Author: James Wesley Rawles

On December 19, 1732, Benjamin Franklin, under the pseudonym Richard Saunders, began publication of “Poor Richard’s Almanack”. He produced an annual issue for the next 25 years. — December 19, 1972: Apollo 17 — the last of Apollo manned Moon landing series — returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, southeast of Samoa. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 116 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 …

On December 18, 216 BC, in the Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia. Hannibal’s Carthaginian army defeated Roman forces on Roman soil. — December 18, 1777: The first national Thanksgiving Day, commemorating British General Burgoyne’s surrender. — December 18th is the birthday of Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788). He wrote more than 1,700 hymns. — Today is also the birthday of Jørgen Haagen Schmith (born December 18, 1910, died October 15, 1944). He was better known under the codename “Citron” and was a famous Danish resistance fighter in occupied Denmark. His biographical sketch at Wikipedia …

On December 17th, 1718, France, Britain and Austria declared war on Spain. (War of the Quadruple Alliance 1718–1720.) — December 17th, 1905, was the birthday of Simo Häyhä, who was the world’s most successful sniper. Using an iron-sighted Mosin–Nagant in Finland’s Winter War, he had an astounding 505 confirmed sniper kills. He died April 1, 2002. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 116 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 …

On December 16, 1497, Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama became the first European to sail along Africa’s East Coast. He named it Natal. — The Romanian Revolution began on December 16th, 1989. No less than 1,066 civilians died in the successful attempt to overthrow the dictatorial President Nicolae Ceaușescu. — December 16th, 1928, was the birthday of Philip K. Dick, who died March 2, 1982. He penned a remarkable number of sci-fi novels and novellas that have been adapted into movies, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, Screamers, Impostor, Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, Next, and The Adjustment Bureau. Though …

December 15, 1929: Swiss pilot and photographer Walter Mittelholzer was the first man to fly over Mount Kilimanjaro. — December 15th is Bill of Rights Day. The Bill of Rights became law on this day in 1791, following ratification by the state of Virginia. We encourage our American readers to gather publicly and read the Bill of Rights aloud. — December 15, 1923, was the birthday of Uziel “Uzi” Gal (born Gotthard Glas). According to Wikipedia, he was “…born in Weimar, Germany. When the Nazis came to power in 1933 he moved first to England and later, in 1936, to …