On This Date In 1660 Under invitation by
leaders of the English Commonwealth, Charles II, the exiled king of England, landed at Dover, England,
to assume the throne and end 11 years of military rule, in what is known as the
English Restoration.
On This Date In 1778 The Mount Hope Bay raids took place, a series of military raids
conducted by British troops during the American Revolutionary War against
communities on the shores of Mount
Hope Bay
on May 25 and 30, 1778. The towns of Bristol and
Warren, Rhode Island
were significantly damaged, and Freetown, Massachusetts (present-day Fall River) was also attacked, although its
militia resisted British activities. The British destroyed military defenses in
the area, including supplies that had been cached by the Continental Army in
anticipation of an assault on British-occupied Newport, Rhode Island.
Homes as well as municipal and religious buildings were also destroyed in the
raids.
On This Date In 1787 Four years after the
United States won its independence from England, 55 state delegates, including
George Washington, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin, convened in
Philadelphia to compose a new U.S. constitution. With George Washington
presiding, the Constitutional Convention formally convened. The convention
faced a daunting task: the peaceful overthrow of the new American government as
it had been defined by the Article of Confederation.
On This Date In 1793 In Baltimore,
Maryland, Father Stephen Theodore Badin became
the first Catholic priest to be ordained in the United States. Badin was ordained
by Bishop John Carroll, an early advocate of American Catholicism, and
appointed to the Catholic mission in Kentucky.
On This Date In 1803 Ralph Waldo Emerson
(May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
An American essayist, philosopher and poet, Emerson is best remembered for
leading the Transcendentalist movement of the early 19th century. His teachings
directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s, while he
was seen as a champion of individualism and prescient critic of the
countervailing pressures of society. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may25.html
On This Date In 1812 The Felling pit
disaster, a major mining accident in Britain, claimed 92 lives. There
was an explosion in the Felling Colliery, also known as the John Pit, and one
of the oldest in Durham,
which killed 92 men and boys, three quarters of the mine’s workforce. Their ages
were between 8 and 65 years. 43 were aged18 or under. Debris and coal dust
covered the roads so much so that footprints were visible, and the noise of the
explosion could be heard from as far away as Sunderland.
http://www.wardleycolliery.com/felling_collieryexplosion.htm
On This Date In 1849 Thomas “Blind Tom”
Wiggins (May 25, 1849 – June 14, 1908) was born on the Wiley Edward Jones
Plantation in Harris County, Georgia. Wiggins, an African
American autistic savant and musical prodigy on the piano, had numerous
original compositions published, and had a lengthy and largely successful
performing career throughout the United States. During the 19th
century, he was one of the most well-known American performing pianists.
On This Date In 1861 A Confederate secessionist
named John Merryman was arrested and imprisoned by military order at Fort
McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland, by order of Brigadier General William High Keim,
USV, and charged with treason and being a commissioned lieutenant in an
organization intending armed hostility toward the government, namely the
Confederate Army. The well-known U.S. federal court case Ex parte Merryman arose out of this
incident as the American Civil War began. It was a test of the authority of the
President to suspend “the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus” under the
Constitution's Suspension Clause.
On This Date In 1862 The First Battle of
Winchester was fought in and around Frederick
County, Virginia,
and Winchester, Virginia. The defeat of the Union Army,
under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, was a major victory in Confederate Army
Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson's Campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War.
On This Date In 1864 Through May 26, 1864,
the Battle of New Hope Church was fought between the Union force of Maj. Gen.
William T. Sherman and the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Joseph E.
Johnston during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle and
resulting Confederate victory was a failed attempt by Sherman
to outmaneuver Johnston.
On This Date In 1878 Bill “Bojangles”
Robinson (May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949) was born in Richmond, Virginia.
An American tap dancer and actor of stage and film, and a figure in both the
black and white entertainment worlds of his era, he is best known today for his
dancing with Shirley Temple in a series of films during the 1930s. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may25.html
On This Date In 1878 “H.M.S. Pinafore”;
or, “The Lass That Loved a Sailor,” a comic opera in two acts, with music by
Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert, opened at the Opera Comique in
London, England. It ran for 571
performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical theatre piece up
to that time. H.M.S. Pinafore was
Gilbert and Sullivan's fourth operatic collaboration and their first
international sensation.
