September 1 At 4:45 a.m., 1.5 million German troops invade Poland all along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. Simultaneously, the German Luftwaffe bombs Polish airfields, and German warships and U-boats attack Polish naval forces. – 1939. The federal minimum wage is increased to $5.15 per hour. – 1997. September
“I am alive. I am strong. I have awakened.” —Herodotus The Greek historian Herodotus, 5th Century B.C., wrote “The Egyptians in their manners and customs have women attend market and are employed in its trade, while men stay at home and do the weaving.” In his travels, Herodotus was accustomed
August 18 The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to guarantee women the right to vote, is ratified by Tennessee, for a two-thirds majority of state ratification necessary to make it the law of the land. – 1920. The Yangtze River in China peaks during a horrible flood that kills
You’re an old-timer in Aurora if you: Were a member of the Tom-a-Hawk Club. Ate a meal at Barefoot Charlie’s (the best steaks in town!). Drag-raced on North Lake Street. Know that there was a West Aurora North High School. Drank a soda at Shaffer’s Pharmacy. Shot a few billiards
August 11 One hundred platform men employed by the privately owned United Railroads streetcar service in San Francisco abandon their streetcars which ties up many of the main lines in and out of the city center. – 1917. A group of federal prisoners classified as “most dangerous” arrives at Alcatraz
“To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right, or justice.” Clause 40 In 1206 King John renewed his war with France causing him to lose the duchies of Normandy and Anjou among other territories. A feud with Pope Innocent III began in 1208
“I was born for a storm. And a calm does not suit me.” —Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson was born in the colonial Carolinas March 15, 1767 and was an American lawyer, general, and statesman, who served as the seventh president of the United States, 1829 to 1837. Jackson had gained
July 28 Following its ratification by the necessary three-quarters of U.S. states, the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing to African Americans citizenship and all its privileges, is officially adopted into the U.S. Constitution. – 1868. A United States military plane crashes into the Empire State Building and kills 14. The freak accident
“You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best you have to give.” —Eleanor Roosevelt When her name is spoken, so many images come to mind. How one person can accomplish what Eleanor Roosevelt did is amazing
July 21 In the first major land battle of the Civil War, a large Union force of 34,000 soldiers under General Irvin McDowell is routed by a Confederate army of approximately 29,000 men under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard. – 1861. A die-cast operator in Jackson, Mich. is pinned by a
Having lived through the events of November 22, 1963, while watching the black and white television coverage, I thought I knew enough about the assassination of president John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK). But reading Bill O’Reilly’s book of 10 years ago, “Killing Kennedy”, reminded me of much I had not known
July 14 Parisian revolutionaries and mutinous troops storm and dismantle the Bastille, a royal fortress that had come to symbolize the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchs. This dramatic action signaled the beginning of the French Revolution, a decade of political turmoil and terror, in which King Louis XVI was overthrown
“They fought like soldiers and died like men.” —Commander-in-Chief Washington The Father of our country, George Washington, served as colonel of the Virginia regiment, and was a man of personal strength and courage. His charisma, wit, and intellect were greatly applauded. He was a man of principle and determination. He
I trust you all lived through the Fourth of July this year. If you didn’t, you probably won’t be reading this column In the last couple of days I’ve been noticing complaints by neighbors about the high gas prices in Illinois, which always have been the highest in the Midwest.
July 7 Mary Harris “Mother” Jones begins “The March of the Mill Children”, when, accompanied part of the way by children. She walked from Philadelphia to president Theodore Roosevelt’s home on Long Island, N.Y. to protest the plight of child laborers. One of her demands: Reduce the children’s work week
I recently went looking for a nugget and found a gold mine. Let me explain. I visited the website of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum a few weeks ago to track down information on a former Illinois lawmaker from its oral history collection. I emerged several hours later
Listen to the beauty of Clair de lune and hear the majesty of Claude Debussy’s mastery. Enjoy his Afternoon of a Fawn and feel mesmerized by its tones. Or his Dialogue of the Wind and Sea and you can visualize the very image of a “wild grey ocean driven before
Once upon a time, in Aurora, Ill., there were no shopping centers, strip malls, or whatever one wanted to call them. Aurorans shopped mostly downtown at local retail outlets. There were, of course, local branches of national business entities, such as, Woolworth, Kroger, and Rexall Drugs, to name a few
June 30 Just three days after the United Nations Security Council voted to provide military assistance to South Korea, president Harry S Truman orders U.S. armed forces to assist in defending that nation from invading North Korean armies. Truman’s dramatic step marked the official entry of the United States into
The Latin form Cleopatra comes from the ancient Greek meaning “glory of her father.” Her adopted title means “goddess who loves her father.” And so with very little of historic records, we form an opinion. No papyri from Alexandria survive. Almost nothing of the ancient city survives. There is one
