Author: Hugh James Latimer

October 15th, 1990 is the day South Africa’s Separate Amenities Act, which had barred blacks from public facilities for decades, was scrapped.

The Cuban Missile Crisis began on October 14, 1962, bringing the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear conflict. Photographs were taken by a high-altitude U-2 spy plane and offered incontrovertible evidence that Soviet-made medium-range missiles were in Cuba. These missiles were capable of carrying nuclear warheads and were stationed 90 miles off the American coastline. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest This has been another entry for Round 79 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar …

Today, in 1492, after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sighted a Bahamian island, believing he had reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia.

On this day, in 732, at the Battle of Tours near Poitiers, France, Frankish leader Charles Martel, a Christian, defeated a large army of Spanish Moors, halting the Muslim advance into Western Europe. Abd-ar-Rahman, the Muslim governor of Cordoba, was killed in the fighting, and the Moors retreated from Gaul, never to return in such force. o o o Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by Hurricane Michael. Let’s continue to pray for their safety and wisdom in the choices they make.

On October 10th, 1913, the Panama Canal officially linked the Atlantic to the Pacific when the Gamboa dike was demolished with dynamite charges. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest This has been another entry for Round 79 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course …

On this day in 1992, 18-year-old Michelle Knapp was watching television in her parents’ living room in Peekskill, New York when she heard a crash in the driveway. Alarmed, Knapp ran outside to investigate. A sizable hole in the rear end of her car and a matching hole in the gravel driveway underneath the car. In the hole was what looked like an ordinary, bowling-ball–sized rock. It was extremely heavy for its size (it weighed about 28 pounds), shaped like a football and warm to the touch; also, it smelled vaguely of rotten eggs. The next day, a curator from …