Christiern Pedersen's Latin version of Saxo's Gesta Danorum, the oldest known version of that work.

1525 - German boer army surrounded/slaughters 5,000; ends Boer war

•  The battle of Frankenhausen ends the Peasants' War on this day in 1525.

1536 - Anna Boleyn & George Boleyn Lord Rochford accused of adultery/incest

•  Louis van Nassau & the Huguenots occupied Valenciennes on this day in 1572.

1602 - Cape Cod discovered by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold

Royal France

•  The Parliament of Paris appointed Louis XIII (who was just 8 years old) as the French king on this day in 1610.

•  An aristocratic uprising in France ended on this day in 1614 with the Treaty of St. Menehould.

Bust of Astronomer Johann Kepler

•  In 1618 on this day, Johannes Kepler discovered the Harmonic's Law, also known as Kepler's Third Law, which posited that the square of a planet's orbital period is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. For all intents and purposes, that translates to the farther a planet is from the Sun, the longer it will take for that to complete a single orbit. 

1625 - 16 rebellious farmers hanged in Vocklamarkt Upper-Austria

1648 - Treaty of Munster: Spain & Netherlands ratified

1665 - Pope Alexander VII convicts Jansenisme

1672 - 1st copyright law enacted by Massachusetts

• The War of Spanish Succession began on this day in 1701. It was the first New World conflict between England and France.

1718 - James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents world's 1st machine gun

1730 - Robert Walpole becomes England 1st prime minister (was: chief min)

• On this day in 1756, the Seven Years War, a global conflict often called the "French and Indian War" in North America, officially started after England declared war on France. However, fighting and skirmishes between England and France had been going on in North America for years.    In the early 1750s, French expansion into the Ohio River valley repeatedly brought France into armed conflict with the British colonies. In 1756--the first official year of fighting in the Seven Years War--the British suffered a series of defeats against the French and their broad network of Native American alliances. However, in 1757, British Prime Minister William Pitt (the older) recognized the potential of imperial expansion that would come out of victory against the French and borrowed heavily to fund an expanded war effort. Pitt financed Prussia's struggle against France and her allies in Europe and reimbursed the colonies for the raising of armies in North America.    By 1760, the French had been expelled from Canada, and by 1763 all of France's allies in Europe had either made a separate peace with Prussia or had been defeated. In addition, Spanish attempts to aid France in the Americas had failed, and France also suffered defeats against British forces in India.    The Seven Years War ended with the signing of the treaties of Hubertusburg and Paris in February 1763. In the Treaty of Paris, France lost all claims to Canada and gave Louisiana to Spain, while Britain received Spanish Florida, Upper Canada, and various French holdings overseas. The treaty ensured the colonial and maritime supremacy of Britain and strengthened the 13 American colonies by removing their European rivals to the north and the south. Fifteen years later, French bitterness over the loss of most of their colonial empire contributed to their intervention in the American Revolution on the side of the Patriots.

1768 - Under the Treaty of Versailles, France purchased Corsica from Genoa.

Bust of the "Incorruptible" French Revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre

• On this day in 1791 during the French Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre proposed the Self-Denying Ordinance. The idea was that members of l'Assemblee nationale would disqualify themselves from election to the Legislature Assembly provided for in the Constitution of 1791.

1793 - Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 meters", at a height of 5-6 meters, during one of the first attempted flights.

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

•  Napoleon entered the Lombardian capital of Milan on this day in 1795.

1796 - France and Sardinia sign Peace treaty of Paris

1796 - French troops occupy Milan

1796 - First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph.

1800 - King George III survives a 2nd assassination attempt

Picture of a bust of John Adams

• In 1800 on this day, American President John Adams ordered the federal government to move to Washington, D.C.     On this day in 1800, President John Adams orders the federal government to pack up and leave Philadelphia and set up shop in the nation's new capital in Washington, D.C.    After Congress adjourned its last meeting in Philadelphia on May 15, Adams told his cabinet to make sure Congress and all federal offices were up and running smoothly in their new headquarters by June 15, 1800.   Philadelphia officially ceased to serve as the nation's capital as of June 11, 1800.  At the time, there were only about 125 federal employees. Official documents and archives were transferred from Philadelphia to the new capital by ship over inland waterways. President and Mrs. Adams did not move in to the (unfinished) president's mansion until November of that year. Settling in to the White House was a challenge for the new first lady. In December, Abigail Adams wrote to a friend later she had to line-dry their clothes in what eventually became the East Room.   

