A Brief History On May 23, 1945, notorious head of the dreaded German SS (Schutzstaffel), Heinrich Himmler, committed suicide by taking poison rather than face execution by hanging. Himmler is just one of many famous or infamous people that have killed themselves while in custody to avoid whatever retribution awaited them at the hands of their captors. Today we list some of those notorious incidents. Digging Deeper Heinrich Himmler, SS Chief and mass murderer (1945) A high-ranking Nazi official before and during World War II, this German weasel led the fanatic SS and was the leading head Nazi behind the…
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A Brief History On May 16, 1957, Eliot Ness, former head of the “Untouchables” and former Safety Director of Cleveland, Ohio, died in relative obscurity, unlike the famous character of television and movies. Today we take a quick look at 5 famous lawmen, with the emphasis on “fame” rather than on any particular virtue or value. Digging Deeper Wyatt Earp, Frontier Lawman Wyatt, along with his brothers Virgil and Morgan, gained everlasting fame as the winners of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881. Despite his far greater fame, Wyatt was not the main lawman on the scene, as…
A Brief History On February 29, 1940, for her portrayal of Mammy in the classic motion picture, Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award, better known as an Oscar. On the last day of February, the month we celebrate as “Black history Month,” we take the time to honor some famous and well loved fictional African American characters. We have previously featured many real great African Americans, but today we take the time to recognize how even fictional characters can present people in a positive light, even as an example for…
A Brief History On October 9, 2012, just eight years ago, 15 year old Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani Muslim girl, was shot in the face by Taliban Islamic extremist terrorists for the “crime” of being a girl that wanted to go to school to learn to read and write. This intrepid young lady went on to become a major player in the battle for women’s rights in the Islamic world, and has served as an inspiration for people across the globe. At the age of 16, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize! We have previously cited this brave…
A Brief History On July 5, 1946, the bikini swimsuit went on sale after being debuted at the Molitor Pool of Paris, France. Ever since, continued developments in this fashion icon have kept the interest of men over most of the globe, and provided Sports Illustrated Magazine with an annual blockbuster issue. Here we list 10 more of our (subjective) favorite 20th Century inventions, a sequel list to our prior article on this subject. Digging Deeper 1. Digital Camera and Video, 1959 We can thank Mohamed M. Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs for this marvelous invention, dating back…