A Brief History On January 7, 1797, the first use of the Green, White, and Red tricolor Italian flag was seen in use by the Cisalpine Republic (formerly Milan) after Napoleon Bonaparte’s conquest of that region in 1796. It seems obvious that the tricolor pattern of what became the modern flag of Italy was much influenced by the French tricolor flag adopted by the Revolutionary French Government in 1790. Digging Deeper Napoleon Bonaparte, former Emperor of the French, is one of history’s most influential characters, as evidenced by the fact that more has been written about him than any other…
Browsing: January 7
A Brief History On January 7, 1960, the United States first successfully test launched the Polaris Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) from their launching facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Polaris would be the first missile deployed in the world that could be launched from a submerged submarine and carry a nuclear warhead, changing the game of nuclear brinkmanship forever. Digging Deeper In July of 1960 the first successful launch of a Polaris missile from a submerged USS Washington missile submarine led to the arming of 41 US submarines with 16 Polaris missiles each, with each missile carrying a single…
History: January 7, 1959: The U.S. Recognizes Fidel Castro’s Government of Cuba On January 7, 1959, the United States officially recognized the new government of Cuba that was headed by Fidel Castro who, together with his revolutionaries, had overthrown the corrupt dictator Fulgencio Batista. Batista had originally seized power in a coup after having lost a presidential election in 1952, so the U.S., expecting a return to democracy, actually welcomed Castro and his revolution. Alas, it was not to be as Castro declared himself a communist in 1961, and it quickly became evident that he was just another dictator. Worse yet for the U.S., this…
A Brief History On January 7, 1948, a Kentucky Air National Guard pilot met his death trying to intercept a UFO! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find another well documented close encounter, this time of the deadly kind. Captain Tom Mantell flying his P-51 Mustang was a World War II veteran, not a civilian or some rookie. Mantell and 3 other Mustang pilots were directed to intercept a huge round white object, perhaps a football field across! Multiple witnesses from spots in Ohio and Kentucky, including a sergeant at the Fort Knox control tower and members of the Kentucky Highway…