1800 - Pope Pius VII calls on French bishops to return to Gospel principles

1817 - Ambonese uprising against Dutch authority, under T Matulesia

1817 - Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1829 - Joseph Smith ordained by John the Baptist according to Joseph Smith

1836 - Francis Baily observes "Baily's Beads" during annular solar eclipse

1849 - Philadelphia Turngemeinde founded

1849 - Neapolitan troops entered Palermo, and were in possession of Sicily.

1851 - Rama IV, [Phra Chomklao Chaoyuhua], king of Thai (1851-68), crowned

1856 - Second SF Vigilance Committee organized

1856 - Lyman Frank Baum, author of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," was born.

1858 - Royal Italian Opera opens in Covent Garden London

1862 - -May 17] Battle of Princeton WV

1862 - Battle of Drewry's Bluff (Ft Darling), Virginia

1862 - Confederate cruiser The Alabama runs aground near London

1862 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture was created by an act of Congress on this day.

1862 - Gen Benjamin F Butler delegates "Woman Order" of NO to be his whores

1862 - Union Grounds, Brooklyn, 1st baseball enclosure, opens

1864 - Battle of New Market, Virginia

1864 - Skirmish at Marksville (Avoyelles) (Red River Campaign)

1868 - Dutch government of Zuylen van Nijevelt falls

1869 - National Woman Suffrage Association forms

1876 - 2nd Kentucky Derby: Bobby Swim aboard Vagrant wins in 2:38.25

1882 - May Laws-Czar Alexander III bans Jews from living in rural Romania

1883 - Italy signs military treaty with Austria-Hungary and Germany

•  Canadian founder of Manitoba, and Métis insurgent, Louis Reil was captured in Saskatchewan on this day in 1885.

1891 - British Central African Protectorate (now Malawi) forms

1891 - Jules Massenets opera "Griselde," premieres in Paris

1891 - Operations begin at Philips & Co in Holland

1891 - Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Rerum novarum

1894 - 20th Kentucky Derby: Frank Goodale aboard Chant wins in 2:41

1896 - Tornado kills 78 in Texas

1897 - The Greek army retreats with heavy losses in the Greco-Turkish War.

1902 - Lyman Gilmore is 1st person to fly a powered craft

1902 - Portugal bankrupt by revolt in Angola

1905 - Las Vegas Nevada founded

1905 - Pierre de Brazza reaches Leopoldville

1906 - NY Giants' Hooks Wiltse strikes out 4 batters in 1 inning

1910 - The last time a major earthquake happened on the Elsinore Fault Zone.

1911 - British house of commons accept Parliament Bill

1911 - Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Indiana University, incorporates

1911 - The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil Company, which was headed by John. D. Rockefeller, ruling it was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

1911 - The Georgios Averof cruiser is bought by Greece.

1912 - 37th Preakness: Clarnence Turner on Colonel Holloway wins in 1:56.6

1912 - Ty Cobb rushes a heckler at a NY Highlander game & is suspended

1914 - Henri Rabauds opera "Marouf, Savetier de Caire," premieres in Paris

1914 - Bolivia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1915 - A T & T becomes 1st corporation to have 1 million stockholders

1916 - U.S. Marines landed in Santo Domingo to quell civil disorder.

1916 - Asiago, Italy, fell when Austrian troops attack the Italian front

1918 - The first regular airmail service between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, began under the direction of the Post Office Department, which later became the U.S. Postal Service.



1918 - Greeks troops lands at Smyrna



•  The Finnish Civil War ended on this day in 1918.

1919 - Bkln Dodgers score 10 runs in 13th to beat Reds 10-0

1920 - Soccer team ADO '20 forms in Heemskerk

1923 - Cooperation of Dutch Molen forms

1926 - 52nd Kentucky Derby: Albert Johnson on Bubbling Over wins in 2:03.8

1926 - British general strike ends, but mine workers go on strike

1926 - Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth were forced down in Alaska after a four-day flight over an icecap. Ice had begun to form on the dirigible Norge.

1926 - The New York Rangers were officially granted a franchise in the NHL. The NHL also announced that Chicago and Detroit would be joining the league in November.

