A Brief History On September 21, 1170, invading Normans, Vikings that had settled in France, captured the Kingdom of Dublin and established their own Irish kingdom replacing a previous Viking kingdom in Ireland from the 9th Century called Dyflin. Digging Deeper Vikings, the premier seafarers of the 8th through the 11th Centuries, spread their DNA far and wide in their travels, both in trade and in conquest. Many Europeans today have genes passed down from the Vikings, people from modern Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, countries that today have a combined population of only around 22 million. Places that have Viking…
Browsing: Military
A Brief History On September 20, 2001, US President George W. Bush addressed congress and the American people and declared a “War on Terror.” Initial attacks against terrorist bases went well, but the war soon bogged down in Iraq, diverting the effort, and the US ended up in a 20 year occupation of Afghanistan, only for the Taliban to take over when the Americans left. Digging Deeper Some other declared wars that did not go well for the initiator include The War on Poverty, declared by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, which saw massive federal spending and creation of programs…
A Brief History On September 18, 1812, the conquering French Grande Armée was appalled to see that the giant fire set by retreating Russians had destroyed almost all of the city of Moscow. Napoleon and his troops were left without food and shelter to face the upcoming winter. Either as scorched Earth policy or vindictiveness, burning cities in war is common. Digging Deeper In the case of Moscow, the city was burned by its own people to deprive the enemy of its resources. When Washington, D.C. was burned by the British in 1814, the act of mass arson was to…
A Brief History On September 15, 1978, the self-proclaimed “Greatest” boxer, Muhammad Ali, won a decision on points against former US Marine, Leon Spinks, winning back the heavyweight boxing championship he had held twice before. Digging Deeper Ali became the first three-time heavyweight champion, having previously won the crown in a fight against Sonny Liston in 1964, defending his title nine times successfully before losing his crown during a dispute with the US government over military conscription in 1967. Ali returned to the ring in 1970, winning a pair of fights before challenging Joe Frazier for the title. Ali lost…
A Brief History On September 14, 1984, retired USAF Colonel Joseph Kittinger made aviation history by becoming the first person to pilot a gas balloon solo across the Atlantic. Digging Deeper Kittinger scored other aviation firsts when he made the then record high altitude skydive, 102,800 feet, in 1960, a record that stood until 2012. Kittinger flew 483 combat missions in Vietnam, including being shot down and captured in 1972. Kittinger had also previously set altitude records for balloon flight, and on one of those high-altitude flights became the first human to view the curvature of the Earth fully. Not…
