Author: Major Dan

A Brief History On February 22, 2014, the Ukrainian Rada, their unicameral version of a legislative body, voted to impeach President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine, removing him from office.  In 2021, the American Congress is preparing to impeach President Donald Trump (as of January 11, 2021) in a history making second effort to oust the President.  While previous Presidents Andrew Johnson and William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton were both impeached, and in turn not convicted by the Senate and thus not removed from office, Trump was impeached in 2019, and like his predecessors on the hot seat, he was not convicted…

A Brief History On February 15, 1862, Confederate States of America army forces under the command of Brigadier General John B. Floyd launched a surprise attack from the besieged Fort Donelson in Western Tennessee in an effort to break out from the Union encirclement of the fort.  The besieging force, the US Army of the Tennessee under the command of Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, prevented the Confederate attempt to break out their besieged forces and in turn forced a surrender of the fort, taking over 12,000 Rebels prisoner.  With the War going badly for the Union, President Lincoln and…

A Brief History On February 8, 1960, the Hollywood Walk of Fame was officially opened with the placement of the first 8 brass and terrazzo stars in the famous sidewalk.  The Walk of Fame would almost immediately become a tourist favorite and a treasured honor to have one’s name placed in the sidewalk at Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St. in Hollywood, California.  Thus starts our previous article on the subject, and today we take a look back at the marvelous things we have today that we did not have when this author was born.  Imagine living without some of these…

A Brief History On February 1, 1998, Lillian E. Fishburne became the first African American woman promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral (2 stars) in the United States Navy.  In keeping with the spirit of Black History Month (every February) and expanding on our previous articles celebrating African American achievements, we take this opportunity to cite even more impressive achievements by African Americans, not just “firsts,” but other great accomplishments as well.  (And see our recent article dated January 18, 2021), “Historic African American Firsts”) Who would you add to this list? Digging Deeper Lillian E. Fishburne, 1st African…

A Brief History On January 25, 1881, 2 of the great names in the annals of inventions teamed up to form the Oriental Telephone Company.  Harnessing the invention of Alexander Graham Bell for commercial purposes, Bell teamed with Thomas Edison, the Anglo-Indian Telephone Company and the Oriental Telephone Company of New York to form the new enterprise to sell telephones and related equipment in the Mediterranean and Near East areas as well as India and the Far East.  Bell became the first to patent the telephone in 1876, providing the first method of long-distance voice transmission.  Prior to his invention,…