1928 - Mickey Mouse made his 1st appearance in "Plane Crazy"

1929 - Fire in X-ray film stock kills 125 at Crile Clinic (Cleve Ohio)

1930 - On a Boeing Air Transport flight between Oakland and Chicago, Ellen Church became the first airline stewardess.

1931 - Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Quadragesimo anno

1932 - The May 15 Incident: in an attempted Coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is killed.

1933 - First voice amplification system to be used in US Senate

1934 - Dept of Justice offers $25,000 reward for Dillinger, dead or alive

1934 -•   Karlis Ulmanis names himself fascist dictator of Latvia

1935 - Pirates beat Phillies 20-5 1935 - The Moscow Metro is opened to public.

1936 - Amy Johnson arrives in Croydon England from S Afr in record 4d16h

1937 - 63rd Preakness: Charley Kurtsinger aboard War Admiral wins in 1:58.4

1938 - Paul-Henri Spak forms red coalition of Belgium

1940 - German armour division moves into Northern France

•  On this day in 1940 during World War II, German troops occupied Amsterdam, as General Winkelman surrendered.

1940 - Nazi's capture General Dutch Persbureau (ANP)

1940 - USS Sailfish (SS-192) recomisioned, origionaly the Squalus.

1940 - McDonald's opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

1940 - Nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in the United States.

1941 - First British turbojet flies

1941 - British attack Halfaya-pass and Fort Capuzzo in Egypt & Libya

1941 - • Nazi occupiers in Netherlands outlawed Jewish music on this day in 1941.

1942 - Gasoline rationing began for the first time in the U.S. The limit was 3 gallons a week for nonessential vehicles (17 Eastern states).

1942 - Nazi occupiers in Neth arrests 2,000 Dutch officers

1943 - Halifax bombers sinks U-463

1943 - Warsaw ghetto uprising ends, in it's destruction

1943 - •  Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).

1944 - 14,000 Jews of Munkacs Hungary deported to Auschwitz



1944 - •  Eisenhower, Montgomery, Churchill and George VI discuss D-Day plan

1944 - Sergei Aleksi becomes guardian of Patriarch Throne

1945 - •  World War II: The final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.

1948 - •  28 year old British Mandate over Palestine ends

1948 - 74th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro aboard Citation wins in 2:02.4

1948 - Australia scores 721 runs in one day v Essex, world record

1948 - Bradman scores 187 Aust v Essex, 124 minutes, 33 fours 1 five

1948 - Israel was attacked by Transjordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon only hours after declaring its independence.

1951 - AT&T is 1st US company to have one million stockholders

1951 - •  The Polish cultural attache in Paris, Czesław Miłosz, asks the French government for political asylum.

1952 - Detroit Tiger Virgil Trucks no-hits Wash Senators, 1-0

1952 - Johnny Longden becomes 2nd jockey to ride 4,000 winners

1953 - Heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano KOs Jersey Joe Walcott in Chicago

1953 - Osip Zadkines monument to "The destroyed city" unveiled in Rotterdam

1954 - KGLO (now KIMT) TV channel 3 in Mason City, IA (CBS) 1st broadcast

1955 - Austrian state treaty signed making Austria independent again

1955 - Building of space travel center at Baikonur Kazachstan begins

1955 - KPUA (now KGMD) TV channel 9 in Hilo, HI (CBS) begins broadcasting

1955 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site


1955 - •  Vienna Treaty: Brit, France, US & USSR restores Austria's independence

1955 - The first ascent of Makalu, the world's fifth highest mountain.

1957 - 18,000 people at Madison Sq Garden-Billy Graham launched a crusade

1957 - Britain dropped its first hydrogen bomb on Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean.

The flag of the USSR (Soviet Union)

1958 - •  Sputnik III, the first space laboratory, was launched in the Soviet Union.

