A Brief History On an unknown date around 638 BC one of the greatest of the Ancient Greeks was born in Athens into a modestly wealthy family of the noble class.   A Renaissance Man before there was such a thing, Solon had many facets and many talents.  Engaging in commerce and in military leadership, he became known for high intelligence and persuasive debate. Digging Deeper Eventually becoming a major reformer of Athenian society, Solon is often remembered as “The Lawgiver” for his wise legislation as Chief Magistrate of Athens starting around 594 BC.  During his time as autocrat of Athens,…

A Brief History On August 31, 1943, the Buckley Class destroyer, USS Harmon (DE-678) was commissioned, the first American Navy ship named after an African-American person.  The Harmon got its name from the heroic Leonard Roy Harmon, a Mess Attendant aboard the USS San Francisco in 1942. Digging Deeper Back in World War II there were limited specialties available to African-American sailors in the segregated armed forces of the United States, and for the most part African-American sailors were limited to service type positions.  Of course, on board a warship sailors have to have emergency duties assigned for combat, and…

A Brief History On August 30, 1898, American actress Shirley Booth was born.  Booth would go on to play television maid, Hazel, in the title role of the TV show.  She was famous enough in that role to make a television commercial for the new 1964 Mustang, an indication of her pop-culture standing.  Despite winning  a Best Actress Oscar and a Golden Globe for 1952’s film Come Back Little Sheba, after winning the Tony award for that role on Broadway in 1950 (and 2 other Tony awards), it is the  couple of television Emmys she won as Hazel we seem…

A Brief History On August 29, 1949, nuclear scientists in the Soviet Union (USSR) successfully tested their first atomic bomb, an implosion type device they called “First Lightning.”   Although the Soviet atom bomb program had started during World War II, the United States in coordination with scientists from Canada and the United Kingdom was the first nuclear power, testing the first atom bombs and dropping 2 of them on Japan in 1945. Digging Deeper The implosion type device is the type used in the Nagasaki bomb called “Fat Man.”  Greatly simplified, it consists of a hollow sphere of Plutonium surrounded…

A Brief History On August 28, 1917, ten women who were picketing the White House demanding women’s suffrage were arrested.  Civil rights are measures to protect individuals and groups against discrimination and to ensure that people are treated equally and that freedoms are not taken away.  Such rights should be blatantly apparent and should not require people struggling to achieve them in the first place.  Nonetheless, throughout history people have had to campaign and even fight for their rights. Digging Deeper August 28 has come up numerous times in the 20th century as a date that saw important pieces of the civil rights…