A Brief History On October 22, 1707, four ships of the Royal Navy ran aground and sank near the Isles of Scilly near Cornwall in Great Britain.  All four ships were lost with almost all hands, 1,550 (estimate) British sailors went to Davey Jones’s Locker that fateful day, including the fleet commander, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell.  Only 13 of the sailors survived. Digging Deeper Before we go any further, we have to seriously ask, “What kind of jerk names their kid ‘Cloudesley?’”  You would have to home school the poor lad because other kids would brutalize him over that goofy…

A Brief History On October 21, 1973, defensive end Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams (yes, that is where they played before St. Louis, and they were the Cleveland Rams before that) became the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in one game, a remarkable feat. Digging Deeper Not because of that curious statistic, but because of his good looks and acting ability Dryer went on to become a successful Hollywood actor, notably in the title role of the television series, Hunter (1984-1991). Not only did Dryer have a stellar 13 year pro football career and star…

A Brief History On October 20, 1944, during the height of World War II, the Midwestern US city of Cleveland, Ohio, then the 6th biggest city in America (1940 census), was rocked by a massive explosion of liquid natural gas and a subsequent fire, causing the city to  suffer 30 city blocks flattened with 130 people killed. Historical Evidence The disaster began around 2:30 pm when a liquefied natural gas tank located above ground started leaking, the vapors finding their way into the sewer system of this industrial city.  The gas, owned by the East Ohio Gas Company, gathered in…

A Brief History On April 26, 1859, Daniel Sickles, Congressman, Army general, and diplomat, became the first person to successfully use the “temporary insanity” defense to beat a murder rap. Digging Deeper While serving as a U.S. Representative from the state of New York, Sickles shot Phillip Barton Key II, District Attorney for Washington, D.C., who also happened to be the son of Francis Scott Key, the author of the lyrics in the American National Anthem.  Sickles killed the man for having an affair with his wife.  This provocation was considered sufficient by the jury to justify not punishing Sickles for his crime of passion, which of course…

A Brief History On October 19, 1781, British and German forces outnumbered 2 to 1 by American and French forces finally surrendered after a 3 week siege of Yorktown, Virginia.  Also known as The Battle of Yorktown or The German Battle, this was the decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War, even through the official end of hostilities would take another 2 years.  The defeat and capture of Cornwallis and all his forces was a defeat on a scale unacceptable to the British government, who would begin negotiations for a peace settlement soon after word of the disaster arrived in…