February 7

1249 - The Christburg Peace Treaty: The 'Prussians' were forced to recognize the rule of the Teutonic Knights (also known as Knights of the Cross). Within about 50-years the Teutonic Knights overcame most of Prussia and established German as the dominant culture and language in the region.

Prussia was originally inhabited by Slavic peoples (Poles, etc)...The Knights squashed the Slavs and Germanic Prussia began a steady climb towards becoming one of Europe’s great powers - Brandenburg, part of the HRE, Prussia, and finally as Germany.

1522 - The Treaty of Brussels:  The Habsburg Empire was split into Spanish and Austrian branches.

By this time Charles V felt the Habsburg holdings were too enormous for one leader to rule - remember these holdings also included Spain's New World lands as well as modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands.

And ruling was only part of the problem.  Defending these lands was becoming more and more difficult, because the French and British were none-to-pleased by the expanding power of the Habsburgs - and then there was the problem of the Turks in the East.

1795 - The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, curbing the power of the federal judiciary in relation to the states and reaffirming the sovereignty of the states.

We may need a 27th Amendment to force the federal judiciary to act properly in relation to the 11th Amendment - and even more so towards the 10th Amendment...The sovereignty of the states has become a complete joke, and the judiciary is in large part to blame.

1856 - The Electoral Act of 1856:  The Tasmanian Parliament, a British colonial holding, passed the first law anywhere in the world requiring elections to be held by 'secret ballot.'

A major event, especially for such a minor - almost nothing - territory...It's hard to imagine anyone would be against 'secret ballots.'  Well, anyone other than tyrants, American union bosses and Democrats - as if there's a difference.

1943 - The U.S. government announced shoe rationing would go into effect in two days, limiting consumers to buying three pairs per person for the remainder of the year:  WWII.

Can you imagine if the government made such a pronouncement in modern-day America? The ACLU and Democrat Party would howl like the jackals they are, and claim it is better for the country to lose the war than give up an ounce of freedom...Morons!

1947 - Jews and Arabs rejected a British proposal to split the area of Palestine.

There were too many Arabs and the Jews suffered too much in WWII - they also had too much weaponry by this time...The landholder would have to be claimed through blood, not politics - as it should be.

Unfortunately for the Jews, there is no guaranteeing they will forever win the blood claim.

1964 - Muhammad Ali was born.

Not really, but this is the day Cassius Clay became a Muslim and took his much-more-famous name.

1986 - Haitian President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier fled the country, ending his family's 28-year reign of terror.

It’s incredible the U.S. allowed Papa and Baby Doc to exist...Western Hemisphere dictators should be assassinated as a matter of American policy.

I'm sure Liberals would be against this policy, but the poor, slaughtered people who are forced to live under these dictators would surely appreciate it.

1990 - The Soviet Union's Communist Party agreed to let other political parties compete for control of the country, thereby giving up its monopoly on power.

The end of the Soviet Hell State was in sight, and 73-years of Communist rule was about to end...Unfortunately for the Russian people (and its previous satellite states), the change from a state-controlled economy to a capitalist economy has been slow and painful - very painful.

January 26

1699 - The Treaty of Carlowitz was signed: Venice, Poland, Austria and the Ottoman Empire.

This wasn't the end of the Ottoman Empire by any stretch, but it was the beginning of the end for the Ottomans as a great power in Central and Southeast European affairs...It was also a strengthening of the Habsburg monarchy in these same regions.

We can never know for certain, but I'm betting the people in these parts of Europe hated their new Austrian overlords as much as the Turks.

1340 - English King Edward III proclaimed himself King of France.

Never forget, the English kings at this time were successors of William the Conqueror - Duke of Normandy - and felt they had a rightful claim to much of France...Edward felt it was all of France.

The French put an end to this silliness, however by winning the Hundred Years' War:  1337-1453.

1784 - In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin expressed unhappiness over the choice of the eagle as the symbol of America. His personal preference was the turkey.

I like Ol’ Ben, but am so glad we don’t have a damn turkey for our national symbol.

1934 - Nazi Germany and Poland signed a ten-year non-aggression pact.

Amazingly the Nazi’s actually got half way through this agreement before they broke it...I don’t think anyone else got nearly this far.

1942 - The first American Expeditionary Force to go to Europe during World War II went ashore in Northern Ireland:  WWII.

