50 Year's Ago Today

50 years ago today: the north tower of the World Trade Center was the victim of an arson attack that consumed 65% of the 11th floor,  with the fire spreading to six floors of the building. 28 people were treated for injuries, and one employee died of a heart attack. 

It was the second attack in the history of the doomed complex. During construction 5 years earlier, a trailer on site was bombed by anti- war protesters.

25 Years Later - JFK, Jr.

 

25 years ago today, in 1999, the plane piloted by JFK Jr. went missing near Martha's Vineyard. His remains, and that of his wife and sister-in-law, were found five days later. 

We were living in our apartment on 23rd St at the time, with the TV along the east wall of the living room. I remember hearing of the story, and of broadcasters or experts on TV saying there was hope - when it was obvious there was not - and knowing he was gone. 

It was a dark enough event on its own, but it may have changed history. Had he lived, he may have pursued the Senate seat later taken by Hilary Clinton. Perhaps, unlike Clinton, he could have defeated Obama in the '08 primaries. Or, had he waited, perhaps 2016 would have featured a Trump-Kennedy clash, with a different result. 

Or, he could have gone on with his life outside of politics, seeking, to paraphrase his own words, to become a good man, and not a "Great Man."

Columbia - 20 Years Later

My primary memory of the Columbia's - and remember, this was only 16 months after 9/11 - was brief fear that it was due to sabotage or violent action.  

May the crew continue to RIP

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#NASARemembers: 20 years ago today on Feb 1, 2003, at 8:59 a.m. EST, space shuttle Columbia broke up on reentry. The entire crew perished.

Rick Husband

Willie McCool

Michael Anderson

Kalpana Chawla

David Brown

Laurel Clark

Ilan Ramon

We will never forget. 

100 Years Ago Today

A century ago today, on November 4th 1922, Howard Carter discovered the long buried tomb of King Tutankhamun.

Black Dahlia - 75 Years On

75 years ago today the body of Elizabeth Short, aka The Black Dahlia, was found in Los Angeles.

500 years ago today . . .

500 years ago today Aug. 13, 1521, the brutal Aztec Empire effectively ended as the last Emperor, Cuauhtemoc, was taken prisoner by the Spaniards.

The Centennial of the Harding Presidency

100 years ago today, Warren Harding was inaugurated as President. Even after a century his reputation is largely that of an incompetent surrounded by crooks, but that is a falsehood historians have been trying to rectify for years.

The "Tea Pot Dome scandal" seems to have been partially a frame up, as in retrospect it turned on the word of a now- known perjurist. And many of the "truths" about the era, from a distance, appear as blatant political attacks. Harding was an adulterer and Prohibition wasn't exactly taken seriously under his Justice Dept, but c'est la vie. 

Here's what is not in dispute: Harding spoke out for Civil Rights and vigorously, if unsuccessfully, pursued a federal anti-lynching law (FDR, for the record, opposed one as President.) He negotiated a successful naval treaty, released political prisoners taken under Wilson, expanded the nation's use of radio, was the first President to visit Canada, established the Budget Office that is still in use today, and got the country out of a Recession through the use of said Budget Office. 

Not a great President. But not a bad one either. 

Happy Anniversary President Harding!

On This Day

 On this date in 1844 a 12" gun on the USS Princeton exploded as the ship was sailing on the Potomac River, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others, including David Gardiner, the father of Julia Gardiner. Because widower President John Tyler was infatuated with Julia, he was down below deck with all the ladies. Had the President not been with her, he would surely have been killed as well; and since he did not have a VP or an established line of succession, a Constitutional crisis would have erupted.

Hoover was a Good Man

100 years ago today. The $3 million raised that night is equivalent to roughly $40 million in 2020. Click on the photo for the whole story. 

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150 Years Ago Today

Robert E Lee died 150 years ago today, having suffered a stroke two weeks prior. He was 63.

A Century of Progress

100 years ago today the 19th Amendment was ratified,  giving women the right to vote.

250 Years Ago Today

A quarter of a millenia ago today, British troops faced down an unruly mob of colonials who were angry at Parlimentary abuses. Without question, the soldiers were well disciplined in the face of an aggressive and increasingly bold crowd.

Alas, without orders to do so, the troops opened fire, some of the crowd died, and the somewhat exaggerated title of "The Boston Massacre " was born.

Most people, with good reason, recall rge event as a prelude to revolution.  I prefer to describe it as a triumph of the rule of law. 

Despite the provocations of the crowd, the government consented to put eight of the soldiers on trial for the incident. In turn, despite intense public pressure for convictions, lawyers - among them future Revolutionary and President John Adams - secured six acquittals from the jury. Two men were convicted, but their sentences greatly reduced.

Law - not passion - prevailed. 

75 Years Ago

75 years ago today, US Marines landed on  the beaches of Iwo Jima.

Two Sad Anniversaries

And yesterday marked 50 years since the plane crash that killed the great Rocky Marciano.

First Man

This was dry and unemotional,  perhaps to reflect the filmmakers view of Armstrong,  but also exquisitely filmed and a powerful testament to the history it depicts.

On This Day

Charles Dickens released A Christmas Carol on this date 175 years ago.

I'll pass

Welp. That sounds awful.

100 Years Ago Today

100 years ago today, America's deadliest WWI battle began in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. A mere month and a half before the wars end, it claimed the lives of 26,000 US servicemen. RIP

A Bustle in Your Hedgerow

This gun is set up in a hedgerow. When I saw it today, it was a pleasant reminder that there's always something left to learn. For 35 years I've read about the fighting in the hedgerows during the Allied invasion of France, and until today I had no idea what they were; my mind had filled in the blanks with an erroneous idea. Well done Instagram.

Hue - 50 Years On

50 years ago today the bloody battle for Hue began as the Tet Offensive continued.