Browsing: Society

A Brief History On December 2, 1988, Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, thus becoming the first ever female head of government of a modern Islamic country. Not only that, but she twice became Prime Minister, the first time from 1988-1990 and the second time around from 1993-1996. And to think, the United States still has never had a woman as President… Digging Deeper Bhutto was born into a political family in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1953. Her father served as Prime Minister in the 1970’s until he was ousted in a military coup in 1977.…

A Brief History On November 30, 2005, John Sentamu was given the title 97th Archbishop of York, making him the first Black (of sub-Saharan African origin) Archbishop in the Church of England. Digging Deeper With this event taking place so recently, it can be clearly seen that normalization of integrating people of diverse backgrounds into British society is no less trying than seamlessly integrating people of all backgrounds in the United States, a country often referred to as “The Melding Pot” (or sometimes “Melting Pot). Modern European countries, especially ones with far flung former colonies such as Britain are by…

A Brief History On November 28, 1893, the women of New Zealand became the first women in the world to vote in a national election. Of course, women had voted in local and regional elections before this date, but never in a nationwide election. Digging Deeper Women in democratic countries had long, but largely fruitlessly, campaigned for the right to vote (suffrage), especially since 1804 when the International Woman Suffrage Alliance was founded in Berlin, Germany. By the late 19th Century the Women’s Suffrage movement was growing throughout the civilized world, and with it demands for other Civil Rights and…

A Brief History On November 27, 1835, two Englishmen were hanged for the crime of sodomy (Section 15, Offences Against the Person Act of 1828) and a third man was convicted of being an accessory, receiving a sentence of 14 years “penal transportation.” (Not to be confused with “penile transportation!” Penal transportation means being hauled off to a penal colony.) The law the men were charged under had replaced the Buggery Act of 1533. Digging Deeper James Pratt (age 30) and John Smith (age 40) were allegedly engaged in intimate homosexual acts when the building’s landlord and the landlord’s wife…

A Brief History On November 25, 1864, a group of Confederate special forces operatives attempted to burn down New York City by starting fires in a plot orchestrated by Jacob Thompson, Inspector General of the Confederate States Army.  The eight Confederates ambitiously started fires in 19 hotels across the city, as well as PT Barnum’s American Museum and a theater.  The diabolical plan was to cause so many fires the firefighting men and apparatus would be overwhelmed, resulting in mass destruction. Digging Deeper Obviously, the plan failed or you would be reading about the Great New York Fire of 1864!…