1959 - 100th anniversary of 1st college baseball game, between Amherst and Williams Teams reenact the original contest

1960 - Chic Cub Don Cardwell no-hits St Louis Cards, 4-0

1960 - Dmitri Shostakovitch's 7th String quartet, premieres in Leningrad

1960 - KHVO TV channel 13 in Hilo, HI (ABC) begins broadcasting

1960 - Sputnik 4 launched into Earth orbit; later recovery failed

1960 - Taxes took 25% of earnings in US

1961 - "Bonanza" by Al Caiola Orchestra hits #19

1961 - 36 Unification church couples wed in Korea

1961 - Pope John XXIII publishes encyclical Mater et Magistra

1962 - US marines arrive in Laos

1963 - Last Project Mercury flight, L Gordon Cooper in Faith 7, launched

1963 - Peter, Paul and Mary win their 1st Grammy (If I Had a Hammer)


1964 - Sporting Portugal wins 4th Europe Cup II at Antwerp

1964 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1964 - The Smothers Brothers, Dick and Tom, gave their first concert in Carnegie Hall in New York City.  

1965 - 91st Preakness: Ron Turcotte aboard Tom Rolfe wins in 1:56.2

1965 - Canadian Football Players Association organizes

1965 - Igor Vodic beats Mad Dog Vachon in Omaha, to become NWA champ

1966 - First day of Sunday play in County Cricket, Essex v Somerset

1966 - •  South Vietnamese army battle Buddhists, about 80 died

1968 - "Wonderwall" with George Harrison premieres at Cannes Film Festival

1968 - First AL game played in Milwaukee, is a 4-2 California win against Chicago

1968 - A tornado strikes Jonesboro Arkansas at 10 PM, killing 36

1968 - Paul McCartney and John Lennon appear on Johnny Carson Show to promote Apple records, Joe Garagiola is substitute host

1969 - Associate Justice Abe Fortas resigns from Supreme Court

    

1970 - •  Beatles' last LP, "Let It Be," is released in US

1970 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1970 - U.S. President Nixon appointed America's first two female generals - Elizabeth Hoisington and Anna Mae Mays.

1970 - Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, two black students at Jackson State University in Mississippi, were killed when police opened fire during student protests.

Flag of the Olympics

Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era

•  On this day in 1970, South-Africa was excluded from Olympic play due to it's policy of strict racial segregation known as apartheid, or white minority rule and supremacy.

1971 - "70, Girls, 70" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 35 performances

1971 - 97th Preakness: Gustavo Avila aboard Canonero II wins in 1:54

1971 - Radio Nordsee International's ship bombed

1972 - "Hard Job Being God" opens at Edison Theater NYC for 6 performances

1972 - Bus plunges into Nile River killing 50 pilgrims. (Minia Egypt)

1972 - •  Alabama Governor George Wallace was shot and left paralyzed by Arthur Bremer in Laurel, Maryland, as he campaigned for the presidency.

1972 - Ryukyu Is & Daito Is returned to Japan after 27 yrs of US control

1972 - The island of Okinawa, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.

1973 - California Angel Nolan Ryan's 1st no-hitter beats KC Royals, 3-0

1974 - Mail truck terrorists take school in Maalot, 30 killed

1974 - Walter Scheel succeeds Heinemann as president

1974 - Ma'alot massacre: A total of 31 people, including hostage takers, are killed.

1975 - The merchant ship U.S. Mayaguez was recaptured from Cambodia's Khmer Rouge.

1975 - 11th Mayor's Trophy Game, Yanks beat Mets 9-4

1975 - Emmy 2nd Daytime Award and Emmy News and Documentaries Award presentation


1976 - Emmy Creative Arts Award presentation

1976 - Fonz Song by Heyettes hits #91

1976 - Kentucky Moonrunner by Cledus Maggard hits #85

1980 - The first transcontinental balloon crossing of the United States took place.

1980 - Flyers score 8 goals against Islanders in playoffs

1980 - Shawn Weatherly, (SC (will win Miss Universe), crowned 29th Miss USA

1981 - "Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" airs

1981 - 2nd City TV's (SCTV) network premier (NBC)

1981 - George Harrison releases "All Those Years Ago" in UK

1981 - Len Barker of Cleveland pitches perfect game vs Toronto

1981 - SCTV Network 90, sequel to Second City Television debut on NBC

1981 - Soyuz 40 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Rumanian) to Salyut 6

1982 - 108th Preakness: Jack Kaenel aboard Aloma's Ruler wins in 1:55.4

1983 - In Boston, MA, the Madison Hotel was destroyed by implosion.

