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Marguerite Durand. (Jules Cayron) On this day in 1897, French activist Marguerite Durand founded La Fronde, a feminist newspaper based in Paris. Unlike most publications of the time that targeted women, Durand's paper covered more "masculine" topics: politics, sports, philosophy. Referring to the 1648 Fronde (slingshot) uprisings against French monarchy, the paper was run entirely…
An Afrika Korps tank advances during the North African Campaign. (Pinterest) Some of the very first action in WWII took place in North Africa and the Middle East. By the 1930s, most European powers - predominantly the Allies - had economic interests in the region. The new fascist powers of the era wanted a piece…
Ervin Zádor with members of his team, immediately after being punched by a Russian opponent. (VEOL) The scene: The Melbourne Olympics, 1956. Men from the USSR's water polo team face off against their Hungarian counterparts. They prepare for what seems like an ordinary match of water polo, but all is not as it seems. Mere…
French troops move on Fleury. (Wikimedia Commons) By late 1914, Verdun-sur-Meuse - a town on the Meuse river in Northeastern France - was surrounded on three sides by the German army. The lines of the Western Front bulged eastward around the town, and only La Route Sacrée, a medium-sized road, resupplied the French at Verdun.…
An M48 tank fires over the citadel's wall at VC positions. (MC.GR) By the end of 1967, Americans had been fighting the Vietnam War for nearly three years. Joined by allies from Australia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, US forces under American General Westmoreland had had some success in battling the communist Viet Cong…
A Bulgarian painting warning viewers of the dangers of witchcraft. (Wikipedia) On this day in 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a papal bull (public decree) declaring an inquisition to stamp out witchcraft in Germany. Titled Summis desiderantes - or, we desire with supreme ardor - the papal bull was issued by the Pope at the…
Marine Raiders in 1944 in the Solomon Islands. (USMC) On this day in 1942, Carlson's Patrol - an operation by the US Marine Corps 2nd Raider Battalion - ended. Beginning in December of 1941, the Allies (led by the US Marines) had been fighting their way through the Pacific, "island-hopping" towards mainland Japan. The patrol,…
A "Female" Mark IV tank rolls into position at Cambrai. (Rare Historical Photos) By 1917, WWI had ground on for several unpleasant years. With casualties mounting on both sides and little change in battle lines from month-to-month, both the Allies (England, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans) sought new…
Eisenhower talks with 101s Airborne paratroopers prior to their jump into France. (Wikimedia Commons) 1943 was a turning point in WWII. Axis (German, Italian and Japanese) forces had been pushed out of North Africa, Allied forces were marching their way into mainland Italy and the Soviet Red Army had finally eliminated the German 6th Army…
Women "human computers" working on the Manhattan Project. (Flickr) On this day in 1942, Chicago Pile-1 (or CP-1) initiated the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction under the football grandstands at Chicago University. The very first successful nuclear reactor, CP-1 was built by a team of brains led by Enrico Fermi, an American physicist. While CP-1…
ASAP History 