Today in Military History 1 Jan - 31 Mar

21 Jan

1903 The "Dick Act" creates the modern National Guard -- Learn More
1918 New York Philharmonic refuses to play music by living German composers
1943 Papua: Allied troops mop up Japanese remnants in the Sanananda area.
1954 USS 'Nautilus' (SSN-571) launched, Groton, Conn.
1968 B-52 bomber with nuclear weapons crashes in Greenland

BORN

1813 John C. Frémont, soldier, explorer, politician, d. 1890
1824 Thomas J "Stonewall" Jackson, Lt Gen, C.S.A., d. 1863 -- Learn More
1855 John M Browning, inventor of fine firearms, d. 1926
1918 Richard Winters, who led "The Band of Brothers," E, 506th Parachute Infantry, d. 2011
1919 Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown, later Captain, RN, who flew 487 different types of aircraft, made 2,407 deck landings at sea and 2,721 take offs, d. 2016
1922 Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas. WW II "Voice of America" announcer, actor ("Battle of the Bulge"), d. 1994

DIED

1928 George Washington Goethals, 69, US Army engineer who built the Panama Canal

 

22 Jan

1813 Battle of Frenchtown: Kentuckians defeat British & Canadians
1863 Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside ends his "Mud March"
Mud March (American Civil War) - Wikipedia
1942 Chiang Kai-shek and Joseph Stilwell order Chinese troops into Burma
1942 Task Force 6814, later the Americal Div, composed of Nat'f Gd regiments made available by the "triangularizing" of existing divisions, sails from New York for the South Pacific; the longest troop movement in WW II
1943 Guadalcanal: 25th Inf Div beats off a nocturnal "Banzai" attack
1943 Guadalcanal: CAM Div makes sweeping gains on the western coast.
1943 Papua: last organized Japanese resistance ends.
1944 Heavy US air raids on the Admiralty Islands.
1944 Operating Shingle: Allies land at Anzio
1945 US aircraft attack Corregidor Island
1951 Fidel Castro is ejected from a US Winter League game for beaning a batter
1957 New York's "Mad Bomber", George Metesky, is arrested in Connecticut
1959 USAF concludes less than 1% of UFO's are unknown objects

BORN

1800 Nat Turner, of the "Great Southampton Slave Rebellion", executed 1830
1875 D. W. Griffith, movie pioneer, racist ("Birth of a Nation"), d. 1948
1893 Conrad Veidt, German born anti-Nazi American actor, Major Heinrich Strasser in 'Casablanca', d. 1943
1906 Robert E. Howard, author ("Conan"), suicide 1936

DIED

1798 Lewis Morris, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, at 71
1878 August von Willich, 77, "Red '48er", Brig. Gen., US, -- Learn More
1901 Queen Victoria (1837-1901), at 81 -- Learn More
1968 Duke Kahanamoku of Hawaii, Olympian, at 77
1973 Lyndon B Johnson, Naval officer, President (1963-1969), at 6
1994 Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas, veteran, actor ("The Battle of the Bulge"), one day after his 72nd birthday
2003 Bill Mauldin, 81, soldier, cartoonist ("Willie and Joe")
2005 Carlo Orelli. 110, last Italian combat veteran to have served throughout WW I
2007 Lt. Gen. Ngo Quang Truong, 77, the best ARVN field commander

 

23 Jan

1790 Pitcairn's Is: the Mutineers burn HMS 'Bounty'
1865 Battle of Fort Brady/Trent's Reach, Va: Confederate ironclads begin a two day bombardment of Union lines on the James River, withdrawing on the 25th
1870 The "Marias Massacre": 173 Blackfoot (140 women & children) killed by US Army in Montana
1941 Charles Lindbergh called for Congress to conclude a non-aggression pact with Hitler -- Learn More
1943 Casablanca Conference: FDR & Churchill agree on the "unconditional surrender" of the Axis.
1943 Guadalcanal: the CAM Div overruns Kokumbona, as the USN bombards Japanese positions
1968 North Koreans capture USS 'Pueblo' & 83 crew in the East Sea/Sea of Japan