Our troops went out to save the world...I have often wondered if the Euros would have sent their troops to the Western Hemisphere to do the same. I doubt it.

1943 - Soviet troops defeated all but 12,000 Germans trapped at Stalingrad, and freed three of the main railways:  WWII.

Hitler should've never insisted on capturing Stalingrad (or Leningrad). There was no need to invest this city, and it made much more sense to reduced it to rubble and push on...Stalingrad would have died on its own over time due to starvation, disease or chaos. Forcing the city to fight for its survival allowed Stalin to keep the city of his name alive, and eventually led to the destruction of the German 6th Army.

1998 - President Bill Clinton forcefully, and with anger, denied having an affair with a White House intern, telling reporters, "I want to say one thing to the American people...I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." Clinton also said he "never told anybody to lie."

What a joker, and not for the BlewClinsky Affair.

Historically, Clinton’s presidency will be defined by the debasement of American society, and the global proliferation of nuclear and missile material and technology (China, N. Korea, Pakistan, and who knows who else)...And lets not forget he passed on a chance to apprehend Bin Laden, who was all but handed over to him by Sudan. But Billy didn't think it was necessary to accept this gift.

1999 - German Chancellor Schroeder abandoned an ambitious timetable for the planned shutdown of nuclear power plants.

I will never understand why the Germans are insisting on destroying their nuclear power plant structure…Nuclear power is the way of the future, and it is also extremely clean for the environment.

I guess they’d rather burn dirty coal and oil for power, and remain dependant of the Ruskies and Middle East for their energy demands...Or maybe they're looking at re-enlisting the Jews as a cheap energy source.

November 1

1952 - The U.S. exploded the world's first hydrogen bomb, at Eniwetok Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean.

20 tons of TNT, and 1000 times larger than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan...Definitely a huge event in history.

We better all hope testing is as far as it goes, and one of these monsters is never used in anger.

82 B.C. - The Battle of the Porta Collina (Colline Gate).

The Roman Republic was fighting for its life, and after an extended civil war, Sulla emerged from this battle, capturing Rome and assuming the title of dictator...A title which had a much different meaning at that time than during ours.

1755 - An earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal, killed 60,000 people (about 2/3 of the population).

A terrible event for sure, but this isn't what I find interesting about the headline.

In 1755 Lisbon had just under 100,000 people...250 years later this city has over 3,500,000 people. An increase of 3500%!!!

1861 - General George B. McClellan was promoted to General-in-Chief of the Union Armies:  U.S. Civil War.

McClellan was a favorite of the ‘Eastern elite,’ and had a great reputation as a military commander. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the testicular fortitude to put the worlds largest and best equipped army to use...And make no mistake, at this point in history this army was exactly what I stated - huge, equipped, but with poor leadership and green troops.

McClellan spent a great amount of time planning battles instead of fighting them, and didn’t have the instincts it took to crush the Confederates when he had his chances in 1861-62...In other words McClellan was the Civil War's version of post-El Alamein Monty in WWII.

1871 - Gustav Mahler wrote he had become a vegetarian, saying he thought it would regenerate the human race if everybody stopped eating meat.

I wish people like this would stop eating all together.

1918 - The Habsburg monarchy of Austria-Hungary was dissolved.

This kingdom was also known as the Dual Monarchy or the K.U.K. Monarchy = 'Kaiserlich und Königlich.' German for 'Imperial and Royal.'

The dissolution of Austria-Hungary was long overdue, and good for both Austria and Hungary...That said, had it not been for the former strength of the Habsburg, it's likely most of Europe would be praying to Allah.

1922 - Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey became a republic.

The land of modern-day Turkey has always been one of immense importance, and continues to be...It's too bad in its current form it's much closer to its Ottoman than its Byzantine roots.

1936 - In a speech in Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an "axis" running between Rome and Berlin.

The Paperboy almost had it right...He should have said 'asses' instead of axis.

1990 - President GHW Bush accused Iraqi forces of engaging in "barbarism" and "brutality," adding "I don't believe that Adolf Hitler ever participated in anything of that nature."

GHW Bush is a good man, but this was an absolutely ignorant comment.

There are few people in the history of the world who's actions can be compared to the barbarism and brutality of Hitler...The Iraqis may have been his peers, though not in quantity, but they were in no way his superior when it comes to either barbarism or brutality.

1993 - The Maastricht Treaty was enacted, establishing the European Union.

What a colossal joke!!!

