A Brief History On February 5, 2023, Americans were flooded with a variety of opinions about the Chinese “spy” balloon that had crossed much of the US and was shot down by a US fighter plane off the coast of South Carolina yesterday. Digging Deeper Some of the controversies concerning this event include: Chinese outrage over US action against their alleged “weather balloon.” China’s promise to “retaliate.” Why did President Biden wait until the balloon was off the coast to shoot it down? Why didn’t President Trump shoot down the three Chinese balloons that crossed the US during his administration?…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on February 5th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On February 5, 1852, the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was opened to the public. On February 5, 1869, prospectors Richard Oates and John Deason of Australia found the incredibly large alluvial gold nugget known as “Welcome Stranger,” a rock weighing almost 300 pounds! On February 5, 1909, New Yorker Leo Baekeland presented his invention of Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic, to the…

A Brief History On February 5, 1852, the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was opened to the public.  The largest art museum in the world, by floor space, the Hermitage was established in 1764 by Empress Catherine the Great to house her massive art collection. Digging Deeper The Hermitage ranks 6th in the world by number of annual visitors, and most lists of “Greatest Museums” include it on their honor roll. Other worthy contenders for the title of Greatest Museum would include the Louvre, in Paris, the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C., the British Museum, in London, and the…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on February 4th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On February 4, 1555, English clergyman John Rogers became the first martyr burned at the stake under the rule of Queen Mary I of England, known better as Bloody Mary. On February 4, 1899, a war broke out between the First Philippine Republic and the US, called the Tagalog Insurgency, the Filipino-American War, and other names, that lasted until July of 1902, and continued as the Moro…

A Brief History On February 4, 1555, English clergyman John Rogers became the first martyr burned at the stake under the rule of Queen Mary I of England, known better as Bloody Mary. Digging Deeper Rogers was a Protestant cleric in an England that had turned away from the Catholic Church under King Henry VIII, but when Henry’s daughter, Mary, a Catholic, assumed the throne in 1553, she did all she could to reinstall the supremacy of the Catholic Church and reverse the Reformation in England. During Mary’s 5 year reign, at least 280 religious dissenters were burned at the…