BORN
1719 The Principality of Liechtenstein, within the Holy Roman Empire
1730 Joseph Hewes, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, d. 1779
1737 John Hancock, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, d. 1793
1828 Calvin Edward Pratt, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1896
1896 Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg (1919-1964)
1898 Randolph Scott, AEF veteran, actor ("Gung Ho!"), d. 1987
1899 Humphrey Bogart, steersman, USS 'Leviathan', WW I, actor ("Casablanca")
1914 Prince Imperial Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, d. 1997

DIED

1795 John Sullivan, 54, Continental major general, Governor of New Hampshire,
1800 Edward Rutledge, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, at 50
1806 William Pitt the Younger, militiaman, PM (1783-1801, 1804-1806), at 46
1833 Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, 76
2004 Bob Keeshan, 76, marine, actor ("Claribell" & "Captain Kangaroo")

 

24 Jan

1848 James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento, initiating the California Gold Rush
1861 Federal Arsenal at Augusta, Ga, seized by state troops
1861 Federal troops take ship at Ft Monroe for Ft Pickens
1941 British troops invade Italian East Africa
1944 US a/c conduct long range recon over the Marshalls, from the Gilberts.
1945 China: Advancing Japanese troops cause evacuation of U.S. airbase at Sichuan
1961 A B-52 breaks up over the North Carolina coast, losing two H-bombs, one of which is still missing
1991 USN helicopters liberate Kuwaiti offshore oil rigs from the Iraqis.

BORN

1820 John Milton Thayer, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1906
1828 Adam Jacoby Slemmer, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1868
1832 John Pegram, Brig Gen, C.S.A., kia. 1865
1888 Ernst Heinrich Heinkel, aircraft designer, d. 1958
1891 Walter Model, German Field Marshal, Nazi, suicide 1945
1908 The Boy Scouts, founded by Robert Baden Powell in England
1915 Ernest Borgnine, USN (1935-1945), actor ("McHale's Navy" - (was made an honorary Chief Petty Officer)

DIED

1895 Lord Randolph Churchill, 45, father of a greater son (see 1965)
1924 Marie-Adélaïde, 29, sometime Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1912-1919), abdicated over collaboration with German occupation in WW I
1955 Ira Hayes, former Marine who once helped raise a flag, 32
1965 Winston Spencer Churchill, 90, British Prime Minister during World War II, son of Lord Randolph (see 1895) -- Learn More

 

25 Jan
1787 Capt Dan Shays' Rebels fail to capture the arsenal at Springfield, Mass -- Learn More
1856 Battle of Seattle: US Sailors, marines, & settlers beat off Indian attack
1865 CSS 'Shenandoah' arrives in Melbourne, Australia
1890 Ace “girl” reporter Nellie Bly of 'New York World," returned to NY after having gone around the world in 72 days
1942 U.S. carriers 'Yorktown' (CV-5) & 'Enterprise' (CV-6) depart Samoa to raid the Gilberts & Marshalls on Feb 1st
1945 Audie Murphy earns the Medal of Honor
1945 B-29s begin mining off Singapore, Saigon, Camranh Bay, and Penang.
1951 UN begins counter offensive in Korea
1969 US-North Vietnamese peace talks begin in Paris


BORN

1759 Robert Burns, militiaman, poet, d. 1796 -- Learn More
1825 George Pickett, Maj. Gen., CSA, d. 1875
1839 Seldon Connor, Brig. Gen., U.S.V., d. 1917

DIED

1872 Richard Stoddert Ewell, 54, Lt. Gen., CSA (February 8, 1817
1906 Joseph Wheeler, Maj. Gen., CSA, Brig. Gen., US, inept in either service, at 69
1972 Erhard Milch, 79, half-Jewish Luftwaffe marshal, who lied about his ancestry, and had Goring's blessing anyway
1990 Ava Gardner, 67, actress ("Bhowani Junction", "The Barefoot Contessa")

 

26 Jan

1859 Screw Frigate 'Brooklyn' commissioned under Capt. David G. Farragut
1861 Louisiana becomes 6th state to secede
1862 Lincoln issues General War Order #1, calling for a Union offensive
1863 Joe Hooker assumes command of the Army of the Potomac from Ambrose Burnside
1863 The 54th Massachusetts Infantry is formed
1890 Intrepid New York World reporter Nellie Bly completes a round the world trip in 72 days
1911 Glenn Curtiss tests the first successful sea plane, San Diego
1913 John Paul Jones is laid to rest in the Chapel of the US Naval Academy
1942 Marines land in Northern Ireland - 1st US troops to reach Europe
1944 US bombers raid the Marshalls.
1948 Executive Order 9981: Truman orders Segregation in the Armed Forces ended
1960 USS 'John S. McCain' (DL-3) rescues crew of 'Shinwa Maru', East China Sea.