Since the fall of Rome, Europeans have been hoping for a united Europe...And since this same time have failed.

The continent is made up of so many dissimilar people, and the history of warfare among them has been awesome. Brutally awesome.

It will never happen, And proof of the failure is the fact it is 2017 and there is no European constitution, because they can't work one out to everyone's satisfaction...If anything, it's much more likely the EU will collapse, the euro will fail, and traditional European states will splinter.

October 24 (A Double)

1648 - The Treaty of Westphalia was signed, ending the Thirty Years War.

The 30 Years War was one of the greatest of the general wars in Europe, and did much to create the foundation for some of the other great wars to follow.

The treaty took a large chunk out of the Holy Roman and Habsburg empires - which largely overlapped...As a result the map of Europe was redrawn, and Westphalia is considered the major turning point in the modernization of the European state system - for better or worse.

It's possible we are witnessing a type of 30 Years War occurring in the Middle East...One which will be just as destructive and meaningful.

1882 - Dr. Robert Koch discovered the germ which causes tuberculosis.

The 'Consumption' (TB) is one of the greatest killers in the history of mankind, and during Koch's time was the world's greatest killer...Koch's find led to the discovery of treatment options for those suffering from TB.

Much of the civilized world has seen the virtual disappearance of tuberculosis, but it is ever-present in Russia, Africa, Asia, and South America...Unfortunately, this monster is beginning to show signs of escaping treatment and finding it's way back into prominence in the West, due to over-treatment (leading to germ mutation) and unchecked immigration - better known as unchecked, state-sponsored stupidity.

1147- Lisbon was captured from the Moors by Alfonso I, King of Portugal.

The Portuguese kicked out the Muslim Horde, and spent the next 300-years helping their Spanish cousins do likewise.

1795 - The Third Partition of Poland: Between Austria, Prussia and Russia.

The Poles have long suffered the sting of history, having settled their homeland in the region between the beasts of the German and Russian people. Unfortunately, this partition wasn't its last, nor anywhere near as horrific as its next - WWII between the Nazis and Soviets.

Those who wonder why the Poles have become one of America's most loyal allies need look no farther than the first sentence in my comment above.

1973 - The Yom Kippur War ended.

The Arabs states are lucky the U.S. persuaded Israel to stop their counter-offensive, because they were only 65 miles from Cairo and 26 from Damascus.

1987 - Thirty years after it was expelled for refusing to answer allegations of corruption, the Teamsters Union was welcomed back into the AFL-CIO by a vote of the labor federation's executive council.

Of course the Teamsters were and ARE 'corrupt', but how bad must they have been to be booted from the 'corrupt' AFL-CIO?

1993 - Two George Washington University researchers who cloned non-viable human embryos told a news conference that science was still far from duplicating human beings, but they urged ethicists to prepare for the future.

'Far' as in decades away...And yes, the 'ethical' problems with succeeding are astronomical.

But I'm sure the Frankensteinians will continue their quest to produce a human...While at the same time, their brothers in 'science' are looking for ways to kill as many humans as possible - born and unborn.

1998 - Officials from the United States, China and North and South Korea seeking a permanent peace for the divided Korean peninsula announced they removed the last obstacles to full-blown talks.

Uhhhhh, the 'last obstacle' is the Kim family and their cronies...Who have been anything but removed from the process.

October 18

768 - Charlemagne and his brother Carloman were crowned co-rulers of the Franks.

Within three years Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Franks, and before his death collected many other titles, including: King of the Lombards, and Emperor of the Romans...Don't confuse the last title with that of the emperors of the Roman Empire or the Holy Roman Empire, because none of the three were the same.

Charlemagne’s importance in European history is immeasurable:  He greatly furthered the spread of Christianity, helped halt the Muslim advance in Western Europe, and is also considered one of the founders of both the French and German nations...His greatest contribution to Europe, however, was a pre-Renaissance enlightenment - as the first great European leader to revive the spirit of the Romans, bringing a little light to the Dark Ages.

1016 - The Battle of Assandun: The Danes defeated the Saxons.

Danish king, Canute defeated Edmund Ironside, and took possession of half of England (Edmund kept the other half)...Within the year Edmund died, and Canute claimed all of England.

1469 - Isabella of Castile married Ferdinand II of Aragon, uniting almost all the Christian dominions of Spain under one monarchy.

23-years later all of Spain united as a Christian dominion under one monarchy.

