Author: James Wesley Rawles

On July 17, 1603, English explorer Walter Raleigh was arrested by forces of King James I of England. He was executed in 1618. — July 17th, 1889 was the birthdate of Erle Stanley Gardner. He was an American lawyer and author. Though best known for the Perry Mason series of detective stories, he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces, as well as a series of nonfiction books, mostly narrations of his travels through Baja California and other regions in Mexico. The best-selling American author of the 20th century at the time of his death, Gardner also published under numerous …

On July 16, 1790, Congress declared the city of Washington in the District of Columbia, the permanent capitol of the United States. — July 16th is also the anniversary of the first successful atomic bomb test near Alamogordo, New Mexico in 1945. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2,000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day …

July 15, 1410:  The Battle of Grunwald (First Battle of Tannenburg, Battle of Žalgiris), one of Medieval Europe’s largest battles during the Poland-Lithuanian Teutonic War. Polish King Władysław Jagiełło and Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas defeated the Teutonic Ulrich von Jungingen. The painting of the battle (above) was rendered by Jan Matejko. — On July 15, 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon‘s Egyptian Campaign. — Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

July 14 1789: Bastille Day – the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille Prison in Paris. It is now celebrated as France’s national day. — On July 14, 1609, The Darien scheme began with five ships, bearing about 1,200 people, departing Leith for the Isthmus of Panama — July 14th is the birthday of Colonel Einar A. Malmstrom. He was born in 1907 and died August 21, 1954 near Great Falls, Montana, in the crash of a T-33 jet. He was a decorated Air Force pilot, a Luft Stalag POW survivor, and test pilot. Malmstrom AFB was …

On July 13th,1772 Captain James Cook began his second voyage to the South Seas aboard HMS Resolution to search for Terra Australis (Southern continent) — On this day in 1787, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance structuring settlement of the Northwest Territory and creating a policy for the addition of new states to the nation. The Northwest Ordinance established the first organized US territory, set requirements for statehood – guaranteeing equal status with the original 13 states, outlawed slavery in the new lands, and protected civil liberties. The members of Congress knew that if their new confederation were to survive intact, …