Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 129
July 25, 2018
Today in History: The Sea Venture
On this day (July 25) in 1609, the British colony ship, Sea Venture, enroute to Virginia, purposely grounds itself in Bermuda to keep from sinking in a storm. All 150 people on board, plus a dog, made it onto the island. The colonists were stranded there for nine months before escaping to Jamestown. The Sea Venture was stripped both by them and subsequent settlers for useful parts, then lost, and rediscovered in 1958 where it was still wedged in the coral reef of Discovery Bay.
July 24, 2018
Today in History: The Eastland Capsizes
On this day (July 24) in 1915, the passenger ship, SS Eastland, capsized at dock. The ship had been chartered to transport Western Electric employees to a picnic—a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of the employees to travel in a major passenger ship. The Eastland had been retrofitted with lifeboats in compliance with the Seamen’s Act (which was a response to the sinking of the Titanic). Unfortunately, the lifeboats made the Eastland extremely top heavy. With 2,572 passengers on board (most on the upper decks), the ship began to list to port. The crew tried to compensate with water in the ballast tank but something encouraged the passengers to race to the port side and the Eastland went over. 844 passengers and 4 crew members died. Western Electric donated $100,000 to relief and recovery efforts for the victims (slightly more than $100 per victim).
July 23, 2018
Today in History: Austria Hungary Threatens Serbia
On this day (July 23) in 1914, Austria Hungary issued a ten point ultimatum to Serbia which included the demand that they be allowed to investigate who had assassinated Archduke Ferdinand and his wife. Historians still debate over whether or not Serbia agreed to nine of the points (all except the power of Austria Hungary to send its police into Serbia to conduct the investigation) or whether or not their response was a highly diplomatic rejection of most of the points. In any event, on July 28, Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia triggering World War I.
July 22, 2018
Today in History: The Seventh Wonder of the World Burned
On this day (July 22) in 401 the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (in modern day Turkey) was burnt to the ground. Antipater of Sidon described the temple as follows when he listed his 7 Wonders of the World: "I have set my eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statute of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, 'Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand.'"
July 21, 2018
Today in History: The First Battle of Bull Run
On this day (July 21) in 1861 the first major battle of the U.S. Civil War was fought at Bull Run/Manassas. The battle was a showcase of inexperienced, poorly trained troops on both sides. The union lost the battle and fled north, but the southern troops were too disorganized to pursue them and follow up on their victory. This is the battle that gave Stonewall Jackson his nickname, although there is some debate as to whether he was being complemented for his fortitude or denigrated for his unwillingness to advance and support other units.
July 20, 2018
Today in History: Humans Walk the Surface of the Moon
On this day (July 20) in 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the moon—the first time humans visited another celestial body in our solar system. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin then left the lander to walk on the surface of the Sea of Tranquility later the same day. With this accomplishment, America won the Space Race with the Soviet Union.
July 19, 2018
Today in History: The Islamic Conquest of Spain
On this day (July 19) in 711, the Umayyad General Tariq ibn Zayad defeated the Visigothic king, Roderic, at the Battle of Guadalete. This was the beginning of the Islamic conquest of Spain. Roderic and a great many Visigothic nobles were killed in the battle. The Visigothic kingdom had been beset by internal rivalries and it appears that Roderic was betrayed on the battle field. His rivals may have believed that by standing aside they could rid themselves of a king they disliked, but they too were caught by the Umayyads and the Visigoths were so badly weakened that they eventually lost all of Spain.
July 15, 2018
What Makes a Character Memorable?
Here's a blast from the past. Back in 2012, author James M. Jackson wrote a blog post on what makes a character memorable and he used my short story, Pandora's Fort, (published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine) as his example. You can read the blog here: https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/…/07/what-character.html
Today in History: The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
On this day (July 15) in 1975, the Space Race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union (begun in 1957) ended with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project—a symbolic act of détente in which the Soviets launched Soyuz 19 and the U.S. launched an unnumbered surplus Apollo capsule. The two ships would dock together in orbit. The joint scientific mission included an artificially created eclipse of the sun when Apollo maneuvered to block the sun so that Soyuz could photograph the sun’s corona. This was the last Apollo mission. It would be six years before the U.S. returned to orbit with the Space Shuttle Program.
July 14, 2018
Today in History: Bastille Day!
On this day (July 14) in 1789, a mob of Parisians, frightened that the king would bring in the army against the National Assembly, stormed a medieval fortress known as the Bastille to get control of the arsenal of muskets there and free political prisoners. (There were only seven prisoners in the Bastille at the time and none were held for “political” crimes.) This was a turning point in the French Revolution changing the political equation by putting serious arms in the hands of the population of Paris and pushing the Revolution further toward radical change. Today it is a celebration of the unity of France which sports the oldest regular military parade in Europe. To all of our French friends and readers, Happy Bastille Day!
