A Brief History On April 29, 1967, heavyweight boxing champ, Muhammad Ali, was stripped of his crown when he refused induction into the US military. He later was vindicated and regained his championship belt in the ring, and today we look at some sports champions that were stripped of their honors. Digging Deeper One of the saddest and most famous cases was Olympic champ Jim Thorpe, stripped of his Gold Medals won at the 1912 Olympics in the Decathlon and Pentathlon because he had once played semi-pro baseball. In 1982, his honors were posthumously returned. Performance enhancing drugs have cost…
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 April 28, 1973, Pink Floyd’s album, The Dark Side of the Moon, made it to the top of the Billboard Charts, and went on to spend a record-breaking run of 741 weeks on the charts. Still one of the biggest selling albums of all time, The Dark Side of the Moon deserves serious consideration as the greatest record album of all time. Digging Deeper We invite your opinion as to which album deserves the top spot, and here we list a few contenders, although picking a single winner is not easy! The Beach Boys – Pet…
A Brief History On April 27, 1945, Finnish soldiers were photographed proudly raising the Finnish war flag on top of a concrete cairn where the borders of Finland, Norway, and Sweden meet. A famous photograph, the shot is often called “Raising the Flag on the Three-Country Cairn.” Digging Deeper An opportunistic bully, the USSR tried to capitalize on the chaos of World War II to expand their own borders, in Poland, the Far East, and in Finland. From 1939 to 1940, the Finns fought the Soviets in the Winter War, and again in the Continuation War of 1941 to 1944. …
A Brief History On April 26, 1942, the Benxihu Colliery an iron and coal mine in Liaoning, China, was the scene of a horrific accident resulting in the deaths of 1,549 miners, the highest death toll of any mining disaster ever. Digging Deeper Japan had invaded Manchuria in 1931 and began to exploit the natural resources and the people of the region. Using Chinese as slave labor, the Japanese military did not provide adequate food, clothing, medical care, and sanitation for the workers. In miserable conditions, a huge coal dust explosion took place on April 26, 1942, triggering a massive…
A Brief History On April 25, 1960, the nuclear powered US Navy submarine, Triton, completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth while underwater. With about 71% of the Earth’s surface covered by water, people have been finding ways to travel above and below the water’s surface forever, and today we look at a few of the subsurface accomplishments. Digging Deeper In 1864, the Confederate submarine, H.L Hunley, became the first sub to sink a surface ship, although the Hunley was also lost in the attack. In 1958, USS Nautilus became the first submarine to sail under the North Pole. Nautilus…