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The American USS Shaw explodes in port at Pearl Harbour. (US Navy) On this day in 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the US Navy's Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. The attack - comprised of aerial bombardments on ships at port and the surrounding Army and Marines bases, as well concurrent attacks on US…
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…
British SOE Agents who trained at Camp X. (JSTOR Daily) On this day in 1941, Camp X began operations in Ontario, Canada. Officially named Special Training School No. 103, the camp was one of the primary locations for training British and Allied covert operators in the arts of deception, sabotage, and intelligence gathering during WWII.…
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,…
Afghan Commandos clear a road of mines and other explosive threats. (Wikipedia) On this day in 1997, The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction - or, the Ottawa Treaty - was signed by delegates from 121 countries in Ottawa, Canada. There are two…
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…
An early 1910s postcard depicting the Shaw Building. (Flickr) On this day in 1865, Shaw University - the US South's first historically Black college - was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina. American Baptist Minister Henry Martin Tupper led the construction of school buildings around his Second Baptist Church of Raleigh, and began teaching freedmen (former…
"The Battle of Sinop" by Ivan Konstantinovič Ajvazovskij. (Wikipedia) On this day in 1853, the naval Battle of Sinop took place between ships from the Ottoman Empire and the Imperial Russian Navy. The engagement was part of the Crimean War; the conflict was a result of the Ottoman Empire (or, the Turkish Empire) falling into…
The Tang Dynasty's flag. (Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 618, the future Tang Dynasty fought rival Qin forces in the Shaanxi province of China. The Qin, led by Emperor Wu, had taken control of much of China after the collapse of the Sui dynasty in 617. After a 60 day siege, the Tang attacked…
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