A Brief History On December 5, 1952, the people of London, England found out the hard way that smog is no joke. Air pollution, cold weather, fog, lack of wind and a phenomenon known as an anticyclone combined in such a manner that huge quantities of smoke from factories and furnaces, largely from the burning of coal, was left lingering over the city. Digging Deeper The noxious smoke, at first believed to not be dangerous, even penetrated buildings, causing people respiratory distress. Londoners called the episode, which lasted until December 9 when the weather finally cleared, “The Great Smog of 1952,” or…
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 December 4, 1969, the Chicago Police took the “war” with the militant African-American extremists, the Black Panthers, right into the bedroom when they shot Fred Hampton, a high-ranking member of the Black Panther Party (BPP), to death while he was sleeping. Digging Deeper The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Police had been keeping tabs on Panther activity with the help of an informant, William O’Neal. O’Neal had given information on Panther whereabouts and weapons as well as details about the house that was raided at 4 a.m. on December 4, 1969. Expecting to find as many as 20 armed Panthers willing to…
A Brief History Throughout history, there have been phonies who liked to embellish their backgrounds. Some claimed to be royalty, others claimed to be war heroes, and some even boasted academic achievements they never earned. Perhaps you know people like this; for sure as heck we at History and Headlines do! The author has worked with goofs who claimed to be Viet Nam veterans who certainly were not, and sometimes more famous people have claimed a war record to help them attain elected office, only to be revealed as frauds later. Some researchers have even faked experiment results! Here 10 egregious examples of liars…
A Brief History On December 2, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte shocked the world as he crowned himself Emperor of the French by taking the crown from the Pope and plopping it on his own head. 48 years later on this same date, his nephew and namesake, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, was also crowned Emperor and given the title Napoleon III. Digging Deeper Over 9,500 people in the U.S. have Napoleon for a first name, a name that means “from Naples,” as in Naples, Italy. More has been written about Napoleon Bonaparte than any other person in history after Jesus Christ. Just as Napoleon I’s attempts to…
A Brief History On December 1, 1960, Paul McCartney and Pete Best of The Beatles were arrested in Hamburg, Germany for the arson of the grubby room they had been staying in at a theater. For this crime, they were deported back to England. Digging Deeper Apparently Best, the drummer who was later replaced by Ringo Starr, and McCartney were dissatisfied with the room and had left a burning condom nailed on a concrete wall as a token of their contempt for the lack of amenities. Though they did not intend to burn anything down and though nothing actually burned…