Browsing: Society

A Brief History On August 10th or 11th, 991, a Viking invasion of England resulted in The Battle of Maldon, fought in Essex near the River Blackwater. Digging Deeper English King Aethelred, called Aethelred the Unready, was represented in the battle by Earl Byrhtnoth leading the English fighters against between 2000 and 4000 Vikings led by a man named Olaf, perhaps Olaf Tryggvason. English reaction to incursions of Vikings varied at the time from submitting to the invaders and paying tribute to military resistance.  In this case, fighting the Vikings did not go well for the English and victory was…

A Brief History On August 9, 1965, the city/state of Singapore was evicted from the country of Malaysia and became the only country that became independent against their own will. Digging Deeper Established as the British Crown Colony of Singapore in 1946, Singapore, a strategically positioned island near the Straits of Malacca, possesses a fine harbor and had a strong British presence since 1819.  An important Far East British possession, Singapore was fortified to the point where it was called “The Gibraltar of the Pacific.” After World War II, the world saw the gradual independence of many formerly colonized countries,…

A Brief History On August 8, 2017, country and pop music superstar Glen Campbell passed away.  Campbell had a Gold and Platinum singing career and a successful acting career as well, and the first song that put him in the public eye was “Universal Soldier,” reaching #45 on the charts. Digging Deeper Written by singer/songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, an indigenous Canadian woman, her original rendition did not rock the airwaves, but when Scottish singer Donovan and American Glen Campbell covered the song in 1965 the tune became an anti-war icon. Other famous anti-war tunes such as Edwin Starr’s “War,”  PF Sloan’s…

A Brief History On August 5, 2010, 33 Chilean miners were trapped underground 2,300 feet deep in a copper and gold mine, an incredible 3 miles from the entrance to the mine. Their lives certainly seemed to be over, but 69 days later they emerged, alive! Digging Deeper The incident, called the Copiapó mining accident, received frantic efforts by the mine’s owners and then the national mining company to save the miners.  Little hope remained 17 days later as rescuers continued to drill exploratory holes to locate the lost men, when rescuers were startled to find a note attached to…

A Brief History On August 4, 1892, the father and stepmother of 32 year old Lizzie Borden were brutally murdered, hacked to pieces with an axe! Digging Deeper Borden, born in Fall River, Massachusetts, was charged with murder in a sensational case that achieved national attention.  Despite public opinion that Lizzie had committed the gruesome crime, she was acquitted at trial 10 months after the crime.  Contributing to her defense was another axe murder that took place in Fall River only 5 days before her trial. Such a high-profile case attracted prominent attorneys to both the prosecution and the defense,…