Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 96
June 28, 2019
Today in History: A Meteorite from Mars
On this day (June Twenty-Eight) in 1911 a meteorite fell to earth in Abu Hummus, Egypt. It was the first meteorite to show that water once existed on Mars. It is also suggestive, but not conclusive, that bacteria once existed on Mars. That’s all really cool, but stop and think about it for a moment. Scientists can actually tell that the rock originated on a specific planet in our solar system. That just blows my mind.
June 20, 2019
Today in History: The Tennis Court Oath
On this day (June 20) in 1789, 576 of 577 Deputies of the Third Estate (now calling itself the National Assembly) took the Tennis Court Oath vowing to continue to meet until a constitution had been written for France. Taking the oath was a direct challenge to the Divine Right of Kings, arguing that sovereignty exists in the people--not the ruler. This would eventually lead to 25 years of warfare but it also transformed the political face of Europe and eventually the world.
June 18, 2019
Today in History: Fire on the Moon
On this day (June Eighteen) in 1178 five monks in Canterbury witnessed a disturbance on the moon so great that it was visible from the earth to the naked eye. As they described the event to the chronicler, Gervase, “the upper horn [of the moon] split in two” and “from the midpoint of the division a flaming torch sprang up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot coals and sparks. Meanwhile the body of the Moon which was below writhed, as it were in anxiety, and to put it in the words of those who reported it to me and saw it with their own eyes, the Moon throbbed like a wounded snake. Afterwards it resumed its proper state. This phenomenon was repeated a dozen times or more, the flame assuming various twisting shapes at random and then returning to normal. Then, after these transformations, the Moon from horn to horn, that is along its whole length, took on a blackish appearance.” Modern astronomers theorize that what the monks witnessed was the impact of a meteor or a comet which formed the Giordano Bruno crater.
June 17, 2019
Today in History: The Battle of Bunker Hill
On this day (June 17) in 1775, American colonists lost the Battle of Bunker Hill (most of which actually occurred on Breed’s Hill) after successfully repulsing two British assaults. The British suffered their worst losses of any single engagement in the war (1054 casualties with 226 dead). The Americans suffered most of their losses (450 casualties with 140 dead) when they retreated because they ran out of ammunition. The engagement also cost the British most of their officer corps and taught them a healthy respect for the American militias fighting from behind prepared positions. It forced a change to a more cautious strategy and encouraged the hiring of Hessian mercenaries.
The famous saying, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” came from the military teachings of King Gustavus Adolphus and was likely said by at least four of the American officers.
June 16, 2019
Today in History: Father's Day
Father’s Day was originally celebrated in Europe during the Middle Ages on March 19 (St. Joseph’s Feast Day). In the U.S. the first celebration of Father’s Day outside of Catholic circles was on July 5, 1908. It was made in honor of 250 fathers who had died the preceding year in the Monongah Mining Disaster. It was not celebrated again for many years. Other efforts to start the holiday (1910, 1911, 1912, 1915) either failed or had only short term success. Congress persistently refused to declare Father’s Day a holiday out of fear that the celebration would become commercialized. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson officially established Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June by proclamation, and six years later, Congress finally agreed and passed legislation (signed by Richard Nixon) to make the holiday permanent.
June 10, 2019
Ben Franklin Flies a Kite
On this day (June 10) in 1752 tradition says that Ben Franklin's kite was struck by lightning during an experiment that proved lightning was electrical in nature. Franklin was supposed to have flown his kite from the spire of Christ Church in Philadelphia, but that spire was not built until 1754.
June 9, 2019
Today in History: The Gaspee Burns
On this day (June 9) in 1772 the British customs schooner, Gaspee, ran aground in shallow water off Rhode Island. It had been chasing the Hannah which it correctly suspected of smuggling. Smuggling in the 1770s was viewed almost as a God-given right by Americans because of both tax and license to trade issues with Britain. The Gaspee's Captain (an undiplomatic lieutenant) was especially disliked in the area so a bunch of locals rowed out to the stricken ship while it waited on high tide and burned it.
Still Time to Get Winterhaven 2 The First Snows at a Discount
My new novel, Winterhaven Book 2: The First Snows is available for 25% off if pre-ordered by 6/13/19. By the author of Legionnaire, the epic new military fantasy continues: Sane men spend the winter season bundled up in their homes near the fire praying for spring to come, so insanity must be on the rise in Winterhaven. With the tenuous unity of the Great Lords fractured by the failures of the Duke’s army in the west and the accusations of heresy against his son, new armies are secretly mobilizing even in this bitterest of seasons. Yet can even knights as great as William Lord Tavistock and Sir Conn of Edgefield lead armies to victory after the first snows have fallen?
June 7, 2019
Today in History: The Battle of Midway
On this day (June 7) in 1942 the U.S. won the Battle of Midway. Midway was a trap laid by the Japanese in which they intended to inflict another substantial demoralizing defeat on the United States and drive them out of the war in the Pacific. But the U.S. turned the tables on the Japanese sinking four of their Fleet Carriers while losing only one air craft carrier and a destroyer. The battle was a turning point in the Pacific War. Japan could no longer keep up with the material losses of the war and lost the initiative in the larger conflict.
June 5, 2019
Today in History: Robert F. Kennedy Was Assassinated
On this day (June 5) in 1968, Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Robert F. Kennedy over his support for Israel. RFK’s death undoubtedly helped Richard Nixon win the presidency later that year. Last year, RFK’s son made news by asking for the investigation into his father’s death to be reopened as he believes that Sirhan Sirhan could not have acted alone.