BORN
1814 Rufus King, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1876 -- Learn More
1816 Lloyd Tilghman, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1863
1819 Abner Doubleday, Maj Gen, U.S, d. this day, 1893
1880 General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, d. 1964
1887 Adm. Marc "Pete" Mitscher, USN, d. 1947
1925 Paul Newman, USN Aviation Radioman Third Class, actor ("Until They Sail", "Exodus"), d. 2008

DIED
1893 Maj. Gen. Abner Doubleday, who did not invent baseball, on his 74th birthday
1993 Jan Gies, Dutch resistance fighter, friend to the Frank family, 87

 

27 Jan

1915 US Marines begin occupation of Haiti
1928 Airship 'Los Angeles' (ZR-3) moors to 'Saratoga' (CV-3) in rough seas off Rhode Is.
1942 HMS 'Indomitable' flys off 48 aircraft to reinforce the defense of Java
1942 USS 'Gudgeon' (SS-211) becomes the first US boat to sink an enemy sub, the Japanese 'I-173'.
1943 First USAAF raid on Germany, as nearly 100 B-17s & B-24s bomb submarine construction yards at Wilhelmshafen
1943 USS 'Whale' (SS-239) sinks 'Shoan Maru' (c. 5,600 grt)
1944 U.S. issues a report on "The Bataan Death March"
1945 1st Cav and 32nd Inf Divs, and 122nd Cav Regt land on Luzon
1945 USS 'Higbee' (DD-806) commissioned, first US warship named after a Navy woman
1945 At Stalag IXA, near Ziegenhain: when the Germans try to identify the Jewish men among the American P/Ws, Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds says, "We are all Jews"
1967 Disastrous fire aboard Apollo 1
1967 Treaty signed banning military use of nuclear weapons in space
1973 US and North Vietnam sign cease-fire
1977 Pres Carter pardons most Vietnam War draft evaders (c. 10,000)

BORN

1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, boy genius musician and composer, d. 1791
1822 Thomas Leiper Kane, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1883
1826 Richard Taylor, Lt Gen, C.S.A., d. 1879
1828 Samuel Allen Rice, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1864
1830 William Henry Fitzhugh Payne, Brig Gen, C.S.A.. d. 1904
1834 Robert Sanford Foster, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1903
1859 Wilhelm II - "Kaiser Bill", German Emperor (1888-1918), d. 1940 -- Learn More
1900 Hyman Rickover, "Father of the Nuclear Navy," d. 1986

DIED

1967 Astronauts Edward H White II (36), Roger B Chaffee (31), & Virgil "Gus" Grissom (40), Apollo I fire
1974 Sir Edward Louis Spears, 87, Maj. Gen., Bart, KBE, CB, MC, author, MP, liaison officet to the French in 1914 & 1940
2003 Hugh Trevor-Roper, 89, MI-6 vet, historian ("The Last Days of Adolph Hitler")
2010 Jerome "J.D." Salinger, 91, D-Day veteran and author "The Catcher in the Rye".
2018 Mort Walker, soldier-cartoonist ("Beetle Baily"), 94

 

28 Jan

1865 CSA Pres Jefferson Davis names three peace commissioners
1871 Paris, besieged since July 19th, surrenders to the Prussians
1915 SS 'W P Frye', torpedoed while carrying wheat to Britain - 1st US ship lost in WW I
1918 Strike at Berlin munitions factories
1941 Japan sponsors an armistice ending the Franco-Thai War (1940-1941)
1942 Bataan: Japanese attack the new US/Philippine defenses
1942 USN Ens. Donald Mason radios, "Sighted sub, sank same."
1943 Guadalcanal: the CAM Div advances across the Nueha River.
1944 RAF puts 683 bombers over Berlin
1981 William J Casey begins six years as director of the CIA
1982 Italian police rescue Brig Gen Dozier from 42 days imprisonment by Red Brigades
1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after launch, seven die.

