Browsing: February 8

A Brief History On February 8, 1983, a successful Irish racehorse, Shergar, was kidnapped for ransom, a crime that resulted in the killing of the swift steed that had been enjoying life as a stud. Digging Deeper Born, or foaled as they say in the horse world, in 1978, Shergar had a successful racing career that made him a prime candidate to become a stud horse, which he became in October of 1981, serving his time as a stud in Ireland rather than accepting a large contract to move to the US. Three armed gunmen invaded the home of Shergar’s…

A Brief History On February 8, 1960, Queen Elizabeth II of the UK proclaimed that henceforth the House of Windsor and the surname Mountbatten-Windsor would apply to all her descendants. Digging Deeper The convoluted family ties in European royal houses are due to monarchs over the centuries coming from countries other than the country reigned over. Back in 1701, Sophia of Hanover, a German, became the heiress presumptive of the throne of Great Britain and Ireland, and her son became King George I, the first of the Hanoverian monarchs of Britain.  In 1901, the Germanic House of Hanover was superseded…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on February 8th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On February 8, 1587, Mary Stuart, also known as Mary, Queen of Scots or even Mary I of Scotland, was executed by the order of Queen Elizabeth I of England, her own cousin! On February 8, 1837, the United States Senate elected Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky as the incoming Vice President of the United States, the only time in US history that the…

A Brief History On February 8, 1587, Mary Stuart, also known as Mary, Queen of Scots or even Mary I of Scotland, was executed by the order of Queen Elizabeth I of England, her own cousin! Digging Deeper Mary, born in December of 1542, was only 6 days old when she inherited the throne of Scotland, and reigned for only 15 years before she was forced to abdicate after the murder of her husband and Mary remarrying the main suspect in her husband’s murder only a month after his acquittal for the murder. Failing to reclaim her throne, Mary fled…

A Brief History On February 8, 1960, the Hollywood Walk of Fame was officially opened with the placement of the first 8 brass and terrazzo stars in the famous sidewalk.  The Walk of Fame would almost immediately become a tourist favorite and a treasured honor to have one’s name placed in the sidewalk at Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St. in Hollywood, California.  Thus starts our previous article on the subject, and today we take a look back at the marvelous things we have today that we did not have when this author was born.  Imagine living without some of these…