Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 9, 2020 16:00:46 GMT
07DEC
In 43BCE the Roman politician, orator and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero is killed in Formia. Cicero has been mentioned previously (05DEC et cetera). After the killing of Gaius Jukius Caesar, Cicero becmame embroiled in the Roman civil war of the period, in opposition to the Second Triumvirate (of Marc Antony, Octavian and Lepidus) and he and many of his allies and supporters were proscribed and killed (something that, in the case of Cicero at least, Octavian opposed). With his personal prominence Cicero was one of the most doggedly hunted among the proscribed, however he enjoyed great public sympathy and support, hence he evaded capture and death for some time. He was caught on 07DEC 43BCE leaving his villa in Formiae, on the Mediterranean coast of Italy, between Rome and Naples; it is presumed he was attempting to take ship for Macedonia. Two men (a centurion named Herennius and a tribune named Popilius) arrived and questioned the villa's slaves but were told that Cicero was not there. He was given away by Philologus, a freedman servant of his brother Quintus Cicero. He was beheaded there and then. After death his corpse was further mutilated; on Antony's instructions his hands (which had written the Philippics against Antony) were cut off and these, along with his head, were nailed to the Rostra in the Forum Romanum. Antony's wife Fulvia took Cicero's head, pulled out his tongue, and jabbed it repeatedly with her hairpin in final revenge against Cicero's power of speech.
In 574 the Byzantine Emperor Justin II, suffering recurring bouts of insanity, adopts his general Tiberius and proclaims him as Caesar and heir. For the remaining four years Tiberius and Justin's wife Sophia, acted as regents for the emperor. When Justin died (on 05OCT0578) Tiberius succeeded him as Tiberius II Constantine. Justin was well described as: His reign was generally unsuccessful, marked by war with the Sassanid Empire, and the loss of most of Italy.
In 1703 the Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, strikes the British coast. Wind gusts of 200km/h were recorded and at least nine thousand people were killed. The destruction was widespread; in London over 2,000 chimney collapsed, more than four thousand old oaks in the New Forest were blown down, numerous ships were sunk, beached or damaged. Westminster Abbey lost much of its roof, while Queen Anne sheltered in a cellar at St James's Palace from the collapsing chimneys and roof. There was extensive flooding, worst in the West Country around Bristol and in the Somerset Levels. Around 400 windmills were destroyed, blown down or set on fire from the frictional heating of their wooden gears.
- The Church of England declared that the storm was God's vengeance for the sins of the nation, while Daniel Defoe thought it was a divine punishment for poor performance against Catholic armies in the War of the Spanish Succession.
At Wells the cathedral was damaged, windows blown in and Bishop Richard Kidder and his wife were killed in bed when the palace's chimney stacks in the palace fell on them.
In 1724 in response to the Tumult of Thorn, a period of religious unrest in Thorn (Toruń in Poland) between Catholics and Protestants, nine citizens and the mayor of Thorn are executed by the Polish authorities. The town had seen ongoing religious conflict between Protestant townsfolk represented by mayor Johann Gottfried Rösner, and the Roman Catholic students of the Jesuit college. The college had been vandalised, religious processions attacked, and "arrests" made by both factions. The mayor and nine other Lutheran officials were blamed for neglect of duty, sentenced to death, and executed,
In 1732 the Royal Opera House (then the Theatre Riyal) opens at Covent Garden in London, though at the time it was more theatre than opera venue. In 1728 John Rich, actor-manager of the Duke's Company of players at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre had commissioned the immensely successful The Beggar's Opera from John Gay. The success of this venture provided him with the funds to build the Theatre Royal on the site of an ancient convent garden.
- Inigo Jones had developed part of this property in the 1630s with a piazza and church. A Royal Charter had created a fruit and vegetable market in the area (which survived in that location until 1974). The area was also a notorious red-light district.
At the opening of the theatre Rich was carried by his actors in procession into the building for its inaugural production of William Congreve's The Way of the World. During the first hundred years or so of its history, the theatre was operated primarily as a playhouse; along with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, it had exclusive rights to present spoken drama in London. There was great rivalry between the two companies, despite the frequent moves of actors between them. Rich would later introduce pantomime to the repertoire.
In 1776 Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, arranges to enter the American military as a major general. He would fight extensively in the American Revolutionary War, commanding American troops in several battles, including the Siege of Yorktown. Later, after his return to France, he was a key figure in both the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830.
In 1837 the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern, the only battle of the Upper Canada Rebellion, takes place in Toronto, where the rebels are quickly defeated and the abortive insurrection, inspired by William Lyon Mackenzie, was crushed.
In 1842 the New York Philharmonic, founded by Ureli Corelli Hill, performs its first concert. Hill, a conductor, founded the orchestra with the aid of the Irish composer William Vincent Wallace for "the advancement of instrumental music". The first concert of the Philharmonic Society took place in the Apollo Rooms on lower Broadway before an audience of 600 and included a mix of pieces in its three-hour program. It concert opened with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 but chamber music and several operatic selections were also performed.
In 1904 comparative fuel trials begin between the 'torpedo boat destroyers' HMS Spiteful and HMS Peterel demonstrate the marked superiority of fuel oil over coal. Spiteful was the first warship powered solely by fuel oil.
In 1930 W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts telecasts video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers simultanously with the radio broadcast. This is one of the first television broadcasts in the United States and included arguable the first television commercial in the United States, an advertisement for I. J. Fox Furriers, who sponsored the radio show. The broadcast used the low resolution mechanical scanning system of Baird.
In 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy carries out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. There are near-simultaneous attacks on other targets in the Eastern Hemisphere targets, technically on 08DEC.
In 1942 British commandos conduct Operation Frankton, a generally unsuccessful raid on shipping in Bordeaux harbour. Ten commandoes are delivered by submarine and use kayaks in the raid. Only two survived.
In 1946 a devastating fire at the "absolutely fireproof" Winecoff Hotel, at 176 Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, kills 119 people. While the steel framed building survived the occupants were not so lucky. The use of a single stairway serving all fifteen floors meant it was impossible for many to evacuate once the fire (which originated on the third floor) spread.
In 1949 the Government of the Republic of China moves from Nanking to Taipei, Taiwan.
In 1971 the Battle of Sylhet is fought between the Pakistani military and the Mukti Bahini (Bangladesh irregulars) at Sylhet. The battle lasted eight days and say the Indian Army perform its first heliborne assault.
In 1972 Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, is launched. Departing Earth orbit the crew take the photograph known as The Blue Marble.
In 1983 an Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in dense fog while the two airliners are taxiing down the runway at Madrid–Barajas Airport, killing 93 people. The crew of the departing DC-9 made a wrong turn in the fog and taxied their aircraft onto the runway, into the 727's path.
In 1987 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, a British Aerospace 146-200A, crashes near Paso Robles in California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss (who was traveling on the flight) then shoots both pilots and steers the plane into the ground. All 43 passengers and crew aboard the plane died.
In 1988 a magnitude 6.8 earthquake shakes the northern part of Armenia, killing between 25,000 and 50,000 people. The quake occurred in the northern region of Armenia (then part of the Soviet Union) which is vulnerable to large and destructive earthquakes and is part of a larger active seismic belt that stretches from the Alps to the Himalayas.
In 1995 just over six years after launch, the Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter. It will study the planet and its moons, in addition to several other Solar System bodies. It launched the first probe into Jupiter, directly measuring its atmosphere, made the first asteroid flyby (of 951 Gaspra), discovered the first asteroid moon (Dactyl, around 243 Ida), observed the collision of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with Jupiter and recorded a large amount of data about Jupiter's atmospheric composition and clouds. The data Galileo collected supported the theory of a liquid ocean under the icy surface of Europa, and indicated similar liquid-saltwater layers under the surfaces of Ganymede and Callisto. Ganymede was shown to possess a magnetic field and the spacecraft found new evidence for exospheres around Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
In 2015 the JAXA probe Akatsuki successfully enters orbit around Venus five years after the first attempt failed.
Suggestions? Ideas?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 9, 2020 22:43:31 GMT
Ureli Corelli Hill,Johann Gottfried Rösner,William Vincent Wallace,William Lyon Mackenzie, John Rich, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette,John Gay,William Congreve,Philologus, and Emperor Justin II are good people to meet. Pearl Harbor could have been a alien infiltration to wage war or the theory about the US having advanced knowledge is true. And the Great Storm of 1703 could be even more devastating in a ah.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 10, 2020 19:59:11 GMT
08DEC
In 395CE the Battle of Canhe Slope sees a huge change in the power dynamic between the various Chinese kingdoms when the Later Yan forces are defeated by those of its former vassal, Northern Wei at . The battle effectiveky reversed the power balance between Later Yan and Northern Wei. After Later Yan's emperor Murong Chui (Emperor Wucheng) died in 396 and Murong Bao succeeded to the throne (as Emperor Huimin), Northern Wei would launch a debilitating campaign of conquest against Later Yan, and by 398 had captured most of Later Yan's territory, reducing Later Yan to a small regional state.
In 757 the Chinese poet and civil servant Du Fu returns to Chang'an as a member of Emperor Xuanzong's court, after having escaped the city during the An Lushan Rebellion. Du Fu is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets, though his civil service career was less successful. His life, like the whole country, was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755, and his last 15 years were a time of almost constant unrest. Although initially he was little-known, his works came to be hugely influential in both Chinese and Japanese literary culture and he has been describes as "the Chinese Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Wordsworth, Béranger, Hugo or Baudelaire".
In 877 Louis II (the Stammerer), eldest son of Charles the Bald is crowned king of the West Frankish Kingdom at Compiègne after the death of his father. A physically weak man he outlived his father by just a-year-and-a-half and had little impact on politics. He was described as "a simple and sweet man, a lover of peace, justice, and religion".
In 1432 the first battle between the forces of Švitrigaila and Sigismund Kęstutaitis is fought near the town of Oszmiana (now Ashmyany) beginning the most active phase of the Lithuanian Civil War.
In 1660 for the first time on a public stage in England a woman appears in an acting role. The woman in question was either Margaret Hughes (probably), Anne Marshall (possibly) or Katherine Corey (outside change) and she appeared in the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare's Othello, performed by Thomas Killigrew's new King's Company at their Vere Street theatre. All three women were part of the first generation of female actors in the Restoration period
In 1851 troops of the conservative, Santiago-based, government defeat rebels at the Battle of Loncomilla, ending the 1851 Chilean Revolution.
In 1864 Pope Pius IX promulgates the encyclical Quanta cura and its appendix, the Syllabus of Errors, outlining the authority of the Catholic Church and condemning various liberal ideas.
In 1912 Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany convened an Imperial War Council at Potsdam, to discuss the possibility that war might break out in the light of the French/Russian/British Entente. Present were the military leaders of the Empire, including Helmuth von Moltke and Alfred von Tirpitz. The council considered launching an immediate war against France and Russia but decided to postpone plans for war with the Russian Empire for the time being. However it was decided to prepare the German public for an inevitable war, a "racial war, the war of Slavdom against Germandom" in 1914 or 1915.
In 1915 during the Siege of Mora British soldiers burn the African village of Wudume, which been supplying food supplies to German defenders at Mora in Kamerun in a means to starve German troops and force them to surrender. The siege finally ended in FEB1916 and was fought on and around the Mora mountain in northern Kamerun, part of the Kamerun Campaign of the First World War.
In 1941 in response to the Japanese attack on Pear Harbour, and elsewhere, US President Franklin Roosevelt declares December 7 to be "a date which will live in infamy". The United States formally declares war against Japan, but not Germany.
At more-or-less the same time as the attack on Pearl Harbour (but on 08DEC) Japanese forces simultaneously invade the Shanghai International Settlement, Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies.
In 1943 the German 117th Jäger Division destroys the monastery of Mega Spilaio in Greece and executes 22 monks and visitors as part of a programme of reprisals. Major General Karl von Le Suire ordered the burning of the city of Kalavryta and the execution of its male population in reprisal for the execution of eighty German prisoners of war by Greek partisans. The massacre began with the killing of 58 men and boys in Rogoi and 37 more in Kerpini. The reprisals culminated on 13DEC with the Massacre of Kalavryta.
In 1953 US President Dwight Eisenhower delivers his "Atoms for Peace" speech, which leads to an American program to supply equipment and information on nuclear power to schools, hospitals, and research institutions around the world.
In 1963 Pan Am Flight 214 (a Boeing 707) is struck by lightning at 8:58PM, while in a holding pattern at an altitude near Philadelphia. The bolt struck the left wing of the jet and ignited the mixture of jet fuel and kerosene in the reserve fuel tank in the that wing; that caused an explosion which ignited the centre and right reserve tanks as well. The aircraft crashed Elkton in Maryland, killing all 81 people on board.
Also that day Frank Sinatra Jr., the 19-year-old son of the famous singer, was kidnapped from Room 417 at Harrah's Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada. Three men (Barry Keenan, John Irwin and Joe Amsler) entered the room at 9:30PM, half an hour before the younger Sinatra was to open a show with the Tommy Dorsey band, and forced him into their car. He was drugged and driven to Canoga Park in California. A ransom was demanded of the elder Sinatra and this was paid. Sinatra Jr was released, unharmed, on the San Diego Freeway, in the early morning hours of 11DEC.
In 1964 an incident occurs at Bunker Hill Air Force Base near Kokomo in Indiana; the exhaust of a US Air Force B-58 Hustler bomber blows another B-58 of the ice covered runway, setting it on fire. Also in the conflagration, fuelled by about 45,000 litres of jet fuel, were four B43 tactical nuclear bombs and a single B52, of nine megatonnes yield. Radioactive contamination was limited to the crash site.
In 1966 the Greek roll-on-roll-off ferry ship SS Heraklion sinks in a storm in the Aegean Sea, killing over 200.
In 1968 Project Schooner, one of the 27 American nuclear tests conducted as part of Project Plowshare, took place at the Nevada Test Site. Despite being carried out underground the detonation became noteworthy for the amount of radioactive contamination that it generated, and dispersed around the world.
In 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War, the Indian Navy launches Operation Python, an attack on West Pakistan's port city of Karachi.
In 1972 United Airlines Flight 553, a Boeing 737, crashes after aborting its landing attempt at Chicago Midway International Airport, killing 45. This is the first-ever loss of a Boeing 737.
In 1982 the December murders begin in Suriname.Over three days at least fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling the country were killed, The December murders led to international protest by numerous Western countries and human rights organizations. The former colonial power, Netherlands, immediately froze development aid and many Surinamese civilians fled Suriname for the Netherlands.
In 1985 the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union in South Asia, is established.
- Potentially one of the steps towards the World Zonal Authority?
In 1988 a United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany, killing 5 people and injuring 50 others. The aircraft was one of two engaged in a training flight in poor weather; it is believed the pilot became disorientated. Large amounts of soil, believed to be contaminated with uranium from weapons on the aircraft, was removed from the site and scores of residents and rescue workers were effected by a form of dermatitis.
In 1990 the Galileo spacecraft flies past Earth for the first time, approaching within 960km at 20:34:34 UTC. This was part of the gravitational slingshot maneuver to gain speed for its mission to Jupiter.
In 1992 Galileo flies past Earth, at 303.1km, for the second time.
In 2004 the Cusco Declaration is signed in Cusco, Peru, establishing the South American Community of Nations.
- Another small step towards the WZA?
