A Brief History On October 26, 1977, Ali Maow Maalin, the last natural case of smallpox, developed a rash in Somalia. The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider this date to be the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination. Twenty-three years later, on October 26, 2000, a wave of protests forced Robert Guéï to step down as president after the Ivorian presidential election. Today, October 26, 2019, Somalia and the Ivory Coast remain two of the many important countries found on the African continent. The rich history of…
Browsing: October 26
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A Brief History On October 26, 2001, President George W. Bush signed a new law into effect known familiarly as “The Patriot Act” or “The USA Patriot Act.” Of course, the name intentionally evokes nationalistic feelings in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent Anthrax terrorist mailings, but did you know the name is actually an acronym? It is, with the long version called, “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001,” (Note how the first letters in the words spell out USA PATRIOT ACT) a…
A Brief History On October 26, 1943, what could have been a fantastic advantage in the German air war against Allied bombers in World War II first took to the air, with the first flight of the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow). A two engine heavy fighter, the Pfeil was powered by propeller driving engines in the front and the back of the fuselage, a push-pull arrangement unlike any other World War II fighter plane. Alas, for the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) delays in obtaining sufficient engine production and clumsy German bureaucracy meant only 37 of the sleek and fast…
A Brief History On October 26, 1917, a force of only 100 German Army soldiers led by Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant in American talk) Erwin Rommel took Mt. Matajur from an Italian defensive force of 7,000 men, a key part of the German/Austro-Hungarian victory at the Battle of Caporetto (aka The 12th Battle of the Isonzo). Digging Deeper Rommel earned the highest German military medal of the time for his exploits, the Pour le Merite (sometimes called colloquially The Blue Max) but his main comments were for his men to be better fed, which says a lot about his leadership. To…
A Brief History On October 26, 1881, Tombstone, Arizona saw the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday faced off with the Clantons and the Cowboys in perhaps the most famous gunfight in US history, The Gunfight at The O.K. Corral. Digging Deeper This notorious shootout has been the subject of numerous major motion pictures as well as books, articles, and all sorts of cultural references. But what of the guns involved in the gunfight? The most famous character involved, Wyatt Earp, was not in charge. He and Morgan Earp were appointed “special policemen” assisting their brother, Virgil, who was the city‘s…
