On This Day in History - December 6 Austria Introduces System of State Education

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


Dec 6, 1917: The Great Halifax Explosion

At 9:05 a.m., in the harbor of Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, the most devastating manmade explosion in the pre-atomic age occurs when the Mont Blanc, a French munitions ship, explodes 20 minutes after colliding with another vessel.  

As World War I raged in Europe, the port city of Halifax bustled with ships carrying troops, relief supplies, and munitions across the Atlantic Ocean. On the morning of December 6, the Norwegian vessel Imo left its mooring in Halifax harbor for New York City. At the same time, the French freighter Mont Blanc, its cargo hold packed with highly explosive munitions--2,300 tons of picric acid, 200 tons of TNT, 35 tons of high-octane gasoline, and 10 tons of gun cotton--was forging through the harbor's narrows to join a military convoy that would escort it across the Atlantic.  

At approximately 8:45 a.m., the two ships collided, setting the picric acid ablaze. The Mont Blanc was propelled toward the shore by its collision with the Imo, and the crew rapidly abandoned the ship, attempting without success to alert the harbor of the peril of the burning ship. Spectators gathered along the waterfront to witness the spectacle of the blazing ship, and minutes later it brushed by a harbor pier, setting it ablaze. The Halifax Fire Department responded quickly and was positioning its engine next to the nearest hydrant when the Mont Blanc exploded at 9:05 a.m. in a blinding white flash.  The massive explosion killed more than 1,800 people, injured another 9,000--including blinding 200--and destroyed almost the entire north end of the city of Halifax, including more than 1,600 homes. The resulting shock wave shattered windows 50 miles away, and the sound of the explosion could be heard hundreds of miles away.










Dec 6, 1941: Roosevelt to Japanese emperor: "Prevent further death and destruction"

On this day, President Roosevelt—convinced on the basis of intelligence reports that the Japanese fleet is headed for Thailand, not the United States—telegrams Emperor Hirohito with the request that "for the sake of humanity," the emperor intervene "to prevent further death and destruction in the world."  

The Royal Australian Air Force had sighted Japanese escorts, cruisers, and destroyers on patrol near the Malayan coast, south of Cape Cambodia. An Aussie pilot managed to radio that it looked as if the Japanese warships were headed for Thailand—just before he was shot down by the Japanese. Back in England, Prime Minister Churchill called a meeting of his chiefs of staff to discuss the crisis. While reports were coming in describing Thailand as the Japanese destination, they began to question whether it could have been a diversion. British intelligence had intercepted the Japanese code "Raffles," a warning to the Japanese fleet to be on alert—but for what?  

Britain was already preparing Operation Matador, the launching of their 11th Indian Division into Thailand to meet the presumed Japanese invasion force. But at the last minute, Air Marshall Brooke-Popham received word not to cross the Thai border for fear that it would provoke a Japanese attack if, in fact, the warship movement was merely a bluff.  

Meanwhile, 600 miles northwest of Hawaii, Admiral Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese fleet, announced to his men: "The rise or fall of the empire depends upon this battle. Everyone will do his duty with utmost efforts." Thailand was, in fact, a bluff. Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii was confirmed for Yamamoto as the Japanese target, after the Japanese consul in Hawaii had reported to Tokyo that a significant portion of the U.S. Pacific fleet would be anchored in the harbor—sitting ducks. The following morning, Sunday, December 7, was a good day to begin a raid.  

"The son of man has just sent his final message to the son of God," FDR joked to Eleanor after sending off his telegram to Hirohito, who in the Shinto tradition of Japan was deemed a god. As he enjoyed his stamp collection and chatted with Harry Hopkins, his personal adviser, news reached him of Japan's formal rejection of America's 10-point proposals for peace and an end to economic sanctions and the oil embargo placed on the Axis power. "This means war," the president declared. Hopkins recommended an American first strike. "No, we can't do that," Roosevelt countered. "We are a democracy and a peaceful people."











Dec 6, 1987: Protests against Soviet treatment of Jews take place in Washington and Moscow

On the eve of Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev's arrival in the United States for a summit meeting with President Ronald Reagan, more than 200,000 protesters in Washington, and a much smaller number in Moscow, protest Soviet policies concerning Russian Jews. The protests succeeded in focusing public attention on human rights abuses in Russia but had little impact on the summit.  

The agenda for the Gorbachev-Reagan summit largely focused on weapons control issues, particularly the elimination of intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe. The Soviet presence in Afghanistan and support of the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua were also topics for discussion. Over 200,000 protesters in Washington attempted to shift the focus to another issue-the Soviet government's treatment of Russian Jews. In particular, they called on the Soviets to allow Jewish emigration from Russia and for an end to Soviet oppression of Jewish dissidents and critics of the Soviet government. In a letter that was read to appease the protesters, President Reagan stated that he would "not be satisfied with less" than the "release of all refuseniks [jailed dissidents] and for complete freedom of religious and cultural expression." A demonstration set to coincide with the protests in Washington was roughly disrupted by Soviet plainclothes police in Moscow. The few dozen protesters had their signs and banners seized and destroyed and some were physically assaulted.  

Despite the protests and Reagan's rhetoric, the issue of Soviet human rights abuses played almost no role at the summit. The Soviets insisted that the protesters be ignored and U.S. officials, anxious to get an arms control agreement out of the summit, essentially complied with the Russian requests. A major arms agreement was, in fact, signed during the meeting.








Dec 6, 1884: Washington Monument completed

On this day in 1884, in Washington, D.C., workers place a nine-inch aluminum pyramid atop a tower of white marble, completing the construction of an impressive monument to the city's namesake and the nation's first president, George Washington.  As early as 1783, the infant U.S. Congress decided that a statue of George Washington, the great Revolutionary War general, should be placed near the site of the new Congressional building, wherever it might be. After then-President Washington asked him to lay out a new federal capital on the Potomac River in 1791, architect Pierre L'Enfant left a place for the statue at the western end of the sweeping National Mall (near the monument's present location).  

It wasn't until 1832, however--33 years after Washington's death--that anyone really did anything about the monument. That year, a private Washington National Monument Society was formed. After holding a design competition and choosing an elaborate Greek temple-like design by architect Robert Mills, the society began a fundraising drive to raise money for the statue's construction. These efforts--including appeals to the nation's schoolchildren--raised some $230,000, far short of the $1 million needed. Construction began anyway, on July 4, 1848, as representatives of the society laid the cornerstone of the monument: a 24,500-pound block of pure white marble.  

Six years later, with funds running low, construction was halted. Around the time the Civil War began in 1861, author Mark Twain described the unfinished monument as looking like a "hollow, oversized chimney." No further progress was made until 1876--the centennial of American independence--when President Ulysses S. Grant authorized construction to be completed.  

Made of some 36,000 blocks of marble and granite stacked 555 feet in the air, the monument was the tallest structure in the world at the time of its completion in December 1884. In the six months following the dedication ceremony, over 10,000 people climbed the nearly 900 steps to the top of the Washington Monument. Today, an elevator makes the trip far easier, and more than 800,000 people visit the monument each year. A city law passed in 1910 restricted the height of new buildings to ensure that the monument will remain the tallest structure in Washington, D.C.--a fitting tribute to the man known as the "Father of His Country." 