In 2010 with the second launch of the Falcon 9 and the first launch of the Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.
Also in 2010 thee Japanese solar-sail spacecraft IKAROS passes the planet Venus at a distance of about 80,800 km. It is the first spacecraft to use solar sail concept for propulsion.
Ideas? Comments?
In 2013 – Metallica performs a show in Antarctica, making them the first band to perform on all seven continents. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallica On December 8, 2013, the band played a show called "Freeze 'Em All" in Antarctica, becoming the first band to play on all se IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun) is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) experimental spacecraft. The spacecraft was launched on 20 May 2010, aboard an H-IIA rocket, together with the Akatsuki (Venus Climate Orbiter) probe and four other small spacecraft. IKAROS is the first spacecraft to successfully demonstrate solar sail technology in interplanetary space.[3][7]
On 8 December 2010, IKAROS flew by Venus at a distance of 80,800 km (50,200 mi), successfully completing its planned mission, and entered its extended operation phase.[8][9][10][11]
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 10, 2020 23:17:50 GMT
Du Fu,Metallica,Frank Sinatra Jr,Barry Keenan, John Irwin,Joe Amsler,Tommy Dorsey,Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, Pope Pius IX, Charles the Bald,Karl von Le Suire,Helmuth von Moltke,Murong Chui,Alfred von Tirpitz,Margaret Hughes,Anne Marshall, Katherine Corey,Švitrigaila, and Sigismund Kęstutaitis are good people to meet. And the Indo-Pakistani War could have a diffferent outcome in a ah.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 11, 2020 17:42:08 GMT
09DEC
In 480CE Odoacer, the first King of Italy, occupies Dalmatia. He later establishes his political power with the co-operation of the Roman Senate and rules much of the peninsula for the next decade until his war against Zeno leads to the conflict with Theodoric; as mentioned previously in this thread he will die at Theodoric's hand in MAR0793.
In 536 during the Gothic War the brilliant Byzantine general Flavius Belisarius enters Rome unopposed, the Gothic garrison flee the capital. The Gothic War was fought between the East Roman (i.e. Byzantine) Empire, then led by Emperor Justinian I, and the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy; it lasted from 535 to 554 and was fought mostly in the Italian peninsula and associated territories (Dalmatia, Sardinia, Sicily and Corsica). It was but one of the last of the many Gothic Wars. In the late spring of 536 Belisarius crossed into Italy, where he captured Rhegium and made his way north. Neapolis (the modern city of Naples) was besieged for three weeks before the Imperial troops forced their way in during November. The largely barbarian 'Roman' army brutally sacked the city. After this Belisarius moved north to Rome, which was inspired by fate of Neapolis and put up no resistance/
- Flavius Belisarius was another of those larger-than-life historical characters, a brilliant military commander serving the Byzantine Empire. He orchestrated the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory that formerly belonged to Western Roman Empire before its fall. Probably the primary features of Belisarius' career was his ability to achieve success despite poor resources. His name is frequently given as one of the so-called "Last of the Romans". He also made use of deception, repulsing a Persian invasion by deceiving their commander and lifting the Siege of Ariminum without a fight.
- Probably a good place to find one of the Warrior Historians of New Ultonia, engaged in field research
In 730 the Khazars, led by Barjik the son of the Khazar khagan, annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, Al-Jarrah Ibn Abdallah Al-Hakami, at the Battle of Marj Ardabi, fought on the plains surrounding the city of Ardabil in what is now northwestern Iran. The victorious Barjik mounted al-Jarrah's head on top of the throne from which he commanded the battles of his Middle Eastern campaign. The casualties of the battle and subsequent taking of Ardabil numbered over twenty thousand dead.
In 1531 the Virgin of Guadalupe first appears to Juan Diego (an indigenous Mexican peasant farmer) at Tepeyac in Mexico City. This was the first of five Marian apparitions in DEC1531. According to the accounts the woman spoke to Juan Diego in his native Nahuatl language (the language of the Aztec Empire), identified herself as the Virgin Mary, "mother of the very true deity" and asked for a church to be built at that site in her honour.
- Mental illness? Hallucinogenic fungi? Alien visitation? The apparition rather resembles the tactic used in Piper's Paratime Police short story Temple Trouble.
In 1688 the second, and final, significant military clash of the Glorious Revolution is fought between Williamite forces and the Jacobites supporters of James II at the Battle of Reading; his defeat there forced the flight of James II from England.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Great_Bridge In 1775 during the American Revolutionary War British troops are defeated at the Battle of Great Bridge in Norfolk. The troops, along with the Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, and other Loyalists leave Virginia soon afterward. Rebel-occupied Norfolk was destroyed on 01JAN1776 in an action begun by Dunmore and completed by rebel forces.
In 1824 'Patriot' forces led by General Antonio José de Sucre defeat a Royalist army in the decisive Battle of Ayacucho, putting an end to the Peruvian War of Independence. The battle is considered the end of the Spanish American wars of independence.
In 1835 during the Texas Revolution, the Texian Army captures San Antonio.
In 1856 during the Anglo–Persian War, the Iranian city of Bushehr surrenders to British forces.
In 1868 the world's first traffic signals are installed, outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they use semaphore arms and are illuminated at night by gas lamps with red and green filters and controlled traffic in Bridge Street, Great George Street, and Parliament Street. The idea was proposed by the railway engineer J. P. Knight who adapted thed idea from his design of railway signalling systems. The signals were operated manually, from levers on a pillar, by a police constable. The main signal pillar was 6.6 metres high.
- The contraption was quite successful at controlling traffic (and attracted interest by its novelty) but its operational life was brief; on 02JAN1869 the apparatus exploded, probably due to a leak in one of the gas lines under the pavement, and injured the policeman operating it.
In 1911 the Cross Mountain coal mine near Briceville in Tennessee, suffers a disastrous explosion. Despite the intervention of a specialist rescue team from the United States Bureau of Mines, 84 men die. The Cross Mountain Mine operation was one of the first major rescue efforts carried out by the Bureau of Mines; while they rescued only 5 of the 89 miners trapped by the explosion, the bureau collected invaluable information that aided later mine rescue efforts.
In 1917 General Edmund Allenby captures Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire.
- Allenby is another larger-than-life character and the entire Middle East theatre of the Great War is a fascinating venue for a scenario. Physically Allenby "looked just like an Empire hero......tall, bluff, built like an ox, temper like Zeus Pater, chin you could strike matches on". He'd served in the Second Boer War and had been a moderately successful commander in France earlier in World War One, until a difference of opinion with Haig (whom he's said to have called a "blithering idiot" to his face) necessitated his removal.
- In France he'd had mixed reactions from his subordinates; some considered him unsubtle but his staff officers found him an intellectually curious general who was interested in finding new ways of breaking the stalemate. Certainly J. F. C. Fuller (the proponent of 'mixed arms' warfare) called Allenby "a man I grew to like and respect" and said of him that he always asked his staff if they had any new ideas about how to win the war.
- Allenby had wider interests than many other British generals, reading books on every conceivable subject from botany to poetry and was noted for his critical intellect and interest in odd subjects.
- In he Middle East "the Bull" as he was known had a cadre of staff officers to examine the "things classic, incomprehensible or archaeological" that the soldiers unearthed. Which has vast possibilities even beyond the purely historical finds (several Roman and Hellenic pavements among them)....
- Allenby is also known for solving the ornithological mystery of where the storks went when they migrated into Africa. He had all the lookouts reporting when they saw storks flying and in what direction....
- It's quite possible that Allenby was sent to Palestine to fail; he was by then tired of the war (his only child had been killed in France) and wanted to go home. So he proceeded to win the campaign as efficiently as possible.
- There are other larger-tha-life figures in the Palestine expedition; in addition to the famous Lawrence of Arabia there was also 'Clever Dick', Allenby's spy Richard Meinertzhagen. And probably a New Ultonian Warrior Historian....
In 1931 the Constituent Cortes approves a constitution which establishes the Second Spanish Republic, ending a decade of military dictatorship, but paving the way for the Spanish Civil War.
In 1935 Walter Liggett, American newspaper editor and muckraker/investigative juurnalist, is machine-gunned and killed in a gangland murder outside his apartment in Minneapolis. The crimes is unsolved.
In 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese troops under the command of Asaka Yasuhiko launch an assault on the Chinese city of Nanjing (Nanking) the Chinese capital. Following the capture of the city Japanese soldiers massacred Chinese prisonersr, murdered civilians, and committed acts of looting and rape in an event known as the Rape of Nanking.
In 1946 the "Doctors' trial" begins in Nuremberg, prosecuting physicians and officers alleged to be involved in Nazi human experimentation and mass murder under the guise of euthanasia. It was the first of twelve trials for war crimes of German doctors that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone in Germany.
In 1965 at 4:43PM a large and brilliant fireball is seen from Michigan to Pennsylvania and into Canada and by at least 23 aircrew; witnesses report something crashing in the woods near Pittsburgh. While the Kecksburg UFO incident was almost certainly meteor bolide burning up in the atmosphere and descending at a steep angle there are other claims. NASA has suggested that a Soviet satellite may have been involved (Kosmos 95 is favoured) Certainly there are reports of hot metal debris which caused minor grass fires in Michigan and northern Ohio, along with several sonic booms in the Pittsburgh area, People in the village of Kecksburg, about 50km southeast of Pittsburgh, reported something crashing in the woods, along with an impact sound, smoke and vibrations. Alternate suggestions regarding the objects path put any impact in the area of the western part of Lake Erie, perhaps near Windsor, or in the lake.
In 1968 Douglas Engelbart gives what will became known as "The Mother of All Demos", publicly debuting the computer mouse, hypertext, and the bit-mapped graphical user interface using the oN-Line System (NLS).
In 1979 the eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, making smallpox the first of only two diseases that have been driven to extinction (rinderpest in 2011 being the other).
In 2019 a volcano eruption on White Island in New Zealand kills 22 people.
Ideas? Suggestions?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 11, 2020 22:59:04 GMT
Douglas Engelbart, Walter Liggett,General Edmund Allenby,Asaka Yasuhiko,J. P. Knight,Lord Dunmore,Odoacer,J. F. C. Fuller,Richard Meinertzhagen, Khazar khagan,Juan Diego (probably by the silence as they observed history),Barjik, Al-Jarrah Ibn Abdallah Al-Hakami,James II, and Flavius Belisarius are good people to meet. And the Kecksburg UFO incident could have been caused by a Dalek or Mechanoid vehicle or a new alien.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 12, 2020 22:01:52 GMT
10DEC
In 1041CE Michael V Kalaphates becomes Emperor of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire; he was the adoptive son of Empress Zoë of Byzantium (mentioned previously). His brief reign ended on 24AUG1042.
In 1317 at the "Nyköping Banquet" King Birger of Sweden treacherously has his two brothers Valdemar (Duke of Finland) and Eric (Duke of Södermanland) seized and imprisoned after a Christmas feast; in the castle dungeons the two men were subsequently starved to death. Earlier the dukes Valdemar and Eric had staged a coup against the king which was ended in 1310 by a settlement, involving the Danish and Norwegian kings, with the division of Sweden among the brothers. According to legend, King Birger threw the keys to the dungeon into the Nyköping river. A large medieval key was indeed found during the 19th century near the castle. However Birger had drastically misjudged the political situation in the country and a rebellion broke out in 1318 against his rule, forcing him to flee to Gotland.
In 1508 the League of Cambrai (or Holy League) is formed by Pope Julius II, Louis XII of France, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Ferdinand II of Aragon as an alliance against Venice. This led to the War of the League of Cambrai, which escalated into a major conflict in the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. While the main participants of the war (in the 1508 to 1516 period) were France, the Papal States, and the Republic of Venice, nearly every significant power in Western Europe was involved to some degree, at some stage.
In 1520 Martin Luther burns his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg's Elster Gate. Unlike the more famous pisting of the 95 Theses this event did actually happen. On 15JUN1520 the pope had warned Luther with Exsurge Domine that he risked excommunication unless he recanted 41 sentences drawn from his writings, including the Ninety-five Theses, within 60 days. That autumn the bull was formally proclaimed in public in Meissen and other towns. Luther refused attempts to broker and publicly set fire to the bull and decretals at Wittenberg. As a consequence, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X on 03JAN1521, in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
In 1541 Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham are executed for having affairs with Catherine Howard, Queen of England and wife of Henry VIII. The killings were part of Henry's attempt to get rid of Howard and find a new wife. While Culpepper had had a relationship with Howard, this was before her marriage and there is no evidence (other than his confession under torture) of it continuing. He is known to have had many private meetings with Catherine after her marriage, though these appear to have involved political intrigue rather than sex. Both men pleaded for mercy; Culpeper, presumably because of his former closeness to the King, received a commuted sentence of simple beheading. Dereham received no such mercy and was half-hanged, castrated, drawn and quartered.
In 1652 the defeat of the English Navy at the Battle of Dungeness (against Dutch forces) causes the Commonwealth of England to reform its navy. The naval battle was part of the First Anglo-Dutch War and was fought near the cape of Dungeness in Kent. The battle resulted in several reforms in the English Fleet but gave the Dutch temporary control of the English Channel and so control of merchant shipping.
In 1684 Isaac Newton's derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, is read to the Royal Society by Edmond Halley. The paper ("'On the motion of bodies in an orbit") has been lost and it's contents inferred from other sources. Present at the event were Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke.
In 1768 the first part of the first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published in Edinburgh. The issue, in the form of a thick pamphlet, was the first of a hundred parts (later collected as three bound volumes), priced at sixpence (eight pence on finer paper).
In 1861 militia forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực, an anti-colonial guerrilla leader in southern Vietnam, atttack, capture and sink the French vessel L'Esperance.
In 1864 Sherman's March to the Sea approaches its end when the Union Army troops reach the outer Confederate defenses of the city of Savannah in Georgia. The city will surrender on 21DEC.
In 1877 during the Russo-Turkish War the Russian Army captures Plevna after a 5-month siege and the garrison of 25,000 surviving Turks surrenders. The Russian victory is decisive for the outcome of the war and the Liberation of Bulgaria.
In 1884 Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is first published in the UK and Canada (the US edition is published in FEB1885) for copyright reasons.
In 1896 Alfred Jarry's play Ubu Roi premieres in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Œuvre. The wild, bizarre and comic play polarises the audience; while W. B. Yeats and Catulle Mendès consider it an event of revolutionary importance, most of the audience disagree and a riot breaks out at the end of the performance.
In 1898 the Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the Spanish–American War.
In 1901 the first Nobel Prize ceremony is held in Stockholm on the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death and the first Nobel Prizes are announced. The winners are Nobel Prize in Physics to Wilhelm Roentgen for his discovery of x-radiation Nobel Prize in Phsiology and Medicine yo Emil von Behring for his discovery of the first diphtheria antitoxin Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Jacobus van't Hoff for his pioneering work in physical chemistry Nobel Peace Prize awarded to and Frédéric Passy Nobel Prize in Literature to Sully Prudhomme
In 1902 the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam in Egypt is opened. The dam was built at the former first cataract of the Nile, about 1,000 km up-river and 690 km south-southeast of Cairo. At completion it was the largest masonry dam in the world.
