Browsing: January 17

A Brief History On January 17, 1949, American television audiences were treated to a new form of entertainment, the situation comedy, or more familiarly known as the sitcom. Digging Deeper The Goldbergs, a show about a New York Jewish family living in a Bronx tenement.  The main character was the matriarch, Molly Goldberg, played by actress Gertrude Berg.  The show had been a radio program from 1929 to 1946, at first weekly but due to great success becoming a daily show in 1931.  The public was already familiar with the premise of the show and the characters, so taking to the television…

A Brief History On January 17, 1873, despite fielding only 53 warriors, the Native American Modoc tribe, led by Captain Jack, defeated 104 California and Oregon volunteers* and 225 U.S. Army soldiers* who were equipped with 2 howitzers. Digging Deeper In a campaign called “The Modoc War,” also known as the “last Indian war,  the U.S. tried to evict Native Americans from their territory in Oregon and California, specifically from a rocky fortress named “Captain Jack’s Stronghold.”  Whereas at least 32 white men* were killed, the Modoc apparently left the battle that later became known as the “First Battle of the Stronghold” unharmed.  History and Headlines Note: Captain Jack…

A Brief History On January 17, 1966, a U.S. Air Force B-52 hit a KC-135 tanker plane in mid-air causing 4 nuclear bombs to fall on Spain! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the U.S. in the middle of the cold war and therefore keeping bombers flying or on the runway with live hydrogen bombs at all times. The B-52 Stratofortress was the mainstay of the U.S.A.F.’s bomber force and with aerial refueling could hit any target in the world.  Spain was not on the list! Of the 4 Mk28 thermonuclear bombs that fell that day, one fell in the…