No one spectating the Federal Convention during Philadelphia’s blistering summer of 1787 would have said that the first month’s proceedings had gone smoothly. Of course, the meetings were secret, so there were no spectators. But still the point remains. The first month had seen some progress, but also some serious hangups. The biggest sticking point, [...]
Archive for June, 2010
Constitutional Convention Reaches Low Point
Posted in The Confederation (1783-1789), United States, tagged 1787, Constitutional Convention, Federal Convention, Gunning Bedford, James Madison, Luther Martin, Rufus King on June 30 | Leave a Comment »
Deadly Peas Deadly to Thomas Hickey
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1776, General George Washington, Poisoned Peas, Sergeant Thomas Hickey on June 28 | 2 Comments »
This evening’s (brief) edition of Today’s History Lesson begins with a “thank-you” to Frances Hunter. Frances Hunter’s American Heroes is a terrific website devoted to the story of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Yeah, you know, the two guys that discovered the Pacific Ocean. Well, if that’s all you think there is to the story, [...]
Grumman’s F6F…Bad Kitty!!
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Aircraft, Grumman F4F Wildcat, Grumman F6F Hellcat, Mitsubishi A6M Zero on June 26 | Leave a Comment »
When I was in college, I took a two-part course in Military History…History 389 & 390. In the first course, I was required to write a paper, and I chose to focus on advances made in aviation during the Second World War. As I recall, I did reasonably well on the paper (though thinking back, I’m not [...]
The Big (Aircraft) Engines that Could
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 1982, Boeing 747, British Airways Flight 9, Indonesia, Mount Galunggung, Volcano on June 24 | 2 Comments »
If you’ve done much reading here, you know I like airplanes. So it might surprise you to learn that, as much as I like them, I don’t like to ride in them. Flying an F-16 or maybe a P-51?…awesome!!…sign me up. But a passenger in a jet?…no thank you please. I’m guessing it has something [...]
The Pitcher Perfect Baseball Game
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1917, Armando Galarraga, Babe Ruth, Boston Red Sox, Ernie Shore, Jim Joyce, Washington Senators on June 23 | Leave a Comment »
Much has been made of Armando Galarraga’s performance back on June 2nd. The young Detroit Tigers pitcher was, for 8-and-two-thirds innings, perfect. No runs allowed, no hits allowed, no walks allowed, and no errors committed. Galarraga completely overpowered the Cleveland Indians the entire night. The first out of the ninth inning featured a spectacular over-the-shoulder [...]
General Washington in the Tory Crosshairs
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1776, David Matthews, General George Washington, New York City, Sergeant Thomas Hickey, William Tryon on June 21 | Leave a Comment »
During the American Revolution, New York City was very much a center for British sympathizers. That’s not especially surprising, as we’ve mentioned it on a couple of occasions. And what’s more, the violence and persecution (I think the term is appropriate here) against them was widespread, as the pro-independence Colonists there had little trouble finding Loyalists to torment. So when General George Washington [...]
Opposition Speaks up at the Federal Convention
Posted in The Confederation (1783-1789), United States, tagged 1787, Alexander Hamilton, Constitutional Convention, Federal Convention, George Mason, James Madison, Luther Martin on June 20 | 2 Comments »
When James Madison addressed the men meeting in the stifling heat of Independence Hall on June 19th, he made no mention of the preceding day’s events. Actually, “events” (plural) is incorrect, as there was really on one event on the 18th. The entire day was devoted to Alexander Hamilton’s vision of a new American government. [...]
Oil: The Lifeblood for Beleaguered Leningrad
Posted in Russia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Joseph Stalin, Lake Ladoga, Leningrad, Nikolai Baibakov, Russian Defense Committee, Siege of Leningrad on June 18 | Leave a Comment »
More than a year ago, we talked about Nikolai Baibakov and his work in keeping Russia’s vast oil supplies from falling into the hands of the Germans during the Second World War. His incentive, according to his boss Joseph Stalin, was simple. Save the oil, save your life. Lose the oil…well, you can probably figure [...]
