Browsing: July 20

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on July 20th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On July 20, 1304, the forces of King Edward I of England successfully took Stirling Castle during the First War of Scottish Independence. On July 20, 1304, the forces of King Edward I of England successfully took Stirling Castle during the First War of Scottish Independence.  (NOTE: The link in the date for this entry leads to a different article than the…

A Brief History On July 20, 1997, the famous American warship, the USS Constitution, better known as “Old Ironsides,” celebrated 200 years of service by embarking on a cruise under her own sails for the first time in 116 years! Digging Deeper The now restored heavy frigate was launched in 1797 to serve the fledgling US Navy, enforcing freedom with her armament of 30 24 pounder cannons and 20 32 pounder cannons.  With a crew of 450, the wooden sailing ship counted 30 “boys” among her crew. Highly successful in battle during the War of 1812, Old Ironsides earned her…

A Brief History On July 20, 1969, the promise by President John F. Kennedy that the USA would put men on the Moon came true when Apollo 11’s Lunar Module, the Eagle, landed on the surface of the Moon, with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Astronaut Michael Collins remained in the main Apollo capsule orbiting the Moon until the 2 moon men would lift off and later rejoin him for the return to Earth. Digging Deeper About 6 and a half hours after the Eagle landed, Armstrong stepped out of the module and onto the surface of the Moon,…

A Brief History On July 20, 1779, Tekle Giyorgis I (meaning “The Plant of Saint George”) became Emperor of Ethiopia, a member of the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia.  Between ascending to the throne on this day, and June of 1800, he would 5 more times be named Emperor, having lost his status each time previously for a total of 6 stints as Emperor, probably a World Record for times any person became Emperor! Digging Deeper As you probably guessed already from the name of the dynasty the Ethiopian Emperors supposedly descended from, it is the same Solomon one finds in…

A Brief History On July 20, 1304, the forces of King Edward I of England successfully took Stirling Castle during the First War of Scottish Independence.  Although the Scots would ultimately maintain their independence, key to the English victory was the intimidating-sounding “Warwolf,” allegedly the largest trebuchet ever made.  This mighty siege engine catapulted rocks or other projectiles up to 300 pounds and was capable of battering down the walls of any castle.   We used this event to precipitate our article in 2015, “Weapons with Cool Names!”  We discussed the “importance” of giving your weapons and weapon systems cool names…