November 10: This Day in History

berlinNovember 10, 2014 – Segment 1

Marc shares some of the events that happened on this day in history, including Kristallnacht, when anti-Jewish pogroms took place across Germany, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the passing of UN Resolution 3379, which equated Zionism and racism.

 

Today is,

Noor Hossain Day, Bangladesh. celebrating he martyrdom of activist Noor Hoosain who was killed by Bangladesh police on November 10th 1987. Hoosain was participating in a pro-democracy protest in Dhaka.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noor_Hossain

 Cry of Independence Day, Panama.  the people of Los Santos , Panama, cried out for independence from Spanish rule. This first cry of independence was the catalyst for movement to independence; which was officially declared 18 days later on the 28th of November.

Day of Remembrance of Ataturk

Heroes’ Day or Hari Palawan, Indonesia, marking the day in 1945 which say a battle between pro-independence Indonesian soldiers and militia, and British and Dutch troops.

United States Marine Corps birthday ball, United States.

World science day, established by UNESCO in 2001 and developed to renew the international commitment to science for peace and development and to stress the responsible use of science for the benefit of society.  (un.org)

On this day,

1580 – Second Desmond Rebellion:  After a three-day siege, the English Army beheads over 400 Papal soldiers and civilians, in Dún an ÓirIreland.  The massacre occurred after 400-500 papal soldiers were forced to retreat to the small town of  Dún an Óir, after a failed attempted to capture the town of Smerwick from the British.  The soldiers were captured by British forces and massacred under the orders of commander, Lord Arthur Grey.

1775 – The United States Marine Corps is founded at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia by Samuel Nicholas.  “On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress approved the resolution to establish two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore.  This date marks the official formation of the Continental Marines” -1st Commandant: Major Samuel Nicholas.  (marines.com)

1821 – Cry of Independence by Rufina Alfaro at La Villa de Los Santos, Panama setting into motion a revolt which lead to Panama’s independence from Spain and to it immediately becoming part of Colombia.

1865 – Major Henry Wirz, the superintendent of a prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia during the Civil War.  is hanged.  Wirz  oversaw Andersonville prison (officially known as Camp Sumter), which was noted for the incredibly inhumane conditions in which the inmates were imprisoned. Under his stewardship, 13,000 of the nearly 45,000 Union soldier imprisoned in Andersonville died from disease, malnutrition, exposure to the elements or poor sanitation. Wirz was charged with conspiracy to inure the health and lives of Union soldiers and murder. It is reported that on the scaffold moment before he was hung, Wir said to the officer in charge, “I know what orders are, Major.  I am being hanged for obeying them.(history.com) (civilwar.org)

1891 – Granville T. Woods was awarded patent number 463,020 for his invention of the Electric Railway System, one of the most notable inventors. Granville was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1856 and is often referred to as “The Black Edison” http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2014/02/03/the-black-edison-granville-t-woods/id=47764/

1898 – Beginning of the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, of North Carolina saw over 100 African Americans murdered by a white mob opposed to blacks holding political office.  The state had been controlled by white democrats until the election of 1896 which saw the Democrats defeated by white populists and black republicans.  In 1898 white democrats vowed revenge, as Daniel Schenck, a Dem. party leader vowed “It will be the meanest, vilest, dirtiest campaign since 1876.  The slogan of  the Democratic Party from the mountains to the sea will e but one word….Nigger.”  Though Democrats swept the 1898 election, a vengeful mob took to the streets of Wilmington.  African Americans were beaten and  gunned down in the street.  Black owned businesses were looted and burned.  The killing ended the following day, and the official number of dead was 25; but it is believed that hundreds more had been killed and their bodies dumped into the Cape Fear River. (pbs.orghttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_riot.html

1928 – Hirohito was enthroned as Emperor of Japan

1945 –  Fredrick Clinton Branch became the first African American officer in the United States Marine Corps when he was commissioned a second lieutenant.  Branch applied for officer candidate school but was initially denied. His subsequent performance earned him a recommendation and he was accepted into the school and was commissioned a second lieutenant. Following World War II, Branch left active duty for the reserves. He was reactivated during the Korean War before leaving the marines in 1955 as a captain.  (thewright.org) http://thewright.org/explore/blog/entry/today-in-black-history-11102013

1938 – Kristallnacht: Night of Broken Glass Pogrom, November 9-10 1938.  The Kristallnacht pogroms took place throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and in areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia.  The night of fire, death and riot saw Nazi storm troopers destroy 7,000 Jewish businesses, 900 synagogues, 91 Jews were killedand  roughly 30,000 Jewish men were deported to concentration camps.  The violence was predicated by the death of Nazi German diplomat Ernst vom Rath, who had ben shot three days earlier by Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Polish Jew.  Vom Rath died on the 9th 1938, the anniversary of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch.  The destruction of Jewish property and business was carried out by SA and Hitler youth; many of the members of the units wore civilian clothes.  http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005201

1945 – Heavy fighting between Indonesian nationalists and returning colonist after World War II, today celebrated as Heroes Day

1951 –  Direct-dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.

1960 – Andrew T. Hatcher became the first African American associate press secretary to the President of the United States.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Thatcher

1961 – Anti-war novel “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller was published

1969 – National Educational Television (the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service) in the United States debuts the children’s television program Sesame Street.  James Earl Jones makes the first celebrity appearance on the show.  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sesame-street-debuts

1970 – In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge forces attack the city of Phnom Penh and its airport killing 44, wounding at least 30 and damaging nine aircraft.

1975 – United Nations Resolution 3379 is passed by the UN General Assembly. The approved resolution equates Zionism with racism and concludes,inter alia, –  that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination; Zionism is a threat to world peace on security; and that all nations should be opposed to its racist and imperialist ideals.

1983 – Bill Gates introduces Windows 1.0

1989 – German citizens begin to bring the Berlin Wall down

1995 – Playwright and environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with eight others from the Movement for the Survival f the Ogoni People are hanged by government forces.  http://remembersarowiwa.com/background/the-life-of-ken-saro-wiwa/

1999 – The USCGC Healy, a United States coast Guard research icebreaker, was commissioned.

2006 – The National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia is opened and dedicated by President George W. Bush

Birth

1483 – Martin Luther, German religious leader and reformer (d. 1408) http://www.economist.com/node/21541719

1567 – Robert Devereux Essex, English soldier (d. 1601)

1697 – William Hogarth, English artist (d. 1764)

1730 – Oliver Goldsmith, Irish-born English writer (d. 1774)

1801 – Samuel Gridley Howe, American educator and social reformer (d. 1876) http://www.samuelgridleyhowe.net/manliestman/howe-biography-2/

1834 – José Hernández, Argentinian journalist, poet, and politician (d. 1886)

1848 – Surendranath Banerjee, Indian academic and politician (d. 1925)

1880 – Jacob Epstein, American-English sculptor (d. 1959)

1893 – John Phillips Marquand, American novelist (d. 1960) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_P._Marquand

1906 – Josef Kramer, German SS officer (d. 1945)

1919 – Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian general and weapons designer, designed the AK-47

1919 – Moise Kapenda Tshombe, Congolese politician (d. 1969)

1931 – Lily Pulitzer, American fashion designer (d. 2013)

1942 – James Alexander Hood (d. 2013), one of the first African Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/us/james-hood-dies-at-70-integrated-university-of-alabama.html?_r=0