In 1907 the worst night of the Brown Dog riots in London occurs; over a thousand medical students clash with 400 police officers and hundreds of anti-vivisection protestors over the existence of a memorial for animals that have been vivisected. The Brown Dog affair was an odd political controversy about vivisection that raged in England from 1903 to 1910. It featured pitched battles between medical students and the police; police protection for the statue of a dog; a libel trial at the Royal Courts of Justice; and the establishment of a Royal Commission to investigate the use of animals in experiments. The affair became a cause célèbre that divided the country. The controversy was triggered by allegations that, in FEB1903, William Bayliss of the Department of Physiology at University College London performed an illegal vivisection, before an audience of 60 medical students, on a brown terrier dog. The procedure was condemned as cruel and unlawful by the National Anti-Vivisection Society which outraged Bayliss, whose research on dogs led to the discovery of hormones, who sued for libel and won. Anti-vivisectionists commissioned a bronze statue of the dog as a memorial, unveiled on the Latchmere Recreation Ground in Battersea in 1906, but medical students were angered by its provocative plaque and this led to frequent vandalism of the memorial and the need for a 24-hour police guard. On 10DEC1907 hundreds of medical students marched through central London waving effigies of the brown dog on sticks, clashing with suffragettes, trade unionists and hundreds of police officers, one of a series of battles known as the Brown Dog riots.
In 1936 the Abdication Crisis ends when Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication. This event has appeared in the Whoniverse several times, including the portrayal of Simpson as a shapeshifter from Verossikon Prime.
In 1941 the Royal Navy capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo bombers near British Malaya.
In 1942 the Government of Poland in exile send Raczyński's Note (the first official report on the Holocaust) to 26 governments who signed the Declaration by United Nations.
In 1949 the People's Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan.
In 1963 an assassination attempt on the British High Commissioner in Aden, Sir Kennedy Trevaskis, kills two people and wounds dozens more when a hand grenade is thrown in Khormaksar Civil Airport. This begins the Aden Emergency.
That same day, in the United States, US Defense Secretary Robert McNamara announces the cancellation of the X-20 Dyna-Soar reusable spaceplane programme.
In 1967 Project Gasbuggy, the first commercially sponsored nuclear test, takes place near Bloomfield in New Mexico as part of Operation Plowshare, a government study of peaceful uses of the atomic bomb. The 29-kiloton explosion was "designed to improve natural gas extraction by fracturing rock formations" and did provide greater gas flow.
In 1968 Japan's biggest theft, the still-unsolved "300 million yen robbery", is carried out in Tokyo. The robbery saw a single man, dressed as a police motorcyclist stop a car carrying the money on the pretext of a bomb being present, and drive off in the car.
In 1993 the last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland. The closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages.
Ideas? Comments? Suggestions?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 13, 2020 2:51:40 GMT
Robert McNamara,Kennedy Trevaskis,Sully Prudhomme,Frédéric Passy,Wilhelm Roentgen,Emil von Behring,Jacobus van Hoff, Alfred Jarry, W. B. Yeats,Catulle Mendès, Nguyễn Trung Trực,Robert Hooke,King Birger of Sweden, Catherine Howard,Michael V Kalaphates,Thomas Culpeper,Francis Dereham,Pope Leo X,and Martin Luther are good people to meet. And the brown dog riots could be a adventure like Rosa.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 13, 2020 19:51:52 GMT
11DEC
In 220CE in China, during the Three Kingdoms period, Emperor Xian of Han is forced to abdicate the throne by Cao Pi, son of Cao Cao (the grand chancellor and a person of immense power and influence), bringing the end to the Han. In fact Liu Xie (Emperor Xian) was a puppet ruler under the control of the warlord Dong Zhuo, and later (after Dong Zhuo's assassination in 192) under the control of two of his subordinates, Li Jue and Guo Si, and the grand chancellor Cao Cao.
In 361CE Julian enters Constantinople as sole Emperor of the Roman Empire. Julian, or Flavius Claudius Julianus, was (in addition to achieving the purple) a noted philosopher and author, though must disliked in Christian sources as he rejected Christianity in favour of a form of Neoplatonic Hellenism. As emperor Julian was a reformed, who viewed the royal court of his predecessors as inefficient, corrupt and expensive; this led to the summary dismissal of thousands of servants, eunuchs and superfluous officials, along with extensive investigations into corruption. This led to several formerly high-ranking officials, who'd served under Julian's predecessor Constantius, being executed. Julian continually sought to reduce what he saw as a burdensome and corrupt bureaucracy within the Imperial administration whether it involved civic officials, secret agents or the imperial postal service.
In 861 in the Abbasid empire the tenth caliph al-Mutawakkil is assassinated by the Turkic guard, who raise his son al-Muntasir (who may have arranged his father's death) to the throne. This is the start of the troubled period known as the "Anarchy at Samarra".
In 969 the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas is assassinated by his wife Theophano and her lover, the later Emperor John I Tzimiskes. Nikephoros had been a brilliant military commander, whose exploits contributed to the resurgence of the Byzantine Empire during the 10th century. The plot to assassinate Nikephoros began when he dismissed Michael Bourtzes from his position (following his disobedience in the siege of Antioch) and exiled, along with Nikephoros's nephew John Tzimiskes. However Theophano persuaded her husband to recall John, with whom she's been conducting an affair. On the night of the deed, Theophano left Nikephoros' bedchamber door unlocked, and he was assassinated in his apartment by Tzimiskes and his entourage.
In 1282 at the Battle of Orewin Bridge, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, in mid-Wales. The battle was a decisive defeat for the Welsh, and effectively ended the autonomy of Wales. The forces of the Marcher Lords (the semi-independent border magnates) were aided by a "local inhabitant" who told the Marchers about a ford across the river Irfon, around three kilometres downstream of the bridge (near its confluence with the River Wye). This enabled the English forces to out-flank the the Welsh and contributed greatly to the victory.
In 1602 a surprise night-time attack by forces under the command of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva. The event is commemorated annually by the Fête de l'Escalade. Charles Emmanuel (known as 'Charled the Hothead') led his troops to the city during the night and they surrounded the city walls by 2AM. His elite Savoyard cuirassiers were ordered to dismount and climb the city walls in full armour as a shock tactic. However, the alarm was raised by a night watchman and Geneva's militia rose to meet the invaders. The attempted raid was a disastrous failure, and 54 Savoyards were killed, and many more were captured. Charles Emmanuel's army retreated in a panic and the Savoyard prisoners were executed.
In 1675 Antonio de Vea's expedition enters San Rafael Lake in western Patagonia. The Spanish expedition sought to explore the fjords and channels of Patagonia and to find whether rival colonial powers (i.e. the English) were active in the region. The expedition was the largest to date, with 256 men, one ocean-going ship and eleven small craft. Spanish knowledge of western Patagonia was greatly improved by the expedition.
In 1688 during the Glorious Revolution, James II of England flees to France. In the process he throws the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames.
In 1792 the former King of France, once Louis XVI now "Citizen Louis Capet" is put on trial for treason by the National Convention.
In 1868 the Paraguayan War comes to an end as Brazilian troops defeat Paraguayan at the Battle of Avay.
In 1899 during the Second Boer War, the battle of Magersfontein sees the Boers (commanded by general Piet Cronjé) inflict a heavy defeat on the forces of the British Empire (commanded by Lord Methuen) who were attempting to relieve the Siege of Kimberley. The British forces were advancing north along the railway line from the Cape in order to relieve the Siege of Kimberley, but their path was blocked at Magersfontein by a Boer force entrenched in the surrounding hills.
In 1905 a workers' uprising occurs in Kyiv (Kiev) in the Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire) which establishes the short-lived Shuliavka Republic. The republic was declared by workers of the factory of Greter, Krivanek, & Co and students of the Kiev Polytechnic Institute. The uprising lasted a total of four days until its brutal suppression on 16DEC.
In 1907 the New Zealand Parliament Buildings are almost completely destroyed by fire. The wooden complex, built in the 1870s, was destroyed with the exception of the library (which had an iron fire-door that saved its collections). At 2AM Parliament's nightwatchman made his regular check of the buildings and returned to his office for a hot cup of cocoa, where he thought he heard rain on the roof and went to check. He found a substantial blaze had broken out and sounded the alarm before attempting to fight the fire. The fire was probably started by a short in the electric wiring in the ceiling of the interpreters' room. By 5AM much of the building was destroyed and and firemen were battling desperately to save the library.
In 1920 during the Irish War of Independence, in retaliation for a recent IRA ambush, British forces burn and loot numerous buildings in Cork city. Numerous civilians were robbed, beaten, shot at and several were killed. More than forty business premises, 300 residential properties, the City Hall and Carnegie Library were destroyed by the fires.
In 1927 the Guangzhou Uprising erupts in China, with Communist Red Guards launching the rebellion and taking over most of the city; they announce the formation of a Guangzhou Soviet.
In 1941 Germany and Italy declare war on the United States, following the Americans' declaration of war on the Empire of Japan in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States, in turn, declares war on them. The German declaration was a curious matter, an apparently offhand decision made by Hitler.
In 1960 French forces violently suppress protesters in French Algeria during a visit by French President Charles de Gaulle.
In 1964 Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
In 1972 Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and final Apollo mission to land on the Moon.
In 1978 at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport the Lufthansa vault is robbed, by a group led by Lucchese family associate Jimmy Burke. It was the largest cash robbery (over five million dollars) ever committed on American soil, at that time. At least nine people involved in, or connected with, the theft are subsequently murdered or disappear.
In 1981 in the El Mozote massacre the armed forces in El Salvador kill an estimated nine hundred civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the Salvadoran Civil War. The el Mozote massacre was preceded by La Matanza or the massacre of Pipil peasants in 1932, the Student massacre of 1975, and the Óscar Romero funeral and Sumpul River massacres of 1980. It was followed by the El Calabozo massacre and El Paraíso massacre in 1982, the Tenango-Guadalupe and Tenancingo-Copapayo massacres in 1983, and the Guaslinga-Los Llanitos massacre in 1984.
In 1990 demonstrations by students and workers across Albania begin, which eventually trigger the fall of communism in Albania.
In 1998 Thai Airways Flight 261 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101. The pilot flying the Airbus A310-200 is thought to have suffered spatial disorientation, worsened by poor visibility, minimal lighting of the airport and faulty radio warnings to the aircraft.
In 2005 the Buncefield Oil Depot catches fire in Hemel Hempstead in England. The enormous fires at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal burns for more than two days, with several explosions, and involves nearly three hundred million litres of hydrocarbons. The first and largest explosion occurred at 06:01 UTC near tank 912, causes by the ignition of vapourised fuel from a leak, which led to further explosions and the breech of at least twenty storage tanks.
In 2005 thousands of white Australians demonstrate against supposed ethnic violence resulting in a series of riots, the Cronulla riots, against anyone thought to be Lebanese or Middle Eastern in the beachside suburb of Cronulla in New South Wales; these are followed up by retaliatory ethnic attacks on Cronulla. The riots were triggered by an event the previous Sunday, when an altercation between a group of youths of supposed 'Middle-Eastern appearance' and a group of Anglo-Australian lifeguards on the beach became violent. Following the exaggerated reporting of this event by the tabloid media a racially motivated gathering was organised for the following weekend. Eventually around five thousand people arrives and the local police attempted to disperse the mob; violence erupted and spread to other southern suburbs of Sydney.
In 2006 Felipe Calderón, the President of Mexico, launches Operation Michoacán a military-led offensive to put down the drug cartel violence in the state of Michoacán.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 14, 2020 11:40:09 GMT
12DEC
In 627CE at the Battle of Nineveh a Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats the Sassanid Persians commanded by General Rhahzadh, effectively ending the Byzantine-Sassanid War. The battle was the climactic battle of the Byzantine-Sassanid War, part of an unexpected (and risky) strategy by Heraclius to invade the Sasanian heartland in winter campaign. The Persian emperor, Khosrow II, appointed Rhahzadh as the commander of an army to confront him. Both armies experienced problems in the campaign; Heraclius' Göktürk allies quickly deserted, while Rhahzadh's reinforcements did not arrive in time. In the Rhahzadh was killed and the remaining Sasanians retreated. The Byzantine victory restored (albeit temporarily) the (Eastern) Roman Empire to its ancient boundaries in the Middle East. It also resulted in a later civil war in Persia, significantly weakening the Sasanian Empire, and contributing to the Islamic conquest of Persia.
In 884 Carloman II, king of the Franks dies in a hunting accident near Les Andelys . A member of the Carolingian dynasty he and his elder brother, Louis III, divided the kingdom between themselves and ruled jointly until the latter's death in 882. Thereafter Carloman ruled alone until his own death. He was the second son of King Louis the Stammerer and Queen Ansgarde. Carloman was succeeded on the throne by his cousin, the Emperor Charles the Fat. For more notes on Carloman II see 03AUG.
In 1388 Maria of Enghien sells the lordship of Argos and Nauplia to the Republic of Venice.
In 1862 during the American Civil War the USS Cairo, one of the early steam powered ironclad warships sinks on the Yazoo River, after striking a naval mine detonated by remote control from shore.
In 1866 at 1:20PM at Oaks Colliery, located at Hoyle Mill near Stairfoot in Barnsley in the West Riding of Yorkshire, a series of massive explosions rips through the coal workings. Most of the 340 men and boys working underground are killed, as a several rescuers, for a total death toll of 361; it remains the worst mining disaster in England. The Oaks was considered to be one of the most dangerous pits in South Yorkshire and the workers were concerned for their own safety due to frequent and large emissions of firedamp. The explosion was so violent that the neighbourhood for about five kilometres around shook as if an earthquake had occurred, accompanied by a huge roar like thunder.
In 1901 Guglielmo Marconi claims to have received the first transatlantic radio signal (the letter "S" [***] in Morse Code), at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland, transmitted from the company's new high-power station at Poldhu in Cornwall, a distance approaching 3,500km. The receiver used a 150 metre kite-supported antenna for reception. While this was heralded as a great scientific advance there was, and id, considerable skepticism about his claim.
In 1910 perfume heiress Dorothy Arnold left her parents' apartment in Manhattan to go shopping. After leaving a book shop, and speaking with a friend, the 25-year-old woman was never seen or heard from again. Her father, Francis Arnold, was reluctant to garner publicity over his daughter's disappearance, and initially used private investigators to locate her, before involving the police in JAN1911; the disappearance was not made public until 26JAN1911. Arnold spent the rest of his life searching for his daughter. There have been numerous false and alleged sightings (as late as 1935) and at least one postcard (claimed to have been a fake). The case has generated many theories, but no evidence. One of the more widespread rumours was that Arnold had become pregnant and had died during an illegal abortion, and her body disposed of. This suggestion garnered some credibility when an illegal abortion clinic operating out of the basement of a home in Bellevue, Pennsylvania was raided by police in APR1916. The clinic, run by Dr. C.C. Meredith, became known as "The House of Mystery," after numerous women from the area went missing after visiting the clinic.
In 1913 following a speaking tour in Brazil and Argentina, former US President Theodore Roosevelt met up with Brazilian military officer and explorer Cândido Rondon to embark on a joint exploration (the Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition) of the "River of Doubt" a ~750 km river (a tributary of the Aripuanã River and later renamed the 'Roosevelt River') located in a remote area of the Brazilian Amazon basin. The expedition collected many new animal and insect specimens. Kermit Roosevelt, Theodore's son, joined the expedition on the insistence of his mother, in order to protect his father. Of the 19 men who went on the expedition, 16 returned (Roosevelt himself nearly died).
