I still have not seen the film, but a friend who has tells me this is how yours truly shows up in the credits at the end of Saving Lincoln: Now my life is complete.
Commissioned in 1943, USS Yorktown (CV-10) (right) was an Essex-class aircraft carrier that saw extensive service during World War II. Joining the fleet in April 1943, the ship was named for its predecessor, USS Yorktown (CV-5), which was lost at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Serving with the Fast Carrier Task Force, the second Yorktown supported operations at Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa as well as took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and helped defeat Operation Ten-Go. With the end of the war, the carrier was decommissioned but was later modernized and returned to active duty in 1953. Conducting peacetime duty in the Pacific for much of the next decade, it later served on Yankee Station during the Vietnam War. After recovering Apollo 8 in December 1968, it shifted to the Atlantic where it operated until its retirement in June 1970. USS Yorktown is currently the centerpiece of the Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Charleston, SC.
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June 17, 1775 - American and British forces fight the Battle of Bunker Hill. During the Siege of Boston, American commanders were alerted to British intentions to capture the heights around the city. On the evening of June 16, Col. William Prescott was ordered to move onto the Charlestown Peninsula and fortify Bunker Hill. Advancing, it was decided to occupy Breed's Hill instead. Working the through the night, his men built a sizable redoubt and later extended their line to the north. Spotting the American works the next morning, Lt. Gen. Thomas Gage ordered Maj. Gen. William Howe to take the hill. Attacking that afternoon, Howe was repelled twice with heavy losses. A third assault largely succeeded due to Prescott's men running out of ammunition and being forced to retreat. Though victory of the British, it cost them over 1,000 casualties. The battle startled the British military and led to debates overseas regarding the war. Despite the high cost, the battle failed to change the strategic situation and the siege continued until the British were forced out in March 1776.
...It's the 125th anniversary of the Jack the Ripper killings this year, so we're expanding our content. As well as our introduction to the unsolved mystery, we now have a narrative account of events, and mini biographies of the victims. We also have some pages clarifying the people involved in the contemporary investigation: Charles Warren, Henry Matthews, Frederick Abberline and Donald Swanson.
Blackadder was a British comedy series whose four seasons were each set in different periods of British history, from a fictional alternative ending to the Wars of the Roses, through the reigns of Elizabeth I and George III, to World War One. It's among the most successful comedies Britain has produced, and makes good use of the eras for source material. If it seems strange that I'm talking about a sitcom, it's long been a favourite of mine, but more importantly the episodes dealing with the absurdity of World War One have been talked about in schools, and if you're willing to indulge your interest in history's more playful side all are well worth a watch. They have now reached a milestone themselves, as its been thirty years since the first episode was shown.
I can't help but think that the headline on this BBC article - 'French wine has Italian origins' - is there to rile things up, because the informative article itself looks at our uncertain knowledge of how wine production spread, and looks at evidence it moved from Etruscan Italy into France from origins in Iran, Georgia and Armenia. Evidence for this has been gathered in a chemical analysis on the inside of storage jars called amphorae.
June 14, 1800 - Napoleon Bonaparte defeats the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo (right). Advancing over the Alps, Napoleon placed his army across the Austrian lines of communication with the goal of forcing General Michael von Malus to attack him. When no attack came, Napoleon became convinced that the Austrians were planning to retreat. To prevent this, he dispersed his forces to block von Malus' likely routes of escape. On June 12, von Malus launched an assault on Napoleon near the village of Marengo. Fighting on the defensive, French troops managed to hold off the initial Austrian assaults, but were ultimately forced to fall back two miles. Regrouping near the village of San Giuliano, Napoleon's forces were augmented by the arrival of General Louis Charles Antoine Desaix's detachment. Massing their guns, the French, led by Desaix's men, counterattacked the pursuing Austrians. Striking hard and supported by cavalry, Napoleon's men were able to crush the Austrian center forcing them to flee the field. Though Desaix was killed, the French victory forced the Austrians to begin suing for peace.
...The three-month-long excavation at Northampton Railway Station, now complete, has uncovered some fascinating artifacts, including a medieval silver penny, Saxon oil lamps, and the outline of an ironstone building dating to the 12th century. Some items date as far back as the 900s.
