The History Shack

   OTD June 21st is the one-hundred-seventy-second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 193 days remain until the end of the year.   Events 1582 – Sengoku period: Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful of the Japanese daimyōs, is forced to commit suicide by his own general, Akechi Mitsuhide. 1749 – Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded. 1898 – The United States captures Guam from Spain. The few warning shots fired by the U.S. naval vessels are misinterpreted as salutes by the Spanish garrison, which was unaware that the two nations were at war. 1919 – Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the German fleet at Scapa Flow, Orkney. The nine sailors killed were the last casualties of World War I. 1978 – The original production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Evita, based on the life of Eva Perón, opens at the Prince Edward Theatre, London. 2004 – SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.   Birthdays Je...

   OTD June 20th is the one-hundred-seventy-first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 194 days remain until the end of the year.   Events 451 – Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats, causing the Romans to interpret it as a victory. 1631 – The Sack of Baltimore: The Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Barbary slave traders. 1782 – The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States. 1837 – Queen Victoria succeeds to the British throne. 1840 – Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph. 1863 – American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state. 1944 – The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space. 1975—Jaws was released in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and starting the trend of films known as "summer blockbusters."...

  Winston Churchill's "Finest Hour" Speech On June 18, 1940, Winston Churchill delivered one of his most famous speeches to the House of Commons, known as the "Finest Hour" speech. This speech came at a critical moment during World War II, just after the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk and the fall of France to Nazi Germany. Churchill's words rallied the British people and steeled their resolve to continue the fight against the looming threat of invasion.   The speech was delivered against the backdrop of the Battle of France, where British and French forces had been overwhelmed by the German blitzkrieg. The French government had signed an armistice with Germany, effectively surrendering, leaving Britain to face the might of the Nazi war machine alone. Churchill acknowledged the dire situation, stating, "The Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."

   OTD June 19th is the one-hundred-seventieth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 195 days remain until the end of the year.   Events 1586 – English colonists leave Roanoke Island after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in North America. 1718 – At least 73,000 people died in the 1718 Tongwei–Gansu earthquake due to landslides in the Qing dynasty. 1846 – The first officially recorded, organized baseball game is played under Alexander Cartwright's rules on Hoboken, New Jersey's Elysian Fields, with the New York Base Ball Club defeating the Knickerbockers 23–1. Cartwright umpired. 1862 – The U.S. Congress prohibits slavery in United States territories, nullifying Dred Scott v. Sandford. 1934 – The Communications Act 1934 established the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 1960 – The first NASCAR race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 2018 – The 10,000,000th United States Patent is issued.   B...

   OTD June 18th is the one-hundred-sixty-ninth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 196 days remain until the end of the year.   Events 1812 – The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom was signed by President James Madison, beginning the War of 1812. 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo resulted in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time. 1858 – Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin's own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory. 1873 – Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election. 1900 – Empress Dowager Cixi of China orders all foreigners killed, including foreign diplomats and their families. 1940 – Winston Churchill delivers the "Finest Hour" speech. 1948 – Co...

   OTD June 17th is the one-hundred-sixty-eighth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 197 days remain until the end of the year.   Events 1579 – Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England. 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. 1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor. 1932 – Bonus Army: Around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits. 1963 – The United States Supreme Court rules 8–1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools. 1971 – U.S. President Richard Nixon, in a televised press conference called drug abuse "America's public enemy number one," started the War on Drugs. 1994 – Following a t...

Imagine a life that stretches from the aftermath of the American Revolution to the tumult of the Civil War. This is the life of Winfield Scott, born on June 13, 1786, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. Scott's story is about bravery, strategy, and dedication—a tale woven into America's early history. Winfield Scott's early years were shaped by loss and resilience. Orphaned by age seventeen, Scott was left to forge his own path. Initially drawn to the law, he found his true calling in the military. In 1808, at just 22, he became a captain in the U.S. Army, setting the stage for a remarkable career. Scott's rise to prominence occurred during the War of 1812, a conflict that saw the young United States fighting against the British Empire again. He quickly proved his mettle. At the Battle of Queenston Heights, Scott's leadership was a beacon of hope, even though the battle was ultimately lost. His real moment of glory came at the Battle of Lundy's Lane in 1814. Despite ...