A Brief History On December 6, 1952, Vladimir Nabakov finished his novel Lolita.  With a subject matter concerning a mature man and a young girl in a love affair, it was no surprise that prudes would find the subject “unfit” for public dissemination.  The Soviets and the Nazis banned and burned many books that were not in line with their concepts; the Chinese go so far as to also censor the internet.  Here 10 reviled written works that someone at one point in time or another wanted to ban are listed.  Digging Deeper 10. Mein Kampf (Adolf Hitler). Although the…

A Brief History On December 5, 1952, the people of London, England found out the hard way that smog is no joke.  Air pollution, cold weather, fog, lack of wind and a phenomenon known as an anticyclone combined in such a manner that huge quantities of smoke from factories and furnaces, largely from the burning of coal, was left lingering over the city. Digging Deeper The noxious smoke, at first believed to not be dangerous, even penetrated buildings, causing people respiratory distress.  Londoners called the episode, which lasted until December 9 when the weather finally cleared, “The Great Smog of 1952,” or…

A Brief History On July 9, 1540, the marriage between Henry VIII and his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, was annulled. Digging Deeper Annulled on the basis of non-consummation of the marriage, the real reason Henry wanted the divorce was because he found Anne unattractive, if not revolting.  Yes, it sounds very harsh, but it was probably a bit of an exaggeration as Henry had to get his point across to morally win his case.  How could he possibly be expected to make love to a woman who did not turn him on?  Well, he should have asked his forefathers who…

A Brief History On December 4, 1969, the Chicago Police took the “war” with the militant African-American extremists, the Black Panthers, right into the bedroom when they shot Fred Hampton, a high-ranking member of the Black Panther Party (BPP), to death while he was sleeping. Digging Deeper The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Police had been keeping tabs on Panther activity with the help of an informant, William O’Neal. O’Neal had given information on Panther whereabouts and weapons as well as details about the house that was raided at 4 a.m. on December 4, 1969.  Expecting to find as many as 20 armed Panthers willing to…

A Brief History Throughout history, there have been phonies who liked to embellish their backgrounds.  Some claimed to be royalty, others claimed to be war heroes, and some even boasted academic achievements they never earned.  Perhaps you know people like this; for sure as heck we at History and Headlines do!  The author has worked with goofs who claimed to be Viet Nam veterans who certainly were not, and sometimes more famous people have claimed a war record to help them attain elected office, only to be revealed as frauds later.  Some researchers have even faked experiment results!  Here 10 egregious examples of liars…