A Brief History On October 21, 1096, a Seljuk Turk army led by Sultan Kilij Arslan I massacred a Christian army from Europe, known as the People’s Army, ending the first of the religious wars known as the Crusades. This particular “Crusade” is not considered an “official Crusade,” a distinction reserved for the Catholic Church sanctioned invasion of the Middle East (i.e., Holy Land) a year later. Digging Deeper The so called “People’s Crusade,” “Popular Crusade,” “Peasants’ Crusade” or “Paupers’ Crusade” was the work of a charismatic French monk called Peter the Hermit. In keeping with the multiple names theme,…
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A Brief History On October 16, 1916, Margaret Sanger (nee Higgins), nurse, writer, and sexual educator opened the first family planning (birth control) clinic in the United States. While Sanger did not invent the idea of birth control or the methods, she was an activist for preventing unwanted pregnancy and was the first person to coin the phrase, “birth control.” Humans, unlike any other known animal, have been trying to prevent unwanted pregnancies for thousands of years and have tried a variety of methods. Digging Deeper Probably the most simple methods of birth control came after it was realized that…
A Brief History On October 2, 2006, a mentally disturbed 32 year old man went to an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (often described as the “Capital” of Amish Country) and proceeded to shoot 11 people, of which six died, including himself. His apparent reason for the massacre? The man was upset about having sexually molested a couple of young children (3 and 5 years old) 20 years prior to the shooting and was having thoughts that he might again start molesting children. How exactly murdering innocent people that had nothing to do with the man’s past is unclear.…
A Brief History On September 28, 2018, the 4th Thursday in September, we celebrate National Brave Day. We take this opportunity to discuss what exactly is courage, bravery, valor, any of the synonyms for doing brave things or having the quality to act in the face of danger or highly distasteful consequences. We will discuss some ways to define bravery/courage, some brave people, and of course how to celebrate National Brave Day. Digging Deeper Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines “brave” as “having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty : having or showing courage” in its…
A Brief History On September 20, 1187, the Islamic forces of the famous Kurdish Muslim leader Saladin laid siege to the capital of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, the holiest city in the Christian world and likewise in the Jewish world, and the third holiest city in Islam. By October 2, 1187, the siege came to an unusually quick conclusion when the Christians surrendered the city, never to regain the main object of the Crusades again. Saladin, an historical character praised for his humanity during a time of terrible excesses allowed generous terms for the Christians, including continued access to…