A Sukiyaki by Any Other Name…
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1963, Capital Records, Kyu Sakamoto, Sukiyaki, Ue O Muite Aruk? on June 15 | 2 Comments »
A couple months back, my wife and I visited my folks and dad, in a fit of nostalgia, went and got our old kiddy record player. It was one of the those with a rough, white plastic coating and a lid and handle so it could fold into a carrying case. Please tell me you guys had one, too, [...]
The Time a President Probably Wished for a Cavity
Posted in Late nineteenth century (1865-1900), United States, tagged 1893, Cancer, Carcinoma, Dentist, President Grover Cleveland on June 13 | Leave a Comment »
I know I need to go, but I never look forward to it. In fact, the only thing that gets me there is scheduling the next trip at the end of the current visit. Twice a year, every year, I make the trip downtown. I usually go first thing in the morning, and I try [...]
Chateau at La Caine Offers no Rest for Panzer HQ
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Chateau at La Caine, France, La Caine, Normandy, Operation Overlord, Panzer Gruppe West on June 10 | Leave a Comment »
Intelligence, whether or not you’re Martha Stewart, is a good thing. It’s always helpful to know stuff. I know that here in America, we drive on the right side of the road. And since I’m old enough to drive, that turns out to be a pretty useful fact that I can put into action every day. [...]
Japan Salvages Something from Midway Disaster
Posted in North America, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Attu, Battle of Dutch Harbor, Battle of Midway, Bering Sea, Kiska on June 7 | 1 Comment »
We’ll keep it brief this evening, as it’s the first night of baseball’s amateur draft, and I enjoy tracking that. Out of the disaster that was the Midway campaign, the Japanese did manage some success up north in the Aleutians. The Battle of Dutch Harbor (which we’ve talked about a couple of times) didn’t really accomplish [...]
Regardless of Results, Chindits Return as Heroes
Posted in China/Burma/India, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1943, Burma, Chindits, Chindwin River, Colonel Orde Wingate, Operation Longcloth on June 6 | 1 Comment »
When assessing the success of the Chindits’ missions, The Times of India concluded that Orde Wingate’s 3,000-man force had dealt the Imperial Japanese Army a deadly blow in the Burmese jungles, ripping the aura of Japanese invincibility to shreds while scoring significant triumphs over the invaders. Propaganda is a wonderful thing. The truth of the [...]
Japanese Fish for Targets at Dutch Harbor
Posted in North America, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Battle of Dutch Harbor, Dutch Harbor, Fort Mears, Midway on June 3 | Leave a Comment »
The Battle of Dutch Harbor has generally occupied little more than a postscript in the affairs of the Second World War. It’s pretty much an “oh-by-the-way” engagement when weighed against what was building around Midway. And truth be told, it is a relatively minor encounter as they go. Begun in the early morning of June [...]
The Big Guns Take Aim at Sevastopol
Posted in Russia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Crimean Peninsula, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, Kerch Peninsula, Schwerer Gustav, Sevastopol, Siege of Sevastopol on June 2 | Leave a Comment »
When the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa in June of 1941, they did so with more than 180 divisions and numerous objectives. Among them were the city Leningrad (which was nearly captured), Moscow (also nearly captured), and the naval port of Sevastopol. And of the those three, Sevastopol may be the least familiar, so we’ll spend [...]
Captain James Lawrence’s 15 Minutes of Fame
Posted in United States, The War of 1812 (1812-1815), tagged Boston Harbor, 1813, USS Chesapeake, HMS Shannon, Captain James Lawrence, Captain Philip Broke, Blockade on June 1 | Leave a Comment »
James Lawrence lived only 31 years and may not have been a man of few words. But he is best remembered for just a few words spoken at the very end of his life. On June 1, 1813, Lawrence was Captain in the fledgling United States Navy. In fact, he had just been promoted to Captain in [...]
