9 Responses

1. Errin says:

   1 August 2012 at 10:16 am

   On this day in 1971, George Harrison and Ravi Shankar performed at the Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Guest performances were given by Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell and Billy Preston.

   The Concert for Bangladesh was organized to raise awareness during the Bangladesh Liberation War to fund relief efforts for refugees. The Concert was performed in front of 40,000 spectators and raised nearly $250,000 in relief aid. To this day, it remains one of the most successful humanitarian aid projects.

   Reply
2. The Rev. David Grant Smith says:

   1 August 2012 at 10:30 pm

   Since the focus for “Today In History” seems to be a tribute to something that is oh-so-very-British, it might be fun to note that in the calendar of the Episcopal Church (and other branches of the Anglican Communion), today is the Feast of Joseph of Arimathaea. In the Gospels, it is noted that Joseph of Arimathaea buried the body of Jesus after the crucifixion, but nothing else is recorded of him in Scripture. However, legends, that seem to date back at least as far as the 13th century, tell how Joseph of Arimathaea came to Britain, and was involved in the ancient church in Glastonbury, supposedly bringing with him the Holy Grail (the cup used at the Last Supper). A very British poem which reflects on that legend is by William Blake, “And did those feet in ancient times” . The poem was eventually set to music by Sir Hubert Parry, a tune he called “Jerusalem”, and has become a favorite British hymn for many public gatherings.

   Here’s a link to the Blake poem:
   http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/and-did-those-feet-in-ancient-time/

   Here’s a link to “Jerusalem”:
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKaJ4b0XYmI&feature=related

   Reply
3. Taylor Joseph says:

   8 September 2012 at 10:59 am

   i will never forget 9-11-2001. I was eight years old and I was at school when I first heard about the twin towers being bombed. I didn’t get much information about the event until I came home. When I saw on television how the towers fell and that so many people were killed, I had an emptiness in my stomach that I thought would never go away. Seeing the footage of the fire fighters trying to save people touched me deeply. When I found out it was an attack on the United States, I was confused and thought, Why would anyone want to do this to us. We are a free nation in which everyone loves. Little did I know that there are many people around the world that are jealous of us and despise our way of life. There are also are many organizations like Alqaeda that want to try and control us.

   After I grew into an adult, I realized that the American way of life gives the most people in society a way to make a good living if they are willing to work hard. I don’t know of another country where a poor child can rise to become a millionaire through hard work and sweat. The United States’ way of life is the most fair for everyone where anyone can get a good education. 9-11 is a reminder to me that freedom and liberty don’t come cheap and that everyday I should be thankful for the freedom that I have.

   One of the articles on 9-11: http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks

   Another article on 9-11: http://space.about.com/cs/iss/a/911attacks.htm

   Reply
4. paulmp says:

   11 September 2012 at 1:02 pm

   On August 1st 1664 the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Australian army which led to the result in the Peace of Vasvar. Which was a treaty between the Australian Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, which ended the Austro-Turkish war for about 20 year until the next biggest war in 1683.

   The Acts of Union 1800 was passed which merged the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which the majority of the people of the United Kingdom were on fond of this being passed.

   By Paul Perry

   Reply
5. Tom Z says:

   11 September 2012 at 1:20 pm

   On this day in 1790, The first US Census was released and the population was only 3,929,326. This included Citizens, non Citizen legal residents, non citizen long term visitors, and illegal immigrants. It was defined as “somebody who lives, and sleeps most of the time.
   Today the US Census is at a whopping 308,745,538. It is truly amazing how much a country can grow in 200 so years.

   Tom Zoltowski

   Reply
6. Roberth Ramirez says:

   16 September 2012 at 5:41 pm

   During this day in 1776 Samuel Adams, one the Founding Fathers of the United States, gave a speech about supporting independence from Great Britain. The speech was delivered at the State House of Philadelphia. In his speech he talked about why we should not longer rely on the British Parliament. He reminded the audience that too many times they have supported Great Britain’s wars, land and arguments that did not benefit them. Not to mention the fact that Great Britain wanted to tax the colonies without any consent. Prior to his speech, Samuel Adams signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. To this United States of America has been a free country.
   Roberth Ramirez

   Reply
7. bianca canul says:

   17 September 2012 at 2:49 am

   The Black Hawk war was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans, who were led by Chief Black Hawk. Fighting over land, William Henry Harrison negotiated a treaty with two Sauk (Indian tribe) representatives allowing all land east of the Mississippi River to settlement for $2,500.

   The rest of the Sauk tribe had thought that the two representatives did not have the right to speak for the entire tribe, therefore, making the treaty invalid. The Sauk tribes continued to stay on their land, until thousands of white settlers came swarming in without treaties or even caring that the land belonged to the Sauks. On July 2 , with a Government order, the Sauks had to move across the Mississippi in exchange for corn to get through the winter.

   The government did not keep up on this promise, unfortunately having 1,200 tribe members come back across the Mississippi in hopes to get their land back, only to get caught in a blood war with America and the Sioux tribe (long time enemies of the Sauk). Only 150 Sauk members made it out alive. On this day in 1832, the Black hawk war ended.

   bianca canul

   Reply
8. Sean Thomas says:

   19 September 2012 at 8:57 am

   Britain is not the only country that has a national anthem. Along with the United States national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”, there are over 190 countries in the world that have one. The bases of every one of them are: ether the pride of your country that you live in or a great leader that they once had. The word anthem actually means, “A hymn or praise of loyalty: A choral composition having a sacred or moralizing text in English or a rock ballad.” One of the oldest national anthems is from Japan. There national anthem, the Kimi ga Yo, comes from a Heian period (794–1185) poem. They have been writing anthems for a long time and they will continue.

   websites i looked at:
   http://www.ask.com/wiki/National_anthem, http://www.chacha.com/question/what-does-%22anthem%22-mean, http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_anthems, http://pbsthisdayinhistory.tumblr.com/post/28485082231/august-1-1779-francis-scott-key-born-on-this,

   Reply
9. Chris Jones says:

   20 September 2012 at 11:12 am

   On this day 1 August, 1779
   On this day Francis Scott Key was born. He became a lawyer and a poet for something to do besides being a lawyer. In 1814 Francis was captured and he had to watch the british attack Baltimore’s Fort McHenry. While the bombard was going on, Key noticed that the Americans hung a flag on top of a building. It inspired him to write a poem, it was called the “Defense of Fort McHenry”, but now we know it as the National anthem, or “Star Spangled Banner”. This peace of music is now millions of dollars and it all happened over a war.

   Reply