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Sarah Palin's presence in the lower 48 means the Arctic ice cap can finally return.

calendar   Friday - September 10, 2004

Daily Dose

Quote Of The Day

“The history of our race, and each individual’s experience, are sown thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal.”
-- Mark Twain (1835-1910)



On This Day In History

September 10, 1813 - The Battle Of Lake Erie
In the first unqualified defeat of a British naval squadron in history, U.S. Captain Oliver Hazard Perry leads a fleet of nine American ships to victory over a squadron of six British warships at the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.The battle was closely contested for hours, and Perry’s flagship Lawrence was reduced to a defenseless wreck. He then transferred to the Niagara and sailed directly into the British line, firing broadsides and forcing the British to surrender. Perry had won a complete victory at the cost of 27 Americans killed and 96 wounded; British casualties were 40 dead and 94 wounded. After the battle, Perry sent a famous dispatch to U.S. General William Henry Harrison that read, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.” The Battle of Lake Erie forced the British to abandon Detroit, ensuring U.S. control over Lake Erie and the territorial northwest.

September 10, 1897 - The First DWI
Even without Breathalyzers and line tests, George Smith’s swerving was enough to alarm British police and make him the first person arrested for drunken driving. Unfortunately, Smith’s arrest did nothing to discourage the many other drunk drivers who have taken to the road since. Although drunk driving is illegal in most countries, punished by heavy fines and mandatory jail sentences, it continues to be one of the leading causes of automobile accidents throughout the world. Alcohol-related automobile accidents are responsible for approximately one-third of the traffic fatalities in the United States - 16,000 deaths each year, and also account for over half a million injuries and $1 billion of property damage annually.



Today’s Birthdays

Arnold Palmer, (1929- ), American golfer
Roger Maris, (1934-1985), NY Yankees baseball player
Charles Kuralt, (1934-1997), CBS journalist

Thanks to The Quotations Page - The History Channel - The Biography Channel.


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Posted by The Skipper   United States  on 09/10/2004 at 04:45 AM   
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calendar   Thursday - September 09, 2004

Daily Dose 09-Sep-2004

Quote Of The Day

“Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.”
-- Otto von Bismarck (1815 - 1898)



On This Day In History

September 9, 1863 - Union Army Captures Chattanooga
Union General William Rosecrans completes a brilliant campaign against the army of Confederate General Braxton Bragg when his forces capture Chattanooga, Tennessee. The capture of Chattanooga followed a campaign in which there was little fighting but much maneuvering. On June 23, Rosecrans marched his troops out of their camp in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. Bragg, who hoped his defensive line could keep Rosecrans out and protect the rich agricultural resources of south central Tennessee, had his army arrayed northwest of Tullahoma. When Rosecrans moved his army to Bragg’s right flank, the Confederates found themselves in a dangerous position and so Bragg pulled his forces further south to Tullahoma. But Rosecrans then feinted toward Chattanooga, forcing Bragg to give up Tullahoma and retreat into Chattanooga. At the cost of only 560 Yankee casualties, Rosecrans had taken south central Tennessee from Bragg. Approaching Chattanooga from the west on September 8, Union forces began crossing Lookout Mountain above the city. Again, Bragg was outmaneuvered and was forced to leave Chattanooga with only minor skirmishing. On September 9, triumphant Union troops entered the city. Bragg finally gathered his troops and dug in his heels in northern Georgia, just south of Chattanooga. The two armies collided again at Chickamauga on September 19 and 20, when Bragg finally sent Rosecrans in the other direction. The Union force then retreated back into Chattanooga.

September 9, 1942 - Japanese Bomb U.S. Mainland
On this day in 1942, a Japanese floatplane drops incendiary bombs on an Oregon state forest-the first and only attack on the U.S. mainland in the war. Launching from the Japanese sub I-25, Nobuo Fujita piloted his light aircraft over the state of Oregon and firebombed Mount Emily, alighting a state forest--and ensuring his place in the history books as the only man to ever bomb the continental United States. The president immediately called for a news blackout for the sake of morale. No long-term damage was done, and Fujita eventually went home to train navy pilots for the rest of the war.