On This Date In 1904 The Battle of Nanshan,
one of many vicious land battles of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought. It took
place across a two-mile wide defense line across the narrowest part of the
Liáodōng Peninsula, covering the approaches to Port Arthur, Manchuria, and on
the 116-meter high Nanshan Hill, the present-day Jinzhou District, north of the
city center of Dalian, Liaoning, China. The Japanese intention was to break
through this Russian defensive position, capture the port
of Dalny, and lay siege to Port Arthur. Japan
would claim victory in this battle.
On This Date In 1915 In the latest of a
disturbing series of Turkish aggressions against Armenians during World War I,
Mehmed Talat, the Ottoman minister of the interior, announced that all
Armenians living near the battlefield zones in eastern Anatolia (under Ottoman
rule) would be deported to Syria and Mosul. Large-scale deportations began five
days later, after the decision was sanctioned by the Ottoman council of
ministers.
On This Date In 1918 “Exiles,” a play by
Irish novelist and poet James Joyce, who is considered to be one of the most
influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century, was
published. It draws on the story of “The Dead”, the final short story in
Joyce's first major work, Dubliners. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/25487092?uid=3739808&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=47699035579167
On This Date In 1927 Robert Ludlum, the
author of more than 20 thrillers, including the Jason Bourne spy novels, was
born in New York City.
Ludlum, who published his first novel when he was in his 40s, sold more than
200 million books by the time of his death in 2001. Ludlum has been credited as
one of the pioneers of the type of fast-paced, engaging and easy-to-read book
that came to be dubbed an airport novel.
On This Date In 1935 American track and
field athlete James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens, best known for his four
gold medal wins in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany,
was a record-setter. His greatest achievement came while attending Ohio State University: in a span of 45 minutes on May 25, 1935,
during the Big Ten meet at Ferry Field in Ann
Arbor, Michigan,
Owens set three world records and tied a fourth. He equaled the world record
for the 100 yard dash (9.4 seconds); and set world records in the long jump (26
ft 8 1⁄4 in/8.13 m, a world record that would last 25 years); 220-yard (201.2
m) sprint (20.3 seconds); and 220-yard (201.2m) low hurdles (22.6 seconds,
becoming the first to break 23 seconds). http://www.jesseowens.com/about/
On This Date In 1935 At Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
baseball great Babe Ruth hit his 714th home run, a record for career home runs
that would stand for almost 40 years. This was one of Ruth’s last games, and
the last home run of his career. Ruth went four for four on the day, hitting
three home runs and driving in six runs.
On This Date In 1938 The Mauthausen
Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps in
German-controlled Europe, and was built around the villages of Mauthausen and
Gusen in Upper Austria. Its history ran from
the time of the Anschluss in 1938 to the last week of the Second World War, and
was the last one to be liberated by the Allies. On May 25, 1938, the
Schutzstaffel-, or SS-(a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and
the Nazi Party) owned DEST (Deutsche Erd- und Steinwerke GmbH or “German Earth
& Stone Works Company”) purchased the first lots of land for the planned
concentration camp at Gusen. On May 25, 1940, the first transport of prisoners
- mostly from the camps in Dachau
and Sachsenhausen - took place. http://www.gusen.org/
On This Date In 1944 During World War II, Germany's
Seventh Enemy Offensive was launched, codenamed Operation Rösselsprung (German
for “Knight's Move”). It was a combined airborne and ground assault by the
German XV Mountain Corps and their collaborationist allies on the Supreme
Headquarters of the Yugoslav Partisans located at Drvar, aimed at capturing or
killing Marshal Josip Broz Tito and destroying the headquarters, support
facilities and co-located Allied military missions.
On This Date In 1961 President John F.
Kennedy, in a Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs,
announced his goal of sending an American to the moon by the end of the decade
and asked for financial support of an accelerated space program. He made the
task a national priority and a mission in which all Americans would share,
stating it would not be one man going to the moon, it would be an entire
nation. http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Special-Message-to-the-Congress-on-Urgent-National-Needs-May-25-1961.aspx
On This Date In 1969 During the Vietnam
War, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu assumed personal leadership of
the National Social Democratic Front at its inaugural meeting in Saigon.
On This Date In 1969 “Midnight Cowboy,” an
American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo
Herlihy, was released. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John
Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title
role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John McGiver, Brenda
Vaccaro, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Salt and Barnard Hughes; M. Emmet Walsh is an
uncredited, pre-fame extra. The film won three Academy Awards: Best Picture,
Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is the only X-rated film ever to
win Best Picture.
On This Date In 1977 A new sign of
political liberalization appeared in China, when the communist
government lifted its decade-old ban on the writings of William Shakespeare.