That said, it's important to remember Spain was ruled by Muslims for 700 years...Longer than the current Christian run.

Equally important, though much less acknowledged and understood, Spain was ruled by Germans (Visigoths) between the Roman and Muslim periods.

1685 - The Edict of Fontainebeau: Louis XIV nullified the Edict of Nantes, which was signed by King Henry IV in 1598, giving the Huguenots religious liberty, civil rights and security. By revoking the Edict of Nantes, Louis XIV abrogated their religious liberties.

This decision by Louis was disastrous for France, even though it didn’t result in a renewal of the French wars of religion...What did happen was many French Protestants migrated from France to other parts of Europe and the Americas.

1748 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the War of Austrian Succession.

This war was known as King George's War in America.

The treaty didn’t do much, except return the conquests of the war to their pre-war masters, and set the stage for the next European war.

1867 - The United States took formal possession of Alaska from Russia.

'Seward’s Folly' my ass...This was a stroke of genius.

Forget the oil, try to imagine Uncle Joe or Vlad with a foothold in North America.

1993 - Two defendants were acquitted of most of the felony charges in the beating of trucker Reginald Denny and other motorists at the start of the 1992 Los Angeles riots; the jury did convict Damian Williams of simple mayhem, and Henry Watson of simple assault.

The world watched these thugs beat Denny on live TV, but the jury found them not guilty...What a travesty of justice.

Rule #1 of Riots: Don’t go out in them.
Rule #2 of Riots: If you must go out in them, carry many guns and be willing to use them.

1996 - Democratic Party fund-raiser John Huang was relieved of his duties following days of attacks by the Republicans over what they called improper and possibly illegal contributions.

'Improper'? I’d say so! Any time a foreign nation (China; a communist nation to boot) is pouring money into an American candidate’s coffers (Bill Clinton) there is a problem.

1997 - A monument honoring American servicewomen was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery.

Although I find it disgusting that we have women in the military (feel free to ask why, the reason isn't sexist), they are there and as such deserve this monument.

October 15

1529 - The Ottoman Turks, led by Suleiman, abandoned the siege of Vienna.

The importance of the Habsburgs (rulers of the Austrian Empire - among many other holdings) can’t be minimized when it comes to stopping the spread of Islam. There was no other power to stop the onslaught from East to West, and had the Habsburgs not been such staunch defenders it’s likely much of Europe would be speaking Arabic at this time.

1582 – The Gregorian calendar was adopted in Catholic countries.

Ten days disappeared from the calendar...It’s funny to note, many Europeans thought this was nothing but a tax-collection scheme.

1892 - The U.S. government convinced the Crow Indians to give up 1.8 million acres of their reservation for 50 cents per acre.

Sounds like a rip-off, but it’s much more than most Indians got.

Again, I must repeat Rule #1 of invasions: Do not let the defenders off the beach...This rule held absolutely true for the Crow and every other conquered population. As it always has, and will.

1914 - The Clayton Antitrust Act became law.

This law was passed to eliminate monopolistic policies, and put limits on big-business...Worked very well didn’t it?

1923 - The N.Y. Yankees won their first World Series.

It wouldn’t be their last, with the Bombers founding the greatest dynasty in the history of American sports.

1946 - Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering poisoned himself hours before he was scheduled to be executed.

What a complete miscarriage of justice...The Fat Field Marshal had to die, but it shouldn’t have been at his own hands.

The executioner was cheated and so was justice.

1964 - It was announced Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev had been removed from office. He was succeeded as Premier by Alexei N. Kosygin and as Communist Party Secretary by Leonid I. Brezhnev.

Nikki proved to be the last competent Soviet leader (an oxymoron in its own right), and the Evil Empire began a slow period of deterioration from this point on.

1966 - The Endangered Species Preservation Act became law, and the Fish and Wildlife service initially listed 78 species as being 'endangered.' The number of 'endangered species' grew greatly over the following years to a count of 984 in the U.S., as of September 2002.

We protect animals, but we've had no problem executing over 45,000,000 UNBORN BABIES in the past 40-years...Nice set of principles we have.

September 3

1939 (11:15 a.m.) - Britain's Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced the declaration of war against Germany.

The Brits were soon joined by France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada...But not the U.S. - something to keep in mind when we call on our allies in times of need.

Too bad the Brits and French gave Hitler six years to build up...If Chamberlain had any honor he would have put the "peace in our time" declaration in his mouth and choked to death on it.