Today’s Birthdays

William Bligh, (1754–1817), British admiral (captain of HMS Bounty)
Otis Redding, (1941-1967), Singer, songwriter ("Dock Of The Bay")
Michael Keaton (Michael John Douglas), (1951- ), American actor (Batman)

Thanks to The Quotations Page - The History Channel - The Biography Channel.


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Posted by The Skipper   United States  on 09/09/2004 at 02:37 AM   
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calendar   Wednesday - September 08, 2004

Daily Dose 08-Sep-2004

Quote Of The Day

“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”
-- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)



On This Day In History

September 8, 1945 - American Troops Arrive In Korea To Partition The Country
U.S. troops land in Korea to begin their postwar occupation of the southern part of that nation, almost exactly one month after Soviet troops had entered northern Korea to begin their own occupation. Although the U.S. and Soviet occupations were supposed to be temporary, the division of Korea quickly became permanent. Korea had been a Japanese possession since the early 20th century. During World War II, the allies--the United States, Soviet Union, China, and Great Britain--made a somewhat hazy agreement that Korea should become an independent country following the war. As the war progressed, U.S. officials began to press the Soviets to enter the war against Japan. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin pledged that his nation would declare war on Japan exactly three months after Nazi Germany was defeated. A few months later, at the Potsdam Conference in July and August 1945, it was agreed that Soviet troops would occupy the northern portion of Korea, while American forces would take a similar action in southern Korea in order to secure the area and liberate it from Japanese control. The occupations would be temporary, and Korea would eventually decide its own political future, though no date was set for the end of the U.S. and Soviet occupations. On August 8, the Soviets declared war on Japan. On August 9, Soviet forces invaded northern Korea. A few days later, Japan surrendered. Keeping to their part of the bargain, U.S. forces entered southern Korea on September 8, 1945. Over the next few years, the situation in Korea steadily worsened. A civil war between communist and nationalist forces in southern Korea resulted in thousands of people killed and wounded. The Soviets steadfastly refused to consider any plans for the reunification of Korea. The United States reacted by setting up a government in South Korea, headed by Syngman Rhee. The Soviets established a communist regime in North Korea, under the leadership of Kim Il-Sung. In 1948, the United States again offered to hold national elections, but the Soviets refused the offer. Elections were held in South Korea, and Rhee’s government received a popular mandate. The Soviets refused to recognize Rhee’s government, though, and insisted that Kim Il-Sung was the true leader of all Korea. Having secured the establishment of a communist government in North Korea, Soviet troops withdrew in 1948; and U.S. troops in South Korea followed suit in 1949. In 1950, the North Koreans attempted to reunite the nation by force and launched a massive military assault on South Korea. The United States quickly came to the aid of South Korea, beginning a three-year involvement in the bloody and frustrating Korean War. Korea remains a divided nation today, and the North Korean regime is one of the few remaining communist governments left in the world.

September 8, 1966 - “Star Trek” Premieres
On this day in 1966, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise takes off on its mission to “boldly go where no man has gone before,” with the premiere of Star Trek. Although Star Trek ran for only three years (starting in 1966) and never placed better than No. 52 in the ratings, Gene Roddenberry’s series became a cult classic and spawned four television series and nine movies. The first Star Trek spin-off was a Saturday morning cartoon, The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek, which ran from 1973 to 1975 (original cast members supplied the voices). The TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation first aired in 1987 and was set in the 24th century, starring the crew of the new, larger U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, captained by Jean-Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart). This series became the highest-rated syndicated drama on television and ran until 1994. Another spin-off, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, premiered in 1992, featuring a 24th-century crew that lived in a space station rather than a starship. Star Trek: Voyager, which debuted in 1995 and ran until 2001, was the first to feature a female captain, Kathryn Janeway (played by Kate Mulgrew). In this series, the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager is stranded more than 70,000 light years from Federation space and is trying to find its way home. Meanwhile, the cast of the original Star Trek voyaged onto the big screen, starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. The first film yielded disappointing returns at the box office, but its sequel, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, in 1982 was more successful and ensured more movies in the franchise. Subsequent films included Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; Star Trek: Generations; Star Trek: First Contact; and Star Trek: Insurrection. The Star Trek books have been translated into more than 15 languages, and Star Trek conventions are held all over the United States. In 1992, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., opened an exhibit honoring the original Star Trek television series. The exhibit featured more than 80 costumes, props, and models from the show, including Mr. Spock’s pointy ears and a replica of the deck of the starship Enterprise.



