Browsing: December 12

A Brief History On December 12, 1967, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, an American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, and written by William Rose, was released in the United States of America.  The film stars Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn, and features Hepburn’s niece Katharine Houghton. The film was one of the few films of the time to depict an interracial marriage in a positive light, as interracial marriage historically had been illegal in most states of the United States, and still was illegal in 17 states—mostly Southern states—until 12 June 1967, six months before the film was released, roughly two weeks after Tracy filmed his…

A Brief History On December 12, 884, the King of West Francia, Carloman II, son of Louis the Stammerer (Louis II), died in a hunting accident.  Carloman was only 18 years old at the time, which goes to show you being King is no guarantee of a long happy life. Digging Deeper In the convoluted manner of the time (no convenient DNA tests back then) the succession to the throne was contested in 879 when the Stammering old King died.  Carloman and his brother, Louis III, ended up both being elected King despite disputed paternity, and split the throne of…

A Brief History On December 12, 1985, the US Army experienced one of its worst non-combat tragedies in its history when 236 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division were killed in the crash of Arrow Flight 1285. Digging Deeper The DC-8 carrying the soldiers plus 20 civilians (8 of which were crew members)  was returning the soldiers to the US from duty in Egypt.  The plane had made an interim stop at Gander, Newfoundland and was attempting to take off when it lost speed and stalled, crashing about a half mile past the runway and killing all aboard. The soldiers…

A Brief History On December 12, 1941, American forces were still reeling from the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor when Philippine-American pilot Jesus Villamor led a flight of Boeing P-26 “Peashooter” fighter planes against superior Japanese aircraft that were raiding Batanga Airfield. Digging Deeper Superb Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighter planes were escorting G3M Nell bombers.  The Philippine-American force had only a handful of greatly outclassed P-26s.  Despite the odds, Villamor managed to shoot down 2 Zeros while his men shot down an additional Zero and a Nell, an incredible feat considering the differences in the quality of airplanes involved. The…

A Brief History On this date, December 12, 1098, in what is now Syria, Crusaders massacred 20,000 Muslims and ate some of them! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find European Christians launching what is now known as the First Crusade, an attempt to take back lands overrun by the sweeping Muslim hordes. Besieging a city at Ma’arra (various spellings) the Crusaders were at the walls on December 12, 1098 when the Muslims inside finally surrendered after about a month of resistance. Promises of the safety of residents to the contrary, the Crusaders began the systematic slaughter of the population. Frustrated…