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
June 30, 1936: Gone with the Wind published
Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, one of the best-selling novels of all time and the basis for a blockbuster 1939 movie, is published on this day in 1936.
In 1926, Mitchell was forced to quit her job as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal to recover from a series of physical injuries. With too much time on her hands, Mitchell soon grew restless. Working on a Remington typewriter, a gift from her second husband, John R. Marsh, in their cramped one-bedroom apartment, Mitchell began telling the story of an Atlanta belle named Pansy O'Hara.
In tracing Pansy's tumultuous life from the antebellum South through the Civil War and into the Reconstruction era, Mitchell drew on the tales she had heard from her parents and other relatives, as well as from Confederate war veterans she had met as a young girl. While she was extremely secretive about her work, Mitchell eventually gave the manuscript to Harold Latham, an editor from New York's MacMillan Publishing. Latham encouraged Mitchell to complete the novel, with one important change: the heroine's name. Mitchell agreed to change it to Scarlett, now one of the most memorable names in the history of literature.
Published in 1936, Gone with the Wind caused a sensation in Atlanta and went on to sell millions of copies in the United States and throughout the world. While the book drew some criticism for its romanticized view of the Old South and its slaveholding elite, its epic tale of war, passion and loss captivated readers far and wide. By the time Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937, a movie project was already in the works. The film was produced by Hollywood giant David O. Selznick, who paid Mitchell a record-high $50,000 for the film rights to her book.
After testing hundreds of unknowns and big-name stars to play Scarlett, Selznick hired British actress Vivien Leigh days after filming began. Clark Gable was also on board as Rhett Butler, Scarlett's dashing love interest. Plagued with problems on set, Gone with the Wind nonetheless became one of the highest-grossing and most acclaimed movies of all time, breaking box office records and winning nine Academy Awards out of 13 nominations.
Though she didn't take part in the film adaptation of her book, Mitchell did attend its star-studded premiere in December 1939 in Atlanta. Tragically, she died just 10 years later, after she was struck by a speeding car while crossing Atlanta's Peachtree Street. Scarlett, a relatively unmemorable sequel to Gone with the Wind written by Alexandra Ripley, was published in 1992.
The Conquistadors took gold from the Aztecs. Russian troops occupied Danzig. The Tower Bridge in London opened. French troops left Algeria. Rwanda and Burundi gained independence The Atlanta Falcons came into existence. The Beatles landed in Tokyo for a tour. Brazil trounced Italy for the World Cup title. West and East Germany merged their economies on the incredibly quick path towards reunification.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
296 - St Marcellinus begins his reign as Catholic Pope
350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the usurper Magnentius, in Rome.
833 - Louis, king of Austria, crowned
949 - Otto I the Great gives away bishopdom of Utrecht "foreestrecht"
1294 - Jews are expelled from Berne Switzerland
1371 - Arnold II of Horne chosen bishop of Utrecht
1397 - Denmark, Norway & Sweden sign Union of Kalmar under Queen Margaretha
1422 - Battle of Arbedo between the duke of Milan and the Swiss cantons.
1520 - Spanish conquerors under Cortes take gold from Aztecs
1520 - The Spaniards are expelled from Tenochtitlan.
1528 - Burgundy army occupies Utrecht
1548 - Emperor Charles V orders Catholics to become Lutherans
1559 - King Henry II of France is seriously injured in a jousting match against Gabriel de Montgomery.
1596 - English/Dutch fleet reach Cadiz
1598 - King Philip II moves to Escorial palace
1607 - Annales Ecclesiastici (Scientific History of Catholicism) published
1643 - Battle at Atherton Moor: Royalists beat parliamentary armies
1648 - French premier cardinal Mazarin calls Saint Louis Chamber together
1651 - The Deluge: Khmelnytsky Uprising - the Battle of Beresteczko ends with a Polish victory.
1688 - Whig-Lords questions prince Willem III van Orange on Protestantism
1690 - Battle at Beachy Head: French under Tourville beat Neth/English fleet
1700 - Gelderland goes on Gregorian calendar (tomorrow is 12/7/1700)
1722 - Hungarian Parliament condemns emperor Karel VI's Pragmatic Sanctions
1734 - Russian army occupies Danzig
1741 - Pope Benedict XIV encyclical forbidding traffic in alms
1755 - Philippines close all non-catholic Chinese restaurants
1758 - Seven Years' War: The Battle of Domstadtl takes place.
1794 - Battle of Fort Recovery, Ohio
1815 - US naval hero Stephen Decatur ends attacks by Algerian pirates
1834 - Congress creates Indian Territory (now Oklahoma)
1859 - Charles Blondin is first to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope
1860 - The 1860 Oxford evolution debate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History takes place.
1861 - CSS Sumter slips past USS Brooklyn blockade
1862 - Battle at Nelson's Farm/Glendale/Frayser's Farm, Virginia: Confederate assault attack. 6th day of 7 days battles US Civil War
1862 - Gustave Flaubert completes "Salammbo"
1863 - Battles in Hanover Pennsylvania: 80 casualties
1863 - Dutch colony Suriname counts population of 33,000 slaves
1863 - Skirmish at Sporting Hill Pennsylvania
1865 - 8 alleged conspirators in assassination of Lincoln are found guilty
1870 - Ada Kepley becomes 1st female law college graduate
1871 - Guatemala revolts for agrarian reforms
1876 - Serbia declared war on Turkey
1879 - Ex-khedive Ismael Pasha leaves Cairo with train full stolen goods
1881 - Henry Highland Garnet, named minister to Liberia
1893 - Excelsior diamond (blue-white 995 carats) discovered
1894 - Korea declares independence from China, asks for Japanese aid
1894 - London Tower Bridge opens
1896 - W S Hadaway patents electric stove
1899 - Jack Hearne takes a hat-trick Eng v Australia at Headingley
1900 - 4 German liners burn at Hobokon Docks NJ, 326 die
1902 - Cleveland is 1st AL team to hit 3 consecutive HRs in same inning
1906 - John Hope becomes 1st black president of Morehouse College
1906 - Pure Food & Drug Act & Meat Inspection Act adopted
1908 - Boston's Cy Young's 2nd no-hitter, beats NY Highlanders, 8-0
1908 - Giant fireball most likely caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet impacts in Siberia (Tunguska Event)
1909 - Jack Johnson fights Tony Ross to no decision in 6 for hw boxing title
1910 - Russia absorbs Finland
1911 - Adolphe Messimy appointed French minister of War
1911 - US Assay Office in St Louis, Missouri closes
1913 - 2nd Balkan War begins
1913 - NY Giants score 10 in 10th to beat Phillies 11-1
1914 - Mahatma Gandhi's 1st arrest, campaigning for Indian rights in South Africa
1916 - General Douglas Haig reports "The men are in splendid spirits"
1923 - NZ claims Ross Dependency in Antarctica
1924 - England score 2-503 in day's play v South Africa at Lord's
1927 - Augusto Cesar Sandino issues his Manifesto Politico
1927 - US Assay Office in Deadwood, South Dakota closes
1928 - Radio Service Bulletin lists radio stations call signs that are to be changed to conform with international standards
1930 - 1st round-the-world radio broadcast Schenectady NY
1930 - Bradman scores 254 at Lord's v England, 320 mins, 25 fours
1933 - 50,000 demonstrate in Antwerp against fascism/war
1933 - Card's Dizzy Dean strikes out 17 Cubs to win 8-2
1933 - US Assay Offices in Helena Mon, Boise Id & Salt Lake City Utah closes
1934 - "Night of Long Knives," Hitler stages bloody purge of Nazi party
1934 - French Equatorial Africa constituted a single administrative unit
1934 - NFL's Portsmouth Spartans become Detroit Lions
1935 - Danno O'Mahoney beats Ed George in Boston, to become wrestling champ
1935 - The Senegalese Socialist Party holds its first congress.
1936 - "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell, published
1936 - 40 hour work week law approved (federal)
1936 - Haile Selassie asks League of Nations for sanctions against Italy
1936 - Margaret Mitchell's novel "Gone with the Wind" published
1938 - Superman 1st appears in DC Comics' Action Comics Series issue #1
1938 - Final game at Phila's Baker Bowl, Giants beat Phils 14-1
1939 - Heinkel He 176 rocket plane flies for 1st time, at Peenemunde
1940 - "Brenda Starr" cartoon strip, by Dale Messick, first appears
1940 - 58 U-boats (284,000 ton) sunk this month
1940 - US Fish & Wildlife Service forms
1941 - 61 U-boats (310,000 ton) sunk this month
1941 - Pro-Nazi group declares Ukraine independence
1941 - World War II: Operation Barbarossa - Germany captures Lviv, Ukraine.
1942 - 144 U boats (700,000 ton) sunk this month
1942 - Col-gen Von Paul' 6th Army enters Ukraine
1942 - US Mint in New Orleans ceases operation
1942 - US bombs Celebes & Timor
1943 - Gen MacArthur begins Operation Cartwheel (island-hopping)
1944 - Allies land on Vogelkop, New Guinea
1944 - French Cotentin Peninsula in allied hands
1944 - Universal strike against nazi terror in Copenhagen
1944 - World War II: The Battle of Cherbourg ends with the fall of the strategically valuable port to American forces.
1945 - 17-day newspaper strike in NY begins
1948 - Cleve Indian Bob Lemon no-hits Detroit Tigers, 2-0
1948 - Last British armies leave Israel
1948 - Transistor as a substitute for Radio tubes announced (Bell Labs)
1949 - Dutch troops evacuate Djakarta
1950 - US Gen MacArthur visits front in South Korea/asks for US troops
1951 - "Victor Borge Show," last airs on NBC-TV
1951 - NAACP begins attack on school segregation & discrimination
1952 - "Guiding Light" soap opera moves from radio to TV
1952 - Hussein Sirri Pasha forms Egyptian government
1953 - First Corvette manufactured
1954 - Largest check: Internal US Treasury check at $4,176,969,623.57
1954 - Yank pitcher Tom Morgan ties record by hitting 3 batters in 1 inning This was also Bobby Brown's last game; he retired to become a doctor
1955 - "Johnny Carson Show," debuts on CBS-TV
1956 - "Pipe Dream" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 245 performances
1956 - "Shangri-La" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 21 performances
1956 - Lenins politics testament (1923) published in Moscow
1956 - United DC-7 & TWA collide over Grand Canyon killing 128 1958 - "No Chemise, Please" by Gerry Grenahan peaks at #24
1958 - Dutch government of Drees ends obligatory dismissal of married teachers
1959 - During a game in Wrigley Field, 2 balls were in play at same time
1960 - US stops sugar import from Cuba
1960 - Zaire (formerly Belgian Congo) declares independence from Belgium
1961 - Buddy Rogers beats Pat O'Conner in Chicago, to become NWA champ
1961 - Explorer (12) fails to reach Earth orbit
1962 - French Foreign Legion leaves Algeria
1962 - LA Dodger Sandy Koufax no-hits NY Mets, 5-0
1962 - Premier Ben Khedda disbands Algerian Liberation Army fighters
1962 - Rwanda & Burundi become independent
1963 - Cardinal Montini elected Pope Paul VI, 262nd head of RC Church
1963 - Ciaculli massacre: A car bomb, intended for Mafia boss Salvatore Greco, kills seven police and military officers near Palermo.
1964 - Centaur 3 launch vehicle fails to make Earth orbit
1964 - Last UN troops leave Congo
1965 - NFL grants Atlanta Falcons a franchise
1966 - Beatles land in Tokyo for a concert tour
1966 - Leopoldville Congo is renamed Kinshasa
1966 - Richath Helms, promoted from deputy director to 8th director of CIA
1966 - Test cricket debut of Derek Underwood, v WI Trent Bridge, wicketless
1966 - Vice Adm William F Raborn Jr, USN, ends term as 7th director of CIA
1967 - Maj Robert H Lawrence Jr named 1st black astronaut 1967 - Moise Tsjombe kidnapped to Algeria
1967 - Phillies Cookie Rojas pitches, plays 9th position since joining Phils
1968 - E German party leader Ulbricht receives "Order of October Revolution"
1968 - Gaullists win French parliamentary election, 358 of 458 chairs
1969 - Derek Clayton of Australia sets Marathon record at 2:08:34 1969 - Spain cedes Ifni to Morocco
1970 - Brazil beats Italy 4-1 in soccer's 9th World Cup at Mexico City
1970 - Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium opens, Braves beat Reds 8-2
1971 - Biesheuvel government forms
1971 - Dutch Biesheuvel government begins [or May 6]
1971 - Ohio becomes 38th state to approve of lower voting age to 18, thus ratifying 26th amendment
1972 - 1st leap second day; also 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985
1972 - Cincinnati Reds are 11 games back in NL, & go on to win pennant
1972 - One leap second is added to the UTC time system.
1973 - "Burns & Schreiber Comedy Hour," TV Variety; debut on ABC
1973 - Biggest US tanker "Brooklyn" christened (230,000 ton)
1973 - Observers aboard Concorde jet observe 72-min solar eclipse
1974 - 2nd du Maurier Golf Classic (Peter Jackson Classic): Carole Jo Skala
1974 - Petty thief Peter Leonard sets fire to cover burglary that torches "Gulliver's" nightclub killing 24 (Port Chester NY)
1974 - Soviet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects to west
1975 - Bundy victim Shelley Robertson disappears in Colorado
1975 - Heavyweight Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Bugner in Malaysia
1975 - University of California reports galaxy 3C123 at 8 billion light years distance
1976 - John Walker of NZ sets record for 2000 m, 4:51.4
1977 - Jimmy Carter cans B-1A bomber later "B-1's the B-52"
1977 - Marvel Comics publish "Kiss book" tributing rock group Kiss
1977 - US Railway Post Office final train run (NY to Wash DC)
1977 - Yankee DH Cliff Johnson hit 3 consecutive HRs in Toronto
1978 - Giants' Willie McCovey becomes 12th to hit 500 HRs
1978 - Larry Doby becomes manager of Chicago White Sox
1979 - "Got To Go Disco" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 8 performances
1979 - Johnny Rotten & Joan Collins appear together on BBC's Juke Box Jury
1980 - West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt visits Moscow
1981 - China's Communist Party condemns late Mao Tse-tung's policy
1982 - "Lena Horne: Lady, Music" closes at Nederlander NYC after 333 perfs
1982 - Federal Equal Rights Amendment fails 3 states short of ratification
1982 - Orbiter Challenger (OV-099) rolled out at Palmdale
1982 - NJ NHL franchise officially named Devils by fan balloting, runner-up names are Blades, Meadowlanders & Americans
1984 - Failed coup by cocaine growers in Bolivia
1984 - Last sixpence minted in Great-Britain (in use since 1551)
1984 - Longest pro football game, LA Express beats Mich Panthers 27-21 in USFL playoffs, games lasts 93 minutes 33 seconds
1985 - "King & I" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 191 performances
1985 - 39 remaining hostages from Flight 847 are freed in Beirut
1985 - LA Dodger Pedro Gonzalez sets NL record of 15 HRs in June
1986 - Georgia sodomy law upheld by Supreme Court (5-4)
1987 - Emmy 14th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 8th time
1987 - Patrik Sjoberg of Sweden set a new world record in high jump
1987 - The Royal Canadian Mint introduces the $1 coin, known as the Loonie.
1988 - "Sledge Hammer!" last aires on ABC-TV
1988 - Brooklyn dedicates a bus depot honoring Jackie Gleason
1988 - Chicago agrees to build a new stadium so White Sox won't move to Fla
1988 - French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre is excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church.
1989 - "Les Miserables," opens at Theatre Muzyczyny, Gdynia
1989 - Attorney General Thornburgh orders Joseph Doherty deported to UK
1989 - Congressman Lukins found guilty of having sex with a 16 year old girl
1989 - NASA closes down tracking stations in Santiago, Chile & Guam
1989 - NY State Legislature passes Staten Island secession bill
1989 - Sudan suspends interim constitution following coup
1990 - East & West Germany merge their economies
1992 - 1st pay bathrooms in US open: 25 cents (NYC)
1992 - Fidel Ramos installed as president of Philippines
1992 - Total solar eclipse in Uruguay (5m21s)
1992 - Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher joins the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.
