Browsing: September

A Brief History On September 22, 1692, eight people convicted of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials were executed by hanging.  The trials took place between February 1692 and May 1693 and resulted in the execution of twenty people, most of them women.  Contrary to the common belief that witches were typically burned, most of those condemned in Salem and the surrounding areas died by hanging. Digging Deeper As in our previous article on 10 Things History Got Wrong about Women, this article explores 10 more common misconceptions involving women in history.  These misconceptions may be due to legend, malicious gossip,…

A Brief History On September 21, 1993, Russian President Boris Yeltsin triggered the Russian Constitutional Crisis of 1993 by throwing out the constitution and dissolving Parliament.  The resulting chaos included the worst riots and fighting seen in Moscow since the 1917 revolution. Digging Deeper Relations between Yeltsin and Parliament had been deteriorating for some time when Yeltsin decided to dissolve Parliament, although he did not have the power to do so according to the constitution.  In turn, Parliament declared Yeltsin’s decision null and void, impeached him and barricaded themselves within the parliament building known as the White House.  Both sides made…

A Brief History On September 20, 2000, the headquarters of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), an agency also known as MI6, suffered the indignity of being hit by a Soviet-made RPG-22 anti-tank rocket.  No suspect has ever been identified or arrested.   Digging Deeper The rocket hit the exterior of the building at the level of the 8th floor.  It caused superficial damage and thankfully no injuries.  Of course, the pride of James Bond, M, Q and Moneypenny was severely shaken!  The anti-terrorist branch of the Metropolitan Police believed that the perpetrators belonged to the Real IRA, a breakaway group from the Provisional IRA, but did not name…

A Brief History On September 19, 1976, two F-4 Phantom IIs of the Imperial Iranian Air Force flew out to intercept a UFO over the capital city of Tehran.  As each fighter jet approached the UFO, navigation, weapons, communications and other avionics systems suddenly became inoperable.  Only after the F-4s distanced themselves from the UFO, did the pilots regain control. Digging Deeper The Iranian Air Force had received numerous reports of an object in the sky that appeared brighter and larger than a star, and commanders ordered that the object be intercepted. The first jet got within 25 miles of…

A Brief History Today, on September 18, 2014, Scotland is voting either yes or no on the topic of independence from Great Britain and the United Kingdom.  Only a simple majority vote is needed, that means 50% + one person. Update: As of July, 2020, Scotland is still part of the UK, although the Brexit fiasco looms over the union and the issue of the independence of Scotland is still a realistic possibility at some point. Digging Deeper Formally united in 1707 by the Act of Union which was ratified by both the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland is now seeking…