In Britain a newly married woman, Alice Burnham, was found dead in her bath in her home in Blackpool, She was the second of three “Brides in the Bath murders” committed by George Joseph Smith.
In Florence the stolen Mona Lisa was recovered, after Vincenzo Peruggia was arrested while trying to sell it.
In 1916 a series of avalanches begin in the Dolomites, some purely natural and others (allegedly) deliberately triggered by artillery fire, kill between 10,000 and 18,000 Austrian and Italian soldiers over the two next weeks. One of the worst incidents was on 'White Friday' (13DEC1916) when around 5:30AM about a million cubic metres of snow (about 200,000 tonnes) collapsed onto a Austro-Hungarian barracks on Mount Marmolada. A few soldiers escape but 270 men are buried alive. Most of the bodies are never recovered.
In 1935 Heinrich Himmler begins the Lebensborn Project, a Nazi selective breeding programme.
In 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War Japanese aircraft bomb and sink US gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze river in China. Combined with the Rape of Nanking this swung public opinion in the West sharply against Japan and increased their fear of Japanese expansion.
In 1939 the British destroyer HMS Duchess sinks after being struck by the battleship HMS Barham in heavy fog, off the coast of Scotland, about 14km west of the Mull of Kintyre. 124 crew are killed.
In 1948 during the 'Malayan Emergency', British troops murder 24 unarmed villagers in the Batang Kali massacre.
In 1979 at 02:29 the magnitude 8.2 Tumaco earthquake shakes Colombia and Ecuador and generates a large tsunami. Between four and six hundred people are killed, mainly by the tidal wave.
In 1985 Arrow Air Flight 1285, a chartered McDonnell Douglas DC-8, crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, killing all 256 people on board, mostly troops of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division. The flight had begun in Cairo and was en-route to Fort Campbell in Kentucky, via Cologne and Gander. The crash was due to the aircraft stalling less than a kilometre from the runway.
In 1988 the Clapham Junction rail crash kills thirty-five and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains. An crowded early morning commuter train collided with a second train that had been stopped by a faulty signal. The displaced carriages were subsequently sideswiped by an empty train travelling in the opposite direction.
In 2012 North Korea successfully carries out its first successful satellite launch, Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2. Subsequent study suggests the satellite, while reaching orbit, was damaged and began to spin in space.
Ideas? Suggestions?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 14, 2020 14:16:08 GMT
Felipe Calderón, Jimmy Burke, Che Guevara, Charles de Gaulle,Piet Cronjé,Lord Methuen,Óscar Romero,Theophano,Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, al-Muntasir,Dong Zhuo,Antonio de Vea,John Tzimiskes,Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas,al-Mutawakkil,Emperor Xian of Han, and Cao Pi are good people to meet. And the Guangzhou Uprising could be a giid pure historical.
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 14, 2020 21:58:13 GMT
Heinrich Himmler,Dorothy Arnold,Alice Burnham,George Joseph Smith, Vincenzo Peruggia, Maria of Enghien, Guglielmo Marconi,Cândido Rondon, Carloman II,Emperor Heraclius ,Louis the Stammerer,Queen Ansgarde,and General Rhahzadh are good people to meet. The North Korea missile test could lead to war in a ah. And the Battle of Nineveh could revolve around a ancient relic.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 14, 2020 22:48:40 GMT
My takes on a few of the seeds: The Oaks Colliery explosion could have been caused by the usual Something Nasty down t'pit. Or maybe it was deliberate, to destroy somethings that had been found down there, or as a sacrifice to something. Then again maybe some of the miners stumbled on (say) a buried alien ship and activated it; it's engines destroyed the mine but some of them escaped.
Marconi's claim regarding the radio test are, to put it mildly, dubious. But what else might his antenna array have detected?
Dorothy Arnold was probably killed in a more-or-less commonplace crime. But perhaps she stumbled on some strange goings-on in Central Park and joined a passing time traveller? Someone who promised that she'd be back before anyone noticed she was gone. Arnold had been trying to start a career as a writer, maybe she sought inspiration.
The Roosevelt–Rondon expedition is a classic opportunity to meet interesting people and help them survive an encounter with the outré. Scatter in a few references to Percy Fawcett and the City of X along with the usual problems; disease, wildlife both large and small, hostile indigenous peoples, illegal miners and rubber collectors, slave traders, border disputes...
The Dolomite avalanches could be down to someone finding an alien ship/artefact in the ice (perhaps revealed by the explosions) and then becoming a Who Goes There base-under-siege plot.
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 14, 2020 23:01:55 GMT
i agree with all of them!.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 15, 2020 20:17:57 GMT
13DEC
In 1294 Celestine V (Pietro Angelerio) resigns the papacy after only five months to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit. In fact he never makes it back, his advisor/successor Benedetto Caetani (Boniface VIII) had the 'retired' pope imprisoned in the castle of Fumone, where he died eighteen months later. Boniface annulled most of the edicts of Celestine as well. With no political experience, Celestine had proved to be an especially weak and ineffectual pope, patyyly due to being in the Kingdom of Naples, out of contact with the Roman Curia, and under the complete power of King Charles II.
In 1545 the Council of Trent begins. This remains the longest and most comprehensive ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, and the last until the nineteenth century.
In 1577 Francis Drake sets sail from Plymouth in England, on his round-the-world voyage, the trip he remains best known for, which included his incursion into the Pacific Ocean, until then an area of exclusive Spanish control, and his claim to New Albion (part of what is now California) for England. His expedition began an era of conflict between England and the Spanish on the western coast of the Americas.
- There is almost certainly no truth to the idea that he left caches of treasures (gold and silver, plundered Spanish coin, jewels or alien artefacts) buried around San Francisco, or anywhere else.
In 1636 the Massachusetts Bay Colony organises the first regular militia formations in the Americans, with three 'regiments' (very under-strength) to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians.
- In addition to protecting against the Natives the organization may have had encounters with other oddities in the New England region, before being merged into the Secret Congress.
In 1642 Abel Tasman is the first recorded European to sight New Zealand.
In 1643 early in the English Civil War, the Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire. Parliamentary forces, under Sir William Waller, lead a successful surprise attack on a winter garrison of Royalist infantry and cavalry, under the Earl of Crawford. The battle saw Sir Ralph Hopton, leader of the Royalist forces in the south, defeated for the first time, the event having a significant psychological effect on him as commander. The Parliamentarians won a clear victory, losing only a few men and taking many prisoners. The battle featured a doomed last stand by Colonel Richardus Boles and a few infantry, who had bee forced to seek refuge in the Church of St Lawrence, where most were killed.
In 1758 the English transport ship Duke William sinks in the North Atlantic, killing over 360 people. At the time the vessel was being used to deport Arcandians from British Canada, part of the Expulsion of the Acadians during the Seven Years' War. At least 361 people died when the ship was lost.
In 1862 during the American Civil War, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats Union Major General Ambrose Burnside at at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The battle lasted for five days, 11-12DEC, but was decided on 13DEC by a series futile frontal attacks by the Union Army on against entrenched Confederate troops on the heights behind the city. One unnamed visitor to the battlefield described the battle to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln as a "butchery".
- Curiously the night of 14DEC saw the Aurora Borealis make an unusual appearance, presumably caused by a large solar flare.
In 1867 at 3:34PM a 'Fenian' bomb explodes in Clerkenwell in London as part of an attempt by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (nicknamed "Fenians") to free one of their members being held on remand at Clerkenwell Prison. The explosion damaged nearby houses, killed twelve people and injured around one hundred. The explosion demolished large section (~18 metres) of the prison wall, but no one escaped as they prisoners weren't in the yard.
In 1901 British geologist J. W. Gregory begins his expedition to the fossil beds of Lake Eyre in South Australia, departing on a two-day railroad journey from Adelaide to Hergott Springs, and thence by camel caravan across the desert to the dead lake. Eyre would later write of his findings in his book The Dead Heart of Australia.
- Of course Gregory may have found or seen things that didn't make it into printer, ancient cyclopean cities perhaps?
In 1913 the German balloonist Hugo Kaulen returned to the ground after staying aloft for almost four days (87 hours), a record at that time for the longest time spent floating in the air. His time would not be exceeded until 1935.
In 1937 the city of Nanjing falls to the Japanese and the Rape of Nanking begins.
In 1938 the Neuengamme concentration camp opens in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg in Germany.
In 1955 t sole flying prototype of the de Havilland Comet 3 (the world's first jet airliner) stops at Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii, during an around-the-world flight. It then flies on to Vancouver in British Columbia.
In 1960 while Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Imperial Bodyguard seizes the capital and proclaims him deposed and his son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen as Emperor against his will.
In 1962 NASA launches Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit. The satellite was capable of receiving and re-transmitting radio and television signals, though it was at best a semi-experimental platform. The satellite carried a number of experimental payloads, including radiation experiments designed to map the Earth's radiation belts. Unlike the classic 'Clarke Belt' communications satellite Relay 1 was in an elliptical medium orbit, with an apogee of 7,500k and perigee of 1,300. Relay 1 was the first satellite to broadcast television from the United States to Japan (the announcement of the Kennedy assassination). In AUG1964 the satellite was used as the United States-Europe link for the broadcast of the 1964 Summer Olympics from Tokyo, after the signal was relayed to the United States via Syncom 3; this was the first time that two satellites were used in tandem for a television broadcast.
In 1963 the United Nations approved General Assembly Resolution 1962 (XVIII), The Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space, the first of five declarations governing the nations' exploration of outer space. Among the nine principles contained in the declaration were that no nation could lay claim to sovereignty of any portion of space or celestial bodies, but that each nation would have jurisdiction over its own objects in outer space regardless of where they returned to Earth, and that exploration would be "in the interests of all mankind" and nations would regard astronauts as "envoys of mankind" to be rendered aid in the event of an emergency, regardless of nationality.
In 1967 during the period of military junta rule of Greece king Constantine II of Greece attempts an unsuccessful counter-coup against the Regime of the Colonels.
In 1972 Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or "Moonwalk" of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon.
- Though obviously not in the Whoniverse.
In 1974 North Vietnam launches the Spring Offensive, which will result in the collapse of South Vietnam.
In 1977 Air Indiana Flight 216, a leased DC-3 Dakota, crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29.
In 1982 the magnitude 6.0 North Yemen earthquake shakes southwestern Yemen (at the time the country was split into North and South Yemen), near the city of Dhamar, leading to over 2,800 deaths.
In 2003 Operation Red Dawn sees former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein captured near his home town of Tikrit.
Undated. 13DEC is St. Lucy's day; before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, generally the mid eighteenth century, this was the longest night of the year, coinciding with Winter Solstice. The Julian Calendar was out-of-step with the seasons. Saint Lucy was (and to a degree still is) celebrated in various ways, often (due to the circumstances of her supposed martyrdom) involving food and lights, though iIn Hungary and Croatia a popular tradition involves planting wheat grains.
Comments? Ideas?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 16, 2020 0:02:51 GMT
Eugene Cernan Harrison Schmitt,king Constantine II,Emperor Haile Selassie,Crown Prince Asfa Wossen,J. W. Gregory,Hugo Kaulen,Ambrose Burnside,Robert E. Lee, Francis Drake,Pietro Angelerio,Benedetto Caetani,Saint Lucy,Ralph Hopton,William Waller, Abel Tasman, and Saddam Hussein are good people to meet. And the Rape of Nanking could be a emotional pure historical.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 16, 2020 23:03:26 GMT
14DEC
In 557 the city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, is severely damaged by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake. The earthquake occurred around midnight, preceded by a number of minor tremors, during the celebrations of the Brumalia (the Festival of Names), shortly before the winter solstice and during a particularly wet and cold winter. The successive tremors were accompanied by other effects; thunder-like sounds from the ground, a "smoky haze" filled the air and reduced visibility, though some reports mention that it "gleamed with a dull radiance". The panicked residents started evacuating their houses, gathering in streets and alleyways; however Constantinople generally lacked open spaces, so even in the outside there was danger from falling debris. In addition it was extremely cold and there were showers of sleet during the night. Churches were popular refuges. two in April and October respectively.[4] The main quake in December was of The city was devastated, tens of thousands were killed, and the famous city walls were severely damaged, allowing Hun invaders to penetrate into the city the following year.
In 835 in the "Sweet Dew Incident" Chinese Emperor Wenzong, of the Tang dynasty, conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled and the eunuchs continue to exercose great political and administrative power in the court.
In 1287 in the North (German) Sea the infamous St. Lucia's flood occurs when an intense European windstorm coincides with a high tide caused a huge storm surge. In the Netherlands the Zuiderzee sea wall collapses, leading to over 50,000 deaths and creating the modern (well until the Dutch drained it in the twentieth century) Zuiderzee from the old (and smaller) freshwater lake.
One immensely significant effect was the alteration of the coastline, which altered the access of many towns to the ocean, and hence trading opportunities; the Ditch city of Stavoren was no longer on the coast and was replaced in the port role by Kampen, Zwolle, Deventer, Zutphen, and Doesburg. Layer of course Amsterdam supplanted them all, beginning its rise from nothing almost immediately after the St. Lucia's flood. Elsewhere entire villages were simply washed away. In Germany the flood caused perhaps 25,000 deaths with thousands more killed in England; there the town of Dunwich, on the Suffolk coast, were severely damaged. Changes to the coastline meant that what had been England's second port became land-locked.
In 1542 On the death of James V of Scotland the six-day-old Princess Mary Stuart becomes Mary, Queen of Scots. The death of James is interesting; after the Scottish army was severely defeated at the Battle of Solway Moss, James "took ill" from an unknown cause. This may have been a nervous collapse caused by the defeat, or it may have bee one of the common "fevers". Or someone may have poisoned him. Sir George Douglas of Pittendreich brought the news of the king's death to Berwick. He said James died at midnight on Thursday 15DEC and that the king was talking but delirious and spoke no "wise words". And thus began the saga of Mary, Queen of Scots.
In 1782 the Montgolfier brothers first test fly an unmanned hot air balloon in France; it floats nearly 2 km.
In 1812 the French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia.
In 1814 during the War of 1812, the Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne in Louisiana after a brief battle. This would enable them to begin the Battle of New Orleans.
In 1836 the Great Toledo War unofficially ends with the meeting of the " Frostbitten Convention" in Ann Arbor. The Toledo War (or Ohio-Michigan War) was an almost bloodless boundary dispute between the US states of Ohio and Michigan (though the latter was not yet a state when the dispute began); the main point of contention was control of a strip o land along the border, known as the Toledo Strip. The convention, which had dubious legal standing but was accepted by the Federal government, accepted the loss of the Toledo Strip in exchange for the another piece of land in the north-east.
In 1863 Confederate forces, under General James Longstreet, are victorious at the Battle of Bean's Station in East Tennessee and brings the Knoxville Campaignto an end; in all the campaign achieves very little as Longstreet returns to Virginia next spring.
In 1896 in Glasgow the Glasgow District Subway (later known as the Glasgow Underground Railway) is opened. It is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world (after London and Budapest). Originally a cable railway, the subway was later electrified, but the double-track circular line was never expanded.
- No doubt Strax was there with a few of his friends. What interesting things might have been unearthed, or disturbed, by the excavations?
