This Day in History

[Amnorix]

Today...

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Donger

This question doesn't apply to you. I know what this thread is to you...

[patteeu]

I think this thread is great. If you want to make it more generally accessible, that's fine, but if you keep doing what you're doing, that's great too AFAIC.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by patteeu

I think this thread is great. If you want to make it more generally accessible, that's fine, but if you keep doing what you're doing, that's great too AFAIC.

Ok. As long as people aren't like "damn, another tome", I'll let my own amount of free time and interest in the subject at hand dictate things.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

This question doesn't apply to you. I know what this thread is to you...

Yeah, how pathetic am I? I already knew all about Anzio, but I read it all again.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Donger

Yeah, how pathetic am I? I already knew all about Anzio, but I read it all again.

I'd forgotten Churchill's quote. That guy had the best wit...

[Amnorix]

January 23.

393 Roman Emperor Theodosius proclaims his 9 year old son, Honorious co-Emperor. Dying soon thereafter, he leaves Honorious as sole Western Emperor at the age of 10. Over the 28 years of his reign, beset by many troubles, Honorious singularly fails to meet any of them, dooming the Western Roman Empire to utter extinction soon after his death. The most notable event of Honorious' rule was the first sack of Rome, in 410, by Alaric the Visigoth. This was the first sacking of Rome in over 800 years, since the Gauls sacked the city in 387 BC.

1368. A coronation ceremony is held for Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. His investiture formally commences the Ming Dynasty, beginning a 300 year period of almost unrivaled tranquil and properous rule for over 100 million Chinese citizens. During the early Ming dynasty, agricultural reforms led to increased wealth, which indirectly resulted in great achievements in building and the arts. It is also during this period taht most of the Great Wall of China as we currently know it was built. (the Ming used stone/mortar/brick, whereas earth had often been used for large sections of the wall).

1941. Charles Lindbergh, famous American aviator, goes before Congress to argue in favor of a neutrality pact with Hitler's Germany.

1973. President Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

January 23.

393 Roman Emperor Theodosius proclaims his 9 year old son, Honorious co-Emperor. Dying soon thereafter, he leaves Honorious as sole Western Emperor at the age of 10. Over the 28 years of his reign, beset by many troubles, Honorious singularly fails to meet any of them, dooming the Western Roman Empire to utter extinction soon after his death. The most notable event of Honorious' rule was the first sack of Rome, in 410, by Alaric the Visigoth. This was the first sacking of Rome in over 800 years, since the Gauls sacked the city in 387 BC.

1368. A coronation ceremony is held for Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. His investiture formally commences the Ming Dynasty, beginning a 300 year period of almost unrivaled tranquil and properous rule for over 100 million Chinese citizens. During the early Ming dynasty, agricultural reforms led to increased wealth, which indirectly resulted in great achievements in building and the arts. It is also during this period taht most of the Great Wall of China as we currently know it was built. (the Ming used stone/mortar/brick, whereas earth had often been used for large sections of the wall).

1941. Charles Lindbergh, famous American aviator, goes before Congress to argue in favor of a neutrality pact with Hitler's Germany.

1973. President Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.

If I had been emporer at age 10, I would have reduced the school week to 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) and would have broken up the monotony with a movie in the cafeteria after lunch on Wednesday. Free seconds on Pizza day too.

[Rain Man]

I like this thread.

Are the older dates Julian or Gregorian?

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I like this thread.

Are the older dates Julian or Gregorian?

I assume everything is on a "as converted to Gregorian" basis. I'm checking several websites daily, but have found several to be inconsistent, or just flat wrong. I suspect the Julian/Gregorian thing may be partialyl to blame on this.

[Amnorix]

January 24.

On this date, 41 A.D., Gaius Caesar, better known as Caligula, was cut down by his own Praetorian Guards. Senators who had conspired with the guards and hoped to use this opportunity to return to Republican rule were thwarted by the Guards, who pronounced Caligula's uncle, Claudius, as his successor.

Caligula ruled a scant 4 years. The first two were said to have been moderate and promising, with Caligula still young. An illness nearly took his life and, apparently, rendered him mentally unstable to say the least. The next two years were so tyrannical that he was murdered as a result.

In 1776, Henry Knox completed the brutal task of hauling overland nearly 60 heavy cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. Using oxen and sleds in the harsh New England winter, the arrival of these cannon, and their emplacement on Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston and the harbor, rendered the position of the British and their fleet indefensible. They promptly left.

1848. James Wilson Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California, setting off the Gold Rush.

1961. The Goldboro incident. A B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber carrying two hydrogen bombs breaks up in the air near Goldboro, North Carolina, dropping its payload in the process. One weapon nearly detonates, with three out of four necessary steps to activate the weapon having been successfully triggered. The other weapon plunged into the ground at 700 mph and broke up, and portions of it (including portions containing uranium), have never been found. Recovery attempts in teh boggy marsh were abandoned due to groundwater issues. The air force bought the site of the landing and left it so no one would interfere, and conducts regular radiation tests there. To date, none has been found.

