Today in history, Nov 22nd!

Some of the great historical events that happened today in history, on November 22nd!

Today’s historical facts are from various sites including, but not limited too: the History Channel, The New York Times, WHG Historynet.com, HistoryOrb.com, and On This Day blogs from my blogroll.

http://hankeringforhistory.com/2012/11/22/today-in-history-nov-22nd/

1220	After promising to go to the aid of the Fifth Crusade within nine months, Frederick II is crowned emperor by Pope Honorius III.
1542	New laws are passed in Spain giving Indians in America protection against enslavement.
1718	English pirate Edward Teach – better known as “Blackbeard” – was killed during a battle off the Virginia coast.
1757	The Austrian army defeats the Prussians at Breslau in the Seven Years War.
1847	In New York, the Astor Place Opera House, the city’s first operatic theater, is opened.
1890	Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille, France.
1902	A fire causes considerable damage to the unfinished Williamsburg bridge in New York.
1906	The SOS distress signal was adopted at the International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin.
1915	The Anglo-Indian army, led by British General Sir Charles Townshend, attacks a larger Turkish force under General Nur-ud-Din at Ctesiphon, Iraq, but is repulsed.
1919	A Labor conference committee in the United States urges an eight-hour workday and a 48-hour week.
1928	“Bolero” by Maurice Ravel debuted in Paris.
1928	British King George is confined to bed with a congested lung; the queen is to take over duties.
1935	Pan Am inaugurates the first transpacific airmail service from San Francisco to Manila.
1936	1,200 soldiers are killed in a battle between the Japanese and Mongolians in China.
1942	Soviet troops complete the encirclement of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad.
1948	Ho Chi Minh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam requests admittance to the UN.
1963	Lee Harvey Oswald assassinates President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president.
1964	Almost 40,000 people pay tribute to John F. Kennedy at Arlington Cemetery on the first anniversary of his death.
1967	The U.N. Security Council approved Resolution 242, which called for Israel to withdraw from territories it captured in 1967, and implicitly called on adversaries to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
1968	The Beatles’ “White Album” was released.
1973	Great Britain announces a plan for moderate Protestants and Catholics to share power in Northern Ireland.
1975	Juan Carlos was proclaimed king of Spain.
1980	Eighteen Communist Party secretaries in 49 provinces are ousted from Poland.
1982	President Ronald Reagan calls for defense-pact deployment of the MX missile.
1986	Justice Department finds memo in Lt. Col. Oliver North’s office on the transfer of $12 million to Contras of Nicaragua from Iranian arms sale.
1990	British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, having failed to win re-election to the Conservative Party leadership on the first ballot, announced her resignation.
1998	“60 Minutes” aired video of Dr. Jack Kevorkian administering lethal drugs to a terminally ill patient.
2004	Tens of thousands of demonstrators jammed downtown Kiev, denouncing Ukraine’s presidential runoff election as fraudulent and chanting the name of reform candidate Viktor Yushchenko.
2005	Jose Padilla, an American once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb,” was charged with supporting terrorism.
2005	Ted Koppel hosted his final edition of ABC News’ “Nightline.”
2005	The Microsoft video game console Xbox 360 went on sale.

Junius Brutus Booth & John Wilkes Booth - Genetically Predisposed to Assassinate?

It is not odd to hear about generations of a family working in the same line of business. Centuries ago, it was very common for a father to pass on his skill set to his son. If one’s father was a blacksmith by trade, there was a good chance that the child would also be a blacksmith. Even today, there are still many sons that take after their fathers.

One of the most prominent examples in recent years is the Bush family. In the last twenty-five years, there have been two members of the Bush family that served as President of the United States of America.

On January 20, 1989, George H.W. Bush was sworn in as president, and he served America for one term. Just twelve years later, another Bush would become the Commander and Chief. On January 20, 2001, George W. Bush, son of George H.W. Bush, took the Presidential Oath of Office and served two terms.

Another father and son duo that shared a similar profession was Junius Brutus Booth (father) and John Wilkes Booth (son). Both men were actors. What makes both members of the Booth family interesting is not only that they were passionate about acting, but another affinity they shared.

Junius Brutus Booth

This affinity was wanting to cause harm to the President of the United States. It is true; Junius and John Booth both had the desire to assassinate the acting president of their times, but only one of them carried out this deed. As we know, John Wilkes Booth was successful, and on April 15, 1865, he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. What you may not know–and I just learned–was that when Andrew Jackson was president, Junius Brutus Booth wrote a letter to President Jackson. In this letter, one particular line stands out:

I will cut your throat whilst you are sleeping.

I don’t think that anyone can dispute the intentions of the letter. It was clearly written as a threat, a threat to assassinate the president. In the letter, Booth refers to Andrew Jackson as,

You damn’d old Scoundrel

and threatens that if he doesn’t comply with his wishes, that he will be

…burnt at the stake…

A picture of the letter is below. If you want to click on it, you can zoom in on it up and read the entire letter for yourself. It is short, simple, and to the point.

How crazy is it that both father and son were actors and wanted to bring untimely demise to a serving President of the United States? Even odder–and this may blow your mind–Edwin Booth, also an actor and son of Junius and brother of John, is credited for saving the life of Abraham Lincoln’s son, Robert Lincoln.

Yes, the son of the man John Wilkes Booth killed, was saved by John’s brother…

Edwin Booth saved Robert mere months before his brother carried out President Lincoln’s assassination, and at the time of the event, Edwin had no idea who it was he had saved.

In 1909, Robert Lincoln wrote a letter to the editor of The Century Magazine. The following account comes from that letter:

The incident occurred while a group of passengers were late at night purchasing their sleeping car places from the conductor who stood on the station platform at the entrance of the car. The platform was about the height of the car floor, and there was of course a narrow space between the platform and the car body. There was some crowding, and I happened to be pressed by it against the car body while waiting my turn. In this situation the train began to move, and by the motion I was twisted off my feet, and had dropped somewhat, with feet downward, into the open space, and was personally helpless, when my coat collar was vigorously seized and I was quickly pulled up and out to a secure footing on the platform. Upon turning to thank my rescuer I saw it was Edwin Booth, whose face was of course well known to me, and I expressed my gratitude to him, and in doing so, called him by name.

Junius Brutus Booth’s children: (L-R) John, Edwin and Junius Jr.

So the lesson is: if you have a crazy father and a crazy brother, there may be hope for you yet.

http://hankeringforhistory.com/2012/11/19/junius-brutus-booth-and-john-wilkes-booth/