Kenneth C. Davis's Blog, page 132
June 26, 2009
JFK in Berlin
It was one of the most famous sentences spoken during the Cold War.
"Ich bin ein Berliner." ("I am a Berliner.")
John F. Kennedy spoke those words on June 26, 1963, to an enormous crowd in a Berlin divided by the Cold War.
Here is a link to the New York Times account of the speech: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0626.html#article
With the end of World War II in 1945, the city of Berlin was divided between Communist east and democratic west. For years it served as a tense symb
June 25, 2009
Don't Know Much About the Korean War
It used to be called the "Forgotten War." But it is no longer forgotten, as recent headlines continue to prove. And it never really ended.
The Korean War started on June 25, 1950,
In the wake of World War II, when Korea had been brutally occupied by the Japanese, the Korean peninsula was divided by the victorious allies between a Soviet-allied North and a western allied South Korea. The Korean people were not consulted on the matter.
On June 25, 1950, more than one hundred thousand troops from Com
June 24, 2009
The Truth- Still Out There?
Who you gonna believe? Mulder and Scully? Or your government?
Twelve years ago, on June 24, 1997, the Air Force released a report on the so-called "Roswell Incident." According to the Air Force, the "alien bodies" witnesses reported seeing in 1947 around Roswell, New Mexico were actually life-sized crash test dummies.
I know I am asking for trouble by even raising this issue. But inquiring minds want to know. The frenzy surrounding Roswell and the infamous "Area 51″ began back in July 1947 when a
June 23, 2009
A Revolting Reading List
Revere and his horse. Jefferson and his quill, Franklin and his kite. Washington and those false teeth. Okay. Most of us now know there was more to the American Revolution than these stock images. And the bestseller lists have been well-stocked over the past few years with books that plumb the "great men" of the Revolutionary Generation.
But with Independence Day just around the corner, here is a list of ten of my favorite books about the Revolutionary War era. It is by no means compete or compre
June 22, 2009
Galileo's Sentence
This is a day to ponder the power of science and reason against the power of religious authority. On this date, reason lost.
On June 22, 1633, the 70-year-old astronomer Galileo went before the Inquisition in Rome. He wore the white shirt of a penitent. Then he heard sentence passed:
We say, pronounce, sentence, and declare that you, the said Galileo, by reason of the matters adduced in trial, and by you confessed as above, have rendered yourself in the judgment of this Holy Office vehemently susp
June 19, 2009
Juneteenth
Happy Juneteenth! Since 1865, June 19th has served as another kind of Independence Day. It is a day that celebrates the end of slavery in America.
On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger informed former slaves in the area from the Gulf of Mexico to Galveston, Texas that they were free. Abraham Lincoln had officially issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, but it had taken two more years of Union victories to end the war and for this news to reach slaves in remote sections
June 18, 2009
The International Declaration of Human Rights
In light of events in Iran and elsewhere, it seems fitting to remember that on June 18, 1948, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights –chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt– adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights setting up a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations." The document was approved by the United Nation on December 10, 1948, now celebrated as Human Rights Day.
Article I states:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are en
June 17, 2009
TODAY IN HISTORY: The Watergate Break-in
It was the duct tape that changed history.
On June 17, 1976, private security guard Frank Wills was making his rounds of the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. when he noticed some duct tape on a door lock. He removed the piece of tape. When he returned a little later, he found the duct tape had been replaced in an obvious attempt to keep the door from locking. Willis called the D.C. police and five men were arrested in the "third-rate burglary" that led to the downfall of Richard M. Ni
June 16, 2009
Happy Bloomsday!
"Stately, plump Buck Mulligan. . ."
With those words, James Joyce (February 2, 1882-January 13, 1941) opened Ulysses, chosen in 1999 as the greatest novel of the 20th century by the Modern Library. The novel follows Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus on their wanderings through Dublin on a single day –June 16 1904. Hence, today is "Bloomsday" and complete readings of the book take place all over the world. The date was significant to Joyce because it was the day on which James Joyce first had an o