1972. Love this one. Japanese Stg. Shoichi Yokoi is found in the jungles of Guam and convinced to surrender. He had known the war was over, but said he didn't much like his relatives so he decided to stay to "get even with them" by living in his cave for 28 years. He returns to Japan and is instantly famous, becoming the subject of a documentary and becoming a TV personality. He receives -- get this -- $300 in back pay!

Here's the kicker -- by surrendering in 1972 he becomes the THIRD to last Japanese soldier to surrender after the end of WWII.



1984. The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.

[Amnorix]

With apologies, I'll go back two days in time and revisit one I missed.

January 22, 1506, the Papal Swiss Guard in the Vatican is formed. At the end of 2005, there were 134 members, a colonel, a chaplain, three officers, one sergeant major, 30 NCOs and 99 Halberdiers (i.e. privates). Any grown men willing to wear this stuff in public, and carry that effective weapon -- the halberd -- deserves mention in this history.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

January 24.

On this date, 41 A.D., Gaius Caesar, better known as Caligula, was cut down by his own Praetorian Guards. Senators who had conspired with the guards and hoped to use this opportunity to return to Republican rule were thwarted by the Guards, who pronounced Caligula's uncle, Claudius, as his successor.

Caligula ruled a scant 4 years. The first two were said to have been moderate and promising, with Caligula still young. An illness nearly took his life and, apparently, rendered him mentally unstable to say the least. The next two years were so tyrannical that he was murdered as a result.

In 1776, Henry Knox completed the brutal task of hauling overland nearly 60 heavy cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. Using oxen and sleds in the harsh New England winter, the arrival of these cannon, and their emplacement on Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston and the harbor, rendered the position of the British and their fleet indefensible. They promptly left.

1848. James Wilson Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California, setting off the Gold Rush.

1961. The Goldboro incident. A B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber carrying two hydrogen bombs breaks up in the air near Goldboro, North Carolina, dropping its payload in the process. One weapon nearly detonates, with three out of four necessary steps to activate the weapon having been successfully triggered. The other weapon plunged into the ground at 700 mph and broke up, and portions of it (including portions containing uranium), have never been found. Recovery attempts in teh boggy marsh were abandoned due to groundwater issues. The air force bought the site of the landing and left it so no one would interfere, and conducts regular radiation tests there. To date, none has been found.

1972. Love this one. Japanese Stg. Shoichi Yokoi is found in the jungles of Guam and convinced to surrender. He had known the war was over, but said he didn't much like his relatives so he decided to stay to "get even with them" by living in his cave for 28 years. He returns to Japan and is instantly famous, becoming the subject of a documentary and becoming a TV personality. He receives -- get this -- $300 in back pay!

Here's the kicker -- by surrendering in 1972 he becomes the THIRD to last Japanese soldier to surrender after the end of WWII.



1984. The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.

This was a good day. I'd never heard about the Goldboro Incident.

[Amnorix]

January 25.

On this date, 1945, the "Battle of the Bulge" came to an end. I suspect many here know all about this, so I'll keep it brief.

Hitler and the German High Command, in a desperate effort to try to do regain the offensive and the initiative, carefully husbanded their forces for months leading up to a planned assault against the Western Allies. The assault was designed to split the British forces in the North from the Americans in the South and drive to and capture Antwerp, a critical port for supplying Allied troops.

The assault began on December 16, 1944. INitially, the Germans met with some success, and there are certain criticisms regarding the American's defensive positioning near the thick Ardennes forest where the German assault was launched. FWIW, I have never seen any written support of the scene in Patton, the movie, where Patton "predicts" that the Germans will launch an offensive. If anyone else has any evidence of this, I'd be interested to hear it.

Anyway, the German assault goes well initially, runs into a chokepoint at Bastogne, where General McAuliffe issues the famous "Nuts" response, which neither the Germans nor the British understand, and then peters out as German troops are exhausted by cold and effort and lack of supplies, Allied forces counterattack, Allied air superiority comes into play, and German troops get stacked up due to Bastogne and other logistical problems.

The offensive was never very likely to work, and the Germans expenditure of a huge amount of material and men (comparatively) weakens their defenses and likely hastens the end of the war.

The absolute, bitter cold during this timeframe is noteworthy. Troops on both sides fought during one of the coldest winters in memory.

The battle also inflamed Allied tensions, with Montgomery claiming an undue share of credit and seemingly slighting the Americans. American commanders Bradley and Patton were left absolutely incensed, and rightly so, truth be told.

[Amnorix]

January 26. Wow, dull day.

1340, Edward III, King of England, proclaims himself King of France, as the only surviving male grandchild of his maternal grandfather, French King Philip IV. The French reject the claim on the basis of the Salic Law (basically, a law that disinherits women). This sets the stage for the Hundred Years' War.

[Rain Man]

Back in my freshman year of college, I had a commie-pacifist history professor who refused to teach about anything involving the military or wars. Overall, it was kind of a stupid teaching strategy (try going from the Great Depression to the Fifties without mentioning a war), but it nonetheless made me realize how often wars are the focus of history at the expense of other factors.

So here's a challenge. How about highlighting the biggest military and non-military events of the day?