BORN

1815 Andrew Jackson Hamilton, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1875
1828 Thomas Carmichael Hindman, Maj Gen, C.S.A., d. 1868
1831 Henry Brevard Davidson, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1899
1841 Henry M. Stanley, CS & US veteran, journalist, explorer, exploiter, d. 1904
1852 Giovanni Martini -- John Martin, laterTrumpeter, 7th Cavalry, d. 1922 -- Learn More
1915 US Coast Guard, created from the Life Saving and Revenue Cutter Services
1936 Alphonso D'Abruzzo - Alan Alda, actor ("M*A*S*H")
1950 David Carl Hilmer, Marine, astronaut

DIED

1965 Maxim Weygand, 98, French general who couldn't cope in 1940 -- Learn More
1986 Gregory Jarvis, NASA engineer(41), Christa McAuliffe (37, elementary school teacher); Dr. Ronald E McNair, NASA physicist (35); Ellison S Onizuka, USAF(39); Judith Arlene Resnik, NASA engineer (35); Francis R Scobee (46), USAF; Michael J Smith, USN (40) - the Challenger
1996 U San Yu, soldier, Dictator-President of Burma (1981-88), at 77

 

29 Jan
1861 SecTreas John Dix orders loyal Revenue Service officers "If anyone attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot" upon learning a cutter captain intended to turn his ship over to Secessionist Louisiana
1863 The Bear River Massacre: California volunteers slaughter hundreds of Shoshone men, women, and children in Wasingtn Territory
1879 Custer Battlefield National Monument established
1891 Accession of Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii (Jan 29, 1891-Jan 17, 1893), deposed in an American-sponsored coup, d. 1917
1904 New York subway opens
1944 USN begins a seris of air strikes on Japanese bases in the Marshal Is
1944 USS 'Missouri' (BB-63) is launched in Brooklyn
1945 Luzon: 38th Div lands near Subic Bay and moves southward toward Bataan.
1945 the USS Serpens (AK 97) was destroyed by an ammunition explosion while in Lunga Roads, Guadalcanal, over 300 died was destroyed by explo
1991 Battle of Khafji, Saudi Arabia: Iraqis capture the town

BORN

1756 Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, cavalryman, reprobate, d. 1818; father to a more famous son.
1821 Isaac Ferdinand Quinby, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1891
1823 Franklin Gardner, Maj Gen, C.S.A., d. 1873
1836 Benjamin Franklin Potts, Bvt Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1887
1836 James Meech Warner, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1897
1843 William McKinley, Bvt Maj, U.S., president, 1897-1901.
1913 Victor Mature, coastguardsman, actor ("Demetrius and the Gladiators"), d. 1999 -- Learn More


DIED
.
1946 Harry Hopkins, Presidential aide, at 55
1961 John F. O'Ryan, 86, National Guardsman, Commander, NY's 27th Division in the AEF, public servant -- Learn More
1961 Maj. Gen. John Francis O'Ryan, sometime commander, 27th Division, AEF, at 86 -- Learn More
1969 Allen Dulles, 75, CIA Director (1953-1961)

 

30 Jan
1781 Articles of Confederation go into effect, establishing a perpetual union of "The United States of America"
1835 Richard Lawrence attempts to assassinate Pres Andrew Jackson
1862 The USS 'Monitor' is launched in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
1897 Teddy Roosevelt gives cousin Franklin Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History" for 15th birthday
1898 Teddy Roosevelt gives cousin Franklin Mahan's "The Interest of America in Sea Power" for 16th birthday
1933 President Hindenburg names Adolph Hitler Chancellor of Germany
1939 Hitler calls for the extermination of the Jews
1943 Guadalcanal: U.S. lands reinforcements and supplies
1943 Hitler promotes Friedrich Paulus, commanding the Sixth Army, surrounded at Stalingrad, to field marshal, with a hint that he should commit suicide
1957 Congress accepts the "Eisenhower Doctrine"
1964 Military coup by Gen Nguyen Khanh in South-Vietnam
1968 The Tet Offensive
1976 George H. W. Bush becomes director of the CIA