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

963 - Leo VIII elected Pope

1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary

1160 - Jean Bodels "Jeu de St Nicholas" premieres in Arras

1196 - Northern Dutch coast flooded, "Saint-Nicolas Flood"

1240 - Mongols under Batu Khan occupy & destroy Kiev

1424 - Don Alfonso V of Aragon grants Barcelona the right to exclude Jews

1527 - Pope Clemens VII fleas to Orvieto

1534 - Quito, Ecuador, founded by Spanish

1631 - 1st predicted transit of Venus (Kepler) is observed

1641 - Don Francisco de Mello appointed land guardian of South Netherlands

1648 - Pride's Purge: Thomas Pride prevents 96 presbyterians from sitting in English parliament

1723 - Emperor Karel VI's Pragmatic Sanctie declares Constitution

1732 - 1st play in American colonies acted by professional players, NYC

1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlies army retreats to Scotland

1756 - British troops under Robert Clive occupy Fulta India

1768 - 1st edition of "Encyclopedia Brittanica" published (Scotland)

1787 - Laurens Pieter van de Speigel appointed Dutch pension advisor

1790 - The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1820 - US president James Monroe re-elected

1822 - Veterinary school in Utrecht opens

1825 - Pres John Adams suggests establishment of a US observatory

Naturalist Charles DarwinNaturalist Charles Darwin 1833 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin departs Rio de la Plata

1841 - Robert Schumann's 4th Symphony in D premieres

1843 - Amsterdam-Utrecht railway opens

1845 - Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is founded at Yale College.

1846 - Opera "La Damnation de Faust" is produced (Paris)

1849 - Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in Maryland for the 2nd and final time

1862 - Pres Lincoln orders hanging of 39 Santee Sioux indians

1864 - Battle of Deveaux's Neck, SC

1865 - 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery

1866 - Chicago water supply tunnel 3,227 m into Lake Michigan completed

1870 - Joseph H Rainey, 1st black in House of Reps (SC)

1873 - 1st international football game in US: Yale 2, Eton (England) 1

1875 - 44th Congress (1875-77) convenes

1876 - 1st crematorium in US begins operation, Washington, Penn

1876 - City of Anaheim incorporated for 2nd time

Abolitionist Harriet TubmanAbolitionist Harriet Tubman 1876 - US Electorial College picks Rep Hayes as pres (although Tilden won)

1877 - 1st sound recording made (Thomas Edison)

1877 - Washington Post publishes 1st edition

1882 - Atmosphere of Venus detected during transit

1884 - Aluminum capstone set atop Washington Monument, Wash, DC

1896 - D T Suzuki found the awakening at Engakuji temple, in Kamakura

1897 - London becomes the world's first city to host licenced taxicabs.

1903 - Sumatra Atjehs guerilla leader Panglima Polim surrenders

1904 - Theodore Roosevelt confirms Monroe-doctrine (Roosevelt Corollary)

1907 - Coal mine explosions in Monongah, WV, kills 361

1912 - China votes for universal human rights

1913 - White Sox beat Giants 9-4 in exhibition game in Tokyo

1914 - German troops over run Lodz

1916 - German army under Gen Mackensen occupies Bucharest

1916 - World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.

26th US President Theodore Roosevelt26th US President Theodore Roosevelt 1917 - Finland declares independence from Russia (National Day)

1917 - French munition ship "Mont Blanc" explodes in Halifax, kills 1,700

1921 - Anglo-Irish Treaty signed; Ireland receives dominion status; partition creates Northern Ireland

1922 - 1st constitution of Irish Free State comes into operation

1922 - 1st electric power line commercial carrier in US, Utica, NY

1923 - 1st US Presidential address broadcast on radio by President Calvin Coolidge

1925 - Italy, Britain & Egypt sign Jaghbub accord (Italy)

1925 - Record 73,000 pay to watch Chic Bears beat NY Giants 19-7

1929 - Turkey introduces female suffrage

1930 - 18th CFL Grey Cup: Toronto Balmy Beach defeat Regina Roughriders, 11-6

1933 - Ban on James Joyce' "Ulysses" in US lifted

1938 - 117 Spanish knights under capt Piet Laros return to Netherlands

1938 - French/German non-attack treaty drawn (Ribbentrop-Bonnet Pact)

1939 - 5th Heisman Trophy Award: Nile Kinnick, Iowa (HB)

1939 - Cole Porter's musical "Du Barry was a Lady" premieres in NYC

Novelist & Poet James JoyceNovelist & Poet James Joyce 1940 - Gestapo arrest German resistance fighter/poster artist Helen Ernst

1940 - Pietro Badoglio resigns as viceroy of Ethiopia

1941 - Dutch & British pilots see Japanese invasion fleet at Singapore

1941 - NYC Council agrees to build Idlewild (Kennedy) Airport in Queens

1942 - Queen Wilhelmina announces Dutch Commonwealth

1942 - RAF bombs Philips factory (150 die)

1944 - US 95th Infantry division reaches Westwall

1947 - The Everglades National Park in Florida is dedicated.

1950 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Mirabile illud

1952 - Czech government tells Israeli ambassador, he's persona non grata

1953 - Brown's Lou "Toe" Groza kicks 8 PATs, beating Giants 62-14

1954 - Simone de Beauvoir receives Prix Goncourt

1955 - NY psychologist Joyce Brothers won "$64,000 Question" on boxing

1956 - "Happy Hunting" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 413 performances

1956 - Nelson Mandela & 156 others arrested for political activities in S Africa

Anti-apartheid activist and South African President Nelson MandelaAnti-apartheid activist and South African President Nelson Mandela 1957 - 1st US attempt to launch a satellite fails-Vanguard rocket blows up

1957 - AFL-CIO votes to expel Teamsters (readmitted in October 1987)

1957 - Indonesia begins nationalizing Dutch possessions

1958 - US lunar probe Pioneer 3 reaches 107,269 km, falls back

1960 - AL grants Gene Autry a franchise, LA Angels

1961 - 27th Heisman Trophy Award: Ernie Davis, Syracuse (HB)

1962 - US abandons Skybolt balistic missile program

1963 - Beatles begin a tradition of releasing a Christmas record for fans

1963 - Test Cricket debut of Graeme Pollock at the Gabba

1964 - "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" 1st airs on TV

1964 - KTVR TV channel 13 in La Grande, OR (PBS) begins broadcasting

1964 - President Segni of Italy resigns

1965 - 2 trucks crashed into a crowd of dancers (Sotouboua Togo) kills 125

1965 - Pakistan's Islamic Ideology Advisory Committee recommends that Islamic Studies be made a compulsory subject for Muslim students from primary to graduate level.

