Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 106
February 18, 2019
Today in History: Emperor Frederick II Completes the Sixth Crusade
On this day (February Eighteen) in 1229 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II completed his crusading vows without military engagement by signing a ten-year truce with al-Kamil which guaranteed access to Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem. Frederick had made the vow when quite young but circumstance had prevented him from fulfilling it for years. The pope, with whom he had political difficulties, excommunicated him for not going on crusade. Then when he did go on crusade, the pope denounced Frederick for crusading while being excommunicated. It must have been particularly galling for Frederick’s enemies that his crusade was one of the most successful of them.
February 17, 2019
Today in History: A Security Breach Over the White House
On this day (February 17) in 1974, Robert Preston stole an army helicopter and buzzed the White House at two o’clock in the morning. Preston was a twenty-year-old army private first class who was angry that he had washed out of helicopter school over a “deficiency in the instrument phase”. So he decided to prove his skill. He stole a helicopter and hovered over the White House for six minutes. When he left he was chased by two Maryland State Police helicopters, one of whom he forced down through his aerial maneuvers. Then he returned to the White House where the Secret Service decided to open fire on him using shotguns and submachine guns. Preston suffered a slight injury and landed.
Preston was arrested. He pleaded guilty to “wrongful appropriation and breach of the peace” and was sentenced to one year in prison with credit for six months already served. The army gave him a general discharge from the service. (Evidently his demonstration of his helicopter skills was not sufficient for them to put him back in pilot training and keep him in uniform.) President Richard Nixon was in Florida at the time of the incident.
February 16, 2019
Today in History: King Tutankhamen's Tomb
On this day (February 16) in 1923, Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamen, the first undisturbed burial chamber of an Egyptian pharaoh discovered in modern times. The treasures have wowed modern audiences for nearly a century and together with the Great Pyramids of Giza form most peoples’ images of Ancient Egypt. Ironically, Tutankhamen was a relatively unimportant pharaoh who died very young. The tomb was not originally intended for him. Thus it is likely that his burial treasures would have been relatively unimpressive compared to typical pharaohs or the greats.
February 15, 2019
Today in History: The Sinking of the Maine
On this day (February 15) in 1898, the U.S. Battleship, Maine, sank in Havana Harbor killing nearly three-quarters of her cruise. The Maine had been sent to Cuba as a show of American strength and to protect American interests there during the Cuban revolution against Spain. The cause of the explosion was initially unclear, but yellow-journalist publishers, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, exaggerated and sensationalized the investigatory report as well as the conflict between revolutionaries and the Spanish to sell papers. (It’s ironic that Pulitzer today is a name synonymous with quality journalism.) Their efforts inflamed popular support for their agenda of U.S. territorial expansion at the expense of the Spanish Empire. As popular pressure to punish Spain rose (“Remember the Maine and to Hell with Spain!” ), McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war.
The Spanish American War helped bring Theodore Roosevelt to public prominence. It also resulted in the acquisition by the U.S. of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, as well as short term control over Cuba. While one of the justifications for the war was supporting the Cuban revolutionaries, they were not permitted to participate in the peace ceremonies and they were not permitted full control over their country after the U.S. withdrew.
It is still uncertain today what caused the Maine to sink. The major theories remain an underwater mine, an undetected fire in the coal bunkers, and a boiler explosion. Spain was anxious to keep the U.S. from becoming involved in its Cuba problems, so the mine theory has never made a lot of sense to me.
February 14, 2019
Today in History: Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine’s Day to the love of my life, my wonderful wife, Michelle. For those of you who do not have the pleasure of knowing her, she is a wonderful mixture of beauty, compassion, intelligence and humor. Her insights into the people around her make her both an incredible parent and an awesome teacher. I’m very blessed to have her as my partner in life.
On this day (February 14) in 496, the martyred priest, Valentine of Rome, was given a feast day to celebrate his martyrdom in the third century. Valentine is one of three Christian martyrs of similar name who became wrapped up in the Valentine’s Day legend. Valentine of Rome was arrested for performing marriage ceremonies for soldiers (who were not allowed to marry while in service) and ministering to Christians. Legend has it that while in prison he miraculously healed the blindness of his jailer’s daughter, Julia. Her entire family converted to Christianity. Centuries later the legend was embellished to include a last letter from Valentine to Julia on the eve of the martyr’s execution. He supposedly signed the letter “From your Valentine.”
