A Brief History On March 27, 1964, Good Friday to Christians, a massive earthquake hit Alaska, fracturing the ground, knocking down buildings, and causing tsunamis, all of which killed at least 131 people. Known variously as The Great Alaskan Earthquake, The Good Friday Earthquake, or The 1964 Alaskan Earthquake, by any name the massive magnitude 9.2 quake was the largest known earthquake in North American history. Digging Deeper Labeled a megathrust earthquake, one in which tectonic plates move to overlap each other, the massive quake lasted just over 4 and half minutes, probably seeming much longer to those who experienced…
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A Brief History On March 26, 1934, the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland instituted their first ever practical examination of automobile drivers’ competence in order to be issued a driver’s license. The UK, however, was way behind the trend to require a driver’s test, as France had instituted the dreaded procedure way back in 1899! The United States lagged behind their European brethren in licensing drivers, although by 1918 all 48 states required license plates on motor vehicles. When Britain started requiring a driving test that needed to be passed to get a driver’s license the…
A Brief History Back on March 18, 2016, we ran an article, “10 People (You Do not Know) Behind the Characters,” and today we take a look at 5 more characters and the persons or critters behind the character. As always, feel free to illuminate us with more information about the character or person behind the character, or to nominate those characters you think should be on such a list. Digging Deeper 1. Lassie, television and movie star (dog). You may be surprised to find out that the dog that played “Lassie” in the movies was played by a male…
A Brief History On March 17, 1891, a civilian ocean liner, the steamship SS Utopia of the Anchor Line ran into the moored battleship, HMS Anson in Gibraltar Bay, causing the ill-fated steamer to sink taking 562 of the 880 passengers to Davy Jones Locker! We have frequently written about naval and maritime disasters, and today we include another one of those times a ship’s captain would love to have a “do over.” Digging Deeper As stated above, the British battleship HMS Anson (the 6th Royal Navy ship to bear the name, but not the last!) was anchored in Gibraltar…
A Brief History On March 15, 1493, Christopher Columbus made his triumphant return from his first voyage to the New World, a momentous occasion in human history and especially noteworthy for the Spanish Crown that he sailed for. Today we look at 10 such Triumphant Returns, times when a person or a group of people made it back with an air of accomplishment, vindication, or victory, often with a page written in history about that very return. No significance to the order listed, but feel free to add your own nominations to the list. Digging Deeper 1. Christopher Columbus, 1493.…