A Brief History On September 20, 1835, Brazilian rebels captured Porto Alegre, starting a rebellion that lasted almost 10 years called The Ragamuffin War. The longest war against the Imperial Brazilian government (and second bloodiest), the Ragamuffin war raged between southern, rural “Ragamuffins” or “Gauchos” (cowboys) that wanted a Republican form of government against the northern portion of the country. Digging Deeper Despite an offer of amnesty and peace in 1840, the rebels continued the fight even though no realistic chance of winning existed. The famed Italian revolutionary and uniter, Giuseppe Garibaldi, came to assist the rebels in 1839 and…
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A Brief History On September 20, 1982, the television show The $10,000 Pyramid was renamed The $25,000 Pyramid, with its host being American Bandstand and New Year’s Eve impresario Dick Clark. Upon Dick’s death in 2012, CBS reported that his estate was in the “hundreds of millions.” His third and final wife (of 35 years), Kari Wigton, can therefor be said to have hit her own jackpot by hooking up with such a successful Dick. Here we list lucky ladies who can proudly claim they had or have their own “Dick.” Digging Deeper 10. Kari Wigton, Dick Clark. Clark’s previous marriages had lasted…
A Brief History On September 10, 1960, the final event of the Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy, was the scene of the first Sub-Saharan African (Black) to win an Olympic Gold Medal. Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the prestigious Olympic Marathon race (about 26.2 miles long) and won it in high fashion, that is, barefoot! Digging Deeper Only 126 lbs, this slim 5’11” runner was 28 years old when he ran his historic race, and for good measure he won the Olympic Gold Medal in the Marathon in the 1964 Olympics as well. The course of events that led…
A Brief History On September 8, 1923, the biggest peacetime disaster in U.S. Navy history occurred when commodore Captain Edward Watson of Destroyer Squadron 11 (abbreviated as Desron 11) ignored his radio navigation device and led 9 of his 14 ships to run aground at Honda Point in the Santa Barbara Channel in California, with 7 of the Clemson-class destroyers sinking. Not only were 7 ships wrecked, the remaining 2 were left damaged, and 23 men lost their lives, with many more injured. Capt. Watson accepted blame for the disaster and was punished with the removal of his seniority. …
A Brief History On September 5, 1798, France instituted the Jourdan Law making military conscription the law of the land. Military drafts have never been popular with the masses that supply the cannon fodder and it is likely this law was no exception. Like the American and other national military drafts, this one discriminated against the poor and lower classes, leaving various exemptions available for the privileged. On September 5 and August 5 of 2014 we published lists of unpopular laws, and this time we are doing it again, with no significance to the order listed. Digging Deeper 10. Right…