Today’s Birthdays

Richard I, (1157–99), King of England (1189-99)
Antonín Dvorák, (1841–1904), Czech composer of “The New World” symphony
Peter Sellers, (1925-1980), British actor ("The Pink Panther” series)
Patsy Cline (Virginia Patterson Hensley), (1932-1963), Country singer ("I Fall To Pieces”, “Crazy")

Thanks to The Quotations Page - The History Channel - The Biography Channel.


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Posted by The Skipper   United States  on 09/08/2004 at 12:27 AM   
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calendar   Tuesday - September 07, 2004

Daily Dose 07-Sep-2004

Quote Of The Day

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
-- Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)



On This Day In History

September 7, 1776 - World’s First Submarine Attack
During the Revolutionary War, the American submersible craft Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe’s flagship Eagle in New York Harbor. It was the first use of a submarine in warfare. Submarines were first built by Dutch inventor Cornelius van Drebel in the early 17th century, but it was 150 years later before they were first used in naval combat. David Bushnell, an American inventor, began building underwater mines while a student at Yale University. Deciding that a submarine would be the best means of delivering his mines in warfare, he built an eight-foot-long wooden submersible that was christened the Turtle for its shape. Large enough to accommodate one operator, the submarine was entirely hand-powered. Lead ballast kept the craft balanced. Donated to the Patriot cause after the outbreak of war with Britain in 1775, Ezra Lee piloted the craft unnoticed out to the 64-gun HMS Eagle in New York Harbor on September 7, 1776. As Lee worked to anchor a time bomb to the hull, he could see British seamen on the deck above, but they failed to notice the strange craft below the surface. Lee had almost secured the bomb when his boring tools failed to penetrate a layer of iron sheathing. He retreated, and the bomb exploded nearby, causing no harm to either the Eagle or the Turtle. During the next week, the Turtle made several more attempts to sink British ships on the Hudson River, but each time it failed, owing to the operator’s lack of skill. Only Bushnell was capable of executing the submarine’s complicated functions, but because of his physical frailty he was unable to pilot the Turtle in any of its combat missions. During the Battle of Fort Lee, the Turtle was lost when the American sloop transporting it was sunk by the British. Despite the failures of the Turtle, General George Washington gave Bushnell a commission as an army engineer, and the drifting mines he constructed destroyed the British frigate Cereberus and wreaked havoc against other British ships. After the war, he became commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stationed at West Point.

September 7, 1876 - The Northfield Minnesota Bank Robbery
Attempting a bold daytime robbery of the Northfield Minnesota bank, the James-Younger gang suddenly finds itself surrounded by angry townspeople and is nearly wiped out on this day in 1876. The bandits began with a diversion: five of the men galloped through the center of town, hollering and shooting their pistols in the air. As the townspeople ran for cover, three other men wearing wide-brimmed hats and long dusters took advantage of the distraction to walk unnoticed into the First National Bank. Brandishing pistols, one of the men ordered the bank cashier to open the bank safe. Though the cashier recognized the famous face of the dangerous outlaw, Jesse James, he stalled, claiming that the safe had a time lock and could not be opened. As Jesse James considered his next move, a brave--or foolish--bank teller made a break for the back door. One of the robbers fired twice, hitting the teller in the shoulder, but the man managed to stumble to safety and sound the alarm. The citizens of Northfield ran to surround the bank and mercilessly shot down the robbers as they tried to escape. A 19-year-old medical student killed one gang member, Clell Miller, while the owner of the Northfield hardware store mortally wounded Bill Chadwell, peppering his body with bullets from a rapid-firing Remington repeater rifle. Jesse’s brother, Frank, was hit in the leg, while their criminal partners-Jim, Cole, and Bob Younger-were also badly wounded. Jesse was the last one out of the bank. After pausing briefly to shoot the uncooperative cashier in the head, Jesse leapt onto his horse and joined the rest of the survivors as they desperately fled town. For the next two weeks a posse pursued them relentlessly, eventually killing or capturing four more of the gang members. Luckily for Frank and Jesse James, the two brothers had decided to go their own way, escaping to Dakota Territory. After things had cooled down, they went to Nashville, Tennessee, where they started rebuilding their gang and planning new robberies.