1993 - "Les Miserables," opens at Point Theatre, Dublin
1993 - Richard Jacobs announces Chief Wahoo will go to Jacobs Field
1994 - Airbus A330 crash at Toulouse France (7 killed)
1994 - Giants outfielder Darren Lewis errors after record 392 flawless games
1994 - Pre-trial hearings open in LA against OJ Simpson
1994 - US Ice Skating Federation bars Tonya Harding for life
1995 - Indians' Eddie Murray, is 20th to reach 3,000 hits
1996 - "Buried Child" closes at Brook Atkinson Theater NYC after 77 perfs
1996 - "Moon Over Buffalo" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 308 perfs
1996 - "State Fair," closes at Music Box Theater NYC after 118 performances
1996 - Caroline Frolic (Miss Ontario), crowned Miss Renaissance USA
1997 - Leap Second to synchronize atomic clocks
1998 - Sega Channel, cable's 1st on-demand video game service, closes down
2005 - Spain legalizes same-sex marriage.
2007 - A car crashes into Glasgow International Airport in Scotland, believed to be a terrorist attack.
2009 - Yemenia Flight 626 crashes off the coast of Moroni, Comoros killing 152 people and leaving 1 survivor
2012 - 30 people attending a funeral in Zamalka, Syria, are killed on a day that saw 83 civilian deaths
2012 - Mid-Atlantic storms in the United States kill 13 and leave millions without power in Ohio, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
2012 - Mohamed Morsi is sworn in as President of Egypt
1097 - The Crusaders defeated the Turks at Dorylaeum. 1841 - The Erie Railroad rolled out its first passenger train. 1859 - Charles Blondin became the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. 1894 - Korea declared independence from China and asked for Japanese aid. 1908 - An explosion in Siberia, which knocked down trees in a 40-mile radius and struck people unconscious some 40 miles away. It was believed by some scientists to be caused by a falling fragment from a meteorite. 1912 - Belgian workers went on strike to demand universal suffrage. 1913 - Fighting broke out between Bulgaria and Greece and Spain. It was the beginning of the Second Balkan War. 1915 - During World War I, the Second Battle Artois ended when the French failed to take Vimy Ridge. 1922 - Irish rebels in London assassinate Sir Henry Wilson, the British deputy for Northern Ireland. 1930 - France pulled its troops out of Germany’s Rhineland. 1934 - Adolf Hitler purged the Nazi Party by destroying the SA and bringing to power the SS in the "Night of the Long Knives." 1935 - Fascists caused an uproar at the League of Nations when Haile Selassie of Ethiopia speaks. 1936 - Margaret Mitchell’s book, "Gone with the Wind," was published in New York City. 1950 - U.S. President Harry Truman ordered U.S. troops into Korea and authorizes the draft. 1951 - On orders from Washington, General Matthew Ridgeway broadcasts that the United Nations was willing to discuss an armistice with North Korea. 1952 - CBS-TV debuted "The Guiding Light." 1953 - The first Corvette rolled off the Chevrolet assembly line in Flint, MI. It sold for $3,250. 1955 - The U.S. began funding West Germany’s rearmament. 1957 - The American occupation headquarters in Japan was dissolved. 1958 - The U.S. Congress passed a law authorizing the admission of Alaska as the 49th state in the Union. 1960 - The Katanga province seceded from Congo (upon Congo's independence from Belgium). 1962 - Los Angeles Dodger Sandy Koufax pitched his first no-hitter in a game with the New York Mets. 1964 - The last of U.N. troops left Congo after a four-year effort to bring stability to the country. 1970 - The Cincinnati Reds moved to their new home at Riverfront Stadium. 1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the New York Times to continue publishing the Pentagon Papers. 1971 - The Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 11 returned to Earth. The three cosmonauts were found dead inside. 1971 - The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified when Ohio became the 38th state to approve it. The amendment lowered the minimum voting age to 18. 1974 - Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defected in Toronto, Canada. 1974 - The July 4th scene from the Steven Spielberg movie "Jaws" was filmed. 1977 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced his opposition to the B-1 bomber. 1984 - The longest professional football game took place in the United States Football League (USFL). The Los Angeles Express beat the Michigan Panthers 27-21 after 93 minutes and 33 seconds. 1985 - Yul Brynner left his role as the King of Siam after 4,600 performances in "The King and I." 1986 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states could outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults. 1994 - The U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya Harding of the 1994 national championship and banned her from the organization for life for an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan. 1998 - Officials confirmed that the remains of a Vietnam War serviceman buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery were identified as those of Air Force pilot Michael J. Blassie. 2000 - U.S. President Clinton signed the E-Signature bill to give the same legal validity to an electronic signature as a signature in pen and ink.
1859 French acrobat Charles Blondin, AKA Jean Francois Gravelet, walked across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. 1908 A powerful natural explosion from an unknown cause rocked the Tunguska Basin, in eastern Siberia, flattening hundreds of square miles of forest and resulting in tremors that could be felt hundreds of miles away. 1921 President Warren G. Harding appointed former president William H. Taft chief justice of the United States. 1934 Adolf Hitler secured his position in the Nazi party by a "blood purge," ridding the party of other leaders such as Ernst Roehm and Kurt von Schleicher. 1936 Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind was published. 1971 The 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18, was ratified by the states. 1998 The remains of a Vietnam War serviceman buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers were identified as those of Air Force pilot Michael J. Blassie.
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/jun30.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
Sunday, June 30, 2013
One Depressing Trend in Europe
You know, I am not a huge fan of economics. There are all sorts of theories and such that sound wonderful and grandiose when they remain theoretical. Try to apply them in real life, and it always seems to wind up the same way. In other words, a select few remain privileged in the system, and the rest have to make do.
It works the same no matter where you go, seemingly.
So it is with most political/economic ideologies and systems.
They might suggest certain things in theory. In reality, watch for those select few that, somehow, always manage to find the most suitable terms towards preserving their empire of privileges and benefits. It does not matter if it is feudalism, totalitarianism, capitalism, or even communism. There is this select few elite group that always remains on top, no matter what. The rest of us, even if we improve in some way, are always looking up. Most of us with some envy.
This is nothing new, of course.
Voltaire once said, "The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor."
Remember that he said this during the days before the French Revolution, which was the first huge scale attempt at leveling the playing field. And if there was a place and a time that needed it, it would be pre-Revolution France, which had the "Old Order" of feudalism, under the tyranny of an absolute monarchy. If you have any doubts about how unfair the system was, think of the poverty of a typical medieval village. Small homes, peasants tied to the land, beholden to the local baron. They were indebted, they were not free. And they hardly lived lives of privilege, nor was opportunity for betterment open to them. In other words, they were relegated to hellish lives.
By contrast, look at the excess luxury that the monarchy of France provided for themselves. There are royal palaces and grounds scattered throughout France, but particularly in the Ile-de-France, that area surrounding Paris. Versailles was just the most famous example, and it replaced the Louvre museum, which King Louis XIV felt was inadequate for his needs. Versailles is considered a treasure by today's standards, but can you imagine how expensive it was back in the days of the "Sun King"? The grounds were so elaborate, that trees were maintained to be at the same exact height, so it looked perfectly symmetrical. They do not even do that today there, with the benefit of modern technology. So just imagine what it must have been like back then. Imagine how expensive it would have been to maintain those grounds back then, and then keep in mind that, not all that far away, the King also had property in Marly-le-roi, and another elaborate palace at Fountainbleau.
Was it any wonder that, when the peasants reached their limit, a revolution broke out? Many criticize the French Revolution for it's excesses, and they have a point. But really, did not one extremity breed another, future extremity? After all, let us remember the the French Revolution, and particularly the guillotine that will always be associated with it, was all about leveling the playing field.
Ultimately, it failed. Edmund Burke even predicted that it would, and he was right.
Let us remember that the old order, feudalism, was justified in it's own day.The King had a "divine right" to rule. He was chosen by God.
We may have finally scrapped that old ideology, although some people still seem to feel that they are given a divine right to gain extreme wealth at the expense of the many.
Now, I think this same thing is beginning to take hold on a worldwide scale, under the pretext of what we call "globalization".
I hardly think that I need to explain what globalization is, at least in theory. It is self-explanatory.
Nor does it seem necessary to elaborate on what the impression among many peoples the world over is on the reality of globalization. It privileges the few, at the expense of the many. Increasingly, it is not individuals, as much as a group of individuals, usually in some corporation and/or banking institution, that greatly benefit from the world situation as it presently is.
In real terms, globalization means corporate takeover. Not just in one country, but transcending all borders.
In my recent trip to Europe, you could see the evidence of this all over the place. In a land that, not that long ago (during my lifetime and, most likely, during yours, too), communism was the system people lived under. It deprived people of opportunities, and it was a Utopian system that likely was destined to fail - particularly since the emphasis was not so much on improving the lot of the people, but on keeping up in the endless competition with the capitalist West.
Now, in that same country, you can go to McDonald's, to Burger King, to Subway, to Starbucks. You can buy the same exact clothes that you find here on this side of the Atlantic. You see the same movies playing, and hear the same music. Hell, the very first place we stopped in the very first city we visited, Berlin, Icona Pop's current smash hit "I love it" was playing, and the cashiers of the little tourist shop were singing along. If you did not pay attention to the specifics of the souvenirs being sold, you might as well have been in New York or Chicago, rather than in Berlin. It was a little depressing.
It also is reaching the point where the only difference between Europe and North America, other than government assistance programs being much more abundant in one than the other, is the architecture of the places. Increasingly, traditional European culture, including cuisines that benefit from the diversity of local specialties and traditions in the way things have been made for going on centuries, is yielding to he pressures of "modernization" and "globalization". I saw McDonald's and Starbucks at Potsdamer Platz. Hell, I even saw a McDonald's at Checkpoint Charlie, perhaps as a reminder, a symbol of who exactly won when the Wall fell. There were plenty in Poland, as well.
In fact, I heard that there are more McDonald's in Paris, France, than in Manhattan. That's right, in a city with as rich a culinary tradition as Paris, perhaps the most common eating establishment is Mickey D's. There are other fast food joints that compete with the ever popular McDonald's, as well. In the meantime, some local specialties and eateries have been relegated to history.
This is progress? And we are supposed to believe that the Europeans in general, or perhaps particularly the French specifically, hate Americans? How could they? They dress in the same style, they listen to the same music, watch the same movies and television shows, play the same video games, and eat the same foods. In many cases, they use many of the same English expressions. Perhaps this commonality has bred some resentment by some who, borrowing from a traditionally corporate expression, "think outside the box". After all, familiarity breeds contempt. Some in Europe are beginning to miss some of the old ways, and have begun to desire turning back the clock, at least a little bit. How is that radically different than dissenters in the United States, trying to return the focus to small, organic farms? This is a response to the coporate takeover, and increasingly, it is not just American corporations that enjoy dominance. If you doubt that, listen to how many Americans complain about how the Chinese are taking over, how they own everything these days. The same charge was leveled at Japan a few decades ago, although perhaps there is indeed more legitimacy in this fear about the Chinese takeover, since the population is so huge, and the economy just continues to grow and grow and grow.
Is it surprising that there would be a reaction to all of this? That people would begin to desire having their own identity, either as nations or nationalities with their own traditions, or as individuals rebelling against the corporate imposed mold of what is acceptable? How could there not be a reaction? People want to feel unique. I have heard it described as a de facto human right to feel different, to feel not just like a number. To want to stand out in some way. Nothing is more human than that. Vive la difference!
This brings to mind a story that my father shared on a few occasions. This was about the trip to Hawaii that he and my mom took in the early nineties.
Now, I know Hawaii is an American state, but you go there not because it is like every other state, but because it is so different. There are some truly exotic things in Hawaii that you will not find anywhere else. The pristine waters and beaches, the rainforests with all manner of different vegetation. The year-round warmth and sunshine. The different animals. The volcanoes. The culture. Is this not why most people go to Hawaii?
Yet, he remembered something else, as well. When the plane finally landed at the airport, the people (whom were all Americans) that got off the plane noticed a McDonald's in the airport, and expressed some measure of comfort in the small slice of familiarity. This little piece of home, in an exotic land that, once upon a time, was forcibly taken over by us.
Globalization is another sort of forcible takeover. It might not be with guns, like in the past. There is more subtlety, more tact. It is more sanitized, more politically correct, in that corporate manner that we have all become so familiar with these days.
Indeed, for many (like those mainland American tourists in Hawaii), it can be comforting seeing the same institutions in faraway lands as in your hometown. Perhaps, it may even confirm some measure of superiority and what poses as national pride for many (although I would then wonder why these people would cry foul when China, a land that was closed off but forcibly opened by Western powers, begins to beat us at our own game). Yes, maybe some people will continue to criticize those who long for traditional ways and tastes, and will urge them to get with the program, to accept the inevitable changes as the cleansing broom of modernity sweeps all of these things under the figurative rug, to make things look more presentable on the surface. Perhaps even some day, all of our collective hearts will beat more proudly when we see the same restaurants and dishes available to us when we go overseas, sparing us from having to venture ordering some strange dish in a language that we do not understand, and make no attempt to speak or learn (whatever happened to when in Rome, anyway?).
Perhaps this is indeed what passes for progress. But you might have to read the small print, or listen to that voice at the end of the commercial (you know the ones, particularly for car commercials?), talking a mile a minute, in such a rushed voice that you can barely catch a word, much less the gist of what is being said. We may even miss the meaning, and spirit (or the opposite of spirit, as the case may be) behind what is being said.
In fact, reflecting on it now, I think that is one of the key components of globalization, managing to ignore that small blur of a voice which speaks so rapidly, that it seems impossible that anything is really being said at all. It is that trained auctioneers voice. The voice that warns us of how and when these favorable terms don't apply. It almost makes me wonder if the natives heard a similar voice when they were taken to sign new treaties, because the old ones (which themselves were usually not that old) were deemed outdated and, thus, unacceptable to us. We might not hear, or heed, the voice, but we increasingly have a society here in America that is trained to approach with skepticism, that expects things not to be nearly as good as advertised. Here, in the land of frivolous lawsuits and corporate bailouts used to give CEO's and board members even more huge bonuses, we have long ignored that voice.
But we should not criticize those who are trying to pay close attention, and approaching with caution. In fact, I think perhaps we are a bit envious that we were not a bit smarter ourselves, before swallowing everything that they gave to us without a moment's hesitation.
It works the same no matter where you go, seemingly.
So it is with most political/economic ideologies and systems.
They might suggest certain things in theory. In reality, watch for those select few that, somehow, always manage to find the most suitable terms towards preserving their empire of privileges and benefits. It does not matter if it is feudalism, totalitarianism, capitalism, or even communism. There is this select few elite group that always remains on top, no matter what. The rest of us, even if we improve in some way, are always looking up. Most of us with some envy.
This is nothing new, of course.
Voltaire once said, "The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor."
Remember that he said this during the days before the French Revolution, which was the first huge scale attempt at leveling the playing field. And if there was a place and a time that needed it, it would be pre-Revolution France, which had the "Old Order" of feudalism, under the tyranny of an absolute monarchy. If you have any doubts about how unfair the system was, think of the poverty of a typical medieval village. Small homes, peasants tied to the land, beholden to the local baron. They were indebted, they were not free. And they hardly lived lives of privilege, nor was opportunity for betterment open to them. In other words, they were relegated to hellish lives.
By contrast, look at the excess luxury that the monarchy of France provided for themselves. There are royal palaces and grounds scattered throughout France, but particularly in the Ile-de-France, that area surrounding Paris. Versailles was just the most famous example, and it replaced the Louvre museum, which King Louis XIV felt was inadequate for his needs. Versailles is considered a treasure by today's standards, but can you imagine how expensive it was back in the days of the "Sun King"? The grounds were so elaborate, that trees were maintained to be at the same exact height, so it looked perfectly symmetrical. They do not even do that today there, with the benefit of modern technology. So just imagine what it must have been like back then. Imagine how expensive it would have been to maintain those grounds back then, and then keep in mind that, not all that far away, the King also had property in Marly-le-roi, and another elaborate palace at Fountainbleau.
Was it any wonder that, when the peasants reached their limit, a revolution broke out? Many criticize the French Revolution for it's excesses, and they have a point. But really, did not one extremity breed another, future extremity? After all, let us remember the the French Revolution, and particularly the guillotine that will always be associated with it, was all about leveling the playing field.
Ultimately, it failed. Edmund Burke even predicted that it would, and he was right.
Let us remember that the old order, feudalism, was justified in it's own day.The King had a "divine right" to rule. He was chosen by God.
We may have finally scrapped that old ideology, although some people still seem to feel that they are given a divine right to gain extreme wealth at the expense of the many.
