793 Vikings in longships from modern-day Norway plunder St. Cuthbert’s monastery on Lindisfarne Island off the northeast coast of England, capturing and killing monks.
Category: On This Day in History
On This Day in History: April 26, 1986, The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Occurs
1986 The world’s worst nuclear disaster occurs when the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union explodes, resulting in 31 deaths and radioactive contamination spreading to much of Western Europe. Additional Resources: The five part 2019 HBO Series Chernobyl is one of the most realistic depictions…
On This Day in History: April 14th, 1865, President Lincoln is Shot by John Wilkes Booth and Dies a Day Later
Don’t Accept the Yankee Narrative! Read about the REAL Lincoln.
On this Day in History: John Steinbeck is Born
John Steinbeck I read a lot of Steinbeck early on in my youth and I always appreciated his matter of fact, minimalist style. After reading Grapes of Wrath and then watching the 1940 film adaptation directed by John Ford, I was hooked. Published Works: 1927: “Cup of Gold”—A historical fiction based loosely on the…
On This Day in History: February 23, 1945
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima A Great Book about the USMC and Iwo Jima is Flags of our Father’s by James Bradley. The two Movie adaptation’s, both from 2006, directed by Clint Eastwood, are definitely worth a look as well.
On This Day in History: February 23, 1836
Battle of the Alamo In 1835, Texas, which was then under the control of the Mexican Republic, rebelled against its overlords. Though there was a fierce debate among Texians as to whether they wanted to declare independence or simply force a return to the freer Mexican constitution of 1824, eventually the rebels did declare…
On This Day in History: February 1, 1968
1968 Saigon police chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executes Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém with a pistol shot to the head.
On This Day in History: Battle of Rorke’s Drift – January 22, 1879
Defence of Rorke’s Drift In January 1879, a British force commanded by Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand aiming to extend British imperial influence in southern Africa. The army was split into three columns. Chelmsford led the central column himself, crossing the Buffalo River at Rorke’s Drift mission station to seek out King Cetshwayo’s Zulu army. But…
On This Day in History: January 4, 1847
Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government and in doing so, Truly made All Men Equal.