25 – Guangwu claims the throne as emperor, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty.
1305 – William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.
1620 – The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.
1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging. Flagellation, flogging, whipping, or lashing is the act of beating a human body with whips, lashes, rods, etc. A flagellation is a form of corporal punishment, as well as a practice onto one’s self in certain religions.
Fast forward to the present. Presidential candidate Mr. Trump, in November 2015 touted the benefits of waterboarding in a campaign rally, telling a crowd that “you bet your ass” he would bring it back into use. Addressing thousands in Columbus, Ohio, he praised waterboarding, an interrogation method that has been called torture. “I would approve more than that,” he said. Trump told supporters: “Would I approve waterboarding? You bet your ass I would. In a heartbeat. I would approve more than that. It works.” He then added “… and if it doesn’t work, they deserve it anyway for what they do to us”.
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Harry Houdini |
1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe’s Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.
1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.
Births
1540 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French philologist and historian (d. 1609)
1815 – Edward John Eyre, English explorer and politician, Governor of Jamaica (d. 1901)
1959 – Pat Smear, American guitarist and songwriter (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Germs, and Adolescents)
1960 – David Baldacci, American lawyer and author
Deaths
1610 – Alonso García de Ramón, Spanish soldier and politician, Royal Governor of Chile (b. 1552)
1633 – George Abbot, English archbishop and academic (b. 1562)
1729 – Thomas Newcomen, an English engineer, invented the Newcomen atmospheric engine (b. 1664)
1946 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1863)
2006 – Susan Butcher, American dog sled racer (b. 1954) |