BORN

1797 Edwin Vose Sumner, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1863
1816 Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1894
1822 John Basil Turchin [Ivan B Turchinoff], Brig Gen, U.S., 1901
1829 Alfred Cummings, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1910
1841 George Alfred Townsend, Civil War journalist, d. 1914
1882 FDR, the Commander in Chief, 1933-1945 -- Learn More)
1911 The Royal Canadian Navy
1912 Barbara W. Tuchman, historian ("The Guns of August", etc.). d. 1989
1915 Joachim Peiper, Nazi War criminal, perpetrator of the Malemedy Massacre, d. 1976

DIED

1838 Chief Osceola of the Seminole, c. 33, in an Army jail
1948 Orville Wright, aviation pioneer, 76
1951 Ferdinand Porsche, German tank designer, at 75
1958 Ernst H. Heinkel, German aircraft designer, at 70

 

31 Jan

1861 State of Louisiana takes over US Mint at New Orleans
1863 Black 1st SC Volunteers mustered into the US Army
1865 Gen Robert E Lee named General-in-Chief of all Confederate Armies (a tad late to matter)
1880 Br training ship 'Atalanta' leaves Bermuda,disappear @ sea, c. 280 die
1895 Jose Marti, Maximo Gomez, and others leave New York to invade Spanish Cuba
1915 the Germans made the first major poison gas attack during the Battle of Bolimów, but the Russians held -- Learn More
1917 Germany notifies the US that it will resume unrestricted submarine warfare
1918 "Battle of May Is": Overnight collisions in the foggy Firth of Forth; two submarines sink, three others and a light cruiser damaged, c. 270 deaths
1929 Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" is published
1933 "The Lone Ranger" premiers on WXYZ in Detroit, runs for several decades on various networks
1945 11th Airborne Div lands - by sea - at the south entrance to Manila Bay.
1961 Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr., becomes the first Black to command a warship, 'Falgout' (DE-324)
1981 Last enlisted USN aviator retires.

BORN
1418 Prince Mircea I "the Elder" Wallachia (1386-1418), 63
1734 Robert Morris, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, & the Constitution, d. 1806
1810 Daniel Ruggles, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1897
1818 William Raine Peck, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1871
1898 Hubert Renfro "H. R. " Knickerbocker, American war correspondent, d. 1949 -- Learn More
1923 Norman Mailer, veteran, novelist ("The Naked & the Dead"), d. 2007


DIED

1828 Alexandros Ypsilanti, Greek national hero, Russian soldier, in exile and poverty at 35
1945 Pvt Eddie Slovik, executed "to encourage the others", at 25

 

1 Feb

1587 Establishment of the Roanoke Colony
1800 USS 'Constellation' takes the French 'Vengence' in a five-hour night battle
1861 Texas becomes the seventh state to secede
1862 Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of Republic" is published
1864 U.S. Grant initiates the Yazoo River Operation (to Feb 8th)
1865 Sherman begins marching through South Carolina
1942 'Enterprise' (CV-6) & 'Yorktown' (CV-5) raid Japanese bases in Gilbert and Marshall Is.
1943 Guadalcanal: Japanese DDs on evacuation duty evade U.S. a/c and PTs to complete their mission
1943 Marshal Paulus surrenders the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad [see Deaths]
1944 US Landings in the Marshall Is.: Marines on Roi-Namur, Army on Kwajalein
1946 Norwegian Trygve Lie is elected the first Secretary-General of the UN ('46-'52)
1958 Army rocket launches Explorer I, 1st US satellite
1958 Egypt & Syria announce plans to merge as the United Arab Republic
1961 Minuteman ICBM is successful in its first full scale test
1968 Saigon: Nguyen Ngoc Loan summarily executes a Viet Cong murderer
1968 The Canadian Forces are formed, through the merger of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, an "experiment" that is ended in 2011
2003 Space Shuttle 'Columbia' disintegrates over Texas during reentry, seven die

BORN

1807 William Bowen Campbell, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1867
1819 Henry Lawrence Eustis, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1885
1829 John Potts Slough, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1867
1895 John Ford, naval officer, director ("She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", "The Battle of Midway", etc.), d. 1973
1901 Clark Gable, airman, actor ("Run Silent, Run Deep", etc), d. 1960
1901 Frank W. Buckles, the last Doughboy, AEF, 1918-1919, d. 2011 -- Learn More

