A Brief History On February 4, 1555, English clergyman John Rogers became the first martyr burned at the stake under the rule of Queen Mary I of England, known better as Bloody Mary. Digging Deeper Rogers was a Protestant cleric in an England that had turned away from the Catholic Church under King Henry VIII, but when Henry’s daughter, Mary, a Catholic, assumed the throne in 1553, she did all she could to reinstall the supremacy of the Catholic Church and reverse the Reformation in England. During Mary’s 5 year reign, at least 280 religious dissenters were burned at the…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On February 3, 1509, the Arabian Sea portion of the Indian Ocean witnessed a naval battle that had centuries of effects on the global balance of power when a Portuguese fleet defeated a combined fleet of Asian warships at the Battle of Diu, India. Digging Deeper The Portuguese put together a force of 18 warships along with 1200 soldiers to face a fleet of 46 warships and an additional 70 to 150 smaller war boats of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Zamorin of Calicut, the Republic of Venice, and the Ottoman…
A Brief History On February 2, 2023, while the US celebrates Groundhog Day, more serious Americans are celebrating a much more important “national day,” namely National Heavenly Hash Day! Digging Deeper You may immediately think of the common offering by ice cream manufacturers, consisting of vanilla ice cream with some combination of marshmallow, chocolate, and nuts whipped together in a gustatory delight, but Heavenly Hash can be so much more than that! Heavenly hash can be concocted from some kind of marshmallow crème or whip mixed with your choice of ingredients, and ice cream is NOT mandatory. Cakes, fruit salads,…
A Brief History On February 1, 1901, Clark Gable was born in Cadiz, Ohio, and would go on to movie greatness earning the nickname, “The King of Hollywood.” Despite winning 2 Best Actor Academy Awards and being nominated for another pair, Gable was listed as only the 6th greatest American-born male movie star by the American Film Institute in 1999. Digging Deeper The stars listed ahead of Gable are: Humphrey Bogart, with 1 Academy Award and 3 nominations. James Stewart, with 1 Academy Award and 5 nominations. Marlon Brando, with 2 Academy Awards and 8 nominations. Fred Astaire, with 1…
A Brief History On January 31, 1915, the German Army, in violation of the 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Asphyxiating Gases, launched 18,000 artillery shells containing xylyl bromide tear gas against Russian positions, the first truly large scale use of poison gas in combat. Digging Deeper While people have used various poisons to deny the use of water wells as far back as 600 BC and to foul the air with toxic sulfur fumes in 479 BC, the 19th and 20th Centuries saw efforts to outlaw such use of poisons. In World War I, the first and most common use of…