Find out more in these articles:
Two statues that were stolen from the Koh Ker temple in the 1970s were returned to Cambodia Tuesday. Both had been on display in the Asian wing of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art for two decades.
The statues, known as "Kneeling Attendants," were donated to the Met in pieces, by different donors, in the years from 1987 to 1992. Officials at the inestimable museum believed the donations to be legitimate until documentary evidence came to light that the items had been taken from Cambodia illegally. The fact that the Met voluntarily returned the stolen statues may set a precedent, which is especially important now that the Cambodian government is requesting other museums to return items that may have been looted.
Find out more in these news items:
June 10, 1861 - Union troops are defeated at the Battle of Big Bethel. With the start of the Civil War, Union forces were able to hold Fort Monroe at the tip of the Virginia peninsula between the York and James Rivers. Under the guidance of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler (right), the area became an increasingly large Union base. Concerned about this, Maj. Gen. Robert E. Lee, commanding Virginia state forces, sent Col. John Magruder to the area to contain the threat. After establishing his headquarters at Yorktown, Magruder constructed earthworks at Big Bethel and an outpost to the south at Little Bethel. Annoyed that Confederate forces from these positions were harassing his men, Butler directed Brig. Gen Ebenezer Peirce to attack them. Moving out on the night of June 9-10, Peirce's complex attack plan failed and resulted in a friendly fire incident. Recovering, he then moved against Big Bethel. Mounting a series of piecemeal attacks on the Confederate earthworks, he had no success and withdrew back to his camps. Though a skirmish by the war's later standards, Big Bethel received extensive coverage at the time as the war was only weeks old and a major engagement had yet to be fought.
...The American West and its ranching, its barbecues, beans, and chuck wagons, had a cross-cultural resonance that allowed even those raised in other parts of the world to participate in an American myth made universal by popular fiction and the movies. Foreigners could see their preconceived vision of the 'real America' in the vistas, settings, entertainment, and libations of the LBJ Ranch. For Europeans, this was all especially poignant; it resonated with the myths they held about the American West. Adenauer's visit began a universalization of the ranch, its transformation from a place of continental iconography to one of international symbolic meaning.'This article discusses a lot of Johnson's BBQs, including this, his largest:
June 10, 1190 - Frederick I Barbarossa (right) drowns while crossing the Seleph River. In early 1152, Conrad III proclaimed from his deathbed that he wished Frederick Barbarossa, then Duke of Swabia, to succeed him as King of Germany. Though Conrad had a six-year old son, Frederick actively pursued the crown and was able to win the support of the princely electors. Taking power he sought to restore the glory of the Holy Roman Empire to that of the days of Charlemagne. After bringing peace to his German states, Frederick fought a major campaign in Italy with the goal of reasserting imperial rights in the region. Following his capture of Arnold of Brescia, Frederick was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV in 1155. Over the next several years, Frederick mounted five more expeditions to Italy. In 1189, he raised a massive army in support of the Third Crusade. Operating in conjunction with Richard I of England and Philip Augustus of France, Frederick and his men took the overland route to the Holy Land. Reaching southeastern Anatolia, Frederick died crossing the Seleph River.
June 8, 1862 - Confederate forces win the Battle of Cross Keys. Assuming a defensive position near Port Republic, Maj. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson sought to defeat separate Union forces led by Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont (right) and Brig. Gen. James Shields. Directing Maj. Gen. Richard Ewell to occupy a line behind Mill Creek, near Cross Keys, Jackson hoped this force could hold or defeat Frémont while he dealt with Shields. Advancing on June 8, Frémont attempted to turn Ewell's right flank but had his attack defeated by Brig. Gen. Isaac Trimble. Unable to recover, he fought a disjointed action through the afternoon before retreating to a new line. Shaken by their defeat, Frémont's men remained in place the next day when Jackson defeated Shields at Port Republic. The twin victories effectively ended Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862 and later that month his troops joined Gen. Robert E. Lee's army outside Richmond, VA.
...This BBC article starts with a large cutaway diagram of the Mary Rose that is enough of a reason to highlight the page. But keep reading and you'll find something (ghoulishly) fascinating: experts examining the salvaged parts of the Mary Rose have worked with forensics experts to recreate the faces of seven of the ship's doomed crew. You can see the portraits, read about how they were created, and see some details about the men's lives. We have an introduction to the Mary Rose here.
