Today in History

[LizzieMaine]

April 15th, 1947 in Brooklyn USA. And deep within the mechanism of the universe, a gear shifts.

 

[GHT]

Today (16th) is the birthday of: Charlie Chaplin, as well as: Wilbur Wright, the aviator. Spike (Terence) Milligan, Pope Benedict XVI, Peter Ustinov, Henry Mancini, Bobby Vinton, Dusty Springfield, Ellen Barkin, Jimmy Osmond & comedian Martin Lawrence.

 

[DNO]

This is of somewhat local interest but at around 8 pm on a cold, windy April 19th in 1904, a constable on his regular beat discovered a fire on the premises of E. Currie's neckwear factory on Wellington Street. By the time the fire was extinguished, 20 hours later, 98 buildings had been destroyed. This was in downtown Toronto on Bay Street south of Richmond...our current financial district. The buildings destroyed were all brick or stone...no wood buildings. It must have been one intense fire, yet only one person died and that was in the clean up later. It was the largest fire in Toronto's history and quite devastating at the time.

 

[MisterCairo]

It was 50 years ago today (in North America) that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released:

I have always dug Paul's Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) patch:

 

[2jakes]

It was 50 years ago today (in North America) that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released:

I have always dug Paul's Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) patch:

Fond memories.
Buying this LP album when I got paid from one of my first jobs after I got out of high school.

 

[MisterCairo]

Fond memories.
Buying this LP album when I got paid from one of my first jobs after I got out of high school.

I first heard the album while babysitting one night, I was about 14. Asked for and got the LP for Christmas that year (1981). Just blew me away. It was the first CD I ever bought, twenty years to the day after its first release, June 2nd 1987.

I did not have a CD player yet!

I am beyond upset that all my Beatles CDs were stolen during a move. Mainly because of that first disk.

 

[2jakes]

I first heard the album while babysitting one night, I was about 14. Asked for and got the LP for Christmas that year (1981). Just blew me away. It was the first CD I ever bought, twenty years to the day after its first release, June 2nd 1987.

I did not have a CD player yet!

I am beyond upset that all my Beatles CDs were stolen during a move. Mainly because of that first disk.

And here I was having a “pity-party” by myself because I no longer have my
Roberts reel to reel stereo tape recorder and player to listen to the Beatles.

All that remains is this:

I was heading to ’Nam when this first came out!

 

[MisterCairo]

I was heading to ’Nam when this first came out!

Hello Goodbye is my eldest daughter's favourite Beatles tune.

She keeps asking why hula dancers suddenly appear at the end of the video. I always answer "because"...

 

[MisterCairo]

Yesterday, June 8th as I write, 1984 by "George Orwell" was first published:

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens...-s-son-talks-about-68-years-of-1984-1.4151515

 

[MisterCairo]

Seventy five years ago today, nearly 5,000 Canadian troops, along with Royal Marine Commandos and, for the first time on European soil, some 50 US Rangers (including the first American killed in action on European soil), landed at Dieppe, France, for Operation Jubilee.

In the single costliest battle of the war for Canada, in just over 6 and a half hours, 907 Canadians were killed, over 1,900 taken prisoner of war, and hundred were injured (including both PWs and among those returning).

In perspective, more than half the force did not return to England that day.

Often regarded as a needless debacle, it is oft noted that it provided much valuable does and don'ts for the eventual D-Day, and it has recently been suggested that the real reason for choosing Dieppe, and for launching the raid directly on the town, was for a secret mission to retrieve German crypto machinery, later learned to be the Enigma machine.

Regardless, it remains a sad day in Canadian military history.


http://globalnews.ca/news/274605/breaking-german-codes-real-reason-for-1942-dieppe-raid-historian/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/dieppe-raid-pows-1.4253500

 

[Doctor Strange]

Today would have been the hundredth birthday of comic book legend Jack Kirby, whose many (co-)creations and storytelling innovations bestride today's entertainment world like a colossus!

http://www.newsfromme.com/2017/08/28/kirby-at-100/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/captain-americas-creator-spent-a-lifetime-punching-nazis

https://newrepublic.com/article/144558/jack-kirby-unknown-king

 

[GHT]

On this day in 1833, The House of Commons approved the Abolition Act, introduced earlier by Thomas Buxton, abolishing slavery throughout most of the British Empire.

And as this coming Thursday is the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, this snippet seems quite appropriate. On this day in 1996 The divorce of Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Princess Diana was finalized in a decree absolute issued in London's High Court. Under the terms of the divorce settlement, Diana was stripped of her 'Royal Highness' title.

 

[Harp]

Seventy five years ago today, nearly 5,000 Canadian troops, along with Royal Marine Commandos and, for the first time on European soil, some 50 US Rangers (including the first American killed in action on European soil), landed at Dieppe, France, for Operation Jubilee.

Offtopic: I had an ex-Ranger History prof in college who wrote a book on Col. William O. Darby whom had organized and led the Rangers in WWII.
Darby fell victim to shrapnel in Italy, so my prof solicited permission from Darby's sister to gain access to his service record.
When he finally began to write the book, he said he had everything from photostats of Darby's birth certificate to the toe tag placed
on his foot in the Army morgue tent, and, at the time was visiting prof at the Army War College when he received a telephone call
one night from a woman whom identified herself as Darby's former wife. Apparently, the lady had cheated on Darby and they divorced
early in his career, she had remarried, and her second husband did not know about her past. She asked not to be included in the book,
which the prof agreed to. When the prof and I first met after class I mentioned that I had read his book and noted the lack of reference to any marriage,
so he told me the background story.

 

[GHT]

On this day twenty years ago, Princess Diana died from her injuries following a car collision. And the British Press have dined out on it ever since. No doubt we will have all the conspiracy theories aired again, as well as fanciful and fictional accounts. If you read our newspapers you could be forgiven for thinking that the Fleet Street editors have The Lord's personal phone number.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

On this day; Oliver Cromwell died in1658.


On this day; ' Viking II' landed on mars in 1976

 

[GHT]

On this day; Oliver Cromwell died in 1658.

Three years later he will be dug up, put on trial, found guilty and be executed by decapitation.

 

[GHT]

On this day in 1609, English explorer, Henry Hudson sailed into what is now New York Harbour aboard his sloop Half Moon.

 

[Fading Fast]

On this day in 1609, English explorer, Henry Hudson sailed into what is now New York Harbour aboard his sloop Half Moon.

And now he has a river, a parkway and a park named after him. Was just recently on the banks of the Hudson river - it is an impressive body of water.

 

[Harp]

Three years later he will be dug up, put on trial, found guilty and be executed by decapitation.

Cromwell's skull staved upon a pike, later claimed by his alma mater-Cambridge or Oxford and the particular college cannot now recall.

 

[GHT]

Cromwell's skull staved upon a pike, later claimed by his alma mater-Cambridge or Oxford and the particular college cannot now recall.

He attended Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. But I'm seriously impressed with your history knowledge.