Now, I think this same thing is beginning to take hold on a worldwide scale, under the pretext of what we call "globalization".
I hardly think that I need to explain what globalization is, at least in theory. It is self-explanatory.
Nor does it seem necessary to elaborate on what the impression among many peoples the world over is on the reality of globalization. It privileges the few, at the expense of the many. Increasingly, it is not individuals, as much as a group of individuals, usually in some corporation and/or banking institution, that greatly benefit from the world situation as it presently is.
In real terms, globalization means corporate takeover. Not just in one country, but transcending all borders.
In my recent trip to Europe, you could see the evidence of this all over the place. In a land that, not that long ago (during my lifetime and, most likely, during yours, too), communism was the system people lived under. It deprived people of opportunities, and it was a Utopian system that likely was destined to fail - particularly since the emphasis was not so much on improving the lot of the people, but on keeping up in the endless competition with the capitalist West.
Now, in that same country, you can go to McDonald's, to Burger King, to Subway, to Starbucks. You can buy the same exact clothes that you find here on this side of the Atlantic. You see the same movies playing, and hear the same music. Hell, the very first place we stopped in the very first city we visited, Berlin, Icona Pop's current smash hit "I love it" was playing, and the cashiers of the little tourist shop were singing along. If you did not pay attention to the specifics of the souvenirs being sold, you might as well have been in New York or Chicago, rather than in Berlin. It was a little depressing.
It also is reaching the point where the only difference between Europe and North America, other than government assistance programs being much more abundant in one than the other, is the architecture of the places. Increasingly, traditional European culture, including cuisines that benefit from the diversity of local specialties and traditions in the way things have been made for going on centuries, is yielding to he pressures of "modernization" and "globalization". I saw McDonald's and Starbucks at Potsdamer Platz. Hell, I even saw a McDonald's at Checkpoint Charlie, perhaps as a reminder, a symbol of who exactly won when the Wall fell. There were plenty in Poland, as well.
In fact, I heard that there are more McDonald's in Paris, France, than in Manhattan. That's right, in a city with as rich a culinary tradition as Paris, perhaps the most common eating establishment is Mickey D's. There are other fast food joints that compete with the ever popular McDonald's, as well. In the meantime, some local specialties and eateries have been relegated to history.
This is progress? And we are supposed to believe that the Europeans in general, or perhaps particularly the French specifically, hate Americans? How could they? They dress in the same style, they listen to the same music, watch the same movies and television shows, play the same video games, and eat the same foods. In many cases, they use many of the same English expressions. Perhaps this commonality has bred some resentment by some who, borrowing from a traditionally corporate expression, "think outside the box". After all, familiarity breeds contempt. Some in Europe are beginning to miss some of the old ways, and have begun to desire turning back the clock, at least a little bit. How is that radically different than dissenters in the United States, trying to return the focus to small, organic farms? This is a response to the coporate takeover, and increasingly, it is not just American corporations that enjoy dominance. If you doubt that, listen to how many Americans complain about how the Chinese are taking over, how they own everything these days. The same charge was leveled at Japan a few decades ago, although perhaps there is indeed more legitimacy in this fear about the Chinese takeover, since the population is so huge, and the economy just continues to grow and grow and grow.
Is it surprising that there would be a reaction to all of this? That people would begin to desire having their own identity, either as nations or nationalities with their own traditions, or as individuals rebelling against the corporate imposed mold of what is acceptable? How could there not be a reaction? People want to feel unique. I have heard it described as a de facto human right to feel different, to feel not just like a number. To want to stand out in some way. Nothing is more human than that. Vive la difference!
This brings to mind a story that my father shared on a few occasions. This was about the trip to Hawaii that he and my mom took in the early nineties.
Now, I know Hawaii is an American state, but you go there not because it is like every other state, but because it is so different. There are some truly exotic things in Hawaii that you will not find anywhere else. The pristine waters and beaches, the rainforests with all manner of different vegetation. The year-round warmth and sunshine. The different animals. The volcanoes. The culture. Is this not why most people go to Hawaii?
Yet, he remembered something else, as well. When the plane finally landed at the airport, the people (whom were all Americans) that got off the plane noticed a McDonald's in the airport, and expressed some measure of comfort in the small slice of familiarity. This little piece of home, in an exotic land that, once upon a time, was forcibly taken over by us.
Globalization is another sort of forcible takeover. It might not be with guns, like in the past. There is more subtlety, more tact. It is more sanitized, more politically correct, in that corporate manner that we have all become so familiar with these days.
Indeed, for many (like those mainland American tourists in Hawaii), it can be comforting seeing the same institutions in faraway lands as in your hometown. Perhaps, it may even confirm some measure of superiority and what poses as national pride for many (although I would then wonder why these people would cry foul when China, a land that was closed off but forcibly opened by Western powers, begins to beat us at our own game). Yes, maybe some people will continue to criticize those who long for traditional ways and tastes, and will urge them to get with the program, to accept the inevitable changes as the cleansing broom of modernity sweeps all of these things under the figurative rug, to make things look more presentable on the surface. Perhaps even some day, all of our collective hearts will beat more proudly when we see the same restaurants and dishes available to us when we go overseas, sparing us from having to venture ordering some strange dish in a language that we do not understand, and make no attempt to speak or learn (whatever happened to when in Rome, anyway?).
Perhaps this is indeed what passes for progress. But you might have to read the small print, or listen to that voice at the end of the commercial (you know the ones, particularly for car commercials?), talking a mile a minute, in such a rushed voice that you can barely catch a word, much less the gist of what is being said. We may even miss the meaning, and spirit (or the opposite of spirit, as the case may be) behind what is being said.
In fact, reflecting on it now, I think that is one of the key components of globalization, managing to ignore that small blur of a voice which speaks so rapidly, that it seems impossible that anything is really being said at all. It is that trained auctioneers voice. The voice that warns us of how and when these favorable terms don't apply. It almost makes me wonder if the natives heard a similar voice when they were taken to sign new treaties, because the old ones (which themselves were usually not that old) were deemed outdated and, thus, unacceptable to us. We might not hear, or heed, the voice, but we increasingly have a society here in America that is trained to approach with skepticism, that expects things not to be nearly as good as advertised. Here, in the land of frivolous lawsuits and corporate bailouts used to give CEO's and board members even more huge bonuses, we have long ignored that voice.
But we should not criticize those who are trying to pay close attention, and approaching with caution. In fact, I think perhaps we are a bit envious that we were not a bit smarter ourselves, before swallowing everything that they gave to us without a moment's hesitation.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Frealane at Somerville, NJ - June 28, 2013
This evening came as a surprise. A pleasant surprise.
Since coming back from vacation last week, Basia and I have been just getting back into the swing of things. I thought that we would be fully back by now, used to everything again (if not happy with it).
It feels somehow like we're both still somewhat on vacation. Perhaps it is that the time just flew by, and a part of us obviously still wants to be there. Yet, here we are.
But life goes on, and it's Friday night. The one thing we did not want to do was have a repeat of last Friday night, when we were both too exhausted to really do anything, still jet lagged. We did not even have enough energy to do the laundry!
Today was a little different. I had suggested the beach earlier this week, but the threat of thunderstorms made that unlikely. By the time that we talked in the afternoon to cement our plans for the evening, that was out.
She suggested going to New Hope, an idea that she has been flirting with for some time. No problem. But when we started driving there, it looked very gray and rainy west of here (which is where we were headed). They had already cancelled the fireworks that they have along the Delaware River, so I asked if she was certain that she did not want to postpone the trip to New Hope until sometime in the future - maybe even next weekend. We turned around and headed back, and she told me to go to Somerville.
Hmmmm....I thought. Somerville is a nice enough town. It seems to be filled with antique stores, and it has a few decent places to eat, some of which even try to have outdoor sidewalk cafe atmosphere, like we had just enjoyed in Europe, where such things are standard.
Why not?
We got there and walked around for a bit. She likes to window shop, and looked at the window front of some of the stores, including clothing and jewelry. We even actually went inside one shop that sold hippie kinds of things. But we were hungry, and both wanted some nice, sidewalk cafe kind of place to relax in. It was a very nice early evening, and the weather was accommodating, although the gray clouds seemed to constantly keep the possibility of severe rainstorms imminent. In fact, it never actually did rain heavily, only a few drops here and there, and that was it.
We found a French Thai place, Origin. It was along Division Street, which once actually was a street, but which had closed off to traffic not long ago, presumably to attract people to the place, which has tons of small shops and places to eat. It had atmosphere, and I wondered, not for the first time, why such places still seem so uncommon on this side of the Atlantic.
Origin is actually a pretty good restaurant. Basia wanted pasta, and she made sure that it was not spicy, as she has little tolerance for it. I got wild boar, just because it was something that I never had before. It sounded intriguing, and I like trying new things like that. We also got Vietnamese Ravioli, which was a decent appetizer. It was not Europe, but the atmosphere was pretty cool nonetheless.
As we were more or less wrapping up the meal, we noticed that the band that was scheduled to play was beginning to set up. This was right by the Division Street Stage. During the summer time, the town has free concerts here. They had just begun the sound checks, and it looked like they were getting ready to play. So, after dinner was done, we would stick around and check out the band.
The band wound up being Frealane, a New York-based rock band, and they actually sounded pretty awesome. My expectations for one of those free, public place in town kind of concert was for a cover band. You know, pick your sixties or seventies classic band. The Beatles (who I love), or the Beach Boys, or Elvis, or Elton John, or something along those lines. Something like that, you know?
Boy, was I wrong! And I was glad to be wrong, too! These guys were actually very good!
Now, I did not know them before last night, and so I can't tell you what their setlist was, or what songs they played other than, ironically, the few covers that they did play. They played a version of the Beatles "Come Together", and they played teasers of Queen's "We Will Rock You" and a couple of other songs that, for whatever the reason, are not exactly coming to me at the moment.
Ultimately, that's not the main point. The main thing is that they sounded really awesome!
You would hardly know that this band was playing in a small town for a small summer audience of locals and passers-by. The way that they sounded, it would not be surprising if they are playing to a much larger audience in the near future.
Everyone was on point, and worked well together. Every member of the band played more than capably, although the guitarist, who's stage name is Coque, really stood out with incredible guitar solos! Again, this was not the kind of band that you expected to run into playing some small town's summer stage shows.
I would not be the least bit surprised to see them performing some much bigger venues in the near future. I checked out their Facebook page, and they apparently already have a date in Paris in September, and presumably, some other European dates as well. I wish them well there, and if they were anywhere near as hot as they were last night, they should represent themselves very well over there!
If you see that this band is playing in a place near you, I would definitely recommend going to check them out! Nobody in the audience looked disappointed last night, and I doubt you will be, for that matter!
At this point, I have to reiterate that I was not familiar with them, so I cannot well tell you the name of the songs that they performed with any authority, except for the last one, "Never Too Late". That seems to be their most successful song to this point, and if you are curious, you can check the video of it out right now, by clicking on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/TlQ9pP2_DUs
The band's manager came up to us at some point during the show, and asked if we were enjoying ourselves. Absolutely! I joined the band's mailing list, and when we got home, looked them up. Before we went home, we saw them eating at a sidewalk cafe on their own. I almost went up and told them that they really had put on a great show, but my natural inclination is towards shyness. We would up walking by, and letting them enjoy their night peacefully.
Frealane are:
Andrea Dee -vocals, keyboard
Brian Tully - bassist
Aaron Knight - drummer/producer
Coque - lead guitarist
Here are some of the links that I checked out, where you can find out more about them:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/Frealane/info
info@frealane.com
www.frealane.com
Since coming back from vacation last week, Basia and I have been just getting back into the swing of things. I thought that we would be fully back by now, used to everything again (if not happy with it).
It feels somehow like we're both still somewhat on vacation. Perhaps it is that the time just flew by, and a part of us obviously still wants to be there. Yet, here we are.
But life goes on, and it's Friday night. The one thing we did not want to do was have a repeat of last Friday night, when we were both too exhausted to really do anything, still jet lagged. We did not even have enough energy to do the laundry!
Today was a little different. I had suggested the beach earlier this week, but the threat of thunderstorms made that unlikely. By the time that we talked in the afternoon to cement our plans for the evening, that was out.
She suggested going to New Hope, an idea that she has been flirting with for some time. No problem. But when we started driving there, it looked very gray and rainy west of here (which is where we were headed). They had already cancelled the fireworks that they have along the Delaware River, so I asked if she was certain that she did not want to postpone the trip to New Hope until sometime in the future - maybe even next weekend. We turned around and headed back, and she told me to go to Somerville.
Hmmmm....I thought. Somerville is a nice enough town. It seems to be filled with antique stores, and it has a few decent places to eat, some of which even try to have outdoor sidewalk cafe atmosphere, like we had just enjoyed in Europe, where such things are standard.
Why not?
We got there and walked around for a bit. She likes to window shop, and looked at the window front of some of the stores, including clothing and jewelry. We even actually went inside one shop that sold hippie kinds of things. But we were hungry, and both wanted some nice, sidewalk cafe kind of place to relax in. It was a very nice early evening, and the weather was accommodating, although the gray clouds seemed to constantly keep the possibility of severe rainstorms imminent. In fact, it never actually did rain heavily, only a few drops here and there, and that was it.
We found a French Thai place, Origin. It was along Division Street, which once actually was a street, but which had closed off to traffic not long ago, presumably to attract people to the place, which has tons of small shops and places to eat. It had atmosphere, and I wondered, not for the first time, why such places still seem so uncommon on this side of the Atlantic.
Origin is actually a pretty good restaurant. Basia wanted pasta, and she made sure that it was not spicy, as she has little tolerance for it. I got wild boar, just because it was something that I never had before. It sounded intriguing, and I like trying new things like that. We also got Vietnamese Ravioli, which was a decent appetizer. It was not Europe, but the atmosphere was pretty cool nonetheless.
As we were more or less wrapping up the meal, we noticed that the band that was scheduled to play was beginning to set up. This was right by the Division Street Stage. During the summer time, the town has free concerts here. They had just begun the sound checks, and it looked like they were getting ready to play. So, after dinner was done, we would stick around and check out the band.
The band wound up being Frealane, a New York-based rock band, and they actually sounded pretty awesome. My expectations for one of those free, public place in town kind of concert was for a cover band. You know, pick your sixties or seventies classic band. The Beatles (who I love), or the Beach Boys, or Elvis, or Elton John, or something along those lines. Something like that, you know?
Boy, was I wrong! And I was glad to be wrong, too! These guys were actually very good!
Now, I did not know them before last night, and so I can't tell you what their setlist was, or what songs they played other than, ironically, the few covers that they did play. They played a version of the Beatles "Come Together", and they played teasers of Queen's "We Will Rock You" and a couple of other songs that, for whatever the reason, are not exactly coming to me at the moment.
Ultimately, that's not the main point. The main thing is that they sounded really awesome!
You would hardly know that this band was playing in a small town for a small summer audience of locals and passers-by. The way that they sounded, it would not be surprising if they are playing to a much larger audience in the near future.
Everyone was on point, and worked well together. Every member of the band played more than capably, although the guitarist, who's stage name is Coque, really stood out with incredible guitar solos! Again, this was not the kind of band that you expected to run into playing some small town's summer stage shows.
I would not be the least bit surprised to see them performing some much bigger venues in the near future. I checked out their Facebook page, and they apparently already have a date in Paris in September, and presumably, some other European dates as well. I wish them well there, and if they were anywhere near as hot as they were last night, they should represent themselves very well over there!
If you see that this band is playing in a place near you, I would definitely recommend going to check them out! Nobody in the audience looked disappointed last night, and I doubt you will be, for that matter!
At this point, I have to reiterate that I was not familiar with them, so I cannot well tell you the name of the songs that they performed with any authority, except for the last one, "Never Too Late". That seems to be their most successful song to this point, and if you are curious, you can check the video of it out right now, by clicking on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/TlQ9pP2_DUs
The band's manager came up to us at some point during the show, and asked if we were enjoying ourselves. Absolutely! I joined the band's mailing list, and when we got home, looked them up. Before we went home, we saw them eating at a sidewalk cafe on their own. I almost went up and told them that they really had put on a great show, but my natural inclination is towards shyness. We would up walking by, and letting them enjoy their night peacefully.
