December 14 Norwegian Roald Amundsen becomes the first explorer to reach the South Pole ahead of his British rival, Robert Falcon Scott. – 1911. Some 33,000 striking members of the Machinists end a 69-day walkout at Boeing after winning pay and benefit increases and protections against subcontracting some of their
“Never, never, never give up.” Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, soldier and prime minister of the United Kingdom who was born November 30,1874 to Lord Randolph and Lady Randolph Churchill of wealthy British aristocratic lineage. He was not a handsome man, with a bulldog
December 7 At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings, appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes follow and descends on the U.S. naval base at Pearl
As we look at what is happening to the Republican Party, it may seem difficult to believe that it was originally formed as a reform party. In the 1850s political landscape, the major parties – the Whigs and the Democrats – struggled for dominance, and neither party was above anti-democratic
November 30 The first modern instance of a meteorite striking a human being occurs at Sylacauga, Ala., when a meteorite crashes through the roof of a house and strikes Mrs. Elizabeth Hodges who was sleeping on a couch at the time of impact. Mrs. Hodges was not permanently injured, but
The Aurora Public Library District (APLD) is pleased to present an exhibit of historical movie projectors entitled Echoes of the Silver Screen: Pioneers’ Projectors, on display at the Santori Library now through the end of November. The exhibit features a variety of projectors from the early days of cinema, including
November 23 History’s first-recorded strike by Egyptians working on public works projects for King Ramses III in the Valley of the Kings. They were protesting having gone 20 days without pay, portions of grain, and put their tools down. Exact date estimated, described as within “the sixth month of the
Marie Antoinette was born November 2, 1755 as an Archduchess of Austria and became dauphine of France at age 14 upon her marriage. And on May 16, 1770 she was joined in marriage with the heir to the French throne, the future King Louis XVI in the Royal Chapel at
Anti-Semitism? Bah! Humbug! Do you know, dear reader, that there are two kinds of Jews? They are the Sephardim, the western European Jews, and the Ashkenazim, the eastern European, Yiddish-speaking Jews. None of them, however, is ethnically Semitic; none of them sprang from the seed of Father Abraham, their belief
November 16 Joseph Goebbels publishes in the German magazine Das Reich that “The Jews wanted the war, and now they have it”—referring to the Nazi propaganda scheme to shift the blame for the world war on to European Jewry, thereby giving the Nazis a rationalization for the so-called Final Solution.
November 9 German Nazis launch a campaign of terror against Jewish people and their homes and businesses in Germany and Austria. The violence, which continued through November 10 and later, was dubbed Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass, after the countless smashed windows of Jewish-owned establishments, left approximately 100 Jews
Julia was leaving Rome on a fast train to visit Saturnia and its thermal spring baths. She had been 10 days in the Eternal City and wished to luxuriate in the water and its healing powers. The temperature was said to be 99.5 F. The Medieval legend has it that
First of all, The Chas is against war of any sort. If a dispute arises between people or nations, a peaceful discussion of the issues involved and a negotiated settlement is called for. Sadly, however, too many people/nations either have no desire to negotiate or will negotiate only if concessions
November 2 The Hughes Flying Boat, known as the Spruce Goose, the largest flying boat ever built, is piloted by designer Howard Hughes on its first and only flight. Built with laminated birch and spruce, the massive wooden aircraft had a wingspan longer than a football field and was designed
October 26 After eight years and at least 1,000 worker deaths, mostly Irish immigrants, the Erie Canal opens, which links the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. It cost $7 million and was 363 miles long, 40 feet wide, and four feet deep. – 1825. The Earp brothers face off
October 19 Hopelessly trapped in Yorktown, Va., British General Lord Cornwallis surrenders 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a larger Franco-American force, to effectively bring an end to the American Revolution. – 1781. One month after Napoleon Bonaparte’s massive invading force enters a burning and deserted Moscow, the starving French
October 12 After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sees a Bahamian island, and thinks he has reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route
“You will come back changed. The river will change you.” —Father E.V. Jotter The year was 1938. The first-ever federal minimum wage was set at 25cents an hour. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length animated feature to be seen in theaters. Its song “Whistle While You
October 5 U.S. president Harry Truman makes the first televised presidential address from the White House to ask Americans to cut back on their use of grain in order to help starving Europeans. – 1947. American David Kunst completes the first round-the-world journey on foot, which took four years and
September 28 Claiming his right to the English throne, William, duke of Normandy, invades England at Pevensey on Britain’s southeast coast. His subsequent defeat of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings marked the beginning of a new era in British history. – 1066. In one of the worst
