A Brief History On February 7, 1497, the followers of Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola of Florence, Italy, gathered and burned a large quantity of objects they referred to as “vanities,” objects such as cosmetics, books, artwork, mirrors, fancy clothes, playing cards, and musical instruments, any objects these religious zealots thought could lead people to sin. Digging Deeper Misguided people have engaged in burning books and other articles that they have seen as contrary to their view of what is “proper,” “right,” or “moral” throughout history, and of course the Florence incident was not the first or largest of these burnings,…
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 6, 1820, The Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America (better known as the American Colonization Society) sent the first 86 African Americans back to Africa to form a new country of freed slaves and free born African Americans known today as Liberia. (Note: February is Black History Month!) Digging Deeper Obviously, not all White Americans were enamored of the “peculiar institution” that was human slavery, and some of these people actually did something about their strongly held moral convictions. Robert Finley of New Jersey was such a man, and he…
A Brief History On February 5, 1869, prospectors Richard Oates and John Deason of Australia found the incredibly large alluvial gold nugget known as “Welcome Stranger,” a rock weighing almost 300 pounds! Digging Deeper Found just 1.2 inches under the ground in a place called Bulldog Gully outside Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, the lucky prospectors dug out the giant rock that weighed (before trimming of non-gold matter) 293 ½ pounds and 1 ½ ounces. The men did not know exactly how big the nugget was at first, because no scales capable of weighing such a huge nugget were available, so the…
A Brief History On February 4, 1983, the World was shocked to hear that popular 32 year old singer Karen Carpenter had died, due to complications from anorexia nervosa. The public gaped at photos of an emaciated and shrunken singer they had known as a beautiful girl. Digging Deeper Carpenter, one half of the brother sister singing duo known as The Carpenters, had scored mega hit records with “Close to You,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Superstar,” “Hurting Each Other”, “Sing,” “Yesterday Once More,” and many others. Karen and her brother, Richard, were also popular overseas, ranking 3rd all-time in Japan…
A Brief History On February 3, 1995, Space Shuttle mission STS-63 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral Florida for space with a woman pilot for the first time. Digging Deeper Eileen Collins, born in Elmira, New York in 1956, graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and economics from Syracuse University in 1979 and went on to earn a Master of Science degree in operations research from Stanford University in 1986 and a Master of Arts degree in space systems management from Webster University in 1989. A career in the Air Force was in this…