Browsing: Places

A Brief History On July 12, AD 70, the army of Titus Caesar Vespasianus, a Roman general that would later become Roman Emperor, finally attacked the walls of the city of Jerusalem after a 6 month siege, succeeding in taking the city 3 days later. Digging Deeper By taking Jerusalem, Titus effectively ended the Jewish revolt and in a punitive measure he had the Second Temple destroyed, a temple that has yet to be rebuilt.  The Second Temple, known as Herod’s Temple, had stood for nearly 6 centuries until its destruction.  The Jews never recovered from this defeat, and the…

A Brief History On February 15, 1972, in what is surely one of the most frustrating political events in history, the President of Ecuador, José María Velasco Ibarra, was ousted by a military coup, incredibly, the fourth time such a coup took place out of the five times Ibarra was president! Digging Deeper A lawyer born in 1893, Ibarra became involved in politics in the 1930s, eventually rising to the presidency of Ecuador in 1934, a post he regained in 1944, 1952, 1960, and 1968.  His unceremonious oustings occurred in 1935, 1947, 1961, and 1972.  In 1956, Ibarra left power…

A Brief History On February 9, 1996, the synthetic element, Copernicium, was discovered by a research team at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany, named after the famous Polish astronomer and polymath, Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik in Polish), 10 days after the discovery, on the 537th anniversary of Copernicus’s birth. Digging Deeper Some of the other elements named after people include Curium, Fermium, Mendelevium, Nobelium, Einsteinium, Bohrium, Roentgenium, Lawrencium, and others.  Perhaps you recognize some or most of these names as major historical scientists. You might not appreciate a disease or disorder being named after you,…

A Brief History On December 27, 2007, Mombasa, Kenya, was the scene of violent protests over a disputed presidential election.  Mombasa, a gateway to East Africa, happens to be just one of the many fascinating places visited by Major Dan, and today we take a look at some of those nifty cities to visit. Digging Deeper Toronto and Montreal, Canada. These two largest cities in Canada present different takes on our neighbor to the Great White North, foreign, yet highly accessible and both with great food, museums, attractions, and wonderful people. Honolulu, Hawaii.  Truly a paradise on Earth, even the…

A Brief History On October 22, 1721, Peter I, better known as Peter the Great, Czar of All Russia for nearly four decades at this point, announced the existence of the Russian Empire, the first time Russia had been so declared.  What was so “great” about Peter? Digging Deeper Well, for one thing, he created the Russian Empire, which he proclaimed after defeating Sweden.  Ruling with an iron fist, Peter was a prototypical absolute monarch. Some of his accomplishments include modernizing the Russian Navy and switching to the Julian Calendar, as well as personally updating the written Russian language. While…