Today’s Birthdays

Elizabeth I, (1533–1603), Queen of England (1558–1603)
Grandma Moses, (Anna Mary Robertson Moses), (1860–1961), American painter
Elia Kazan, (1909-2003), Director, producer, writer, actor
Buddy Holly, (Charles Hardin Holley), (1936-1959), Rock and roll singer, guitarist

Thanks to The Quotations Page - The History Channel - The Biography Channel.


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Posted by The Skipper   United States  on 09/07/2004 at 05:45 AM   
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calendar   Monday - September 06, 2004

Daily Dose 06-Sep-2004

Labor Day

Quote Of The Day

“Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another.”
-- Anatole France (1844 - 1924)



On This Day In History

September 6, 1901 - President McKinley Is Shot
President William McKinley is shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley was greeting the crowd in the Temple of Music when Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, stepped forward and shot the president twice at point-blank range. McKinley lived for another week before finally succumbing to a gangrene infection on September 14. At the time of the shooting, President McKinley was very popular and America was in the midst of a period of peace and prosperity. Czolgosz, a laborer from Cleveland who fell under the sway of charismatic leaders of anarchy such as Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, became particularly obsessed with Gaetano Bresci, an anarchist who shot and killed King Humbert I of Italy on July 29, 1900. Czolgosz decided to kill McKinley to further the anarchist cause. While Presidents Lincoln and Garfield had been completely unprotected at the time of their assassinations, the newly formed Secret Service was now available to protect President McKinley. But when Czolgosz stepped up to shake McKinley’s hand with a handkerchief covering the .32 revolver in his hand, the agents thought nothing of it. After the shots were fired, the agents grabbed Czolgosz and began pummeling him, but McKinley warned, “Be easy with him, boys,” as he was helped to an ambulance. The president then told his secretary to be careful in telling the First Lady what happened. Working in a building with no electricity, surgeons operated on the president, who seemed to be recovering at first. Legend has it that his recovery diet was raw eggs and whiskey. Before lapsing into a coma and dying, McKinley’s last words were: “It is God’s way. His will, not ours, be done.” McKinley’s assassination led to reprisals against his critics across the country. Those who had spoken poorly of the president were tarred and feathered. Emma Goldman was even arrested for allegedly inspiring the murder. But Czolgosz took full and sole responsibility for the assassination and was sent to the electric chair less than two months later. On October 29, his last words were: “I am not sorry for my crime.”



Today’s Birthdays

Marquis de Lafayette, (1757–1834), French general and political leader
Joseph Patrick Kennedy, (1888–1969), U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, father of John F. Kennedy
Claire Lee Chennault, (1890–1958), American general

Thanks to The Quotations Page - The History Channel - The Biography Channel.


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Posted by The Skipper   United States  on 09/06/2004 at 05:28 AM   
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calendar   Sunday - September 05, 2004

Daily Dose - 05-Sep-2004

Quote Of The Day

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ”
-- Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)



On This Day In History

September 5, 1774 - First Continental Congress Convenes
In response to the British Parliament’s enactment of the Coercive Acts in the American colonies, the first session of the Continental Congress convenes at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia. Fifty-six delegates from all the colonies except Georgia drafted a declaration of rights and grievances and elected Virginian Peyton Randolph as the first president of Congress. Patrick Henry, George Washington, John Adams, and John Jay were among the delegates.

