Author: James Wesley Rawles

On February 16, 1959, after defeating the forces of dictator General Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba and transformed the island country into the Western Hemisphere’s first communist state.  This began five decades of repression, economic stagnation, and largely self-imposed poverty for the island nation.  In the photo above, Castro is pictured in 1978. He died on November 25, 2016, a decade after handing power to his brother Raul. February 16th is the birthday of Edgar John Bergen, (1903-1978) an American actor, comedian, and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Charlie McCarthy …

On February 15th, 1898, an explosion in Havana harbor sank the battleship USS Maine, killing 260 American seamen and precipitating the Spanish-American War, which originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain. — February 15th 1809: Birthday of Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor of a mechanical reaper. — Gun developer Richard “Dick” Casull  was born on February 15, 1931. Casull passed away peacefully at home on May 6, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Dick Casull is most famous for his design of the .454 Casull revolver, along with many other handgun and rifle designs. He held 17 firearm …

On February 14, 1946, the first general-purpose high-speed electronic digital computer, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), was demonstrated to the public by its creators, J. Presper Eckert, Jr., and John W. Mauchly. — February 14, 1942 was the birthday of the late economist, theologian, and prepper Dr. Gary North. — February 14, 2018, amid scandals and corruption allegations, South African President Jacob Zuma resigned and was later replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The …

On February 13, 2016, Antonin Scalia—who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, becoming well known for his strong legal conservatism—died under mysterious circumstances in Shafter, Texas. On February 13, 1689, following the Glorious Revolution, William and Mary were proclaimed king and queen of England this day in 1689, after which they ruled jointly as King William III and Queen Mary II until her death in 1694. February 13th is also the birthday of Robert Charles R.C. Sproul (born 1939, died December 14, 2017), a well-respected American Calvinist theologian Today is also the birthday …

On February 12, 1924 George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” premiered. The piece is among Gershwin’s best-known compositions and one of the most popular pieces of the symphonic jazz genre. — February 12, 1851, gold was discovered in east-central New South Wales, sparking Australia’s first gold rush. — On February 12, 1554, at age 16 Lady Jane Grey, titular queen of England, was executed in London by order of Mary I. — And on February 12,, 2001, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the “saddle” region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid. — Today’s feature …