Apparently, the day after Thanksgiving is not just Black Friday – it’s You’re Welcomegiving Day. Sure, why not. More importantly, it’s Buy Nothing Day – or what I like to call Red Friday – which is the perfect opportunity to starve the globalists. If you must shop today, shop local and America made products.
It’s also National Maize Day, National Native American Heritage Day, and National Listening Day. So, listen up: Shop local, America made small businesses and put your dollars where your values are.
Now let’s get onto today’s history…
In Government…
The 12th US President Zachary Taylor was born on this day in 1784. According to the White House, Zachary Taylor was a general and national hero in the United States Army from the time of the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812.
He’s counted as a hero in history, but I have to wonder about the circumstances of his death:
“In February 1850 President Taylor had held a stormy conference with southern leaders who threatened secession. He told them that if necessary to enforce the laws, he personally would lead the Army. Persons “taken in rebellion against the Union, he would hang … with less reluctance than he had hanged deserters and spies in Mexico.” He never wavered.
Then events took an unexpected turn. After participating in ceremonies at the Washington Monument on a blistering July 4, Taylor fell ill; within five days he was dead. After his death, the forces of compromise triumphed, but the war Taylor had been willing to face came 11 years later. In it, his only son Richard served as a general in the Confederate Army.”
Mohawk military leader Joseph Brant died on this day in 1807. Brant was based in modern day New York – and later in Ontario – and is reported to have been closely aligned with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution.
Our nation has a tumultuous history and, in 1832, South Carolina passed an Ordinance of Nullification, declaring the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional and unenforceable. The Federal Tariff Act placed duties on foreign imports, and this Nullification Crisis furthered calls for secession which ultimately led to the Civil War. That being said, as we discussed last week when Kentucky became the first state to nullify an act of Congress, the federal government was, and is, way out of control.
In 1835, the Texas Provisional Government authorized the Texas Rangers, a mounted police force in the state. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln pardoned the first turkey after his son Tad became friends with the bird.
More than 60 years later in 1896, Vermont enacted the first absentee voting law in the nation. Thanks, a lot, Vermont.
Heading into the 20th Century, in 1932 the FBI Crime Lab, or the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, opened in Washington, D.C. Less than a decade later, World War II was underway, and a few key moments happened on this day:
1941: US troops land on Suriname to “protect” bauxite mine
1944: US bombers based on Saipan begin first attack on Tokyo
1947: House Committee on Un-American Activities finds "Hollywood 10" in contempt
In the middle of the century, the first Presidential airplane Air Force One was christened in 1954, under 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
On the same day in 1963, Jack Ruby murdered Lee Harvey Oswald – meaning the American people never got to hear his testimony or examine the facts associated with the government’s case against him. Convenient for the government working overtime to see the lone gunman theory.
As we discussed Wednesday, the assassination of Kennedy was a necessity to move US troops into Vietnam, as Kennedy had committed funding to the war but was refusing to commit US troops. After his death, Johnson sent the troops, and thousands of Americans died in another banker’s war. Speaking of that war, on this day in 1969, US Army Lt William Calley was charged with the massacre of over 100 civilians in My Lai (March 1968), ordered to stand trial by court martial. Ten years later, the US Senate admitted that US troops in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange.
At what point did our government stop being a criminal mafia?
Ponder that as we remember Todd Beamer, known as the “Hero of Flight 93” and best remembered by his last known words, “Let’s Roll,” was born on this day in 1968 in Flint, Michigan.
