Browsing: January 31

A Brief History On January 31, 1988, Doug Williams quarterbacked the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXII, the first time an African American quarterback had played in Super Bowl history. Digging Deeper Standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing a solid 220 pounds, Williams played college football at Grambling State, starting all four years and posting an outstanding 36-7 record.  In his senior year, Williams was a premier NCAA quarterback, leading the nation in yards passing and touchdown passes thrown, although he only finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. Williams became the 17th overall pick in the…

A Brief History On January 31, 1846, the result of the Milwaukee Bridge War was the formation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Fought over a bridge being built over the Milwaukee River, two of the three settlements in the area, Juneautown and Kilbourntown, were highly competitive with each other and along with Walker’s Point were incorporated as the Village of Milwaukee in 1839. Digging Deeper The intense rivalry between the leading citizens of each area boiled over in 1845 when one of the several bridges in the village was struck by a schooner sparking rumors of an intentional ramming.  The Kilbourntown people…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on January 31st.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On January 31, 1747, the London Lock Hospital opened as the first clinic specifically for the treatment of venereal diseases! On January 31, 1846, the result of the Milwaukee Bridge War was the formation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On January 31, 1915, the German Army, in violation of the 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Asphyxiating Gases, launched 18,000 artillery shells containing xylyl bromide tear gas…

A Brief History On January 31, 1915, the German Army, in violation of the 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Asphyxiating Gases, launched 18,000 artillery shells containing xylyl bromide tear gas against Russian positions, the first truly large scale use of poison gas in combat. Digging Deeper While people have used various poisons to deny the use of water wells as far back as 600 BC and to foul the air with toxic sulfur fumes in 479 BC, the 19th and 20th Centuries saw efforts to outlaw such use of poisons. In World War I, the first and most common use of…

A Brief History On January 31, 2022, we take a look at one of many persistent conspiracy theory type allegations that seem to permeate our society at the present time, this time going back to the ancient origins of the Olmec civilization of what is now modern Mexico.  Despite ample evidence to support the conventional academic view of Olmec origins, as well as other Native American peoples’ origins, these wild theories include Nordic, African, Chinese, and Jaredite sources of the population that became the Olmecs. Digging Deeper Current serious academic scientists date the Olmec civilization from about 1500 BC and…