1966 - Polio vaccination becomes obligatory in Belgium

1967 - USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan USSR

1968 - Baseball dismisses Commissioner William Eckert after 3 years

1968 - PBA National Championship won by Wayne Zahn

1968 - WKID (WSCV) TV channel 51 in Fort Lauderdale, FL (IND) 1st broadcast

1969 - "Buck White" closes at George Abbott Theater NYC after 7 performances

1969 - 300,000 attend Altamont California, rock concert feature Rolling Stones

1969 - USSR performs nuclear test

1970 - Cleveland Cavaliers 1st NBA home victory, beating Buffalo Braves 108-106

1971 - Lewis Franklin Powell confirmed as Supreme Court justice

1973 - Bahrain's constitution goes into effect

38th US President Gerald Ford38th US President Gerald Ford 1973 - Gerald Ford sworn-in as 1st unelected VP, succeeds Spiro T Agnew

1973 - NL votes to move San Diego Padres to Washington DC (doesn't happen)

1974 - George Harrison releases "Ding Dong, Ding Dong"

1975 - 41st Heisman Trophy Award: Archie Griffin, Ohio State (RB)

1975 - Balcombe Street Siege: An IRA Active Service Unit takes a couple hostage in Balcombe Street, London.

1976 - War criminal Pieter Menten arrested in Zurich

1977 - South Africa grants Bophuthatswana independence

1978 - Spain adopts constitution

1980 - Jim Bakker rapes Jessica Hahn

1980 - NASA launches Intelsat V satellite, no. 502

1981 - Rob de Castella of Australia sets Marathon record at 2:08:18

1982 - Sen Ted & Joan Kennedy divorce

1982 - 11 soldiers & 6 civilians die by bomb planted by Irish National Liberation Army exploded in a pub in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland

1983 - A bomb planted on a bus in Jerusalem explodes, kills 6 Israelis

1984 - France performs nuclear test

1984 - Hijackers aboard Kuwaiti jetliner kill 2nd hostage

1986 - 52nd Heisman Trophy Award: Vinny Testaverde, Miami Fla (QB)

1986 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1987 - 3 satanist Missouri teenagers bludgeon comrade to death for "fun"

1987 - Christa Rothenburger skates female world record 500m (39.39 sec)

1987 - Jane Crafter/Steve Jones wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic

1988 - Arafat meets prominent American Jews in Stockholm, Sweden

1988 - Carlos Andres Perez re-elected president of Venezuela

1988 - Merv Hughes takes 13 wickets v WI at the WACA but Australia lose

1988 - Milwaukee Bucks win their 1,000th NBA game (2nd fastest)

1988 - Nelson Mandela is transferred to Victor Vester Prison, Capetown

1988 - STS-27 Atlantis lands in California after secret mission

1988 - Agnes Neil Williams purchases Baltimore Orioles for $70 million Eli Jacobs becomes CEO of Balt Orioles

1989 - Mafia drug kingpin bombs security force at Bogota, kills 52

1989 - Worst Canadian mass murder: Marc Lepine kills 14 women at U Montreal

1990 - NHL grants conditional membership to Tampa Bay Lightning

1990 - Saddam anounces release of all foriegn hostages

1990 - Shoeless Joe Jackson's signature is sold for $23,100

1991 - "Les Miserables" opens at Circustheater, Scheveningen

1991 - "Star Trek VI-Undiscovered Country" premieres

1992 - 300,000 hindus destroy mosque of Babri India, 4 die

1992 - 81st Davis Cup: USA beats Switzerland in Fort Worth (3-1)

1992 - Dottie Mochrie/Dan Forsmann wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic

1992 - SF 49er Jerry Rice catches NFL record 101st touchdown

1992 - SF Giants renig on $43 million pact with Barry Bonds

1993 - Gunda Niemann skates ladies world record 5 km 7:13.29

1994 - Maltese Falcon auctioned for $398,590

1994 - Orange County California files for bankruptcy

1994 - Warner Brothers announces a 5th TV network to begin on Jan 11, 1995

1995 - 6th Billboard Music Awards

King of Pop Michael JacksonKing of Pop Michael Jackson 1995 - Michael Jackson collapses while rehearsing for an HBO special

1996 - Mashonaland defeat England in first-class tour match

1998 - JC Penney Golf Classic

1998 - Hugo Chávez Frías, Venezuelan military and politician, is elected President of Venezuela.

2001 - The Canadian province of Newfoundland is renamed Newfoundland and Labrador.

2005 - Several villagers are shot dead during protests in Dongzhou, China.

2006 - NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.

2012 - 7 people are killed and 770 injured during Egyptian protests

2012 - Typhoon Bopha’s death toll rise to 418 with 318 missing and 179,000 displaced

2012 - A 243 million year old Nyasasaurus fossil is discovered in Tanzania

1774 - Austria became the first nation to introduce a state education system.   1790 - The U.S. Congress moved from New York to Philadelphia.   1865 - The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The amendment abolished slavery in the U.S.   1876 - The city of Anaheim was incorporated for a second time.   1877 - Thomas Edison demonstrated the first gramophone, with a recording of himself reciting Mary Had a Little Lamb.   1883 - "Ladies' Home Journal" was published for the first time.   1884 - The construction of the Washington Monument was completed by Army engineers. The project took 34 years.   1889 - Jefferson Davis died in New Orleans. He was the first and only president of the Confederate States of America.   1907 - In Monongah, WV, 361 people were killed in America's worst mine disaster.   1917 - More than 1,600 people died when two munitions ships collided in the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia.   1917 - Finland proclaimed independence from Russia.   1921 - The Catholic Irish Free State was created as a self-governing dominion of Britain when an Anglo-Irish treaty was signed.   1923 - U.S. President Calvin Coolidge became the first president to give a presidential address that was broadcast on radio.   1926 - In Italy, Benito Mussolini introduced a tax on bachelors.   1947 - Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by U.S. President Truman.   1957 - AFL-CIO members voted to expel the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The Teamsters were readmitted in 1987.   1957 - America's first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed when the satellite blew up on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, FL.   1960 - Gene Autry and Bob Reynolds were granted the Los Angeles Angels baseball franchise by the American League.   1973 - Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the vice-president of the United States after vice-president Spiro Agnew resigned.   1982 - 11 soldiers and 6 civilians were killed when a bomb exploded in a pub in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland. The Irish National Liberation Army was responsible for planting the bomb.   1983 - In Jerusalem, a bomb planted on a bus exploded killing six Israelis and wounding 44.   1985 - Congressional negotiators reached an agreement on a deficit-cutting proposal that later became the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings law.   1989 - The worst mass shooting in Canadian history occurred when a man gunned down 14 women at the University of Montreal's school of engineering. The man then killed himself.   1989 - Egon Krenz resigned as leader of East Germany.   1990 - Iraq announced that it would release all its 2,000 foreign hostages.   1990 - U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle was enshrined in the Little League Museum's Hall of Excellence.   1992 - Germany's primary political parties agreed to tighten postwar asylum laws.   1992 - In India, thousands of Hindu extremists destroyed a mosque. The following two months of Hindu-Muslim rioting resulted in at least 2,000 people being killed.   1993 - Former priest James R. Porter was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison. Porter had admitted molesting 28 children in the 1960s.   1994 - Orange County, CA, filed for bankruptcy protection due to investment losses of about $2 billion. The county is one of the richest in the U.S. and became to largest municipality to file for bankruptcy.   1997 - A Russian Antonov 124 military transport crashed into a residential area in Irkutsk, Russia, shortly after takeoff. 70 people were killed.  1998 - In Venezuela, former Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chavez was elected president. He had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier.   1998 - Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour connected the first two building blocks of the international space station in the shuttle cargo bay.   2002 - Winona Ryder was sentenced to 36 months of probation and 480 hours of community service stemming from her conviction for shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue. She was also ordered to pay $10,000 in fines and restitution.   2002 - Officials released the detailed plans for a $4.7 million memorial commemorating Princess Diana. The large oval fountain was planned to be constructed in London's Hyde Park.

