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…
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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 June 21, 1734, a 29 year old African woman was executed for setting her slave master’s house on fire which spread through Montreal in New France, what is now Canada. Digging Deeper Born a slave in Madeira around 1705 and named Marie-Joseph Angélique by a Flemish man that bought her and sold her to a Frenchman in Montreal around 1725, Marie was not submissive and tried to escape with a White indentured servant she had taken as a lover in 1733. The White servant was jailed, and Marie was returned to domestic duties, although her sale…
A Brief History On June 18, 2023, the deep-sea submarine Titan imploded 3,500 meters beneath the surface of the Atlantic, killing the crewman and the four tourists aboard. The Titan was a commercial sub designed to take tourists to visit the resting place of the RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912 Digging Deeper If you think ticket prices at Disney World are expensive, try the regular price of a seat in the Titan at $250,000, or the discount price of $150,000! Regardless of price, sometimes tourism goes bad, such as when a tourist airliner or helicopter crashes, a cruise ship…