A Brief History On May 19, 1051, Anne of Kiev, also known as Anna Yaroslavna, married the King of France, Henry I. When Henry died nine years later, Anne effectively ruled France as regent for her underage son who had inherited the throne. Digging Deeper Princess Anna was the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise who held the titles of Grand Prince of Kiev and Prince of Novgorod in the Rus civilization of what is now Ukraine that also became Russia and Belarus. Her mother was Ingegerd Olofsdotter, also known as Saint Anna or Irene, the daughter of Swedish King Olof…
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A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 18th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 18, 1096, Christians in Europe heeded the call of Pope Urban II and joined up with the throngs following local noblemen in a Crusade to regain the Holy Land of Jerusalem from the Muslims that occupied what is now Israel and the Levant, but on this day the Crusading zeal went in a horribly different direction. On May 18, 1804,…
A Brief History On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court of the US ruled that “separate but equal” was a legal doctrine for segregating Caucasian Americans from Americans of sub-Saharan African descent, especially regarding school children. The case known as Plessy v. Ferguson is frequently referred to as the most egregious error in judgement ever made by the Supreme Court. Oddly enough, the case has never been overturned, except regarding the classroom. Digging Deeper Some other cases that have attracted the ire of Supreme Court critics include Dred Scott v. Sandford of 1857 claiming that American citizenship did not extend…
A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 17th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 17, 1536, King Henry VIII of England had his marriage to Anne Boleyn annulled, although she had borne him the future Queen Elizabeth I. On May 17, 1875, in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 people, a field of 15 three-year-old horses contested the first Kentucky Derby. On May 17, 1943, the famous 617 Squadron of the RAF conducted…
A Brief History On May 17, 1995, San Diego, California was the scene of one of the oddest and perhaps the scariest police chase of a stolen vehicle in the annals of motor vehicle theft. Shawn Timothy Nelson, a 35 year old US Army veteran stole a National Guard M-60A3 tank, a 63 ton metal monster boasting a 105mm main gun, two machine guns, a 750 horsepower engine, and as much as 10 inch thick armor. Digging Deeper Nelson’s time in the Army was marred by his “‘multifaceted’ disciplinary problems” which resulted in his discharge. He became a plumber but…