Category: Note

On January 29, 1944 USS Missouri (BB-63), the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy, was. launched. It was decommissioned in 1992, and was donated for use as a museum and memorial ship on May 4, 1998. It is now on display near the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. — Today, we present a guest article from a SurvivalBlog reader. Because it is partially promotional for a published book, it is not part of the judging for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running …

On January 28, 1754, British writer Horace Walpole (pictured), in a letter to Horace Mann, coined the word serendipity. — January 28, 1915: The first US ship lost in WW I, William P. Frye. It was sunk by cannon fire from the Imperial German Navy raider SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich. The William P. Frye had been carrying wheat to the UK. — And on January 28, 2014, DNA analysis confirmed that the 6th Century Plague of Justinian was caused by a variant of Yersinia pestis (the same bacteria attributed to the Black Death.) — A USB Archive Stick Update: All …

January 27, 1939: First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter plane. Pictured is a P-38 at an airfield in Panama, in 1945. — January 27, 1944:  The siege of Leningrad ended, after 880 days, and the deaths of 2 million Soviet citizens. — Today, we present a guest article from a SurvivalBlog reader. Because it is partially promotional for a published book, it is not part of the judging for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 of the writing contest …

On January 26, 1887, ground was broken and construction began on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.   It was completed on March 29, 1889, in time for the 1889 Paris World’s Fair. The Eiffel Tower then surpassed the Washington Monument as the world’s tallest man-made structure — a record that it held for 41 years. But it was eclipsed by the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York City, in 1930. — And on January 26, 1915, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, was established. — All eyes are on the Comex market this morning, after Friday’s surge to $103.91 …

On January 25, 1840 an American naval expedition under Charles Wilkes was the first to identify Antarctica as a new continent. — January 25, 1915:  Transcontinental telephone service officially inaugurated when Alexander Graham Bell in New York City called thomas Watson in San Francisco, California during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: 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), A Peak …

On January 24, 1616, Dutch mariners Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten were the first Europeans to discover Le Maire Strait, Tierra del Fuego, and then go on and round Cape Horn. — January 24, 1890: The world’s oldest wooden sculpture, the Shigir Idol, was discovered in a peat bog near Kaltay, Middle Urals. It was later radiocarbon dated to 12,500 years old. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for …

On January 23, 1643 the New Model Army led by Thomas Fairfax attacked the royalist garrison and captured Leeds for the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War. — January 23, 1812: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook New Madrid, Missouri. — Today is a the birthday of Larry Dean Olsen. (January 23, 1939 — December 26, 2018.)  He was born in Wendell, Idaho, on January 23, 1939, to parents Dean and Lola Olsen and he grew up in Jerome, Idaho. Larry was widely recognized as the father of modern primitive survival education. He was the author of the international bestseller “Outdoor …

On January 22, 1506, the first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrived at the Vatican. — January 22, 1840: New Zealand Company settlers arrived aboard the Aurora at Te Whanganui a Tara, which became Port Nicholson, Wellington. — And on January 22, 1990, Robert Tappan Morris was convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet worm, or Morris worm, one of the oldest computer worms distributed via the Internet. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This …

On January 21, 1789, the first American novel, “The Power of Sympathy” by William Hill Brown was published by Isaiah Thomas. — January 21, 1974: The price of gold hit a record $161.31, and silver hit $3.97 per Troy ounce, in London. — A USB Archive Stick Update: At last count, we had just 62 of the standard waterproof 2005-2025 SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks still available to order. And all of the sticks in the limited edition keepsake tins sold out in the first two weeks of January. The mailings of both types should begin on Friday. They will be mailed …

On January 20, 1801, John Marshall was appointed as the Supreme Court’s first  Chief Justice. — January 20, 1921: The Republic of Turkey was declared from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. — On January 20, 1981, 52 American hostages were released by the Iranian government, following 444 days of captivity, to be reunited with their families. Not coincidentally, Ronald Reagan was sworn in is President, the same day. — Today is also the birthday of Congressman Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The …

On January 19, 1937, Howard Hughes set a transcontinental flight record of 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds. — January 19, 1810: On “Cold Friday”, the temperature at Portsmouth, New Hampshire dropped from 54°F to minus 12°F in one day, and many people were reported frozen to death. — This is also the birthday of the late Carla Emery (born 1939, died October 11, 2005). She is well known in self-sufficiency circles as the author of The Encyclopedia of Country Living. — There were two large solar flares yesterday (Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026.)  One of them was a category …

On January 18th, 1591, during the Burmese-Siamese War (pictured) King Naresuan of Siam killed Crown Prince Minchit Sra of Burma in single combat. The date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day. — January 18th, 1813, was the birthday Joseph Glidden, who invented barbed wire. — Kevin Costner, who starred in Open Range, was born on this day in 1955. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any …

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater …

January 17, 1746: In the Battle of Falkirk Muir, the Jacobites under Charles Stuart defeated Hanoverian forces. — And on January 17, 1950: The Great Brinks Robbery. 11 men robbed $1.2 Million in cash and $1.5 Million in securities from armored car company Brink’s offices in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1956, eight of the robbers were convicted and handed life sentences in prison. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any …

On January 16, 1605, the first edition of “El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha” (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes was published in Madrid. — January 16, 1668: The Infamous sword duel between George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham and Francis Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. They fought over Anna, Duchess of Shrewsbury and mistress of Buckingham. The Earl was mortally wounded. — The 20th Anniversary (2005-2025) SurvivalBlog archive waterproof USB sticks have arrived from the manufacturer!  Orders will be mailed out starting next week, in the order that they were received. We expect to sell out …