A Brief History On March 9, 1925, the British Royal Air Force began operations in South Waziristan against Mahfud tribesmen called Pink’s War, the first independent such operation by the RAF and to date the only operation named after an RAF commander. (Not after the 21st Century rock star!) Conducted in what is now the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the aerial attack against the Mahfud, a Pashtun people, went on for 53 days, ending on May 1, 1925. Joining other goofy named wars such as The War of Jenkin’s Ear, The Soccer War, The Whiskey Rebellion, War of…
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 March 8, 1782, people once again proved how hate can lead to innocent lives being violently taken when Ninety-six Native Americans were massacred at Gnadenhutten, Ohio, the first European settlement in Ohio. The Native Americans killed were actually fellow settlers with the German Americans that founded the town, followers of the Moravian faith, White and Native people living together with a common religion for a common purpose. So why were the Delaware Indians (also called Leni Lenape) killed by the rampaging Pennsylvania militia that carried out the massacre? Because of raids committed against White settlements by…
A Brief History On March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his invention he called the “telephone.” Far from the device people today cannot seem to drive a car or eat dinner without, the original model did not even have push buttons or an LCD screen! No wonder people had a hard time adapting to the new technology. For example, how does one answer a phone? Invent something and a new problem is created. Bell’s answer to answering the phone was to loudly state a brisk, “Ahoy, hoy!” Really, no kidding. The guy that invented the telephone…
A Brief History On March 6, 1964, the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, dubbed convert to the religion boxing champion Cassius “The Louisville Lip” Marcellus Clay, Jr. as Muhammad Ali. (Note: Elijah Muhammad was born Robert Poole.) Many White Americans did not take kindly to the name change, and many continued to call Ali “Clay” throughout the life of the controversial and highly vocal boxing legend. Sometimes sports name changes occur before the person is famous, but when they occur after the athlete has achieved fame it seems awkward for some fans to remember who they are…
A Brief History On March 5, 1496, in the wake of the tremendous news about the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World, King Henry VII of England granted “letters patent” to John Cabot, an Italian sailor and adventurer, along with his sons, to explore the world on behalf of the English Crown. As Columbus was an Italian (Genoese) working for the King and Queen of Spain, so too was Cabot, an Italian originally from The Kingdom of Naples, employed by a foreign power. Cabot became (probably) the first European since perhaps the Vikings in the 11th Century to…