Browsing: February 10

A Brief History On February 10, 1967, the United States adopted the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, a new national law that deals with the succession to the Presidency of the United States, and a topic of recent debate during the Trump Administration.  Starting with the 23rd Amendment adopted in June of 1960, there have been a total of 5 new Amendments adopted during this author’s lifetime, and one Amendment that is glaringly absent by its lack of ratification by the States Digging Deeper The United States Constitution was adopted in 1789, a magnificent historical document that created a nation…

A Brief History On February 10, 1355, Oxford, England, the site of the ultra-prestigious University of Oxford, was the scene of a considerable riot that cost the lives of 63 student/scholars and at least 30 townsfolk. This so-called St. Scholastica Day Riot started in a tavern and ended when the scholars were finally routed by the townies. (History and Headlines currently has 7 articles about riots and will certainly be adding more.) Digging Deeper The University of Oxford was founded around 1096, with no specific founding date. It is the oldest university or college in the English-speaking world and is…

A Brief History On February 10, 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union exchanged spies that had been captured by each country at the Glienicke bridge over the Havel River in Berlin, later known by a more romantic sounding name, “The Bridge of Spies.” Digging Deeper Perhaps the most famous American spy captured by the enemy since the Revolutionary War, Francis Gary Powers was a pilot for the CIA flying the top secret U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union when he was shot down and arrested for espionage.  The U-2 spy plane is a jet powered extremely high…

A Brief History On February 10, 1942, the first Gold Record ever was awarded to Glenn Miller for his hit song “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” Glenn Miller’s famous train had chugged its way along to sales of 1.2 million, and, as would become the practice, the “gold record” was awarded to him by the company that had produced the record (in this case, RCA Victor).  Later, in 1958, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) began an industry-wide practice of awarding gold records for sales of 1 million copies of a single.  Starting n 1968, albums were awarded a gold record…

A Brief History On February 10, 1933, Primo Carnera, a heavyweight boxer called “The Monster” by Time magazine, dealt Ernie Schaaf fatal blows during a boxing match in New York City.  The hapless Schaaf died 4 days after the match. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Carnera as the heaviest heavyweight boxing champion of his day (a record held until 2005) and at 6’7″ (an exaggeration by an inch and a half), also listed as the tallest (again until 2005 when Nikolay Valuev won a title).  Also known as the “Ambling Alp,” Carnera was an Italian fighter who was dogged his…