Browsing: November 21

A Brief History On November 21, 164 BC, Judas Maccabeus dedicated the Second Temple in Jerusalem, a restoration of the Temple first built by Solomon on Temple Mount in 957 BC. Temple Mount is the holiest location for people of the Jewish faith, although at this time an Islamic mosque called The Dome of the Rock stands on that location. The dedication of the restored Temple is celebrated by Jews worldwide each year as Hanukkah, The Celebration of Lights. Digging Deeper The first Temple had a trying existence, sacked only a few decades after being built and then restored in…

A Brief History On November 21, 1986, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Oliver North, a member of the National Security Council of the Ronald Reagan administration, was busy shredding documents, destroying evidence of criminal activity of the Reagan administration as part of the Iran-Contra Affair. Digging Deeper North was assisted by his comely secretary, the auspiciously named Fawn Hall, who later traded immunity from prosecution for testimony against North.  Of course, Hall realized that the shredding of documents was illegal, evidenced by her statement that, “Sometimes you have to go above the law.”  This statement was exactly the sort of rationalizing…

A Brief History On November 21, 1959, music DJ and rock and roll legend Alan Freed was fired by WABC in New York for refusing to sign a statement that he had never taken “payola,” bribes from record companies to play and promote certain records. Digging Deeper Freed is credited with being the man who popularized the term “rock and roll” while he worked as a DJ and song promoter in Cleveland.  In the 1950s, he appeared in movies that brought rock to the big screen, and he even had his own television show similar to what American Bandstand later became.  Sadly, his television show was cancelled after only…

A Brief History On November 21, 1916, the new and improved version of the Titanic became the largest ship sunk during World War I! Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the third of the Olympic class ocean liners having been built after the Olympic and Titanic and actually being a bit bigger, incorporating new design features to prevent a disaster like the 1912 loss of Titanic. Entering service in December of 1915, she was almost 900 feet long and displacing 53,000 tons, the Britannic was fitted as a hospital ship for wartime service and was carrying 1066 souls on the…