In world government history today…
380: Theodosius I entered Constantinople
1221: Genghis Khan final battle in Mongolian conquest of Khwarezmian Empire
1642: Dutch explorer Abel Tasman discovered Van Diemen's Land or, Tasmania
1688: Churchill pledges allegiance to William of Orange
1884: Second President of Israel Itzhak Ben-Zvi was born
1914: Benito Mussolini left Italy's Socialist Party
1918: Hungarian Communist Party forms
1922: Italian parliament gave Mussolini dictatorial powers "for one year"
1941: "Life Certificates" issued to some Jews of Vilna, the rest are exterminated
1949: British steel and iron industry is nationalized (but they’re totes not commies)
1965: Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu becomes President of Zaire
1966: Exactly one year later Zaire gets television
1983: PLO exchanges six Israeli prisoners for 4,500 Palestinian, Lebanese
1989: Communist Party resigns in Czechoslovakia
2005: Canadian Motion of “No Confidence”
2015: Venezuelan opposition leader Luis Díaz murdered days before general election
2018: Taiwanese voters vote against same-sex marriage
2019: Proof of Chinese Uighur camps released
2021: Sweden's first female Prime Minister resigns after 12 hours in the job
In Culture…
On this day in both 1434 and 1715, the River Thames in London froze over. Referred to as a “Frost Fair” historically, the river becoming a solid led to a party in the city – with bull-baiting, pop-up pubs, and even a king or two taking part! The last great freeze was in 1963, and according to Historic UK, “Frost Fairs were a rare event even in the coldest parts of the Little Ice Age.” The last Frost Fair was held in 1814.
In 1869, the American Woman's Suffrage Association formed in Cleveland. At least it wasn’t Detroit. Decades later in 1930, Ruth Nichols set the women's transcontinental air flight record, but it’s unclear if she voted. Other firsts today include:
1874: Barbed Wire Patented (Joseph Glidden)
1903: Automobile Electric Starter Patented (Clyde Coleman)
1955: Fokker's F-27 Friendship First Test Flight
It was also on this day in 1896 that Charles Lucky Luciano was born. Lucky Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States given his influential role in the rise of organized crime in early 20th Century America, and he was the first official boss of the modern Genovese crime family.
The Artsy Fartsy Stuff
There are some significant milestones in the arts today. Carlo Collodi, creator of Pinocchio, was born in 1826, and he shares a birthday with Dale Carnegie (1888) and Andre Victor Tchelistcheff (1901), "the dean of American winemaking."
In literature today, Anna Sewell sold her manuscript "Black Beauty" for forty pounds in 1877. That would be $7248.02 in today’s US dollars (5750.41 in today’s pounds). John Steinbeck's novella "The Pearl" was published in 1947, and Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmatians died on this day in 1990.
In visual arts, Photographer Alfred Stieglitz opened the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession in 1905. According to the Art Institute of Chicago:
“The Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession—later known as 291—began as a place to display and experience the latest developments in photography, and ended up being the first American foothold for modern art of all media, from the work of the European avant-garde to that of a new generation of American painters.”
Mexican Painter Diego Rivera died on this day in 1957, an honor he shares with James J. Kilroy in 1962 – who may or may not have “been here.”
Religion & Politics
There’s a couple of papal milestones today as in 496 Anastasius II succeeded Gelasius I as Catholic Pope, and in 642, Theodore I began his reign in the role. But there are key moments in other religions as well.
In 1105, Rabbi Nathan ben Yehiel of Rome completed the Talmudic dictionary, and almost 600 years later, the first Lutheran Pastor Justus Falckner was ordained in America, at Philadelphia. In 1926, the father of yoga Sri Aurobindo retired to lead life of seclusion and handed the responsibility of leading his followers to Mirra Alfassa. This is considered the founding of Sri Aurobindo ashram.
Finally, the “White Brotherhood” – a Ukrainian sect of nazis – predicted that today would be the end of the world in 1993. I guess they were unable to pull it off since we are all still here 30 years later.
Sciencey Goodness
In 1859, Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species,” and in 1974 the science reported that “Lucy” was the most complete early human skeleton ever discovered. Lucy is, now, not considered the first human being, but rather an early hominid. But the correction never makes the front page.
Finally, in 2016, an international research team published the discovery of 1,500 new viruses found in invertebrates. And now we have pandemics.
In the super real science of space, in 1639, the first observation of Venus in transit was recorded by Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree. This discovery helped establish the size of the Solar System, which is largely still relied upon today. In 1969, Apollo 12 allegedly returned to Earth, and in 1991, NASA launched its 75th manned space mission, Atlantis 10.