The action by the Chinese government was additional evidence that the Cultural
Revolution was over. Together with the announcement that the ban was lifted,
the Chinese government also stated that a Chinese-language edition of the
Bard's works would soon be available.
On This Date In 1977 “Star Wars Episode
IV: A New Hope,” an American epic space opera film, written and directed by
George Lucas, was released. Originally released as Star Wars, it is the first of six films released in the Star Wars
saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel
trilogy completes the six-film saga. It is the fourth film in terms of the
series' internal chronology. Groundbreaking in its use of special effects,
unconventional editing, and science fiction/fantasy storytelling, the original Star Wars is one of the most successful
and influential films of all time.
On This Date In 1978 “Powerage,” the fifth
studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, was released. It is also
AC/DC's fourth international studio album. All songs were written by Angus
Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott. It was originally released on Atlantic
Records, and reached #133 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in the US, eventually
going platinum there.
On This Date In 1978 The 1978 Stanley Cup
Final championship series was contested by the Boston Bruins and the defending
champion Montreal Canadiens, making their third-straight appearance. The series
was a rematch of the 1977 final. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven
series four games to two, to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup.
On This Date In 1979 American Airlines
Flight 191, a regularly scheduled McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 passenger flight
from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles
International Airport,
crashed during takeoff from Chicago.
The jet had 258 passengers and 13 crew on board, all of whom died in the
accident, along with two on the ground.
On This Date In 1983 “Star Wars Episode
VI: Return of the Jedi,” an American epic space opera film, was released. It is
directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan,
with Lucas as executive producer. It is the third film in the Star Wars
franchise and the first film to use THX technology.
On This Date In 1989 The 1989 Stanley Cup
Final was between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens, the top two
teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. As of 2009, this is the most
recent time that the first two seeds met in the Stanley Cup Final, as the New
Jersey Devils had one win less than the Detroit Red Wings during the 2000-01
season when they played against the Colorado Avalanche in the 2001 finals. It
is also the most recent time that the Final series was played entirely in Canada.
The Calgary Flames are also the first relocated NHL team (from Atlanta in 1980-81) to win
the Stanley Cup. The Calgary Flames are the only visiting team to have won the
Stanley Cup on the Canadiens' home ice, winning four games to two.
On This Date In 1991 The 1991 Stanley Cup
Final NHL championship series was contested by the Pittsburgh Penguins and the
Minnesota North Stars. It was the Penguins' first Final series appearance and
their first Stanley Cup victory, winning four games to two. As of 2009, this is
the first and only Stanley Cup Final to feature two teams from the expansion
group of 1967. It was Minnesota's
second Final series appearance. It is the last time that an NHL franchise would
appear in the finals prior to relocation. It is also the first time since 1983
that an American franchise would win the Stanley Cup. This is the first all
American finals since 1981, the last time the North Stars made the finals.
On This Date In 1993 “Sound of White Noise,”
the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, was released on
Elektra Records. It is the band's first album with Armored Saint vocalist John
Bush, and also their last studio album with longtime lead guitarist Dan Spitz.
The album debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 charts, Anthrax's highest ever
chart position. Sound of White Noise
was certified gold by the RIAA.
On This Date In 1994 “Beverly Hills Cop
III,” an American action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy, was released. It
was directed by John Landis, who had previously worked with Murphy on Trading Places and Coming to America. It is the third film in the Beverly Hills Cop series.
On This Date In 2002 China Airlines Flight
611, a regularly scheduled Boeing 747 flight from Chiang
Kai Shek
International Airport
in Taoyuan to Chek Lap Kok International Airport
in Hong Kong, broke into pieces in mid-air and
crashed, killing all 19 crew members and all 206 passengers. The final
investigation report found that the accident was the result of metal fatigue
caused by inadequate maintenance after a previous incident.
On This Date In 2004 “Let's Be Us Again,”
the sixth studio album by the American country music group Lonestar, was
released on BNA Records, and has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United
States. The album produced three singles for the group on the Billboard Hot
Country Songs charts: the title track (#4), “Mr. Mom” (#1), and “Class Reunion
(That Used to Be Us)” (#16). Additionally, “Somebody's Someone” charted at #53
from unsolicited airplay.
