about the universe forum commander Shop Now Commanders Circle
Product List FAQs home Links Contact Us

Thursday, November 29, 2007

ONE DAY IN HISTORY

Stephen V. Cole Posts:

A lot of things happened today, 29 November, some of minor historical significance (the French defeated the Flemings in the Battle of Westrozebeke in 1382, for example), others of statistical note (the US submarine Archerfish sank the Japanese carrier Shinano on this date in 1944; at 70,000 tons, this was the largest ship ever sunk by a submarine). There were battles in the American Civil War on this miserably cold date in 1861, 1863, and 1864. (You'd have thought they'd have stayed in their camps where it was warm.) In 1887, the US signed a treaty with the kingdom of Hawaii to gain rights to build a naval base in Pearl Harbor, and on this date in 1941, the Army placed its forces in Hawaii on permanent alert against an imminent Japanese attack. The first Army-Navy game was held on this date in 1890 (Navy won, which was annoying since the game was played at West Point, the Army Academy) and many more Army-Navy games have been held over the years on this date, including 1941 when the Navy again won. Some events have had lasting significance. The UN vote to partition Palestine and create Israel on this date in 1947 has created a conflict that has continued for the sixty subsequent years. On this date in 1949, the Nationalist Chinese officially abandoned China and retreated to Taiwan, creating another one of those decades-long conflicts that could turn into a major war any time. For that matter, the first underground nuclear test (on this date in 1951) heralded a long period of such blasts by several countries. History is a collection of good and bad days, and this was both, like any other day.