A Brief History On November 25, 1851, the first YMCA located in North America was organized in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The organization, originally titled Young Men’s Christian Association, though better known by its initials, was founded in London, England, back in 1844. Digging Deeper The Montreal chapter was soon followed by the first American chapter, located in Boston, Massachusetts on December 29, 1851. The organization made famous by the disco era song with the eponymous name, “Y.M.C.A.,” brought a lot of attention to the organization, but with about 10,000 US branches of various types, we believe “The Y” has plenty…
Browsing: November 25
A Brief History On November 25, 1120, a ship sailing from Normandy, France, to England, hit a rock and capsized, quickly sinking and taking everyone aboard, save one, to their deaths. Aboard the White Ship was the heir to the English throne, William Adelin, the only legitimate son of King Henry I. The loss of William (also called William Ætheling) created chaos over the succession to the English throne, initiating a period known as “The Anarchy.” While non-British people today may not be familiar with the sad tale of the White Ship, this particular wreck was a Big Deal back…
A Brief History On November 25, 1947, the United States was in the glow of having decisively won World War II and stepping up to become the major economic and military power in the world, the only nation with nuclear bombs. But. And this is a big “but,” and not the kind I sit on! The Soviet Union (USSR) had built a gigantic military force during World War II and proved to be a problematic ally after the war by scooping up as much territory and installing as many puppet governments as they could. The avowed goal of Soviet communists…
A Brief History On November 25, 2009, almost 3 inches of rain fell in only 4 hours on the Western Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah located on the Red Sea. The city was celebrating the Eid al-Adah festival (Feast of the Sacrifice) during the annual Hajj, a Muslim tradition of making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during every Muslim’s life. Double the normal annual rainfall, the downpour created a flash flood that swept away over 3000 cars and killed at least 122 people. Digging Deeper Jeddah, being close to Mecca, is a normal place to pass through on…
A Brief History On November 25, 1864, a group of Confederate special forces operatives attempted to burn down New York City by starting fires in a plot orchestrated by Jacob Thompson, Inspector General of the Confederate States Army. The 8 Confederates ambitiously started fires in 19 hotels across the city, as well as PT Barnum’s American Museum and a theater. The diabolical plan was to cause so many fires the firefighting men and apparatus would be overwhelmed, resulting in mass destruction. Digging Deeper Obviously, the plan failed or you would be reading about the Great New York Fire of 1864!…