1884 Construction of the Washington Monument was completed. 1889 Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, died in New Orleans. 1923 A presidential address was broadcast on the radio for the first time when Calvin Coolidge spoke before Congress. 1926 French impressionist painter Claude Monet died at age 86. 1973 Gerald Ford was sworn in as vice president, replacing Spiro T. Agnew. 1992 The destruction of a mosque in India by Hindu extremists set off two months of Muslim-Hindu fighting that claimed at least 2,000 lives. 1998 Hugo Chavez elected president of Venezuela.

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/dec06.htm

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

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

RIP - Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013

Today, there really is only one topic to talk about.

Nelson Mandela.

This was a man who personified the endurance of degradation and persecution by a white, minority regime, and not only survived, but thrived through it all, and led his nation to a new destiny free from the scourge of official, state-sanctioned racism, and into the modern era.

His death was hardly shocking. He was very old, and ailing. You could see it coming for some time now.

And yes, he will certainly be missed, and it is a great loss.

Yet, I think that I will focus more on celebrating his life instead.

I could go on and on about specifics of what he did, and what he said. Perhaps even i will in a future blog entry.

But right now, I want to share a personal story about him instead.

No, I never met the man, if that is what you are wondering. But I did see him, in a way.

You see, although I was a terrible student academically in high school, I was not dumb. A lot of people, classmates and faculty alike, assumed that I was, because that is what I showed them. Not proud to say that, but I can hardly say otherwise.

For whatever the reason, I was afraid to show my real intelligence, as well as intellectual curiosity, which was actually quite extensive. Still is, I'm proud to say. I'm, not trying to brag, but the fact that my childlike curiosity about the world never really was extinguished is probably the single biggest thing that I'm most proud of, other than being a father.

One of the things that always fascinated me through much of my junior high school and high school years was South Africa. It's hard for people who were not old enough (or even around yet) to imagine what the eighties were like, because it really was so radically different than the way things are now. It sounds cliche, but they really were simpler times, on many levels. And things were seen in black and white. The United States were, according to my 8th grade history teacher, "the good guys in the white hats", while the Soviet Union, according to President Reagan, were the "Evil Empire".

Americans believed this, for the most part. I didn't, but that's another story.

The point is, that the world seemed far more clear cut. There was good, and there was bad, and that was that. That overly simplistic viewpoint was already on it's way out, most likely. Yet, that way of thinking still permeated in the eighties.

In some cases, it looked true, even. That was perhaps one of the things that fascinated me about South Africa, back during those days when apartheid was not merely a part of history of South African legacy, but the real, every day reality of the nation at the time, as well as in the occupied territory of South West Africa, which South Africa had ruled illegally, essentially, for decades. It imposed apartheid there, as well.

Now, apartheid had existed in South Africa for many decades. Officially, apartheid became official state policy with the victory of the Nationalist Party in 1948. Realistically speaking, it was in effect for much, much longer than that, dating back to the days of British rule. In fact, on many levels, it has existed in much of what we call South Africa today as far back as the 1600's, when the first Dutch settlers segregated themselves from the natives. It was called "baaskap" back then. It came to be known as apartheid. But there was little to choose between the mindset behind either one. Apartheid was simply a more modern version of "baaskap", and the state went much, much further than it ever had before (and arguably, further than any other government ever had before) to put laws in the books to specify the nature of the state sanctioned racism.

Yes, apartheid officially became policy in 1948, but it really began to be ruthlessly implemented in the 1960's, under Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. This was an educated man, yet he was a raving racist, with a vision of "grand apartheid" that would effectively give whites total control over the nation of South Africa, and it's resources.

During this time, there were effectively at least two nations in South Africa. One was white, and owned most of the nation's resources and, of course, wealth. Whites in South Africa during this period were the first people to actually surpass Americans in terms of wealth and standard of living. Suburbs of Johannesburg has lush, sculpted lawns and gardens, and many had aqua colored swimming pools sparkling in the African sun.

In the meantime, blacks were relegated to second class status. By matter of policy, they were prevented from having decent quality jobs and lives, with inferior education and opportunities. Few nations have ever had such glaring inequality as a product of official domestic policy.

Mandela became the most prominent figure of the apartheid repression. He famously remained in jail for 27 years, officially dubbed a "terrorist" by the South African government (and many prominent American politicians, Dick Cheney included, agreed with this label).

But to most of the world, Mandela was a political prisoner, a man that could help guide the nation to a peaceful resolution of the crisis that it was constantly under with apartheid. By the eighties, it was clear that apartheid was on it's last legs, and the government secretly tried to make deals with Mandela, offering him conditional release, if he met their conditions. Mandela insisted on unconditional release. He was not a criminal, and although he had been forced to live so much of his life under the thumb of the government, he would not allow them to dictate the terms of his release and freedom. He waited behind bars.

The white minority government was desperate to cling to power, to find a way to stay relevant, to keep some share of it's power. They tried numerous "solutions", but Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) insisted on unconditional equality. "One man, one vote", they kept saying.

Eventually, the government relented, albeit by phases. First, DeKlerk announced in February of 1990 that apartheid had failed, that political parties and organizations that had long been outlawed would be legalized again, and political prisoners would be released. This, of course, included Nelson Mandela.

Not much later, Mandela was indeed released, and on his own terms. From that point onward, the world watched this man.

Mandela worked in a tense relation with FW DeKlerk and the white government to bring about a transitional phase in South Africa, but apartheid refused to die quietly, as stubborn elements of apartheid continued through the years of the transition.

Nonetheless, the inevitable came to pass. In 1994, a multiracial election, indeed with "one man, one vote" came to pass, and Mandela's ANC swept to power. Mandela was inaugurated as the nation's first black President, elected by true majority rule. A new day had dawned.

The fact that South Africa remained a relatively peaceful nation (albeit one with plenty of problems still) was not lost on the world, and Mandela is rightly credited for largely being instrumental in bringing this about. He did not want vengeance, and understood that this bloodthirsty desire by many blacks needed to be kept in check, for the interest of keeping the country as a regional superpower.

He advocated moderation throughout, and this helped the transition run much more smoothly than many cynics expected. To that end, Mandela tried to set the precedent by accepting only one term as President, and not running again. He wanted to help usher in a tradition of peaceful transition of power in government through democratic means.

And at this point I realize that I have come dangerously close to doing exactly what I said I would not do, which is summarizing the man's accomplishments.

So, let me get back to the story that I originally was mentioning in the first place:

The situation in South Africa was one of those things that piqued my intellectual curiosity, and I began to follow it closely. I hardly ever shared this with anyone else, other than my immediate family (I don't recall at the time ever having spoken about it with any of my peers, my brother excepted). But follow it I did, and much more closely than most people realized.

