A Brief History On August 28, 1565, Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed on the East coast of Florida and founded the city of St. Augustine, the oldest city in what is now the United States to be continuously occupied. Digging Deeper An explorer and conquistador, de Avilés was the mastermind behind Spain’s establishment of trans-Atlantic convoys of “treasure fleets” to ferry the riches of the New World back to Spain. A major figure in the Spanish conquest of the New World, de Avilés made many voyages to the New World, establishing forts, exploring, fighting and trading with native…
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 August 27, 1915, a member of the clergy tried to assassinate another member of the clergy, a most un-Christian act indeed. Bishop Patrick Heffron was shot twice by a priest in his own diocese, Father Laurence M. Lesches. Digging Deeper It seems the priest was unhappy that the bishop did not see fit to grant a parish to Fr. Lesches, allegedly due to the instability of Lesches. Apparently, Bishop Heffron was right! Luckily, the good bishop did not die until 1927, of natural causes. The would-be assassin was committed to a mental institution for the rest…
A Brief History On August 26, 1791, American John Fitch patented the steamboat, 16 years before Robert Fulton first sailed his Clermont on the Hudson River. While Fulton’s steamboat, actually named North River Steamboat, was the first commercially successful steamboat, you may not have heard of Fitch as the first to actually build a working steamboat. Digging Deeper The nature of inventions and who we are taught are the inventors of those gadgets leads to some mistaken impressions as to who invented certain things. Inventions are often being worked on by different people in unrelated projects, and initial versions of…
A Brief History On August 25, 1958, the first ever publicly marketed instant noodle meal called Chikin Ramen was sold by Nissin Foods, a Japanese food company. Still made today, the product was the invention of Momofuku Ando. Digging Deeper Various types of ramen noodles are common today, and although high in sodium, they are easy to prepare and rather tasty. Some other “instant” foods developed during the Baby Boomer generation (1946 to 1964) include: TV Dinners made their debut in 1954 when Swanson started selling frozen dinners in aluminum trays so busy moms did not have to cook and…
A Brief History On August 23, 1954, a pleasure cruise around the Mediterranean Sea carrying many of the crowned heads of Europe set sail from Marseille, France, a royalty only trip known as “The Cruise of Kings.” Digging Deeper The cruise was planned by the Greek monarchs, King Paul and Queen Frederica, with the idea that bringing many royals together could result in possible marital matchmaking. Royalty representing 25 current and former royal families were gathered for the 11-day cruise, but only a single match was generated, that between Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma. A…