Browsing: May

A Brief History On May 11, 1862, the CSA ironclad, CSS Virginia, was scuttled in the James River to avoid capture by Union forces. The Virginia had formerly been the USS Merrimac and had fought the USS Monitor in the first battle of ironclad armored ships.  Over its long and illustrious history, the US Navy has lost a variety of vessels, and here we list some of the most famous of those losses. Digging Deeper 10. Bonhomme Richard, 1779. Starting life as a French merchant ship named Duc de Duras built in 1765, she was given to the fledgling US Navy to fight the…

A Brief History On May 11, 2014, 69 countries and territories celebrate Mother’s Day, including the United States. Digging Deeper Anna Jarvis of West Virginia celebrated the first (modern version) Mother’s Day  in 1908 as a memorial to her mother. Thinking this idea was so brilliant, Jarvis began a campaign to create the Mother’s Day holiday. In 1914 her efforts became successful with the official establishment of the holiday, and many countries began to celebrate the holiday as well. Jarvis always claimed exclusive authorship of the holiday, ignoring previous somewhat similar celebrations in the 1800’s. Jarvis actually went to the…

A Brief History On May 10, 1924, J. Edgar Hoover, only 29 years old, was appointed head of the Bureau of Investigation, the agency that became the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  He remained in that post until he died in 1972 when he was 77 years old. Digging Deeper Hoover made the FBI famous through high standards of hiring and rigorous training of its agents, and by striving to stay on the cutting edge of scientific crime fighting.  Through the carefully planned use of publicity, he kept the FBI and himself at the front of the public’s attention, and the…

A Brief History On May 10, 1941, Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess, third in command of Nazi Germany to Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring, some of history’s most evil people, parachuted into Scotland in an attempt to get Britain to make peace with Germany. Digging Deeper Nazi Number 3 was a far cry from the mythical Aryan “superman” that the Nazi propaganda machine depicted, but then again, so were the other top party members.  (We wonder why the German people did not notice that their leadership was less than the so called “Nordic” ideal espoused by the Nazi party.) Although Hess…

A Brief History On May 10, 1865, Union troops ambushed, shot and captured infamous Confederate raider William Quantrill.  Quantrill had terrorized the Union and Union sympathizers during the Civil War (not so “civil!”) and was perhaps the most famous of the “Bushwhackers” as these guerilla raiders were known.  Quantrill died 4 weeks later at a Union prison camp, paralyzed from the chest down.  He was only 27 years old. Digging Deeper Throughout history, men and women have conducted raids, and some have become famous or infamous for their raids.  Here we list 10 of the most notorious.  (Note: The order…