My mom supported me in this, to the point that she even allowed me at some point to go with her in new York City to go see Nelson Mandela in person. She was working, so she could not go. But allowing me to go with her to the city that day allowed me to walk over to the United Nations, and wait for his arrival.

I remember the day well. It was a beautiful day, and the city is an exciting place. Back then, I always loved being by the United Nations, and believed in what it was doing. My faith in it has been shaken a bit since, because frankly, it does not work anywhere near as well as it should, although the idea of it is still something that people should aspire to.

In any case, it was an exciting day. There was a pleasant feeling, and the weather helped this along. Times were a-changin', as Bob Dylan once suggested. Eastern Europe had freed itself from the Soviet grip, and now, South Africa was on it's way towards greater freedom. These were inspiring times, and it was one of the few times when the world outlook did not seem transparently bleak. Change seemed possible. And everyone that was there that day seemed to be enjoying themselves.

It was exciting, in a strange way. Mostly, I jsut stood around, part of the gather crowd, and waited. I did see Don King and Mike Tyson walk up the road, on their way to meet Mandela, who used to be a boxer, and remained a fan of the sport all of his life. I also saw Winnie Mandela, as she came out of the UN and walked right down the street, which seemed surprising, since she was a dignitary, and probably could have had a limousine.

Mandela did have a limousine, and this is what we saw. I saw his car, and his shadow within. Very quick. Sneeze, and you miss it.

Still, I was there. It might not have been much, but I was there, and felt a part of something far bigger than myself.

One of my mom's coworkers was impressed that a white male teenager from suburban New Jersey would make such a point of coming into the city (it may even have been a school day that my mom allowed me to take off from, although I cannot be too sure about that anymore) to see Mandela. Truth be told, I am proud to have been a small part of that event.

Since then, of course, I continued to follow South Africa in general, and Nelson Mandela in particular. There have been numerous movies and documentaries. I read books about him, as well as his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom". I even attended the star-studded "24446" concert in New York City's Radio City Music Hall in Mandela's honor, with my brother and my girlfriend at the time.

But ultimately, I remember that one day back in 1990, and feeling the mounting excitement, the build up, as Mandela's arrival drew near. I remember listening to his address on a poor radio that one of those in attendance had brought. There was a sense of community on that day, and everything felt....well, bright.

Of course, I was younger back then. The world also felt younger, and everything felt more full of possibilities.

The world today is not the same place. I do not remember feeling that way about an active player in world events since, with maybe the exception of seeing President Jimmy Carter a few times for booksignings. Both Mandela and Carter are official "Elders". They share a similar viewpoint and wisdom, as well as general and genuine good-nature.

Yes, that day lives on in my memory. There are small reminders every now and then, whenever I see images of Mandela, particularly of those times, back in 1990, when South Africa was just beginning the transition out of apartheid. When i am in the area of the United Nations, I remember that day. Hell, even when I see Mike Tyson, I am reminded of that day!

Ultimately, though, it was studying Mandela, particularly his stirring words, and knowing his actions always somehow managed even to outdo his words, and the inspiration that his example has proven, that keeps so many, certainly myself included, so interested in this man.

He will be missed.

On This Day in History - December 5 The End of Prohibition

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

Dec 5, 1945: Aircraft squadron lost in the Bermuda Triangle

At 2:10 p.m., five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They never returned.  

Two hours after the flight began, the leader of the squadron, who had been flying in the area for more than six months, reported that his compass and back-up compass had failed and that his position was unknown. The other planes experienced similar instrument malfunctions. Radio facilities on land were contacted to find the location of the lost squadron, but none were successful. After two more hours of confused messages from the fliers, a distorted radio transmission from the squadron leader was heard at 6:20 p.m., apparently calling for his men to prepare to ditch their aircraft simultaneously because of lack of fuel.  

By this time, several land radar stations finally determined that Flight 19 was somewhere north of the Bahamas and east of the Florida coast, and at 7:27 p.m. a search and rescue Mariner aircraft took off with a 13-man crew. Three minutes later, the Mariner aircraft radioed to its home base that its mission was underway. The Mariner was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion seen at 7:50 p.m.  

The disappearance of the 14 men of Flight 19 and the 13 men of the Mariner led to one of the largest air and seas searches to that date, and hundreds of ships and aircraft combed thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and remote locations within the interior of Florida. No trace of the bodies or aircraft was ever found.  

Although naval officials maintained that the remains of the six aircraft and 27 men were not found because stormy weather destroyed the evidence, the story of the "Lost Squadron" helped cement the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, an area of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and aircraft are said to disappear without a trace. The Bermuda Triangle is said to stretch from the southern U.S. coast across to Bermuda and down to the Atlantic coast of Cuba and Santo Domingo.





Dec 5, 1933: Prohibition ends

The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America. At 5:32 p.m. EST, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, achieving the requisite three-fourths majority of states' approval. Pennsylvania and Ohio had ratified it earlier in the day.  

The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when Americans concerned about the adverse effects of drinking began forming temperance societies. By the late 19th century, these groups had become a powerful political force, campaigning on the state level and calling for national liquor abstinence. Several states outlawed the manufacture or sale of alcohol within their own borders. In December 1917, the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. On January 29, 1919, the 18th Amendment achieved the necessary three-fourths majority of state ratification. Prohibition essentially began in June of that year, but the amendment did not officially take effect until January 29, 1920.  

In the meantime, Congress passed the Volstead Act on October 28, 1919, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of Prohibition, including the creation of a special Prohibition unit of the Treasury Department. In its first six months, the unit destroyed thousands of illicit stills run by bootleggers. However, federal agents and police did little more than slow the flow of booze, and organized crime flourished in America. Large-scale bootleggers like Al Capone of Chicago built criminal empires out of illegal distribution efforts, and federal and state governments lost billions in tax revenue. In most urban areas, the individual consumption of alcohol was largely tolerated and drinkers gathered at "speakeasies," the Prohibition-era term for saloons.  

Prohibition, failing fully to enforce sobriety and costing billions, rapidly lost popular support in the early 1930s. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified, ending national Prohibition. After the repeal of the 18th Amendment, some states continued Prohibition by maintaining statewide temperance laws. Mississippi, the last dry state in the Union, ended Prohibition in 1966.

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

63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations.

663 - Fourth Council of Toledo takes place.

771 - Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman.

1082 - Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is assassinated.

1301 - Pope Boniface VIII's degree Ausculta fili (only nominee)

1349 - 500 Jews of Nuremberg massacre during Black Death riots

1360 - The French Franc is created.

1408 - Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow.

1448 - Bishop Jona of Moscow chosen as metropolitan of Kiev/Intoxication

1456 - Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35,000 die

1492 - Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti)

1496 - Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I

1590 - Niccolo Sfondrati chosen as Pope Gregory XIV

1602 - Giulio Caccini's "Euridice," premieres in Florence

1741 - -6] Russian princess Elisabeth Petrovna grabs powers

1746 - Revolt in Genoa against Spanish rule.

1757 - Battle of Leuthen: Prussian army beats Austrians

1766 - London auctioneers Christie's hold their first sale

1775 - At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Explorer of the New World Christopher ColumbusExplorer of the New World Christopher Columbus 1776 - 1st US fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa (William & Mary College), forms

1792 - George Washington re-elected as US president

1798 - Dutch troops occupy Hasselt

1804 - Thomas Jefferson re-elected US pres/George Clinton vice-pres

1813 - Lübeck surrenders to allied armies

1815 - Foundation of Maceió in Brazil.

