Last summer, we looked at the devastating effects of flooding when we discussed the failure of the Lawn Lake Dam in Rocky Mountain National Park. Three people were killed, millions of dollars in property was destroyed, and the Park was left indelibly marked. But that failure, occurring at 11,000′ above sea level, was actually pretty [...]
Archive for May, 2009
The Other “Great Flood”
Posted in Late nineteenth century (1865-1900), United States, tagged 1889, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, South Fork Dam on May 31 | Leave a Comment »
USS Yorktown Survives Near-Death Experience
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Midway Island, Pearl Harbor, USS Yorktown on May 30 | Leave a Comment »
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought in early May of 1942, ended with one U.S. carrier (the USS Lexington) permanently water-logged and the USS Yorktown wounded. She had managed to steer clear of nearly all her attackers, but one was able to hit her with a bomb that caused heavy damage below decks. Experts estimated [...]
“Let’s Get Outta Here!!”
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, British Expeditionary Force, Dunkirk, France, Operation Dynamo on May 27 | Leave a Comment »
A couple of days ago, we discovered that, early on in the Second World War, the British had been able to decipher some of Germany’s coded message traffic. A couple of days ago, we also learned that the British Expeditionary Force (or “BEF”) was about to be trapped in the northwest corner of France. Combined with the French [...]
President Johnson Nearly Fired for Firing
Posted in Late nineteenth century (1865-1900), United States, tagged 1868, Edwin Stanton, Impeachment, President Abraham Lincoln, President Andrew Johnson, Tenure of Office Act on May 26 | Leave a Comment »
Andrew Johnson took over as President of the United States when President Lincoln was assassinated. And because Lincoln had been killed so early in his 2nd term, President Johnson ended up serving nearly a full term. But, as many of you know, he came within an eyelash of being removed from office. When Johnson became [...]
The Emperor’s New Codes
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Encryption, Island AF, JN-25, Midway Island on May 25 | Leave a Comment »
The Japanese Navy in May of 1942 was still largely unbloodied. And it was not because they had simply avoided battle. Rather, they had pretty much stomped any enemy that had dared oppose them. Even the “setback” in the Coral Sea couldn’t really be looked on as a defeat. After all, while the Japanese had [...]
Hal Lyness: Man About History
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1924, Hal Lyness, History, Teaching on May 24 | Leave a Comment »
Most people that are fans of history weren’t just born that way. It might be true that students who are passionate about the past have some predisposition wired in to their makeups. But I think it’s one of those things that needs a spark, or a gentle push, to come to life. It may be the [...]
Enigma Brings Bad News with the Good
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, British Expeditionary Force, Encryption, Enigma on May 23 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve been..well…just about everywhere other than here the last couple days. I started writing a piece about encryption and Enigma yesterday, but couldn’t really conclude it. I suppose its the fickle side of inspiration and its corresponding creative juices. But it’s a new evening, things are flowing a little better and, coincidentally, today’s topic is also about encryption…and [...]
Auschwitz’s First Inmates
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Auschwitz, Oswiecim, Rudolf Hoess, Sachsenhausen on May 20 | Leave a Comment »
It’s late, and I’m pretty tired, so this is going to have to be really short. We’ve already spoken a couple times about the Nazi Party’s Final Solution and all of the terrible things that happened because of it. We’ve talked of Wannsee, where the Final Solution was actually “unveiled” to German leadership. And we’ve [...]
Go Rest High on that Monte
Posted in Mediterranean, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, General Harold Alexander, General Mark Clark, Monte Cassino, Operation Diadem on May 18 | Leave a Comment »
A diadem is a type of crown. According to Webster’s dictionary, it’s a royal headband. I’m no linguist, but the dictionary tells me the word originates from a Greek or Latin word that means “to fasten” or “to bind”. So it’s probably somewhat appropriate that the offensive launched by General Harold Alexander on May 11, 1944 was [...]
The Sedition Act Reprise
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1918, Espionage Act of 1917, President Woodrow Wilson, Sedition Act of 1918 on May 16 | Leave a Comment »
Nearly a year ago, we took a look at the Alien and Sedition Acts which were put into effect in 1798. We noted the Sedition Act in particular, which made writing false or malicious things about the government a crime, punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both. While clearly a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First [...]