Frealane are:
Andrea Dee -vocals, keyboard
Brian Tully - bassist
Aaron Knight - drummer/producer
Coque - lead guitarist
Here are some of the links that I checked out, where you can find out more about them:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/Frealane/info
info@frealane.com
www.frealane.com
On This Day in History - June 29
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
June 29, 1995: U.S. space shuttle docks with Russian space station
On this day in 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station Mir to form the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.
This historic moment of cooperation between former rival space programs was also the 100th human space mission in American history. At the time, Daniel Goldin, chief of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), called it the beginning of "a new era of friendship and cooperation" between the U.S. and Russia. With millions of viewers watching on television, Atlantis blasted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida on June 27, 1995.
Just after 6 a.m. on June 29, Atlantis and its seven crew members approached Mir as both crafts orbited the Earth some 245 miles above Central Asia, near the Russian-Mongolian border. When they spotted the shuttle, the three cosmonauts on Mir broadcast Russian folk songs to Atlantis to welcome them. Over the next two hours, the shuttle's commander, Robert "Hoot" Gibson expertly maneuvered his craft towards the space station. To make the docking, Gibson had to steer the 100-ton shuttle to within three inches of Mir at a closing rate of no more than one foot every 10 seconds.
The docking went perfectly and was completed at 8 a.m., just two seconds off the targeted arrival time and using 200 pounds less fuel than had been anticipated. Combined, Atlantis and the 123-ton Mir formed the largest spacecraft ever in orbit. It was only the second time ships from two countries had linked up in space; the first was in June 1975, when an American Apollo capsule and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft briefly joined in orbit.
Once the docking was completed, Gibson and Mir's commander, Vladimir Dezhurov, greeted each other by clasping hands in a victorious celebration of the historic moment. A formal exchange of gifts followed, with the Atlantis crew bringing chocolate, fruit and flowers and the Mir cosmonauts offering traditional Russian welcoming gifts of bread and salt. Atlantis remained docked with Mir for five days before returning to Earth, leaving two fresh Russian cosmonauts on the space station. The three veteran Mir crew members returned with the shuttle, including two Russians and Norman Thagard, a U.S. astronaut who rode a Russian rocket to the space station in mid-March 1995 and spent over 100 days in space, a U.S. endurance record. NASA's Shuttle-Mir program continued for 11 missions and was a crucial step towards the construction of the International Space Station now in orbit.
A solar eclipse was recorded by someone in Ireland in 512. Jacques Cartier found Prince Edward Island in Canada. The Globe Theater, legendary for playing many of Shakespeare's plays, burned down. South Africa began formally implementing apartheid laws on this date in 1949. Brazil defeated Sweden 5-2 in Stockholm to win the World Cup. The Beatles first song, "From Me to You" hit the British charts. In Vietnam, the United States bombed Hanoi for the first time. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were imprisoned on drug charges. The Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was "cruel and unusual". There was a military coup in Ethiopia. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was extended in 1982. Argentina won it's second World Cup title.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
512 - A solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland.
1149 - Raymond of Antioch is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din.
1194 - Sverre is crowned King of Norway.
1236 - Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon took Cordoba in Spain.
1312 - Roman Catholics German King Henry VII crowned
1377 - French invasion fleet lands at Rye England
1428 - Jacoba of Bavaria signs cease fire with Philip the Good
1529 - Emperor Karel V & Pope Clemens VII sign Treaty of Barcelona
1534 - Jacques Cartier discovered Prince Edward Island in Canada
1540 - English ex chancellor Thomas Cromwell sentenced as heretic
1613 - London's Globe Theatre burned down during a performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII.
1652 - Massachusetts declared itself an independent commonwealth.
1659 - The Russians, led by prince Trubetskoy are defeated by the Ukrainian armies of Ivan Vyhovsky in the Battle of Konotop.
1682 - Sofia names herself regent of Russia
1694 - Dutch fleet attacks French grain transports
1749 - New Governor, Charles de la Ralière Des Herbiers, arrives at Isle Royale (Cape Breton Island).
1755 - 515 prominant filipinos baptized as Catholic
1762 - Russian Czar Peter III divorces his wife Catharina II
1767 - The British Parliament approved the Townshend Revenue Acts. The acts imposed import duties on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea shipped to America.
1776 - Mission Dolores founded by SF Bay
1776 - Virginia state constitution adopted and Patrick Henry made governor
1786 - Alexander Macdonell and over five hundred Roman Catholic highlanders leave Scotland to settle in Glengarry County, Ontario.
1800 - Free mason lodge establishes in Alkmaar
1804 - Privates John Collins and Hugh Hall of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were found guilty by a court-martial consisting of members of the Corps of Discovery for getting drunk on duty. Collins received 100 lashes on his back and Hall received 50.
1850 - British ex-premier sir Robert Peel falls off his horse
1850 - Autocephaly Officially Granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to The Church of Greece.
1854 - Netherlands allows corporal punishment
1857 - Battle at Chinhat (Indies rebel under Barkat Ahmed beat British)
1858 - Great fire in London harbor
1858 - Treaty of Algun, China cedes north bank of Amur River to Russia
1860 - The first iron-pile lighthouse was completed at Minot’s Ledge, MA.
1862 - Day 5 of 7 Days-Battle of Savage's Station Va
1863 - Battle at Westminster Maryland: Federal assault
1863 - George A Custer (23) appointed Union Brig-general
1863 - Lee orders his forces to concentrate near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
1863 - Very first First National Bank opens in Davenport, Iowa
1864 - Grand Trunk Railway accident; 100 killed
1867 - Pope Pius IX declares Gorcumse holy martyrs
1874 - Greek politician Charilaos Trikoupis publishes a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled "Who's to Blame?" in which he lays out his complaints against King George. He is elected Prime Minister of Greece the next year.
1880 - France annexed Otaheite (Tahiti)
1881 - Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Diuturnum illud
1888 - First (known) recording of classical music made, Handel's Israel in Egypt on wax cylinder.
1888 - Professor Frederick Treves performed the first appendectomy in England.
1891 - 100°F (SF, CA)
1891 - National Forest Service organized
1891 - Street railway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, commences operation.
1895 - Doukhobors burn their weapons as a protest against conscription by the Tsarist Russian government.
1897 - The Chicago Cubs scored 36 runs in a game against Louisville, setting a record for runs scored by a team in a single game. They won, 36-7.
1899 - Brazo River in Texas floods 12 miles wide causing $10 mil damage
1901 - The first edition of "Editor & Publisher" was issued.
1903 - The British government officially protested Belgian atrocities in the Congo.
1904 - 2 prehistoric bones found in Weerdingerveen, Drenthe
1905 - Russian troops intervened as riots erupted in ports all over the country. Many ships were looted.
1906 - 12th US Golf Open: Alex Smith shoots a 295 at Onwentsia Club Ill
1911 - Freiherr Gautsch von Frankenthurn becomes premier
1913 - 2nd Balkan War begins-Bulgaria overthrows Greek/Serbian troops
1914 - Jina Guseva attempts to assassinate Grigori Rasputin at his home town in Siberia.
1916 - Boeing aircraft flies for 1st time
1917 - The Ukraine proclaimed independence from Russia.
1921 - 34th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Suzanne Lenglen beats E Ryan (62 60)
1922 - France grants 1 km² at Vimy Ridge "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes."
1925 - Canada House opens in London, England.
1925 - Marvin Pipkin filed for a patent for the frosted electric light bulb.
1926 - Fascists in Rome added an hour to the work day in an economic efficiency measure.
1926 - Carter Woodson wins Springarn Medal for research of Black history
1926 - Arthur Meighen returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada.
1927 - 1st flight from West Coast arrives in Hawaii
1927 - First test of Wallace Turnbull's Controllable pitch propeller.
1928 - The Outerbridge Crossing and Goethals Bridge in Staten Island, New York both opened.
1929 - 1st high-speed jet wind tunnel completed Langley Field Ca
1929 - 31.1°C (88°F) hoogste temperatuur op deze dag in De Bilt
1929 - Mexico & Vatican sign Concord
1931 - 109°F (43°C), Monticello, Florida (state record)
1931 - Pope Pius XI encyclical on Nun abbiamo bisogno Mussolini
1932 - USSR and China sign no attack treaty
1932 - Siam’s army seized Bangkok and announced an end to the absolute monarchy.
1932 - "Vic and Sade" debuted on NBC radio.
1933 - Primo Carnera KOs Jack Sharkey in 6 for heavyweight boxing title
1936 - Empire State Building emanates high definition TV-343 lines
1936 - Pope Pius XI encyclical to US bishops "On motion pictures"
1939 - 4th Dutch government of Colijn falls 1939 - Dixie Clipper completes 1st commercial plane flight to Europe
1940 - Anjer (Carnation) Day-anniversary of Prince Bernhard
1940 - US passes Alien Registration Act requiring Aliens to register
1940 - Batman Comics, mobsters rubbed out a circus highwire team known as the Flying Graysons, leaving their son Dick (Robin) an orphan
1941 - Joe DiMaggio got a base hit in his 42nd consecutive game. He broke George Sisler's record from 1922.
1942 - Dmitri Shostakovitch's 7th Symphony, premieres
1943 - Pope Pius XII encyclical Mystic Corporis (mystic body of Christ)
1943 - US forces landed at Nassau Bay, near Salamaua, New Guinea
1943 - Germany begins withdrawing U-boats from North Atlantic in anticipation of the Allied invasion of Europe
1944 - German counter attack at Caen
1944 - Nazi Paul Touvier shoots 7 Jews dead
1944 - Rommel & von Rundstedt travel to Berchtesgaden
1944 - Soviet Armys join in Bobroesjk 1944 - US 7th army corp conquers Cherbourg
1945 - 20.6 cm rainfall at Litchville North Dakota (state record)
1945 - Ruthenia, formerly in Czechoslovakia, becomes part of Ukrainian SSR
1945 - Carpathian Ruthenia was annexed by Soviet Union.
1946 - "Are You with It?" closes at Century Theater NYC after 264 perfs
1946 - "Billion Dollar Baby" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 219 perfs
1946 - Black Sabbath-Brits arrest 2700 Jews in Palestine as alleged terrorist
1946 - British mandatory government of Palestine arrests 100 leaders of Yishnuv and more than 2,700 Jews in Palestine in an attempt to end alleged terrorism.
1947 - Yanks beat Senators 3-1 starting a 19 game win streak
1949 - South Africa began implementing apartheid; no mixed marriages
1949 - US troops withdraw from Korea after WW II
1950 - US beats England 1-0 in a world cup soccer game (next win in 1994)
1950 - West Indies beat England by 326 runs thanks Ramadhin & Valentine
1950 - U.S. President Harry S. Truman authorized a sea blockade of Korea.
1951 - The United States invited the Soviet Union to the Korean peace talks on a ship in Wonson Harbor.
1952 - First aircraft carrier to sail around Cape Horn-Oriskany
1952 - 7th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Louise Suggs
1953 - XETV TV channel 6 in Tijuana-San Diego, CA (IND) begins broadcasting
1953 - The Federal Highway Act authorized the construction of 42,500 miles of freeway from coast to coast.
1954 - The Atomic Energy Commission voted against reinstating Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer's access to classified information.
1955 - The Soviet Union sent tanks to Poznan, Poland, to put down anti-Communist demonstrations.
1955 - Argentine state of siege ends
1956 - Charles Dumas, makes 1st high jump over 7' (2.13 m)-LA, Calif
1956 - Federal interstate highway system act signed
1956 - PM Drees refuses resignation of queen Juliana (Greet Hofmans)
1956 - Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller were married. They were divorced on January 20, 1961.
1957 - Malenkov, Molotov, Kaganowitsj & Sjepilov leave USSR communist party
1958 - Brazil beats Sweden 5-2 in soccer's 6th World Cup at Stockholm
1959 - Pope John XXIII 1st encyclical "On truth, unity, & peace, in charity"
1960 - KYA-AM in SF changes call letters to KDBQ (for 2 weeks)
1961 - Launch of Transit 4a, with 1st nuclear power supply (SNAP-3)
1961 - Willie Mays is 4th major leaguer with 3 or more HRs twice in a season
1962 - First flight Vickers (British Aerospace) VC-10 long-range airliner
1962 - Frank Howard, hits the 5,000th Dodger home run
1963 - "Little Me" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC after 257 performances
1963 - Beatles' 1st song "From Me to You" hits UK charts
1963 - SVB, Students Unions, established under Barrel Regtien
1964 - 1st draft of Star Trek's pilot "Cage" released
1964 - Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed after 83-day filibuster in Senate
1965 - USAF Capt Joseph Henry Engle reaches 85,530 m in X-15
1966 - In the Vietnam War, US planes bombed Hanoi & Haiphong for 1st time
1966 - KBSC (now KVEA) TV channel 52 in Corona-Los Angeles, CA begins
1966 - The U.S. bombed fuel storage facilities near the North Vietnamese cities of Hanoi and Haiphong.
1967 - Israel removed barricades, re-unifying Jerusalem.
1972 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty could constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." The ruling prompted states to revise their capital punishment laws.
1967 - Keith Richards is sentenced to 1 year in jail on drugs charge
1968 - "Tip-Toe Thru' The Tulips With Me" by Tiny Tim peaks at #17
1969 - First Jewish worship service at White House
1969 - On Billy Williams Day in Chicago, the Cubs outfielder passes Stan Musial's NL record for consecutive games played (896)
1970 - US ends 2 month military offensive into Cambodia
1971 - Rolling Stones Mick Jagger & Keith Richards sentenced on drug offense
1971 - Soyuz 11 docks with Salyut 1 for 22 days
1972 - Supreme Court rules (5-4) in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty could constitute "cruel and unusual" prompting some states to revise their laws.
1972 - USSR launches Prognoz 2 into earth orbit (549/200,000 km)
1974 - Military coup in Ethiopia
1975 - 3rd du Maurier Golf Classic (Peter Jackson Classic): JoAnne Carner
1975 - 8.10" (20.57 cm) of rainfall, Litchville No Dakota (state 24-hr rec)
1976 - Seychelles gains independence from Britain
1976 - The Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom.
1977 - Supreme Court rules out death penalty for rapists of adults
1977 - Willie Stargell hits his 400th career HR
1978 - VP Walter F Mondale begins trip to Mid-East
1979 - "Moonraker" premieres in US 1979 - San Diego Chicken reborn at Jack Murphy Stadium
1980 - "Sweeney Todd" closes at Uris Theater NYC after 557 performances
1981 - Bomb attack on headquarters of Islamic Party in Teheran, 72 killed
1981 - Hu Yaobang succeeds Hua Guofeng as leader of China PR
1982 - Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended
1982 - Israel invaded Lebanon.
1983 - Angel Cordero wins his 5,000th horse races
1983 - Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
1984 - Orel Hershiser begins string of making every sched start until 1990
1984 - Pete Rose plays in record 3,309th game, surpassing Carl Yastrzemski
1984 - USSR offers to start talking about banning SDI
1985 - NASA launches Intelsat VA
1985 - STS 51-F vehicle moves to launch pad
1986 - Argentina defeated West Germany, 3-2, to win the World Cup Final.
1986 - Boston Red Sox trade for Tom Seaver
1986 - Sparky Anderson is 1st to win 600 games as manager in both leagues
1987 - Phil's Steve Bedrosian is 1st to record 12 saves in 12 attempts
1987 - Vincent Van Gogh’s "Le Pont de Trinquetaille" was bought for $20.4 million at an auction in London, England.
1988 - Emmy 15th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 9th time
1989 - Emmy 16th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 10th time
1989 - Susan Lucci loses daytime emmy for 10th straight year
1990 - Marla Maples father sues National Enquirer for $12M
1990 - NY Mets tie their team career high 11 game win streak
1990 - A's Dave Stewart no-hits Blue Jays & Dodger's Fernando Valenzuela no-hits St Louis 6-0, 1st time no-hitters in both leagues
1991 - "Jackie Mason - Brand New" closes at Neil Simon NYC after 216 perfs
1991 - 6.0 earthquake hits southern Calif
1991 - Britain's Nick Brown, 591st rank beats 10th-seeded Goran Ivanisevic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in 2nd round at Wimbledon
1992 - "Salome" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 9 performances
1992 - 2 earthquakes including 7.4 hits southern Calif
1992 - A's Dennis Eckersley sets record of 26th straight save of season
1992 - NHL decided Eric Lindross goes to Flyers instead of Rangers
1994 - Socialist, Tomiichi Murayama, elected premier of Japan
1994 - US reopens Guantanamo Naval Base to process refugees
1995 - The shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir docked, forming the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit Earth.
