A Brief History On December 10, 1941, Colin Purdie Kelly, Jr. became the first in a long line of American heroes that flew the great Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a pairing of the greatest bomber of World War II and the greatest bomber pilots. Digging Deeper Only 3 days after the catastrophic raid on Pearl Harbor thrust the US into the War, the Philippines were next on the Japanese list of American targets, and Kelly with his bomber and crew were there to face the threat.  On a mission to attack Japanese naval forces, Kelly bombed the Japanese cruiser Natori,…

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A Brief History On December 9, 1935, the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City (now known simply as The Downtown Club) made their choice for the most outstanding college football player, naming Jay Berwanger, halfback for the University of Chicago as the winner of the Downtown Athletic Club Award, the prize later renamed The Heisman Trophy. Digging Deeper Probably the most prestigious award in college football, the Heisman got its name from the Athletic Director of the DAC who died in 1936 and the award was renamed to honor him. Unlike most of the players so honored, Berwanger never…

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A Brief History On December 8, 395, Later Yan was defeated by Earlier Yan. No, we are indeed kidding this time! Actually, Later Yan, a Murong-Xianbei state (during the period of 16 Kingdoms in China), was defeated by one of its previously vassal states, Northern Wei, at the Battle of Canhe Slope. We just wanted to have fun at the expense of the odd sounding Chinese kingdom. Digging Deeper Also on December 8, this time in a guy named Du Fu (sounds like a joke in an Austin Powers movie) returned to Chang’an to serve in the court of Emperor…

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A Brief History On December 7, 1941, the Naval and Air Forces of the Empire of Japan conducted a sneak attack against the US military bases on Oahu, Hawaii, and especially at Pearl Harbor. President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, “a date that will live in infamy.” He was certainly right, and it has, perhaps more than any other date on the calendar as far as Americans are concerned. Here we list 10 Dates That Live in American Infamy. Feel free to debate the order or content of the list, and tell us which dates belong and which do…

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A Brief History On December 6, 343, the man we have come to know as Santa Claus died at the age of 73 in Myra, part of the Roman Empire in what is now South Western Turkey. Digging Deeper Before you break the bad news to young children, you should know that St. Nicholas of Myra, also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker (now that is a name!) is the real life inspiration for Santa Claus. (Note: Nicholas is an Anglicized version of Nikolaos.) Not only is Nicholas revered as a saint by the Catholic Church, he is also given sainthood…

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