A Brief History On August 9, 1969, members of the Manson Family, followers of cult leader Charles Manson, murdered actress Sharon Tate, her unborn baby, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, and three other people. Manson would later stand trial for orchestrating the murders but was never found to be insane, though to the layman he certainly appears to be. Many historical figures seem to be insane but are never ruled as such by a court or by psychiatric professionals (except maybe after they are dead). Here we nominate 9 such people for History and Headlines’s loony bin. Digging Deeper 9. Insane Clown…
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 August 9, 1945, a Boeing B-29 bomber named “Bockscar” dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan, incinerating 39,000 people within seconds. In the following weeks, thousands more would die from exposure and their injuries, and more would keep dying from radiation-related illnesses for years to come. The Japanese quickly surrendered after this second nuclear attack, but the question of whether or not this bomb was necessary still haunts Americans to this day. Digging Deeper “Bockscar” was part of a special B-29 unit specially trained for dropping atomic bombs. The bombers were modified B-29s that had their bomb…
A Brief History On August 8, 1918, the Allied offensive known as the “Hundred Days Offensive” began with the start of the Battle of Amiens. Allied forces swept 7 miles into German lines, an incredible distance when in the previous 4 years, progress had been measured in feet or yards. The Battle of Amiens was the first in a string of victories that would carry the Allies to victory in World War I but also inevitably sow the seeds of World War II! Digging Deeper Both sides experienced tremendous effects on morale due to the huge early Allied success of the…
A Brief History On August 8, 2000, 136 years after she sank with all hands, the Confederate submarine, the Hunley, was raised to the surface. Throughout history, men have built famous ships, and many of those ships have found their way to the bottom of the sea. Some of the shipwrecks have been found and either raised, salvaged, explored, or made into shrines. Here we list 10 of the most famous ones. Digging Deeper 10. Sultana, 1865. About 1,800 lives were lost when this Mississippi side-wheel steamboat’s boiler blew up in 1865. Her wreck lay undiscovered until 1982, when it was found in a…
A Brief History On August 7, 1942, U.S. Marines landed on an island few Americans had ever heard of, Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. After months of being on the defensive, defensive victories at Coral Sea and Midway combined with the rapid buildup of troops and industrial production gave the U.S. its first opportunity to start taking instead of losing ground in the Pacific theater of World War II. Digging Deeper Although obscure in the minds of Americans, Guadalcanal is not an insignificant island. Sprawling over 2000 square miles and with mountains soaring over 8,000 feet, it is the world’s 110th largest island, about the…