DIED

1873 Matthew Maury, 67, oceanographer, Confederate naval officer
1945 Johan Huizinga, Dutch medievalist, at 72
2003 Pilot Rick D. Husband, David M. Brown, Ilan Ramon (the first Israeli astronaut), Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Michael P. Anderson, and William C. McCool, Space Shuttle Columbia
2013 Edward Irving "Ed" Koch, 88, infantryman, 104th Inf Div., Mayor of New York (1978-1989)

 

2 FEB

1864 CSS 'Florida' begins a commerce raiding cruise (to Oct 7th)
1899 The Astor Battery was formally disbanded -- Learn More
1906 Pope Pius X issues an encyclical opposing separation of church & state
1913 Grand Central Terminal in NY opened -- Learn More
1942 LA Times urges security measures against Japanese-Americans
1942 US ceases production of private cars to convert to war production
1944 US troops advance rapidly on Kwajelein and nearby islands.
1989 Soviet troops leave Afghanistan, ending nine years of war

BORN

1803 Albert Sidney Johnston, Gen, C.S.A., kia in 1862
1815 Nathaniel Collins McLean, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1905
1827 Abner Monroe Perrin, Brig Gen, C.S., KIA, 1864
1901 U.S. Army Nurse Corps
2338 Lt. Cdr. Data, Star Fleet officer

DIED

1941 Harris Laning, 67, Adm., US, President, Naval War College, 1930-1933 -- Learn More
1981 Donald W Douglas, designer of the DC-3, at 88
1987 Alistair MacLean, 1987, RN Veteran, novelist ("The Guns of Navarrone")

 

3 Feb

Four Chaplains Day in the United States -- Learn More


1783 Spain recognizes US independence
1862 President Lincoln received the King of Siam's offer of war elephants to help fight the Confederacy
1863 Confederate raider 'Alabama' burns the US schooner 'Palmetto' off Brazil
1864 American Civil War: Sherman begins the Meridian Campaign in Mississippi
1917 German sub sinks US liner 'Housatonic', America severs relations
1944 U.S. ships shell Japanese island of Paramushiro in the Kuriles.
1945 Operation Thunderclap: the Eighth Air Force sends 1,000 B-17s to c. 3000 tons of bombs on Berlin, killing c. 3,000 and rendering 120,000 homeless.

BORN

1805 Samuel Ryan Curtis, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1866
1807 Joseph Eggleston Johnston, Gen, C.S.A., d. 1891
1824 George Thomas "Tige" Anderson, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1901
1824 Nathan George "Shanks" Evans, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1868
1851 Charles Adelle Lewis Totten, American soldier (Chiricau War), wargame designer ('Strategos'), d. 1908
1859 Hugo Junkers, aircraft designer, anti-Nazi, d. 1935
1904 Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, American criminal, k. 1934
1905 Andree Virot [Peel], Resistance worker who would win a Legion of Honor rescuing 102 Allied pilots, d. 2010
1907 James Michener, naval officer, author ("South Pacific"), d. 1997

DIED

1898 Louis-Victor Baillot, 104, veteran of the French 105th of the Line, the last known surviving veteran of Waterloo -- The mystery of Waterloo's last living soldier

1924 Thomas Woodrow Wilson, President (1913-21), 67 -- Learn More
1943 The Rev. George Fox (b. 1900), Rabbi Alexander Goode (b. 1911), Rev. Clark V. Poling (b. 1910), and Fr. John P. Washington (b. 1908), plus some 250 others, in the 'Dorchester' - -- Four Chaplains - Wikipedia
2015 Sir Martin Gilbert, 78, historian, biographer (“Churchill”, etc.)

 

4 Feb

1779 John Paul Jones takes command of 'Bonhomme Richard'
1861 Delegates from the seceded states meet in Montgomery, Ala., to form a "Confederate States of America," across the street from a slave auction
1938 Hitler assumes direct control of German Army
1944 US 7th Infantry Division completes capture of Kwajalein
1945 The Yalta Conferance begins: FDR, Churchill, & Stalin -- Learn More

BORN
1747 Andrzej Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Polish and American patriot, d. 1817
1826 Halbert Eleazer Paine, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1905
1902 Charles A Lindbergh, aviator, isolationist, Nazi dupe, d. 1974 -- Learn More
1904 Mckinley Kantor, novelist, historian ("Andersonville"), d. 1977
1906 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, anti-Nazi German theologian, executed 1945
1941 The USO (United Service Organization)