Needless to say, the war was on, and Hell on Earth was about to begin...Hell to the tune of an estimated 60-80 million deaths.

590 - Gregory I ('the Great') was consecrated as pope. Regarded as the father of the medieval papacy and last of four Latin 'Doctors of the Church,' he was the first pope to aspire to secular power, the man for whom the Gregorian Chant is named, and one of the main organizers of Roman liturgy and its music. He was also one of the prime promoters of monasticism.

Not many people are recognized with 'the Great' after their name, but Gregory definitely fits the model...I highly recommend you read about him and the effects he had on the Church.

1658 - Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, died.

No one is positive what the Lord Protector died of, but most believe he was poisoned or had malaria...I tend to think some Royalists got him.

Either way, Cromwell left only a useless son to succeed him, and the monarchy was reestablished shortly after his death.

A fun tid-bit: Cromwell's body was exhumed from the grave in 1661, and he was executed posthumously...And to make his point very clear, the king had Cromwell's dead body hung then drawn-and-quartered.

1683 - Turkish troops broke through the defenses of Vienna.

Another in the centuries old Muslim attempt to crack Central Europe...Thankfully the Austrian Habsburgs were strong enough to keep them at bay, because had they not there were few other forces strong enough to keep Islam from swallowing up the entire continent.

1752 - This day never happened, nor the next 10, in England.

After England adopted the Gregorian Calendar, 11 days were erased...Many English people rioted, thinking the government stole 11 days of their lives.

1783 - The Treaty of Paris was signed, officially ending the seven year American Revolutionary War and recognizing U.S. independence from Britain.

The colonies earned their freedom by kicking out the world's greatest power.

Next came the hard part, creating a new nation out of a hodge-podge of people...And then they had to fight the Brits again in the War of 1812 to prove they were worthy of being a sovereign country.

1954 - The U.S. Espionage and Sabotage Act of 1954 was signed, legislating the death penalty for peacetime sabotage.

Sounds like a natural idea to me. Why should a country be held hostage by those who wish to do it harm? Internationally or domestically?

Any chance we can start enforcing this law?

1994 - China and Russia proclaimed an end to any lingering hostilities, pledging they would no longer target nuclear missiles or use force against each other.

Sure.  Such trustworthy deal-makers the Chinese and Ruskies are...Especially considering the extent of land the Russians have in the east - most of which is barely inhabited.  A landmass which a country with over a billion people and limited natural resources might find useful.

August 26

1346 - The Battle of Crecy:  Hundred Years War - England v. France.

Crecy was a turning point in military history and one of the most decisive victories ever for a force with far inferior numbers: The English had about 9,000 troops compared to the French 27,000, yet the English crushed the French.

The English had two weapons which changed warfare forever, ending the age of the armored knight and marking the beginning of the end of chivalry: The longbow and the cannon.

Longbows had been in use by many nations, but none used it as effectively in mass as the English did.

Small hand-cannons had been in use for awhile in Europe, and for centuries in China, but Crecy marks the first time in history where field cannons were used in battle...They were crude and quite small, but none-the-less a powerful weapon, and one which was coveted by every nation from this point on.

The use of the longbow in mass along with cannons made armor a pretty useless form of defense and also increased the volume of the killing field...The use of cannons also spelled the end of the effective defensive use of castles and other traditional walled defenses.

55 B.C. - Roman forces under Julius Caesar invaded Britain.

Caesar was well on his way toward conquering Gaul, and needed another challenge...He also needed another source of enhancing his revenue and reputation.

Never forget, Caesar was the least known and accomplished of the Triumvirs:  Pompey, Crassus and Caesar...He had to prove his worth to the Roman people, and had the military skill to do just that.

Also, it's important to know the Romans never conquered Britain...They subjugated parts of the south, but never held a firm rule.

580 - The Chinese invented toilet paper.

I'd say this is worth noting...Must have been a shitty world before this time.

1278 - The Battle of Marchfeld: Rudolf of Habsburg defeated Ottokar II.

This was one of the many battles between the Turks and the Austrians, and wouldn't normally be of note...What makes this battle important is it's considered the beginning of the slow incline in Habsburg political influence.

1914 - The Battle of Tannenberg ended (began August 17): WWI.  The German Eighth Army defeated the Russian Army.