In 1900 the field of Quantum mechanics is born when Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law. The central assumption behind his new derivation was the supposition, now known as the Planck postulate, that electromagnetic energy could be emitted only in quantided form, i.e. energy could only be a multiple of an elementary unit.
In 1902 the Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu, a distance of 11,124km.
- What might the cable ships have found? Or what might have been disturbed by the efforts?
In 1903 at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina the Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer. It is unsuccessful and the craft damaged, delaying a repeat attempt for three days.
In 1907 the sailing ship Thomas W. Lawson, the largest ever ship without an engine, runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef on Annet, within the Isles of Scilly, in a gale. The local pilot and 15 seamen die. The Lawson was a memorably odd vessel, a steel-hulled schooner with no less than seven masts, but lacking any form of mechanical propulsion (there was a steam engine for pumping et cetera). It was built for the Pacific trade, but used primarily to haul coal and oil along the East Coast of the United States. The destruction of the ship dumped her cargo of 58,000 barrels of light paraffin oil into the sea, caused one of the first large marine oil spills.
In 1911 Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole.
In 1918 Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne.
Also in 1918 Sidónio Pais, President of Portugal, is assassinated.
Again in 1918 the 1918 United Kingdom general election occurs, the first where women (over thirty) were permitted to vote, as were a greatly enlarged group of men over 21. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent letters of endorsement to candidates who supported the coalition government. The election was also noted for the dramatic result in Ireland, which showed clear disapproval of government policy. The Irish Parliamentary Party were almost completely wiped out by the Irish republican party Sinn Féin, who vowed in their manifesto to establish an independent Irish Republic. The Irish War of Independence began soon after the election.
In 1940 the element Plutonium (specifically the isotope Pu238) is first isolated at Berkeley in California.
In 1948 Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann are granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, arguably the earliest known interactive electronic game.
In 1958 the Third Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility. The Third Soviet Antarctic Expedition lasted over a year and was led by Yevgeny Tolstikov.
- The Pole of Inaccessibility is the point in Antarctica furthest from any ocean.
- An excellent location for a scenario.
In 1962 NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
In 1963 the dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir bursts, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles.
In 1964 the US Supreme Court rules in the case of Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, that Congress can use the Constitution's Commerce Clause (the Federal power to regulate commerce that crosses state borders) to fight discrimination.
In 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War, more than 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan Army and their local allies. During their attempt to prevent the departure of East Pakistan, subsequently Bangladesh, the Pakistani government systematically murdered over 1,100 academics, teachers, journalists, physicians, artists, engineers, and writers, to eliminate the future leaders of the new nation of Bangladesh.
In 1994 construction begins on the immense, and immensely controversial, Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. The dam spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping in central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. It is the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22.5GW).
In 1999 torrential rains cause flash floods in the Vargas region of Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure.
Ideas? Comments?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 17, 2020 2:50:37 GMT
Emperor Wenzong,Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. Estle Ray Mann, Sidónio Pais, Max Planck,David Lloyd George, Friedrich Karl von Hessen, Thomas W. Lawson (the namesake of the ship not the actual crew members), James V of Scotland James Longstreet,Mary, Queen of Scots,and the Montgolfier brothers are good people to meet. And the Glasgow District Subway could be a good Paternoster gang adventure.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 17, 2020 20:54:08 GMT
15DEC
In 533CE the Vandalic War comes effectively to an end when the Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum. Following as it did the Byzantine victory at the Battle of Ad Decimum it permanently eliminated the power of the Vandals, completed the "Reconquest" of North Africa under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and enabled the Byzantine invasion of Italy. That operation reincorporated, albeit temporarily, the Eastern and Western Roman Empire.
In 687 in a political compromise Pope Sergius I is elected as a compromise between the two rivals, Paschal and Theodore, who were locked in dispute about which of them should become pope. His papacy was noted for his clash with Emperor Justinian II who ordered Sergius' arrest.
In 1025 Constantine VIII (discussed previously) becomes sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire, 63 years after being crowned co-emperor.
In 1161 after the disastrous Jin defeat at the Battle of Caishi (see 26NOV), military officers conspire and assassinate the emperor Wanyan Liangat his camp.
In 1256 Mongol forces under Hulagu enter and dismantle the Nizari Ismaili stronghold at Alamut Castle (in present-day Iran) as part of their offensive on Islamic southwest Asia. They destroy the immense library there. Alamut Castle was a mountain fortress and came into the possession of Hasan-i Sabbah, a champion of the Nizari Ismaili cause, who further fortfied the stronghold. Until 1256 Alamut functioned as the headquarters of the Nizari Ismaili state (and thus the Order of Assassins), which included a series of strategic strongholds, scattered throughout Persia and Syria. Alamut was thought impregnable to any military attack and was fabled for its heavenly gardens, library, and laboratories where philosophers, scientists, and theologians could debate in intellectual freedom. For those unfamiliar with the Nizaris, the remain the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasise 'ijtihad', human reasoning, sing educated, independent reasoning in solving legal questions as well as pluralism.
In 1270 the Nizari Ismaili garrison of Gerdkuh in Persia surrender after 17 years to the Mongols. Gerdkuh was another of the "fortified mountains" used as strongholds by the Nizari.
In 1467 Stephen III of Moldavia defeats Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with the latter being injured thrice, at the Battle of Baia. The battle ended the Hungarian attempts to subdue and integrate Moldavia.
In 1651 Castle Cornet in Guernsey, the last stronghold which had supported the King in the Third English Civil War, surrenders.
In 1778 the British and French fleets clash inconclusively in the Battle of St. Lucia.
In 1836 the US Patent Office building in Washington DC burns and is nearly destroyed. Nearly ten thousand patents are lost, along with thousands of models.
- I've speculated previously about links between the Patent Office and the Secret Congress.
In 1864 the Battle of Nashville begins, ending on 16DEC. The Confederate Army of Tennessee is effectively destroyed as a fighting force by the Union Army of the Cumberland.
In 1869 the short-lived Republic of Ezo is proclaimed in the Ezo (Hokkaido) area of Japan, the first attempt to establish a democracy in Japan, albeit one where only Samurai could vote.
In 1890 Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull is killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre.
In 1893 the "New World Symphony" by Antonín Dvořák, arguably the most recognisable piece of classical music, premieres in a public afternoon rehearsal at Carnegie Hall in New York City, followed by a concert premiere on the evening of 16DEC.
In 1899 British forces suffer their third defeat in a week in South Africa; this time at the Battle of Colenso in Natal.
In 1906 the London Underground's Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opens.
In 1914 a a gas explosion at the Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine, in Kyushu, Japan, kills 687.
In 1939 Gone with the Wind receives its premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1941 German troops murder over 15,000 Jews at Drobytsky Yar, a ravine southeast of the city of Kharkiv.
In 1944 a single-engine UC-64A Norseman aeroplane carrying United States Army Air Forces Major Glenn Miller and other officers disappears in a flight over the English Channel. The event has spawned numerous conspiracy theories.
In 1965 Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7. This is a crucial step in the development of crewed space stations and the Apollo programme.
In 1970 the Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully lands on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet.
In 1973 John Paul Getty III, grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, Italy, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on 10JUL.
In 2000 the third reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down, four years after the catastrophic accident in reactor four.
In 2010 a boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people.
Comments? Ideas?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 18, 2020 2:51:36 GMT
John Paul Getty III,J. Paul Getty,Matthias Corvinus of Hungary,Stephen III of Moldavia ,Wally Schirra,Thomas Stafford,Glenn Miller, Antonín Dvořák, Wanyan Liangat,Hulagu, Pope Sergius I,Emperor Justinian II,Emperor Justinian I, Sitting BullKing Gelimer,and Belisarius are good people to meet. And the Republic of Ezo could be longer lived in a ah story.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 18, 2020 18:30:45 GMT
14DEC
In 714CE Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (in modern Belgium). He is succeeded by his infant grandson Theudoald while his wife Plectrude holds actual power in the Frankish Kingdom. In fact matters were more complicated; while Pepin named Theudoald as his heir, over his other son Charles Martel, there was considered support for Martel; this led to the formidable Plectrude having Martel imprisoned in Colonge, her clan stronghold (and where most of the Pippinid money was).
- You may be wondering by now why none of these people are referred to as 'princes', 'kings' et cetera. In fact tge Frankish lands were ruled (very nominally) by Dagobert III of the Merovingians, who by this time exercised no power.
- The title 'Mayor of the Palace' was effectively 'majordomo'; they were not in the common sense an 'eminence grise', they exercised power quite openly. Pepin did take the title 'Duke and Prince of the Franks' as well ("Duke" having teh usual connotations of war-leader .
- By the way, there is a legend (apart from the Holy Blood, Holy Grail and Dan Brown nonsense) that the Merovingian line was founded when Chlodio was impregnated by a sea creature of some sort, her son being the (probably legendary) founder of the line, Merovech. Make of this what you will...
- Pepin's son Grimoald, the father of Theudoald, was dead; while travelling to visit the tomb of Saint Lambert at Liège, in 714, he'd been assassinated (by someone named Rangar) on the orders of his father-in-law Radbod of Friesland. His other son, Drogo, was also dead.
- Interestingly, for anyone planning a spot of political intrigue in this setting, Pepin's death was sudden and unexpected; though he was in his seventies he enjoyed generally excellent health and died rather suddenly after confirming the succession of his young grandson.
- Finally, to clarify a point; Charles Martel is often described as illegitimate but this is not quite correct; he was the son of Pepin and a noblewoman named Alpaida who was probably Pepin's second wide (polygamy being tolerated if uncommon). Certainly Charles was accepted as Pepin's son, and a potential heir; in fact he enjoyed great support from the Frankish nobility.
While Plectrude persuaded Pepin to disinherit the sons he had with Alpaida (Charles and Carloman). However his was not accepted by the capable and popular Charles Martel, leading to a civil war after his death in which the latter emerged victorious. Charles Martel (who's been mentioned previously) would go on to become known as "The Hammer", defeat the Arabic forces at Tours, centralise government in Francia and begin the military campaigns that re-established the Franks as the undisputed masters of all Gaul. He was the grandfather of Charlemagne. In 715 the Frankish nobility would rebel against Plectrude (in alliance with Radbod of Friesland) and her forces were defeated her in the Battle of Compiègne (26SEP0715) forcing to take refuge in Cologne. There she was defeated, and Charles Martel freed.
- Plenty of scope there for a scenario, or indeed an Earthbound campaign.
In 755 the Tang general An Lushan begins his revolt against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Yanjing; the An Lushan Rebellion (referenced previously) would last seven-and-a-half years and severely damage the Tang dynasty. during the Tang dynasty of China. An Lushan proclaimed himself the ruler of a new dynasty, Yan. Over it's course the rebellion would cause between 13 and 36 million deaths; one of the deadliest wars in human history.
In 1431 during the Hundred Years' War at the age of ten, Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris. The coronation was a political statement, a response to the coronation of Charles VII of France in Reims Cathedral on 17JUL1429. The only child of Henry V, Henry had succeeded to the English throne at the age of nine months, and succeeded to the French throne on the death of his maternal grandfather, Charles VI, shortly afterwards.
In 1497 the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama passes the Great Fish River (in modern South Africa) where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back. De Gama had been commissioned by John II of Portugal to map trade routes to the spice lands in the Far East; an explorer was needed who could prove the link between the findings of other explorers (like Dias) and connect these separate elements into a lucrative trade route across the Indian Ocean. With Christmas pending, da Gama and his crew gave the coast they were passing the name 'Natal', which carried the connotation of "birth of Christ" in Portuguese.
In 1575 an enormously powerful earthquake, of estimated magnitude 8.5, strikes Valdivia in Chile at 14:30 local time. The town was devastated, by the quake and the subsequent flooding. Pedro Mariño de Lobera, who was corregidor (administrator) of Valdivia wrote that the waters of the river opened like the Red Sea, one part flowing upstream and one downstream. Mariño de Lobera also evacuated the city until the dam at Laguna de Anigua (now Riñihue Lake) burst.
In 1598 during the Seven-Year War the final battle, the naval Battle of Noryang, sees the allied Chinese (Ming) and Korean (Joseon Kingdom) forces decisively defeat the Japanese navies. resulting in a decisive allied forces victory. Much of the battle was fought in darkness, though it ended soon after dawn. Around 650 ships were involved and the battered survivors of the five hundred strong Japanese fleet limped back to Pusan and left for Japan.
In 1653 the English Interregnum formally begins with the appointment of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Previously the authority of head of state and executive power had been held by a Council of State.
In 1761 during a different Seven Years' War the Russian forced led by Pyotr Rumyantsev finally take the Prussian fortress of Kołobrzeg after a siege that lasted four months. This was actually the third Russian siege of Kolberg (now Kołobrzeg) and the only attempt to succeed. As a consequence of the fall of the city, Prussia lost its last major port on the Baltic Coast. While the the Russian forces were able to take winter quarters in Pomerania, preparatory for a new campaign in the spring, the death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia only weeks after the Russian victory led to a peace settlement, under her successor Peter III, which returned Kolberg to Prussia.
In 1773 during the American Revolution the Boston Tea Party takes place as members of the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Indians, dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts.
- Tea was taxed (technically dutied) to support the British government, as a revenue stream. The main source of tea was the plantations of the East India Company, who had a more-or-less legal monopoly. But tea from the Netherlands was untaxed by that government and hence cheaper when smuggled into the UK or the colonies. Money was at stake, quite a lot of it. Now in the early 1770s the EIC was effectively bankrupt, and obtained a series of Acts of Parliament to allow it to dump tea, actually cheaper than the smuggled article, on the American colonies with a legal monopoly. Quite a number of prominent colonists were very active in the smuggling, among them John 'King' Hancock, (he of the elaborate signature). Though most of his money was inherited from his father (a smuggler on a huge scale) he was still active in the smuggling trade. He funded the radicals like Sam Adams.
Four shiploads of tea were sent to Boston (with one each to New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston) which threatened to put the smugglers out of business, and also destroy the businesses of legitimate importers. Politics and profit combined, and while other cities 'persuaded' the EIC's tea consignees to resign this didn't happen in Boston; two of the consignees were sons of Governor Hutchinson and stood to become very wealthy. A mass meeting was called (by Sam Adams) and the ship was blockaded and stopped from unloading. A few days later a larger meeting (attended by perhaps 40% of the population of Boston) was held and 'doings transpired'. How it's questionable if Adams was entirely responsible for what happened next but a group (perhaps 30 people, perhaps many more) donned disguises and stormed the three ships. Eighty tonnes of tea was dumped into the harbour. More detail in this thread.
In 1782 in India the British East India Company (them again!) are faced with the Muharram Rebellion; Hada and Mada Miah lead the first anti-British uprising in the subcontinent against Robert Lindsay and his contingents in Sylhet Shahi Eidgah. Most of those involved were Bengali Muslims led by the Pirzada of Sylhet and his two brothers, Syed Muhammad Hadi and Syed Muhammad Mahdi.
In 1811 the first two in a series of four severe earthquakes occur in the vicinity of New Madrid in Missouri. The quakes were powerful, estimated at magnitudes ~8.2 (2:15AM) and 7.4 (8:15AM, both local time) and, unusually, happened well within the crustal plates rather that where they weet. Damage to man-made structures and human injuries were slight, mainly because of the sparse population in the epicentral area. The quakes would be followed by two more in 1812.
- Of course the seismic tremors might not have been natural events at all.