Rotterdam: Shoot First, Ask Questions Later
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Colonel Pieter Willem Scharroo, General Hans Schmidt, Netherlands, Rotterdam on May 14 | Leave a Comment »
When I was growing up, I heard the phrase “Shoot first, ask questions later” an awful lot on Hogan’s Heroes. It was always accompanied with the background audience laughter, because the “audience” and I all knew that it was pretty much an empty threat when it came from Colonel Klink or Sergeant Schultz. But for [...]
“We are Masters of the North African Shores”
Posted in Africa, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1943, General Harold Alexander, Winston Churchill on May 13 | Leave a Comment »
That’s how General Alexander concluded the message sent to his boss, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, at 1:16pm on May 13, 1943. The North African campaign, fought over a 6-month period, was finally over. But the cost had been high for the Allies. More than 6,000 British soldiers had been killed, along with more than 9,500 [...]
The Missing Link Between Ships and Computers
Posted in Civil War period (1861-1865), Naval history, United States, tagged 1862, CSS Virginia, Portsmouth, USS Merrimack, USS Monitor, Virginia on May 11 | Leave a Comment »
If you mention the CSS Virginia around a bunch of computer nerds (like me), they’re liable to get all excited, albeit for the wrong reasons. They’ll probably suppose that it’s a new-fangled add-on that will make development of Cascading Style Sheets easier and more enjoyable. You can easily crush their hopes with a two-part response. [...]
A Meeting of the Minds, Act 2
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1775, First Continental Congress, Philadelphia, Second Continental Congress on May 10 | Leave a Comment »
The sound of the gavel that ended the First Continental Congress in October of 1774 was still ringing through the streets of Philadelphia when it was replaced by gunfire in the streets of Lexington and Concord the following April. The push for independence was gaining momentum among the people and, as the opposition to “overseas oversight” [...]
Gas Costly in Abyssinian Campaign
Posted in Period between World Wars (1919-1939), tagged 1936, Abyssinia, Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, Italian East Africa, Italy, Pietro Badoglio on May 9 | Leave a Comment »
In October of 1935, Italian forces had launched an attack against the African country of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia). Intrepid readers will remember that Italy already controlled neighboring Eritrea and a piece of Abyssinia called Italian Somaliland. And though the Italian military wasn’t nearly as modern as that of, say, Germany, it was still a quantum [...]
Allies Strike in North Africa, Axis Powers Strike Out
Posted in Africa, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1943, Bizerte, Operation Strike, Tunis on May 7 | Leave a Comment »
Meanwhile, in North Africa… Yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve said anything about it, but Allied forces (predominantly U.S. and British) had been working for six months to expel the German and Italian forces from the northern coasts of Africa. Opposing armies and navies had worked at the end of extremely long supply lines [...]
“Oh the Humanity!!”
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1937, Airship, Herbert Morrison, Hindenburg, Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6 | 1 Comment »
Herbert Morrison’s words, choked with emotion, still echo from the field in Lakehurst, New Jersey. And 72 years later, the photo (taken by a member of the U.S. Navy) is not only instantly recognizable, it’s one of the most famous pictures ever taken. And both Morrison’s audio, which was being recorded for radio station WLS in Chicago, and [...]
Midway: Into the Crosshairs
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Isoroku Yamamoto, Midway Island, Navy Order No. 18 on May 5 | Leave a Comment »
In the early hours of May 5, 1942, things were still looking pretty good for the Japanese military. New conquests included the Dutch East Indies, Malaysia, Singapore, and the northern coasts of New Guinea. The Philippines was largely occupied as well, and Joe Stilwell and his men were packing their bags in Burma. The Imperial Japanese Navy [...]
Pia Zadora’s Other-Worldly Acting
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1954, Girmar, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Pia Zadora, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians on May 4 | Leave a Comment »
We’ll keep it brief today. Usually actors and actresses start their careers with bit parts or bigger parts in no-name B movies. Eventually they gain some experience and move on to bigger and more important roles. Some become superstars, and the movies for which they’re known bear little resemblance to the ones that started their careers. [...]
Martin Bormann’s 27-Year Death
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1945, Adolf Hitler, Amelia Earhart, Joseph Goebbels, Martin Bormann on May 2 | Leave a Comment »
With the death of Adolf Hitler on 1945′s last day of April, the mass exodus from the massive underground bunker below the bombed out Chancellery began in earnest. Those left with the German dictator professed their unwavering loyalty and commitment to him, but when he downed his final cocktail of cyanide (with a bullet chaser), [...]