Tannenberg was one of the first large battles in WWI...The Germans won handily.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff proved to be far superior to any Russian field commander, but it also didn't hurt that the Ruskies transmitted their battle plans over radio-waves, and didn't bother to encrypt them so the Germans wouldn't know their plan...Doh!

1957 - The Soviet Union announced it successfully tested an inter-continental ballistic missile.

Global Reach = Global Power!

1993 - Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and 14 co-defendants entered innocent pleas in federal court a day after their indictment on charges of conspiring to wage terrorism against the United States.

I thought the Islamists didn’t hate the U.S. until 'W' took power? Hmmm. Must be a mistake here...NOT!

August 6

1945 (8:15 EDT) - The United States dropped an atomic bomb (named 'Little Boy') on Hiroshima, Japan, killing an estimated 140,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.

Poor Japan...Not!

"WAR IS ALL HELL" - Gen. William T. Sherman

Japan brought war to the U.S., so the U.S. brought Hell to Japan.

Let’s review a few FACTS:

1. The Japanese began the war, not the U.S...In fact, Japan started the entire World War in 1937 when it invaded China.

2. The Japanese were beaten and asked to surrender many times, but refused to do so.

3. If the U.S. had invaded Japan, instead of forcing them to surrender with the atom bombs, the death and destruction of the Japanese people and homeland would have been many, many times worse than that caused by the A-bombs.

4. If we hadn’t dropped the bombs, the Soviets were on the march to join the battle, and would have destroyed the Japanese in the north. As a result, Japan would have been split up like Germany, and later Korea.

5. If the war hadn’t ended with this quick-hit, the Japanese may have finished their plans to drop dirty-bombs on the West Coast of the U.S. (make sure you check back on Sept. 22).

6. The race for nuclear weapons was already on...The Germans and Japanese would have gotten there eventually had the Allies not destroyed their war making capability - the Soviets were already collecting German scientists to get theirs. The U.S. dropping atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki didn't start an arms race. An arms race had been on for decades - actually for all of human history.

So please, don’t buy into Liberal BS and revisionist writing of history. Dropping the atomic bombs on Japan saved lives (MILLIONS OF LIVES), as well as Japanese culture, and was the absolute proper thing to do.

258 – Bishop of Rome Sixtus II was beheaded while celebrating services in a cemetery.

The Roman world was a dangerous place to be a Christian during this time, and remained so until Constantine became emperor.

1787 - The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia began to debate the articles contained in a draft of the United States Constitution.

This group of men created one of the most important non-religious documents in the history of the world...Lucky for our young nation, we had the right men in the right place at the right time.

Will we always be so lucky?  It seems like our luck ran out decades ago.

1806 - The Holy Roman Empire ended when Francis II renounced the crown and became Francis I, Emperor of Austria.

This is an understatement, because it should say the HRE was forcefully dissolved by Napoleon.

FYI:  Most are familiar with the '3rd Reich' = Nazi Germany...The HRE was the '1st Reich' and Imperial Germany (1871-1918) was the '2nd Reich.'

1890 - Convicted murderer William Kemmler became the first person to be executed in the electric chair when he was put to death at Auburn State Prison in New York.

Ol’ Sparky was de-virginized...I wish he was used as often as a cheap whore.

1918 - The Second Battle of the Marne ended:  WWI.

The Marne was one of WWI’s major battles, with almost 300,000 casualties between the two sides...The major importance of the battle is it was the last large-scale German attack on the Western Front.

1942 - Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands became the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress, telling lawmakers despite Nazi occupation, her people's motto remained, "No surrender.":  WWII.

She should have stayed in Holland and died fighting instead of running away, leaving her people to be butchered by the Nazi dogs...But that’s not the European way.

1944 - The Nazis began the deportation of 70,000 Jews to Auschwitz, from Lodz, Poland:  WWII.

Another big day for the Nazi butchers...But only for the butchers, because I’m sure the Wehrmacht and German people didn’t know anything about it. Riiiiiiight.

1994 - In Wedowee, Alabama, an apparent arson fire destroyed Randolph County High Schools, which had been the focus of tensions over the principle's stand against interracial dating.

We all know the song: “Sweet home Alabama...In Birmingham they love the Governor"...Referencing Governor Wallace, a first class racist - lets not forget he was a Democrat by the way.

2005 - Iran rejected Europe's proposal for ending the standoff over Teheran's nuclear program, saying it was "unacceptable" because it did not give the country the right to enrich uranium.