In 1826 Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican-controlled Nacogdoches, Texas, and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia. The Fredonian Rebellion lasted until 23JAN1827 and was the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico, mainly over slavery. The attempt was unpopular and utterly unsuccessful and soon suppressed.
In 1838 Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius and Sarel Cilliers, engaged on the Great Trek,encounter and defeat a vastly larger Zulu force, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in the Battle of Blood River, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. About three thousand of the estimated ten to fifteen thousand Zulu on the bank of the Ncome River were killed.
In 1843 the discovery of octonions by John T. Graves, denoted with a boldface 𝕆), was announced to his mathematician friend William Hamilton, discoverer of quaternions, in a letter sent today. Octonions are an even more obscure field of mathematics than Hamilton's quaternions and are what is called a hypercomplex number system; the have applications in fields such as string theory, special relativity and quantum logic.
- And are an absolutely wonderful form of technobabble with which to mystify players; they are applicable to numerous interesting fields including machine learning, the transformations of quarks, the spacetime dimensions in which supersymmetric quantum field theories are constructed and more. Just drop "octonionic Hilbert space" into an explanation.....
In 1850 two ships, the Charlotte Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton in New Zealand. Sponsored by the Canterbury Association,formed in England in 1848 by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders to establish a colony in New Zealand, the settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch. Organised emigration started in 1850 and the colony was established in the South Island.
In 1857 the Great Neapolitan earthquake (of magnitude ~7.0) strikes the Basilicata region of Italy, southeast of the city of Naples, with its epicentre was in Montemurro, on the western border of the modern province of Potenza. Several towns were completely destroyed and an estimated ten thousand people died. The principal shock occurred at about 10PM, though it had been heralded by minor disturbances and was followed by numerous aftershocks which continued for some months.
In 1880 the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire begins after the growing resentment against the British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 erupts. The British administration, military and civil, were taken by surprise. Events began at Bronkhorstspruit when Boers acted against a British column of the 94th Foot who were returning to reinforce Pretoria.
In 1883 as part of the Tonkin Campaign in northern Vietnam. French forces capture the Sơn Tây citadel.
In 1900 the German training frigate Gneisenau, with 450 naval cadets on board, sinks in a storm during exercises off of the Spanish coast at Málaga, drowning 136. SMS Gneisenau was an obsolete Bismarck-class corvette, of a sail and steam design, that had been converted as a cadet training vessel. Her loss was principally due to miscommunication between her captain and the ship's engine room.
In 1903 the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel in Bombay first opens its doors to guests. It's still there as a five-star, luxury hotel built in the Saracenic Revival style in the Colaba region of what is now Mumbai.
- The perfect place for a group of travellers to meet, rest an encounter the locals. Just avoid it in 2008.
In 1907 the American Great White Fleet begins its circumnavigation of the world. The exercise was intended by US President Theodore Roosevelt as a demonstration of naval power and capability but revealed serious problems with the US Navy, including obsolete ship designs, lack of infrastructure, an unbalanced fleet concept (lacking escorts) and the near absence of a fleet train (resupply ships).
In 1912 during the First Balkan War, the Royal Hellenic Navy defeats the Ottoman Navy at the Battle of Elli.
- In fact the "battle" was more of a minor skirmish that sent the Turkish ships scurrying to safety.
In 1914 Admiral Franz von Hipper leads a raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby. The bombardments caused hundreds of civilian casualties and resulted in public outrage in Britain against the German Navy (that sort of thing happened to other people) for the raid and the Royal Navy for failing to prevent it. At sea the German and British fleets managed to miss each other.
- Unless of course someone acts to cause the fleets to meet and engage in an early decisive battle.
In 1916 the Connaught Tunnel, near Revelstoke in British Columbia opens, becoming at the time the longest (~8km) railway mountain tunnel in the world.
In 1920 the Haiyuan earthquake rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated quarter-million people. The magnitude 8.5 earthquake hit at 12:05:53 UTC and was followed by a series of aftershocks for three years. The effects were catastrophic, entire villages were destroyed or buried by landslides, and many buildings were collapsed, leading to many people dying of exposure.
In 1921 two small British cargo ships, the Stevenstone and the Silba set off and disappear without trace. Both were colliers. The Stevenstone left Blyth in Northumberland, for Helsingør (Elsinore) in Denmark, carrying coal. It had five crew on board; Captain F. E. Prout and four others, J. B. Whitlock, a man named Copp, J. McCullen and F. N. Cox. The Silba sailed from Seaham harbour for Lerwick, also carrying coal. Her master was a man named Wallace.
In 1922 Polish President Gabriel Narutowicz is assassinated by artist and critic Eligiusz Niewiadomski while visiting an exhibition at Warsaw's Zachęta gallery. Narutowicz had been in office for just five days, and was a Lithuanian Polish professor of hydroelectric engineering, a renowned engineer and a political independent. He was conversing with a British envoy when he was shot by Niewiadomski, a painter with connections to the right wing and nationalist National Democratic Party.
In 1930 the bank robber Herman Lamm and several members of his crew are killed by a 200-strong posse, following a botched bank robbery, in Clinton, Indiana. Herman Karl Lamm was one of the first "professional" bank robbers, a former Prussian Army soldier who believed a heist required all the planning of a military operation. That day the robbery in Clinton went badly wrong; after stealing $15,567 from the Citizens State Bank, Lamm's getaway driver (an ex-rum-runner named W. H. Hunter) saw an armed man approaching the car. Hunter driver panicked, attempted a fast U-turn, and blew a rear tyre. Three stolen cars proved unsuitable for their escape and the gang were cornered near Sidell in Illinois, by about 200 police officers and armed citizens. A massive gun battle ensued, in which Hunter was fatally wounded, Lamm and G. W. "Dad" Landy, shot themselves and two others were captured.
In 1937 Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from the American federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay; neither is ever seen again. It was a dark and foggy Saturday, a dense fog had swept through the San Francisco Bay, impeding marine traffic and reducing visibility on Alcatraz Island to a few metres at best. Cole and Roe were working in the Mat Shop (where old car tyres were cut up and converted into rubber mats) at the 12:50PM headcount. At the next count (1:30PM) they were gone. They had previously weakened steel bars and windows in the shop and escape to a nearby beach. Thats where their trail vanishes. There was, of course, an exhaustive search of the island, with vast use of tear gas but nothing was found.Subsequent investigations revealed that Cole and Roe had prepared for the escape well in advance and may have made floatation devices from the tyres and mats. Prison officials concluded that Cole and Roe drowned shortly after their escape. However no bodies have ever been found. They disappeared into the fog of the Bay, like so many others.
In 1944 the Ardennes Offensive (the Battle of the Bulge) begins with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the dense Ardennes forest. The offensive was intended to stop Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and to split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to encircle and destroy four Allied armies and force the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor. The Germans achieved a total surprise attack on the morning of 16DEC1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance due to bad weather. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. Ir began at 05:30 with a massive, 90-minute, artillery barrage using 1,600 artillery pieces across a 130 kilometre front.
In 1947 William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain build the first practical point-contact transistor.
In 1950 in response to China's Second Phase Offensive, US President Harry Truman declares a limited state of emergency. Casualties were heavy on both sides, with battles were fought in temperatures as low as −30 °C; casualties from frostbite and exposure probably exceeded those from battle wounds. he Second Phase Offensive forced all UN forces to go on the defensive and retreat. China had recaptured nearly all of North Korea by the end of the Offensive.
In 1960 in the sky over New York City's Staten Island, a United Airlines Douglas DC-8 and a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation collide and crash. In total 134 people died. The United Airlines Douglas DC-8 was bound for Idlewild Airport in New York City, while the TWA Super Constellation was descending into the city's LaGuardia Airport. Weather was poor, with light rain and fog, with snow earlier in the day. The DC-8 was badly (>20km) off course when it's starboard engines hit the Constellation just ahead of its wings, tearing apart that portion of the fuselage. The Constellation entered a dive and disintegrated during its spiral to the ground. The initial impact tore the engine from its pylon on the DC-8. Having lost one engine and a large part of the right-wing, the DC-8 remained airborne for another minute and a half before crashing into the Park Slope section of Brooklyn at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Sterling Place, scattering wreckage and setting fire to ten brownstone apartment buildings and local businesses. Six people on the ground were killed. There was one survivor, an 11-year-old boy, who lived for a few hours before succumbing to burns.
- A random sight to see? Or are the PCs somehow responsible? What happens it the boy survives (perhaps due to Rory Pond's ministrations?)? Or is the crash a spectacle to entertain some time travelling disaster tourists?
In 1971 the Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 end with the ceasefire of the Pakistan Army. brings an end to both conflicts. This is commemorated annually as Victory Day in Bangladesh, and as Vijay Diwas in India.
In 1978 the city of Cleveland in Ohio becomes the first major American city to default on its financial obligations, about $15.5 million owed to local banks, since the Great Depression. There were basically two reasons why Cleveland defaulted on its debts; lack of income combined with excessive spending. The city was experiencing a decline in population and relocation of businesses outside of the city (which had been happening since the mid-1960s) which reduced the tax base and caused property values to decline. Cleveland residents and city officials repeatedly rejected tax increases to replace the funds lost. Mayor Ralph J. Perk (1971-7) the city increased expenditures by thirty percent. However Cleveland was not the only city to face a financial crisis in the period, even New York came close to bankruptcy.
In 1979 Libya joins four other OPEC nations in raising crude oil prices; triggering the 1979 energy crisis and signalling the end of the era of cheap oil.
In 1985 senior Mafioso Paul Castellano and his bodyguard/driver Thomas Bilotti are shot dead on the orders of John Gotti, who assumes leadership of New York's Gambino crime family. Constantino Paul Castellano was known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" (or 'Big Paulie') and had succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. At the time of his death he lived a life of luxury and isolation, in a lavish mansion on a ridge-line in Todt Hill on Staten Island. He ruled his criminal empire from there, rarely leaving, summoning his junior to him (he was also having an affair with his live-in Colombian maid, Gloria Olarte). John Gotti had rapidly become dissatisfied with Castellano's leadership, regarding the new boss as being too isolated and greedy, as well as a personal dislike. Also drugs factored in to their opposition; Castellano had banned any 'made man' working for him from becoming involved in the heroin trade (under threat of death), a lucrative line Gotti was eager to exploit.
That Monday evening Bilotti drove Castellano to the prearranged early evening meeting at Sparks Steak House in Midtown Manhattan (East 46th Street near Third Avenue). A hit team waited near the restaurant entrance; positioned down the street were three additional backup shooters while Gotti (and his driver Salvatore Gravano) observed the scene from a car across the street. The groups, and their lookouts, coordinated their operation by radio. As Castellano was exiting the car at the front of the restaurant (around 5:26PM) the four four gunmen (conspicuously dressed in trench coats and Russian fur hats) ran up and shot him several times. Before leaving the murder scene, Gotti was driven over to view the bodies. It will be the last such spectacular Mafia killing until 2019.
- What a perfect spot to drop a group of time travellers. Might they become involved, perhaps saving Castellano's life? Or do they witness Gotti's presence (and perhaps record it on a smartphone or other device) and develop a very serious enemy. Whatever happens there will be a lot of people interested in talking to them, killing them or having they stay around to "help the police with their enquiries".
- Then, what if they do frustrate the plot. A small scale Mafia war is likely to erupt (again with the PCs in the midst of things). What effects will Castellanos survival have (on the 80s heroin epidemic for example)? Is Gotti going to be killed?
In 2047 the antarctic region witnesses a partial solar eclipse.
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 18, 2020 22:47:34 GMT
Paul Castellano,Thomas Bilotti,John Gotti,Carlo Gambino,Gloria Olarte,Salvatore Gravano,Ralph J. Perk,William Shockley, John Bardeen,Walter Brattain,Theodore Cole,Ralph Roe, Herman Lamm,Gabriel Narutowicz, Eligiusz Niewiadomski,Captain F. E. Prout, J. B. Whitlock,Copp, J. McCullen,F. N. Cox.Andries Pretorius,Sarel Cilliers,Dambuza (Nzobo),Ndlela kaSompisi,Admiral Franz von Hipper, Benjamin W. Edwards,An Lushan,Pirzada of Sylhet, and Pepin of Herstal are good people to meet. And the Boston Tea Part could be a good pure historical or a alien interference one.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 19, 2020 21:13:09 GMT
17DEC
In 497 BCE the festival of Saturnalia is celebrated for the first time in ancient Rome. Saturnalia, named in honour of the god Saturn, was a Romanised version of the Greek Solstice festival Kronia (likewise named for the god Kronos) though moved from mid-summer to mid-winter.
- Kronos, there's a name to reckon with....
The festival was originally held on 17DEC, but was later extended through 23DEC; it was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn (in the Forum), and a major public banquet. This was followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms; gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves as it was seen as a time of liberty for both slaves and freedmen alike. A common custom was the election of a "King of the Saturnalia", who would give orders to people, which were to be followed and preside over the merrymaking (similar to the Lord of Misrule in medieval times). The gifts exchanged were usually "gag" gifts or small figurines made of wax or pottery known as sigillaria. Saturnalia influenced some of the customs associated with later celebrations in western Europe occurring in midwinter, particularly traditions associated with Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and Epiphany.
- Ah, the perfect occasion for getting mixed up with hordes of drunk Romans, of all social classes. Just think of the possibilities...
In 546CE the Ostrogoths under king Totila plunder the city of Rome, by bribing some of the Byzantine garrison. This was not one of Belarisus's finest hours; his troops were persuaded to stand aside and allow the looting (though by then the city had endured a year long siege and the populace were starving). The Byzantine forces, led by Belisarius, were encamped at Portus awaiting reinforcements. An attempt by them to relieve Rome very nearly succeeded, but failed through the unreliability of subordinate commanders. Belisarius was then taken ill and took no further action. Totila finally entered Rome on 17DEC after his men scaled the walls at night and opened the Asinarian Gate; they were aided by some Isaurian troops from the imperial garrison who had arranged a secret pact with the Goths. Most of the populace (and garrison) fled; they city was almost empty when it was taken.
- Suited to a "getting separated and trying to find each other" plot, or stopping a time traveller from looting the city. For a darker idea, perhaps someone is using the siege as cover for gather humans as slaves or test subjects.
In 920 Romanos I Lekapenos is crowned co-emperor of Byzantium, in conjunction with the underage Constantine_VII. Lekapenos was an Armenia naval commander; on 25MAR0919, at the head of his he fleet, seized the Boukoleon Palace and the reins of government. He moved swiftly to consolidate his position, marrying his daughter Helena to Constantine VII and taking other measures to exert control.
In 942 Count William I of Normandy is killed by followers of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders. William Longsword was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942. However the region was still rather lawless; with the Barons retaining their power and making war on each other as they wished. At the time of his death William was fighting Arnulf, who'd attacjed William's brother-in-law, Herluin II, Count of Montreuil, four years earlier. In 941 a peace treaty was signed between the Bretons and Normans, brokered in Rouen by King Louis IV which limited the Norman expansion into Breton lands. In 942 at Picquigny on an island on the Somme, William was ambushed and killed by followers of Arnulf while at a peace conference to settle their differences.
