A Brief History On February 7, 1882, John L. Sullivan became the last of the bare-knuckle boxing champions with an eighth-round knockout of Paddy Ryan. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Sullivan, known as “The Boston Strong Boy,” fighting his way across America challenging any man any time any where! His victory in Mississippi over Paddy Ryan, the man recognized as the heavyweight boxing champion of America, if not the world, made Sullivan the last of the bare-knuckle champs and the first of the gloved boxing champs. Sullivan fought all comers, including Europeans, giving him legitimate claim as “world champion.” Fighting…
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A Brief History On February 6, 1988, Michael Jordan soared into basketball history with his unique slam dunk, taking off from the free throw line! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find this stunning feat earning him the moniker “Air Jordan” and the genesis of the Jumpman logo. Although his incredible jumping ability commanded the attention of basketball fans, Jordan was much more than just a flashy slam dunk artist. A fine ball handler and one of the best defensive players of all time, “MJ,” as he was frequently called, was a complete player with no deficiencies in his game and…
A Brief History On February 5, 1909, New Yorker Leo Baekeland presented his invention of Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic, to the American Chemical Society. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the Belgian-born Baekeland trying to invent a replacement for shellac, a product made by processing lac insects. Shellac was used for many diverse purposes, such as dye for clothing, make-up and a variety of coatings such as varnish and lacquer paint. Of the several different lac insect species, thousands and thousands were required to harvest enough of the lac resin to produce even a small amount of shellac, making…
A Brief History On February 4, 1999, New York City police fired 41 bullets at an unarmed immigrant, Amadou Bailo Diallo, hitting him 19 times! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the aftermath of this shooting going across the country like a tidal wave, with cross currents of both support for the police yet condemnation for the officers involved. Early morning in the Bronx on that tragic day, fate paired Amadou Bailo Diallo, a 23-year-old born in Liberia, with 4 undercover NYPD officers who were on the lookout for a serial rapist known to be armed. With the misfortune of looking…
A Brief History On February 3, 1913, a dark day indeed for Americans, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was adopted, making it legal to institute an income tax! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find that income taxes did not meet constitutional requirements for the federal government to levy such taxes and an amendment was required to allow congress to pass laws levying such taxes. Prior to implementation of the income tax, the main sources of revenue for the United States government were tariffs and excise taxes. Since those taxes raised prices for everyone, they proportionately…