Today in history, Dec 4th!

Some of the great historical events that happened today in history, on December 4th!

Today in history 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/2012/12/04/today-in-history-dec-4th/

771	With the death of his brother Carloman, Charlemagne becomes sole ruler of the Frankish Empire.
1783	Gen. George Washington said farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.
1816	James Monroe of Virginia was elected the fifth president of the United States.
1861	The U.S. Senate, voting 36 to 0, expels Senator John C. Brekinridge of Kentucky because of his joining the Confederate Army.
1861	Queen Victoria of Britain forbids the export of gunpowder, firearms and all materials for their production.
1862	Winchester, Va., falls into Union hands, resulting in the capture of 145 Southern soldiers.
1863	Seven solid days of bombardment ends at Charleston, S.C. The Union fires some 1,307 rounds.
1872	The U.S. brigantine Marie Celeste is found adrift and deserted with its cargo intact, in the Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and Portugal.
1900	The French National Assembly, successor to the States-General, rejects Nationalist General Mercier’s proposal to plan an invasion of England.
1914	The first Seaplane Unit formed by the German Navy officially comes into existence and begins operations from Zeebrugge, Belgium.
1918	France cancels trade treaties in order to compete in the postwar economic battles.
1918	President Woodrow Wilson set sail for France to attend the Versailles peace conference.
1941	Operation Taifun (Typhoon), which was launched by the German armies on October 2, 1941, as a prelude to taking Moscow, is halted because of freezing temperatures and lack of serviceable aircraft.
1942	U.S. bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time in World War II.
1945	The Senate approved U.S. participation in the United Nations.
1950	The University of Tennessee defies court rulings by rejecting five Negro applicants.
1952	The Grumman XS2F-1 makes its first flight.
1959	Peking pardons Pu Yi, ex-emperor of China and of the Japanese puppet-state of Manchukuo.
1978	Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco’s first woman mayor when she was named to replace George Moscone, who had been assassinated.
1980	The rock group Led Zeppelin announced it was disbanding after the death in September of drummer John Bonham.
1980	The bodies of four American nuns slain in El Salvador two days earlier were unearthed. (Five national guardsmen were later convicted of murder.)
1981	President Ronald Reagan broadens the power of the CIA by allowing spying in the United States.
1985	Robert McFarland resigns as National Security Advisor. Admiral John Poindexter is named to succeed.
1991	The last American hostages held in Lebanon are released.
1992	President George H.W. Bush ordered American troops to lead a mercy mission to Somalia, threatening military action against warlords and gangs who were blocking food for starving millions.
1995	The first NATO troops landed in the Balkans to begin setting up a peace mission.
2000	A Florida state judge refused to overturn Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush’s certified victory in Florida, and the U.S. Supreme Court set aside a ruling that had allowed manual recounts.
2001	The United States froze the financial assets of organizations allegedly linked to the terrorist group Hamas.
2006	Lacking the Senate votes to keep his job, embattled U.N. Ambassador John Bolton offered his resignation to President George W. Bush, who accepted it.

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/

Texas Flags throughout History

Does anyone else see the irony in this? Could it be that Texas will soon again fly the Lone Star Republic flag?

On this day, in 1835, Texans officially proclaimed independence from Mexico, and called itself the Lone Star Republic, after its flag, until its admission to the Union in 1845.

Below are some of the flags flown over Texas. There are six national flags that have flown over Texas, along with several non-national flags.It goes without saying that some of these flags may have changed over time. For example, the addition of Texas to the United States was not the 50th state, so Texas would see many versions of the American flag as states were added. For more on these national flags, check out Lone Star Junction’s Six National Flags of Texas.

Texas Under Spain. 1519-1685; 1690-1821.

Texas Under France. 1685-1690

Flag of Mexico (1821-1823)

Texas as a Republic. 1836-1845

Texas in the Confederacy. 1861-1865

Flag of the United States of America

There have also been other notable flags flown over Texas. Here are a few worth mentioning. For more information on these and other great Texas flags, check out Son of the South’s Republic Texas Flags.

Republic of Texas Gonzales Flag

First Flag of the Republic

The Alamo Battle Flag 1824

http://hankeringforhistory.com/2012/11/13/texas-flags-throughout-history/

Events that happened today in history, Nov 7th!

Some of the great historical events that happened today in history, on November 6th!

1665	The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published. The London Gazette (1688)
1811	Rebellious Indians in a conspiracy organized in defiance of the United States government by Tecumseh, Shawnee chief, are defeated during his absence in the Battle of the Wabash (or Tippecanoe) by William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory.
1814	Andrew Jackson attacks and captures Pensacola, Florida, defeating the Spanish and driving out a British force.
1846	Zachary Taylor, one of the heroes of the Mexican War, is elected president.

Events that happened today in history, October 31st!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Before you leave, make sure you are aware of the real Halloween safety hazards!

Some of the great historical events that happened today in history, on October 31st!

1517	Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg in Germany. Luther’s theories and writings inaugurate Protestantism, shattering the external structure of the medieval church and at the same time reviving the religious consciousness of Europe.
1795	Poet John Keats was born in London.
1803	Congress ratifies the purchase of the entire Louisiana area in North America, adding territory to the U.S. which will eventually become 13 more states.
1838	A mob of about 200 attacks a Mormon camp in Missouri, killing 20 men, women and children.
1864	Nevada becomes the 36th state.
1926	Magician Harry Houdini died of complications from a ruptured appendix.
1938	The day after his “War of the Worlds” broadcast had panicked radio listeners, Orson Welles expressed “deep regret” but also bewilderment that anyone had thought the show was real.
1941	After 14 years of work, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial is completed.
1952	The United States explodes the first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific.
1968	President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a halt to all U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, saying he hoped for fruitful peace negotiations.
1971	Saigon begins the release of 1,938 Hanoi POW’s.
1984	Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi by two Sikh members of her bodyguard.
1992	It was announced that five American nuns in Liberia had been shot to death near the capital Monrovia; the killings were blamed on rebels loyal to Charles Taylor.
1999	EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed off the Massachusetts coast, killing all 217 people aboard.
2005	President George W. Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.
2006	P.W. Botha, South Africa’s apartheid-era president, died at age 90.

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.

 

Related articles

• 9.5 Theses on Martin Luther Against the Self-Indulgences of the Modern Church
• Elections and the Reformation
• October 31 in history
• 
  New RNC Ad: The Smir
  k
• Remembering Houdini

http://hankeringforhistory.com/2012/10/31/some-of-the-great-historical-events-that-happened-today-in-history-on-october-31st/