In 1398 Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud's armies in Delhi are defeated by Timur. This defeat fatally weakened the Tughluk dynasty (a Muslim dynasty originally of Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate) and led to it's collapse in 1413; however the Tughluks were in a decline anyway, having at their height (1330-1335) ruled most of the Indian subcontinent. Timur (Tamerlane) defeated four armies of the Sultanate and caused Sultan Mahmud Khan to flee before Tamerlane entered Delhi. For eight days the Mongols looted and plundered Delhi; its population were raped, tortured and massacred, with over 100,000 deaths.
In 1538 Pope Paul III formally excommunicates Henry VIII of England, though the excommunication had been decided in 1534 after the Acts of Supremacy were passed by the English Parliament (recognising the King's status as head of the church in England).
In 1583 during the Cologne War, forces under Ernest of Bavaria defeat troops under Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg at the Siege of Godesberg. The battle was the first major siege of the Cologne War (1583–1589); Bavarian and mercenary soldiers had surrounded the Godesberg (a formidable thirteenth century fortress that towered over the Rhine valley). The Godesburg commanded the roads leading to and from Bonn, the Elector of Cologne's capital city, and Cologne, the region's economic powerhouse. By the mid-16th century the Godesburg was considered nearly impregnable. The Cologne War was basically a feud between the Protestant Elector, Gebhard, and the Catholic Elector, Ernst of Bavaria; one of many in Electoral history. The Godesburg came under attack from Bavarian forces in NOV1583, but resisted a lengthy cannonade by the attacking army. It took over a month of mining by sappers who tunneled into the basalt core of the mountain (and about 750kg of gunpowder emplaced there) to breach the fortifications. The explosion killed many of the defending troops but the remaining defenders continued to offer heavy resistance. Eventually most of those in the keep, men, women and children, were killed. Bonn fell to the Bavarians the following month.
In 1586 Go-Yōzei becomes Emperor of Japan, the 107th according to the traditional succession.
In 1718 the War of the Quadruple Alliance (Britain, France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands) begins when Great Britain declares war on Spain, over Spanish attempts to recover territorial losses agreed by the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. Most of the war was fought in Italy, though there were minor engagements in the Americas and Northern Europe as well as the Spanish-backed 1719 Jacobite Rising.
In 1790 the Aztec calendar (or sun) stone is discovered at El Zócalo in what's now Mexico City. The sun stone is a Mexica sculpture (now housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City) one of the most famous works of Aztec sculpture with a complex design and intricate glyphic language. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, the monolithic sculpture was buried in the Zócalo (the main square of Mexico City) and was rediscovered during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral.
In 1807 France issues the Milan Decree, which confirms the Continental System, a Napoleonic attempt to economically isolate Britain. The Decree stated that no country in Europe was to trade with the United Kingdom.
In 1812 US forces attack a Lenape village in the Battle of the Mississinewa, an expedition ordered by William Henry Harrison against Miami Indian villages in response to the attacks on Fort Wayne and Fort Harrison in the Indiana Territory.
In 1819 Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela).
In 1835 the (second) Great Fire of New York destroys 5.3 hectares of New York City's Financial District, approximately seventeen city blocks, destroying hundreds of buildings. The fire started on the evening of 15DEC in a five-story warehouse at 25 Merchant Street (now Beaver Street) at the intersection of Hanover Square and Wall Street. As it spread, gale-force winds blowing from the northwest towards the East River further spread the fire. The conflagration was visible from Philadelphia, approximately 130km away. Fighting the blaze was difficult, later sources were lacking and the rivers and other open bodies were frozen (temperatures were around −25°C); firefighters had to drill holes through ice to access water, which later re-froze around the hoses and pipes. Attempts were made to create fire breaks, but were thwarted by the lack of explosives until a detachment of US Marines and sailors arrived (at 3AM) with gunpowder from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Investigation found that a burst gas pipe, ignited by a coal stove, was the initial source.
In 1837 a fire in the Winter Palace of Saint Petersburg, then the official residence of the Russian emperors, kills thirty troops. The Palace burned for three days and the glow was visible for 60km. Most of the contents were saved. The fire broke out after smoke from an unswept chimney had seeped through an unchoked vent in a partition between the wooden and main walls in the Field Marshal's Hall; the wall began to smoulder and a fire broke out in the roof of the Small Throne Room of the Winter Palace. The dry, heavily waxed floors and the oil-painted fretwork caught fire immediately.
In 1865 the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert is premiered in Vienna, conducted by Johann von Herbeck.
In 1892 the first issue of Vogue is published. At the time the periodical was a weekly newspaper, based in New York City, that celebrated the "ceremonial side of life"; one that "attracts the sage as well as debutante, men of affairs, as well as the belle". It was targeted at the new New York upper class. Readership was almost exclusively male. Cover price was ten cents.
In 1896 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Schenley Park Casino is destroyed in a fire. The Casino was a multi-purpose arena, the first in North America able to create an artificial ice surface (70m x 21m) for skating using the new ammonia refrigeration apparatus. It was considered the envy of the sports and entertainment world during the early 1890s, with amenities that were unsurpassed anywhere on the globe. The fire began at around 1:45AM when an ammonia pipe in the icemaking department began leaking and the gas mixed with grease, leading to an explosion which caused the fire. Cold temperatures reduced the water pressure for the fire department's hoses, and limited access across the wooden Schenley Bridge, which was also damaged during the incident, gave the fire too much of a head start for firefighters to have a realistic chance of battling it. The amount of heat from the blaze was strong enough to melt the glass windows of nearby Phipps Conservatory. Dense smoke and heavy poisonous ammonia fumes forced firefighters in their horse-drawn equipment to retreat from trying to save the main hall of the building, resulting in the fire being declared unmanageable.
In 1903 the Wright brothers (arguably) make the first controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina.
- This remains disputed, there are other claimants to the milestone.
In 1918 over a thousand demonstrators march on Government House in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia demanding changes in the political system, and a reduction in beer prices.
The Darwin rebellion was the culmination of years of unrest, centred in the Australian Workers' Union which had existed between 1911 and early 1919. Led by Harold Nelson the demonstrators marched on Government House at Liberty Square in where they burnt an effigy of the Administrator of the Northern Territory, John Gilruth (there was no local representative system) and demanded his resignation.
In 1926 a military coup d'état in Lithuania is successful and Antanas Smetona assumes power. The military coup resulted in the replacement of the democratically elected government with a conservative authoritarian government led by Antanas Smetona.
In 1935 the Douglas DC-3 'Dakota' has its first flight
- There are still plenty flying in 2020, out of tens of thousands built. The plane is a useful one for a group of adventurers or time travellers, moderately capable but inconspicuous.
In 1938 after repeating earlier experiments Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy. He had been reluctant to accept the results of the experiments and had consulted with Niels Bohr, Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch in Copenhagen on 10NOV. Meitner and Frisch suggested that the results indicated that uranium atoms were breaking apart and leaving residue ot lighter elements, an utterly unheard of idea. After repeating the experiments Hahn wrote again to Meitner (who was Jewish and had departed Austria after the Anschluss) who replied: On 06JAN1939 Hahn;s results were published in Naturwissenschaften.
- This was a significant step on the road to nuclear energy. Curie, Thompson, Wilson, Geiger, Rutherford, Marsden, Blackett, Chadwick, Cockcroft, Walton, Szilárd, Hahn, Strassman, Meitner, Frisch, Teller....
In 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge, American artillery troops are shot by Waffen-SS Kampfgruppe Joachim Peiper in the Malmedy massacre.
In 1947 the Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber has its first flight. Though the aircraft is never used for its intended role, it was a mainstay of the USAF and served in many roles. The Boeing Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed at high altitude; it was intended purely to drop free-fall nuclear weapons, never having been as extensively modified as the larger and later B-52. Historically (the Whoniverse may differ) the only B-47s to see anything that resembled combat were the aerial reconnaissance variants. RB-47s made hundreds of overflights of Soviet territory, occasionally being shot or (or downed) by Soviet interceptors, and often firing back.
- For a scenario into the 1960s involving overt alien landings or odd events the Stratojet could well appears, either as a reconnaissance platform, delivering nuclear weapons or even deploying a small investigative team by parachute.
In 1950 the F-86 Sabre flies it's first mission over Korea.
- Other than MiG-15s, what else might they encounter?
In 1957 the United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile fromCape Canaveral in Florida.
- The Atlas was never a particularly successful weapon, it was slow to fuel and vulnerable on its ground level pad. It did achieve lasting success as a space launch vehicle.
In 1960 a Convair C-131D Samaritan transport aircraft operated by the United States Air Force crashes crashes shortly after take-off from Munich-Riem Airport, en-route to RAF Northolt, probably due to fuel contamination. Twenty passengers (many of them civilian dependents of USAF personnel in Germany) and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground are killed.
In 1961 fire breaks out during a performance by the Gran Circus Norte-Americano in the city of Niterói in Brazil. The circus, billed as the most complete circus in Latin America, had opened two days earlier, with sixty performers and and 150 animals. The circus's owner, Danilo Stevanovich, had purchased a new tent which was advertised as being made of nylon but was in fact waxed cotton; in less than five minutes the circus was completely devoured by the flames. There were over five hundred fatalities, 372 people died immediately; about 70% of the victims were children.
In 1967 Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia, decides to relax by taking a swim at Cheviot Beach, near Portsea in Victoria. He disappears and is never seen again; no body or other trace has even been found.
In 1969 the United States Air Force closes Project Blue Book, its systematic study of unidentified flying objects that was begun in 1952.
- In the Whoniverse this may have been folded into UNIT.
In 1970 during protests in Poland over wages and prices gendarmarie and soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing at least forty. Facing a large scale revolution the government is replaced.
In 1989 an obscure television cartoon, The Simpsons, premieres with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".
In 2003 SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight. SpaceShipOne was (and is) an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability.It would complete the first crewed private spaceflight in 2004.
In 2009 the livestock transporter MV Danny F II capsizes and sinks off the coast of Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of 44 people and over 28,000 animals.
In 2010 Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire. This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.
Comments? Ideas?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 20, 2020 0:16:39 GMT
Mohamed Bouazizi,Danilo Stevanovich,Otto Hahn,Harold Nelson,John Gilruth,the Wright brothers,Franz Schubert,Johann von Herbeck, Simón Bolívar, Romanos I Lekapenos,Go-Yōzei,Brian Binnie, Pope Paul III, Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg,Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud,king Totila, Antanas Smetona, Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, and William Longsword are good people to meet. And Saturnalia could be a holiday about worshiping aliens in the whoniverse.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 20, 2020 18:15:55 GMT
18DEC
In 218 BCE the first major encounter of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, the Battle of the Trebia, occurs. Hannibal's Carthaginian forces roundly defeat those of the Roman Republic, under Sempronius Longus, on the flood plain of the west bank of the lower Trebia River, not far from the settlement of Placentia (modern Piacenza). War had broken out between Carthage and Rome earlier in thyear and Hannibal, the leading Carthaginian general, responded by leading a large army out of Iberia (Spain and Portugal), through Gaul (~France), across the Alps and into Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy). The Romans went on the attack against the reduced force which had survived the rigours of the march and Publius Scipio personally led the cavalry and light infantry of the army he commanded against the Carthaginian cavalry at the Battle of Ticinus. He was soundly beaten and personally wounded. The Romans retreated to near Placentia, fortified their camp and awaited reinforcement. The Roman army in Sicily under Sempronius was redeployed to the north and joined with Scipio's force. After a day of heavy skirmishing in which the Romans gained the upper hand, Sempronius was eager for a battle. The battle went badly for the Romans as Hannibal was able to manipulate them; Numidian cavalry lured Sempronius out of his fortified camp and onto ground of Hannibal's choosing. Then fresh Carthaginian cavalry routed the outnumbered Roman cavalry, and Carthaginian light infantry outflanked the Roman infantry. A previously hidden Carthaginian force attacked the Roman infantry in the rear. Most of the Roman units collapsed and most Romans were killed or captured by the Carthaginians, but 10,000 under Sempronius maintained formation and fought their way out to the safety of Placentia. As the Carthaginians now appeared the dominant force in Cisalpine Gaul, Gallic recruits flocked to them and their army grew to 60,000. The following spring it moved south into Roman Italy and gained another victory at the Battle of Lake Trasimene. In 216 BC Hannibal moved to southern Italy and inflicted the disastrous defeat of the Battle of Cannae on the Romans.
In 1271 Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan", officially marking the start of the Yuan dynasty of Mongolia and China. Kublai Khan considered China his main base, realising within a decade of his enthronement as Great Khan that he needed to concentrate on governing there. From the beginning of his reign, he adopted Chinese political and cultural models and worked to minimize the influences of regional lords, who had held immense power before and during the Song Dynasty. Kublai heavily relied on his Chinese advisers until about 1276., when he had many purged for corruption.
- That was around eighteen years before his encounter with the First Doctor in 1289.
In 1499 a rebellion breaks out in Alpujarras in Granada in response to the forced conversions of Muslims in Spain. The rebellion was actually a series of uprisings by the Muslim population of the Kingdom of Granada against their Catholic rulers. They began in 1499 in the city of Granada in response to mass forced conversions of the Muslim population to the Catholic faith, which were perceived as violations of the 1491 Treaty of Granada. The uprising in the city quickly died down, but it was followed by more serious revolts in the nearby mountainous area of the Alpujarras. The Catholic forces, on some occasions led personally by King Ferdinand, succeeded in suppressing the revolts and inflicted severe punishment on the Muslim population. The Catholic rulers used these revolts as a justification to repudiate the Treaty of Granada and abrogate the rights of the Muslims guaranteed by the treaty. All Muslims of Granada were subsequently required to convert to Catholicism or be expelled, and in 1502 these forced conversions applied to all of Castile.
In 1622 Portuguese forces score a significant military victory over the Kingdom of Kongo at the Battle of Mbumbi in present-day Angola. The defeat served as the impetus for the Kingdom of Kongo to expel the Portuguese from their territory. Portuguese Angola had been established in 1575 as a reward to the Portuguese for helping the Kingdom of Kongo defeat the Jagas who invaded their lands in 1568 After their victory the Portuguese took many as slaves, and sacked the whole settlement; their Imbangala allies cannibalised many of the prisoners and those slain.
In 1655 the Whitehall Conference, called by Oliver Cromwell to debate whether Jews should be readmitted to England, ended with the determination that there was no law preventing Jews from re-entering England after the Edict of Expulsion of 1290. The conference was a gathering of prominent English merchants, clergymen, and lawyers convened by Cromwell which eventually decided it was a matter for parliament.
In 1793 French Royalists surrender the frigate La Lutine to Lord Samuel Hood; it is taken into English service as HMS Lutine; at the end of her career (09OCT1799) she sinks during a storm at Vlieland in the West Frisian Islands, becoming a famous treasure wreck, much of who's cargo has never been recovered. Lloyd's of London has preserved her salvaged bell (the Lutine Bell) which is now used for ceremonial purposes at their headquarters in London.
In 1878 the Al-Thani family become the rulers of the state of Qatar.
In 1892 Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker has its premiere, along with Tchaikovsky's last opera Iolanta, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg in Russia. The original production was not a success; however the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season.
In 1898 the French aristocrat and race car driver Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat sets the first officially recognized land speed record of 63.16km/h in a Jeantaud electric car at Achères in north-central France. The record was set as part of a competition organised by the French automobile magazine La France Automobile; de Chasseloup-Laubat completed a single flying 1 kilometre run in 57 seconds.
