Men in History

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Men in History

By James Hughes

1902        A fistfight broke out in the US Senate. Senator Benjamin Tillman, a white supremacist, suffered a bloody nose for accusing his fellow South Carolina Senator John McLaurin of bias on the Philippine tariff issue.1907        It was reported that workers at the refugee camp in San Francisco’s Ingleside district had agreed the comply with a directive by commander C.M. Wallenberg to work one day per week for the betterment of the camp or miss their allotment of free tobacco.1910       In San Francisco the Sierra Club, under the leadership of Prof. A.G. McAdie, named 2 peaks of the Sutro Forest. The loftiest peak in the city was named Mount Davidson in honor of noted English-born geographer George Davidson (1825-1911), and the other Sutro Crest, in honor of former mayor and philanthropist Adolph Sutro.1922         Pres. Harding signed the Capper-Volstead Act. It exempted farmers from federal antitrust laws permitting them to share prices and orchestrate supply.1924        Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House as he addressed the country over 42 stations.1926        Pope Pius rejected Mussolini‘s offer of aid to the Vatican.1928        Australian Bert Hinkler ended his 11,250-mile adventure in Darwin, Australia, after flying 128 hours in less than 16 days. The unassuming Hinkler’s grueling flight was little noted by the press until he reached India, then the world press got caught up in the drama of another “Lone Eagle” performance so soon after Charles A. Lindbergh‘s transatlantic flight. As he plotted a course across Asia and the Timor Sea using a London Times atlas as his navigational chart, a newspaper editor dubbed him “Hustling Hinkler,” a nickname later immortalized by the American Tin Pan Alley hit song, “Hustling Hinkler Up in the Sky.”1943       In Germany Christoph Probst (22), Hans (24) and Sophie Scholl (21), student members of the Die Weisse Rose (White Rose) resistance, were executed by the Nazis.1946        George Kennan (1904-2005) sent his “Long Telegram,” actually 5 separate cables, from Moscow to the US State Dept. in Washington explaining that the Soviet regime was among other things fundamentally insecure, opposed to the US, and held designs on the world for violent destabilisation. This led to America’s redesign of its foreign policy to contain Soviet hostility firmly over the long term.1956        Elvis Presley’s 1st hit in Billboard’s top 10: “Heartbreak Hotel.”1972        President Nixon met with Mao Tse–tung in Peking and Chinese Premier Chou En-Lai in Beijing. In 2006 Margaret McMillan authored “Seize the Hour: When Nixon Met Mao.”1973        Winthrop Rockefeller (b.1912), two-year term Arkansas Governor (1967-1971), died of cancer. He was the 4th son of John D. Rockefeller.1974       Samuel Joseph Byck (1930–1974), an unemployed former tire salesman, attempted to hijack a plane flying out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport. He intended to crash into the White House in hopes of killing US President Richard M. Nixon. Byck killed pilot Fred Jones and a aviation officer George Neal Ramsburg before he was shot and wounded by gunfire through the door of a Delta DC-9 airplane. Byck then shot himself in the head.1986        Jordan King Hussein delivered a televised address in which he denounced PLO leader Yasser Arafat and accused him of reneging of previous promises made to accept resolutions 242 and 338.1997         Albert Shanker, the leader of the American Federationof Teachers who championed public school reforms, died in New York at age 68.1998        In Chicago Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, spoke before a crowd of 10,000 at McCormick Place. The speech capped a weekend celebration of the birth of founder W.D. Fard Muhammad. Farrakhan had recently completed a 37-nation world tour.2000         In Missouri Jake Robel (6) of Blue Springs was caught in a seat belt and dragged to death when Kim L. Davis (34) stole his mothers car.2002        Police in San Diego arrested David Westerfield in connection with the disappearance of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. Westerfield was later sentenced to death for Danielle’s murder.2002         Chuck Jones, cartoon animator, died at age 89. His work included Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Road Runner. His books included “Chuck Amuck” (1989).2004        Giorgio Armani signed a $1 billion hotel venture with Dubai’s Emaar Properties.2006        Wu Hao, Chinese filmmaker, was detained for allegedly working on a documentary film on Christian churches not recognized by the Chinese government. Wu had returned to China in 2004 after 12 years in the US. He was released on July 11.2008        John Heath (81) was sentenced In Los Angeles to 28 years in prison in an investment scam that prosecutors say seeped across half the country and bilked 1,800 people, many of them elderly, of about $190 million.2009        In Greece Vassilis Palaiokostas (44) and his Albanian accomplice Alket Rizaj staged a 2nd getaway by helicopter. Palaiokostas was serving a sentence for robbery and kidnapping when he first escaped with Rizaj in 2006 in a helicopter. On Nov 16 Alket Rizaj was arrested with a female companion at an isolated house near the town of Marathon.2011        Egypt’s foreign ministry told its embassies in the Arab world and Western countries to seek a freeze on the assets of former President Hosni Mubarak and his family. Massive labor protests and strikes turned violent, with the deputy head of one public sector company being beaten to death by irate workers.2011        Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi used tanks, helicopters and warplanes to fight a growing revolt, as the veteran leader scoffed at reports he was fleeing after four decades in power. Human Rights Watch said at least 233 people have been killed and opposition groups put the figure much higher. Libya’s ambassador to the United States openly called for Moamer Kadhafi to end his “dictatorship regime” and step down, following other envoys deploring a deadly crackdown in the North African nation.2012        Abkhazia Pres. Alexander Ankvab survived an assassination attempt. At least one bodyguard was killed and 2 wounded.2013        Czech PM Petr Necas signed deals with representatives of 16 religious groups to pay them $3.1 billion in compensation for property that the country’s former Communist regime seized from them. The left-wing opposition has asked the country’s highest legal authority, the Constitutional Court, to stop it.2014        Italy swore in a new coalition government under Matteo Renzi (39). His Democratic Party was propped up by supporters of former premier Mario Monti and former loyalists of Silvio Berlusconi

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