Happy Birthday to the US Marine Corps! On this day in 1775, the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia formed the Continental Marines, the precursor to the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps is an elite military force capable of operating on land, sea and air. Also on this day in 1954, the Marine Corps War Memorial was unveiled in Arlington County, Virginia. It is dedicated to all the Marines who died in defense of our nation since 1775.
It is also National Civic Pride Day, which is a bit hard to celebrate in an age when Americans are being politically targeted, and many persecuted, simply for engaging in civics.
Finally, it’s National Vanilla Cupcake Day. We should all have some vanilla cupcakes in celebration of the Marines. These from Life, Love, and Sugar look amazing.
Now let’s get onto today’s history…
In Government…
In 1801, the state of Kentucky outlawed dueling. More than 200 years after that decision, no one fears consequences any longer, and respect has all but vanished in society. Should we bring back dueling to save America?
In 1940, Walt Disney became an FBI informant, focused on identifying subversives in Hollywood.
And in 1983, the US federal government shut down — but every time they talk about shutting down now it’s framed as unprecedented.
In 2012, Barack Obama was declared the winner of the Presidential Election, defeating Mitt Romney 332-206 in the Electoral College.
Finally, in 2020, Collins English Dictionary declared that the Word of the Year was: "Lockdown.” That was fun.
In World Government history today…
1917: Lenin temporarily suspended freedom of the press during October Revolution
1918: German Emperor Wilhelm II fled to the Netherlands
1923: German ex-crown prince fled from Netherlands to Germany
1926: Vincent Massey became the first Canadian minister to the US
1937: Brazilian President Getulio Vargas proclaimed a dictatorship
1938: Second day of Kristallnacht
1982: IMF lended Mexico $3.8 billion due to threatened bankruptcy
1989: Germans began demolishing the Berlin Wall
2022: The Taliban banned women in Afghanistan from using public parks and funfairs
In Culture…
1871, Henry Morton Stanley encountered David Livingstone near Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa, with the immortal words 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?' Livingstone was a national hero of Victorian Britain, achieving mythic status as a missionary martyr, scientific investigator and explorer, imperial reformer, anti-slavery crusader, and advocate of commercial empire.
There were many innovations on this day:
1885: The world's first motorcycle revealed by German engineer Gottlieb Daimler
1903: Windshield wipers patent granted to Mary Anderson
1908: First Gideon Bible put in a hotel room
1951: First long distance call without operator assistance
1988: Metro cards replace tokens in NY public transit
1989: Word Perfect 5.1
In 1917, 41 suffragists were arrested in front of White House. As a reminder from earlier this week, women in Colorado already had the vote.
In 1924, Dean O'Banion, leader of the North Side Gang, was assassinated in his flower shop. The hit was conducted by members of Johnny Torrio's gang, and it launched the bloody gang war of the 1920s in Chicago. Over in NY, in 1980, Anchorman Dan Rather claimed that a cabbie tried to kidnap him, and refused to pay his fare.
In media and entertainment, Sesame Street premiered on PBS in 1969, and Home Alone premiered in 1990. The revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat kicked off in 1993, and it ran for 223 performances.
In music, Uptown Funk was released by Bruno Mars in 2014, and it went on to win multiple Grammy awards. I know every word.
In rapey history, in 2017 on this day, the BBC removed content starring Ed Westwick after he was accused of rape by two women, and Louis C.K. admitted that the sexual misconduct allegations against him were true.
Finally, in 2021 Peter Jackson sold Weta Digital's technology division to a video games company for $1.6 billion dollars. While that sounds somewhat legitimate, the largest art auction in history achieving $1.5b in sales – to be donated to charity – does not. The auction of the collection from late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sounds more like money-laundering.
In Death & Destruction…
1847: 92 killed in shipwreck off the southern coast of Ireland
1975: 29 killed in when ship lost in storm on Lake Superior
1979: 200,000 evacuated in Ontario due to 106 car train derailment
1988: 938 killed in earthquake in China
1995: 9 activists hanged by Nigerian government
2012: 17 killed in a helicopter crash in Turkey due to bad weather
2012: 20 killed by suicide bombings in Syria
2012: 27 killed, dozens injured in a prison conflict in Sri Lanka
2012: 5 killed, 30 injured in Israeli counter strike on Gaza
2019: 319 killed, 15,000 injured during demonstrations in Iraq
Today’s Birthdays…
1483: Martin Luther (Reformer)
1964: Kenny Rogers (Musician)
1968: Tracy Morgan
1970: Warren G. (Rapper)
1977: Brittany Murphy (Actress)
1978: Eve (Rapper)
1982: Heather Matarazzo (Actress)
1986: Josh Peck (Child Actor)
Deaths Today…
1956: Harry Ford Sinclair (American Industrialist)
1973: Stringbean (Performer)
2003: Canaan Banana (First President of Zimbabwe)
2007: Norman Mailer (Writer)
2009: John Allen Muhammad (DC Sniper)
On This Day is published Monday through Friday. Watch the Today’s History podcast weekdays at 12PM ET! Don’t forget to visit bootlegproducts.com and use coupon code MYAMERICA!