The first record of the feast day of St. Valentine being associated with romantic love came in 1382 in Geoffrey Chaucer’s, Parliament of Foules. (“For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.” ) This poem was written in honor of the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia.
In the Charter of Court Love in 1400, a day of festivities, including amorous poetry, is described to celebrate the day. The earliest surviving Valentine is a poem written in the fifteenth century by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife, while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London after being captured during the Battle of Agincourt. In England, the Paston Letters record a Valentine in 1477 written by Margery Brewes to her future husband. Shakespeare mentions the day in Hamlet. By the eighteenth century, commercial cards were being produced for those not able to write their own poetry. By the second half of the twentieth century, the gift of cards was expanded to include gifts such as candy and flowers and eventually diamonds thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign by the diamond industry begun in the 1980s.
Valentine’s Day is now celebrated world-wide by lovers everywhere. Disdained by some as being too commercial it is at its roots an occasion to express the true love a person feels for his or her partner.
February 13, 2019
Today in History: The Coso Artifact
On this day (February 13) in 1961 the Coso Artifact was found. The artifact purports to be spark plug encased in 500,000 year old rock. If the spark plug could in fact be shown to be 500,000 years old, this would be one of the most important discoveries of all time. Critics argue that the evidence does not support the ancient date and that the spark plug is not actually in the geode but in the concretion (hard mass formed by the local accumulation of matter) attached to it. Others postulate that the spark plug (which appears to have been manufactured in the1920s) is proof of the existence of time travel. The current whereabouts of the Coso Artifact are unknown.
February 12, 2019
Today in History: Ely Cathedral Collapsed
On this night (February 12-13) in 1322 the central tower of Ely Cathedral collapsed. The Gothic cathedrals are the great architectural achievements of the Middle Ages. Some are so large that a sixteen story building could be set inside the central space. But building that high was often an experience of trial and error with vaults, arches and flying buttresses and this time the architect guessed wrong. They were very fortunate that the tower came down during the night and not during services.
February 11, 2019
Today in History: The Robot
On this day (February 11) in 1938 the first science fiction television program was produced by the BBC. It was adapted from the play R.U.R. which coined the term “robot”. Robots would go on to become a staple in science fiction from Isaac Asimov’s “I Robot” to the Terminator.
February 10, 2019
Today in History: The St. Scholastica Day Riot
On this day (February 10) in 1355 the St. Scholastica Day Riot broke out when rude words were exchanged between a tavern owner and two students of Oxford University over the weak drinks he was selling. The students threw the drinks in his face and then assaulted him. The Mayor of Oxford demanded the University arrest the students and was driven off by 200 students. This led to large numbers of people coming in from the countryside to attack the students. 63 scholars and 30 locals were dead before the university supporters were routed. Eventually the king decided that the town, and not the university, was at fault. Each year thereafter on St. Scholastica Day the mayor and town counselors had to march bare-headed through town, attend Mass, and pay a fine to Oxford of one pence per scholar killed. This practice continued until 1825 (470 years) when the Mayor of Oxford flat out refused to participate anymore.
February 9, 2019
Today in History: The Battle of Port Arthur
On this day (February 9) in 1904, the Battle of Port Arthur was fought between Japan and Russia. The first blows of the battle were actually fought the night before when the Japanese launched a surprise attack. Two of the Japanese vessels collided with each other forcing them to drop behind the rest of the fleet, but the rest were able to launch 16 torpedoes damaging two of Russia’s best battleships.
The next day, Japanese surveillance vessels reached an observation point within 7500 yards of the harbor and incorrectly analyzed the chaos they witnessed. Believing the Russian fleet to be paralyzed by the surprise attack, Admiral Togo risked a second assault. The remaining Russian battleships rallied and bolstered by their shore batteries convinced Togo to retreat. Technically, Port Arthur is counted as a minor victory for the Russians, but because the Japanese ability to repair their vessels was superior to those of the fleet at Port Arthur, it was a strategic victory for Japan. The next day (February 10) Japan and Russia declared war on each other.
