Browsing: September 8

A Brief History On September 8, 1761, King George III of the United Kingdom married Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Germany today, what was then the Holy Roman Empire).  George himself had been born in London, England, unlike his father and grandfather (George II and George I) who were born in Hanover, Prussia (Germany).  Did you know British monarchs were not necessarily British?  Or that they did not necessarily speak English?  If not, then you may not know some of the other things we list here today, trivial tidbits about Britain that may surprise you. Digging Deeper 1. British Monarchs not from…

A Brief History On September 8, 2017, Warner Brothers Pictures major motion picture, It, the adaptation of the creepy Stephen King horror novel (1986), will be released to theaters across the US.  Last night we were privileged to review the movie at a pre-screening, or should we say, “pre-screaming?” Digging Deeper Stephen King has written books that have sold over 350 million copies, and in 1986 It was the best selling book of the year in the US.  Not surprisingly, as have many of Stephen King’s stories, It was adapted for the screen in 1990 as a television mini-series.  For…

A Brief History Despite being known for their formidable military, Sparta has actually suffered as many if not more famous defeats as they have won victories in battle.  Therefore, we ask, “Is Sparta’s much celebrated military actually overrated?”  Please examine the list of their battle record below and let us know your thoughts in the comments using Disqus! Digging Deeper: 22 Spartan Defeats In 669/8 BC, the Argives defeated Sparta in the First Battle of Hysiae. In c. 550 BC, the Arcadians defeated Sparta in the Battle of the Fetters. On either August 20 or September 8-10, 480 BC, the Persians…

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 8, 1966, Americans in love with science fiction were treated to the most iconic space-oriented television show of all time when Star Trek made its debut on NBC. Digging Deeper In the days before cable or satellite television, VHS or DVDs, Americans usually only had 3 television channels to choose between.  Better-equipped households might also have gotten the PBS station on ultra high frequency (UHF) television.  TV shows were a much bigger deal in those days, with each show having much less competition than now. Detailing the adventures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the crew of the Enterprise, the original Star…