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Back in the Day Oct 28- Nov 3

Adam LaMascus
The Commuter

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

October 28, 312: Christianity makes the grade.
At Milvian Bridge outside of Rome, Constantine I defeats Maxentius, becoming sole Emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine claims he had a vision from Christ on the night before the battle, commanding him to paint the Chi-Rho (a traditional symbol of Jesus) on the shields of his soldiers. As a result he lays the groundwork for Catholicism and makes Christianity the official religion of Rome.

October 29, 1863: Forward progress.
Sixteen nations hold a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, and agree to form the International Red Cross. Save a life: Donate blood!

October 30, 1938: Better than Tom Cruise.
Orson Welles broadcasts his radio production of “The War of the Worlds.” It causs a small panic in America as many people think we are legitimately being invaded by Martians. Well done, Mr. Welles.

October 31, 1517: Catholic Crisis.
Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenburg, Germany. Originally intending it to be a discussion of the problems Martin Luther had with Catholicism, he inadvertently creats the Protestant Reforation, which irreparably fractures Christianity in Europe. Oops.

November 1, 1814: Biggest day you’ve never heard of.
After Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat, all of Europe gathers at the Council of Vienna. With the French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleonic Wars, and collapse of the Holy Roman Empire all creating huge amounts of chaos, the Council effectively redraws the entire map of Europe. Somebody pushes the big “Political Reset” button.

November 2, 1917: Would you like some oversight with that?
Britain releases the Balfour Declaration, stating that Britain will do everything in its power to establish a new Jewish nation in Palestine. Of course, they forget to tell the Arabs living in Palestine they are going to do this before they wrote the document. They also are simultaneously encouraging Arab nationalism in Palestine as a means to help fight the Turks.

November 3, 1986: Shhhh…
The Ash-Shiraa newspaper in Lebanon releases a story revealing that the Reagan administration has been secretly and illegally selling weapons to Iran hoping to secure the release of some American hostages. A Reagan-appointed commission finds no evidence that Reagan has been involved. What a shock.

Editor’s note: It has been brought to my attention that I accidentally said last week that the Battle of Trafalgar took place in 1895, while in fact it took place in 1805. Thanks for noticing the mistake and informing me, Jeb.

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