Browsing: June

A Brief History On June 12, 1981, movie goers were treated to a film of action, adventure, romance, supernatural, and comedy, when Raiders of the Lost Ark was released, the first of the Indiana Jones movie franchise that now includes four complete films and the upcoming The Dial of Destiny, due for release in the US on June 30, 2023. Dr. Jones does not crack the top 20 money making list, but here are a few that do: Digging Deeper The Marvel Cinematic Universe, the most prolific franchise, with 31 films and the highest grossing total yet. Star Wars, boasting…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on June 11th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On June 11, 323 BC, one of History’s greatest conquerors and generals died at the age of 32, not on the battlefield where he had spent so much time putting his life in danger, but in bed in the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon. On June 11, 173, during the Marcomannic Wars (166–180), the Roman army in Moravia was encircled by…

A Brief History On June 11, 980, Vladimir the Great was proclaimed the ruler of all Kievan Rus’, having consolidated an empire consisting of the lands from what is now Ukraine in the East to the Baltic Sea in the West, the White Sea in the North, and to the Black Sea in the South. Digging Deeper Called the Kievan Realm, the people comprising this vast country included what are now Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians, Nordic, and Finnic people along with other Slavic people.  As the name implies, the capital of these people was located in Kyiv. Vladimir, bearing the titles…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on June 10th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On June 10, 1190, during the Third Crusade, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (r. 1155-1190) drowned in the river Saleph while leading an army to Jerusalem. On June 10, 1942, and again on June 10, 1944, the German army committed atrocities in Czechoslovakia (Lidice), France (Oradour-sur-Glane), and Greece (Distomo, Boeotia) in separate incidents. On June 10, 1943, Hungarian-Jewish inventors Laszlo and Gyrogie…

A Brief History On June 10, 1943, Hungarian-Jewish inventors Laszlo and György Biro were granted a patent in Britain for the successful modern ballpoint pen.  Prior to their invention, attempts to make ballpoint pens failed to find the balance between ink that would be liquid in the pen and yet dry quickly on paper. Digging Deeper American John J. Loud had invented a ballpoint pen half a century before the Biro brothers, but his attempt, like others, was not successful. Laszlo was the genius behind the mechanics of the workable pen, while György made the ink work properly.  The brothers…