DIED
1872 John Lawrence Burns, 78. 1812 veteran who in 1863 joined the Union firing line at Gettysburg to defend the Union
2012 Florence Patterson Green, Women's RAF, 1918-1919, at 110 years and 350 days, the last known veteran of the Great War -- Learn More

 

5 Feb

1865 Battle of Hatcher's Run/Armstrong's Mill/Dabney's Mill, Va
1918 The transport 'Tuscania' is torpedoed off Ireland by the U-boat 'UB-77', c. 210 died, the heaviest loss of American troops to a submarine in WW I
1918 Stephen W Thompson becomes the first US pilot to down an enemy airplane
1943 Germans deport 12,000 Jews from Bialystok to death camps
1958 A B-47 & F-86 collide at 36,000 feet off the Georgia coast, causing the loss of an H-Bomb, which is still missing
1973 Funeral for Lt Col William Nolde, last US soldier killed in Vietnam
1983 Former Gestapo official Klaus Barbie brought to trial in Lyon, France

BORN

1723 John Witherspoon, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, d. 1794
1840 Hiram Stevens Maxim, inventor of the first practical machine gun, d. 1916,
1875 Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra, Spanish soldier, Captain General, leftist who became a rightist, d. 1951
1919 Aaron Chwatt - Red Buttons, USAAF, actor (SGT Kelly in "Sayonara"), d. 2006
1942 Roger Staubach, USNA Heisman winner, 1963

DIED

1948 Generaloberst Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz, 64, reportedly a suicide, but possibly murdered by the Nazi underground, while awaiting trial on war crimes charges
2004 Adm Thomas H. Moorer, CNO (1967-70), C/JCS (1970-74), b. 1912

 

6 Feb

1778 France recognizes US, signs treaty of aid in Paris
1862 Commo Andrew Foote & Maj Gen Ulysses S. Grant capture Ft. Henry, on the Tennessee River
1899 Spanish-American War officially ends
1922 US, UK, Japan, France, & Italy sign the Washington Naval Arms Limitation Treaty -- Learn More
1945 Battle for Manila begins
1945 Over 4,000 American POWs are freed from prison camps on Luzon.
1952 Accession of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1952-)

BORN

1732 Charles Lee, British, Polish, and American soldier, Patriot Maj. Gen., d. 1782
1756 Aaron Burr, Revolutionary War hero, US Vice-Pres (1801-1805), unconvicted traitor, d. 1836
1830 Marcellus Monroe Crocker, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1865
1832 John Brown Gordon, Maj Gen, C.S.A., d. 1904
1833 James Ewell Brown "JEB" Stuart, Maj Gen, C.S.A., kia, 1864
1834 William Dorsey Pender, Maj Gen, C.S.A., d/w 1863
1889 Elmo Lincoln, the first Tarzan, d. 1952
1890 Anthony Fokker, aircraft designer, d. 1939
1908 Edward Lansdale, soldier, diplomat, not so "Ugly American", d. 1987
1911 Ronald Reagan, cavalryman, actor ("King's Row", "Bedtime for Bonzo"), President (1981-1989), d. 2004
1912 Eva Braun, mistress & wife of Adolph Hitler, suicide 1945

DIED

1996 James Lincoln Holt Peck,83, American airman, merchant mariner, reputed ace in the Spanish Civil War -- Learn More
2009 James Whitmore, 87, Marine, actor ("Battle Cry")

 

7 Jan

1800 Frigate USS 'Essex' becomes first U.S. warship to cross the Equator
1864 Union Amphibious Attack on Jacksonville: RAdm John Dahlgren with five powerful warships covers the landing of Brig Genl Truman Seymour's 7,000 troops.
1904 Great fire of Baltimore, c. 1,500 houses in 80 blocks burn
1933 The USS 'Ramapo' (AO-12) encounters a 112 foot "rogue wave" during a cyclonic storm in the Pacific, the tallest wave ever reliably measured
1943 Guadalcanal: U.S. troops advance on both coasts, as the Japanese complete the evacuation of their troops from the island.
1943 US begins rationing shoes
1945 General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila
1948 Omar Bradley succeeds Dwight Eisenhower as Army Chief of Staff
1950 Senator Joe McCarthy begins his Witch Hunts, but is unable to find a single "Red"
1965 US begins sustained air operations against North Vietnam

