Friday - June 20, 2008

Looking Back: Interesting things that happened on this day, from various sources

• West Virgina admitted as the 35th State.

  On June 20, 1863, West Virginia became the thirty-fifth state in the Union. The land that formed the new state formerly constituted part of Virginia. The two areas had diverged culturally from their first years of European settlement, as small farmers generally settled the western portion of the state, including the counties that later formed West Virginia, while the eastern portion was dominated by a powerful minority class of wealthy slaveholders. There were proposals for the trans-Allegheny west to separate from Virginia as early as 1769. When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, the residents of a number of contiguous western counties, where there were few slaves, decided to remain in the Union. Congress accepted these counties as the state of West Virginia on condition that its slaves be freed. “Montani semper liberi,” “mountaineers always freemen,” became the new state’s motto.

  This snippet courtesy of the Library of Congress, keepers of public knowledge for the free use of the public.


• President Andrew Johnson announces purchase of Alaska. June 20, 1867, Known at the time as Seward’s Folly, the US purchased Alaska from the Russian Tsar Alexander II for about 1.9¢ per acre. Thirty years later, during the Klondike Gold Rush just over the border in Canada, gold discovered in the beaches around Nome Alaska yielded nearly a third of that amount in one summer alone.


• For our British friends, today marks the day that Queen Victoria ascended the British throne after the death of her uncle King William IV. She ruled for 63 years, reigning over one of the greatest periods in the British Empire.


• June 20, 1840: Samuel Morse patents the telegraph, taking the very first step of the modern Information Age. Later called “the Victorian Internet” the telegraph changed the world.


• It could be said that the Civil Rights Movement in America started today. On this day in 1942 the Congress of Racial Equality was formed in Chicago. Deeply influenced by Ghandi’s non-violent forms of protest, CORE began by using sit-ins to protest segregated schools.
  
• Today also marks the 65th anniversary of the Great Detroit Race Riot. 35 died. Overcrowding, inequitable rents, segregation, police indifference were all causes. It took the Army to stop the mobs.


• The movie Jaws hit theaters on this day, way back in 1975. It was the breakthrough blockbuster for boyish director Steven Spielburg. Starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and a rubber shark named Bruce, the film scared the piss out of us, and did it without any CGI at all. Don’t go in the water!!


• 451 AD - Battle of Catalarinische Fields in eastern France. Roman and Germanic Visigoth armies combine to defeat Attila The Hun, saving Europe and Christianity. Thanks guys!

There are thousands of Daily History web sites out there, all perfectly happy to add their bits of data to the free source of worldwide knowledge that is the internet. And that’s the way it should be.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/20/2008 at 01:06 PM   
Filed Under: • History •  
• Comments (0) • Trackbacks (0) • Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

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.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2008 Domain Owner