1830 - Hector Berlioz' "Symphonique Fantastique" premieres in Paris

1831 - Former US President John Q Adams takes his seat as a member of House of Representatives

1832 - Andrew Jackson re-elected President of US

1835 - - 10th: Assault on Mexican-held San Antonio by Texan rebels

1837 - Hector Berlioz' "Requiem" premieres

1837 - Uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie in Canada

1846 - C F Schoenbein obtains patent for cellulose nitrate explosive

1847 - Jefferson Davis is elected to the US senate, his first political post.

1848 - Pres Polk triggers Gold Rush of 1849, confirms California gold discovery

US President & General Andrew JacksonUS President & General Andrew Jackson 1854 - Aaron Allen of Boston patents folding theater chair

1859 - Dion Boucicault's "Octaroon" premieres in NYC

1862 - Battle of Coffeeville, MS

1865 - Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.

1868 - 1st American bicycle college opens (NY)

1876 - Daniel Stillson (Mass) patents 1st practical pipe wrench

1876 - Fire at Brooklyn Theater kills 295, trampled or burned to death

1879 - 1st automatic telephone switching system patented

1881 - 47th Congress (1881-83) convenes

1887 - Stanley's expedition reaches plateau at Lake Albert Congo

1890 - Berlioz' opera "Les Troyens" premieres in Karlsruhe

1892 - Anti-semite Hermann Ahlwardt elected to Germany's Reichstag

1892 - Sir John Thompson becomes the fourth Prime Minister of Canada.

1893 - 1st electric car (built in Toronto) could go 15 miles between charges

1894 - Georges Feydeaus' "L'hôtel du libre échange" premieres in Paris

1896 - Henrik Ibsen's "Kejsor og Galileer" premieres in Leipzig

1905 - Henry Campbell-Bannermam (Lib) becomes UK PM

1906 - British government of Balfour resigns

1908 - 1st US football uniform numerals used (University of Pittsburgh)

1914 - 6th CFL Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts defeats U of Toronto, 14-2

1914 - The Italian Parliament proclaims the neutrality of the country.

1918 - Oil refinery on Curacao opens

1920 - Pro football playoff game Akron & Buffalo 0-0 tie, title undecided

1920 - Dimitrios Rallis forms a government in Greece.

1924 - Hamilton Tiger Red Green scores 5 goals to beat Tor Maple Leafs 10-5

1925 - 13th CFL Grey Cup: Ottawa Senators defeats Win Tammany Tigers, 24-1

1925 - German government of Luther falls

1926 - Sergei Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin" debuts

1928 - England defeats Australia by record 675 runs at Brisbane

1928 - MW Miklas elected president of Austria

1929 - 1st US nudist organization (American League for Physical Culture, NYC)

1931 - CFL Grey Cup: Mtl AAA beats Regina, 22-0 at Montreal

Theoretical Physicist Albert EinsteinTheoretical Physicist Albert Einstein 1932 - German physicist Albert Einstein granted a visa to enter America

1933 - 21st Am ratified, 18th Amendment (Prohibition) repealed (5:32 PM EST)

1935 - 1st coml hydroponics operation established (Montebello California)

1935 - National Council of Negro Women forms by Mary McLeod Bethune (NYC)

1936 - 24th CFL Grey Cup: Sarnia Imperials defeats Ottawa Rough Riders, 26-20

1936 - Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSR, Kazakh SSR & Kirghiz SSR becomes constituent republics of Soviet Union

1941 - Football Writers Association of America organized

1941 - Patrick Hamilton's "Angel Street" premieres in NYC

1941 - Russian anti offensive in Moscow drives out nazi army

1941 - Sister Elizabeth Kenny new treatment for infantile paralysis approved

1941 - US aircraft carrier Lexington and 5 heavy cruisers leave Pearl Harbor

1942 - CFL Grey Cup: Tor beats Win RCAF, 8 -5 at Toronto

1942 - Seyss-Inquart orders students in nazi-Germany to work

1942 - West Indies chocolate/coffee drop above Netherland

1943 - NFL Phila Eagle-Pitts Steeler merger disolves

1944 - German troops steal all the silver coin in Utrecht

1945 - "Lost Squadron" crashes east of Florida (Bermuda Triangle)

1945 - Special Council of Annulment affirms death sentence of Max Blokzijl

33rd US President Harry Truman33rd US President Harry Truman 1946 - Pres Harry Truman creates Committee on Civil Rights by Exec Order #9808

1947 - Joe Louis beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

1948 - NY Giant Charley Conerly sets NFL record of 36 pass completions

1949 - Ezzard Charles defeats Jersey Joe Walcott for heavyweight boxing title

1950 - Ezzard Charles KOs Nick Barone in 11 for heavyweight boxing title

1950 - Sikkim becomes a protectorate of India

1951 - "Dragnet" premieres

1952 - -8] worst smog in London ever, 4-8,000 die

1954 - KTEW (now KJRH) TV channel 2 in Tulsa, OK (NBC) begins broadcasting

1955 - AFL & CIO merge, with George Meany as president

1955 - Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery Alabama by Rosa Parks

1955 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL-CIO.

1956 - Thornton Wilder's "Matchmaker" premieres in NYC

1957 - William Inge's "Dark at the Top of the Stairs" premieres in NYC

1957 - NYC is 1st city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law)

Civil Rights Activist Rosa Lee ParksCivil Rights Activist Rosa Lee Parks 1957 - Sukarno expels all Dutch people from Indonesia.

1958 - Phils drop plans for NY sportcast as Yanks threat to do same in Phila

1958 - WTOL TV channel 11 in Toledo, OH (CBS) begins broadcasting

1958 - Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the UK by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh.

1958 - The Preston bypass, the UK's first stretch of motorway, opens to traffic for the first time. It is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.

1959 - Intikhab Alam bowls Colin McDonald with 1st ball in Tests

1960 - Ghana drops diplomatic relations with Belgium

1964 - Vietnam War: for his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.

1966 - "I Do! I Do!" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 561 performances

1967 - Beatles clothing store "Apple" on 94 Baker Street, London, opens

1967 - Benjamin Spock & Allen Ginsberg arrested protesting against Vietnam war

1968 - Rolling Stones release "Beggar's Banquet" LP

1969 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1970 - LA Rams Willie Ellison sets NFL record of 247 yards rushing

1970 - Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy & Bill Masterson trophy stolen from NHL hall of fame

Pediatrician Benjamin SpockPediatrician Benjamin Spock 1970 - Premiere of Dario Fo's Morte accidentale di un anarchico.

