A Brief History On September 23, 1913, future fighter pilot combat hero Eugène Adrien Roland Georges Garros of France made an aviation historic first by becoming the first pilot to fly all the way across the Mediterranean Sea, flying from St. Raphael, France to Bizerte, Tunisia.  Usually referred to by the more manageable name of Roland Garros, this aviation pioneer went on to become the first acknowledged fighter pilot hero during World War I, though unlike the popular legend, was not technically the first fighter “ace.”  Historians often point to Garros as the man that invented air to air combat…

A Brief History On September 21, 1745, the Battle of Prestonpans was fought in the East Lothian council area of Scotland between a British army under the command of Sir John Cope and an upstart rebel army of Jacobites under the command of Charles Edward Stuart, the grandson of King James II and VII of England and Scotland, respectively.  Also known as “The Young Pretender” and even “Bonnie Prince Charlie,” Charles sought to put his father on the throne of Britain in a conflict known as The Jacobite Uprising, or even the just simply “The ’45.”  Although Charles won a…

A Brief History On September 18, 1838, English businessman and politician Richard Cobden along with free trade advocate John Bright established the Anti-Corn Law League, an action taken in opposition to the “Corn Laws” that had been enacted in Britain since 1815, a series of tariffs on goods imported from outside of Britain, especially grain products, hence the name “Corn Laws.”  Today, we take a look at even more of the laws people love to hate, as we have previously done in our articles on this subject. Digging Deeper Corn Laws, Britain, 19th Century. Tariffs are a double edged sword,…

A Brief History On September 16, 1979, the Rap music trio The Sugarhill Gang released their groundbreaking hit, “Rapper’s Delight,” the first Rap song to land in the Billboard Top 40 as a mainstream hit song.  America was baptized into a new mainstream musical genre that has persisted over the years, a movement also called “Hip Hop.” Digging Deeper Finding its origins in New York City during the 1970’s, African American and to some extent Latino Americans developed the Rap style of talk music, which has evolved into the wider genre of Hip Hop which includes “beat box” singing, record…

A Brief History On September 14, 919, a united coalition of native Irish fought an epic battle against the Dublin based Vikings that had colonized Ireland, a battle known as the Battle of Islandbridge.  An indication of how real leaders used to put their own lives at stake in the interest of their realm, a stunning total of 6 Irish kings died in the battle, including their overall leader, King Niall Glúndub, the overking of Northern Uí Néill (Northwestern Ireland) and High King of Ireland.  As indicated by the loss the 6 kings, the Irish lost the battle to the…