A Brief History On May 16, 218, Elagabalus was proclaimed the true emperor of Rome by his mother and grandmother. After plots, intrigues, and some battles, Elagabulus captured and executed the previous emperor, Macrinus, and had the throne to himself at age 14. Digging Deeper If you think, “hey, a 14 year old emperor of Rome, what could go wrong?” then you would be thinking along the right track. After initially making peace with the Senate by granting amnesty for those who opposed him, and promising to obey the laws of Rome, Elagabalus went right off on his own, cracked…
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 Last night on May 14, 2016 in Curitiba, Brazil, heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter Stipe Miocic stunned the Brazilian crowd by knocking out reigning UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum early in the first round. Digging Deeper Werdum was defending his title for the first time and seemed over confident at the start of the fight, charging at Miocic and running into a short right that put the muscular Brazilian on the canvas, ending the fight when the referee quickly saw that Werdum was defenseless. The ecstatic 33 year old Miocic, hailing from a lifelong…
A Brief History On May 15, 1718, Mr. Puckle patented what could be considered the first machine gun. With “innovative” ideas like a version with square bullets, it was a military and financial flop. This happens, weapons that seem like a good idea that real life proves are not so good. Here are 10 examples of such failures. Digging Deeper 10. T-64/T-72/T-80 Tank, USSR, debut 1960‘s. Mobile, tough armor, and a huge 125 mm gun (when US and allied main tank guns were 105 mm) with an automatic loader, allowing the crew to be reduced by 1 (no need for…
A Brief History On May 15, 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed Anna Mae Hays a brigadier general in the US Army, the first female general in American military history. Anna earned a nursing degree and then joined the Army as a nurse in 1942. Digging Deeper A veteran of World War II (stationed in India) and the Korean War, Hays stayed in the Army and earned her masters degree. Chief of the Army Nurse Corps since 1967, after her promotion she stayed in that same position the remainder of her career. Obviously an exceptional officer, Hays was twice awarded the…
A Brief History On May 15, 1718, Englishman James Puckle patented his machine gun, the world’s first! You may have thought the Gatling gun or the Maxim machine gun was the first machine gun, but depending on how you define “machine gun” James Puckle, Esq. (yes, he was a lawyer) got there first. Digging Deeper Puckle’s invention was a flintlock, the form of firearm ignition at the top of technology of the time. It consisted of a single barrel and a cylinder pre-loaded with 11 separate firing chambers of a musket ball and powder charge in each. Puckle intended regular…