Author: Dr. Zar

A Brief History On November 7, 1907, Jesús García saved the entire town of Nacozari de Garcia, Sonora by driving a burning train full of dynamite six kilometers away before it could explode. Digging Deeper By now on History and Headlines, we have had full towns and cities destroyed by everything from armies to earthquakes, floods, and even a tornado!  In November 0f 1907, Nacozari, Sonora in Mexico nearly experienced a disaster that could have been added to the list of annihilated cities.  The city survived thanks to a man now known as el héroe de Nacozari and for whom…

A Brief History On November 6, 1632 at the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years’ War, the Swedes won, but their King, Gustavus Adolphus, died in the battle. Digging Deeper The Thirty Years’ War was probably central Europe’s all-time worst religious war fought between Catholics and Protestants.  Around two dozen different European countries and their colonies were involved in the conflict at some time or another from 1618 to 1648.  With so many countries involved for so long, it should not be all that surprising that around 8 million soldiers and civilians are counted among the casualties of one…

A Brief History On November 5, 1530, The St. Felix’s Flood destroyed the city of Reimerswaal in the Netherlands and killed over 100,000 people, making it the fifth deadliest flood in human history. Digging Deeper Over the past month, we have seen one city destroyed by a tornado, another by an earthquake, and another by an army.  For our fourth city to experience near total devastation, we go back to mother nature. The now lost city of Reimerswaal in the Netherlands is our victim this time around.  Reimerswaal was granted city rights in 1374 during the reign of Holy Roman…

A Brief History On November 4, 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter found the entrance to Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Digging Deeper The boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun reigned ca. 1332 to 1323 B.C., his name meaning that he is the living image of the god Amun.  “Tut” was likely the son of the rather unique pharaoh Akhenaten, the husband to Nefertiti, who herself ranks seventh on a list of Top 10 African Rulers, Kings and Emperors.  Tut’s father’s uniqueness stems from attempting something of a religious revolution.  Tut’s father tried to focus worship on the sun disk…

A Brief History On November 3, 1783, highwayman John Austin became the last person to be publicly hanged at London’s Tyburn gallows. Digging Deeper For centuries Tyburn, formerly a village, but now within the city of London, had the infamous distinction of being the principal place of execution in England’s capital for criminals, traitors, and even religious martyrs.  Executions and sometimes public torture occurred in Tyburn from at least 1196 until 1783.  The executed included noblemen and commoners alike of both sexes.  Even the dead could be “executed” there, as was the case of notorious rebel Oliver Cromwell whose corpse…