BORN
1817 Frederick Douglass, who stole himself from slavery, d. 1895
1817 Leroy Pope Walker, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1884
1908 Clarence "Buster" Crabbe, Olympian, actor ("Tarzan", "Flash Gordon", "Buck Rogers"), d. 1983
1919 Desmond Doss, conscientious objector earned a Medal of Honor as a medic on Okinawa, d. 2006

DIED

1937 Elihu Root, Secretary of War (1901-1905), State (1905-1909), Peace Nobelist, at 91
1942 Maj. Gen. Andrew Hero. Jr., sometime Chief of Coast Artillery, at 73 -- Learn More

 

8 Jan

1862 Battle of Roanoke Is: US gains control of Pamlico Sound
1918 "The Stars and Stripes" begins publication in France
1941 The Army Air Corps approved the B-26 "Marauder" -- Learn More.
1942 NY's Mayor La Guardia forms the "City Patrol Corps" to improve security
1974 Military coup is crushed in Upper Volta.

BORN
1811 Edwin Denison Morgan, Gov of NY, Maj Gen, US, d. 1883
1817 Richard Stoddert Ewell, Lt Gen, C.S.A., d. 1872
1820 William Tecumseh Sherman, Gen., US, who knew that "War is hell", d. 1891
1824 Barnard Elliot Bee, Brig Gen, C.S.A., kia 1861, dubbing Jackson "Stonewall"
1880 Franz Marc, German impressionist, pioneer camoufleur, kia, Verdun, 1916
1882 Thomas E. Selfridge, 1st Lt., U.S. Army, d. 1908, the first person to die in an airplane accident
1894 William Avery "Billy" Bishop, Canadian Great War ace (72 kills), VC and later Air Marshal, d. 1956
1960 Benigno Aquino III, President of the Philippines (2010-)

DIED

1587 Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1567), beheaded by her cousin Elizabeth of England
1725 Tsar Peter I "the Great" of Russia (1682-1725), at 52
1740 Pope Clement XII - Lorenzo Corsini - (1730-40), at 87
1921 Prince Peter Kropotkin, anarchist, at 78
1932 Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, 23, killed by the Dutch Schultz mob to protect the NYC DA
1942 Fritz Todt, head of Hitler's construction service, on his 50th birthday, in an air crash
1959 William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan, 76, sometime commander, 165th Infantry (69th NY), Medal of Honor, Director, OSS -- Learn More
1963 Abdul Karim Kassem, PM of Iraq (1958-63), assassinated in Baghdad at 48

 

9 Feb

1861 Jefferson Davis chosen as President of the Confederacy
1861 Tennessee votes against secession
1864 Libby Prison, Richmond: 109 Union officers escape (50 later recaptured)
1864 President Lincoln poses for a photograph, with is later used for the image on the $5 bill.
1941 Nazis provoke anti-Jewish riots in Amsterdam
1942 US goes on War Time (Double Daylight Savings)
1943 FDR orders minimal 48 hour work week in war industry
1943 The Japanese are cleared from Guadalcanal, as US columns make contact at Cape Esperance, ending an epic campaign
1944 US asks China to try to get the Communists to help against the Japanese.
2001 USS 'Greeneville' (SSN-772) surfaces under the fishing boat 'Ehime Maru', sinking her

BORN
1773 William Henry Harrison, soldier, President (Mar 4-Apr 4, 1841) -- Learn More
1826 John Alexander Logan, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1886
1830 Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz I (1861-76)
1903 Brian Donlevy, Army veteran, actor ("Wake Island"), d. 1972
1909 Dean Rusk, army officer, Secretary of State (1961-69), d. 1994
1911 William O. Darby, of "Darby's Rangers", kia 1945
1912 Adm Thomas H. Moorer, CNO (1967-70), C/JCS (1970-74), d. 2004
1918 U.S. Army Chaplains' School -- Learn More
1946 James "Jim" Webb, Jr., marine, SecNav (1987-1988), senator, author
1964 GI Joe "action figure"

DIED

1884 James Isham Gilbert, Brig Gen, U.S., at 60.
1984 Yuri Andropov, 69, Chekist, briefly Soviet president
2002 Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom, at 71