A Brief History On September 13, 1987, two thieves took advantage of a guard being absent from an abandoned Brazilian hospital site to help themselves to whatever they could scavenge. The men made the blunder of taking a 3.3-ounce capsule of caesium chloride, a highly radioactive substance used in radiation therapy. Digging Deeper The same night of the theft, the thieves exhibited signs of radiation poisoning. Visiting a local clinic, they were diagnosed with radiation sickness. About three days after the theft, the thieves opened the capsule and picked out some of the glowing blue substance inside. The thieves sold…
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A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on September 12th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On September 12, 490 BC, an epic battle was fought between the Greeks (primarily Athenians) and the Persian Empire at the plains of Marathon, Greece, about 26 miles from Athens, with the result being a great victory for the outnumbered Greeks and giving rise to the legend of Pheidippides running the long distance to bring news of the victory to Athens, giving…
A Brief History On September 12, 1992, NASA launched mission STS-47, an historic flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. Digging Deeper Among the notable facts about this particular flight, is that this mission marked the 50th space shuttle flight. Another first, was the first African American woman in space, Mae Carol Jemison. Mamoru Mohri became the first ever Japanese astronaut aboard a US spacecraft, and the first married couple to be together in space when Mark Lee and Jan Davis made the space flight as crew members. Endeavor made a total of 25 successful space flights from 1992 until retirement in…
A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on September 11th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On September 11, 1297, Scottish forces led by William “Braveheart” Wallace defeated the English at Stirling Bridge. On September 11, 1792, in the midst of the confusion of the French Revolution, the crown jewels, which included the fabulous Hope Diamond (Le Bleu de France), were stolen. On September 11, 1826, Captain William Morgan was arrested in Batavia, New York, supposedly on a charge of failing to pay…
A Brief History On September 11, 1941, aviator Charles Lindbergh delivered a speech for the America First Committee in Des Moines, Iowa, in which he claimed the US was being coerced into World War II, alleging, “…pressing this country toward war; the British, the Jewish, and the Roosevelt Administration.” Digging Deeper Having become a celebrity and American hero by becoming the first pilot to fly non-stop solo across the Atlantic in 1927, Lindbergh was a popular figure. Unfortunately, he had political leanings that included anti-British and anti-Jewish sentiments, while openly admiring Germany. An anti-communist, Lindbergh echoed contemporary German ideology by…