1995 - George Foreman loses IBF boxing title, refused to fight Axel Schulz
1995 - Memphis Mad Dogs 1st CFL game (vs Calgary Stampeders)
1995 - The shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir docked, forming the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.
1996 - Andrea Leah Plummer, of Tennessee, crowned 39th America's Junior Miss
1996 - Superman's Action Comic #1 (1938) auctioned at Sotheby at $61,900
1997 - "American Daughter" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 88 performances
1997 - "London Assurance" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 72 perfs
1997 - Progress M-35 Soyuz Launch (Russia)
1997 - Tyrenda Williams, 18, of Alabama, crowned 40th America's Junior Miss
1998 - With negotiations on a new labor agreement at a standstill, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that a lockout would be imposed at midnight.
2000 - In Santa Rosa, CA, the official groundbreaking ceremony took place for the Charles M. Schulz Museum.
2000 - Eminem's mother goes to court claiming defamation of character in a $10 million civil suit, after taking exception to the line "My mother smokes more dope than I do" from her son's single 'My Name Is'
2002 - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, serves as Acting President for two and a half hours, while President George W. Bush undergoes a colonoscopy procedure.
2002 - Naval clashes between South Korea and North Korea lead to the death of six South Korean sailors and sinking of a North Korean vessel.
2003 - Actress Katharine Hepburn died.
2006 - Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates U.S. and international law.
2007 - Two car bombs are found in the heart of London at Picadilly Circus.
2007 - The Apple iPhone went on sale.
2008 - Thomas Beatie, the world's first pregnant man, gives birth to a daughter.
2012 - 16 Naxalite Maoist insurgents in India are killed by police
2012 - Three bombs in Balid, Iraq, kill 6 people and injure 45
2012 - 15,000 Japanese anti-nuclear protesters blockade the Japanese Prime Minister's office in Tokyo
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/jun22.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
June 29, 1995: U.S. space shuttle docks with Russian space station
On this day in 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station Mir to form the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.
This historic moment of cooperation between former rival space programs was also the 100th human space mission in American history. At the time, Daniel Goldin, chief of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), called it the beginning of "a new era of friendship and cooperation" between the U.S. and Russia. With millions of viewers watching on television, Atlantis blasted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida on June 27, 1995.
Just after 6 a.m. on June 29, Atlantis and its seven crew members approached Mir as both crafts orbited the Earth some 245 miles above Central Asia, near the Russian-Mongolian border. When they spotted the shuttle, the three cosmonauts on Mir broadcast Russian folk songs to Atlantis to welcome them. Over the next two hours, the shuttle's commander, Robert "Hoot" Gibson expertly maneuvered his craft towards the space station. To make the docking, Gibson had to steer the 100-ton shuttle to within three inches of Mir at a closing rate of no more than one foot every 10 seconds.
The docking went perfectly and was completed at 8 a.m., just two seconds off the targeted arrival time and using 200 pounds less fuel than had been anticipated. Combined, Atlantis and the 123-ton Mir formed the largest spacecraft ever in orbit. It was only the second time ships from two countries had linked up in space; the first was in June 1975, when an American Apollo capsule and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft briefly joined in orbit.
Once the docking was completed, Gibson and Mir's commander, Vladimir Dezhurov, greeted each other by clasping hands in a victorious celebration of the historic moment. A formal exchange of gifts followed, with the Atlantis crew bringing chocolate, fruit and flowers and the Mir cosmonauts offering traditional Russian welcoming gifts of bread and salt. Atlantis remained docked with Mir for five days before returning to Earth, leaving two fresh Russian cosmonauts on the space station. The three veteran Mir crew members returned with the shuttle, including two Russians and Norman Thagard, a U.S. astronaut who rode a Russian rocket to the space station in mid-March 1995 and spent over 100 days in space, a U.S. endurance record. NASA's Shuttle-Mir program continued for 11 missions and was a crucial step towards the construction of the International Space Station now in orbit.
A solar eclipse was recorded by someone in Ireland in 512. Jacques Cartier found Prince Edward Island in Canada. The Globe Theater, legendary for playing many of Shakespeare's plays, burned down. South Africa began formally implementing apartheid laws on this date in 1949. Brazil defeated Sweden 5-2 in Stockholm to win the World Cup. The Beatles first song, "From Me to You" hit the British charts. In Vietnam, the United States bombed Hanoi for the first time. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were imprisoned on drug charges. The Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was "cruel and unusual". There was a military coup in Ethiopia. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was extended in 1982. Argentina won it's second World Cup title.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
512 - A solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland.
1149 - Raymond of Antioch is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din.
1194 - Sverre is crowned King of Norway.
1236 - Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon took Cordoba in Spain.
1312 - Roman Catholics German King Henry VII crowned
1377 - French invasion fleet lands at Rye England
1428 - Jacoba of Bavaria signs cease fire with Philip the Good
1529 - Emperor Karel V & Pope Clemens VII sign Treaty of Barcelona
1534 - Jacques Cartier discovered Prince Edward Island in Canada
1540 - English ex chancellor Thomas Cromwell sentenced as heretic
1613 - London's Globe Theatre burned down during a performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII.
1652 - Massachusetts declared itself an independent commonwealth.
1659 - The Russians, led by prince Trubetskoy are defeated by the Ukrainian armies of Ivan Vyhovsky in the Battle of Konotop.
1682 - Sofia names herself regent of Russia
1694 - Dutch fleet attacks French grain transports
1749 - New Governor, Charles de la Ralière Des Herbiers, arrives at Isle Royale (Cape Breton Island).
1755 - 515 prominant filipinos baptized as Catholic
1762 - Russian Czar Peter III divorces his wife Catharina II
1767 - The British Parliament approved the Townshend Revenue Acts. The acts imposed import duties on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea shipped to America.
1776 - Mission Dolores founded by SF Bay
1776 - Virginia state constitution adopted and Patrick Henry made governor
1786 - Alexander Macdonell and over five hundred Roman Catholic highlanders leave Scotland to settle in Glengarry County, Ontario.
1800 - Free mason lodge establishes in Alkmaar
1804 - Privates John Collins and Hugh Hall of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were found guilty by a court-martial consisting of members of the Corps of Discovery for getting drunk on duty. Collins received 100 lashes on his back and Hall received 50.
1850 - British ex-premier sir Robert Peel falls off his horse
1850 - Autocephaly Officially Granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to The Church of Greece.
1854 - Netherlands allows corporal punishment
1857 - Battle at Chinhat (Indies rebel under Barkat Ahmed beat British)
1858 - Great fire in London harbor
1858 - Treaty of Algun, China cedes north bank of Amur River to Russia
1860 - The first iron-pile lighthouse was completed at Minot’s Ledge, MA.
1862 - Day 5 of 7 Days-Battle of Savage's Station Va
1863 - Battle at Westminster Maryland: Federal assault
1863 - George A Custer (23) appointed Union Brig-general
1863 - Lee orders his forces to concentrate near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
1863 - Very first First National Bank opens in Davenport, Iowa
1864 - Grand Trunk Railway accident; 100 killed
1867 - Pope Pius IX declares Gorcumse holy martyrs
1874 - Greek politician Charilaos Trikoupis publishes a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled "Who's to Blame?" in which he lays out his complaints against King George. He is elected Prime Minister of Greece the next year.
1880 - France annexed Otaheite (Tahiti)
1881 - Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Diuturnum illud
1888 - First (known) recording of classical music made, Handel's Israel in Egypt on wax cylinder.
1888 - Professor Frederick Treves performed the first appendectomy in England.
1891 - 100°F (SF, CA)
1891 - National Forest Service organized
1891 - Street railway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, commences operation.
1895 - Doukhobors burn their weapons as a protest against conscription by the Tsarist Russian government.
1897 - The Chicago Cubs scored 36 runs in a game against Louisville, setting a record for runs scored by a team in a single game. They won, 36-7.
1899 - Brazo River in Texas floods 12 miles wide causing $10 mil damage
1901 - The first edition of "Editor & Publisher" was issued.
1903 - The British government officially protested Belgian atrocities in the Congo.
1904 - 2 prehistoric bones found in Weerdingerveen, Drenthe
1905 - Russian troops intervened as riots erupted in ports all over the country. Many ships were looted.
1906 - 12th US Golf Open: Alex Smith shoots a 295 at Onwentsia Club Ill
1911 - Freiherr Gautsch von Frankenthurn becomes premier
1913 - 2nd Balkan War begins-Bulgaria overthrows Greek/Serbian troops
1914 - Jina Guseva attempts to assassinate Grigori Rasputin at his home town in Siberia.
1916 - Boeing aircraft flies for 1st time
1917 - The Ukraine proclaimed independence from Russia.
1921 - 34th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Suzanne Lenglen beats E Ryan (62 60)
1922 - France grants 1 km² at Vimy Ridge "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes."
1925 - Canada House opens in London, England.
1925 - Marvin Pipkin filed for a patent for the frosted electric light bulb.
1926 - Fascists in Rome added an hour to the work day in an economic efficiency measure.
1926 - Carter Woodson wins Springarn Medal for research of Black history
1926 - Arthur Meighen returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada.
1927 - 1st flight from West Coast arrives in Hawaii
1927 - First test of Wallace Turnbull's Controllable pitch propeller.
1928 - The Outerbridge Crossing and Goethals Bridge in Staten Island, New York both opened.
1929 - 1st high-speed jet wind tunnel completed Langley Field Ca
1929 - 31.1°C (88°F) hoogste temperatuur op deze dag in De Bilt
1929 - Mexico & Vatican sign Concord
1931 - 109°F (43°C), Monticello, Florida (state record)
1931 - Pope Pius XI encyclical on Nun abbiamo bisogno Mussolini
1932 - USSR and China sign no attack treaty
1932 - Siam’s army seized Bangkok and announced an end to the absolute monarchy.
1932 - "Vic and Sade" debuted on NBC radio.
1933 - Primo Carnera KOs Jack Sharkey in 6 for heavyweight boxing title
1936 - Empire State Building emanates high definition TV-343 lines
1936 - Pope Pius XI encyclical to US bishops "On motion pictures"
1939 - 4th Dutch government of Colijn falls 1939 - Dixie Clipper completes 1st commercial plane flight to Europe
1940 - Anjer (Carnation) Day-anniversary of Prince Bernhard
1940 - US passes Alien Registration Act requiring Aliens to register
1940 - Batman Comics, mobsters rubbed out a circus highwire team known as the Flying Graysons, leaving their son Dick (Robin) an orphan
1941 - Joe DiMaggio got a base hit in his 42nd consecutive game. He broke George Sisler's record from 1922.
1942 - Dmitri Shostakovitch's 7th Symphony, premieres
1943 - Pope Pius XII encyclical Mystic Corporis (mystic body of Christ)
1943 - US forces landed at Nassau Bay, near Salamaua, New Guinea
1943 - Germany begins withdrawing U-boats from North Atlantic in anticipation of the Allied invasion of Europe
1944 - German counter attack at Caen
1944 - Nazi Paul Touvier shoots 7 Jews dead
1944 - Rommel & von Rundstedt travel to Berchtesgaden
1944 - Soviet Armys join in Bobroesjk 1944 - US 7th army corp conquers Cherbourg
1945 - 20.6 cm rainfall at Litchville North Dakota (state record)
1945 - Ruthenia, formerly in Czechoslovakia, becomes part of Ukrainian SSR
1945 - Carpathian Ruthenia was annexed by Soviet Union.
1946 - "Are You with It?" closes at Century Theater NYC after 264 perfs
1946 - "Billion Dollar Baby" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 219 perfs
1946 - Black Sabbath-Brits arrest 2700 Jews in Palestine as alleged terrorist
1946 - British mandatory government of Palestine arrests 100 leaders of Yishnuv and more than 2,700 Jews in Palestine in an attempt to end alleged terrorism.
1947 - Yanks beat Senators 3-1 starting a 19 game win streak
1949 - South Africa began implementing apartheid; no mixed marriages
1949 - US troops withdraw from Korea after WW II
1950 - US beats England 1-0 in a world cup soccer game (next win in 1994)
1950 - West Indies beat England by 326 runs thanks Ramadhin & Valentine
1950 - U.S. President Harry S. Truman authorized a sea blockade of Korea.
1951 - The United States invited the Soviet Union to the Korean peace talks on a ship in Wonson Harbor.
1952 - First aircraft carrier to sail around Cape Horn-Oriskany
1952 - 7th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Louise Suggs
1953 - XETV TV channel 6 in Tijuana-San Diego, CA (IND) begins broadcasting
1953 - The Federal Highway Act authorized the construction of 42,500 miles of freeway from coast to coast.
1954 - The Atomic Energy Commission voted against reinstating Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer's access to classified information.
1955 - The Soviet Union sent tanks to Poznan, Poland, to put down anti-Communist demonstrations.
1955 - Argentine state of siege ends
1956 - Charles Dumas, makes 1st high jump over 7' (2.13 m)-LA, Calif
1956 - Federal interstate highway system act signed
1956 - PM Drees refuses resignation of queen Juliana (Greet Hofmans)
1956 - Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller were married. They were divorced on January 20, 1961.
1957 - Malenkov, Molotov, Kaganowitsj & Sjepilov leave USSR communist party
1958 - Brazil beats Sweden 5-2 in soccer's 6th World Cup at Stockholm
1959 - Pope John XXIII 1st encyclical "On truth, unity, & peace, in charity"
1960 - KYA-AM in SF changes call letters to KDBQ (for 2 weeks)
1961 - Launch of Transit 4a, with 1st nuclear power supply (SNAP-3)
1961 - Willie Mays is 4th major leaguer with 3 or more HRs twice in a season
1962 - First flight Vickers (British Aerospace) VC-10 long-range airliner
1962 - Frank Howard, hits the 5,000th Dodger home run
1963 - "Little Me" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC after 257 performances
1963 - Beatles' 1st song "From Me to You" hits UK charts
1963 - SVB, Students Unions, established under Barrel Regtien
1964 - 1st draft of Star Trek's pilot "Cage" released
1964 - Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed after 83-day filibuster in Senate
1965 - USAF Capt Joseph Henry Engle reaches 85,530 m in X-15
1966 - In the Vietnam War, US planes bombed Hanoi & Haiphong for 1st time
1966 - KBSC (now KVEA) TV channel 52 in Corona-Los Angeles, CA begins
1966 - The U.S. bombed fuel storage facilities near the North Vietnamese cities of Hanoi and Haiphong.
1967 - Israel removed barricades, re-unifying Jerusalem.
1972 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty could constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." The ruling prompted states to revise their capital punishment laws.
1967 - Keith Richards is sentenced to 1 year in jail on drugs charge
1968 - "Tip-Toe Thru' The Tulips With Me" by Tiny Tim peaks at #17
1969 - First Jewish worship service at White House
1969 - On Billy Williams Day in Chicago, the Cubs outfielder passes Stan Musial's NL record for consecutive games played (896)
1970 - US ends 2 month military offensive into Cambodia
1971 - Rolling Stones Mick Jagger & Keith Richards sentenced on drug offense
1971 - Soyuz 11 docks with Salyut 1 for 22 days
1972 - Supreme Court rules (5-4) in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty could constitute "cruel and unusual" prompting some states to revise their laws.
1972 - USSR launches Prognoz 2 into earth orbit (549/200,000 km)
1974 - Military coup in Ethiopia
1975 - 3rd du Maurier Golf Classic (Peter Jackson Classic): JoAnne Carner
1975 - 8.10" (20.57 cm) of rainfall, Litchville No Dakota (state 24-hr rec)
1976 - Seychelles gains independence from Britain
1976 - The Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom.
1977 - Supreme Court rules out death penalty for rapists of adults
1977 - Willie Stargell hits his 400th career HR
1978 - VP Walter F Mondale begins trip to Mid-East
1979 - "Moonraker" premieres in US 1979 - San Diego Chicken reborn at Jack Murphy Stadium
1980 - "Sweeney Todd" closes at Uris Theater NYC after 557 performances
1981 - Bomb attack on headquarters of Islamic Party in Teheran, 72 killed
1981 - Hu Yaobang succeeds Hua Guofeng as leader of China PR
1982 - Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended
1982 - Israel invaded Lebanon.