Ten years later the shell game came to an end...Not with the Iranians forgoing a nuclear program, but with the West trying to stop them.

The Iranians may have put off getting a nuclear weapon (for 10 years - hahaha), but they have not dropped the idea...Our leaders simply kicked the can down the road to our children - like every other problem we have.

2006 - Iran's top nuclear negotiator said Iran would expand uranium enrichment, in defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution giving the Islamic Republic until Aug. 31 to halt the activity or face the threat of political and economic sanctions.

Of course Iran did...And will continue to do so until it either has its weapon or has its production facilities destroyed by someone with some serious testicular fortitude.

April 2

1963 - The USSR launched Luna 4 - it missed the Moon by 8,500 km.

1966 - The Soviet Union's Luna 10 became the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon.

It's easy to rip on the Soviet space program for its flaws, but it's important to be honest enough to admit they had an awesome program and were ahead of the Americans in many ways in these early years of space exploration...Partly due to their willingness to take human losses - which is something the U.S. rightly chose not to absorb.

999 - Gerbert of Aurillac was elected the first French Pope.

The period of the 'Dual Papacy' is very complicated, and unknown to most Catholics. What's important to know is the reason for this event was due to politics, not religion...This has been the case for much of the history of the Church.

1453 - Mehmed II began the siege of Constantinople.

The great city fell on May 29, 1453, and the Roman Empire finally came to an end...The fact the Eastern Empire lasted 1,000 years longer than the Western Empire is a near miracle. How it survived 700 years of constant Islamic attacks is almost as impressive.

1513 - Explorer Juan Ponce de León claimed Florida for Spain.

The New World had been Spanish for decades, but de Leon opened a whole new region to Spanish domination with the founding of Florida...Luckily the Spanish were never able to get as strong a hold on the territory of the modern-day U.S.

It's amazing to see what became of every former Spanish conquest, compared to that of those ruled by England and France (primarily England)...The difference is massive, and I've often wondered if the difference is due to Spain or due to Catholicism?

1559 - Treaty of Le Cateau-Cambresis: Ended the Habsburg-Valois War.

This treaty was a British-French agreement ending the war between Spain and France, which was fought over control of Italy...If that explanation makes your head spin it should, but such was the state of dynastic wars in 16th Century Europe - make that most of post-Roman European history.

The result of the treaty was Spain kept control of Italy...The truth of this result was it merely began a new phase of battles over control of Italy.

1792 - The U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act, authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Mint.

The new nation was growing up, and no nation can be truly independent without its own currency.

1865 - Confederate President Davis, and most of his Cabinet, fled the capital of Richmond, Virginia:  U.S. Civil War.

1865 - After a ten-month siege, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant captured the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, and Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his troops on a desperate retreat westward:  U.S. Civil War.

The Confederates were on the run and nearly surrounded...The war was coming to an end, but there were still five days of killing left.

1866 - President Andrew Johnson ended the state of war in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Almost a year after the war ended and a state of war still existed...It was many more years before Union troops left the South.

Keep this in mind with all of our wars, because winning wars is often easier than winning the peace.

1876 - The Philadelphia A's and Boston Red Caps played the first National League game, in Philadelphia.

Baseball is the great American game, and this game began Major League Baseball history...It's important to remember this wasn't the first game or the first league, however.

The National League, officially known as the 'National League of Professional Baseball Clubs,' replaced the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, and to this day is the longest running professional sports league in the United States...And please don't try to pull out some obsolete sports league, because I only recognize baseball, football, basketball and hockey as legitimate American sports.

1917 - President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany:  WWI.

"...the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured…The world must be made safe for democracy."

President Wilson's War Message

1917 - Jeannette Rankin became the first female member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

I'd be much more excited about this event if Rankin wasn't such a POS.

For the record:  She voted against entering WWI and WWII...The only congressman with such a dubious honor.

1980 - Wayne Gretzky became the first teenager to score 50 goals in an NHL season.

'The Great One' was the most dominant athlete in the history of North American team sports...Yes, he was greater than Babe Ruth, and he was much more dominant than Michael Jordan.

Amazingly, this 50 goal season was a mere blip on his path towards destroying every important offensive record.

1982 - Several thousand troops from Argentina seized the disputed Falkland Islands, located in the south Atlantic, from Britain.

Argentina thought the Brits would flinch...Before and after Margarette Thatcher they may have been correct. Unfortunately for them, this was during the time of the Iron Lady.