A Brief History On June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), was shot to death by a mob with blackened faces in a Carthage, Illinois jail while awaiting trial for treason. Digging Deeper Smith, who founded the Mormon Church on the basis of the Book of Mormon that had (he claimed) been given to him by the angel Moroni in the form of engraved metal plates in 1823, and interpreted by Smith and written down in 1828. In between being “given” the plates (which he promised to, but never showed anyone) and…
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A Brief History On June 26, 1794, the army of the First Republic of France (the result of the French Revolution) made the first use of balloons in combat at the Battle of Fleurus against the forces of the First Coalition. Digging Deeper The French army under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan had seized upon the new technology pioneered by the French Montgolfier Brothers to create an observation/reconnaissance balloon that could give military commanders and observers much greater fields of view of battlefields and their approaches, a distinct advantage in battle. Originally, the Montgolfier Balloons were of the hot air variety, but French…
A Brief History On June 25, 1940, France surrendered to the military might of Germany after being crushed in the Blitzkrieg. Almost immediately, Adolf Hitler and his gang of thugs began planning their next attack that respected no treaties, no borders, and no decency, the proposed invasion of neutral Switzerland. The Germans never did invade Switzerland during World War II, as they did not invade several other notable places they certainly considered invading or would have greatly benefited from invading. Here we list 10 of those places. Digging Deeper 1. Switzerland. A neutral country made up of German, French and Italian…
A Brief History On June 24, 1916, Canadian born Gladys Louise Smith, age 24, became the first Hollywood actor or actress to sign a contract worth at least $1 million when she signed with Adolph Zukor, founder of what would become Paramount Pictures. Digging Deeper Better known as Mary Pickford, the actress was by 1916 the most popular actress in the world of film, only barely surpassed by Charlie Chaplin as most popular overall. (Chaplin got a million dollar contract in 1918 and is sometimes erroneously listed as the first actor to get such a contract.) Pickford’s contract included $10,000…
A Brief History On June 21, 2017, a date firmly implanted in the 21st Century, people still have not learned to DO WHAT THE POLICE SAY TO DO. Milwaukee police officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown was found not guilty on June 21, 2017 in the fatal shooting of Sylville Smith. Digging Deeper Once again, a police shooting is considered justified after incredibly close and deliberate investigation and trial, and yet people are surprised. Mr. Smith ran from a traffic stop on August 13, 2016, armed with a handgun. After a foot chase, Officer Heaggan-Brown shot Smith twice as he tried to jump…