You Know It’s Real Because It Looks So Fake.
The (Tarnished) Silver Screen
The history of film had some milestones today when Fred Astaire’s first film, "Dancing Lady" released in 1933, and "Bicycle Thieves" in 1948.
Colin Hank (1977) and Katherine Heigl (1978) were born today, and Mr. Miyagi died (2005).
The Idiot Box
Two miniseries premiered on the idiot box on November 24th. Stephen King’s "Salem's Lot" premiered in two parts in 1979, and NBC's "Mussolini: The Untold Story" premiered in 1985. In 2016, Florence Henderson died.
The World’s A Stage
In theater on November 24, Noël Coward's anthology "Tonight at 8:30" premiered in 1936, and Clifford Odets' "Rocket to the Moon" premiered in 1938. “Guys & Dolls” opened in 1950, and went on to win five Tony Awards. The following year in 1951, “Seventeen” closed after 180 performances.
The Jams
The King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin, was born on this day in 1868. He composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. Rita Corita was born in 1917, the Dutch popstar known for her love of coffee: lol, lekker bakkie koffie” = “Coffee, coffee, nice cup of coffee.” Pete Best was born in 1941, as was Chris Hayes in 1957.
Speaking of Best, the Beatles began recording "Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in 1966, and Best must have been feeling the worst. Other people feeling their worst on this day were Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, Melanie Thornton, who died in 2001, and Robert McFerrin, Sr., who died in 2006.
And we were all feeling our worst in 2012, when Gangnam Style became the most viewed Youtube video of all time, surpassing 808 million views. But perhaps worst of all, November 24 should be called “the day the music died, as 28 Composers died on this day in history, from all over the world.
1615: Sethus Calvisius (German, 59)
1650: Manuel Cardoso (Portuguese, 83)
1722: Johann Adam Reincken (German, 99)
1822: Karl Jacob Wagner (German, 50)
1838: Karl Ludwig Hellwig (German, 65)
1842: Pehr Frigel (Swedish, 92)
1880: Napoléon Henri Reber (French, 73)
1901: Heinrich Urban (German, 64)
1903: Charles Dupee Blake (American, 56)
1916: John Francis Barnett (British, 79)
1943: Reina Prinsen Geerligs (Dutch, 22)
1944: Václav Štěpán (Czech, 54)
1946: Alfonso Broqua (Uruguayan, 70)
1948: Raoul Armand Georg Koczalski (Polish, 64)
1953: George Alexander Russell (American, 73)
1956: Guido Cantelli (Italian, 36)
1970: Evgeny Karlovich Tikotsky (Polish, 76)
1972: Alexander Smallens (Russian, 83)
1972: Hall Overton (American, 52)
1984: Godfrey Ridout (Canadian, 66)
1990: Bulent Arel (Turkish, 72)
1992: Xavier Darasse (French, 58)
1996: Edison Vasalievich Denisov (Russian, 67)
2008: Ryōhei Hirose (Japanese, 78)
2009: Hale Smith (American,84)
2009: Kan Ishii (Japanese, 80)
2011: Fjölnir Stefánsson (Icelandic, 81)
2019: Juan Antonio Orrego-Salas (Chilean, 100)
In Death & Destruction…
In regular D&D today, Ted Bundy was born on this day in 1946 — he committed his first murder in 1971.
Speaking of 1971, American "Dan Cooper" hijacked a plane, extorted $200,000 in ransom, jumped out of the plane over Washington State and was never seen again. On the same day in the same year, there was a prison revolt in New Jersey, and — still in 1971 — a British Army bomb-disposal specialist was killed by a bomb. Rough year.
Other D&D today:
1917: 10 killed by bomb at Milwaukee police HQ
1966: 400 killed from respiratory failure, heart attacks
1966: 82 killed in Bulgarian plane crash
1985: 60 killed by Egyptian commandos in Malta
2017: 305 killed in attack a Sufi mosque in Egypt
2018: 29 killed when Cruise boat sank in Uganda
2021: 27 killed when migrant boat capsized in English Channel
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!