Year: 2025

On December 10, 1690, Massachusetts Bay became the first American colonial government to issue paper money — the Massachusetts Codfish Notes. They were engraved and printed by Paul Revere. Shown above is a Codfish 8-Pence Note. — December 10, 1520: Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant or face excommunication. — And on December 10, 1906, US President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First …

On December 9th, 1315, the Swiss Woudsteden renewed their Eternal Covenant. (Eidgenossenschaft or Oath Commonwealth). According to Wikipedia: “[Eidgenossenschaft] means “oath commonwealth” or “oath alliance”, in reference to the “eternal pacts” formed between the Eight Cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy of the late medieval period. In Swiss historiography, this relates most notably to the Rütlischwur (Rütli Oath) between the three founding cantons Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, which traditionally dates to 1307. In modern usage, Eidgenossenschaft is the German term used as an equivalent to “Confederation” in the official name of Switzerland, Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (rendered, respectively, as Confédération suisse and …

On December 8th, 1864, James Clerk Maxwell‘s paper “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field” was first read by the Royal Society in London. (It was published by the Royal Society in 1865.) — December 8th, 1880: 5,000 armed Boers gathered in Paardekraal, South Africa. — Today also marks the birthday of Eli Whitney, (1765–1825) the inventor of the labor-saving cotton gin, several firearms, and dozens of other mechanical devices. He was the first to demonstrate the advantages of fully interchangeable parts in firearms manufacture. — Today’s feature is by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We need more …

On this day in 1941 — also a Sunday — Japanese bombers launched a surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, precipitating the entry of the United States into World War II. On the same day, Adolf Hitler issued his Night and Fog (“Nacht und Nebel”) Decree, a secret order for the arrest and execution of “persons endangering German security.” — On December 7, 1972, American astronaut Eugene Andrew Cernan commanded the last crewed flight to the Moon, effectively ending the Apollo program. — On Dec. 7, 1787, Delaware became …