A Brief History On January 1, 2016, we started a new year with the same hopes and expectations we normally start every year. Despite all the acrimonious politics, the Obama years had actually been slowly improving across the economy, for rich and poor alike. Job numbers had grown for 81 consecutive months (a record) and Obamacare resulted in more Americans than ever having health insurance. A Presidential election year had begun, and it was widely thought that this year would see the first ever woman nominated by a major political party (Hillary Clinton by the Democrats) and that she would…
Browsing: January 4
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A Brief History Every year has champions in various sports and leagues, but certain sporting events just stand out above the rest to capture the attention of the media and fans. Here are our nominations for the Top 10 Sports Stories of 2015. Digging Deeper 10. Notable Sports Deaths. Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra (90, 3 time MVP and 13 World Series titles), Harlem Globetrotter legend Meadowlark Lemon (83), Hockey player Dickie Moore (84, twice NHL scoring champ, 5 Stanley Cups in a row), 12 time NBA All Star and Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes (87), ABA 2 time…
A Brief History Shortly before 1 AM Eastern Time on January 4, 2015, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon Jones defeated formerly undefeated Olympian Daniel Cormier in a grueling five-round battle in Las Vegas. With this victory, Jones cements his position as the all-time greatest light heavyweight mixed martial artist. The youngest fighter to win a UFC championship, his accomplishments include having the most successful consecutive title defenses in the division and the longest win streak in UFC light heavyweight history. Digging Deeper Yet, probably one of his finest moments actually occurred outside of the cage. On…
A Brief History On January 4, 1972, the famous Old Bailey court in London England witnessed the first appointment of a female judge when Rose Heilbron was allowed to sit on the bench. This event raised the questions: Are women emotionally or hormonally fit to judge other people? Should they have life-altering decisions placed in their hands? These questions may seem silly now, but 40 years ago women still faced much discrimination for being the “weaker” sex. Digging Deeper If you are a regular reader History and Headlines, you are familiar with our frequent articles acknowledging and lauding the accomplishments of women. From their achievement of political…
A Brief History On January 4, 1903, Thomas Edison’s company filmed the execution of Topsy the Elephant, the largest purported casualty in the “War of the Currents”! The big argument over whether to use alternating current as championed by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse or direct current as championed by Thomas Edison had already been decided in favor of alternating current a decade before Topsy became an afterthought and legend of the Current Wars. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find Edison, the most prolific inventor of all time (electric light, phonograph, motion pictures, etc.) had been engaged in a bitter struggle with rival…