1971 - KCBJ (now KMIZ) TV channel 17 in Columbia, MO (ABC) 1st broadcast

1972 - 38th Heisman Trophy Award: Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska (FL)

1972 - Australia Labour party wins parliamentary election

1972 - Joseph A Walker's "River Niger" premieres in NYC

1973 - Cubs' Ron Santo became 1st baseball player to veto his trade

1973 - Dodgers trade Willie Davis to Expos for relief pitcher Mike Marshall

1973 - Paul McCartney releases album "Band on the Run" album

1974 - 1st Wash Cap penalty shot, Tom Williams unsuccessful vs Buff Sabres

1974 - 1st World Football League Bowl, Birmingham Americans beat Florida

1974 - Airport terminal roof collapses killing 17 (Teheran Iran)

1974 - Monty Python's Flying Circus final episode airs on BBC

1974 - NFL's Seattle Seahawks forms

1974 - Oliver Tilden Triangle in the Bronx named

1974 - Tom Williams is unsuccessful on Wash Capitals 1st NHL penalty shot

Musician & member of the Beatles Paul McCartneyMusician & member of the Beatles Paul McCartney 1974 - Birmingham Americans defeat the Florida Blazers 22-21 in the WFL's World Bowl

1975 - "Me & Bessie" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 453 performances

1975 - NASA launches space vehicle S-196, it failed

1976 - Buffalo Bill OJ Simpson rushes 203 yards

1977 - Egypt breaks dipl relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq & S Yemen

1978 - EG decides establishes EMS, European Monetary System

1978 - Free agent Pete Rose signs 4-year, $32 million contract with Phillies

1978 - Phillies Pete Rose becomes highest paid baseball player

1978 - Pioneer Venus 1 begins orbiting Venus

1978 - Sam Shepard's "Buried Child" premieres in NYC

1978 - Islanders took 28 shots in 1 period vs Penguins Penguins' Ross Lonsberry failed on 7th penalty shot against Islanders

1979 - Ireland premier Jack Lynch resigns

1980 - Bank of Canada's Canadian Currency Museum opens

1981 - 47th Heisman Trophy Award: Marcus Allen, Southern Cal (RB)

1981 - 56th Australian Women Tennis: Navratilova beats Chris Evert (67 64 75)

NFL Running Back and Convicted Criminal OJ SimpsonNFL Running Back and Convicted Criminal OJ Simpson 1981 - France performs nuclear test

1982 - Cleveland Browns' Brian Sipe sets club record with 33 pass completions

1982 - Herschel Walker of Georgia wins Heisman Trophy

1982 - Ingrid Berghmans (Neth) retains judo's world championship

1982 - Mel Gray ends NFL streak of 121 consecutive game receptions

1982 - Seattle Univ Baptist Ch declares sanctuary for Cen Am refugees

1982 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1983 - 12 killed by a car bomb shattering 9-story building in west Beirut

1983 - LA Dodger pitcher Steve Howe is suspended for 1 year for cocaine use

1983 - ICIMOD established and inaugurated with its headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal, and legitimised through an Act of Parliament in Nepal in the same year.

1984 - A's trade Rickey Henderson to Yankees for Jay Howell & Jose Rijo

1984 - French colonies killed 10 Kanaken in New Caledonia

1984 - Yankees trade catcher Rick Cerone to Braves for pitcher Brian Fisher

1985 - Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 1,500 level for 1st time

1985 - Great Britain performs nuclear test

1985 - Sam Shepard's "Lie of the Mind" premieres in NYC

1987 - 53rd Heisman Trophy Award: Tim Brown, Notre Dame (WR)

1987 - David Boon's 5th Test Cricket century, 143 v NZ at Brisbane

1987 - Schonbrunn skates world record 3 km ladies (4:16.76)

1988 - NC federal grand jury indict PTL founder Jim Bakker on fraud & conspiracy

1988 - Shuttle Atlantis launches world's 1st nuclear-war-fighting satellite

1989 - France TGV train reaches world record speed of 482.4 kph

1990 - Blue Jays trade F McGriff & T Fernandez to SD for R Alomar & J Carter

1990 - Former Noriega aide Luis del Cid pleads guilty

1990 - Salman Rushdie, author, ordered to death by Iran for blasphemy, appears in public for 1st time in 2 years

1991 - "Catskills on Broadway" opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 452 perfs

1991 - Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings & Loan fraud), found guilty

1991 - NY Daily News files for protection under chapter 11

1993 - "Timon of Athens" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 37 performances

1993 - 82nd Davis Cup: Germany beats Australia in Dusseldorf (4-1)

1993 - Astronauts begin repair of Hubble telescope in space

1993 - Melissa Mcnamara/Mike Sopringer wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic

1993 - Rafael Caldera elected president of Venezuela

1993 - The mayor of Wien (Vienna), Helmut Zilk, is wounded by a letter bomb.

1995 - The Sri Lankan government announces the conquest of Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.

1996 - "Dreams & Nightmares," opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC

1996 - Players union approves new collective bargaining agreement

1996 - Portland's Jermaine O'Neal, 18, becomes youngest NBA player

1997 - 1st Game at Wash Capitals' MCI Center vs Fla Panthers

1997 - STS 87 (Columbia 24) lands

2005 - The Lake Tanganyika earthquake causes significant damage, mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

2005 - The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there.

2006 - Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji.

2007 - Westroads Mall massacre: A gunman opens fire with a semi-automatic rifle at an Omaha, Nebraska mall, killing eight people before taking his own life.

Absolute monarch Nicholas IIAbsolute monarch Nicholas II 2008 - Human remains previously found in 1991 are finally identified by Russian and American scientists as those of Tsar Nicholas II.

2008 - OJ Simpson is sentenced to 33 years in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery

2012 - 8 people are killed and 12 injured by a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in South Korea

