A Brief History On September 21, 1809, the British government was rocked by a duel fought between Secretary of War Lord Castlereagh and Foreign Secretary George Canning. Neither aggrieved party was killed, although Canning was shot in the thigh. Digging Deeper Epic cases of one-on-one combat are found throughout history, sometimes formal affairs and sometimes matters of chance. Some of those epic battles include: A London duel between women, in 1782, pitted Lady Almeria Braddock against Mrs. Elphinstone who claimed the former was 30 years older than Braddock stated. When pistol shots proved errant, a sword fight ensued, with Elphinstone…
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A Brief History On September 18, 1928, Spanish engineer and pilot Juan de la Cierva made a bit of obscure aviation history by becoming the first person to fly an autogyro successfully across the English Channel. Digging Deeper The humble autogyro is one of the oddest flying machines still being used, with an unpowered rotating rotor on top making it look deceptively like a helicopter and a pusher propeller located in the back to provide forward thrust. As the autogiro moves forward, the top rotor turns and supplies lift. Not surprisingly, de la Cierva was the inventor of this wild…
A Brief History On September 17, 2018, Syrian air defense units accidentally shot down an allied Russian IL-20, a big turbo-prop airplane used as an airliner for civilian use and for electronic reconnaissance by the military. Digging Deeper Syria had suffered a series of missile and fighter plane attacks by Israel, and when the Russian plane appeared on their radar scopes, they promptly shot down the big plane, killing all 15 on board. Instead of blaming Syria, Russia claimed the Israeli fighter planes had hidden behind the larger Russian plane, resulting in the tragedy. Sometimes military operations result in what…
A Brief History On September 16, 2007, Americans and Iraqis found out just how dangerous it is when nations hire private “security,” basically mercenaries, during time of armed conflict. Agents of Blackwater Worldwide, a paramilitary “security” firm employed by the US in Iraq gunned down 17 Iraqi citizens, an event called “Nisour Square massacre.” Digging Deeper The incident brought international shame on the US, and only after seven years were the perpetrators tried, one convicted of murder and three of manslaughter. After finally saving some moral high ground with the convictions, in 2020 President Trump pardoned all four mercenaries! The…
A Brief History On September 15, 1440, Gilles de Rais, a knight, baron, and lord of France that had been a military leader for the French during the Hundred Years’ War that had fought alongside French saint, Joan of Arc, was arrested by Catholic Church authorities for the suspected crime of being a serial killer of children. Digging Deeper Baron de Rais had earned the criticism of his family by squandering his inheritance on an extravagant lifestyle. He continued to irritate authorities by assaulting a church official and seizing a castle, resulting in his arrest. Charged with heresy and sodomy,…