Category: Note

On May 24th, 1775, John Hancock was elected president of the Second Continental Congress. He is best known for his large signature on the Declaration of Independence, which he jested the British king could read “without his spectacles.” — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can …

On this day in 1934, the outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed by a pair of deputized former Texas Rangers and assorted local police, near Gibbsland, Louisiana. This ambush was dramatized in the 2019 movie The Highwaymen, starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson. — May 23rd is also the birthday of George Lars Kellgren (born 1943 in Borås, Sweden), the founder and chief engineer of Kel-Tec. According to LeftistAgendaPedia: He designed many firearms earlier for Husqvarna and Swedish Interdynamics AB in Sweden. He moved to the US in 1979 and his original US designs were for Intratec and …

On May 22, 1960, the Valdivia earthquake–one of the largest earthquakes on record–struck the southern coast of Chile, killing about 5,700 people and creating seismic sea waves that caused death and destruction in distant Pacific coastal areas, notably Japan and Hawaii. — Iron Edison (one of our biggest advertisers) has announced a sale on their 5kWH wall-mount batteries. These batteries are normally $3,395 each, but they are offering them at $600 off, for a price of just $2,795.00. The discount code for this deal is SALE2023.  The special pricing end on June 16th, so order yours, soon. Iron Edison offers …

May 21st is the birthday of weapons designer John Douglas Pedersen. (Born 1881, died 1951.) His name is almost synonymous with the short-lived Pedersen Device (pictured) — a conversion kit that turned a Model 1903 Springfield bolt action rifle into a semi-automatic trench-clearing gun. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy …

May 20th, 1942 was the birthday of Carlos Hathcock. (Died February 23, 1999.) He was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. — I was saddened to hear of the passing of my old friend from ROTC, Roland Pickering. He was the inspiration for the Doug Carlton character, in my first novel, Patriots. Roland was a devoted father, and had a great sense of humor. He gave up a career in aviation so that he could live close to his children (and later his grandchildren), after his divorce. He will be …

On May 19, 1796, the first game law was approved in the United States. The law created penalties for hunting or destroying game within Indian Territory. Modern American fish and game laws make “living off the land” nearly impossible, outside of Alaska. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day …

May 18th, 1825 was the birthday of Daniel Baird Wesson (of Smith and Wesson fame). On May 18th, 1980, Mount St. Helens in Washington erupted, causing a massive avalanche and killing 57 people. Ash from the volcanic eruption fell as far away as Minnesota. — A couple of new listings at SurvivalRealty.com  — one in Washington, and one in Oregon: Trout Lake, Washington — Rural Living. 17 acres 5-6 acre pasture 10 acres woods 16.09 actual. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: …

On this day in 1769, George Washington launched a legislative salvo at Great Britain’s fiscal and judicial attempts to maintain its control over the American colonies. He brought a package of non-importation resolutions, drafted by George Mason, before the Virginia House of Burgesses. This initiated a chain of events that led to Britain’s House of Lords demanding that men involved in the extra-legal Massachusetts convention of towns be tried in England. Britain’s plan backfired and created an American identity where before there had been none. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog …

Today is the birthday of clarinetist, saxophonist, and bandleader Woody Herman.  (Born 1913, died Oct. 29, 1987.) — On May 16, 1997, Zaire’s president, Mobutu Sese Seko, ended 32 years of dictatorial rule, giving control of the country to rebel forces. — Black Ovis (one of our affiliate advertisers) is running a 25% off Memorial Day sale on Mystery Ranch packs!  This sale ends on the 18th, so order soon. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists …

On May 15,1859, Physical chemist Pierre Curie, co-winner of the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics, (along with his wife, Marie Curie), was born in Paris. Today is also the birthday of Evelyn Ernest Owen (15 May 1915 – 1 April 1949) He was an Australian who developed the Owen submachine gun which was used by the Australian Army in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. On May 15th, 1942, gasoline rationing began in 17 Eastern states as an attempt to help the American war effort during World War II. — Today’s feature is a review by …

May 14th, 1686 was the birthday of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, who invented the thermometer. On May 14th, 1948, in Tel Aviv, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, reestablishing the Jewish state after 2000 years. In an afternoon ceremony at the Tel Aviv Art Museum, Ben-Gurion pronounced the words “We hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine, to be called Israel,” prompting applause and tears from the crowd gathered at the museum. Ben-Gurion became Israel’s first Prime Minister. — Today’s feature article is too short for consideration as an entry for Round 106 of the …

May 13th is the birthday of firearms engineer Theodor Koch (born 1905, died 1976.) Koch, along with Edmund Heckler and Alex Seidel salvaged tooling from the bombed-out Mauser factory at Oberndorf, Germany, and with it founded Heckler und Koch (“HK”). — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. …

In May of 1921 a solar storm began, dubbed The Great Geomagnetic Storm of May 1921. These were some of the headlines: “Telegraph Service Prostrated, Comet Not to Blame” — declared the Los Angeles Times on May 15, 1921. “Electrical Disturbance is ‘Worst Ever Known’” — reported the Chicago Daily Tribune. “Sunspot credited with Rail Tie-up” — in the New York Times. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 …

On May 11, 1949, Israel was admitted into the United Nations. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of …

May 10th is the birthday of the late Janis Pinups (born 1925, died 15 June 2007). He was one of the last of the Forest Brothers anti-communist resistance fighters. He came out of hiding, after five decades, to obtain a Latvian passport in 1994, after the collapse of Eastern European communism. (He was never issued any communist government identity papers and by necessity lived as a nonexistent “ghost” during the entire Soviet occupation of Latvia.) The history of the Forest Brothers movement certainly deserves more recognition. May 10th is the birthday of the late Col. Jeff Cooper. He was born …