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Back in the Day Dec 2-8

Adam LaMascus
The Commuter

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

This day in history…

Dec. 2, 1804: It’s good to be the king…
Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. This makes him the first French emperor in over 1,000 years.

Dec. 3, 1976: Every little thing, is gonna be alright…
Two days before a concert designed to promote peace, Bob Marley is shot twice by unknown gunmen. Marley performs at the concert anyway. When asked why, he replies: “The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off. How can I?”

Dec. 4, 1881: Black and white and read all over…
The first edition of the “Los Angeles Times” is published.

Dec. 5, 1484: Nobody expects the German inquisition…
Pope Innocent VIII issues the papal bull “Summis desiderantes,” which makes Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger the two main inquisitors in Germany, and orders them to end witchcraft in the region. What follows is one of the most corrupt and oppressive witch hunts in history.

Dec. 6, 1865: All men are created a little more equally now…
The 13th Amendment is ratified, henceforth banning slavery. I find it depressing that it took a country whose founding principles were freedom and the idea that “all men are created equal” almost 100 years to decide that owning people was wrong.

Dec. 7, 1941: A date which will live in infamy…
Air and naval forces of the Empire of Japan attack the Hawaiian islands, most notably the naval base at Pearl Harbor; 2,402 soldiers and civilians are killed. This attack cripples the U.S. Pacific Fleet; however, the fact that no aircraft carriers are present at the time of the attack prove a disaster for the Japanese.

Dec. 8, 1980: Imagine all the people…
John Lennon is shot and killed in front of his apartment in New York City.

Thought for the week:
“Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.”
-John F. Kennedy

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