Today in History News Report
Headlining todays news we congratulate Boris Godunov who was named Czar of Russia (1598). Of Tartar descent he has announced that he we will try to improve trade relations with other European nations, especially England. Internally he is expected to push for reforms that change the manner in which Serfs are managed, tieing them to the land they worked and not their overlord. Slavery by any other name is still slavery.
Word from Italy (1610) is that Galileo Galilei has observed four 'stars' (Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa) orbiting the planet Jupiter. This counters the theory that everything orbits around the Earth. Better break the news to the Vatican gently.
Returning to Russia, bad news concerning their dispute with neighboring Finland (1940). We are receiving news that the Finnish 9th Division has and completely destroyed the overwhelming Soviet forces that had invaded the country on the Raate-Suomussalmi road. The news has been favorably received worldwide due to the outcry denouncing the invasion. Germany is said to be taking special note of the Finnish success against the much larger Soviet forces.
General Bernard Montgomery ruffled some feathers today (1945) in a press conference when he took credit for the Allied victory in the Battle of the Bulge. George Patton and the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division don't exactly see it the same way.
Sad news in Kentucky (1948) where a Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, Thomas Mantell, was killed when his P-51 Mustang Fighter Plane crashed while in pursuit of a UFO. Maybe there's something to these things after all.
The power struggle between the two Communist controlled countries (1979) came to an end today when Vietnamese forces captured Cambodian capitol Phnom Penh. The victory brought down Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge government. Commies killing Commies, John Birch's ultimate fantasy.
Tourists visiting Pisa will be disappointed when they learn that the interior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public (1990) due of safety concerns. Guess being disappointed is better than being inside and having it fall over.
Today's birthdays:
1718 - Israel Putnam - Revolutionary War General - Hero of Bunker Hill but you probably didn't know his name.
1800 - Millard Fillmore - 13th President
1912 - Charles Addams, Cartoonist - He must have had some crazy nightmares.
On a lighter note. Today we honor the people who are the backbone of today's society. It’s International Programmers’ Day! We celebrate the people who create the software behind our favorite websites, digital gadgets, appliances, and vehicles. Programmers (also known as developers or software engineers) write the code that runs our computers. There are many different types of computer languages and most programmers specialize in one of these. Facebook, for example, is primarily built using “PHP,” while Punchbowl uses “Ruby.” Although women hold only 25% of all professional IT jobs in the U.S., the first programmer in history was a British countess named Ada Lovelace. She was a mathematician and wrote the first algorithm intended for a computer. (Punchbowl.com)
It is also National Tempura Day! Tempura is a delicious deep fried Japanese dish made with lightly battered vegetables and seafood. The original cooking technique is actually attributed to the Portuguese, who landed in Japan in the sixteenth century to establish new trade routes. The word “tempura” is also related to the European roots of the dish. It comes from the Latin phrase “quattuor tempora” meaning “Ember Days.” This term refers to the days when Catholics eat fish or vegetables instead of meat. Tempura batter is made with cold water and wheat flour. Some recipes also call for eggs, baking soda, oil, or spices for extra flavoring. A traditional tempura will usually include shrimp, scallops, eggplant, green beans, sweet potato, mushrooms, or bamboo. (Punchbowl.com)
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