A Brief History On January 9, 1873, Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, died after ruling France for a longer reign than any other leader since the French Revolution. Napoleon III, nephew of the more famous Napoleon I, had been President of France from 1848-1852, and following in his family’s footsteps, became Emperor of the French in 1852, reigning for the next 18 years as the last monarch to rule France. Digging Deeper Born in 1808 as the son of Louis Bonaparte, the brother of Emperor Napoleon I, his given name was Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (later to drop the “Charles”…
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A Brief History On January 8, 2004, the largest passenger ocean liner ever built was christened the RMS Queen Mary 2. Christened by the granddaughter of Queen Mary (of Teck, consort of King George V), the current Queen Elizabeth II, the ship is named “2” after the first RMS Queen Mary (1936-1967) that served the White Star Line and then the Cunard Line before becoming a tourist attraction in Long Beach, California. Digging Deeper Owned by Carnival Cruise Lines and operated by Cunard Lines, the massive vessel stretches 1132 feet long and has a beam of 135 feet (waterline). Towering…
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…
A Brief History On January 6, 1930, a milestone in automobile engine history occurred when the first diesel powered automobile trip was taken from Indianapolis, Indiana to New York, New York. Clessie Cummins of Cummins Engine Company (1919) had installed one of his Diesel engines in a used Packard limousine and took the first short ride in a diesel powered car on Christmas, 1929. When the engine and automobile combination proved successful, Cummins then orchestrated the first road trip by a Diesel powered automobile with his trip to New York. Digging Deeper Internal combustion engines had been furiously developed during…
A Brief History On January 5, 1998, former rock and roll star and current Congressman from California, Salvatore “Sonny” Bono, died when he skied into a tree at a Nevada ski resort. Sonny, former member of rock duo Sonny and Cher, was 62 years old when he died. Digging Deeper Born in Detroit to a Sicilian family, Sonny moved to California at the age of 7. Bono’s first foray into the music business was as a songwriter, with the hit song “Needles and Pins” to his credit (#13 in US and #1 in the UK in 1964 by The Searchers).…