On This Date In 2004 The 2004 Stanley Cup
Finals pitted the Eastern Conference's top qualifier, the Tampa Bay Lightning,
against the West's sixth place qualifier, the Calgary Flames. Tampa defeated the Flames in seven games to
win their first Stanley Cup in their first appearance in a Final series. This
was the last Stanley Cup Finals to air on the ABC/ESPN family of networks, as
the 2004-05 NHL Lockout suspensed play for the next season. NBC and Versus
(formerly OLN) would pick up the NHL for the 2005-06 season
On This Date In 2005 Carrie Underwood won
the fourth season of American Idol with approximately 500 million votes cast in
the season and 37 million for the finale. Underwood would eventually become the
first “Idol” winner to sweep all three major music awards (American Music,
Billboard, and Grammy Award) in a single season (for 2006-07), and has since
gone on to become a five-time Grammy-winning country megastar.
On This Date In 2009 The 2009 North Korean
nuclear test took place, an underground detonation of a nuclear device
conducted by the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea. This was its
second nuclear test, the first test having taken place in October 2006.
Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang
also conducted several missile tests. The test was nearly universally condemned
by the international community. Following the test, the United Nations Security
Council passed Resolution 1874 condemning the test and tightening sanctions on
the country.
On This Date In 2011 U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel testified as defense witnesses at former Illinois
Gov. Rod Blagojevich's federal corruption retrial. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/25/emanuel-jackson-jr-testify-at-blagojevich-retrial/
Hat tip to any included contributing sources, along with: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
, http://www.-history.com/this-day-in-history
, http://timelines.com/
Happy Birthday Mark Shields (1937), Ian
McKellen (1939), Jessi Colter (1943), Leslie Uggams (1943), Karen Valentine
(1947), Connie Sellecca (1955), Paul Weller (1958), Anne Consigny (1963), Mike
Myers (1963), Anne Heche (1969), Jamie Kennedy (1970), Demetri Martin (1973), Lauryn
Hill (1975), Brian Urlacher (1978), and Shawne Merriman (1984).
RIP Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882), Pieter
Zeeman (1865 – 1943), Bennett Cerf (1898 – 1971), Ginny Simms (1913 – 1994), Jeanne
Crain (1925 – 2003), Claude Akins (1926 – 1994), and Dixie Carter (1939 – 2010).
Quotes
Memorial Day remains one of America's most cherished patriotic
observances. The spirit of this day has not changed - it remains a day to honor
those who died defending our freedom and democracy. Doc Hastings
Memorial Day this year is especially important as we are
reminded almost daily of the great sacrifices that the men and women of the
Armed Services make to defend our way of life. Robin Hayes
Since it is not granted to us to live long, let us transmit
to posterity some memorial that we have at least lived. E. Joseph Cossman
While tributes to Americans who had lost their lives in
battle had been held in a number of towns across the nation, one of the more
well-known stories about the beginnings of Memorial Day is the story about
General John Logan. John Linder
Military power wins battles, but spiritual power wins wars. General
George Marshall
In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be
achieved. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the
spines of others are often stiffened. Billy Graham
Courtesy You Tube et al
Happy Memorial Day 2012. Hope you enjoy this video and thank
you for watching and listening. God bless you all this Memorial day. Feel free
to leave a comment. Remember our troops this Memorial Day and pay respect to
the ones who lost their lives so we can be free.
"These heroes are dead. They died for liberty-they
died for us. They are at rest. They sleep in the land they made free, under the
flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the
tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the
clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of
Rest. Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace. In the midst of
battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one
sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the
dead." Robert G. Ingersoll ~ Dedicated to all men and women of our Armed
Forces who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice for me and my family: ♥Thank you.♥
We are FREE TODAY because GREAT Americans before us were
willing to 'Die Young'.-"Everything that is really great and inspiring is
created by the individual who can labor in freedom." -Albert Einstein. The
photos in this video were given to us by the Military Veterans/Members of http://www.VetFriends.com.
The song we used might be one of the most beautiful songs EVER...it is called
"If I Die Young" By The Band Perry. You can (and should) buy it on
iTunes here http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/if-i-die-young-single/id505082398.
The Morris County Freeholders on May 23 honored 13 veterans
for their military and their community service during Morris
County's annual Memorial Day ceremony
on the front lawn of the Morris County Courthouse in Morristown, NJ.
See: The veterans who received the
Morris County Distinguished Military service medal...
Heroism is latent in every human soul - However humble or
unknown, they (the veterans) have renounced what are accounted pleasures and
cheerfully undertaken all the self-denials - privations, toils, dangers, sufferings,
sicknesses, mutilations, life-long hurts and losses, death itself - for some
great good, dimly seen but dearly held. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
No comments:
Post a Comment