Category: Note

April 8th is the birthday of the late Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia. (Born, 1919, died November 20, 2007.) April 8th is also the anniversary of the death of English experimental gunsmith and author Phillip Luty, in 2011. He was hounded by British authorities for many years. He died of cancer before a scheduled criminal trial. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of …

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.

This is the birthday of famous American newsreel and radio journalist/narrator Lowell Thomas. — JWR Observes: SurvivalBlog readers were wearing masks out in public, for weeks before it was cool. — Do you want to really get away from it all?  Then check out this new listing at my #1 Son’s SurvivalRealkty.com: Cabin on 100 acres in Chile. — Today, we present another product review from the indefatigable Pat Cascio.  

On this day in 1614, Pocahontas married John Rolfe which ensured peace between the Jamestown settlers and the Powhatan Indians for several years. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three …

On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 …

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. — For those of you who are stocking up to be ready to hunker down for the peak of the pandemic, keep in mind that Harvest Guard is offering a 20% discount just for SurvivalBlog readers. Enter the code “survivalblog” during checkout to receive 20% …

This is the birthday of Émile François Zola, a novelist and essayist. He is most often remembered as the author of “J’accuse” (I Accuse!), his lengthy open letter to president Félix Faure, which accused the French government of anti-semitism. — A quick update:  I talked with a major storage food vendor and he reported that the entire industry has an order backlog averaging 8 to 12 weeks. They are not guaranteeing delivery dates, because the big food packaging companies are not guaranteeing them any delivery dates!  Likewise, the folks who make and sell water filters are building order huge backlogs. …

April 1st, 1886 was the birthday of Arthur W. Pink, who died 15 July 1952 and was an English Christian evangelist and excellent Reformed Biblical scholar. It was his meticulously referenced arguments in his book, The Sovereignty of God, that first convinced JWR of the truth of the doctrine of Election. April 1st is also both April Fool’s Day and (unofficially) Molly Ivins Day. The latter refers to this key verse: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1 KJV) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Update: We are in the midst of judging. The prize winners …

March 31 is the birthday of economist Dr. Walter E. Williams, PhD., who was born in 1936. His book American Contempt for Liberty is highly recommended. — A reminder: The big “Pre-Hunker” sale on pre-1899 manufactured cartridge guns at Elk Creek Company ends at midnight, tonight.  I’ve sold eight guns since Monday morning, and only have about 70 more left on hand.  Get your order in soon!

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and District of Columbia police officer Thomas K. Delahanty. Known for his quips and unaware of the injury to others at the scene, President Reagan walked into the hospital, despite his wound, and was heard telling his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.” — Today we present another product review by our Field Gear Editor. But first, a crass commercial announcement.

Today is the 101st birthday of William “Bill” Summers Anderson. The following is from his biography at the Infogalactic wiki: “He was born March 29, 1919, in Hankow, China. On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong was also attacked by the Japanese. As a member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC), Anderson fought the Japanese but after 17 days of heavy fighting, Hong Kong surrendered. On Christmas Day 1941, exactly four years after he had escaped from the Japanese in China, he became a Prisoner of War (POW) and lost his …

On this day in 845, a 5,000-man strong fleet of Danish Vikings invaded Frankish lands. They only retreated after besieging Paris and securing a ransom from the Frankish King Charles the Bald. This was part of a series of devastating raids begun by the Vikings in the 790s. The Vikings were led by a man named “Reginherus” or Ragnar, sometimes linked to the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok. The Vikings easily overcame defenses set in place by Charlemagne and are known to have attacked the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés just outside the city. Although struck by an outbreak of plague, the …

March 27th is the birthday of the late Robert W. Ford (born 1923, died 20 September 2013). He was an amazing man who had a remarkable life. His book, Wind Between The Worlds (an account of experiences in Tibet, captivity by the communist Chinese, and his fight against brainwashing), is highly recommended. It is available for free download. — Some Troubling Statistics…  My most recent visit to WorldOfMeters revealed plenty of “hockey stick”-shaped  graphs.  If the U.S. continues to mirror Italy and Spain (presently with about a three week delay), then our hospitals will run out of standard ward beds …

March 26th marks the anniversary of the historic peace agreement ending three decades of hostilities between Egypt and Israel and the establishing of diplomatic and commercial ties between them. Less than two years earlier, Anwar Sadat had traveled to Jerusalem to seek permanent peace. Most of the Arab world was outraged, but despite criticism from Egypt’s regional allies, they pursued peace. While the efforts earned both Egypt’s Sadat and Israel’s Begin a joint Nobel Prize for Peace in 1978, Egypt was expelled from the Arab League and in 1981, Sadat was assassinated by Arab extremists. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today …

This is the birthday of English film director David Lean. He was born in Croydon, England in 1908. He died in 1991. He is best known for his films Lawrence of Arabia,  The Bridge on the River Kwai and Doctor Zhivago. National Medal of Honor day is officially observed on March 25th of each year. On March 25 1944 RAF Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade survived a jump from a burning Lancaster bomber from 18,000 feet over Germany without a parachute. His fall was broken by pine trees and soft snow, and he suffered only a sprained leg. He died on June …