September 5, 1972 - Arab Terrorists Take Israeli Hostages At The Olympics
In the early morning hours of September 5, six members of the Arab terrorist group known as Black September dressed in the Olympic sweat suits of Arab nations and jumped the fence surrounding the Olympic village in Munich, Germany, carrying bags filled with guns. Although guards spotted them, they paid little attention because athletes often jumped the fence during the competition to return to their living quarters. After changing into disguises, the terrorists, toting machine guns, burst into the apartments of 21 Israeli athletes and officials. Yossef Gutfreund, a wrestling referee who valiantly tried to keep the terrorists out, saved Tuvia Sokolovsky, who was able to climb out a window and escape. In another apartment, Moshe Weinberg was shot 12 times but still managed to wound one of the terrorists and save the life of one of his teammates. Created in 1970 by a few survivors of the “ten terrible September days” of fighting against Jordan for a Palestinian homeland, Black September succeeded in taking nine hostages before demanding the release of 236 prisoners-most of whom were Arab terrorists. The demands were categorically refused, but it was eventually agreed that the terrorists and the hostages would be taken to the Furstenfeldbruck airport by helicopter and given a plane. The German government planned an ambush at the airport, stationing sharpshooters around the runway and officers in the airplane. However, the plan quickly disintegrated when the officers in the plane, worried about their lack of preparation, deserted. There weren’t nearly enough sharpshooters to effectively take down all of the terrorists either, partly because the Germans didn’t realize that two other terrorists had joined the Black September attack. Still, the ambush was carried out. Three terrorists were taken out in the first wave of shots, but the others were able to hide out of range. One threw a grenade into a helicopter where five hostages were still tied up, instantly killing them all. Another terrorist fired his machine gun into another helicopter, killing the remaining hostages. Twenty hours after Black September had begun their attack, a German police official, 5 Palestinian terrorists, and 11 Israeli athletes lay dead. Three of the terrorists who survived were imprisoned but were set free a month later when Arabs hijacked a Lufthansa 727 and demanded their release. A few days after the tragic event at the Olympics, Israel retaliated with air strikes against Syria and Lebanon, killing 66 people and wounding dozens. In addition, Israel sent out assassination squads to hunt down members of Black September while Israeli troops broke through the Lebanese border, igniting the heaviest fighting since the Six-Day War of 1967.



Today’s Birthdays

Louis XIV, (1638–1715), King of France (1643–1715), son and successor of King Louis XIII
Jesse (Woodson) James, (1847–82), American outlaw
Darryl F. Zanuck, (1902-1979), American film producer
Bob Newhart, (1929- ), American TV actor

Thanks to The Quotations Page - The History Channel - The Biography Channel.


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Posted by The Skipper   United States  on 09/05/2004 at 12:34 AM   
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calendar   Saturday - September 04, 2004

Daily Dose - 09/04/2004

Quote Of The Day

“Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one. ”
-- Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)



On This Day In History

September 4, 476 - Western Roman Empire Falls
Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed by Odoacer, a German barbarian who proclaims himself king of Italy. Odoacer was a mercenary leader in the Roman imperial army when he launched his mutiny against the young emperor. At Piacenza, he defeated Roman General Orestes, the emperor’s powerful father, and then took Ravenna, the capital of the Western empire since 402. Although Roman rule continued in the East, the crowning of Odoacer marked the end of the original Roman Empire, which centered in Italy.

September 4, 1886 - The Last American Indian Warrior Surrenders
For almost 30 years he had fought the whites who invaded his homeland, but Geronimo, the wiliest and most dangerous Apache warrior of his time, finally surrenders in Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, on this day in 1886. Known to the Apache as Goyalkla, or “One Who Yawns,” most non-Indians knew him by his Spanish nickname, Geronimo. When he was a young man, Mexican soldiers had murdered his wife and children during a brutal attack on his village in Chihuahua, Mexico. Though Geronimo later remarried and fathered other children, the scars of that early tragedy left him with an abiding hatred for Mexicans. Operating in the border region around Mexico’s Sierra Madre and southern Arizona and New Mexico, Geronimo and his band of 50 Apache warriors succeeded in keeping white settlers off Apache lands for decades. Geronimo never learned to use a gun, yet he armed his men with the best modern rifles he could obtain and even used field glasses to aid reconnaissance during his campaigns. He was a brilliant strategist who used the Apache knowledge of the arid desert environment to his advantage, and for years Geronimo and his men successfully evaded two of the U.S. Army’s most talented Indian fighters, General George Crook and General Nelson A. Miles. But by 1886, the great Apache warrior had grown tired of fighting and further resistance seemed increasingly pointless: there were just too many whites and too few Apaches. On September 4, 1886, Geronimo turned himself over to Miles, becoming the last American Indian warrior in history to formally surrender to the United States. After several years of imprisonment, Geronimo was given his freedom, and he moved to Oklahoma where he converted to Christianity and became a successful farmer. He even occasionally worked as a scout and adviser for the U.S. army. Transformed into a safe and romantic symbol of the already vanishing era of the Wild West, he became a popular celebrity at world’s fairs and expositions and even rode in President Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade in 1905. He died at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1909, still on the federal payroll as an army scout.