In 1916 the Battle of Verdun ends when the second French offensive pushes the Germans back two or three kilometres, causing them to cease their attacks.
In 1958 SCORE (Signal Communications by Orbiting RElay), the world's first communications satellite, is launched aboard an Atlas rocket. SCORE achieved the first broadcast of a human voice from space, as well as the first successful use of the Atlas as a launch vehicle. It captured world attention by broadcasting a Christmas message via shortwave radio from US President Dwight Eisenhower through an on-board tape recorder. SCORE, as a geopolitical strategy, placed the United States at an even technological par with the Soviet Union as a highly functional response to the Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 satellites.
In 1966 Saturn's moon Epimetheus (Saturn XI) is discovered by astronomer Richard Walker. Oddly it occupies essentially the same orbit as the moon Janus, something that had been considered impossible. It wasn't until 1978 that the idea was accepted, something that was confirmed in 1980 by Voyager 1.
In 1973 Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union. The mission was the second test flight of the redesigned Soyuz 7K-T capsule and carried the Orion 2 Space Observatory.
In 1977 United Airlines Flight 2860 crashes near Kaysville in Utah, killing all three crew members on board. The aircraft was, according to crew communications with Salt Lake City ATC, experiencing electrical trouble (including inoperative landing gear indicators), and requested holding clearance to give them time to communicate with company maintenance. Clearance was approved, and the flight entered a holding pattern. During the next seven-and-a-half minutes the plane entered an area of hazardous terrain, without communication with ATC. The crew contacted UA maintenance, and discussed the problems. After restablishing communications with the tower in Salt Lake City a miscommunication or other error caused the crew to fly into a mountain, missing the top by about 125 metres. All three occupants of the flight were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed; the voice recorder was found to be inoperative, making it impossible to establish what exactly had happened.
In 1981 the Tupolev Tu-160 (NATO reporting name 'Blackjack'), a Soviet/Russian supersonic strategic bomber, flies for the first time. It remains the largest combat aircraft, the largest supersonic aircraft and largest variable-sweep wing aircraft built. The aircraft is fast (>Mach 2) and can carry some forty tonnes of missiles and guided and free-fall ordnance internally.
In 1999 NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments, including ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT, into a Sun-synchronous orbit around the Earth.
In 2006 after a period of heavy rain the first of a series of floods strikes Malaysia. The death toll of all flooding is at least 120, with over 400,000 people displaced. The rain and flooding lasted about four weeks and is generally linked to Typhoon Utor (which had hit the Philippines and Vietnam a few days earlier).
In 2015 Kellingley Colliery, the last deep coal mine in Britain, closes.
- What could have been built in its expansive and deep galleries instead?
In 2017 Amtrak Cascades passenger train 501 derails near DuPont in Washington as the result of driver error and excessive speed. Six people are killed and more than seventy injured.
In 2018 a meteor explodes over the Bering Sea after plummeting through the atmosphere at over 32km/s; the energy release is equivalent to 173 kilotonnes TNT, over 10 times greater than the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. The rock, which measured several metres in size, exploded 25.6km above the Earth's surface>
- Unless it was something else entirely.
Comments? Ideas?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 20, 2020 23:36:08 GMT
Valentin Lebedev,Pyotr Klimuk,Samuel Hood,Richard Walker,Kublai Khan,Sempronius Longus,Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat, Publius Scipio,the Imbangala tribe, and Hannibal' are good people to meet. Kellingley Colliery could be a secret UNIT base in the whoniverse. Epimetheus could be a alien base in secret that was wiped out by the timelords. And The Nutcracker could be basis of a Christmas special adventure.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 21, 2020 21:27:21 GMT
Due to unexpected circumstances today's post will be delayed.
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 21, 2020 23:45:49 GMT
ok.
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Dec 22, 2020 20:05:22 GMT
Late alas...
19DEC
In 1154 Henry II of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey, mfinally bringing a conclusion to the period of civil war known as The Anarchy. Henry was the daughter of Matilda, the daughter of Henry I of England, who claimed the throne of England but lost it to Stephen of Blois. After Henry sent a military expedition to England in 1153 Stephen was effectively forced to name Henry as his heir; thus, on the death of Stephen (less than a year later) Henry became king. He was an energetic and sometimes ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the lands and privileges of his grandfather Henry I; he Henry was active in restoring the royal administration in England, and re-established control of Wales, as well as his lands in Anjou, Maine and Touraine. However Henry's desire to reform the monarch's relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury and to Becket's murder in 1170. Henry and Louis VII fought a "cold war" over several decades as Henry expanded his empire at Louis's expense, taking Brittany and pushing east into central France and south into Toulouse.
In 1187 Paolo Scolari is elected Pope Clement III. Clement succeeded in ending the decades long conflict between the popes and the citizens of Rome; allowing the papacy to return to Rome. He also persuaded both Henry II of England and Philip II of France to undertake the Third Crusade.
In 1490 the noted heiress Anne, Duchess of Brittany, is married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor by proxy. She is twelve. This was the first of Anne's three marriages, amassing the titles of queen consort of France (1491 to 1498 and 499 to her death in 1514), queen consort of Naples (1501 to 1504) and duchess consort of Milan (1499–1500, 1500 to 1512), through her marriages to Charles VIII of France and Louis XII of France. He marriage to Maximilian was annulled, at the insistence of Charles, in 1492 as he this as a threat since his realm was located between Brittany and Austria.
In 1562 during the First French War of Religion, the only significant battle, the Battle of Dreux, takes place with heavy casualties on both sides.The Catholics were led by Anne, Duc de Montmorency, while Louis I, Prince of Condé, led the Huguenots. Though commanders from both sides were captured, the French Catholics won the battle; however both sides took heavy casualties, especially the Catholic cavalry (an estimated 800 of them had died) which has a serious impact on the French nobility.
In 1606 – The ships Sarah Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery depart England carrying the settlers who founded, at Jamestown in Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States.
In 1675 during King Philip's War colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett tribe fight a desperate and brutal battle, on a bitterly cold and stormy day at the main Narragansett settlement in South Kingstown, Rhode Island (near the villages of Kingston and West Kingston). The colonists massacre perhaps a thousand Narragansett, including hundreds of women and children in what became known as the Great Swamp Massacre; perhaps seventy militia are killed
In 1776, early in the American Revolution, Thomas Paine publishes "The American Crisis", under the pseudonym "Common Sense", the first of what will become a series of thirteen pamphlets published in The Pennsylvania Journal. The first volume famously begins: "These are the times that try men's souls". The pamphlets were contemporaneous with the early parts of revolution and helped to "recharge the revolutionary cause". The first volume famously begins: "These are the times that try men's souls." Paine was attempting to inspire the ordinary colonists to support the American Revolutionary War, by providing proper reasons to do so; he wrote in a language that the common person could understand but put forth his liberal philosophy.
In 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, George Washington's Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. Valley Forge was actually the third of eight winter encampments used by the main body of the Continental Army that winter. About twelve thousand troops spent the six long, cold, winter months there, frequently short on supplies.'s main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. About 1,800 soldiers died from disease and malnutrition.
In 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars, two British frigates under Commodore Horatio Nelson and two Spanish frigates under Commodore Don Jacobo Stuart engage in battle off the coast of Murcia. While the action was nominally a minor one during the Mediterranean campaign , the British squadron was the last remaining British naval force in the Mediterranean, sent to evacuate the British garrison of Elba. The Spanish were the vanguard of a much larger squadron. One Spanish frigate was captured and another damaged before Spanish reinforcements drove the British off and recaptured the lost ship. After breaking off Nelson was able to reach Elba and remove the garrison without further engagements; he reconnoitered French and Spanish naval bases on his way back to Gibraltar. There he rejoined Jervis' fleet just before the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, at which he played a key part in the decisive defeat of the main Spanish fleet.
In 1828 during the Nullification Crisis (mentioned previously) the US Vice President John C. Calhoun pens the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, protesting the Tariff of 1828. The exposition exacerbated the political crisis between the state of South Carolina and the federal government. Calhoun argued that the tariff enacted in 1828 was unconstitutional because it favored manufacturing over commerce and agriculture and that the people of a state or several states, acting in a democratically elected convention, had the power to veto any act of the federal government that they believed violated the US Constitution.
In 1900 The first Governor-General of Australia, John Hope,7th Earl of Hopetoun, appoints Sir William Lyne (premier of the state of New South Wales) as interim Prime Minister of Australia; the turns out to be a massive political blunder when Lyne is unable to persuade other colonial politicians to join his government and is forced to resign.
In 1907 two hundred thirty-nine coal miners die in the Darr Mine Disaster at Jacobs Creek in Pennsylvania. The disaster was probably the result of miners carrying open lamps in an area cordoned off the previous day due to firedamp. T The Darr Mine blast was the fourth major mine disaster in DEC1907; it followed Yolande mine in Alabama explosion on 16DEC,the Monongah Mining disaster in West Virginia on 06DEC and the Naomi Mine explosion on 01DEC.
- That seems an unusual frequency of mining explosions for a less than threeweek period.
In 1912 William Van Schaick, captain of the steamship General Slocum during the horrific fire that killed over one thousand people, is pardoned by US President William Howard Taft after 3 1⁄2 years in Sing Sing prison.
In 1920 King Constantine I is restored as King of the Hellenes after the death of his son Alexander of Greece and a plebiscite.
In 1924 The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is sold in London.
In 1924 the German serial killer Fritz Haarmann is sentenced to death for a series of 24 murders, many of which included acts of cannibalism, dismemberment and vampirism. Haarmann was known as the Butcher of Hanover, the Vampire of Hanover and the Wolf Man.
- Perhaps something inspired, possessed or contaminated him?
The murders occurred despite police knowledge that Haarmann was both a known criminal and a known homosexual (then illegal in Germany); Haarmann had managed to establish a friendly relationship with Hanover police as an informer, largely as a means of redirecting the attention of the police from himself in his own criminal activities but also to facilitate his access to young men. As early as 1919 Haarmann was regularly "patrolling" Hanover station (his main hunting ground) and provide information to the police, who soon began to rely on Haarmann as a reliable source of information regarding various criminal activities in the city, and he was allowed to patrol Hanover station largely at will. Between 1918 and 1924 Haarmann committed at least 24 murders and probably more. All of Haarmann's victims were males between the ages of 10 and 22, mostly in their mid-to-late-teens.
In 1932 the BBC Empire Service (later the World Service) begins broadcasting, on shortwave, aimed principally at English-speakers across the British Empire. In his first Christmas Message (1932) King George V characterised the service as intended for "men and women, so cut off by the snow, the desert, or the sea, that only voices out of the air can reach them"
In 1941 a small team of Italian divers place limpet mines on ships anchored in Alexandria harbour. Two British battleships, HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth, are heavily damaged and a tanker, the Sagona sunk; a destroyer is heavily damaged.
In 1945 John Amery, the British Fascist and founder of British Free Corps (a small unit of the Waffen-SS) is executed for treason. Amery had been a moderately prominant figure in the splintered British fascist movements of the 1930sand spent the war in Germany making propaganda broadcasts and attempting to recruit British prisoners for the Free Corps.
In 1946 the First Indochina War (the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) begins, though fighting had begun, between French forces and their Việt Minh opponents, fifteen months earlier. The conflict pitted a range of forces, including the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps, Bảo Đại's Vietnamese National Army and the French Foreign Legion, against the Việt Minh, and the People's Army of Vietnam (led by Võ Nguyên Giáp).
In 1956 the British physician John Bodkin Adams is arrested in connection with the suspicious deaths of more than 160 patients. Potentially Britain's largest scale individual murderer a combination of unwillingness to contradict a fellow physician, vehement and intense BMA support and political interference lead to Adams only being convicted of minor offenses. Between 1946 and 1956 163 of Adams' patients died while in comas; while 132 out of 310 patients who had left Adams money or items in their wills had died. He was tried and acquitted for the murder of one patient in 1957. Another count of murder was withdrawn by the prosecution in what was later described as "an abuse of process" by the presiding judge Sir Patrick Devlin, causing questions to be asked in Parliament about the prosecution's handling of events. Adams was convicted, in a subsequent trial of 13 offences of prescription fraud, lying on cremation forms, obstructing a police search and failing to keep a dangerous drugs register.
In 1961 Operation Vijay sees India annex Daman and Diu, part of Portuguese India. The operation was a decisive victory for India and endied 451 years of rule by Portugal over its remaining exclaves in India.
In 1972 Apollo 17, crewed by Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth. During the return to Earth, Evans performed a 65-minute EVA to retrieve film cassettes from the service module's scientific instrument module (SIM) bay, with assistance from Schmitt who remained at the command module's hatch. At approximately 296,000 km from Earth, this was the third "deep space" EVA in history, performed at great distance from any planetary body. The Apollo 17 Command Module reentered Earth's atmosphere and landed safely in the Pacific Ocean at 2:25PM.
In 1981 sixteen lives are lost when the Penlee lifeboat, Solomon Browne, goes to the aid of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas.
In 1983 the original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was the second time it was stolen, but there was no dog to find it this time; the trophy has never been recovered, and it is widely believed to have been melted down and sold.
In 1986 Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from exile in Gorky.
In 1997 SilkAir Flight 185, a Boeing 737-300, crashes into the Musi River, near Palembang in Indonesia, killing 104. The crash remains controversial; the US National Transportation Safety Board claim that the captain's actions deliberately caused the crash, while the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee blamed the previously suspected Parker-Hannifin hydraulic power control unit.
In 2001 A record high barometric pressure of 108.56 kPa is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl, Mongolia at around 2AM.
Also in 2001 the Argentine economic crisis leads to the eruption of riots in Buenos Aires. While most of the violence occurred on 19-20DEC there was widespread unrest for the whole month All told, at least 36 people were killed by police forces during the December riots, including 7 children. The largest incidence of violence was in the Plaza de Mayo of Buenos Aires, in what would become known in Argentina as the "Plaza de Mayo Massacre" where 5 people were killed and 227 were injured.
In 2013 the European Space Agency launches the Gaia spacecraft. Gaia is a space observatory designed for astrometry, measuring the positions, distances and motions of stars with unprecedented precision to construct the largest and most precise 3D space catalog ever made, totalling approximately 1 billion astronomical objects, mainly stars, but also planets, comets, asteroids and quasars among others. The craft was launched to the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
In 2016 the Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, is assassinated while at an art exhibition in Ankara. The assassin was Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, an off-duty Turkish police officer, who was shot and killed by a Turkish guard. The assassination took place after several days of protests in Turkey over Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War and the battle over Aleppo.
Comments? Ideas?
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Post by missyfan45 on Dec 22, 2020 23:45:01 GMT
Andrei Karlov, Andrei Sakharov,John Amery(probably in a ah it would have ruled britan), John Bodkin Adams,Sir Patrick Devlin,Horatio Nelson, Fritz Haarmann,(maybe a gelth or another type of alien?),John Hope,7th Earl of Hopetoun,Paolo Scolari,John C. Calhoun,Sir William Lyne,Anne, Duc de Montmorency,Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans,Harrison Schmitt, Võ Nguyên Giáp,Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş,William Van Schaick, Thomas Paine,Louis I, Prince of Condé, and King Constantine I are good people to meet.And the Gaia spacecraft could be a prototype of vehicles like the 42 vehicle.
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