A Brief History On February 10, 1355, Oxford, England, the site of the ultra-prestigious University of Oxford, was the scene of a considerable riot that cost the lives of 63 student/scholars and at least 30 townsfolk. This so-called St. Scholastica Day Riot started in a tavern and ended when the scholars were finally routed by the townies. (History and Headlines currently has 7 articles about riots and will certainly be adding more.) Digging Deeper The University of Oxford was founded around 1096, with no specific founding date. It is the oldest university or college in the English-speaking world and is…
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 9, 2018, we at History and Headlines take a moment to ponder the imponderable: Where do all these “National Days” come from? We found all sorts of references to February 9th being National Toothache Day and also National Read in the Bathtub Day, but no record of when or where these “holidays” started! Digging Deeper National Toothache Day is not so ridiculous as to actually celebrate having a toothache, one of the most painful conditions known to humankind (which can also be life threatening), but rather a day to remind people of proper oral hygiene.…
A Brief History On February 8, 1879, Scottish Canadian inventor and engineer Sandford Fleming proposed the adoption of Universal Standard Time at The Royal Canadian Institute. Fleming proposed that the world be divided into 24 time zones, each 15 degrees of longitude in breadth and sequentially one hour behind the preceding time zone. All land within each time zone would be set to the same time. Up until this time, clocks in every city and town had been set to local time based on each location’s position on the Earth, creating no standards of keeping time and mass confusion when…
A Brief History On February 7, 1795, the 12th state needed to ratify the 11th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (North Carolina) voted to ratify the Amendment, thus making it part of the law of the land. The 11th Amendment was the first Amendment to be ratified since the adoption of the Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10). Digging Deeper The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of our nation, and all other laws and court decisions must be in accordance with the Constitution. It is the job of the Supreme Court of the US…
A Brief History On February 6, 2018, we stand with the United Nations in recognizing International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. While normally we endorse the right of people to do as they please, horribly mutilating children without the informed consent of that child is not something people should be doing. The archaic practice of female genital mutilation is sexist and a form of abuse/assault on female human beings, sadly, still practiced today in at least 30 countries (but actually many more). Digging Deeper In 2003 the United Nations determined that by insisting on immediate cessation of…