September 4, 1957 - Arkansas Troops Prevent Desegregation
Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus enlists the National Guard to prevent nine African American students from entering Central High School in Little Rock. The armed Arkansas militia troops surrounded the school while an angry crowd of some 400 whites jeered, booed, and threatened to lynch the frightened African American teenagers, who fled shortly after arriving. Faubus took the action in violation of a federal order to integrate the school. The conflict set the stage for the first major test of the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that racial segregation in educational facilities is unconstitutional.



Today’s Birthdays

François René Chateaubriand, vicomte de , (1768–1848), French writer
Anton Bruckner, (1824–1896), Austrian composer
Mitzi Gaynor (Francesca Mitzi Gerber), (1931-), American actress (best remembered for “South Pacific")

Thanks to The Quotations Page - The History Channel - The Biography Channel.


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Posted by The Skipper   United States  on 09/04/2004 at 08:10 AM   
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calendar   Friday - September 03, 2004

Daily Dose

Quote Of The Day

"To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer."
-- Farmers' Almanac, 1978


On This Day In History

September 3, 1777 - The Stars And Stripes Flies
The American flag is flown in battle for the first time, during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch's Bridge, Maryland. Patriot General William Maxwell ordered the stars and strips banner raised as a detachment of his infantry and cavalry met an advance guard of British and Hessian troops. The rebels were defeated and forced to retreat to General George Washington's main force near Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania. Three months before, on June 14, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating that "the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white" and that "the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." The national flag, which became known as the "Stars and Stripes," was based on the "Grand Union" flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of a circle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the request of General George Washington. Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend. With the entrance of new states into the United States after independence, new stripes and stars were added to represent new additions to the Union. In 1818, however, Congress enacted a law stipulating that the 13 original stripes be restored and that only stars be added to represent new states. On June 14, 1877, the first Flag Day observance was held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes. As instructed by Congress, the U.S. flag was flown from all public buildings across the country. In the years after the first Flag Day, several states continued to observe the anniversary, and in 1949 Congress officially designated June 14 as Flag Day, a national day of observance.

September 3, 1783 - Treaty Of Paris Signed
The American Revolution formally comes to an end when representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain, and France sign the Treaty of Paris. American independence was recognized by the British, and the boundaries of the new republic were agreed upon: Florida north to the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic coast west to the Mississippi River.vIn April 1775, on a common green in Lexington, Massachusetts, American colonists answered King George III's refusal of political and economic reform with armed revolution. On July 4, 1776, more than a year after the first volleys of the war were fired, the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence. Five difficult years later, in October 1781, British General Charles Lord Cornwallis surrendered to American and French forces at Yorktown, Virginia, bringing to an end the last major battle of the Revolution. With the 1783 signing of the Treaty of Paris with Britain, the United States formally became a free and independent nation.


Today's Birthdays

Alan Ladd, (1913-1964), American actor (star of movie "Shane")

Thanks to The Quotations Page - The History Channel - The Biography Channel.

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Posted by The Skipper   United States  on 09/03/2004 at 06:55 AM   
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DISCLAIMER
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THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:
  1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
  2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
  3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
  4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere
It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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GNU Terry Pratchett


Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.
free counters