A Brief History On April 28, 1881, the notorious outlaw and gunman known as Billy the Kid escaped from his jail cell where he was being held after he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In a previous article, 5 Dashing, Daring, and Dynamic Escapes we discussed some famous/infamous escapes, and today we again explore the topic of people escaping from custody against all odds of success. Digging Deeper 1. Billy the Kid Cheats the Hangman by Escaping Jail, 1881. Often referred to as being named “William H. Bonney,” the Kid’s real name was probably Henry McCarty. And…
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A Brief History On April 27, 1987, the United States declared Austrian President Kurt Waldheim to be persona non grata, meaning that although Waldheim was the head of state of a free nation he would not be allowed entry to the United States. Even more shocking, this same Kurt Waldheim had served as Secretary General of the United Nations from January of 1972 to December of 1981, in spite of having a past as an intelligence officer for the German Army during World War II in which he and his wife, Elisabeth, both were members of the Nazi party. Digging…
A Brief History On April 26, 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte signed a general amnesty for those members of the émigrés of the French Revolution, those royalists and others opposed to the French Revolution that had fled France. Allowing all but about 1000 of the most die hard opponents of the Revolution (and Napoleon) such as the ringleaders of the Armée des Émigrés, those expatriate French royalists that created military forces to fight against Napoleon’s regime, to return to France without penalty was of course a healing gesture to unite France under the leadership of Napoleon. (Napoleon publicly stated respect for the…
A Brief History On April 25, 1644, the last of the Ming Dynasty Emperors, Zhu Youjian, known as The Chongzhen Emperor, committed suicide when his armies were unable to contain a peasant rebellion. Over the centuries, many leaders of countries, kingdoms, etc. have for one reason or another committed suicide, an ignoble end to the glory of leading a country or kingdom. Today we list 10 such leaders and former leaders that killed themselves. Digging Deeper 1. Zhu Youjian, “The Chongzhen Emperor,” China, 1644. The Ming Dynasty reigned in China from 1368 to 1644, with 17 emperors in the line,…
A Brief History On April 24, 2013, Communist China proved to be less than tolerant of ethnic dissent when authorities attempted to crush suspected ethnic Uyghur “terrorists.” Violence broke out in response to perceived heavy handed police action, and at least 21 people were killed, 15 of which were reported to be policemen and authorities. Previously in our article “10 Oppressed Minorities Around the World” we discussed the problem the Uyghurs have with the Chinese government, especially insofar as the predominant religion of the Uyghurs is Islam in a country that is officially atheistic. Digging Deeper The April 2013 violence…