1492 - Christopher Columbus discovered Hispaniola (now Haiti).   1560 - Charles IX succeeded as King of France on the death of Francis II.   1766 - James Christie, founder of the famous auctioneers, held his first sale in London.   1776 - In Williamsburg, VA, at the College of William and Mary the first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized.   1782 - The first native U.S. president, Martin Van Buren, was born in Kinderhook, NY.   1792 - The trial of France's King Louis XVI began.   1797 - Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Paris to command forces for the invasion of England.   1812 - Napoleon Bonaparte left his army as they were retreating from Russia.   1839 - General George Armstrong Custer was born in New Rumley, OH.   1848 - U.S. President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of '49 by confirming the fact that gold had been discovered in California.   1876 - The Stillson wrench was patented by D.C. Stillson. The device was the first practical pipe wrench.   1901 - Movie producer Walt Disney was born in Chicago. He created his first Mickey Mouse cartoon at the age of 27.  Disney movies, music and books   1904 - The Russian fleet was destroyed by the Japanese at Port Arthur, during the Russo-Japanese War.   1908 - At the University of Pittsburgh, numerals were first used on football uniforms worn by college football players.   1913 - Britain outlawed the sending of arms to Ireland.   1932 - German physicist Albert Einstein was granted a visa making it possible for him to travel to the U.S.   1933 - Prohibition came to an end when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.   1934 - Fighting broke out between Italian and Ethiopian troops on the Somalian border.   1934 - The Soviet Union executed 66 people charged with plotting against Joseph Stalin's government.   1935 - In Montebello, CA, the first commercial hydrophonics operation was established.   1936 - The Soviet Union adopted a new Constitution under a Supreme Council.   1944 - During World War II, Allied troops took Ravenna, Italy.   1945 - The so-called "Lost Squadron" disappeared. The five U.S. Navy Avenger bombers carrying 14 Navy flyers began a training mission at the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station. They were never heard from again.   1951 - The first push button-controlled garage opened in Washington, DC.   1955 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.   1956 - British and French forces began a withdrawal from Egypt during the Suez War.   1958 - Britain's first motorway, the Preston by-pass, was opened by Prime Minister Macmillan.   1961 - United Nations forces launched an attack in Katanga, the Congo, near Elizabethville.   1962 - The U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to cooperate in the peaceful uses of outer space.   1971 - The Soviet Union, at United Nations Security Council, vetoed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in hostilities between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.   1976 - Jacques Chirac re-founded the Gaullist party as the RPR (Rassemblement pour la République).   1977 - Egypt broke diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen due to peaceful relations with Israel.   1978 - The American space probe Pioneer Venus I, orbiting Venus, began beaming back its first information and picture of the planet.   1979 - Sonia Johnson was formally excommunicated by the Mormon Church due to her outspoken support for the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.   1983 - In west Beirut, Lebanon, more than a dozen people were killed when a car bomb shattered a nine-story apartment building.   1983 - The video arcade game "NFL Football" was unveiled in Chicago. It was the first video arcade game to be licensed by the National Football League.   1984 - Iran's official news agency quoted the hijackers of a Kuwaiti jetliner parked at Tehran airport as saying they would blow up the plane unless Kuwait released 14 imprisoned extremists.   1985 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 1,500 for the first time.   1986 - The Soviet Union said it would continue to abide by the SALT II treaty limits on nuclear weapons. This was despite the decision by the U.S. to exceed them.   1988 - Jim Bakker and former aide Richard Dortch were indicted by a federal grand jury in North Carolina on fraud and conspiracy charges.   1989 - Israeli soldiers killed five heavily armed Arab guerrillas who crossed the border from Egypt. The guerrillas were allegedly going to launch a terrorist attack commemorating the anniversary of the Palestinian uprising.   1989 - East Germany's former leaders were placed under house arrest.   1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin kept the power to appoint Cabinet ministers, defeating a constitutional amendment that would have put his team of reformers under the control of Russia's Congress.   1998 - James P. Hoffa became the head of the Teamsters union, 23 years after his father was the head. His father disappeared and was presumed dead.   2001 - In Germany, Afghan leaders signed a pact to create a temporary administration for post-Taliban Afghanistan. Two women were included in the cabinet structure. Hamid Karzai and his Cabinet were planned to take over power in Afghanistan on December 22.   2008 - The iTunes Music Store reached 300 million applications downloaded.





1776 The first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. 1791 Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna, Austria, at age 35. 1848 President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of 1848 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California. 1872 Having left New York on Nov. 5, the brigantine Mary Celeste was found adrift off Portugal with everyone aboard mysteriously missing. 1933 The 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing prohibition, was ratified. 1955 The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO. 2002 At Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday celebration, Senate Republican leader Trent Lott praised Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential bid. Lott subsequently resigned his leadership position.  



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/dec05.htm

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

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Book Review: Dr. J The Autobiography of Julius Erving

Julius Erving does not hold back in this book. He is brutally honest, and talks candidly about his life experiences, from growing up in New York City, to traveling south of the Mason Dixon in the days of official Jim Crow segregation, to his growth in size and basketball abilities, to his post-basketball career.

Along the way, you will learn about his other experiences as well, such as traveling far and wide, his experiences with family and with quite a few women along the way. He speaks candidly about his own dreams and ambitions, indiscretions and mistakes. His voice is that of a loving husband and father, as well as the grieving voice of all too many close family losses.

Of course, you also get his take on basketball, as he recalls his experiences first on the playground, then playing more organized ball with the Salvation Army and other teams before college, then his days at UMass, and finally, the pros. He went first to the Virginia Squires of the now defunct ABA, and he speaks frankly about the team's weaknesses and strengths there, before moving on to his next team, the New York Nets (who would soon move to New Jersey, and then to their present location in Brooklyn), where the team finally did win the ABA Championship twice in a four year span.

And then, of course, his legendary days in the NBA as "Number 6" with the Philadelphia 76ers. That first year, with a very talented team that made it all the way to the NBA Finals, only to lose to the Portland Trailblazers, a team that Dr. J still clearly thinks the Sixers should have defeated. Then, two more NBA Finals appearances some years later, losing both times to the Lakers, before the Sixers finally acquired Moses Malone, who was the final ingredient the team needed to go ahead and win the NBA Championship in 1983, sweeping the Lakers in the Finals.

He also talks about his retirement tour, with every single team in the league honoring him the final time that they hosted the Sixers that season, and how unique that felt. Of course, being a celebrity himself, Erving discusses some of the famous people he met and got to know along the way and, interesting, he also describes some of the challenges of having grown up poor, and then trying to raise children after achieving fame and wealth, and the toll that these expectations based on the accomplishments of their father had on those kids.

This book would be ideal for fans of the Nets or Sixers, the old ABA, or basketball in general. For that matter, it would be a good book for people with an open and curious mind. It is written well, and he makes it entertaining and accessible. Somehow or other, the book flows easily. I attended an event of Dr. J's in Philadelphia (see the review, which was published on November 15th), and while waiting on line for that hour or so and change, I was able to read about thirty to forty pages or so, and get hooked on the book!

I personally was surprised by some things. For example, the afro that he famously sported earlier in his career gave me the mistaken impression that he was an easy going, free wheeling sort of guy, if you will. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. One of the big surprises in learning more about Erving is just how organized, even anal, he can be about things, and how much he subscribed to the corporate world, which he is still proudly a part of.

So, if you feel that this might be of interest to you but are still on the fence about it, go ahead. He is not some mindless jock writing, in effect, to increase his own already inflated self-esteem, which is the case sometimes with some athletes and celebrities. He has something more to offer - far more to offer, even - than a simple regurgitation of past exploits and glories. This is an intelligent man, with some surprises. Give the book a try, because it's worth a look!

A Leopard Takes Care of the Newborn of a Fallen Prey

It's kind of funny that I ran into this on my Facebook account, by chance, because we were watching a nature program on life in the Arctic regions just last night. Of course, life in those frigid regions is very difficult, with very few species actually trying to brave the coldest weather during the winter months (although male penguins apparently do).

We were really fascinated for some of it, and stayed up watching the program, even though we were both exhausted and should have been sleeping. There was a female polar bear with her cubs (three at first, but one was malnourished and disappeared before the family reached the sea, and the sustenance of fish).

Finally, we both began to drift off, until at some point, we realized that the program was over, and a new program (also on the arctic regions) had come on.

So, when I saw this, I was in the mood and the proper frame of mind to watch it.

Truth be told, it's rather sad, yet heartwarming, all at once. You don't know what is going to happen to the newborn, but it really makes you wonder about the automatic assumption by some people that beasts are, by their very nature, cruel to other species than their own, or that they do not care.

If you watch this, you will see the care of a mother, even when it is not her own offspring that she is caring for. Hell, even if it is not the young of her own species that she is caring for!

This is worth a look, and I highly recommend it!




Watch How a Leopard Reacts When It Finds Out Its Prey Has a Newborn

http://loiter.co/v/watch-a-leopard-reaction-when-it-finds-out-that-hi/