This Day in History on January - History and Headlines

January 31, 1918: Battle of May Island, Yet Another Naval “Oops” Moment!

By Major Dan on January 31, 2019 January 31, Military, Vehicles

A Brief History On January 31, 1918, Britain’s Royal Navy “fought” a battle with itself in the Scottish Firth of Forth near the Isle of May, a series of naval accidents in the dark and the mist that led to the loss of 104 British sailors killed. A total of 8 Royal Navy submarines and ships were involved in 5 collisions, resulting in the loss of 2 submarines and damage to another 4 submarines and a light cruiser. Our retelling of tale after tale of Naval “Oops” Moments (we have many articles in addition to the one in this link,…

January 30, 1835: What Was the First US Presidential Assassination Attempt?

By Major Dan on January 30, 2019 Crime, January 30, Politics

A Brief History On January 30, 1835, for the first time in American History an assassination attempt was made on the President of the United States. Richard Lawrence, a 35 year old housepainter that had immigrated to the United States from England pulled the triggers on 2 pistols aimed at the back of President Andrew Jackson, but incredibly both pistols misfired and the assassination attempt failed. In the decades that followed, several other attempted assassinations of American Presidents have taken place, with Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy fatally wounded by their assassins. Digging Deeper Lawrence had come to the…

January 29, 1886: Who Invented the Automobile?

By Major Dan on January 29, 2019 Inventions, January 29, Travel, Vehicles

A Brief History On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz, a German engineer, became the first person to patent a successful gasoline powered automobile. Not counting impractical inventions and steam powered cars, the Benz Patent Motorcar was the first of what we would recognize as a “real” automobile,” although of course it looked a lot different from the sleek machines we see on the roads today. A funny looking 3 wheeled flimsy vehicle, the Benz creation was the first internal combustion engine car built to actually be sold on the commercial market. Its 1 liter gasoline powered engine produced a pathetic…

January 28, 1980: And Yet Another Naval Oops Moment, Coast Guard Style

By Major Dan on January 28, 2019 January 28, Military

A Brief History On January 28, 1980, the United States Coast Guard proved that their big brother, the United States Navy, does not have a monopoly on maritime blunders or misfortune. Sadly, this particular “Naval Oops Moment” came at the cost of almost half the crew of the USCGC Blackthorn, a sea going buoy tender designated WLB-391 when the Coast Guard ship collided with the SS Capricorn, a tanker ship causing the Blackthorn to roll over and sink. Digging Deeper The Blackthorn, an Iris class buoy tender, was born during World War II, commissioned in 1944 as a Great Lakes ice…

January 26, 1856: Marines vs. Indians, The Battle of Seattle

By Major Dan on January 26, 2019 January 26, Military

A Brief History On January 26, 1856, elements of the United States Marine Corps fought a battle against a most unlikely of opponents, Native American warriors of the tribes in the Washington Territory, a battle with the catchy sounding name, The Battle of Seattle. Like the vast majority of battles fought by the US Marine Corps, the result was a victory for the Devil Dogs, although this particular battle does not often come to mind when contemplating great USMC victories such as Iwo Jima, Belleau Wood, and Khe Sahn. Digging Deeper The Puget Sound War of 1855-1856 (sometimes called the…