Browsing: December

A Brief History On December 8, 1991, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus signed a treaty called the Belovezha Accords, an agreement that dissolved the USSR and put in its place the Commonwealth of Independent States.  A key part of this treaty was each newly independent state guaranteeing the integrity of the territory of the other signatory states. Digging Deeper As if this sacred agreement was not enough, in 1994, Russia, along with the US and other countries as part of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons further guaranteed the respect of the territory of Ukraine and other involved nations…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on December 7th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy conducted a devastating surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base and the Hickam Field Airbase on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Most Americans know that on December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a massive aerial surprise attack against U.S. military forces on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, mainly at Pearl Harbor. On December…

A Brief History On December 7, 2020, fighter ace and aviation record breaker, Chuck Yeager, Brigadier General US Air Force, died at the age of 97.  Yeager was known to say, “There are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots,” perhaps not an original quotation but generally true, although Yeager was indeed a “Bold Pilot” and died at an old age. Digging Deeper Yeager, a World War II ace, shot down 11.5 enemy planes, one of which was an Me-262 jet.  Yeager was shot down in 1944, but evaded capture in occupied France and even operated with…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on December 6th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On December 6, 343, the man we have come to know as Santa Claus died at the age of 73 in Myra, part of the Roman Empire in what is now South Western Turkey. On December 6, 1884, the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. was completed. On December 6, 1922, The Irish Free State was a state established as a Dominion of the British Commonwealth of…

A Brief History On December 6, 1884, the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. was completed.  A spectacular structure, the tall white obelisk was the tallest man-made structure in the world when complete, over 554 feet tall, losing that title to the Eiffel Tower in 1889, although it still is the world’s tallest monumental column. Digging Deeper Some other magnificent American monuments include: Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, carved into bare rock to depict the likenesses of four of our greatest presidents.  Completed in 1941, each head is about 60 feet tall with eyes 11 feet wide! Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota,…