A Brief History On May 10, 1849, Astor Opera House in Manhattan was the unlikely scene of another of those goofy named riots we keep telling you about. Though the Astor Opera House is no more (nor are the 22 to 31 people killed during the riot!), the Astor Place Riot lives on in the Pantheon of Stupid Riots. (Type in “Riot” in the question box of our website to get our many articles about the seemingly endless supply of riots.) Along with the many people killed, another 260 (including militiamen) were seriously injured, making the Astor Place Riot one…
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 May 9, 2019, we once again celebrate a special day, National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, a “holiday” celebrated on the first Thursday of the first full week of May each year. This “holiday” was dreamed up by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, a government agency), with a stated goal of “to increase public awareness about the needs of children with serious mental illness (SMI) and severe emotional disturbance (SED) and their families, provide information on evidence-based practices, and encourage those who need help to seek treatment.” While the purpose of this…
A Brief History On May 7, 1664, King Louis XIV of France began construction on the Palace of Versailles, one of the most iconic structures in the world and the symbol of the throne of France. Today the palace and grounds are a Monument historique and UNESCO World Heritage site and remains one of the biggest tourist attractions in France, a country noted for its tourist attractions. Digging Deeper From 1682 to 1789 the Palace of Versailles was the residence of the monarch of France and the epitome of royal excess. First the home of Louis XIV, by the time…
A Brief History On April 29, 2017, at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London, Anthony Joshua set a post-war crowd attendance record for boxing when becoming the unified heavyweight champion of the world. An eleventh-round stoppage of the much older Wladimir Klitschko saw British boxer Joshua unify the WBA super and IBO belts, which were both vacant, with the IBF strap. Ukrainian legend Klitschko had previously lost the first two titles to Tyson Fury. Digging Deeper The journey from amateur super-heavyweight to holding these and later the WBO championship saw Joshua take a well-trodden path using the Olympics as a…
A Brief History On May 5, 1994, American teenager Michael Fay made international news when he was punished in Singapore for theft and vandalism by the local custom of “caning.” The case caused outrage in the United States that one of our own 18 year old citizens could be treated with corporal punishment for a youthful prank, but the rest of the world saw the offenses of Fay as an egregious affront on the hospitality of another country. A protest by the United States got Fay’s sentence reduced from 6 strokes of the cane to only 4 strokes. Digging Deeper…