Browsing: February 20

A Brief History On February 20, 1959, the government of Canada cancelled the Avro Arrow supersonic jet fighter program, creating conjecture and controversy that continues to this day.  Within two months of the cancellation, the government ordered all plans, tools, and all five existing prototypes to be destroyed. Digging Deeper Designed to fly at Mach 2 and at 53,000 feet, the Arrow would have been cutting edge technology to protect Canada.  Avro was the third largest company in Canada, one of the 100 largest in the world, but the Arrow fiasco basically ruined the company, and it went out of…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on February 20th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On February 20, 1864, the Union and Confederate armies fought the Battle of Olustee, the largest land battle of the American Civil War (1861-1865) in Florida. On February 20, 1905, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states have the authority to require mandatory vaccinations against disease, well over a century before the controversy over the Covid vaccine in 2020 and 2021.…

A Brief History On February 20, 1905, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states have the authority to require mandatory vaccinations against disease, well over a century before the controversy over the Covid vaccine in 2020 and 2021. Digging Deeper In the case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the court ruled that Massachusetts and other states had the right to enforce compulsory vaccination laws and that individual liberty is not absolute.  In this case, the disease involved was smallpox, and the law in the Bay State required people over 21 to be vaccinated or face a $5 fine. …

A Brief History On February 20, 1864, the Union and Confederate armies fought the Battle of Olustee, the largest land battle of the American Civil War (1861-1865) in Florida.  Although the tide of the war had turned in favor of the Union by February of 1864, this particular battle was won by the Confederate forces, more or less ending the ground war in Florida. Digging Deeper Union General Truman Seymour had landed near Jacksonville and was supposed to stay put, acting as a blocking force to prevent Confederate food and other supplies from moving through the area.  Encouraged by little…

A Brief History On February 20, 2019, we celebrate another National Love Your Pet Day, as if we had to be reminded.  Back on May 8, 2015, we featured an article about the Westminster Dog Show and we waxed poetic about the virtues of having a dog and a little about the history of dogs.  While we understand many people want to keep pets other than dogs (no, we really do not understand), we prefer canine companions, especially from the Hound group.  Yes, we have had other pets and loved them a lot, but the dogs love you back! Digging Deeper We…