A Brief History On November 18, 1982, five days after a championship fight for the lightweight (135 pounds) crown, Kim Duk-Koo of Korea died from a blow given by Ohio boxer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, the defending champ. Digging Deeper Challenger Kim Duk-Koo brought a professional record of 17-1-1 into the fight and held his own early in the fight, but the champ dominated the later rounds. The fight was stopped in the 14th round after Kim was solidly knocked down by Mancini. The fight was not stopped soon enough, however, as just minutes later Kim fell into a coma and never woke up, dying a few days…
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 November 18, 1307, Swiss archer William Tell split an apple into two pieces on his son’s head with a well-aimed arrow. For defying Austrian authority, both he and his son were to be executed, but their lives would be spared if Tell, an excellent marksman, could hit the apple. Ever since, William Tell has been perhaps the greatest Swiss hero, the symbol of patriotism. But was he real? Digging Deeper Written accounts of the incident only surfaced in the late 15th century, almost 170 years later. It is typical that many events in history, be they real or…
A Brief History On November 17, 1871, The National Rifle Association (NRA) was first chartered in the state of New York by William Church, the editor of the Army and Navy Journal and General George Wood Wingate. The first president of the NRA was Union General Ambrose Burnside who had also worked as a gunsmith in Rhode Island. (Hey! this author has been to Rhode Island, have you?) Digging Deeper It is believed that during the Civil War, the Union Army fired about 1,000 rifle shots for every Confederate soldier hit. Burnside was well aware of the sorry state of marksmanship among his…
A Brief History On November 16, 1938, the psychedelic drug Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) that has since become known as “acid” was first synthesized by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofman (not to be confused with Abbie Hoffman, the social radical). You probably did not have any idea when, where and by whom LSD was invented, and to be honest, neither did the author. In fact, sometimes who exactly invented something is a matter of dispute. Here 9 more such inventors whose names are generally not common knowledge to the masses are listed. Digging Deeper 9. C.R. Alder Wright, Heroin, 1874. Englishman Wright…
A Brief History On November 15, 1942, the Heinkel He 219, often called the “Uhu,” which is German for eagle-owl, made its first flight. A year later, the first editions became operational. Designed from the ground up as a night fighter to combat the British night-bombing raids, the He 219 had an innovative design which incorporated air-to-air radar and the first ejection seats installed in an operational aircraft. It was also the only German plane of World War II with tricycle-type landing gear. Digging Deeper The He 219 suffered what most German aircraft developed during World War II suffered from, that being bureaucratic infighting between various…