1985 - Everton wins 25th Europe Cup II at Rotterdam

1986 - Argentine ex-president Galtieri sentenced to 12 years

1987 - 1st Energiya Launch (USSR)

1987 - Record archery score for a pair over 24 hrs, is set

1988 - "Carrie" closes at Virginia Theater NYC after 5 performances

1988 - "Gospel at Colonus" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 61 perfs

1988 - 2nd American Comedy Award: Robin Williams & Tracey Ullman

The flag of the USSR (Soviet Union)

• In 1988 on this day, the Soviet Union began the withdrawal of their 115,000 troops from Afghanistan, where they had been fighting for more than eight years. Soviets begin withdrawal from Afghanistan  More than eight years after they intervened in Afghanistan to support the procommunist government, Soviet troops begin their withdrawal. The event marked the beginning of the end to a long, bloody, and fruitless Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.    In December 1979, Soviet troops first entered Afghanistan in an attempt to bolster the communist, pro-Soviet government threatened by internal rebellion. In a short period of time, thousands of Russian troops and support materials poured into Afghanistan. Thus began a frustrating military conflict with Afghan Muslim rebels, who despised their own nation's communist government and the Soviet troops supporting it. During the next eight years, the two sides battled for control in Afghanistan, with neither the Soviets nor the rebels ever able to gain a decisive victory.    For the Soviet Union, the intervention proved extraordinarily costly in a number of ways. While the Soviets never released official casualty figures for the war in Afghanistan, U.S. intelligence sources estimated that as many as 15,000 Russian troops died in Afghanistan, and the economic cost to the already struggling Soviet economy ran into billions of dollars. The intervention also strained relations between the Soviet Union and the United States nearly to the breaking point. President Jimmy Carter harshly criticized the Russian action, stalled talks on arms limitations, issued economic sanctions, and even ordered a boycott of the 1980 Olympics held in Moscow.    By 1988, the Soviets decided to extricate itself from the situation. Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev saw the Afghan intervention as an increasing drain on the Soviet economy, and the Russian people were tired of a war that many Westerners referred to as "Russia's Vietnam." For Afghanistan, the Soviet withdrawal did not mean an end to the fighting, however. The Muslim rebels eventually succeeded in establishing control over Afghanistan in 1992.

1989 - "Chu Chem" closes at Ritz Theater NYC after 44 performances

1989 - Blue Jays fire manager Jimy Williams & replace him with Cito Gaston

1989 - Soviet Pres Gorbachev in Beijing for first Sino-Soviet summit in 30 yrs

1989 - US Basketball League cancels its summer schedule

1989 - Maxwell House coffee runs ads during "Roe vs Wade" movie despite threat of boycott by right-to-lifers

1990 - "Cemetery Club" opens at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC for 56 perfs

1990 - Vincent Van Gogh's "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" was sold for $82.5 million. The sale set a new world record.

1990 - Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,822.45

1990 - Mona Grudt, 19, of Norway, crowned 39th Miss Universe

1991 - Defense releases docs claiming Noriega is "CIA's man in Panama"

1991 - Edith Cresson becomes France's first female premier

1991 - Manchester United wins 31th Europe Cup II at Rotterdam

1991 - Nepal premier Bhattarai resigns



1992 - Colombo '92 opens in Genoa Italy

1992 - NY dept store chain Alexanders announces closing of all 11 stores

1992 - Part of Cruger Avenue in Bronx renamed Regis Philbin Avenue

1993 - 119th Preakness: Mike Smith aboard Prairie Bayou wins in 1:56.6

1993 - Alamodome in San Antonio TX opens

1993 - Montreal Expo retires their 1st #, #10 for Rusty Staub

1995 - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC

1997 - ABC News and Starwave Corp launch ABCNEWS.com

1997 - •  The STS 84 (Space shuttle Atlantis 19, 6th Shuttle-Mir Mission) blasted off on a mission to deliver urgently needed repair equipment and a fresh American astronaut to Russia's orbiting Mir station.

1999 -•   The Russian parliament was unable a attain enough votes to impeach President Boris Yeltsin.

2008 - California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.

2010 - Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.

2012 - Eurozone economy narrowly avoids recession

2012 - •  Greece's fifth attempt to a form a coalition government fails and new June elections are scheduled

These are the web pages that I used to complete this blog:

http://www.historyorb.com/day/may/15

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/may15.htm

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

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/May-15