January 23rd is the birthday of John Moses Browning, born 1855. He was the brilliant designer of dozens of guns, including the M1911 pistol, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), and the venerable M2 .50 Caliber Machinegun. The latter is still in service in at least 95 countries, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is still in service in 2075 or even 2100.
Between 1861 and 1865, more than 50,000 civilians died as a direct result of the American Civil War. In the years between 1914 and 1918, more than 7,000,000 innocent civilians died as a direct result of World War I. From 1939 to 1945, more than 23,000,000 innocents died as a direct result of World War II. (This number includes the 11 million deliberately killed in concentration camps.) Between 1905 and 1941, Stalin purged Russia of anyone whom he considered a threat or disloyal, murdering somewhere over 25,000,000 innocent people. Mao Tse-tung murdered more than 45,000,000 people from his own country …
On January 21st, 1948, Eliza Moore, the last surviving individual born into slavery before the Emancipation Proclamation, died in Montgomery County, Alabama, at age 105. Since 68 years have now elapsed since her death and 151 years have now elapsed since 1865, JWR perhaps presumptuously hereby declares that it is now fully high time for Americans to Get Over It and instead focus on current slavery issues, like the uncounted thousands of slaves now being held by Muslims in North Africa. There is no cause for so-called White Guilt in our generation, but we should feel badly about doing little …
Today is the birthday of Congressman Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794). o o o FYSA (For Your Situational Awareness), Forward Observer has started their battle tracking for the Inauguration, just like they did for the Ferguson riots. Check out the battle map and if you want to participate in this tracking effort to learn the process, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the instructions. This is an excellent opportunity to see how a community can pull together and create real time intelligence that can benefit your decisions. (Note: You do not have to be local to Washington, …
January 19th is the birthday of the late Carla Emery (born 1939, died October 11, 2005). She is well known in self-sufficency circles as the author of The Encyclopedia of Country Living. (This book re-released in a 40th Anniversary edition.) o o o Seed for Security is having a sale with 20% off of their Super Survival Pack. This Pack includes 4 lbs. of survival seeds and 2 pints of healthful grains. All of their seed is heirloom, non GMO, and none is hybrid. Their 4 page detailed Seed Saving Guide is included. They are also including 6 metallized Polybags …
Kevin Costner, who starred in Open Range, was born on this day in 1955. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s …
In his farewell address to the nation on January 17th, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the American people to keep a careful eye on what he called the “military-industrial complex” that had developed in the post-World War II years. We didn’t do a very good job of listening to his warnings. o o o With the Presidential Inauguration just a few days away, we are running a guest article by Samuel Culper from Forward Observer. With the planned protests and the potential for civil unrest, they will be running an Intel Exercise beginning January 19th, 2017 where you can …
The Space Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16th, 2003. STS-107 would disintegrate on re-entry 15 days later, killing all seven of the crew members on board. SurvivalBlog salutes all seven crew members: Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Mission Specialist David Brown, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist Michael Anderson, Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon.
Today is the birthday of television and movie actor Lloyd Bridges (1913-1998), who starred in the series Sea Hunt.
On January 14th, 1784, the Continental Congress ratified the Second Treaty of Paris, ending the War for Independence. In the document, which was known as the Second Treaty of Paris because the Treaty of Paris was also the name of the agreement that had ended the Seven Years’ War in 1763, Britain officially agreed to recognize the independence of its 13 former colonies as the new United States of America. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A …
This is the birthday of actor and shooter Robert Stack (1919 -2003.) o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of …
On January 12, 1888, the “Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” killed 235 people, many of whom were children on their way home from school across the Northwest Plains region of the United States. The storm came with no warning, and some accounts say that the temperature fell nearly 100 degrees in just 24 hours. There were many instances of teachers keeping or rescuing children who would have been caught in the storm while walking home. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First …
January 11th is the birthday of Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804). It is also the natal day of the late Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sonsteby, who was born in 1918. He was the most decorated hero of the Norwegian resistance under the German occupation. He died May 10, 2012. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the …
January 10th, 1776 is the day that North Carolina Governor Josiah Martin issued a proclamation calling on the king’s loyal subjects to raise an armed force to combat the “rebels”. This ultimately led to Colonel Donald McLeod leading the men on an assault on the Patriots that ended with fifty of his men dead and 880 captured. The Patriots lost only two of their number. Also on this day in 1976 the song “Convoy” by C.W. McCall was the #1 song on the U.S. pop charts. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog …
On this day in 1776, writer Thomas Paine published his pamphlet “Common Sense,” setting forth his arguments in favor of American independence. Although little used today, pamphlets were an important medium for the spread of ideas in the 16th through 19th centuries.