1983 - Angel Cordero wins his 5,000th horse races
1983 - Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
1984 - Orel Hershiser begins string of making every sched start until 1990
1984 - Pete Rose plays in record 3,309th game, surpassing Carl Yastrzemski
1984 - USSR offers to start talking about banning SDI
1985 - NASA launches Intelsat VA
1985 - STS 51-F vehicle moves to launch pad
1986 - Argentina defeated West Germany, 3-2, to win the World Cup Final.
1986 - Boston Red Sox trade for Tom Seaver
1986 - Sparky Anderson is 1st to win 600 games as manager in both leagues
1987 - Phil's Steve Bedrosian is 1st to record 12 saves in 12 attempts
1987 - Vincent Van Gogh’s "Le Pont de Trinquetaille" was bought for $20.4 million at an auction in London, England.
1988 - Emmy 15th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 9th time
1989 - Emmy 16th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 10th time
1989 - Susan Lucci loses daytime emmy for 10th straight year
1990 - Marla Maples father sues National Enquirer for $12M
1990 - NY Mets tie their team career high 11 game win streak
1990 - A's Dave Stewart no-hits Blue Jays & Dodger's Fernando Valenzuela no-hits St Louis 6-0, 1st time no-hitters in both leagues
1991 - "Jackie Mason - Brand New" closes at Neil Simon NYC after 216 perfs
1991 - 6.0 earthquake hits southern Calif
1991 - Britain's Nick Brown, 591st rank beats 10th-seeded Goran Ivanisevic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in 2nd round at Wimbledon
1992 - "Salome" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 9 performances
1992 - 2 earthquakes including 7.4 hits southern Calif
1992 - A's Dennis Eckersley sets record of 26th straight save of season
1992 - NHL decided Eric Lindross goes to Flyers instead of Rangers
1994 - Socialist, Tomiichi Murayama, elected premier of Japan
1994 - US reopens Guantanamo Naval Base to process refugees
1995 - The shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir docked, forming the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit Earth.
1995 - George Foreman loses IBF boxing title, refused to fight Axel Schulz
1995 - Memphis Mad Dogs 1st CFL game (vs Calgary Stampeders)
1995 - The shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir docked, forming the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.
1996 - Andrea Leah Plummer, of Tennessee, crowned 39th America's Junior Miss
1996 - Superman's Action Comic #1 (1938) auctioned at Sotheby at $61,900
1997 - "American Daughter" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 88 performances
1997 - "London Assurance" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 72 perfs
1997 - Progress M-35 Soyuz Launch (Russia)
1997 - Tyrenda Williams, 18, of Alabama, crowned 40th America's Junior Miss
1998 - With negotiations on a new labor agreement at a standstill, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that a lockout would be imposed at midnight.
2000 - In Santa Rosa, CA, the official groundbreaking ceremony took place for the Charles M. Schulz Museum.
2000 - Eminem's mother goes to court claiming defamation of character in a $10 million civil suit, after taking exception to the line "My mother smokes more dope than I do" from her son's single 'My Name Is'
2002 - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, serves as Acting President for two and a half hours, while President George W. Bush undergoes a colonoscopy procedure.
2002 - Naval clashes between South Korea and North Korea lead to the death of six South Korean sailors and sinking of a North Korean vessel.
2003 - Actress Katharine Hepburn died.
2006 - Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates U.S. and international law.
2007 - Two car bombs are found in the heart of London at Picadilly Circus.
2007 - The Apple iPhone went on sale.
2008 - Thomas Beatie, the world's first pregnant man, gives birth to a daughter.
2012 - 16 Naxalite Maoist insurgents in India are killed by police
2012 - Three bombs in Balid, Iraq, kill 6 people and injure 45
2012 - 15,000 Japanese anti-nuclear protesters blockade the Japanese Prime Minister's office in Tokyo
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/jun22.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
Friday, June 28, 2013
Teaching My Son Chess
It is something that I intended to do from very early on. I dreamed that my son might one day not only play chess, but play it well. Play it better than me, in fact.
One can hope, right?
Of course, it starts off by beginning to learn the game, something that I have been meaning to do for some time now. What was infinitely more encouraging was that he actually wanted to learn how to play. That helped. A lot.
I had been meaning to try and teach him beginning somewhere around the time when he reached 6 or 7 years old. He is now 7 (he would correct me at this point, and let me know, as if I didn't already, that he is, in fact, 71/2 years old -thank you very much!).
So, the timing was right.
But there were some things that we needed to be clear on. Chess is not a video game, and it's not like playing with toys, or watching tv. Chess is for adults. Without trying to sound sexist, it can be said that chess is a man's game, meaning that it tends to be played mostly by men (although I have played with some females who love it, too). It can be a very serious game, and smetimes, it can stir very competitive juices, so it can feel deadly serious. I have played matches, as an adult, where I was nervous and tense the whole time. It is hardly the most stress-free activity that you can engage in, if you are even somewhat serious about it. Also, it is a serious game, played by adults. Children can play it, yes. But usually, adults play it, and they are usually serious while doing so.
In other words, chess is very different than anything that he has played or done before.
Still, I hoped he was ready.
When my parents got him a set for children intended to teach them the game of chess, that was the final clue. He seemed excited back then, and now, he is even more excited, if anything.
And without specifically meaning to make yesterday the day, it just kind of happened. Usually, I offer to take him swimming for summer afternoons like that, and I did yesterday as well. But thunderstorms were still a threat, and the lake is a bit of a drive. Also, I was not fully in the mood for it.
There was the possibility of taking him to see Superman, a movie that I was sure he would be excited to go see...even thrilled.
When I mentioned the idea, however, he seemed almost indifferent. Like he could take it or leave it. Apparently, he is looking much more forward to the Lone Ranger movie. He even let me know the date it was to be released....July 3rd! I remember a very different Lone Ranger from my own childhood, and I showed him an old action figure from the time of my childhood, when I loved the cartoon version of the Lone Ranger (my memory is not entirely off on this one, is it?).
Upon checking the movie times for when Superman might be showing, the movie started at 4:30pm. The problem? He gets out of summer camp at 4:30pm, and I have to be there to pick him up. There usually is a bit of a wait afterwards, because the cars are all lined up. So, scratch the movie. Maybe next week.
We were there in the apartment, and the idea suddenly dawned on me....maybe today would be a good day to teach him chess?
I spotted the "Stress Free Chess" set that he had recieved as a gift, and opened it up for the first time. He marvelled at it. The pieces excited him, understandably I remember being a small boy myself, and those pieces almost looked like fancy toys of some vague sort.
He liked the chess set itself, and liked the rules, the cards (like a card game, this particular chess set has multiple cards essentially explaining how each individual piece on the board moves). Most of all, again understandably (he is seven years old, after all), he liked the fact that this chess set was his.
So, I showed him how to set up the pieces. On his board, all the pieces are labelled, so I thought he might be able to do it on his own.
I was wrong.
Before too long, however, we had finally set up the board, and were ready to play. It was time to pick which color he wanted to be (I am letting him choose for the very beginning like this). He chose black, which was fairly predictable. Until I informed him that white always goes first in this game. Then, he switched his decision, and wanted to be white.
The first match began. He showed a decent grasp of how the pieces moved, all things considered. I mean, he made some mistakes.
Right now, we are at the point where I just want him to play a few matches, and get those under his belt, without being discouraged or anything like that. Mostly, he should know how the pieces move, and gain a basic understanding of the game, before we actually play with anything resembling strategy. I tried to explain these things to him, and tried to explain that, very early on, he could not realistically hope to be able to seriously win any matches.
I told him briefly about how, when I was his age, it was such a thrill to win my first match against an adult (my grandfather). It was a rush, a high! I still remember throwing my arms up in the air, and then running around my grandparent's house, telling everyone of my huge accomplishment. Usually, I cringe with this memory. But it is the memory I have, nonetheless.
We played two matches, and ironically, his grasp of how the pieces moved seemed to fall a little with the second match.
But it is not time to worry, or anything. He is still brand new at this, and will get better -hopefully, in every way. Not only was he not discouraged but, moreover, he seemed happy to finally have played, and excited enough that he asked me several times later that evening (just before bedtime) if we could ply again!
It was an encouraging sign, and now, I am glad as ever that I finally began to teach my beautiful son how to play this game that his dad, and his dad's dad, and his dad's grandfather, all loved to play before him.
I congratulated him when he took my first piece (with my assistance), as well as got me in check for the first time (again, with my assistance). The congratulations were more heartfelt the first time he did these things on his own. I was heartened by that.
And I told him that, hopefully, those were the first of many, because I plan to develop a real (friendly) rivalry between us!
One can hope, right?
Of course, it starts off by beginning to learn the game, something that I have been meaning to do for some time now. What was infinitely more encouraging was that he actually wanted to learn how to play. That helped. A lot.
I had been meaning to try and teach him beginning somewhere around the time when he reached 6 or 7 years old. He is now 7 (he would correct me at this point, and let me know, as if I didn't already, that he is, in fact, 71/2 years old -thank you very much!).
So, the timing was right.
But there were some things that we needed to be clear on. Chess is not a video game, and it's not like playing with toys, or watching tv. Chess is for adults. Without trying to sound sexist, it can be said that chess is a man's game, meaning that it tends to be played mostly by men (although I have played with some females who love it, too). It can be a very serious game, and smetimes, it can stir very competitive juices, so it can feel deadly serious. I have played matches, as an adult, where I was nervous and tense the whole time. It is hardly the most stress-free activity that you can engage in, if you are even somewhat serious about it. Also, it is a serious game, played by adults. Children can play it, yes. But usually, adults play it, and they are usually serious while doing so.
In other words, chess is very different than anything that he has played or done before.
Still, I hoped he was ready.
When my parents got him a set for children intended to teach them the game of chess, that was the final clue. He seemed excited back then, and now, he is even more excited, if anything.
And without specifically meaning to make yesterday the day, it just kind of happened. Usually, I offer to take him swimming for summer afternoons like that, and I did yesterday as well. But thunderstorms were still a threat, and the lake is a bit of a drive. Also, I was not fully in the mood for it.
There was the possibility of taking him to see Superman, a movie that I was sure he would be excited to go see...even thrilled.
When I mentioned the idea, however, he seemed almost indifferent. Like he could take it or leave it. Apparently, he is looking much more forward to the Lone Ranger movie. He even let me know the date it was to be released....July 3rd! I remember a very different Lone Ranger from my own childhood, and I showed him an old action figure from the time of my childhood, when I loved the cartoon version of the Lone Ranger (my memory is not entirely off on this one, is it?).
Upon checking the movie times for when Superman might be showing, the movie started at 4:30pm. The problem? He gets out of summer camp at 4:30pm, and I have to be there to pick him up. There usually is a bit of a wait afterwards, because the cars are all lined up. So, scratch the movie. Maybe next week.
We were there in the apartment, and the idea suddenly dawned on me....maybe today would be a good day to teach him chess?
I spotted the "Stress Free Chess" set that he had recieved as a gift, and opened it up for the first time. He marvelled at it. The pieces excited him, understandably I remember being a small boy myself, and those pieces almost looked like fancy toys of some vague sort.
He liked the chess set itself, and liked the rules, the cards (like a card game, this particular chess set has multiple cards essentially explaining how each individual piece on the board moves). Most of all, again understandably (he is seven years old, after all), he liked the fact that this chess set was his.
So, I showed him how to set up the pieces. On his board, all the pieces are labelled, so I thought he might be able to do it on his own.
I was wrong.
Before too long, however, we had finally set up the board, and were ready to play. It was time to pick which color he wanted to be (I am letting him choose for the very beginning like this). He chose black, which was fairly predictable. Until I informed him that white always goes first in this game. Then, he switched his decision, and wanted to be white.
The first match began. He showed a decent grasp of how the pieces moved, all things considered. I mean, he made some mistakes.
Right now, we are at the point where I just want him to play a few matches, and get those under his belt, without being discouraged or anything like that. Mostly, he should know how the pieces move, and gain a basic understanding of the game, before we actually play with anything resembling strategy. I tried to explain these things to him, and tried to explain that, very early on, he could not realistically hope to be able to seriously win any matches.
I told him briefly about how, when I was his age, it was such a thrill to win my first match against an adult (my grandfather). It was a rush, a high! I still remember throwing my arms up in the air, and then running around my grandparent's house, telling everyone of my huge accomplishment. Usually, I cringe with this memory. But it is the memory I have, nonetheless.
We played two matches, and ironically, his grasp of how the pieces moved seemed to fall a little with the second match.
But it is not time to worry, or anything. He is still brand new at this, and will get better -hopefully, in every way. Not only was he not discouraged but, moreover, he seemed happy to finally have played, and excited enough that he asked me several times later that evening (just before bedtime) if we could ply again!
It was an encouraging sign, and now, I am glad as ever that I finally began to teach my beautiful son how to play this game that his dad, and his dad's dad, and his dad's grandfather, all loved to play before him.
I congratulated him when he took my first piece (with my assistance), as well as got me in check for the first time (again, with my assistance). The congratulations were more heartfelt the first time he did these things on his own. I was heartened by that.
And I told him that, hopefully, those were the first of many, because I plan to develop a real (friendly) rivalry between us!
On This Day in History - June 28 The First Corvette
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
June 28, 1953: Workers assemble first Corvette in Flint, Michigan
On this day in 1953, workers at a Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan, assemble the first Corvette, a two-seater sports car that would become an American icon. The first completed production car rolled off the assembly line two days later, one of just 300 Corvettes made that year.
The idea for the Corvette originated with General Motors' pioneering designer Harley J. Earl, who in 1951 began developing plans for a low-cost American sports car that could compete with Europe's MGs, Jaguars and Ferraris. The project was eventually code-named "Opel." In January 1953, GM debuted the Corvette concept car at its Motorama auto show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It featured a fiberglass body and a six-cylinder engine and according to GM, was named for the "trim, fleet naval vessel that performed heroic escort and patrol duties during World War II." The Corvette was a big hit with the public at Motorama and GM soon put the roadster into production.
On June 30, 1953, the first Corvette came off the production line in Flint. It was hand-assembled and featured a Polo White exterior and red interior, two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission, a wraparound windshield, whitewall tires and detachable plastic curtains instead of side windows. The earliest Corvettes were designed to be opened from the inside and lacked exterior door handles. Other components included a clock, cigarette lighter and red warning light that activated when the parking brake was applied--a new feature at the time. The car carried an initial price tag of $3,490 and could go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 11 or 12 seconds, then considered a fairly average speed.
In 1954, the Corvette went into mass production at a Chevy plant in St. Louis, Missouri. Sales were lackluster in the beginning and GM considered discontinuing the line. However, rival company Ford had introduced the two-seater Thunderbird around the same time and GM did not want to be seen bowing to the competition. Another critical development in the Corvette's survival came in 1955, when it was equipped with the more powerful V-8 engine. Its performance and appeal steadily improved after that and it went on to earn the nickname "America's sports car" and become ingrained in pop culture through multiple references in movies, television and music.
Today was an important date during the Crusades. Also, it was on this date that France established the colony of Guadeloupe. Catherine II took over in Russia, and the Quakers built a school for blacks in Philadelphia. A couple of important dates during the Revolutionary War, as an attack by the British Navy was repulsed at Charleston, South Carolina This is the anniversary of an important date in New Jersey history - the Battle at Monmouth, in which Washington defeated Clinton. Later on in American history, during another war, this date marked the fourth and middle day of a seven day battle in Virginia. At the end of that war (the Civil War) the Army of the Potomac was disbanded on this day in 1865. In between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, tomatoes were proven to be not poisonous, and the first ever dog show was held. El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras joined to form the Central American Republic (it did not last). The first French air show was held on this date in 1909. The biggest single event in history to have transpired on this day surely must have been the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand by young Serbian Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, an event which precipitated "The Great War" (World War I), which was easily the most brutal and horrific war up to that point (it would be overtaken by World War II). That war was made possible by the unfair terms of the Treaty of Versailles that set the peace terms following World War I, and this was signed on this date in history. Before that other world war, the man who would essentially bring that war to European soil, and who strongly rejected the terms and the spirit of the Treaty of Versailles, Adolf Hitler, flew to Essen during the "Night of Long Knives" in 1934. It was on this date a year later that Franklin D. Roosevelt would order the construction of a federal gold vault at Fort Knox in Kentucky to hold much of the nation's gold wealth. It was on this date in 1963 that Khrushchev visited East Berlin during the Cold War. This is an important date for wars, evidently, as a couple of years after that, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the first ground forces in Vietnam. It would not take long for them to see action. OPEC raised oil prices by 24%.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
767 - St Paul I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul.
