American soldiers wading ashore to liberate France on D-Day, June 6 1944.
Theme of the Day: Old-time Philadelphia photographs. (primary sources!)
Question of the Day: What’s changed? What’s stayed the same?
source: Philly.com
James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart (1833 – 1864)
Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as “Jeb”, from the initials of his given names.
Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use of cavalry in support of offensive operations. While he cultivated a cavalier image (red-lined gray cape, yellow sash, hat cocked to the side with an ostrich plume, red flower in his lapel, often sporting cologne), his serious work made him the trusted eyes and ears of Robert E. Lee’s army and inspired Southern morale.
FBI Sends Blackmail Letter to Martin Luther King, Jr. : “King, like all your frauds your end is approaching.”
via: lettersofnote.com
In November of 1964, fearful of his connection to the Communist Party through Stanley Levison, the FBI anonymously sent Martin Luther King the following threatening letter, along with a cassette that contained the fruits of a 9 month surveillance project — allegedly incriminating audio recordings of King with women in various hotel rooms — headed by William C. Sullivan.
A decade later, Sullivan told investigators that they had simply wanted King to resign from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King, on the other hand, had seen the letter as an invitation to take his own life. [source?]
Transcript follows
(Source: David J. Garrow, ‘The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.’ (New York, 1981), pp. 125‑126); Image courtesy of Paul Wolf.)
Theme of the Day:
1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force. Famously nicknamed the “Flying Tigers”
“In Feb 1941 (before the US entered WWII), President Roosevelt authorized the creation of a secret air group whose purpose was to support Chinese ground forces fighting back against Japanese invasion.
The group was to be staffed by volunteer American airmen from the Army, Marines, and Navy.
The men who volunteered did so a for a myriad of reasons. Some went for the money ($600 / month + a $500 bonus for every Japanese aircraft shot down), some went because they wanted to get “in” on the action, and others went simply for a sense of adventure.”
On the morning of May 24, 1941 the HMS Hood engaged in battle with the German battleship Bismark. At 6:00, a shell from the Bismark struck the Hood in its ammunition storage area, or “magazine.”
This resulted in a massive explosion which sank the ship in three minutes killing all but three of the ship’s 1,418 sailors.
This sketch was prepared by Captain JC Leach, commander of the HMS Prince of Wales.
At 9:02 am, a rented Ryder truck, containing 4,800 pounds (2,200 kg) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture, detonated in front of the north side of the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. One third of the building was destroyed by the explosion,which created a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 8-foot (2.4 m) deep crater on NW 5th Street next to the building. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen-block radius, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings. The broken glass alone accounted for 5% of the death total and 69% of the injuries outside the Murrah Federal Building. The blast destroyed or burned 86 cars around the site. The destruction of the buildings left several hundred people homeless and shut down multiple offices in downtown Oklahoma City. The explosion was estimated to have caused at least $652 million worth of damage.
Development of European helmets
Development of European shields
Development of European daggers