Few events in cultural history are as famous as the May 29th 1913 performance of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, because it caused a riot. Or did it? As Ivan Hewett, a writer for the BBC, points out, the truth is unclear. Something appears to have happened, but did people go ready to be offended? It's the sort of article that concludes little but is still very informative. It did make me want to at least listen to The Rite again.
This is the latest in a long (over the years) series of posts that's largely influenced by my fascination / hope with finding things in domestic back gardens. Today: a lost Saxon church. Sue Roberts lives in Wallingford, Britain, and had builders insulating her house's foundations when they found a skeleton, which led to a visit from police and archaeologists, which led to the latter realising they had found the location of the lost St. Lucian's Church which was built before the Norman church craze. This information came from the Oxford Mail.
June 6, 1813 - British forces win the Battle of Stoney Creek during the War of 1812. Pursuing British forces west after the capture of Fort George, Brig. Gens. William H. Winder (right) and John Chandler camped at Stoney Creek on June 5, 1813. Dispatching Lt. Col. John Harvey to scout the American position, Brig. Gen. John Vincent decided to counterattack that night. Sending a 700-man force under Harvey, Vincent hoped to take the Americans by surprise. Losing the element of surprise as his men approached, Harvey attacked around 2:00 AM on June 6. In 45 minutes of confused fighting, the British took heavy losses but succeeded in capturing both American commanders and compelling the more numerous enemy to retreat. The defeat, along with a later loss at Beaver Dams, badly shook the Americans causing them to remain in a tight perimeter around Fort George.
...Their name has become synonymous with harrowing destruction. This might have something to do with the fact that they sacked Rome, and did a bang-up job of it. See what other events led to the Vandals' association with devastation in this introduction by your Guide.
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June 5, 1864 - Maj. Gen. David Hunter (right) wins the Battle of Piedmont. Taking command of Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley in late May 1864, Hunter began advancing south with the goal of capturing Staunton and Charlottesville before pressing on to Lynchburg. Utilizing a scorched earth approach, he also sought to eliminate the area's value as a source of supplies for Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Hunter's efforts were initially opposed by Brig. Gen. John Imboden's cavalry brigade which was later joined by additional forces under Brig. Gen. William "Grumble" Jones. The two men engaged Hunter at Piedmont on June 5. In the resulting battle, the Confederates initially held off several Union attacks but were eventually overwhelmedwhen Hunter was able to flank part of Jones' line. As the Confederate line collapsed, Jones was killed and his men fled the field. Pressing on, Hunter captured Staunton the following day.
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Intended to replace the US Army's Krag-Jørgensen rifles, the M1903 Springfield (right) became one of the most beloved weapons in American military history. Following the Spanish-American War, the US Army sought a rifle capable of a higher muzzle velocity with an easier loading system than its existing supplies of Krags. Beginning with the Mauser 93 design, which had equipped Spanish troops during the war, the Springfield Armory introduced its first prototype in 1900. Over the next three years, the weapon was improved and refined before it was officially adopted in June 1903. Though the M1903 combined elements from both the Mauser and Krag, it possessed enough influence from the former that the US Government was forced to pay royalties to Mauserwerke. Production began at Springfield and over 800,000 were built before the US entered World War I in 1917. Serving as the primary infantry rifle of the American Expeditionary Force, the M1903 proved efficient and deadly in the field. The rifle remained in use during World War II, though it was largely replaced by the M1 Garand. Heavily modified over its career, numerous variants of the M1903 were produced including a highly effective sniper rifle.
...A curator at the British Royal Logistic Corps Museum has researched a new book on the feeding of their soldiers during World War 1. If you're interested in the subject, you could just buy his 'Feeding Tommy' by Andrew Robertshaw, or take a first look at this Telegraph article...
Sarah Bond has written an article full of interesting facts about the archaeology of castration and eunuchs in ancient times. I'm not going to quote any details because this isn't everyone's cup of tea, so only click through if you're keen. A knowledge of what books / TV series Game of Thrones is also helps for the opening paragraph.
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Updated on June 19, 2013 04:06 PM UTC. Entries are normalised to UTC time.
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