1119 - Battle of Sarmada - Emir Ilghazi defeat French Crusaders
1245 - First Council of Lyons (13th ecumenical council) opens
1389 - Ottomans defeat Serbian army in the bloody Battle of Kosovo, opening the way for the Ottoman conquest of Southeastern Europe (see Vidovdan).
1461 - Edward IV crowned king of England
1485 - Gent/Brugge/Ieper recognize Maximilian of Austria as regent of Neth
1519 - King Carlos I elected Roman Catholic German emperor Charles V
1524 - Duke van Bourbon occupies Province
1575 - Spanish troops conquer Buren
1583 - Duke French van Valois returns to France
1593 - Earl Mauritius conquerors Geertruidenberg
1629 - Peace of Ales: Rights of French huguenots limited
1635 - French colony of Guadeloupe established in Caribbean
1651 - Battle of Beresteczko between Poles and Ukrainians starts.
1675 - Battle at Fehrbellin: Frederick William of Brandenburg crushed the Swedes.
1709 - The Russians defeated the Swedes and Cossacks at the Battle of Poltava.
1748 - Riot after public execution in Amsterdam, 200+ killed
1762 - Fiist reported counterfeiting attempt (Boston)
1762 - Russian Tsarina Catharina II grabs power
1770 - Quakers open a school for blacks in Philadelphia
1776 - Charleston, SC repulsed British sea attack
1776 - American Colonists repulsed a British sea attack on Charleston, SC.
1778 - Mary "Molly Pitcher" Hays McCauley, wife of an American artilleryman, carried water to the soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth and, supposedly, took her husband's place at his gun after he was overcome with heat. Overall, Gen Washington defeated Clinton.
1807 - British troops landed at Ensenada, Argentina
1820 - Tomato is proven non-poisonous
1832 - Gerrit Moll measures noise of guns
1836 - The fourth president of the United States, James Madison, died at Montpelier, his Virginia estate.
1838 - Coronation of Queen Victoria in Westminster Abbey, London
1841 - The Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in Paris premieres the ballet Giselle
1846 - Saxophone is patented by Antoine Joseph Sax
1855 - The Sigma Chi Fraternity was founded at Miami University
1859 - 1st dog show held (Newcastle-on-Tyne, England)
1861 - Leipzig Observatory discovers short-period (6.2 yrs) Comet d'Arrest
1862 - Day 4 of 7 Days-Battle of Savage's Station/Garnett's Farm, VA
1865 - The Army of the Potomac is disbanded
1869 - Amsterdam typographer strike
1869 - R. W. Wood was appointed as the first Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy.
1874 - Freedmen's Bank closes
1880 - Ned Kelly the Australian bushranger captured at Glenrowan.
1887 - Phillies most lopsided shut-out beating Indianapolis 24-0
1892 - Phillies tie club record of 16 straight victories
1894 - The U.S. Congress made Labor Day a U.S. national holiday.
1895 - El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua form Central American Union
1897 - Marquis C de Bonchamps' expedition reaches Gore Ethiopia
1902 - Congress authorizes Louisiana Purchase Expo $1 gold coin
1902 - US buys concession to build Panama canal from French for $40 million
1902 - The U.S. Congress passed the Spooner bill, it authorized a canal to be built across the isthmus of Panama.
1904 - International Anti-Military Cooperation (IAMV) forms in Amsterdam
1904 - The SS Norge Runs aground and sinks
1907 - Nationals steal a record 13 bases off catcher Branch Rickey
1909 - First French air show, Concours d'Avation opens
1911 - Joseph Caillaux forms government in France
1911 - Samuel J. Battle became the first African-American policeman in New York City.
1914 - Austria invades Siberia (WW I)
1914 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Duchess Sophie, in Sarajevo by young Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip at 10.45 , the casus belli of World War I.
1917 - Potato entrepreneurs begins in Amsterdam
1917 - Raggedy Ann doll invented
1918 - 1st flight between Hawaiian Islands
1919 - Carl Mazes pitches a complete doubleheader against NY Yankees
1919 - The Treaty of Versailles was signed ending World War I exactly five years after it began. The treaty also established the League of Nations.
1921 - A coal strike in Great Britain was settled after three months.
1923 - Dodgers lost 7-0 lead, as Phillies score 8 in bottom of 9th
1923 - Queen Wilhelmina & Prince Henry for state visit to London
1924 - Test cricket umpire debut for Frank Chester, v South Africa at Lord's
1924 - Tornado strikes Sandusky Ohio & Lorain Ohio, killing 93
1928 - Alfred E Smith (NY-Gov) nominated for president at Dem Convention
1928 - Friedrich Schmiedl attempted rocket mail in Austria (unsuccessful)
1930 - First night game in Detroit at newly built Hamtramck Stadium as Negro League Detroit Stars take on KC Monarchs
1930 - More than 1,000 communists were routed during an assault on the British consulate in London.
1934 - Hitler flies to Essen (Night of Long Knifes)
1935 - Earl Averill's consecutive-game streak ends at 673
1935 - FDR orders a federal gold vault to be built at Fort Knox Kentucky
1936 - The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.
1938 - Bradman scores 102* in drawn 2nd Test cricket at Lord's
1938 - The U.S. Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure construction loans.
1939 - Pan American Airways began the first transatlantic passenger service.
1939 - Joe Louis TKOs Tony Galent in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
1939 - Pan Am opens southern route transatlantic air service (Dixie Clipper)
1939 - Yanks hit 13 HRs, sweep A's 23-2 & 10-0
1940 - The "Quiz Kids" was heard on NBC radio for the first time.
1940 - Romania cedes Bessarabia to Soviet Union
1941 - German & Romanian soldiers kill 11,000 Jews in Kishinev
1941 - German troops occupy Galicia Poland
1942 - Col-gen Von Hoth' 6th Pantser enters Voronezj
1942 - Dumont TV network begins (WABD NY)
1942 - German troops launched an offensive to seize Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus and the city of Stalingrad.
1943 - "The Dreft Star Playhouse" debuted on NBC radio.
1944 - "The Alan Young Show" debuted on NBC radio.
1945 - U.S. General Douglas MacArthur announced the end of Japanese resistance in the Philippines.
1945 - Polish Provisional government of National Unity set up by Soviets
1946 - Enrico de Nicola becomes 1st pres of Italy
1946 - Permanent radio play-by-play of Cleve Indians games begins
1947 - "Temptation (Tim-Tayshun) by Red Ingle with Jo Stafford hits #1
1948 - US/British airlift to West-Berlin begins
1949 - The last U.S. combat troops were called home from Korea, leaving only 500 advisers.
1950 - "Michael Todd's Peep Show" opens at Winter Garden NYC for 278 perfs
1950 - North Korean forces capture Seoul, South Korea in opening phase of the Korean War
1951 - "Amos 'n' Andy" moved from radio to television, premiered on CBS TV
1953 - 8th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Betsy Rawls
1954 - 111°F (44°C) at Camden, South Carolina (state record)
1954 - French troops began to pull out of Vietnam’s Tonkin Province.
1956 - First atomic reactor built for private research operates Chicago Ill
1956 - Riots break out in Poznan Poland, 38 die
1957 - Reds' fans stuff ballot box, electing 8 Reds as All Star starters
1957 - Frick overrules & names Stan Musial, Willie Mays, & Hank Aaron to team
1958 - Brazil becomes world soccer champ in Sweden
1958 - Nancy Ramey swims world record 100m (1:09.6)
1959 - Phils Wally Post is only outfielder to throw out 2 runners in an inning twice (Losing to Giants 6-0)
1960 - In Cuba, Fidel Castro confiscated American-owned oil refineries without compensation.
1960 - 10.40" (26.42 cm) of rainfall, Dunmor, Kentucky (state 24-hour record)
1961 - Phils & SF set then record longest night game (5h11m) 7-7 15 inn tie
1962 - Thalidomide drug banned in Netherlands
1963 - Belaunde Terry inaugurated as pres of Peru
1963 - Khrushchev visits East-Berlin
1964 - Malcolm X founded the Organization for Afro American Unity to seek independence for blacks in the Western Hemisphere.
1965 - The first commercial satellite began communications service. It was Early Bird (Intelsat II).
1965 - First US ground combat forces in Vietnam authorized by Pres Johnson
1965 - Princess Beatrice & Claus von Amsberg announce engagement
1966 - Ernie Terrel beats Doug Jones in 15 wba for heavyweight boxing title
1967 - George Harrison is fined £6 for speeding
1967 - Israel annexes East Jerusalem Israel formally declared Jerusalem reunified under its sovereignty following its capture of the Arab sector in the June 1967 war.
1968 - Daniel Ellsberg indicted for leaking Pentagon Papers
1969 - John Hampshire scores 107 on Test cricket debut v WI at Lord's
1969 - Stonewall riots begin in New York City.
1970 - Mary Mills wins LPGA Len Immke Buick Golf Open
1971 - Fillmore East closes
1971 - Phillies' Rick Wise hits 2 HRs & no-hits Reds
1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the draft evasion conviction of Muhammad Ali, 8-0.
1972 - U.S. President Nixon announced that no new draftees would be sent to Vietnam.
1973 - Lawsuit in Detroit challenges Little League's "no girls" rule
1973 - Black Sports Hall of Fame forms: Paul Robeson, Elgin Baylor, Jesse Owens, Jim Brown, Wilma Rudolph, Joe Louis & Althea Gibson elected
1974 - Fall of earth & rocks kill 200 (Quebrada Blanca Canyon, Colombia)
1974 - Wings release "Band on the Run" & "Zoo Gang" in UK
1975 - David Bowie releases "Fame"
1975 - Golfer Lee Trevino is struck by lightning at Western Open (Ill)
1976 - First woman was admitted to Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Colo
1976 - Hijacked French Airbus lands in Entebbe, Uganda
1976 - The first women entered the U.S. Air Force Academy.
1977 - Billy Hunter becomes Rangers' 4th manager in 6 days
1977 - Supreme Court allows Federal control of Nixon tapes papers
1978 - UNICEF chooses rock group Kansas as ambassadors of goodwill
1978 - The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the medical school at the University of California at Davis to admit Allan Bakke. Bakke, a white man, argued he had been a victim of reverse racial discrimination.
1979 - OPEC raises oil prices 24%
1980 - NYC transit fare rises from 50 cents to 60 cents
1981 - "Piaf" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 165 performances
1981 - 74 government officials die in attack in Iran
1982 - Prince Charles & Lady Diana name their baby "William"
1983 - Bridge section along I-95 in Greenwich, Ct collapsed kills 3
1983 - NASA launches Galaxy-A
1985 - Discovery ferried back to Kennedy Space Center via Bergstrom AFB, Tx
1986 - Irish population condemns divorce
1986 - Kenneth & Nellie Pike challenge Ala Dem runoff win by AG C Graddick
1987 - "Dreamgirls" opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 177 performances
1987 - Deb Richard wins LPGA Rochester Golf International
1987 - Don Baylor sets career hit-by-pitch mark at 244 (Pitcher Rick Rhoden)
1988 - Mike Tyson sues to break contract with manager Bill Cayton
1990 - 17th annual Daytime Emmy Awards
1990 - Emmy 17th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 11th time
1992 - "Chinese Coffee" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 18 performances
1992 - 2 earthquakes, including 3rd strongest in US (7.4) rock Calif
1992 - Burharnuddin Rabbani becomes president of Afghanistan
1992 - Italian government of Amato forms
1992 - LA Police commisioner Daryl Gates steps down
1992 - US Dream Team beats Cuba in 1st exhibition basketball game, 133-57
1992 - The Constitution of Estonia is signed into law.
1993 - Doctors recommend ligament transplant to Jose Canseco's arm
1993 - Jacques Lemaire is named NJ Devils 8th Head Coach
1993 - NCRV shows last "Cheers" in Neth
1993 - Carlton Fisk, 45, released by White Sox, as all time leader of most games caught & most HRs by a catcher
1994 - NY Met Pitcher Dwight Gooden suspended for 60 days due to drug charges
1995 - NJ Devils Stanley Cup Victory Party, admidst rumours they were moving to Nashville, goalie Chris Terreri holds up "Nashville? NO WAY!" sign
1996 - "Nutty Professor," starring Eddie Murphy opens in theaters in the USA
1996 - The Constitution of Ukraine is signed into law.
1996 - The Citadel voted to admit women, ending a 153-year-old men-only policy at the South Carolina military school.
1996 - Charles M. Schulz got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1997 - Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield's ear after three rounds of their WBA heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas, NV, earning a 16-month suspension. 2000 Elian Gonzalez was returned to his father in Cuba.
1997 - "Master Class," closes at Golden Theater NYC after 601 performances
1997 - "Steel Peer," closes at Richard Rodgers Theater NYC after 76 perfs
1997 - TV evangelist Robert Schuller attacks a flight attendant
1998 - Poland, due to shortage of funds, is allowed to lease, U.S. aircraft to bring military force up to NATO standards.
1998 - The Cincinnati Enquirer apologized to Chiquita banana company and retracted their stories that questioned company's business practices. They also agreed to pay more than $10 million to settle legal claims.
2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court declared that a Nebraska law that outlawed "partial birth abortions" was unconstitutional. About 30 U.S. states had similar laws at the time of the ruling.
2000 - Darva Conger announced that she had done a layout for Playboy magazine. Conger had married Rick Rockwell on Fox-TV's "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire."
2000 - The European Commission announced that they had blocked the planned merger between the U.S. companies WorldCom Inc. and Sprint due to competition concerns.
2000 - Six-year-old Elián González returned to Cuba from the U.S. with his father on the order of the US Supreme Court. The child had been the center of an international custody dispute.
2001 - Serbia handed over Slobodan Milosevic, who was taken into custody and was handed over to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. The indictment charged Milosevic and four other senior officials, with crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war in Kosovo.
2001 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set aside an order that would break up Microsoft for antitrust violations. However, the judges did agree that the company was in violation of antitrust laws.
2004 - Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism
2004 - The U.S. turned over official sovereignty to Iraq's interim leadership. The event took place two days earlier than previously announced to thwart insurgents' attempts at undermining the transfer.
2004 - The U.S. resumed diplomatic ties with Libya after a 24-year break.
2004 - The 17th NATO Summit starts in Istanbul.
2004 - Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of that nation.
2005 - A final design for Manhattan's Freedom Tower is formally unveiled.
2006 - The Republic of Montenegro was admitted as the 192nd Member of the United Nations by General Assembly resolution 60/264.
2007 - Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros becomes the 27th member of the 3000 hit club, going 5 for 5 against the Colorado Rockies.
2007 - The American bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list.
2012 - A series of car bombs in Iraq kills 14 and injures 50 people
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/jun22.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
June 28, 1953: Workers assemble first Corvette in Flint, Michigan
On this day in 1953, workers at a Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan, assemble the first Corvette, a two-seater sports car that would become an American icon. The first completed production car rolled off the assembly line two days later, one of just 300 Corvettes made that year.
The idea for the Corvette originated with General Motors' pioneering designer Harley J. Earl, who in 1951 began developing plans for a low-cost American sports car that could compete with Europe's MGs, Jaguars and Ferraris. The project was eventually code-named "Opel." In January 1953, GM debuted the Corvette concept car at its Motorama auto show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It featured a fiberglass body and a six-cylinder engine and according to GM, was named for the "trim, fleet naval vessel that performed heroic escort and patrol duties during World War II." The Corvette was a big hit with the public at Motorama and GM soon put the roadster into production.
On June 30, 1953, the first Corvette came off the production line in Flint. It was hand-assembled and featured a Polo White exterior and red interior, two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission, a wraparound windshield, whitewall tires and detachable plastic curtains instead of side windows. The earliest Corvettes were designed to be opened from the inside and lacked exterior door handles. Other components included a clock, cigarette lighter and red warning light that activated when the parking brake was applied--a new feature at the time. The car carried an initial price tag of $3,490 and could go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 11 or 12 seconds, then considered a fairly average speed.
In 1954, the Corvette went into mass production at a Chevy plant in St. Louis, Missouri. Sales were lackluster in the beginning and GM considered discontinuing the line. However, rival company Ford had introduced the two-seater Thunderbird around the same time and GM did not want to be seen bowing to the competition. Another critical development in the Corvette's survival came in 1955, when it was equipped with the more powerful V-8 engine. Its performance and appeal steadily improved after that and it went on to earn the nickname "America's sports car" and become ingrained in pop culture through multiple references in movies, television and music.
