Category: Note

On April 13, 1012: A ransom of 48,000 pounds was paid to a large band of Vikings, led by Danish warlord Thorkell the Tall, for the liberation of Canterbury, after a raid on the city and the capture of Alphege [Aelfheah] Archbishop of Canterbury — April 13, 1743, was the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. — And on April 13, 1933: First flight over Mount Everest, by Lord Clydesdale. — We’ve just started a two-week-long sale on all of our pre-1899 antique shotguns at Elk Creek Company.  There are some deep discounts. This sale will end on Monday, April 27th, 2026. …

On April 12, 1811, the first US colonists on the Pacific coast arrived at Cape Disappointment, in what is now the state of Washington. — April 12, 1933: US Navy commissioned Air Station Sunnyvale (later renamed NAS Moffett Field) in Santa Clara County, California — at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. — April 12th is the birthday of the late novelist Tom Clancy. (Born 1947, died October 1, 2013). It was Clancy who almost single-handedly created the modern techno-thriller genre, with his first novel, The Hunt For Red October. Coincidentally, Tom Clancy’s first literary agent is now my …

The Battle of Ravenna was fought on April 11, 1512. French forces under Gaston de Foix defeated the Holy League in this major battle of the Italian Wars. — April 11th is the birthday of John Milius, who was born in 1944. He both wrote the screenplays and directed the films Dillinger, The Wind and the Lion, Big Wednesday, Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn, Farewell to the King, and Flight of the Intruder. He also wrote the screenplays of the first two Dirty Harry movies as well as the first draft of the screenplay for Patton (before Francis Ford Coppola …

On April 10, 1633, the first imported bananas went on sale in London in the shop window of Thomas Johnson’s apothecary.  Pictured are some banana vendors and their wares in Chennai, India. — And April 10, 1827 was the birthday of General Lew Wallace. He wrote books (author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ), sculpted, practiced law, painted, played the violin and made them as well.  He was U.S. Ambassador to Turkey. And he served as the Territorial Governor of New Mexico. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing …

On April 9, 1388, the Battle of Näfels was a major victory for the Swiss Confederation in the first century of its struggle for self-determination against the Habsburg overlordship of the Duchy of Austria. (The public domain photo of Näfels, Canton Glarus, Switzerland, was taken by Marco Zanoli.) Note that in January 2011, Näfels became part of the municipality of Glarus Nord. — April 9, 1869: Hudson’s Bay Company ceded its territory to Canada. — And on April 9, 1959 NASA named the first seven astronauts for Project Mercury. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round …

On April 8, 1796, the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss proved the quadratic reciprocity law (the ability to determine the solvability of any quadratic equation in modular arithmetic.) — Today’s feature piece is a guest post that was too short to qualify as an entry for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running the contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage …

On April 7, 1902 the Texas Oil Company (Texaco) was formed. — On April 7, 1994, Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a moderate Hutu, was assassinated by Hutu soldiers—a day after the deaths of Juvénal Habyarimana, president of Rwanda, and Cyprien Ntaryamira, president of Burundi—as Rwanda entered a period of anarchy and genocidal killings. — April 7th is the birthday of Colonel Bob Denard (born 1929, died October 13, 2007). He had an amazing life as a mercenary, including four attempted coups in the Comoros.  The 2011 film Mister Bob is a slightly fictionalized account of his earliest mercenary adventures …

On April 6, 1652 Cape Colony, the first European settlement in South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company under Jan van Riebeec. — April 6, 1768: French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville’s expedition arrives in Tahiti, claiming it for France and naming it New Cythera. — This new Southwestern Oregon listing at SurvivalRealty.com caught my eye: Turnkey Off-Grid Survival Compound — Rogue Valley — Water, Power, Food, Multi-Family Ready. — Our feature piece for today is by Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We now need entries for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than …

On April 5, 1242, Russian Prince of Novgorod Alexander Nevsky defeated the Teutonic Knights on the frozen Lake Peipus between Estonia and Russia. This became known as the Battle on the Ice. — April 5, 1424 Scottish King James I returned to Scotland after 18 years of detention at the English court. During his captivity in England, James married Joan Beaufort, a cousin of Henry IV. On 28 March 1424, a ransom agreement amounting to £40,000 sterling, after deducting a dowry payment of 10,000 marks, was established in Durham, with James affixing his personal seal to the document. The king …

Today is the 101st birthday of famed Navy fighter pilot Royce Williams. It is great to see him still alive and kicking!  Williams was just recently awarded the Medal of Honor. The now-declassified story of his aerial combat over Korea against Soviet-piloted MiGs is fascinating reading. It is summarized in Wikipedia. Here is a brief excerpt from his biography: “The story of his battle with the Soviet MiGs led to Williams being debriefed at the time by admirals, the Secretary of Defense, and a few weeks later by newly inaugurated President Dwight D. Eisenhower. These authorities decided to cover up …

On April 3, 1910, the highest mountain in North America, Alaska’s Mount McKinley (aka Denali) was claimed to have been first climbed by four local men.  They climbed McKinley’s North Peak, not knowing that the South Peak is actually 850 feet higher. — This is the birthday of Washington Irving, an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for short stories like Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he also wrote several biographies and served as the US Ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. — A …

On April 2, 1792 The Coinage Act passed, establishing the United States Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 Half-Eagle, $2.50 Quarter-Eagle gold coins, as well as the silver dollar, half dollar, quarter, dime, and half-dime. Although gold was removed from circulation by President Franklin Roosevelt, our silver coinage remained undebased until 1964. — April 2, 1968, Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey had its world premiere in Washington, D.C.; it became a classic, setting the benchmark for modern sci-fi films. The film also gave one of the first cinematic warnings about artificial intelligence. — The staff of SurvivalBlog wish …

On April 1, 1515, the Portuguese fleet under Afonso de Albuquerque recaptured the Persian fortress of Hormuz and renamed it the Fort of Our Lady of the Conception. — April 1, 1863: US Congress passed the first wartime conscription law, calling for the registration of all 20 to 45-year-old males. — And on April 1, 1873, the British White Star steamship SS Atlantic sank off Nova Scotia, Canada, killing at least 535 people.  The same shipping company later owned the ill-fated RMS Titanic and RMS Britannic. — Today’s feature article is by SurvivalBlog Editor “Avalanche Lily”, the wife of JWR. …

On March 31, 1917, the Danish West Indies were officially ceded to the US for $25 million and renamed the Virgin Islands. Pictured is St. Thomas Island. — March 31 is the birthday of the late economist Dr. Walter E. Williams, PhD., who was born in 1936. He passed away in 2020. His book American Contempt for Liberty is highly recommended. — Today we present an article that was too short to qualify as an entry for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $981,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 ends …

On March 30, 240 BC, Halley’s Comet made its first recorded perihelion passage. (Photo courtesy of NASA, from the 1987 comet passage, photographed from Easter Island.) — March 30, 1856: The Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France, and the Kingdom of Sardinia signed the Treaty of Paris. This ended the Crimean War. — Today’s feature article is by our Field Gear Editor, Tom Christianson.