Today in History: December 5, 2008 Using DNA extracted from blood stains on the emperor’s clothing and bone fragments, on this day in history, 2008, it was confirmed that human remains found in the Urals in 1991 were those of Czar Nicholas II. The findings of this research also proved bone fragments found near Yekaterinburg in 2007 could be conclusively […]

Today in History: December 4, 1942 After the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, the Jews were forced into ghettos, taken away to forced labor or concentration camps, or killed. Homes and businesses belonging to Jews were confiscated, and synagogues were ransacked for valuables and burned to the ground. Many non-Jewish Poles felt sympathy for their Jewish neighbors, and they themselves […]

Today in History: December 3, 1979 The British rock band The Who hadn’t played Cincinnati since 1975, so the excitement level was high among the fans standing outside the Riverfront Coliseum on December 3,1979. For the majority of the fans attending the concert – 14,000 out of the over 18,000 in attendance – tickets were either for festival seating (standing […]

Today in History: December 2, 1777 On this day in history, 1777, Lydia Darragh thwarted a surprise British attack on General Washington and the Continental Army, helping turn the tide of the war. By September 1777, the outlook wasn’t so rosy for the Continental Army. The British emerged victorious in every recent battle and then marched triumphantly into Philadelphia. General […]

Today in History: December 1, 1982 When Michael Jackson began work on what would become the best selling album of all time (by far), “Thriller,” released on this day in history, he did so with a huge chip on his shoulder. He felt strongly that his previous effort, “Off the Wall,” which ended up selling a “measly” 20 million copies […]

Today in History: November 29, 1942 Rationing was a fact of life during World War II throughout many countries in the world, and most attempted to bear it with good humor; but coffee rationing, which started on this day in history in the United States, wasn’t accepted so resolutely. Before the start of the war, Americans were drinking more coffee […]

Today in History: November 28, 1919 American born Nancy, Viscountess Astor, on this day in history, 1919, became the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons. Her husband, Waldolf Astor, was sitting MP for Plymouth Sutton, and when he succeeded to the peerage and took his place in the House of Lords, the Conservative Party elected Lady […]

Today in History: November 27, 2005 When most parents throw a Bat Mitzvah for their daughters, it’s a matter of renting out a room at the local Holiday Inn and hiring a local cover band to provide the music. Not so for 13-year-old Elizabeth Brooks. Her doting daddy David Brooks, CEO of DHB Industries, the leading supplier of body armor […]

Today in History: November 26, 1898 On Saturday, November 26, 1898, the passenger steamship Portland set sail from Boston Harbor, carrying approximately 192 passengers and crew members bound for Portland, Maine. As the Portland was heading away from the coast, a storm system from the Great Lakes and another from the south collided to form an explosive monster-storm that became […]

Today in History: November 25, 1963 Three days after his assassination, president John F. Kennedy was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. President Lyndon Johnson’s first proclamation as the new president was to declare November 25th as a national day of mourning for the slain president. Most assumed that JFK would be buried […]

Today in History: November 22, 1718 Edward “Blackbeard” Teach was a notorious pirate of English birth who began his illustrious career around 1713. He became a crew member on a Caribbean sloop under the command of a pirate named Benjamin Hornigold. In 1717, Hornigold was offered general amnesty by Queen Anne and ended his days as a pirate. Teach, who […]

Today in History: November 21, 1980 Millions of faithful Dallas viewers had been waiting since the last episode of the previous season on March 21st to find out who had shot J.R. Ewing, the character everyone loved to hate. On this day in 1980, the truth was revealed. The season finale when J.R was shot is still one of the […]

Today in History: November 20, 1947 England had its first post-World War II Royal celebration when Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, married  her second cousin once removed, Philip the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London on this day in 1947. Winston Churchill described the Royal Wedding as “a splash of color on the […]

Today in History: November 19, 1965 Today is a very special day for those of us who like our first meal of the day to offer us the convenience of eating with one hand while the other is frantically writing a term paper that was assigned a month ago – the birthday of the Kellogg’s Pop-Tart! The evolution of the […]

Today in History: November 18, 1978 On this day history, 1978, over 900 Americans died in a South American cult commune on the order of Reverend Jim Jones. Many of his followers willingly drank a poisoned concoction that led to their deaths, others were forced to do so at gunpoint. The children of the cult were the first to die; […]

Today in History: November 15, 1985 A dark-haired, blue-eyed two-week-old baby girl known to the world as “Baby Fae” (later revealed as Stephanie Fae Beauclair) underwent a first-of-its-kind heart transplant and died on this day in 1985. What made this transplant unique at this time? The tiny infant received a baboon heart in an attempt to correct hypoplastic heart syndrome, […]

Today in History: November 14, 1970 Marshall University had chartered a plane to bring its football team, the Thundering Herd, home after a game with East Carolina University on November 14, 1970. The plane hit a row of trees and careened into a hillside less than two miles from their destination – the Tri-State Airport in Kenova, West Virginia. All […]