Today was an important date during the Crusades. Also, it was on this date that France established the colony of Guadeloupe. Catherine II took over in Russia, and the Quakers built a school for blacks in Philadelphia. A couple of important dates during the Revolutionary War, as an attack by the British Navy was repulsed at Charleston, South Carolina This is the anniversary of an important date in New Jersey history - the Battle at Monmouth, in which Washington defeated Clinton. Later on in American history, during another war, this date marked the fourth and middle day of a seven day battle in Virginia. At the end of that war (the Civil War) the Army of the Potomac was disbanded on this day in 1865. In between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, tomatoes were proven to be not poisonous, and the first ever dog show was held. El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras joined to form the Central American Republic (it did not last). The first French air show was held on this date in 1909. The biggest single event in history to have transpired on this day surely must have been the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand by young Serbian Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, an event which precipitated "The Great War" (World War I), which was easily the most brutal and horrific war up to that point (it would be overtaken by World War II). That war was made possible by the unfair terms of the Treaty of Versailles that set the peace terms following World War I, and this was signed on this date in history. Before that other world war, the man who would essentially bring that war to European soil, and who strongly rejected the terms and the spirit of the Treaty of Versailles, Adolf Hitler, flew to Essen during the "Night of Long Knives" in 1934. It was on this date a year later that Franklin D. Roosevelt would order the construction of a federal gold vault at Fort Knox in Kentucky to hold much of the nation's gold wealth. It was on this date in 1963 that Khrushchev visited East Berlin during the Cold War. This is an important date for wars, evidently, as a couple of years after that, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the first ground forces in Vietnam. It would not take long for them to see action. OPEC raised oil prices by 24%.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
767 - St Paul I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul.
1119 - Battle of Sarmada - Emir Ilghazi defeat French Crusaders
1245 - First Council of Lyons (13th ecumenical council) opens
1389 - Ottomans defeat Serbian army in the bloody Battle of Kosovo, opening the way for the Ottoman conquest of Southeastern Europe (see Vidovdan).
1461 - Edward IV crowned king of England
1485 - Gent/Brugge/Ieper recognize Maximilian of Austria as regent of Neth
1519 - King Carlos I elected Roman Catholic German emperor Charles V
1524 - Duke van Bourbon occupies Province
1575 - Spanish troops conquer Buren
1583 - Duke French van Valois returns to France
1593 - Earl Mauritius conquerors Geertruidenberg
1629 - Peace of Ales: Rights of French huguenots limited
1635 - French colony of Guadeloupe established in Caribbean
1651 - Battle of Beresteczko between Poles and Ukrainians starts.
1675 - Battle at Fehrbellin: Frederick William of Brandenburg crushed the Swedes.
1709 - The Russians defeated the Swedes and Cossacks at the Battle of Poltava.
1748 - Riot after public execution in Amsterdam, 200+ killed
1762 - Fiist reported counterfeiting attempt (Boston)
1762 - Russian Tsarina Catharina II grabs power
1770 - Quakers open a school for blacks in Philadelphia
1776 - Charleston, SC repulsed British sea attack
1776 - American Colonists repulsed a British sea attack on Charleston, SC.
1778 - Mary "Molly Pitcher" Hays McCauley, wife of an American artilleryman, carried water to the soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth and, supposedly, took her husband's place at his gun after he was overcome with heat. Overall, Gen Washington defeated Clinton.
1807 - British troops landed at Ensenada, Argentina
1820 - Tomato is proven non-poisonous
1832 - Gerrit Moll measures noise of guns
1836 - The fourth president of the United States, James Madison, died at Montpelier, his Virginia estate.
1838 - Coronation of Queen Victoria in Westminster Abbey, London
1841 - The Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in Paris premieres the ballet Giselle
1846 - Saxophone is patented by Antoine Joseph Sax
1855 - The Sigma Chi Fraternity was founded at Miami University
1859 - 1st dog show held (Newcastle-on-Tyne, England)
1861 - Leipzig Observatory discovers short-period (6.2 yrs) Comet d'Arrest
1862 - Day 4 of 7 Days-Battle of Savage's Station/Garnett's Farm, VA
1865 - The Army of the Potomac is disbanded
1869 - Amsterdam typographer strike
1869 - R. W. Wood was appointed as the first Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy.
1874 - Freedmen's Bank closes
1880 - Ned Kelly the Australian bushranger captured at Glenrowan.
1887 - Phillies most lopsided shut-out beating Indianapolis 24-0
1892 - Phillies tie club record of 16 straight victories
1894 - The U.S. Congress made Labor Day a U.S. national holiday.
1895 - El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua form Central American Union
1897 - Marquis C de Bonchamps' expedition reaches Gore Ethiopia
1902 - Congress authorizes Louisiana Purchase Expo $1 gold coin
1902 - US buys concession to build Panama canal from French for $40 million
1902 - The U.S. Congress passed the Spooner bill, it authorized a canal to be built across the isthmus of Panama.
1904 - International Anti-Military Cooperation (IAMV) forms in Amsterdam
1904 - The SS Norge Runs aground and sinks
1907 - Nationals steal a record 13 bases off catcher Branch Rickey
1909 - First French air show, Concours d'Avation opens
1911 - Joseph Caillaux forms government in France
1911 - Samuel J. Battle became the first African-American policeman in New York City.
1914 - Austria invades Siberia (WW I)
1914 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Duchess Sophie, in Sarajevo by young Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip at 10.45 , the casus belli of World War I.
1917 - Potato entrepreneurs begins in Amsterdam
1917 - Raggedy Ann doll invented
1918 - 1st flight between Hawaiian Islands
1919 - Carl Mazes pitches a complete doubleheader against NY Yankees
1919 - The Treaty of Versailles was signed ending World War I exactly five years after it began. The treaty also established the League of Nations.
1921 - A coal strike in Great Britain was settled after three months.
1923 - Dodgers lost 7-0 lead, as Phillies score 8 in bottom of 9th
1923 - Queen Wilhelmina & Prince Henry for state visit to London
1924 - Test cricket umpire debut for Frank Chester, v South Africa at Lord's
1924 - Tornado strikes Sandusky Ohio & Lorain Ohio, killing 93
1928 - Alfred E Smith (NY-Gov) nominated for president at Dem Convention
1928 - Friedrich Schmiedl attempted rocket mail in Austria (unsuccessful)
1930 - First night game in Detroit at newly built Hamtramck Stadium as Negro League Detroit Stars take on KC Monarchs
1930 - More than 1,000 communists were routed during an assault on the British consulate in London.
1934 - Hitler flies to Essen (Night of Long Knifes)
1935 - Earl Averill's consecutive-game streak ends at 673
1935 - FDR orders a federal gold vault to be built at Fort Knox Kentucky
1936 - The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.
1938 - Bradman scores 102* in drawn 2nd Test cricket at Lord's
1938 - The U.S. Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure construction loans.
1939 - Pan American Airways began the first transatlantic passenger service.
1939 - Joe Louis TKOs Tony Galent in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
1939 - Pan Am opens southern route transatlantic air service (Dixie Clipper)
1939 - Yanks hit 13 HRs, sweep A's 23-2 & 10-0
1940 - The "Quiz Kids" was heard on NBC radio for the first time.
1940 - Romania cedes Bessarabia to Soviet Union
1941 - German & Romanian soldiers kill 11,000 Jews in Kishinev
1941 - German troops occupy Galicia Poland
1942 - Col-gen Von Hoth' 6th Pantser enters Voronezj
1942 - Dumont TV network begins (WABD NY)
1942 - German troops launched an offensive to seize Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus and the city of Stalingrad.
1943 - "The Dreft Star Playhouse" debuted on NBC radio.
1944 - "The Alan Young Show" debuted on NBC radio.
1945 - U.S. General Douglas MacArthur announced the end of Japanese resistance in the Philippines.
1945 - Polish Provisional government of National Unity set up by Soviets
1946 - Enrico de Nicola becomes 1st pres of Italy
1946 - Permanent radio play-by-play of Cleve Indians games begins
1947 - "Temptation (Tim-Tayshun) by Red Ingle with Jo Stafford hits #1
1948 - US/British airlift to West-Berlin begins
1949 - The last U.S. combat troops were called home from Korea, leaving only 500 advisers.
1950 - "Michael Todd's Peep Show" opens at Winter Garden NYC for 278 perfs
1950 - North Korean forces capture Seoul, South Korea in opening phase of the Korean War
1951 - "Amos 'n' Andy" moved from radio to television, premiered on CBS TV
1953 - 8th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Betsy Rawls
1954 - 111°F (44°C) at Camden, South Carolina (state record)
1954 - French troops began to pull out of Vietnam’s Tonkin Province.
1956 - First atomic reactor built for private research operates Chicago Ill
1956 - Riots break out in Poznan Poland, 38 die
1957 - Reds' fans stuff ballot box, electing 8 Reds as All Star starters
1957 - Frick overrules & names Stan Musial, Willie Mays, & Hank Aaron to team
1958 - Brazil becomes world soccer champ in Sweden
1958 - Nancy Ramey swims world record 100m (1:09.6)
1959 - Phils Wally Post is only outfielder to throw out 2 runners in an inning twice (Losing to Giants 6-0)
1960 - In Cuba, Fidel Castro confiscated American-owned oil refineries without compensation.
1960 - 10.40" (26.42 cm) of rainfall, Dunmor, Kentucky (state 24-hour record)
1961 - Phils & SF set then record longest night game (5h11m) 7-7 15 inn tie
1962 - Thalidomide drug banned in Netherlands
1963 - Belaunde Terry inaugurated as pres of Peru
1963 - Khrushchev visits East-Berlin
1964 - Malcolm X founded the Organization for Afro American Unity to seek independence for blacks in the Western Hemisphere.
1965 - The first commercial satellite began communications service. It was Early Bird (Intelsat II).
1965 - First US ground combat forces in Vietnam authorized by Pres Johnson
1965 - Princess Beatrice & Claus von Amsberg announce engagement
1966 - Ernie Terrel beats Doug Jones in 15 wba for heavyweight boxing title
1967 - George Harrison is fined £6 for speeding
1967 - Israel annexes East Jerusalem Israel formally declared Jerusalem reunified under its sovereignty following its capture of the Arab sector in the June 1967 war.
1968 - Daniel Ellsberg indicted for leaking Pentagon Papers
1969 - John Hampshire scores 107 on Test cricket debut v WI at Lord's
1969 - Stonewall riots begin in New York City.
1970 - Mary Mills wins LPGA Len Immke Buick Golf Open
1971 - Fillmore East closes
1971 - Phillies' Rick Wise hits 2 HRs & no-hits Reds
1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the draft evasion conviction of Muhammad Ali, 8-0.
1972 - U.S. President Nixon announced that no new draftees would be sent to Vietnam.
1973 - Lawsuit in Detroit challenges Little League's "no girls" rule
1973 - Black Sports Hall of Fame forms: Paul Robeson, Elgin Baylor, Jesse Owens, Jim Brown, Wilma Rudolph, Joe Louis & Althea Gibson elected
1974 - Fall of earth & rocks kill 200 (Quebrada Blanca Canyon, Colombia)
1974 - Wings release "Band on the Run" & "Zoo Gang" in UK
1975 - David Bowie releases "Fame"
1975 - Golfer Lee Trevino is struck by lightning at Western Open (Ill)
1976 - First woman was admitted to Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Colo
1976 - Hijacked French Airbus lands in Entebbe, Uganda
1976 - The first women entered the U.S. Air Force Academy.
1977 - Billy Hunter becomes Rangers' 4th manager in 6 days
1977 - Supreme Court allows Federal control of Nixon tapes papers
1978 - UNICEF chooses rock group Kansas as ambassadors of goodwill
1978 - The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the medical school at the University of California at Davis to admit Allan Bakke. Bakke, a white man, argued he had been a victim of reverse racial discrimination.
1979 - OPEC raises oil prices 24%
1980 - NYC transit fare rises from 50 cents to 60 cents
1981 - "Piaf" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 165 performances
1981 - 74 government officials die in attack in Iran
1982 - Prince Charles & Lady Diana name their baby "William"
1983 - Bridge section along I-95 in Greenwich, Ct collapsed kills 3
1983 - NASA launches Galaxy-A
1985 - Discovery ferried back to Kennedy Space Center via Bergstrom AFB, Tx
1986 - Irish population condemns divorce
1986 - Kenneth & Nellie Pike challenge Ala Dem runoff win by AG C Graddick
1987 - "Dreamgirls" opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 177 performances
1987 - Deb Richard wins LPGA Rochester Golf International
1987 - Don Baylor sets career hit-by-pitch mark at 244 (Pitcher Rick Rhoden)
1988 - Mike Tyson sues to break contract with manager Bill Cayton
1990 - 17th annual Daytime Emmy Awards
1990 - Emmy 17th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 11th time
1992 - "Chinese Coffee" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 18 performances
1992 - 2 earthquakes, including 3rd strongest in US (7.4) rock Calif
1992 - Burharnuddin Rabbani becomes president of Afghanistan
1992 - Italian government of Amato forms
1992 - LA Police commisioner Daryl Gates steps down
1992 - US Dream Team beats Cuba in 1st exhibition basketball game, 133-57
1992 - The Constitution of Estonia is signed into law.
1993 - Doctors recommend ligament transplant to Jose Canseco's arm
1993 - Jacques Lemaire is named NJ Devils 8th Head Coach
1993 - NCRV shows last "Cheers" in Neth
1993 - Carlton Fisk, 45, released by White Sox, as all time leader of most games caught & most HRs by a catcher
1994 - NY Met Pitcher Dwight Gooden suspended for 60 days due to drug charges
1995 - NJ Devils Stanley Cup Victory Party, admidst rumours they were moving to Nashville, goalie Chris Terreri holds up "Nashville? NO WAY!" sign
1996 - "Nutty Professor," starring Eddie Murphy opens in theaters in the USA
1996 - The Constitution of Ukraine is signed into law.
1996 - The Citadel voted to admit women, ending a 153-year-old men-only policy at the South Carolina military school.
1996 - Charles M. Schulz got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1997 - Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield's ear after three rounds of their WBA heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas, NV, earning a 16-month suspension. 2000 Elian Gonzalez was returned to his father in Cuba.
1997 - "Master Class," closes at Golden Theater NYC after 601 performances
1997 - "Steel Peer," closes at Richard Rodgers Theater NYC after 76 perfs
1997 - TV evangelist Robert Schuller attacks a flight attendant
1998 - Poland, due to shortage of funds, is allowed to lease, U.S. aircraft to bring military force up to NATO standards.
1998 - The Cincinnati Enquirer apologized to Chiquita banana company and retracted their stories that questioned company's business practices. They also agreed to pay more than $10 million to settle legal claims.
2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court declared that a Nebraska law that outlawed "partial birth abortions" was unconstitutional. About 30 U.S. states had similar laws at the time of the ruling.
2000 - Darva Conger announced that she had done a layout for Playboy magazine. Conger had married Rick Rockwell on Fox-TV's "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire."
2000 - The European Commission announced that they had blocked the planned merger between the U.S. companies WorldCom Inc. and Sprint due to competition concerns.
2000 - Six-year-old Elián González returned to Cuba from the U.S. with his father on the order of the US Supreme Court. The child had been the center of an international custody dispute.
2001 - Serbia handed over Slobodan Milosevic, who was taken into custody and was handed over to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. The indictment charged Milosevic and four other senior officials, with crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war in Kosovo.
2001 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set aside an order that would break up Microsoft for antitrust violations. However, the judges did agree that the company was in violation of antitrust laws.
2004 - Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism
2004 - The U.S. turned over official sovereignty to Iraq's interim leadership. The event took place two days earlier than previously announced to thwart insurgents' attempts at undermining the transfer.
2004 - The U.S. resumed diplomatic ties with Libya after a 24-year break.
2004 - The 17th NATO Summit starts in Istanbul.
2004 - Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of that nation.
2005 - A final design for Manhattan's Freedom Tower is formally unveiled.
2006 - The Republic of Montenegro was admitted as the 192nd Member of the United Nations by General Assembly resolution 60/264.
2007 - Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros becomes the 27th member of the 3000 hit club, going 5 for 5 against the Colorado Rockies.
2007 - The American bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list.
2012 - A series of car bombs in Iraq kills 14 and injures 50 people
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/jun22.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory