On this day in..........

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nortex97
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7:51a, 1/24/25
AG
41 AD Gaius Caesar (Caligula), known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards (and Senators). A true precursor to certain later politicians who shall go un-named, he mercilessly prosecuted his political rivals in every way he could conceive using his office and powers of the executive/state, and thought of himself as a god. Claudius succeeds his nephew, chosen by the same Praetorian guards, and those who killed him…are similarly 'shocked' to receive the same treatment.

1943 World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.

1961 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.

1972 Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.

1984 The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.

2003 The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
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BonfireNerd04
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12:50p, 1/24/25
100 years ago today, Los Angeles became the first major city in the United States to criminalize "jaywalking".

This marked a radical shift in the public's perception of what city streets are for, transforming them from public spaces (shared by horses, cyclists, and pedestrians) to the exclusive domain of the automobile. The car industry propaganda against pedestrians was so effective that today few people even recognize it as being propaganda.

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ABATTBQ87
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9:46a, 1/25/25
AG
Battle of the Bulge Ends: 25 January 1945

January 25, 1945, the German lines had been pushed back to their initial jumping-off point. Hitler's last gamble in the West had failed. The Germans lost approximately 100,000 men, who could not be replaced, while Allied casualties were placed at about 80,000, killed, wounded, and captured.

The end of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, a symbol of progress for the U.S. and Allied troops

By mid-January 1945, the Allies had regained the initiative. The American 3rd Army, led by Gen. George S. Patton, advanced to relieve Bastogne, while improved weather conditions allowed for the resumption of Allied air attacks, which inflicted heavy losses on the Germans. The American 1st Army, supported by the British 30th Corps, simultaneously counterattacked the northern shoulder of the bulge. Despite the brutal winter conditions and heavy casualtiesaround 75,000 U.S. service members were killed, wounded or capturedthe German forces suffered far worse losses, with around 100,000 casualties. This marked the failure of the German offensive and the beginning of the Allies' final push into Germany.

The end of the Battle of the Bulge, Jan. 25, 1945, was a decisive moment for the U.S. military and its Allies. For the U.S., the battle showcased their resilience in the face of surprise and adversity. The successful defense of key positions, the eventual counteroffensive, and the clearing of the "bulge" in the lines gave the Allies a critical victory at a time when Germany's strategic options were rapidly diminishing. The heavy losses sustained by Germany, both in terms of manpower and equipment, significantly weakened their ability to mount future offensives.

Battle of the Bulge: 16 Dec 1944 - 28 Jan 1945

The final tally of military casualties was stunning. The Allies suffered 76,890 casualties (with 8,607 Americans killed) and lost 733 tanks; the German forces suffered an estimated 68,000 casualties with 12,000 killed, and lost about the same number of tanks. Among the Americans, about 10% of the total casualties were in the 106th Division, while the 28th Division suffered dearly as well. While the total losses were roughly equal on each side, the Germans had lost a greater percentage of the available men and equipment than the Allies. The men and equipment lost were nearly impossible for Germany to replace at this stage of the war.
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aggiejim70
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11:41a, 1/25/25
AG
Sorry Army, I missed this by one day. January 24, 1971, William G. Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous passed away.
The person that is not willing to fight and die, if need be, for his country has no right to life.

James Earl Rudder '32
January 31, 1945
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nortex97
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5:16a, 1/26/25
AG
1863 American Civil War: Massachusetts Governor receives permission from Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
1863 American Civil War: General Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac after the disastrous Fredericksburg campaign. He is replaced by Joseph Hooker. His greatest claim to fame may or may not be true that his propensity for womanizing and a steady supply of "Hooker's Brigade" of ladies of negotiable virtue tagged the trade with "hookers".
1871 US income tax, enacted to pay for the Civil War is repealed, but it's such a nifty idea that politicians bring it back later.
1907 The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the oldest military rifle still in official use. It was still being made and issued in the 1980's.
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mullokmotx
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9:14a, 1/26/25
AG
In 1945 Audie Murphy climbs on board a burning tank destroyer and earns the Medal Of Honor.
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Sapper Redux
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In reply to nortex97 • 9:33a, 1/26/25
Hooker was an outstanding logistician and organizer who remade the corps structure of the Army of the Potomac and reorganized the quartermaster department to ensure rapid delivery of good food and supplies. He ****ed up tactically at Chancellorsville but did much more than Burnside, Pope, or Rerun McClellan for the AoP.
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nortex97
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5:56a, 1/27/25
AG
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ABATTBQ87
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9:19a, 1/27/25
AG
On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops enter Auschwitz, Poland, freeing the survivors of the network of concentration campsand finally revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there.

Auschwitz was really a group of camps, designated I, II, and III. There were also 40 smaller "satellite" camps. It was at Auschwitz II, at Birkenau, established in October 1941, that the SS created a complex, monstrously orchestrated killing ground: 300 prison barracks; four "bathhouses" in which prisoners were gassed; corpse cellars; and cremating ovens. Thousands of prisoners were also used for medical experiments overseen and performed by the camp doctor, Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death."
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Aggie1205
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In reply to nortex97 • 2:48p, 1/27/25
AG
I think this qualifies as breaking both the guideline of 50 years and turning the thread political.
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nortex97
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In reply to Aggie1205 • 3:06p, 1/27/25
AG
It's pretty funny though, if we don't take ourselves too seriously, it's something many of us recall, and finally certainly his claim was not political. And it was a while back, going on 30 years now.

In all seriousness, there are some other dates in history today:
1785 The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States. Y
1880 Thomas Edison patents electric incandescent lamp. 2012 Congress revokes the patent.
1888 In Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Society is founded.
1915 US Marines occupy Haiti.
1924 Lenin placed in Mausoleum in Red Square.
1945 World War II: The Red Army arrives at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
1967 Apollo program: Apollo 1 Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of the spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center.
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nortex97
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6:23a, 1/28/25
AG
Pretty momentous on this date; Charlemagne dies, Diet of Worms begins (hundreds of years later of course), Paris' siege ended in 1871 (German unification), Challenger tragedy.



…and more.
1896 Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).


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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to nortex97 • 7:14a, 1/28/25
AG
nortex97 said:
Challenger tragedy.
The Battalion., January 29, 1986

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nortex97
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5:28a, 1/30/25
AG
Another 'not real great' day in history;


1649 King Charles I of England is beheaded.
1661 Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed.
1930 The Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the extermination of the Kulaks. That might have been as many as six million deaths, according to some reports.
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ABATTBQ87
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8:49a, 1/31/25
AG
Eddie Slovik was executed by firing squad at 10:04 AM on January 31, 1945. It's believed his last words were to Father Carl Patrick Cummings, who was in attendance. Shortly before the execution, the chaplain said to him, "Eddie, when you get up there, say a little prayer for me," to which Slovik responded, "Okay, Father. I'll pray that you don't follow me too soon."

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/eddie-slovik.html
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BQ78
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 9:29a, 1/31/25
AG
Court Martial and execution under the command of James Earl Rudder.
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to BQ78 • 9:43a, 1/31/25
AG
BQ78 said:
Court Martial and execution under the command of James Earl Rudder.


Under military law, the sentence had to be approved by the division commander, Major General Norman D. "Dutch" Cota, after the division judge advocate prepared a comprehensive review and recommendations.

2 famous DDay officers involved with this action
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BQ78
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 10:00a, 1/31/25
AG
It went all the way up to Eisenhower for approval. I never got why Slovik was singled out. It was theoretically supposed to be a deterrent for the troops but it was handled hush hush. There were thousands of other deserters and 49 were sentenced to death but only one was carried out.
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Fuzzy Dunlop
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7:33p, 1/31/25
AG
I remember watching a movie about Slovik in the early 80s. Can't remember the name of it but I'd love to see it again if anyone can remember the title.

Edit: Imdb is your friend. "The Execution of Private Slovik." I'll have to see if I can find it.
Double Talkin' Jive...
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BQ78
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In reply to Fuzzy Dunlop • 7:52p, 1/31/25
AG
Based on the book, which is way better.
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to Fuzzy Dunlop • 7:54p, 1/31/25
AG
Fuzzy Dunlop said:
I remember watching a movie about Slovik in the early 80s. Can't remember the name of it but I'd love to see it again if anyone can remember the title.

Edit: Imdb is your friend. "The Execution of Private Slovik." I'll have to see if I can find it.


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nortex97
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7:08a, 2/1/25
AG
1861 American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
1865 President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This frees slaves in states not affected by the Emancipation Proclamation, which only affected the Confederate states.
1898 First auto insurance policy in US issued by Travelers Insurance Co.
1900 Great Britain, defeated by Boers in key battles, names Lord Roberts commander of British forces in South Africa.
1942 World War II: Vidkun Quisling is appointed Premier of Norway by the Nazi occupiers. "Quisling" becomes synonymous with "collaborator" and "sell-out" for a generation.
1968 Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lm by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan is recorded on motion picture film.
1979 The Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile, after Jimmy Carter assured him the US would not allow a military coup against him on his return, believing him to be the Gandhi of his country.
2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
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Build It
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10:51a, 2/2/25
AG
The treat of Hidalgo was signed on this day. Suck it Mexico.
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nortex97
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7:57a, 2/3/25
AG
Some good, some bad…

1809 The Territory of Illinois is created by the 10th United States Congress.
1870 The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing voting rights to citizens regardless of race.
1913 The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax.
1941 World War II: Nazi Germany forcibly restores Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.
1958 Founding of the Benelux Economic Union (of Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg), creating a testing ground for a later European Economic Community. That's how Belgium became a key player in the European Union. Luxembourg itself has a fairly fascinating history since Roman times.
1959 Near Clear Lake, Iowa a plane crash, which kills Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson becomes known as The Day the Music Died.

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nortex97
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9:21a, 2/7/25
AG
Y'all are slacking.

1949 Joe DiMaggio becomes 1st $100,000 per year baseball player for the NY Yankees.
1974 Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" opens in movie theaters.
1986 Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.
1990 Collapse of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.
1991 Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in. Aristide was deposed on 29 September 1991 by coup d'etat…In a demonstration of Haiti's continued pursuit of good government, he's re-elected in 2000 and re-couped in 2004, and now he's back.
1992 The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union. Charlemagne tried, Rome tried. Napoleon, Bismarck, Hitler etc. We'll see.
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nortex97
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5:39a, 2/9/25
AG

Boeing gambled the company designing/building it. Debatably, its range is really what allowed it to change air travel, not the size.
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nortex97
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6:30a, 2/12/25
AG
  • 1502 Isabella I issues an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity.
    1689 The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication.
    1733 Englishman James Oglethorpe founds the 13th United States colony of Georgia, and its first city at Savannah (known as Georgia Day).
    1915 In Washington, D.C., the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
    1924 Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President of the United States to deliver a political speech on radio.
    1924 George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue received its premiere in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music", in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano.
    1935 USS Macon, one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks.
    1947 Christian Dior unveils a "New Look", helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
    1950 Senator Joe McCarthy claims to have list of 205 communist government employees. (Hell, there are more than THAT in CONGRESS today.)

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BQ78
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8:18a, 2/12/25
AG
Don't forget 1809:

Abe Lincoln was born.
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Rabid Cougar
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11:37a, 2/12/25
AG
On this day in 1869, sixty-one men, women, and children died when the sidewheel steamboat Mittie Stephens caught fire on Caddo Lake during a run from New Orleans to Jefferson, Texas. The boat had been plying the New Orleans-Red River route since 1866. At that time Jefferson was the head of navigation via Caddo Lake due to the great log raft that obstructed traffic on the Red River. The Mittie Stephens had left New Orleans on February 5 with 107 passengers and crew and a cargo that included 274 bales of hay. On the night of the twelfth, a breeze blew a spark to the hay from the torch baskets that lighted the bows of the boat, and the resulting fire could not be contained. The boat headed for the shore, 300 yards away, but grounded in three feet of water near Swanson's Landing. The pilot and the engineer kept the wheels running in an attempt to force the boat to shore; the action of the wheels pulled the people struggling in the water into them and killed most of them. The Mittie Stephens burned to the water line, and parts of the wreck could be seen above the water until the early twentieth century. Jefferson remained the principal riverport of Texas until the logjam was removed in 1874.


On this day in 1899, Tulia, Texas, reported the coldest temperature ever recorded in the state--minus 23 degrees Fahrenheit. This was part of the "Big Freeze," an infamous norther that killed 40,000 cattle across the state overnight. This temperature was matched in Seminole in 1933. The highest temperature recorded for Texas was 120.
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Rabid Cougar
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12:12p, 2/12/25
AG
2000- Tom Landry died

2013 - Chris Kyle's funeral processes down I-35
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nortex97
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7:59a, 2/14/25
AG
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nortex97
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5:56a, 2/17/25
AG
1933 The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
1964 In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
1972 Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle model exceed those of Ford Model-T.
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BQ78
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In reply to nortex97 • 8:21a, 2/17/25
AG
You forgot 1864 and the world's first ship sunk by a submarine. USS Housitanic is sunk by the Huntley. Off Charleston, SC.
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Rabid Cougar
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11:49a, 2/19/25
AG
On this day in 2025 it was cold as witches t*ts outside!
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BQ78
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In reply to Rabid Cougar • 11:54a, 2/19/25
AG
Except for these witches, whose teats were quite toasty:

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