A Brief History On May 28, 1802, 400 former slaves revolting against the reinstatement of slavery by the French under Napoleon Bonaparte in the Caribbean department of Guadalupe blew themselves up rather than surrender to the French. Digging Deeper Revolutionary France had abolished slavery, but after Napoleon Bonaparte took control of the country his wife, Josephine, herself a native of Martinique, talked the Emperor into reinstating slavery in the West Indies, as slaves were vital to the plantation way of life for the rich French overseers. Resistance to the French authorities was led by Louis Delgres, a mulatto (half white,…
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 27, 1907, in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the city by the bay came down with an epidemic of Bubonic Plague, the same plague responsible for the infamous “Black Death” in earlier centuries. Digging Deeper San Francisco had its first bout with Bubonic Plague from 1900 to 1904, initially covered up by the Governor of California who did not want to scare off investors and people from moving to the area. (Note: Governments lie, and lie and lie!) When the crisis was made public, Chinese immigrants were initially blamed, another step in…
A Brief History On May 26, 1868, US President Andrew Johnson was acquitted at his impeachment trial by the narrowest of margins, one single vote. Johnson had been charged with 11 counts of “high crimes and misdemeanors” by the US House of Representatives and tried by the US Senate, the first time any US President had been impeached. Digging Deeper The next time a US President was impeached was when President Bill Clinton made the blunder of lying to Congress about his sexual relationship with intern, Monica Lewinsky. President Clinton was charged by the House of Representatives with 2 counts…
A Brief History On May 25, 1953, the United States Army conducted a live nuclear artillery test shot, the only time the US ever conducted such a test. Digging Deeper Conducted in the Nevada desert (Nevada Test Site, later renamed the Nevada National Security Site) the test firing and detonation of a live nuclear (fission type) bomb fired from a cannon was called by the code-word Upshot-Knothole Grable. One of only 4 “gun” type atom bombs ever detonated by the US, the warhead was constructed similar to the “Little Boy” bomb that obliterated Hiroshima in 1945. It used 2 chunks…
A Brief History On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse, inventor of the Morse Code (well, duh!) and of the telegraph, famously sent the message “What Hath God Wrought?” to inaugurate his new telegraph. Certain messages in History have become so iconic that they are familiar to most people (though sometimes not remembered with perfect accuracy). Here we list 5 of these Momentous Messages. Digging Deeper 1. “What Hath God Wrought?” – Samuel Morse to Alfred Vail. Morse used a quotation from the Bible (Numbers 23:23) to send his message from the old Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. to his assistant…