A Brief History On June 1, 1495, a Dominican Friar of the Stirling house in Scotland named John Cor is the first person named in a written reference to Scotch Whisky, while the first known written reference to Scotch dates from 1494. Digging Deeper Although originally written in Latin, a translated version of the entry in the Exchequer Rolls is: “To Brother John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt.” Note that the description of the whisky, aqua vitae, means “water of life,” an indication of the importance of the wonderful liquid refreshment…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 31st.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 31, 455, Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus was stoned to death by an angry mob, an ignoble end to a world leader. On May 31, 1866, Irish nationalists known as Fenian Brotherhood invaded Canada in an attempt to force Britain into granting Ireland independence. On May 31, 1921, one of the saddest examples of racial hatred in American history occurred…

A Brief History On May 31, 1921, one of the saddest examples of racial hatred in American history occurred when White Oklahomans attacked a wealthy Black neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma known as the Greenwood District, or just “The Black Wall Street.” Digging Deeper One of the wealthiest Black sections of the US, the area was home to successful African American business owners as well as community leaders.  The trigger for the attack was an alleged incident of assault on a White girl by a Black youth.  Before the riot finally ended on June 1st with the National Guard being called…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 30th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 30, 727 or 728, we mourn the passing of one of the great characters in history, one of our favorite Saints, Saint Hubert, also known as Hubertus, the first bishop of Liège in what is now Belgium. On May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc) was put to death by being burned alive at the stake for the alleged…

A Brief History On May 30, 2020, the Crew Dragon Demo-2 spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida courtesy of a Falcon 9 booster rocket from the private firm of SpaceX.  The capsule, named Crew Dragon Endeavor, contained two astronauts, the first manned space flight to launch from the United States since the last Space Shuttle flight in 2011. Digging Deeper This first ever commercial manned orbital space flight on behalf of the American government space program was on a mission to link up with the International Space Station and have the two American astronauts work with…