A Brief History On April 7, 1945, the biggest and most heavily armed battleship created by man was sunk without ever fighting another battleship! Digging Deeper The Japanese battleship Yamato was the first of a two ship class (Musashi was the second) of battleships designed to survive hits by the guns of British and American battleships, and to sink them with her giant guns. The 9 main guns of the Yamato fired 2,800 pound projectiles that were 18.1 inches in diameter, the biggest guns ever placed on a ship. By contrast, the German Bismarck had 8 X 15 inch guns,…
Browsing: April
Read More
A Brief History On April 6, 2011, Mexican law enforcement authorities dug up 59 bodies of innocent people murdered by the Los Zetas drug cartel, and before they were done by June had dug up a total of 193 bodies! Digging Deeper Digging deeper (deep enough to find 193 victims!), we find a murderous and ruthless drug gang, Los Zetas, operating in the area of San Fernando, Mexico at a place called La Joya Ranch. As if that is not cracked enough, the female victims had been sexually assaulted, and the male victims had been forced to fight to the…
A Brief History Earlier today, we noted how on April 5, 1614, Pocahontas married John Rolfe. In honor of the great historic union between not just two lovers, but people representing two culture (one English and the other Native American), we celebrate 10 of history’s most famous Native Americans, focusing on those north of what is today the border between the United States and Mexico. A potential future list could concern famous Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans. Digging Deeper 10. Squanto Known for helping Pilgrims cope with life in North America at the Plymouth colony, Squanto went to Europe several times…
A Brief History On April 5, 1614, a milestone in European and Native American relations was reached when John Rolfe, English colonist, married Pocahontas, Native American princess! Digging Deeper The English colony of Jamestown, Virginia was the location of one of American history’s most famous marriages. Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, a sort of chief of chiefs in the eastern Virginia area. In 1607, English prisoner of the local Native Americans, John Smith, was to be executed by having his head smashed with a club by Powhatan himself. Pocahontas famously (allegedly) laid her head on Smith’s head to…
A Brief History On April 4, 1969, Dr. Denton Cooley performed surgery to implant the first artificial (temporary) heart in history! Digging Deeper Dr. Cooley was a renowned heart surgeon and founder of the Texas Heart Institute. Having worked with Dr. Michael DeBakey (another renowned heart surgeon that invented the pump that makes heart surgery possible), Cooley was part of the team that performed the first heart transplant in the United States as well as his artificial heart work. He also pioneered techniques using artificial heart valves which reduced mortality in heart valve replacement surgery from 70% to 8%! Unfortunately,…