A Brief History On May 11, 1891, while paying a State visit to Lake Biwa, Otsu, Japan, heir to the throne of the Russian Empire Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich (the future Czar Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia) was attacked with a sword by one of the Japanese policemen escorting him, wounding the Tsesarevich. Digging Deeper Lucky for Nicholas his cousin, Prince George of Greece and Denmark (seriously, Greece and Denmark? How did that happen?) was on the spot with his cane, with which he blocked the second sword strike, saving the life of Nicholas. The first strike had landed on Nicholas’s…
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 10, 2013, almost 12 years after the tragic terrorist events of September 11, 2001, a new One World Trade Center skyscraper under construction on the site of the former twin towers became once again, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Digging Deeper When Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked airliners and flew them into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City, sending the formerly tallest buildings in the world crashing to the ground, it was resolved nearly immediately that New York and the United States would rebuild…
A Brief History On May 9, 2017, if the Toronto Raptors are still alive in the NBA playoffs they will again play the defending League Champion Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. We know what a Raptor is, heck, we have all seen the Jurassic Park movies, but what is a “Cavalier?” Digging Deeper Several years ago, I remember watching television when a reporter asked Lebron James, the greatest Cavalier of all time and perhaps the finest overall basketball player in World History if he knew what a “Cavalier” was. Lebron sheepishly admitted at that…
A Brief History On May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe was declared by the victorious Allied Powers, which included Canada and Nova Scotia. The Port City of Halifax, Capital of Nova Scotia, was the scene of the Halifax Riot, an event simmering just under the surface waiting for the War to end in Europe for the War to begin at home. Digging Deeper Nova Scotia, Canada’s second smallest province, is on the Atlantic Coast and its Capital, Halifax, served during World War II as the important Western terminus of the vital ship lanes to and from England. The influx of…
A Brief History On May 7, 1937, while Europe watched the prelude to World War II develop during the Spanish Civil War, the German “volunteer” Condor Legion was deployed with the Heinkel He-51 biplane fighter, an anachronism already obsolete when it was built. More like a relic of World War I, that is exactly the opposition the He-51 first had in the Nieuport biplane fighters flown by the Spanish Republican Air Force. Digging Deeper Monoplanes and all metal planes were definitely not unknown when the He-51 made its combat debut, but the older fabric covered fuselage and wings, upper and…